My mom is a big fan of Dillard's and they're currently having a holiday weekend sale -- extra 30 off markdowns. I checked it out today and they have quite a few ECCO shoes on sale, which is rare. I got a pair of tennis shoes for $53 -- originally $120. My husband got a pair of casual shoes for $101 -- normally $180. Mom got 5 outfits for the baby -- each for $14 or less!
Buy $25 from any one seller in the Beauty department at Amazon and receive a subscription to US magazine -- OR -- request a rebate for the amount of $19.80. Fill out the form you receive with your email and send it to the address provided at the bottom of this page. I bought a bottle of perfume I've been wanting for $27.
Publix has Cover Girl nail polish 40% off until Wednesday ($1.97 with discount), and their in-house circular (in Sunday's paper and in the front of the store) has a coupon for $2 off any Cover Girl product -- making it free!
Get $5 off your in-store purchase of $20 or more at Walgreens tomorrow with this coupon.
Want to know what a mom really wants for Mother's Day?
JCPenney has a $10 off coupon in Sunday's paper. I used mine today to buy a pair of pink Converse for my baby girl. They were marked down to $14.99 from $20. With the coupon, I got them for $4.99!
My friends have created a website where you can find free shipping coupons for your favorite online stores. If you love free shipping, or like me, think that shipping should always be free when you're shopping online, become a fan of FreeShipping.org.
Looking for a cheap, non-toxic way to clean your home? Here are some ways to create your own cleaning solutions with items you probably already have in your home and that are safe for the environment and yourself!
* Baking soda: Use baking soda in a parmesan cheese container (glass one with the stainless steel top with holes in it) and sprinkle on any surface. This is great for bathrooms and the kitchen. You can also use baking soda as a natural fabric softener in the dryer.
* Vinegar: Vinegar will clean just about any surface in your home: windows, countertops, floors, etc. You can even use it in the wash cycle with your laundry to keep fabrics from fading. For specific recipes and uses visit http://www.versatilevinegar.org/usesandtips.html.
* Borax: Borax is effective with laundry and also removes mold in the shower.
* Hydrogen peroxide: Use hydrogen peroxide for disinfecting and whitening instead of bleach.
* Vodka: Vodka dispersed from a spray bottle will freshen up fabrics and upholstery. It’s cheap and non-toxic. The alcohol evaporates.
Source: Jeanne McLaughlin, International Institute for Bau-Biologie and Ecology via Mercola.com
I'm checking out http://www.redplum.com/ — a new site that catalogs deals and coupons in different categories like groceries, entertainment, lifestyle and more. The grocery section will soon have a function where you can enter your grocery list and it'll match up coupons to the items you're already planning to buy. Cool!
It's got local and national deals, but you have to register (it's free). Check it out. Let me know what you think.
World Market is giving away eco-friendly cotton tote bags with a $25 purchase. Click here to view the ad and see the bag. It's cute!
There's a coupon in this past Sunday's paper for $1 off any size Peter Pan peanut butter. Publix has the small size jar on sale for $1 through tomorrow, so if you use the coupon, it's free!
The Sak has this really cute bag on clearance for $20. Proceeds from this bag to AMERICA SCORES, a non-profit organization that develops programs to inspire in urban children a lasting dedication to education, healthy living and civic responsibility, through teamwork learned by playing soccer. Check it out by clicking here.
A great gift idea for Mother's Day if you buy it and put it away until then!
Two-dollar shoes for your baby! Darlingshoes.com
A great article about real people who are really living the frugal life: "Free advice for the frugal life"!
Friday, Dec. 21, Walgreens is offering 1 free 8x10 when you use the coupon code: VERYNICE.
Very nice, indeed.
Some women are opting to rent high-end designer handbags, thanks to websites like BagBorrowOrSteal.com and FromBagsToRiches.com.
A Boston Globe story explains how BagBorrowOrSteal works: "Customers pay a monthly fee for access to a collection of authentic designer handbags. Membership levels -- ranging from Trendsetter ($19.95) to Diva Deluxe ($174.95) -- determine whether a customer borrows a Coach minibag or an expensive, hard-to-get Hermes tote. Members may borrow the bag for as long as they like, and when they're ready for a change they can go online and order another. The company also offers the option to buy the bag at a discounted price determined by the bag's age and condition."
Interesting trend! What do you think about it? Post below.
Canon Digital Rebel DSLRs are now about half-price on Amazon.com. Plus, shipping is free. I have one of these and have really enjoyed it. Although better lenses do exist, I find the one that comes with it is fine for regular photography.
Amazon.com is offering six free songs (no strings attached). Go to the mp3 section and click 'holiday deals', scroll down to the bottom to see and download 4 of them. Do a search for KT Tunstall for the fifth one and Brian Setzer for the sixth. Enjoy!
