Showing posts with label Money Saving Tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Money Saving Tips. Show all posts

Save $5 on Henkel Products (Dial, Right Guard, Purex, Zout, Soft Scrub, Renuzit) and FREE Snickers!

Finally! I've got a few moments of peace and quiet around here to coupon hunt.  I've solely relied on Ibotta and SavingStar over the last few weeks while we've been so busy, but I'm ready to get back to the real savings. Don't get me wrong I totally love both, but my coupon book is severely lacking new entries and ready to go, and Hubby is really pushing me to start a savings envelope for the audio power rack he really wants.!

Vacation Planning With Coupons

It’s official. It’s time to start saving our way to Florida.  Yes, saving, not spending.  We have family in Tampa and Lakeland that we’ve really wanted to visit, and now that the little one is old enough for some of the theme park rides we’re going to plan a vacation to visit family and Disney. 

Last night I started to plan out how much we need to save.  I got ticket prices, and calculated for food, gas, and spending money.  We’ll definitely be driving down, but we’ll be staying with family, so we’re already saving ourselves a good bit of cash right there.  Once I had an amount I started planning out our savings.  I need to kick the couponing into high gear again and attempt to save $50 a week.  That’s really not that hard to do if I coupon right.  Thank you Southern Savers for helping me out in that department!  Usually if I take the time to check Southern Savers before I plan my shopping list I can still feed the family wholesome meals and save 30-40% off my grocery bill.  It’s all about buying the right things at the right time!  Plus shopping at Bi-Lo means I can earn Fuel Perks towards gas purchases as well.

I had everything planned when I walked into my office and caught the Hubby on the computer looking up limo service tampa. With a raised eyebrow I asked why in the world he was looking for a limo service. He replied if we're going to take this trip we're going to enjoy a night out to ourselves while his aunt watches Ellie, so he might as well make it a great one. Now it looks like I better add some limo cash to our budget. I really don't care about a limo ride, but he's all for it. If that's what he wants that's what he'll get!

Free Info On Saving Your Money For The Future

Speaking of savings, what do you do with the money you’re saving?  Do you spend it on other things, or are you saving it for the future?  I really want to look into saving more money for the future, so I’m doing a little research on that.  I’m surprised at the number of websites out there that want you to spend money to find out how to save money! That’s why I stumbled across annuityadvantage.com, a website that explains in easy to understand terms various types of annuities. 

I started by checking into fixed income annuities, and I see there are tons of options. One thing I like about this website is it lists all the different types of annuities available, compares them, provides lots of free info to help you make a decision, and then shows you what is available and where to get them! I'm definitely bookmarking this site for future reference.

Learn Your Local Store’s Clearance Routine

As much as I do use coupons on some things there are many things I save money on without the use of coupons.  I know plenty of people who absolutely refuse to buy something unless they have a coupon for it, but I just can’t bring myself to be that way.  If I really need something I’m going to buy it, coupon, no coupon, sale price, no sale price.  If my cat needs a new cat bed because his is falling apart I'm going to buy one then, not 6 months from now when they finally go on sale.

There are a few items I will only buy when on sale, though.  I don’t have to have a coupon for those items because I buy them on clearance.  If I do have a coupon to that particular store I will pair it with the sale to save even more.  Seasonal items fall into that category as well as a few other things.  I didn’t set out to be an extreme couponer, and let’s face it.  Without breaking couponing rules and clearing shelves it’s pretty hard to successfully become an extreme couponer who pays nearly nothing for everything!

So let’s get back to that whole seasonal thing.  I pick out a few local stores that I shop in almost weekly, and when it comes closer to the season’s end I start watching how items are moved around in the store. For example, Dollar General almost always begins moving seasonal items that go on clearance to the end of isles, displays in front of the register, and separate clothing racks.  Of course stores and prices will differ depending on your location, but you will always find savings if you stick to a few stores you shop at all the time.  My favorite store for savings is Dollar General because sales start at 10% off and end at either 90% off or .10 per item depending on the stock. 

