***FLASH SALE ~ REBATE ~ FUNDRAISER***

I am sooo excited! Starting now and running until Oct 31st at midnight, I am offering a $5 rebate on any L'BRI order over $50 or a $10 rebate on every order over $100!! The rebate will be mailed right to you, OR just tell me you want to donate your rebate to the special One Child Matters Christmas Fund and make a difference in the life of a needy child this Christmas! Orders can be placed at http://nfiles.lbri.com/.

Our family has sponsored a child with One Child Matters for several years and we are so happy to be a part of this ministry. You can learn more about the One Child Matters Christmas fund here. https://www.onechildmatters.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=284

My Tax-time Secret!

The most wonderful time of the year is almost here. You know, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Taxes. Bah, humbug, on the last one.

Taxes = Sorting receipts. Scouring for data. Unfolding crumpled slips of slippery paper. Scribble. Enter data. Hours. Of. Time. I. Could. Do. Something. Else.

I don't look forward to it. Does anyone look forward to tax time? Maybe accountants get excited about sorting receipts?

But I now have an exciting solution. I found a way out. Of doing taxes?!!? Um, no, but a way out of the laborious task of receipt handling. Still have to file, but I am relieved to be able to relay on Shoeboxed for the bulk of the time gobbling tasks that messing with trying to get my receipts in order requires.



What is Shoeboxed?
Your tax time and accounting miracle. Seriously.

Shoeboxed is the best online platform for organizing receipts and business cards. Customers mail receipts and business cards, which they scan and upload into a secure online account on www.shoeboxed.com. Users may also submit receipts and business cards to their accounts via mobile phone including their iPhone, iPad and Android apps. Very sweet. My wireless HP printer has a Shoeboxed app installed so I can scan receipts and send them straight to my account from my scanner.

Shoeboxed is integrated with all the major accounting platforms, so it works with Quicken, Quickbooks, Wave, Evernote, and more. Oh, and did I mention email integration? Yeah, it does that too. Say goodbye to inbox clutter from online orders.

Shoeboxed also handles business cards and other non-receipt documents.

And then Shoeboxed has these little things called, "Magic Envelopes." And they definitely feel like that. You stuff your receipts in the envelopes, seal it and drop it in the mail, postage paid. These are... amazing. The whole drawer, box, or desk full of receipts disappear into the mailbox. I must confess, I got rather giddy stuffing my envelopes.

When Shoeboxed gets your envelope, they carefully scan everything in, make sure all the data is correct and upload IRS approved pdf images of your receipts into your Shoeboxed account. They will even automatically categorize your expenses into the proper categories.

Then comes the fun part. All you have to do is log into your account and pull the data into your favorite accounting software, or just use Shoeboxed to find all the data you need for all the lines on your tax return. Or give it to your accountant. Done.

As you can see, there are not many reasons to not like Shoeboxed and tons of reasons to get as close to being in love with an service as is humanly possible. I can not describe the immense sense of relief and elation I felt as I loaded my blue envelopes and dropped them in the mail. And seeing everything show up in my account, with no errors, was.... breathtakingly awesome. And getting the data I needed was a cinch.

So, how do you get started? Just go to Shoeboxed.com and create a forever free account in seconds. Take the Premium features for a test drive, which includes the use of the Magic Blue Envelopes, for free for 30 days.

Affiliate Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links to products I use or recommend. This means I may make a commission when you click or purchase something using my links. 
But rest assured, I am not just here to make a buck. I won't link to just anything on the web, no matter how much it pays. If I link to it, I either use and/or recommend it or feel it may add value to my readers. If you ever have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. 
All profits generated from affiliate links on this site are used to help support my family and invest in various ministries. Thank you for your support when you use my links! 

Saving Money On Surgery

Medical bills are hard to save on. Discount medical care, coupons, etc are not really much of an option.

But we learned this week that there is one simple way to save, esp on big stuff, like surgery.

#1 Money Saving Tip on Medical Bills: 

Get a second opinion. 

This week David was scheduled to have surgery under general anesthesia.  A visit to the dr about some growths that looked a bit concerning led to the diagnosis that he needed them removed, one was possibly life-threatening and the other was too painful to remove in the office and would require general anesthesia to correct.

After my bought with cancer and the experience of a second opinion saving my life, we learned that those second opinions are sometimes very important. Esp on the big stuff, like, chemo, surgery, etc.

This second opinion saved us a big junk of change, at least $2000+ if not more. The dermatologist took care of the concerning growth in the office and let us know the other one was not an issue. $156 for the visit.

