Five Easy Ways to Free Up Money in Your Budget

This is a re-post from last year, but I thought it was relevant as the holidays are quickly approaching:

 

I have some ideas and suggestions on ways you can trim your spending from now until the end of the year to help free up some extra money to spend on the holidays.  Not every idea will be for you, but hopefully you'll find one or two that may help!

I really tried to come up with ideas that wouldn't be hard to incorporate in to your normal routine.  Keep an open mind as you read on...

1.  Hair maintenance:  I've already talked about the free haircuts at JC Penney, but there are other ways to save on hair maintenance for your family.  If you don't have a very short hair cut, you could try going a little longer in between hair cuts.  If you normally would have gotten two haircuts between now and Christmas, could you get away with just one?  If your husband has a buzz cut, could he cut his own hair?  If you dye your hair all one color, you could dye your own hair with a kit from a pharmacy.  They also have highlighting kits that they sell at pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens; if you're adventurous, you may try one!  Someone I work with has her daughter highlight her hair with a CVS kit.  Her daughter has no hair dresser training at all, she just follows the directions.  Whenever this woman told me her daughter highlights her hair, I couldn't believe it!  It completely looked professional!

2.  Groceries:  Can you spend just $5 less per week on groceries from now until Christmas?  There are ten weeks left until Christmas, that is $50 that you can either put towards a present or your holiday grocery bill.  $50 can go far when you're buying baking supplies and other holiday groceries. 

3.  Recycle bottles and cans:  If you live in a state where there is a deposit on cans and bottles, don't just put them on the curb for the garbage men to pick up; put them aside and recycle them!  They are worth $0.05 each!  We religiously recycle in my house and in my experience, three garbage bags full of cans (not bottles, as they take up more room) nets me about $20.  It takes 15-20 minutes to feed all the cans in to the machine, but $20 in 20 minutes is like making $60 per hour!  I'll take that any day!  Also, the people in my husband's office knows he recycles, so they regularly give him cans and bottles to recycle.  Every day my husband comes home a few extra cans and bottles to recycle - all those nickels add up! 

4.  Save the ones:  I've heard of people who put aside every single they get back as change.  If you use cash often, this could be a great technique for you to build up a little extra cash.  From the testimonies I've read about this technique, the people say they don't even miss the ones - it's an effortless way to save a little money!

5.  Eating out:  Depending how often your family eats out, can you skip just one meal out in both November and December and put that money towards your holiday expenses?  Conservatively, if you spend $30 on an average meal out and you skipped just two meals out between now and the end of the year, that's $60 to put towards a gift, travel expenses, entertaining, outfits for the holidays, etc! 

Even trying one idea should save you anywhere from $20-$50!

CVS Black Friday Shopping

The only Black Friday shopping I ever do (besides online) is at the drug stores.  Seriously, you can get amazing deals on everything from toiletries to toys at CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid starting on Thanksgiving day.

This year though, CVS is starting some of their Black Friday deals early - starting this Sunday!  I'm so happy because this year I'm running (OK, that's a joke... walking) a 5k Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning, which was going to interfere with my Black Friday CVS shopping!

CVS has split up their deals in to two different ads.  These deals posted below are only good from 11/18-11/21. 

This is the way I plan on doing my transactions.  I'll spend $1.62 out of pocket, leave with $6.23 in Extra Care Bucks (ECB) and purchase over $30 in merchandise.

Transaction #1:

Command Hook Sample Pack - $0.99
Buy 1, Get $0.99 ECB (limit 1)
Use $0.50/1 Command Product, exp. 12/16/12 (SS 11/11/12)
Or use $1/1 Command Product Printable
Final Price: $1 Moneymaker! 

Starbucks Refreshers - $1.50
Buy 1, Get $1.50 ECB (limit 1)
Use $1/1 Starbucks Refreshers Printable
Final Price: $1 Moneymaker! 

