Roozbeh Rikni/Flickr
You’ve joined Groupon, haven’t you? There’s no time like the present to get steep discounts on restaurants, gyms, and other local services!
Trade in your Vuvuzela for a free KFC sandwich! Feel free to share with people who own these obnoxious pieces of plastic.
Order two entrees (which can be as low as $18 total) at TGI Friday’s and get a $10 gift card.
Got kids? Feed ‘em for free at Carrow’s after 4 p.m. for the rest of the summer. Ages 10 and younger.
Check out all the coupons and deals on my WalletPop blog.
Jamiesrabbits/Flickr
If you live outside the Golden State, I’m sorry! Here are three coupons for water parks in California, including Raging Waters in San Dimas, Wild Rivers in Irvine, and Wild Waters Adventure in Clovis.
Raging Waters (San Dimas)
Get $7 off a general admission purchased online or $5 off general admission purchased at the park. Print the water park coupon or online use coupon code 1060 when you buy tickets online. Single day tickets are $23-$37.
Wild Rivers (Irvine)
Get $5 off a general admission ticket with this printable coupon or use coupon code RRAPIDS2 if you buy your ticket online. Single day tickets are $17-$33.
Wild Waters (Clovis)
Get $6 off a general admission ticket with this coupon. Bring it to the park as you cannot buy tickets online for Wild Waters. Single day tickets are $17-$24.
dogbomb/Flickr
I am super excited to begin offering regular CVS coupon deals, sales, and freebies courtesy of Bargain Briana, one of the hardest working coupon bloggers in cyberspace! She highlighted the best deals at CVS’ three-day sale ending Tuesday, July 13, 2010.
If you are new to CVS Extra Bucks, they are vouchers you can use at a later date towards products at CVS. Extra Bucks are awarded at the end of each quarter and show up on your receipt.
Terminology:
wyb – when you buy
B1G1 – buy one get one
Paper Mate Pens 10 ct. on sale for $.99
Earn $0.99 Extra Bucks (Limit 1)
Final Price after Extra Bucks: FREE
Caliber 5 Soft Handle Scissors on sale for $.99
Earn $0.99 Extra Bucks (Limit 1)
Final Price after Extra Bucks: FREE
John Frieda Collection on sale for $5
Earn $5 Extra Bucks wyb 2 (Limit 1)
Use $2.50 off 1 printable coupon
Use $2 off 1 John Frieda Hair Care Product 6/6/2010 Smart Source (SS) coupon insert (exp 8/21/2010)
Use $3 off 1 John Frieda Root Awakening 6/6/2010 SS coupon insert (exp 8/21/2010)
Final Price after Extra Bucks: as low as FREE
Gillette ProGlide on sale for $9.97
Earn $5 Extra Bucks (Limit 1)
Use $4 off 1 Gillette Fusion Razor 6/6/2010 Proctor &Gamble (PG) coupon insert (exp 7/31/2010)
Final Price after Extra Bucks: $0.97
Head & Shoulders Shampoo or Conditioner on sale for $4.99
Earn $2 Extra Bucks (Limit 1)
Use B1G1 Free Head & Shoulders 7/11/2010 SS Insert (exp 10/10/2010)
Final Price after Extra Bucks: $2.99 for two!
Complete Multi Purpose Solution on sale for $7.99
Earn $7.99 Extra Bucks (Limit 1)
Use $2 off 1 Complete Solution 5/16/2010 RP Insert (exp 7/31/2010)
Final Price after Extra Bucks: FREE + $2 Overage
Keep reading Briana’s CVS deals.
This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.
Reader Lauren Y. wins the review copy of The Cheap Diva’s Guide to Frugal and Fabulous Living for her comment that reveals she’s lived paycheck to paycheck but hadn’t learned her lesson until she got laid off for the second time:
For most of my working life I’ve lived pretty much (or barely) paycheck to paycheck. I’ve been a waitress, office assistant, temp and receptionist.
Despite all those short-lived, low-paying jobs, I didn’t really learn my lesson in frugality until I was laid off for the second time. As I said before, I’ve lived paycheck to paycheck (or was “underfinanced”, as I like to say when I’m feeling fancy) but I’d never been broke. After that second layoff, I was BROKE. I had to figure out how to pay for rent, utilities, food, gas and medicine. Since I was laid off from another low-paying job, my unemployment check wasn’t going to cut it. I took as many temp jobs as I could to cover rent and utilities. To save gas, I combined errands and limited my driving to necessary errands and work. I found a state-funded pharmacy to help pay for my medicine. Finally, I started using coupons (which i got from my mom’s newspaper), only shopped at stores that doubled coupons and learned how to stretch meals.
