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 22, 2009
Did you know for most people, their single largest investment is their home?
Would it surprise you to know the 2 areas that home buyers focus on most when searching for real estate are the kitchen and the master suite, which includes the master bedroom and the bathroom?
Don’t you think you have a better chance to sell or rent your home if you have a spa bathroom? Of course you do!
Come along as I show you step by step how I recently achieved that spa feeling for very little money!
Creating the drama of a spa bathroom is simple when you use the same techniques that fancy resort spas and hotels use when furnishing their spaces.
Every elegant spa bathroom must have a beautiful bench beside the tub for holding a luxurious bathrobe or your pjs. That’s a great place to start!
If you are going to have a spa bathroom, you simply must have candles and warm fluffy towels. Add some dramatic candles in rich candlesticks to cast a warm romantic glow. Place the fluffy towels right beside the tub to complete the look.
Green plants give that touch of nature and you are on your way to creating a peaceful oasis! It is the details that really make the difference!
Not only is your fantastic spa bathroom a restful retreat, it will add to the value of your home since everyone loves a gorgeous bathroom!
Take a look at the frugal yet fabulous ways you can furnish your bathroom retreat!
I started with this dramatic 3-tiered rack that came from Ross Stores and was only $19.99. Place on the corner of the tub for extra storage and load it up with all the goodies!
The height of the piece gives additional space, allowing you to add everything you might need!
The plants are from Michael’s at $2.99 a piece and the designer towels were purchased on closeout at one of my favorite stores, TJ Maxx for $3.99 each!
No spa bathroom would be complete without a terrific vanity with a comfortable seat! What a terrific addition to the space!
This upholstered bench looks totally custom but was actually found at TJ Maxx, for only $24.99! You can’t beat that!
This gorgeous wrought iron bench looks just like one I saw at the luxury store, Frontgate! But this one was only $19.99 at a local Ross Store.
You have to love that!
Give your bathroom a professionally decorated look by creating an elegant yet simple window treatment.
Simply drape a neutral length of fabric over elegant decorative brackets, and Voila! You are in business!
It’s great to have a
tiered shelf to hold all the supplies you would find in a spa bathroom.
This one was located at Ross Stores for only $39.99.
The wrought iron with wicker design adds texture to the space, something interior designers know adds to the luxury!
Look at the dramatic effect a little effort can give you on your largest appreciating asset– your home!
As you soak in the tub in your new spa bathroom, think of all the money you will make from your elegant bathroom makeover!
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Check out my guest posts in the Hot Summer Savings series in the Charlotte Observer newspaper.
Posted by M.S. on June 12, 2009
Do you work from home or want to jazz up your commercial office space? Would you like to have a fashionable office space but don’t want to spend a lot of money?
If you are like most people, you have computer equipment, printers and storage that you would like to disguise in your office. You do not need to spend alot to accomplish that! Take a look at what I did to create a fabulous yet frugal office, for very little money!
I built this neat table from wood I obtained FREE, then I sewed a very easy & inexpensive tablecloth to hide all the stuff underneath it.
The wood was FREE from a construction site near my house. It is amazing how much perfectly good wood is throw into the junk pile when a new home or office is constructed.
I stopped at the site and asked the workers if I could take some of the scrap wood and they said “Take all you want–It’s going to the landfill otherwise!“ Man–I hate to think of all this terrific lumber going to waste.
Remember when you do things like this, you are not only saving lots of money, you are actually helping the environment, because you reuse and recycle items! How cool is that?
The long skinny pieces were the perfect size, so I grabbed those and made myself a table.
Ok, my husband actually did the hammering, but I gave him the dimensions.
Inexpensive neutral colored fabric, similar to the color of the walls, was purchased and used to make a quick slipcover type tablecloth. Easy breezy!
The 2 drawer cabinet underneath the table was acquired at a garage sale for $1. It’s perfect for holding printer paper and other goodies for the office.
The next area that needed to be addressed was the carpeting. We had beautiful wood floors in that room, so I wanted a room rug that accented the colors in there.
I found this indoor/outdoor type rug at a local home center for only $40! It looks very similar to one I saw at Pottery Barn for much less money!
There needed to be a chair in the office and we had one that didn’t match the colors in the room, so I found an inexpensive slipcover online & covered it in a classic white canvas.
Nice and neutral and it works in the room beautifully.
Now we can get busy in the beautifully decorated office working and making money!
Posted by M.S. on June 8, 2009
There was a great personal finance article in today’s Wall Street Journal called “When I was Your Age“.
The article features prominent people recalling the best—and worst— financial advice they received as new college graduates.
I believe you can learn almost everything you want to know from people that have already done it successfully!