Children's Advil 1oz - $2.37
a.       Buy 1, Get $2.37 ECB (limit 1)
Use $1.50/1 Advil coupon
Final Price: $1.50 moneymaker

= $1.36 (+tax) out of pocket, get back $4.86 in ECB

Transaction #2:

Kraft Macaroni & Cheese - $0.99
Buy 1, Get $0.99 ECB (limit 1)
Final Price: FREE

Scooby-Doo Fruit Snacks - $2.00
Buy 1, Get $2 ECB (limit 1)
Final Price: FREE 

Powerade - $1.00
Buy 1, Get $1 ECB (limit 1)
Final Price: FREE 

Thin Mints or Nips - $0.88
Buy 1, Get $0.88 ECB (limit 1)
Final Price: FREE 
Use $4.86 in ECB from Transaction #1
= $0.01 (+tax) out of pocket, get back $4.87in ECB

Transaction #3:

Hot Wheels - $1.00
Buy 1, Get $1 ECB (limit 1)
Final Price: FREE 

Advil 10ct - $2.99
Buy 1, Get $2.99 ECB (limit 1)
Final Price: FREE 

Use $0.99 ECB from Kraft, $2 ECB from fruit snacks & $1 ECB from Powerade from Transaction #2 (I'm not using the $0.88 ECB from the Thin Mints right now)
= $0 OOP, get back $3.99 in ECB

Transaction #4: 

ThermaCare Lower Back & Hip Heat Wrap 1ct - $1.99
Buy 1, Get $1.99 ECB (limit 1)
Final Price: FREE 

Cepacol Sensations 4ct - $1.00
Buy 1, Get $1 ECB (limit 1)
Final Price: FREE 

Charmin Basic Toilet Tissue Single Roll - $0.99
Buy 1, Get $0.99 ECB (limit 1)
Final Price: FREE

Use $3.99 in ECB from Transaction #3
= $0 OOP, get back $3.98 in ECB (I'm still not using the $0.88 ECB from the Thin Mints)

Transaction #5:

Right Guard Total Defense 5 Deodorant - $2.99
Buy 1, Get $2 ECB (limit 2)
Use $2/2 Right Guard Total Defense 5 Deodorant, exp. 12/2/12 (RP 11/04/12 R)
Or use $2/2 Right Guard Total Defense5 Deodorant Printable
Or use $2/2 Right Guard Total Defense 5 Deodorant Printable
Final Price: 2 for FREE

Glade Plugins Scented Oil Warmer 1ct - $1.25
Buy 1, Get $1.25 ECB (limit 1)
Use $1/1 Glade Plugins Scented Oil Warmer or Starter Kit, exp. 11/24/12 (SS 10/14/12)
Or use $1/1 Glade Plugins Scented Oil Warmer, exp. 12/1/12 (SS 11/04/12)
Or use $1/1 GladePlugins Scented Oil Warmer Printable
Or use $1/1 GladePlugins Scented Oil Warmer Printable
Final Price: $1 Moneymaker 

Use $3.98 ECB from Transaction #4 (I'm still not using the $0.88 ECB from the Thin Mints)
= $0.25 (+tax), get back $5.25 in ECB

Transaction #6:

Select Carmex Lip Balm - $1.00
Buy 1, Get $1 ECB (limit 1)
Use $0.30/1 Carmex Lip Balm, exp. 12/31/12 (SS 10/21/12 R)
Final Price: $.30 Moneymaker!

Air Wick Scented Oil Warmer 1ct - $0.99
Buy 1, Get $0.99 ECB (limit 1)
Final Price: FREE 

Coke 1.25L - $0.99
Buy 1, Get $0.99 ECB (limit 1)
Final Price: FREE 

(2) Kleenex Slim Pack Facial Tissue 3pk or Sparkle Paper Towel Single Roll - $1.00 each
Buy 1, Get $1 ECB (limit 2)
Final Price: FREE 

Use $4 ECB from Right Guard from Transaction #5 and $0.88 ECB from Thin Mints from Transaction #2
= $0 out of pocket, get back $4.98 in ECB

I'll have the $4.98 ECB from Transaction #6 and the $1.25 Glade ECB from Transaction #5 for a total of $6.23 ECB left to use on the ad that starts on 11/22!

This is just what I'm doing.  There are other items free after ECB, which you can check out at My Frugal Adventures!  Any of the printable coupons listed above I just printed tonight, so they should all still have prints left.

I'll be at CVS when the doors open on Sunday to hopefully pull off my plan without a hitch!

I almost forgot to mention - if something you wanted wasn't in stock, CVS does rain checks and they never expire!

Cardstore.com - $0.29 Cards Today Only!