Fortunately, I eventually got a decent paying job but that unemployment-broke spell put the Fear of Brokedom in me. The first thing I did after getting the job was pay off all my consumer debt. It took a lot of major changes but I managed to do it in a little over a year. Now I’m trying to learn how to go from survivor mode to healthy savings mode. To me, “healthy savings mode” is where I can be frugal while still enjoying life. I’m not there yet but I’m working my way towards it.
Lauren, I hope this book continues to help you learn to live a frugal life but also helps you enjoy every minute of it. If you missed the book review, author Stephanie Ann writes about her tips and tricks to getting good deals and shows you how to make some cash by selling your clutter or by creating your own job.
In the book, Ann shares her story and shares she was living paycheck to paycheck after a series of low paying jobs and long periods of unemployment. It can be difficult to get laid off especially when you have credit card debt from trying to make ends meet but it is important to take care of yourself to look fabulous and once again conquer the world.
If you didn’t win my review copy you can purchase it on Amazon for $13.45.
I recently filmed a short video for WalletPop.com about where to find the best freebies online. Click on the video below to watch.
**Holly**/Flickr
This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.
Call it whatever you like: “Aunt Flo,” “That time of the month,” or “My excuse to eat chocolate without feeling guilty.” For us ladies, our period is an inevitable part of life that can end up costing us hundreds of dollars a year.
This post deals with a topic that you may find taboo, but the cost of period supplies is a recurring expense that is often relegated to a necessity instead of a way to save money.
Every month we shell out the big bucks to buy sanitary products like pads and tampons. But there is a less expensive way to go about it. I’m not talking about buying low-quality, cheap pads and tampons. I’m talking about using alternative methods like menstrual cups and reusable pads.
Menstrual Cups
There are many brands of menstrual cups and aside from price, the main difference is the material. Some of the most common materials are rubber and silicon. The cups, which range in sizes depending on the brand, are inserted like tampons to collect the menstrual flow. Most menstrual cups cost around $25 to $40. While it may seem like a lot of money, think about how much you fork over for a box of tampons.
Menstrual cups can be worn for up to 12 hours. The benefits of using a cup is avoiding the risk of toxic shock syndrome and saving money over time. However, there are some drawbacks. It can be really frustrating to switch to a cup and not be able to properly insert it. Others may be grossed out by having to remove the cup, flush the fluids, and rise it. This brings me to one of the major drawbacks I’ve encountered, which has to deal with “changing” in public restrooms. It’s difficult to find privacy in a public restroom if you want to rinse the cup.
Reusable Pads
Like menstrual cups, there are many brands of reusable pads that can be found online or at local health food stores. The pads range in sizes just like the ones you would find at the drug store. Prices vary and they can be expensive. I bought a week worth of pads from Lunapads for $95 on sale and haven’t had to buy disposable pads and tampons since, saving me about $10 a month after ten months of use. You can also make your own reusable pads from adsorbent cloth.
Unlike regular pads, reusable pads are washed after each use, giving you the peace of mind of never running out. The pads can be tossed in the washing machine or washed by hand. The cloth is especially comfortable on hot summer days. Some women who use reusable pads have had problems with leaking.
If you spend $5 to $7 on pads and tampons each month, you could break even and begin to save money with these alternative methods in just a few cycles.
Related Posts:
Toilet paper v. tissues: which cleans a nose more cheaply?
My frugal friends at Savings.com shared these coupons.Get $20 off $100 at Footsmart. Expires July 31, 2010.
Mike Licht/NotionsCapital.com
I’m in Colorado at the Savvy Blogging Summit and met one of the biggest personal finance bloggers tonight, J.D. Roth of Get Rich Slowly. He is younger and funnier than I imagined. Also, he likes to read books in the bathtub and is a cat fanatic. J.D. has been a blogger for 13 years and shared six blogging secrets.
- be yourself
- tell stories
- assume nobody is reading your blog (write freely) and that everyone is reading your blog (even “anonymous” blogs can hurt people)
- have fun
- do what works for you
- become a good writer and continue honing your skills (J.D. recommended If you want to write, by Brenda Ueland)
The conference is two days, Friday and Saturday. Sessions will cover writing, media, monetization, SEO, and a lot of other interesting topics (at least to bloggers). I already got one great idea for a new type of post that I hope to make a regular feature.
Use this Old Navy coupon code is 15% off online through July 18, 2010.
On July 11, 2010 7-Eleven is giving away free Slurpees to celebrate their birthday!
