FabSugar

Secrets to Saving on Your 7 Favorite Indulgences

Emily Co — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:25:48 PDT

We all have our weaknesses, and yours may be a Starbucks addiction or even an avid book reading habit. Although we advocate saving, we're also a big fan of being able to indulge on occasion. After all, if you keep denying yourself, it might be counterintuitive because you may end up buying on impulse. Here are some ways you can still enjoy your favorite purchases, yet save at the same time:

Starbucks: Sign up for a Starbucks card and you can accumulate rewards such as free drinks. Once you buy five drinks, you get free syrup or soy milk and free refills on brewed coffee, iced coffee, or iced tea. You'll also get a free tall drink if you buy a bag of coffee beans. Once you buy over 30 drinks, you get a free drink for every 15 drinks you buy. As a card holder, you'll also get a free drink of your choice on your birthday.

Frugal secret: You can make your own Starbucks drinks in your own home. Check out Squawkfox's recipe for a homemade Starbucks Frappuccino that costs only 32 cents to make. Don't forget to also check out YumSugar's Starbucks-inspired pumpkin spice latte recipe.
Books: If you got a thing for books, there's always the library of course. But for those who just love permanent additions to their budding book collection, you can consider joining book clubs like Barnes & Nobles, which sends regular discounts and coupons to your inbox. You can also get really cheap indie ebooks for free or for 99 cents on Amazon. Some of the books are actually really good, but check out the reviews before buying if you don't want to waste your time on a dud.
Frugal secret: Shhh, don't let anyone know, but you can get free books from authors, even the acclaimed and famous ones, if you try this trick. A lot of times, you can even get the book ahead of its release. All you have to do is start building up a nice repertoire of really solid and detailed book reviews on Amazon or Good Reads, the social network for book recommendations. If your Amazon reviews are good, people will start voting on them, which may qualify you for Amazon's Vine program, an exclusive club that "invites the most trusted reviewers on Amazon to post opinions about new and prerelease items." And if you're a popular Good Reads reviewer, authors will start reaching out to you to review their books.
Yoga: You can save on yoga classes by subscribing to daily deal sites and keeping an eye out for discounts at your local yoga studio. Lululemon also offers free yoga classes, so you might want to check out your local shop. A lot of studios have free or donation-based classes on occasion, so you might want to check with them, too.
Frugal secret: Become a yoga teacher to get access to free classes. You don't have to worry about teaching taking up too much of your time because I have friends who teach only once or twice a week and still get the perks of a full-time teacher, such as being able to attend classes for free. You can also offer to trade services (writing, graphic design, admin, or whatever skill you can provide) with the studio in exchange for free classes.

Read on for more.

Where to Download Free Fonts For Your Wedding Invitations

Kristy Korcz — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 05:21:56 PDT

Going the DIY route when it comes to your wedding? Wedding invitations are one place where you can save big bucks, but one thing you need is an original font! Don't be a bore with standard fonts given to you, like Times New Roman and Helvetica (albeit classic bores, ahem) - fonts set the tone for style as much as the color scheme and design. Below, we cover a few places where you can download free fonts to use for truly unique invites!

Fonts 500 - This site has over 500 free downloadable fonts and something for every wedding theme: classic (Jane Austen), edgy (Nauvoo), and your-name-in-lights (Marquee). There's also tons of commercially used fonts, so if you've been dreaming of directing your family to the reception in Simpsons font, well, done and done.
1,001 Free Fonts - Just as the name implies, you can search and download scores of fonts for use on your wedding invites, save the dates, RSVP cards, and more.
Dafont - Search for your perfect font by style - comic, Western, sci-fi, typewriter, etc. - or by your basic serif or san-serif styles. There's over 14,000 fonts to sift through, so you could be here a while.
LostType - Not only is LostType a great place to find free, cheap, and premium fonts, but it's also a good place to browse to get some invite inspiration.
MyFonts - Search under "specials" to wander through hundreds of inexpensive and free fonts to use for all of your printing needs. You can even try fonts before buying if you are willing to drop some cash on the perfect font.

5 Reasons to Use Google Voice

Kristy Korcz — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 10:30:04 PDT

A lot of you guys have signed up for a Google Voice account, but I've heard a lot of people say they weren't entirely sure what the fuss was all about. If you're considering an account (or an invite) but aren't sure what you'd use it for, check out my favorite reasons for using Google Voice below.

