How to be cheap - Articles - Zimbio

Money Saving Monday

Sun, 18 Aug 2008 19:41:00 GMT

posted by pennypinchingparent

Okay, so I know some of you probably think that buying an item like Gerber Graduates is not the most frugal way to spend my money, but they are perfect for us when we are on the go. My daughter really the Yogurt Melts & freeze-dried fruits and Pasta Pick-Ups, so we take those those and other items with us when we travel or are on trips. Also, I have found that after comparing the Graduate items to adult versions... they do have less salt & sugar, which makes me happy. They are just one of those items that I stock-up when they are on sale.

Another way that I save on the Gerber Graduate items is by saving the UPC codes and mailing them in. I know it's sorta a pain to save UPC codes, but those little suckers are like gold around my house (If someone throws one away, I have been known to dig it out of the trash).

All I do is save 10 UPC codes from Gerber Graduate products and mail those in along with this completed form (offer good until 12/31/08). Then, Gerber send me a coupon book with $5 worth of coupons in it.

Here is an example of why I take the time:

There are usually four 50-cent off one Gerber Graduate item coupons in the coupon book... so, with double-coupons and a sale at Kroger, I usually get the smaller Graduate items like Pasta Pick-Ups, etc. free. The last time we went to Kroger I got 12 Gerber Graduate items for free after my coupons.

Well, that's just one way we save money around our house. I hope you like this new weekly feature and I would love to know...what do you do around your house to save money?

Monday Saving Monday

Sun, 18 Aug 2008 17:10:00 GMT

posted by pennypinchingparent
This past weekend I read an artcile on Frugal Hacks that has really had me thinking. The article was a post by Deputy Headmistress called Keep What's In Your Hand and it basically was discussing how many frugal tips you find out there are actually about spending money and what she actualloy considers frugal. For some reason this article has sorta stuck with me.

I there is a difference between so-called "money saving tips" and "frugal tips," but it can be a narrow line. For money saving tips, you do have to spend money, but you can at the same time be frugal and try to obtain goods or services at the lowest possible price... see what I mean about the narrow line.
Anyhow, I hope that here at Penny Pinching Parent you find a nice mixture of things... good deals, frugal tips and more, but I thought I would take the article I read as inspiration.
I am going to start posting on Monday's things that my family personally does to save money. These will be very simple, short posts just letting you know something that we do at our house that saves us money. Maybe sharing these things will inspire you to find new ways to save or maybe even give you a new idea.

Brand New Feature- PPP Coupon Exchange

Tue, 30 Jul 2008 04:01:00 GMT

posted by pennypinchingparent

One of the most popular topics here at Penny Pinching Parent is coupons! One of the best ways to "pinch pennies" is to use coupons. I

I clip coupons even for stuff that I don't use. Items like training pants, etc. We will eventually use them, but not before the ones I have clipped expire. I love giving coupons away to people when I see them shopping. If you have some strange lady approach you with a coupon at Target... it could be me!

I know that sometimes others of you wind-up with coupons you no longer need like baby food, diapers, formula, etc. so, I decided that we needed a Penny Pinching Parent Coupon Exchange. It's a place where you can go to look for coupons, giveaway coupons or trade coupons.

You do have to be a member of the group if you want to participate, so here's the link to sign-up or you can subscribe on the far right-hand side of the PPP page.

Hopefully you will participate in the group and snag some great coupons.

Special Note: Just to get things started I have posted some Huggies coupons.

Try Products for FREE with Printable Rebate Forms: UPDATE

Tue, 16 Jul 2008 04:25:00 GMT

posted by nesta67
A couple of months ago I blogged about trying new products for free by using printable rebate forms. Well, since that time, some of the offers have expired, but there are also NEW offers that I wanted to pass along.

To take advantage of the offers, just print a form, buy the required product (being very careful to SAVE your receipt) and then send in the form with the required proof of purchase, which is usually the original cash register receipt and the UPC code or another part of the item packaging. Be sure to check the previous post for forms that can still be used now. Then you can also try these new forms:

Try Me Free Forms:
Bundinos Frozen Snacks (Expires 8/30/08)
Zout Stain Remover (Expires 10/31/08)
Physicians Formula Brow-Tweez 3-in-1 Tweezer Brow Pencil Shaper (Expires 12/31/08)
Just for Men Touch of Gray (Expires 12/31/09)

Satisfaction Guarantee Forms (For when you don't like the product for any reason):
Kraft Philadelphia 1/3 Less Fat Cream Cheese (Expires 7/31/08)
Dawn Direct Foam (Expires 7/31/08)

"People blog about coupons?"

Tue, 9 Jul 2008 15:05:00 GMT

posted by MarliCreeach
Not a big fan of NPR but they have a clip here where they talk a bit about how coupons have made a comeback. They interview a guy who went online looking for sites and info on coupons and found this whole social networking world. It's only a few minutes long but he tells how there are blogs about couponing and deal strategies. The NPR lady says "People blog about coupons?" It made me laugh a little. It's not in depth or anything but it introduces the online world of coupons & how stores who sell the products & manufacturers who print the coupons are marketing household needs so people can get them cheaper.
(passing this along from moneysavingmom.com)

Some of my thoughts and info on coupons:

With sky-rocketing prices everywhere, who wouldn't want to get the most for their dollar?! Why pay more than you have to? Yes it takes some time to get the deals figured out and the coupons cut but I'd rather spend the little bit of time than spend more money than I have to!

I think many people would be surprised at the coupons that come out. People tend to think that a $.25 coupon is worthless (there are actually MANY coupons WAY above that amount BUT), when you take that $.25 coupon to albertson's or kroger where it will be TRIPLED for $.75 and you have coupons of varying amount on most of the products you buy, which you've picked b/c they are ON SALE, you are maximizing your savings! The trick really is to shop by combining sales with coupons.

AND maybe I should mention, there are coupons not even on paper anymore. Got a Kroger card--if not GET ONE! Go to P&G Esaver & Shortcuts and load coupons directly to your Kroger card. You can even use paper coupons when buying an item with a coupon loaded onto your card and get twice the discount! A lot of people like that Albertson's does not use a loyalty card, which yes that is nice, but I can't use electronic cards there like I can Kroger (I do shop both stores for their deals!).

Also with the Kroger card you can link your UPROMISE account to it. If you are not familiar with upromise, it is a program that puts money into your account for your children's, or even your, college.
You may have seen products with this on it : If you are logged into your upromise account online and do any online shopping through their links, you also get savings from that. Sign up to be a preferred diner and even eating at restaurants will put money in the account as well. You'd probably be suprised at what all products and online shopping will contribute to your upromise account!

Those are my coupon thoughts for now...the kiddos want some go-gurt (which I must say, i got for $0.44 at Kroger!)

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