Archive for the ‘Money Saving Tips’ Category:
Stickk.com - Put a contract on yourself to save money!
I just discovered Stickk.com the other day. It’s a site that literally allows you to put a contract on yourself to do something you want to stick to. You can vow to lose weight, save $100 every month, stop impulse spending, start recycling, and so on.
The site is free to join, and your “commitment contract,” as it is called, can be either financial or non-financial in nature. If you choose to make it a financial obligation, you can actually “put your money where your mouth is” if you want – and be forced to pay up if you don’t achieve your goal. You provide the site with your credit card information and you will actually be billed if you fail. Talk about incentive to be successful!
For your goal to be deemed successful (either a one-time success or a weekly success at a longer-term goal), either you or your designated “referee” has to confirm to the site that you did indeed meet your goal. Now, I suppose you could always lie if you failed and didn’t want to pay up, but where’s the fun in that?
The best part is you can choose who you pay up to — either another person, or you can have the money donated to a charity or “anti-charity” (the George W. Bush Presidential Library, for example).
So head over to Stickk.com and start a contract on yourself. Maybe you can vow to start stashing a certain amount of money every month, or maybe you want to start using coupons on every shopping trip. Whatever it is, I wish you the best of luck!
Organize Your Coupons With The Couponizer! (Review and Photos)
Okay, it’s true:
I haven’t been very good about organizing my coupons lately.
Between launching my ebook, email list, blog, and other related ventures, I haven’t had a whole lot of free time. Unfortunately, this has taken a serious toll on my coupon organization.
It’s pretty embarrassing to admit this, seeing as I run a site about saving money (and staying organized in the process), but it’s true!
So when I heard about the Couponizer, I knew I had to try it immediately. It’s a coupon and shopping organization system that includes the Couponizer organizer with 18 grocery coupon pockets, 4 non-grocery coupon pockets and three shopper loyalty card sleeves; shopping list; CoupStacker mat for quick and easy sorting; CoupTracker pad for tracking your savings; “Your Guide to Smart Savings” instruction booklet with spending strategies and coupon tips; scissors; and clear vinyl carrying case.
I dove in right away. Here are some photos I took in the process:
The whole Couponizer system out of the package
The CoupStacker, a coupon organization sheet
The CoupStacker categories match up with the categories in the Couponizer system so you can organize all of your coupons in one area and then transfer them all to their respective categories within the Couponizer.
Coupons placed in the Couponizer category sleeves
Coupons ready to be used for shopping!
The Couponizer has two areas to place coupons when you’re shopping. You can pull coupons out of certain categories and place them in the “shopping trip” sleeve (left-hand side) so you can easily reference them in the store. When you place an item in your cart, move the coupon from the left-hand side to the right-hand side (the “Checkout” side). This is an extremely helpful feature of the Couponizer! I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve been scrambling at the check-out, trying to figure out which coupons I should be using and which ones I shouldn’t.
Clear plastic sleeves to organize gift cards
You can also use the clear plastic sleeves to organize store loyalty cards.
Couponizer Shopping List
CoupTracker to keep track of your coupons
All I can say is — The Couponizer rocks! I am well on my way to once again becoming uber-organized with my coupons.
Actually, I love the thing so much that I teamed up with the folks at The Couponizer to offer the system on my web site. You can order it for only $19.95 here. Trust me when I say it is WELL worth it! But… the even better news is I have a BETTER deal for you.
As an exclusive offer just for the customers of my ebook, 100 Ways to Save Money, you’ll be able to order The Couponizer system for only $15! The exclusive, low-price order link will be available to you after you make your ebook purchase.
I hope you’ll try The Couponizer out. It’s a great organizational tool, and a lot of fun to use, too!
Ways to Enjoy Life Without Spending Money
It happens to all of us — something goes wrong in our lives, and in an attempt to console ourselves we suddenly end up at a department store cash register, drowning away our sorrows to the happy sound of the price scanner.
While a small self-pity purchase might be okay every once in awhile, continuing to follow such patterns can lead to a serious hole in the wallet. The better thing to do is to learn how to replace the desire to spend with another enjoyable task that doesn’t involve money. Just as the dieter learns to take a walk instead of reaching for a piece of pie, the overspender needs to learn replacement habits as well!
Here are several ways to enjoy life and feel better without spending money:
Just like the dieter, take a walk or engage in other exercise such as yoga. You’ll burn calories and have the time to think about what’s bothering you.
