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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Looks like I get to get things started this morning!
Does anybody know if there are any printable Barnes and Nobles coupons available online? Or other ways to get good deals there?
I am signed up to receive their email deals–though I deleted as I was not going to buy anything. They often send out 10% off any purchase and 30% off certain books.
This week, I received my $5 in grocery cash from purchasing Curious George 2 Follow that Monkey–thanks Carrie :)
I always google B and N promo codes before buying on-line– usually find something.
I have the Borders “discount” card (not sure what the actual name for it is) and it seems everyday I get an email with a 30% off coupon if it is something you could buy there instead of B&N
I was wondering how people are getting diapers so cheap? I usually wind up paying around 30cents per diaper or more…how do I get those for cheaper? I clip every coupon I ever see for them, what am I missing out on?
I get my diapers mostly at Walgreen’s or Target and I usually buy Huggies or Pampers (‘cuz they are the brands that usually have q’s and go on sale). I think the ticket is to have multiple copies of the q’s when Walgreen’s or Target run a sale. Back in Jan. and Feb. of this year it seemed like I was buying three packs of diapers a week, just ‘cuz the sales were so-ooo good! At one point I counted my stock pile and was up to 500 diapers (and I only have 1 little one!). I even started to buy the next size diaper, as to not end up having a growth spirt and still having too small of diapers to use up. I have now instituted a “no diaper buying” policy for myself, until we use up what we have on hand – no matter how good the sale. My advice to you is to watch the Sunday insert q preview. If you see diaper q’s listed consider buying multiple copies of the paper that week (buy them on Sat. and only pay 50 cents each for them & check to see that the papers have the right inserts before you pay for them). Hold on to the q’s and hopefully Walgreen’s or Target will run a sale before the q’s expire. If you are desperate, I think Luvs are a great diaper too. They seem to work better than generics, but are a bit more reasonable than everyday prices on Huggies and Pampers. Awhile back there was even a q for Luvs (which I rarely see) check Hot Coupon World if interested, as I don’t recall the insert date.
Good luck!
I used to be a Luvs fan until some women here convinced me to try the Up & Up brand Target carries. I love them! They’re thick and don’t leak. I just went back to a pack of Luvs b/c I had coupons for them, and would rather use the Target brand from now on. Use your coupons when you can – I like Huggies overnights best – but if you want a quick substitute try Target’s brand. A box of ?? runs around $13.50.
I used to buy them exclusively at Babies R Us to get the one package free after buying so many. Now I buy them from Walgreens, Target, or CVS. I have been using the Pampers and Huggies coupons. I pair it up with a sale and store coupons and ECBs. This week I snagged 96 Pampers diapers for 5.50 and got 5.00 back in ECBs at CVS. Diapers were 21.99 used $4 off 20 dollar purchase (CVS coupon), 3 pampers CVS coupon, 2 pampers coupon, and 7.50 in ECBs.
I love to get them when the store gives us free money Register rewards and ECBs and I keep them rolling until the next diaper deal. :-)
Targets up&up brand are what I use now. A box of sz 3 is 13.69 for I believe 92. It ends up being about .14 a diaper. I have yet to find even with coupons a deal like that. I don’t like huggies because I find they leak a lot. If you buy the up & up at target they do have catalinas once inawhile for upto $1.50 off.
Use coupons+sales+store programs like SCR, $$/$$$ coupons, CVS extra bucks, etc. Doing this, I get huggies and pampers for even less than the store brands. I have a few scenarios listed on my blog so you can get an idea. This week at Rite Aid, I got:
Jumbo Pack Huggies ($8.99-$3 printable coupon-$2 Rite Aid Video Values Coupon)
2 NYC Cosmetics B1G1 50% 0ff ($4.50-(2)$1 printables-$2 RIte Aid Wellness cosmetics coupon)
Kotex ($3.49-$1 printable coupon);
Sea Breeze ($4.99-$1 Coupon from All You mag)
Total before coupons: $21.96
(Use $5/$20 VIdeo Values coupon)
Total after coupons: $5.97
Single Check Rebates qualified for: $6.49.
So technically this is a money maker! If you don’t like the rebates, you can play around with scenarioes to get the OOP less. If you subtract the kotex and sea breeze and instead get 2 Old Spice for $7.00, and use a B1G1 FREE coupon, your total oop would be only $3.00 for diapers, make up, and Old Spice body wash.
I’ve been wanting to ask about 2 things.
What is a good price to pay per item at the dry cleaners? I don’t have to dry clean often, but at the end of the season, I always have a few items. $4.39 per item seems really expensive to me, which is what the local dry cleaner charges. With tax and everything, 3 items were $14! This seems like too much to me. How can I improve in this area? Suggestions?
Second – what’s a good price to pay for just an every day rug for an entry way – probably the 5×8 size? Nothing fancy – just a Kohls or Target like rug. I need a new one as the rubber backing on my current one turning to “dust” and making a mess under the rug.
I recently bought a similar size rug at Target for around $30 on clearance at Target. I felt I might have been able to get a better price at Kohl’s, however, the colors and design were exactly what I was looking for. I think you’d probably get the best price on something like this by shopping Kohl’s and pairing a sale price with a %off q. I always expect to buy items at Kohl’s for 10% off or more (most likely more). If you can’t get at least 10% off, wait a week ‘cuz a sale or q is bound to come around!
Once in awhile in the the break room at work I exclaim: “Wow! Kohl’s is having their best sale EVER!!!”
Someone always gets excited while the others chuckle knowingly.
We have that same running joke… Look, Kohls is having a sale! Who would have guessed. It just bothers me that NOTHING in their store is ever full price. It makes me think they are scamming me. Everything is always 15%-60% off with Kohls cash and coupons as available as air. So why don’t they just price things like a normal place and not play this game. Price things fairly to begin with and don’t send out 1,000 coupons to your customers every year and they would probably make more money!
