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Open Mic 12/20/12

December 20, 2012 by 53 Comments

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 on this post, 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.

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About Carrie Rocha

I am passionate about helping people live within their means so they can get out and stay out of debt. I live in Minneapolis, MN with my husband and two little girls.

  • Therese S.

    Need guidence on tips during the holidays. How much should I tip people such as mail carrier, dog walker, house cleaner? just to name a few.

    Would it be more appropriate to give snack gifts (like truffles or cookies) than monetary gifts.

    • Christine

      Postal workers cannot accept cash, but they can get gift cards. I recommend Caribou or Starbucks gift cards ($5-10). Otherwise a home baked snack is always good, or hot cocoa packets.

      • Sheepy

        Just because they aren't supposed to take cash, many postal carriers do accept it.

    • Renee

      Actually, they technically can't accept gift cards either. My mailman refused a gift card in the past.
      http://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2012/pb2234…

  • Sally

    The first thing I want to say to everyone is Happy Holidays to all. I hope you all found the deals and saved lots of money. I know I did.

    The second thing is, I spent all morning yesterday getting my coupons ready for the unlimited coupon day at Rainbow. Well I went to the Forest Lake Rainbow and what a disapointment. They have already started to take shelves down and are out of almost everything on my list. I only used 5 coupons. I wish I would have known that they were starting the process of shutting down the store. I would have gone to Shoreview.

  • JoAnna

    Watch your (junk) email as I just received a $1.50 off coupon from Gold'n Plump :)

    • sarah

      Wonder if they worked out a way to allow only 2 prints per account. I tried to print just 1 more on another computer and it said that I had allowed printed the Qs. Interesting if that's the case-this is the first time I've come across that. It's usually 2 per computer.

      • JoAnna

        A few weeks ago I printed a similar offer and was able to print the coupon two times but I am at work and can't print coupons to test it out.

        • Michele

          I have never been able to print a second set of coupons from an e-mail even though I tried on a different computer.

  • carol L.

    Does anyone know of a business that sharpens sewing shears?

    • Michele

      Mill Ends in Burnsville does

    • Sara

      I am pretty sure JoAnne Fabrics does it.

  • Diane

    Carrie-Loved seeing you on Fox 9 this week promoting your book-but best of all I got my order from Amazon. Thanks for writing the book for us-you are such an inspiration for all of us!!!

    • http://www.pocketyourdollars.com Carrie Rocha

      Diane – How very sweet of you! I wish I could have seen you back through the TV (ha ha, just teasing!). If you enjoy the book I'd be DEEPLY grateful if you'd write a review on Amazon. Merry Christmas, Diane!

  • Heidi

    I am looking for ballet shoes for my daughter for Xmas. It is a short notice as she recently decided to really be into ballet. I have researched online and I can't seem to find her shoe size: 13 or 1. Does anyone know of a place that carries them? Target? Walmart? They don't need to be fancy as it is just for playtime etc. I don't want to order online and pay extra shipping to get them here in time either. TIA

    • Michele

      Try step n stretch. There are several locations are the cities. I think I might have seen them at Payless also.

      • Michele

        *around

    • JoAnna

      There is a consignment store in downtown Chaska that also sells used (and new) dance outfits and shoes: http://bodyexpressionsconsignment.com/

    • Kristin

      Try Payless shoes! They have a little tap/ballet section for all of the little dancers out there. :)

    • http://www.pocketyourdollars.com Carrie Rocha

      I bought my daughters' dance shoes at a local consignment shop, Once Upon a Child.

      • Lisa

        Hi! I'm a costume designer and I always buy my dance shoes at discountdance.com. They have excellent prices and quality, good reviews (to get the right size), and nice costumer service.

        • Lisa

          I"m sorry, I just saw your note about not ordering online.

    • http://flexines.blogspot.com adAstra (dealwagger)

      An old co-worker once commented to me that the Payless kind don't have the elastic piece across the ankle, so make sure they have that (maybe by calling ahead). I would also try calling her studio for ideas or if you are friendly with other parents ask them so you can get pointers to make sure you get the right kind.

    • Kelly

      Late to the conversation but you might also try Craigslist. Lots of kids try dance and decide it's not for them leaving their parents with practically new shoes.

    • Michele

      I second Step n Stretch – if you just want them for playtime consider canvas, they aren't very expensive.

  • jennifer

    Felt like a kid in the candy/coupon store yesterday at Rainbow with my unlimited coupons LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!

    • Lori

      I was in that candy store too! The only problem I have is coming back to reality and paying normal prices for items other than groceries!

    • Michele

      I agree! I almost stopped breathing when I saw the register go over $500 but ended up spending just under $200 – gotta love that! The lady in line behind me said she was too embarrassed to use coupons but maybe she would reconsider after seeing my savings. I gave her this website, I hope she tries it.

  • http://pocketyourdollars wendy turner

    Does any one know who would handle transferring the voice contents from a cassette tape to a CD? Proex doesn't do this and I need suggestions!

    • Michele

      Google that…a while pack I needed to do that and was able to download software. I cannot give you anymore information…new computer…and I don't remember. It worked really well though!!

      • Michele

        here is what i just googled and alot of info came up:

        digitizing my cassette so i can burn the information to cd

  • Sally

    Don't know if this is right or not. But I copied this from another site. Chachaching

    If you got one of the recent deals on a Keurig, did you know that you can score a sweet deal on K-Cups when you register it? After coupon code, you can order 96 K-cups for only $0.30 each!

