Category: shop smart

Shop Smart This Holiday Season

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How much money do you spend over the holidays? A LOT, right? I know we all try to be frugal, and yet we want to give good gifts. But there are many considerations to prevent you from breaking your bank. Trust me on this.

Here are my top things for frugal holiday shopping.

  1. Make a List

You need a list that has the person’s name with gift ideas and how much you want to spend. Stick to your list and shop around.

  1. Set a Budget

This step is one of the first items that I do. I create a budget per person, and then keep up with what that person wants so that I can look out for any sales or deals within a specific cost constraint.

  1. Research Online Deals

Use online resources to your advantage. Retailer websites, apps, and social media contacts, along with sites that track deals give you plenty of avenues to find great bargains. Search in the comfort of your own home without having to brave the winter weather (or a few thousand of your fellow consumers).

  1. Consider Homemade Presents

This element is something fun as long as you have the time and energy to follow through. Sometimes something as simple as a crocheted gift can be great, or even hand-crafted jewelry.

  1. Buy Previous Models of Electronics

You do not need the newest item. Save your money and purchase last year’s model. Retailers are always offering deals on the previous version to clear space for the new generations. Will your gift recipient really care if they receive the previous model? Think about it before you go ahead.

  1. Wait for Post-Holiday Clearance Sales

One of the biggest steps that I take! I stock up at the end of the holiday season with small stocking stuffers for Christmas and wait for the post-holiday steals! You don’t even need to be picky here.

  1. Start Earlier

I am a huge believer for getting ahead of the game. I always shop when I can. People always want items, but sometimes it’s nice to get something fun and different. I pick up gifts throughout the year so that I don’t have to worry about doing it all at once.

Have a great time and save money where you can. It is possible, and you can enjoy yourself despite spending this holiday season.
Shop Smart This Holiday Season

 

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Make Easy Money From Grocery Shopping

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Did you know that you can make money back from buying your groceries?? UM yes, in fact, there are several ways to get money back from your groceries right from your phone.  But the one that I currently love is Check out 51.

There are Five Easy Steps for you to make money. It is super easy I promise.

  1. Download the app You can download the app for free in the App Store and Play Store. Create an account to start saving!
  2. Browse and buy. Every Thursday morning your list updates with new offers. Pick the offers you like and purchase them at any store
  3. Upload your receipt: Use the app to take clear, readable photos of your receipt.
  4. Select your claims: After photographing your sales slip, check off the items you purchased and indicate how many times you’re claiming each offer. This step tells our system what to look for to be redeemed
  5. Earn Cash Back: When the app processes your items, they credit your account with Cash Back. When your account reaches $20, you can request a check!

BAM that is super easy! Make that money back from your everyday groceries.
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The Best Frugal Tips For Back To School

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Each year when school comes around parents get nervous, anxious and stressed. These emotions arise primarily because of how much money everything costs. There are ways to be frugal and still obtain all that you might need.

Here are some tips to consider before you go back to school shopping:

  1. Clean Out Closets + Thrift Shop Donation: Each year it is essential to go through closets full of clothes. What’s more important is to see which garments still fit and which ones don’t. When you have everything gathered that doesn’t fit, go drop it off at a thrift store and get some cash for it.
  2. Watch Sales: This step seems obvious but, in fact, lots of times stores mark items up for the back to school season. Don’t get caught up in overpaying, really look and price compare. Check out coupons
  3. Say “No”:Every kid is going to want something. That something might be something expensive. The key is to tell them they can get it after all other purchases. Let them know that they have to get the necessities before indulging a little.
  4. Set Budget: Another “duh” moment, but a must. You need to know how much you are going to spend on each kid. Budgeting helps just by being organized. You can take note of what you are going to need and not need, etc. Find a budget book. 
  5. Check Last Year’s Supplies: You can see the supplies that you might have from last year. If you have anything to start with, even something small, you can hold off on them until after the school year begins.
  6. Buy In Increments: Again, if you can watch for good deals and prices, then you can buy materials in increments little by little. Something about buying in increments makes everyone feel better.
  7. Take Notes: Taking notes is critical. This tip is a requirement. You take notes of what you are getting rid of, how much you will get back from thrift stores, budget, what’s on sale, etc. Only use a journal for this so that you can be focused.
  8. Buy Used: When it comes to clothing, it is okay to buy used. Kids grow too quick and are expensive. Second-hand is the best option sometimes until after school starts, and the pricing/clothing might be on sale or discounted.

Fall is just around the corner, If you are in the Cleveland are make sure to attend the annual Halloween Fun at CedarPoint.

Get ready for another great Fall this year, by visiting a bunch of Pumpkin Patches in the Northeast Ohio areas.

Shop smart this back to school season. You will appreciate it later, trust me. It is vital to know how to manage these tips so that you can have a stress-free back to school shopping season.

