Showing posts with label Cutting Costs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cutting Costs. Show all posts
Saturday, January 08, 2011
Come Visit My New Blog
Okay, I mentioned the other day that I was thinking of creating a new blog to share my thrifty ideas. I was leaning against it the other day but decided to give it a go. I have lots of ideas of simple and thrifty things to blog about and will be working very hard to update it every day. I would love for you to follow my new blog if it's something you'd be interested in. Check it out here. It's called Simply Thrifty.
Friday, October 08, 2010
Want Cleaner Dishes?
My dad, who fixes major appliances for a living, just sent an email out about how to get your dishes cleaner in your dishwasher. Read below if you'd like to learn more. There are some great tips! I'm actually going to try making my own dishwasher soap because I have most of the ingredients on hand already. If you'd like to see the recipe, it can be found here. I haven't tried it yet so I don't know how it works at this point. I'll try to update when I start using it. If it doesn't work well, I'll be using the lemi-shine that my dad talked about in his letter.
Dear Friends:
The summer of 2010 marked a Sea Change in dishwasher detergents. The Federal Government banned the use of all Phosphates in dishwasher detergents in July or August of this year. What does that mean for you? It means that when you run out of your current box of d/w soap (which may have Phosphates in it), you will not be able to buy another box with Phosphates--ever!
Those of you who are wondering why your dishwasher is doing such a lousy job lately need to check the box or bottle of dishwasher detergent and see if it is Phosphate Free--or ECO-Friendly, as some manufacturers like to boast. Phosphate Free d/w detergent is worse than useless. By itself, it will leave your dishes increasingly dirty, spotted, covered with a white, ugly film. Your dishwasher interior will also suffer the same fate as time goes by.
I had a customer recently who just bought a house. The previous owner prided herself in using nothing but ECO-Friendly detergents in her home. She had used this soap in her dishwasher for the last 4 years. The outside of the dishwasher looked beautiful. It was spotlessly clean and shiny--like it had just been installed new last week. However, the interior looked like it was sprayed with concrete. I could not even chip it with my putty knife. This lady had to throw the dishwasher away and buy a new one.
There is a product I recently heard about from a fellow appliance repairman. It is called LEMI SHINE. It is sold in Target and Wal-Mart stores. It is a powder that is used in conjunction with your powdered, Phosphate Free detergent. It will restore your dishwasher back to what it was designed for---Washing dishes---and doing a good job at it, too.
I have listed some pointers below that will help you get the most out of your dishwasher--regardless of brand or age.
1. Do not use Liquid Dishwasher Detergents. Most Hi-End dishwashers have sensors in them that determine how dirty the water is at the beginning of the wash cycle. If it determines that the water has a lot of food particles in it, it will, in many cases, run the dishwasher through the longest wash cycles with the most fill cycles. This adds time to your wash cycle and uses a lot more water (which costs energy to heat). The liquid detergents tend to coat the sensors so that they can not function. It is like smearing Vaseline on your glasses and then checking outside to see if it is foggy or not. With dirty glasses, you won't be able to tell. That is what happens to the sensors when they are covered with residue for the liquid soap.
2. Use Lemi Shine, along with a good quality powdered dishwasher detergent (like Cascade).
The first time you use Lemi Shine, it is recommended that you use it in an EMPTY dishwasher. Fill the main detergent cup FULL of Lemi Shine, run it on the Hottest, Longest wash cycle you have. This will help clean out the dishwasher and pump assembly.
After you have run the dishwasher with just Lemi Shine, use a 50/50 mixture of your dishwasher soap and Lemi Shine in every wash load.
I would recommend that you only add this mixture to the main wash soap cup, and fill that cup only about 1/3 the way full. Leave the other soap cup EMPTY. You will be using about 1/4th to 1/6th the soap you normally would if you were to fill both soap cups full.
The manufacturers always tell you to fill every soap cup FULL, for best results. They tell you that because they are SELLING SOAP!
Using too much soap etches your glass ware that much faster, often leaves spots and soap particles on the dishes and tastes like soap when you drink from the glasses.
When you back off on the amount of detergent you use, you can often stop using Jet Dry for spotting problems. I often tell my customers, if you cut back on your use of detergent and stop using Jet Dry, you can go to Hawaii once a year on what you save.
An easy way to use this Lemi Shine with your dishwasher soap is to fill a sugar dispenser half and half with the two products. Then just fill the one soap cup 1/3rd full and you are good to go. Just be sure to label the sugar dispenser as DISHWASHER SOAP so no one mistakes it for sugar.
3. When starting your dishwasher, run the water in the kitchen faucet until it is HOT. Then, shut off the faucet and turn on the dishwasher. That way your dishwasher gets hot water immediately and you won't be filling your dishwasher with COLD water at the start.
4. While waiting for the water to get hot at the faucet, run your disposal for a few seconds to make sure it is empty. Most dishwashers drain through the disposal and this ensures that you won't overflow the sink and flood the floor while the dishwasher is running.
