Note** The last winner never claimed her prize! the New winner is:

Here are your random numbers:

193

Tesa S. | tesashel225

I subscribed!

Feb 25, 4:41 PM

The winner of the Learning Tower is:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

227

Timestamp: 2009-03-01 00:36:45 UTC 

Adura | audrajjensen

Chirp Chirp! I tweeted this! http://twitter.com/audrajjensen

Feb 27, 12:17 PM 

You have 48hrs to claim your prize! 

Carli Godwin

Travel Dream Maker for Off to Neverland Travel®

(405) 818-1414

http://CarliGodwin.OfftoNeverland.com

Carli.Godwin@OfftoNeverland.com 

Are you daydreaming of a vacation where everything is taken care of for you?  Are you someone who wants to take your family to a Disney destination, but needs to work within a budget?  At Off to Neverland Travel®, Carli wants to make your dreams come true!Travel Dream Maker Carli Godwin with Off to Neverland Travel® would love to plan a customized trip to the Walt Disney World® Resort, theDisneyland® Resort, and on the Disney Cruise Line®.  Whether you are a first-timer or an experienced veteran, let me use my knowledge to make your trip truly magical!  Carli also offers travel planning services to many other destinations such as the Caribbean, Mexico, cruises and so much more!Carli offers full itinerary planning and a personalized custom guide to her clients with any vacation booking free of charge.  Carli is a College of Disney Knowledge graduate and is ready to send you…Off to Neverland!

Amazing Offer!

Buy four nights, get three free!

Buy a non-discounted 4-day/4-night package, that includes Disney Value Resort accommodations and Theme park tickets, and get three additional days and nights, with tickets, free.  Booking through March 29, 2009 and travel for stays most nights March 17- April 4 and April 19- August 15, 2009.  ***If you travel March 22- March 29, 2009 you will also receive a $200 Disney Gift Card*** Hurry!  These are booking quickly!Contact Carli Godwin today to begin your magical journey Off to Neverland! 

***One gift card per reservation provided at check-in. Disney Gift Card valid at select locations at Walt Disney World® Resort, Disneyland® Resort, Disney Cruise Line®, U.S. Disney Store locations and Disneyshopping.com. Not redeemable for cash. Will not be replaced if lost or stolen without required proof of purchase. Subject to the terms and conditions of the Disney Gift Card Program. Issued by Disney Gift Card Services, Inc., gift cards may not be used towards the purchase of any Disney Dollars or Disney Gift Cards. Other restrictions may apply. Use of gift card is acceptance of its terms and conditions. Visit disneygiftcard.com for more information.Off to Neverland Travel® CST# 2090317-40 / Fla. Seller of Travel Ref. No. ST37203 As to Disney artwork, logos and properties: © Disney – Ship Registry: The Bahamas

Want to win a Disney Prize Pack? 

The package includes the following:  2 Beach Towels (1 Mickey/1 Minnie), 2 Large Disney Plush Stuffed Animals (1 Mickey/1 Minnie), 2 DVDs (1 Wall-E and 1 Little Mermaid 2-Disc Special Edition), $20 in Disney Dollars (can be used at Disney when the book a trip …or at the Disney Store, and a reusable Mickey Mouse Tote Bag.  The total value of the package is over $120.00.  

To Enter: 

Subscribe to our blog! 

Tell us what your favorite is at Disney or what you would love to do when you get there.

Extra Entries: 

1.Blog this contest and leave your link here. 

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Contest ends 3/11/09 Winner will be chosen by Random.Org and you will have 48hrs to claim your prize!  

 *****PRIZE CLAIMED*****

Ok I thought it would be fun to start copying the time stamp etc of the winning #

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

45

Timestamp: 2009-02-28 05:04:46 UTC

Ok now you guys can count down to 45 to see who the winner is!!!!!!!!

 LOL Just kidding the winner is: 

.45 Queen Mum (deleting email and IP address LOL) (That would not be good)

I voted for CouponPrincess on Family Eden!

Feb 9, 10:31 AM — [ Edit | Delete | Unapprove | Spam 

Do you guys like seeing the #, date stamp and post they made? Let me know and I will start doing this! I like it because everyone can see how this works and what 3 is drawn so you know I don’t cheat LOL. (now you better know that already hee hee) 

I have recently started noticing a trend of companies downsizing their products but charging the same price. Most consumers I have talked to did not even notice they were getting less but paying the same. How long will this trend continue and will this make consumers more aware of what they buy? Will coupon usage go up even more than it already has? Here are some examples of products I have seen or heard about. Companies are getting clever in disguising the way they are down sizing as well. I have seen this with products such as meat, cereal and ice cream!

Encor frozen entree’s have gone from 32oz to 28 oz. Price is the same. Look at the ingrediant statement to show msg in the product. They also have chicken skin in their product.It’s not uncommon to see skin in a product but because it is included in their ingrediant statement you can see that that makes up a large percentage of the product!