I have found they try to make things look like a good deal by marking them “clearance” when it costs just the same as the items on the normal racks. So you can buy the item off the rack for 50% off, but the clearance items are 30% off the retail price… makes no sense!
Ha ha!! I just went to Kohl’s last night an (allegedly) saved $172 on four items! I almost laughed in the poor cashier’s face . . . *sigh*
You can also try IKEA. I bought a really nice rug there when I went to college 6 years ago, and it still looks new.
I have found nice rugs (larger) at Menards and Home Depot – never paid more than $30.
There was just a coupon on the Target website for a percentage off of a rug — I don’t remember or know if its still there, but would be worth a quick look.
Menards also has great rugs. I got a rug for under our dinning room table and it lasted 8 years before I decided to change the room and it had to go for decorating purposes. I think we payed $30.
Alison, some cleaners have coupons. If you are cleaning sweaters, which don’t have to be pressed, see if your cleaner has a “bulk” cleaning deal, which is just throwing the stuff in the machine with the chemicals, no spotting or pressing. If the sweaters have spots, you might not want to use that option.
Clean and Press is a good deal for sweaters as well, but I don’t find them to be good for anything that needs to be pressed.
I don’t dry clean that often, so I don’t mind spending a little extra for suits and especially pants, which will have a crease.
Always clean your winter stuff before you put it away for the season!
Alison – Overstock.com has some good deals on rugs as well. Sign up for their emails and you will often get an additional 10% off. Otherwise, Dock86 had some nice rugs that I bought.
Startbright Cleaners in Maple Grove (near Cub) has awesome everyday prices! I haven’t gotten clothing cleaned there but believe their prices run about $2something or less per item. I’ve cleaned king size comforters there many times and it runs about $28 each time … much much cheaper than other places I’ve checked out. I also checked them out for wedding dress cleaning and they were about $30-$40 less than other places.
Good Luck!
I would recommend bringing in one or two items to “test” the cleaners. I worked in the cleaning business for many years and I saw some things that were pretty bad. We’d have people bring in things that hadn’t been cleaned correctly and they would ask us to fix them. We charged more, but we did everything by hand, no automatic pressing and only hand spotting, so we were worth it. If I was hoping to pass down a wedding dress to someone, I might spend the extra money and have it done right. It isn’t always about saving money, sometimes it is about getting the best service for your money.
Oh, I almost forgot…there is a place in St Louis Park, I can’t remember the name, but they are in the same strip mall as where Snyder’s used to be, on Louisiana and Cedar Lake Road. We got a comforter cleaned there for my Mom and it was a really great deal. I don’t remember the cost but I know it wasn’t bad, like less than $25. It is an inexpensive comforter so I just wanted it freshened up a bit, and they did a nice job. Plus it seems to be an independently owned place, which is cool.
The place in St. Louis Park is called U.S. Cleaners. They have coupons on the back of Rainbow receipts for $3.19 per piece. That is one of the lowest prices I’ve seen around town. Startbright in Maple Grove has been increasing their prices to nearly $4 per piece and they don’t do that great of a job any more.
I’ve found Martinizing Cleaners to be the best. Their prices are high, but they do a wonderful job of cleaning and pressing. They are also known as the “green” cleaner. You can always find coupons for 50% – up to $5 off in the back of the Cub Foods’ receipt in Plymouth.
Ditto to the Menards comment! I have purchased four area rugs from Menards so far, and they’re frequently the same brands as are in department stores.
I also get my curtains at Menards ;-)
Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. I live near SLP, so I may try that U.S. Cleaners for $3.19 per piece for dry cleaning.
As for rugs, I bought one on Saturday at Kohls when they were 55% off and then also used the 15% off e-mail coupon I received to get a nice rug for $16.
I totally know what you all mean about Kohls stuff ALWAYS being on sale. I would never buy a full priced item since I know it will go on sale in a week or so.
Being that it is Earth Day, I have an environmental question for everyone. I was using all those store plastic shopping bags to clean out the cat box, but there has to be a better way to dispose of it. What does everyone else do?
I use scoopable litter from the large pails, so when I empty one of the pails, I use it for the scooped used litter. I then send it out with my weekly trash. I haven’t found a better way of disposing of the used litter. My extra plastic bags from stored i use as trash can liners, saves a bundle on trash bags. I also use my paper bags for recyclables, and send those out with my weekly recycling.
When we had an indoor cat, we used a product called Feline Pine. It’s dust free, eliminates odors, and it’s very absorbant. It uses pellets that decompose, so it became almost like wood chips that we threw outside to compost. Here’s their website. I’m pretty sure they offer coupons, and it’s not too tough to find in stores…I know Walmart used to carry it. It’s been awhile since we’ve shopped for litter. HTH! :)
http://www.felinepine.com/original/
We used to use plastic store bags for our cat litter too. A few years ago, I switched to reusable shopping bags. Now we use old food bags (chip bags, cereal bags, bread bags, etc) for scooping the litter. Since these are going into the garbage anyways, I feel better about getting another use out of them before they hit the trash. They work geat too.
I was interested by this NY Times article “Web Coupons Know Lots About You, and They Tell” http://nyti.ms/dx0bY3 It’s a little alarming (to me at least) the amount of info they are collecting on us.
Love this article, Teresa. It’s a tough call for me, but this is why I don’t use things like Ebates or Swagbucks regularly. What bugs me the most is that targeted marketing isn’t really fair – if they know I’ve bought Product X recently and you have not, I will pay more than you for Product X, while you’ll get a price break.
Catalina’s been doing this for years and years, though, and consumers have come to accept that their purchasing info is being attached to their credit card number or checking account number. But to push the info to names and fb pages…ugh.
