I follow all the local deal sites (like LivingSocial/Groupon for my area) and am able to get restaurant gift certificates a few times a year for 50% off. It helps our eating out budget. I just paid $100 for $200 worth of GCs to a restaurant we like to go to for happy hour.
I shop at CVS with Qs and ECBs to buy toiletries for nearly nothing. I use Shopkick, FieldAgent, ReceiptPal, Receipt Hog, Ibotta, Checkout 51, Easy Shift, Ongo Surveys, iPoll, Swagbucks, Groupon, Mypoints, NCP, and Mobee. I use the money earned from these apps for Christmas. I do several mystery shops for extra cash Rent movies with Redbox codes Groupon for activities/concerts Read free Amazon Kindle books
I forgot ShopYourWay, Walgreens Balance Rewards (funded partially by Fitbit activity), Target Cartwheel, and Ebates.
Costco sells $100 BedandBreakfast.com gift cards for $75. We bought a few of them and then used them to pay for our upcoming vacation lodging.
Their website pretty much has a revolving deal every other day of $75 off $250 or $100 off $300 which is a little better than Costco, just in case you want to go on another trip!
Post by lurknomore on Jun 25, 2015 20:02:41 GMT -5
Ibotta is my current obsession. I earned $21 back last month for doing my regular grocery shopping. Not huge but it's kind of fun too. I've been stacking Ibotta rebates with cartwheel at Target to save even more.
Here's my shameless plug for my referral link if anyone wants to check it out!
This is on my mind because of orangeblossom's post about getting free magazines from libraries (other than mine, sadly)
Any other tips/tricks/life hacks/etc. to share that help you get things for free (or a reduced price), save money, etc.?
You may be able to access digital materials through other libraries. The days of having to live in the same city or zip code as your library are past. Most libraries no longer have residency restrictions so you can usually (not always still but usually) get a library card/access to digital materials from any library. You might check out webpages for other libraries and see what they list for digital access to see if they offer titles and items you want to access then check their site for card/account requirements.
Post by WinterWine on Jun 25, 2015 22:03:17 GMT -5
I don't have too many, but I use the safeway app religiously. I buy my fruit/vegetables based upon what's on sale. Maybe I'm not that MM bc I feel like that's the big one haha
Post by thebulldog on Jun 25, 2015 22:56:51 GMT -5
We have saved a boatload of money doing Harris Teeter grocery pick up. I order only what i need, it keeps a running tally as i put things in the cart and we don't end up buying random stuff. We got a year pass, which will pay for itself in a few weeks. Probably not exactly what you were going for here but it has really cut down on our grocery bill.
This is on my mind because of orangeblossom's post about getting free magazines from libraries (other than mine, sadly)
Any other tips/tricks/life hacks/etc. to share that help you get things for free (or a reduced price), save money, etc.?
You may be able to access digital materials through other libraries. The days of having to live in the same city or zip code as your library are past. Most libraries no longer have residency restrictions so you can usually (not always still but usually) get a library card/access to digital materials from any library. You might check out webpages for other libraries and see what they list for digital access to see if they offer titles and items you want to access then check their site for card/account requirements.
I'm a member of two other libraries (Brooklyn Public Library, and the library in the town I work in) and sadly no dice. But yes -- always worth looking into.
My tips:
ALWAYS negotiate your cable bill when it goes up.
Also, I checked our cable company's website the other day and they had an offer for free Showtime for a year. And it worked for existing customers. So we now get free Showtime for a year just for having called! So keep watching out for better offers.
That gift card site has saved us a ton at stores where there usually aren't coupons, or at least, very good ones. We buy gift cards now for the pet store and it saves us usually $10/bag of dog food, and we bought a ton of them for Lowes when we were working on some home projects. We ended up paying about $250 for every $300 we bought, which is better than the 10% off coupons they offer which are hard to get anyhow.
Post by Emerald1486 on Jun 26, 2015 7:08:29 GMT -5
I use Ibotta and Snap by Groupon for grocery rebates. A friend uses the Ride app (iPhone) and gets gift cards from that.
Routinely check your cell phone company plans. I was able to get my exact same plan for $10 cheaper a month because of a new promotion going on.
I shop at Kroger for my groceries so I make sure to download the digital coupons to my rewards card before I go, and use the points at the gas station to fill up at a discount.
We have saved a boatload of money doing Harris Teeter grocery pick up. I order only what i need, it keeps a running tally as i put things in the cart and we don't end up buying random stuff. We got a year pass, which will pay for itself in a few weeks. Probably not exactly what you were going for here but it has really cut down on our grocery bill.
Sent from my SM-G900P using proboards
I checked into this. An avocado was $2 something. I can get one for $.99 at Kroger. Other prices were similarly high. So really not a cost savings for me.
