myownplace

$25 Publix Gift Card Giveaway

2012-01-26T10:50:00.001-05:00

If you shop at #Publix, head on over to my other blog and enter my $25 Publix Gift Card Giveaway, sponsored by Publix, General Mills and #Myblogspark.

Temple Terrace Referendum - Vote NO

2012-01-21T15:43:00.001-05:00

The primary voter ballot has a referendum on Temple Terrace's proposed tax incentives. It is open to all Temple Terrace registered voters, not just those participating in the Republican Presidential Primary.

All registered voters who live in Temple Terrace may go to the polls and cast a ballot for the City's proposed Economic Development Tax Incentive Program. The program provides a tax incentive to make the City more competitive in attracting new businesses, officials say. The referendum asks:

Shall the City Council of the City of Temple Terrace be authorized to grant, pursuant to Section 3, Article VII of the State Constitution, property tax exemptions to new businesses and expansion of exisiting businesses to encourage economic development and establish new jobs?

I would like to encourage citizens to get out and vote early. Vote NO for this referendum because it will mean less property taxes on business in our city, putting more of the burden on the residents and possibly increases in property taxes to cover the expenses of operating the new downtown business center. More police and infrastructure needs will increase costs. These businesses need to be responsible for the additional tax needs of the city.

The Temple Terrace Public Library, 202 Bullard Parkway, is open for early voting daily through Jan. 28 (except Sunday, Jan.22) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call (813) 506-6770 for more information about the polling location.

Swag Code Extravaganza

2012-01-13T07:32:00.001-05:00

#Swagbucks is making Friday the 13th a lucky day this week, as they hold a Swag Code Extravaganza, which means more opportunities to get reward points towards FREE stuff! It starts at 7am Eastern Time – throughout the day there will be 8 different Swag Codes, and if you can get them all, you'll have an extra 60 Swag Bucks in your account.

To make sure you don't miss any of the codes just have the swagcodespoiler send you a text message when a new code is available. Text "follow swagcodespoiler" to 40404 and you'll start getting notices. If you don't want to get text messages, you can always check http://sc-s.com/ for the code.

The first ones out already! Go get it!

The Perfect Diet

2012-01-10T08:25:00.001-05:00

Last week I downloaded a free (its not free now, costs $1.99) kindle ebook The Perfect 10 Diet to see if it was something I could do this year to lose weight. My resolution is to lose 15 lbs by my birthday in April. I haven't really been strict about my eating yet, since we're trying to get rid of the junk food in the house first.

So, I read this perfect 10 diet and it is actually a pretty good kind of diet, from a food science point of view - speaking as a former food scientist. It basically talks a lot about hormone balances and how all the chemicals, processed foods and hydrogenated fats, high fructose corn syrup, and low fat foods with artificial additives screws up our natural hormone balance. The book claims that if you eliminate all the processed foods from your diet, you'll be healthy, lose weight and prevent yourself from getting lots of bad problems like high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and high cholesterol. It doesn't recommend low carb, low fat or high protein diets. It recommends a balanced diet of essentially equal parts of carbs, protein and fats.

Our plan is to mainly get rid of processed foods in our diet. That includes soda. We usually drink 1 can of diet Mt Dew each day with lunch. Its my caffeine fix, except I've now gone four days without a soda. DH is trying to give it up too, but he's not as diligent as me so he's only giving it up on the weekend - so far. Anyway, we got this new food processor for Christmas and we've been slicing and shredding almost everything we eat with it. Its wonderful to make all our salad fixing's really quick. We baked up 12 lbs of chicken (on sale this week at Publix for $1.99/lb) and sliced it up for salads - in about five minutes. This weekend I'm looking forward to making caramelized onions (will be on sale for $1.99/bag at Publix starting Thursdsay) after slicing them up in the processor. While a new processor and the perfect 10 diet book may not ensure dieting success, its something new to try.

But last night I was sitting at the computer, I just suddenly got really tired and started yawning. I couldn't stop for five minutes. I yawned just now as I wrote that because it reminded me of how tired I was. I think I'm still adjusting to my decreased caffeine intake. I still get 2 cups of coffee in the morning, but by night time I am sure tired. It might have been due to riding my bike to work for the first time this year, or due to cutting down tree branches over the pool after work, or from walking the dog to go "recycling" last night. Or maybe all of it.

