Saving Money Mommy's Tip- Protecting Your Valuables

My tip today is to protect the valuables you already have.  I've heard numerous stories lately about purse snatching in grocery stores and parking lots.  Make sure you always keep your purse with you.  Don't keep it in the baby seat of the shopping cart.  If you do, you risk losing your purse when you turn to get something.  Also, don't leave it in the shopping cart or front seat of the car when you load up your groceries.  Someone may drive by and grab it out of your cart or take it out of your car when you're not looking.

Another thing going on a lot lately are purses and wallets being stolen from gas stations while you are pumping gas.  Always lock the passenger side door and don't leave valuables in site when pumping gas.

Just make sure you are always alert and keep your valuables safe.  It's hard enough to make ends meet nowadays without having your wallet and credit cards stolen.  It's a terrible thing I hope none of you have to experience.

Go out today, be safe and get a great deal!

Quicken Software Discount

I've been using Quicken for a few years now after Microsoft Money went away.  Much to my chagrin, they sent me an email telling me I had to upgrade to the latest Quicken software in order to keep online access for my accounts.  It wasn't just a $10.00 upgrade like it should be.  It would cost me $74.99, the full price of the software!  I decided I would leave Quicken and find an alternative.  The problem was I couldn't find another accounting software I liked.  I shopped all around and decided to find a way around paying $74.99.

I found a site called Discount Flair.  They had the Quicken software I needed for $23.49.  They sent me the software link immediately through email and it works great.

I'm still not happy about having to pay anything, but I like using Quicken to track all my accounts in one place.

My lesson here is by shopping around, you can save money.  I saved $51.50 this time.

Go out today and get a great deal!

Saving Money Mommy's Tip- Car Maintenance

You can actually save money by keeping up with your car maintenance.  There are so many major (and expensive) problems that can crop up if you don't do some maintenance on a regular basis.  You need to read the maintenance schedule in your owner's manual and follow it.  Two very simple and relatively inexpensive things you can do on a regular basis are:

• Oil change- About every 3,000 to 4,000 miles
• Rotate your tires- If you don't do this about every other oil change (or as recommended in your owner's manual), you will definitely need new tires sooner.  I learned this the hard way after wearing out my two front tires much sooner than expected by not rotating them.

Keep up with your regular maintenance and keep your car longer. 

Go out today and get a great deal!

Saving Money Mommy's Tuesday Tip- Exercise

Do you pay a monthly gym membership?  Do you get your money's worth?  I belonged to a gym many years ago, paid my monthly dues and was lucky if I went once a month.  What a waste of money!  There are so many ways to stay fit while saving money.

On some cable tv services is a channel called Exercise On Demand.  I found a great workout on this channel that I can do right in my living room whenever I want.  The best part is that it doesn't cost any extra. 

Now that the weather is nicer (in Florida at least), get out and take a walk.  It is a great workout and best of all, it's FREE. 

Some gyms even offer a pay per day fee.  I tried this at a gym next door to the preschool.  I can drop the kids off and take a class.  This is a great gym, but I would never get my money's worth if I signed up for a whole month.

Staying fit is so important, but it doesn't have to cost you a lot.

Go out today and get a great deal!    

Saving Money Mommy's Tuesday Tip- Gifts

Buying gifts can really eat into your budget.  There are gifts to buy for birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, teacher gifts, etc.  You need to sit down and evaluate who you really need to buy for.  If you simply don't have the money, don't feel obligated to buy something.  Sometimes a phone call or card is just as wonderful as a gift.

We had to eliminate birthday gifts for nephews and nieces.  We went from one to thirteen children and knew it wasn't possible to buy for all of them.  We don't live near any of them and had to ship the gifts as well.  We call the kids on their birthdays and sing to them or send a card.

Christmas is right around the corner.  I made a bunch of homemade cookies and candy last year for Christmas gifts.  I put them on pretty Christmas plates and wrapped them in cellophane.  Everyone loved them! 

My point is that great gifts don't have to cost a fortune.  Search online for homemade gifts and see all the different things you can do with not a lot of money.

Go out today and get a great deal!

Saving Money Mommy's Tuesday Tip- Grocery Shopping List

Before you go to the grocery store, you must have a good list put together along with your coupons if you want to save money.  Head to Southern Savers first and find your grocery store's weekly ad along with the coupon match-ups.

