Open Mic is a post every Thursday that is a mini-version of a discussion board. You can leave a comment with whatever coupon, money-saving or debt reduction tips or questions you have and other readers chime in and answer.
When you leave a comment you’ll be able to choose whether you’d like to be emailed follow-up comments or not. Getting comments via email is a great way to stay connected without having to visit the site a bazillion times (although I don’t mind if you come a bazillion times).
As always, I look forward to hearing the voice of the Pocket Your Dollars community. Read through the Open Mic archives here.
Your turn: Leave a comment with your money-saving, coupon or debt reduction question, thought or suggestion.
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About Laura Wales
Are there any blogs out there at might cover deals at Coborns and Cashwise? Those in the St. Cloud area don’t have any other options right now, except for Sam’s Club and Aldi. (We lost Cub a few weeks ago) There will be a Walmart SuperCenter soon but it won’t be in a very convienent location for most people.
Mary, a good place to go to find blogs that list other stores is http://becentsable.net/Default.aspx?pageId=465043. This gives you a list of stores and blogs that cover those stores. (Pocket Your Dollars is part of this gathering.) I also found two more that could help you: Four Is the New Two and Saving My Nickels. Hope this helps!
Why did Cub close, do you know?
The two st Cloud locations were not part of coporate Cub but were independently owned. The owner had taken it over from his father when his father passed and was wanting to retire himself. With no one else to take it over, a deal was reached with Coborns to purchase both stores and keep them open.
Any one need a coupon for BOGO for the refills on the scrubbing bubbles shower cleaner? I have an extra one. I could scan & email to you today. Expires sunday the 15th.
Also have some of the gift card coupons. If you need these let me know @ sak42116@msn.com
Sally,
scanning and printing coupons isn’t a good thing to do. They are considered forgery and many stores will not take them. It is also making some stores question taking ANY printed coupons at all, which would really hurt the service that Carrie and PYD is providing.
Do any of you enter local sweepstakes, like radio contests and such? I’m interested in finding some more contests to enter, but I don’t really know where to start.
I have tried earning points at my talk 107.1 (never won anything though) it can be fun but I ran out of time to enter and get the points each day.
I have won and its worth doing.
Yes, I enter all the local media (radio and tv) sweeps online. I won a Lexmark printer from recent KARE11 contest. Good luck!
Minnesota Lottery website http://www.mnlottery.com/ has sweepstakes you enter on line (without having to buy tickets). I entered one this morning for a chance to win $10,000 or a year’s worth of Megamillions tickets. I think you can enter daily.
Anyone recommend a plummer in the St. Paul area to replace a toilet-I’m not sure if it’s cheaper to buy my own toilet or buy one through the company doing the work. Suggestions?
If you or someone you know is even a little bit handy, replacing a toilet yourself is actually pretty easy (and free!). A couple years ago, my husband and I broke the toilet bowl as we were reattaching it with the bolts. We bought a new toilet, which I think was under $100 and used much less water. To have it installed was two or three times the price so we decided to try it on our own and a quick Google search for “How to replace a toilet” gave a good tutorial. A couple hours later, we had a brand new, functioning toilet.
I love my plumber – Lakes Area Home Improvement – ask for Scott.
Does anyone know of a good place for affordable carpet cleaning? We live in the north metro, have a small home and need our living room, stairs and hallway done badly! :) We’re looking for someone reputable, as it is always difficult to let strangers into your home (we’re especially cautious since we have a 2 year old). Any recommendations or great experiences??
Charlie’s Steamcleaning is awesome – highly trained to get out any kind of spots! Charile is a neighbor of mine and my son worked for him. They have a facebook page where you can get their information. HTH
I second, third and fourth Charlie! He is awesome. Very respectful, does an amazing job (my 20+ year old carpet looked like brand new), go out stains I thought were permanent and thoughtfully (and at no charge) gave us a solution for some icky cat odors on leather furniture. Charlie also cleans furniture and I think may be a certified restorer. He’s awesome and I think very competetively priced. He discounts if you move all the furniture out of a room. I should also add that the carpet is nearly bone dry when he is done. None of this don’t walk on it for hours business. Makes me feel better knowing I don’t have a swamp below my carpet pad. You can find him at charliessteamcleaning.com. (By the way, I am just one seriously satisfied customer who’s happy to recommend a trusted vendor.)
