High Class Living on a Middle Class Budget

Kohls Coupon March 2010

SoFlossy — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:12:25 +0000

This coupon is YMMV as many stores aren’t accepting them for various reasons.

Get $10 off of a $20 purchase at Kohl’s, with this printable coupon.

Expires March 14th 2010

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Consumer Protection Week March 2010

Amara — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:58:02 +0000

One of my favorite themed weeks. Consumer Protection Week!

Consumer.gov has compiled a great resource called Scam Watch with articles, videos and more!

Also check out the National Financial Capability Challenge to get materials on the awards program designed to increase the financial knowledge and capability of high school aged youth across the United States so they can take control over their financial futures. Good Stuff.

Also, get the FREE 2010 Consumer Action Handbook ( .pdf ) which has info on preventing identity theft, understanding credit, filing a consumer complaint, and much more.

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Where is my milk from?

Amara — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:34:14 +0000

Ever wonder where your milk comes from? I was reading my mail from BoingBoing and this article caught my eye.

Personally, I have never wondered where my milk comes from, but if you have, boy, do I have the site for you! Whereismymilkfrom.com, tells you exactly which dairy farm your milk originates from!

My life is more complete somehow.

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LifeLock Scam

Amara — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:02:59 +0000

Remember those commercials for LifeLock? The ones where the CEO of Lifelock placed his social security number on the side of a van and promised to protect your identity for the loq price of ONLY $10 per month?

AND THEN, that same CEO contracted another firm when his identity was stolen?

Well now, in one of the largest FTC-state coordinated settlements on record, LifeLock and its principals will be barred from making, (sic) ANY MORE, deceptive claims and required to take more stringent measures to safeguard the personal information they collect from customers.

According to the FTC:

The FTC will use the $11 million it receives from the settlements to provide refunds to consumers. It will be sending letters to the current and former customers of LifeLock who may be eligible for refunds under the settlement, along with instructions for applying. Customers do not have to contact the FTC to be eligible for refunds. Up-to-date information about the redress program can be found at this website.

The information stored from customers, wasn’t even encrypted! Sigh…

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Great Energy Efficiency Day

Amara — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:54:52 +0000

March 10th is Great Energy Efficiency Day, so if you haven’t switched over to ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent lights (CFL), it’s a good day to switch!

Not only are CFL bulbs more “green friendly”, but CFL bulbs SAVE money. According to the EnergyStar site:

An ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) will save about $30 over its lifetime and pay for itself in about 6 months. It uses 75 percent less energy and lasts about 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb.

Then, take the EnergyStar Pledge and pledge to save energy and help fight global warming by replacing at least ONE standard bulb with a CFL!

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Webfloss.com TV Debut

Amara — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:14:45 +0000

If you are like me and just happen to be up at 3am…you simply must scan your local stations for infomercials! WHY you ask?? Because…a review that I did on the the Ninja Master Prep caught the attention of the company AND they decided to use a quote from my site IN the infomercial.

The best part about the whole ordeal is that the announcer guy, his voice BOOMS, with the quote from my site while it flashes across the screen.

I’m NOT TELLING what quote was used because I am using this as an opportunity to hold a contest!

The Prize? Because the answer will not be easy to find, I’m offering a sweet prize pack!

1. $5 Amazon Gift Card
2. $30 Angel Food Gift Card

This contest is open until the first person comments with the correct answer to the following question!

What quote did the infomercial use?

Happy infomercial viewing!

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Tyson Class Action Lawsuit

Amara — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:57:55 +0000

If you purchased Tyson-branded chicken products labeled “Raised Without Antibiotics” or “Raised Without Antibiotics That Impact Antibiotic Resistance in Humans” between June 19, 2007 and April 30, 2009, you may be part of a class action settlement.

As part of the settlement, you may be able to file a claim for cash or a coupon. For more complete information, please read the full notice by writing to the address:

Tyson RWA Settlement
c/o The Garden City Group, Inc.,
P.O. Box 9588, Dublin, OH 43017-4888

Head over to ChickenSettlement.com to read all the details.

Your Claim Form must be completed and submitted postmarked or electronically filed no later than July 6, 2010.

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Use coupons, donate to charity

Amara — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:45:54 +0000

Wow. This is cool.

Procter and Gamble is donating 2 cents to the Children’s Safe Drinking Water Fund for EVERY P&G related coupon that is redeemed from last Sunday’s paper!

Every day, more than 4,000 children in developing countries die from illness and disease related to unsafe drinking water. Simply by redeeming coupons for popular P&G products, YOU can make a difference and help to provide one day’s worth of clean drinking water for every coupon redeemed.