5. If your dishwasher has a "Water Heat" option for the Wash cycle--use it. This ensures that the water will be hot enough for the dishwasher to do an excellent job of cleaning the dishes. If you have young children at home, your home water heater should be set no higher than 120 degrees. This will minimize the chance of scalding accidents in kids or grand-kids.
The Maximum temperature for young children is 120 degrees.
The Minimum temperature for dishwashers is 120 degrees.
There is no overlap. Use the "Water Heat" option on your dishwasher--it is the most important button on your dishwasher.
6. If you want to save energy on your dishwasher use, select "Air Dry" for the dry cycle. Leave the door closed on your dishwasher once the cycle is complete in order to keep the heat in the dishwasher. This helps the dishes to dry without using the HEAT Dry Option.
7. If your dishwasher has only one spray arm (located below the bottom rack), it is important to load the bottom rack in such a way as to allow the water from the spray arm to go through the lower rack to the upper rack so those dishes can get clean. Big pots or bowls or cookie sheets in the bottom rack will block the water and not allow water to the upper rack.
If you follow these steps, you will ensure that your dishwasher has the best chance possible of doing an excellent job in cleaning your dishes. Without the use of Lemi Shine, many people will end up replacing their dishwashers, thinking that the dirty dishes are a result of a worn out machine. They will find out too late that there cleaning problems did not leave with the old dishwasher.
Please feel free to pass this information on to your friends and co-workers. They too, will be looking for an answer for their dishwasher problems.
Dear Friends:
The summer of 2010 marked a Sea Change in dishwasher detergents. The Federal Government banned the use of all Phosphates in dishwasher detergents in July or August of this year. What does that mean for you? It means that when you run out of your current box of d/w soap (which may have Phosphates in it), you will not be able to buy another box with Phosphates--ever!
Those of you who are wondering why your dishwasher is doing such a lousy job lately need to check the box or bottle of dishwasher detergent and see if it is Phosphate Free--or ECO-Friendly, as some manufacturers like to boast. Phosphate Free d/w detergent is worse than useless. By itself, it will leave your dishes increasingly dirty, spotted, covered with a white, ugly film. Your dishwasher interior will also suffer the same fate as time goes by.
I had a customer recently who just bought a house. The previous owner prided herself in using nothing but ECO-Friendly detergents in her home. She had used this soap in her dishwasher for the last 4 years. The outside of the dishwasher looked beautiful. It was spotlessly clean and shiny--like it had just been installed new last week. However, the interior looked like it was sprayed with concrete. I could not even chip it with my putty knife. This lady had to throw the dishwasher away and buy a new one.
There is a product I recently heard about from a fellow appliance repairman. It is called LEMI SHINE. It is sold in Target and Wal-Mart stores. It is a powder that is used in conjunction with your powdered, Phosphate Free detergent. It will restore your dishwasher back to what it was designed for---Washing dishes---and doing a good job at it, too.
I have listed some pointers below that will help you get the most out of your dishwasher--regardless of brand or age.
1. Do not use Liquid Dishwasher Detergents. Most Hi-End dishwashers have sensors in them that determine how dirty the water is at the beginning of the wash cycle. If it determines that the water has a lot of food particles in it, it will, in many cases, run the dishwasher through the longest wash cycles with the most fill cycles. This adds time to your wash cycle and uses a lot more water (which costs energy to heat). The liquid detergents tend to coat the sensors so that they can not function. It is like smearing Vaseline on your glasses and then checking outside to see if it is foggy or not. With dirty glasses, you won't be able to tell. That is what happens to the sensors when they are covered with residue for the liquid soap.
2. Use Lemi Shine, along with a good quality powdered dishwasher detergent (like Cascade).
The first time you use Lemi Shine, it is recommended that you use it in an EMPTY dishwasher. Fill the main detergent cup FULL of Lemi Shine, run it on the Hottest, Longest wash cycle you have. This will help clean out the dishwasher and pump assembly.
After you have run the dishwasher with just Lemi Shine, use a 50/50 mixture of your dishwasher soap and Lemi Shine in every wash load.
I would recommend that you only add this mixture to the main wash soap cup, and fill that cup only about 1/3 the way full. Leave the other soap cup EMPTY. You will be using about 1/4th to 1/6th the soap you normally would if you were to fill both soap cups full.
The manufacturers always tell you to fill every soap cup FULL, for best results. They tell you that because they are SELLING SOAP!
Using too much soap etches your glass ware that much faster, often leaves spots and soap particles on the dishes and tastes like soap when you drink from the glasses.
When you back off on the amount of detergent you use, you can often stop using Jet Dry for spotting problems. I often tell my customers, if you cut back on your use of detergent and stop using Jet Dry, you can go to Hawaii once a year on what you save.
An easy way to use this Lemi Shine with your dishwasher soap is to fill a sugar dispenser half and half with the two products. Then just fill the one soap cup 1/3rd full and you are good to go. Just be sure to label the sugar dispenser as DISHWASHER SOAP so no one mistakes it for sugar.
