Frugal Coupon Living

Crocs: $5 – $10 (FREE Shipping) at Cabela’s

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September 18, 2009 by Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living Filed Under: Online Shopping

Crocs $5 -$10 with FREE shipping at Cabela’s Online.

These are the only two I see left that are not sold out.

Crocs™ Unisex Beach™ Clogs
Item:OG-823432
Reg: $29.95
Sale: $4.88

Crocs™ Women’s Mammoth
Item:OG-824146
Reg: $39.95
Sale: $9.88

Start Shopping Here.

Thanks, Charlene

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Amazon – 2009 Adidas Running Shoes $39.99

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September 17, 2009 by Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living Filed Under: Amazon

Wow, look at this deal. 2009 Adidas Running Shoes for $39.99 (Regular $99.99).

The sale is only on a select color and select sizes:

Color: Gray/Silver/Pink

Sizes: 6, 7, 7.5, 8.5, 9, 9.5, 10, 11

…

The other sizes and colors are on sale for $79.99.

This could be a mistake and they probably will go fast.

Start Shopping Here
.

Thanks, Swaggrabber.

Amazon – Up to $40 Rebate on Farberware Cookware Sets

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September 17, 2009 by Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living Filed Under: Amazon

Amazon has a up to $40 Rebate on many Farberware Cookware Sets.

…

The Set Pictured Above

List Price: $199.99

Amazon Price: $109.99

Rebate: $20.00

New Price: $89.99

Savings: $110 (55%)
…
Start shopping Here.

Guest Post – For Beginning Couponers

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September 17, 2009 by Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living Filed Under: Beginners

If you’re anything like me, when I was first exposed to the world of budget saving couponing, I was so overwhelmed that I didn’t know where to begin. I started once, thought it was too difficult and quit. I didn’t think you could truly save the money people said they could, and it definitely didn’t seem to be worth my time. However, I have now discovered that it does work and I can save more money than people said you could save.

Some basic budget saving principles to follow are using coupons when items are on sale, stocking up on items that you frequently use and going to more than one store for your purchases. Often I buy the smallest rice, diaper package possible because I am more likely to get that item free. Most stores allow you to stack coupons. That means that you can use a store coupon and a manufacturer coupon on an item that is on sale and often get that item for pennies or even better for free. When I first began couponing, I learned how to coupon at one store at a time. Some stores can be confusing at first, but I have posted the basics for each of the stores that I have learned to coupon at. Coupons really can help you save much money and live within your budget.

To help those of you who are new with this, I’ve come up with a Weekly Plan to ease you into couponing and explain some things along the way. I hope you enjoy and start saving money.

Week 1 – Getting Organized
* Buy a Sunday paper. Cut out ALL of the coupons. This may seem overwhelming, and you may think – why do I need all of these? Start by clipping all of them because you’ll be surprised at the coupons you can use and then get paid for buying an item that you had already gotten for free. Since you don’t know which ones of these there are yet, clip all of them.
* Print all coupons from bar in the left column. (You can click “See all Coupons,” then select to print all.) (You can also print coupons from SmartSource.com and Redplum.com)
* Buy a 3 ring binder, baseball card holders, and dividers. Click here and here to see how to organize this notebook.
* Unless you’re Superman or Wonder Woman – don’t try and shop this week.

Week 2 – Get Started (Rite Aid and 1 Grocery Store)
* Buy a Sunday paper. Cut out ALL of the coupons. For reasons why see week 1.
* Print all coupons from bar in the left column. (You can click “See all Coupons,” then select to print all.) Check back at Smartsource.com and redplum.com to see if there are any new coupons to print.
* Using Budget Saving Mom’s deal finders (the drugstores should be published Sunday/Monday, and the grocery store deals will come out Monday/Wednesday/Thursday), pick a drug store and one grocery store to go to. I would suggest starting with Rite Aid because they are the easiest to follow. To see Rite Aid’s policy click here. For a list of all store policies and budget saving tips, click here. REMEMBER YOU HAVEN’T STOCKPILED VERY MANY COUPONS YET, SO YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO GET ALL THE DEALS THAT ARE LISTED. BE PATIENT, WITHIN 3-4 MONTHS, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET THE ENTIRE LIST OF DEALS.
* BEFORE going to the stores, get two envelopes and label them with the names of the stores. Print the deals from Budget Saving Mom’s site that you plan on buying. Pull the coupons that correspond to the deals that you will be getting and put them in the envelope. You can still bring in your notebook and search for additional deals after you have gotten the items from your list in your cart (or stroller if you are like me.)
* Since you’re new at this and until you have a good idea of how much you should pay, limit yourself to buying only items that are free, less than a dollar after coupons, and things that you are pretty sure you will use. Remember, when you’re buying an item that you can get multiple sizes of, get the smallest size you can to maximize the amount of money you will save. (For example if you have a $1 off coupon for a body wash, buy the 4 oz. one that costs $1.25 as opposed to the $3.50 8 oz. one).

