Blog Posts

Well, I sure hope some of you made it to Staples 2/19 or 2/20 to get your free items!  Staples was offering some great deals, including several items that will be completely FREE after rebate. Items had to be purchased either 2/19 or 2/20, and the rebate needs to be postmarked within 60 days of the purchase date.

When I was in Staples yesterday, I picked up  2 reams of copy paper, 2 packs of colored pens, 2 two-packs of Kleenex, and a package of address labels, for a total of $47.42.  I paid $47.42 up front, and received all the rebate forms at the end of the transaction, along with my receipt.  Now, I just need to submit the rebates, and wait to be reimbursed. I will be receiving $47.42 back, making everything I had just purchased FREE!

If you are new to the Staples Rebates program, here is a breakdown of how it works.

1.  Make sure the item you purchase is the exact item listed in the rebate.

2.   Read the fine print.

Check to see how many of each rebate item you can purchase. Some have a limit or 1, 2, or more per household address.

3.  Use your Staples Rewards card when you check out.

If you do not have a Staples Rewards card, sign up for one before you check out. Staples Rewards members earn a 10% back for ink, toner, case paper, ream paper, and copy/print services, and it’s FREE to sign up.

4.  Don’t lose your receipts and rebate receipts!  

5.  Submit your rebates as soon as you get home.

I would highly suggest submitting your rebates online at www.stapleseasyrebates.com. It’s quick, easy, and you will save yourself some postage by doing so. You will need your rebate receipt (the second receipt that printed out at the register) to enter in the required information.

6.  Choose the Paypal option to receive your rebate faster.

Yes, you will need a Paypal account to do this, and if you don’t have a Paypal account, I highly suggest you sign up for one at www.paypal.com.  It’s free, easy, and secure. Once you receive your rebate money into your Paypal account, just transfer it into your bank account and you’re all set.

7.  Check on your rebate status if you haven’t received it in a reasonable amount of time. 

You can track your rebate status here: https://www.stapleseasyrebates.com/img/staples/paperless/pages/Landing.html

And there you have it, shoppers! After you have submitted your rebates, sit back and relax, because you just earned yourself some FREE items!

Kelly Stroess is a fun, frugal mama who lives in Denmark, WI with her husband Bob and her 2 beautiful daughters, Hallie (5), and Carly (1). Kelly has been a stay-at-home Mom for the past 2 1/2 years and loves it. Prior to being a stay-at-home Mom, Kelly used to work for her local Boys & Girls Club.

In her spare time, Kelly likes to bake and garden. She also volunteers once a month providing child care at her local church, and enjoys camping with her family in the summer time.   Kelly said they used to enjoy being tent campers, but now prefer camping with a pop-up.  Kelly told me, “I guess kids change your way of thinking.” (I’ll have to agree with you on that one, Kelly!)

Kelly is not only good at being frugal, she is also very creative! In fact, in the picture above, Kelly is shown with her daughter Hallie, wearing their adorable matching ladybug costumes. Do you think she spent an arm and a leg buying these 2 outfits? Of course not! Kelly let me in on a little secret and said that she picked up Hallie’s cute ladybug outfit at Goodwill, and then made her own ladybug outfit using a red t-shirt and hot gluing black felt circles onto it.  Then Kelly made her own adorable antennae by gluing pipe cleaners onto a headband.  (Good job, Kelly!)

Recently I had the opportunity to interview Kelly and she had some fabulous money-saving tips and other great ideas to share with us! Here is what Kelly had to say:

What does frugal mean to you?

Getting the most for your money and getting the best deals that you can find.

I bought this Fisher Price garden for $1 at a village-wide rummage sale.

Do you prefer to do most of your shopping in-store or online? 

Mostly in-store, but I do like to browse online before making bigger purchases to know if I am getting the best deals.

What are some of your favorite stores to shop at?

I am not sure if it’s my favorite store, but I usually shop at Wal-Mart because I can price-match from all of the other stores,  and just shop at one place. I also like shopping at Hobby Lobby and the Dollar Tree.

What kind of frugal things do you do, to save time or money?   

I have starting using www.restaurants.com and our local gift certificate website, www.rtownshopper.com.  I also price match and use coupons.  Also since I live in the country, I have a garden.  I freeze fruits and veggies from my garden and from the farmer’s market.  I try to plan meals based on what is on sale at the store that week and then make meals and freeze them.  I also check out the clearance sales after the holidays are over.  I don’t really care what color my M&Ms are.

Thanks Kelly, for letting us get to know you!

Kelly Stroess! On The Frugal Connection Facebook page, Kelly played The Price Is Right Speed Round Game and guessed $8 as the purchase price for this new Eddie Bauer 3-in-1 jacket.  Out of all the entries received, Kelly’s $8 guess was the closest guess to the actual price paid ($14.99) for this amazing jacket. Stay tuned as Kelly will be featured as The Frugal Connection’s newest Featured Fan in an upcoming post!

Here’s how I got this amazing deal:

Original retail price:  $129.99, marked down to $59.99.

Add a 50% off the lowest clearance price sale to that, and the price came down to $29.99.

Then I used my Eddie Bauer Birthday postcard to receive another $15 off any purchase of $15 or more.