Hello Kathy & Mags,
Thank you so much for your endorsement of Charlie’s Steamcleaning Service, we really appreciate it! Charlie has been in business as a professional carpet and upholstery cleaner for over 30 years now, and he really knows how to get carpets and upholstery CLEAN. His secret is that he takes the time necessary to get the spots and dirt out, and prides himself in doing a thorough job, every time. Charlie uses up-to-date truck-mounted steamcleaning equipment which helps get the dirt out better than anything else. The hot water extraction method is really the best way to get/keep your carpets clean, and Charlie’s Steamcleaning uses safe cleaning products for residential and commercial cleaning. Charlie’s also offers anti-allergen products for people sensitive to smells and allergies.
We hope you have a wonderful spring/summer season 2011!! Thanks again!
Charlie’s Steamcleaning Service
Check web address which will be available soon!
http://www.charliessteamcleaning.com
651-451-8383
Zero Res is amazing — we were totally amazed at how great our carpets looked after they did our carpets.
I 2nd Zero ReZ! A friend of mine owns it & they do a great job chemical free.
Curious if you felt Zero Res “upcharged.” I cancelled an appointment with them because I read they quote you one price over the phone, but when they get there try to sell you a lot more in terms of pretreating, stain removal, etc. Is that true?
I heard Zero Rez carpet cleaner ads on K 102, Donna Valentine was promoting it. I believe there’s a coupon or deal. I couldn’t find it on k102 web site, but I bet if you called them and told them you wanted to know about the deal from k102, they’d give it to you. I think it’s a 3 room promo.
Julie W
J & G Quality Services, Jerry Geist is a great carpet cleaner. Reliable, does a great job, reasonable price. Highly recommend. His # 952-890-5247
You could always rent a steam cleaner yourself. It is a lot cheaper.
We usually rent a Rug Doctor for about $25-30 at Cub (or where-ever). If you are tight on money, it does a great job for the price. It got out tons of food and dirt stains in our living room and sun room.
Carpet Clean is excellent! I highly recommend them. I have used them for years and I have 2 older children and 3 smaller children and never thought twice about the men that come into my home. They are very professional and kind. I recommend a truck mount system anyone you chose.
Thanks for all the info!
Laura, thanks so much for the links. “Four is the new two” is perfect. Since most deals at Cashwise are just a few cents of the Coborns deals, it will help with both.
Do you know if Coburns still doubles 10 coupons on Mondays? They used to double 10 on Mondays if they were 50cents or less. If they were over 50cents they would just round them to $1 but not double. Are they still doing this???
I heard from someone in that area that Coburn’s is no longer doubling coupons :-(
Coborns in Glencoe doubles coupons every day but only doubles saving you 1.00. So a .50 coupon is worth 1.00 and a .55 is also worth 1.00.
One of my friends is the writer of “Four is the new Two” and she is great! She loves finding all sorts of deals…so if you’re in need of a deal…let her know and she’ll be on it. She gets more excited than we all do about deals she finds for us…I think!
I have a prescription that I need to fill. I have heard that some pharmacies give gift cards for new prescriptions. Does anyone know who is offering them?
Target has one out right now — CVS has one and I saw one for Rite Aide if you live near one.
I think Lunds/Byerly’s had one too – it might have been for $20.
Byerlys is $25
K-mart had a coupon in their paper this week for a $10 gift card for a new prescription and $25 gc for a transferred prescription. I know that CVS will honor K-mart’s coupons as well. (It’s on the last page of their ad. If you look online it is the last page of the “1/2 ad” that says $5 and $10 coupon for certain purchases. HTH
Prairie Stone Pharmacy at Lunds/Byerly’s usually has coupons on the counter offering $25 Lunds/Byerly’s gift cards with a new or transferred prescription.
Mark – I think the Lunds/Byerly’s deal is done. At least at the one in Maple Grove their $25 gift card offer expired on 3/3. I know because my daughter needed some medicine and we couldn’t use the coupon :( The CVS by me took it though, both a competitor’s coupon and an expired coupon. You might want to call yoru lcoal CVS and see if they’d do the same for you there.