3. When starting your dishwasher, run the water in the kitchen faucet until it is HOT. Then, shut off the faucet and turn on the dishwasher. That way your dishwasher gets hot water immediately and you won't be filling your dishwasher with COLD water at the start.
4. While waiting for the water to get hot at the faucet, run your disposal for a few seconds to make sure it is empty. Most dishwashers drain through the disposal and this ensures that you won't overflow the sink and flood the floor while the dishwasher is running.
5. If your dishwasher has a "Water Heat" option for the Wash cycle--use it. This ensures that the water will be hot enough for the dishwasher to do an excellent job of cleaning the dishes. If you have young children at home, your home water heater should be set no higher than 120 degrees. This will minimize the chance of scalding accidents in kids or grand-kids.
The Maximum temperature for young children is 120 degrees.
The Minimum temperature for dishwashers is 120 degrees.
There is no overlap. Use the "Water Heat" option on your dishwasher--it is the most important button on your dishwasher.
6. If you want to save energy on your dishwasher use, select "Air Dry" for the dry cycle. Leave the door closed on your dishwasher once the cycle is complete in order to keep the heat in the dishwasher. This helps the dishes to dry without using the HEAT Dry Option.
7. If your dishwasher has only one spray arm (located below the bottom rack), it is important to load the bottom rack in such a way as to allow the water from the spray arm to go through the lower rack to the upper rack so those dishes can get clean. Big pots or bowls or cookie sheets in the bottom rack will block the water and not allow water to the upper rack.
If you follow these steps, you will ensure that your dishwasher has the best chance possible of doing an excellent job in cleaning your dishes. Without the use of Lemi Shine, many people will end up replacing their dishwashers, thinking that the dirty dishes are a result of a worn out machine. They will find out too late that there cleaning problems did not leave with the old dishwasher.
Please feel free to pass this information on to your friends and co-workers. They too, will be looking for an answer for their dishwasher problems.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Grocery Savings
I've gotten pretty passionate about my coupons this year...ask just about anyone who knows me. Many people question whether it's really worth it to use coupons. I had a few minutes to crunch some numbers today so I thought I'd share with you just a taste of what I'm saving on my grocery bill. I keep the majority of my grocery receipts. Today, I took JUST my City Market receipts and decided to figure out how much I've saved overall since the start of the year. Keep in mind this doesn't include every receipt. There are also some savings not counted on the receipts. Upromise adds money to an account so I don't save it at the time of purchase but I do get the money saved into an account for later use. Also, if I buy an item on 50% off clearance (which I frequently do with my breads) the discount doesn't show up in my savings totals. It rings up at 50% off but the savings don't count towards my savings since it's on clearance.
Anyways, here's what I came up with. Please keep in mind that I live in a rural area and things here generally cost MORE than more populated areas. Your savings can be even greater if the overall cost of your items is less.
This is the totals from the 11 City Market Receipts I have since the beginning of the year:
Total spent out of pocket (OOP): $406.65
Value Card Savings: $209.43
Manufacturer Coupon Savings: $167.05
Total savings of: $376.48
Total I WOULD have spent if I didn't have Value card savings and coupons: $783.48
Total percent saved of my purchases: 48%!!!
These are my regular grocery receipts! I'm buying items like milk, eggs, cereal, fruit, veggies, canned products, meat etc. I try very hard to just buy items that we use. I don't buy random stuff that I'll never use just to get good savings. This system works! If you have the time and you want to save money on your grocery bill, start looking at some of the links I have on the top right of my blog. My three favorites are probably couponmom.com, A Thrifty Mom, and Shortcuts.com
If you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to help you through the process. I used to try and fail at using coupons until last Fall. Now, I LOVE my coupons!
Anyways, here's what I came up with. Please keep in mind that I live in a rural area and things here generally cost MORE than more populated areas. Your savings can be even greater if the overall cost of your items is less.
This is the totals from the 11 City Market Receipts I have since the beginning of the year:
Total spent out of pocket (OOP): $406.65
Value Card Savings: $209.43
Manufacturer Coupon Savings: $167.05
Total savings of: $376.48
Total I WOULD have spent if I didn't have Value card savings and coupons: $783.48
Total percent saved of my purchases: 48%!!!
These are my regular grocery receipts! I'm buying items like milk, eggs, cereal, fruit, veggies, canned products, meat etc. I try very hard to just buy items that we use. I don't buy random stuff that I'll never use just to get good savings. This system works! If you have the time and you want to save money on your grocery bill, start looking at some of the links I have on the top right of my blog. My three favorites are probably couponmom.com, A Thrifty Mom, and Shortcuts.com
If you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to help you through the process. I used to try and fail at using coupons until last Fall. Now, I LOVE my coupons!
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Super Duper Deals
Today my friend, Kristi, and I went to Target and Safeway together. We did a bunch of pre-planning with our coupons and came away with some sweet deals. It takes a bit of work but in the end, it is totally worth it.
At Target, my purchases WOULD have cost $81.30 total but I ended up spending only $10.30 out of pocket (OOP). I ended up saving 87% of my purchases!
