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.
Two tips: 1) If you are reading this via email or an RSS feed, click on the title “Open Mic” to come back to the site and leave a comment and 2) If you are concerned about your privacy, just reference yourself by your initials and know that I will not share your email address with anyone else.
Do you have any ideas where to get cheap pumpkins? I have 3 children and I do not want to spend $3-$4 per pumpkin for 1 day.
Sue- I’m not sure where your at but near me in Albertville there is a house that has a garden and they were selling pumpkins for around $3. Now they are $1 each!! I noticed Walmart and places like it are still around the $3-4.
Marie-I am in St. Michael. Can you tell me where the house is? $1 is a great deal. Thanks!
I’ll do my best to describe it. I live off of Maciver, in the D.R. Horton homes. So if you are coming from St. Michael to Albertville and turn like your going to go to 94, crossover 94, pass Emma Krumbee’s and make a left onto Maciver. Follow Maciver past the D.R. Horton townhomes and single family home development. Through stop sign. Past next development until you come to the end of the road. Turn right. The house is on the righthand side before the road curves.
Hope that is simple enough. Sorry I know things by site but not names of roads.
Marie-Thanks! This is real close to my house. In the past I would not think twice about spending $15-20 on pumpkins. Now that is my food budget for a day and it is harder to justify spending that much for something I am going to throw away.
Sorry Marie, I just had to comment because I thought it was funny…I also live in the DR Horton homes off of MacIver!
It’s actually OTSEGO not Albertville. I live near it too.
Glad to help. Hopefully you get some.
yes, technically it’s Otsego because the cutoff is Maciver but some people assume Otsego is so far as it goes to Elk River so to clarify I often say Albertville. Potatoe= Patatoe.
Aldi has pretty big ones for $2.99
I saw a sign at Rainbow that the first 50 kids in costume at 10am on Saturday would receive a free pumpkin.
Hope that helps
Good Morning~
I have been waiting for today to share with any of you that shop Hy-Vee that they have at my store an unadvertised special on Friskies Party Mix 2.1 oz for $1.00 and I had a pile of $1.00 off coupons making them free! They also have Jolly Time microwave popcorn on sale for $1.00 so with my .50 cent off coupons on double coupon day I got them for free too!
Now to my question because I already used up these coupons from this past Sundays paper but was the Birds Eye Steamfresh Lighty Sauced or While Grain Blends variety FREE or was it only free wyb any (1) bag of Birds Eye Steamfresh Saving up to $2.99 value?? I thought it was just a straight up a free bag of veggies and so when I bought them (I had 7 coupons) the guy looked puzzled and I just told him they were free and he rang them all up for free but now after I look back at the coupon preview it says “wyb” one. Just wondering if my coupons were not wyb ones or if I was wrong? Thanks.
I used my FREE Birds Eye Steamfresh coupon last night. One bag…got it free. No problems!
Well that is maybe what it really was then…..if you look on the Coupon Preview it says it is a when you buy one get one free…it must have been wrong on there.
I agree that it was super confusing. I was going back and forth on what it was.
On my coupon, in tiny print below the FREE, it did say “when you buy one bag of Steamfresh…” I live in West Bend, WI, though, so your coupon might have been different.
My coupon says when you buy one. I didn’t see that, though, until the cashier pointed it out. Funny that one coupon could cause so much confusion! :)
My fam’s annual tradition is to go to the 8th floor auditorium the wknd before Thanksgiving–for Santa, the wonderland created…but the last few yrs (and this year) it is the same “show”–A Day in the Life of an Elf. We miss that Dayton’s changes it every year and now Macy’s is not. This year they are even charging $4 for a little side show. Any ideas for holiday fun the wknd before Thanksgiving? We choose that wknd because the holiday fun is usually less busy. Thanks!
Bachman’s on Lyndale Avenue has a free show with Santa and Albert the Elf on weekends leading up to Christmas. You would have to check the schedule for when they start but it is ususally a free 20-30 min. play followed by a chance to have pictures with Santa. Always a highlight in our house!
Isn’t that when Linders Garden Center has their lighting ceremony? Check out their website, under special events.
Karin and Bet–thanks for the ideas :)
I would love to hear some ideas for parttime jobs– seasonal or permanent. We have done a week-end paper delivery for many years, but looking for alternative ideas to get us through the usual spendy hockey season for 2 boys! Thanks for all your ideas!