Big roll of Bounty Paper Towels

Amara — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:41:22 +0000

Get your photo taken with the Bounty Huge Roll replica and receive product coupons!

That is the coolest roll of paper towels. EVER. And, if you are lucky enough to live in: San Antonio, TX; Grand Rapids, MI; Cincinnati, OH; Natick, MA, or North Bergen, NJ, YOU can witness first hand this paper towel genius created to rally support of local foodbanks.

If you don’t live in those area don’t fret, anyone can join Bounty’s efforts to donate up to $50,000 worth of Bounty paper towels to local food banks by becoming a “fan” of the newly-launched Bounty page on Facebook! For every fan that joins, Bounty will donate one roll of paper towels to each of five local food banks, one per market, up to $10,000 for a total of $50,000 worth of product!!

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Free BIGGBY COFFEE March 2010

Amara — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:26:46 +0000

As a special thank you to their customers all participating BIGGBY COFFEE stores will offer a free tall drink on March 15, 2010!

To receive the free drink, you must be current “E-ward” members. ( Membership sign up is free! ) In addition to the free drink offer this month, E-ward participants will receive free gifts or coupons on the 15th of every month throughout the year!

Who else has the uncontrollable urge to say: “CoffREE”. HA!..

FixMyCellBill.com

Amara — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:20:47 +0000

The first 500 visitors using the ” Protect Me ” promo code will get a free comprehensive wireless bill analysis from FixMyCellBill.com!

FixMyCellBill.com analyzes your wireless bill for errors, disputes, and savings, all you have to do is upload your bill to the site!

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Free Ritas Italian Ice

Amara — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:17:08 +0000

Rita’s will hold its 18th Annual First Day of Spring Giveaway from noon to 10pm on Saturday, March 20. Each guest who visits one of the over 500 open Rita’s locations will receive a FREE regular size, 10 oz. cup of Italian Ice in the available flavor of their choice!

Pringles Recall 2010

Amara — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:12:00 +0000

Procter and Gamble has issued a recall for certain Pringles products.

Pringles Restaurant Cravers 37000 26936 02/2011
Cheeseburger, Super Stack 04/2011
Canister, 181 grams

Pringles Family Faves Taco 37000 26773 03/2011
Night, Super Stack 04/2011
Canister, 05/2011
181 grams

No other Pringles varieties or flavors are affected by this recall. These two products represent only one half of one percent of Pringles’ U.S. volume. None of the affected products have been shipped to retailers outside of the United States.

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$10 Ulta.com credit

Amara — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:54:01 +0000

Take the survey from Ulta.com and get $10 off* your next purchase of $60 or more!

PLEASE NOTE : (1) ONLY ONE PROMOTION CODE CAN BE ENTERED FOR A GIVEN ORDER PLACED ON ULTA.COM AND (2) SUPPLIES OF ALL FREE GIFT OFFERS ARE LIMITED. THERE ARE NO SUBSTITUTES.

* Offer valid through 04/10/10 on all regular price, sale and clearance merchandise. Online coupon code will be delivered via email within two weeks of survey completion. Excludes salon services, fragrance, hair artistry brands, prestige cosmetics including Bare Escentuals, prestige skincare, Dermalogica, Philosophy, Clarisonic, Thermaclear and T3. Cannot be redeemed for cash or gift cards. This offer cannot be combined with any other ULTA coupon offer. Not valid on prior purchases. Limit one per customer.

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Free Mascara at JcPenney

Amara — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:49:42 +0000

JANE4Girls, has found a great printable coupon for a FREE Too-Faced Mascara at JcPenneys!

Head over to her site to print yours!

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Earnings update March 2010

SoFlossy — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:15:36 +0000

Time for a long overdue survey earnings update! With screen shots!

Mindfield: March 2010 = $70.00. Read my review on Mindfield Surveys.

SayNation: March 2010 = 146,850 points or $100 in Walmart Giftcards. Read my review on SayNation Surveys.

Opinion Outpost: March 2010 = $21.50. Read my review on Opinion Outpost Surveys.

HCD Surveys: March 2010 = 10650 points or $106.50. Read my review on HCD Surveys.

Search

SwagBucks: March 2010 = 1470 OR $15 in Amazon giftcards at the current price. VERY easy. Just search the web like normal and win Swagbucks. I have cashed out numerous movies tickets and Amazon gift cards successfully with my Swagbucks.

Reading Emails ( SOOO EASY! ) Open, Click, Earn.

