This Wife's Savings

Getting Freebies, or Free Samples is one way to save money on groceries.

If you've never tried a product, but don't want to waste money buying it just to find out you don't like it, it's great to get a free sample. This is one way it helps save money.

Another way? If it's a product you already buy and use, getting that free sample is one less thing you have to buy.

Also, a lot of companies put in coupons with their free samples. Even more money saved!

Some of the best freebies (for me) to get are: tampons/liners, cereal, deodorant and subscriptions to magazines.

Posted by Daphne at 4:20 PM 0 comments  

Labels: Saving Money

Posted by Daphne at 5:08 PM 0 comments  

Labels: Making Money

Probably the biggest way to save the most money on groceries is using and utilizing coupons.

You can get coupons in the Sunday paper, online, and sometimes by contacting the product manufacturer and asking for them.

This site will tell you what coupons will be in the Sunday paper, so you can decide how many papers you want to buy. [Also, by clicking on the 2008 Coupon Schedule, you can see which weeks there will be No Coupons.]

If there's a lot of coupons that are really good for my family, I buy 2-3 papers. If the coupons are just good, I usually just buy one paper. You have to remember that you're paying $1.50 per paper, so don't buy more than you need.

Some good sites for printing coupons online are: Boodle, SmartSource, CouponBug, and CouponsInc.

Now that you have your coupons, put them to good use. Sometimes you have to sit on them until a good sale comes along. Other coupons can be used right away. Like the $3.00 Planters coupons that's been circulating lately.

I never buy a product just because I have a coupon. If it's a product that I'm not going to use, I don't buy it, unless the coupon makes it totally free, then I will give the product a try. Some people even give the free products to charity.

I normally save $15-20 dollars per week, at least.

You do need to know your store's coupon policy, in case any cashier fights you on a coupon. Especially printed coupons. It hasn't happen to me yet, but it has to a lot of my blogging buddies. You can usually find your store's coupon policy by going to their website. Print it and keep it with your coupons.

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As for rebates, which usually make the product free, I am very picky on the ones I choose to use. If it's not a product I've been wanting to try, or that I normally buy, I will not use them or buy the product. It's money out of my pocket now, even though I will eventually get it back.

If the product is going to go to waste, it's not worth the time.

Also, if you can find a good coupon for a product that you are buying to send in a rebate for, you can essentially make money off of the product.

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Some stores double coupons, up to a certain amount. Find out when your store does and use this to your advantage!!


Daphne

Posted by Daphne at 5:02 PM 0 comments  

Labels: Saving Money

The first cardinal rule of saving money at the grocery store is: Stick to your List. It can be possible!!

The best way to do this, is to shop alone. Believe me, I know that's hard. I hardly ever get to shop alone, but if it's possible, do it!

They say if you stay near the perimeter of the store, you will buy less junk. Stay in the fresh foods and you'll be less tempted. I never get to do this either.

But my trick is, Know Your Aisles. Get down the aisle, get what you need and get out. Especially if shopping with children. The stores place their products that are targeted towards kids on the bottom shelf.

Another tip about shelving is that stores often place their more expensive versions of a product At Eye Level. So look at the above and below shelves too!!


Daphne

Posted by Daphne at 5:00 PM 0 comments  

Labels: Saving Money

I. Groceries & Household Needs
----a. Stick to the List
----b. Coupons and Rebates
----c. Freebies & Samples
----d. Using a Loyalty Card
----e. Using Wal Mart's Price Match
----f. Taste vs. Price
----g. Buying in Quantity

II. Clothing
----a. Sales
----b. Thrift Stores
----c. Yard Sales
----d. Trader's Helpers, eg. Craigslist, Ebay or local publishings
----e. Hand-me-downs
----f. Buying ahead of time

III. Utilities
----a. Electricity
----b. Water
----c. Natural Gas
----d. Trash
----e. Telephone, Cell Phone & Internet
----f. Satellite

IV. Misc.
----a. Automobile
----b. DIY
--------1. Home repair/remodel
--------2. Lawn Maintenance
--------3. Washing vehicles
--------4. Taking Photos of Your children
----c. Wait Game; aka. Researching
----d. Taking Care of what you have
----e. Knowing what you Have
----f. Borrowing
----g. Running Errands
----h. Online buying
----i. When Gift Buying
----j. Doctor visits


**May be Updated**
Daphne

Posted by Daphne at 4:53 PM 0 comments  

Labels: Saving Money

Princess's 2Ts

Princess's 3Ts

Princess's 4Ts

Princess's 5's

Princess's 6's

LittleMan's

Mine

Other

And both the kids got a dollar toy each. My total came to $56.52 before taxes!