Coborn’s isn’t doing the double coupons anymore. They have specials each day of the week – can’t remember what they are right now, but I know I wasn’t impressed.
Nichole, The only reason I offered to scan the coupon is because it expires on Monday the 15th, not leaving enough time to mail it.I never thought I was doing anything illegal.
If it’s a coupon you printed online, I don’t see anything wrong with it. As long as it’s a good quality scan and print, it shouldn’t be a problem getting the store to take it. The issues arise when the same printed coupon gets used more than once. I’ve accidentally printed one coupon on the back of another and scaned and printed it onto a new sheet and it looked and worked just fine.
I know you don’t see anything wrong with it, but it’s still technically coupon fraud, even if it works. ;) I’d just hate for someone to get in trouble with a scanned Q.
Curious: I do not understand the expectation that a shopper should be able to use a BOGO manufacturer’s coupon and a second manufacturer’s coupon. I have been couponing since my 20′s (nearly 30 years) and you’ve never been able to do that. I understand that there isn’t a big coupon law book somewhere, but it is accepted practice. You can’t use two manufacturer’s coupons on one item. A BOGO coupon means buying one item entitles you to a free item. That’s the discount: the free item. I do understand, however, that many a cashier has let this slip by, but to insist on it is not cool.
I respectfully and adamantly disagree with you Theresa. I also have been using coupons for over 20 years and have read magazine and newspaper articles also seen several news segment over the years on programs like Oprah, Today Show, Good Morning America, etc. teaching people how to use coupons and it has always been acceptable to use one manufacturer coupon per item bought- even if one of those coupons is a BOGO coupon (provided that the printed words on the coupon doesn’t exclude using other coupons- I have rarely, if ever, seen)
let me clarify something- if you have a coupons that says save $1 off 2 and also have a BOGO coupon you’d have to buy 3 items to get one free. Think of the $1 off of 2 as really $.50 off each. There for it’s the 3rd item that would qualify for the BOGO coupon.
Rainbow (Forest Lake) will not let you use the BOGO coupons with other manufacturers coupons but at Target (Forest Lake), I’ve never had a problem doing it.
I’d like to hear some stories about how your family is making your dollar really stretch if you have someone in your household who is unemployed (and not receiving compensation). From paying bills, to keeping kids clothed, to outings….how are you making life bearable?
My husband lost his job back before I started couping. I wish I would have learned this back then. We were fortunate that it only lasted 3 months. Thank God. At the time we were renting. We talked to the landlord and told them our situation and they worked with us. So we were fortunate enough to not worry about that to much (the place we were renting was going in foreclosure). We did not go out much. If we did it was to the park, library, indoor parks at the malls, went on hikes and just found things that did not cost money. The Zoo (Como Park) is free. You don’t have to give a donation. We went to the beach. There is tons you can do that does not cost money. To keep clothes on the kids I went to garage sales, thrift stores and ECFC sales in the spring to get cheep nice clothes. I still do that now. I can’t see paying full price for clothes at my sons age ( he is only 5). He goes threw clothes really fast. Especially jeans. You just do what you have to to get by. Sorry if you are in this situation. I wish it upon nobody.
Angie,
The Childrens Museum and The Science Museum both have free admission/ membership for low income. Just call and find out what they need. My sister receives MinnesotaCare and just had to show her card. The museums receive state funding so they are able to help out lower income families.
For clothing, I have made it a practice to go to garage sales every week-end during the summer. We have 5 kids and I have always clothed them almost totally with garage sales. Pretty much the only things I buy new are socks, underwear and sometimes shoes. I always find $50.00 jeans for 1or 2 dollars. Then I hit end of the season sales and save things for Christmas presents. I just bought my niece a beautiful robe off a $1.00 rack at Target. I’m going to try and find some pj’s on a great clearence and I’ll have a nice Christmas present for her.
Nothing beats home cooking for value and taste! I can make a huge pot of chicken soup and a loaf of hot bread in my bread machine for about $6.00. That fed my family of 5 (2 kids are off to college) two meals so ended up costing about .65 per person.Because my husband has a lot of food allergies esp. to preseratives, I have been forced into cooking everything from scratch. It saves a ton of money and is pretty easy to learn if you’re not sure how.
