Update and stuff...

Well I know I have been remiss for the last month and I hope to get back on track now that the weather is going to start getting cold.

The update:  I went in for my 3 month follow up with my radiologist and my oncologist today and all is well, just need to go in for a blood test since I started a new medication but aside from that I don't have to go to a "scary" doctor for another 3 months.  October is breast cancer awareness month, be sure to get your mammograms and remember to do a monthly self exam. 

I thought since I hadn't posted anything in awhile I would share some of the great deals I have gotten this month and let you in on how to find them.

Shop #1 was with 1800PetMeds, my dog takes Dasuquin and it is pretty expensive, 1800PetMeds has the lowest price I have found on it anywhere and they currently have a sale going on to make it even a little lower.  I then added on coupon code W5PER from Retail Me Not to get an additional 5% off site wide and free shipping.  I ordered through Ebates so I also got 6% cash back on my transaction. 

Shop #2 was with Buy.com and was a whopper!  Our vacuum went kaput so we ordered a new Dyson Animal, it is fantastic at picking up pet hair and is so nice because there is no bulk to it, we will have it a long, long time; but what a price tag!  I was able to find it for the lowest price of $499.00 at Buy.com with free shipping.  Because I could not find a coupon code for this one I did a lot of digging for the lowest price.  Then I placed the order going through Quick Rewards so I will get an additional 2.1% cash back; it's not a lot, but $10.48 is about the cost of a CD for my husband for Christmas.

Shop #3 was with DeepDiscount where I ordered 2 things that will help with the winter Blah's, Frozen Heat on CD, the third book in the Nikki Heat series based on the TV show Castle. (I love books on CD because I can listen while I work on my scrapbooks.)  I also ordered season two of Haven.  Just going through DeepDiscount saved me $32.00 but I also went through Ebates again so I will get an additional 3% cash back.

The last shop was through Kohl's, they are having a huge sale on their throws and I found one I loved that is 60" x 80" marked down to $19.99 from $39.00, then I used a one day coupon code from Brad's Deals that brought the price down another 20%.  I also made sure I was shopping through Quick Rewards so I got 3.2% cash back.  There was tax on the item since I live in a state that has Kohl's but there was no shipping.  My total cost was a few cents over $17.00.

On all my shops online I only use one credit card and it is one that earns me points to use towards miles, gift cards, hotels or merchandise and then pay it off at the end of the month.  My motto is never miss an opportunity to earn something for all your hard work shopping!

What deals have you found this month?  I would love to hear about them!

Have a great week everyone!

Michele

Hotel happiness...

I am just heading home today from a trip to Minneapolis with a friend who needed some medical tests.  I am an old fashioned gal at heart, I went to the hotel web site and checked the rate then called to see if they offer a discount for folks going to the University for medical reasons.  Indeed they do have a special rate for that and it saved us $45 per night on out rooms.  When I was done booking the rooms I decided to check Hotels.com and Expedia just to see what they said and I was able to get the same rate through them but not on the club floor.  Whats the big deal with that you may wonder?  Well here is the difference, by me calling and asking for that rate the woman in reservations signed me up for the Gold Rewards Program automatically, no additional paper work for me, I got free valet parking for my car, a $6.00 gift card for each night we were in the room to Starbucks (which are good at any Starbucks, not just the hotels branch) and $10.00 each night we were in the room to the hotels lounge.  So in addition to the amount saved on the room we got money to spend in the hotel.  In all, with two rooms for two nights we saved $180 on the rooms, plus got $64 to spend on food and beverages.  I think that was worth the call for sure and just proves that sometimes the best way to hunt for a deal is to not hunt too hard.

The other problem with some of the online hotel booking sites is that some chains, like the Kimpton's, have the same rate no matter where you go, which means that booking directly through the hotel site is the best bet because you can request things that the hotel may offer for free.  In the case of Kimptons the have "tall" rooms, which means a longer bed and higher shower heads, something my husband loves, these can't be requested using another site.  The other problem I ran into was checking on Hotwire; you don't actually get to see what hotel you will be staying at until AFTER you book the room.  This is not for me, I like being able to see a picture of the room because if I have to spend a week in a overly modern space it makes me a little nuts.

