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Ways to shop online and save some cash!

Monday, September 28th, 2009

While having dinner with some friends a couple of weeks ago, we were discussing money saving tricks (some of our friends are just as frugal, if not more so, than we are), and one of them shared a trick I hadn’t heard of, so today, I am sharing it with you! There are “money back websites”, where if you do a lot of online shopping, you can get rebates for purchasing products through their websites! Some examples of this are:

Ebates.com: This website is a good tool for those of you who do a lot of online shopping. The trick to Ebates.com is that you have to “shop through” their website, as in, you go to their website first, find the store where you want to make a purchase, click on the link, and shop. The site is useful because you can search for a store or a product, which means if you need a product, but don’t know where to get it, you can search for the item and shop that way. Cash back percentages vary from store to store and the site sends out the rebates to their users quarterly. Some good news is that if you shop at certain online stores, you can get the item shipped to the “bricks and mortar” location and get free shipping! Bigger purchases mean bigger rebates, so consider this site when you need to purchase big ticket items!

Mypoints.com: At Mypoints.com, you can make purchases or take surveys to earn points. They offer several ways to earn extra points. For example, in addition to making purchases and taking surveys to earn points, you can click through emails and subscribe to their elist. After accruing a certain number of points, you can exchange them for gift cards to stores and other locations, or donations to participating charities.

39dollarglasses.com: If you have the prescription for your glasses and want your glasses on the cheap, this is the place for you. Go somewhere you can try on glasses and figure out what kind of frames you like, then get on their website and find similar frames (or the exact same frames, if you can), and buy them, on the cheap. They aren’t the nicest frames (you wouldn’t expect that for the price though, would you?), but they are good for people who wear contacts and just need something occasionally. Bonus? This website is also on Ebates.com, so you can get cash back on them!

I would like to thank my friend Jodi for pointing these websites out, and tell our readers that I hope you find them useful! Happy shopping!

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Why outlet malls part us from our money so easily…

Friday, September 18th, 2009

Today’s article is called Are outlet malls for suckers? By: MP Dunleavey.  As you might’ve guessed, I am ecstatic that this article was written, that my friend Jodi shared it with me (thank you, Jodi) and that I get to share it/my opinions with you.

This article is a good look into outlet malls, outlet or “factory” stores and whether or not their discounts are really any good.   The main source sited is Ellen Ruppel Shell and her book  Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture.  One of the best points she makes (there are many) is that because these stores are billed as “designer quality and value price” people swallow their marketing hook, line and sinker.  They don’t question whether or not the prices are a deal, because they see a sale sign that says, for example, “30% off”, and assume that it’s a good deal.  Big mistake. Especially since, according to Shell, some stores (this is refuted by another source) raise the prices in the store so that they can mark them down, which after raising them makes them settle around regular price…wow, real savings.

Another lessen learned from this article, is that, much to my delight, and only slightly to my surprise, stores like Coach sell different products in their outlet stores as opposed to their standard retail stores.  This means that the majority (my opinion) of people who shop at these Coach outlet stores think they’re getting the same quality designer goods as the retail store, but to a trained “fashion eye”, stand out with their outlet items.  So, for a regular designer Coach bag, the price might be good, but since it’s made from lesser materials (not always) for their outlet stores only, the price might be “full price”, and you were just parted from your cash!  Something to keep in mind the next time you buy at an outlet store where the status of their brand is important…since to a trained eye, your item’s status doesn’t measure up.

Another little tip to note:   According to a recent “state of the industry” report by Retail Value News the average discount at the outlet stores is 37%.  We can do better than that on the sale and clearance racks at most retail stores.

The moral of this very interesting story is that it doesn’t matter whether or not the items in these stores are on sale, but whether or not they are a price you are willing to pay for the label and quality.

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Mucho Moolah! Monday’s Money Saving Tips! Tips for men!

Monday, June 15th, 2009

Usually my Monday tips are geared toward the head household shopper. You know, the person in the house that buys the groceries, the clothing and all the other necessities a family requires…which is, in most cases, the women. Not today! Today is geared more toward the men in the house! I felt it was about time we helped out some men out there…

So, today we’re talking about ways to save money when you go to play or watch sports. Now, I know not all places offer discounts, but maybe there is a way to change what you normally do to save money. Here are a few examples:

  • Golf – Golf is a great sport to save money. Firstly, don’t get a cart! Let’s face it, you do get a workout in your upper body from swinging the clubs, but maybe a little cardio wouldn’t hurt your waistline, now would it…and you save big bucks, because they charge ridiculous amounts to rent them! Also, some golf courses will offer a discounted playing fee if you go in the evening! They know you can’t play the whole course, so they give you a price break! Check it out sometime when you need to save a little cash!
  • Tennis and Basketball – Both of these sports are high intensity and lots of fun, but renting the courts to play them on can be ridiculous, especially if no one else chips in! So, I say you should check out your local Parks and Recreation website/office. Parks and Rec usually have several places in your city/county that offer free tennis/basketball courts, among a whole lot of other wonderful amenities, some free, some pay, but ALL reasonable…check them out!
  • Watching Sports (either at the game, or at a sports bar) – 1 chilidog, 2 chilidog, 3 chilidog…floor! Let’s face it, when it comes to watching sports, we get so distracted we have no IDEA how much food or alcohol/soda we consume. Now, I wouldn’t dream of telling our readers to completely stop going out to a game or buying food and drink there, but I would ask you to cut back! The tickets are expensive, so maybe you go to 3 of the 5 games you would have went to this year. And skip some of the food. This time, only get 2 chilidogs versus 3 (and all the chips and other stuff you would get) and 2-3 beers instead of 4-5 and save yourself tons of cash. Only watch the game at your favorite sprots bar? That’s cool…you’re already saving on the cost of admission (i.e. free)! Now, look at the menu…whatever food you were going to order, either order half, or order items that were half the price of your usual food! You’ve already saved! Now, the same goes for the beer! Drink a little slower, and drink half as much as you normally would! You could be surprised at how much you save!

That’s it! A few good ways to save cash when playing or watching sports! I encourage our readers to try these tips and see how much they can save!

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Mucho Moolah! Monday’s Money Saving Tip! Why BOGO is a rip off!

Monday, May 4th, 2009

Today’s tip is a favorite of mine, because it’s something a lot of us do, and not many of us take the time to figure out. It’s not that we are incapable of figuring it out…we just don’t_think_about_it! Today’s tip, is in regard to the “Buy 1 get 1 50% off” sales that retail stores have all the time…Don’t fall for them!

Think about it…buy 1 get 1 50% (or half) off, is the same thing as 25% off of each item. That is NOT a significant discount! That is a relatively standard discount something at a retail store receives when it goes on sale, which means they have a lot more margin in the item than 25%! The same thing goes for appliance/electronic stores, that offer $50 off when you spend $500 or $100 when you spend $750…that works out to be 10% and 7.5% respectively. That means the discount actually goes DOWN when you spend more!

Another fun part of the “Buy 1 get 1 50% off” is that they have made you spend more money then you would have when you went to the store in the first place. Know why? Because they have made you buy 2 of something, where you might have only bought 1. That’s right…it’s BUY 1, GET 1 50% off, so they have made you buy 2 of them! So, let’s say that you are looking at a $40 skirt (men, substitute a tool). It’s buy 1 get 1 50% off, but you only need the 1 color (tool). You say, well, i might as well go ahead and get the discount…now, instead of buying 1 $40 skirt (tool) that you need, you are buying 2 for $60! The retail store got $20 more dollars from your wallet, and still did not have to give a very big discount!

Now, if the retail store has a percentage off sale, where you are not forced to buy more than one item to get a discount, go for it, if you NEED the item and if the discount is worth it. I usually don’t think a discount is good until it hits 40-50% off per item. Also, don’t forget that an item you truly NEED does not HAVE to be discounted for you to purchase it. I should also tell you that I do not have a problem with a grocery store “buy 1 get 1 50% off”, if it is on something you would have bought anyway, like frozen veggies, and are absolutely sure you will use both items. So, the moral of the story, is to be the savvy shopper that I know we all have inside of us. Remember back to when you were a child, and had to make your money last. Since you didn’t have a job, you couldn’t guarantee that once you spent what you had, you would be able to get more in the near future. Be a smart shopper and don’t fall for gimick sales that just want to make you spend more money.

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Mucho Moolah! Monday’s Money Saving Tip! Tricks to avoid gas station rip offs!

Monday, April 13th, 2009

Today I wanted to talk about paying for your gasoline with cash. I have noticed over the last several months that gas stations have started to offer a price break on their gas if you pay with cash. Why is that, you ask? Well, because then they don’t have to pay a percentage of the sale to Master Card, Visa etc. They are giving YOU a discount so that they don’t have to give THE CREDIT CARD companies any money. It’s worth carrying a little cash in your pocket to get this easy discount!

Gas stations are apparently desperate to stop paying this fee, because the Shell gas station closest to my house has a new “feature” on it’s automated pump. The pump now asks “is this a debit card?” and lets you answer “yes or no”. Their reasonong is simple…if it’s a debit card, then the bank pays the credit card company fee, not the store. This sounds OK, except that some banks, like mine, charge their CUSTOMER to use their debit card AS A debit card! We get charged $1.00 per use as a debit card, so if I was distracted while at the pump, I would be charged $1.00 for using my card as a debit card. Isn’t that fun? No discount AND get charged extra! This is why I say that it pays to carry cash! And, although I know this will mean that we all have to go into the store to pay, I think we’ll be fine. After all, a little exercise never hurt anyone, right?

So, to sum up, pay for your gas with cash, and don’t declare your card to be a debit card, even if it is, when buying gasoline. Make sure you pay attention to what you are doing at the pump, because even though it is automated and very easy to buy gas nowadays, it is also easy to be distracted and pay more then you should for your gas!

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