FREE MP3 Songs:
"So Long, You Fool"
by Sophie Milman
"100 Days, 100 Nights"
by Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
"Holiday Twist"
by Los Straitjackets
"Thick As Thieves"
by Dashboard Confessional
"Saving My Face"
by KT Tunstall
"Take A Break Guys"
by Brian Setzer
Buy candy canes in bulk and make a variety of holiday treats that are easy on your budget.
Shop at a warehouse store like Sam's Club or Costco, or shop online for bulk deals.
Peppermint Bark
Buy meltable Almond Bark from your grocery store. Melt it in a microwavable safe dish, then pour it into a 9x13 pan. As it begins to cool, sprinkle crushed candy canes over the top. After it has hardened, use a knife to break into uneven pieces. These make great gifts packaged pretty.
Gift embellishments
Top your hand-delivered Christmas cards and gifts with wrapped candy canes.
Sweet Stirrers
Use your candy cane as a stirrer in hot cocoa. You can also place a hot cocoa packet in a pretty mug, then place a candy cane in it as an economical gift for coworkers.
Ornaments
Use any leftover candy cards to decorate your Christmas tree as ornaments! Let your child (or yourself) eat one each day until Christmas.
This year, don't throw out the cardboard boxes your kids' (and big kids') gifts come in (large screen tv anyone?) Keep them to create forts, castles, houses and anything else your kids will enjoy for months to come. Ribbons and bows from packages can trim windows and discarded wrapping paper can create a quilt-like covering for your abode. Let the kids go crazy with markers to add the rest of the details. It's really true that kids sometimes like to play with the boxes more than the toys! Help them do that this year and create memories that will last a lifetime (a lot longer than that tv will).
• What a card! Keep your Christmas cards each year. Cut the covers off and use them as postcards the next year. You'll save on postage and recycle! You can also attach these to gifts to use them as name cards.
• Cut it out! Reduce the number of people you send cards to or give gifts to! If you haven't talked to the person in a year, don't feel obligated to send them a card!
• That's a wrap! Use paper of all kinds to wrap gifts. Here are ideas on how to do it.
• Do your homework. Before buying (whether it's gifts or food), check the newspaper for the best deals. And for items that can wait, plan your purchase for after the holidays when clearance prices are at their lowest. Before you buy in the store, check prices online. Many sites offer free shipping during the holidays.
• Go out! There are lots of free holiday programs around Christmas. Check local church websites and chamber of commerce websites to find local parades, concerts and other free events.
• Get together. With many "buy one, get one free" deals around, get with a friend and split your purchases to save money and avoid buying more than you need.
• Give. If you're investing in new technology or toys this year, donate your old stuff to charity or a family you know needs it would appreciate it.
Before you head out tomorrow to shop, do you research. Go prepared to get the best deals! Here's an article with some tips.
Having trouble keeping up with all the children's recalls? Click here for a landing page from BabyCenter.com/
Walgreens is offering 25 free photos with the purchase of 25 through Nov. 10 with the code "TREAT" at checkout. Details here. It's also valid 10 times per account!
So I'm thinking of throwing a little "1/2" party for my daughter, Madilyn, when she turns 6 months old. I saw the idea a couple of places on the Internet, so I can't take credit for the cute idea.
It will just be a small party for the family at our home, and I'm thinking of some ideas for it. I thought you might have some ideas as well. In the comments below, let me know if you threw one of these for your kid and even if you haven't, share some ideas you might have. Remember to keep it "cheap"!
The centerpiece for a "1/2" party is always the birthday cake. This could be a regular sized cake cut in half then decorated to say "Happy 1/2 Birthday, Madilyn," or it could be a half-moon shaped cake decorated. I think I'm going to go with that option.
To continue the "half" theme we can serve:
• Ice cream that comes in half vanilla/half chocolate cartons
• Arnold Palmers (half tea/half lemonade)
• Coffee with either half & half or half coffee, half hot chocolate
• Pastries and/or cookies cut with a crescent cookie-cutter
For a gift, my husband and I can get her several "half dollars" with the year on them to go in her piggy bank! When she's older we can tell her about the special party she had when she received them.
What else should we serve? Any ideas for decorations?
Since the party is three months away, I have time to make what I need, plus I can take my list of things to buy and watch out for sales!
Oh—we could encourage guests to come in "half" costumes and see what they can come up:
• half man/half woman
• half adult/half baby
• a costume cut in half
• a half moon (also known as a plumber's costume — get it?)
Any other ideas?
Kohl's is promoting a sale with their lowest prices of the season. There are even items for $2 in the clearance section. I found several I was interested in buying, but when I went to check out, the shipping was more expensive than the total amount of my items, so I didn't buy them. However, you might want to check it out. If a shirt you're interested in is listed for $2 and ends up being $4 because of shipping, it's still a good deal if you need the item and would pay more for it elsewhere.