Week 3 – Rite Aid and another grocery store
* Buy a Sunday paper. Cut out ALL of the coupons.
* Print all the printable coupons on the sidebars.
* Go to your drug store from last week. And using Budget Saving Mom’s deals that are listed, pick the best money saving grocery store for this week to go to.
* Do the same as last week. Print your list, highlight which items you’re getting, and put your coupons in an envelope and bring your list. Also, bring along your notebook for any extra time you may have to find other deals.

Week 4 – CVS and a grocery store
* Buy a Sunday paper. Cut out ALL of the coupons.
* Print all the printable coupons on the sidebars.
* Try out CVS. When you get into the store, don’t forget to get a CVS card BEFORE you make your purchases. To see how CVS works, click here. Limit yourself to only purchasing those things that you can get Extra Care Bucks back and that will then turn out to be free or moneymakers.
* Also, pick the grocery store with the best deals for this week, print your list, pull your coupons and envelopes and hit the road. Print your list, highlight which items you’re getting, and put your coupons in an envelope. Also, bring along your notebook for any extra time you may have to find other deals.

Week 5 – CVS again with extra care bucks and a grocery store
* Buy a Sunday paper. Cut out ALL of the coupons.
* Print all the printable coupons on the sidebars.
* Do CVS again, this time you can spend some of those Extra Care Bucks, but make sure that you are also purchasing something that will replenish your Extra Care Bucks stash.
* Pick your grocery store to shop at. Print your list, highlight which items you’re getting, and put your coupons in an envelope and bring these items with you. Also, bring along your notebook for any extra time you may have to find other deals.

Week 6 – Walgreens
* Buy a Sunday paper. Cut out ALL of the coupons.
* Print all the printable coupons on the sidebars.
* If you’re feeling bold, you can try out Walgreens. Click here for instructions on how to save at Walgreens.
* Pick your grocery store. Print your list, highlight which items you’re getting, and put your coupons in an envelope and bring these items with you. Also, bring along your notebook for any extra time you may have to find other deals.

So, there you go – you’re 6 weeks into this, your stash of coupons should be building, and you should be saving money!

For additional information:

1. Stocking Up (buying more than you need right now to save later)- a new way of shopping.
2. Balancing Coupons with Life: part 1, part 2, part 3
3. A Newbie Success Story
4. Store Policies
5. Additional ways to get coupons
6. Budget Saving Tips when shopping
7. Budget Saving Freebie Tips

For even more tips including how to organize coupons, click on basics for beginners on the right side of the site.

Rene and Karen
Budget Saving Mom
http://www.budgetsavingmom.com/

Confessions of a Frugal Coupon Mom

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September 16, 2009 by Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living Filed Under: Coupons

I have a secret. I sent my husband to the grocery store yesterday without a single coupon and with a list of 20 things we “needed.” Ashamed and guilty I was…but I knew I wasn’t alone.

Here is my personal philosphy – couponing is great! Saving your money and trying to find the best deals out there is important, but it IS OKAY to take a moment off. I too, send my husband to the store without coupons sometimes (sometimes I even sneak into a store without a coupon myself and hide my face afraid someone might find out the coupon mom doesn’t have a coupon – jk.)

If you find yourself paying full price at some time, it is okay. Your sanity is more important than counting your pennies.

Guest Post – Don’t Throw It Away

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September 16, 2009 by Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living Filed Under: Uncategorized

Don’t Throw it Away!

Every Thursday, in our neighborhood, is bulk trash day. I always see so many things that could be donated or reused. I’ve seen couches, chairs, toys, bikes even a punching bag. All of theses items “looked” in good shape. I don’t inspect them, unless it looks like something I need or want, but I often wonder why theses things are not being donated to a local charity.

There are other ways to get rid of unwanted items without throwing them in the trash and filling up our landfills.

Join Freecycle. Here you give away for free what you have and don’t need and you receive for free what you need, but don’t have. There are local Freecycle groups everywhere.

List items on Craigslist. There is a section on Craigslist that lists items you want to get rid of for free or you can find items for free too!

Find a new use for the item. Can it be repainted or used for something else. A neighbor has a baby’s changing table in their garage to store thing on.( It’s been there for at least 8 years!)

My family actually has a yard sale three or four times a year and whatever doesn’t sell, we load it up and take it straight to our local Goodwill.

So don’t throw it away – give it away, donate it or reuse it.

To see more recycling and going green ideas please visit Anne at Mommy Has to Work.

B1G1 Crocs – Plus FREE Shipping

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September 15, 2009 by Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living Filed Under: Retail

Crocs is having another B1G1 sale Here (plus FREE Shipping.) I must admit I am not the biggest fan of all types of crocs but they have some cute styles and are very useful shoes. We hve a pair by the backdoor and front door for my daugther. She enjoys time outdoors so we always have shoes available when she is ready to run out. This makes many pairs less than $10! You can also shop through Ebates and earn an extra 5% back (plus $5 just for signing up!)
…
Crocs Buy One Get One Free. Mix and Match From Over 30 Select Styles AND Get Free Ground Shipping. Applicable on selected discontinued styles & colors. While supplies last.

