Clark Color Labs Free Shipping and 50% off enlargements

If you're like me, then you love taking pictures. Well, back in the day we all used film. Now, most of us use digital cameras. I love having a digital camera because I take so many bad pictures. Really, it saves me a lot of money not having to develop all of the pictures I wouldn't want anyway. In any case, this morning I got an email from Clark Color Labs about a promotion they are running. Right now you can get 50% off any enlargements and Free Shipping on orders of $30 or more. Woohoo!!! I just got back from a trip to Ohio where I took about a hundred pictures of my new nephew. I got a lot of great shots I had planned on having printed in various sizes so this is the perfect time for a promo like this pass to across my desk. Also, you have to think ahead. Christmas will be here before you know it and pictures make great gifts. The code you'll need is: SAVEBIG9C With the promo code the picture prices are great. I don't personally know how much shipping is if you don't spend $30 so you'll have to decide for yourself based on your needs whether this is the deal for you or not.

If you are only looking for 8x10 enlargements you may want to consider shopping at Kodak this week. They are currently offering a 50% discount off their professional grade prints (8x10 only) so the pictures are a little more than CCL, but they are also offering free shipping on orders over $4.99. That's not too bad. You would need to order three prints to get free shipping. It may or may not be worth your while. The Kodak code is: PRO50

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Boxtops4education contests

Boxtops4education has a wealth of information on their site. If you have kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, neighbor kids, etc....you can register their school at this site and track how many boxtops the school has received this year. You can also print coupons for your favorite boxtop items to pair with sales flyers to get awesome deals and support your local schools. One thing I wasn't area of though, is that BT4E gives registered users other opportunities to win extra boxtops for their schools. On the top of the site is a tab that says "bonus offers." If you click this tab it will take you to the current months' promotions.

The first promo listed this month is from Cheerios. You can enter daily for a chance to win an extra 1500 box tops for your school. The nice thing about already being registered is that your information is already filled out for you and all you have to do is click enter. Nice.

The second promo is from Betty Crocker. It doesn't say anything about entering daily, but at least one entry gives you the chance to win an extra 1000 boxtops for your school.

It only takes a minute to do this and this is free money!!! There's no reason not too. Also, Walgreens is running a promotion this week on Betty Crocker cakes, frostings, and brownie mixes. If you buy two (currently priced at 2/$3) you get a $1 register reward (coupon good on your next purchase). There are coupons all over the place for these items right now. I do like to make a lot of stuff from scratch. It just tastes better.....but we all have those days when you need something quick so it's good to have a few things like this on hand. Better yet, they also make very cheap donations. Walgreens doesn't double coupons (wahhh), but this is still a great deal. Yesterday I got two frostings for $.90. $.45 a piece is an awesome deal and they were my favorite flavor to boot. Chocolate!!!! I don't make very good chocolate icing from scratch:( I also got a yummy chocolate cake from Kroger for only $.30. I usually get cake mixes free, but the coupons have been getting smaller lately. Still, an entire iced cake for $.75 sounds like a bargain to me. There are currently coupons for the frosting on the BT4E site so get over there, get registered, enter the sweepstakes, and get your coupons for your cheap frosting.

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Thrifty Thursday: Other Frugalistas Unite

We know they're out there....scouring the internet for the best deals, talking down salesmen, and clipping their coupons. They're fighting to keep their money and do what's best for their families. You've seen them at the store. They have a hundred coupons. It takes a long time for them to check out. While you wait patiently (or not so patiently) they just saved 80% off their grocery trip. You're awed. How so they do it? How do they find the time? How do they have the patience and the strength to fight for what's rightfully theirs to keep? Wouldn't it be great if you could pick their brains....find out what makes then tick? Well I've got great news for everyone. Us frugalistas are everywhere and we're happy to share!!!

Karen over at Frugal RI Mama has a post about Frugal Focus which is a collaboration of frugal bloggers. There are seventeen brains to pick (I mean blogs to read) so far. I'm a money saver and an impressive one at that if you don't mind me saying so, but I am always reading, reading, reading and soaking up as much information as I can. These blogs are well worth the visit so check them out and have fun. After all, you're going to learn how to save more money.