Three new Borders coupons give you 33-50% off. Expires July 12, 2010.
Get a free magazine subscription to Woman’s Day when you share a little info about yourself.
Expires soon! Ziplock is giving away 10,000 sets of free Ziplock products likes sandwich bags, storage bags, and containers. Don’t wait because this one is going to run out fast!
Here is a hot Jamba Juice coupon valid only in California for a buy one drink get a second drink free. Coldbuster, please! Expires July 31, 2010.
Today only! Walk into Chick-fil-A dressed like a cow today, July 9, 2010, and get an entire meal on the house. Moooooo.
Check out all the coupons and deals on my WalletPop blog.
HomeDepot.com
If you’ve ever contemplated composting at home you know that the plastic bins that hold household and yard waste are expensive, impossible to move, and rodent-prone. I know a low-cost solution!
Store-bought compost bins, like the one above, cost more than $100. (Would you believe Home Depot sells a composter that is $398?) Once the bins fill with waste, they can burst at the seams but are too heavy to relocate. The containers are open on the bottom, enticing raccoons and rats to dig a hole for easy trash access.
However, it is very easy to make your own composting bins from empty buckets. DIY power! Here’s what you need:
- 1 or more 5-gallon empty Homer buckets with lid (they are about $3 at Home Depot)
- A screwdriver
- A 1/4 or 1/2 inch drill bit
Put the lid on the bucket and drill 11 holes into it with the screwdriver and drill bit. Try making an inner circle with 5 holes and an outer circle with 6 holes on the lid. Next, turn the bucket on its side and make 15 more holes, spreading them out. Flip the bucket over and make seven final holes.
Voila! You have your very own composter. The holes let moisture out and the 5-gallon buckets are light enough, even when full, that you can easily turn and shake them to hasten the composting process. The tight lid deters vermin. If you want to collect the juice from the composter, it is smelly but great for plants.
Once you fill your bucket with a mix of food waste and green debris, the compost will be ready in about six weeks. Expect the volume to shrink to half its original heft.
Cathy from Chief Family Officer shared four grocery deals at Ralphs this week. These prices assume coupon doubling up to $1. New to coupons? Check out my post on coupon clipping basics. If you want to take advantage of these deals, make sure to save the coupon inserts you receive in the mail or with your Sunday newspaper. Here’s a great suggestion for how to handle coupon organization.
Buy 2 and use $0.75 off 2 Yoplait Go Gurt or Trix Multipack yogurt from 5/30 General Mills (GM) coupon insert or 6/13 Smart Source (SS) coupon insert or use this printable coupon
Final cost: $1.50 each
Buy 3 and use $0.75 off 3 Hamburger Helper, Tuna Helper or Chicken Helper from 6/20 SS coupon insert
Final cost: $0.67 each
Use $0.20 off 1 Hunts Tomato ketchup from 6/20 SS coupon insert
Final cost: $0.60
StarKist Solid White Tuna Can or Pouch on sale for $1
Buy 2 and use $1 off 2 Starkist Pouch from May All You magazine
Or buy 3 and use B2G1 Starkist Pouch Products or Creations Pouch from July All You
Final cost: as low as $0.50 each when you buy 2
Read the rest of Cathy’s Ralphs deals.
By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of Bobbisbargains.
goodrob13/Flickr.
Do you yearn to be a screaming audience member on The Price is Right or a cheering fan on the Tonight show? Do you dream of watching your favorite star being filmed on-set? With some pre-planning, patience and luck, these experiences can be yours – for free.
As hard as it is to believe, television studios have to work to fill their audiences each time they shoot. It’s not just a matter of opening their front door and letting any old riff-raff in. There are dress codes and rules. Doling out coveted set passes sucks up staff time and energy. For many (but not all) shows, this coordination is too much trouble so television show turns the duty over to a company that specializes in finding audiences.
Here are some ways to get in to the shows you want to see:
- For free tickets for Two and a Half Men, Wizards of Waverly Place, Melissa and Joey, I’m in the Band and more, try Audiences Unlimited, Inc.
- If you are a Jimmy Kimmel Live! fan, you can get tickets online or call 866-546-6984 (weekdays from 1-4 p.m. PST).
- American Idol, Hannah Montana, So You Think You Can Dance?, and Dancing with the Stars tickets can be obtained through On Camera Audiences.
- Your dream to be on a game show can come true at game show contestant submissions or go to any of the major TV network’s websites and look for a “casting” link.
- The Tonight Show tickets are distributed at the studio’s ticket window the day of taping or by mail. Write to 3000 W. Alameda Ave, Los Angeles, CA 91523 or call 818-840-3537.
