Frugal living is more than a lifestyle. It’s a passion.
Call Me Crazy! I love It!
Why, who wouldn’t love getting paid to buy products that they use everyday?
Here’s how I do it.
I purchase an item that has a rebate offer (either a store or manufacturer rebate) while it is on sale and use a coupon during purchase. That’s it!
Using this formula I almost always come out ahead. When all is done, I’ve gotten back more than I actually paid for the item.
Even when I do have to pay for the items like deodorant, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, and toothbrushes it’s about 50 cents for a item that would cost up to $2 -$4 originally.
Am I the only one out there that gets excited about this?
I doubt it! At least I hope not. That would make me “Crazy”, wouldn’t it? But a lot of folks just don’t know how to combine money saving measures to maximize savings.
My local drugstore (which by the way is a national chain) often advertises items free after rebate. Hey, that cuts down on a lot of work for me. Easy Money! I e an also lucky enough to have a grocery store in my area that offers rebates and offers double coupons (sometimes even doubling $1 coupons as a special promotion). Needless to say, with six mouths to feed (myself, my husband, and four kids) I’m lovin’ that idea!
As the editor of www.simpledebtfreeliving.com, I’m always looking for new ways to save money. Visit us and follow one of the e-mail links to share your ideas or just let us know how excited you get about frugal living! Let me know I’m not the only one. Then we can put my family’s worries to rest. They think I’m really crazy.
Here are a couple other ways that I save on items we use everyday:
1. Always use items that are reusable rather than throw away
For example: Reusable coffee filters, cups and plates, and my favorite pet peeve -
The great sandwich bag conspiracy
The major manufacturers of sandwich bags would lead us to believe that it takes rocket science to keep a sandwich fresh. Ask yourself this, How long do you need to keep that sandwich fresh anyway? It’s not like it’s going to the moon. It’s just going to the office or school for a few hours.
The most practical way to approach this is to purchase reusable sandwich size containers. This is also very environmentally friendly reducing a great deal of waste. If however, these have trouble finding there way back home ( which is likely if you have children), you can save substantially if you purchase the plain old pleated sandwich bag that cost a mere fraction of the razzle dazzle zipper kind. Your mother used these for years and years with great success. I have used both methods for years and have never received a complaint of a stale sandwich!
You’ll find that doing these little things like, using real cups and plates instead of paper or plastic throw away, and recycling containers for storage or even to use in craft projects, can save a lot of money. Each by itself may seem minor, but when put together amount to tremendous savings over time.
2. Don’t buy it if you won’t use it. Things like small kitchen appliances, repair tools, and gardening tools are good examples. We know they’ll make our life easier if we just had the opportunity to use them.
There are 101+ small countertop kitchen appliances available to chop it, grind it, mix it, open it, bake it, grill it..well you get the message.
Simplify your life and narrow it down to a couple you just can’t live without. For me it’s my blender and my food processor. Although, I’m seriously considering a bread maker. Not quite sure if it’s worth the money yet. Especially when I’m so close to a bread outlet. But, you can’t beat the taste of fresh baked bread. I’m not counting the coffer maker it’s kind of standard equipment these days. I wouldn?t dare ask you to give that up! What am I crazy? Well , maybe..
It’s little things like the example above that identify frugal living.
3. Always get the best value for your money. Shop around. If this is a major purchase you will want to know what to look for. Research and compare products on the internet or in sale flyers. There’s nothing more challenging to the retailer than an informed consumer. That’s what you want to be. An informed consumer knows when it’s a good value! Informed Consumer – More Savings
By: Cheryl Johnson
Posts Tagged Grocery Store
Rising Gas Prices, Where to Save?
The rising gas prices are really affecting not only truck drivers, but just the average Joe like you and me. Everything from groceries, to clothing and electronics have increased in price because of the gas price increases?
How can you save money these days? There are many scams out there that will tell you that you can convert your gasoline vehicle into water so it will run for basically free. I am here to tell you a real way to save money.
What is that real way of saving money? Oh, I thought you would never ask. It is simply using coupons. Manufacture coupons can be found all over if you look for them. They are in the grocery store, by many products you are probably already buying. You can also obtain coupons by purchasing multiple Sunday newspapers. There are 3 types of coupon inserts you want to look for. They are the Smart Source, Vlassis and Proctor & Gamble. These inserts come out nearly every Sunday and are filled with many valuable coupons.
Ok, so now you have the coupons what are you supposed to do with them? First thing you need to do is cut them out and file them. If I have 5 Sunday newspapers, I separate out all of the pages of the coupon insert, so that there are now 5 of the same page on top of each other. Then, I cut out all 5 coupons at once to save me some time, put a paper clip over them and then file them. I like to file my coupons alphabetically. Other people file them by type of coupon, such as shampoo, condiments, etc.
This is the most important factor of anyone who uses coupons. Just because you have a coupon for something, doesn’t mean you should use it! If that is the only lesson you learn here, you will benefit from that. The best and really only time I use coupons is when I match it with a sale first of all, and it has to be something I need or would purchase for my family. Typically, when I coupon shop, I save 75% or more on my bill. I know exactly what I am going to be purchasing, and only purchase items that will be free or very close to it when using coupons.
I can help you for free to match up sales with your coupons. Please visit www.manufacturecoupon.com to see weekly national sales ads matched up with coupons.
By: Jeena Lugo