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NASHVILLE — The fifth annual Tennessee Sales Tax Holiday will begin 12:01 a.m. Friday, Aug. 6, and end Sunday, Aug. 8, at 11:59 p.m. Tennessee shoppers will have three full days of tax breaks on clothing, school and art supplies and computer purchases.
During the designated three-day weekend, consumers will not pay state or local sales tax on select clothing with a price of $100 or less per item, school and art supplies with a price of $100 or less per item and computers with a price of $1,500 or less — a savings of nearly 10 percent on exempt items.

Examples of exempt items include:

I wrote an article recently for a publication about frugal living and thought I would share a paragraph with you  ….

I have taught my children that time is more important than money. More money can always be made but lost time can never be replaced. Jesus has given us choices. How much money we have to spend is a choice. How we spend it is a choice. It really isn’t about how much we have but rather it is about spending it how we want to. I would rather make things from scratch which I enjoy anyway and teach my daughters spending time with them in the kitchen than to eat in the fanciest restaurant. Living frugally is not something I have to do it is something I choose to do. It is something I get to do. I consider where and how we live paradise.

Why do you strive to live frugal?

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of FriendGiftr. All opinions are 100% mine.

Giving super thoughtful homemade gifts is wonderful some times. Then again sometimes a gift card is even better. especially if the recipient is far away. Some folks are practical and love getting gift cards. Some folks like to save up for items that cost more than they would ever want a friend to spend. Gift cards are great there too, as many friends can all put together. Then again there are some folks that you just cannot find a gift for no matter what you do. And even deciding where to purchase a gift card from is a challenge.   That is when FriendGiftr becomes your best friend. Through their site you can purchase gift cards from over 120 different merchants. And the best part is, if your recipient doesn’t like your choice they can exchange the card for a different merchant! does gift giving get any better than that?

They have gift cards for all of the best restaurants , and book stores and even movie theaters. Oh yeah and dell computers, hint hint.

And it gets even better, you can use the service from the website, Facebook, iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android. Hmmm, wish I had thought about that back when I missed my brothers birthday.

We homeschool year round but I still love this time of year! Why? The sales of course. School supplies for mere pennies makes me really happy. And then of course there is the no tax day. We buy the whole years worth of paper, pencils, erasers, rulers, notebooks, stick glue, pencil boxes, and crayons for just pennies per item. Oh and those pocket folders make great project folders. Especially if you homeschool.

Where to find these great deals? Try your local dollar stores, Walmart, Office Max and other Office stores. Probably Target too. Tell me what you get and where you got it, I will try to be posting the items and where they are on sale.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of SupaSwap Corporation. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have found the most interesting online shopping community. It is an auction site, sort of. It is a barter site, sort of. It is a parents site, not only. It is a children’s site, with supervision. It is a place to buy, sell or swap. It is all of the above, it is Supaswap !!!!!

And it is about time. I love eBay but wouldn’t in a million years let my children shop there. I have stumbled across some disgusting stuff purposely put in family friendly categories. some people are really messed up. So I really appreciate the family friendliness of this new site. Not all of it is in the US which is the only drawback but I think it will grow, and then it will be even better. So what are you looking for? A new video camera? Or a DVD TV series? Yep they have it. And they even have a parents guide to help you get started. Might be a good way to clean out the closets, make some extra cash, get some things you want and teach your children economics all at once! In fact since it is open to those outside the US it even qualifies as a cultural experience! Honestly though I still recommend parents be looking over the shoulder anytime your young people are online.

I like to stock up when I find things on sale. The other day I found knee high stockings for 50 cents a box of two pairs. They are regularly $2 a box. I bought 10 boxes. I don’t wear them but we use them as a filter over our water intake for our spring pump. I stock up on things like that regularly. I always check clearance corners.

Even though I buy extras at good prices it does no good at all if I don’t know what I have. That is where the inventory lesson comes in. I like to have an inventory list of what is in the pantry and deep freeze and extra storage closet. Because if I lose track of what I have, money gets wasted. Waste is like a really bad word to me .

We shop at Walmart for most things, we do go some other places but for the most part we get it at Walmart. I posted about berries on my facebook page yesterday and was amazed to find out that many people do not know that Walmart price matches. Here are their exact words from their corporate  site at http://walmartstores.com/7659.aspx 

Price matching

Our goal is always to be the low price leader in every community where we operate. Our customers trust us to have every day low prices … there’s no need for "special sales."

Our unbeatable promise:

Store managers make the final decision in always taking care of our customers, but we do have guidelines for matching our competition.

• We do honor "Preferred Shopping Card" advertised prices. Must be like items, be advertised and require a competitor’s shopping card, for the discount to apply.
• We do not honor advertisements that require a purchase in order to receive the advertised price or free product.
• We do not honor "Buy One / Get One Free" advertisements.
• We do not honor double or triple coupons or percent off advertisements.
• We do not honor other retailers’ "Misprinted" advertised prices.
• We do not honor Internet Pricing.
• We do not honor competitor advertisements from outside of the store’s or Club’s local trade territory.