Cardstore is at it again!  Today only they are offering all of their holiday cards for $0.29, PLUS they will mail them for you - for free!  That's right, you won't even have to pay for the stamps! 

So many of my readers have already taken advantage of some of the great deals at Cardstore this season and have literally saved hundreds of dollars on their cards! 

This is probably their best promotion yet, so if you haven't bought your cards yet, today is the day to do it! 

Just click the picture above to get started!  Then at check out, enter code CCN1629.

Who Do You Send Holiday Cards To?

Holiday cards are expensive for three reasons:

1. The cards themselves are expensive
2. The postage is expensive
3. The sheer number of cards you send out makes this ritual really expensive!

Here's how you can cut down on those costs:

1. Take advantage of the deals I post here on the blog (maybe check out this Cardstore post)
2. Take advantage of the Cardstore deal and have them send your cards out for you - they pay your postage!
3. Now what to do about how many cards to send out... personally, I send to certain family and then to friends that sent to us last year.  Either keep your cards from last year and use that as your list as you're doing this year's cards.  Or as you're packing up your holiday decorations at the end of the year, make a quick list of everyone you received a card from this year.  This will be your holiday card list for the following year.  My mom taught me this trick years ago and it really does help to cut down on the number of cards you need to send.

Thank you, Staci, for reminding me of this great tip!

That's So Pinteresting...

Photo Credit

 

You've probably heard of Pinterest already.  If you haven't yet joined, you really need to!  If you need an invitation to join (not sure if they're still doing that), let me know and I'll send you an invite.  Pinterest is wonderful for so many reasons, but it really can help you save money on any entertaining that you do!

 

I could probably devote a whole blog (not just blog post) about how wonderful Pinterest is and how it can help you save money, so I'll try and keep this as concise as possible!

 

The ideas that are posted to Pinterest are truly inspiring.  The amount of creativity (both manifested in to a physical representation as well as the mental creativity) that is out there is absolutely amazing!  Here is my top five ways to use these inspirational "pins" to your favor when entertaining/planning for your holiday:

 

1.  Holiday decorations:  The picture above is just one example of a thrifty, yet beautiful idea you can find on Pinterest.  I've actually done this in years past (I wish I had a picture of it!) - just gather some sticks/twigs from your back yard, spray paint them and arrange them in a vase.  If you already had spray paint on hand, that's a decoration for $0!  Even if you had to purchase the spray paint, it's a cheap decoration!  There are tons of other decoration inspiration you can find on Pinterest as well.

 

2.  Homemade gift ideas:  I've pinned quite a few lists of different homemade gift ideas.  Some of these ideas are really genius!  I'm always afraid that a home made gift will come out cheesy looking - but some of these ideas (like cookie mix in a jar, etc) are great small ideas that will definitely look great!

 

3.  Stocking stuffer ideas:  Again, I've pinned quite a few lists of different stocking stuffer ideas for all different people!  The list that I value the most is stocking stuffers for men.  Seriously, they are so hard to find good stocking stuffers for!

 

4.  Inexpensive gift ideas:  A list of gifts under $5?  Yes, please!  I don't love all of the $5 gift ideas, but I've seen some really creative and cute ones!  Ideas that I wouldn't mind receiving as a gift!

 

5.  Party foods and drinks:  I've seen some of the coolest food and drink ideas on Pinterest.  Crudites in the shape of a Christmas tree - adorable! 

 

Seriously, I could go on and on.  If you haven't used Pinterest before, definitely check it out.  If you use it religously (me!), try to find ideas that will save you on holiday gifts or entertaining and don't just pin the idea - actually try it!

 

If you'd like to follow me on Pinterest, you can click the little "P" in the upper right hand corner of the blog, or click here.

 

Five FREE 4x8 Photo Cards from Rite Aid!

From now until 11/17, Rite Aid is offering 5 FREE photo cards with the code 5FREECARDS at check out! 

I'll be honest, I think Rite Aid is terrible to deal with - poor customer service & too many hoops to jump through for their deals.  However... when they are offering up free photos or free photo cards, I will take advantage of the offer!