My seasonal/after holiday shopping list:

  • clothing (especially for my daughter or gifts for others)
  • bedding (fleece, flannel, electric blankets, etc)
  • shoes
  • stocking stuffers
  • anything that will be great as a Christmas or Birthday gift
  • holiday items I can use next year (ribbon for hair bows I make, decor, holiday themed non-candy stocking/basket stuffers for the LO, tablecloths)

Other things I replace from time to time that go on major sales often:

  • towels
  • washcloths
  • DVDs
  • kitchen items

So, this weekend I made my weekly shopping trip to Dollar General with my $5 off $25 Saturday coupon in hand.  To my surprise all the winter blankets had dropped to 75% off a couple weeks earlier than expected, so it was time to stock up.  I would normally wait until they were 90% off, but with the blankets flying off the shelves I’d rather pay the 25% than not get any at all.  I don’t go overboard and buy a ton of winter blankets for us because we don’t need new blankets every year, but twin size fleece blankets and throws make great gifts at Christmas and as birthday presents in the colder months.  Finding them on sale means I can add them to a gift basket with other sale items allowing me to give a larger gift.

I knew I needed to spend $25 to use my $5 coupon, but that is very easy for me to do at the Dollar General.  I started with the blankets.

  • 1 $15 queen size cream colored fleece for my own bed- $4.50
  • 1 $10 Dora twin size fleece for the LO’s room (matches her new toddler decor perfectly) $3
  • 5 $6 twin size fleece blankets in either blue or burgundy (solid colors are great gifts)- $1.80 each

When I got to the register the three blue blankets actually rang up even cheaper, $1 each!

Total original cost- $55

Total spent- $14.10

Savings- $40.90

Essentially it was like buying the 1 queen size blanket that I would have bought for myself anyway and getting 6 more blankets for free!

The cost of the blankets definitely wasn’t enough to use my coupon, but I wasn’t done.  I have 8 friends having babies over the next 4 months, so hitting up the infant and toddler clearance wrack was a no brainer.  I don’t like to give baby gifts for newborns because everyone gifts newborn clothes.  Instead I always shop for something in the 6-9 month or 9-12 month (because a lot of babies move into that size before 9 months) range, and that means clearance sales are perfect!  I did pick up 3-6m items for the 2 babies due in September. All clearance infant and toddler clothes were $1 each and Buy 1 Get 1 Free.  I was able to buy outfits for all 8 babies and a few 3T outfits that will fit my own daughter next fall/winter.  I got a total of 20 outfits for $10!  The original cost of each outfit was between $2.50-8.

That brought my total to $24.10 before tax.  We added a .75 juice drink for the little one and a .50 candy bar for the Hubby bumping the pre-tax amount to $25.35, and just enough to use my $5 off coupon. 

Total cost after sales tax- $21.79

Total number of items- 29

If we broke the total amount down into a per item amount I roughly spent .75 per item, and this is why it pays to learn the sales routines of your favorite local store! 

Manilla: Free Online Household Account & Bill Organizer

Are you looking for an easy all-in-one solution to help you keep track of all your financial and household accounts?  Manilla has the answer!

What is Manilla? It’s a free service that helps you manage all of your accounts in one place.  You can add your bills, credit cards, subscriptions, rewards programs, etc, all in one secure place online for easy access.  The best part is the service absolutely free!  Managing everything in one place means you only have to remember login info for one site.  You don’t have to visit multiple websites to compile a list of all your accounts.  Manilla organizes everything in one easy to use site and allows you to instantly see what’s going on with your accounts. 

Plus Manilla gives you the option to set text and/or email reminders to pay bills on time saving you from spending more money on unneeded late fees.  You also have unlimited storage space for account documents, and you can see a list of your current balances, previously made payments, and upcoming bills all in one place instead of spread across multiple websites. 

I love Manilla and now use it to help manage our household accounts.  If you’re looking for a solution to keep your accounts organized give Manilla a try today.  Manilla is free to join and free to use!

 

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Manilla.  All statements about my usage of the website are my own and true.

File Your Tax Return For Free

The new year brings with it a new season that causes stress for many.  Tax time is upon us, and you’re busy getting your forms and receipts in order, right?  If you aren’t don’t fret because you’ve still got plenty of time before that April 15th deadline, but here’s a little something that might ease a bit of the stress of tax filing.

H&R Block now has an online tax tool called H&R Block At Home that you can use to complete your Federal Tax Return for free.  It’s free to prepare, print, and efile!  H&R Block makes filing online simple and easy to use while keeping your personal information safe and secure.  If you need to complete a State Tax Return you can also use this useful online filing tool to complete a State Tax Return for an additional fee.