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.

Last week I told you the average couponer saves $1,000 each year by clipping coupons for 20 minutes a week. So how do you make the most of those 20 minutes to maximize your savings? I’m a relatively new couponer, so here’s a tips that helped me get started…

• Know your spending habits. Keep a list of the products you buy. You’ll quickly see trends in sales and coupons and learn the best time to buy.
• Get organized and create a system. Whether you use a coupon organizer, file folder, or shoebox, or file by expiration date, product category, or alphabetical order – find a way to organize your coupons that works for you and you’ll be able to find and file coupons quickly without getting overwhelmed or frustrated.
• Pick your store and know the coupon policy. Whatever your grocery store preference is (I prefer one store for pantry staples and another store for fresh fruits, veggies, and meat), focus on that store’s sales and know their coupon policy.
• Be flexible. Know which products you are loyal to and which vary depending on price. Store brands are a great alternative, but with careful couponing, brand names are often cheaper!
• Pay attention to price per unit. Usually, the best savings based on price per unit are for larger sized items. Not so when couponing! Matching high value coupons with smaller-sized items can yield the most savings, so make sure to determine unit price when making purchasing decisions.
• Broaden your horizons. The Sunday paper is a great place to find coupons, but more and more are avilable online to print instantly. Here’s a few places that I check before I head to the grocery…
  • Coupons.com
  • RedPlum
  • Smart Source
  • All You Exclusives
• Stay motivated. Think of coupons as cash. Is there any greater motivator for a couponer?

Do you have any tips for new couponers? How much do you typically save in a month? Year?

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of PBM Products. All opinions are 100% mine. Please see my site policy with any questions.

If you’re a regular reader, you know that my husband and I are on a budget. A tight budget. We clip coupons, buy generic, and do without. The 10 Products to Always Buy Generic is a great list to stick to when penny pinching, and we adhere to it with few exceptions.

1. OTC Medications – We use our flexible spending plan and stock up at Costco.
2. Cereal – Our favorites taste the same no matter the brand.
3. Pantry Staples – Can you really tell a difference between brands of flour and sugar? I don’t think so.
4. Soda -This is one where I can’t make an exception. I am a devout Coke drinker.
5. Gasoline – My dad works for a large oil company, you’d be amazed to learn who is buying from and selling to each other. It’s essentially all the same.
6. Electric Cables – This is my husband’s domain, but I’ve never seen him splurge.
7. Beauty Products – Drugstore brands for me!
8. Batteries – Good in theory, but in practice, I find that Energizes really does keep going and going.
9. Fruits & Veggies – Farm stands are always the freshest and the cheapest!
10. Baby Formula

Some of you may be surprised to see baby formula show up on a list of generics that are just as good as brand name, but all infant formulas are subject to the same FDA regulations under the Infant Formula Act. That means that no matter what brand of baby formula ends up in your cart, they all meet the exact same minimum nutrient specifications to ensure that your baby is receiving a safe and nutritious alternative to breast milk. That also means that you can save a few dollars (which ads up, quickly!) by buying ditching the name brand formula for store brand formula.

So, do you buy generic? What products are you loyal to and which depend on price?

This month’s All You magazine cites Redplum, saying that the average couponer can save $1,000 each year by clipping offers for just 20 minutes a week.

For the time invested over a year, that’s the equivalent of making $58 an hour. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never made $58 an hour doing anything!

Happy coupon clipping!

I love air conditioning. Oh, do I love air conditioning. Ice cold air conditioning. Ideally, 68 degrees during the day and cooler at night.

This year, I turned the air conditioning on in March and it hasn’t been off since, but I have gotten better about conserving and keeping our electric bill in check.

Here are some tips* to help you enjoy the air conditioning while keeping your electric bill in mind…

• Ceiling fans can make a room feel 3-8 degrees cooler and cost less than a penny an hour to run!
• Each degree below 78 raises your energy bill 3-4% so be mindful of the thermostat and keep those ceiling fans on high!
• Close registers in unused rooms and closets and keep the doors to those rooms shut. No use cooling a room you’re not using.
• Turn the AC off when you’re not home. I know there is a heated debate on whether turning the AC off or down uses less energy, but here’s how I think of it – your home can only get so hot while you’re gone, if you leave the AC it removes a houseful of heat over and over again, if you turn the AC off, it only has to remove one houseful of heat when you get home.
• Make sure to change the AC filter frequently. A dirty filter makes the AC work harder, using more electricity.
• Keep your AC unit shaded, it will consume 10% less energy.
• Close the curtains and blinds on the sunny side of the house to keep the heat out.
• Reduce heat from lighting, appliances, and cooking. Use compact fluorescent bulbs, use the microwave instead of the oven, turn off computers and televisions when not in use, and switch your dishwasher to air dry.

Do you have any money saving summer tips? Leave a comment!

*We are renters, so these are quick and easy tips that anyone can implement at any time.

CBS News recently ran an article on Generic vs. Brand Name products, mainly highlighting which generic products are just as good as name brand.

I always try to utilize coupons to make brand name items just as budget friendly as generic, but when I can’t I don’t hesitate to buy generic or store brand products. The article got me thinking about which generic products I regularly purchase and which name brand products I am loyal to.

Not an exhaustive list, but here’s how my shopping cart usually looks:

Things I will buy generic:

• pasta
• (most) canned vegetables
• canned tuna
• ketchup
• milk
• paper products
• cereal
• butter
• pain relievers
• allergy medicine
• bread
• crackers
• ice cream

Things I absolutley positively will NOT buy generic:

• Qtips
• Kraft Macaroni & Cheese
• Campbell’s Soup
• Hidden Valley Ranch
• Hunts canned tomatoes
• Sargento shredded cheese
• Eggo Waffles
• Baked Lays potato chips
• Philadelphia cream cheese
• Miracle Whip
• Coca-Cola
• Hershey syrup
• Daisy sour cream

So, where are your brand loyalties? Do you buy any generics that you think are better than brand name?

Since moving to a warmer climate (Chicago to Austin), my husband and I spend quite a bit of time outdoors. We had a rainy spring (and start to summer) so the mosquitoes are out with a vengeance and we use bug spray quite liberally.

Good grief is that stuff expensive!

So, I did a little digging and came up with some natural mosquito repellents that are budget friendly, smell much nicer than OFF, and even have some added health benefits!

• Essential oils such as cinnamon, lemon eucalyptus, citronella, and castor are natural bug repellants. Add 10-25 drops of essential oil to two tablespoons of carrier oils (such as olive, sunflower, or other cooking oils) or alcohol (like witch hazel of vodka) and spritz!
• Ingesting garlic (especially for prolonged periods) can make you naturally bug repellent! My husband used to take garlic pills while in the army for just this purpose!
• Get your daily dose of Vitamin B1 (aka thiamine) and not only will your hair, skin, and eyes thank you, you’ll also be free from mosquito bites!
• If you spend a lot of time on your patio, make sure to plant flowers and foliage that keep away bugs. Geraniums, Marigolds, Rosemary, Citronella grass, and Catnip all contain oils that keep mosquitoes at bay.
• Equal parts pure vanilla extract and water in a squirt bottle also makes a great insect repellent. Just make sure you’re not wearing a white shirt!
• If you don’t mind reliving your childhood, Vicks Vapor Rub makes an excellent mosquito repellent thanks to it’s eucalyptus oil!
• I’ve seen several mentions of combining baby shampoo and beer and applying to your lawn and shrubs with a hose-end sprayer. Definitely worth a try!