Frugal Friday - Learning about Couponing with an Ebook

This is a guest post from my friend Sharon. 

More and more people are getting into couponing.  But, in order to be successful, it takes some time to learn how to coupon effectively and get the best deals.  While you can just take the coupons you get, go to the store, and buy the product, if you wait for sales or watch flyers, you can save more money than just the face value of the coupon.

For this reason, I decided to create a book on Canadian couponing.  I have had friends ask me to help them get started but there is a lot of information and it can be difficult to go through it all.  I had already written a few other kindle books so i decided why not write one specifically aimed to Canadians?  I know there are many websites/Facebook groups for couponing as well and I have included links to these.

I used the alphabet to organize this book and it definitely it not an exhaustive guide.   But I have included a lot of information in this book to help you get started with couponing, with getting the best bang for your buck and a variety of sources to help you get started and find your coupons.

Even if you are not Canadian based, you may find this book helpful if you are trying to learn about couponing.  There is terminology, information on getting good deals and many other bits of information that are universal regardless of where you live.

Frugal Friday - FREE ebooks!

This post was orignially posted on my other blog, Ama Reads, on April 3, 2013.

 I have a Kindle…somewhere.  I know it is in my house.  I’m just not sure where I put it last.  You see, I’ve rarely used it.  I much prefer a physical edition of a book where I can turn the pages. 

However, I recently started reading eBooks on the Kindle app on my iPhone.  There’s a good reason. 

Some authors publish short stories and novellas to go with a book series.  The ones I wanted to read were only available as eBooks.  So I broke down and purchased them.  Not knowing where the Kindle is, I decided to just read them on my phone.

Then I discovered the wealth of free books available through Amazon. 

The list of titles frequently change.  A book may be free one day and cost $2.99 (or more) the next.  In a wonderful marketing tactic, often the first book of a series will be free.  I’ve gotten hooked on a couple of historical romance series that way and have even purchased the additional series titles. 

How can you find those free eBooks?

Go to Amazon’s Kindle section and look to the right. You will see the top 100 Bestsellers – both paid and free.  Or you can just click this link.

Want to see the bestsellers (paid and free) for a specific genre?  From the Bestsellers page click on the genre listed on the left side.    There are so many books to choose from! 

Some are fantastic.  Some are, well, less than fantastic.  Much, much less.  Some may be only samplings, but that is usually easy to tell.

And since it is National Poetry Month, I will give you the link for the poetry bestsellers.  Enjoy!

Frugal Friday - Family Fun

This is from a handout I made for work. 

Use Your Imagination: Creative Ideas For Imaginative Play

Engaging activities with your child doesn't have to be expensive or difficult. By using both of your imaginations, you can have a fantastic and fun filled afternoon.
Clip a story

• Have a bunch of old magazines lying around the house? Get out the scissors and start clipping away! Pictures can be used to illustrate and tell stories or make collages. Words and letters can be used to write poems or notes.

Guessing games

• Who hasn’t played I Spy? Pick out an object and see who can guess what it is.

Scavenger hunt

• Write or draw a list of items for your child then send her hunting the house or yard for those items.

Word games

• Rhyming – take turns guessing what rhymes with different words

• A, my name is – Go through the alphabet and see who can come up with the craziest combination. “A my name is Amanda, my friend’s name is Alex. We live in Arizona and we sell apricots.”

Entertainment tonight!

• Play dress up and make a play on the spot
• Put random things in a bag. Pull out five items and tell as story about them.
• Sock puppet plays – Use socks as puppets. Have a sock without a mate? Decorate it with markers and miscellaneous items to make a fun new character.

Free places to go:

• The Library

Your local library offers many programs for all ages. Go for a program, or just to find a great book to share with your child. There’s also puzzles, puppets and more (for in library use).

• Museums

Many museums are free to the public.

• Parks

Take a walk in the woods. Swim in the lake. Play on swings and slides.

• Check the local newspaper

There’s always something going on in the area. Check the local paper for fairs, concerts, and other free community events.

Frugal Friday - Coupons for overseas military

Have a ton of expired coupons? Hate throwing them away?  If they are American coupons and less than six months after the expiration date, you can send them to US military stationed overseas! Military grocery stores, called a Commissary, will accept expired manufacturer coupons.   There are also retail stores, called Base/Post/Navy Exchanges (BX, PX or NX) that will also accept manufacturer coupons. 

A few notes:

• You can send any amount of coupons, whether one or one million!
• Coupons are accepted at the base stores up to six months past the expiration date; however, it does take time for those coupons to arrive at the overseas bases.  Because of this, it is better to send coupons that are not more than two or three months past their expiry dates.
• You can mail clipped coupons or whole inserts.  Clipped will cost less, as you will have a smaller amount of unnecessary paper, which can add up quickly!
• Sorting the coupons into two groups is extremely beneficial to the people receiving them.  You don’t have to sort into many small groups.  Just put the coupons in two separate piles: Food Items and Non-Food Items.  It is best to put the sorted coupons into plastic baggies, as paper clips, rubber bands and similar holders can be separated during mailing.
• Not sure if an item would be considered food?  If it is usually consumed by humans, it is food.  Candy, gum, snacks, etc. would be food.  Pet food, vitamins, etc. would be non-food.