At Safeway, I saved 76% and spent only $22.74 instead of $87.26.
Between the two of us, we ended up with 13 boxes of free cereal. 10 packs of free gum. 12 boxes of free Fiber One granola bars and toaster pastries. 3 bags of free cough drops. 3 free bottles of Vitamin water. 6, 4-packs of good quality razors that cost us $1.50 total. That's 0.12 and a half cents per razor. Each razor is normally $1.63 each. We had many other discounts as well but those were some of our best.
What you see in the picture are just some of my discounts. I had more as I mentioned above and Kristi had lots of the same discounts as well athough I don't know what her totals were. Here's what I bought...
All of the products that I brought home (after I gave some to Kristi)
My Safeway purchases. I gave her most of the cereal since she has 6 people in her family and I only have 2 that eat cereal.
Most of my Target purchases
My Safeway purchases. I gave her most of the cereal since she has 6 people in her family and I only have 2 that eat cereal.Most of my Target purchases
How did we manage getting such deep savings you ask? I'll share the gist of it, but you'll have to do a bit of research to get the same kind of deals yourself.
First of all, I use Couponmom.com. This shows me what's on sale and what I have coupons for. Read their free little booklet or watch their movie to see how it's done. It really works. I was skeptical at first but I usually save at least 50% on my grocery trips...including items that aren't on such super sale. (Last week I bought delicious whipped butter at $0.66/lb...I stocked up.)
Read other people's websites to get ideas and links to good printable coupons. I have a local one for CO that helps a lot and one that is based in Vegas that helps me as well. Click here for the Vegas website.
It also helped that Kristi and I pooled our coupons. We were able to get better deals working together than each going individually. For example. At Target right now, there is a sale for buy 4 Fiber One products and get a $5 gift card at checkout. We did this deal 3 separate times because between the two of us, we had at least 12 coupons for Fiber One products. We ended up getting all of our Fiber One products for free because of the money we received back at the end.
Here's another example. One pack of 4 razors normally costs $6.49. I had 3 TARGET coupons I printed offline a couple weeks ago for $2 off the razors. I also had 3 MANUFACTURER coupons for $4 off the same razors. That brought the price down to $0.50/pack. I could do this three times. However, I also had three buy one get one free (BOGO) coupons. So, I bought 3 packs of razors for $0.50 each and got three more packs free. Both Kristi and I are now set on our razors for awhile. :)
One thing I learned recently is that if something is on sale for BOGO free and you have a coupon for BOGO free then you actually get two items for free. They basically cancel each other out so you get both for free. That's how we got 10 packs of gum for free. We had 5 BOGO free coupons between the two of us and they were on sale for the same.
Hope this post inspires you to start couponing if you don't already. I have saved SO MUCH money since I started couponing last fall. I rarely buy full-priced items anymore because I've learned so much about sales, coupons etc. over the past few months. The stores where I live also tend to be more expensive than many parts of the country and do NOT double coupons but I am still able to receive savings like you see above.
I used to try to cut coupons and I would just get frustrated at only saving 2-3 dollars on my grocery order for a whole bunch of work and half the time I would forget my coupons. It still takes a bunch of work but I am now saving 50% or MORE off of my purchases with the help of couponmom and a little research on my part.
If you would like some free KFC meals (2 pieces of grilled chicken, 2 sides and a biscuit). Go to Save a Penny and check out the link. I just printed off 4 for Phil and I. Hey, it's free food. You can't beat that!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Cutting Cost Websites
***EDIT: I've added two more websites that I just discovered this week!
I have been fighting to save money however I can for our little household. I feel like I have been pretty successful for the rural area I live in. I don't have access to some of the super-saver stores like Walgreens, CVS or stores that double or triple coupons. However, I have still managed to average 40-60%+ savings on a regular basis at our local grocery store. I have been sharing some of my money saving tips with friends here and there and I am writing this post to compile a list of the websites I use, enjoy or recommend. Check them out if you have time!
NEW: Cellfire.com-very similar to shortcuts.com. Electronic coupons that you select online and are automatically taken off at the register in select stores.
NEW: P & G eSaver-another electronic coupon site; similar to cellfire and shortcuts.
Couponmom.com--This is by far my favorite website. It makes sense of my coupons and is what makes it possible for me to save so much on my grocery bill each month. You do have to log-in to use the site but it is completely free and pretty user-friendly. Just be sure to watch the video and/or read their free pamphlet for how their system works.
Shortcuts.com--probably my second favorite site. Electronic coupons that I can add to my grocery store card. When I scan my card to get my store discounts, it automatically takes the discount off my total bill. The biggest plus is that I can use these coupons and STILL use a matching paper coupon...even though my store doesn't double coupons. Every month, I find some that overlap.