Have you thought about a direct sales job? I do Pampered Chef and love it. I set my own schedule and earn what I want. It’s been handing because I’ve been bedridden for 5 months with a difficult pregnancy and could still stay active with my business. I love PC because you don’t have to carry your own inventory and any problems with product are handled by the company.
Well it may be possible depending upon the age of your boys…with the hockey and all maybe you could pick up a few bucks from dropping off/picking up or sitting for some of those boys a few hours a week?
I tend to be out and about alot and notice prices at various Targets and Walmarts. It’s ineresting the difference from store to store.
For those who was able to print the Simpl Orange juice coupon it is a great deal at the Maple Grove Walmart. It is on price cut for $2.27 making it just $1.27. Even Aldi’s is $2.69. But the Elk River Walmart it is $3.
Also the similac coupon is a better deal at Elk River then Maple Grove by $2.
Also eggs are $1.04 at Maple Grove but $1.29 everywhere else.
Hope that helps someone
To add to that HyVee has Egglands Best eggs on sale for 1.99 and everyone should have .50 off coupons on them I got mine doubled and I got a lot of Egglands Best eggs for .99 cents a dozen.
It seems the Pioneer Press coupons differ from the Star & Trib???? I get both and many times the particular coupon I am looking for is not in the PP. Has anyone else noticed this or am I letting a few instances taint me.
Nope you are right they are different; I have learned on here that the Star Trib has more/better coupons.
Good Morning~
I am not sure this got on here yet:
I have been waiting for today to share with any of you that shop Hy-Vee that they have at my store an unadvertised special on Friskies Party Mix 2.1 oz for $1.00 and I had a pile of $1.00 off coupons making them free! They also have Jolly Time microwave popcorn on sale for $1.00 so with my .50 cent off coupons on double coupon day I got them for free too!
Now to my question because I already used up these coupons from this past Sundays paper but was the Birds Eye Steamfresh Lighty Sauced or While Grain Blends variety FREE or was it only free wyb any (1) bag of Birds Eye Steamfresh Saving up to $2.99 value?? I thought it was just a straight up a free bag of veggies and so when I bought them (I had 7 coupons) the guy looked puzzled and I just told him they were free and he rang them all up for free but now after I look back at the coupon preview it says “wyb” one. Just wondering if my coupons were not wyb ones or if I was wrong? Thanks.
Thanks – Star & Trib guess you are getting another subscrption…
Occasionally, the Pioneer Press has GREAT coupons that are not found in the Star Tribune. As a general rule though, I think that the STRIB tends to have higher value coupons on a consistent basis.
Nope, I notice this all the time! I get both delivered, it can be frustrating.
I am fixing my old doll house for my girls for Christmas. Anybody know where I can find inexpensive doll house furniture? Not the minature furniture.
I personally sold a lot on ebay awhile back– there is a lot on there.
I was at a dollar store this week, I believe it was Dollar Tree. I noticed they had some wooden looking doll furniture. Tables, chairs, etc. You could try there. Of course they are a dollar. :)
you should check out Tuesday Morning and Big Lots. I have found the really nice wood Melissa and Doug furniture there many times.
Thanks, I didn’t think about those stores.
CVS question – when something is on sale and it says “Limit 6″ does that mean limit 6 per card or transaction? I have 2 coupons for a $1/4 progresso soups but the limit is 6. I used one of the coupons last night and would like to stop again tonight to use the other.
My understanding is that it is 6 total per CVS ECB card.
I thought the deals that didn’t generate ECB’s were different. I know when they had the SOBE B1G1, limit 6 I went in several times during the week and it worked each time.
The CVS cards only track ECB deals. The limit 6 (non ECB deal) would be per transaction.
It’s just a limit of 6 per perchase. The purchases that don’t general ECB’s don’t get tracked on your card so you can go back again and get more. I did that with the SOBE’s quite a bit.
I’ve been able to get the sale price with Coke products when I bought more than the “limit” amount. Additionally, I would do more than one trip in a week when there was a limit and pretty well double the limit. I think when it says “limit 6″ for something that is not an extra care buck deal, it’s just for the cashier to check to ensure that you are not going over the limit.
The last couple times I bought the Sunday papers at Kwik Trip they were $1.00 each….does Kwik Trip always sell them for $1.00 or was it just a promo thing?
They are always a $1.00 at Kwik Trip. All though lately I can get them for a dollar at Walmart as well.