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Affordable Ladies Bathing Suits

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I always have a hard time finding bathing suits for myself, but also for a great price. I don’t really ever wear my bathing suit as much as I should so I don’t see a need to spend a lot of money on it. 

I always am going back and forth between two pieces and one pieces since I became a mother and I think these all hit the jack pot for being fashionably adorable, but also for affordable!!

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Where is your money going!? Be Smart About Your Money

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Times are tough for everyone. BUT I am here to tell you that you are not alone and there are ways to save money. You can save money if you want to, you just have to put your mind to it and stick to it. Those two factors alone can be nerve wrecking, but know that you can do this!

When I switched from my full time job to blogging, I had to adjust to not make money like I used and live off my husbands paycheck. We have to change the way we spend and think about money. Here are some ways that we have dealt with saving money:

  1. Have an emergency account: Things will happen and you will need money for it. Make sure to put money into this account as often as you can since you will need it for emergencies. This really isn’t a way to help you save money, but is a must since things do happen and you will want to take note of this!  A number that you want to save per month even if it is small something is better than nothing!!
  2. Meal Plan & Shop: This is where I am slacking.. its a work in progress!! I find it I’m more organized I can focus and not change my mind. Instead of buying those expensive TV dinners create your own. It’s simple I promise you. It only takes a few hours together everything to cook it and to save money. Make that extra time make it a habit to do it every week
  3. Compare Costs: If you are price shopping you’re losing money. You would be surprised how the simple list items can be two dollars or a dollar less at another store. Price comparison is for groceries and for large purchase items so make sure that you look around at all items.

It is important to always know where your money is and to constantly analyze it. Make sure you know that you are getting a bang for your buck always all the time and you will be on your way to saving!!

** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

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Saving money 101, set goals!

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One of my New Years goal is to save money. I know I am late to the party, but I haven’t been myself in writing about my personal life; so what better time than now?  I know this is super hard and everyone wants to do this. I have a 12 month budget started for the year 2017. I am excited and nervous about this. I think it super hard to follow this budget given that we like to spend money (who doesn’t). However after about the third months budget I realized that things can change quickly so it was foolish of me to think about a year budget at one time. I cut back on a lot of work and knew that my income would affect this.

It is hard to budget THAT far in advance and no one can do it. You can have estimates and ideas, but to really stick to it can be tough. You can lose your job, you can have a mega downfall such as medical bills or car expenses that affect your budget. Make your budget as realistic as you can.

I have decided to cut back wherever possible, for many things. One thing we cut back on was the kids food/drinks. My son was on organic milk that costs $6 x 4 days $24 a week on milk. Formula used to be way more expensive, but now that he is older we can cut this back and have regular milk. It seems to last much longer and saves us much more money.  We are able to give him juice and water whenever he doesn’t want milk, so this helps also. We use milk strictly for nap time or bedtime this way we know he will go right to sleep. With his meals we use either water or juice since he is filling up on solids we know this will work!

You have to cut back whenever possible look at where you’re spending money and what you can cut back on. Look at how much you want to save a month and start small. You can’t save a lot all up front at once, don’t be foolish. My husband hasn’t used his gym membership and we have had it for SIX months… SO we cancelled that.. $40 a month, yeah we made that back!

Gas… this is the other tricky item.. We have to make sure that we budget accordingly for gas! We make sure that we ‘shop’ around for prices but yet are still getting good gas! Know that typically gas prices rise around weekends or right before a holiday so make sure to plan accordingly.

We are in FULL mode for meal prep! Like no lie.. This is about as real as it gets! This is one of the hardest things to do, especially on the weekends when you need motivation. However, I have realized how much time it saves us plus I can get excited for my food more during the week! It saves us money from going out to lunch where it is an added expense.

How do you cut back on your budget/bills — we’d LOVE to hear from you!

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Frugal Home Improvements

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I have to say that we brought our new house but of course there always needs to be some updating and renovating. However, we paid a lot for this house so we aren’t able to fully re do kitchen, etc. Plus they don’t really need it, all the stuff that we want to do is minor.

Here are a few things that we did and were SUPER frugal about:

  • The upstairs bathroom looked like an 80’s bathroom. It had a yellow paint color and a wooden vanity to it. So we decided to go ahead and paint the vanity white. We repainted all of the light fixtures white to match it (instead of buying new ones). We then painted the bathroom walls, the total spent was about $50 
  • Light Fixtures: Light fixtures can be super super pricey.. We HATED the ones here so we wanted to make them our own. What we did was take the old ones down carefully and find new ones that we loved. We went ahead and sold the old light fixtures on Facebook and made money that helped make up for the light fixtures. Spent about $150 total
  • Painting of doors: We are wood people but hate the wooden doors in the house so we ended up painted all our our doors WHITE. Like all the bedroom and closet doors white, crazy I know. But we like for it to be modern and fresh. Total Spent about $60 

As you can see simple things, such as painting, can go a long way. So before you go ahead and spend thousands of dollars on new kitchen or bathrooms, see what you can use and resell. Also, make sure that you have the time do it yourself rather than hire someone!