The moral here is that it pays to do a little homework but I would suggest calling the hotel directly and ask if they can meet the rate you found on line and what comes with your room.  Some hotels will even sign you up for their rewards programs which will entitle you to a free upgrade or other amenities.

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

C.Q.

Thursdays picture perfect deal...

The picture...

This little Chickadee was in our front yard waiting patiently for its turn at the feeder.  All the birds were busy that day to get as much seed as they could since it had just snowed along with some rain and there was more on the way that evening.

The deal...

Have some last minute gift to get?  Why not get the gift of snacks, better yet they can be delivered right to their door, saving you time as well as some cash.  Right now the Popcorn Factory is offering 10% off your order of $50.00 or more using coupon code CE10 or 20% off your order of $100.00 or more using coupon code CE20 through December 19th.  If the person on your list isn't a popcorn fan then check out the good stuff over at Fannie May.  They are celebrating their 90th year of Christmas with a sale you can tailor to what you want, get 50% off with coupon code 15650, or get 30% off and free shipping using coupon code 15630, the choice is yours through December 18th.  With these great saving you could send yourself a gift or two.

I hope you are all having a great week and staying warm wherever you are.

C.Q.

Sunday's media madness...

This holiday season why not let your iPod and Smart Phones make your shopping a little easier?  There are some really great cool apps available that can help get your shopping done in short order so you have more time to relax and bake those cookies for the office cookie exchange.

First lets start with know how much you can spend, you can use Mint to help you with a budget, its available for free download to both the Android and iPhone, if you don't want that information on your portable device they are also available on Yahoo.com.  When you have your budget set you can stretch it using application such as Coupon Shurpa, it offers coupons to over 5,000 stores from your home computer, or download the free app and it will send coupons to over a hundred stores directly to your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Need directions or store information?  One of the best apps available is YPMoble, this is not the Yellow Pages of your childhood, now it is super charged with a search feature, driving directions, web links, reviews and a way to save your contacts or favorites lists. YPMoble is free and available for your iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, Android, Palm and Blackberry.  Now that you have made it to the mall and parked in the sea of cars, will you ever find your car again?  You will if you download Carr Matey, this app is available for the Android and will help you find a place to park, let you enter parking garage information,and remind you when your meter is set to expire.

Well you made it, look out shoppers your off to the races!  But which direction do you need to go?  With Mall Maps Mobile you can find your way around almost any mall with ease, its great for finding new places that have just opened or when you are traveling and shopping an area you are unfamiliar with. This free download is available in the iTunes store for the iPod, iPad, and iPhone.  Now that you have found your favorite store are you getting the best deal on your purchase? Used to be you had to run all over town to find out, now you can just use an app like Shop Savvy 4 by using the camera on your iPhone or Android camera to scan the bar code and compare prices with other stores and on line.

Ahhhh, almost done but where did you put all those reward membership cards?  With an application like CardStar you can keep all that information together in one spot.  With an ever growing list of merchants that are supported as well as the ability to add your own this is one of the easiest and most beneficial apps available, epically since its free and available for the iPhone, iPod, iPad, Android, Blackberry and Windows phone.  All you do is find the card info and show your phone to the cashier, no more extra plastic cards to carry around.

I hope you all have a rewarding shopping experience this holiday season!

C.Q.

Saving through portal shopping...

Reward programs have been around for years, remember S and H Green Stamps? They were started in the 1930s by the Sperry and Hutchinson company (S and H), founded in 1896 by Thomas Sperry and Shelly Hutchinson, and given to customers at grocery stores, department stores and gas stations. During the 1960s, the rewards catalog printed by the company was the largest publication in the United States and the company issued three times as many stamps as the U.S. Postal Service.

