As 2009 winds down many of us are making goals for next year. Being the Type A person I am, I am no exception. Because Pocket Your Dollars is a community that we are all part of, I’d like to hear your voice as we shape our focus areas for 2010.
I’ve listed some specific questions below, but also an open-ended one as well. Please leave one or more comments with your thoughts and feedback. I appreciate you taking time to help shape Pocket Your Dollars.
Gift Ideas?
Would you like to know about potential gift ideas throughout the year if I see items that are near 75% off full retail price? Or, does that tempt you to spend more money than you should and you’d prefer not to hear of those deals until closer to Christmas?
Forums or Discussion Board?
Would you participate in a forum or discussion board on Pocket Your Dollars if one was available? I know many sites already have discussion boards and I’m not sure whether providing another one adds value or not.
Additions or Changes?
In a cyberspace full of frugal living blogs and websites, why have you chosen to frequent Pocket Your Dollars? What differentiates Pocket Your Dollars from other similar sites? What do other similar sites have that you wish you could find at Pocket Your Dollars?
What Else?
What other features, bells, whistles or information would you like to see at Pocket Your Dollars?
About Carrie Rocha
to address your most recent question in the comment section-
I would LOVE to see a printable coupon round-up. One post that I could go to that has them all linked would be fabulous.
thank you for asking for our opinions. I LOVE your site. I have learned SO much and have saved our family a LOT.
THANK YOU for this site.
It would be great if from each store list, we could check a box next to the items we are interested in printing out to make our list. I don’t know how much of a job that would be for you? Also, I am a faithful Aldi shopper, and it would be nice to know if the good deals are really cheaper or just as cheap as Aldi.
Forgot to say that I love your site, and got my hubby’s most exciting Christmas present as a result of a hot tip from you. I choose yours because it’s local!
FWIW, You can register at Rainbow’s website and create a custom shopping list (with prices) based on their specials and your other needed items. After printing, you can write in which coupons you will use and where.
Shauna~I copy and paste from Carrie’s list into a Word document, so it helps keep my list easy to read. I check my reciept and my list after I complete my shopping, and then I know how many of which kinds of coupons should have been deducted. I’ve caught mistakes cashiers have made, and I just run back into the store to get credit for it (if no kids are in tow!). Target goofed up on me once before, and the customer service clerk not only reimbursed me for the cost of the item, but also took the coupon off that they forgot.
I have recently found your site (through something someone posted on swapmamas.com), and I LOVE it! I’ve been paying a subscription through a different site, and MY goal is to quit doing that! You are helping me meet my goal, thanks. Since my grocery store isn’t listed, though, I like the idea of having a forum of some type; it would allow others to list great sales at other stores that you don’t generally cover. As far as the 75% off gift idea, I love that idea too! We all have gifts beyond Christmas for which to shop, as well…and part of stockpiling is having a few things on hand.
I definately like the tips on gifts, has made a HUGE difference for me this Christmas…never would have imagined being able to save that much money and still give great gifts.
I really like this site because I have learned useful tools that help me save in addition on my own, also with life being so busy I would never have the time to look into most of this stuff and feel that you really help people out with the work that is done already “for you” on this site…it especially helps that it is free. I can’t tell you how many times I rave about this site and people’s first comment is…”yeah, but what is your fee, cuz I can’t afford it” and I get to say nothing! You are really blessing and helping people out. God bless you!
Don’t change a thing. I LOVE this site as is. I learned about it from a friend of a friend. I love that you are local, and practical.
Just my two cents.
As someone new to this level of shopping, I would love to have a list of what you consider “rock-bottom” prices for common items.
I like the idea of gifts throughout the year. I would love to see more organic and non-processed foods as well.
Your site is great!! Please keep up the excellent work!!
I first found out about you while watching Twin Cities Live when I was on maternity leave early this fall. I love everything that you do and echo everyone’s praises of you. I check your site everyday and feel lost when I’m unable to! One thing that would be nice to see would be coupon match ups and other deals for grocery stores outside of the metro. I live in west central MN and we don’t have Rainbow, Walgreens, CVS or some of the others that you talk about. I don’t know if it’s possible, but it would be nice to see information about Cash Wise and Econofoods,our grocery stores. I love everything you do and thank you for offering it for free! You have helped me so much and appreciate the valuable service you are providing to all of us!!!
I would love to see more entries in the results section. It is always fun to see a picture of what you bought and how much you paid and how much you saved.
Carrie – keep in mind that you can’t please all of the people – all of the time.
Gift Ideas/75% Off – Do you need to ask? We know you already tell us about these great deals and will continue to. Does it make me go out and buy it? Only, if I can use it, otherwise I pass.
Forums/Discussion Boards – I like what you have now, don’t change. You maintain control of the topic or subject and allow us to comment on each. It might be nice when you see a topic in Open Mic a lot, to right a specific article relating to it, which I’ve seen you do recently. Or maybe have an Open Mic asking for topics.
