Free music

Have you ever had the radio on and thought to yourself, "Why can't they play some good music?" or perhaps "I haven't heard that old song I really liked in ages!"?
Well then Pandora may be for you! Ever since I discovered this site I have been using it on a regular basis. You sign up and then you create your own stations and play the kind of music you want to hear based on your mood!
There is an app for google and apple.  Just remember that it will consume internet and/or data useage.

How does Pandora work you ask? Well it's something called the genome project. What this basically means is that when you tell them what you like they pick artists and songs that are similar in nature. I love that I don't have to pay for anything and I can hear old songs that I don't own and have forgotten about. So many times a song will play and I think "Oh yea, I really like this song!"

You pick what kind of music to play a couple of ways. One way is by typing in the name on a song or artist. Then when each song plays it tells you the name of the song, artist and album title. You can vote thumbs up or thumbs down, choose to skip, or say I'm tired of hearing this song don't play it for a month.

You can have multiple stations, I have one for 80's music, one for stuff that's currently on the radio and one that's more rock. If a song comes on one "station" you can put it on another station. If you accidentally mark a song or artist as thumbs up you can remove it from your station. You can share your stations with others or see stations that others have created. For those of you who tend to value your privacy you may want to consider a user name that is not your name and leaving your location vague or blank.

You can learn information about that song and/or artist and find out what albums that particular song is on.

There's also a video series but I haven't used this feature so I'm not sure how this is. From the description it's custom made videos about music.

For the most part Pandora is easy to use and they do have a help menu just in case you get stuck. You also have the option of purchasing the music from itunes or Amazon.

Overall this is an great site for great music! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

OpenOffice

If you're like me you love the features of a certain unnamed office product but can't afford to spend the money! Well then I have a product for you. It's called OpenOffice and it's FREE!

There's a word processor, a presentation wizard, a database, a drawing program, a spreadsheet program and some kind of math program that I haven't attempted to figure out. All the programs are fairly easy to use and can be learned pretty quickly.

There are other features on this site, including their own blogs and discussions. They also give you options to participate in their marketing.

I didn't have any problems while downloading but it seems that they have a lot of support available and the site is easy to navigate. You can sign up for their newsletters or anything else but you don't have to sign up in order to download.

www.OpenOffice.org

Product Reviews

In today's tough economy we all want to make sure

that when we purchase something we're actually

getting what we want and getting value for our money.

So recently when I was

looking to purchase a new digital camera I came

across this site where people give reviews

about products they own. This could be very helpful

if you're considering buying something

or even subscribing to a magazine, or buying a book.

You can also post your own reviews, I think all are by video.

It was really very helpful.

What camera did I pick?

Kodak easy share 8 megapixel, 3x optical zoom.

Free advice and info from the government

Federal Citizen Information Center, Pueblo, CO - Award-winning free federal info. on saving money, investing, getting federal benefits, buying cars and houses, staying healthy, parenting, solving consumer problems and more.
This site has so much information that it's crazy!!!

There are information downloads on everything you could think of!
There's info for small businesses, including on where to go for help finding out how to write a business plan.
Do you want to buy forfeited real estate or personal property?
Want to know how to file copyrights?
Wondering about how to handle food safely? Or perhaps diabetic recipes?
Interested in a living trust?
Credit, investing, saving, buying a car, scams, recalls, computers, employment and much much more!

Coupon crazy!!

I have some great information for you about coupons. Every Sunday I get the newspaper and clip my coupons and match them to the flier. Well now I found two services that clips coupons for you!
http://www.thecouponclippers.com/ they have a minimum order but it's only $3. http://www.couponsthingsbydede.com/
Both sites charge a handling fee of .50
Another site to check out is http://www.thecouponmaster.com/

These sites are sure to save you time and money. They offer information and links to other sites to help you save money.

Swagbucks win free stuff

I have found a great way to earn free stuff just by doing what i normally do every day, by searching the web!!!!   Swagbucks is a search and win search engine.  Ok, so I know that a lot of you out there are thinking these search and win sites are a scam.  Well I am here to tell you that at least one is not a scam! 
I have been using this search engine for quite some time now and I am quite pleased with the results.

It's simple to use and it's pretty easy to win Swagbucks.  You can set it as your home page, but you don't have to.  I have been using it exactly like Google, Bing or Yahoo.  Everyday I get at least 4 points by doing the daily survey, using the toolbar, visiting special offers and visiting the trusted surverys dashboard.  This is in addition to what I win by searching and getting the Swagcodes.

Some of the prizes include gift and rewards cards to places like Amazon.com, Bordersbooks.com, Homedepot.com, Restaurants.com and many many others.  There are also things like IPod's, IPhone's and Zune, school supplies, apparel and much more.  I like the gift and rewards cards because it gives me more freedom to get what I want, especially the amazon ecards.

This search engine quickly became my favorite!  It's so easy to earn Swagbucks, just read the little sections they have called how it works, winning tips and do's and don'ts.  This will get you familiar with it pretty quickly and if you still aren't sure then just email me at mybrokelife@gmail.com and I will be happy to help you out.

I have posted a link on the right side of my blog for you to check it out and sign up if you would like if you use it you will get a bonus of 30 swagbucks just for signing up!

Cell phone savings

If you're like most Americans you have a cell phone. If you're like me you complain every time you get your phone bill. Well, there are a few things you can do to help keep it down.

If you're like me you have to dig out your phone book and search for a number. The only thing I hate more than searching a phone book is paying at least $1 for directory assistance! I have been using 1-800-free-411 (1-800-3733-411) for quite some time now and find it pretty useful.
1-800-free-411, you have to listen to some ads but it's better than paying for it! They also will send you a text message with your number. It also remembers you so if you call back it asks if you want the last number you called.



I also recently head about 1-800-GOOG-411 something free from Google. Google is everywhere!!!! I haven't used this yet but it's worth a try.


For tips to save money on your cell phone bill check it out on about.com
http://frugalliving.about.com/od/householdsavings/tp/Save_on_Cell_Bill.htm
There are some websites like http://www.overmyminutes.com/, a prepaid cell phone plan chooser and other tips.

Cheaper Groceries

I am always looking for a way to lower my food bill. I think I might be rich if we didn't have to eat!!!

I found some sites where you can go in on a Co-op" or something similar.

You have to see if there's a location near you and you have to pick it up, but it can help you cut your food costs.



On this site you can order a package or items by the unit or case.

http://www.sharefoodprogram.org/index.htm





For this site you can order that months package, a menu is listed.

http://www.angelfoodministries.com/

Restaurants top-secret recipes!

In today's economy I'm sure you, like myself

want to enjoy your favorite meal from some restaurant but

can't afford too many nights out.

If that's the case then you should check out this site.

It has lots of copycat recipes from your

favorite places from Olive Garden, KFC

Cracker Barrel and Taco Bell, and others.

There are also things like "Hot Pockets", "Cool Whip" and "Bisquick".

My KFC cravings will soon be over!!!!!

Snack Ideas

Recently I needed a receipe/idea for a

summer picnic for my girls.

I wanted something cute, cool, interesting,

easy and most of all, CHEAP!!

During my search for something that fit all

of my needs I found this site

http://preschoolsnacks.blogspot.com/

Here is a collection of great ideas, not just

for preschool but for any age child.

There's everything from cupcakes

that look like an ear of corn to oreo frogs

to marshmallow snails!

What am I going to make?

The Blue Slush and the Mini Sweet Burgers!