Posted by M.S. on August 27, 2009
Dollar stores can be a great economical source for a wide variety of items including food, household items, cleaning supplies, gadgets, school supplies,wrapping paper, greeting cards, and much much more.
Shop Smart Magazine , published by the editors of Consumer Reports, recently sent mystery shoppers into dollar stores across the country. What they found was somewhat shocking and something you should consider before your next trip to a dollar store!
First, what they discovered was that roughly 77% of the items in many dollar stores cost more than a dollar! It’s easy to get caught up in the buying frenzy, thinking you’re getting a super bargain, so you do need to practice restraint in the store.
One surprising fact that may influence your buying decision, is that many dollar stores will not accept coupons or returns. Many dollar stores also will not accept credit cards.
The mystery shoppers at ShopSmart Magazine compared the prices and quality of 11 household products and compared those same products with items purchased elsewhere.
Included in the pricing comparison was heavy duty aluminum foil, gift wrapping paper and supplies, and cotton rounds. Each of these items was found to be a good value for the money, based on the price and quality of the product.
Several items that the ShopSmart Magazine investigators tested, turned out to actually be more expensive or of a lesser quality than would be readily available at a Target, Wal-Mart, Walgreens or CVS stores, particularly if you used coupons at the other stores.
Those items included tissue wrapping paper and birthday candles, which they noted were consistently cheaper at Wal-Mart. Of course, shopping the sales at the other superstores and using your coupons could wind up lowering your prices on those items dramatically!
Another interesting discovery by dollar store investigators, was the fact that there were some expired medicines and food products being sold, including items for children. Customers have reported incidences of expired or leaky batteries purchased at dollar stores.
Investigators also found numerous items that could be dangerous to children, including toys with small parts which could be choking hazards. According to investigators, be especially careful of older toy items being sold, which could possess high levels of lead paint. Customers also reported issues with lighters not turning off, and fire hazards with Tiki torches.
All in all great the dollar stores are a great place to get great bargains! But it does pay to be selective and careful when shopping.
Posted by M.S. on July 15, 2009
Is the Summer heat starting to get to you?
How about a little diversion, where you can be entertained, for very little, or no money?
Would you be interested to know how you can watch television shows & movies & listen to music for free?
Check out this marvelous totally free website for listening to music on your computer: Pandora.com
You can build your own playlists, called stations, on Pandora.com to listen to music based on artist, style, or a particular song.
It is described as the “Music Genome Project” because they make recommendations of music based on the artist or song that you choose.
Pandora.com is totally free and worth a look!
Another terrific website for your Summer viewing pleasure is called www.Hulu.com
Their website describes Hulu.com as a free online video service that offers access to hit TV shows anytime, including Family Guy, 30 Rock, and the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, etc.
Current and vintage movies and documentaries are also available for viewing, including National Geographic specials.
And it’s all free! How can you not like that?
Of course, most people are familiar with www.YouTube.com where people share their videos with the world!
You can watch everything from classic Michael Jackson music videos to current news, politics and sports.
There are even how to videos showing everything from hanging wallpaper to applying makeup.
Check it out! www.YouTube.com
One of my absolute favorite frugal places to rent current movies is www.Redbox.com
Redbox vending machines are typically found in grocery stores and drugstores, which makes it perfect for grabbing a movie when you are out running errands.
The price is right too! Movies can be rented for only $1 a night. You can even go online to the Redbox website and reserve a movie, so you know it’s available when you get to the vending machine.
Relax–you deserve it!
Check out my posts on the DealDivas blog in the Charlotte Observer newspaper for more great frugal tips!
Posted by M.S. on July 1, 2009
Want to have lots of fun this 4th of July and save some money at the same time?
Be sure and check out the guest posts I have been writing for the Charlotte Observer Newspaper in a series called “Hot Summer Savings, 2 Weeks to Save You Money”.
Read about lots of money savings ideas including how to get free money through coupons and discounts, travel the world without breaking the bank, and undertake a fabulous and frugal home makeover.
Read about the terrific items I found on a recent visit to a Habitat for Humanity ReStore.
Included is this brand new pedestal sink for $ 22! Wow!
It’s time to get going on that bathroom project!
