Blurb.com - Free shipping

I've been waiting for some kind of deal to print my 2009 family blog book using blurb.com. They haven't had a coupon out since the holidays. Until now. Today until March 22, you can get free shipping ($6.99 value) using the code NEXTSHIP.

Bargain Jewelry Shopping

I love looking for fashion jewelry in the clearance section of department stores. They have killer deals there and I can usually find cute pieces. Check out the pieces above I found at Kohl's for 70-90% off. I spent $14 dollars and saved $70 off retail price on these five pieces of jewelry. These make great gifts for friends, too, so buy one for you and a friend next time you find a great deal!

FREE Parents Magazine Subscription

I follow several money saving blogs and as a result have a couple of great magazine subscriptions that I didn't pay a thing for. Here is another one I just came across for those who may be interested. Click here to get your free 2-yr subscription to Parents Magazine (no strings attached).

Save money! Read these Coupon tips.

I read several coupon blogs but am a very basic coupon user. I just shop at stores that consistently have low prices but I know I could save even more if I put in the effort. My friend Vanessa is a bargain shopper and has been so kind to offer her coupon tips. You may not live by some of the stores she mentions, but the general tips are great! Here’s what she had to say…

First, according to where you live some of your stores may double or even triple coupons so you just have to ask, unfortunately none of mine do but I still seem to do alright.

Get the Sunday paper! This is my main source of coupons. I get them from my family/friends that don't use them too.

Filing System
The key is to have a very efficient system otherwise you will never use them. I have one coupon filer of all food products broken down into groups...frozen, snacks, cereals etc. Check out this site for filing ideas. Some people buy baseball card sheet protectors to organize their coupons. One filer that is everything else, such as baby, cleaning, detergents, and paper products.

One filer that is for individual stores. As I read about my deals and figure out my purchases I pull all the coupons I will need and put them behind the store they go with so at the store I just grab my products and pull out this one stack of coupons so I am not standing in the store trying to find coupons....not cool with a toddler.

I will for warn you this will take time and effort. When I first started I taught myself and spent many hours a week on it. Now it is much simpler and I am a lot faster and it has been sooo worth it!

If all of this seems overwhelming the best thing is to go to afullcup.com and just start reading and researching.

Biggest Savers

PUBLIX

Brindi, a lot of GA publix do double and they also have a penny item of the week that I don't know details on but you can find out on afullcup.com.

At Publix on Buy 1 Get 1 Free Items you can use coupons on BOTH items.

Publix will accept ALL competitor coupons EX) You can use 1 manufacture coupon, 1 Publix coupon and 1 target coupon on the same item.

TARGET

Visit afullcup.com and go to the coupon generator and there will be great coupons for items at Target (remember combine it with a manufacture coupon or use it at Publix too!).

Visit afullcup.com and go to Forums , choose a store (Wal-Mart, Target, CVS, anything even local grocery stores that only you have will be there) click and read about good deals others have found so you can be on the look-out for them.

CVS (CVS and Long’s are now the same) - HUGE SAVINGS! I never pay for stuff! Just this spring my receipt says I have spent $7.18 and saved $393.79

Get your red CVS card - it’s free-this is how you get extra care bucks printed at the bottom of your receipt. Keep the extra care bucks to use on purchases but be aware of the expiration dates on them.

You will initially put out some money but then only buy products that give you extra care bucks using the extra care bucks you have already earned.

Use coupons on all extra care bucks items if you have them. Example: Colgate toothpaste - pay $3 (use your extra care bucks) and get $3 extra care bucks back. Use a $1 off Colgate coupon so pay $2 and get $3 back….you profit! Always scan your red card at the blinkie machine to get more coupons.

Again you can go to afullcup.com and read all the deals others have figured out for you and just copy what they do! They always post the weekly ads and then post what coupons match with them!

The key to this will be just going in and doing it and there is a learning curve but you can get it!

General Guidelines
On any product at every store you can use both 1 manufacture coupon and 1 store coupon on the same item.

Collect coupons from blinkies, Sunday paper, neighbors, family, and turn style in front of Publix and save them. Do not use them until there is a sale on the product (unless you really need that item for the current week).

Coupon Sites
Set-up a junk email account to use for sign ups-I only print from these when someone has mentioned a current sale they will match up with on afullcup.com.

Couponsurfer.com

Couponbug.com

Couponmom.com

Coupons.com

Gifts
One last thing....for gifts and such I use slickdeals.net. Go to forums then hot deals and read about all kinds of bargains and do searches. I buy when deals are posted and put them away for upcoming holidays and had to do NO shopping at Christmas time.

Finance: Save money by making a few phone calls

With the current economic and financial crisis going on around the world, I've been thinking of ways we can save money each month. I've been thinking, do I really need cable? A gym membership? For others of you it may be a more expensive phone or internet plan, Netflix, etc.

We have a really great price on internet, so I knew I couldn't find a better deal on that but I decided we were paying too much for cable and I was going to call and see if they could lower are payment or I was going to cancel it and just get basic tv. I called and asked for a better deal and the agent agreed to take off $10 without blinking an eye. A 3-minute phone call is saving us $10 a month. I tried for more, but she said $10 was the best she could do right now.

I really enjoy having a gym membership. I could workout at home or outside, but I think it is more convenient to go to the gym. I enjoy that time to myself and it gives my son an opportunity to socialize and get used to being away from me since he is with me the rest of the day. I went and asked for a lower price and they also took off $10 after a 5-minute conversation.

With less than 10-minutes of work I am saving $20 each month! Not bad. I encourage each of you to take a look at items that you could live with out and see if you can call an negotiate a better price. Companies are struggling now too and they would rather keep you as a customer than lose you all together, so they are willing to negotiate.

Stay tuned for more money saving tips in May.

Organize your finances

My husband recently heard about an amazing site that automatically downloads and categorizes your credit card transactions each day. It is called mint.com. It just takes about a half an hour to set up (depending on how many banks and credit cards you have). Once it is set up, you simply log-in to your account online and you can see how much you have spent in each category, such as groceries, eating out, gasoline, etc. It also allows you to set-up a budget and tracks it for you. We noticed tonight that we've been going over our grocery budget. We have a grocery store across the street (that is pricey), so we go there for just for quick items we need asap but somehow we managed to spend $50 last month on those small little purchases. It does all kinds of charts that visually show you where your money is going. It is an awesome site and a great way to get your finances organized with very little effort.
Also, if you haven't downloaded Suze Orman's new book titled, Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan at Oprah's website and you would like to, you have until Thursday to do so for free. After that, you'll have to buy it at the store.

Grocery Shopping Lists

I would say grocery shopping is just below cleaning the shower on my list of least favorite things to do. I love to cook, but I hate all the prep work. However, planning a weekly (or monthly) menu is a huge time-saver and makes answering the "what's for dinner?" question easy. I sit down while my son naps every Monday and make a grocery list for the next week. I look through my recipe books or favorite cooking websites and find a meal for each night and then I create my shopping list as I go. It make makes my trip to the grocery store a little more bearable with my 16-month old and I spend less money. Always a bonus, right? If you are really organized, you can even group your list according the the layout of the store, such as all the produce items in a column. I also put a small "(c)" next to the items I have a coupon for so I remember to use the coupon.Do all of you like to grocery shop? Any tips you've found useful?