Mom and I were at Target this morning when we saw orange storage bins and Tupperware in the seasonal section for Halloween. The storage bins were 56 gallon size and were on sale for $3.77 each — which they claim is the lowest price of the season. My guess is if there are any left they'll probably go on sale after Halloween even more. And those orange-topped Tupperware-ish plastic storage containers will probably go on sale as well. I'll keep an eye out. Storage containers are expensive, and who cares if they're orange? If you need 'em, get em while they're on clearance.
In fact, the orange bins, which do have black tops, making them definitely look Halloween-ish, would be great in a little boys room for all those toys.
Here's an article I found today about Cheap Kids' Room Makeovers. The first idea they suggest is using storage containers as functional decoration! Check it out here.
Amazon.com has a great deal on a set of sheets right now. Pike Street Ultra Soft Sheet Set (in king, queen or full) is just $14.99. That's 81% off retail. The sheets have gotten very positive reviews. Stock up!
I cannot believe this.
I have a friend named Kyle who is often an inspiration for this blog. He has made it a practice to buy expensive things from Costco ... mainly electronics. If they break or develop a problem, Costco is great about allowing you to return the item or exchange it.
Kyle bought a Lexmark laser printer last year and got an error this week that would cost $500 to fix. He only paid $400 to begin with, so off it's going back to Costco. If he bought it at another retailer, he might not have that option.
He also regularly watches Craigslist on items he's thinking about purchasing, like tires and rims. He watched a set go from $700 to $500 — which would be the cost of new tires alone. So essentially he will be getting the chrome rims for free.
What "practices" do you follow to regularly save money — on big or small items? Post your answers in comments.
I like to "barter" services for other services. For instance, right now I'm building a website for a friend who has a small business making accessories for babies. She pays me in product. With me having a nearly 3-month-old, this is worth more than cash!
According to a National Retail Federation's Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, the average American plans to spend almost $65 this Halloween season on things like costumes, candy and decorations. This is up from approximately $60 last year.
Nearly 60 percent of people celebrate in some way, spending an estimated total of $5.07 billion nationally.
Looking for ways to save? Parents magazine has eight adorable handmade costumes (like a bee, dragon, superhero and more) for your little one. You might just pick up and idea or two for grown-ups as well.
My favorite is the ballerina – with the tutu made from strips of wax paper, plastic bags and mesh onion sacks! Cute and cheap.
I'd like to recommend a movie if you haven't seen it yet. The Ultimate Gift is a film that came out last year based on a book by the same name written by Jim Stovall. It is one of the most stirring and impacting movies I've seen in a long time.
I wrote an essay about the film for Everyday Woman magazine and I'll post a portion of it on this post so you can get a feel for the plot.
There is also a family resource kit to coincide with the book and the movie that is a great way to introduce the values found in the film to your children.
So if you're looking for a unique gift for a birthday or the upcoming holiday season, I highly recommend this DVD, which just released in August. The film stars some major actors including James Garner, Drew Fuller, Bill Cobbs, Lee Meriwether and Abigail Breslin.
Sometimes it doesn't pay to be an early adopter. Just ask those who bought the iPhone earlier this summer: “I was a $200 iPhone beta tester for Apple.”
I found a website called American Frame where you can buy custom size frames and mats for pictures at a fraction of what it costs to get them framed. You just mount the photo and put the pieces together... the frames are assembled and the mats are cut.
So Endless.com, the semi-new shoe and handbag website developed by the folks at Amazon.com, has been getting a lot of buzz because they give you five dollars off your order and free overnight shipping. However, I find that their shoes are very expensive. And just today, I see an exact pair of shoes that are double the price they are on Amazon.com. Seems strange to me! I'm not sure why there is such a price discrepancy, other than the clientèle targeted seems more high-brow at Endless, so I guess they can get away with charging more. (?)
Here is the shoe on Amazon.com (for $23) and Endless.com (for $49).
Order 50 4x6 prints at Walgreens.com through July 9, 2007 and get 25 of them free with this code: 25FREE.
MSN.com has a link on their homepage today to an article outlining 20 ways to save money each day at just 15 minutes a pop. They suggest simple activities like cleaning your car's air filter and making dinner instead of eating out. Click here to read the full article.
Also on MSN is a link my friend Tammy sent me that will give you the cheapest gas stations in your area; it’s updated every evening.
I was checking out this website, AllRecipes, tonight after making their easy recipe for banana muffins (they turned out great, by the way) and clicked on a link about cutting grocery costs. These are all principles that I follow and they're practical and sustainable over a period of time.
* Shop the sale circulars before heading to stores (I always look at the online version). Plan out menus based on specials and in-season produce.