Even if it is not comfortable, you feel like you might be being disloyal or rude to your doctor, get a second opinion. Once it saved my life, as I was about to receive the wrong chemo agents and didn't know it until I went to another doctor. This time, David was spared a financial strain that we seriously could not afford and the time spent recovering from surgery, etc.

Thankfully, sometimes you can save money just by asking.

What Is This L'BRI Stuff?

I have been busy talking about and sharing my newest venture with everyone on Facebook, around town, etc.

And then this thought hits me... My blog!!! I haven't shared anything about L'BRI on my blog!

I am now a L'BRI PURE 'n NATURAL consultant. I have been a consultant since April 2014 and am just loving it. Seriously having a blast with it. I have never done anything like this before, and didn't know I could be good at it. 

What is L'BRI? (Pronounced, "La-brigh")

L'BRI is an aloe-based line of natural skincare and makeup products as well as some health care products. It is paraben and SLS-free, no drying alcohols, no mineral oils, no glycols and no artificial fragrances or colors. They use only the highest quality ingredients. 

L'BRI was started in 1998 by Brian and Linda Kaminski and is still owned by them. They went from working out of their basement to today, where they are a multi-million dollar company. They still own the company 100% debt free and today have about 5000 consultants nationwide. It is a huge opportunity to hop in on, contrasting with 3 million for MaryKay.

So, why am I doing this? Two reasons. Okay, three.

1. L'BRI changed my skin. Seriously, no way around it. I am, for the first time in my adult life, not dealing with breakouts on my face all the time. It is still surreal to write that, but it is true. I have had strangers come up to me, even in my 20's and 30's and ask if I have ever heard of ProActive. Meant well, lacked tact. For the first time I can remember since I was a teen, I don't hate my skin. I am still amazed at how soft it is and how much it has changed. 

2. I want EVERYONE to know about this!! I am serious. I know that L'BRI is what every woman is looking for. It is amazingly effective, it is safe. And it is affordable. L'BRI is very gentle and artificial colors and fragrance free. Many people with skin conditions or very sensitive skin can use L'BRI. Very few people are ever actually allergic, and in fact, so many who are allergic to other brands, can use L'BRI. If it was on the shelf in the retail store, I would tell the world, "I found it!"

3. I want to make extra money! Yup, just like lots of other folks, things are tight. And I have a list of things that need money to do them. So, me telling the world about L'BRI pays? I'm in! I get to talk about the stuff I love, work and learn from great people on my team, play with and share makeup and skincare stuff that is high end quality at a price that most people can afford, and get PAID to do it? All for it! 

Check out my website for more info! Http://www.nfiles.lbri.com Order 4 weeks worth of free samples for the price of shipping right from my site!

I also have a Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/nfileslbri. Check it out and like the page to stay updated!

So there you have it! I would love to hear your thoughts! Have you ever heard of L'BRI before? And what is important to you when you look for skincare products and cosmetics?

First Post Of The Year

Every good blog has a focus, a topic and regular posts. Or at least that is what I read on blogs where the point is to help bloggers succeed.

I think I am doing pretty well with mine.

Topic- My life happenings and thoughts. That works, right?

Focus- Random stuff in my life. That qualifies, I am sure. If I wrote more about my life happenings, I would have even more random material.

Regular posts- Check. One post every six months to a year, sometimes a burst of posts followed by a long silence. Yep, I think my readers know what to expect. 

Okay, I am being a bit silly. And really do wish I posted more regularly. Sometimes I let my lack of posting, focus and post regularity be something that has a right to be on the list. You know, the list of stuff I am failing at. The one that is supposedly okay to pound on me daily, jumping around in my head like a wild war dance, screaming, scolding, taunting me with all the to-do's that will never be done.

And as I sat down to *finally* bang out a post, ready to apologize, ready to accept the shame and move on, resolving to somehow find the magic spot of blogging success being more focused, more regular, etc., I just realized the silliness of letting that list of failures dominate me. Do I want to have a better blog? Yes. But I need to shake off the condemnation of what I am not accomplishing, and move beyond it. Better still, I need to burn the hopping, screaming list, or at least burn it in my imagination, (finding time to find all my to do lists, make new ones, find the time and place to then cermoniously burn them, etc,......isn't going to happen at this season of my life), and stop listening to the accusing.

So, hopefully, this won't be a lonely post at the top of my blog for the next 8 months. But if it is, and you are reading this at Christmas or New Year's, I am not going to fret and stress about it.

Random. It is even in the title of my blog. 

So, in a way, I just checked that off the list. :)

What can you check off your list?

Photo credit-

http://web.mediaspacesolutions.com/blog/topic/stress-free-vacation