OTHER:
Menu-matching and Recipes – I would hate to see this. I believe this would distract from the intent of your website. It has the potential to become numerous posts of recipes, swapping and personal comments about likes and dislikes and very easily lose its tie-in to the intended weekly deals. I say let someone else start a new website to handle this niche.
Rock Bottom Price List – Numerous people are looking for this. Maybe you could set up a Permanent link on main page for people to reference for their own needs (but don’t allow comments). But then in addition to listing item and rock bottom price on this Master List, have some grading system (1-5 or color coded or A+, A, B, C or categories for 10%-25% off, 24%-50%) You could then easily use this grading system on your weekly grocery lists for us to easily see if it is a good deal.
If you want to incorporate other suggestions, I think they could be handled by redeveloping your menu navigation on the top of your main page (Like archiving expired articles or listing deals by month, or week, maybe adding a Deals section or Notices section)
I feel you have done a wonderful job on your site and leave it to you to incorporate what you know you can handle and accomplish from your end.
Gift Ideas – Would love to see deals for anything 75% off or more.
Forums or Discussion Boards – I agree with JC. I like what you have now. I would also like to see an Open Mic about once a week asking for topics.
Rock Bottom Price List – I like the idea. Would like to see comments from other people if they can find the items cheaper. Although this might get tricky because you can get many items free.
Sunday Coupon Preview – I like that you link to the Sunday Coupon Preview because I can make sure my paper has all it’s inserts!
Shopping Lists – I appreciate you putting together shopping lists with the sale price of items AND the coupons for those items. I like that you list exactly where to find the coupon, including the date and name of the insert. I have saved extra money using a coupon I normally would have forgotten about.
Expired Items – I would like to see when articles are expired, and be able to see before I click. I would also like to see current articles listed before expired articles. I hate having to read through expired posts to get to something current.
Menu Planning – I would NOT like to see menu planning or recipes on this site. I like the fact that you focus on saving money, freebies, and coupons. You list MANY meal deals and sometimes your shopping lists function as a meal planner. I like shopping lists better. I have gotten so many ideas from this site!
Search Feature – I didn’t know you had one until someone else pointed this out. Maybe you could make it easier to see.
Price Comparison – Compare prices on the shopping lists. If more than one store has an item on sale, list all “compare at” prices.
Reply To User Comments – I would like a feature to directly reply to another user’s comment. If I say I agree with so-and-so, there may be five different people named so-and-so. I’ve seen this on other sites. They have a reply button next to each comment box and it copies the username and comment box and places it above your comment. I think this would help organize the comments a little better.
Printable Coupon Roundup – I would prefer a roundup and not a separate post for each coupon. That would definitely create clutter.
I love your site and you’ve given me a lot of help throughout the year. I hope I can do the same! Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and good luck in 2010!
I’d really like to know what you consider the best price for things. I know you show us your purchases from time to time, but it would be nice to know how you shop and how you decide what is a good deal or not. I know you have mentioned it on some of the shopping lists that you wouldn’t pay $xx for a roll of toilet paper, but it’s still a good deal. How much should we be paying for a roll of toilet paper, etc…
I really love this site! I am still getting used to it, but I think it will be great.!
Hi Carrie,
I am hoping you are still reading these. I’ve thought of a few ideas over the past week.
#1 I’d love an area to look for the best deals on baby items each week. We are constantly running out of formula, diapers and baby food. Some times I don’t know where to go buy more. Even if it isn’t a rock bottom price, the best price for the week would help so much.
#2 Some times I can’t come up with 5 coupons to use at Rainbow, espeically if I am doing two transactions (I know many of the more savvy shoppers are laughing at the thought of that.) I hate letting the opportunity go to waste by checking out with only three or four coupons in my order. I don’t know what would rectify this problem for me, other then picking something else from your shopping list. I just thought others might be having the same problem as well. Even if I just donated the item to the food shelf, I’d rather do that then let the opportunity pass.
Thank you so much for ALL you do!
It is so fun to get a good deal!
One more idea,
I’d love to know what some of people’s favorite produces. This week a few people commented on how great the Boca burgers are. It is nice to get ideas on new items to try.
Carrie,
I’d like to add that I’ve been struggling with the concept of buying from a local grocery store and donating to a food shelf. It’s always wonderful to hear about someone donating to another in need, but I also notice when others of us become frustrated when local grocery store shelves have been cleared out. Some people on this site report buying many boxes of something, while others report not being able to find any boxes of the same item. I asked the local foodshelf in my neighborhood, ICA, how dollars are best spent in donating to the foodshelf. I was told that unless I am donating an item I got for free or nearly free, my money is better spent by donating cash – -even just one dollar – - to the foodshelf. There is a huge and heavily discounted buying network that supports the foodshelf system. Please understand that I am not singling anyone out or otherwise trying to diminish someone’s efforts. I have personally been banned by my husband from buying any more cereal or crackers until we make a dent in our current supply, so I am not against stocking up (lol). I just hate to think that someone, who’s dollars are few, might not find a good deal at the grocery store because I have stocked my own cupboards. What’s the right thing to do? I don’t think there is one right answer, since each family is different, but I think it bears a discussion.