Your public library is a fantastic resource of freebies. Many libraries offer free computer classes, book discussions, children’s story times and college entrance exam workshops.  For a complete schedule of events and locations, visit your local library!
Or save time—and gas—by using the library on-line.  Visit your public library’s web site and you can find full-text magazine and newspaper articles. You can download audio books, e-books, films and music or explore digitized collections and even get live homework help!  But it’s fun to go to the library. It’s a great place to study and learn and if you go with friends, you are bound to wind up laughing. Everything’s funnier when you’re supposed to be quiet!

a.k.a. Dining Out Without Going For Broke!
Eating out is fun, but it can get expensive. Let’s say your friends want to go out to eat and you only have $8. Or $4. That won’t go far at a sit-down restaurant. So how ‘bout going halfsies with someone on a dinner plate? Split something with a pal and still enjoy the whole experience of dining out with only half the calories and half the expense! (hint: avoid mentioning to the server you’re planning on splitting a meal. Sometimes they’ll charge you to put it on two separate plates.)
Another idea is for a few of you to share something like nachos or fries. Appetizers are often meant for sharing, but sometimes they’re small so they may not really satisfy an appetite. So drink more water!  You can skip the $4 beverage and order water with lemon in it for a healthy twist.  And unless it’s the only thing you’re ordering, skip the dessert. (You don’t really need it anyway.) These are ways to get around the high tab of eating out. And remember to always leave something for your server (Typical tip is 15% to 20%). They are counting on tips to make a living so be respectful.
An easy way to calculate is this: if the bill is $20, drop the ‘0’ to get 10%:  $2.
Twice that is 20%(or$4) so 15% would be $3.  Get it?
yourfoodlovingkewlteam

So it’s your birthday and you wanna throw a party. Or it’s not your birthday and you wanna throw a party. Either way, you’re throwing a party!  You’re going to want food and drinks there, but who’s gonna bankroll all that stuff? If you don’t have much in the way of a budget and your allowance is a little dried up(or non-existent!) consider throwing a potluck. Everyone can bring a little something and that way no one person is stuck with the tab. What’s really fun is if you have friends who are willing to cook or who have families from different countries, then see if they’ll share something fabulous from their own kitchen. Maybe your girlfriend whose parents are from India can bring samosas. Yum!!!!! Or someone Argentinian could bring empanadas. Ever had Persian baba ganoush? Delish!! We’re just sayin’!  Host an around-the-world party with delectables from around the globe.
Another idea is hosting a cooking party where the whole point is to make something together. This works better for groups under 8. Otherwise you get “too many cooks in the kitchen.” Google some fun recipes and see what you come up with. Then let us know what you came up with.

We’d love to hear from you!   How do you creatively save money?   And who says it can’t be fun??

YourResourcefulKewlteam

Birthday expenses can really add up!  You know a lot of people and every single one of them seems to have a birthday at least once a year!  Geez! That’s a lot of gifts. Well, we can’t always run out and spend $10, $20, $30 or more on our friends, siblings and parents. It’s just not possible. So consider giving the gift of service instead of stuff.
Offering a service like babysitting, lawn care, cleaning or organizing can often mean more to a person than just more stuff. Offer to watch the little ones so your parents can have a date night. For a sibling’s birthday, offer to clean their room or help them with a chore, homework or something they struggle with.  Make a handmade gift certificate or coupon so they have something to “unwrap.” For friends, you can also go in on a gift with other friends or their family. Let’s say they really want some expensive game or outfit. Maybe you can team up to get the gift for him or her. If everyone pitches in $10 on a $50 gift it makes it much easier on everyone’s pocket book. This is also a reasonable request when your birthday rolls around! A few weeks before your bday, let loved ones know your heart is set on having that awesome rug you saw in a catalog. A polite request that it be the only gift you receive could perhaps get you the gift!  Rather than lots of small stuff you’ll get just one amazing item that you really want. This is also a very green way to go, too. Think of all the gas and time people will save on running around looking for the perfect gift. Get creative!!!
How do YOU save money? Let us know! Share with other readers your fave tips and your family’s fave tips.

yourthriftyKEWLteam

Can you or someone in your family or circle of friends sew? Pull out the sewing machine and get busy! Re-construct clothes, take ‘em apart and put’em back together for a whole new look. Buy some inexpensive fabric and make your own skirts, beach wraps or saris. That’s an easy project.

