Win a Kindle and other prizes!

Win a Kindle and a bunch of other prizes by simply "liking", making a comment, or subscribing to my FREE new $$ money book series this week only at:
www.bigworldnetwork.com/UpinDownEconomy.html


Tell all your friends to come support me and my new book and I can win a prize too! The Big World Network is a new, cool web site where readers can get books for FREE, listen to the authors read each chapter, and win prizes!

- Trina Boice -   (A/K/A Sister Thrifty)

The Big World Network Launches Today for FREE

Are you a die-hard page turner?  Do you love dog-eared pages and insist on touching actual paper when reading your favorite book or are you a converted fan of the new electronic readers?  Perhaps you use both. Now there's another way to read books...

I'm really excited about a new web site called www.bigworldnetwork.com which launches today!  They're featuring one of my new books, "How to Stay UP in a DOWN Economy: Saving and Earning Money From Home", but that's not the only reason why I'm excited.

Their goal is to change the way we read books and interact with authors online. On their web site they say "Think of us as a television network, but for literary series written in episodic format."   Sixteen books will be featured during this first season.  You can choose between either reading each week's episodes or listening to the audio versions.

Each day, two books are spotlighted, offering new episodes to enjoy.  Several of my author friends have been selected to participate in this first season's launch, so I know you're going to love their work and become addicted! I highly recommend Steven Booth, Tristi Pinkston, Heather Justesen, and Amanda Meuwissen.  I'm excited to get to know the other authors.  My episodes will be featured every Wednesday for 12 weeks. It's the only non-fiction book to be chosen for the series!

The audio chapters are also going to be made available on iTunes each day, and they're currently working on developing formats for the iPad and iPhone, so stay tuned!  You'll be able to interact with the author, write comments, and offer suggestions.  Many of the authors on the site have also been invited to record the audio of each chapter, so you get to meet new writers and hear their actual voices bring their words to life.

As an author, it doesn't matter to me how you read books, only that you do! There is a wonderful world of imagination and knowledge out there to discover!  The Big World Network hopes to create a new way of reading books and creating communities for authors and fans.  Did I mention that all of this is FREE? Check it out!

Happy Groundhog Day!

Happy Groundhog Day!

According to Puxatony Phil, spring is just around the corner. He actually may be right this time because starting in 2007, daylight saving time is going to start the second week of March and end the first Sunday in November. It means we'll get a month more of daylight each year we keep in place the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Alarmists are going a little nuts over the act, saying the change could disrupt time sensitive machines and systems such as ATMs, but I'm gonna be lovin the sunshine!

Credit cards may be signing you up to pay!
Have you heard of "Buyer's Advantage?" Supposedly, it's a marketing program sponsored by certain banks and credit card companies that allows you to get discounts on merchandise. But that is a bunch of hooey. It's really an excuse for companies to remove money from their customer's accounts. Chase and Bank of America are soliciting for Buyer's Advantage and it's one of the worst schemes out there. The banks will send you a $10 check or "account credit" that signs you up for Buyer's Advantage. The problem is that when you sign and cash the check or take the credit, you are agreeing to pay an annual fee of $150 for nothing. The money is usually a small monthly deduction from checking accounts, and people just don't notice it. So, check your statements and if you see something questionable, dispute it right away!

Do you know your credit score?
According to a recent survey, only 3 percent of Americans know what a credit score is. Worse yet, less than 15 percent of people are checking their credit reports each year. Credit scores are like a grade that tells you whether your credit is poor, fair, good or outstanding. But, unlike school where you get one grade per class, there are three credit scores you can obtain. First, the industry-accepted standard score is called a "FICO" score, which is between 400 and 800 points. Each credit bureau (Experian, Transunion and Equifax) has different information on you, so they compute your score differently. Your interest rate can change depending on which bureau a lender uses. You must check all three of your credit reports and all three of your credit scores four to six months before you're going to buy a house. If you're planning to buy a house in a month, GET THEM NOW! One in three people find mistakes in their reports, so it's imperative that you do this. The one place to get your credit scores is myfico.com. There are other legitimate sites and other ripoff sites out there, but telling them apart can be difficult. There is only one site where you can get your free report: annualcreditreport.com.

Book lovers save money
I just discovered http://www.booksfree.com/ . They have an entire inventory of mass market paperbacks you can borrow for free by paying a monthly fee for shipping and handling of $6.99, which is less than the cost of one book. They'll ship you two books at a time. When you're done reading both ( no due dates, no late fees ), return them in the pre-paid mailer they came in. Automatically you will receive the next two books on your reading list. It's just like Netflix, but for books!

And now for some fun freebies:

Turbotax Online free edition
http://dealnews.com/deals/Turbotax-Online-Free-Edition-for-free/151606.html?ref=alert

Free Olay Definity sample
http://olaydefinity.offerprocessingcenter.com/?source=Definitycom

Tums Sample http://calciuminfo.com/promotions/Sample.aspx

Creative packaging samples www.bubblope.com/pages/2/index.htm

Free kid friendly sponge from Dawn http://tinylink.com/?l05ivjOOBN

Free scrapbook software, free embellishments and more http://tinylink.com/?l05ivjOOBN

Have a wonderful week!
CENTSerely,
Sister Thrifty