Banquet has down sized 2 times going from 32oz to 24oz staying at the same price while their competitor Fast Fixin’ is still a 36 oz bag and still holds true to their motto to “Bigger Bag, Better Value. They have even gone so far as to put that statement on the bag, just look for the sticker.Matter of fact Fast Fixin’ is the only one offering a bonus bag right now in their category.

Tyson has downsized their bag 10 to 12% and kept the same price.

Ritz crackers/Wheat Thins have down sized but still charge the same. Country Crock one of my favorites has gone from 48 ounces to 45!

Consumer’s are now paying more but getting less in some of the products they have been buying for years! Don’t let your eye’s decieve you! Be smart! Check your labels and weights because sometimes even if you have products side by side you wouldn’t be able to tell the change! It’s kind of a sneaky way to do a price increase.

My kids and I love Fruit Loops! I had a box leftover from a coupon sale and when I compared it side by side it looked the same size but I was actually getting less!  Old box is 19.7 ozs and the new box is 17ozs! The average consumer may notice this.

Another thing you should look at is the ingrediants statement! Did you know the order in which the ingrediants are stated show what percentage the product is made up of that ingrediant? So for example if the first ingrediant is water and the 2nd ingrediant is chicken, well you get the picture. To give you an example I picked up 4 bags of chicken nuggets. Tyson, Banquest,Fast Fixin and Encore.

Banquet- First 2 ingrediants is Chicken Thigh & water.

Tyson-Chicken & water

Fast Fixin- Chicken Breast with rib meat & water!

Encore- White Chicken & Breading and Batter.Look at the ingrediant statement to show msg in the product. They also have chicken skin in their product.It’s not uncommon to see skin in a product but because it is included in their ingrediant statement you can see that that makes up a large percentage of the product!

I found out that just because a product says chicken doesn’t mean its actual chicken breast. It could be white and dark meat or whatever else part of the chicken they want to throw in if you know what I mean! If you want white meat you need to look for the words “Chicken Breast”.

This is also true in pet food! I have started to check my petfood before I buy it to see if the first ingrediant is beef or chicken!

All of these little tidbits you should be aware of when you stroll down the grocery isle next time! You can’t always go by the picture or the look of the size of the product! If we truly want to make a difference in our grocery bills we have got to stop being lazy and actually read the product lables! With the economy the way it is today we can’t afford not to! With this continued downsize consumers will also need to be aware that they will need to make adjustments to their favorite all time recipes or changes to their family meal planners . You will also want to be aware that your grocery list will be a little bit fatter because you may to need to buy more of a product than you used to , to feed your family.

One way to fight back is to voice your opinion and use coupons and watch for sales whenever you can!

   So what are consumers saying about this? Check out some of the tweets posted below from Twitter!:

karlkovacs@ConsumerQueen My favorite granola bars are smaller and i’m paying more money for them. Is it time to start making my own again?

emccaleb@ConsumerQueen Yes!! Eddies ice cream for one. What a rip-off!

just_be@ConsumerQueen @FastFixin The worst offender is ice cream manufacturers. They reduced the package size & increased the price!

mmartinpeterpan@ConsumerQueen Oreo cookies are perfect example. Five yrs ago they didn’t fit in TWare container … now there is more than enough room

afullcup@ConsumerQueen I think its a shame they can do it & get away with it. BUT honestly some people didn’t even notice which is even worse.

mmartinpeterpan@ConsumerQueen Canned tuna is another example. 6.5 oz can is now 5 oz. I’m lucky to find it for less than 69 cents. It used to be 50 cents.

cr8tivejen@ConsumerQueen i think its something we are going to have to get used to. we’ve been spoiled (brats) for far too long. just sayin.

Mark_Salinas@ConsumerQueen Have definitely noticed! I have something called a spending machine in my house a.k.a a teenager! Shopping cures all!

mmartinpeterpan@ConsumerQueen last one … ice cream … no longer 1/2 gallon … it’s 1.75 quarts! I think Breyer’s is 1.5 quarts

NWGuy@ConsumerQueen I think you’re right; brands have found the comfortable price points and are shifting package size – ice cream;cereal;coffee

JSpoonemore@ConsumerQueen Changing the design on the box almost hides the fact that the box is smaller than the older ones.

So where does that leave us now? I would love to hear your thoughts and comments on this matter!

Tweet this: Brands Down Size . Are Consumers Paying More? http://tw1.us/C4  #CNQueen RT!

Ok everyone tonight we will be talking about  showing you different ways blogs can help save you money as well as doing online Rewards Sites and earning cash .

We need your support! A camera crew will be filming our Blog Talk Show tonight so we need you there. Come be apart of the show and you never know what might happen!!!!!!!  8pm CST

You can also help by Tweeting this: Consumer Queen Blog Talk tonight 8pm CST. How Blogs save you Money! Show is being filmed! http://tw1.us/9N #CNQueen RT!

We also be talking about Twilight and how you can win a gift pack!