    Here’s how:

    Step 1: Register your Keurig Brewer online at Keurig.com. You will need your serial number, which is likely on the bottom of your brewer.

    Step 2: In your welcome email you’ll receive a unique coupon code for Buy Two Boxes, Get Two Boxes FREE + FREE SHIPPING and the 10% Coffee Club discount on all K-cups you purchase.

    Step 3: Go pick out your K-cups. Add four of the large boxes to your shopping cart. You can mix and match brands and flavors, but add the more expensive of the boxes to your cart first. The large boxes will have either 22, 24 or 25 cups per package, depending upon brand. The Buy Two, Get Two FREE offer is not eligible for the 80-count value-size boxes.

    Step 4: Proceed to checkout and enter your unique code. The 10% club discount and FREE shipping should automatically apply

    • sue k

      What has happened to all the good deals on coffee at this time of the year ? I have been holding off and now there have not been any deals.

      • Shelly

        What kind of coffee, Sue? Byerly's had the best recent on Caribou – $5.99 per bag. (and there was a $2/2 coupon in the inserts) I thought there had been a good Starbucks deal as well, but I forgot to pursue it. Target, maybe? For Christmas gifts, I was happy to get on Caribou Coffee shops annual 2 for $22 sale. Some of those varieties of coffee cost $15 and over, so getting those pounds for $11 was helpful (varieties not available in the Caribou bags sold at grocery stores). Not sure if they'll be more of these deals for awhile.

  • tag

    HELP! from the woods. Our in-laws just informed us that we are having a grandkids gift exchange on Monday. Seriously. Our nearly empty emergency gift box has bubbles, a personal fan, and a Cars board book in it.

    We got the 3 nice teenagers from the 'living like we have a very high income' family. The gifts are supposed to be $10 or less. We have Wal-Mart, Target, Menards and a couple of grocery stores within a reasonable distance. (Notice: 'super' does not appear in front of any of these store names for a very good reason.)

    Has anyone seen ANYTHING out there that might fit the bill? (Per parent request: No gift cards, especially the Visa, iTunes, etc.)

    • Ajk

      For teen girls look for a scarf (Target and Walmart usually have some fun fairly inexpensive ones.) My teen students love acessorizing with them! Funky, patterned socks are another big thing now as well. Check the clearance racks for graphic tees or comic book hero tees. Comfy pants–fleece or flannel are usually pretty reasonable and teens wear them everywhere!

    • C Herman

      How about some really cute socks?

    • sharon

      Try this: Buy the ugliest thing you can possibly find. (Something you KNOW the recipient will hate.) Wrap it up all nice and pretty. But also wrap up the gift receipt – since that will be the real gift – they can return it! Technically, it's not a gift card, but they still get to choose a gift they will like.

    • Kelly

      Depending on the girls makeup, nail polish, etc would have been a great gift when I was that age.

    • LIsa

      Nail polish, lotions, hair accessories

    • http://www.pocketyourdollars.com Carrie Rocha

      Are any of the teenagers Packers fans? The Sports Illustrated Packers Dynasty book is on sale at Menards for $3, plus you get a $3 rebate. If any are older – like driving a car age – I've seen lots of teenagers at coffee shops on the way to school. Makes me think that hot chocolate is cool. Maybe a nice travel mug with a pair of mittens that have flip-open fingers and some hot chocolate.

      • tag

        Gasp! Carrie! Not the P-word! Tsk. Tsk.

        Too bad the Vikes don't have a Dynasty book. Our boy would have loved that.

    • http://www.pocketyourdollars.com Carrie Rocha

      You could also browse around a bit on Amazon. I found these LED finger lights for $8.30. You could give each kid 10 (one for each finger), plus still have a little money left over for some other treats. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0018LAGZY/ref=a…

    • Kari Mc

      Too bad that gift cards aren't an option – the teens in our family LOVE that them, especially if they shop after Christmas for clearance. Just wanted to share my thoughts, sadly I have no other suggestions.

    • http://laura196511@hotmail.com Mary

      My teenaged boys still like remote control cars..maybe on sale around $10. CD's if you can ask the parents what kind of music they like.

    • tag

      Thank-you. Thank-you. Thank-you! Pocketeers you're creativity has yanked us firmly out of our panic. Kudos to you! We took your ideas, went hunting last night and found 2 of 3 gifts. Yeah! We plan on spending this eve. getting the rest of our act togther! Thanks again.

  • Ajk

    Make a movie kit: bowl, microwave popcorn, theater size candy, couple of beverages, etc…look in your pantry what snack type things could you add? Maybe throw in an oldie but goody/favorite movie–look at the $5 or less titles (something that you enjoyed or don't think they've seen–there are so many GREAT MOVIES that kids these days don't know…)

    • Kelly

      Anything from John Hughes!

      • RHONDA

        The slippers that look like boots are very popular right now, I saw some at Walmart for $10.99.

    • tag

      My hubby went digging, literally up to his shoulders digging, for "The Princess Bride" at Wal-Mart last night, so we could put together a movie bucket for our niece. Very funny to see.

  • Carol M

    I just received my $5 giftcard from Starbucks. Is it good only at a Starbucks or what?

  • Sarah

    You're probably done, but just in case… Make a gift basket! You could do a theme like movie night (microwave popcorn, movie sized candy, $5 movie from walmart, and soda) or a girl's night (nail polish, brownie mix, hot chocolate, slippers, etc), or hit up the dollar store. :-)

  • Shani

    Tag you must be from my neck of the woods!! Hope the kids liked your gifts!!