There are boxes next to every item on sale that you can check off if you are interested in buying that item.  The coupons that go along with that item are also listed.  If there is an internet coupon, print it.  When you are done going through the list, click the "Create List" button at the bottom and it will create your list that you can print out.  Find the coupons you need, put them in a pile along with your grocery list and head out.

Now if you are just starting out couponing, you may not have all the coupons.  Buy at least two Sunday papers each week and pick up coupons whenever you see them.  In no time, you will have most of the coupons you need.

I've been using Southern Savers for a couple of months now to help me create my grocery lists.  I love it because it's FREE and it saves me more time than any other site I've tried.

Not all grocery stores in the country are listed on this site.  The prices of the items listed may vary from area to area so cross reference it with your paper weekly ad if you want the actual price.  Also, it may talk about double coupons and not all areas double coupons.

Email me at savingmoneymommy@yahoo.com  if you have any questions.

Go out today and get a great deal!

Saving Money Mommy's Tuesday Tip- Kids Lunches

My life lately has revolved around the kids and school.  That is why my blog posts are few and far between these days.  I was thinking about how to save money on my kids' lunches so that is what I'll be writing about today. 

Juice boxes and Capri Suns can add up quickly, especially when you have three kids.  I went to Walmart and bought two FUNtainer Bottles for a $12.98 each.  My daughter loves Dora and one of my sons loves Lightning McQueen.  I fill them mostly with water and a little juice.  They are going to save me money in the long run and they are healthier for the kids than a juice box.  My oldest son is not big on any of the characters on the FUNtainer Bottles, so I'll still have to buy some Capri Suns for him until I find an alternative.

I also use plastic containers whenever I can instead of the plastic baggies since plastic bags can add up quickly too.  The kids just throw the plastic containers back in their lunch bags and I wash them when they get home.  You can wash and reuse plastic bags too, but I find the containers are easier.

Please send me a comment about what you do for your kids' lunches.

Go out today and get a great deal!

Saving Money Mommy's Tuesday Tip- Shelf Life for Laundry Products

My tip for today is to watch the expiration dates on the things you buy and stockpile for awhile.  I bought a few bottles of Purex Fabric Softener a couple of years ago and was down to my last bottle.  Most fabric softeners do not have expiration dates on them, so I had no idea they do expire.  The fabric softener comes in a transparent bottle.  I noticed that it had started to separate.  The creamy part was on the bottom and a clear yellow liquid was at the top.  It was also very thick when I poured it.  It was out in my hot garage so I thought it was due to the heat.  I called Purex and they had me read a set of numbers and letters from the bottle.  Once I read it, they said that particular bottle had expired and fabric softener was only good for two years.  I also have Purex laundry detergent and asked them about that too.  They told me that Purex liquid laundry detergent is only good for one year.  I was shocked!  I have ten bottles stockpiled right now.  I'm going to check the codes on them and see how old they are.  This is the way to interpret Purex:

This is the code on my bottle: PM9L051L80
The 3rd digit, which is "9" in this case, means it was made in 2009.  A "0" would mean 2010.
The 4th digit, which is "L" in this case, means the month.  The month codes are as follows:
A= January
B= February
C= March
D= April
E= May
F= June
G= July
H= August
K= September
L= October
M= November
N= December

The 5th and 6th digits which in this case are "05" means the day.  So in this case, my laundry detergent was manufactured on October 5, 2009.  I didn't buy this that long ago and in terms of expiration dates, I would only have about 1 1/2 months left for this bottle.  Now this bottle is not clear, so I wouldn't notice a difference in the appearance after the expiration date like I did with the fabric softener.  I heard that laundry detergent would get thinner as opposed to fabric softener which gets thicker after the expiration date.  I don't know if that's true, but I do know that I will keep this code chart with me in my coupon file and check the next time I buy Purex laundry detergent and/or fabric softener.

I also called the manufacturer of All to get their expiration codes.  The code on the cap of the bottle is as follows:
031510WU1
The 031510 means that the bottle of laundry detergent was manufactured on March 15, 2010.  They told me that their laundry detergent has a 3 year shelf life so it would be good until March 15, 2013.