I’m sure a lot of people out there already know about this, but it falls in the same category so I thought I would mention it. When you are searching for airline tickets (or hotels, etc), the sites will track if you have been there recently. For example, if you were searching at 10am, found a flight you wanted, but had to go back to it later in the day to purchase, you might find that the price of the flight went up. If that happens, try deleting the cookies from your internet history and then search again. Usually it will restore the original price.
GOOD tip. That always happens to me! Thanks!
Interesting. This has happened to me twice on Amazon. Once w/ software and once with Mad Men dvd. I checked the price…and went back later to buy it only to find the price had gone up the next day. I wonder if this is what happened??!!
I’m a fairly new reader and was wondering what everyone’s experience has been with signing up for e-mail deals and coupons. Even with “privacy policies” has there been any increase in spam or offers from companies other than the one you’ve signed up with? Do they share information with other divisions of the company so you get multiple e-mails while they are technically still within their “policy”? Thanks!
I use a dummy email account that I never check to sign up for coupon deals. When I did check it I found to get about 300 emails a week from various vendors. I only use my real email address if I want that company to have it.
Many times you can opt out of the news letters or having them share it with other branches of their companies. I get some junk emails but for the number of lists and htings I really don’t get that many.
I have a few emails and for those I am more skeptical of I use an email I don’t check that often.
All You magazine. Any suggestions how to get a really cheap subscription? I feel bad asking, I’m pretty anti-Wal-Mart.
Diapers are one of those items you have to really buy when the deals are hot. I usually stock up when I can get a smaller bag for under $7 (the most I have spent is $6.99) or a good box deal when target does the gift card deal. I think part of it too is how brand loyal you are and the size of diaper. $.30 might not be bad if your little one is in a size 5 or 6. I have found if they are in a size 4 I can usually buy at around $.16- $.19 per diaper. But I also alternate between Pampers baby dry, Luvs, and Huggies snug and dry. On the same note, if you are using Pampers Cruisers, or Huggies little movers, you looking at more per diaper usually. I buy through Rainbow a lot to meet my $25 threshold on double days so I am regualary getting at least $2 off plus I almost always get a $2 off coupon for pampers Rainbow coupon at checkout. Good luck hope this helps!
If anyone has any TGIF Snack coupons for $1.50, Holiday has them buy 2 for $3.00, but you only have to buy 1, it is only $1.50 as well, FREE after coupon, then pair it up with a Dorito’s Big Grab, Free coupon through link from PYD a couple of weeks ago and you walk away with a couple of free items. Just a deal I found out a couple of days ago. Being new, I didn’t realize that the gas stations took coupons. Of course he looked at me funny because I didn’t pay him anything for my 4 items I walked out of the store with.
I didn’t know gas stations took coupons either. Good to know. I think I will start asking no matter where I am shopping.
Woo hoo! This is a great deal – thanks!
Never even thought to use a MFG coupon at Holiday…i’ve always just used their store coupons.
Thanks!
What is a good buy price for the regular white 13 gallon trash bags?
Do the math to figure the price of each bag. My buy price is 5 cents a bag. Menards has a good sale on them this week.
Also check Aldi or if you have a membership, check Sam’s Club or Costco
Happy Earth Day! I am psyched to get my ink refilled for $1 at Walgreens!! Have been w/o printer ink for a few weeks so unable to print my coupons…..going through a withdrawl :) Make sure to remember this today.
What do you do everyday for Earth Day? Someone already mentioned plastic bags as trash liners, and paper bags to put recycling in. I’d like to hear more tips.
All of those solicitations/reminders that come home from school get cut in half or 1/4ths and used as scratch paper (blank side, of course).
Ever had your wet wipes get dried out? I either add a little water to re-use or use them for quick cleaning counter wipes.
We try to not use plastic baggies, using rubermaid or other storage containers instead.
I really want to check into getting a catch basin for the downspout. I’ve seen them with a hook up for a hose so you can then use the rainwater to water your plants!
My grandpa used a rubbermaid container to catch rain water from his down spout. He would then use either a cool whip container or ice cream pail to take the water out and use that to water his plants.
Reduce, reuse, recycle….
* Take plastic bags (bread, store etc) back to the grocery store and drop in their plastic bag recycling
* Shop 2nd hand — I keep a “buy list” for those things I don’t have to have right away then shop thrift stores and garage sales.
* Use rags instead of paper towel whenever possible. I bet I go thru a roll of paper towel every couple of months or longer
* Take your own bags with you to the store — ALL stores! Not just the grocery store!
* If you work outside the home and your work uses paper products (plates, plastic silverware, paper cups), bring your own reusable plate, silverware, water bottle, soup bowl, and coffee cup. Wash and reuse them.
* If you make coffee at home, buy a reusable coffee filter vs buying paper filters
Here are a few things I do everyday for earth day:
* bring along bag for every shopping trip
* switch to compact flurescent bulbs when one burns out (thanks to doubled coupons at Rainbow I’ve gotten some great deals and never pay full price!)
* lights off when you leave the room
* carpool or bike to work
* bring along a travel mug from home to the coffee shop
* use a water bottle with filtered water instead of buying bottled water
* save my pop tops for Ronald McDonald house
* you can learn about recycling bottle tops here: http://www.aveda.com/aboutaveda/caps.tmpl
* bring plastic bags to be recycled at Cub, Walmart, Kohls etc.
* buy large containers/bulk instead of individually wrapped (loved the 32oz Yoplait on sale at Rainbow this week for $1 after doubled coupons – less cups for the trash!)
* use plastic containers instead of baggies when possible
* bring my own silverware to work and wash at home
* shut-down computer and unplug unneeded items like the toaster and coffee pot when not in use
* use cleaning products that are non-toxic/less chemicals
* try to find things needed for the house or home improvement from Craigslist or the ReUse center (or the Recycle Center free shelf)
* I try to never buy “new” clothes unless necessary (socks, etc) – consignment shops and thrift stores often have very nice items with lots of life left
* give old tennis shoes to Nike or One World Running : http://oneworldrunning.blogspot.com/2007/05/about-one-world-running.html
http://www.nikereuseashoe.com/
I could go on and on! I love this topic and can’t wait to see what everyone else says!