I LOVE this fabulous Black chest of drawers I found for $ 25!
Give a room a whole new look for very little money!
Read much more at the Charlotte Observer.
Posted by M.S. on June 2, 2009
Have you been looking for a way to raise some extra cash? You have come to the right place!
Let me give you a heads up on several categories where eBay is offering discounted listing fees right now! You can make some money while you work from home!
Starting today and going through June 15, Fixed Price Insertion Fees on eBay will be just 5¢ for golf clubs, cameras, cell phones and other similar type items.
All listings must be created with the Product Details feature (Pre-filled Item Information). Product Details automatically fills in your listing with the item information and a stock photo. How much easier can you get?
Don’t have any of those items laying around? Go to some yard sales! I see this kind of stuff there all the time!
Another fabulous deal on right now is for collectible books. From May 27 – June 9th, you can list books for in the categories of Books—Antiquarian & Collectible and Antiques—Books & Manuscripts. This promotion is good for both Auction-style and Fixed Price listings.
eBay Motors is having a listing sale from June 1 through June 8, Insertion Fees in select Parts & Accessories categories. These listing fees will be just 35¢
Included are Fixed Price and Auction style listings in Apparel and Merchandise, ATV Parts, Aviation Parts, Boat Parts, Motorcycle Parts, Personal Watercraft Parts, and Other Vehicle Parts.
The sooner you list some items to sell on eBay, the sooner you will be making some money!
Get Going!
Posted by M.S. on May 29, 2009
I LOVE to save money every way I can and that includes on cosmetics!
Many years ago, a frugal friend of mine told me she used a brand of cosmetics called “Wet & Wild”. They make a full line of cosmetics including foundation, eyeliners, lipsticks, nail polish and mascara. They work great, are super economical and I have used them ever since!
The lipsticks and eyeliners are what I use the most and they are each only 99 cents a piece!
The regular price is a super bargain- but you can get an even better price this week!
This week at Rite Aid you can get 1 Wet & Wild item for full price, for only 99 cents and get the second one at half price, that’s only 49 cents.
That works out to only 75 cents an item! Compare that to the price of some of the fancy brands of cosmetics! What a deal!
This best part is, as you can see on my receipt, I used one of the $25 Rite Aid gift cards that I had received FREE for transferring a prescription to Rite Aid! Getting these items on sale, leaves me with extra money on the card to buy other goodies!
Another great tip I received from a thrifty lady was for hairspray that is also just as effective as the expensive fancy brands! It is called Rave and is about $1.29 a bottle! I plan to get some of that with my FREE gift card too!
That’s money I am saving to build my wealth! I want to make ME rich–not the cosmetics companies!
And don’t you feel much more beautiful knowing you have money?
Let me know if you have other tips like this please!
Posted by M.S. on May 26, 2009
If you could pick up a prescription and get a $25 gift card for FREE at the same time, would you be interested? Would you like drugstores to be fighting for your business and giving you more FREE $25 cards? That’s what happened to me and I’ll tell you how you can do this too!
Recently I saw a sign in the window of a local Rite Aid drugstore that said you could get a FREE $25 gift card for any transferred prescription. The pharmacist told me I just needed to give them the prescription number and location of the pharmacy that had my prescription–and they would handle the rest.
I gave them my info and later picked up my prescription and got my FREE $25 Rite Aid Gift card! That gives me FREE MONEY, so I can invest that money instead!
Actually, you can transfer up to 4 prescriptions and receive a total of $100 worth of FREE Gift Cards! What a deal!
A week later, out of the blue, I received a $25 check from Walgreens in the mail that I could redeem if I transferred a prescription to them! I believe that was in response to my transferring a prescription away from their store.
Being a person that always loves FREE MONEY, I did just that! I now have $50 worth of FREE gift cards I can use to buy anything I want. The cards do have some restrictions. You cannot use the gift cards to pay for prescriptions or co-pays, stamps, tobacco, and other items.
But–anything else in the store you need including cosmetics, household supplies, even food you get for FREE!
I took the $50 I would have spent on these drugstore items and I invested it in the Vanguard S&P 500 Index Fund–to make myself MORE MONEY!
