Most of you know I am a penny pincher and proud of it. I don't work outside the home because of it. I know some of you also love to save money so I'm going to share some of my favorite money saving links & tips here today.
First, though, I want to share a blog that has a husband's point of view to being married to a couponaholic. You gotta read this: http://frugalinvirginia.blogspot.com/2008/08/i-married-couponaholic-5-ways-life-has.html to understand what it's like for my dear husband. :)
I read this blog regularly for great local shopping deals and for national samples and news about saving money. http://projects.newsobserver.com/taking_stock It's from my local newspaper and a great resource!
I get a lot of great links from her site, like this one about finding dollar bargains everywhere: http://www.walletpop.com/specials/dollar-bargains-from-everywhere-but-dollar-store?icid=100214839x1207694654x1200413935 ( I learned a lot from that one- bookmarked a bunch of webpages from that one).
I also read this great article after a link from the Taking Stock blog: http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/105621/Fabulous-Freebies-2008 It's all about fabulous freebies! I know about most of them but do you? It's worth the time to read it for sure to find out.
Here's a blog all about saving money: http://www.smartspendingresources.com/articles.html
If you live in NC you have to go to this website for all the best local deals but it also has a link to freebies and samples that are great for everyone! You don't want to miss it: http://savvydollar.org/forums/index.php
I regularly print coupons for the grocery store but a lot of time the websites waste paper and ink so I print them from A Full Cup where it really saves both when printing those same coupons! Here's the link: http://www.afullcup.com/forums/cmps_index.php -be sure to look at the target coupon generator! It's great.
Another way I help out financially is by participating in focus groups. If you are in the Raleigh area, you should register with L&E Research (be sure to tell them I referred you!). They pay over $25 an hour usually (It depends on the focus group) for your opinion. I have a friend going tonight to a focus group on coffee (that's why I'm not going) and they are paying her $60 for an hour! Nice!
Want to know the cheapest days to buy certain items, like gas (who couldn't use that info right now)? Read this: http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/103216/The-Cheapest-Days-to-Buy-Certain-Items
Here's a website similar to craigslist that I try if I can't find what I'm looking for right craigslist: http://raleigh.backpage.com/online/classifieds/index - there's links on this site for most major cities- just like craigslist.
Another way I save money is by being a mystery shopper (don't tell!) for Harris Teeter. If you have Harris Teeter stores near you- join up! It doesn't pay enough to do it full time, but it is enough to make it worth the effort when I'm already shopping there every week anyway! Here's the link: http://ht.baidata.com/index.norm.php It pays between $5 to $25 a visit and I know the questions they will ask before hand so I know what to do on my mystery shop and then after the shop I scan in and upload my receipt and answer the questions. I can request the jobs I want so I go shopping on those days (email me with any questions).
Oh, and for cute and free blog designs, check out The Cutest Blog on the Block or Leelou designs. Both give directions to update your blog easily.
Another way I save money is by shopping at thrift stores (like Goodwill) and at yard sales. My advice for newbies going out yardsaleing, is to look for newer neighborhoods with houses in the middle price range. These are the neighborhoods where you will have the best luck. They have most recently moved and cleared out of most of the junk that is not worth buying anyway and are usually redecorating, having kids (so they are getting rid of lots of great kid items) and aren't going to charge you a lot for their used stuff usually. The really expensive neighborhoods usually want more for their stuff because they paid full price for it when it was new and want half of that for it now that it's old, used and out of style (again, usually). The less expensive or older neighborhoods usually haven't got the higher quality or type of items I'm looking for. I'm not saying to skip them entirely, just save them for the end of the morning. The other advice I give is that the saying "The early bird gets the worm" really applies to yard sales. I'm out of the house and at the first yard sale before 7 am. The good stuff goes quickly! Another tip is to haggle! It only takes a second to ask if they will go lower and 90% of the time they WILL! Every dollar saved is a dollar I can spend at another yard sale! If you live in the area, or are going to visit, let me know if you want to come along to learn first hand how to yard sale! I'd love to have you join me.