Do you find the coupons are just as good even though the papers are sold cheaper?
Yes Star Trib has the same coupons regardless of price… The Walgreens by me sells Sun Star Trib for $1 and the CVS across the street from it sells Sun Star Trib for $1.75! So I use up RRs at Walgreens to get my papers!
I believe the counties in the Twin Cities that would traditionally be a Pioneer Press market, are the ones that sell the Star Tribune for $1. Kinda irks me living in Minneapolis and paying $1.75.
Jo posted this last night on the Open Mic from last week.
“Hello. Does anyone know what localradio station auctions off/sells local gift cert. ? Someone mentioned it on a different line on this site. Thanks”
A few options I use are mostly for Central Minnesota, but quite often they have deals in other areas such as Forest Lake, Hugo, etc.
https://www.rabmarketing.com/auction/main.cfm?mid=147
http://www.thevalueconnection.com
http://www.dealsonradio.com
The Stillwater radio station does. I believe it’s 1220 and the show is called super saver radio hour, or something similar.
Try Fm 107.1 for gift certificates…
Several of the twin cities stations are linked to the website halfofftwincities.com
Why is it that when I use my phone to send a comment I can submit a new comment, but I can’t reply to one? Does anyone else have that problem or is it just my me?
Sue–PYD is blocked at work :( so I always use my phone (shhhh)–it’s working for me. I have Sprint.
does anyone use a spreadspeet or some other tool to track their savings? I thought I seen in the past on this website or another one that created a spreadsheet with all the calcuations already formulated to help people track their savings at stores with loyalty programs and using coupons.
Angela ~ A savings tracker excel spreadsheet was posted at the beginning of the year on PYD. I have it saved on my desktop (a blank one for next year) if you want me to email it to you.
I’d love it! scrappinjennyj@hotmail.com
Thanks!
Would you be able to e-mail that to me too. Thanks
annie4296@hotmail.com
Could you send me a copy of that spread sheet too.
Thanks
annie4296@hotmail.com
Me, too? mcg000@hotmail.com.
Thanks so much!!
Could you send me one as well?
laf1978@comcast.net
Thank you!
If you wouldn’r mind emailing another; surprenant@sbcglobal.net. Thanks so much!!
can you send one to me tooo babygurl02142004@yahoo.com
Anyone have any ideas on the best time of year to buy a new TV? We’re in the market for one, but I’m just torn on whether to get one before Christmas or after. Any websites that anyone knows that lists when the best sales at Target/Walmart/Best Buy etc come up?
Britney,
Check out this article from CNN. This should help with your decision.
http://money.cnn.com/2010/09/23/technology/lcd_tv_prices/index.htm
I would shop the day after Thanksgiving, even if you don’t want to get up early and wait in line somewhere, several online retailers will have TV deals that day to compete.
Thank you both!! I have to work the day after thanksgiving, but I’ve been thinking about sending my ‘other half’ out to see what he can find…or at least get up and look online!
Go to bfads.net and sign up for their email list. They get their hands on some of the Black Friday ads way before Thanksgiving and will send you an email letting you know which ad(s) have been posted. Sometimes they even post summarizations about the technology, what you should look for etc — so it helps you make an informed decision without having to do a ton of extra research. If I remember correctly, a year or so ago, they helped demystify the difference between 720 and 1080 on TV’s. A very worthwhile site if you’re looking for something specific this holiday season.
BFAds – Black Friday Ads Our First Hotter than Black Friday deal of the 2010 season! No surprises, it’s another Amazon deal as they are currently offering a $200 discount when you purchase a 40+” TV and a Tivo Premiere DVR. Which means you can pick up the LG 42LD450 42″ 1080p 60Hz LCD HDTV and Tivo TCD746320 Premiere DVR for a total of $510 shipped!
I just received an email from Whole Foods–Oct 29 organic honeycrisp apples will be $1.49/lb. Oct 30-31 they will be $1.99/lb.
Aldi has b1g1 free this week for their white bread, and they have a bunch of holiday baking spices for $1 (cloves, ginger, nutmeg, etc)
Do you know the size of the spices? (Are they the smaller containers or larger?)
The larger 2 oz size (so they are the tall containers, not the short ones). They are at the end of the baking aisle on a separate display on the wall next to the refrigerators. Hope that helps! :)
Which Aldi’s did you happen to be at?
Coon Rapids off of Hwy 65.
Those are also at Elk River and Waite Park as well.