I've ordered my cards already, so here are my tips to make your experience a little easier:

1. Head to the rite aid photo center online and either log in or register
2. Before you even start to look at cards, I would recommend uploading the pictures that you want to use.  I didn't do this and it was a pain for me to upload my photos after I picked out my card.
3. Then go to Cards at the top and pick 4x8 cards.  You don't just have to do a holiday card, you can do any kind of 4x8 card that you'd like.
4. After you make your card and get to the check out process, enter the cod 5FREECARDS in the promo code box.  For me, it didn't change the price, it looked like I was still being charged $3.75.  I put the code in probably 50 times and nothing changed.  On a whim, I continued with the check out process and once I was in the next screen, it showed my total as $0.
5. You will not need to put in any credit card information.
6. Choose ship to store and pick your store.

I'll take 5 free photo cards any day!  I'll be using these and the 10 free from cardstore the other day (no longer available) to pass out at work.

Thanks, Hip 2 Save!

Entertaining for Less: Shop at Big Box Stores (BJ's, Costco, etc) for Your Baking Supplies

 

Have you ever bought your baking supplies at BJ's, Costco or Sams Club?  Honestly, I had never thought about it until a few months ago, and boy was I happy with what I found!  Most baking supplies were cheaper at BJ's than they were at the grocery store! 

 

Here's a list of the cost of baking supplies at my BJ's (prices may vary by region, but these should be pretty close to what you'll find):

 

1. Peanut butter:  $10.49 for (2) 40oz jars = $2.10 per 16oz jar (this is a fabulous price!)
2. Pam spray:  $6.99 for (2) 12oz cans = $3.50/12oz can
3. Gold Medal Flour:  $4.99 for 10lbs = $0.50/lb
4. Yeast:  $4.49 for 2lbs = $2.25/lb or $0.14/oz
5. Domino Sugar:  $5.49 for 10lbs = $0.55/lb
6. Confectioners Sugar:  $3.19 for 4lbs = $0.80/lb
7. Brown Sugar:  $3.19 for 4lbs = $0.80/lb

 

These are all very good prices for these baking supplies.  If nothing else, use these prices as a comparison when you're shopping.  There is absolutely a chance that during this big baking season you'll find a better price at your local grocery store.  At least by using this list as a comparison, you'll know that you're getting a good deal! 

 

A note on the peanut butter:  peanut butter keeps going up in price and now my "great" price at the grocery store is $2.50 or under for a 16oz jar.  So to be able to buy it for the equivalent of $2.10 per 16oz jar is wonderful!  Outside of a fantastic sale elsewhere, I will never buy peanut butter anywhere else!

Cardstore Deal is Back! Holiday Cards 70% off thru 11/19! Plus FREE Stamps!

Remember how I told you to have pictures ready early for your holiday cards? This is why!!!

From now through 11/16/12 (at 5am), save 70% off holiday cards at Cardstore, just enter coupon code CCN2170 at checkout! You can customize any holiday card with your favorite family photo, holiday message, plus Cardstore will even mail your cards directly to your recipients and pay your postage for you!

I made mine through cardstore last year and loved them. I have already ordered mine through them again this year too! I looked through a few options and this sale makes the cards well below $1 each (around $0.50 each, depending on quantity that you're ordering)!

Just click the picture above to start making your holiday cards!

I would recommend having Cardstore send your cards out for you.  You just need to type in the addresses of your recipients, then the work is done for you.  No writing out envelopes or buying stamps - Cardstore does that all for you!

I am having Cardstore send my cards out for me for the first time this year.  It really didn't take me long at all to put in all the addresses (54 cards) and now that the addresses are in there, I won't have to type them again next year.

You can also pick the date that the cards are sent out.  Mine will be delivered by Dec. 5.  I love that everything is done for me and I don't have to think about them again!  And I love even more that Cardstore pays my postage for me!

My Favorite Resources for Great Holiday Deals!

I try to post some of the great deals that I see every day, but there is just no way for me to post everything.  I wanted to share with you my favorite resources for finding great deals during the holidays (and all the time!):

Blogs:

1. My Frugal Adventures:  Charlene, the owner of this blog, does a great job of focusing on great online deals, so you can do all of your shopping from the comfort of your home!  Not only does she bring you great deals, but she also tries to find the best ones with free shipping!  Also, she's been putting up all of the Black Friday ads, so if you visit her blog and look on the right hand side, you'll see the above Black Friday Deals button.  Just click it on her blog and you'll be brought to her long list of Black Friday deals!
2. Money Saving Mom:  Crystal, the owner of this blog, does post deals, but she also posts a lot of awesome home made gift ideas.  Crystal's blog always focuses on frugal living and some of the stories she posts are truly inspirational!  Also, she's written a series called:  31 Ways to Earn Extra Cash before Christmas.  And yes, she's the same blog hosting the 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home! 
3. Couponing to Disney:  Kristin, the owner of the blog, posts a variety of deals, but she really tends to find great deals for children.  She does post deals for all different toys, but true to her love of Disney, she does post a lot of deals around Disney-related toys. 
4. Hip 2 Save:  Colin, the owner of the blog, posts a great variety of deals for all genders and ages.  You'll see a ton of deals that will be great for everyone on your list!