Posted by Daphne at 12:05 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Clothing, Thrift Store

Posted by Daphne at 11:46 PM 0 comments  

Labels: Free

Posted by Daphne at 11:47 PM 0 comments  

Labels: Free

Posted by Daphne at 11:51 PM 0 comments  

Labels: Free

With today's prices on food, I tend to buy everything I can, generic. There usually isn't much of a difference, if any, to the taste versus the name brands. In some cases, the generic tastes even better than the name brand.

There are certain items, though, that I (have tried the generic, but) will not compromise. There's no since in buying the generic if you do not like the taste. It's a waste of money if you do not use the product.

Items I only buy name-brand.
Such as:

-Orville Redenbacher Popcorn - No other popcorn taste anywhere near as good. I will not buy any other brand.

-Dr. Pepper vs. Dr. Thunder - I will never again buy Dr. Thunder. It gave me a terrible bladder infection.

-Velveeta Shells & Cheese - I bought the off brand about a week ago. It tasted like oil.

-Country Crock margarine - Nothing tastes like it

-Ore-Ida French fries - they've never been soggy like generic

-Certain condiments; A1, Hunts BBQ sauce


Then there's the products that I prefer to buy generic;

-No-stick canola spray/cooking spray

-Cereal

-Milk

-Bread

-Shredded cheese

-cookies

-certain condiments; ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise

Posted by Daphne at 12:04 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Misc

I love to get gift cards in the mail enabling me to get free stuff. Usually all you have to do is go to the website and sign up. What are your favorite places to get gift cards from??



Some of my most recent gift cards I've got in the mail:

Posted by Daphne at 5:52 PM 0 comments  

Labels: Free, Gift Cards

Posted by Daphne at 3:53 PM 0 comments  

Labels: Free

Posted by Daphne at 4:54 PM 0 comments  

Labels: Free

Almost-freebies

I had coupons for all the above items, that made them all very cheap. I got all but one item from Walmart.

We'll start with the Dove Deoderant, which was the only item in the picture I got from Target. It was .99 and I had a .75 off coupon, making it total .24

The Dixie napkins were priced $1.47 and I had a $1 off coupon, making the total .47

The Edge shaving cream was priced at $1.47 and I had a $1 off coupon, making the total .47

The Electrasol was priced at $2.47 and I had a .75 off coupon, making the total 1.72

The 2 Clean Team refills were priced at $1.64 each and I had a $3/2 coupon, making the total .14 for each (.28 together)

Total paid for the above items? (before tax) = $3.18

Posted by Daphne at 3:57 PM 0 comments  

Labels: Grocery, Walmart

I got 5 free magazines in the mail this week. I got the Dove shampoo & conditioner in the mail from Walmart. The rest, 2 Clean & Clear, 2 Kotex, 2 Johnson Buddies Soap and the KY Jelly (hehe) I had coupons for and actually made money off of some of them. All together I made $2.61 off of the products.

Posted by Daphne at 3:56 PM 0 comments  

Labels: Free

I am getting better at couponing! So I thought I'd share my shopping trip from today. (Prices are all before TAX)

Total before coupons = $24.05 {before tax}

A Big Whopping $5.97 of that was just the Huggies Diaper Wipes!

Total after coupons = $6.80 {before tax}

After my .50 coupon off the diaper wipes, $5.47 of this was still just the Huggies Diaper Wipes!

Savings of $17.25!

Posted by Daphne at 11:39 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Grocery, Walmart

18m skirt

3Ts

4Ts

5Ts

6/6x

For LittleMan
For Princess
and For Princess

Posted by Daphne at 12:07 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Clothing, Thrift Store

Posted by Daphne at 6:59 PM 0 comments  

Labels: Free

The Huggies diaper and the sample-size Huggies lotion & body wash I got free in the mail from WalMart. I got all 3 magazines free in the mail for signing up for them through another website (I got the Ready Made mag through StartSampling)(for the others can't remember which sites, will update if I remember). I had a coupon for a FREE Nestle Crunch Crisp candybar. I had a coupon for a free 8.45 oz. Cascade Crystal Clear Rinse Agent. I had 2 coupons for $1 off any Johnson Buddies product, the soaps were priced at 94 cents, so I made 12 cents off of them. I had a $5 off coupon for ANY Zantac, and a $5 off Zantac Cool Mint. The Zantac pills were priced at $3.98 each so I made $2.04 off of them!

Posted by Daphne at 2:00 PM 0 comments  

Labels: Free

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Posted by Daphne at 12:02 PM 0 comments  

Labels: Taxes