Wednesday's learn and earn...

~WORD OF THE DAY~

thole ~ \THOHL\  ~ verb

DEFINITION: endure

EXAMPLES : "There was now temptation to resist, as well as pain to thole." -- From Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novel Kidnapped

"She moved closer to him and he noticed her faint perfume. Her cheeks were rosy red, and a tiny drip hung from the end of her nose. She was cold, but she was tholing it so as not to spoil his fun." -- From Patrick Taylor's 2010 novel An Irish Country Christmas

DID YOU KNOW? "Thole" is one of the English language's oldest words -- it existed in Middle English in its current form and in Old English with the form "tholian" -- but in these modern times it tholes only in the corners of England's northern dialects. It has the same origin as "tolerate": both come from the Greek word "tlēnai," meaning "to bear." Unrelated to this "thole" is the (also very old) noun "thole," which can be used as a synonym of "peg" or "pin" or can refer to either of a pair of pins set in the gunwale of a boat to hold an oar in place. This "thole" comes from Greek "tylos," meaning "knob" or "callus."

Find more great words at Mirraim-Webster.

~THE REBATE~

Get a $20.00 gift card to O'Reilly Auto Parts when you purchase two (2) TRICO Force Wiper Blades, starting at $17.99, from participating stores between February 15, 2012-March 13, 2012.  Just mail in the completed rebate form together with the original receipt with the date of purchase circled and the UPCs from the packages.  All requests must be post marked by April 13, 2012, be sure to keep a copy for your records. 

Hope you are having a good week.

C.Q.

Wednesday's learn and earn...

~WORD OF THE DAY~

lexicographer ~ noun

DEFINITION: an author or editor of a dictionary

EXAMPLES: The great lexicographer Noah Webster, who wrote the first authoritative dictionary of American English, was born on October 16, 1758.

"The 18th-century lexicographer and wit-about-town Samuel Johnson claimed that patriotism is the last resort of the scoundrel." -- From an article by Peter Foster in the Financial Post, April 28, 2011

DID YOU KNOW? The ancient Greeks were some of the earliest makers of dictionaries; they used them mainly to catalog obsolete terms from their rich literary past. To create a word for writers of dictionaries, the Greeks sensibly attached the suffix "-graphos," meaning "writer," to "lexikon," meaning "dictionary," to form "lexikographos," the direct ancestor of the English word "lexicographer." "Lexikon," which itself descends from Greek "lexis" (meaning "word" or "speech"), also gave us "lexicon," which can mean either "dictionary" or "the vocabulary of a language, speaker, or subject."


~THE REBATE~

How about a great way to go green and change your oil for free?  In honor of Earth Month, Green Earth Technologies is offering a rebate of  $26.00, the full cost of a 5 quart bottle of G-Oil, the first and only API certified bio based full synthetic motor oil.  If you have a hard time finding it in your local automotive store it is available at Walmart.  You will need to fill in the rebate form and mail it in together with your original dated cash register receipt and the UPC off the back label of the bottle, allow 6 - 10 weeks for the rebate to arrive to you.

I hope you are all having a great week!

C.Q.

Wednesday's learn and earn...

~WORD OF THE DAY~

susurrous  \soo-SUR-us\  ~ adjective

DEFINITION: full of whispering sounds

EXAMPLES: The susurrous opening phrases of the first movement, with its whispering violins, gave way to a thunderous crescendo of brass.

"The Colonel raised his Dixie beer to the ladies, still chatting comfortably in the soft, susurrous Vicksburg night…." -- From a short story in Paul Kennedy Mueller's 2010 book The Pandemonium Bar & Grill (And Other Stories)

DID YOU KNOW? "Susurrous" derives from the Latin noun "susurrus," meaning "a hum" or "a whisper," and may be a distant relative of "swarm" (think of the collective hum of a beehive). "Susurrus" also occurs as an English noun, with the meaning "a whispering or rustling sound." Of the two English words, the noun is the older (it debuted in 1826); "susurrous" came onto the scene about thirty years later. Both of these were preceded by the noun "susurration," which appeared in the 14th century and means "a whispering sound," or "murmur." Today "susurrous


~THE REBATE~

3M currently has rebates on a few of their automotive care products.  The first one is for $3.00 back on their Headlight Restoration System or Lens Renewal Kit, you will need to fill in the rebate form and mail it in together with your original cash register receipt, there is a limit of 2 of these per household and they need to be mailed separately.  The next rebate is for $2.00 or $5.00 back on the 3M One Step Cleaner Wax and/or 3M Tire Restorer, just mail in the rebate form together with your original receipt, is a limit of 5 of these per household and they need to be mailed separately.  The last rebate is for $5.00 back on the purchase of  3M Performance Finish Synthetic Wax, just mail in the rebate form together with your original receipt, there is a limit of 1 per household for this rebate.  All three of these rebates must be postmarked no later than March 31, 2011.