Upromise.com--want to earn college savings for yourself, your child, your grandchildren or a distant relative? Sign up now to earn free money! You register your credit cards and grocery cards with them (don't worry, it's safe) and when you shop at certain stores, you get money added to your account. It honestly helps if you download their Upromise toolbar. You'll end up saving more money that way. For example, I scrapbook online at Shutterfly.com. Each time I shop at Shutterfly, 8% of my bill go directly into my upromise account. In one year I saved $81.31. Not a ton of money, but again...it's FREE!
Craigslist.org--Want to find used items for a good price? Furniture, baby items, household items etc? Check out your local area before you buy new. It's better than ebay because people aren't bidding on the items. There's usually one set price. Also, since you should be looking in your area, you don't have to pay shipping.
Freecycle.org--I'm surprised at how many people haven't heard about freecycle. You do have to sign up for your local area and be added. However, everything posted or requested MUST be free. People aren't allowed to ask for payment of any kind. You receive daily/weekly emails (your choice) of items that people are offering for free. If you're looking for something, you can also post a request on freecycle and sometimes you can get what you're looking for for free. The goal is to help keep these items out of our landfills. Pretty awesome if you ask me.
Discountednewspapers.com--Check out this site if you want your Sunday paper for a great deal. I am paying about $32 for a year of newspapers (Saturday/Sunday only). I save MUCH MUCH more than that with the coupons I get from it.
Restaurant.com--a decent way to save a few bucks on eating out. As I live in a more rural area, there is only 1 restaurant in my area that offers a certificate from restaurant.com. You can often get a $25 off certificate for only $2. You need to find the discount codes to use when you pay (I usually find mine at couponmom.com). Take note that in order to use these certificates, you do have to spend money. Usually, it's something like spend $35 or more and save $25 off your total bill excluding tip and alcohol. (That's just one example. Each restaurant can be a little different).
To Save A Penny--I just actually found this site tonight. It's run by a friend on Facebook that I went to college with. She's got some great money-saving tips each week. See her running total for how much she's saved this year on her side-bar! Looks like she does a lot of Walgreens & CVS deals so if you have those stores in your area, be sure to check out her site. She also has other money saving tips for everyone else.
Babycheapskate.com--Posts some great deals on money savings for baby/toddler/child items. There's some good tips, coupons, discussions on there so be sure to check it out if you have a little one.
Mypoints.com--If you purchase things online at all, you might want to sign-up for myspoints.com. As you shop online, you can earn points for purchases at many different websites. You eventually cash in your points for gift cards when you've saved up enough. It takes some time to earn points if you're not a big online spender but it's still possible to earn by taking survey's, visiting webpages, using their printable coupons (which are the same as many other printable coupon websites). Free money never hurts. If you're interested in signing up, would you leave your email address in the comments and I'll send you an invite. I get points if you sign up and earn points so we both win!
Zenni Optical--I haven't had a chance to use this site but I am going to try it out next time my husband or I need new glasses. I just purchased new pairs for BOTH of us before I learned about this site. The blog I found it on said that they purchased glasses from here and they seemed very good in quality and the prices were what you see...very low!
Well, that's the majority of what I have and use. If you have any money-saving websites that you love, please share them. I'm really only interested in free websites so if you have to pay money to join them, I'm not interested. I hope you find some of this information useful. As a stay-at-home-mom, I consider saving money to be part of my job. The money I save is kind of like the money I earn for my family. The best part is, I'm still able to stay home with Taeya and invest in her little life. That, by far, is the best investment of all!
I have been fighting to save money however I can for our little household. I feel like I have been pretty successful for the rural area I live in. I don't have access to some of the super-saver stores like Walgreens, CVS or stores that double or triple coupons. However, I have still managed to average 40-60%+ savings on a regular basis at our local grocery store. I have been sharing some of my money saving tips with friends here and there and I am writing this post to compile a list of the websites I use, enjoy or recommend. Check them out if you have time!
NEW: Cellfire.com-very similar to shortcuts.com. Electronic coupons that you select online and are automatically taken off at the register in select stores.
NEW: P & G eSaver-another electronic coupon site; similar to cellfire and shortcuts.
Couponmom.com--This is by far my favorite website. It makes sense of my coupons and is what makes it possible for me to save so much on my grocery bill each month. You do have to log-in to use the site but it is completely free and pretty user-friendly. Just be sure to watch the video and/or read their free pamphlet for how their system works.
Shortcuts.com--probably my second favorite site. Electronic coupons that I can add to my grocery store card. When I scan my card to get my store discounts, it automatically takes the discount off my total bill. The biggest plus is that I can use these coupons and STILL use a matching paper coupon...even though my store doesn't double coupons. Every month, I find some that overlap.
Upromise.com--want to earn college savings for yourself, your child, your grandchildren or a distant relative? Sign up now to earn free money! You register your credit cards and grocery cards with them (don't worry, it's safe) and when you shop at certain stores, you get money added to your account. It honestly helps if you download their Upromise toolbar. You'll end up saving more money that way. For example, I scrapbook online at Shutterfly.com. Each time I shop at Shutterfly, 8% of my bill go directly into my upromise account. In one year I saved $81.31. Not a ton of money, but again...it's FREE!