Send Earnings: March 2010 = $56.47

InboxDollars: March 2010 = $15.93

Games

Winster: March 2010 = 1,377,055 points OR almost $10. Play fun games like my favorite game “Slot Social” where you play WITH other players and everyone can swap pieces to HELP other players. Great games, great community.

Misc

Lockerz ( leave email that will not be displayed for invite ) Earn Lockerz rewards for answering question and viewing ads. Simple.

YouData: March 2010 = $.80 I earned that $.80 today in about 45 seconds. I just reveal ads and click on them, money is deposited directly in your Paypal account.

Instant Cash Sweepstakes: March 2010 = $53.87 Answer 3 question surveys and earn cash, tickets for the $50.00 drawing ( which I’ve won! ) and more!

Yankee Candle Company Coupons March 2010

Jason — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:28:51 +0000

Yankee Candle has a printable coupon that lets you purchase Tart and Votives for ONLY $1!

Expires 3/24

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Clean your PC for FREE

Amara — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:14:30 +0000

I got to thinking the other day, when I shared a program I use very frequently to clean my PC with my Facebook peeps…

My background is technical. My blog is about saving money. Yet, I have NEVER wrote a post ( that I can remember ) about ways to keep your PC tuned for FREE.

Imagine my horror.

So, I present to you: Clean your PC for FREE.

I use CCleaner to clean out my old files. It’s clean, free, and easy to use. The link to download the program is here ( download will start upon clicking ). You can alternatively navigate through the site on your own to get to the download link.

CCleaner will clean your browsing history, temp files AND fix errors in your registry. Take a peek at the options/settings to tweak them to your liking. I have most of the options checked as far as cleaning. I use the WIPE FREE DISK option once a month because it takes forever to run.

Windows comes with it’s own cleanup tools. If you don’t use them, you are slowly strangling your PC to death.

The first tool is found under START > ALL PROGRAMS > ACCESSORIES > SYSTEM TOOLS and is called DISK CLEANUP. It’s pretty self explanatory. Open it, run it, embrace it.

The second tool is found under START > ALL PROGRAMS > ACCESSORIES > SYSTEM TOOLS and is called DISK DEFRAGMENTER. What this program does is take your wasted space ( fragments ) and move them around to create new space, simply put. Open it, run it ( windows will lwt you know if your drive needs to be defragged ), embrace it.

That’s really all you need.

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Prize Affiliate

Amara — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:47:23 +0000

I haven’t posted a “Get paid to” in a minute, so here is a new one I have stumbled across.

Prize Affiliate is a site when you get paid to sign up for offers. AS ALWAYS, I recommend doing ONLY the FREE offers ( which are marked with a yellow FREE icon in the upper left hand corner under the “My Prize Center” tab ).

I highly suggest that you read my getting started guide AND my GPT guide that gives you the tips I wish someone had told me from the start!

Under the FREE offers there are some I suggest NOT completing:

1. “Download Zwinky and Zwinkify yourself!”. This one puts trackingware on your PC. Avoid at all costs.

2. “Turn yourself into a Cartoon!” More trackingware.

3. “Get a Visa® card and Free PA Points”. This one wants personal information.

4. “Download Wowd’s Real-Time Search Browser App For Free Today and earn PA Points!” Trackingware again.

5. “Download the Retrogamer toolbar”. Do you see the pattern here with the ” downloading anything to your PC” ?

6. Any offer beginning with “Apply Now”.

As you can tell, anything you are asked to download, install or apply for is NOT recommended by me.

Let me know how you like it and how much you’ve earned!

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Money Saving Sites March 2010

Amara — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:29:54 +0000

I’ve come across a few great sites that I think you should check out.

1. i4u.com: A great site to find deals on products with independent reviews.

2. Rivepoint: An iphone application to get coupons sent straight to your cell phone.

3. bTrendie: A site launched by parents that didn’t like the thought of those big box stores and choose to support “Mompreneurs” who are creating great, “green friendly” products. ( if you leave your email, I can send you $10 in credits for signing up, of course, you can always sign up directly through the link above )

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Unemployment and Taxes 2010

Amara — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:10:14 +0000

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released new jobless numbers on March 5, 2010 showing a loss of 36,000 jobs in the month of February with an unemployment rate of 9.7%.

Unfortunately, people who were unemployed in 2009 still have to file their taxes for 2009.

The California Society of CPAs is the nation’s largest professional, non-profit state association representing more than 34,000 CPAs in the area of tax, audit, accounting and consulting services such as personal finance.

CPAs are standing by to answer other tax or personal finance questions you may have on this or other personal finance topics.

