Perhaps it's because I'm feeling frugal with the threat of a husband losing his job, thank-you-very-much-layoffs, but I LOVE money-saving tips. Whether or not I use them, I still love finding more tips and ways to save. I have become some strange sort of coupon fiend. Not to say that I'm always good at being disciplined....
Like movies? Check out Redbox rental. They have machines in McDonald's, and some grocery stores, and they've started popping up at Walgreens too. I LOVE REDBOX! And I just discovered you can reserve your movies online and not be missing the title you're after when you get to the machine. It's a dollar a day! Never again should anyone rent a $5 movie at blockbuster or on cable!
The Entertainment Book. I knew I needed glasses this year, and low-and-behold, the entertainment book had a coupon for $125 off a complete pair. For a $20 book, it paid itself off times 6 in one purchase. But they have everyday 2-for-1 deals too, for restaurants and attractions, discount movie tickets, car washes, and online purchases. It is way worth it. You just have to be careful not to go places or buy things just because you have a coupon.
Target coupons. You can probably get them online too, but Target mailers have tons of coupons. I rejoice whenever it arrives, because there are always coupons for diapers and wipes and such (my biggest expenditure) and you can double up target coupons and manufacturer coupons.
Christmas decorations, or anything seasonal. Watch Target after Christmas for amazing clearances. This year I happened to be in the store when Christmas clearance was at 50% off. I didn't buy anything. The next day I went back and it had just been changed to 75% off, and I stocked up like crazy! (along with everyone else in the tri-state area, it seemed)
Mid-winter or mid-week getaways. I discovered a resort we love in our frigid state was offering amazing deals for winter getaways - when no one really wants to leave the comforts of their toasty warm houses. A room that is normally $199, in the mid-week and in winter, was $99. (we're going on this getaway in a couple weeks, in fact). But what? It's April you say? Doesn't matter - may as well still call it winter...
Sign up. If there are certain brands you ALWAYS use for certain things, sign up for online accounts. I'm very choosy about this, so I don't end up on millions of mailing lists, but signing up for Pampers, Huggies, Luvs, etc is excellent. Lots of coupons come your way. Definitely sign up for whatever brand baby formula you use. Nestle Good Start offers $11 rebate checks when your baby is a newborn. Very depressing, however, when $11 rebates decrease to $3 and $1! But use them while you can.
And so my lunch break has come to an end. And so my pearls of wisdom must too. Maybe I'll motivate myself to have more Lunch Lessons. I love giving advice, but only when warranted. If I do it here, people can ignore it if they detest advice. So ha!
I'd like to point out 2 things in this picture.
Look at baby doll's angelic little smile. She's still got it. I'm shocked by the LACK of hair. Seriously. There is an infinitely larger amount of hair a year later. Hard to believe this was pre-surgery, not that you can really tell in this picture...
