Warning: Sprinkling of the f-word and other swear words throughout video. Watch at your own discretion.

It should be illegal for songs to be as catchy as the new Cee-Lo Green track. Even though it’s August, I declare this the Song of the Summer and a worthy Theme Song for Frugal Bloggers.

I couldn’t resist ordering this tee from Threadless (with a coupon, of course). If you need one for yourself, go ahead and splurge. It’s only $5.

BlogHer. Blissdom. IZEAfest. EVO. Mom 2.0. Savvy Blogging. Affiliate Summit. Blog World Expo. The list goes on and on.

Blogging conferences are the hip new getaway. I’ve been to my fair share and plan on attending more. Getting away for a weekend with family and friends is hard enough, so how do you make blogging conferences affordable if your blog isn’t making any money? Even if your blog is making money, conferences can be pricey!

Here are a few of my simple ideas  to  make blogging conferences budget friendly. If you have more ideas, leave a comment!

• Plan ahead. Tickets are all ready on sale for BlogHer ’11 in San Diego. I did some quick math and putting aside $20 a week saves enough to purchase a ticket at Early Bird Pricing and has the entire trip paid for by the opening keynote. Tally up your anticipated costs, divide by the number of weeks until the event, and voila - your savings schedule!
• Take advantage of Early Bird Pricing. Many conferences offer a discount for being one of the first to purchase a ticket. Also pay attention to different tiers of pricing – student, blogger, sponsored – you can save hundreds!
• Special Rates. Conferences often negotiate special hotel rates. Take advantage of those rates by booking early. Reduce your costs even more by finding roommates! You’ll be able to stay at some great hotels at a fraction of the cost.
• Treat Your Blog Like a Business. If you aren’t already, start saving those receipts. If you are making money blogging or plan to make money blogging, your blog is your business and blogging conferences are business trips.
• Sponsorship. Take your blogging relationships to the next level – start discussing event sponsorship with companies early. Everyone handles sponsorships differently, but here are a few of my sponsorship rules:
  • Only approach companies you’ve worked with before.
  • Take a soft-sell approach.
  • Offer partial sponsorships.
  • Be honest about why you are attending the event and what you hope to learn/gain/experience.
  • Be knowledgeable about sponsorship guidelines laid out by the event hosts. This will effect what you can offer your sponsor.
  • Do not over-promise what you can deliver to your sponsor.
• Be Picky. Not every conference appeals to every blogger. Determine the type of conference you’re looking to attend (beginner, technical, networking…) and hone in on those that meet your requirements. It may not be the biggest conference and it may not be the most well known conference, but you’ll gain the most from those that meet your qualifications. That? Is money well-spent.

Are you headed to NYC for BlogHer in two short weeks? Are you a frugal, coupon, or personal finance blogger that wants to enjoy a relaxed breakfast with others in the same niche?

If so, you need to RSVP for Bacon, Eggs & Coupons hosted by Inexpensively and sponsored by RetailMeNot and RedPlum!

Breakfast will be held at the très chic Rue 57 (just blocks from the Hilton on the corner of 57th & Avenue of the Americas) on Saturday, August 7th at 7 am. I’ll be hosting a table and keeping the conversation lively – hope to see you there!

RSVP now – rumor has it that more spaces will be opening up soon!

Yesterday afternoon, I emptied my piggy bank and took a bag of change down to my neighborhood Chase bank – where the teller proceeded to rebag my money, insert a deposit slip, and hand me a receipt.

What? No cash money?

Apparently the tellers at Chase are so busy that they have to ship my loose change off to another location where it is carefully counted and deposit into my account at a later date. Being the only person in Chase at 1 pm on a Wednesday after, it was easy to see how the tellers could be too busy to pour my change into a machine, press the “count” button, and hand over the paper money equivalent – what with all the thumb twiddling and Bejeweled playing.

How absolutely ridiculous and wasteful. Time, paper, plastic, and manpower that’s completely unwarranted.

Yet another reason I’m taking my business elsewhere.

So, today I’m rummaging through paperwork to find my husband’s eyeglass prescription. He has a big scratch on the inside lens of his glasses that’s hindering his vision.

I didn’t ask how he got a scratch on the inside of his lens. I think I’d rather not know.

No matter how the scratch got there, we’re not going back to the eye doctor to spend hundreds on new lenses. Not when we can replace the frames and lenses for just $8 at Zenni Optical.

We’ve been Zenni Optical customers for several years now, and we’re always impressed with the quality of the eyeglasses we order. They have a great selection of frames no matter what your style, and the prescription has always been perfect.

For $8, I might just order myself a new pair of summer glasses while I’m ordering my husband a replacement!

This is a sponsored post. I was a Zenni Optical customer before I was asked to blog about their website and my husband and I wear Zenni Optical eyeglasses regularly. Please see my site policy if you have any questions.

After three months of searching, interviewing, freelancing, and fighting unemployment, I received a formal job offer today! A job offer that is interesting, challenging, and with one of the most prominent local companies.

It also doesn’t hurt that 410k matching and a $10k raise is part of the job offer.

As excited as I am to go back to being a two paycheck household, I’ve learned some things over the past three months that I don’t intend to forget any time soon.

1. I take things for granted. Things like Starbucks, ordering a new book, going out to dinner with friends, and throwing something fun in the cart while at Target started out as special treats but turned into unappreciated habits. I had to break those habits and those special treats will now stay few and far between to keep them appreciated.
2. We need to pay down our debt. We managed over the past three months. We never missed a payment. But it was close several times and that is not a good feeling. I’ve never before had to put our bills in order of which was due first and pay them as money came in instead of all at payday. I’m looking forward to eliminating a few of our small debts with my first paycheck and chipping away at the larger debts until they vanish.
3. Sitting home in my pajamas wasn’t as glamorous as I thought it would be. I like working. I like making my own money. I like putting 6 years of college and grad school to good use. I like the routine and the opportunity to socialize and dazzle my coworkers with my marketing prowess.
4. Unemployment compensation is a joke. It favors the employer and rewards laziness. I’d would have been more than happy to volunteer my time to government programs in exchange for enough money to pay our bills until I found full time employment.
5. An emergency fund is great – until it runs out. Which ours did. I don’t think you can ever be too prepared and we will continue to add to our emergency fund no matter how comfortable we get with our place in life.

Have you ever been unemployed? What did you take away from the experience?