Money Saving Tip: Just Ask!

One of the money saving tips I have implemented a lot in the past couple of months is to "just ask" when something has worn out or broken.

A few months ago my Keurig pooped out on me.  It was past warranty, but I decided to call the company anyways and troubleshoot and instead of troubleshooting they agreed to send me a new machine! (this has not worked for all my friends that have tried but it doesn't hurt to try).

A month or so ago Addy dropped our Baby Monitor and broke it.  I called amazon to see if they could sell me the same monitor at the same price I purchased it at since it was on a great sale.  They couldn't control the price since it was an outside vendor but they said they'd credit me $6 to my account for the inconvenience and not being able to help me. I ended up buying another one for a great deal from an outside company.

Two weeks ago our waffle make hinges broke off after only using it a couple of times.  I had no reciept, so decided to contact black and decker about it.  They mailed me new hinges in a few days, and it's perfect again.

My Kindle Fire started acting crazy a few weeks after I got it.  I called and they replaced it and gave me a free $10 credit on my account.  

I really was wanting a handheld steamer to clean up crusted food on our counters (from Addy).  Instead of going and buying one, I posted a note in our Local Marketplace facebook group that I was looking for one.  Someone had bought one at a yardsale, never used it, and sold it to me for $3.  

I just wanted to give you these examples to encourage you to ask (nicely) when something wears out.  If I would have ran out and bought these items in the past 6 months I would have spent about $450.  Instead I spent $83 and got $16 in free amazon credit. It will not always work, and I am always respectful of the warranty policy and whether or not it was a manufacturer issue or MY issue (addy dropping the monitor).  Be honest. Be nice.  It helps!

Money Saving Tip: DIY (Do It Yourself)

I think it would be safe to say that we live in a country that LOVES convenience.  Fast food restaurants, frozen ready made meals, internet two day shipping are to name a few of the conveniences that are offered.  There is nothing wrong with convenience items or services, but it's important to note that you do pay for that convenience.  

This topic is very relevant to me today as I just got decided that I will be hand making my own meat and cheese tray for Addy's birthday party.  We are serving a light lunch of sandwiches on croissants and when I called the grocery store to order a meat tray I nearly fell on the floor.  It was going to cost me $39.99 for a meat and cheese tray to feed 12 (the smallest size tray available).  

The grocery stores have every right to charge that much - they spend all the time rolling, cutting and making the tray look beautiful and all you have to do is pick it up.  As much as I would like to just drop the $40, it really isn't realistic for our budget right now, so I decided that I am going to buy all the good meat and cheese and spend time cutting it and rolling it myself.   I'll post later on the actual savings.

This is just one example of how Doing It Yourself (DIY) can save you lots of money.  

That being said, I feel like I should emphasize that not all projects are cheaper if you do them yourself.  You need to carefully analyze if it truly is cheaper dollar wise, and if it's worth the time in you putting it together.  

For some, it would make more sense to just buy the meat tray, because you know you'll have no time to do it yourself and you have room in the budget.  Because our budget is a bit tighter I will budget the time to save the money. 

Some other ways you may want to consider DIY-ing (if you aren't already):

-Lawn Care

-House Cleaning

-Making a cake for a birthday instead of buying

-Cooking dinner instead of take-out

-Cooking from scratch instead of boxed/frozen meals

-Making a shelf instead of buying one

-Making your own bread (we make Italian bread sticks for super cheap instead of buying rolls and they are amazing!!)

-Cooking and freezing dried beans in can sized portions instead of buying canned beans.

-Haircuts (this works much better for men/boys than girls)

-Small home repairs 

Really the list is endless.  Jon and I saw something we wanted to buy online this week and he ended up making it for free because we had all the materials.  If we would have bought, it would have cost us $70 and shipping!

Again, you always need to evaluate if the time is worth the savings to you!!  For example, I have come to the realization that making clothes is NOT cheaper than buying if you are awesome at shopping sales.  Addy's birthday dress cost me about the same amount as her adorable dresses I recently bought on clearance at Macy's.  It also took me 3 hours to make.  I didn't care about the time or money factor because it was a gift and I really wanted to do it, but it would be ridiculous for me to start making all of her clothes when I can buy them cheaper and use my time for other things.

What are some creative ways or things you DIY??

Money Saving Tip: Cloth Diapering

Now before you write me off and say no way, just hear me out a bit!  I feel like I should preface this post by saying I am not "Green" in every area of my life and I don't eat all Organic foods because sometimes cloth diapering doesn't get an extra thought because it's only for "EXTREMELY GREEN" people (as if extremely green were a bad thing).

We recycle. We have always recycled cans but this year we have added plastics, paper, and glass to our recycling bins.  Did you know that you don't even have to separate your curbside recycling in our valley?? Brilliant!

We try and keep the heat a bit lower than normal, and conserve where we can, but cloth diapering in all honesty had to do with the dollar signs.  The green factor is a big bonus, but the dollar savings are remarkable really. 