But I sure slept good.

Disney Deals

2012-01-05T08:08:00.001-05:00

Florida Residents can purchase the Wild for 3 Pass—a 3-day ticket to a Walt Disney World theme park—for just $99, plus tax! Purchase January 4, 2012 through May 21, 2012 and enjoy admission to one theme park per day on any 3 days January 4, 2012 through May 24, 2012, excluding blockout dates.* Good at any of the 4 Walt Disney World Resort theme parks!

With 3 days at the theme parks, you can enjoy magical moments with loved ones. Looking for a little extra magic? Add a 4th day for just $30 more, plus tax, with the Wild for 4 Pass!

* Blockout dates are February 18, 2012 through February 20, 2012 and April 1, 2012 to April 13, 2012. Passes are non-transferable, are only valid during regularly scheduled operating hours and exclude activities/events priced separately. No additional discounts apply. Proof of Florida residency is required for each adult age 18 and older.

___________________________________________________________

You can do this too to try to get some free days at Disney, part of their new promotion this year - they will be open 24 hours on leap day 2/29/12.

One More Disney Day Sweepstakes - You can enter every day through February 29, 2012 for a chance to win one of 60 vacation packages for 4 to either Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort. Or you can enter via text using your cell phone, type the key word "DISNEYDAY" as an SMS text message to the SMS shortcode "347639" ("DISNEY").

Duh, Now You Have A Cold

2012-01-04T09:08:00.001-05:00

The annoying nail clipper guy across the hall is snorting like a pig eating slop, honking germs and spewing communicable diseases into the very air I have to breathe. The silly thing is this dude never wears a coat when its cold, like today. A blast of cold madness has made its way to Florida and it was 29F this morning. The high will only be 56F. I wore gloves, a scarf and a heavy fleece jacket and I was still freezing.

It must be because I'm getting old (I'll be 50 this year!!) that I no longer care how nerdish I look to stay comfortable. DH told me I looked like a homeless lady with my scarf wrapped around my head. But do I care? No. But as I look back last year on my sick leave spreadsheet, I was only sick two days, one day I played hooky and the other I had a tooth fixed. I never get sick because I dress appropriately when its cold. I wash my hands at least a dozen times a day. I stay away from children and other infirm people. I use the sanitizing wipe on my grocery cart before I shop. I take my vitamin every day. I drink juice and plenty of water. I eat healthy and sleep at least 7 hours every night. I exercise daily, even if its just a couple fifteen minute walks.

All these things contribute to staying healthy and well. Try it if you get sick a lot.

Your health is your greatest wealth.

2011 4th QTR Mileage - Year End Summary too

2011-12-31T18:58:00.001-05:00

I know you've all been anxious to see how many miles we've driven each of our vehicles this year and your New Year Eve will not be complete until you read this. This last quarter we drove a typical amount of about 5000 miles between the motorcycles, cars and bicycle - but in the end it has been a low mileage year. I think it could be attributed to our slight effort to hooverize and combine some trips eliminate some errands. Anyway, we drove less than 20K miles this year, with Camry and the ST1300 compromising the majority of the miles. Again I rode my bike almost as many miles as we drove the truck, but I didn't quite hit 1500 miles this year - missing it by not riding 5 workdays. Last year my goal was 1500 miles and I was short too. So I guess my resolution for the upcoming 2012 will be to ride 1500 miles.

Gas cost about $2000 for our vehicles this year, but not really. We used BP gas cards that we got from the grocery store using coupon overage and stockpile garage sale money, so I'm claiming that our gas was not an expense to the house. So in addition to our free food and household products this year, our gas was free. Using coupons definitely can help you keep more money in your bank account to save for other expenses where you can't use coupons.

Vehicle	1/1/2011	4/1/2011	travel	% use
1998 Ford Explr Truck	65000	65600	600	14.4%
2004 Toyota Camry	70100	71660	1560	37.5%
2007 Honda ST1300 MC	2800	3970	1170	28.1%
2009 Honda 250 MC	5310	5850	540	13.0%
2009 Cannondale Q5 bike	0	290	290	7.0%
total			4160	100.00%

Vehicle	4/1/2011	7/1/2011	travel	% use
1998 Ford Explr Truck	65600	65766	166	3.2%
2004 Toyota Camry	71660	74040	2380	45.8%
2007 Honda ST1300 MC	3970	5556	1586	30.5%
2009 Honda 250 MC	5850	6408	558	10.7%
2009 Cannondale Q5 bike	0	505	505	9.7%
total			5195	100%