I hope you all are having a great week!

C.Q.

Wednesday's learn and earn

~WORD OF THE DAY~

Antaean • \an-TEE-un\• adjective

1 : mammoth

*2 : having superhuman strength

Example Sentence: The movie's climax is a suspenseful fight sequence between the Antaean heroine and her grotesque alien nemesis.

Did you know? In Greek mythology, Antaeus was the gigantic and powerful son of Gaea the Earth goddess and Poseidon the sea god. Antaeus was a wrestler and whenever he touched his mother (the Earth), his strength was renewed, so he always won his battles even if his opponents threw him to the ground. He proved invincible until he challenged Hercules to wrestle. Hercules discovered the source of the giant's strength, lifted him off the ground, and crushed him to death. In 18th century England, the poet William Mason discovered the power of "Antaean" as a descriptive English adjective, when he used it in his Ode to the Hon. William Pitt: "If foil'd at first, resume thy course / Rise strengthen'd with Antaean force."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

~THE REBATE~

If its time to change the oil in your vehicle, or even if its not, there is a nice rebate offer from O’Reilly Auto Parts, you can get a $10 O’Reilly Auto Parts gift card when you by 5 quarts of Mobil Oil 1 Motor Oil at O’Reilly Auto Parts. No need to hurry as this offer expires September 30th, 2010, but if you are going to wait until early Fall to Winterize your vehicle don't forget about the rebate. You will need to send in your original receipt with the rebate form and they will mail you back the $10.00 gift card good for your next visit to O'Reilly.

Have a wonderful mid-week everyone.

C.Q.

Buying a car without breaking the bank...

Its hard to believe it’s the end of the year for car manufactures when we are in the middle of summer, but now is one of the best times to be looking for a new car if you are in the market for one. There are a lot of incentives being offered by most of the companies, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Chevrolet are offering 0% APR financing available on many models, cash back rebates of up to $5,000 on some models until September 7th. Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury are offering 0% APR financing on most models, cash back offers up to $3,500 until September 7th. Honda has 0.9% to 2.9% APR financing on some models also until September 7th. BMW is offering Low lease rates and 0.9% financing on many models until August 31st. Mini is offering Low lease rates and 1.9% financing for up to 60 months until August 31st. Toyota is offering 0% APR financing on some models as well as a variety of other deals depending on what part of the country you live in, and Nissan and Infiniti are offering 0% financing on many models until August 2nd.

There are other things to keep in mind when you are looking to purchase a vehicle as well, the old advise of “do your homework” is never more true than when you are buying a car. Also be sure to shop around, not all car dealerships are created equal, you may find a better deal for a truck in a metro vs. a rural dealership where supply is great but demand is low. Also beware of the dealer added “values“, there is a great article I came across at Safe Car Guide that lists all the “extra’s” that are added into the price of your new car, be sure to check it out. Also, remember that if you are going to finance your purchase things get more expensive. I know this sounds over simplistic, but consider that after market heated front seats cost about $500.00, but when those same seats are purchased from a dealer, if you finance at 6.31% (the current national average) then over the course of a 60 month loan those seats cost $9.74 extra per month; that's $584.40 over the course of the loan. If you can wait on some of the little things and add them after you purchase the car you can save a bundle. There are a few things that you should never get from a dealer, the glaring example here are the floor mats. For example, Nissan will gladly sell them to you for $175.00, however if you go to online you can find car floor mats as low as $15.24 for black or $19.95 for animal print at Amazon.

Do you have car buying stories good or bad? I would love to hear your experiences and know how they affected what or where you bought your vehicle.

Have a fantastic weekend!

C.Q.

Seasonal Survival Savings...

So by now everyone has heard about the BIG snow that we got over the Christmas holiday in the Midwest and most other areas of the country and I thought this would be a good time to remind everyone about what simple things they should have in their car for emergencies. I know now days most folks leave the house and assume the cell phone is all they need but that's not always the case and its better to be prepared. You can use an old back pack, a large canvas bag or just a cardboard box for all the items you need. Be sure to store it in the back seat of the car or the trunk only if you have a pass through from the back seat in case you can't get to the trunk for some reason. The minimum items you should have on hand include:

• Your winter wear, (coat, hat, gloves/mittens and a scarf) ~ If its time for a new winter coat Herbergs has their after Christmas sale going on with 50% - 60% off of outerwear as well as a coupon code for an additional 20% off your purchase. Coupon code AFTERDEC1226


• A blanket ~ Domestications currently has very nice fleece blankets for $19.99 plus you get a free throw with the purchase so you could have 2 cover ups in the car for you and a passenger. (To get the free throw you need to make sure the blanket and the trow are both in your cart.)


