Saturday, July 31, 2010

One Sale A Day

The link to One Sale A Day was sent to me recently (thanks, Ed!). I have visited to site since it was referred to me and it does look interesting. I think it could yield some good deal possibilities.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Free directory assistance

According to the latest issue of AARP Bulletin, you can call 1-800-GOOG-411, give your location, and speak a name or business category. You will then get a list of matches, and the service will dial your choice. The big advantage over 411 is that it is FREE!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Find Yard Sales in Your Area

The Yardsaletreasuremap site is pretty amazing. You type in your zip code and you get a map showing you where the yard sales are in your area. Not only does it tell you where they are, it has the date and description of the yard sale!!

You can also check out yard sales on Craigs List or your local newspaper.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Compare grocery store prices in your area

When you visit Mygrocerydeals.com, you can compare advertised grocery deals in your area to maximize your savings. You see current advertised deals at your favorite local stores after you put in your zip code.

You do need to "join" which is free. This is another time where I used my junk email account I guess you'd say. As you join, they ask if you want to pay to upgrade but I just stuck with the free membership.

You choose which store specials you want to see. There is also a section with coupons you can print out. You can also sign up free to have them email you your store's weekly flyer when it is released. I will have to check my junk email account for this.

I just learned about this site and have not actually used it yet. I live in the middle of the Adirondack Mountains where the nearest grocery chain store is an hour away so there isn't much to compare. As soon as we return to Florida, I expect to be a regular user of this account.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Thrifty fun

While surfing the net recently, I came across this page of tips on a site called Thrifty Fun. There are some neat ideas on her I thought you might like to try.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Coupon Master

I have to admit I have only used this site once but the service was excellent and I do know of someone else who has used it with good experience. Coupon Master lets you buy the coupons you need. If you live close to grocery stores where you can take advantage of the sales, this site will be helpful. It works best when you can check the sale flyer as soon as it comes out and then order your coupons so you have them before the sale ends.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Craigs List

Craigslist allows you to post a free online classified advertisements. There are ad sections for household items, sporting goods, housing, personals, services, community, gigs, résumes, and discussion forums. It has about the same sections as your newspaper. Best of all, the ads are FREE. It is heavily used and I've always had a good response to any ads I have placed.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Shutter offers 75 prints for FREE

Shutterfly.com offers 75 4x6" prints for free if you use the coupon code "FACEBOOK75". There is a $3.99 shipping charge added to the order. This offer expires July 25, 2010.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Freebies

Almost everyone loves a freebie! I found this site called the Bargainist that usually has a freebie or two I want to try. Check it out once in a while and see what you can find.

I would like to mention that I have set up an extra email account for myself and I use this account whenever I sign up for a freebie or fill out a survey. Many of these companies add your name to a mailing list and you can end of with a LOT of unwanted emails. By having a spare account, you avoid a great deal of aggravation. These email accounts are free at Yahoo, HotMail or Gmail.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Get your favorite TV shows without paying for cable

An article in today's MoneyTalkNews, explains how to get TV shows without paying for cable. We have actually looked into this and tried it at our place in Florida so I can tell you it does work. You certainly don't get as many choices as on cable but we were able to get 7 or 8 channels there and it is FREE. How many channels you can get depends on where you live. The links for all this information are in the article.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Free admission to 100 National Parks

The U.S. National Park Service has announced they will have free admission to more than 100 parks nationwidefor a couple days in August, in September and November. You can get the details and dates at their website www.nps.gov.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Flight deals

Whenever flying, it is good to check as many places as you can for the best buy. Besides the more common Orbitz and Expedia, you can also check Fly.com and Kayak.com

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Free business cards

You can get 50 free business cards from Moo and Etsy. You can upload your own photo to use and they will personalize them for you as well.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Free credit report

In the past I've fallen for the ad on TV saying you can get a free credit report. In order to get that report you have to provide a credit card number for a trial membership in that organization. I forgot to cancel my membership and after 30 days, I started getting a monthly charge on my credit card!! Luckily, they reversed the charges when I called but this is a very misleading ad.

You can actually get a free credit report through this official site www.annualcreditreport.com. It is sponsored by the three major credit reporting agencies and it is free.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Free directory assistance

I don't know about you, but I don't like to pay the phone company an extra fee when I need directory assistance. You can find the phone number you need for free at www.free411.com.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Fabric shopping

I live in a very rural area and the closest quilt shop is about 1 1/2 hrs away so I do a lot of my fabric purchasing on line. Fabric is one of those things you really want to touch and feel before purchasing but I've found if I stick to name brands I know, it works our quite well. Of course, I'm always looking for a deal as well. One of my favorite spots to look for fabric is QuiltShops.com.

This site is linked to about 200 quilt shops. You can search by color, manufacturer, design (apples, bears, tulips, etc.) or sometimes I put in something like "sale apples" because I only want fabric on sale. It's a great place to window shop and find new designs even if you're not in the market for new fabric at the moment.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Great deals

Thanks to a tip from my son (thanks, Brian), I think I have found a new favorite site to visit for fantastic bargains. Dealnews comes up with some unbelievable deals.

When I first visited the site, I thought it was mostly electronics but it isn't. Be sure to scroll all the way down the page. They seem to often have offers with a super cheap price and sometimes it even includes free shipping. They do sometimes mention freebies, too. Check it out.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Free Cycle

Free Cycle is a website where people can give or get stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer and membership is free.

You can sign up to receive emails when someone makes a new post. This is a good idea if you are even considering looking for something because then you know immediately when something you can use is listed. If you are like me, I would never remember to check the site each day to look for something. I get the emails and for my area, this means 3 or 4 emails total a week average. I'm sure there are areas that might be much busier.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Fight breast cancer with a click!