Deal-a-Day Sites:

1. Groupon:  I think everyone has heard of Groupon by now, but if you haven't, they offer different local and online deals every day.  You can purchase products or experiences for up to 90% off.  My favorite deals that Groupon has this time of year are the photo deals.  Many times you'll see deals for photo canvases, photo books or holiday cards from reputable sites like Shutterfly or Snapfish.  They also have a new section this year called Holiday Deals (at the top, towards the right hand side).  These are actual products at deep discounts.  You may find some cool items here that you wouldn't find at the "big box" stores like Target or Walmart.
2. Eversave:  This site is very similar to Groupon.  Here I also look for deals on photo canvases, photo books and holiday cards.  You may also see a deal on a cool item.  Right now, if you sign up as a new member through this link, you get a $5 credit and if you refer a friend to sign up, you get a $10 credit.  That's another great way to make a good deal even better!
3. Target Daily Deals:  I check this every day because you never know what they are going to offer as a sale today!  Sometimes they go with themes, but usually there is something for everyone for sale on Target's Daily Deals.  Some deals are so-so and some are great, which is why I check so frequently.  Also, all daily deals come with free shipping.  And if you are a Target Red Card holder (credit or debit), you get an additional 5% off!  I've snagged some really great deals through this portion of their website!

10 FREE Cards Plus FREE Shipping! Today Only!

Today only, Cardstore is offering 10 FREE holiday cards, plus FREE shipping!  Just use the code CCN2433 at check out. 

I'm going to order these even though I just bought mine last week through Cardstore's other great promotion.  I'm going to hang on to them in case I forgot anyone in my last order.  And if I didn't forget anyone, then I'll be giving these to my employees at work. 

You can't beat free holiday cards!

Click the link below or the picture above to get started:
10 FREE Holiday Cards + FREE Shipping at Cardstore! Use code: CCN2433, Valid today 11/8/12 Only. Shop Now!

Here's the fine print:
Visitors will need to use the coupon code provided (CCN2433) at checkout, which is valid for 10 Free Cards PLUS Free Shipping at Cardstore. Valid on any 10 Holiday cards at Cardstore.com (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, New Years, season's greetings, select photo cards, and holiday Invitations).Coupon code is valid for one-time use per Cardstore account and only while supplies last. Code must be entered during online checkout. No minimum purchase necessary. Code CCN2433 can only be redeemed once per household.

Entertaining for Less: Start Taking Inventory

Are you hosting Thanksgiving dinner?  If so, I encourage you to take 15 minutes this week to go through your cabinets to see what you already have on hand. 

Thanksgiving is pretty standard fare for most families, so creating a menu should be pretty easy.  There are obviously some items that you'll be serving that need to be purchased close to the big day, but there are items that you can purchase ahead of time.  Or, if you have them already - cross them off your list!

It's a waste of money to re-buy an item that you already have, so make sure you go through every cabinet in which you store food and compare it's contents to your menu list.  Mark which items you already have so you know not to buy  them again.

Once that step is done, I would encourage you to take that list with you for the next three weeks as you go grocery shopping.  The items being served at Thanksgiving will be going on sale from now until Thanksgiving, so you can start picking up some items ahead of time.  The cheaper you're able to get your ingredients for your meal, the better. 

Couponing blogs will start to highlight the deals on Thanksgiving fare soon, so if you have time, I would encourage you to regularly check at least two couponing blogs to see where the best deals are. 

I would recommend:

• I Heart the Mart (all about Walmart - usually great prices)
• Money Saving Mom (this link will bring you to her super-database of probably every grocery store out there)

If you're really organized, you can also plan out what desserts you'll be making and the ingredients in those desserts.  Again, figure out what you already have on hand and what you still need to purchase.