We decided to purchase the "Cadillac" version of cloth diapers, so if you are really awesome and like the less expensive cloth diapers then you will see even bigger savings. 

Our bumGenius One-Size Cloth Diaper 4.0 are not what most people imagine when they think of cloth diapers which is why I wanted to show you one!  They have snaps so you don't have you use pins, and they don't need to be folded to fit because they are already in "perfect" diaper shape.  These are no fuss when putting on which has really helped my husband to get on board the cloth diapering chain. 

Also these diapers have fit Addy since she was one month old and will continue to fit her to potty training because they adjust width and length.  She is almost ready to move up to the third size (which you adjust with the snaps). 

This diaper is about $18, but I bought them when they were on a buy 5 get 1 free sale making them a bit cheaper.  Our entire stash cost us about $400 which was diapers, pail liners, wetbags, and a diaper sprayer.  Now considering a package of size 3 diapers (36ct) is $8.97 at walmart (or 25cents a piece) you can see that it's pretty easy to make up that investment! 

Lets see I'll do the math $400 will buy you 1,600 disposable diapers.
Say you change an average of 6 diapers a day (which is a LOW estimate) you will have spent $400 in disposable diapers in 266 days.  I'm figuring the low estimation of diaper usage probably will compensate for the small rise in your utility bill from doing 3/4 loads of extra laundry a week.

The average age of potty training for a girl is 29 months and for a boy is 31 so lets use 30 as our average. If you use 6 diapers a day that is approximately 180 diapers a month, which is approximately 5 packs of diapers (or $44.85).  So if you have made up your initial cost in the first 9 months of using them that means you have 21 months left of free diapers or $941 dollars saved.  Now that is if you buy the most expensive cloth diaper (like us) and only use them on one kid.  You can use the diapers for your other kids, so you are saving money there too. 

Some may say that it's not worth $1000 to deal with poo, but for us it has helped me be able to stay home more.  Before we had Addy we had more income so we were able to easily drop the $400 on the cloth diapers (not to mention use gift cards that we got) to save us the monthly expenditure of $50 (low estimate once again) post baby. 

Now that we do use them, I think I actually would keep using them even if it didn't save us money.  Some of the unexpected "joys" of cloth diapering have been.
1. Addy has had diaper rash 2 times in 11 months of life (and really it was gone within a day)
2. I love the feeling that we are not filling landfills with diapers (how Green of me!)
3. Less blowouts - in her breast milk poo stage she would ALWAYS blow out in a disposable when we traveled, but never blew out in her cloth.
4. They make her bum look cute and large.
5. The bright colors are fun and adorable.
6. They really are super easy once you figure out your system.

If you are interested in cloth diapering I'd encourage you to check out Jillian's Drawers.  They have lots of basic info for getting started which was super helpful to me.  Also if you are pregnant and have not had your baby yet - give yourself a month of disposables.  I think if I would have started cloth right away I would have been too overwhelmed and given up all together.

Money Saving Tip: Buying Second Hand

I know, I know, Bbuying second hand sounds like such a typical answer to saving money, but even though it's standard I have really never been one to take advantage of shopping second hand because it has always seemed like too much hassle to buy a "worn out" item. 

Buying second hand has become so easy that you really cannot afford NOT to do it now.  It's also become super easy to sell your second items to make some money as well.  Since my 30 bags in 30 days series my total of earnings from sales is up to $95 from merely listing items on our local Facebook Marketplace group and on Craigslist (both free to list). 

Some of the recent purchase I have made 2nd hand that have been awesome (and cheap) have been:
- Sleepsack for Addy: 50 cents, regularly priced $18
- Pink Courderoy pants for Addy: $1.50, regularly around $12
- Some awesome glass containers for a shower I'm organizing: $1.60 total
- Bread Machine: $2, regularly $30
- Sidetable: $5, regularly $40ish
- Sewing Machine: $20

Some of the places I find some great second hand deals
- Local Facebook Marketplace group
- Craigslist.com
- Goodwill
- St. Vincent DePaul
- Salvation Army
- Habitat for Humanity Store
- Born Again Resale and Consignment
- Ebay.com
-Yard Sales

Now you have to be careful not to go overboard when second hand shopping.  It is super easy to get caught up in the deals and buy way more than you will use or need.  I find myself asking: Would I buy this if it were full price?  Will I use it in the next 30 days? 

I have also known friends who do a swap party, where everyone bring their clothes and accessories that they are not using anymore (in good condition) and they do a trade.  This is a fun way to get rid of stuff and get some new fun stuff! Here's a blog post on how some of them have been run/organized!

I would highly encourage you to at least trying to start implementing second hand shopping into your life via online methods.  They are easier that running from store to store to find a gerat deal and you can search for exactly what you are looking for (and not be as tempted to buy extras). 

