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If you purchase natural baby and toddler foods, this is a great deal!

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Click here for more details.

Let's Go Krogering - Week of 2/01

Another store with great deals is Kroger. Once you combine weekly sales with coupons (both paper & electronic), most items will cost you less at Kroger.

Here are some "rules" to remember about Kroger:

1. The Kroger stores here in Southern Ohio (and most in the country) double all coupons up to $1.00 (for example, a .35 coupon is worth .70 and a .55 coupon is worth $1.00) - This includes printable coupons, like the ones you can print from my site!
2. These are unlimited - in other words, you can have 1 or 100 coupons for the same item...all will double (buy one for each coupon used)
3. Kroger gives you a credit for using your own bags - cloth, plastic, whatever - bring your own bags from home and reminder the cashier about the credit...you'll get from .03 to .05 per bag off your total bill. Trust me, it adds up.
4. There are electronic coupons available, too! These are often for items that don't have coupons in the Sunday paper. These electronic coupons come off your total before you pay - just check your receipt for a pleasant surprise! Two really great programs include:

• http://www.shortcuts.com/ (just register your Kroger Plus card and select your coupons)
  http://www.p&gesaver.com/ (only for Proctor & Gamble products, register your card and select your coupons)
  

Each week, I'll be posting the best deals I see at Kroger, including what I bought, how much I spent and how much money I saved! I'll also be posting the info over at The New Frugal Mom. Marianne has a new savings meme up in Let's Go Krogering! scenario each week.

******WEEK OF 2/01/09******

This wasn't my best week, but I got some great stuff for free or for very cheap. Some notable highlights include:

• 3 - four packs of Cottonelle toilet paper = FREE (these are .99 in our area and I printed some .50 coupons from the coupons.com link at the top of my site, which doubled)


• 2 - boxes of MultiGrain Cheerios = .30/box (On sale for $1.67 this week with two .75 coupons (worth $1 each) and .75 off of one from Cellfire (an electronic coupon program)


• 21 pound Honeysuckle turkey for .69/lb ($13.86) - we'll get LOTS of meals and broth from this, so this is really an investment for us


• 1 - Package of Huggies = $5.99 plus another .75 rebate that will come later from Caregivers Marketplace ($1.50 paper coupon, $1.00 Cellfire coupon, $1.50 Upromise coupon credit)
• I also picked up some special "gluten-free" pasta for my son, who has food allergies, strawberries ($1.50 each - great winter price) and some other misc. items (see photo above).


• Total Value of groceries = $76.48


• Total Kroger Plus savings & coupons = $36.69


• Total Out of Pocket (OOP) paid today = $33.08

Earn Money without getting a job - Part One

The most obvious way to make money is, of course, to get a job, right? Well, that's not always a feasible option for everyone.

• Maybe you're a stay-at-home parent and need to work around your children's schedules;
• you've been laid off and are looking for a "career" position but need some extra income in the mean time;
• full-time employee who just needs extra money to pay off debt or save for a goal (think Dave Ramsey fans);
• a retiree who wants a little extra to cover health care costs but doesn't want the hassle of a set schedule....
• Whatever the story, This post is for you.

There are lots of ways to make money....the key is to really use your imagination and your computer skills! And yes, I've done many of these and can verify that there's money to be made with these endeavors.

This post focuses solely on earning money on-line through minimal "efforts". I'll be writing several posts regarding on-line surveys, selling things in the "non-cyber" world and much, much more. Stay tuned!