Craigslist.org--Want to find used items for a good price? Furniture, baby items, household items etc? Check out your local area before you buy new. It's better than ebay because people aren't bidding on the items. There's usually one set price. Also, since you should be looking in your area, you don't have to pay shipping.
Freecycle.org--I'm surprised at how many people haven't heard about freecycle. You do have to sign up for your local area and be added. However, everything posted or requested MUST be free. People aren't allowed to ask for payment of any kind. You receive daily/weekly emails (your choice) of items that people are offering for free. If you're looking for something, you can also post a request on freecycle and sometimes you can get what you're looking for for free. The goal is to help keep these items out of our landfills. Pretty awesome if you ask me.
Discountednewspapers.com--Check out this site if you want your Sunday paper for a great deal. I am paying about $32 for a year of newspapers (Saturday/Sunday only). I save MUCH MUCH more than that with the coupons I get from it.
Restaurant.com--a decent way to save a few bucks on eating out. As I live in a more rural area, there is only 1 restaurant in my area that offers a certificate from restaurant.com. You can often get a $25 off certificate for only $2. You need to find the discount codes to use when you pay (I usually find mine at couponmom.com). Take note that in order to use these certificates, you do have to spend money. Usually, it's something like spend $35 or more and save $25 off your total bill excluding tip and alcohol. (That's just one example. Each restaurant can be a little different).
To Save A Penny--I just actually found this site tonight. It's run by a friend on Facebook that I went to college with. She's got some great money-saving tips each week. See her running total for how much she's saved this year on her side-bar! Looks like she does a lot of Walgreens & CVS deals so if you have those stores in your area, be sure to check out her site. She also has other money saving tips for everyone else.
Babycheapskate.com--Posts some great deals on money savings for baby/toddler/child items. There's some good tips, coupons, discussions on there so be sure to check it out if you have a little one.
Mypoints.com--If you purchase things online at all, you might want to sign-up for myspoints.com. As you shop online, you can earn points for purchases at many different websites. You eventually cash in your points for gift cards when you've saved up enough. It takes some time to earn points if you're not a big online spender but it's still possible to earn by taking survey's, visiting webpages, using their printable coupons (which are the same as many other printable coupon websites). Free money never hurts. If you're interested in signing up, would you leave your email address in the comments and I'll send you an invite. I get points if you sign up and earn points so we both win!
Zenni Optical--I haven't had a chance to use this site but I am going to try it out next time my husband or I need new glasses. I just purchased new pairs for BOTH of us before I learned about this site. The blog I found it on said that they purchased glasses from here and they seemed very good in quality and the prices were what you see...very low!
Well, that's the majority of what I have and use. If you have any money-saving websites that you love, please share them. I'm really only interested in free websites so if you have to pay money to join them, I'm not interested. I hope you find some of this information useful. As a stay-at-home-mom, I consider saving money to be part of my job. The money I save is kind of like the money I earn for my family. The best part is, I'm still able to stay home with Taeya and invest in her little life. That, by far, is the best investment of all!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Grocery Bill Update
Well, I've been using Couponmom.com for a couple weeks now. Thanks Michaela for recommending it. It has helped me SO MUCH with my grocery shopping. In the past few trips I have made I have SAVED: 59%, 44%, 39%, & 53% of my bill. I am finding it so easy to use and am able to get the best deal between my local grocery store and Wal-Mart because I can see many of the comparison prices between stores. Because I've had questions about how I know how much I'm saving, I can only tell how much I save when I go to the grocery store because it prints it on my receipt. Wal-Mart doesn't list my savings other than the actual coupons of course.
One of blogs I've been reading mentioned that the mom only buys meat under $2.00/lb. I was wondering if I could do that as well. Although I don't think I'll say that I won't buy anything over that price, that is the price I have been aiming for. Since waiting for the deals, I've found boneless, skinless chicken breasts on sale for $1.88/lb and chicken thighs on sale for $0.99/lb. I also got a turkey for $7.00...that breaks down to $0.64 cents/lb! Oh, and I found sausage for $1.50/lb. So, I've been successful so far. I've yet to find steak for my goal price but I'm still looking for at least a good sale.
I'm amazed at how many things I buy on a regular basis that I can find coupons for. I don't buy a huge amount of premade foods like store bought cookies, chips, cookie dough, pie crusts etc. It always seemed like those were the items I could find tons of coupons for and I didn't think there would be many that I'd use. However, I'm finding coupons for yeast (I bake a lot), sugar, mayonnaise, yogurt, cleaning products, and so much more! Between that and looking to buy items I need that are also on sale, it's really helped me cut down on my grocery bill.
Have any of my readers been working on cutting their grocery costs? If so, how's it going? Any tips, advice, suggestions?
