Today's Winner!

Our giveaway winner today:
erika.rae.xo@hotmail.com

Wins:
http://www.oneincomedollar.com/2011/08/back-to-school-with-visa-and-50-gift.html

** Our winner has been contacted and has 7 days to reply before a new winner is selected.
Thank you to all who entered!

Before and After-Our Back Deck

As promised- here are the before and after pictures of the staining that was done on our back deck.

Once it dries, will have to get the patio set back on there.

Monday-September 5

Well, today is the last day of the long weekend, and it's been quite nice having Gerry home for an extra day on this weekend.We both can't wait till his retirement in 7 years.He's been busy with DIY projects this weekend. He's wired the lights and plug ins in his workshop for $100 compared to paying someone to do it with a separate service, to a tune of what he figured would be over $1,000.He did have some problems at one point, but worked through it all.

He's currently staining our back and front decks. There was a sale on stain a few months ago so we bought it then, but he's been so busy with projects that he's only getting to it now.I hope to have before and after pictures later.I moved in 5 years ago, and he's had the decks he said for 7 years and never has stained them.

He also added our storm door and a blind to the back door, so nice to have that done as well. I was feeling uncomfortable with one single back door and no blind on the window before, but now all that's fixed and looks nice.Hard to believe but the space above used to be a walk in storage closet. Now we have a back door that leads to our back deck, and a new storage closet in another area.We also added a outside light outside this door and off onto the deck.

On another note, I've booked our flights for the wedding.Costed me more than I wanted to spend,as we didn't like the flights that were "cheaper".I was trying to use my points from our reward cards for hotels, but didn't have enough points there either, so will have to find some good deals. (We use our points as much as we can when we do go out of town, so we don't always have alot built up.)So far I've spent $500 for the wedding,$500 for the cruise and another $1400 for return flights for the two of us.I have gift cards for restaurants so that will help with that.

Erika is done her summer job at the payroll office as of this past Friday so she is hoping that she can claim some out of work benefits but has to apply. She starts her second year accounting, from home, in October.Not sure what the cost will be for that but we'll be splitting that with her dad.It will help that she can stay home and not have the living away from home expenses that she had last year while in Calgary.( She's still paying on that loan).

I hope your all having wonderful weather where you are living and getting out to enjoy it.

Today's Winner

flower_child_23(at)hotmail(dot)com

is the winner of our Back to School Giveaway from Duracell:

http://www.oneincomedollar.com/2011/08/back-to-school-savings-and-big-giveaway.html


** Thank you to all who entered-
winner has been contacted and has 7 days to reply before a new winner is selected.

Have a nice long weekend everyone!

Eco Cars- Worth the Initial Outlay?

It's no secret that the world's oil supply is in decline. With gas prices going up and availability ready to take a downward turn at any moment, why aren't more people rushing out to buy hybrid cars? For one, most people can't afford new cars and instead consider the vast selection of Used Cars and also, hybrid technology simply isn't there yet.



Of course, a nice eco car will cost you much less than a luxury vehicle, but they are 25-30% more expensive than good old economy cars. With such a big price difference, you think you would be seeing more savings at the pump, but that isn't always the case.



In a comparison by Consumer Reports, 2003 models of Honda Civics were compared. The hybrid model sold for about $21,000 and got 36 miles to the gallon. The regular EX model sold for $18,500 and got 29 miles per gallon. The comparison showed that, not including any tax breaks, it would take 21.5 years of fueling the hybrid model to break even. With the tax break, it would still take you four years to begin to see any savings.



Hybrid cars are also predicted to depreciate in value faster than regular cars. This is because the current hybrid cars are current technology. A few years from now, these models will be obsolete and anyone wanting to buy an environmentally friendly vehicle will choose a later, more technologically advanced model.



There are also hidden costs of owning a hybrid. Battery replacement alone may cost you as much as $9,000 if your warranty has expired, which is practically half the cost of a brand new car. Hybrids are also more expensive to insure so you need to figure out your annual insurance payments to calculate how much more you will be spending in the long run. Hybrids cost more to insure because they are smaller and small size tends to increase the chances of accidents. Despite costing more to insure, hybrids are just as safe as other comparably sized cars.



Many small-size non-hybrid vehicles get just as good gas mileage if they are kept in good running order and have manual transmissions, plus they cost a fraction of the amount that hybrids do. Standard transmissions alone get 17-18% better gas mileage than their automatic transmission counterparts. This isn't to say that all eco-friendly cars are a bad idea. On the contrary, people's attitudes about gas consumption and gas-powered vehicles will need to drastically change in order to switch over on a massive scale and hybrid cars are taking those first baby steps toward change that modern consumers seem to need.



If you have been debating the benefits of getting an eco-friendly car but aren't completely sold, wait a few years. You may do better now to buy a used vehicle with low-gas mileage and save up for the next big thing. With technology advancing at a rapid pace and society wanting to answer the problem of finding alternative energy well before the Earth's oil runs out, you may be surprised what new innovation will pop up.

Review: Riley Blake Designs

Review by: Cynthia


I was so excited and pleased to get a box of Riley Blake Design's fabrics, jelly rolls, fat quarters, buttons and crocheted flowers. The fabric designs are a treasure trove just waiting to be cut, sewn, and quilted. The prints on these fabrics are absolutely beautiful, so cute and colorful. I know I will be "glued" to my sewing machine. I LOVE THIS FABRIC ! I already have a LONG quilt list of what to make with these lovely fabrics. Some of the jelly rolls would be perfect for "Summer in the Park" quilt. The "pirate" fabric would be ideal for my only grandson's bed. Getting fabric like this is SO addicting. I want to quilt and sew ALL day long. Any takers to do my housework?