Now with the Internet there are some great reward sites for shopping online, and while there are a lot of good ones I am going to go over the four I am the most familiar with today, starting with My Points. When I first ventured into reward sites on the Internet in the 80s this was the first site I joined.  Originally started by United Airlines, the company was purchased by a private corporation in 1996 and has been handled very well.  They payout points for shopping, points are awarded after a one month waiting time, this insured that large products are not returned and point credits reversed. If you choose to subscribe to their email list you also earn 5 points for almost every email read, this adds up very quickly.  You only need 1,500 for a $10 gift card to Olive Garden or Red Lobster, there are also a lot of other payout options, most in gift cards.

The next site is Quick Rewards, this is the second site I joined.  The things I really like about this program are the extremely fast customer service, the speed the cash back is credited to my account, (sometimes with in minutes but usually with in a day) and the fact that it is a cash system, not a point system so I know exactly what my account is worth at all times and there is no minimum payout.  When you want your money you have the option of cash to PayPal, or store and online gift certificates.  Like MyPoints you can also earn cash for reading email and doing surveys as well as for shopping.

Third I joined Ebates in 2005, this site is specifically for shopping online and aside from offering the cash back also lists all the coupons available, which is a general time saver.  Like MyPoints your cash earned will show as pending in your account until they are sure you are going to keep your purchase, and like Quick Rewards your balance is all in cash.  You earn $5.00 to your account just for signing up with them, then every 3 months, they send a cash back payment for purchases posted during the previous quarter based on their posted schedule. But if you've earned less than $5.01 cash back, they carry it over your money to the next check.  You can opt for a check  payable to you, your child, a charity or any organization of your choice, and of course there is always the option for PayPal.

Finally I recently joined Market America, I have a friend who has used this site for years and loves it.  He does probably all his shopping through this site.  You earn cash for your purchases of both their own branded products as well as their partner sites.  Their site has a great feature that allows you to type in what you are looking for and it will find it for you at multiple stores as well as find comparable products.  It works a little like the shopping feature on Google but has more options.  When your account reaches $50.00 you can cash out for a check to yourself or like Ebates, a child, charity or any organization of your choice, if your balance is under $50.00 you can use it to spend on their own branded products.  This is a fantastic way to try something new to see if you like it, who knows it could save you a ton of money in the long run! 

When I use my cash back shopping portals I always check to see where the best deal is, so for example if I want to order a book through Target for $20.00 I will check them all and find that...

MyPoints will pay 10 points per dollar, that's 200 points or about $0.13
Quick Rewards will pay me 4.20% or $0.84
Ebates will pay me 4.00% or $0.80
Market America will pay me 2% or $0.40

In this case I would use Quick Rewards, but that isn't always the case.  Each retailer is willing to pay each portal provider different amounts and in some cases is will only go through a certain provider so its worth while to check which sites offer what rewards.  I was able to earn thousands of dollars when we built our house a few years back, I used shopping reward sites combined with my reward credit cards for an even better deal.  So remember when you shopp on line to check for rewards and cash back though at least two portals to maximize your discount.

Have a great weekend everyone!

C.Q.

Savings by phone...

Rethinking your cell phone plan is almost as bad as shopping for new jeans. You know the ones you have are comfortable and do the job, but on the other hand you also know there is something better out there if you take a little time. A couple of years ago I was comfortable with our shared minutes plan between my husband and I, we got 150 minutes a month to use between us for $76.00 after all the taxes. Sounds wonderful but we never even came close to using that many minutes, we were lucky if we used the phones at all. I called the carrier and found out that this was their lowest plan but I was locked in for 2 more years and if I canceled it would cost $100 per phone. That didn't seem fair but I sat down and did some math. Best Buy had phones we liked for $25.00 each and a 100 minute prepaid card for each of them was $75.00. The price to cancel and start over was a total of $550.00, the cost to stay with our old carrier would have been $1,824.00. By switching and paying the penalty we saved over $1,200.00 for the next two years.

