New to Me Shopping Portal: Cashbaq

Every time that I shop online, I try to use a shopping portal such as Ebates, Lucky Mag Rewards, or even My Points to get a percentage of my purchase back.  I recently signed up for Cashbaq because you can essentially get the Entertainment Book for free if you shop through them.

I like the Entertainment Book but can't justify its price tag.  For free, though, I can definitely use it enough to justify that purchase!  Right now most of the Entertainment Books are going for $15 shipped.  Through Cashbaq, you get a $5 bonus for signing up PLUS a $10 rebate for buying the Entertainment Book...so it is basically FREE!  I won't get the check until March, but the money is already sitting in my account.  And I will use Cashbaq instead of Ebates in the future if I can get a higher percentage back.  

Here's my referral link if you want to give it a try, but you certainly don't need to use that to sign up.

Amazon Shoe Sale!!!!!

There are a TON of great deals to be had on women's shoes at Amazon right now.  Check out the link here.  So far I'm abstaining.  Maybe I'm turning over a new leaf...

Check Out Money-Saving Mom...

She has a post on how to get a free Amazing Grace dvd here.

What .72 Can Buy You

$6 Footstool

Perfect for my bedroom!

When Bad Things Happen to Good Coupons

My coupons are completely out of control and have been for months.  :(  It makes it very difficult to find specific coupons.  Don't let this happen to you!!!!!

Have Yourself a Frugal Little Christmas

It's that time again.  I know that many people are on a very strict budget this year, but that doesn't mean that you can't give nice gifts for very little money.  Here are some tips on how to do it:

1) Cash in those rewards points!  I cashed in my MyPoints rewards and the rewards points from my credit card for Amazon gift certificates that I will use to shop for people on my list.  In previous years I also cashed in those points for gift cards that I gave as gifts.

2) Use rebate money as shopping money.  I'll be getting a $30+ check from Ebates soon, and I may just use that money for Christmas shopping.  If you saved your rebate money all year long, you could probably accumulate quite a bit.  

3) Use high dollar coupons.  When you get those $10 off any purchase coupons, use them for gifts.  Also remember that Walgreens has lots of gift-y items right now and they frequently put out $5/$20 purchase coupons.

4) Cash in your change jar at a Coinstar machine.  You can get gift certificates from it with no service charge.  Right now they are also offering a promo where you cash in $40 of change and you can get $10 in additional gift certificates by mail.

5) Use gift cards that you have received.  I won a $10 gift card to a gas station at my company's health fair.  That will be perfect for adding automotive things to a gift basket that I am creating.

6) Keep an eye out for free photo gifts.  Nearly all of the online photo companies will offer free photo gifts this time of year- you just have to pay shipping.  When I bought a digital camera, I also received a coupon for several free photo gifts.  I just ordered them today and will use as Christmas gifts.

7) Keep an eye out for deals.  They are EVERYWHERE right now, both online and in-store.  Victoria's Secret is offering their body lotions and sprays 8/$35 right now.  There is also a coupon online that you can print and get a free scrub as well.  9/$35 is a great deal and would make good small gifts.

8) Don't forget dollar stores.  They have some things in stock that may surprise you and would be appropriate for gifts.

9) Give used.  In my family, it is perfectly acceptable to give used DVDs and books that are in good condition.  If you can find it on Paperback Swap, even better!

This season, try to think outside the (ridiculously-priced) box.  Remember that one day is not worth sacrificing your finances.

More Adventures in Clothing

There are lots of clearance sales going on right now.  It's a good time to stock up.

This was $5:

This was a bit pricier at $10, but it fit perfectly.

Cute silvery-grey shoes for $4.  I was excited because I saw something similar in the window of a Banana Republic store.  Now I can duplicate that outfit.

Cotton jacket with cotton lining:  $7.  I was excited to see the cotton lining as most are sweaty polyester.

A Trip to Staples

It is no secret that I love Staples although we have had some rough patches over the past couple of years when they took away free shipping for any purchase and kept revamping their ink recycling program.  Well, I am back on board!  With the new Staples rewards program, you can bring in up to three ink cartridges per day (HP, Dell, or Lexmark) and you will earn $3 each in rewards.  Once a quarter (I think) they will give you a rewards coupon.  My coupon was for $27 this time!

I needed a memory card for my camera, so I went ahead and purchased that.  I also hit up the clearance.  They had a table up front with clearance where I snagged a $3 National Geographic puzzle (for the gift closet) and two .40 car folders for my nephews.  My Staples also has a clearance section near the back of the store.  I went to check that out and found a large expanding file that was originally $9 marked down to fifty cents!  I have found similar deals at Office Depot, so make sure you check out that office supply store clearance.

Updating the Coupon Binder

The time has come to update my coupon binder. I have had it for almost two years, and it was falling apart at the seams (literally!). It also was too small. I was able to get a new binder free after rebate and I used dividers that I already had- sometimes it pays to have an office supply addiction. The baseball card holders were fine so I just transferred them over.