I am wondering how others “recognize” their savings being frugal, using coupons and other deals. What we’ve been doing is budgeting $x per week for groceries, etc and then try to spend less than that? We’ve not tracked this, but we’ve been able to pay much more than we’d expected toward our debt, so it is making a huge difference. I am looking for ideas for how to record or recognize the savings we’ve gotten so that I can show my family the benefits of continuing with the effort. I have four children ranging from 11 mo to 16 years old and it is becoming difficult to stay on track. Any thoughts?
David, Congrats on your hard work & your savings!
I don’t “track” per se like you are asking about…but the one thing I do to help my kids realize the savings is I take them shopping with me (I have 4 ages 11-17). I let them help me at check out with giving the coupons and paying so they can see the kind of savings we are getting. We also are buying some things like Biore pore strips and teeth whitener strips that we normally don’t get because of our budget, so they see the benefit there too. After a few months I have seen their attitudes changed from – “mom is kinda crazy” to “cool”! They now get excited to see what freebies come in the mail & what kind of deals we will get this week. I think being able to participate in the process sometimes says more to kids than seeing it on a piece of paper. It makes it real for them.
Stacy – Thanks for the ideas with the kids. I think I will start taking my 11 and 16 year old with more often so that they can see the benefits “live”. Usually, they are busy with activities and I’ve been shopping while they are doing their practices. I like your idea better.
I agree with Stacy – we too are able to buy things we wouldn’t have normally (I bought the Biore also) and now the kids think it’s cool. They see that the savings on everyday items allow them to get “perks” and they have fun helping find the items in the store to match the coupons. They also like looking at the ads and making wish lists – they are 11 and 13. Lip gloss and gum are favorites and usually easy to pick up free or close to it!
I’ve kept track of everything I’ve gotten for free this year… I’m up to $940.57 in freebies!!! This does not include using coupons on other items which I still end up paying for. I’m going to scream loud and clear when I hit that $1,000 mark!
Wow…that is a lot of stuff. It is hard to believe it adds up so quickly. I can see that I need to help my family, especially my kids, see the fun in this experience. I definitely want them to be more aware in their spending habits as they get to be adults. Thanks for sharing. I think I need to get more creative.
I agree on taking the kids along to witness the savings for themselves. My husband and children, ages 12, 14, and 16 and were skeptical when I started couponing actively. They are now scanning the grocery store ads for me to point out when favorites are on sale.
Mary – I like the idea of having the kids look at the ads…I am hoping that cuts down on some of the “I need that” stuff at the stores. Thanks for the encouragement.
David –
What I have been doing is just tucking away my receipts and then at the end of a month, adding up my “saved” amount that most stores put at the bottom. Just for fun. But really how I have tracked is we used to have to budget at least $400 – $500 a month for groceries and household; now when we go through our monthly budget we only put $300 and I am sure as I keep getting better I will be able to get that number even lower!
Katherine – I think what you’re doing will work for us too. I will try to keep the receipts and that will hopefully help me show that some of the “extra” money came from the efforts in couponing. Thanks for the reply.
http://thecouponproject.com/2010/01/free-downloadable-2010-savings-tracker.html
Someone posted this site at the beginning of the year. There is a downloadable excel spreadsheet designed to help you track your savings. You enter a few pieces of info from your receipts and the SS does the rest — including MTD and YTD summaries.
I’ve started using an envelope system using only cash. I put my cash in my grocery envelope for the month, and take it grocery shopping with me. I can’t belieeeeeve the difference in using cash vs. credit cards or even gift cards. It really sounds dumb but it “hurts” more when I use cash, it doesn’t feel so easy to spend the money AND it really makes me aware of what I’m spending, where I’m spending it, and what I’m spending it on. (Do I REALLY need it?? Even if it’s free??) It also makes it way more fun when I DO get the good deals–I had a rockin’ week at Rainbow this week, and I’m so proud of how far I’ve come this past year, thanks to PYD and all the readers who are faithful, offering their help and advice too. These things I really want to pass on to my children, and I’m excited to see a dad who is going to do this too!! Good luck David!
Lisa O – Thanks for your post. I need to start moving toward a more “fixed” budget and I think I need to talk to my wife more about the “cash” only system. It seems that would be a great motivator to succeed and hit our budget more often. Right now we are reacting and that would allow us to be proactive.
some people use notebooks or excel spreadsheets to keep track. one of the comments under “rock bottom” prices has a link to a spreadsheet that show how she tracked everything.
I was looking at the Open Mic Archives and see that there are good ideas listed under the “Specific Topic” posts (pet care, party hosting, decluttering/stockpiling). Wondering if there was any way that Carrie or Laura could move THOSE posts “up” to the top of the archive list – just like the coupon policies are moved up under Walgreens and Rainbow. Just an Idea as it helps make the search a little faster.
I have been using coupons and this site since September and I definitely am getting things for a lot cheaper than I used to. However, I am still spending about $500 a month on household and groceries and was wondering how much people are spending per month on household and groceries? Is $500 a good amount to spend or can I do better? I just feel sometimes I am going through a lot of time and effort to clip coupons and I am not seeing a big change on my monthly expense. We are a family of four and two kids 4 yrs. and 1. Any help or advice would be appreciated.
I spend about $50-70 per week on grocery and household items and that includes paying full price for somethings we run out of during the week. So it comes out to about $250 a month-some months are a little more some are a little less.
I found it helpful to set a limit of what I could spend each week and stick to it-there will always be deals you can get, but what do you need to stock up on?
