By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of Bobbisbargains.
mary_thompson/flickr
I love veggie chips and I pay WAY too much for these crispy treats. I convinced myself that they are healthy and therefore it is OK to pay at least twice as much as I would pay for a bag of regular chips. Boy, have I been taken in by packaging.
The fact is that packaged veggie chips are healthier than potato chips but still contain carbs, fats, and sodium.
How about controlling the fat and salt by making them yourself?
My favorite veggie chips are the ones made from beets. They are so colorful and impossibly swirled with white and color. Turns out you can make your own by
Free Lego build night! Credit: Lego.com
There are 21 coupons and freebies today. If you shop online, check if there is a cash back rebate for shopping through Ebates or Shortcuts. It’s free to join and you can save a bit extra.
Free Legos – The next free mini-build at Lego is June 7, 2011. Bring your kid aged 6-14, they get to build a particular Lego, then take it home for free! This is a monthly free event that usually starts at 5 p.m. but best to check with your local store.
Free glasses (again) - Starting at 12 p.m. EST/9 a.m. PST on Wednesday May 18, 2011, CoastalContacts.com is giving away 10,000 pairs of free prescription glasses through its Facebook page. There are some minor limitations and you pay for shipping, usually about $10-$15. Not too shabby!
QuickChek freebie - This week’s freebie from QuickChek is a 20 ounce Diet Dr. Pepper fountain drink. Expires May 23, 2011. One per customer.
Theogeo/Flickr
Two readers have emailed me saying they no longer see images in their daily BargainBabe.com email. Instead, they get a bunch of numbers and letters, like 224×300, which indicate the size of the photo they are supposed to be seeing!
Are you having this problem?
Please let me know by leaving a comment on this post! If this is widespread I want to get my tech helpers on it.
Thanks,
~Julia
aka Bargain Babe
Cyberslayer/Flickr
With summer on the way, heating and lighting costs plummet, but there are measures you can take to save money on your utilities all year round.
Turn down the heat
By turning down your thermostat by just one degree, you can slash your heating bills by as much as 10 percent. A warm pair of slippers and a good woolly jumper can keep you warm enough at home to turn the heating down even further, saving you money for Christmas presents!
Insulate
Loft insulation is absolutely essential to making your home energy efficient. It is not particularly expensive to buy and you can install it yourself if you don’t mind getting down on your hands and knees. The reduction in heat loss through the roof of your house will save you huge amounts on your heating bills, meaning that the cost of the insulation will be quickly covered.
Change provider/tariff
By staying with the same energy provider year in, year out, we run the risk of missing out on better deals elsewhere. Use the energy price comparison guide at Money Supermarket to help you find out whether or not you could save money by switching to a different provider or by changing the tariff you’re on.
Replace your lightbulbs
Energy-saving lightbulbs are now the norm for most people, but if you’re still using standard bulbs, switch to energy savers to get your hands on massive savings on your bills.
Install photovoltaics
If you’re serious about running your home as cost-effectively as possible, solar panels are the way forward. Though expensive to purchase and install, photovoltaic panels harness the sun’s energy and use it to generate electricity and heat the water for your home. What’s more, any electricity you generate through your own panels but don’t use can be re-directed back into the grid – with payments being made to you for your services.
This is paid content. Interested in an ad? Read my blog advertising page.
$1 flip flops (not as pictured) at Old Navy this Sast. Credit: MinimalistPhotography101.com/Flickr
There are 18 coupons and freebies today. If you shop online, check if there is a cash back rebate for shopping through Ebates or Shortcuts. It’s free to join and you can save a bit extra.
Free tampons – Get a free sample of tampons from Tampax when you share a little info about yourself. Unclear how long the freebie will last.
Free Taco at Del Taco - Here is a coupon for a free taco at Del Taco. Expires May 20, 2011. Something about it makes me slightly suspicious. Has anyone tested this coupon?
Free paint sample - Get a free paint sample from Gilden’s 306 color line online through tomorrow or when supplies run out. The website is running very slowly when I last checked.