I also called the manufacturer of Arm & Hammer.  I have a bottle of Arm & Hammer 2X Concentration Laundry Detergent in Clean Burst.  They told me this product has an indefinite shelf life if stored properly.

I also called Clorox who makes Green Works laundry detergent.  The code on the bottle is as follows:
KC9177 2122
The 3rd Digit is the last digit of the year.  9=2009, 0=2010
The 177 = the Julian Day.  001 would be January 1st, 002 would be January 2nd and so on.  In this case, 177 is June 25th so my laundry detergent was manufactured on June 26, 2009.  The representative at Clorox said that for the best quality, this laundry detergent should be used within one year.  After that, it may not clean as well.

My last call went to Proctor & Gamble for my bottle of Downy Fabric Softener.  The code on the bottle is as follows:
01791626E10710
The first digit is the last digit of the year.  0= 2010
The next three digits is the Julian Day.  In this case, 179 is June 28th so my fabric softener was manufactured on June 28, 2010.  The rep told me that the shelf life for this product is one year.  He said that the product could be good to use after on year, but it was not guaranteed.

I learned a lot from this test and I hope you did too.  I just can't believe that the manufacturers all have different shelf life dates for laundry products!  Watch those expiration codes and don't stockpile more than you can handle.  Go out today and get a great deal!

Saving Money Mommy's Tuesday Tip- Frivolous Spending

There are so many new gadgets out there lately.  I am feeling more like "grandma" when it comes to the latest technology.  I don't know much about iPhones or Blackberries.  I have a prepaid cell phone that costs around $100/yr. because that is all I need.  A phone with all the bells and whistles would be a waste of money for me.  I just use my cell for emergencies and quick calls.  I am not going to go out and buy something just because everyone else has one. 

So many people run out and buy something when it first comes out on the market just to say they have it.  You will never be able to reduce your debt and save money unless you cut out frivolous spending.  Hold off before you buy something and consider if it is really worth it. 

Go out today and get a great deal!

Saving Money Mommy's Tuesday Tip- Rainchecks

Don't you just hate it when you get the store to buy something on sale and they are all out?  It happens to me way too often!  I always try to get a raincheck when a sale item is out of stock.  I currently have a big stack of rainchecks in my coupon file.  Most rainchecks never expire and they sometimes turn out to be a very good thing to have. 

Sometimes there are no coupons available when an item is on sale.  If I end up getting a raincheck on an item, I can hold on to it until I find a coupon for that item.  That is a great time to cash in on the raincheck.  You will get the original sale price plus the coupon discount for even better savings.

Another advantage to having a raincheck is if one of your favorite items is not on sale very often.  If you run out of your favorite item and it's not on sale, you can use your raincheck instead of having to pay full price.  Stores are often out of the sale items on the last day of a sale or a Monday morning after a busy weekend.  You can sometimes get a lot of rainchecks those days.

Just don't lose those rainchecks and they will pay off for you one day. 
Go out today and get a great deal!

Saving Money Mommy's Tuesday Tip- Hotels

Since I just got back from vacation and am still in a "vacation" frame of mind, I thought I'd share some tips on how to save money at hotels.  I had to book two unconsecutive nights this summer for my family and wanted the best deal of course.  I searched around the internet and discovered that Best Western had a deal where you get a FREE night when you stay twice this summer.  I thought we could use the FREE night near Disney in the fall.  I went to the Best Western site through ShopAtHome to get 4% cash back and booked the rooms.  If we didn't have three small children, we probably wouldn't have booked the rooms in advance.  You can get some great deals by walking into a hotel lobby the evening of your stay.  Just make sure to leave your family and luggage in the car during negotiations.  Don't accept the first price they quote you and ask them for a better price.  Most of the time they will give you a good deal.  They would rather have you stay in the room at a discounted price than to keep the room empty. 

There are often special hotel rates for AAA members.  Sam's Club and other organizations also have special hotel discounts for their members.  You may need an ID # or special phone number to obtain these discounts. 

Check around, but remember to never settle for the standard rate.  Go out today and get a great deal!

Saving Money Mommy's Tuesday Tip

I will be taking the Summer off from my Tuesday Tips.  I will continue to post deals when I can.
As always, go out today and get a great deal!

