One Cheap Chick

Looking for a locals discount to Utah's ski resorts? Check out the online list compiled by industry group Ski Utah here. And don't forget,  there's a $25 passport that provides 39 days of free snowboarding or skiing for 5th-graders. Go here for more information about that program.  There's also a $20 pass for 6th-graders that provides 13 days of free skiing and snowboarding. Go here for more information about that pass.

Go here for a coupon worth $4 off a $20 purchase and $2 off the purchase of any Rite Aid brand over-the-counter medication priced at $2 or more.

Almost half of 2,148 consumers in a recent survey doubted that they could come up with $2,000 within a month during a crisis - whether the money came from savings, family, friends or even from their credit cards. Nearly one-quarter of those earning $100,000 to $149,000 were doubtful they could raise that sum. I found the survey results in Business Week. The survey was conducted by research firm TNS in conjunction with Harvard Business School and Dartmouth College.

Whenever someone asks me for advice about how to get their finances in order, I always recommend that they start with an emergency fund. It's the cornerstone of any family's financial well-being. How much money does the typical family need? Experts say three to six months of living expenses is ideal, but truly any amount that you are able to set aside will help in a crisis. One ideal way to build a fund is to have a small amount of money automatically transferred into a savings account each week or month.

What many people tell me, however, is that there simply isn't any money left over from each paycheck to start such a fund. And for a number of families hurt by the recession, there isn't. But many families could  put some money aside by reducing what they spend on optional things, such as restaurant meals and entertainment.

I'm not going to say that building a decent emergency fund is going to be fun. But by making it a family project, and by adding in rewards when you meet intermediate savings goals, you can make it bearable. And when I recommend that you make this a family project, I mean that you can explain the importance of such a fund to a child as young as 5 and enlist their help in controlling the family's spending. Too often I hear parents tell their children that they "can't afford" to buy a toy or something else.  I believe that telling a child that you aren't going to buy a toy so that you can have enough money for things like food or for emergencies makes a lot more sense.

I know some families that have expanded this effort of building an emergency fund beyond even their own family. They signed up for the UtahSaves effort here and formed a group of like-minded friends and neighbors who provide support and encouragement. Whatever you elect to do, good luck!

I purchased the Blu-Ray+DVD+Digital Copy edition of Up! at Target today for $9.99 ($19.99 minus this $10 Disney coupon) I'll also send in for this $4 rebate you can get by buying the movie and one package of SmartTaste pasta.  (I'll use this coupon on the SmartTaste pasta, too.)

While I was at Target, I checked out the LeapFrog Alphabet Pal. (pictured below) Toys R Us has them on sale for $10.49 today and tomorrow. (The ad is in today's Trib.) To get this deal, you must price match at Target (bring the Toys R Us ad with you) and use a $10 off Target store coupon from here (this is my favorite Target coupon database - the Leapfrog coupons are under the section that expires 11/25). By using the coupon and price-matching, you can get this toy for only 49 cents. I called Target's corporate customer-service line, and was told that shoppers CAN use a Target store coupon on an item that's also being price-matched. The store gladly completed the transaction and I now have yet another toy for Toys for Tots.

A friend who tried this transaction at another Target store, however, ran into trouble using the coupon and price-matching, which speaks to the differences in how individual stores within the same company deal with bargain shoppers. Another reader said her Target store would not price-match "doorbusters."  Either way, they couldn't do this deal.

One way to ensure you get the deal you're entitled to is to print off a copy of a store's coupon policy. Target's policy is here and here. Wal-Mart's is here.

But there are a number of situations, such as combining price-matching with store coupons, that aren't covered in these policies. In these circumstances, all you can do is go to the store and give it a try.

Children can make this fun craft at Michaels on Saturday. For more information about this activity and others offered by the arts and crafts chain, go here.

Borders bookstores are staging a fun event for fans of Fancy Nancy Saturday. In the Salt Lake area, Borders has a store in Murray. I called the store and they are participating in this chainwide event.

Check out this article by DailyFinance.com, a new web site offering business and financial news and analysis, that says that's where we're headed next year.

$10 in coupons for Organic Valley products! Sign up here to get them.

The Salt Lake Public Library is having a 10th anniversary celebration for the READ (Reading Education Assistance Dogs) program at its main downtown branch on Saturday. The program helps children build their reading skills by encouraging them to read to dogs. The program was created by Utah's Intermountain Therapy Animals.

The celebration will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. . Children will have the opportunity to meet the dogs involved in the program, hear stories, get free books and prizes and see a preview of Go Dog Go, the children's musical based on the popular book by P. D. Eastman. Fun!

Progresso soup: $1.10 off one can of the "high fiber" variety. IE or FF

Pepperidge Farm: Go here to get the coupons.

Butterball: $2 off a frozen turkey. Go to SmartSource.com to print this one.

Huggies diapers: $2 off a box. (IE) or (FF) or go here.

Campbell's soups: $1 off four "cooking" soups, such as Cream of Mushroom. Go here for this offer.

Heinz gravy: $1 off three 12-ounce jars of the HomeStyle variety. Go here to print.