So yes, like I was saying on facebook, take those Aldi’s ads that say strawberries and blueberries for 99 cents to Walmart if that works better for you and stock up!

Right now around here guess what is in season? Blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, fresh milk, fresh eggs. Tomatoes, corn, peppers, eggplants, squash, lettucs, cliantro, onions. Etc.

So guess what most of our meals consist of?

Yep.  Blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, fresh milk, fresh eggs. Tomatoes, corn, peppers, eggplants, squash, lettucs, cliantro, onions. Etc.

My point is, use what you have been given or grown, or that the Lord provides or is on sale .

Debt Free Living- Dealing With A Tight Budget

By Jill Cooper

http://www.LivingOnADime.com/

As a single mother of two, I started my own home business without any capital and paid off $35,000 debt in 5 years on $1,000 a month income. I am often asked what are the top lessons I would give a family or even a single person who is dealing with a tight budget. Here are my top tips for living on a small income.

    * Stop spending.

    * Don’t think that using a credit card or getting a loan will make it better. Going into more debt will not help you get out of debt.

    * Get rid of your pride. You may have to shop at garage sales for a while. You may not be able to have your kids in sports and you might have to say no to friends when they want you to go to an expensive restaurant. Pride is a sin. God didn’t kick the angels out of heaven because they murdered someone or were doing drugs, drinking or smoking but for pride.

    * Stop worrying about what others think or whether or not you are making a good impression. We constantly tell our kids not to give in to peer pressure but we do it all the time. We Christians can be especially bad about worrying what other Christians are going to think of us. That is the same as when your kids worrying about their peers.

* Cut back on everything. You can save 50% on your grocery bill before you even go to the grocery store by simply exercising good portion control with your food. It is better for you, too. Go from a 30 minute shower to a 5 minute shower. Not only will you save on utilities, but your skin will thank you.

    * This should be number one: tithe. Right now when others are panicking about their 401k’s or about what their stocks are doing, I don’t have a worry in the world. I have invested my money in Someone who has promised that no matter what happens in the world, including with finances, I and my children will be fed and taken care of. He has demonstrated His faithfulness over and over. To me, my tithe is the best savings a person can have.

    * The real test of a person’s character occurs during hard times. Keep your integrity, be responsible and be trustworthy and honorable whether your situation is your fault or not, whether it is fair or unfair. Proverbs 22:1 says "A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold."

      I once received a notice of foreclosure on my house. I had 2 weeks to come up with $35,000 and I couldn’t sell my house. I didn’t have $35. I wasn’t sure what to do. If I lost my house, my kids and I would literally be out on the streets. After a few moments of panic, I prayed and God told me what to do. One of the first things I did was to call the banker and tell him I wanted to start up our old business, which I knew nothing about and had no money for supplies, no customers and a limited market.

      What loan officer do you think would say, "That’s great– forget the foreclosure and you don’t even need to make a payment until your business is up and running well"? None that I know of, but that is exactly what he said. We had banked there for a while and, because of that, he knew I always paid my bills (the foreclosure was because of my husband’s debts he incurred when we were separated). The loan officer said "Jill, I know you and trust you to pay so I’m not worried."

      Everything God tells us to do is for a good reason and it is usually for our good. He wants us to have a good name because He knows at times when things hang in the balance, a person’s good name can tip the scale in the right direction.

    * Don’t decide you are going to change your ways and then expect God to suddenly produce a miracle and make all of your debt go away. God loves you, but He is also a just God. He expects you to pull your weight and if you spent 5 years carelessly spending, you may have to work extra long and hard for 5 years to get yourself out of your mess.

      It would be like telling my teenage son to clean his room. After a month goes by, he is out of clean clothes, can’t find anything and has been grounded by me for failing to do what I told him to do. He tells me how sorry he is, insists he’ll never do it again and repents all over the place, but he still has to clean his room, which is such a big mess it is going to take twice as much work.

      I forgive, but he is perfectly capable of cleaning it himself, so he has to clean up his own mess.

Here’s something to think about:

In Matthew 6:24, the Bible says "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." We always think that this verse relates to having lots or money, that it only concerns the wealthy or those seeking wealth, but it can pertain to the poor and those in debt, too.

Be careful. What controls your waking thoughts? God or money? What do you seek after more? God or a way to pay your debts? What do you talk about more with your family? God or how the bills are piling up "in these hard economic times"? Do you spend all of your money eating out, playing a game of golf, buying your kids sports uniforms and dance lessons and having your nails done or do you first tithe?

I have found most people give their money to whoever or whatever has their heart and soul. I don’t say these things to condemn you but to get you thinking, "Do I have things mixed up? Can I do something differently? Do I need to change something, even if it is something small?"

We guard our families in so many areas. Don’t let Satan sneak in the back door with this and destroy you, your family and your testimony.

As a single mother of two, Jill Cooper started her own home business without any capital and paid off $35,000 debt in 5 years on $1,000 a month income. Jill and her daughter Tawra Kellam are frugal living experts and the editors of http://www.LivingOnADime.com/.