Here’s another winning tip on how to save money from KEWL and the gang: have a clothes-swapping party! Put a date on the calendar with your BFFs. Then go through your closet – be ruthless! – and pull out every single piece you never wear, can’t fit into, don’t like anymore, etc.  Do the same with jewelry, shoes, hats, belts and bags. Take it all to the party and see what others bring. It’s a great way to recycle and everyone walks away with something “new.” Warning: this activity is also hilariously funny and can be habit-forming! You’ll pull out things  you can’t believe you ever wore! Something that no longer fits you might look amazing on your friend and she might have something you’ve been coveting. This is just too much fun to resist so get busy organizing the first party of its kind in your neighborhood.

By now, you may have heard of Feng Shui(pronounced: fung shway). Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese philosophy and practice of space planning and furniture placement based on the idea of maximizing the flow of positive energy in your life! To which we say, KEWL!  According to these principles, clutter can block the flow of good energy and result in stagnant - or stale - feelings of depression, sluggishness, etc. The idea is to keep your outer world and environment clean and clear in order to keep your inner environment clean and clear. This means the stuff you are no longer using might be taking up precious space and energy in your life. Solution? Get rid of it! Here’s an idea that can clean up your space and possibly get some cold, hard cash in your pocket: have a garage sale.

The ‘rents will probably really appreciate you cleaning out the garage/attic/under the bed/guest room closet/your closet/laundry room/storage shed of all your old toys/clothes/outgrown galoshes/broken CDs/dog-eared books/torn posters, etc.
Obviously, we are not suggesting you sell or give away that first pair of precious baby booties your aunt knit for you.  Or that photo of your first day of school. Some things simply must be placed in a storage chest with some mothballs and saved forever.  But the broken Easy Bake Oven? That can probably go. And the plastic slide in the back yard that you haven’t been on in 6 years? Buh-bye. Some of this stuff will go in the recycle bin and be hauled off with the egg cartons. But if any of it still has some life left in it you might be able to get $2, $5, $10 – maybe even $20 for some of this stuff. Think of it! Clear out your space and earn some cash. It’s the ultimate way to recycle. We call it Fun Shui!

In a nutshell, Fun Shui is all about “out with the old, in with the new.” Spring is coming, so wait for a good weekend weather forecast and then place a free ad in the local paper. Hang some homemade signs on some telephone poles and you’re in business!  If you have a little brother or sister, let them set up a lemonade stand if they want. It could attract business and keep them out of your hair! Invite some friends to join you and see if they have any unwanted stuff to get rid of, too. Then count your winnings and go get something you really want!

Is money a little tight? Love to shop? Who doesn’t?  But when cash is limited it can be frustrating to pass shop windows and feel like you can’t even afford to walk inside! So here’s a fun idea. Go ahead – walk inside. Take a peek. Look at that gorgeous stuff. Drool a little. And make a mental note of what you like. Those corduroy jeans, that velvet bolero jacket, the cream-colored scarf – whatever. Then hit the local thrift stores, swap meets or wherever the deals are in your ‘hood and create your own version of those over-priced fashions in the high-rent retail stores. It’s actually FUN! You may even come up with something you like BETTER than the outfit that would have cost hundreds of dollars. Remember: you are hip, edgy and kewl! So not only do you still get to shop for kewl stuff, you don’t have to spend a fortune doing it. Be patient. Maybe the first store you check out doesn’t have any good stuff. So try another one! If you are determined, you will find something fun. This works for more than just clothes. You can find party decorations, room décor, sporting goods and more! Of course, this is more fun with friends but once you get the hang of it, it’s fun to go on your own, too.

Okay - they’re not exactly new…we just realized that kewlmag.com hadn’t loaded them correctly! Oops! So now there are two more DVDs to enter for your chance to win. Was that even a sentence?

Today’s a shorty, but make sure you get over to kewlmag and enter the drawings by the day after Valentine’s! That’s the day they officially run out, and we’ll be having our randomizer pick the winners pretty quickly after that!

Ciao,

yourKEWLprizeteam

Okay! So, in the KEWLnews today we talked about our fave Super Bowl Ads, and invited you guys to come on over here to the blog and talk about which ones are YOUR faves!

Let us know which ones and WHY! “It rocked!” may not be enough to convince us that you’re right and we’re wron, so use all your powers of persuasion and bring us around to the ‘right’ way of thinking!!!

Short reminder of your choices:

Crystal Ball, Strange Pets, Jack gets hit, Conan’s Swedish ad, Hate your job, Working under moose’s backside, Denny’s gangsters, Macgruber, Cash 4 Gold, Tony Polamalu, Clydesdale romance, flowers in a box, doritos, the bugs stealing Coke, ETrade babies, dancing footbal players, pigeons attach girl, throwing the guy out of the winder, rockin out in space and Clydesdayle ancestry…you know, there are waaaay to many to list, so just describe it for us and tell us why you like it! Whew!

yourKEWLteam