Ok, I think that's enough advice from me for today. I'll get off my soapbox! Now, get out there and have fun saving money!
First, though, I want to share a blog that has a husband's point of view to being married to a couponaholic. You gotta read this: http://frugalinvirginia.blogspot.com/2008/08/i-married-couponaholic-5-ways-life-has.html to understand what it's like for my dear husband. :)
I read this blog regularly for great local shopping deals and for national samples and news about saving money. http://projects.newsobserver.com/taking_stock It's from my local newspaper and a great resource!
I get a lot of great links from her site, like this one about finding dollar bargains everywhere: http://www.walletpop.com/specials/dollar-bargains-from-everywhere-but-dollar-store?icid=100214839x1207694654x1200413935 ( I learned a lot from that one- bookmarked a bunch of webpages from that one).
I also read this great article after a link from the Taking Stock blog: http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/105621/Fabulous-Freebies-2008 It's all about fabulous freebies! I know about most of them but do you? It's worth the time to read it for sure to find out.
Here's a blog all about saving money: http://www.smartspendingresources.com/articles.html
If you live in NC you have to go to this website for all the best local deals but it also has a link to freebies and samples that are great for everyone! You don't want to miss it: http://savvydollar.org/forums/index.php
I regularly print coupons for the grocery store but a lot of time the websites waste paper and ink so I print them from A Full Cup where it really saves both when printing those same coupons! Here's the link: http://www.afullcup.com/forums/cmps_index.php -be sure to look at the target coupon generator! It's great.
Another way I help out financially is by participating in focus groups. If you are in the Raleigh area, you should register with L&E Research (be sure to tell them I referred you!). They pay over $25 an hour usually (It depends on the focus group) for your opinion. I have a friend going tonight to a focus group on coffee (that's why I'm not going) and they are paying her $60 for an hour! Nice!
Want to know the cheapest days to buy certain items, like gas (who couldn't use that info right now)? Read this: http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/103216/The-Cheapest-Days-to-Buy-Certain-Items
Here's a website similar to craigslist that I try if I can't find what I'm looking for right craigslist: http://raleigh.backpage.com/online/classifieds/index - there's links on this site for most major cities- just like craigslist.
Another way I save money is by being a mystery shopper (don't tell!) for Harris Teeter. If you have Harris Teeter stores near you- join up! It doesn't pay enough to do it full time, but it is enough to make it worth the effort when I'm already shopping there every week anyway! Here's the link: http://ht.baidata.com/index.norm.php It pays between $5 to $25 a visit and I know the questions they will ask before hand so I know what to do on my mystery shop and then after the shop I scan in and upload my receipt and answer the questions. I can request the jobs I want so I go shopping on those days (email me with any questions).
Oh, and for cute and free blog designs, check out The Cutest Blog on the Block or Leelou designs. Both give directions to update your blog easily.
Another way I save money is by shopping at thrift stores (like Goodwill) and at yard sales. My advice for newbies going out yardsaleing, is to look for newer neighborhoods with houses in the middle price range. These are the neighborhoods where you will have the best luck. They have most recently moved and cleared out of most of the junk that is not worth buying anyway and are usually redecorating, having kids (so they are getting rid of lots of great kid items) and aren't going to charge you a lot for their used stuff usually. The really expensive neighborhoods usually want more for their stuff because they paid full price for it when it was new and want half of that for it now that it's old, used and out of style (again, usually). The less expensive or older neighborhoods usually haven't got the higher quality or type of items I'm looking for. I'm not saying to skip them entirely, just save them for the end of the morning. The other advice I give is that the saying "The early bird gets the worm" really applies to yard sales. I'm out of the house and at the first yard sale before 7 am. The good stuff goes quickly! Another tip is to haggle! It only takes a second to ask if they will go lower and 90% of the time they WILL! Every dollar saved is a dollar I can spend at another yard sale! If you live in the area, or are going to visit, let me know if you want to come along to learn first hand how to yard sale! I'd love to have you join me.
Ok, I think that's enough advice from me for today. I'll get off my soapbox! Now, get out there and have fun saving money!
i love this post!
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