We are a family of four as well with a 4 1/2 yr old and a 1 1/2 year old and another on the way. I have found that the amount you spend does not decrease dramatically-but what does change is the amount of ‘stuff’ you get for what you spend. Hope that helps.
Thank you that does help. I have to be better and stick to what I have budgeted and not go over. It is just hard when there are good deals. I have a hard time knowing when to stock up and when not too.
I pay about $500 for a family of 5 but usually what ends up happening because we have left over money in our budget is we go out for dinner and include that in the budget.
We have to get our dinning out under control so that I can lower my grocery budget to pay for the new van we have to buy because we were in a car accident. Our van was old but payed off and now we will have to have a car payment. : (
I budget about $50 per week for our family of 4 with a 4 1/2 and 2 1/2 year old and this is for all my household and grocery shopping. I have not had diapers since August so I might be a little higher if I had to include those. I think when I started out last fall I was probably about where you were then managed to get it down in the first couple months. Things that helped me…..
1. Using cash. Really didn’t want to be embarrassed if I went over my budget in line.
2. No eating out or that had to come out of the budget and that hurt.
3. Making a monthly meal plan. That way I could see what I had on hand for everything and use my weekly $50 to fill in the blanks then stockpile whatever amount was left in the budget. For example I see a cut of meat on sale that I can freeze, cheeses, yogurts etc. 4. This is the one that is tough on me….knowing when to say when with the deals. It can be such a high to get the deals that it’s knowing when to say when that is hard and can blow the budget. I just went through some cracker boxes and need to eat them or distribute to family which tells me that I have a little too big of a stockpile in that area and need to contain myself.
I’m trying to figure out a good way to do an inventory list but so far that has not worked too well.
HTH.
Stacy – try using cash. Its much easier to not “go over” when you are paying with cash. Studies have shown over and over that if you use a check or plastic, you’re going to spend more. Cash helps me think twice about whether its a need or a want. I too shop for a family of 4 and have whittled our grocery/household budget down to $350 – $400 a month. We have 2 refrigerator freezers and an upright freezer full and the cupboards and pantry are packed, so I really think I could cut back even more.
We spend way less than this, but we’re a single income family and we have to. Our grocery/household budget is $200/month. We have no wiggle room in our budget really so it has to be enough. I haven’t had any problems keeping it under the budget and with couponing I’ve been able to buy lots of things for free or super cheap to donate as well.
ALso, this $$$ includes food/groceries, household supplies, including Diapers for an 8 month old and 2 year old.
I just started doing this a couple of months ago, and am spending about $300/month on groceries, which includes diapers for toddler twins (though we use cloth during the day, so we only use 2 each night). I also have a 5yo. I am trying to stock up on things we use often when they’re really cheap. I am still paying full price for a lot of things (like cheese) because I dont’ have the freezer space to store a lot of it at any given time (and we eat a LOT of cheese at our house, go through about 2 packs a week). It does take a lot of time and energy, but it’s very worth it when you go to the store and spend 1/3 of what you used to for the same amount of items. I think you got some great advice, mainly make a monthly meal plan and lists of what you need. My rule is that unless it’s free, I don’t shop for things I ordinarily wouldn’t use. It’s hard to resist the “you can get xyz for only 89 cents!” but it helps me save a lot that way.
I started using coupons about a year and a half ago, and well, it does take time. At first you are spending a bit more to get the stock piles up when there are good sales and so you don’t cut the grocery bill as much, but once you get a stock pile going, then you can skip good sales, if you don’t need the item and have plenty until the next sale and then you will save more. I have finally started reducing my grocery budget this year. (This is not a drastic need for me.) For a family of three with two cats, I was spending on average last year about $450 for $500 per month. Now I think I am down to around $350 to $400. (I have not averaged it out yet, but I know the past few months have been lower.) Could I go lower? Maybe, if we weren’t so brand specific and all, but I am trying to enjoy couponing, buy what my family wants and save money doing it. Oh, and am trying to help others too.
Does anyone know how to get a good deal on a subscription for All You?
If you google all you magazine you could find deals. I found that there aren’t any super great deals out there but off their site you can try 2 months free and then it’ll ask you if you pay now to continue you get another discount. I missed this but got my subscription for $19.98 for 12 issues. Not bad I suppose but watch for the option to pay now and save more.
I also figured I would get the trial issues and then when they send your invoice/renewal try usually (most magazines I’ve subscribed to anyway) to give a better deal or free item with renewal.
I got mine through http://www.landofmags.com for $22 for 2 years. I had been trying to find a low price for months and that is the lowest I had seen it for about 4 months. Not sure what their prices are now, but if you can find it around $11 per year, I would say that is a rock-bottom price.
Thanks! It’s still the $22 for 24 issues…much cheaper than buying it at Walmart! :)
That’s awesome. My current offer is 12 months for $19! I need to check out that site too! 2 yes for $5 more is wonderful
FYI… there’s a great kid stuff sale going on this Saturday in Roseville. Over 18,000 items from toys, books, games, art supplies, bikes, sporting goods, baby equipment, clothing (newborn to size 14, costumes, outerwear and maternity). Proceeds help the Roseville Area Schools Early Childhood Family Education program. Free admission.
Where: Parkview Center School, 701 West County Road B in Roseville (south of Hwy 36, corner of County Road B and Dale)
When: Saturday, April 24 8:30AM-1:00PM
(many items 1/2 price from 11:45AM-1:00PM)
ps. Cash/check only – no credit cards
“Once in awhile in the the break room at work I exclaim: “Wow! Kohl’s is having their best sale EVER!!!”
That is our family joke. My mom and I will call each other and say, “Kohl’s is having a sale!” The best way to save money there is to get one of their credit cards because you get a lot more “percent off” coupons.