I was just at the All You site and read some great info about organizing and saving money:
http://www.allyou.com/budget-home/organizing-cleaning/organize-clean-00400000053868/
They had some great ideas for things/ideas to “repurpose”. I LOVE to repurpose things! It feels so good to reuse things either making them over with paint or material I have or just use something for another purpose instead of throwing it out…does anyone have ideas to share on things they repurpose? One thing I always recycle is those plastic containers from Kool-aid or Crystal light that I would love to find a crafty purpose for or a storage use. I have used them for lentils but they are kind of small and round does not store as compactly as I would like it to…any ideas on that or things your repurpose??
When I cook (and for me the “soup making season started yesterday!) I always measure out my ingredients before I start. I don’t have a lot of kitchenwares, and so I save the Fage yogurt containers to put the smaller amounts of measured ingredients in and line them up in the order I’ll need them.
Roundy’s recently discontinued the old “card” and has a new one. This week’s ad states the ‘meal deal’ is limit of 1 per household…anyone know if the new card is going to prohibit getting more than one per card?
Ladies and gents, I’ve realized that I have more clothes than I truly need. And I end up wearing the same clothes again and again. So, I’m trying to cut down on how much money I spend on clothes. How much do you spend on clothes for YOURSELF on a yearly basis?
I am a bargain shopper and have a few friends who swap clothes back and forth, so I probably spend less than $100/yr.
Not counting stuff like socks and underwear (actually, my socks last a long time but not so much the underwear) I can go over a year without buying any clothes. I finally broke down and bought two new tops about a month ago, first purchase in almost two years, but I spilled olive oil salad dressing on one of them on Monday and cannot get it to come out. Kinda makes buying clothes not seem so appealing, lol.
For years I used Lestoil to get oil stains out of clothing. I don’t know if they still make it. Otherwise, Dawn dish soap usually works really well.
Lestoil is great at getting out oil, grease, butter, etc. I have only been able to find it at Fleet Farm. It took butter out of a sweater and I will be forever loyal!
My husband and I budget about $40 a month for clothes for the two of us. We usually save that money and let it build up over the months and then try to buy most of our clothes in January or July. We often receive clothes as gifts for Christmas so that helps too! Truth be told, I bet my husband spends two-thirds of our money and I spend one-third. He really likes clothes and is picky on what he’ll wear. I get better deals on my clothes!
Has anyone signed up for the debit card at Target.? I was reading another blog & they said until they get their computers fixed for coupons they will not be giving Target their Bank information.Sounds like a good idea to me.
Sally, I’m not sure what one thing has to do with the other. Isn’t the debit card hooked up with the new discount? So this blogger won’t get the discount until they fix the coupon thing?
I’m sure they have no intention of ever fixing the coupon thing, so it needs to be watched by each shopper, but not taking the additional discount from the debit card seems like cutting off your nose to spite your face.
I second that Sheepy. I’m somewhat thinking about getting the Target credit card. It’d be awesome to save 5% every single time I go to Target, on top of using their own Qs and manu Qs. I get groceries, toiletries, electronics – pretty much everything there at one time or another. I have a couple other store credit card and I get lots of Qs from them and email offers, so I would think Target’s card would maybe be the same (more Qs via mail and email than the avg customer).
Are you talking about the red card that saves you 5% each time you shop?
What coupon problem are you talking about?
my niece and nephew are doing a fundraiser and have 24 issues of all you for $22. about $.92 an issue. is that a good deal? it can be ordered online if anyone is interested in the info.
Yeah, that’s a great deal! :)
Has anyone ever frozen bottles of juice or lemonade, like the simply brands? I am not sure if it would explode or not…
I have never frozen the plastic simply juice kind, but I have frozen the Tropicana cartons without any problems. Hope that helps.
Does anyone know what the schedule is for putting candy on sale after Halloween? I know it usually goes 30% then 50% then 75% but didn’t know if there were an actual number of days for those sale prices. I have candy coupons that have a longer expiration date and think I can score some free candy with the sales!
This is what another Pocketeer posted last Christmas:
Target Holiday Clearance Schedule:
* 50% off day after holiday for three days (Candy is 30%)
* 75% off fourth day after holiday for three days
* 90% off seventh day after holiday for 1-2 days.
As always, your store may vary.
