Restaurant.com has select $10 certificates for only $1.50 today only! Be sure to understand the restrictions and minimum purchases.
Be sure to use the word MUNCH under redeem a code then you’ll see the prices change next to the certificate options.
Have you heard of Shopkick? We love it! It’s a smartphone app that gives you Kickbacks just for walking into stores, and also for scanning specific items. Then you redeem those points – called Kicks – for gift cards to your favorite places like Starbucks, Target, Walmart, and more.
250 Kicks is the equivalent of one dollar and can be redeemed as follows:
500 Kicks = $2
1250 Kicks = $5
2500 Kicks = $10
3750 Kicks = $15
6250 Kicks = $25
Try Shopkick, a super simple way to save some $$$. : )
After you click the above link, just enter your phone number and you’ll receive a one-time text with a direct link to download the app. After signing up you’ll be ready to start collecting Kicks!
Joe-
Do you rent your modem from your cable provider? If you do and you have Comcast you’re likely paying between $8-$10/month just to rent that piece of equipment. Did you know you could buy your own? Not only that, but the cost will pay for itself in under a year! We bought ours in February of 2015 for $70. At the $8/month rental fee we were paying, we recouped our money in a matter of 9 months. The best part is that now we’re saving that amount each and every month. Since we purchased the modem, we paid for the modem and already have saved $24 with the savings adding up each and every month.
A couple of items to note. If you’re going to purchase one, be sure to get one that is compliant with your cable company. And second, put the money in now for a good one because that bad boy will last years and you want to make sure you don’t have to purchase another one until you absolutely have to.
Yeah, that may sound confusing, but it’s not. Pretty much every cable provider will be able to utilize a Docsis 3 compliant modem but check first. A typical D3 modem with 4 downstream/4 upstream channels can handle 150 meg service. Most of us don’t have anything near that speed tier. However, in thinking about the future, you may want to consider a modem that can handle more channels. Here in Chicago for example, Google Fiber and their Gigabit service is coming here! Talk about truly being able to cut the cord from Comcast!
Our modem feeds not only our internet services but also our home security system. Don’t be intimidated – a good modem can handle the load. Now if you have phone service from Comcast, they will likely install a gateway which serves as a modem, phone and router. Sure it’s a nice piece of equipment (if it’s the right model), but again, you’re paying for the rental. And cable company phone service? Pfft. I’ll write a review on our MagicJack service, a much, much cheaper alternative. I keep adding items to include in my Cutting The Cord article that is coming soon.
Oh, and wait until I talk about routers…another piece of equipment where you want to front some money for a really good one.
Joe-
Well, I posted three items on Ebay over the weekend. As a new seller, I’m limited to 5 postings/month or $500/month until my ratings build. One of the items I placed with a Buy It Now option which after some research, I thought was a price I would gladly take for the item. After just three days, bam! I got a Buy It Now for the item. Sure it’s only $30, but what the hell I’ll take it. So, this morning I’m packing it up and getting ready to run it to the PO. Sweet.
Ebay makes the whole process pretty straight-forward, at least from my newbie point of view. Now, I think I’ll list another larger priced item for a Buy It Now of $75 and see how it goes. I have to get used to the whole shipping and Post Office part, but EBay makes it really easy with an automatic tie-in to the Post OFfice. I can estimate, print and pay for postage directly from EBay.
Joe-
Are you loyal to particular brands, most notably when it comes to groceries? We used to be, but haven’t been for many years.
Growing up, I recall there being a stigma attached to generic and/or store brand products. Perhaps there still is… but we no longer care. Why?
Because generic products are cheaper.
You don’t have to be living paycheck to paycheck to want to reduce your food costs so you can save money. Without the fancy packaging, generic products sell for much less and often taste the same, if not better, than their name brand counterparts. There are exceptions, of course, but the best way to find out is by trying them. Over the years we’ve always tried the generic equivalent of a product and then decided based on taste whether to continue buying generic, or switch back to the name brand.
We swear by certain Aldi products in particular because they are 10%-70% cheaper than their competitors yet aren’t lacking in taste. Our favorites:
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» Casa Mamita Mexican Syle Corn – $0.89 per can vs. $1.25+ for the Green Giant brand
» Casa Mamita Diced Tomtatoes & Green Chilies – $0.57 per can vs. $1.00+ for Rotel
» Baker’s Corner Fudge Brownie Mix – $1.19 per box vs. $1.50+ for Duncan Hines, Betty Crocker, or Pillsbury. Plus they are the best brownies I’ve ever tasted. Add a teaspoon of powdered espresso to enhance the rich chocolate flavor and no one will ever know they aren’t homemade. Well, I guess my friends now know! I do make brownies from scratch occasionally, but when I’m in a hurry these are my go-to.