Vehicle	7/1/2011	10/1/2011	travel	% use
1998 Ford Explr Truck	65766	66132	366	8.3%
2004 Toyota Camry	74040	75692	1652	37.5%
2007 Honda ST1300 MC	5556	6800	1244	28.2%
2009 Honda 250 MC	6408	7202	794	18.0%
2009 Cannondale Q5 bike	0	350	350	7.9%
total			4406	100%

Vehicle	10/1/2011	12/31/2011	travel	% use
1998 Ford Explr Truck	66132	66943	811	15.8%
2004 Toyota Camry	75692	77865	2173	42.4%
2007 Honda ST1300 MC	6800	8119	1319	25.8%
2009 Honda 250 MC	7202	7708	506	9.9%
2009 Cannondale Q5 bike	0	310	310	6.1%
total			5119	100%

2011 miles	vehicle	mpg	cost/yr	cost/month
5319	ST1300	45	$412.52	$34.38
2398	Rebel	70	$119.56	$9.96
7765	Camry	28	$967.85	$80.65
1943	Explorer	15	$452.07	$37.67
1455	bicycle	0		$0.00
18880			$1,952.00	$162.67

Petition for Right of Recall - Sign It!

2011-12-28T13:05:00.001-05:00

Currently we the citizens of Florida have no legal method to get rid of the government that is bankrupting us. Our present governor has a voter satisfaction rating that is lower than any other governor and a legislature that supports or even expands on his disastrous policies.

That's why I signed a petition to The Florida State House, The Florida State Senate and Governor Rick Scott, which says:

"Whereas the voters of Florida have politicians that routinely pass legislation and take executive privilege beyond the voters' expressed desires, we demand the right to recall politicians (both legislative and executive) who fail to meet the electorate's mandates. We further demand that both the Florida constitution and city charters be amended to include the right of recall, and such right shall not be more stringently restricted than it is in other states that currently recognize the right in their respective bodies of law."

Will you sign this petition? Click here:

http://signon.org/sign/florida-right-of-recall?source=s.em.cp&r_by=1866217

Thanks!

Tight Jeans

2011-12-28T09:08:00.001-05:00

My jeans are a little tighter today. It seems all that yummy holiday food and big meals has found a home on my hips. I hate to start a diet as a New Years Resolution because January is a terrible time to start anything. Its dark and cold, and we're all broke after spending money on lots of things at the end of the year. And there's taxes around the corner.

We did receive a generous gift from my parents, and the thoughts of a cruise would be good motivation to lose weight. However, its not enough. It takes a lot of self discipline to succeed at your resolutions. This is how I hope to accomplish mine:

Share my efforts - Part of my plan is to tell people I'm on a diet so that they won't offer me fattening foods or expect me to say yes to their offers.
Pick a Partner - DH is a great willing partner who will join me in almost all my efforts to lose weight. He'll eat what I prepare, go for a walk after work, and wait for me to finish my early morning weekend bike ride. If you have someone who will support you and listen to you, and encourage you to get out there and exercise it is easier.
Record your actions, I use www.fitday.com to record my foods eaten, and there also lots of calorie counter apps for your smartphone that make it really easy. The numbers don't lie. My plan is to eat 1200 calories a day and these tools help me maintain. I also document my weight every few days and it makes a nice graph so you can visualize your progress. Fitday also has a place to record activities and exercise so you can see if you're burning enough calories.
Drink more water. If you think you drink enough, you probably don't. Drink more. All day consume water. It helps flush out your body and keeps you from getting super hungry.
Pick out something you want to wear. I have a lot of clothes that don't fit me quite as well as I would like. One is my favorite retro Lee jeans from high school. They are real jeans that are 100% cotton. I hate all the women's jeans they make now with stretchy stuff, you can't buy jeans that are 100% cotton anymore. My old jeans are so soft, worn out and comfortable if I weigh about fifteen pounds less. So that's my goal to wear them comfortably. I'll post a picture of me wearing them this spring if I reach my goal.

There you have it. One of my resolutions, to lose weight. What about you? Any resolutions?