We decided that when our first child was born back in 1983 that I would stay at home with them so I needed to find ways to do that and have become pretty creative. That’s not to say we haven’t struggleed, we sure have at times, but always seem to some how make it.We still have an 17, 15 and 8 year old that I’m homeschooling and right now more than anything I worry about my sanity! :)
I start with doing things like scouring the area for free activities. I know where I live in St. Micheal there are tons of free in hte park activities like a reading in the park, there are free passes to the museums and other places from the library. Then there are just going to different parks, they are free and fun. The Arboretum did thursday nights free the past two years and I would think they will again so it’s a great time to go.
You can do free summer movies at some of the local theaters, I know Rogers does it and they are always kid friendly during the day activities.
I make tons of meals that can double — ie cook a whole chicken use hte meat for two different meals and those sorts of things.
For clothes garage sales — I use them all the time for clothes for my kids you have to go to alot to find things, but it’s also fun too. I try to find neighborhood ones so we can get out and walk from place to place and see what we can find.
I struggled with free outings for a long time. I found that I got frustrated that I missed the free day at the Walker or Children’s Museum, so I started keeping a calendar for myself, and then made it into a website. Maybe it would be helpful to you. Check http://www.minneapoless.com and click on calendar.
Wow Katie – thank you thank you for linking me to your calendar! I forgot all about the Bell Museum….and of course the free days everywhere. This has been a hard, long winter with a 2 1/2 yr old. At least my daughter is in school to keep boredom away.
Katie – What a great resource!! Thank you for sharing.
Glad you find it helpful! I am just the type that needs to get out of the house every day!
Just wanted to say I just used the couponmom website that Carrie recommends to fine a specific coupon and it worked like a charm! What a great resource! Thank you!
I have a couple of things to see if anyone has ideas.
One, is there a software that is inexpensive to track expenses, savings, and household stuff?
Two, I have medical things that sometimes prevent me from shopping. I copy paste the items that I want from the list that Carrie provides to make a list. It lists costs coupons and all. I pull coupons and in another column indicate how many I want. I also separate transactions for rebates. But no matter how hard I try my hubby always comes home with wrong items or forgets to pull coupon off item to use … He has no problem at menards without a list! I am also available via cell to him if questions. I even have him look at the list prior to going. I do go to Rainbow and try to do others. Sometimes he does the Target and CVS. Mostly short lists. Any ideas on how to make it easier or less hassle. I hate doing the coupons/lists/organizing and then to find he comes home without the right thing. He might get the brand right! :-) I do appreciate his help but get frustrated.
Perhaps go with your husband shopping once or twice to show him how it’s done. It sounds to me like it’s not that he’s incapable of doing it, just that he doesn’t really care all that much. How to get him to care if the big question. It took my wife a good six months to really get on board with what I was doing with coupons and saving money.
I use a excel spreed sheets to keep my budget and track my expenses. It works for us and cost nothing except my time to set it up.
Dawn N.,
Sorry to hear about your medical problems. It’s good to know of someone else who can’t always get to the store when she wants to. I also have a medical situation which prevents me from going places when I want to go. At times, I’ve missed 3 weeks in a row of double coupon days! I usually manage every other week at most. While reading your post, I laughed out loud trying to imagine my hubby going by my list, complete with photos. I mean, he’d go for deals on specific things, but if I explained the $25 minimum he’d say forget it!. Even my 20 year old daughter, (who got her first Roundy’s card last night and bought Cover Girl makeup and other personal items at rock-bottom prices), started to gloss over when I showed her how to get the the $25 minimum without wasting money. My point is that a person has internal motivation to be willing to do what it takes to get the deals at Rainbow. it’s obviously not a man/woman thing; you just have to want to do it.
If you have a Google/gmail account, they have free spreadsheets you can use. It would be under Google Docs. The only downside is that you need an Internet connection.
Microsoft Excel has free templates that you can track expenses; create budgets.
Thanks all, I need to get him to understand the reason we are doing this as he doesn’t do the bills and that would help motivate him. I do go to Rainbow but put stuff in his cart so making a list there for him with me there might help him…(good idea Nate).
It is good to know I am not alone in the boat as others are like me.
I have Microsoft Works so will check out spreadsheets for the budget/savings/…
Thanks all, I guess I am frustrated and now feel like I have some ideas to try. I don’t want to give it up as the savings are immeasureable.