Hey thanks for that clearance info! I copied and pasted to my Word doc that I have been storing such info on. In that list I started to keep an ongoing list for myself of coupons that I need to be using each time I got to certain stores etc…It seems with some stores I get less beeping if I don’t stock pile up on freeie items all at once but if I do a few each time they are better at okaying it.
That is the standard for Target % off, but I have noticed that the % can vary from store to store depending on how much inventory they have left or something…
I am wondering how much you spend on groceries (food only) annually and/or monthly. If anyone can share, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
We budget $350 a month on groceries and toileties – Target/CVS types of things. I would guess that we spend about $250 – $280/month on groceries and the rest on toiletries, medicines, etc. This is for a family of 5 with 3 young children.
This has been in the works for a while now (and will hopefully continue in a downward trend), but we currently budget $330 for a family of four (me, hubby, 4 yr old, 17 month old). That is grocery money only. Not restaurant, not Target – just groceries.
So far this year I have spent $3,268.78 for food, toiletries, etc., for a family of four. I don’t have them broken down by food and non-food as I get a lot of non-food items at grocery stores and vice-versa. I have saved $5,005.84 ( $3,248.93 from coupons and $1,746.91 from sales). I have a pretty nice stock-pile and would guess that I could go about 3-5 months without really shopping except for milk, eggs and fruit. HTH.
Wow, that’s cool that you kept track of all that. I want to now, just for curiousity’s sake. I know I save A LOT with coupons and sales, but it’d be so cool to see just how much I save. I think I might keep track of all that in 2011… Thanks for the idea. : )
Amazing! Good job!!!
My comment was to Jennifer M. :)
$160/month for hubby and I.
I spend $45 a week on everything……I am a planner who plans out everything I buy with my coupons, when something is free I order a few extra coupons on Ebay or a coupon site and then stock way up on it so I don’t have to worry about it for a long time. If soup is on sale at a store like the Special Harvest was at Target a month back I stock up for the whole winter so my point is I have a lot of stuff already purchased so my weekly shopping is now at the point that I just buy Dairy, Produce and a few other things. I have so much Shampoo, Deodorant, Toothpaste and Razors from rolling Register Rewards at Walgreen’s that I haven’t paid anything for them in nearly 2 years now ….. LOL
I spend about $400 per month on groceries and all toiletries, including specialty cat food for two cats. (Vets idea.) And we spend at most $150 a month on restaurants. Family of three, with my twin who comes over every Sunday for dinner too.
Does anyone know where I can get a coupon for Pilgrim Cleaners? Thanks, M
Check out these sites for local deals (they are basically on-line versions of the junk-mail that you get each week)
http://www.reach4deals.com/index.php
and
http://gogosavings.analoganalytics.com/publishers/150/offers
I scanned them quickly and saw other cleaners but not specifically Pilgrim.
My DH and I are starting to plan a trip to Europe next year..not sure exactly where yet though, still in the early planning stages. Does anyone have any recommendations for cheap airfare over to Europe, or when is a better time to go (cheaper flights, smaller crowds, etc), or what cities typically are the least expensive to fly into? Thank you!
Jennifer L.- not sure where in Europe your going but we were in Belgium and the Czech Republic in Feb/March and it is very expensive. Everything is in Euro’s. Just an example milk and a box of cereal(much smaller size then here) were $8 a piece. Even things like a simple coloring book was $7. It was insane the cost of things. So I would be prepared for that in your budget as well as tickets.
I suggest you get some Rick Steves guidebooks from the library to start making your decisions and plan. Start with the most recent version of “Europe Through The Back Door.”
Also, post this question on some travel forums such as the Bulletin Board on Rick Steves’ website. Or the forums at frommers.com or fodors.com or tripadvisor.com. I have received a wealth of helpful information via travel forums.
I think that Eastern Europe is likely a bit cheaper than the European countries most Americans go to such as Italy, France, England, etc.. Spain is a bit cheaper, too (we went there in December 2008 and LOVED it). I also read somewhere recently that Greece might be a travel bargain because their economy is so bad and they are wanting to attract tourists with deals on hotels.
Is this your first trip to Europe? No matter where you go, plan on spending more than you thought! But there are MANY ways to do a budget trip to Europe that is every bit as fun and fulfilling as the most expensive trips.
Travel research is my passion, so if I can help in any way, please let me know. I am currently doing travel research for a friend who is going to Prague and Eastern Europe in May.
Of course, “off season” is going to be your cheapest for flights and hotels. So winter is the cheapest time to go. But the weather might not be the best and if for certain unpredictable. We had fabulous weather in Spain in December, but that wouldn’t always be the case.