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Start Planning for Holidays NOW

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The holidays are coming and we all know what that means….. Gifts and money! If you haven’t started to save money, or shop for the holidays the time is now!

I mean if you are anything like me Christmas is stressful mainly because of how much money we spend! It’s crazy! From traveling home, to food, to gifts, to everything in between! Don’t get me wrong I love Christmas and love the family time but the money just goes right out the window! Here are a few quick ways to prep for the holidays!

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  1. I set aside a budget for each thing that we will need for Christmas (decorations, baking needs, gifts, traveling, dinners).
  2. More importantly though, I search for sales.. And when I say sales I mean like really good sales. Not sales that people think are good. You have to be extremely careful for larger purchases around the holidays because companies tend to price them higher then lower them to lure into thinking you are getting a deal.
  3. Know which stores will price match! This is a great thing to think about and become aware about! If a store will price match and you like their warranty or exchange policy better than someone else go for them then!
  4. Lastly, with the holidays coming up make a list of people you have to purchase gifts for, how much you are spending on each person, and a list a of gift ideas for people. This will seriously help you stay on track, I promise! Check back once we get closer to the holidays for freebies and more tips!

For example: a 60 inch tv isn’t a good sale if it’s more than it usually is, then they drop it down in price for the holidays to make you THINK you are getting a deal. You have to be SMART! If you are buying a large purchase, make sure to look online at prices to see if it is over priced or if it is on point.

If it sounds like it is too good to be true, then it probably is. I rarely ever do any shopping on Black Friday mainly because I think that things are overpriced on that day! I find better deals throughout Sept/Oct/Nov + even online!  

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Ibotta, making money off groceries & more!!

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Written by Melissa Langston.  I keep hearing about Ibotta but have no idea what it is! So I decided to check it out for myself.

In case you aren’t familiar with Ibotta and/or have never heard of it, Ibotta is a free app that can help you save you cash on things you buy every day.

The first thing to do is to download the app. It is available for both iPhone and Android users. Once the app is downloaded, you can check out all of the nearby retailers to see which one is offering the most rebates. Or, you can search for your favorite (or the one you know you will go to) and see what types of rebates they may be offering.   Once you unlock your rebates, they will be added to your Shopping List.

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Next, go shopping! Be sure to go to one of the Ibotta retailers-there over 80!

Now, you are ready to verify your purchases. I clicked on the green “Verify Purchases” button at the bottom of my screen and scanned the barcodes of the items I had purchased and wished to verify. The app scanned with no problem and the amount of the rebate appeared in my account!

The first week I joined, I earned a $10 welcome bonus. That was really helpful! On a pretty regular basis, I receive notifications for different rebates I can unlock. The only down side to this app that I have found is that you must have $20 in your account to withdraw cash. To get your cash, you can link your Ibotta account with either PayPal or Venmo, or you can create a new PayPal or Venmo account within the App.
Another neat thing you can do in lieu of withdrawing cash is to choose to receive gift cards from iTunes, Walmart, and Amazon-just to name a few. An additional feature is that you can invite friends and receive a $5 referral bonus each you’re your friend redeems their first rebate!

What is my opinion of Ibotta? I didn’t sign up for it to get rich, I just wanted to have a little fun and try it out. I think it’s a really neat app! I figure if I’m going to be out grocery shopping, I may as well get paid for it!

Download the app with referral code: ocwrist (there’s something for both of us!) 

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Coin Jar!

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You have heard us talk about this coin jar idea for so many things. We know that this seems like a no brainer, but really we promise that it is worth it. It will build up over time.

I seriously find change all the time!! I put change into a coin jar then deposit it into my sons savings account, its a no brainer. I don’t know how I even have change when I use my card like all the time? So crazy. Instead of letting it lay around or spend it on lunch I just deposit it at the bank. I don’t go to the bank often, but once I have a large amount of coins in my jar I go there to just deposit them.

I clean out wallets, drawers, and purses monthly. You wont believe how much change I find in there!! An average month I get about $100 in change. LIKE WHAT!!! That’s $1,200 a year without even knowing it!? That is beyond crazy. 

Its so easy and fun to do. When you find change you are like YAY I am saving 25 cents!!!!! Make it fun! If you have kids, tell them that if they find change you will buy them a piece of candy and put the rest into the change jar they will love it! We promise.

Do you have a coin jar? How much do you find in your coin jar? Head on to your bank and deposit that money, save MONEY! 😉