Use this calculator to see how that $50 will grow over time and how it will help you build wealth! Every little bit helps!
Posted by M.S. on May 24, 2009
Recently, I discovered fabulous printable grocery coupons at Kraftfoods.com to take with me when I went shopping for food at my favorite store, Wal mart!
Included were terrific coupons for Cool Whip, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Ritz and Triscuit Crackers and more! Those were the things I love and wanted to get anyway!
While I was on the Kraft website, I came across this terrific Flag Cake recipe! It was so impressive looking, yet sounded super easy, so I decided to make it for our Memorial Day picnic!
Many of the ingredients in this patriotic cake were items I got with the coupons.
Most of these Kraft coupons gave me $1 off the price of the item and combined with the low prices at Wal-Mart, I was able to get them for practically nothing! That’s just the way I like it!
Last night we decided to take advantage of the FREE Birthday Entree that my husband had received in his e-mail from Moe’s!
If you sign up at Moe’s, they will send you a coupon around the time of your birthday and you get an entree absolutely FREE! Love that!
I have found the Moe’s Kid’s Size entrees are plenty for me & really not much smaller than the regular sized entrees. Plus–they are only $ 3.29 and you get a combo with a small drink and cookie! That brought the entire cost of our meal to $3.55 plus $1 we put in the tip jar! That’s only $4.55 for 2 people to eat dinner! What a deal!
This week we will be going to redeem our FREE coupon at Qdoba Mexican Grill for my husband’s Birthday Entree! They will send you a coupon for a Free meal if you sign up on their website!
Anyone have any other suggestions for great deals, freebies of any kind or FREE meals? Please share them with us!
Posted by M.S. on May 22, 2009
Would it surprise you to know that there is a way you can make your life simpler and easier and you will save money at the same time?
Many people are surprised to learn that they can print postage labels and ship all their packages from their own homes or offices through the US Post Office using FREE supplies provided by them! There are boxes of every shape and size and you can choose as many as you need.
You can order boxes directly from the post office at www.USPS.com and they will deliver them to your home or office FREE of charge!
This is a perfect solution for all your holiday shipping needs or for shipping all the goodies you can sell on eBay or Amazon!
Save time, money and hassles on all your shipping needs–not to mention the gasoline savings thanks to the US Post Office!
You can pay for the postage easily with your PayPal Account and even get discounts on the cost of the shipping. As an added bonus–you will receive FREE Delivery Confirmation when you purchase postage through Paypal! That service costs 65 cents if you get it at the post office!
Sign up for PayPal here!
See how easy it is with this step by step tutorial Print labels and Pay with Paypal.
To make life even easier and to save gas-you can even schedule a pickup with your mail carrier through the USPS.com website. I just leave a note in the mailbox for my mailman and ask him to come to the door.
This is perfect for Work at Home Moms and Dads!
No more standing in line with the kids at the post office!
Posted by M.S. on May 20, 2009
There are some fantastic deals right now if you plan to do any traveling, since the economy in the doldrums!
Recently, I took a trip to Chicago and needed a rental car while I was there. I found a fabulous deal at Enterprise Rent a Car through Hotwire.com for a midsized car at only $ 19 per day!
When I arrived at O’Hare Airport, I was given a BRAND NEW Chevy Malibu–with only 11 miles on it! It worked like a charm and even better- it smelled like a new car!
I was driving in luxury while still being frugal!
Check out those Hotwire deals!
Posted by M.S. on May 15, 2009
I am traveling in Chicago for several days and found another CHEAP deal for a fabulous hotel room on one of my favorite discount sites for hotel rooms and rental cars: Hotwire.com
Look at this fantastic completely updated room for only $ 39 a night! It is in a great location near everything I wanted, including Woodfield Mall and Ikea!
This room is in a Holiday Inn Express Hotel and it is super! I initially was concerned about booking at Holiday Inn, not knowing what the quality might be, but these hotels are geared for the business traveler and are terrific!
Inside the chest beside the desk is a refrigerator and a microwave so I can even have a snack or light meal in my room!
I also have noticed that the lower price hotels include FREE Internet access and a free breakfast!
What a deal for $ 39 a night!