Register yourself on airfarewatchdog.com to get travel alerts for airfares to cities you are interested in.
Hmmm . . I posted another comment and it disappeared into cyberspace, so forgive me if it shows up somewhere on this site not attached to your question!
Of course, the cheapest time to travel for airfares and hotels is “off season.” Think winter. But the weather may not be great and for certain is unpredictable. We had fabulous weather in Spain in December, that that wouldn’t always be the case.
Register yourself at airfarewatchdog.com to receive alerts for airfares to cities you are interested in.
I’ll keep posting as I think of more ideas!
Whenever you post something with a website listed it takes longer to appears in the comments because it requires administrator review. Just to let you know for next time.
Ah hah! That explains it, thanks! So you’ll see a couple of posts from me with similar content as I tried to “make it work.” Sorry for the redundancy!
I always wondered why people would put a website address such as pocketyourdollars dot com. Now I know!
I didn’t know that either. Thanks for the clarification!
Thanks for all the information AJ and everyone else! I have a lot to think about now and many options. I’m very excited to start the planning and am excited for the trip as well. Let’s hope my husband enjoys it as much as me!
Thanks again!
Jennifer L.- It has been a few years, but my trip to Europe with my mother was in the fall of 2003, but we found that airline prices (and most prices on hotels, tours, other travel deals) were great this time of year and also in the spring. We were planning to travel to Europe in August 2003 and stay through September, but found that it was nearly $500 cheaper IN AIRFARE ALONE to leave in September (vs. late August) and return in October. My mom and I also flew Iceland Air – which saved about $200 per ticket as well. We flew direct from MSP to Reykjavik, Iceland – half an hour layover – then on to Heathrow in London. I had never heard of Iceland Air, but we had a great experience and also scheduled our flight back so that we had two days in Iceland before flying home. I would recommend visiting Iceland!! It was an interesting place that not many people visit and very reasonable travel prices.
Yes, off-season is going to be your cheapest for flights and hotels. Now through early spring will be the cheapest. It can be a delightful time to go, with fewer crowds. But the weather, of course, is unpredictable. And in some locations, things actually close down for a part of the off-season.
To watch for less expensive airfares, register yourself at http://www.airfarewatchdog.com. It will send you alerts for airfares to the cities you are interested in.
I found this list on a Google search:
The ten cheapest cities in Europe 2009:
1 Budapest, Hungary. 2 Warsaw, Poland. 3 Prague, Czech Republic. 4 Tallinn, Estonia. 5 Riga, Latvia. 6 Istanbul, Turkey. 7 Geneva, Switzerland. 8 Stockholm, Sweden. 9 Oslo, Norway. 10 Copenhagen, Denmark.
It surprises me that Scandinavian countries are included on the list because my impression is they are the most expensive countries to visit. Maybe not!
I would recommend flying on a weekday such as tuesday, wednesday and thursday for possible lower fares and less full flights. Also check out Iceland Air. They fly 3-4 days a week from Minneapolis, and they give you a nice layover in Iceland. They also have fairly good prices. If you want to travel around look into a Eurail Pass for Europe or Britrail pass for the UK. If you want to fly in europe check into EasyJet. They are like Southwest, you board the plane in the order you check in.
If you’re open to eastern eu I had great stays in Romania and Poland. Hungary was super, too, though a little more expensive. I’ve heard turkey and Bulgaria have wonderful beaches.
Can get inter-eu flights on Ryan air and jetblue for $30 ($ not €) but read the fine print as some fairs are only for eu citz. My boss just took a family trip to croatia and loved it! So that might be a location consideration as well.
I’ve been to most all of the places on that google list and the only way I can see those last three making the list is if it was a ranking of those 10 specific cities- have done Paris and most of Italy for far less than Scandinavia.
I am having trouble printing SmartSource coupons. I used to be able to, and then around mid-September, I wasn’t able to anymore. Now when I try, it just says, “The SmartSource Coupon Printer Application was not installed.” But I never get a pop-up with buttons for me to click to allow it to install. I made sure to allow popups, but still nothing. I use Internet Explorer, and I tried downloading Firefox, but the same thing happened on Firefox. I am pretty sure we have the latest version of Java, so I don’t think that’s the problem. Does anyone else have this problem? Does anyone have ideas on how to correct it?