Here is the front of the old binder:

Inside the old binder- it's nice and messy:

Also inside the old binder:

Here is the new PINK binder. Complete with a ClipArt decorated front cover and of course a label on the binding (not shown). Because I enjoy looking crazy.

Inside the new binder. One new thing that I have done is buy two of those zippered pencil pouches. In the front pouch, I put the coupons that I am going to use in a particular store. Then I can just grab the pouch and not have to take the whole binder with me. In the second zippered pouch I keep scissors for easy access.

I'm Back! With a Walgreens Post!

Of all the things that I do for this blog, I find it the most amusing when I get home from a shopping trip and try to artfully arrange groceries and HBA items so that I can take a picture of them. I don't know why, but I find that pretty funny. :D

Anyhoo, as you may or may have noticed, I have been absent from this blog lately. This means that I have been absent from deal-shopping, too. When I saw the $10 off $40 coupon WG put out for yesterday and today, I decided it was time to get with it. Incidentally, those coupons are also how I typically solve the toilet paper problem. Frugal folk with easy access to CVS are ALWAYS getting free TP, but the closest CVS is an hour away. I use toilet paper as filler to get up to the required amount when WG puts out the $10 off X amount coupons.

Today's purchases and totals:
3 Quilted Northern (3 x $4)= $12.00
2 South Beach Living Cereal Bars (2 x $2.50)= $5.00
2 Crest Rinses- I had the cashier ring them up separately- (2 x $4.49)= $8.98
1 Nivea for Men Body Wash= $4.99
1 Chemistry Hair Product= $7.99
1 WG Acid Controller= $7.99
1 LypSyl Lip Moisturizer= $1.99
1 Excedrin Express Gels= $3.99
1 Revlon Nail Polish= $4.49
__________________________________________________________
Total: $57.42
- $16.00 coupons
= $41.42
- $9.00 Register Rewards generated from the Crest
= $32.42

AND I will be getting $31.44 back in rebates, so my total was .98 before tax (I paid 2.86 tax). I also got a couple of coupons that printed with my Register Rewards. One was for Glade Wisp ($3 off) and I will combine it with the $5 manufacturer's coupon whenever that goes on sale to get it for free.

Most of the stuff was free after rebate or free after Register Rewards. I thought the cereal bars were a particularly good deal as they were .50 per box after coupons.

This is why I love coupons and rebates.

Book Review and Giveaway: Millionaire Women Next Door

I really learned from Stanley & Danko's book The Millionaire Next Door, so when I saw this book for cheap I grabbed it. Like The Millionaire Next Door, there are definitely dry patches that you can easily skip over. However, there was still much to be gleaned.

What I learned:

1) Millionaire women have very clear goals (daily, weekly, monthly, annual, lifetime). They are more likely than their male counterparts to have these clearly defined goals.

2) Millionaire women largely have parents that set them up to succeed. Most millionaire women (not all) had parents that exhibited the following values/traits: empathy, leadership, happiness, independence, and responsiveness. These parents taught their daughters how to get along well with others, how to lead, how to be happy with where they are, how to be independent, and how to respond well to others.

3) Millionaire women began earning money at an early age. Most of these women were not the products of well-to-do parents, and their entrepreneurial spirit was evident early on.

4) Millionaire women are givers. They give a great deal to church and charity. Sometimes they give too much to family and enable their children to become economically dependent on them.

5) Millionaire women are self-employed. Sometimes they are engaged in unusual businesses. They see a need and figure out how to fill it and fill it well. Top earning careers for these women are management and consulting.

As with all of the Millionaire books, I think the most interesting part are the individual case studies. It's pretty interesting to see why people become what they become.

Want your own copy? I snagged an extra off of Paperback Swap to give to one of my readers. Leave a comment below telling me what your favorite personal finance book is and you will be entered into this giveaway. I'll draw a winner on Friday. Open to all in the U.S.

Bulk Food Stores

I love bulk food stores! There is a new-ish bulk food store in my hometown that I recently visited for the first time. There were tons of great deals, but I limited myself to just a few things. I picked up some powdered milk, natural peanut butter, carob chips, lentils, and chocolate covered pretzels (for the ride home ;) ). If I were more organized, I would preplan out a month's worth of menus and do more shopping in bulk. Unfortunately I will have to make do with the little organization that I currently manage.

The New Staples Ink Rewards Program: I Like You Better. I Think.

I have been quiet about my beloved Staples lately since they have taken away nearly every perk that kept me shopping there. They even changed their ink recycling policy, and I wasn't sure that I even understood it. So I waited to report back.

And I'm pretty sure I like it better than before! Basically, you can take in three ink cartridges (Dell, HP, or Lexmark) per day and they will periodically mail you one coupon for all of the ink cartridges that you've redeemed. I like it better because I could potentially save up and have quite a large coupon to spend at one time.

The downside is that I'm not frequently near a Staples store anymore, so I will have to carefully plan on recycling cartridges when I'm in the area. I have been saving ink cartridges in the trunk of my car until I could be sure that I wanted to continue with the Staples program, so I guess it's time to start recycling!