Here is the math:

Best Buy phone = $25.00 x 2 = $50.00
100 prepaid minutes = $75.00 x 2 = $150.00 x 2 years = $300.00
$100.00 fee per phone to drop old carrier = $200.00
Total for the next two years with Best Buys plan = $50.00 + $300 + $200 = $550.00

Old carrier fee $76.00 x 24 months left = $1,824.00

I am not saying that a prepaid works for everyone, but maybe it is time to check your current carrier. Do you have a lot of minutes left over at the end of the month? Even if they roll over you will probably never use them all, think if it this way, if you roll over 10 minutes every month from your plan at the end of the year you will have 120 minutes, that may sound good but are you really going to ever use them? The phone company is banking on the fact your not, they get paid and you get to keep your minutes, it looks great....on paper. Worse yet, do you lose any unused minutes at the end of the month, a company that charges for the minutes but doesn't roll them over is hoping that at some point you will need a little more that what you paid for due to some family emergency or vacation you need to call home from, then they will charge you 3 times the standard rate. Its easy to check for plans that are in you budget with Bill Shrink, its quick and easy and could save you a lot of cash. You will need your usage information, it can usually be found on your bill.

The second thing is to check your bill for features you may be getting charged for that you never use. Your phone may be equipped with a GPS navigation system, but do you use it? That can cost up to $10.00 per month on your plan. Another charge may be for Internet usage, if you don't access the Internet from the road you may be paying for something you don't need or use. Some of the phone carriers allow you to turn on features as you need them, if you need the Internet or GPS for a vacation then see what the charge is for one month and set up a reminder to call to have it turned off when you are back home.

Another thing to check is the cost of the phone itself. Technology changes so fast now days that its hard to stay on top of it, I have opted to keep my phone simple and bought myself an iPod Touch separate from the phone. That way all my hard work and apps will stay in one place if I ever decide to upgrade my phone because it's outdated, I also don't have to pay "extra" for the technology embedded in the phone. Its important to remember that a "Budget" phone can still be a nice phone, almost all have messaging, voice mail, camera, Internet and texting. You can even go "green" with some of the new phones. The MOTO W233 Renew green phone from T-Mobile is unique because of its eco-friendly construction, the Samsung Reclaim green cell phones handset is made up of 80 percent recyclable materials and is designed with organic components and packaging. Please also recycle your old cell phone when you purchase a new one, many battered woman's shelters will take them, or you can request a prepaid envelope from the Cell Phones for Soldiers program, plus many many more programs that use phones for the elderly, victims of natural disasters etc. check for options with phones4charity.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

C.Q.

Sunday's media madness...

For me one of life's little indulgences is laying in bed at night looking at my magazines. Don't get me wrong, I adore a good book, but magazines offer me the chance to invest a small amount of time and still get something wonderful in return. If you have been reading this blog for awhile you know that I have eclectic taste, and its no different in the magazines I read. I love my Victoria and Tea Time subscription just as much as my Taste of Home and Food and Wine, but when it comes to reading before I go to sleep, nothing inspires better dreams than my travel magazines.

The three I get each week are Vacations, Budget Travel and Travel and Leisure. Of course being as budget minded as I am I have never paid full price for a magazine in my life. There are many companies offering discount subscriptions, you just need to find the best price among them. Here are the sites I look at when I am looking for a deal; MagsDirect.com, Magazines.com, MagsCheap.com, Magazine Deals Now and Subscription-offers.com.

As an example, Vacations is my least expensive publication and it varies in price at each outlet; at MagsDirect.com it is $14.00, at Magazines.com it is also $14.00, at MagsCheap.com it is $9.95, at Magazine Deals Now it is $10.95 and at Subscription-offers.com it is back up to $14.00.

I checked on Retail Me Not and there is currently a 10% discount for Magazine Deals Now if you enter the code MPS10, that would bring the price down to $9.86.