Frank's Christmas Party

2011-12-25T10:38:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas to everyone today! We're off to another gathering with our good friends the Hope family. I wanted to share the picture of our group of friends last night at Franks party, a fun time was had by all. We miss our families but are having fun with friends in Florida. Stay warm!

Our Christmas Letter 2011

2011-12-23T11:50:00.000-05:00

Thanks to our generous gov, we have the day off and I can write a Christmas letter. It's actually harder than it should be due to the blog being blocked at work and I can't access all previous posts to provide links for all of you, so please click a few to see cool pictures and read more detail about all our adventures.

Actually, this year we did travel some, but generally we've enjoyed our leisure time motorcycling and being mostly homebodies enjoying the pool, hot tub and chiminea fires in the backyard. Of course, couponing has continued to be our hobby and we have parlayed it into a moneymaking hobby, so much so that we've quit working concerts for spare change. We have garage sales regularly to sell the excess stockpile and the money pays for our vacations. Our new smartphone is a great tool to help with our shops using my favorite app, grocerytracker. I have never looked back after finally giving up our land line this year and getting a smartphone. I'm hooked.

Travel
We started out the year with a cruise to Mexico in February with my sister and brother in law, and then we went away for a short weekend cruise in April, then we drove to Darlington, SC in May for the NASCAR race, and we visited our families in Minnesota in September. November we attended the finale NASCAR race in Homestead. My sister and her husband joined up for another vacation this year in Naples in December.

Health
Since we're old people we have to take a moment to share our aches and pains. Scott recovered from his foot and shoulder injuries (from the motorcycle accident) and is ambulating just fine. We both were on diets at the beginning of the year (isn't everyone!) and lost about 15 lbs, most of which we've managed to keep off. I have a little plantar faciitis on my foot and I'm working on not aggravating that. We continue to walk daily and I bicycle to work each day. Remember, your health is your greatest wealth.

Wealth
This next year we are both approaching our ten year anniversaries working for the State of Florida as civil servants. We have endured a lot of crap shoveled out by our legislators and we expect it to get worse. Florida is the lowest paid and least staffed state in the nation, but that doesn't seem to stop the madness. Hopefully, there will be some semblance of a pension left when we retire. We've paid off our house and have ramped up the frugal, conserve mode to save as much as we can to make retirement as early as possible. We just have to stay healthy.

Thanks for reading and check out our blog regularly to find out what we’re up to. You can also follow me @myownplacehere on twitter for blog updates, or like me on facebook. For all you couponers, you can find frugal living updates at my other blog http://www.frugalapolis.com/ or follow @frugalapolis on twitter and of course I have a facebook page too.

Finally, we would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

The Firehouse Christmas Party

2011-12-21T08:34:00.001-05:00

Anyone who knows us well, knows that we love buffalo chicken wings. And the place we go to have some yummy wings every week is a cute little bar down the street. We like the staff and they all know us, and its a convenient walk on nice evenings rather than driving - because we do have a beer or two while munching on wings. Last night we wondered on down for the annual Firehouse Grill & Pub Christmas party. Here's me with the owner Bryan. The owner Carol told me it was their 22nd year there which is amazing since they've managed to weather all the City of TT rules and regulations, a long shut down due to a fire in the garbage can many years ago, and a changing neighborhood and clientele. Carol also mentioned that besides Larry & Jan, we are the 2nd most longstanding customers having been regulars since 1994, almost 18 years.

Happy Birthday Peggy!

2011-12-20T08:55:00.001-05:00

Well another December birthday has come again, this time its Scott's much older sister Magic. We had a wonderful time chatting when we visited MN this summer.

Here's cheers to you Magic, hoping you have a great birthday!

A Day on The Bay

2011-12-17T10:29:00.001-05:00

Another moment in history, last week on vacation. Boats on the bay. This day I'm not at work so I can include a link to our Naples pictures.

Santa Scott

2011-12-16T13:47:00.001-05:00

I'm in shock. Just read this.

State employees, who haven't received a pay raise since 2006, will get an extra day off this year. Gov. Rick Scott ordered all state executive building closed on Friday Dec. 23.

"This year has been yet another extremely difficult period for many Floridians, including State employees who diligently serve the State of Florida," Scott wrote. "State employees have not received a cost of living increase in five years, yet they continue to selflessly serve the State. During this holiday season, I would like to recognize State employees for their dedicated service."

Seems better than the Jelly-of-the-Month Club.