Jelly rolls are so "it" when quilting, 2 1/2" strips to sew into oodles of lovely quilts. So many of these quilts are quick! Riley Blake Designs has an awesome collection of Christmas fabrics all co-ordinated, there is still lots of time to sew one for the holidays.

The packages of fat quarters are exciting too, so many lovely prints, even two on sports for boys. I have a Go Cutter, a birthday gift from my hubby....but will I be able to cut these fabrics? Almost too nice. I just feel like looking and not cutting....but I know I eventually will.

The other accessories that Riley Blake Designs has are all sizes of buttons, little to HUGE. Also different sizes and colors of crocheted flowers for decorating clothing.

Having handled lots of fabrics in my lifetime, I can see that these fabrics are very good, they will stand up to repeated washings and look like new. They will look gorgeous in a quilt on your bed or as a gift. Riley Blake Design's fabrics stand out, they are lovely.

Review and Discount Code-Glasses USA

GlassesUSA.com says that "Seeing properly shouldn’t be a luxury – it should be a necessity."

It had been 10 years since my last eye exam, and really,I don't know where the time had went. I'm not sure about what you have to pay where you live, but when your over 18 years old here, we have to pay $70 for an eye exam. Erika just turned 19 this year and made sure she had her eye exam before she had to start paying.Add to that the cost of new glasses at optometrist prices and you can really end up paying too much.

I knew one of my eyes was weaker than another, and with spending alot of time on the computer, no doubt have some eye strain. I did have prescription glasses already, but they WERE 10 years old, outdated in looks and I wasn't too sure that my eyes hadn't changed in the past 10 years.When I went in for my exam, I was told my one eye had changed slightly in the past 10 years.

I was glad I had heard about and checked out GlassesUSA.com though. GlassesUSA.com is the premier place to order glasses at discount prices.The glasses I chose are in the photo above and they are stylish.Buying eyeglasses online really is more affordable.I would have had to pay double or triple for these same glasses at the local optometrist.

My old glasses were turned in to the Lions Eye Bank, where they will be recycled for use for someone who also needs them.

Stylish and affordable- sunglasses and eyeglasses.Online.


GlassesUSA.com ¸is offering my readers 10% off any order of eyeglasses with the code: Blog10
As well, atke $25 off any order of glasses with Transitions lenses. Code: Trans25

A Delicious Way to Raise ‘Dough’ for Canadian Families and a Great Giveaway ( Canada Only)

Back-to-school can be a stressful and hectic time and taking the family out for dinner can be an extra special treat for parents and kids alike.

For the month of September Boston Pizza is selling its popular Kids Cards in support of the Boston Pizza Foundation.

How does the Kids Card help you and other Canadian Families at the same time? The five dollars you pay for your BP Kids Card goes directly to the Boston Pizza Foundation who uses these funds to support Canadian charities and families in need and at the same time you and your family get 5 FREE kids’ meals – an equivalent value of up to ***$35!

***The cards are worth up to $35, that’s correct. The only stipulation is that, to use the card, the bill has to be $14 or more (from an adult entrée, for example).


The money raised from the sales of these cards will go directly towards the Boston Pizza Foundation’s fund raising efforts to support charities across Canada, including Kids Help Phone, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.

Since its inception in 1990, the Boston Pizza Foundation has raised more than $12.1 million through various fundraising initiatives.


The Giveaway:

Boston Pizza is offering 3 Boston Pizza Gift Cards to give to our Canadian readers of Stretching the One Income Dollar as their way of spreading the word that buying a Boston Pizza Gift Card will help people in need.

A random draw will be held by Random.org on September 10, 2011 from all Canadian entries recieved. And once again, there will be 3 winners!

To Enter::

Please leave your email and a comment.

Extra Entries:

Follow me in Google Friend
Sign up as an email subscriber
Tweet this Giveaway
Add me to your Blog Roll
Grab my button

Best of luck to all!

The Complete Idiot’s Guide For Dummies Challenge Plus a Reader Discount Code

You may be familiar with both the bright orange covered how-to idiot’s guides books as well as the yellow dummies, but have you ever compared them?

Well, I had the opportunity to read 2 books on the same subject, from each. The subject was on the glycemic index diet.

How did I compare these? Besides the covers, I really found not much of a difference towards contents of these books, ease of reading, format, etc..

The one thing that would have made me buy one from the other?
The cover of The Complete Idiot's Guide caught my eye more so than the Dummies book.
The woman with a small waist line and tape measure definately sold me.
Both were even very similiar priced and I always buy soft cover books for the lower price of the book over hard.

I wish I could say one is different than the other but in my own opinion, both were very much equal.Both offered me a wealth of information.I recieved one of each of these books for review and the opinion expressed here is my own.

The folks at The Complete Idiot's Guide are offering our readers a coupon code CIGBlog11 . This code allows for 50% off of one order of regularly priced books from http://www.idiotsguides.com/. The discount is effective immediately and runs through October 31.

Have a Berry Happy End of Summer

Before all the berries are gone, at least until next summer, it is time to think sweet easy recipes using berries.

So many delicious desserts and other great dishes can be made with berries. From cobblers to pies to salads to delectable frozen treats the skies the limit to the number of berry dishes you can enjoy. Additionally, do not forget about those more obscure but equally delicious berries such as huckleberries and blackberries. And after you have made all the berry dishes your family can handle this summer, consider freezing any left over berries to use in the fall or winter.

Unfortunately, summer is coming to a close, but you can always have one berry happy end of summer with some tasty treats.