Money Saving Tip: Transportation Evaluation

Saving money with your transportation may or may not be possible with your life situation.  We made a move 4 years ago that has save us thousands of dollars in this area and I am super grateful we have done it. 

4 years ago we decided to look into another option for Jon's drive to work vehicle.  At that time, we each had our own car.  We used my car for all of our "together" travels, and he simply used his car to get to work and back.  The fuel costs, insurance costs, everyday maintenence costs were just "normal" car costs, but it seemed like there had to be a better option for us.  This plan works for us now so great.  We may eventually need another vehicle when Addy is being dropped off and picked up at school or if I go back to working full time - so I am not saying this is forever.

We looked into a motor scooter, and decided that would be the best choice.  Here are some things that helped us arrive at that conclusion:
1. The weather in the valley is very nice without excessive amounts of rain or snow.
2. If need be on snowy days we could deal with the incovenience of driving one another to work.
3. If Jon needed to drive around students for his job there was a vehicle he could use there.
4. The cost of insurance for a scooter is $76/year.
5. The scooter gets 100/mpg so we spend about $2.50 on gas per month.
6. Savings on expensive tire replacements, car repair, etc.

Now a scooter is NOT for everyone. I am fully aware of this! But oftentimes there are things we can do to cut down on transportation expenses.  Here are a few ideas/thoughts to get you thinking on how you may be able to save.

1. How many cars do you have per driving person?  Can you do with less?
        -There are very few places in the world that have one car per driving person, and they manage
        fine.  There are even more people than you would realize in the US who go without a car or are
        one car families.

2. What types of vehicles do you have?  Could do you do with a cheaper more economical car?
     -One thing Dave Ramsey often says when people are trying to get out of debt is "SELL THE  
     CAR."  He is not usually saying people should go without a vehicle.   Most of the time people he
     is people who have 1 or 2 $30,000 cars and he is suggesting that you buy a cheaper, reliable car
     and put the extra money towards your debt.  His rule of thumb is the total value of all your
     vehicles (anything with a motor in it) should not exceed 1/2 of your annual income.  So in other
     words if you make $30,000/year you should not be driving a $20,000 car. 

3. How well do you plan your trips around town?
    -This is pretty self explanatory.  Do you run in and out of town 5 times a day?  Are all these times
    necessary.  I will admit I am not the best at this.  I justify it by our convenient location, but I think
    we could definately see some savings in fuel if I planned my trips better.

4. How is your fuel economy on your vehicle?  Do you own two gas guzzlers?
    - When we had two cars we had a Honda Accord and VW Jetta.  Both are awesome in gas
    mileage.  Two years ago we bought a new (used) car.  Knowing we would be adding to our
    family fairly soon we wanted a family car.  Since we only have ONE vehicle we needed it to do
    everything we do in our lifestyle.  Our lifestyle includes trips to snowboarding hills, traveling
    through snow to get to family, but also all the random trips around town.  We needed the 4WD,
    but didn't want a huge guzzler so we opted for a Honda Pilot.  Less MPG than my Jetta, but it does
    meet our needs in other areas.  Do you own two gas guzzlers? Do you need two gas guzzlers?? 
    These are really just questions to get you thinking to see if you can save!

Like I said before, this may not be somewhere you need adjusting.  I know we will probably get to a point where the conveniece outweights the cost and get a 2nd vehicle.  We are not there yet - but when we do get to that point, I can assure you won't be buying a $15,000 car.  We will probably be getting a $5,000 used small car or small truck.  Just look at your situation and check it out!

Money Saving Tip: Earn Free Money!

I was going to put this post later in this series but since the Christmas season is upon us I figured it might benefit you more if I wrote this post now.  Here are a couple ways to get free money online!  We use both of these systems and they really work! 

How to get money back on (almost) all of your online purchases: Ebates & ShopAtHome

What is it?
Ebates and ShopAtHome are virtually the same online shopping concept.  If you have an account with them, and go through their site to click to whatever store you are buying from you will get a percentage back of your purchase.  Each store has a different percentage back you will get and it can be anywhere from 1%-25% depending on the current promotion.

How do these sites work?
The websites have affiliate relationships with all of the stores listed on their website.  So when you buy through Ebates, Ebates get a percentage and then they give you a portion of that percentage back.

Which one should I register for?
You can register for both! Sometimes one will have a higher percentage back than the other.  They both essentially have the same stores, but occassionally you will get a much better deal with one over the other.

Why do it?
Really, why wouldn't you do it?  It costs you nothing and you get money back.  I find that I shop online a lot since we are somewhat limited in stores in our area.  I would also recommending taping a small post it note to your computer to remind you to go to the sites before you buy.  I have forgotten before and then I remember after I made the purchase.  I did this last week with a $100 purchase where I could have gotten 9% back.  Boo! Even if your purchase is small these amounts can add up!  Or what if you are buying a computer - a small percentage is quite a bit when you are paying $1,000!