Saving Money Mommy's Tuesday Tip- Don't Give Up

My tip today is quite short.  Saving money is a wonderful thing.  It can also be a frustrating thing if you run into uncooperative cashiers when using coupons, always find the items you want out of stock, come up with a great deal only to find out the coupon has expired, etc. etc.  Don't give up!  I've been doing this for a long time and still get frustrated.  Just take a deep breath and start over.  Don't ever pay retail and keep getting those deals.  It will definitely be worth it!

Go out today and get a great deal!

Saving Money Mommy's Tuesday Tip- Coupon Organization

You don't have to tell me how coupons can take over your life.  I am still working on trying to organize my coupons more efficiently so they are not scattered all around the house.  I have an old diaper wipes box that contains the entire coupon inserts sorted by date.  I also have a shoebox-sized coupon box to house coupons I've cut out, received in the mail, found in a store, etc.  I also put my rainchecks in there.  I have it divided up by categories (dairy, frozen, cleaners, etc.).

My biggest problem is finding a minute in my day to clean out the expired coupons or file new ones.  It's so frustrating when I reach into my coupon folder to find a great "Expired" coupon for something I want to buy. 

It seems like I'm always waiting in a doctor's office lately, so I've been taking advantage of that wait time by cleaning out my coupon folder.  It gives me something productive to do while waiting, and I leave a little more organized. 

I'm not where I need to be with coupon organization yet, but I'm getting there.  I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Go out today and get a great deal!

Saving Money Mommy's Tuesday Tip- The Library

An easy way to save some money is to take advantage of your local Public Library.  I take the children once a week and they pick out some DVD's and books.  My library has a large assortment of DVD's for kids, so I can save $1.00 for each one instead of going to Redbox.  I also skip the bookstore and can usually find the books I'm looking for at the library.  If my particular branch doesn't have the book I want, I can have the book sent to my library from another library in my county.  Not only does this save me money, it saves me from more clutter.  If I want to read the book again, I can go back to the library.

Many libraries also have FREE storytime for kids, FREE computer classes and other types of classes.

Go out today and get a great book!

Saving Money Mommy's Tuesday Tip- Buying Kids' Clothes

Clothing children can be extremely expensive.  I have three children, so I have to be very thrifty when it comes to their clothing. 

I like to dress them in designer duds.  No, I do not head out to the children's section at Macy's and pick up the latest Calvin Klein outfits.  I head out to yard sales and consignment shops.  I have found barely worn Gap, Children's Place and other brand names at yard sales for less than $1.00.  Face it, kids grow so fast and usually don't have time to wear out their clothing.  In my opinion, it is absolutely ridiculous for someone to pay the retail price for kids' clothing.

We sometimes get hand-me-downs and we send lots of hand-me-downs to family members.
I also visit the local children's consignment shop on a regular basis or when I'm looking for something in particular.  Even stores like Walmart and Target can be expensive if you buy the clothes at regular retail price.  Hit the clearance racks everytime you're there.  You never know what you might find.  The last time I was in Walmart, I found an assortment of Garanimal clothing on a clearance rack for $1.00! 

I also love to shop online for the kids' school clothes.  I have hit some great sales at Kohl's and The Children's Place.  I always shop through Ebates or ShopAtHome, so I get the best coupon codes and cash back too.

If you have never shopped at a children's consignment shop, you will be pleasantly surprised by the beautiful, like-new merchandise.  Go today and stop throwing your money out the window by buying at retail price.  My children have some beautiful clothes and I didn't break the bank. 

Go out today and get a great deal!

Saving Money Mommy's Tuesday Tip- Buying Meat

Meat is generally expensive, and it's not very often you can get a good deal when buying meat.  I only buy meat when it's on sale.  Some grocery stores also discount meat with a Sell By Date that is quickly approaching.  I've seen packages of steak at Sweetbay Supermarket with the Sell By Date for the next day and $5.00 off coupons on top of the package.  I spoke with a store employee and she said they discount meat daily.  They had many packages with coupons in various amounts.  If you can't use the meat immediately, you can freeze it.  You can save a significant of money this way. 

Go out today and get a great deal!

Saving Money Mommy's Tuesday Tip- Homemade Pantry Staples

Thanks to Kelly who thought this would make a great Tuesday Tip! 