A phone number you'll have forever, but other people won't - Your Google Voice number is one you'll keep forever (at least until we communicate mentally), but it's one you can give out freely without being leery about the person you're giving it to. Suggestions for this include using it for Craigslist transactions (because you don't always know who you're dealing with) and people you meet but aren't sure they're not total freaks. If they turn out to be weird, you can easily block them.
It's all online - You manage everything online with Google Voice, so you'll never go through some confusing automated menu. Manage all your settings, check out your visual voicemail and download messages as MP3s, and read voicemail transcripts, so you don't have to put a phone to your ear if you don't want to.
Ring more than one phone - If you have a bad habit of not hearing your cell phone or you don't want to pick up your cell for whatever reason, you can also set the number to ring your house line, your friend's phone, or the phone at the hotel you're staying at.
Best call screening ever - You can set up Voice to make callers say their first and last name before you answer; you can set it to identify all unknown callers or just blocked callers.
Custom greetings - Your outgoing voicemail greeting is rarely one-size-fits-all. You can set up custom voicemail greetings for groups if, for instance, you're applying for jobs and want a very formal greeting, but a casual one for everyone else.

5 Extensions to Add to Your Chrome Browser

Anna Monette Roberts — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 05:11:08 PST

New to Chrome? Here's a handy tip that might save you some time. Rather than manually typing in the web address to your most frequently used sites in the Chrome web browser, you can opt to download the extensions instead. Extensions are little icons to the right of the web address bar. Clicking the extension icon sends you to the site directly or allows you to quickly review the latest updates without having to visit the site directly. Below, a breakdown of some apps new Chrome users should consider downloading.

News: Stay up-to-date with a reliable news source like CNN, especially the tech section.
Mail: Google Mail Checker extension shows new email notifications and will send you directly to your mailbox when clicked.
Social media: Use Facebook Notifications extension to preview any unseen notifications, which include likes, comments, invites, friend requests, and new messages.
Productivity aid: Fun websites and social media can be a distracting thing, so if you are looking to calculate the stats of your browsing history (i.e. time spent on your top 10 sites), check out the History Trends extension. It pulls info from your web history to show you charts and figures that will help you better delegate your time and resist the urge to go on Facebook throughout the day.
Explore the web: For when you have time to leisurely browse the web or come across a webpage you would love to share, do both with ease using the StumbleUpon extension.

Have any favorites of your own? Share them with us in the comments!

5 Reasons to Download the Hipstamatic D-Series App This Holiday

Kristy Korcz — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:06:02 PST

I remember a few years back when disposable cameras at parties were all the rage. They allowed guests to take snapshots of moments you would have otherwise missed. This analog idea goes digital with the Hipstamatic D-Series app, which lets you share a "roll" of film with other guests at your next event. Even easier than asking guests to upload pics to a massive Flickr album, this app lets you make photography social. Here, five reasons you should definitely download this app (and spread the word to your iPhone-toting family members) before your holiday festivities kick into overdrive.

Out with the old, in with the new - Who needs disposable cameras anymore when you have an iPhone?
It's collaborative - You can invite three people to share your "roll" of film and capture moments from more perspectives. Plus, when the roll is up you all get the images loaded into an album inside your Hipstamatic app. So convenient! What's more, you can customize your "camera" and control effects before your image "develops."
It's limiting - Limitations aren't always a bad thing. If you know you only have a few chances to get a really good shot, you won't waste time snapping away at everything that you wander past. That's the idea, at least.
You can get prints - If there are any images you really love, you can have them printed on the cheap in the Hipstashop.
It's free - The app is free, so there's really no excuse. Plus, sharing a collection of 24 images with friends is fun.

Download of the Day: Kodak Gallery For Group Photo Sharing

Kelly Schwarze — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 06:11:26 PST

I'd have a beautiful collection of photos from every family get-together or Summer vacation if only I could get my hands on all the pics hiding out on the cameras and iPhones of those in attendance of these memorable events. What to do? Download the free Kodak Gallery app, which allows one person to create a photo album and invite select people to add their photos to the collection.

Photo contributors to Kodak Gallery don't have to create an account to add to the gallery - phew! - so no new log-in needed. Invite these contributors by email, text, Facebook message, or dozens of other social networks, and they'll be sent a link to the online album. If the contributor also downloaded the iPhone app, they can add photos directly from their phone to the Kodak gallery. Only those invited to an album can see the photos, so there won't be friends of friends of friends seeing how much fun was had on that recent Las Vegas trip.

Like the features we've become used to on sites like Facebook, album users can like and comment on photos. The feature I'll be using the most for the holidays is downloading full-resolution size of photos I had never been able to get my hands on before the group sharing to create custom gifts directly within the Kodak website.