How do I sign up:
Click here to register for Ebates
Click here to register for ShopAtHome (currently there is a promo where you will get an automatic $5 if you make a purchase over $25 within 60 days)

How to Earn Free Gift Cards: Swagbucks
What is it?
A website where can earn digital currency (Swagbucks) by searching the web, taking a poll, doing surveys, watching videos, looking at offers, buying deals, completing tasks, or trading in old electronics.  Those Swagbucks can then be redeemed for items in the SwagStore which are a wide range of items, many of them are gift cards to stores and restaurants. 

How much time does it take?
As much as you want it to!  The easiest way to earn Swagbucks is to use their search engine.  So instead of searching at google.com search at swagbucks.com and you will randomly be awarded Swagbucks.  This is primarily the way I earn mine.  I still sometimes prefer google over swagbucks, but I always search on swagbucks first.

Does it really work?
Yes!  this year so far my husband and I have accumulated $175 in Amazon gift cards!  We have not used them and chose to save them to buy eachother's Christmas presents this year because we typically do not buy for eachother.  I have other friends that use them to buy diapers and other grocery items to supplement their grocery and household budgets. 

How do I sign up?
You just need to register here. Once you have registered check out the "more" menu and it will show you how to earn, and tips on winning! 

Swagbucks Nuts & Bolts

Here is my initial posts on what Swagbucks is and here is a little tutorial about how I earn my Swagbucks.  I have had this post on my personal facebook for quite sometime, but realize I'm not "friends" with all my readers so wanted to share it here as well!! Here is what I bought with my Swagbucks this year and my husband also got a snowboard!

How I earn SB's:
There are SEVERAL ways to earn here are a few of the ones I use the most.

DAILY:
-Daily Poll: Answer the swagbucks daily poll question and earn 1 SB (takes less than aminute)

-NOSO: No obligation special offers - if you click through their series of offer and just keep clicking "skip offer" at the end of about 5 pages you will earn 1-2 SB (takes less than a minute)

-Using the Swagbucks toolbar (if you choose to install it) you will earn 1 SB daily.

-Using their search engine: This is where you will earn larger quantities however not every search equals a win. I just make sure that I search everything on their engine, so instead of typing facebook.com into my address bar i search "facebook" on the sb's site... I typically earn anwhere from 7-40 Sb's a day by using their search engine.. now i will admit sometimes i can't find what i need and will end up going to google, but most of the time I do find what i need.

OTHER WAY TO EARN:
-Coupons - if you use the coupons off their site you will get 10 sb's per coupon (after about 6-10 weeks) this is a bonus for me since I am a couponer!!

-Swagbucks TV- If you watch a series of 10 videos you will get 3 Swagbucks.  I just will typically leave it up on my computer and click throughout the day and not watch them. 

-Special Offers - Often times there are simple offers you can do such as like something on facebook, or watch a video and you can earn lots of swagbucks that way.  Yesterday I earned 80 just from clicking through the free special offers and doing what they say.  Just never actually pay for anything or subscribe with your debit card cause it may result in a charge later.

-Referrals: you get someone to sign up they get some and you get some!
How do I Use Swagbucks?

-Trusted Surveys: A lot of times I will not qualify for a survey, but even if you don't you will get 1 SB for trying to qualify (max of 5 earned a day by "not qualifying"), but sometimes I do qualify and will earn 100 or so from taking a survey.  Actually I did a simple survey last week and agreed to do a product testing on some ALL detergent and today got 2 full sized containers of two different types of ALL.  So not only did i get SB's I got free detergent! 

TIPS
-I make a goal to earn an average of 40 SB's a day if possible. some days I go way over espeically if i complete a survery or do some good earning on my searches (fridays they give higher quantity amounts out). Some days I'll barely do any if i'm super busy. but all in all my goal is to try and get 2 $5 amazon cards a month. Plus even if you do the bare minimum and get your super easy ones and maybe one search reward you could probably earn at least $5/month... also note, i know people who get $25/month or more in gift cards... so really its up to you!

- I redeem them as I earn them but save the codes for the end of the year at christmas.  This year we got over $200, and I bought a kindle and my husband bought a snowboard with our free gift cards!

-Some poeple i know use it to get free diapers on amazon, and other just save them for starbucks cards to treat themselves.. there are so many options, but really free dollars to amazon is worth the little time I spend... Especially since I search the internet frequently during the day anyways!

You can Sign Up for Swagbucks Here

Please let me know if you have any questions before or after you sign up. oh and there is no cost to sign up... basically you get free money for searchign the web.

Money Saving Tip: Entertainment Evaluation

One way we have made seen some major saving recently in our budget was by evaluating what we spend on entertainment and how much we were using that entertainments. 