1. Selling your items on-line - OK, anyone who owns a computer has heard of the many ways to sell your stuff on-line, but have you actually done it? It's not as intimidating as it seems - you really just need to organize your things, know how much you need in order to part with them (you're lowest price) and do a little research. This idea deserves it's own post and will have one in the near future, but for now, do a little investigating and you'll find you probably know at least 3 or 4 people who have already sold things on these sites. Pick their brains for tips and get going. Some great, established sites include: http://www.ebay.com/ http://www.half.com/ (this one is by far the easiest) and http://www.craigslist.org/
2. Sell your handmade or vintage items - This one isn't as well known, but it's gaining in popularity and is a trustworthy site. http://www.etsy.com/ is a site specifically designed to help "crafters" and "artists" make money on their handicrafts. Surf it for a few minutes and you'll be amazed at what you'll find - from homemade gourmet candy and cupcakes to stained glass to quilts to baby clothes to jewelry to note cards to purses to funky prom dresses. If it's handmade, partially handmade, is truly vintage/funky (think 1980's or earlier), is HTML type stuff to help people market their items (that's real computer-talk there, friends!) or is meant to assist with handmade items (craft supplies, patterns, tools, etc.) it can be sold here. The fees are MUCH lower than eBay and it's very user friendly. If you have a skill or can help someone with theirs, sell it here.
3. Share your expertise - Explore and register with http://www.ehow.com/. This site is a wealth of tips, advice, knowledge and odd things. Here's the basic lowdown - people from all walks of life write articles on how to do things. Anything. If you type "how to make authentic homemade pasta" or "how to....(fill in the blank)" into your search engine, odds are, this site will be one of the first hits. When you click on the article, the writer gets paid. That's it. In fact, you can search ehow for "how to make money on ehow" and get tons of free, good advice on this one. They pay via paypal and there are no fees and the articles never "expire"...you could potentially earn residual income for a long time. Literally anyone could make money here. So, start brainstorming and start earning.
4. Sell your creativity - without actually making anything - What? Have you heard of http://www.cafepress.com/? You come up with the creative stuff and they take care of actually "making" it and shipping it. You just get paid. For example, my Dad is a talented photographer. He could upload his photos and use these to create on-line examples of posters, greeting cards, journals, calendars, mugs, etc. He then sets what he considers to be a fair price (there is a minimum price, so Cafepress gets their cut). People search for something they like - for instance The Golden Gate Bridge and his items with that photo would show up. They could customize and order items with his photograph on it and he would get paid, without ever having to deal directly with the customer. Nice. You could create t-shirts with political statements or politically incorrect statements, mugs with inspirational photos and quotes, write a book and have them publish it so you can sell it at your public speaking engagements, whatever. You create it and upload it. Then get paid.
5. Blog it - yes, of course. Blogging. Obviously, anyone can do it. It's free and is a great creative outlet. Are you an expert on something, have a passion or hobby, or even an annoying habit? Start a blog about it. The key (according to those who have been at it longer than me) is to update it very often (at least several times a week) and have quality content, so people will keep coming back and tell their friends. Then get advertisers (use your search engine for Google AdSense, Affiliate programs, etc.) and submit a request for them to advertise on your blog. There are even ehow articles on this! Do a little research and get one started...there are templates available that you can easily customize. See the link at the bottom of this post for information on some of the top affiliate program (advertisers who pay to be on your site - it's a great program and it's FREE)

I've got lots of other money making ideas coming in a later post. In the meantime, try a few of these out and let me know what you think. If you've got any more to share or some advice on the ideas above, please leave a comment or email me. Thanks!

CVS Savings Scenario 2/1 thru 2/7

I'll be posting my favorite CVS scenario each week. I'll also provide a link to a site that runs the weekly CVS $5 Challenge....she's done a great job running this challenge and sharing the deals at CVS with everyone on the blogosphere.









The rules are simple - get as much stuff from CVS as possible without spending more than $5 out of pocket (oop). She's got scenarios for CVS "newbies", too (those who don't have ECBs already).

Here's my first attempt:
Colgate deal (buy $15 worth of Colgate-Palmolive products and get $5 ECBs)

• 2 tubes of Colgate Total paste 2/$5
• 2 Colgate 360 toothbrushes 2/$5
• 2 tubes of Colgate Kids toothpaste 2/$5
• Gillette Shampoo (monthly deal) $4.99/bottle
• 3 Hershey's candy bars 3/$1.50 (V-day gifts and to get me over $20)
• Total cost = $21.45
• Now, subtract out my coupons as follows
• -$4 off of a purchase of $20
• -2/$1 coupons for Colgate toothpaste
• -2/$1 coupons for Colgate toothbrushes
• -2/.75 coupons for Colgate kids toothpaste
• -1/$2 coupon for Gillette shampoo
• TOTAL COUPONS = $11.50 which means I would owe $9.95 (not bad, but...)
• ECBs from last week = $10.00, so I would owe NOTHING!
• AND...I earn $8 in ECBs for next week!

CVS 101 - Let me introduce you to your new BFF!

Allow me introduce you to your new Best Friend – CVS. Yes, the drug store chain. I have to admit, in the past, I recycled these Sunday ads without so much as a second glance – I felt CVS was overpriced and not worth my time. You heard it here first, I WAS WRONG!!! (you won’t hear that very often!).

I now plan a CVS trip every week and I continue to be amazed at the items I get FOR FREE each week (the same goes for Walgreens – more on that in a different post). If you follow the simple steps below, you will get most of your HBA items for free (or only pennies on the dollar). Imagine the benefit to your family budget if you got all of your shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, etc. for FREE (or really, really cheap) each month. It’s not a gimmick or trick. It’s not a MLM scheme…this is for real and it’s easy, once you learn the basic steps.