Library Book Store Guilt

I love, love, love the library book store in my tiny hometown. Rather than having a yearly or twice yearly sale, the "friends of the library" open up this little book store one day a week for a few hours. I go once every month or two and buy a bunch. Because I love hearing my friends and family complain about having to lift 52,341 heavy boxes of books every time that I move.

Anyhoo, prices are cheap. The lady working at the store (incidentally, she was my first-grade teacher) tried to charge me $4 for this stack. "How about $5?" I asked, feeling guilty for spending so little and getting so much. Then I just gave her a ten and told her to keep it. I am terrified that they will close this place down, so I try to donate something extra every time that I'm there. Also, I seem to be the kiss of death for stores. If I love it, it will close.

So I say keep the change as long as you keep your doors open and let me feed my addiction.

Recent Cheapie Clothes Buys

I have been finding a lot of good clothing deals lately. Here's some of my recent purchases!


Bitten by Sarah Jessica Parker suit- $8.98 per piece at Steve & Barry's. I was in need of a suit since I've lost weight and none of mine fit me right now. It's even a wool blend! Jacket is lined but skirt isn't- it definitely needs a slip underneath.



Banana Republic jacket- originally $148. Was $27.xx on sale and I had a $15 off coupon. Paid about $13. Did I tell you guys that I am going to be presenting at a national conference in November? Whoo hoo! So this is a legitimate purchase for that occasion. Ahem.

Rue 21 short-sleeved jacket- $5. This store has great clearance- I don't ever pay more than $5 here. Their stuff is not wonderfully made, but you will definitely get your $2-$5 out of it. I recently also got a cute red button-down shirt for $5. Their jewelry clearance is $3 and less.

Cato skirt- $5. It's fully lined!

Express skirt- originally $69.50, paid about $7. It has pockets! I *love* pockets on dresses and skirts!

Cato shoes- paid $4. I don't buy a lot of cheapie shoes, but these were too cute to pass up!

This Week's Walgreens Trip

I'm ashamed to admit that it had been weeks since I'd hit up WG. None of the deals have looked too tempting and I've been busy, so that means no shopping. You should see my hideous pile of unorganized coupons. Terrible.

Anyhoo, this week's deals:
Therabreath Starter Kit 9.99 (will be FAR)
Dawn dish soap .49 (used a .50 manufacturer's coupon)
Air freshener 1.50 for two (used a BOGOF coupon- not a great price, but my stockpile is low)
Reynolds wrap .34 (used a .55 manufacturer's coupon)
Nature Made Vitamins 9.99 (will be FAR)
Sandwich baggies .99 (needed these)
Scotch tape 3/1.00 (remember my traumatic no-name tape story?)
Pilot 2-pack of pens 1.00 (will be FAR)
3 packs of Papermate mechanical pencils .15 total
Chocolate bar .99 (will be FAR)

Total spent after taxes (I used a previous WG gift card): $28.32.
Total that I will get back in rebates: $24.16 (including the 10% bonus)
Total spent: $4.16

Also, I told myself that this would be the year that I would stay away from the school supply deals. I'm still trying to get rid of/use up supplies from two stinkin' years ago. However, the siren song of .05 packs of pencils was too much for me to handle. It is a sickness, I tell you! One that apparently runs in my family- not that I'm blaming anyone. ;)

How to Turn a $25 Giftcard Into $30

ALWAYS check and see if there are coupons out there for the stores that you have giftcards from! My friend Beth gave me a Kohl's giftcard for my birthday, and I knew that there was a $5 coupon out there just for signing up for their email list. I wanted to get some bedding or other house-y stuff. After browsing through the store, I found a set of sheets for 50% off ($24.99) and a gold waterfall valance at 90% off that is perfect for my bedroom window ($2.90). After tax, I got .45 back in change. :P So use those coupons to stretch your savings, even with giftcards.

Menu Plan

Banana bread and banana/chocolate chip bread.

I have really fallen off the bandwagon lately when it comes to food. I have been neglecting meal planning and eating out waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much. So here I go again.

Meals this week:

Breakfast- 1/2 bagel with natural peanut butter and organic skim milk (I have this every day)

Lunches/Dinners- Baked Mexican chicken casserole (already made), crockpot pizza, burritos, cereal, and I have a few single portions from previous meals frozen if I get bored or need other options (chicken carbonara, spinach enchiladas)

Fruit/Veggies- green beans, carrots, oranges, bananas

Dessert- chocolate chip oatmeal cookies (already made)

Recent Free Stuff

* Did anyone else use that great Target coupon that was $5 any 3 Band-Aids (also some other brands like Stayfree, etc.)? I automatically read the fine print on any such coupon to see if I can get something for free. Sure enough, if I could find Band-Aids cheap enough I could get 3 boxes for free. And I did. Which is a really good thing because I was almost out of Band-Aids and I am, shall we say, accident prone. I tend to cut myself frequently on things like scissors, razors, and cheese graters. True story.

* Also, a few years ago I signed up while at Goodwill for their birthday club. For the past three years they have sent me a $5 off any purchase coupon, which I used to get some free (new in package) wrapping paper.