While we were going through Baby Step #2 in Dave's Total Money Makeover plan we did not have cable.  Once we were debt free (besides the house) we decided we would get on the cable bandwagon.  At the time I was also working full time so cable wasn't a big deal as far as our budget was concerned.  Now that I've cut back at work to be at home, we really have been evaluating every cent we have been spending even closer.  We were paying $62 for our Dish Network package, and since Addy was born noticed we've been watching way less tv, since we basically only watch it after she goes to bed now. 

We did some research and found that most of our "shows" are available online, and some since our tv has internet capabilities we tried out hulu plus which will stream a bunch of shows straight through our tv a day after they air. 

Hulu Plus is 7.99/month. 

Because Hulu doesn't have all our shows we bought an HDMI cord that so we can watch any of our other shows that are on the internet on our tv with that cord.  Got a great deal on that cord for $3 I think. 

We also decided to subscribe to Netflix instant streaming for $7.99/month.  We will watch some movies (although their selection is not that exciting right now) and mostly tv show series on there.  Right now we are watching the Cosby show - that is some QUALITY Tv right there by the way! 

We went from paying $62 to $16 a month.  That's $46/month SAVINGS!!  or over $500/year savings.  

I'm not going to lie - I miss DVR.  I also have had to cut out a few shows, but to be honest it's probably a good thing.  We have a lot less "mindless" tv and NO channel surfing tv.  We only watch the shows we are "committed" to now.  haha. 

How much are you spending on entertainment and could you make some savings there??

Money Saving Tip: Comparison Shopping

Now that we've mastered grocery savings let's talk about savings in other areas of your budget! 

One way we have save lots of money is comparison shopping for almost everything.  Pots and Pans, Plates, furniture, cars, auto services, restaurants, travel etc.

You would be suprised at how many people who need a fridge will just go to store XYZ and buy one, not ever looking at prices of other places!  Fortunately we live in an area where there is competition and we can easily shop smart and get the most bang for our buck. 

Here are a few of my Comparison Shopping Tips

1. Big name stores do not always mean best deals
For Example:
A few years ago we were in the market for all new kitchen appliances when we did a remodel.  I wanted nicer quality appliances not just the standards.  We went to Sears, Home Depot & Deranleau's to scope out prices, models, and figure out what we wanted and what was within our budget.  As expected Home Depot had the lowest prices, but would you know that  they were of almost no help on answering our questions (I think we went at a weird time where the regular wasn't working).  Deranleau's had higher prices, but they were so helpful.  I WANTED to give them my business.  After we figured out what we wanted, I talked to the guy and got him to come down so close to the Home Depot Prices With Delivery!  A deal is not necessarily a dollar issue:  It's value for dollar.  We may have paid $40 more but we recieved delivery, and great customer service.
*This is my experience I know some people have awful stories to tell about almost every store in the valley so you can make your own decision :)

2. The internet and/or phone can be your best friend
While running to three appliance stores was smart, it also too about 3 hours of shopping, thinking, driving time to complete the above mentioned purchase.  In the case of appliances I prefer to see/touch/feel what I'm buying.  On most days I'm way too busy to pop over to several stores and scope out prices.  If you want to buy local why not call a business first and ask them their price on an item.  I often forget that I can do this and it saves so much time/energy if you already know exactly what you want.  If you are an internet shopper make sure to google your item and find the lowest price.  When you do this make sure you take into consideration shipping etc.  Sometimes an online store will be priced the cheapest but then have expensive shipping. 
For Example:
Black Friday - A friend mentioned a fantastic camera deal on her facebook at Walmart on Black Friday.  I then went to the internet scoping all deals of that camera and similiar.  I found that Amazon was actually $10 more but didn't come with a memory card, but it had free shipping and I wouldn't have to go to Walmart on Black friday.  Sounds like a deal to me and I didn't need a memory card anyway! ALWAYS see if you can get the same thing online somewhere cheaper.  I will be honest 9 times out of 10 I end up buying from Amazon, but occassionally there is a much better price somewhere else.

3. Dine out with coupons
While you can't really negotiate with a restaurant or truly compare apples for apples you can choose where you eat.  I know that sometimes you want to eat where you want to eat and I'm the same way, but you can save quite a bit of money if you dine with coupons.  Fortunately we have a pretty great local coupon folder that comes out regularly where we can get great food coupons.  They even have coupons for some of our favorite places (Roosters, Southway).  If you eat fast food, go to the places you get coupons for.  We don't eat fast food much, but when we do I always have a coupon.  Right now my food coupon folder holds coupons from: Southway, Roosters, McDonalds, Jack in the Box, Sonic, Taco Time, Arby's and more.  We will never use them all, but we rarely eat out without a coupon these days. 