• 1st aid kit ~ REI Outlet has a nice one available for $16.93 and if your an REI member you will get cash back for all your purchases at the end of the year.


• Some non perishable foods, like breakfast bars or crackers, you can find all these at your local grocery market, you may be able to find coupons for your items at GroceryCoupons.com.


• Matches (the kind you can light with any surface).


• An empty coffee can


• A candle (a no drip one is the best).


• A flashlight ~ Make sure its a good sized one, the real little ones don't put out much light. Outdoor World has a great Mag Light on sale for $19.99.


• Extra batteries ~ Batteries Plus has a 10% off coupon code that is good online until 12/31.09, use code BPNS09.


• A little tool kit or at least an all purpose tool ~ Amazon has a nice Leatherman tool on sale right now for $66.71, a savings of $31.74.


• Jumper cables ~ Rocky Mountain ATV has a very nice set that comes in its own nylon carrying bag to keep it from tangling up in your car. They also are offering 10% off your order with coupon code 96639 and orders under $99.00 are charged a flat shipping fee of $7.00.


• A shovel ~ Emergency Essentials has a nice tri-fold shovel that has a serrated edge that can really help in clearing away snow, it also comes in its own storage bag. They also have a lot of other items that would be handy both in the car and in your home. They currently have a couple of coupon codes, outdoors for 10% off your order and newstarget for free shipping.


• Tire chains ~ You can check out the supply at TireChains.com, they have a 125% low price guarantee and they also have a listing by state of the tire chain laws.


• A red or orange piece of cloth to tie to your antenna so emergency workers can find you easier.

Its also a good idea in icy places to have a bag of cat litter or sand to use for traction. If you plan on traveling with your pet be sure you have some extra food for them as well as a blanket, it can get cold for everyone.

If you don't feel like putting all these things together yourself you can buy a AAA ready made kit with as many as 72 items in it at eSafety Supplies. They also carry a lot of other items that you may be interested in individually for both your car and your home in case of emergencies.

Remember, if you go off the road in the snow its important to stay with your vehicle, most hypothermia cases happen when people leave their cars and try to walk to find help. If you can't see a place to go then stay where you are.

Have a great week everyone and stay safe.

C.Q.

Driving up your savings

This is the perfect time of year to look at getting your car tuned up for Winter. Depending on where you live that could even include new snow tires. A tune up can increase your mileage as well as find any potential problems before they become major repairs. Check all your fluid levels, spark plugs, air and fuel filters, change the oil and remember to check the pressure in your tires, if they are under inflated you could be losing over 3% of your car estimate gas mileage. Currently Pep Boys has a coupon at their site for a free seasonal prep evaluation that includes checking the exterior lights, wipers, coolant system evaluation and battery/starter check, you can find their coupon here: Pep Boys this coupon expires 10/31/09. If you want to start small and just go for the oil change there is a coupon for $6 off at Valvoline: Valvoline savings and Jiffy Lube is offering a coupon for $5 off their Signature Service® Oil Change which features a whole lot of nice extra touches: Jiffy lube.

If you live in a northern climate and need new tires or snow tires for your vehicle there are currently some great offers available to you. First, Cooper Tires has a $40 to $75 rebate available if you buy 4 qualifing tires, good through 10/31/09: Cooper Tires Goodyear has a $50 to $100 rebate depending on if you have a Good Year Credit card that is good until 10/31/09 Goodyear Tires, Michelin tires has a $70 rebate until 11/15/09: Michelin Fall Savings.

Amazon currently has a slew of BOSCH wiper blades that are available for rebates, to find out if they have the blades for your car you can check here: BOSCH wiper blades they are all eligible for Amazons free super saver shipping.

Having a good roadside plan over the winter is a great idea in case of any emergency like going off the road, the car won’t start or you need help changing a tire. Now days a lot of new cars come with road side assistance of some kind, be sure to look it over and see what is covered and what you have to pay out of pocket, if anything. Another popular place to see road side assistance coverage is with your auto insurance, check with your agent to see if you have this coverage and what exactly is covered and if there is a deductible. Remember that there is always the tried and true AAA: AAA Membership , the advantage to AAA is that they offer discounts at many retailers including places like NAPA where you get a 7% break. They also will give you free maps of where ever you may be off to visit over the holidays; whether its over the river or through the woods.

Hope this helps get you prepared for the coming winter season!

C.Q.