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31 Days to Saving Sensibly

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Cashing in on Store Rewards

Hopefully by now you’ve got quite a collection of store club cards on your key ring. I hope you took a look at the pamphlet that came with it! Many stores offer special perks for being in their shoppers club.Some of my local stores offer the following in addition to special club pricing and coupons by mail:Free gas (Many of our local stores offer cents off per gallon at the gas station. You earn by shopping! Bank enough points or cents off and your gas could be free.)Free groceries (The same store that offers gas points as a reward, offers a percent off of your grocery bill for filling up your car at their gas station. Right now I have 14% off my next trip to the grocery store!)Free or steeply discounted holiday dinners So check to see if your local store offers extra perks for being a shoppers club member. It…

Low End vs. High End

Alright, so you’ve been diligent, scrimping and saving but you’re feeling deprived. You deserve to spend some of that money you’ve saved…key word: some. Let’s not get crazy here.Even I have days (weeks) when I feel a little deprived. Sometimes I want to splurge and pay full price (ok, maybe not full price). I may claim to be cheap, but don’t get me wrong, I love the nice things in life – like say, my affinity for Coach bags. ๐Ÿ˜‰ There’s a trick to knowing when to take the low end route and knowing when it’s OK to splurge on high end product.For me, shoes have to be high quality. Rather than buying a 50ยข pair of flip flops (a weakness even now that I live in the north), I pay $30 or 40 bucks on Reefs. Why? Because I live on my feet. We all do. I don’t go nuts and…

Best Consistent Ways to Save

Before I started this series, I asked you guys what you’d like to know most. One of my favorite requests was for best ways to consistently save. Even if you aren’t a couponer or someone as fanatical as I am about saving there are ways you can cut your grocery and household budget that are quick and easy to maintain over the long term.First, as I’ve said in several posts now, make sure you have store shoppers cards and use them each time you shop. If you buy only the items on shoppers card special that week, you’ll cut your budget by around 30% (in my experience…your mileage may vary of course). That’s before coupons.Second, go to the store with a list and stick to it. If you have family members that like to mention things you need/want while you’re grocery shopping, it may not be a bad idea to start…

Saving Without Clipping

One of the biggest complaints I hear from people who know I’m nuts about coupons is, “But I don’t have time to clip all of those coupons!” I hear you. It does take dedicated time, and if you’re busy it seems impossible. So let’s take some time today and build in some strategies for saving that don’t require clipping and keeping track of coupons.Shopper’s Club Cards – Make sure you’re signed up and have a shopper’s card for each of your favorite grocery stores and drug stores. You can easily save 30% each week by only buying items that are on sale with club card. That’s 30% without clipping a single coupon!eCoupons – One of my favorite local grocery stores offers coupons online that you can attach to your store card. Manufacturers coupons – no clipping required! (Here’s a link for one of many sites that offer electronic coupons -…

Why Wholesale Clubs May Not Be the Place to Save

Raise your hand if you love Costco. OK, now Sam’s Club. What about BJ’s? OK, now tell me – do you know if that hefty membership fee you pay yearly is made up for in your savings by shopping there? We had a Sam’s Club membership for several years, but what I didn’t realize at the time was that by using high value coupons or coupons that double on smaller packages saves me more money. Wholesale clubs were designed for, well, wholesale. Do you run a restaurant? I don’t.Now, I’ll fully admit that not shopping at these gigantic stores is a personal choice. But I’d like you to take a moment and answer the following questions before you hop in the car and head out to Costco:Do you make your membership back in savings over the course of the year membership? If you aren’t actively shopping there, probably not. Remember, you’re basically paying…

Saving at Craft Stores

Ah craft stores. My biggest weakness…cosmetics being a close second. What’s a DIY/craft enthusiast to do when on a budget? Well you learn to work within the system and coupon your way to big savings.I’m going to cover what I consider the big three – JoAnn, Michaels and A.C. Moore. I know Hobby Lobby is a very popular craft store chain, but I have only very limited experience with it since we don’t have one where I live (yet…I’m hoping) and I don’t feel qualified to give you an in depth look at that particular store. I will include links to it’s coupon policy though so you can review it and print out a copy. If you’re well versed in saving at Hobby Lobby – educate me. I love ya forever!JoAnn FabricsWhy I Love ItWell, it’s a craft store, why wouldn’t I love it? In all seriousness though, JoAnn has great…

Saving at Target and Walmart

Today we’re going to focus on the two of the most popular stores out there, Target and Walmart. It’s true they make it easy to save moderately without coupons, but you can cash in big if you know a few tricks.First up, Target.Why I Love ItOK, honestly, who doesn’t love Target? It’s clean, organized, has a great selection and while their base prices are a little higher (pennies) than Walmart, it leaves Walmart in the dust in my opinion. The only drawback? Sometimes it feels like you can’t get out of there without spending a minimum of a hundred bucks. But you can. You totally can. It takes some discipline, but you can.As I mentioned in a previous post, Target allows coupon stacking – using one manufacturer coupon plus one Target store coupon per item. So where do you get all of those store coupons? They make it easy! Right on…

Saving at the Drug Store (CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid)

Hey y’all! Today we start our week of saving at specific stores with a look at saving at drug stores/pharmacies. There is a wealth of information out there about each of the stores I’ve chosen to highlight so I’ve provided links for you to dig deeper if you’re so inclined. I’ll be taking time to hit the high points and introduce you to saving at what I consider the Big 3 – CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid.I’ve also provided links to each store’s coupon policy. You should print a copy of the store coupon policy for every store you shop at and keep it with you when shopping. Not every store employee knows the proper policy (though they should) and if there’s a problem at check out you can whip out your copy and politely correct them. Key word: politely. Make sure you’ve read and understand it as well. Remember -…

When to Buy (Free Printable!)

Today, because it’s Saturday, because I love ya and because I know you want more savings secrets, I have a free gift – a printable just for you!I have created a month by month list of when to buy specific products. Each month I highlight what will most likely be on discount. Keep in mind that this list is not all encompassing, but hits all of the most common sales each month. A few notes:We will cover seasonal produce and fresh items in more depth later this month.Some categories, such as baking supplies, may overlap several months depending on your store.Some items, like BBQ supplies will likely be on sale throughout the summer, rather than during a specific month – so you may see it listed more than once on the printable. This is just a guideline to help you be more aware of when sales occur and to help you keep…

What to Buy Where

Today’s post is a quickie – but a good lesson nonetheless. Let’s talk about where I buy all the things that I buy. I’d also like to preface this by telling you that it is a guideline and there are exceptions to every rule. Once you learn your store’s prices and sale cycles, you’ll know where the best deals are. The following information is true for me most of the time.What to buy at:The Grocery Store – Food The Discount Store (Target/Walmart) – Toiletries/personal care items, feminine products, paper goods (napkins, paper towels, toilet paper, paper plates/utensils), household and laundry cleaning items, cosmeticsI fully attribute the way I shop to my mother. She never, ever bought paper products at the grocery store. She always had two lists – one for Publix or Winn Dixie (the grocery stores where I grew up) and one for Kmart/Walmart (there wasn’t a Target when I was growing…