We garden and I've started to see our grocery budget go down significantly. Earlier in the month we had an abundance of strawberries, now we're getting raspberries and next month should have blackberries. We've picked over 30/squash and zucchini so far, which we've been eating and freezing and may can some. Lettuce and kale can be picked almost daily and soon we should have beans, corn, tomatoes, peppers and then in the fall cabbage and winter squash.
And once our chickens start laying eggs (should be soon!) I can stop paying almost $3.00/dozen for eggs.
Post by MadamePresident on Jun 26, 2015 7:43:53 GMT -5
I take the customer surveys on receipts for free food. I'm on my 3rd free Dunkin donut and with their 99¢ iced coffee. It's a pretty good afternoon pick me up.
Ibotta, Checkout51, Snap, Shopmium, Receipt Hog, Saving Star-the apps I use regularly I've recently started buying Target GCs through Raise.com after going through Swagbucks to get 1SB/dollar and 6.xx% off the Target GC. We do most of our grocery shopping there. Shop through Upromise to get extra cash back online. Most of the time it's better than Ebates or Chase's site. Right now they're doing $20 referrals for Upromise (we both get $20 after you shop through the site once). Let me know if you want one.
Live in less house than you "could" afford. It will save more money than all the sale hunting/coupon clipping/cable renegotiating that you can do. Hold on to cars forever. Avoid driving to work if you can (doesn't apply to you v ) Set a rule for dinner out of "pick ONE of drinks/appetizers/desserts"
We have saved a boatload of money doing Harris Teeter grocery pick up. I order only what i need, it keeps a running tally as i put things in the cart and we don't end up buying random stuff. We got a year pass, which will pay for itself in a few weeks. Probably not exactly what you were going for here but it has really cut down on our grocery bill.
Sent from my SM-G900P using proboards
I checked into this. An avocado was $2 something. I can get one for $.99 at Kroger. Other prices were similarly high. So really not a cost savings for me.
The prices for pick up are the same in the store. You can even order things just off the sale ads.
We buy gift cards at Kroger for things we plan on buying anyways. Then we get the fuel points and fill up our vehicles for $1/off per gallon. We each have to fill up our vehicles every week so it's saves us at least $100/month, probably closer to $125.
Post by orangeblossom on Jun 26, 2015 15:54:54 GMT -5
I use Bi.ng search engine. I haven't gotten to my first reward yet, but it's fairly easy to rack up points, and sometimes they have discounts for various products.
I don't think I saw Viggle listed. I don't use it as much as I used to, but it's pretty easy. Just check-in for music or tc.
Don't pay full price. You can get just about everything for less. Borrow or rent and item you rarely use. Buy on sale or clearance - or consignment
Do NOT lease a car - buy, slightly used (or older if your budget requires) - pay either in full at time of purchase or a loan that is no longer than 3 years. Remember to keep maintenance, fuel costs and insurance costs when comparing cars. Think of a car as transportation - not a "statement".Keep your car as long as it is safe. When paid off - may "payments" in your savings to put toward it's replacement for when that is needed.
Menu plan before grocery shopping. Have at least one meatless meal each week. Learn to cook --- use your crock pot!
Take your lunch to work. (left overs work great) Severly limit eating out.
Track ALL spending - then look at each category ruthlessly to evaluate it's necessity or amount.
Vacation at home or close to home - take a break, but don't break the bank. Vacations away - stick within your budget.
Pre plan your spending. Stay out of the stores or online sites unless you have a specific item/list that you are shopping for --- STICK TO YOUR LIST unless the item is something you normally buy and it is at a super price.
Pre plan hour wardrobe - mix and match of several colors. Buy quality classic basics and cheap trendy accessories. Good shoes - but they do not need to be 4 figures to get a good fit, comfort and longevity.
Build your budget starting with necessities - and include general savings, emergency fund and retirement as necessities.
Housing - keep your housing expenses to no more than 25% of your TAKEHOME pay. Keep commute as short as possible. You gain time and spend less on transportation.
PAY OFF DEBT - especially credit cards - then pay them in full every month.
I checked into this. An avocado was $2 something. I can get one for $.99 at Kroger. Other prices were similarly high. So really not a cost savings for me.
The prices for pick up are the same in the store. You can even order things just off the sale ads.
Sent from my SM-G900P using proboards
Shit. I feel bad for the people shopping at HT then. It's not even in the nice part of town and Kroger just opened a brand new store.
Live in less house than you "could" afford. It will save more money than all the sale hunting/coupon clipping/cable renegotiating that you can do. Hold on to cars forever. Avoid driving to work if you can (doesn't apply to you v ) Set a rule for dinner out of "pick ONE of drinks/appetizers/desserts"
Don't sweat the small stuff.
Thank you for this reminder. I love in a semi detached house in a sub division of detached McMansions. It's easy to sometimes wish I lived in the bigger houses like all my friends and do the what if. Then I realize that wig a bigger house comes bigger bills - tax, utilities, even cleaners charge more.