Next to the TV, DVD, flushing toilet, hot shower, computer and properly working automatic garage door, the internet is one of the best inventions ever. In fact, living in the desert as I do, I couldn’t get along without the internet. Even with the rising cost of internet service, the number of things it allows me to do makes it totally worth the cost and actually helps me to save money. Here I will share over 30 links to my favorite websites that provide free products or services. I will also include my favorite shopping sites for saving money. (Note: All links open in a new window.)

Productivity

• Check out one of my earlier posts Save Hundreds with Open Source Software for a list of open source applications with short descriptions of their functions and links to the websites for free downloads. These are not free trials but completely free programs that stay free and upgrade for free.
• Google Calendar is a handy online calendar that can send alerts to you by email or pop-up reminders. The program allows you to share your calendar with friends and family who also use Google Calendar so you can coordinate schedules with each other.

Computer Protection

• ZoneAlarm Free Firewall can filter all traffic in and out of your computer. The most secure setting will warn you of even legitimate access to the internet and of every attempt by a program installed on your computer to access the internet to check for updates, etc.
• ZoneAlarm Spy Blocker Toolbar protects you from spyware while surfing the net.
• McAfee SiteAdvisor warns you of bad sites and has profiles for each tested site with details on downloads, spam email count, and user reviews. It also shows the safety rating for web search results with a small icon next to each link: green for safe, red for unsafe, yellow for caution, and gray for untested (you can submit a test request for gray sites).
  

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We would like to announce the opening of Our Fourpence Worth Store, a subsection of our CafePress store Mozartini, which features original artwork by our in-house artist Madoline Hatter on all of our merchandise. Readers who enjoy or feel they have benefited from our articles can help support the continued running of this blog by purchasing merchandise for themselves or as gifts for friends and family.

All the artwork is 100% original and features finance- and frugality-related images and captions that tie in with the theme of our site. These products make good gifts for people working in financial professions - accountants, bankers, teachers, etc. - as well as for individuals who take an interest, or should take an interest, in their personal finances.

The commissions we earn on the merchandise ranges from $1.00 - $5.00 per item depending on the size of the merchandise and image (less for small items such as magnets and stickers, and more for apparel and large posters).

As we continue to develop new content for our blog, we will also develop new artwork for our store. Here are a few examples of the current items in our store. Almost all of our artwork is available on posters and framed panel prints; greeting, note and post cards; mugs and steins; magnets, stickers and buttons; t-shirts, tank tops, caps and sweatshirts; clocks, throw pillows, coasters and framed tiles; journals, mousepads, tote bags and more.

Visit Our Fourpence Worth Store to see more.
To open your own store, click here to learn more or sign up.

If you make money working on your own, such as blogging with Google AdSense, Amazon Associates, etc., you will very likely have received a Form 1099-MISC for miscellaneous income by the beginning of February. And you will need to file and pay self-employment tax.

The first year I had to file self-employment tax, I was completely clueless as to which forms I needed to fill out. I spent hours going through the IRS website looking for any and all forms, instructions and publications that might apply to me. Now, after several awkward starts, starting and running a new business partnership for almost 3 years, and filing my own taxes for the past 4 years, I have become a little more familiar with the system and process, which has made the ordeal somewhat easier (though, unfortunately, not much pleasanter). If you decide to do your own taxes, here is a little guide of some of the basic forms and publications that might be of use to you and save you the hours and hours it took me to figure it out.

The reason I am doing this is that I have often found instructions or publications that apply to me and think will answer all my questions only to find out as I read that I need to refer to even more publications and fill out another form. As everyone’s circumstances may differ, so might the forms and publications you need.

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We were first introduced to open source software in 2005 by a cousin who works in the computer industry. He told us there was a group of people who believed that computer software should be available to anyone who wanted or needed it to freely use, develop and share, and that people had developed completely free alternatives to programs like Photoshop and Microsoft Office. At first it seemed too good to be true, but we soon saw for ourselves and have now been able to save hundreds of dollars on our home office computer. Below are some of the popular programs that we use or have used in the past.

Software

• Open Office
  The Open Office Suite is similar to the Microsoft Office Suite. There is a word processor (Writer), spreadsheet (Calc), drawing (Draw), database (Base), presentation (Impress). There’s even a math program for doing math calculations, but I don’t really understand or have much need for it. You have a choice of installing all the programs or just the ones that you need - i.e. we just use Writer, Calc and Draw. While Open Office is not quite as fancy and aesthetically pleasing as the Microsoft programs, they are more than capable of most everyday and business tasks. We use the Calc program for accounting and taxes, Draw for drafting patterns for our dog clothing designs, and Writer for letters, invoices, coupons, etc.
• Thunderbird
  For email, I recommend Thunderbird, which is a great alternative to the Microsoft Outlook email program. Like Outlook, it has filtering, junk mail control, etc. You can install the calendar add-on Lightning if you need/want it. The Sunbird calendar program is also available as a separate program if you don’t use Thunderbird or prefer not to use add-ons.
• Foxit
  Foxit is a pdf reader similar to Adobe Acrobat Reader with annotation features such as highlighting, drawing graphics and typing text, and conversion to plain text.
• Filezilla
  Filezilla is a nice and easy to use FTP program. I use it for working on my Zen Cart and Wordpress sites, which is much easier than uploading through my webhosting browser ftp.
• The GIMP
  The GIMP is a graphics program and a Photoshop alternative of sorts. This program isn’t as advanced as Photoshop, but is probably competent enough for the average casual user for basic photo touch-ups or graphics. (We use Adobe Photshop Elements for our business graphics and photos.)

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