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Frugal Friday Freebies (or cheap anyway)

Fridays are usually crazy here at my house. Along with being a household manager, mother to three, wife to one, and frugal extraordinaire, I'm also a girl scout leader and work at home mom. I wear many hats. Today my hats are falling off. I have a girl scout meeting tonight....which I haven't planned for yet. Yikes! I don't know where the time goes these days. My van is dirty (inside and out) and needs an oil change. One of my magnets got lost in the wind recently so it's quite obvious that my van needs a bath. Hmmm....I know I've got a point here somewhere. Oh yeah, I'm going to make this short and sweet. There are a few freebies worth mentioning so please hop around and check them out.

Carrie over at Money Saving Methods has up news about twenty free prints (who doesn't love free pictures) and info about getting some free Dr. Pepper. Yum!

Amy over at MomAdvice has a freebie list too large to mention so hop on over and check it out. You never know what you'll find.

Karen over at Frugal RI Mama has some good news about coupons this coming week. If you're a Kmart shopper you're going to want to check this out. Of course to take advantage of this deal it means you must already be clipping those coupons so I hope you got started.

Nicole over at Nicole's Nickels has a few freebies worth mentioning as well so stop by and give her a quick visit.

Sadly that's all I've had the time to round up today. I've got a meeting to plan and kids to feed so stay tuned for more to come.

Also, don't forget to enter the Disney Sweepstakes before time runs out.

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Super Couponing Part Two: Getting Organized

Super Couponing Part Two: Getting Organized

Before you dive right into Super Couponing you want to make sure that you don’t put the cart before the horse. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been unprepared and missed out on not only good deals, but things that my family needed. In the end, I had to spend more money. As far as I’m concerned, disorganization costs me money. A coupon unused is like throwing money down the drain. I might as well just hand the store my checkbook.

So let’s get started getting organized. There are really only a few key things I recommend everyone do.

First, you’ll need to decide how you want to store your coupons. I know many people who follow the Grocery Game that don’t actually clip their coupons. They keep them together and dated and then file them that way. When a sale comes up, they simply look up the date of the insert and choose the coupons out of it and then cut them. Personally, I don’t do the Grocery Game myself and I don’t keep my coupons that way. Right now I store my coupons in two separate organizers. One is a medium sized expandable file with thirteen slots and the other is a smaller sized expandable file. I keep grocery/food item coupons in one and drug store/big box store coupons in the other. I file my food items according to the types of items. All of my breakfast items such as cereal, oatmeal, etc. go in the “breakfast” category. Yogurt would fall in the “dairy” category and so on. For my drug store/big box store coupons I file them alphabetically according to the name of the product or manufacturer. This is just what works for me. I know some people who use baseball card holders. Others use a file box. It’s not important how you store your coupons, it’s only important that the filing process be something that works for you.

Second, you’ll want to make a price list of your most commonly purchased items. This goes not only for items you would use a coupon for, but also other items such as produce and meats as well. If you partake in a service such as the Grocery Game this step may not be necessary for you, but I still think it’s a good idea to have your own price list either way. What you want to do is record the least amounts you spend for these items, the dates, and the stores. Next time a sale comes around you’ll then know if the price offered is the best price you can get. Obviously, you’re not always going to get rock bottom prices on the essentials. For my family I consider that to be milk, bread, and produce. I do, however, have a set price I’m not willing to go over for those items. You can include those in your price list as well. When non-essentials come up at a rock bottom price that is when you should take the opportunity to stock up. It takes a while to build a decent stockpile, but once you do, your grocery costs will drop drastically. I haven’t purchased tomato soup in almost a year. Another thing to consider are expiration dates. You don’t want to stockpile more than you could use before it all expires. Then it’s a bad deal! In any case, a good price list will help you make better buying decisions and it will save you time and money.

Third, if you can you should get a map of the store’s layout. Most stores have these at customer service if you ask. I know a few stores I frequent actually have them on the seats in the cart. If your store doesn’t offer a printed version, pick a day and take your notebook with you and write down the layout yourself. This is an important step that will save you time. Once you have the layout of your stores, it’s easy to make your shopping list according to the order of the isles of the store. I’m sure many people can relate to going back and forth to find items or even not knowing where the items are kept. Stores can be tricky though. Many times sale items won’t be in the regular isles, but rather on the end caps so you’ll want to watch for that as well. What you’re really doing with the map is getting to know your store. When you go out shopping, you want the process to be smooth and pleasant and this is one of those things that can absolutely help make that happen. Also, make note of where the store usually puts their clearance merchandise. I know my stores don’t have that listed on the map, but it’s a section I always walk through.