Taking a few minutes now to plan this out will help keep you sane as Thanksgiving gets closer and will hopefully save you some money by not re-buying something you already have and getting great sale prices!

FREE Haircuts for Kids at JC Penney - Starting Tomorrow

Just a reminder...

Starting November 4, JC Penney will be offering free haircuts for all children grades K-6 on Sundays! I would definitely book an appointment early, as they offered this during August and they were very busy!

Go here to find a JC Penney salon near you.

If you normally get your child's hair cut before the holidays at $15 plus tip, you've just freed up $15 in your budget!

Even though the hair cut is free, please remember to still tip your child's hair dresser!

FREE 8x10 Collage from Walgreens

Through Saturday (11/3), you can get a FREE 8x10 collage print from Walgreens when you enter the code COLLAGEFREE at check out.

Choose ship to store for free shipping!  You don't have to pick it up by Saturday, just order it by Saturday.

You could put this in a nice frame and give it as a holiday gift!

Entertaining for Less: Do You Host Food People or Beverage People?

 

 

If you're hosting a party this holiday season, think about the crowd you are hosting and ask yourself, are they food people or beverage people?

 

Once you answer that question, you can figure out ways to cut corners at your party without anyone ever knowing. 

 

I can tell you without hesitation that my family are definitely food people.  There's not usually many adult beverages at our gatherings and when there are, it's a $6 bottle of wine.  It's just not something my family cares about.  So if I was throwing a party with my family, I wouldn't worry about the adult beverages at all and I would focus on the food.  I may purchase a few inexpensive bottles of wine, or when someone asks me what to bring, I may just tell them to bring a bottle of wine.  It's not an area that I'm going to spend a lot of money on.

 

If your answer to the question was that your crowd is more of a beverage crowd and don't care as much about the food, then you focus on getting nicer wines, beers, liquors (depending on your crowd) and spend less money on the food.  You could just do cheese and crackers or a few light desserts.  Save your money on the food if it isn't going to be the focus of your party.  Or, if your crowd is really in to expensive wines or other liquors, when someone asks you what to bring, you tell them to bring their favorite bottle of wine/liquor.  That way, the pressure is off of you to purchase the expensive alcohol! 

You can even go further then just thinking big picture food or beverage - think about what is left over at the end of your parties and what isn't.  Does your crowd love dessert and usually not touch the appetizers?  Or are you left with a ton of desserts at the end of your parties? 

Cut back on the area where you always have excess at the end of your parties.  Your guests will never notice, but your wallet will thank you!

 

In summary - when hosting a party, really think about who is coming and prioritize where you spend your money.  If you tailor your party to your crowd and spend your money wisely on what they are interested in, your party will be a hit and you'll still be within your budget!

 

Happy Entertaining!

Five Easy Ways to Free Up Money in Your Budget

I have some ideas and suggestions on ways you can trim your spending from now until the end of the year to help free up some extra money to spend on the holidays.  Not every idea will be for you, but hopefully you'll find one or two that may help!

I really tried to come up with ideas that wouldn't be hard to incorporate in to your normal routine.  Keep an open mind as you read on...

1.  Hair maintenance:  I've already talked about the free haircuts at JC Penney, but there are other ways to save on hair maintenance for your family.  If you don't have a very short hair cut, you could try going a little longer in between hair cuts.  If you normally would have gotten two haircuts between now and Christmas, could you get away with just one?  If your husband has a buzz cut, could he cut his own hair?  If you dye your hair all one color, you could dye your own hair with a kit from a pharmacy.  They also have highlighting kits that they sell at pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens; if you're adventurous, you may try one!  Someone I work with has her daughter highlight her hair with a CVS kit.  Her daughter has no hair dresser training at all, she just follows the directions.  Whenever this woman told me her daughter highlights her hair, I couldn't believe it!  It completely looked professional!

2.  Groceries:  Can you spend just $5 less per week on groceries from now until Christmas?  There are eight weeks left until Christmas, that is $40 that you can either put towards a present or your holiday grocery bill.  $40 can go far when you're buying baking supplies and other holiday groceries. 