One of blogs I've been reading mentioned that the mom only buys meat under $2.00/lb. I was wondering if I could do that as well. Although I don't think I'll say that I won't buy anything over that price, that is the price I have been aiming for. Since waiting for the deals, I've found boneless, skinless chicken breasts on sale for $1.88/lb and chicken thighs on sale for $0.99/lb. I also got a turkey for $7.00...that breaks down to $0.64 cents/lb! Oh, and I found sausage for $1.50/lb. So, I've been successful so far. I've yet to find steak for my goal price but I'm still looking for at least a good sale.
I'm amazed at how many things I buy on a regular basis that I can find coupons for. I don't buy a huge amount of premade foods like store bought cookies, chips, cookie dough, pie crusts etc. It always seemed like those were the items I could find tons of coupons for and I didn't think there would be many that I'd use. However, I'm finding coupons for yeast (I bake a lot), sugar, mayonnaise, yogurt, cleaning products, and so much more! Between that and looking to buy items I need that are also on sale, it's really helped me cut down on my grocery bill.
Have any of my readers been working on cutting their grocery costs? If so, how's it going? Any tips, advice, suggestions?
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Coupon Sites
Not too much going on around here. I've not been taking very many pictures lately. I cut up, cooked and pureed our pumpkin and baked some chocolate chip pumpkin bread. Yum.
In regards to the money saving post from a few days ago, I've been doing some coupon research and I'm excited about finding some methods that might work for me. Michaela recommended www.couponmom.com and I've found some methods of couponing that I'm looking forward to trying. I like their advice because it doesn't involve cutting all the coupons out each week and then hoping to use them. Check it out to see how it works. I'm impressed. Read their free little booklet on their website entitled "Cut Your Grocery Bill In Half." It's got some good advice. Also check out the "Grocery Deals by State" link on the left sidebar a few from the top.
I've also been reading a few good blogs about how to meal plan, shop for sales and use coupons. It'll take some time to get it to work and to figure out how to plan properly but I'm excited to try it. I'm looking forward to saving more money on my grocery bill as I plan my meals around good deals at the grocery store. Did you see the news story saying that the cost of groceries are supposed to increase by 7-9% in the coming months? With that in mind, I'm hoping to cut my grocery bill quite a bit by investing a little time and effort into my planning and shopping.
You might also want to check out shortcuts.com for electronic coupons...no clipping and remembering to use them!
If you're signed up for upromise.com (A free site that allows you to save money for college as you shop and use your credit card) They have also begun using electronic coupons.
A site I haven't had a lot of time to check out but it looks promising is Money Saving Mom.
Printable coupons can be found here at Shop At Home.
Need glasses? Check out this site! Zenni Optical I read about this on someone's blog. She and her husband both bought glasses there and were very happy with the quality they received.
And just because I have such an adorable little girl, I thought I'd post a few pics of her munching on graham crackers and sitting in her little chair. Today, I was grocery shopping and Taeya was so charming. She chatted with and grinned at many people. She's such a fun little baby and is changing daily.
In regards to the money saving post from a few days ago, I've been doing some coupon research and I'm excited about finding some methods that might work for me. Michaela recommended www.couponmom.com and I've found some methods of couponing that I'm looking forward to trying. I like their advice because it doesn't involve cutting all the coupons out each week and then hoping to use them. Check it out to see how it works. I'm impressed. Read their free little booklet on their website entitled "Cut Your Grocery Bill In Half." It's got some good advice. Also check out the "Grocery Deals by State" link on the left sidebar a few from the top.
I've also been reading a few good blogs about how to meal plan, shop for sales and use coupons. It'll take some time to get it to work and to figure out how to plan properly but I'm excited to try it. I'm looking forward to saving more money on my grocery bill as I plan my meals around good deals at the grocery store. Did you see the news story saying that the cost of groceries are supposed to increase by 7-9% in the coming months? With that in mind, I'm hoping to cut my grocery bill quite a bit by investing a little time and effort into my planning and shopping.
You might also want to check out shortcuts.com for electronic coupons...no clipping and remembering to use them!
If you're signed up for upromise.com (A free site that allows you to save money for college as you shop and use your credit card) They have also begun using electronic coupons.
A site I haven't had a lot of time to check out but it looks promising is Money Saving Mom.
Printable coupons can be found here at Shop At Home.
Need glasses? Check out this site! Zenni Optical I read about this on someone's blog. She and her husband both bought glasses there and were very happy with the quality they received.
And just because I have such an adorable little girl, I thought I'd post a few pics of her munching on graham crackers and sitting in her little chair. Today, I was grocery shopping and Taeya was so charming. She chatted with and grinned at many people. She's such a fun little baby and is changing daily.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Money Saving Tips
I would like to share some of the little things I do around the house and as I'm shopping to save money (or to spend less of it). If you have any suggestions that you'd like to share, I'd LOVE to hear them. Please also feel free to share any websites that you use that have good deals, tell you how to save money etc. I'm looking for a website where I can find coupons for things I'll be buying. So far, I haven't found one that I like. Any suggestions?
1. MEAL PLANNING. The biggest thing I've started doing lately is monthly meal planning (I wrote about it awhile back and I still love it). This has probably cut our monthly grocery bill nearly in half and it's made it SO much easier to plan and cook meals.