I’m having the same trouble! One time it worked, the next time it didn’t. Strange.
I’ve had problems printing SmartSource coupons for months. Finally gave up after emailing back and forth with their customer service. I keep getting an error message to make sure my printer is on and has ink. Yes, it’s on and has ink. Had a 4-5 email string with their customer service people and they could never tell me anything other than, make sure you have paper, your printer is turned on and it has ink. Thanks for that great help :) As soon as I see the SmartSource logo when I go to print coupons, I just X out of it and go to the next coupon opportunity on the list.
I know this is late but I recently had problem with the smart source app too I went to javas web site and downloaded it from them the restarted my computer and it worked !
I have a questions regarding online photo books. I just made my first one at Picaboo on Sunday to take advantage of that free 20 page book for new customers. It was super fun to make. Here are my questions:
Is there a max on how many pages you can put in a book? I think I’d rather do 1 – 2 bigger books per year rather than lots of 20 paged books and hopefully save on shipping and shelf space in my home.
Other than Picaboo, have people had good luck on other sites? What are your favorites and why?
What is the average cost per book that you make if you don’t have a coupon code? $50? $100?
Any other photo book tips are appreciated. I have just started to switch from scrapbooking with albums, paper, and printed pictures to doing it all online and am excited about this switch, but would love tips on how to always get the best deals to save money!
I use both snapfish and shutterfly. Snapfish is easier to use and shutterflygreat but find they making a photobook tricky sometimes. I like both and both do a really good job with books. YOu can always add pages but it costs usually about .10/.20 cents a page. Shutterfly usually run about $5-60 depending on sales and size. Snapfish is $5-30. Snapfish is also cool because if you use film cameras you can mail in (prepaid on snapfish) film to have processed and they will also upload them on your account so you have them down the road too.
I also used to scrapbook and have switched to photo books instead. I have found that if I do one large book per year and put all my favorite pictures, include a few from each event/holiday that it really sums up the year. I have mine made for 2008 & 2009 but have not ordered them yet as I don’t want to spend the money. So looking at my Snapfish account I can see that my 2008 book is 62 pages and is priced at $72. My book 2009 is 130 pages and is $140.
I have used the free small books that we have seen periodically to focus on a specific event that I might have an abundance of pictures from like a weekend trip, kids birthday party, photos of the dog when she was a puppy, etc. I recently ran out of ideas and had a free book to use up so I made one of all the pictures from the cabin for a year.
Thanks for these tips! Very helpful!
I was just at the Target in Monticello. They had Listerine Zero on clearance for $3.48. If you happen to have printed the Target coupon a week or so ago you can stack it with another $1off manufacture coupon for a whopping $1.48. Also Ivory bar soap pack of 3 is on clearnace for .74cents. Use .25cents offcoupon. Great deals!!
Has anyone been to Elite Repeat consignment shop in st Paul? I think it’s the BEST in the twin cities. UNBELIEVABLE bargains & everything is in pristine condition. Anyone else have good luck here??? Great time to get amazing deals on basically brand new winter clothing!!!!
Anyone know of any inexpensive prenatal exercise/pilates/yoga classes or studios in the Northwest metro area? (I live in Maple Grove.)
Are you expecting another little peanut????
Melissa – Yes, indeedy! :)
Congrats! We just had boy #3 in August. They keep me busy but I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Laura- congratulations. I’m expecting in Jan. Have you tried through the local community centers? I know I’ve seen them in their.
Marie – Congratulations to you, too! I’m due in late April/early May. I did look at the community ed. classes, but none of them are specifically for prenatal and I’m not sure if the instructor(s) are willing/able to accommodate someone who’s pregnant (although my guess is yes). Community ed. is definitely the cheapest route, that’s for sure!
If you need some lightweight, short sleeve maternity stuff let me know. This is our last so I won’t be needing it and it’s always fun to recycle to someone else.
I am a newbie to PYD. I just don’t get how someone can pay approximately $13 and get over $100 in groceries. I want to do that, but just don’t know how. Please fill me in. Thanks!!!!
Hi Jodi,
Welcome to PYD! You’ll want to spend some time reading some of the links on this site, but in a nutshell, PYD helps you save a lot of money by identifying some of the items that are on sale in specific stores then ID’s manufacturer coupons and/or store coupons to pair with that sale to save a lot of money. Carrie also demystifies store programs — such as CVS bucks (?) or Walgreens Register Rewards. Rainbow has double coupons on Wednesdays and Saturdays (limit 5 up to $1.00 per MFG cpn). When you leverage these store programs along with the coupon match ups, you can end up paying pennies for $30, $40, $50 or more worth of product. It’s a lot of fun, because it’s like playing a game.