Has anyone heard of or used this site for glasses? http://www.zennioptical.com/home.php
Now I remember that that was what I was going to post about today!!!
My husband and I just ordered glasses from zenni this weekend. They were recoommended to me by my friend who is an eye doctor. Awesome results for only $8 a pair! I ordered rx sunglasses for only $13.95.
New to the whole glasses thing. My husband thinks he needs them and saw this post. You have to go to a eye doctor to get the prescription then? What does that cost?
If you’ve had an eye exam in the past year, the doc will just give you your prescription for free. If you haven’t, they won’t give you your prescription (prescriptions are only good for one year) until you have another exam. Exams run anywhere from $70 -$120.
Thanks Steph. We had no clue at all. Getting older and eyes are going…. This helps!
My question for those discount glasses websites is how do you get your measurements? Do you ask the place giving you an eye exam to measure you knowing you won’t buy your frames from them? Anyone had this experience. I need new glasses and was planning to use http://www.goggles4u.com. I’d be interested if anyone hsa ordered and how it went.
Thanks!
Mags
We actually took our current glasses and measured them to find out if what we were purchasing was about the same size.
My husband had his appointment at LensCrafters. The had to measure his PD (distance between the pupils), but that comes standard with any prescription. They will also do other measurements, if you ask.
Mags – I haven’t yet, but plan to order my next pair through 39DollarGlasses.com
We just ordered glasses for my son from Zenni. Got an email today that said they shipped so anxious to get them. We went to a couple of places to try on glasses, Lens Crafters and Target, to get an idea of what looks good on him. Keeping my fingers crossed that he likes what he ordered.
I recently ordered 8 new pairs of glasses from Zenni!!! I had flex money I was going to use if I didn’t spend it, so I thought why not get every color of the rainbow! I was very pleased! I was very suspious so I did get one pair at sam’s club and when I bought those I asked what my PD was. I had googled PD ruler and printed off a ruler and my friend meassured me. She was 1cm different than the electronic PD machine at sams Club. +/-3cm is fine. I have a really strong RX so I have to get the most expensive, thinnest lenses available. I also got the clip on polarized lenses for each pair, but those were not the greatest, so I wouldn’t get more than 1 of those next time. The glasses all came in a hard case with a microfiber cloth. I was really worried that they would all need adjusting and I didn’t think it was fair to bring them somewhere that you didn’t buy them to get them adjusted. They all fit perfectly! At Sams Club, my glasses were $270, at Zenni $45 (and I got all the extras!)
Does anyone have an extra Black Forest Gummy worm coupon that they will not be using. They are on sale at Walgreens this week. The website ran out of coupons. I could really use one to buy the worms for my daughters birthday party.
Thanks
I have another question. How many stores do most people shop at per week? Is it better to limit your shopping to 1 or 2 stores and stock up and get the deals or do people spend money going to several stores to get the deals. I feel sometimes I can’t keep up with all the store policies when I go to several stores to get deals. Would love people’s input on this.
My weekly trips are always to Rainbow and Aldi’s;
I go to CVS & Walgreens about every other week (unless there are great “freebies”; I go to Target, Walmart and Costco about once a month.
I go to Rainbow every Friday for my mom’s shopping, and will sometimes buy stuff for myself there if it can be left in the car for a few hours.
I almost always go to Lunds on Saturday or Sunday, because it is next to where I work. I run over on a break and pick up stuff that is a good deal and sometimes milk and veggies. There is a refrigerator at work that I can use until the end of my shift.
I know Lunds is more expensive for some things, but my time is worth money as well. I can’t possibly fit in going from store to store. The only way to fit all that in would be to hire someone to take care of my mom, and seriously it is cheaper to buy the weekly stuff at a higher price.
I go to CVS, Walgreens and Pick’n Save weekly. All are close to me. (Okay, I do skip CVS and Walgreens when there isn’t any good sales.) I do Aldi’s once a month with a friend who needs a ride. I do Walmart when I go to the vet to get the special cat food, as it is up the street, and so maybe once every two months. But overall, I only go locally. Oh, and I do Sentry probably every two weeks. A bread store monthly. Nuts, isn’t it? I just can’t find some stuff at Pick’n Save, hence Sentry. Bread, I refuse to pay the price at Pick’n Save or Sentry for the hearty Earthgrain type breads that my husband likes and the cat food that our cats have grown accustomed to can only be found at pet stores anymore! So, I guess, it is a good thing that I only work part time, because I do go to a few too many stores.
I am lucky that I live very close to many stores. I can make one big loop and be home in a very short time. I go to Rainbow every week, then Cub, Walgreen’s, Target, CVS, if there are great deals. I plan to start going to Aldi, too.
I have seen a couple of recipes to make your own bisquick and such but some aren’t rated as high as others. I am wondering if anyone knows of a web site that has recipes to make your own biquick or chicken coating or any convience item to help with time and keep us eating at home?
If you like to shop garage sales, the city of Champlin is having a city-wide garage sale today (4/22) through Saturday. There are over 100 sales registered, and many more that are not, so it’s a great way to shop a condensed area of sales. You can look at the map and sale descriptions on the city website: http://www.ci.champlin.mn.us/
Does anyone know if there is a way to get rid of the “pages” linked to an account on facebook? Such as Oreo, Sunchips, Mac and Cheese etc etc.(they all seem to post something daily!!) I know I read that someone set up a separate facebook account just to handle the freebie fan sign-ups but I am wondering if there is a way to just clean up my regular facebook account.
If you hover over the posting from one of them, a HIDE option appears to the right of the post. Click HIDE, then click HIDE SUNCHIPS (or whatever one you want to hide).
I have done this(click hide) but they always comeback the next day or next time I log in. Today Sara Lee fans can print a coupon for $2 off deli meats. If you are a fan of them.