Where can you send those expired coupons?

There are many websites dedicated to this cause.  Here are a few:

• http://thekrazycouponlady.com/coupons-for-military/
• http://grocerycouponsforfree.org/military.html
• http://ocpnet.org/
• http://www.grocerysavingtips.com/expiredgrocerycoupons.htm
• http://www.operationexpiration.net/

Additionally, there are several Facebook groups:

• https://www.facebook.com/ExpiredCouponsforOverseasMilitary
• https://www.facebook.com/couponsforthecorps
• https://www.facebook.com/pages/Coupons-for-Military-Overseas
• https://www.facebook.com/OverseasMilitaryCouponGroup

This is a wonderful way to support the military and to keep those coupons from going to waste.

Frugal Friday - Couponing 101 (Where to find coupons)

So you’ve decided to save money and use coupons.  Perhaps you even want to develop a stockpile. Where can you find the coupons that you need?  Here are a few great places to get coupons:

Newspapers – most newspapers have the coupons in the Sunday paper.  If you get the paper delivered, though, the Sunday ads and coupons may arrive on a different day.  

Friends and family – Know someone who gets the paper every week but doesn’t use the coupons?  Ask them if you can have their inserts.  Perhaps they do use coupons, but not all of them.  By working together you can all save some money!

Coupon websites– there are many sites for coupons, such as Coupons.com, allyou.com, and redplum.com.  There are also many blogs that will point you to printable coupon savings.

Facebook – Many companies will periodically offer coupons through their Facebook pages.

An envelope of coupons I sold on eBay.

eBay – Did you know that you can purchase coupons from eBay? This is great for stocking up on items.  You can buy coupons for a specific item or a mystery envelope full of a variety of coupons.  Often the mystery envelopes will contain coupons that have not been made available in your area.

Company websites – Just like they do on Facebook, many companies will periodically post coupons on their websites. 

Frugal Friday - Stockpiling 101, part 2

As I mentioned in a previous post, this summer we remodeled our kitchen.  This project included adding a dishwasher.  Oh, how happy that has made me.  Washing dishes by hand is one of my least favorite household chores…not that I have a favorite household chore.  The addition of a dishwasher has changed my stockpile needs.  All of those bottles of dish soap and packages of sponges I accumulated at a great price will now last me a few years – not just a few months.  Now, however, I need to boost my stock of dishwasher detergent and rinsing agents.

What can you do when your stockpile demands change, but you have a bunch of the now unnecessary items? There are a few different options. 

• Depending on the type of items, you may be able to donate the extras.  Food pantries, homeless or women’s shelters, and other organizations are often in need of supplies.  If possible, contact the organization to see if there is anything specific they are looking for or if there are items that you cannot donate.
• If you will still use the items and they will last a long time – such as my excess dish soap and sponges – you can hang on to them to use over the next few years.
• Have a stock swap.  Perhaps a friend has too many of an item that you will use, but not enough of something you have in excess. 

 

Frugal Friday - Stockpiling 101

Over the past year I have started couponing. I'm not one of those extreme couponers. That takes more time and dedication than I have available. However, if I can save some money on those items I already use, then I want to do it! Last December I started stockpiling some items. Non-perishables such as food storage containers, dish soap, toilet paper, sponges, paper towels and laundry soap and perishables such as tomato soup, canned tomatoes (various types), pastas, kidney beans and jelly. I had wanted to have about a six month (or more) supply of the paper and cleaning products, and succeeded. Now it is time to stockpile many items again. Except dish soap and sponges. I've enough of those to last me quite some time! 

 In May we began a remodeling project in our kitchen. For most of the summer I didn't have a place to cook or wash dishes. Now that the project is complete (YAY!!), I have been working on organizing the kitchen and making a list of what food I have stockpiled, like kidney beans, and what I want to have filling my cupboards, like navy beans. Now that I have a dishwasher (another YAY!!), some of my stockpiling needs have changed. 

Everyone's stockpile list will look different. My husband is a truck driver, and likes to eat a lot of PB&Js while on the road. Therefore I need to keep a lot of large jars of peanut butter (must be Jif) and squeezable bottles of jelly in the house. He can go through a few of those a month. There are some items, though, that most people will have on their lists. 

How can you decide what to stockpile? Here are a few tips: 

• Sit down with a pen and paper (or an open Word document) and make a list of the items your family uses the most. You can split the list into smaller categories, such as paper products, canned goods, cleaning supplies, etc. 
• Look through your cupboards. Perhaps you have already been stockpiling some items without even knowing it! 
• Look online for others’ lists. If you do a search for stockpile or stockpiling, you are sure to end up with many results for great resources. 
• Look at your storage options. Your stockpile may be limited due to available space in your home.

Have a great tip for starting a stockpile? Share it in the comments!