CPAs suggest the following strategies:

CPA Strategy 1: You can exclude up to $2,400 of unemployment compensation from your 2009 gross income. This break has expired for 2010.

CPA Strategy 2: You can avoid a “penalty tax” on IRA and 401(k) withdrawals if the withdrawal covers (but doesn’t exceed) deductible medical expenses whether or not you actually take an itemized deduction for the expenses. (If you’re receiving Trade Readjustment Allowances under the Trade Adjustment Assistance program and similar programs, you may be eligible for an even better deal, the Health Care Tax Credit, which can pay up to 80 percent of your premiums.)

CPA Strategy 3: You can avoid the penalty tax on 401(k) and IRA withdrawals by establishing a payment schedule of regular equal withdrawals over your lifetime or the joint lives of you and your beneficiary. There’s also no penalty if you take a distribution from your 401(k) when you separate from service at age 55 or older.

CPA Strategy 4: If you itemize, you can deduct job-hunting expenses as a “miscellaneous itemized deduction,” to the extent that all your miscellaneous itemized deductions exceed 2 percent of your adjusted gross income. Job-hunting expenses can include: resume printing costs; postage; long-distance calls and faxes; travel expenses, including air, taxi and rail as well as mileage and tolls; and lodging expenses for out-of-town interviews.

CPA Strategy 5: If you find a new job and move, you may be able to deduct moving expenses. To qualify, the new job must be at least 50 miles further from your old home than your old job was from your old home. This is an “above the line” deduction, available whether you itemize or not.

For more information, check out IRS Publication 4128, Tax Impact of Job Loss (. pdf ), Publication 521, Moving Expenses (. pdf ) and Publication 575, Pension and Annuity Income (. pdf ).

For additional research:

Check out the California Society of CPAs’ free Web site on this and other personal finance topics to better survive the recession and provide a sense of comfort and support. Make sure to check out the “Dollar & Sense Program.”

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Daily Deals March

Amara — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:04:46 +0000

My good friend Jeannie over at ICouldUseaDeal, found two great deals that I wanted to share with my readers!

1. Free McDonalds! FREE breakfast for kids before FCAT testing in FL only on Tuesday, March 9th!

2. $100 prescription transfer at Kmart, with the printable!

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Justice Coupon March 2010

Amara — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:36:35 +0000

Take 40% off at your local Justice with this printable coupon! ( .pdf ) and save through March 22nd, 2010!

Justice.com

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Random ways to save and earn money

SoFlossy — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:43:14 +0000

Today, for “Tips Thursday” I am going to explain a few ways to save/make money that are not exactly “mainstream”. This post will not be about coupons, sales or deal hunting, rather, ways you can save/earn money that you might never knew existed!

Trade in / Recycle your old Electronics

BestBuy Trade in offers BestBuy gift cards for your old electronics you can trade in items you bought at Bestbuy or online for purchases from other companies.

Sams Club offers a Sam’s Club gift card.

Toshiba offers cash, but after I clicked 4 pages deep and couldn’t find out exactly how (Paypal? Check?) and waiting for 5 minutes to reach online support which never came, I gave up…

YouRenew offers payment via PayPal or check by mail for your old electronics.

Radio Shack offer a RadioShack gift card or new merchandise for your electronics.

Grocery / Shopping

How can Reseller Ratings help you save money? Simple! You can view ratings on all sorts of different online merchants, even those obscure ones you that you may of seen a great deal at, but hesitated purchasing because you’ve “never heard of them”. Guilty as charged on that one! But, now you can easily see what others are saying about even the little guys. ( free )

Use an iPhone application on the go!

Three that are wonderful:
- CompareMe: This application is for those of us that stare at a product in the isle for an excessive amount of time, trying to figure out which is the best deal based on volume. *raises hand*

- Coupon Sherpa ( free ): Offers:
* Hundreds of in-store coupons
* Find coupons by category or store name
* Email coupons to friends
* Create your own Favorites list of stores
* Find the nearest store location to you
* Exclusive coupons that can’t be found elsewhere
* New coupons added daily

- KidseatFor: Find out locally where kids can eat for FREE with this application.

Use your nogin ( all free to use )

Earn money generated by your articles you are passionate about at the Examiner
. Just apply and start writing or submitting!

Do you feel the need to advise everyone you meet? Now you can get paid to do your favorite pastime. Provide advice from dining out to astrology and get paid!

Are you someone that tinkers? If so and you have had a great board game idea, you can head over to The Game Crafter and get started on your journey. There are no up-front fees, no contracts and no distributors. You upload the game idea and then set your price and let it sell. Even if you sell one game you are making a profit!