Correct, if you choose “Hide” it should hide them from your Homepage. You can always go into Settings and add them back if you want to (I FINALLY learned that this “Hide” option also works for Farmville, MafiaWars, Horoscopes, and every other kind of game filling my home-page on FB – I was so excited when I figured this out!)
If you want to get rid of them forever, go to the individual page and on the lower left you can “unlike”. Sometimes I “like” pages to get free stuff and then I either decide I didn’t like the sample they sent or I just don’t need to know how many free Oreos I can get each month (no offense, Oreos. It’s the calories, not the taste!)
Steph – So, do you order your glasses strictly online? Are the frames and lenses comparable to Pearle Vision?
Yes, everything is online. Glasses start at $8 (price includes frames!) and increases with options. Standard shipping is $5, regardless of how many you order. Each comes with a case and cleansing cloth. We haven’t received ours yet, but my friend (the eye doc) said she has ordered 3 pairs of the $8 frames and is quite satisfied. I chose to get mine as sunglasses, so I chose 80% gray tinted frames for an addition $5 or so. I just can’t beat the price! I’ll let you guys know what I think when they arrive. But I figure you can’t go wrong to at least have a pair of back-up glasses for just $8!
Did you do bi-focails. How do the measure your eyes to make sure that they hit at the right spot? I would love to use them!
I do not wear bifocals, so I’m not sure about that.
I stocked up on the ground turkey last night (rain check from last week), I remember seeing a post about making meatballs ahead of time and freezing them. Do you have to freeze them individually and then put them together. What spices do you add to the turkey? I like have really easy meals ready to go when I get home.
Nikki,
I make them up (mix and bake them) and then freeze them together in a gallon-size freezer bag. Then I take out and use how many I need at a time. Usually, I mix 1 lb turkey with some bread crumbs (or crushed crackers or oatmeal – whatever I have and need to use up) and a beaten egg. The nice thing about meatballs is that you can change them up to suit your needs. If i am making spaghetti at the same time, I will also add a little sauce to the mix – it makes them really moist. I will also take my leftover meatballs and sauce and make meatball sandwiches the day after spaghetti (meatballs and sauce on a bun with some mozzarella cheese – put under the broiler for a few minutes). Hopes this helps.
I am new to Pocket Your Dollars. I have a question and comment. I have never been much of a coupon clipper, however, I do try to look for good deals. I am very health conscious. Most of the food I try to buy is whole foods, veggies, milk, dairy, meat products, whole grain and some canned and frozen foods. I try to stay away from items that have a lot of preservatives, high in sugar or corn syrup, filled with MSG or sodium nitrates. It seems like most of the deals you talk about are all prepackaged foods that are full of these chemicals and preservatives. So, you may be getting a good deal and getting these items for super cheap but should we really be buying so much of these items for our family to consume? Are there good deals or tips you can give to someone that is trying to eat healthy? Not necessarily organic, but definately things that are not prepackaged and full of preservatives, like fruits, vegetables and other whole foods? About a month ago when I signed up on pocket your dollars I spent lots of time preparing my shopping list for Rainbow. I went on double coupon day. I took advantage of the sale items/manufacturers coupons and I really got some great deals, but the way I look at it is that is stuff I would not have bought to start with. They were not items I would have put on my shopping list. Again, a lot of it was prepackaged foods. I got some things for super cheap. But, was I really saving money considering I would not have bought those things otherwise? The way I look at is if you are trying to eat healthy foods you should prepare your shopping list for what you REALLY NEED and not necessarily go for these “so called” great deals on junk food. Don’t mean to offend anyone. Just wanted to bring the issue up.
One of the things I’ve done to save money is stop buying stuff I don’t NEED, even if it is really inexpensive. If you spend money, even if it is less than what you’d normally pay, you are not saving anything. So I only spend what I would normally buy, not anything extra.
That said, try this:
http://www.organicgrocerydeals.com/forums/
Sheepy – Sorry about the delay. Posts with links (usually) automatically go to spam, and since neither Carrie nor I was at the computer to approve your comment, it sat in the spam folder until tonight. That’s why you didn’t see it until now. Sorry!
Ditto the sorry here. We both took the day off away from the computer.
LOL! That’s okay, I didn’t realize the thing about the links and thought I was going nuts.
I think you bring up a good point that really depends on how your family eats and prepares food. We are in the a little more towards the non-packaged dinners and things but not quite 100% there. I still save tremendously using this list though. The first thing is sort of in line with what you said by making a list of what you need first which I do because I plan menu’s monthly. The menu generally consists of meat, a starch, a vegetable and quite often a salad. Each week I look to see what I’m missing from the meals and that’s the first thing on my list.
Then I look and see what the good deals are on fruits, vegetables, yogurts, cheeses, milk, oj, frozen vegetables, etc usually skipping the hamburger helper type boxed dinners, chips, and cookies and things of that sort. By using the list to save on what I’m willing to purchase from the quote prepackaged section I buy a lot more of the fresh produce than I used to. I think that we’ve actually started to eat better because of it.
I also started making a lot of things myself. I bought a breadmaker and make most of our rolls and things. I make batches of french toast sticks, pancakes and waffles or the kids myself and freeze them myself.
I credit the $5 dollar dinner mom cookbook for getting me started on this track.
This might be a duplicate post, I don’t know what happened to my response…
Try this:
http://www.organicgrocerydeals.com/forums/
One thing I had to do to get out of debt was to change the way I think about saving money. If I buy something I wasn’t normally going to buy, even if it is less money, I am not saving anything. If I buy something I don’t NEED because it is less money, that is not saving anything. When I hear my mom say she “saved” $40 on a dress that I know she will never wear, it frustrates me because she didn’t save money, she lost money.
You can also use PYD to stock up on personal care items, such as toilet tissue, deodorant, hair care, etc. reducing your budget that way.