2. DRIER SETTING. When drying my clothes, I always used to turn the heat on for the full cycle (More dry). I thought it needed that long to get dry. My dad suggested that I try "Less dry" and see if my clothes got dry. I always set the setting to "less dry" now and my clothes are almost always completely dry. Sometimes a load with jeans or thick towels might need a little longer, but usually they don't when I use it with tip number 3.
3. DRIER BALLS. I purchased the blue spikey drier balls at Bed, Bath & Beyond and love them. I don't have to buy drier sheets (which I don't like using anyways) and it fluffs the clothes and dries them faster. *Save all your Bed, Bath & Beyond coupons because they never expire (even though they have an expiration date) and you can use up to five at a time if you buy at least 5 things. That's great savings!
4. BABY FOOD. I've made all of Taeya's baby food except for when we traveled to CA. It is SO fast and cheap to make baby food. Not to mention it has better flavor and is better for them. Although she's not really eating baby food any longer, I'm still buying sweet potatoes and squash that I cut up, cook, puree and freeze. Think of the savings. I just bought 8lbs of squash last night at .58/lb. That means I spent about $4.64 on 8 lbs of squash that will last for probably a month. If you puchase baby food in containers, two 2 oz containers cost $1.00! That's 4 oz for a dollar vs. nearly 2 lbs of food for $1.00. It works well to freeze the baby food in icecube trays and then store in plastic bags in the freezer or sometimes I use old yogurt containers and just dethaw one at a time in the fridge.
5. SOAP DISPENSER. I saw a suggestion last year to purchase a foaming soap dispenser and when it is gone, you just fill it with water and a small squirt of dish soap. If you use too much soap it will clog the pump and not work correctly. I use this in my kitchen for both washing dishes and my hands. It really saves how much soap you go through and you waste so much less. Small savings but they add up.
6. BUY IN BULK. Although many people wouldn't want to buy in bulk for just two people and a baby, I think the savings are worth it. I take a trip to Costco about 1 time every two months to stock up on household items and food. I buy things like toilet paper, paper towels, toothbrushes, toilet cleaner, flour, sugar, pizza ingredients (we make pizza once/week), and other things that I can either store or freeze.
7. INSULATE YOUR HOME. I live in an rented condo so I'm not going out and putting better doors and windows on my home. However, there are still some ways I can save energy and insulate my home. In our living room, we have 3 glass sliding doors that let in a lot of heat in the summer and cold in the winter. This past summer, I invested in insulated curtains that help us save on air conditioning/heating bills. They really do make a dramatic difference in the temperature of the house throughout the day. Also, Taeya's room is the coldest room in the house as it's on the corner of the building so it's more exposed to the elements than other rooms are. I have yet to try it, but I just purchased a roll-on window kit for her room to help keep some of the cold out by insulating her window. I don't think I'd do this to every window in our place because I think it would probably look a little tacky. However, it's important for Taeya to stay warm at night and it's not in a place that we'll constantly notice the plastic so I'm giving it a try.
EDIT: I put up the plastic and it looks great. You can't even tell it's there unless you look closely around the edges. Wasn't too difficult to do by myself either. I'm hoping the doublesided tape comes off easily at the end of the winter season. It wasn't super cold last night so I couldn't tell if Taeya's room stayed warmer or not.
8. BUY USED and COMPARE PRICES. Living in a rural area, I don't have many choices of where to shop. We pretty-much have a Target and two Wal-Marts within a 30 mile radius. These stores are often picked over and don't always have what I need/want anyways. I end up buying many items at local thrift stores or online at amazon, craigslist or ebay. Freecycle is also a great place to get used items for free or give away what you don't want anymore. (It doesn't work all the great where I'm at just because there's not a lot of people using it in this rural area.)
9. HOME HAIRCUTS. I started cutting Phil's hair in college when he didn't have the money to afford to go to a salon. This saves us $20/month in hair cutting costs. I'd let him cut my hair but he won't touch it. :)
10. WASH MY CAR BY HAND. Phil and I don't always do this (especially in the winter when we need to wash our car but it's 15 degrees outside) but it's fun to do as a couple and it looks so much better than a drive-through carwash. We just keep all the supplies on hand and on some Saturdays when the weather's nice we give a good detailed wash and sometimes wax to both of our vehicles.
11. CRAIGSLIST TIP. This works best if you're looking for something small that can easily be shipped. If you want to search craigslist for more areas than just your own, go to google and on the bar type in "craigslist." You should get a little box on the google page where you can search ALL of craigslist for what you're looking for. This is how I got Taeya 30 pairs of shoes for less than $30 (including shipping...they're 7 different sizes so they'll last her for a few years). There is more risk on your end because you have to pay for the item and hope the person ships it. I did get burned once. Try to pay with Paypal if you do it this way because it does help protect you but there's still risk involved.
Websites that I like:
http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/
http://www.babycheapskate.com/
http://www.freecycle.org/
Please remember, I'd love to hear suggestions from YOU!
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