I apologize for the extended absence. I took some time away without notice to move, and in that absence I found a cause that I need to champion and put my effort behind.

If you are interested, I have embarked on a new blog journey here.

While I doubt this offer is in competition with the McDonald’s offer, Dunkin’ Donuts is offering iced coffee for free at participating Dunkin’ Donuts shops.  Also, tomorrow, Thursday, May 15, 2008 from 10am-10pm  you can get one free small 16 oz. Iced Coffee per person, per visit. I find it interesting that they are offering this after their morning coffee rush, rather than marketing it to their morning coffee crowd.

Tomorrow, McDonald’s is tempting us all with a newish product FREE with the purchase of a medium or large drink.  From 7 AM until 10:30 AM, you can get a FREE Southern Style Chicken Biscuit with the previously described purchase, and from 10:30 AM until 7 PM, you can get a FREE Southern Style Chicken Sandwich with that same accompanying purchase. I don’t know about other areas of the United States, but here in Atlanta, all drinks small-large are $1.  As with the McSkillet Burrito, don’t get hooked, just take advantage of their marketing team’s generous gesture 

The Internal revenue Service has enhanced their site for Americans anxious to know when the Economic Stimulus lottery will declare them a winner. They have introduced a search feature similar to the ever-popular “Where’s My Refund?” to give taxpayers information in regard to the date of direct deposit or paper check arrival here. It appears to be based on the chronology of the file date within the previously outlined SSN groupings, but it could be entirely random as well. The Rebate date only seems to be available within the week of delivery.

Have fun planning on how to best use your $600.

While I don’t normally shop at Crate & Barrel, if at all, I have come across an interesting phenomenon. If you start a registry, be it a wedding, baby, house-warming, or barmitzvah, and you don’t get some of the over-priced fancy blenders and knives you wished for at your shower or party, you can expect a 10% off coupon for a shopping trip aimed at those items. The coupon also appears to be applicable toward an online purchase of those items.

I am not advocating that anyone who reads this build a registry of items they want without an event actually happening, but it sure would be a good way to save 10% off an entire shipping trip.

Under pressure to offer something new with many competitors offering “deals” on prescription medicine, Wal-Mart has expanded their $4 prescription plan to include many common over-the-counter medicines, as well as offering 90-day supplies of prescriptions for only $10. This is especially good news for those of us not turned off by the store brands. You can view the list of over-the-counter offerings here, as well as the prescriptions here.

There is no word yet on whether Target or Kroger will be matching the new offerings, as they did with the $4 prescriptions.

UPDATE: The program used by the IRS to distribute the Economic Stimulus Rebates is ready earlier than expected, and rebates have started to roll out to citizens on a schedule about one week earlier than expected. There is a FANTASTIC Frequently Asked Questions section on the IRS website, or here.

For those of you anxiously awaiting your tax rebate check due you on behalf of the Economic Stimulus Plan, here is the link to the IRS’s web site that shows the schedule of disbursements. Hopefully, you have already done your taxes, and you chose direct deposit for your payment/refund option. If so, you will receive your rebate check earlier than the rest of the people receiving rebates…. Yet another reason to have direct deposit.

In one of the few breaks of my workday /sarcasm, I came across an article that I think I can add to. If you don’t carry enough plastic to charge up every item you come across, you will keep yourself from spending money that isn’t yours, or that you don’t have yet. I like the simplicity factor in organizing my life, and I find that having fewer options to pay for something really keeps me from saddling myself with additional debt. Take a gander at this story on Lifehacker, and the story that inspired it on Real Simple and consider how much you could save if you didn’t carry all 32 cards of plastic evil, and how much of a positive factor that will be in reducing debt via the Debt Snowball.

Since I have zero credit cards in use, I carry by two banks’ debit cards, my driver’s license, my old student ID from UGA (to get that sweet student discount, when I can), and the solid state memory card that allows access to my office in my front-pocket wallet that I simplified down to about three months ago. I am currently carrying my MTA MetroCard from my recent trip to NYC, just in case I come across someone also going there that I may be able to give my outstanding $.20 or so as a gift for their trip, or if we decide to actually go back for a Yankees game this summer. In the spirit of Earth Day yesterday, I can also save some paper as well by reusing the card instead of getting another one.

I came across this post on The Consumerist earlier today, and I think that I have to share it with everyone, especially if you do not read The Consumerist on a regular basis.

Since I have covered many slimy scams, I felt it was appropriate to share.

Thanks!

Since we have a budget to keep, our checking, savings, retirement, credit cards (that we are working to pay off) may tear us in many directions to track them all. I have found that consolidating your account checking into one money management service is quite helpful for tracking your budgeted spending across all of the accounts that I have. With two checking, two savings, and a plethora of retirement accounts, I found mint.com to be the most advantageous online money management tool available. In addition to the consolidation of information into one place to check and a great visual tool to see your finances in relation to the budgets you have set, Mint also offers advice for saving money based on trends that it sees in your spending. For example, there is a possibility that I could save money by switching my cell phone service from T-Mobile to AT&T or Verizon, but Mint does not account for the fact that I have a family plan with four lines of service. In addition to the budgeting, savings suggestions, and consolidation, Mint also compares your spending to others using the service. If you are interested to see if your gasoline usage is on par with others in your area, Mint pulls up the information to compare you to your Mint peers. Also, they provide some very useful information from their partners, Mint.edu and The Motley Fool.

If Mint doesn’t tickle your fancy, check out Wesabe, Expensr, or Yodlee.

I returned Monday from a very fun trip to New York City, celebrating my significant other’s birthday with a well-deserved break from our jobs, my Amazon store, and most noticeably to you, my personal finance blog.

If you find yourself sitting in an empty parking lot gazing across the street at the local Krispy Kreme, waiting for the “Hot Doughnuts Now” sign to illuminate for a taste of the doughnutty goodness, you may want to take advantage of their offer of a FREE dozen of glazed Krispy Kreme doughnuts with the purchase of a dozen doughnuts coupon posted here.

Try not to eat yourself into a diabetic coma.

For anyone who has not yet joined the 21st century, Walgreen’s is offering FREE one-hour photo processing at all participating locations with this coupon. Just print it out, take your dinosaur 35mm film to Walgreen’s and voila, I just saved you some dollars and cents on photo development (I don’t actually know how much it costs to process film anymore.)

For anyone who hates to lose things they need as much as I do, this ebook may be helpful. It shows you how to track down things you have misplaced, as well as how to prevent such misplacement in the future, by teaching you the causes of misplacing items. The best part is that you only have to invest your time, since it is free, free, FREE.

If you are truly in trouble with your finances beyond what suggestions I have made here, you may be considering using a debt settlement agency. Before you consider that any further, check out this post on the Consumerist from a former employee of a scumbag agency. Outside of Consumer Credit Counseling Services, I don’t know of a legitimate entity that can actually HELP someone who is drowning in debt.

Bankruptcy law firms make a TON of money wiping out debt, but many people would be better off changing their lifestyle and expenses than to mark their credit file with a bankruptcy for seven years. I know some people who rack up bills, don’t pay, rack up more debt, and file bankruptcy, and then they repeat. With a little restraint, they could end up “in the black” and living a more comfortable life, rather than their “feast and famine” that ends with nothing.