Coming up: Part Three – coupon acquisition

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Thrifty Thursday: Ten Ways to Reuse Newspapers

I'm sure that many of you probably do recycle or reuse your newspapers, but I wanted to share a few of my favorite "re" uses anyway.

The most common use here for newspaper is probably to assist in starting a fire in the fireplace. The kids love to crumple it up and give it to Daddy one piece at a time. Then they want to make smores!

The second most common use here is to catch messes. While I feel this probably isn't the best way we could reuse the paper, it gets the job done. We have lots of messes with three kids and two cats.

The third most common use here is as wrapping paper. I like to take out the funnies (otherwise known as comics) and use them to wrap gifts for birthday parties and such. It's a great way to make a gift look cute and save some money at the same time. Why kill another tree for overpriced wrapping paper when you can use the funnies for free?

We have used quite a bit of paper to wrap our dishes. Since we seem to move once a year, that's a lot of paper.

I know that some people use it to wash windows. I usually end up using coffee filters or a rag. My windows probably don't sparkle like the neighbors'.

Though I've never tried it, I understand that wrapping an avocado in newspaper helps to speed the ripening process.

You can also stick newspaper in your wet shoes to help them dry out overnight.

It can be used to kneel on out in your garden.

Apparently, you can also make a newspaper gift bag.

You could always donate it to the local animal shelter or rescue.

If none of those appeal to you, please recyle it at the recycling center....save the trees!!!

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Super Couponing Part One: The Basics

There’s no need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to using coupons. There are several ways to use them and save time and money for your family. Today I’m going to briefly cover the benefits and types of coupons as well as where you can use them and what you should expect to save.

Super Couponing: the use of coupons to save 50 – 100% off of your grocery/household item bills

Casual Couponing: the use of coupons to save a few pennies here and there

Lack of Couponing: paying full price for items you might have gotten cheap or free

How Coupons Can Benefit You

Coupons are like free money. If someone offered you twenty dollars, would you turn them down? Probably not. Yet, that’s what I see happen at the stores all of the time. I see people spending hundreds more than they have to. I saved my family over $200 just in coupons in the month of January. That’s $200 that I didn’t have to go out and work for. That’s $200 that I didn’t have to deduct from the monthly grocery budget. What did it take for me to save that money you ask? Well, it took a couple of hours of my time acquiring the coupons and planning my shopping trips. What could your family do with an extra $200 a month? I see more money in my budget as a HUGE benefit of couponing.

Coupons are also a great opportunity to try new products. May manufacturers will put out coupons you can use to try items free. When paired properly with current sales, many items are free or almost free with coupons as well. Who doesn’t like to try new products for free?

Where You Can Use Coupons

Coupons can be used at most stores including grocery stores, drug stores, big box stores, and even some warehouse stores (BJ’s). Sometimes discount stores will take coupons as well. It’s always a good idea to ask about a store’s coupon policy so you’ll know in advance if you should plan to use coupons there or not.

What Types of Coupons There Are

There are several types of coupons out there and many different places you can get them. The most commonly used coupons come from newspaper inserts, but that’s really just the tip of the iceberg.

Other types include:

• Printable coupons
• Coupons that come to you in the mail
• E-coupons
• Store coupons
• Coupons from magazines
• Coupons directly from the manufacturer either via their website or direct mail
• Peelies
• Blinkies
• Catalinas
• Prescription coupons

As you can see there are a lot of ways to get coupons to save you money.

What Kind of Savings You Can Expect

This is definitely going to vary from person to person, but even minimal coupon use should yield a savings of 30% or more off of your grocery bill. If you’re ready to take couponing to the next level, you should easily see 60-80% off of your bills. Two receipts that I’m especially proud of last month showed a 91% and a 99% savings!!! Now to be fair, all figures assume that the coupons are properly paired with the current sales. Last month I was just lucky enough to hit the jackpot. You can be too. Stay tuned for part two.

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