We all keep some pantry staples (standard kitchen supplies) on hand in case we ever need them.  How many of you have gone into the pantry for something that is always there only to find you have run out?  It happens to most of us too often.  What do you do if you can't run to the store?  Did you know that some pantry staples can be made from other pantry staples?  I'm thinking of taco seasoning in particular.  Both Kelly and I have run out of taco seasoning before and had to create it from scratch.  You might even save money by making it homemade (unless you have a great taco seasoning coupon)!

Taco Seasoning Recipe (from All Recipes.com)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1.In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container.

See how simple this recipe is?  There are lots of other pantry staples that can be made from scratch with not much difficulty.  So the next time you run out of something, think twice before you waste your time and your money running to the store. 

Go out today and get a great deal!

Saving Money Mommy's Tuesday Tip- The Basics

I've met a lot of people lately who are just starting out with couponing.  What I want to do this week is cover some basics on what you need to know in order to save money. 

Here are the definitions of a couple of types of coupons you will come across:

Manufacturer's Coupon- A coupon distributed by the manufacturer of a particular product.  The store where you used the coupon mails the coupon back to the manufacturer to get their money back.

Store Coupon- A coupon distributed by a particular store.  The store does not get their money back for these coupons.  It will state Store Coupon, Retailer Coupon, or the name of the store on the coupon.  It will not say Manufacturer's Coupon.  You may use Store Coupons in conjunction with Manufacturer's coupons.  Some stores accept competitor coupons.  For example, Target has a lot of store coupons out there.  Some Publix stores will accept the Target store coupons.  If you're not sure, ask a manager.

NOTE- Don't get confused by the Manufacturer's Coupons that say "Redeem Only at ______".  If it says Manufacturer's Coupon, you should be able to use that in any store that accepts coupons. 

You may NEVER use two manufacturer's coupons on one product.

When an item is BOGO (Buy One Get One Free), you are allowed to use 2 manufacturer's coupons because you are getting 2 items.  Let's say that Cheerios is BOGO this week, and you have two $1.00 off manufacturer's coupons.  This is how it would work:

$4.00 Cheerios
$0.00 Cheerios (BOGO)
-1.00 manufacturer's coupon
-1.00 manufacturer's coupon
FINAL PRICE for two boxes would be $2.00

Now let's pretend that your grocery store had a Store Coupon in their weekly sales circular for $1.00 off one box of Cheerios.  You would want two of these coupons if you were buying Cheerios this week.  This is how it would work:

$4.00 Cheerios
$0.00 Cheerios (BOGO)
-1.00 manufacturer's coupon
-1.00 manufacturer's coupon
-1.00 store coupon
-1.00 store coupon
FINAL PRICE for two boxes would be FREE

I hope this quick tip on some of the basics has helped those of you who are just starting out on this incredible journey into the world of couponing and saving money.  Please email me if you have any questions.  I would also love to hear from you if any of my tips has helped you save more money.

Go out today and get a great deal!

Saving Money Mommy's Tuesday Tip- Printer Ink Part II

A couple of months ago I wrote a saving money tip for printer ink.  I have learned how to save more money on my printer ink since then.  I was buying printer ink at Sam's Club for my HP Printer.  I was paying $66.75 for a package of two black HP 94 and one color HP 97 ink cartridges.  I have since canceled my Sam's Club membership and went looking for other options.  I clicked 123Inkjets through Ebates and found remanufactuered HP 97 Color cartridges for $12.00 ea. when you buy three and remanufactured HP 94 black cartridges for $9.00 ea. when you buy three.  I also received 10% off with coupon code "FLOWER23" that I found on Ebates.  My order came to $56.70.  There was no tax and no shipping for orders over $55.00.  Since I clicked through Ebates, I also got 20% cash back!!!  $11.34 was added to my Ebates account a few days after my purchase.  The final total for three black and three color printer inks was $45.36!  That sure beats the $66.75 I used to pay for only three printer inks.  I have also not noticed a difference in quality between the new and remanufactured printer inks.

It pays to shop around.  It also pays to never ever click a store directly online without first checking to see if a site like Ebates or ShopAtHome offers cash back on that store.  It really is easy money and I enjoy getting those checks in the mail.

Go out today and get a great deal!