photo credit

Homemade gifts are always hit. There are a million and one different ideas for what to make, but really, unless you started making them last March, do you really want the stress that goes into making a bunch of last minute holiday gifts?

There are several sites that have taken the stress out of it all by allowing you to just upload photos, create a calendar and VOILA! Instant gift giving! And don’t you even dare think that these are cheesy ideas. What family member WOULDN’T love receiving a calendar full of your smiling family?

Here are some of the good ones:

Big Huge Labs: great prices; order before December 14th for Christmas delivery.

Vista Prints: BIG variety of styles – from posters, to desk calendars to magnet calendars. They have 3-day rush shipping for any procrastinators.

Create Photo Calendars: they also offers fundraising calendars. $5 flat shipping fee.

Kodak: You know that the original photo paper people will have these. They offer volume ordering as well.

Shutterfly: lots of cute layouts; currently offering 20% discounts.

Snapfish: you receive 20 free prints when you start your account to create your calendars.

If you are feeling really brave and organized, create some at home on a word processing program, save to a flash drive and take them to Kinkos/Staples/OfficeMax etc for printing.

Even though the economy is showing signs of improving, I think that all of us have realized the need to be smarter with our money. We’ve all seen too many people suffering from the consequences of careless spending and not enough saving.

The thing is, sometimes, it’s just hard to find the deals that are relevant to us. There are a lot of sites who post coupon and discount codes, and I love writing about them and sharing them with you. One common problem, however, tends to be the need to wade through a bunch of expired junk in order to get to the current deals.

Ask.com has launched Ask Deals to help remove that obstacle. Now, you have a place to find current and relevant deals. It does the searching and scanning and puts any current deals in one place, under organized categories.

There are several ways to locate deals: by zip code/location, by category, by store, offers with only free shipping, offers expiring soon etc.

Each category also features a “deal of the day”, which you can sign up to have emailed to you daily.

It really is as simple as that. All of those savings will add up, so you can be prepared for a future rainy day.

Do you have a site that helps you save money? Share it with others in comments. I’ll highlight them all in a future post.

Information overload can be a real problem – shove all of that info into your brain when it’s already full, and something is going to get lost. Use Trackle to help sift through a lot of the information for you and use what you need.

Trackle is a new service that tracks all of your personalized information on the Web, all in one place. Offering the industry’s most comprehensive index of popularly tracked categories, Trackle keeps tabs on everything in your life, from local, to social to shopping. The service is built with advanced algorithms that provide a layer of intelligence to the tracking process – ensuring timely and relevant results. Users get automatically notified over the Web, email or SMS whenever Trackle finds a match. Trackle is built on top of a robust tracking platform, designed to offer a wide range of tracking services. The service is completely free, secure and privacy compliant.

Sign up on the site and then choose the topics you wish to track: track your reputation online, airline flight costs, gas prices, local news and weather, even crime in your neighborhood. Updates will then be emailed to you, or if you choose, texted to your phone.

There isn’t much that you can’t track on Trackle. In fact, there is a Track Anything option that allows you to do just that. If you are needing to research a topic, Trackle it, and receive up to the moment information on the topic.

As far as web alerts go, it definitely beats Google Alerts in usefulness, and right now, there isn’t anything else quite like it on the web.

This is a brief overview of the site, but I will be posting an article on how to actually use the site so that you can benefit from the information. Because it’s only useful if you know how to use it.

But if you are have to have something other than a prepaid plan but also need to fit it into your budget, I would suggest trying out the following sites and tools to see if you can bring down your cell phone bill.

Bill Shrink: Find the out if you are getting the best price on cell phone plans, but also check on gas prices and credit cards. (free)

Over My Minutes: Want to make sure you don’t go over your minutes, but are too busy to keep track? Sign up at Over My Minutes and you will receive an alert on your phone when you are getting close. (free)

Or, you can go all crazy like me, and just use a prepaid card. Frankly, I can’t stand being on the phone all of the time, so it suits me fine. Maybe it will work for you too.

Sound off: How do you save money on your cell phone bill?

While there is sometimes nothing like holding a book in your hands – the feel of the pages as you turn them, the sound of the pages as they crinkle – the stacks of books eventually become something of a hassle.

Have you heard about Kindle? Amazon is releasing Kindle 2, the newest version of its wireless reading device. Release date is February 24th, but you can preorder them here.

Check out some of its features:

• Slim & Lightweight: Just over 1/3 inch and 10.2 ounces
• Books in under 60 seconds: Get books delivered in less than 60 seconds; no PC required
• Improved Display: Reads like real paper; now boasts 16 shades of gray for crisp images and text; even reads well in bright sunlight
• Longer Battery Life: 25% longer battery life; read for days without recharging
• More Storage: Take your library with you; holds over 1,500 books
• Faster Page Turns: 20% faster page turns
• Read-to-Me: Text-to-Speech feature means Kindle can read every book, blog, magazine, and newspaper out loud.
• No Wireless Bills: No monthly wireless bills, data plans, or commitments. Amazon pays for Kindle’s wireless connectivity so you won’t see a monthly wireless bill.
• Large Selection: Over 230,000 books, plus U.S. and international newspapers, magazines and blogs available
• Low Book Prices: New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise
• Read in the sunlight with no glare

It seems like a pretty amazing little device (and it is little!)

For more information, including videos and reader thoughts on it, visit the Kindle shop at Amazon.

photo: Iain Farrell

I bet that these days you are more actively looking for ways to save money.

What about when you shop online? Did you know that most sites offer deals and discount codes? You can sign up for every newsletter available and have them delivered into your inbox. Or, better yet: check out the following sites before shopping.

Each site is updated regularly.

RetailMeNot.com: find discount codes for things from clothing to printing to toys to garden supplies. The site is easy to use and locate codes. And the codes are easily copied to your clipboard to paste into your order form when you place your order. There’s even a helpful tutorial for getting the most out of the site.

DealLocker.com: discounts to stores such as Best Buy, Amazon, and Kohl’s are available. Also, you can rate your shopping experience and product on the site. Be sure to check out the reader reviews.

CouponCabin.com: an animated demo for learning to use the site is available.

CouponCodes4U.com: rebates are also listed.

Don’t pay full price. All it takes it a couple of moments to check these sites and locate savings.

2008 was a brief year for ModernMediaMom.com, but there are big plans for 2009!

Look for lots of new series and lots of helpful tips.

As always – let me know your thoughts, suggestions and what you’d find helpful in 2009.

Wondering where the online deals are?

This year, they should be easy to find. After a dismal Christmas retail season, the worst in 50 years, retailers will be wooing you with deep discounts.

“Similar to Cyber-Monday, the post-Christmas time of the Holiday’s is another great time to shop online for deals on electronics and other sought-after items before ringing in 2009! Check out the deals at the following four merchants for online sales this weekend!“

Continue reading at Associated Content for a brief roundup of shopping savings available online.

photo: robholland

Olay Professional Pro-X Anti-Aging Starter Protocol

It’s not available until Dec. 23rd, but you can preorder and use this link for $10 off.

Designed by dermatologists and scientists, Pro-X is a daily regimen that addresses primary and specific aging skin concerns.

The Pro-X Anti-Aging Starter Protocol will be available on December 23 and the $10 off offer is only good during pre-sale.

I’ve totally added this to my Christmas list.