- Saturday Night Live tickets are distributed by lottery.
- And last, but not least… if you are just dying to be seen on television wearing a hula outfit and scuba gear holding a sign saying “I love Drew Carey” then you are destined to be on The Price is Right.
Going to the taping of a TV show is an impressive first date (if the show is your date’s favorite), a frugal and memorable vacation event, or an educational field trip. There is a LOT more going on off the screen than most people know.
I’ve seen some really cool shows with my friends and family using some of these links.
Have you ever gone to the taping of a TV show? Was it fun?
Duane_Brown/Flickr
Here is a cool new site that capitalizes on all the unused Groupon deals floating. CoupReCoup.com is a free site to buy and sell coupons bought at steep markdowns on Groupon, Living Social, Tippr, Fresh Guide, Social Buy, and others.
CoupReCoup explains its appeal on its How it Works page. “If you bought a coupon but realize you won’t get to use it, you now have an easy way to sell it. If you missed a chance to buy a hot deal from a local coupon site, you can check CoupRecoup for second chance deals.” The site operates much like Craigslist, so use caution when sharing personal information with others.
Posting a deal requires three steps. Link to the original deal page, submit an asking price, and share your email, which remains private. Your listing stays up on the site until the deal expires.
Finding a deal to buy is just as simple. The site has listings in eight major cities, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle. Filter deals by city or by the percentage discount. You can also sign up for their weekly email.
There were 10 deals in Los Angeles when I last checked. A Living Social deal for the restaurant Food Fair by Diego is selling for $15 and has a value of $30. I have eaten at Food Fair by Diego and would definitely return for their fresh California cuisine, servied in a very casual setting. I would definitely go back. The LA page also had a coupon for 60% off food at Jack ‘n Jill’s.
CoupReCoup is based in San Francisco and launched June 15. The site does not make money off of buy/sell transactions but may charge a user fee down the road. “Right now we’re just focused on creating a vibrant marketplace that is useful to people,” said CoupReCoup co-founder Aren Sandersen.
Thanks for the tip, Liz!
Three Banana Republic coupons are staggered. Get 20-30% off depending on when you shop, today through July 9, 2010.
Here are two free movie rental coupons from Blockbuster Express. One expires July 31 and the other has an unknown expiration date.
Check out this new Restaurant.com coupon for 80% off their $25 gift certificates, which normally sell for $10. That makes each one $2. Not too shabby!
Check out all the coupons and deals on my WalletPop blog. More posts to be published this afternoon so check back later!
Also, if you are considering buying a new car, dealers may be offering better incentives soon. Another story says coupon clipping is not worth your time. You’d be better off asking for a raise!
Thanks, Dad!
hoyasmeg/Flickr
This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.
Composting is a free source of organic fertilizer essential to properly take care of your garden. For many, composting is a daunting task because they think it is messy, pricey and time-consuming, but in my experience not one of these myths are not true.
Myth #1: Composting is difficult.
Composting can be difficult if you do not know what you are doing. Once you get the hang of it there isn’t much to it and messing up is pretty hard. Composting is simply the process of breaking down plant materials to form humus, (as opposed to hummus, which you eat). Homemade compost is the best fertilizer your plants ever had. There are different types of composting: hot composting, cold composting and vermicomposting.
I am most familiar with vermicomposting as that is the kind done at my community garden. Vermicomposting is very similar to hot composting in that you must mix wet and dry waste in a bin and turn it every now and then to create heat and accelerate decomposition. The difference is that hot composting does not require worms. In cold composting grass clippings and leaves decompose and as you may have guessed it, this process takes more time. There are specific things that are appropriate for composting and certain things you should never compost.
Myth #2: Composting attracts flies and smells.
One of the reasons many people don’t want to compost is because they think it attracts flies and is smelly — after all it’s a pile of waste decomposing, right? Wrong. I have a small compost pail in my kitchen and it hasn’t once smelled bad when I have properly taken care of it. The same goes for the flies. I did once have an infestation of fruit flies but it was because I forgot about my pail for about a week in a half. My pail has a filter so it didn’t stink up the place but it did smell pretty bad when I went to drop it off at the community garden. Haven’t had any problems since but I try to consistently take out my pail full of food scraps every two or three days.
Myth #3: Composting requires a lot of space.
Composting can be accomplished by apartment dwellers. It’s just a matter of finding the right spot in your home. I was composting at home before I decided to take my food scraps to my community garden. I decided to stop composting at home for selfish reasons. If I contribute food scraps to the community garden compost I am able to use more compost for my plants.
Do you compost?