You know how to build a home with a butter knife and chewing gum but can’t find a place to make money off of your expertise? At Ether you can earn money for just about any service someone is willing to buy. From nurses and legal expert to life coaches and spiritual advisers, you can earn money by providing phone support ( you get a free number ) or email support ( never shared ).

Tutor is searching for applicants who commit to at least five hours a week between Sunday and Thursday from 4 PM to 11 PM during the academic year (preferred) and are currently accepting applications for the following subjects: Statistics, Chemistry, Physics, Calculus, Geometry, Algebra 1 & 2, and resume writing. There is an extensive background and certification process, but the rewards are worth it!

What are you an expert on? Computers? Medical? Cars? At Just answer, you can get paid to answer question from real people in your free time!

Personal finance

What Bills? is a great reminder service that won’t let you forget about any bills that you have coming up! I love this site and use it to help me remember about promotional balances ( same as cash for 30 days etc ) as well! ( free )

With more and more of us keeping our older car, rather then trading it in or buying a new one, repairs are inevitable. With RepairPal you can get a basic idea on how much a repair will run you and even find and read reviews on reputable shops near you! ( free )

I never knew that I could earn money for reducing my households energy use, but it’s true! Basically, you enter or upload your 12 month energy use which will create a “carbon footprint”, then , optimize this footprint to reduce your energy usage and get paid between $10-$25 in 30-90 days! You can read the entire FAQ to get more information. ( free )

I wish I had seen Zilok earlier this summer! When we MANUALLY dug out the 6ft by 8ft area for our pond we could of saved TIME, not to mention our backs a lot of strain, by renting some equipment. This site offers ways for everyone to find items to rent, or offer for rent as well! I might have to list my hubby’s “I had to have, but never use” auger on there later on!! ( free )

I wanted to start a savings account to buy a really nice gift for my husband without him knowing this year but with all our accounts linked I wasn’t sure how I was going to accomplish this… UNTIL I found Smarty Pig!!

What is it?
It’s FREE to open and close
It’s Social
It’s Cash Incentives from Top Retailers
It’s 2.01% (APY)
It’s FDIC Secured

Even your friends and family can help contribute! ( free )

Credit Karma is a completely free service offering credit simulators, free credit scores, credit advice, and credit score comparisons to assist consumers to manage their credit. I know what you are thinking, oh geez, ANOTHER free credit report place… But this one is different, Credit Karma has been featured on MSNBC, in the WSJ and MORE reputable news sources and does not charge you for some kooky service unexpectedly or anything suspicious like that. NOTE: Credit Karma does require you enter your SS# online to get your score, do not do so, if you do not feel comfortable with this in any way. ( free )

Fun Stuff

Ever since the time I told my daughter that “I can’t afford that right now” and she replied “Just go to the ATM”, I have been teaching her that it’s really not a magic money machine…You can do the same and teach the next generation about how it all works with this really cool Virtual Savings Account! ( free )

Bloggers like myself offer GREAT giveaways very often and sometimes, especially on the newer sites, there are only a few entries on these giveaways – so your chances of winning are VERY HIGH! Prizey features all these blog-type giveaways in one place! ( free )

Check out the latest sweepstakes organized by category and method of entry at Online Sweepstakes! I personally love the instant win ones, I am someone that needs results quickly LOL. ( free )

Lastly, here is a site that buys golf balls. I think it’s pretty self explanatory. ( free )

New Box Tops Products

Amara — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:31:33 +0000

If you are collecting Box Tops for Education for your local school ( which you SHOULD BE ) Box Tops have introduced 11 new products featuring Box Tops!

Here are the 11 new Box Tops products:

Baking
Betty Crocker® Cake Mix

Beverages
Nestle® Juicy Juice® Sparkling Fruit Juice (4-pack)
Nestle® Juicy Juice® Bottles (6-pack)

Cereal
Chocolate Cheerios® Cereal
Wheaties Fuel™ Cereal

Meals & Sides
Progresso® Soup Cans:
• Chicken Noodle Soup
• Northeast Clam Chowder
• Hearty Chicken Rotini
• Rich & Hearty Chicken & Homestyle Noodles
• Rich & Hearty Beef Pot Roast
• Rich & Hearty Chicken Corn Chowder

School & Office Supplies
Avery® Label Pads
Avery® NoteTabs™
Avery® PocketTabs™
Avery® Protect & Store™ Binders

Refrigerated & Dairy
Yoplait® Simply…Go-GURT™ Yogurt

Also, here is the complete list of Box Tops products available that you can collect. ( .pdf )

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