TOP TIPS ON DEALS THURSDAY

One of my hobbies for the past 20 years has been to find freebies and deals.  Initially, I worked way too hard, only to be rewarded with spam and a ton of junk mail.  Now I know better.

If you're hooked on finding the best deals in the least amount of time, these are some great tips.

FREEBIES
1.  Ask for a deal.  I know that sounds ridiculous, but there's a 50/50 chance you'll get a positive response if you gather your courage and try.

2.  Ask for senior citizen, student or military discounts wherever you go.  Some stores will have signs on the window, but more often than not, they wait for you to ask.

3.  If you don't mind doing product reviews, Pinchme is great to use.  They'll mail you things, but if you don't stay on top of things, you won't get notices about new offers.  Mary from Dark Thoughts
recommends this, as well as a few others on her blog.

4. Reddit is known for being very controversial on many topics, but they are still the #1 place to visit for freebies..  Why is it so good? There are literally thousands of people in the group, then there are even more subgroups.  Even better, those freebies are usually happening in real time. Reddit.com (R/EFreebies+Freebies)

5.  I don't know where you live, but Sunday newspapers are super expensive these days.  But I don't pay a dime!  If you wait until Tuesday or Wednesday, many stores have leftover papers that they'll cheerfully give away for FREE.  Yay!

FreebieBlogger

6.  Say hello to Wendi over at www.TheFreebieBlogger.com and get guaranteed freebies each day.

7. Wendy is the brain behind  www.SweetiesSweeps.com, and she's been winning since 1993!  Not only can you find lots of sweepstakes at this site, but you can also nab plenty of freebies.

8.  www.Heyitsfree.net - not only will you get the scoop on cool freebies, but you're guaranteed to get a laugh from Goob.  His writing style is definitely over the top and funny.

9.  Do you think you're really good at couponing?  You haven't seen anything until you've visited http://thekrazycouponlady.com/. Actually, it's more than one krazy lady.  Heather and Joanie are not only glowingly gorgeous, but they're pretty famous, too.  If you take the time to read their tips, all you need to do is show up at the stores they recommend and collect those awesome deals.

10.  Want to find out about unusual jobs, ways to make money online, or other really neat news you can use and just don't have the time or energy?  Check out the brainchild of Kyle Taylor from ThePennyHoarder.com

HEALTHY TIPS
Do you want to lose some weight without all the headache of drastically changing your diet?  Lift weights 2-3 times per week. Not only will your body change, but lifting weights will help strengthen bones, as well.  You can do this with 2-10 pound weights!

Did you know you can burn calories while sleeping?  According to The Journal of Pineal Research, take 1mg of Melatonin about a half hour before going to bed at night, and the good brown fat in your body will rev up to burn about 36% of calories overnight!  Say what?

COOKING
Lots of people use their slow cooker to save time, but using parchment paper to cook steak or roasts in the oven will give you succulent and tender meals.  Most people use Parchment to cook fish or baked goods, but it works just as well for other foods.