* Always make out a shopping list and stick to it. I use Publix's cool online list generator. It's fun and efficient.
* Clip coupons from newspapers, magazines and the Internet. I use coupons for products that I need that week for recipes, but mostly I save them and wait for them to go on sale and then use the coupon to maximize the savings.
* Stock up on frequently used items while they're on sale.
* Go through cabinets routinely to use up staples. This is a great place to start when you're planning a menu for the week. What do you already have on hand to use as a foundation for a recipe?
CVS has a e-coupon right now for $10 off a $50 purchase, plus free shipping. It's nice if you have items you know you need to buy that you can't get with coupons, sales, etc. You'll see it on the top of the second column of promotions here: http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/cvs/gateway/promotion/default.
Thanks to Craig T., for this tip!
"Just FYI, today, June 7, is Free Root Beer float day at Sonic. Between 8 pm and 12 am, free root beer floats."
Thanks to reader Stephen M. for this news tip!
Twenty-six million people are relegated to a food stamp budget of $21 a week as part of a government the food stamp program, which helps families buy food as they make the transition from welfare to work. Four members of Congress took a challenge to eat off the same budget for one week. Launched by Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski and advocates for low-income Americans, The Food Stamp Challenge Week, which ended May 21, aimed at raising awareness for the farm bill coming up for reauthorization this summer in Congress. It asks for hefty $4 billion to be added to the yearly $33 billion dollar budget for anti-hunger programs. The result could mean an additional $48 a month for a family of four on the food stamp program.
Looking to go yard-saling this weekend? Outside of your local paper, check these sites for postings for this week’s sales locations:
www.craigslist.org
www.garagesalehunter.com
www.yardsalesearch.com
Happy hunting!
Publix has 8 ears of corn for $1.99. They have a choice of yellow, bi-color or white corn. Mom and I bought 32 ears of white corn and Mom spent Saturday afternoon cooking them. They are delicious. We went to the farmer's market that morning and they were selling 6 ears for $2, so Publix had the better deal this time. We are enjoying it!
In preparation for hurricane season, Florida will have tax-free period (June 1-12) on supplies related to hurricane preparedness.
Legislators in Florida are working toward a ban on expiration dates and dormancy fees for gift cards, according to a story in the Orlando Sentinel. Florida is the latest in a string of several states, including California, moving in this direction.
One study cited in this story says the value of unredeemed gift cards and certificates could be as high as $430 million in Florida.
Through May 2, Dell Dimension E520 desktops are $280 off (use this e-value code: DDDWAR4—that info's also on the website). This specific model (which uses Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo processor) is rated as a "best buy" by Consumer Reports for features, performance and price point.
The deal also includes a 20-inch widescreen digital flat panel monitor, which is a nice upgrade. Again, their offer expires 5/2/2007.
Beginning this week, Publix is offering free store-brand products when you purchase select brand-name products. Each week for the next five weeks, they will designate three products—this week it's grape juice, crunchy raisin bran and English muffins. See more info here: http://www.publix.com/publixbrand/
While we're on the subject of "free," check out this service if you haven't already. Freecyle.org is a grassroots network of communities who post items they want to give away, and in return, get items they're interested in. I have signed up for two of my local areas, Apopka and Altamonte Springs. I get a daily email of postings. You have to have a Yahoo email account (or sign up for a free one) to join.
A reader posted a comment asking how the Orlando Organics is going. I've been meaning to post about that. Just this past week, I placed our account "on hold" online, so we won't receive another delivery until I undo.
I've been very happy with the service and the produce. We even share part of our goods each week with one of my coworkers who pays for her share. However, I'm finding that there are too many items that we just don't care for. I'm a pretty picky eater and there are just some staples that we like to eat. Sometimes there are too many greens and they go to waste. Or we end up not liking a different fruit than we're used to. And we'd only get a handful of bananas and I was having to go to the store to buy more each week.
It's been fun trying new things but I think I'm going to go back to buying at the grocery store or at a farmer's market (which I did this week). The best part about the experience has been that it has us in the habit of eating more fresh fruits and vegetables. And the way the account is set up online, all I have to do is reactivate our account with the click of a button and our service can resume.
My friend Nita recently recovered/upholstered her dining room chairs—updated them from an old-fashioned looking floral to a modern stripe. Each chair would cost approximately $200 to be professionally recovered. “I decided to bite the bullet and take a stab at it myself,” she says. “It wasn't really that hard. Now, I know they are perfect/totally professional, but most people will never know the difference. I am pretty happy with them. Now the colors blend well with the family room and kitchen. It makes me happy:)” Thanks for sharing your project with us, Nita!
Tomorrow, Wed. March 21st, is free 16 oz. iced coffee day at Dunkin. Visit the