Also, when I place an order for a publication I keep a record of it in my computer; whether you do this on index cards, your smart phone/iPod or in your computer is up to you, but its very helpful when ordering from different outlets. All publications will try to get you to renew, many of them way before your subscription is set to expire, this can get very confusing and is exactly how I ended up with my Better Homes and Garden superscription running through 2012. For each publication I note the name of the magazine, where I purchased it, the price of the subscription and the date it is set to expire, then if I choose to cancel the subscription I know where to go or if I want to renew I know exactly when to do that without having lost an issue or having it run through the next millennium.

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend!

C.Q.

Free eBooks and a valuable lesson

Recently I had two things happen, one good and one not so much, both of these events prompted today's blog topic. At the beginning of the month I was finally able to purchase my iPod Touch, this got me thinking about one of my friends daughters who was over during the summer and was reading a book on hers. I did a little research and found that you can download a very nice free eReader at the iTunes store called Stanza, its put out by Lexcycle. I preferred this one because you have to pay extra for the dictionary in a couple of the other ones. When you want to download a book it is very easy and very quick, just tap on the get books button and you have your choice of either traditional book stores or free books. In the free books category you can choose from quite a few different places to find books, one of the best is Project Gutenberg. My choices for my first books were Walden, Great Expectations (a childhood favorite) and a book called Wit'ch Fire by James Clemens.

I also have an original first generation Amazon Kindle, not as fancy and tricked out as my friend Bernie's new one, and I have a few friends now that have Barns and Noble's Nooks (which have color) and Sony readers. If you are thinking about getting one of these devises they are wonderful but it can be confusing to know what will work for you, Wikipedia has a great page comparing all the different models out there so you can make the best choice for you're needs. All of these ereaders will download free books, its just a matter of knowing where to find them. The Project Gutenberg library supports many different formats and will work with almost any ereader. If you have a Kindle then you can check Amazon directly for free books that work with their ereader. The Baen Free Library has a wide selection of Science Fiction available for many ereaders. Another great site for downloads is Manybooks, they have a wide variety of books to choose from and there is a little something for everyone and download to most ereaders. If any of you are trying to learn another language (I am trying to learn French) then one of the best ways to stay immersed is to read a classic in another language, I just downloaded "Le avventure d'Alice nel paese delle meraviglie", we know it as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and although it is a children's classic, because I know the story, it will help me with the French words and sentence structure. If you like romance books Harlequin offers a small selection free ebooks downloadable in PDF format on the computer or directly to Stanza on your Blackberry, iPhone or iPod. One of the other wonderful sites I found was Bartleby, you can search for almost anything in any number of different ways. This site has a lot of neat stuff so be sure to take your time here.

On to the second occurrence that was not so good but did teach me a very good lesson. I enjoy the books (both series) by Laurell K. Hamilton and she recently just released her most recent in the Anita Blake series. It was set to be in stores last Tuesday but when I went to Barns and Noble it had not been on their trucks delivery. They took my name and assured me it would be in on Wednesday. Sure enough; Wednesday morning I had my confirmation email, the book was in come and get it, so like one of Pavlov's salivating dogs off I went. Because I had a gift certificate I decided to browse a little in the music section and picked up a copy of the Mamma Mia soundtrack I had been wanting, usually I would check the prices before I buy something but what the heck, I had a gift certificate. Because things tend to stick in my brain I later thought I would compare the price of my new CD to the prices at Amazon and Deep Discount just to make sure I got a good deal, or at least an average one, so I pulled up the Barns and Noble web site and looked up the CD and was VERY surprised to see that the price on line was LOWER (by almost $5.00) than the price in the store, OK, now a little irritated I decided to see about the book, and sure enough, that was less on line as well ($3.00). I called to check with the store and they KNOW about this problem, she offered to take the items back and re-order them using BN.com, but I had already put the CD in my iPod. Just the simple act of checking the on line price of a store against the in store price can save you a chunk of cash, so remember to call the store to get a price before you head out, you may be better off staying home and shopping in your nightgown.