Guest Post – Tutorial 3 HCW Trading Program

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September 15, 2009 by Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living Filed Under: Beginners

This is the third post of three from Lori at Moms by Heart. It is an excellent “how to” for beginners.

{TUTORIAL #3}

In previous tutorials, we’ve learned how to set up a HCW account, and how to navigate our way around the forums & coupon database. Today we’ll learn how to trade coupons!

The first bit of advice I have is DON’T GET OVERWHELMED! When all this stuff is new to you, it can seem like too much information. Just go slowly through and give yourself time to absorb it all. It is most helpful to open up a second screen and follow along on the actual HCW site.

All beginners are required to start by joining the HCW Trader In Training program. Read the rules and follow the program carefully. If you have any questions the moderators are very helpful. You will need to stay in the program for 30 days, and until you have received 5 positive feedbacks. After that, you can send a request to your moderator to move you up to Trader status. This allows you to host an auction, bid on auctions, ride a coupon train or join a secret pal exchange.

Now on to the details of trading:

The first steps to trading are a bit tedious (but well worth the hassle). You need to establish your HAVE LIST & WISH LIST. You’ll find these tabs on the coupon database page shown above. Before we begin, let’s locate the following items on this screen:

1) The Have List, Keep List, Wish List and Trades (Actual and Potential) tabs.
2) Find the box entitled Description. This is where you’ll type in the coupon you’re looking for.
3) Find the column entitled Action. To the far left of every coupon description, you’ll find a drop down menu in the Action column.

The Actions column will be very important in establishing your list. The pic above shows what the drop down menu looks like.
Your options are:
• Report – choose this if you need to report a problem with a coupon listed
• Have List – choose this to add this coupon to your Have List.
• Keep List – I don’t use this feature much, but if you find a coupon that you have, but don’t want to trade, you can start a Keep List by clicking this option.
• Wish List – these are coupons you’d like to trade for. Personally, since I have so many insert coupons, I have a lot of peelies, winetags, tearpads and hangtag coupons on my wishlist. Sometimes folks who have these are willing to trade for printable coupons (no photocopies), PS (postage stamps) or CC (concealed cash). Because of the risk associated with sending cash through the mail, I have always opted to trade for stamps. More on that later.

For now, you can use the search feature to go through and find all the coupons you have, and all those you want and use the Action menu to add them to your lists.

Next, we’ll be using a cool feature found under the tab Trades (Actual and Potential). Here’s what my screen looks like:

You’ll see there are three new tabs within this tab:

~Incoming – tells you who has the coupons YOU WANT. The above screenshot is taken from the Incoming tab.
~Outgoing – tells you who wants the coupons YOU HAVE.
~History – Shows your trading history.

Let’s use the first item on my incoming list as an example (remember, this is a list of coupons I want to find). The first coupon is for a FREE Dove Body Mist when you buy a Dove Deodorant. Next to the coupon description, you’ll find a column that lists who has this coupon. Clicking on the drop down menu will give you a list of more traders who have it.

Trader Details Button – this will show you the history and feedback rating of this trader.
Trader Lists Button – this will show you the Have and Wish list for this trader. You can use this to determine a potential trade.
Initiate Trade Button – brings up a pop-up screen (shown below). You can specify your trade proposal here and it will be sent to the trader.

It’s always a good idea to send a private message to this trader as well, just in case they don’t regularly check their trades lists.

TRADING TIPS:
~Keep your coupons well organized and your lists updated for better trading success.
~Keep in mind the price of a postage stamp when determining if a trade is worth your while.
~If you are a Trader In Training, some traders may be hesitant to trade with you. It will help if you let them know that since you’re in training, they can wait to send their part of the trade until they receive yours!
~Find the best coupons to put on your Wish list by searching for only Winetags, Peelies, Tearpads or Hangtags. These tend to be high value coupons for items like meat, produce, snack foods, cheese, etc.

ADDING A LINK TO YOUR HAVE/WISH LIST IN YOUR SIGNATURE:
Once you have your Have List/Wish List finished, you can place a link to these lists as part of your HCW signature. This makes it easier for your friends to find your list. Here’s how:

To the far right of the screen (you may need to scroll right to see it), is a box with your HCW user info. Just above your avatar, you’ll see a link that says User CP. Click on it. You’ll come to a page with a list of menu items for changing your user info (shown below). Click on Edit Signature.

You’ll get a screen containing your current signature. This signature appears each time you post in the HCW Forums. To add your Have List/Wish List, type the words: Have List/Wish List in the box.
Next, highlight the words with your mouse and click on the “world” icon

as shown below:

You’ll see a pop up appear asking for the URL. Type in:
http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/userlist.php?membername=yourmembernamehere
replacing “yourmembernamehere” with, well, your member name! Now you’ve created a link to your list! Save the signature, and voila! You’re officially ready to dive into the coupon trading world! If you have any questions, you can email me at momsbyheart at gmail dot com (spaces removed).

Thanks, Lori at Moms by Heart