Dawn
Dawn, we use http://www.mvelopes.com to track our budget income/expenses. They have a free trial on right now.
It imports your spending/banking from your accounts. It is the most convenient for both of us & each of us rotate moving transactions for 1 week at a time. That keeps both of us on the same page about the budget all the time.
We have also implemented what we call an “allignment” night (yes, business lingo works well for two analytical people) each Tuesday evening to cover all our family items (budget, scheduling, vacation planning, accountability of excercising, etc). Those two items (along with PYD) have revolutionized our level of communication and commitment to our goals :)
I am in need of a new watch. Anyone have any good ideas on how to save money on one? Thanks.
I know Walgreen’s has had a good clearance on them for a couple weeks now, but it all depends on what kind and quality of watch you want.
I would try to use a Kohl’s or Herbergers coupon on top of a sale price. Herberger’s is doing the GoodWill sale – if you donate an item for GoodWill they will give you a coupon. Again, not sure what kind of quality watch you are shopping for.
While I was out of work I made some extra money selling things I got at Thrift Stores and Garage Sales on Ebay, it helped to pay for groceries and such. You have to be really picky and do your research on Ebay first to understand what is selling, but it helped me out.
Does anyone know the cheapest place to buy ink cartriges, 69 or 88? I seem to go through so much ink now that I print coupons! Thank you!
I think this is one of the top 10 discussion topics on Open Mic – Carrie should almost have an Open Mic specifically for printer ink cartriges tips and ideas! If yo have time to read through past Open Mic posts you could get ideas. You can also put “ink cartridge” in the Google Search field at the top right of this page.
Angie,
I recently found a wonderful family business (you can actually email or call and talk to them) online: http://www.ccs-digital.com
They ship anywhere for one flat fee so the more you can order the lower the cost. If i’m not mistaken the “69″ you speak of is for an Epson printer, which is what I have. The problem always seems to be with the chip resetting so generics are a problem for me. This company has a system that uses a frame with a chip that automatically resets. The exchangeable ink tanks just pop in and out and hold almost 3 times what the OEM tanks hold. Once I bought the first set with the frames and 2 black and 1 each color for $30, the replacement cost is $15 for just the ink tanks, again 2 blacks and 1 each color! Changes in a breeze. They even give repeat customers and those that refer others discounts and and bonus ink tanks. Best i’ve ever found.
If it comes through..sorry for the duplicate, didn’t think the first posted.
Angie,
I recently found a wonder family owned business online http://www.ccs-digital.com/ for my Epson ink. I think that’s the printer for the ink you listed.
Karen thank you so much for taking the time to reply! I just ordered the cartridges and refills. What a great idea! Thanks again.
Glad I could help!
Angie, I have started taking my cartridges for refills at Walgreens. Can get it done for $9.99 apiece. I also set my defaults to black/white so I don’t use up all my colored ink printing coupons.
I started doing this also…I was tired of using up printer ink not only on the actual coupons themselves, but 1/2 the time it seems like a whole ad for the product will print up on the rest of the page, and that’s pointlessly using up a lot of color too. I was concerned that cashiers would think I had photocopied it, but everyone so far has scanned them without questioning about that. I photocopied a coupon once (a black and white one)…not to use it, just to see what it looks like as compared with a coupon printed in black and white. The quality is inferior, and you can’t see the “watermark” which most coupons have in the background for authenticity purposes.
Thanks Mary. I called and they couldn’t refill the kind I had, but I appreciate you letting me know!
To all the ladies out there specially Carrie and Laura I want to thank you all, I been reading your comments, suggestions and as little as 1 month I had really save keep it up!
The cashier at Rainbow told me that the gas program is ending 3/31/2010; she said it is possible they may continue a revised program (maybe even better) but all she knew for sure was that the program “as is” will end 3/31/10
Does anyone know what Walmarts policy is on if a item is less than the coupons worth? Last night I was at Walmart to pick up the travel size tide 97cents and had a $1 off coupon off any tide and the machine kicked it out and the cashier double checked it with the manager and she just smiled and said no…..but at the same time I had a quite a few other coupons that were more than the value of the item and they were not kicked out. I have been looking to see if I could find Walmarts policy on this, so far I can’t find anything. I did talk to the service counter person later and he said he would have given it to me for the value of the item…which seems good but still…if the coupon says “any” of an item and it is….don’t they have to give it to you…not just smile at you like I was trying to cheat.