• CVS card – just like many other store chains out there, CVS has it’s own customer card. It’s free. Just ask for one when you walk in the door or get one sent to you via their website. Once you have it, be sure to have them scan it EVERY TIME you shop there….they track your usage (just like all stores with cards) and will reward you with extra coupons….also, some sales are only available to card holders, so just get in the habit of handing it over each time you check out.
• Register this card – Once you get the card, BE SURE to register it on their website. They often email high value coupons to their card holders (I just received an email with a printable $4 off of a $20 purchase). This step only takes a few moments and you won’t get any spam from them.
  ECBs – Extra Care Bucks – these print out at the bottom of your receipt. Cut them off and treat them like CASH with an expiration date. This is a store credit you can use toward your next purchase. Here’s an easy way to remember…ECB = Expiring Cash Back.
• How do you get these ECBs? ECBs are earned by purchasing specific products each week or each month (CVS has weekly AND monthly deals – more on this later). Look through their next weekly ad from your Sunday paper and you’ll see certain items have deals like this: “Buy $15 worth of these products and get $10 in ECBs”. Here’s where the offer gets even better…you can combine items with ECB offers with manufacturer coupons. For example:
  · Buy $15 worth of L’Oreal products and get $5 in ECBs
  · Use two $2 off of L’Oreal coupons from your Sunday paper
  · So, you spent $11 out of pocket, got $15 worth of L’Oreal products and have $5 to spend at CVS on just about anything you’d like to buy.
• PLEASE NOTE – Careful not to waste ECBs! You cannot use a $10 ecb on an $9 purchase and keep the extra $1 for next time. Your purchase must be equal to or greater than (before tax) the ECB amount. You will not get cash back and your ECBs will not be carried over. ECBs can be used on anything in the store except the usual exclusions (Prescriptions, tobacco, stamps, gift cards, etc.). Just remember – use them or use them.
• Ultimate Goal – To “Roll” your ECBs. In other words, use your ECBs to buy products that give more ECBs. That way, you’ll always be getting some super cheap items and have more ECBs to spend on next week’s deals. Follow this blog each week and you’ll see what I mean….trust me, you’ll get the hand of this really quickly and it’s SO worth it!
• Coupon Order - When shopping at CVS it is best to give your coupons in this order: $ off of $$ (eg. $4 off $20) => manufacturer coupons => CVS coupons (from weekly ad) => ECBs. This way there is no confusion over whether your total meets the $ off $$ requirements and you also can make sure your total is high enough to use your ECBs effectively.
• Weekly & Monthly Deals – CVS has a Sunday ad, but it also offers Montly deals. Each month CVS puts out an Extra Value Book with ECB deals that are good all month long, this book is available at the front of the store, near/at the stand with the weekly ad. Some of these deals are featured in the weekly ads. Make sure to pay attention to the limits. If it is limit one in the monthly ad and is featured in the weekly ad at limit one that means it is limit one for the whole month. In other words, you can’t double dip and get the same deal twice.
• One last note - I don't advocate buying things that you know you will never use, but I DO suggest letting go of any brand loyalty that you might have and trying some new brands if these items are free or very cheap. One of the key things with these sales is building your "stockpile". No, you won't use 5 tubes of toothpaste in the next few weeks, but you will need them over the next year and if they are free or close to it...get it while you can and start your stockpile....then when you DO need it and there aren't any good deals that week, you won't have to pay full price. Perish the thought.

Saving by Using Less - Literally

Well, almost by definition, "Frugal" can mean Living with Less...but in this case, I mean literally "living with less" in your day-to-day household management and living...the nice thing about this list....you'll never notice a difference in your quality of life by making these changes (just a difference in your bottom line).

This list is by no means exhaustive, but the goal is to start thinking about consumer goods before you use them...using less will save you money and is actually better for the environment (less waste, less packaging, etc.)...Here are just a few examples of what I mean:

• Toothpaste - a few months ago during my semi-annual cleaning, the hygenist and dentist both mentioned that most people use WAY too much toothpaste. Unlike the commercials we've all grown up watching, you should NOT cover the bristles with paste...instead, the ideal amount of toothpaste is smaller than a spring pea. Seriously. The dentist said it's really more the technique and amount of time that you brush that matters more...the average consumer could use up to 3 or 4 fewer tubes of toothpaste per year!
• Hair styling products - One of my "weaknesses" for spending is nicer hair care and make up products. I love Aveda (among other brands) but it cost a fortune (by my definition, at least). My stylist always told me to use 4 to 5 pumps of my "defrizzer serum stuff" each time I washed my hair. You know what? I found out that 3 pumps make my hair look EXACTLY the same. Savings? Since the change, my bottle lasts about a month longer...since the bottle costs $35 (no, I'm not kidding) It saves me about $100 per year! Same with my prescription adult acne gel (no secrets here, friends)... using a little less each night gives the same results with less money. Just keep it in mind as you're going through your routine each morning and evening...
• Detergent - For many years, I worked for a major consumer products company, which makes many of the products you probably have in your cabinets around your house. Here's something I learned, the goal of consumer products companies is to get you to love their products (marketing) and then buys LOTS of it (hence, the recommended amount to use in the instructions or on the convenient "pour cap"). Bottom line: you can use a little less detergent each time you wash your clothes and will never see a difference in the results. If you normally fill over the line (the line on the cup that tells you how much detergent to use), you are wasting your money. If you normally fill up to the line, go a tiny bit lower (just a little) and you'll save about one to two loads worth of detergent from each bottle and get the same results. Trust me on this one.
• Automatic dishwashing detergent - Use powder or gel? See above post. NEVER overfill and you can seriously use a little less than they say. If you overfill or throw in a little extra after you close the little soap door (yes, some people put "extra" in even after filling the little door) it literally gets washed away without cleaning your dishes.
• Fabric Softener - Best way to save money on this one? Don't use it. Really. The smell is actually just a chemical that coats your clothes. If you must use it, you can use a LOT less for the same results (see example above). Another solution: My grandmother used to mix a few drops of softener with water, pour it on an old washcloth and throw it in the dryer. Voila - instant, reusable dryer sheet. Cheaper than dryer sheets and better for the environment.
• Gift Wrapping - Lots of people do this, but not everyone, so just in case it's new to you...Use gift bags. The key here is to be organized. Get them cheap at end-of-season clearance sales, reuse ones that are given to you, get them cheap at the dollar store. The key is organizing them so you know what you have and can get to them quickly. When we exchange gifts in my immediate family (including with my mom, sisters, step-siblings, etc.) we usually discuss custody of the gift bags (who wants which ones back, who wants to trade to have something new, etc.). I have some gift bags that have been used at least 10 to 15 times! Obviously, if it's a gift for a wedding or someone we're aren't that close to, I don't get the bag back....but I think you get my point. Also, I've used Sunday "funny papers" and other creative ideas.
• Cooking - Cut back on some ingredients. When you're making a recipe, really examine what you're using. Do you really need two lbs of meat, or will one and a half do? Do you need 5 cups of broth or can you use 4 cups broth and one cup of water? Two cups carrots or maybe one and a half? Or, can you substitute a cheaper ingredient for a more expensive one? When you really start thinking about it, you'll find lots of little ways to cut back on what you're using in the kitchen to stretch your food budget (I'll have lots of posts on this topic).
• What are you rinsing off of your dishes? I recently started thinking about this while washing off the dinner dishes (Good times)....once I started paying attention to this, I realized that we were wasting a lot of stuff! I was rinsing off about 2 to 3 tablespoons of ketchup after almost every meal...not to mention mustard, jelly, steak sauce, etc. Now, this tip won't make you a millionaire, but this money does add up! Condiments can be found fairly cheap, but I think every penny counts (plus, it's an attitude of saving that can make the real difference - more on that in a later post). The point here...really examine how much you and your family are using and throwing away with the condiments and for that matter, all of your food....you might be surprised how much is going down the sink!

Any more ideas? Please email me and I'll add them to the list!

Welcome to my first post! As you may have gathered, I'm frugal and PROUD of it! I was blessed to be raised by frugal (some may say cheap) parents and have carried on their proud traditions (actually, my husband would say that I've raised it to a whole new level!).

Although I've taken my fair share of grief over my tightwad ways, I thank GOD that have these habits. Not only have they enabled us to have and/or give things we enjoy, but as of late, these habits have really come in handy! As with many in America (and really, all over the world) my husband was laid-off in December, 2008. As a stay-at-home mom running a single-income family, this has been a true challenge - financially, mentally, emotionally, etc. I'm blessed that my husband is very talented and has decided to start his own business...although that means some more tight times ahead, until things get going with the new biz, and try to reach our other BIG goals (more on these later). Follow our journey here and I promise you won't be disappointed...this blog will be chock full of tips, methods, recipes, advice, coupons, hot deals, freebies, craziness, toddler antics, and much more! Thanks for your support. Frugal Jen