6 Things to Know About Today's Google Music Announcement

Kelly Schwarze — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:09:28 PST

After six months of Beta trials, Google Music gets official and becomes a fully operational cloud music platform. Available to US users, Google Music automatically syncs an entire music library across any and all devices using cloud storage. Offline listening is also available as long as the user tags the specific tracks for offline use.

Adding to the storage capacity of Google Music is the creation of the music store tab in the Android Market. Every day the store will offer a selection of free songs handpicked by the Google Music team; additional songs can be purchased starting at $1.

Here are six key features to know about the service:

Google Music is free and available to anyone. Though previously available by invite only, any Web user can now download and use the latest offering in online music storage. Up to 20,000 tracks can be stored within each Google Music account.
Android users can download the Google Music app to store their music libraries to the cloud, but must upgrade their systems to Android 2.2 to use the service. Apple iOS and Linux users can access Google Music and buy tunes via the Android Market on the web.
13 million tracks will be available for purchase through licensing deals with various record labels. Eight million of those songs are available immediately, while the rest roll out over the next several months.

Learn how you can share Google Music with friends after the break.

Starter Guide to Planning a Baby Shower

LilSugar — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 01:43:24 PDT

Planning a baby shower can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn't have to be. All you have to do is organize a gathering that makes the mommy-to-be happy and feel celebrated. Location scouting, invitations and worry aside, it's always more fun than it sounds. We've dedicated the entire month of April to planning showers of all kinds, but if you've been nominated (or volunteered) to plan a baby shower for a friend or relative you should start with the basics. For some of the most important things to consider when you start planning,

Guest list: For decades baby showers have been "ladies only" events, but times are changing. Many expectant parents opt for co-ed affairs. I suggest talking to the mommy of the day about what she's comfortable with and who she wants to be invited. It's pretty traditional to include the future grandma, extended family, closest friends and close co-workers.
Location and venue: First, make sure the growing mommy-to-be will be comfortable. My favorite baby showers are those in a home, whether it's grandma's house, your house or the mommy-to-be's home. If you prefer to do it elsewhere, consider a cute park, spa, teahouse, restaurant, dessert spot or even a bar or lounge (mommy can't drink, but bar baby showers have become popular with the increase of co-ed showers).
Theme and decor: After you've planned the location start thinking about the party's colors, flowers, decorations and theme. You should think about the new mommy's personal style and whether or not she's announced the sex of the baby. Is mama's taste classic or modern? When in doubt, go simple and whimsical.
Invites and games: If you're looking for something simple, but adorable, check out our LilSugar baby shower downloads. You can easily personalize the invites and games to include all your party details and print them on your home printer for free.

Source: Flickr User madaise

Inside Google Music Beta

Kristy Korcz — Wed, 11 May 2011 05:11:32 PDT

I got my invite for Google Music Beta last night and took a quick tour around to get my feet wet. In case you missed it, Google Music Beta is a cloud storage service that works across Android devices. Awesome features include wireless syncing (from your computer, to laptop, to smartphone, to tablet, all of your music syncs automatically without the need to plug in and upload), and iTunes scrubbing so you can get all of your already-stored music into the cloud.

First, you'll need to install the Google Music Manager, which will help you get all of your tunes to the cloud. Installation was a breeze, and it took less than a minute to upload about 100 songs. It does take a bit longer for the titles to show up in your library, though. You can create "instant mixes" that are similar in nature to Apple's "Genius Mix" (selecting a song to mix from creates a list of similar songs), custom playlists, and auto playlists, and it will even auto-update if you've downloaded new music to iTunes or your music folders (when your device is set to auto sync). To hear about the limitations of Google Music Beta, just read more.

Geek Tip: Download Free Fonts For Wedding Invites!

GeekSugar — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:01:02 PDT

Whether you go earth friendly and geeky and decide to send your wedding (and rehearsal, and bridal showers, and bachelor/bachelorette parties. . . ) invitations online, or send paper (recycled, perhaps?) invites, one thing you need is an original font! Don't be a bore with standard fonts given to you, like Times New Roman and Helvetica (albeit classic bores, ahem) - fonts set the tone for style as much as the color scheme and design.

I love Fonts 500 for this - they have over 500 free downloadable fonts and have got something for every wedding theme: classic (Jane Austen), edgy (Nauvoo), and your-name-in-lights (Marquee). There's also tons of commercially-used fonts, so if you've been dreaming of directing your family to the reception in Simpsons font, well, done and done. Other free font websites I like are 1,001 Free Fonts and dafont (both good for Mac and PC).

Be sure to check out more of our wedding coverage on I Do Sugar.