Have a great weekend everyone!

C.Q.

Snacking on cash...

I was in the grocery store the other day and about fell over when I saw the price potato chips have risen to and got to thinking about the 2 most popular snack foods, chips and popcorn. A box of Old Dutch potato chips was on SALE for a whopping $3.48 and Orville Rednbacher's microwave popcorn was also $3.48 on sale. In the Orville Rednbacher's package there are 3 bags of popcorn, that makes each one $1.16 when in comparison you could by a 30oz jar of the same popcorn for popping for about $5.00 with no coupon. Breaking down the cost for the jar with 7.5 servings the popcorn the cost is about .65 cents and there are no carcinogens in it. You can make the popcorn as per the instruction on the jar which takes really no more time than microwave popcorn, you can also microwave on the fly in a bowl with a plate over it and just put a thin layer of kernels in the bottom of the bowl and microwave away, or you can make your own microwave popcorn to bring to work and have the best and freshest popcorn in the office.

Fresh Microwave Popcorn:

1/2 cup unpopped popcorn
2 to 3 tablespoons melted butter
Popcorn salt or table salt, to taste
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese or other cheese sprinkle
(optional)

Pour the popcorn in the paper bag and fold the top of the bag over twice to close. (Each fold should be 1/2 inch deep; the kernels need room to pop.) Seal the bag with two small staples (no more, no less), making sure to place the staples at least 2 to 3 inches apart.

Put the bag in the microwave and cook on high power for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the pops are 5 seconds apart.

Remove the bag from the oven and open it carefully, avoiding the steam. Pour the popcorn into a bowl and drizzle it with butter, then toss with salt and cheese, if desired.

That brings me to the potato chips. A 5 pound bag of potatoes at my local market is $2.98, already less then the box of chips, but lets keep going... of that I only need about 5 potatoes or about 1/2 the bag, so my equivalent cost is $1.49 for a box of homemade wonderful tasting no preservative chips. You can also substitute sweet potatoes for an extra gourmet touch.


Classic Homemade Potato Chips Recipe:

4-6 white potatoes
water
vegetable oil (for deep frying)
salt

Wash and scrub the skins of your potatoes well. Remove potato skins. Using a paring knife or food processor, cut thin round or oval slices. Remove any bad spots. Fill a large bowl with cold tap water and soak your slices in the water for 30 minutes. Remove slices from water and pat them dry with paper towels. Turn your deep fryer on and set the temperature at 350 degrees. When the oil has reached the desired temperature, place a handful of slices into the frying basket and drop down into the oil. Deep fry your slices until they are crisp and lightly browned. This usually takes 2-4 minutes. Remove the basket from the oil and let drain over the deep fryer for 2-3 minutes. Line a large plate with 3-5 thick paper towels. Pour the chips onto the plate and use a separate paper towel to blot off excess oil. Season with salt if desired.

**If you like your potato chips seasoned with Old Bay or any other spices, place some the spice in an old salt shaker. Shake the desired amount on the chips. Wait 1 minute, flip the chips over and season the other side.

There are a ton of different recipes on line for a lot of the snacks we like to purchase in the grocery stores, its worth the time to find some that sound good and try, they are healthier and far less expensive, they can also provide something fun the whole family can help put together on the weekends to have on hand.

Hope this gets you all thinking.

C.Q.

Shipping your shopping free............

Today is free shipping day at over 700 retailers!!! If you haven't gotten what you need for the holidays yet then this is the place to check out. Note that a lot of the retailers are offering the free shipping on orders over a certain target amount so be sure you meet the requirements. You can find a list of all the stores with free shipping at Freeshipping.org

It pays to check for coupons and compare prices, two great sites for this are RetailMeNot for coupons and TheFind for comparison shopping. If you like TheFind it is also available in App form for iPhones.

Hope this helps with the holiday rush, have a great weekend everyone!

C.Q.