Some people believe everything they read. Credit: AMRosario/Flickr
I recently learned about two common scams at a savvy-shopping summit hosted by ShopSmart magazine, a publication by Consumer Reports. Way beyond Nigerian princes begging for money, this stuff could really trick you.
1. Fake endorsement. This one looks like a web ad from a TV station claiming a product, like diet pills, really works, says Federal Trade Commission lawyer Tracey Thomas. What might trick is you the comments from “real” consumers. But the news sites and comments are fake, and Tracy has yet to see any testing to back up the miracle claims.
2. Almost free trial. The second scam Tracey talked about was
Get online coupons for these stores below. I recently compared the drugstore rewards programs for CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens to determine which store has the best policy.
Target - This week’s list of Target coupon deals includes free Ibuprofen and 4-packs of Starbucks Frappuccino for $2.50 each with coupons. Go to Target’s online coupons.
Staples – Hip 2 Save lists the hot Staples coupons, including free Scotch tape and 10 reams of paper for $15, including $35 in Staples Rewards.
Freeze your credit beyond ice! Credit: paalia/Flickr
The best way to prevent identity theft is to freeze your credit, a little known and little used tactic. The second is to chose a harder password (more on that below). I learned both these tips last week during a savvy-shopping summit hosted by ShopSmart magazine, which is published by Consumer Reports.
New York Times’ Ron Lieber, who writes the Your Money column, shared the first nugget. The good thing about freezing your credit, which is NOT the same as literally freezing your credit card in a block of water, is that no company can open an account in your name this way. (The exception is any company you already have an account with.) So if a criminal, or your next door neighbor, is trying to open an account in your name, no dice. A bank, mortgage lender, or other company won’t be able to
Win a free oil change from OCAutoCoupons.com.
Never pay full price for auto repair services in Orange County again! OCAutoCoupons.com has coupons at over 200 auto repair shops in Orange County with shops located in every city in Orange County.
OCAutoCoupons.com is giving away one FREE oil change every day in May. The free oil changes can be redeemed at any shop on OCautocoupons.com for up to $40. Entrants must reside in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino or San Diego Counties to be eligible to win.
If OCAutoCoupons reaches 300 Facebook fans by May 31st, it will extend the free oil change giveaway into June as well! It’s a good bet that it will reach 300 fans as they are already at 198.
You can enter the giveaway on OCAutoCoupons.com’s Facebook page or on the oil change coupons blog. Winners are announced at 11 a.m. PST every day on the Facebook page and blog. Winners are also notified via email, which is required to enter per Facebook promotion guidelines.
Still wondering about OCautocoupons.com? Every shop on the site is screened by looking at reviews, speaking to the owners, and checking with the Better Business Bureau. If you live in the greater Orange County area, signing up for OCAutoCoupons.com could save you money in the long run!
This is paid content. Interested in an ad? Read my blog advertising page.
My homemade gift envelope - free!
I saved money today by making a special gift envelope for my sister using a flashy magazine cover, above. Instead of a boring white envelope, her birthday card will arrive with a bang! Here’s how I did it – for the cost of postage.
I gently pulled off the cover of freshHOME, a magazine that has a really nice glossy cover. (They recently had a story on making your own mosaic pot.) I placed my sister’s card in the middle of the cover at an angle so that the upper left corner of the card and bottom right corner of the card each touch opposite edges of the paper. I folded over each corner so they met and secured my folds with a strip of clear packing tape. Afixed a stamp, return address label, and a blank label on which I wrote her address, and put it in the mail.
Here is a series of photos to illustrate this neat way to make your own envelope!
Friday Freebies returns with a hot bunch of coupons – like 50% off at Old Navy! There are 22 coupons and freebies today. If you shop online, check if there is a cash back rebate for shopping through Ebates or Shortcuts. It’s free to join and you can save a bit extra.
Free fries at Chick-fil-A – Get an order of Chick-fil-A sweet potato fries for free today, May 13, 2011 when you say you’d like to try the new menu item for free. No purchase necessary. Valid 3-6 p.m. today.