4. Be Organized and Patient
If you are in the "market" for something but do not need it right away you need to keep an eye on whatever is is you want at any store you shop at and through the newspaper ads to get the best price.
Example:
Two weeks ago I was in famous footwear looking at some shoes that I wanted.  They were some cable knit clog looking things and they were $40.  These are not shoes I was buying for fashion reasons (although they are cute).  I wanted something closed toed, casual, and easy to slip on for quick trips to the store and running errands.  I was not willing to pay $40.  The other day my husband was looking at all the ads (proud moment for me, lol) and he said "Hey there are some shoes almost exactly like the ones you wanted for only $10 at Kmart."  So we went over that evening cause we wanted out of the house and they were great.  Comfy enough, warm enough, and since I was just wanting them to run in and out of the house with I was ecstatic about the price. 
If you are willing to wait you will amost always find something cheaper later if you are diligent about noting prices and doing some research



There are a few tips for you on comparison shopping.  From experience I have found my greatest saving in the area of travel and larger purchases when doing smart comparison shopping!  Have fun!

Money Saving Tip: Couponing

Let me start of by stating: This is not an extreme couponing blog.
I like to coupon.  I save money couponing.  I am not an expert. 
If you want to see extreme savings in your grocery budget and have the time and organizational skills to do it, then couponing is for you!

Instead of trying to tell you in my words how to coupon, I'm going to refer you to a series that I read that got me started on couponing, and then give you some of my pointers and tips for beginning!

MoneySavingMom has a fabulous series on how to tighten up your grocery budget.  The entire series is outlined here.  I highly suggest reading entries 11-17.  These will give you the ins and outs of couponing. 

MY TIPS FOR BEGINNING COUPONING

-"Play the Drugstore Game".  This is where I find HUGE savings on everything household from Shampoo, medicine, lotion, razors, toothpaste,etc. 

- Start Small: Do not let yourself become overwhelmed with having to get every single deal all the time.  You will burn out fast!

- Follow some deal blogs:  Obviously I highlight some deal on my blog - but there are lots of other blogs that highlight many more deals than I do.  I just try to stick to family/mom related deals so I don't drown you in updates, but there are some blogs that will highlight 50 deals a day on their blogs. Some blogs I follow are : Frugal Living NW, Money Saving Mom, Saving Cents with Sense, & Seattle Moms Deal Finder.

- Get Organized: It may seem like a lot of work to organize your coupons, but it will end up saving a ton of headache week in and week out if you take the time to establish an organization system.  I only spend about 1-2 hours a week organizing my coupons and planning my shopping trips now that I'm organized. 

If you are local we also have a local Couponing group on Facebook and they current have a couponing seminar schedule for Tuesday December 6th.  Click here if you have a Facebook account for the details.

Feel free to ask me any questions about the couponing posts I sent you to!  I do have a lot of couponing knowledge and can answer your questions, I just didn't want to have to rewrite what someone else has writte so wonderfully already!


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Money Saving Tip: Strategic Shopping Skills

Last week I talked about how I plan out our weekly menu.  Once I have my shopping list completed I mentioned I use my "strategic shopping and coupon skills" on that list.  Today I'm going to talk about some strategies to shopping and next week I will touch on couponing. 

I'm going to start out with a few tips for everyone, and then go on to some strategies for your shopping trips.

Tips for Everyone:
1. Become familiar with regular prices and sales prices.  Just because something is in the grocery store flier does not mean it's on a super great sale.  Normally the first page is the slam dunk deals.  I tend to base my "deal" prices using costco prices as my base.  For example ground beef at Costco is 2.99/lb, Frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts are $2.10/lb, laundry soap is 11.5cents per load.  I use this as my guage on when I should buy an advertised sale.  For instance even though I may have a few weeks worth of chicken left, it would be wise for me to buy more if it is on sale for $1.49 through a Zaycon Meats sale so that way I don't have to pay $2.10/lb later.

2. Have a stockpile.  I'm not talking Extreme Couponing seven rooms of your home stockpile.  I have a very simple stockpile consisting of toiletries, paper products, pasta, cereal, meats, and some canned items.  I do have stuff stocked in random places but that is mostly because I don't even have a pantry in my house.  No need to go over the top - even a small stockpile will save you a lot in the long run.  I set limits such as "I will only have as much shampoo that will fit in this space." 

3. When making your budget have a "weekly groceries" category and a "stockpile" category. It's super easy to go overboard on a sale and then realize you just spent your entire budget on Chicken but have nothing to go along with it (I have done this).  When your stockpile money runs out, stop buying for your stockpile. 

4. Try not to depend on convenience items.  You pay more than you realize to buy chips in little baggies and baby carrots.  Buy the big $1.50 container of carrots and chop them, Baggie up your large costco sized bag of chips.  Try to avoid fully prepared freezer meals for every night of the week.  I'm not saying convenience isn't sometimes worth it - just make sure to at least evaluate if it is worth it for your family.


Once you have the above in mind you then go on to your weekly grocery trips.  When I go through my fliers I see what great things I should get for my stockpile, but I also see if any of the things I need for my menu are on sale too and then I implement my shopping strategies.  There are several ways to attack your grocery shopping so I will highlight them below for you to pick what works best for you.

