Get Free Books, Audiobooks And Magazines Using the Libby App!

 How to get books, audiobooks and magazines for free using the Libby App!

I have always loved to read.  When I was in early elementary school, I read anything I could find about horses.  ( I had an obsession for horses from a very early age...) My mother would take me to the library occasionally, particularly in the summer so she wouldn't hear that I was bored. I would borrow several books at a time.

  As a child, my grandmother lived in the house next to me, and I was welcome to visit whenever I wanted. After conversing with my grandmother, I would wander off and be found reading her stashes of books and magazines. Reader's Digest was my favorite!  

When my children were small, we would visit our local library frequently to have fresh stories to read at bedtime. There were hundreds, if not thousands of books to choose from.  

Enter the age of electronics.  I would find free kindle books, or find deals to get Kindle Unlimited for free for a few months. I would find some enjoyable books to read on Kindle, but there wasn't a very large variety.  Going to the library wasn't very convenient for me.

This past February, I discovered the Libby App!  This app gives you access to your local library system's books and magazines to read on your device for FREE!

How to get started with the FREE Libby App:

Cheap Trips Using Points - Assateague Island Wild Ponies Visit!

 

What to do for spring break?

Spring break was coming, and we had no plans. The weather forecast in Western New York State was warmer, as in 50 something degree temps, but with high odds for rain most days. Where could I go, along with my one remaining school-age son, that was within a day’s drive, but with better weather?

A horse-crazy kid's childhood dream

As a horse-crazy child, I always dreamed of visiting Assateague and Chincoteague Islands in Maryland and Virginia after reading the series Misty of Chincoteague, by Marguerite Henry. The stories are about the wild ponies that live on Assateague Island. Every year the ponies are rounded up, swam across the channel to Chincoteague Island, checked over, and the youngest horses are sold at auction to keep the herd from over-populating the island. After the auction, the remaining wild horses are returned to Assateague Island for another year.

How to travel without spending a lot? 

Unlimited talk, text and data for $25 per month with Visible!

Unlimited talk, text, data and hotspot for $25 per month?  Yes, with Visible!

 Do you want great cell coverage with unlimited talk, text, data and hotspot for $25 per month?  Can you live without a physical store for your phone purchases?  If you can live without the physical store, get Visible!

Want to pay $5 for your first month? Click here!

What is Visible?

Visible is the low cost version  of Verizon. If you like Verizon's coverage but don't like the cost of Verizon, Visible might be worth a try. 

Is Visible worth switching to?

Yes!  I have used Visible for my entire family of 6 for over a year.  Problems?  Just a small issue when I began service where I wasn't getting texts for a day. I chatted online with a Visible representative and the issue was resolved quickly!

Retire Earlier - Buy Used Cars!

 

Being able to retire in my mid-50's:

As I get closer to retirement in my mid-50's, people ask me how I got to this point. How can you do this? There are several choices that I have made over the years, but some stand out more than others. 

Best choice for planning retirement in my early 40's: Buying a used car instead of new.

Around my 40th birthday, I realized after years of living paycheck to paycheck that the only way out of this cycle was to NOT have a car payment! The people I work with are constantly congratulating others after their latest new car purchase.  I had to learn to no longer follow this trend! I had followed my coworkers' love of constantly having newer cars and had to find a way to break out of this cycle!

Comparing Aldi and Wegmans / Instacart Prices

Is it worth my time to shop at both Aldi and Wegmans?

With a family of five, (six when my oldest is home from school) I am always interested in getting the best value for our food budget. We eat fairly healthy, and I cook nearly all of our meals at home. 

I am fortunate to have several supermarkets in close driving range from home. I primarily tend to go to Aldi, Wegmans, and BJ's for my weekly food shopping. 

Downloading the Wegmans app and putting my shopping list on the app has helped me to stick with my list and not buy random items as I shop.  Knowing how much my list will come to (approximately, anyways)has helped to tame my grocery bill. 

Locally, Wegmans and Aldi are located conveniently right next to each other. When I have time, I will go to Aldi first, and get what I can from my list, moving on afterwards to Wegmans to finish my shopping.

I knew I was saving some money, but I took a recent small shopping trip to Aldi and did a comparison of what the same items would have cost me at Aldi.

Comparing Aldi and Wegmans prices

Aldi receipt for 24 items= $32.33

Bonus Money Saving Trick Using Coupons At BJ's

How I Was Able To Use Two BJ's Coupons On One Item

BJ's has some really good coupons that make taking the time to scan their coupon magazines worthwhile. I accidently found out how to to use more than one BJ's coupon on a single item. Most BJ's coupons are worth  two or three dollars. Stacking more than one is worth your time!

How to stack BJ's coupons:

Losing Weight On A Budget With iTrackbites

Time To Get Serious About Losing Weight


About eighteen months ago, I decided it was time to shed about twenty pounds. I was at the beginning of summer vacation, and was ready for the challenge.  After doing some research, I was about two clicks away from joining Weight Watchers. After I saw that there was a monthly fee of 19.99, I searched for a "free" version of Weight Watchers. This is how I found iTrackBites. 


After finding iTrackBites,  I realized that what I needed was a guide, some kind of plan to help me keep track of what I was eating.  After reviewing all of the plans available, I choose to use the Sugar Smart guide, as I have a weakness for anything sweet!  I realized I needed to lose weight after my clothes size was ready to go to the next higher size!

My daily points guide on maintenance

I downloaded the app on my phone, plugged in the information about my age/height/current and goal weights.  I was given then a daily and weekly point guide to help me reach my goal.  There is a pocket guide for foods that shows the point value for all kinds of foods. This may be easier to use now with the upgraded program, usually for 35.99 per year, still much cheaper than Weight Watchers. The "pro" version includes a restaurant guide that I would find very useful if we ate out frequently.