Today! Free Tide -“Like” Tide on Facebook and starting May 13, 2011 you can get a free Tide Stain Release sample. Tide is giving away 20,000 each day for one week.
Free Clariol Natural Instincts - Get a free box of Clairol Natural Instincts hair color when you like them on Facebook. First 75,000 or through May 15, 2011.
Can solar panels save you money?
I share five must read articles about saving money every Friday.
Nordstrom customer service just got better. The retailer has plans to arm salespeople (a la Apple) with mobile devices to check for sold-out merchandise and complete transactions so you won’t have to wait in line. (Seattle Times)
10 ways to save on your next magazine subscription or renewal. (Cheapest Service)
Ready to retire? I wish! Women’s Day has a fabulous, in-detail guide to retirement, no matter what you age or savings situation. Definitely a great resource!
Get a free solar consultation over the phone with SolarDay about solar energy and installing solar panels in your home. Better yet, why not get a free energy audit from your utility? Call customer service (look for a number on your bill) for details. (SolarDay)
Gas coupons on Foursquare? I was skeptical of Foursquare, a mobile site that offers discounts when you “check in” at various retailers, but now that Foursquare is offering gas discounts, I’m willing to try it out. At MurphyUSA, Foursquare users can save $2 off a $20 gas purchase. The only other place to save big on gas is through grocery reward programs like fuel perks. (Foursquare and BargainBabe)
CouponSTATS on MyCoupons.com
If you’ve ever used an online coupon, you’ve probably been to MyCoupons.com. The site was started in 1995 and is the nation’s oldest coupon site. Kind of amazing that our oldest coupon site is only 16 – a teenager!
MyCoupons.com has CouponPros on staff who work with retailers to find the best and exclusive deals. MyCoupons.com publishes a weekly newsletter for their hefty subscriber list and works with consumers through email, Twitter, and Facebook to come up with the best deals for online shopping.
MyCoupons.com has savings from hundreds of merchants, including two popular savings specialties: Overstock Coupons and Nordstrom Coupons. One cool new feature is a CouponSTATS page that shows the 100 most popular coupons, including biggest coupon gainers, biggest losers, and trends. Neat!
MyCoupons also has an entire section for printable grocery store coupons, as well as discounted gift cards. With the gift cards, you can purchase cards for merchants like Target, Aeropostale, and many more for less than face value. Which means even when you shop in store you won’t have to pay full retail!
This is paid content. Interested in an ad? Read my blog advertising page.
Watching the Extreme Couponing previews makes me feel guilty. The show makes grocery stores nervous, so much so that many have changed their coupon policy. I don’t have cable so I can’t watch the entire show, but the previews haunt my grocery runs.
“I should be buying everything with a coupon,” I think to myself.
“But I don’t need 87 bottles of mustard,” I think back. “I don’t even like mustard!”
I put a $1.50 bottle of ketchup in my cart as images of coupon binders and overloaded grocery carts and savings in the ninetieth percentile pummeled my brain.
“I hope nobody sees me buy something that is only on sale.”
When I got to the pasta aisle, above, I lost it. Barilla pasta was on super sale for $.69 before coupons meaning if I had coupons they would be almost free. But I already have a six month supply of pasta – maybe even a year! And I’m trying to buy as few processed foods as possible.
So what it really comes down two is two things. Is it okay to buy food without a coupon? And how much is too much food to have stockpiled?
Below, the latest Extreme Couponing video. I couldn’t help it!
Kids bowl free this summer at AMF. See below for details.
There are 18 coupons and freebies today. If you shop online, check if there is a cash back rebate for shopping through Ebates or Shortcuts. It’s free to join and you can save a bit extra.
Old Spice freebies - Word on the street is that Old Spice is giving away thousands of freebies today on Facebook!
Free books for kids - Kids under 12 can read 10 books and then get a free book from Borders. The free book selection is pre-determined. Program runs June 1-Sept. 5, 2011.
Free bowling – Kids bowl free at AMF this summer when you register your kids on the AMF site. Get two free games per kid per day or for kids 17 and older pay $28 for a summer pass.