A Day In The Life

2011-12-16T09:37:00.001-05:00

We've been back from Naples for a week now and missing it bad. Life without working is so nice. Get up when you want, do what you want, exercise, get out in the sun, soak in the pool or hottub, have a beer, watch the sunset and chat. Such a simple pleasant existence. Then there is work, which is so overrated. I guess the hangover from having time off is going to take a while to wear off. I do not like working every day. It takes up too much of my day so I can't do things I want to do. Like keep this blog updated. By the time I get home each day, I have way too many things to do and my mental sharpness has been dulled so I can't think of anything clever to write about here. Maybe someday my mind will come back to its senses.

I have posted our pictures from Naples on the sidebar of the blog in the Shutterfly Photo Gallery 2011. Click the link there (sorry I can't post the link - my blog is blocked at work and I can't help you out there) and you can see all the fun we had. Careful of the pictures of the guys in their thongs - not for kids I don't think.

Happy Birthday Barb!

2011-12-10T17:15:00.000-05:00

Well, another birthday has come along and this time its someone special - my Mom!
Happy Birthday Barb
I figure you're probably not going out much these days since the weather is so cold, but hopefully you'll get some cake today. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Andrew

2011-11-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

Well, its our grandson's 4th Birthday today. Andoo loves to play outside and run and climb on stuff, and get dirty. He is bound to have a great day doing everything four year olds do. And he'll probably be wearing his favorite color orange.

And Then The Tree Fell

2011-11-29T19:49:00.001-05:00

A couple months ago I wrote about the scenario of a tree falling on a house. Well, guess what. It happened. Luckily it didn't fall on our house, but the neighbor was not so lucky. The neighbor two houses down has the exact same house plan we do. They also have this huge tree, not sure what its really called but it has these annoying tiny leaves and elephant ear pods that fall everywhere. The house behind us has the same tree (actually lots of houses on our block have them) and it drops leaves, stems and pods all over our pool deck and in the pool. Today the pool skimmer basket was full of crap from that tree.

You see we just had a cold front pass through and it rained all day yesterday. Now today the winds are cold and strong, gusting to 23 mph. From the North. (But I still toughed it out on the bicycle). Anyway, this tree in the picture in front of the neighbors house got drenched with rain yesterday and apparently it just happened today, the huge branch that reached over their house fell away from the base of the tree. This tree is a million years old. Way back when they developed this neighborhood in the fifties, the tree was there and the owners refused to let the City cut it back to string power lines down the street. They paid thousands of dollars to have the power lines buried along their front yard to avoid having to trim this tree regularly. So, I'm sure they've saved thousands of dollars in air conditioning bills since the tree shades half the block including their house.

If you look real close under the fallen branch, you can see the window of the house is boarded up. The picture doesn't show the side but the side windows are boarded up too. I'm thinking this tree branch has ruined the structure of their house. Because they never trimmed it. As you can see, there are lots of branches that reach out from the base of the tree, but none of the others threaten a structure. Sure it might block the street or tear down some power lines, or mess up someones car - but it wouldn't crush anyone elses house.

Its just a wake up call for you people out there who might have a hazardous tree near your home. Even if the tree isn't yours, the costs to repair your property come out of your homeowners insurance. So if your neighbor has a tree hanging over your house, you might want to ask them to trim it.

Then at least you'll score some firewood.

Plan to get smashed Saturday, Dec. 10th.....for free.......

2011-11-14T12:04:00.000-05:00

I got this email from a friend from MN and its hilarious, wish I could go to the party!

Hello Everyone,

Hope you're all feeling! This dispatch is to inform you that if you doln't have anything better to do on Saturday December 10th, you should come on over to our house to imbibe and masticate with many people who love you. And probably some jerks too. First of all and most importantly, it's free! (Brad) 2nd of all, you can come and discuss your recent medical conditions and complain about your sh***y job with people who will pretend to care.