I should have clarified earlier. I need a plumber to take out my toilet because the water shut off valve is stuck and the flange may also need to be replaced based on the age of the exisiting toilet. Based on that-any recommendations on local plumbers or purchasing a new one?
I would see if anyone you know is a member of Angie’s List to see if they can look up a good plumber for you. Good luck!
Carissa – my husbands a plumber email me at ellangs at msn dot com.
I am wondering if anyone trades coupons and if they do, what is the website or organization you might use… Thanks!
Lisa – Pocket Your Dollars will be doing something in this vein soon :) Stay tuned for details…
yeah can’t wait to hear more :)
Lisa, We have a coupon exchange set up where I work. You just bring in coupons your not going to use and grab the ones you will. It works well, but it took a while to get a good supply.
List of Twin Cities boutiques and consigment shops listed by county- excellent resource for the thrifty or resourceful shopper!
http://www.alishops.com/twincitiesstoresandshops.asp?sort=County
Printer Cartridge refills: Walgreens refills your cartridges for 12.50- they typically have in store a 50% off coupon,can’t beat 6 bucks to refill a cartridge!
Sometimes I find really great deals at Lunds/Byerlys, but they are never mentioned here. Like last week they had t-bones and porterhouse steaks for $4.99 a pound (I don’t eat beef but I was told that was an amazing deal). I work next to a Lunds, so sometimes it is cheaper for me to go there for a few things instead of going out of my way, and I’ve picked up some good buys there. Plus their stores are all clean. Anyone else ever shop there?
Sure! When the economic downturn began, it seems like Byerlys began doing way more “good deals”, and I do watch for them. This weekend, they have all their frozen pizzas 40% off. And they have a 4 lb bag of seedless oranges on sale for $2.99. Their produce is always good, so that’s a good deal I think and it’s right nearby for us. I have seen some Byerlys/Lunds deals mentioned here on Pocket your Dollars, though. They just don’t have their own weekly list
Pepsi 12 packs are 3/$5 at Byerlys right now. A great deal for Pepsi in my book!
Thanks for the heads up! This is a really good deal!
Also If you subscribe to their weekly email ad they have an internet coupon that you can use…. this week it’s $0.99 for bryer’s ice cream when you spend $10.
I also frequently check out Lunds/Byerly’s each week. Make sure to subscribe to their weekly emails to get their weekly web coupon (often a free grocery item). They have great sales! And their produce is next to none. I’ve heard they get first pick on fruit delivered to the warehouse and the other Twin Cities stores get their leftovers (urban legend? I don’t know).
As for its own thread, probably wouldn’t be a weekly thing. I’d also like to see a whole foods and trader joes thread, but again probably wouldn’t need a weekly update. Whole Foods has their own web coupons to use on top of manufacturers’ coupons. And they have a weekly email of budget recipes.
Help! I need to purchase a twin mattress for my daughter asap. I have been looking at ads, but I have not seen them cheaper than $99.99. Does anybody have any ideas?
Sadly this may be tough. My husband and I purchased 2 TwinXL matresses last year. The cheapest we found was Slumberland Clearance. You can also check Big Lots – but under $100 may be tough. Even the “cheaper” places (like Common Cents Furniture) were all $99 and not as nice. Good luck to you!!! :o)
I’m not sure if anyone is planning on buying The Princess and The Frog or Old Dogs(disney) but if you are there is a $10 off coupon link at coupon geek.com or I just googled The Princess and The Frog coupon and it popped up. also Target has a$3 off q on their website for any disney bluray movie.
Maybe this has already been posted somewhere, but just in case, here is a link for $1 off of Toaster Strudel Pastries.
http://www.pillsbury.com/products/breakfast/frozen/toaster-strudel/toaster-strudel-kids.htm#
Does anyone have a carpet cleaning company they recommend? We are moving out of our rental and need to find an inexpensive carpet cleaning company. We have a 2 bedroom town home and I have never had to hire a carpet cleaner since we have used the rug doctor in the past, but our landlord is sort of neurotic so I’m not taking any chances :)