Included in the survey were David Bach, author of the best-selling FinishRich books, Paula Deen, restaurant owner, author and Food Network host, and Robert Kiyosaki, businessman and author of the best-selling “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” books.
David Bach told how he had learned the value of hard work and purchasing a home while in his 20’s. I agree wholeheartedly with what he said regarding how hard work and saving in your 20s and 30s can determine your future! Amen to that!
Ask all the broke 50 and 60 year old people if they regret not saving and investing when they were young, now that they are running out of time to build their wealth!
Paula Deen learned the value of heeding the advice to do what you love–which was cooking! Look at what a fabulous success she has made of that!
Mary L. Schapiro, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, said her parents warned her about getting into debt. She listened to them on that point, but regrets not getting into the habit of saving right away. Her advice to grads is to fully understand the implications of debt and what it will take to repay the loan.
Probably my favorite is from Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, president of the Charles Schwab Foundation. She said the best advice she heard was to live frugally and save for a rainy day. She suggests living off 90% of your income and save the other 10%. I would aim for saving more than that!
Look at how compounding interest on your saved money grows over time so you get wealthy.
You will be SO glad you saved, when you are fishing, while your friends are still working!
Posted by M.S. on June 4, 2009
If there were 8 simple rules you could follow that would help you build a fortune and a satisfying life, would you be interested to learn about them?
Just in time for Summer reading, I recently came across a very inspiring book written by Dwight R Lee and Richard B McKenzie called “Getting Rich in America“.
I highly recommend this book because the focus of the book is on “ordinary people” like you and me, people of modest means and talents and how they “made it” through simple steps taken without sacrificing their quality of life.
I believe wholeheartedly in the idea that if you want to accomplish something, model someone that has already done it. This book uses real life examples of people that have accumulated enough money to be financially independent and tells you how to do that too!
They went from Frugal to Rich!
Here are the 8 Simple Rules featured in the book:
1. Think of America as the Land of Choices
2. Take Compound Interest Seriously
3. Resist Temptation
4. Get a Good Education
5. Get Married and Stay Married
6. Take Care of Yourself
7. Take Prudent Risks
8. Strive for Balance
The quote from Ben Franklin at the front of the book explains it well. “The way to wealth is as plain as the way to market. It depends chiefly on 2 words, industry and frugality: that is neither waste time nor money, but make the best use of both. Without industry and frugality, nothing will do; and with them-everything!”
So basically, that means work hard and be frugal! If you save your money and invest, it will build wealth!
Look at these thought provoking questions the authors pose to help you on your way to getting rich!
Buy it used on Amazon.com or request it for FREE at your local library!
It is well worth your time!
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 28, 2009
This morning I came across a very interesting article in the online edition of the New York Times called Design on a Shoestring. I am always searching for articles about decorating to maximize both the comfort and value of my home and investment properties, so this one caught my eye.
The article was about a couple that had completely redone a one bedroom apartment near London and featured a wonderful photo gallery of their great ideas. I was floored when I read they had spent over $10,300 — to re-do a 1,200-square-foot apartment! HOW MUCH??
That’s alot to spend on a 1,200 square foot property! I believe you can achieve the same results for much less money–and we have done it!
When we started buying investment properties 32 years ago, we realized very quickly that if we fixed up the interior and decorated it a bit–we could raise the rents and attract a better quality of tenant!
The amazing thing was- after we were finished living in this property–we were able to rent it FURNISHED for 2 years- and we received $200 more PER MONTH in rent than what we would have gotten for it unfurnished!
That’s almost $ 5,000 extra rent! What a great return on our investment!
Take a look at what elbow grease and almost ALL secondhand furniture and accessories created in this furnished townhome! You can use these ideas for a rental property or to stage your home to sell in this tough economy!
The least expensive and most effective method we found to accomplish that effect was with paint! You can create a warm and inviting mood with a soft neutral (not white) paint color.
Here we painted the living room a soft tan color.
In one bedroom, we used a greyish shade of green, which is also a soft neutral, to give us a fabulous warm romantic feel.
The fabulous custom made upholstered window treatment hanging over the bed was purchased at a Salvation Army store for $10! It matched perfectly!
In another bedroom, we used the same soft tan color that looks marvelous with the elegant duvet cover we bought at TJ Maxx. All the furniture, lamps, headboard, pictures etc in this room were purchased secondhand for practically NO money!
After our tenant of 2 years moved out, we decided to take everything out of the property and rent it unfurnished.
Because we have been so very blessed, we decided that rather than have a big sale and make some money–we gave away every single thing to a charity that donates to people that cannot even afford to buy their items at a Goodwill type store!
They sent a large empty truck and we filled it to the brim!
How cool is that–to be able to share the wealth? I still wonder who is sitting on those chairs now and sleeping in those beds!
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!