1. One stop shop - You have probably heard that Walmart does price matching.  If you have no time or enegry to go to more than one store than this is probably the best method for you.  For this method you take your shopping list and all the store fliers and go through your list and write the price match next to each items.  Example: La Victoria salsa - 1.50 at Albersons for 12oz jar.  You do have to bring your fliers into our store (although the policy says you don't have to). And you list off all your price matches to the cashier and show them the flier as you check out.
Advantages: One stop! Big Savings! Lower prices on regularly priced items typically.
Disadvantages: There are restrictions on certain items and sales so you need to know the policy well.  Walmart doesn't carry as wide of variety as grocery stores so some sale items might not be available. Long checkout time.  Must be way organized at the register.

2. Multiple Stop Shop - Divide your list into store categories and shop at the stores that seems to have the best sales for what you need.  I used to shop this way.  I would seperate out my list and note next to everything the price of the item in the flier.  Then I would first head to grocery outlet and see what they had that was on my list.  I would buy as many of my "non advertised sale items" there as well as any "sale items" where the price was lower there.  Then after that stop I would look at my list and see what stores I still needed to go to.  Now if my list of store A was significantly shortened by my trip to grocery outlet - then I might just skip that store and pay for it full price at store B if they had a lot of my sale items. 
Advantages: you don't have to go to Wmart.  Great for people who live in the Orchards and don't want to trek to Clarkston.  Probably the most savings on groceries.
Disadvantages: More shopping stops. Not very kid friendly.  More Gas usage. Easier Checkout.


I have done both of these shopping methods and have seen great savings with them both!  My biggest encouragement would be to start paying attention to the prices you see at different stores.  Once I realized how much I was saving by being a bit more intentional with my shopping I was hooked!


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Money Saving Tip: Menu Planning

As a newlywed, I moved to join my husband where he had been living the previous year.  It took me a few months to find a job so I decided that I would spend my unemployed months having dinner ready when he got home and cleaning the house.  Daily my biggest question to answer was: What's for dinner?  I would look through all my recipe's make my grocery list, head to the store and start my cooking adventure.  THIS WAS EXHAUSTING.  Fortunately we lived less than a mile from Safeway so I could easily shop, but it was seriously impractical.

A few wives/moms around me had mentioned that they plan their menu every week or every other week and I decided that this would probably solve my "what's for dinner" dilema.

Menu planning can be done in so many different ways that really the opportunities are endless.  You pick what works best for your family and schedule.  There are countless benefits to planning ahead: saving time, saving stress, and the biggest unexpected benefit was saving money. 

Here is MY step-by-step menu planning tutorial:

1. Gather together all of the following at the kitchen table with peace and quiet or with fun music of choice: Recipe Binder, Computer with Internet (for pinned recipes), Grocery Store Ads from Newspaper, Menu Calendar, Paper for shopping list.  I do my planning on Wednesday nights because that's when all the sale circulars come out.

2. Look through freezer, pantry, fridge to see what I have on hand and anything I should use before it goes bad.

3. Thumb through ads to see if there are any spectacular sales that I could incorporate into my menu.

4. Thumb through recipes in book and online, keeping in mind what I learned in steps 2 and 3. I always try to attempt at least one new recipe each week.  I also try to incorporate one of each of the following types of meals:Pasta, sandwich/burger, salad, tortilla meal, homemade pizza)  this helps me keep a variety in our menu so we are not eating, tacos, enchiladas, fajitas all in one week. 

5. Once I have picked my recipes I put them in my Life Planner.  You can use whatever calendar you want.  I used to have magenetic whiteboard on the fridge for this, but now just use my planner so all my "stuff" is in one place.

6. Now I go through each recipe and make a grocery list of everything that I need for those recipes, then I add any items I need for lunches, baby food, breakfasts, household etc.  We typically just have a normal rotation of cereal, smoothies, homemade breakfast burritos for breakfast and leftovers for lunch.  If you have more than just two adults and a baby you will probably have to line up all breakfasts, lunches and dinners in a full menu plan.  We are not there yet so I just keep stuff on hand for easy lunches for us.

7. I implement my strategic shopping skills and couponing skills to my list (I will post on this next week).

8. I head to the store/stores and do my shopping. 

Even if you do not implement strategic shopping skills and couponing just by doing the menu planning and list making you are saving BIG!  We saw a huge savings before I even got intense about sales and a (small) stockpile!

There are many variations of planning so you will have to decided what's best for your family - here are some variations:

Frequency: How often do you want to plan?  Weekly? Biweekly? Monthly? - I used to do monthly and just make seperate lists for each week.  I now do weekly so I can take advantage of weekly sales

Intesity Level: If you don't like to cook then plan easy meals like tacos, and hamburgers. You do not need to be a chef to menu plan.  The whole point is to plan to save time, energy and money not to become an extravagent cook.