The Breast Cancer Site is another one of those places where you can help others without shelling out any money. You just click on the link and money will be donated to fund programs to provide mammograms to women in need. You can go back and click each day to increase your donations.

You will note the tabs across the top of the page and each of those is a place where you can contribute to other worthwhile organizations.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Coupon clippers website

If you like to use store coupons at the grocery store, a website to check out is kraftfirsttaste.com. Here you are able to print out coupons for new products from Kraft. I've only been on the site a short time but the coupons seem to be at least $1.00 off on one.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

New restaurant.com coupon code offers 80% off

Restaurant.com has come out with a new coupon code which is FUN. It will give you 80% off which means you can get a $25. gift certificate for $2. This offer is good until July 12.

When they have these fantastic sales, I have purchased generic gift certificates to use later so I can take advantage of the sale. When you use a certificate, it has to be for the specific restaurant you are visiting. If you purchase the generic, you can then use it later to purchase the specific certificate you want. The certificates are all good for one year from the date of purchase.

FYI - I did purchase several when we were in Florida a couple of years ago and then it turned out we didn't use them all. I contacted restaurant.com to explain and they refunded my money for the unused certificates.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Free listings on Ebay

From now through July 12, Ebay is offering free listings, no matter what the starting bid. You will still have to pay the final value fee but there is no charge to put to list up to 100 auction style items. If there is something you've been thinking about trying to sell on Ebay, now is the time to do it. At least if it doesn't sell, you're not out anything.

You can always list up to 100 items per month for free if the starting price is $.99 or less.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Homemade Tea

Last year someone gave me a few mint plants. I planted them and by this year, they seem to have multiplied with no help from me. The other day as the temperatures were warming up, the thought of a tall glass of iced tea seemed appealing so I got on line to find out how to make some mint tea. It was so simple. I just picked a few leaves, added water, brought to a boil and simmered for several minutes and I had tea. One of the places I found the instructions was at ehow.com.

You can also dry the mint leaves to use during the winter although this is not something I've tried yet.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Improve your vocabulary while donating rice to the hungry

freerice.com is an interesting concept and from what I've been able to find, it is legitimate.

There is a vocabulary word on the page and you are to click on the correct definition. If you get the answer right, you get a harder question. If you get it wrong, you get an easier question. For each correct answer, ten grains of rice will be donated to the United Nations World Food Program.

It's fun and yet you are helping others at no cost to you. Thanks, Paige, for telling me about this!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Inexpensive way to eat out

If you read yesterday's post and checked out Brad's Deals, you may have seen the offer from Restaurant.com. I love the coupons from there!

These days many of us find the cost of going out to eat a bit more than we want to spend. At this site, you can purchase a $25 gift certificate at a restaurant in your area for just $10. However, I want to quickly add that I have NEVER paid the full $10 for one of these certificates. Once you purchase one certificate, they will email you discount coupon codes fairly regularly.

Right now if you type in the word FREEDOM, you will get a 50% discount which means you will get a $25. gift certificate for $5. This offer expires today, July 6, but I'm sure they will quickly replace this offer with a new one. Just Google "restaurant.com coupon code" to get the latest code.

You usually have to spend a minimum of $35. to use the coupon but this still means a very inexpensive dinner out. Sometimes you might even have to get dessert to make the minimum. I don't know about you but this is something I can handle with no problem.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Some of my favorite websites

The nearest mall is over an hour away from my home in northern New York so when I need something, I often shop online. Before I make a purchase, I try to check for coupon codes to see if there are any deals out there. One of my favorite sites for codes is Brad's Deals. My son told me about this site (thanks, Brian). It always seems to be current and they come up with some fantastic offers. If you haven't been there before, be sure to check them out.

Another site that I've used is Imega Deals. There are usually some good buys here as well. In addition to the regular coupon codes, Imega Deals has a section for Freebies. If you look along the left side of the page, you will find the link for Free Stuff. I just checked it this morning and it doesn't look like anything new has been added lately. I don't think companies are offering as many freebies now as they did a year ago.

Don't forget to log into Big Crumbs BEFORE you go to any shop to make a purchase! They even give you credit for Ebay purchases but you have to log in before you bid.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Free Arby's Junior Deluxe Sandwich on July 5

I just came across this offer and I'd like to share it with you. www.facebook.com/arbys It is only good for July 5 and I believe you need to purchase a drink to get the free sandwich.

Sunburn help

This morning I came across a web page that listed ten ways to soothe a sunburn using things you have at home. Try as we will, we just sometimes forget to put on the sunscreen and we end up with a burn so these ideas may come in handy. The article was written by Barbara Brody, Woman's Day magazine, so you may have seen it in there. If not, here is the link: http://health.yahoo.net/articles/beauty/10-ways-soothe-sunburn

Thursday, July 1, 2010

New venture

I've wanted to give this a try for some time and now as I sit here, "what should I write?" I'd like to make this blog a helpful tool for all of us. I'm not sure if you would call me frugal or a cheapskate, but I love to find good deals and save money. Whether it is clipping a coupon or finding a bargain on line, I'm always happy to find it. I also like to hear about new ideas or find interesting new websites.

I hope to share my finds with you and hopefully you will contact me with finds of your own which I can then pass on to others (giving you credit for the find, of course).

I recently signed up at Big Crumbs to get money back on some of my online purchases. By logging in to this website first and then going to the store where I wish to shop (this also includes Ebay shopping), I receive a rebate back on each purchase I make. Sometimes the rebates are only a few cents but after a month of accumulations, it often adds up to several dollars. Your rebate is then deposited into your PayPal account. Now there is free money available for more shopping!!