Today's 365 frugality tips, as part of my Year of Renewed Frugality (or YRF), focuses on why it's so important to cash in on rebates that you get when you buy certain products. A recent survey showed that, on average, Americans let $40 in rebates go to waste each year. If you're trying to live frugally and want that extra cash in your pocket, make cashing in on your rebates a priority.
Day 4: Year of Renewed Frugality Earlier this week, I came home from Staples with four new binders for my daughters to use in high school. No, they don’t have some crazy requirements that ask them to buy new school supplies in the middle of the year. Rather, Staples was offering 100 percent rewards back on binders, meaning that, after I get my rewards check, those binders will have been free. You see, my approach to frugal living isn’t about following set shopping calendars to get what I need. I save money for my family by buying what they...
I know that most college students are on winter break right now, but soon enough they will be heading back to campus–and the campus bookstore to stock up on college textbooks and other materials they need for their classes. I just found out about a new way to save on those college textbooks. Right now Amazon.com has a deal on new, used, online, and rented textbooks. Here are those Amazon.com deals that showed up in my inbox today: Up to 30% off new textbooks Up to 90% off used textbooks Up to 70% off rented textbooks Up to 60%...
You know I love me some rebates. I planned most of my back-to-school shopping around them, and managed to spend only about $7 on my daughters’ entire back-to-school list, thanks to penny deals and rebates at Staples, the nearest office supply store to me. Now Staples has two free paper deals that are good through Saturday, September 29th that I thought you’d want to know about and being to use. If you’re running low on paper or just like to stock up when the paper is free–that’s my plan–you won’t want to miss these deals. Both deals require coupons,...
With this post it really is all about use them or lose them. As promised here is a round up of some coupons that you definitely won’t see in your Sunday newspaper this weekend. You won’t see them for two reasons: There are no coupon inserts on Labor Day weekend These coupons expire on August 31st (Friday) Many of these items are perfect for packing lunches, so I hope you’ll click through to Coupons.com, print them out, and use them before they expire on Friday. Remember: Coupons.com sometimes doesn’t play well with Firefox. If that happens to you, switch...
I find school mornings are easier when my pantry is stocked with everything my kids need to eat a good breakfast on their own, and I can pack lunches without a hassle. Are you the same? Are you already into the back-to-school grind–of making breakfasts and packing lunches? Or maybe, like me, you’re staring down its arrival in a few weeks. Either way, chances are you’re looking to stock up on what you’ll need for those lunches and breakfasts, and to do so at a discount. To that end I plan to spend the next few weeks stocking up...
I did an interview a few weeks ago with WTVD in Raleigh, North Carolina, offering my tips on saving for back-to-school shopping. Some of these tips include using reusable containers for make-your-own snacks (versus prepackaged 100 calorie packs, which can be pricey), buying backpacks and lunch boxes from companies that offer lifetime guarantees (Jansport, L.L. Bean and Lands’ End come to mind), and stocking up on school supplies all year round. If you’d like to see the segment–it’s only three minutes long–click on the video viewer below.
As you know I’ve been doing roundups each week on the penny deals at Staples as well as any other big savings you can find when back to school shopping at the store. Turns out there are other places where you can find back-to-school freebies, so from time to time I’m going to be posting about them, too. Just today I discovered these three freebies through one of my affiliate relationships. They’re not big, but they are free. Those free items are: Get a free sandwich keeper from Welch’s. This sandwich keeper is a reusable sandwich box that you...
Penny deals are back at Staples, and as the mother of two school-aged children, I couldn’t be happier. Ever since my daughters started school, I have been able to stock up on school supplies without spending a lot of money by taking advantage of Staples’ penny deals. (I mention Staples because that is the office supply store closest to me. I’m sure other stores offer similar deals.) Each summer Staples advertises its penny deals in its Sunday circular, and usually limits what is on sale for a penny to a few select items. Each week those items change.
Two weeks ago I did one of my regular segments on the “10! Show.” This time I talked about back-t0-school bargains that everyone can benefit from–even those without kids. (I wrote about this topic on Home Goes Strong, too.) In case you weren’t able to see the segment, here is a link to it on the NBC 10 website. (The embed code doesn’t seem to be working so you’ll need to click through to watch the segment.)
To help you with your back-to-school shopping, two more states are offering sales tax-free shopping this weekend. In other words it’s time again for state sales tax holidays. The next two states with sales tax holidays are Florida and Maryland. Here are the details of each state’s sales tax holiday: FLORIDA: Starting on Friday, August 12, 2011 and running through Sunday, August 14, 2011, Florida’s state sales tax holiday covers books ($75), clothing ($75), and school supplies ($15). That is, the items that qualify must cost less than the dollar amount specified. You can get more specific information on...
August is the most popular month for states to offer sales tax holidays. And in the next 7 days, 11 states will be having their annual sales tax holiday. These sales tax holidays usually occur during the back-to-school summer season, when states eliminate sales tax on purchases to encourage parents and others to shop. (Sadly, my own Pennsylvania and nearby New Jersey do not participate. Then again there is never sales tax on clothing purchases in either state.) In our current economy saving 5% or 7% or even 8% can add up to a lot of money you won’t...
If you live in Connecticut and Texas, and you still need to finish up your back-to-school shopping, don’t miss out on the tax-free shopping days that go through this weekend. These are the last two tax-free periods in the U.S. this month. Here are the details on each state’s tax-free shopping criteria: Connecticut: On Aug. 15-21, clothing and footwear costing less than $300 per item are exempt. Does not include accessories or athletic or protective clothing. Texas: On Aug. 20-22, clothing, footwear and school backpacks with sales price of less than $100 per item are exempt. Does not include...
Even though it feels like summer just started (or at least it does to me), soon enough school bells will be ringing. So will the cash registers, as parents stock up on back-to-school necessities. According to Huntington National Bank the average cost to send a child into the classroom armed with school-recommended supplies this fall is approximately $474 for elementary school, $545 for middle school and $1,000 for high school students. Despite these figures you don’t have to go broke getting the kids ready for the first day of school. Here are five ways that you can keep your...
You know how much I love Goodwill. It’s my go-to thrift store when I’m looking to snag a bargain for myself or for my kids. It’s also a favorite place to make donations of clothing and household goods–mostly because its drive-through window is just so darn convenient. These days I’m loving Goodwill even more, now that Goodwill Industries has partnered with Family Circle magazine to ensure that every child–regardless of income–can go back to school in style this year. Together, Goodwill and Family Circle are holding a 5 million-pound clothing drive, which runs from this Saturday, August 1 through...
Now that we’ve embraced frugal living, I’ve learned to fall in love with thrift-store shopping. It’s a love that I’m passing along to my own daughters, ages 11 and 13, as I wrote about in this back-to-school shopping post. And when I say thrift store, I’m not just talking about a clothing collection in a church basement (though you can find some rare gems there, too). What I’m thinking are consignment shops, resale chains like Plato’s Closet and well-known stores like Goodwill. Recently, I was reading a piece over at the Simple Mom blog on thrift store shopping tips....