3.  Recycle bottles and cans:  If you live in a state where there is a deposit on cans and bottles, don't just put them on the curb for the garbage men to pick up; put them aside and recycle them!  They are worth $0.05 each!  We religiously recycle in my house and in my experience, three garbage bags full of cans (not bottles, as they take up more room) nets me about $20.  It takes 15-20 minutes to feed all the cans in to the machine, but $20 in 20 minutes is like making $60 per hour!  I'll take that any day!  Also, the people in my husband's office knows he recycles, so they regularly give him cans and bottles to recycle.  Every day my husband comes home a few extra cans and bottles to recycle - all those nickels add up! 

4.  Save the ones:  I've heard of people who put aside every single they get back as change.  If you use cash often, this could be a great technique for you to build up a little extra cash.  From the testimonies I've read about this technique, the people say they don't even miss the ones - it's an effortless way to save a little money!

5.  Eating out:  Depending how often your family eats out, can you skip just one meal out in both November and December and put that money towards your holiday expenses?  Conservatively, if you spend $30 on an average meal out and you skipped just two meals out between now and the end of the year, that's $60 to put towards a gift, travel expenses, entertaining, outfits for the holidays, etc! 

Even trying one idea should save you anywhere from $20-$50!

Swagbucks

 

 

Swagbucks is a website/search engine that awards you with "swagbucks" for searching, doing surveys, taking polls, printing and using coupons among other things. You accumulate your swagbucks then you can turn them in for rewards.

 

 

My favorite reward is the $5 Amazon gift card for 450 swagbucks.

 

 

Once you sign up, you can refer your friends as well and you'll earn 1 swagbuck for every swagbuck they earn, up to 1000 swagbucks per person. You can also have more than one swagbuck account per household. So you could sign up, refer your spouse and when your spouse earns swagbucks, you'll be earning his/hers as well!

 

 

There are a ton of different ways to earn swagbucks, but my favorite (and least time consuming) are:

 

 

- Daily Poll: it takes 2 seconds and you earn 1 swagbuck

 

- NOSO: stands for no obligation special offer. Just click through them all clicking either skip or next offer and you'll get 2 swagbucks at the end. This takes under 30 seconds

 

- Searching: I look up some of my favorite websites through the search bar and after a few searches, I usually win. I tend to win anywhere from 7-12 swagbucks when I win, but I did once win 56 swagbucks - I felt like I had won the lottery! Ha. You can win once in the morning and once in the afternoon for searching.

 

 

That's all I do to earn swagbucks and I'm able to accumulate enough swagbucks to earn a $5 gift card about every month. I then use those gift cards to either buy Christmas presents on Amazon, or I'll buy household items we need from Amazon, then take that money out of our household budget and put it in our Christmas budget. Either way, the money earned from Swagbucks goes towards Christmas gifts :).

 

 

Give Swagbucks a try, you may be able to earn a few extra dollars to put towards gifts! You can sign up HERE.



Why I Love Carters

I read a lot of blogs about couponing and frugal living. I've read, on more than one occasion, that the way to save money on your children's clothing is to shop at consignment stores. I know that prices vary across the country, but I can tell you that the consignment stores in CT aren't cheap!

What I have found is that when you hit a good sale, paired with a coupon (there's always a coupon) at Carters, you can get brand new clothes for less than what you'd pay at the consigment store!

I love Carters!

And I love Carters not only for their great sale prices, but also because it keeps little kids clothes looking like little kids clothes. So many stores make adult clothes for little kids - especially for girls. So I love that Carters keeps the clothing age-appropriate.

Tonight I did a little shopping at Carters and boy did I do well! I bought the above three pieces of clothes for my son. Each outfit was only $5.59!

I then bought these Halloween pajamas for my daughter. I know they are Halloween, but since they are pajamas, she can wear them long after Halloween. And they have a tutu - need I say more?!

These were only $5.85! (PS - all Halloween stuff is currently 70% off. They didn't have a ton left, mostly pajamas, but if you're near a Carters, it may be worth checking out).

So that is my tip for the day - if you're looking for affordable, age-appropriate clothes for your children, head to Carters. And don't forget to bring a coupon!

If you do regularly buy children's clothing, I would recommend signing up for emails from Carters. They regularly send coupons via email. And you don't even have to print them off if you have a smartphone. Just bring up the coupon on your phone and read the cashier the numbers in the barcode and they will take the coupon off your purchase.

Also, right now (through 10/31), they are offering 25% off a $50 purchase or 15% off any purchase - just go to their website and print out the coupon (at the top in pink).