Molly, I agree with you. I find that my savings are a lot less than others here because I don’t buy that stuff. I usually do find a few good deals here, though, on something. I find that I’m making my own list of rock-bottom prices of the things that I do buy and where it is the cheapest. For instance, I was buying bread machine yeast at the grocery store until someone wrote about it being so much cheaper at Costco or Sam’s Club. When I run out of yeast, I’ll be buying it at Sam’s Club, and the same thing with vanilla. I
I’m sorry you feel this way but am proud to say that my family actually does eat healthy and VERY minimal “junk” I am still able to use coupons and match those up with sales to get some rock-bottom prices and get a lot more out of our meager budget. I’m sorry that you aren’t able to do this.
If nothing else, when you are getting all of your body wash, soap, cleaning supplies, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo/conditioner, make up, styling products, diapers, personal care etc. for FREE or pennies on the dollar, that frees up money from the budget to spend on food rather than those items.
Crystal, that’s so true! Those are deals that I find I take advantage of the most. I also love the fresh fruit and meat deals and the freebie samples from Vocal Point.
Sheepy, thanks for the link to that site!!
For anyone that uses Seventh Generation, Valley Natural Foods has the 100-ounce bottle for $9.99 this month. Paired with a $1 off coupon, that makes for an awesome price. And then there’s the $5 rebate on top of that when you buy 3 products! I’ll be buying a few more bottles this month.
Melissa, when comes to a catch basin for your rainwater, you might want to check with some public org’s. I know the Sauk River Watershed is selling rain barrels for $60 and it has the hose hookup to for garden use and a screen to keep mosquitos out.
Regarding Kohls sales, I have actually seen items that aren’t on sale. But of course, I know that the next 3 out of 4 weeks it will be on sale in some way, so just to wait.
I want to thank Carrie and everyone for all the amazing deals posted here. I take advantage of the sales and qs that I need to keep my spending budget as low as possible. In answer to Molly–only purchase what you deem necessary for your life. I don’t purchase items I don’t need. I don’t make judgements on what others purchase.
Mary – So well said. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Good Golly Miss Molly !
I purchase healthy foods each week and I pocket my dollars too!
Yogurt, Dole Juice, Cheese, whole grain crackers, 12 Grain breads, b1g1 carrots, mangos and potatoes. Coupons for other produce and frozen fruit on a stick. My family has never has a fuller pantry cupboard thanks to this site! I’ll take your coupons if your not going to use them.
Mama always said, “If you don’t have something good to say…Don’t say it at all.” MYOB
Sheepy..thanks for pointing out the “unlike” option on facebook. That was just what I was looking for!
First, I also want to thank Carrie (and Laura) for their hard work. If a “Deal Idea” includes items our family doesn’t actually use, I may pick it up to donate or else just skip it.
Regarding glasses – thank you to everyone that suggested websites! I was actually going to bring up the topic today. Where are the best deals for Contact Lenses??
In addition to my 8 new pairs of glasses at Zenni, I also found the best deal on contacts at Costal Contacts. When ever I buy online, I google the company with ‘coupon code’. I think at the time I got an additional 10%off and free shipping. I can’t remember what I paid for my Oasys, but it was the cheapest I found after a lot of shopping around.
***Coupon Question***
I have the following coupons for the Windex All-IN-One starter kit:
Target Web coupon $3 off
Target $5 gift card with purchase of a Windex all-in-one starter kit
manufacturer coupon for $2.50 off
the question is can the target Web coupon and the target $5 gift card coupon be used for the same purchase?
Angela:
I am not sure. Usually you can only use ONE target offer per item. I would just use the gift card and the manufacture coupon, but that is me!
My daycare is always looking for plastic bags to put in the children’s soiled/wet clothes in. I also use them when I walk the dog….
Please don’t bash me for asking… I know this is NOT a coupon forum, but I have Enfamil coupons from the paper and would like to mail them to a mom in need. Any takers? email me at wphaeh@yahoo.com.
Question regarding the Princess & The Frog mail in rebate. The band aid MIR form asks for the DVD proof of purchase…..is that the tiny little tab that on the back of the DVD – there are actually two of them on there? Or, do I need the whole barcode thing too? I really don’t want to mail in the wrong thing!
I did this MIR and I used the small one on top. Yes there are two but I think they do that so you don’t have to cut up the cover too much. I haven’t got mine back yet but I dis it how you’re saying. It says right above it proof of purchase.
I am an avid bargin shopper when it comes to endcaps and credit cards that give great coupons and money-back but this coupon clipping thing is new to me. I have seen that people with a little time and effort can really save some money and in these times who doesn’t need that. I have started looking into this a bit and am finding that it is a huge run around. I think i may be hitting the wrong websites and have even gotten my computer hugely infected doing so. Can anyone help me navagate through this a bit i don’t want to give up but am finding it very frusturating. Please help a fellow thrifty mom. Thank you.
Kandi –
I think there is definitely a learning curve to this more intense couponing. I started following Carrie’s site back in August, and it took awhile to be able to spot the deals more closely and not take so much time. At first, it is more time consuming, but after awhile, you just get better at it. I enjoy it because I love the great feeling I get when I spend $5 on $45 worth of groceries. Yeah it was a bit more effort, but it’s so fun to have it “work out” and see the $$ you’re saving. Give yourself some time to learn, and then decide if it’s for you or not. I do understand that some people value their time in different ways.
I’ve noticed that on some of your deal ideas you’ll add a note about what the most you pay per unit/package for that type of item. Is there a list somewhere on the site, or would you be willing to post yours to help us know what’s a good deal.
Z – The best place to get started is the rock-bottom price list. http://www.pocketyourdollars.com/2010/02/rock-bottom-prices/ Your own rock-bottom prices may differ, but this is what Carrie and I use (for the most part…we differ on a few things).
Thank you! I thought there was probably a list somewhere, it’s just what I was looking for.