Volunteer your time. Volunteering is a great way to turn the attention away from yourself and onto another important cause. It can also help put unimportant purchases into perspective.
Sign up for Internet freebies. You can find all sorts of things for free online, including lots of product samples and other goodies. Just go to Google and type in “free stuff” and you’ll be occupied for hours at a time!
Listen to your favorite music. Turn on your radio or MP3 player and blast your favorite music. If you want to indulge just a little without going overboard, allow yourself to purchase one or two new songs to download.
Organize your coupons. If you clip coupons (great for saving money!), spend some time organizing them or planning future deals. Focusing on a task that will save you money in the future is an easy way to get your mind off other things in your life and focus on the positive.
By implementing these tips, you’ll be able to cut down on your expenses and find other activities you enjoy.
“If you would be wealthy, think of saving as well as getting.”
-Benjamin Franklin
Tags: Money Saving Tips
Save Hundreds of Dollars on Gift Cards
Start thinking of the stores you shop at often. What comes to mind? Is it Circuit City, Starbucks, Banana Republic, Sephora, Barnes & Noble? Undoubtedly most of us could easily come up with a list of ten to twenty, if not more.
I’m the kind of person who loves to save money. I’ve been doing something so simple for the past few years that has saved me hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars – I’d like to think of it as “free money”! It’s so easy, yet surprisingly few people take advantage of it.
You’re probably wondering what I do. It’s simple:
I purchase gift cards online for the stores I shop at most often at a discounted rate.
I mainly use eBay, but there are others like CertificateSwap.com and SwapAGift.com. A lot of people receive gift cards as presents but aren’t interested in the store or would prefer cash, so they list the cards online. Expect to usually pay 80 to 90 percent of face value, although some prices can be higher or lower depending on the popularity of the merchant. The way I see it is, if I’m going to spend the money at the store anyway, why not purchase a gift card and save a few dollars?
One method I have found to be quite useful in finding good deals is to go to the Gift Certificates category on eBay and search for “Buy it Now items” in the search options. I then sort the results by the most recently listed auctions. Some sellers underestimate the value of their gift cards, so they may put up a Buy it Now price that is lower than what the card would generally go for. You have to be at the right place at the right time to snatch up those deals, but it can be worth it! (Just to prove that it does happen – as I was writing this article, I was able to purchase a $100 gift certificate redeemable at hundreds of spas nationwide for only $50!)
One word of caution: as with any online purchase, be sure that you are purchasing from a reputable seller. Unfortunately scammers are out there, so do your homework on the seller before making a purchase.
I hope you are able to use this technique to save money like I have. It is one I plan on using for years to come!
Ten Things You Never Thought to Buy on eBay
I have to admit, sometimes I get teased by friends or family for what I buy on eBay. There is very little I purchase that I don’t at least attempt to buy on eBay first. Why not? There are thousands (if not millions) of eBay listings at any given time — that’s a pretty amazing resource for everything under the sun. For everything you buy on eBay, there’s probably at least one other thing you haven’t thought of. To start you off, here’s a list of ten things you (probably) never thought to buy on eBay:
Postage Stamps: Yes, it is possible to get a discount on postage stamps! A lot of times companies or individuals will purchase a mass quantity of stamps for a mailing and end up not using them all. The USPS doesn’t buy back stamps, so a good alternative is to sell on eBay. Expect to pay between 80% and 90% of face value, with the bigger discount coming from a larger purchase quantity.
Timeshares: Real estate is big on eBay, especially timeshares! As long as you are careful in reading all of the fine print and purchasing from a reputable seller, you can come away with a great vacation at a fantastic value. You can easily pick and choose from a wide variety of locations, amenities, and prices.
Over-the-counter medication: Need to replenish your supply of Advil, Visine, Airborne, or Mylanta? I buy nearly all of my over-the-counter medication on eBay. It’s almost always drastically cheaper, and you can also search for generic or store brands. I save hundreds of dollars a year doing this.
Makeup: There are certain shades and certain brands of makeup I know I will always use. It’s easy to search for these on eBay and buy them in bulk or at a discount. It’s also a great way to find discontinued colors that you love and can’t live without! I set up a search for my favorite discontinued items and save it so I am emailed whenever an auction matching my criteria comes up. I’ve been able to keep using a certain shade of lipstick despite the fact that it was discontinued years ago.