And... through the end of the year, every time you spend $50, they will give you a coupon at the bottom of your receipt for $10 off a $10 purchase! So if you buy a $10 item with the coupon, it's free!  You can also collect them and stack them together. The coupon starts the day after your purchase and runs through the end of the year. I earned one tonight, so I will be returning to find something for free or almost free!

Carters didn't sponsor this post at all - I just really do love shopping there and thought I'd share!

Why You Should Never Buy Themed Cupcake Liners

Yes, I'm going to devote an entire blog post to cupcake liners, but my point can be applied to all paper goods.

I once went to a birthday party in the middle of the summer where the cupcakes served had "Merry Christmas" wrappers on them. And no, it wasn't a Christmas in July party! I get that the host was just trying to use the supplies she had on hand, and I respect that, but Merry Christmas at a summer birthday party? It just doesn't fit.

This little story leads me in to why you should never by themed cupcake liners:

When you buy cupcake liners, you never end up using all the liners in the package, so you have a lot left over. What do you do with all those left over liners? Make 60 more cupcakes? Probably not. Save them for the same holiday next year, sure, but now you have cupcake liners that only serve one purpose. So when you go to bake birthday cupcakes, you'll be stuck buying more cupcake liners! And yes, cupcake liners probably won't land you in the poor house, but if you are trying to pull off a party or holiday for as little money as possible, saving a few dollars on the cupcake liners could make a difference!

So here's what you do instead:

- Buy polka dots

- Buy plaid

- Buy Gingham

- Buy solid

- Buy stripes

All of these can be used over again (just a caution on the plaid and stripes - make sure they are not specific to one holiday).

Here's an example:

For my daughter's 2nd birthday I threw a Candy Shoppe themed party. I bought these great polka dot cupcake liners in four different vibrant colors. They are adorable! Here's all the times I've used them:

1. For the aforementioned 2nd birthday party

2. The pink ones were used again on Valentine's Day

3. The green ones were used on St. Patrick's Day

4. The pink ones were used again for her 3rd birthday party (a pink Minnie Mouse theme)

5. The pink ones were again used for her 4th birthday party (a princess theme)

6. The blue and purple ones have been used on occasion as well for random times that we make cupcakes, where color doesn't matter

Now apply this theory to all of your paper goods and you'll soon have a wonderful supply of paper goods that can be used for multiple holidays, thus saving you on having to go out and buy new paper goods for every event you host!

Using Your Credit Card Rewards to Pay for Gifts

If you own a credit card with reward points, the holidays is a great time to use them!

Now, before I go any further, I want to clarify that I only think you should use a credit card if you can pay it off in full each month, otherwise everything you charged that was a "deal" is no longer a deal. And please, don't charge just to earn points. If you can't be trusted around a credit card, that's OK. I can't be trusted around chocolate (no, seriously), we all have our weaknesses. So if you don't use a credit card, just skip right over this post. :)

So back to the points... in my opinion, the gift cards that you can purchase through your points is the best bang for your "buck". I would recommend using your reward points in the following ways:

1.      Redeem your points for a gift card to a store that you know you'll be shopping at for gifts this season.

2.      Redeem your points for a gift card to a store and give that gift card as a gift (the gift card looks no different than the ones you get right in the store, the person receiving your gift will have no idea that you didn't get it directly from the store).

3.      Redeem your points for a gift card to a store that you do normal shopping at, so you can use those gift cards to off-set normal items you buy each month, therefore freeing up money in your budget to purchase items for the holidays.
 

Each credit card has different stores that you can redeem your points for, so take some time to check out your options. I would also recommend that once you decide you're going to order a gift card (or two!), place your order early. I find that the closer we get to the December holidays, the longer it takes to receive the gift cards.

Here are some ways I've used my credit card rewards in the past:

·         Last year I ordered $10 Starbucks gift cards to give to my daughter’s teachers

·         I’ve ordered gift cards to Kohls, Home Depot and Pottery Barn to give as gifts

·         I’ve ordered gift cards to Bed, Bath and Beyond to purchase new towels and even a Dyson vacuum (we had a lot of points accumulated at that point)!
 

So look through your reward options, look at your list of who you need to buy for this year and see if you can’t cross some of those names off your list by using gift cards through your reward points!