When you first start, you’ll want to go to every store and get every deal. Then you’ll ask, “Is this really worth it? Because I’m spending so much time and energy running around to all these stores to get all these deals.” Eventually you’ll find your own balance and realize that you’ll miss some deals, but there’s always another one around the corner.
To start, go to the top of the Pocket Your Dollars webpage. Under Toolbox, you’ll see a link to Frequently Asked Questions. Start there.
Again, welcome to PYD. This is a great community of wonderful people who really enjoy helping each other save money.
I know this comment isn’t what people are looking for here but I know this is a caring community and thought maybe your prayers would help. Luke Bucklin is a former co-worker and friend of mine. The family is asking people to wear blue tomorrow, via a Facebook page (“Wear Blue For The Bucklins”) on Friday. I intend to wear blue until they are found.
I’m hoping that people can help me with some ideas and suggestions.
One of my best friends has a 10 year old little boy that was diagnosed with leukemia. He’s a very sick little boy right now and to make matters worse, she lives here in Minnesota with her husband and two kids and her son lives in Arizona with his dad. So she’s going to not only have medical bills to think about but also travel expenses. I would like to organize a benefit for the family and have never done anything like this before. I don’t want the focus to be on food like a pancake breakfast or spaghetti dinner because I think it would be hard to know how much to prepare for when I don’t even know how many people would be attending. So I’m open to any suggestions or advice that people may have. I do have a location already for the event.
Melissa- I’ve heard of people having a silent auction. People donate items whether it’s gift cards, dinner certicifates, memorabilia, or gift baskets with a theme etc. Also, if you have a band you could charge an admissions fee.
I’ll be praying for your friend.
Marie- thank you for the suggestions and more importantly the prayers. That’s what he needs right now more then anything.
I’m sorry if this has been mentioned elsewhere on the site, but just in case – the Byery’s web deal this week is $1.99 for 12 double rolls of Charmin. As always, you need to spend $10 first, but I did find today that you can spend $10 before coupons which I hadn’t tried before. I had $1 off coupon for Country Choice Irish steel cut oats; they are on sale at Byerlys this week for 3.99. With the $1 off coupon, it made it about the same as I pay for that brand at Trader Joe’s. Also, for tofu lovers, the House brand organic tofu is $1.50. That is about what I pay for Trader Joe’s brand where I usually get tofu. Getting those prices made it worth to get the $1.99 big pack of toilet paper. Hope this helps someone else!
I know this is late, but the Bed, Bath, and Beyond flyer I recently received (Wed, I think) has a coupon for $5 off a purchase of $15 or more. They also have roaster pans for 19.99 with a $10 mail-in rebate. Using both of these, I got a nice roaster pan that says it holds up to a 30-pound turkey for 4.99 after rebate. If you’re on the lookout for one, you may want to check it out.
I see that K-mart is doubling $2 coupons on Halloween with a $25 grocery purchase. Do you think that’s BEFORE coupons? So potentially if I had 5 $2 coupons that doubled to $4 each I could get $25 worth of groceries for $5?
I will preface by saying I’m new to printing coupons from the internet….yesterday was my first time. I printed a coupon that Carrie linked and tried to use it at Cub. The cashier told me they do not accept ANY printed coupons. Is this accurate info? I assumed Cub would accept them, but I guess I could be wrong. Anyone have any info? Thanks!
Britt–welcome to PYD :) I have heard that some Cub locations do not accept coupons for free products (even ones not printed at home). But, I have not heard of a Cub not accepting any home printed coupons.
If a cashier told me this, I would definitely ask to speak to a manager about it because that is not Cub’s policy. It seems the cashier was mis-informed.
Does anyone know if CVS has a deal when you transfer prescriptions to CVS? My husband’s new insurance requires us to get them filled by CVS so we need to transfer 3-5 prescriptions from Target to CVS.
Chech the policy of the CVS you will be going to before you go in. My CVS pharmacy will take competitors coupons so if you could round up some of the Target pharmacy coupons that have been out recently you might be in luck. Also after I transferred my first rx there I started getting $25 gift card with transferred rx coupons from the coupon spitter outer so make sure to keep your eyes open.