Time to Work Out...

A New Year, a new sample, #Target #TryDry Spray VoxBox yup, a Influenster freebie sample of a his and hers Dove Dry Spray Antiperspirant.

Well timed as I've been trying to get some fitness back from being a bit slack in the winter months and have hit the bike rollers and boy, does that make you sweat.

So the product, it's a dry spray antiperspirant and that's a plus as it does work as the name suggests. It's also supposed to work for 48 hours.

That's just a weird concept to me. Who goes on a work out and doesn't have a shower by the end of the day? Sure, you'll have lovely smelling armpits but it's some what defeated if the rest of you still smells of a tramps foot.

As it happens, the claim of 48 hours is far from accurate. After about 20 mins on the bike rollers, I'm sweating like over stuffed pig in a sauna and I my pits smell like that tramps foot, in a heatwave, after a marathon.

The men's scent is pretty much of nothing, so it's not to bad even if it isn't very effective. The ladies sample, is cucumber. Because everyone wants to smell like a vegetable, said no one ever.

That said, it's not terrible, it does smell some what like a cucumber but again, equally not very effective.

In the $5.50 range at Target, I don't think I would get this again as a pit stick works so much better but if you're not really working out and only pretending to get an aerobic work out, this will probably do and it really does spray on dry without any white dust over your clothes so it isn't all bad!

  

Salary Survey?

Adam Martin has a survey up to find game and web dev salaries.

Worth filling it in - Survey here.

The results of the survey will eventually be shown here in about a weeks time or so.

Own Brand Reviews

Having a look back at some own brand products we've tried, here's a round up on my thoughts:

Nappies

BJ's - These were great value for money. Pretty basic nappy, but a good fit, easy to slide on/off and worked very well.

Target - These were probably the best own brand nappy we tried, they worked great and felt the nicest.

BabiesRUS - This was a surprise as they were the worst. They felt pretty horrid, were very thin but they were easy to put on.

Bath Stuff

We tried a variety of bathing products from Target, the sleep time body wash, shampoo and hair detangler, equivalents to the Johnson and Johnson line of products. We found these to be just as effective and pleasant to use and certainly worth the savings offered.

Misc Stuff

Own brand food. BJ's formula was significantly cheaper than the branded stuff and because all formula goes through the FDA, they're all essentially the same and as healthy so you might as well get the cheapest. Target, Hannafords and other stores now carry their own brands which is great, but BJ's is still the cheapest we found.

Snack foods, those cheese puffs and crackers etc. Hannafords have a good line, but so do Target and they are often more cheaper, especially when they are doing their deals. The food is pretty good too, including the little lunch pots and food trays for when the kids are a little older. BJ's are now carrying the branded stuff in bulk though and often have coupons for added savings.

Breast Pads. Many were tried, Avent, they were okay but a little thin, but they also have a 100 count for $11 which is the best value for money. Lansinoh, they were pretty good, but probably not the best value for money as they were quite expensive. Medela, were also expensive and not worth the extra cost. The biggest surprise was BabiesRUS, their own brand pads worked out to be almost the cheapest option, but they were great quality pads. The re-usable ones mostly ended up in the bin as they never ended up being practical and being quite expensive to maintain considering the cost and how many you'd need so that you'd have a supply with you while washing a set etc.

Sales and Clothes

Old Navy were having a sale of one any adult clothing, get kids clothing free if you use their store card, or one of the affiliated store cards such as Gap, Banana Republic etc.

Great deal for holiday outfits this

Get $10 free for kids summer reading program

TD Banknorth are doing a summer reading program for children, anyone under 18.

Don't need to be a current customer, but if you are, that's okay too, just set a savings account for the child and they read ten books by the end of September and they get $10 put into the account.

To open an account, you need $25. It's also a free account until the child hits 18, then you need a minimum balance of $250 or it's a $3 a month fee.

For a free $10, what the heck, and your kid gets to read a bunch of books.