Donna Freedman

A brief Swagbucks heads-up.

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thA shout-out to anyone who uses the Swagbucks rewards site: Another set of five “Collector’s Bills” starts on Monday, July 1.

Every time a new batch of Collector’s Bills comes along I get absurdly focused on earning all five. Guess I really am an American: I like to collect the whole set.

This time the theme is “Swagbucks Around the World,” with images of famous sites. Together they add up to 54 SBs and you’ll get a bonus of 20 SBs if you collect all five bills, which are awarded at random when you search the Internet.

Since you can earn the same image more than once it can be a little confusing. To check how many of the five you’ve stashed, go to the landing page and click on “My Swag Bucks,” then on the “Collector’s Bills” tab. The deadline to catch ’em all is July 8.

A second shout-out to those who don’t use Swagbucks: Give it a try. I cash my SBs in solely for Amazon gift cards, which I use for holiday and birthday presents, specialty items for myself (everything from olive oil to wool socks), and get-well or “just because” gifts for friends. But you can choose from other gift cards, electronics, housewares, health and beauty items, jewelry, daily deals and more.

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A get-out-of-town roundup.

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thVery late Monday evening (actually at about 2 a.m. Tuesday) my niece and I will be be at the Anchorage International Airport with her two boys. Our trip will include historical/tourist-y stuff in Philadelphia, a quick trip to New York City, and about a week spent on my dad’s Christmas tree farm in South Jersey.

The kids are really looking forward to the latter because it’s truly Dude Heaven: tractors, power tools, a private gun range and thousands of trees against which to urinate. Tack on a possible one-day trip to the Jersey Shore (the family-friendly part, not the reality-TV zone) and they will be in ecstasy.

I’m still making arrangements for this trip – didn’t book tickets for the Megabus until the other night – and trying to get a little bit ahead on my paid writing chores. Thus no time to devote to fabulous insights for my personal blog. Instead, I’m rounding up a few contests for you to enter.

That is, assuming you could use stuff like a $500 cash prize.

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The first day of summer, the beginning of the end.

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thAll around the country people recently celebrated the first day of summer (calendar-wise). The weather was gorgeous in Anchorage but I was a little sad. Up here, summer solstice means that in a day or so the light turns around.

If that sounds defeatist, it’s because it is. We’ll still have tons of light for quite some time, much more illumination than the Lower 48 gets. But I can’t shake the notion that it’s now going the other way.

I felt that way every solstice during my previous tenure in Alaska (1984-2001) and I feel that way now. May and June are the best months, in my opinion, even if the latter does turn on us each year on or around June 21. 

 

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Dinner and a movie? It’s on me.

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thThe recently released film “The Kings of Summer” concerns a trio of teen-aged males who run away from home. They don’t run far, mind you — just a mile or so away, where they propose to build a cabin in the woods and live off the land and out from under their parents’ thumbs.

Not that they’re particularly good at this. The chicken they eat for dinner comes from a nearby Boston Market and their cabin is slapped together with pilfered materials.

But it’s their place, their escape from what they see as the impossible oppression they suffer in the outside world.

“These are not the sophisticated ‘Gossip Girl’ teenagers but gawky innocents desperate to grow up and prove self-sufficiency. We’ve all been there,” notes New York Times film reviewer Stephen Holden.

This week’s giveaway is a pair of gift cards suggested by the film: a $10 card for the AMC Theatres movie chain and a $10 Boston Market card. Of course, you can use the movie card to see any movie you like, not just “The Kings of Summer.”

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I’m in All You magazine this month.

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thSome readers have asked for a heads-up when I have magazine articles out. Right now I do: the cover story in the June issue of All You magazine.

Should have put this up sooner since it’s already almost July (!), but better late than really late.

“Save $100 on groceries this month” is a topic that appeals to just about everyone who’s worried about food prices. And we should be worried: Our overall grocery bills ]will rise as much as 4% overall in 2013, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Food is a fixed expense – you can’t live without it! – but it’s one with a fair amount of wiggle room. You probably can’t convince your family to eat less. But suppose just a little creativity allowed you to shave $100 off your grocery budget each month.

What could you do with an extra $1,200 a year?

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It’s National Splurge Day! Do it frugally.

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thYep, another made-up-just-for-fun holiday. This one came about in 1994 and was invented by a publicist who suggested that people treat themselves and also those around them.

Your definition of “splurge” may vary. Here’s what I think: Whether they’re experiences or lasting treats, a splurge can not only brighten your day but help keep you on the frugal path.

Utter, slavish denial of self can lead to falling off the wagon in a big, big way, which will undermine – or undo – the progress you’ve made toward meeting your financial goals.

But there’s no reason to overpay for a splurge, be it a trip abroad or a really good cupcake. That’s why I’m suggesting eight ways to do it up without overdoing it.

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Got advice for grads? Share it in a Tweetchat.

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th“Adulthood 101: Teaching grads about the real world” is the topic of a Tweetchat to be sponsored by Ally Bank on Tuesday.

Whether you’ve got advice to share or are wondering how best to help the neomatriculate in your life, drop by: You could win a $100 Amazon gift card.

From 2 to 3 p.m. Eastern, featured guest Bankrate.com will address issues such as student loans, retirement planning, home-buying and — for the elders — how to encourage rather than enable. Other personal finance specialists will likely check in, too. I’ll be there myself.

Never attended a Tweetchat? Think of it as a virtual party, one in which everybody’s talking about the same thing. It’s fast-moving and entertaining and, in this case, educational.

The best part? Since we’re all limited to 140 characters nobody has enough space to be pompous.

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There’s nothing like that new crayon smell.

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image_28113631369333217Unless, of course, it’s that new crayon smell paired with new crayon names.

To celebrate the 110th anniversary of the invention of Crayolas, the company asked fans to suggest new monikers for the original eight colors.

And boy, did the fans have fun.

Red is now “ladybug.” Green is “jalapeño.”  Want to know the others? Enter to win them.

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Doing the Bush wave.

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thThat’s Bush as in the Alaska Bush, not the surname of two U.S. presidents. The Bush wave refers to the constant, frantic shooing of mosquitoes from in front of one’s face while outdoors. I understand that it’s called the “Aussie salute” in the land down under.

I don’t live in the Bush or the Outback, but I’ve been waving/saluting pretty steadily for the past couple of weeks. It’s a horrific year for skeeters here in Anchorage.

Not unprecedented, mind you. According to DF, residents used to kick in $25 apiece to have their neighborhoods sprayed with DDT so their kids could go out and play.

I’m from an area of South Jersey ringed by salt marsh. We had mosquitoes, horseflies, gnats and two other horrible biters called “greenheads” and “strawberry flies.” But they’re nothing like the Alaska State Bird.

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Want more money? This book could help.

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thAt age 17 Scott Gamm started his own personal finance blog, Help Save My Dollars. Now a business major at New York University’s School of Business and contributor to websites from The Huffington Post to TheStreet.com, he apparently decided he isn’t quite busy enough.

So he wrote a book.

“More Money, Please: The Financial Secrets You Never Learned in School” is a good primer both for those just starting out and those who, well, never learned what they needed to know in school.

Know someone like that? Enter to win this book and give it to him or her. You might change a life.

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