Family Involvment: Can your family cook?  Assign different family members a day to pick the meal and prepare it. Family dinners can and should be FUN!

There are so many ways to menu plan!  Anyone want to give it a try this next week?  Post a comment and let me know how it goes!

Here is a link to some menu planning calendars & lists from design finch for inspiration!




Want to read about more Money Saving Tips see the other posts in this series?
Budget for your Splurges
Earn Free Money
Find a Frugal Hobby

Money Saving Tip: Find a Frugal Hobby

Most people are under the impression that hobby's cost a lot of money - and in a lot of cases they do - but that does not have to be the case.  There are several hobbys that can actually save you a lot of money if done right.  Here are some frugal hobby ideas:

1. Gardening: This is obviously a summer hobby, however you can save a lot of money on produce and herbs by mainintaining a garden.  Not to mention you know exactly where your food is coming from!  I have friends that pay very little for seeds or starter plants and they end up with enought lettuce, tomatoes, zucchini and more to feed an army!  Not to mention this makes for very healthy food in the summer!

2. Biking/Running: Biking to work can save so much money on transportation/gas!  Running can save you from your gym membership.  If you live close to work the biking option is really easy in our local climate!  There is also so much outdoor recreation here that if you decide to walk, run, or hike instead of paying for a gym membership you can!  The climate is so great here that you can run year round and with very little rain.

3. Cooking:  As a newlywed I just decided I was going to start cooking.  I did not like cooking, but I wanted to be able to cook a variety of foods and hated paying for the convenience (and preservatives) of convenience foods.  Over the course of time I have grown to LOVE cooking.  We eat well in this house, and more healthy than if we had been eating out of boxes and cans all the time.  Also when you learn to love cooking the regular take out nights are less and less frequent.  Learning to love to cook may be a huge step in major food savings!

4. DIYing:  Do-it-Yourselfing can be a great money saving option, but beware - this can also become a very costly option if you really aren't qualified to DIY certain projects, or if you don't price check.  A small DIY project obviously won't break water pipes, but sometimes it really is cheaper to buy something than make something.  If you are going to DIY to save money just double check prices.  I was thinking to DIY baby bedding would be cheaper but in reality to get the great patterns I wanted on fabric it was just going to be way more expensive.  But DIYing shelves out of pallettes is way cheaper than buying similiar ones.  Also you most definately don't want to DIY a kitchen remodel if you are going to ruin things... that will end up costing WAY more in the end.

5. Couponing:  Couponing is a huge way to save money.  There are many site that can give you the ins and out of how to coupon and get by on tiny grocery budgets.  I took up this hobby over a year ago and have seen great savings from it, and I'm not even into "Extreme Couponing." Couponing takes time, energy, and some education that can be found on the internet so it's not for everyone.  But I can say that once you have the system down the time investment is much less.  Later in this series I will highlight on some couponing techniques!

What are some of your money saving hobbies??

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Money Saving Tip: Budget for your Splurges!

I've often had people ask me how we were able to pay of our school debt in less than 2 years.  My response normally includes a rant about how awesome Dave Ramsey is and that you NEED to take his class (which I still recommend by the way).  I will be doing a series later about building your budget, but I first wanted to start with a series on Money Saving Tips.  Some of these tips will apply to you and some may not, but hopefully implementing these tips one at a time will lead you to some big savings!

I decided that my first tip would be a "fun" one.  Instead of cutting something out of your daily life, lets talk about implementing the fun into your life.

Money Saving Tip #1: Budget for your Splurges!

We all do it.  We all buy that $4 latte or go out to dinner  after a long hard day.  These splurges are necessary at times, but sometimes we can go a little overboard with our splurges and then ending feeling guilty every time we spend money on one - which then makes the splurge much less enjoyable. 

My suggestion would be to build these splurges into your budget.  If you do not have a budget yet then why not start with the small step of creating a "splurge" envelope.  In our house we each get a $20/month allowance for whatever we want, then we also have a $40/month allowance for family splurges (an unplanned dinner out, a happy hour sonic run for diet cherry limeades, whatever you and your family enjoy). 

By doing this you have given yourself the freedom to spend on these fun items, without going overboard. How much cash you put in these envelopes is really up to you and your income level, but since the whole point of this series is saving, I would recommend starting with a conservative number.  If you find out later that it was way too conservative, you can adjust.  The whole point is to closely monitor that area of your budget so you can enjoy it more!  I know it may seem like an oxymoron, but really having a budget has been the most freeing thing for our family!

Another STRONG recommendation would be to come up with your budget amounts with your spouse if you are married.  You telling your spouse that they will only be spending x amount of dollars on something may not go over too well.  Make sure to talk things over and at least give it a shot for a month!

My favorite thing about the splurge budget is that my husband and I don't ever have to argue about how much we are spending on lattes (me), or sonic runs (him).

Happy Splurging. 

If you plan on implementing this let me know in the comments your plan or how it goes!!