» Reggano Pasta Sauce – $1.00 a jar. I believe there are some brands that might be just as inexpensive, but we haven’t found any we like more than this brand. We do not care for Prego or Ragu and the Classico brand is at least twice the cost and not that much better.
Like any new adventure, there were some pitfalls along the way. For instance, we’ve tried several different mayonnaise brands and Hellman’s reigns supreme in our household. The same goes for Heinz ketchup (although Target’s Market Pantry brand is a close second). Speaking of Market Pantry, have you tried their BBQ sauce? It is amazing and tastes better than our second favorite, Sweet Baby Ray’s.
If you’re feeling a little apprehensive about switching brands, take it slowly. You might just be surprised at how much money you’ll save!
What are some of your favorite generic products?
What are some name brand products you would never give up?
I’ve always been the type of person to brown bag their lunch because I don’t want to waste my money eating out, plus I’d blow my entire lunch break just driving back and forth to get food (not to mention waste money on gas). Even in the past when I had a 60 minute lunch break, compared to the half hour I get now, I would rarely go out to eat. Besides the money, it was also due to pure laziness – I didn’t feel like walking down to my car, driving somewhere, and then trying to get back to work on time. I’d rather relax with a book while I eat my lunch.
My current employer has a microwave in the break room, but I’m not fond of using it since that process can easily eat up 10 minutes of my 30 minute break. The problem is finding self-stable or refrigerated foods that don’t require a microwave. I’m not a huge sandwich fan, so I can get burnt out on them very quickly. For awhile last summer I was bringing homemade strawberry chicken salads for lunch but now that strawberries aren’t in season I haven’t been making that. I do sometimes make a big batch of Hawaiian fried rice on a Monday so I can bring it to work Tue-Thu (yes, I love it that much that I don’t mind eating it three days in a row, plus I like eating it cold).
Lately I’ve grown bored with my limited lunch options. I’d love for some suggestions on inexpensive homemade lunches I can make the night before, so please share in the comments!
Sometimes all you need to do to save money is just ask. I’ll give you a few recent examples:
1) I purchased some Christmas gifts at Amazon.com in late November and a few days later two of them dropped in price. I started a chat with Amazon customer service and pointed this out and they promptly refunded me the difference.
2) A friend alerted to me to a deal a particular site was having where if you purchased a certain value of e-gift cards you’d get bonus e-gift cards for free. After I placed my order and didn’t get my free cards I contacted customer service who told me the promotion had ended (even though the website indicated otherwise). I pointed this out, had to talk to a different clueless rep, and then email someone from another company who was handling the promotion for for this company, but I did end up getting my bonus e-gift cards!
3) I ordered something from a website and a day later they sent me an email about how the item I had just ordered was now 20% off for a limited time. I started a chat with customer service expressing my disappointment and explaining how Amazon will refund the difference if the price drops within a week. While they wouldn’t do that, they did place the difference on my account as a credit for the next time I place an order.
Had I not inquired I would have been out more money in all these examples. So it does in fact pay to ask.
You know how they say that planning a trip is sometimes just as good, if not better, than actually taking said trip? I feel that way about purchases for things I want too. I like to contemplate the purchase for awhile, particularly if the item is $25 or more. I go online and do my research by reading reviews and checking prices. Sometimes I just add the item to my wish list, or flag it via CamelCamelCamel.com to notify me when it hits a price point I’d be happy with. For me, window-showing can be just as fun as owning the item.
There are things I see every day, whether online or in person, that I like, but when I start to contemplate actually owning them I tend to ask myself, “Do I really want this? Am I going to use it, or will I regret the purchase later?” And more often than not, I decide against purchasing the item.
When I do make the decision to buy something, though, I still don’t necessarily make the purchase right away. I sit on it for a bit looking for deals so I feel good that I got a fair price.
Recently I decided to start shopping for an oil diffuser so I could use the jasmine essential oil my husband had given to me for Christmas. I went through my normal research process and had finally come to the conclusion that I was willing to spend up to $50 to get a highly rated diffuser. As as I was on a website perusing their selection, something about one of the diffusers triggered a memory and I quickly ran upstairs to check our master bedroom closet. In it I found a long-forgotten mini humidifier I had used years ago at a former job.
I wasn’t sure if there was necessarily anything special about oil diffusers compared to a humidifier in terms of results, but figured I had nothing to lose since I hadn’t used the humidifier in years. I added water and a couple of drops of the oil and turned it on. Sweet scents of jasmine quickly filled the air and I got pretty excited! Not just because I finally got to use my essential oil, but because I had just saved myself $25-$50.
Had I rushed to make my purchase I would have wasted money and kicked myself later when it dawned on me that I could have used my old humidifier.
Is there anything in your home you ended up re-purposing to save money?