Now this won't be as fun or have as good of food as Maura & Bill's Anal Holiday party, but they can't host it because Maura's having sergery. (I'm gonna whisper this next part 'cuz I doln't want Maura to hear.......She says she had an operation on her foot or knee or something, 'cuz she's too embarrassed to tell the real problem---it's her hemmeroids again. (It's kinda funny, if you go to Bill's Facebook page he has some pictures of her before and after sergery, and if you connect the "dots", you can make a "smiley face" with kind of a punched-in nose)(and a goatee) so when she starts talking about her foot or whatever, just agree with her and overlook the fact that she's sitting on one of those inflatable donut deals that Joe needs whenever he drives his piece of sh*t car.) But I digress.......We're going to have plenty to drink, and because some people feel the need to eat at these things (and kill their buzz), we'll have some stuff to eat too. Probly some gourmet stuff that my wife stole from Kowalski's. Bring some stuff to cram your pie-hole if you doln't like relish. Circus peanuts are always a favorite.

There's no need to reply to this epistle, show up if you want, 'cuz there'll be a lot of great people there, and you would just add to the funness. It'll start at 7:00. Wear something exotic and sexy....on 2nd thought, we're all near or over 50, so forget that last part, just wear your old people clothes. Maybe shave, (just your face), guys too. If you can't make it, have a blissful holiday season and we'll grab you down the road......

-----------Love You All, Equally the Same!!!-----------Now go out there and finish your Christmas Shopping!!!-------Tommy Lee Galaxie*************

p.s. If you doln't know where we live, I'd guess you're out of luck, eh Bub?

p.p.s. Be sure to tell anyone cool who wants to be fun to come on over. I doln't have everyone's address, ya know.

The Outlaws At Ribfest

2011-11-14T09:51:00.000-05:00

This weekend there were a lot of options to enjoy some great music, from Orlando Calling with Bob Seger and Kid Rock, to Ribfest with John Fogerty, The Outlaws, and Styx, plus lots of other choices. We chose to take the motorcycle across the bay to Vinoy Park in St Pete to enjoy the afternoon at Ribfest on Saturday. The weather is optimal these days for any outdoor event and Saturday was a day for the Chamber of Commerce to brag about. We enjoyed some great BBQ ribs and then found a good spot to see the rock n roll. The Outlaws may have aged a bit but they still can carry a tune and play great guitar riffs. It was some great music and talent, unlike some of the newer manufactured music we all hear today. It's a pleasure to see great musicians live.

Sorry I don't have any drama to report with our wanderings - everything worked as planned, close motorcycle parking, nice weather, nice drivers, generally nice not so drunk patrons at the show and nice food. All in all, a nice time.

Happy Birthday Fester

2011-11-09T07:42:00.001-05:00

Happy 46th Birthday Mark! You're closer to fifty than forty now, so you're OLD! You have to grow up and behave, unlike this picture of you and Medicine Man at the Eve 6 concert at Guavaween this year.

5x7 Folded Card

2011-11-07T21:21:00.001-05:00

Picture In Landscape 5x7 folded card

Modern shower invitations and holiday cards by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Happy Birthday Jan

2011-11-04T10:04:00.001-04:00

Well, well well. Another year flies by. Enjoy your day. Have a great birthday Jan!

Amazon Prime Members w Kindle Can Borrow eBooks FREE

2011-11-03T14:11:00.001-04:00

This is so exciting I might just take the plunge to get a Kindle, even though I have the app on my Android. Today Amazon announced a new benefit for Kindle owners with an Amazon Prime membership: the Kindle Owners' Lending Library. Kindle owners can now choose from thousands of books to borrow for free, including over 100 current and former New York Times Bestsellers — as frequently as a book a month, with no due dates. No other e-reader or ebook store offers such a service.

The Kindle Owners' Lending Library features a wide array of popular titles, including Water for Elephants, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, and Fast Food Nation – plus award-winning novels such as The Finkler Question, motivational books like The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, biographies and memoirs including Kitchen Confidential, and Pulitzer Prize-winning books like Guns, Germs, and Steel.

They've added the Kindle Owners' Lending Library to Prime membership at no extra cost — Amazon Prime remains just $79 a year, which gives you free two-day shipping on millions of products, plus unlimited instant streaming of almost 13,000 movies and TV shows.

I''ve had Amazon Prime for over five years and will continue to subscribe because it is a great value since I buy almost everything on Amazon. You are allowed to add four other Amazon accounts to your Prime Membership and you could split the cost among the five accounts so that it's just over $16 per year per account for FREE 2 day shipping, and now you get free streaming of movies and TV shows, plus Library lending privileges.

If you're a Kindle owner with Prime, you can start borrowing books today. If you don't yet have a Kindle, the all-new Kindle family is available from just $79.