Final retail price paid:  $14.99.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you can score a brand new Eddie Bauer jacket for just under 15 bucks. (Almost 89% savings!)

Are you a Target shopper? Then you probably already know all of the great reasons to shop there. For those of you who don’t currently shop there, you may want to take a peek at all the savings you may be missing out on. Here’s 8 reasons why I like to shop there:

1.  Target Clearance.…Enough said. (And then add a coupon onto that, and you’re golden!)

2.  Coupon Stacking.  Use a Target store coupon and “stack” it with a manufacturer coupon on the same item.  Double coupons!

3.  The Encouragement of  Green Choices. Save 5 cents for every reusable bag you bring in to carry out your purchases.

4.  STARBUCKS.   (Does your local Target have a Starbucks in it? Nothing better than a little caffeine and some shopping!)

5.  Easy returns if you lose your receipt. Just produce the same card you used to purchase it, and they can look it up that way. (But I know that that will never happen to any of us, because we never lose our receipts, right? ) Ha.

6.  Giving back to the community. Did you know that Target gives 5% of it’s income back to their local communities, which equals over $3 million each week? (Source: Target.com)

7.   Pharmacy Rewards – Fill 5 prescriptions at Target and receive 5% off a full day’s worth of shopping.  Take another 5% off your bill when you use your Target Credit or Debit card.

8.  The new Target Debit Card….I just discovered this one a few days ago. While the employee behind the counter was processing my return, he asked me if I would like to get a FREE Target Debit Card.  I didn’t know Target even had a Debit Card available.  (Well, I guess you do learn something new every day!) Check out these awesome benefits the Target Debit Card offers:

• 5% cash back on all purchases

• FREE SHIPPING every day on www.target.com with no minimum purchase!

• Target will donate 1% of your purchases at Target stores and at www.target.com to any eligible K-12 school of your choice

• You can request up to $40 cash back in-store

If you are interested in learning more about the Target RedCard (Credit or Debit) and the benefits available, visit this link:

https://redcard.target.com/redcard/content/rcw_benefits_tgt_rewards

And if you’re interested in signing up for the Target Debit card, it’s quick and easy to do. Just go into your local Target and provide a valid Drivers license and a blank check, so the computer can verify your banking info.  That’s it.

My check was validated, voided, and then given right back to me. It took less than a minute to get signed up. The cashier gave me a temporary Target Debit card number, on a receipt, and warned me not to lose it, as it is a debit card. He also gave me a brochure explaining how the Target Debit card worked and that I should receive my card in a week. Awesome! I can’t wait to start using it and see the savings add up.

UPDATE:  This morning I just remembered a ninth reason I like to shop at Target…

• Price matching!

Here is a 5 point Pampers code for those of you who are enrolled in the Pampers Gifts to Grow program:  TWITL9E8XAGTG12.  If you are not signed up for this free program, go to www.pampers.com to sign up and enter the code to get your points!

Women’s Eddie Bauer SnowFoil 3-in-1 Jacket

Would you like a chance to be the next Frugal Connection Featured Fan? We’re playing another speed round of The Price is Right on The Frugal Connection Facebook page, and whomever guesses closest to the amount paid for this Women’s Eddie Bauer 3-in-1 SnowFoil jacket, will be our next Featured Fan!

Here’s a description of this great jacket, taken from the Eddie Bauer website:

For activities that require a more breathable shell, this three-in-one sheds rain and snow but prevents overheating when elevating your heart rate. StormRepel® DWR finish helps the surface shed snow and drizzle, while a removable inner jacket adds warmth on cold days but detaches for days when the sun shines and the air is warm. The nylon shell has an adjustable hood, a covered front zipper and zippered front pockets. The polyester fleece shell has a full-zip front, stand up collar and hand-warmer pockets. Imported.

And I’ll give you a hint, the original retail price of this jacket was $129.99…

So head on over to The Frugal Connection Facebook page and submit your guess! Good luck!

Birthday’s are so much fun, aren’t they?  Celebrating your special day with friends and family, going out to eat, throwing a party…doing whatever it is that makes you happy. Well, how would you like to add some birthday savings to your special day? It’s a lot easier than you might think.  

Every year, a week or so before my birthday, my mailbox and inbox start filling up with all kinds of birthday goodies. I keep them all in one place, and take them with me when I’m out and about during my birthday week, to reign in the birthday savings.  This year, I enjoyed several free meals, free coffee, a free hair product, and even a free outfit, to name a few. Take a look at some of the birthday coupons and discounts I received, and how you can get yours to use during your birthday week!

ACE Hardware: Free 2500 reward points with any purchase. (2500 points = $5 reward on next purchase.)

AMC Movie Theater:  Free fountain drink with any movie ticket purchase.

Applebees:  Free dessert with any entree purchase.

Arby’s:  Free 12 oz. shake with any purchase.

Aveda Salon:  Free product.

Baskin Robbins:  Free scoop of ice cream.

Chili’s:  Free Brownie Sundae with any entree purchase.

Ciao Mambo:  Free dessert with any entree purchase.

Cold Stone Creamery:  Buy One, Get One (BOGO) Free Creation.

CVS:  Free $3 coupon to use on any purchase.

Delta Air Lines:  $100 or $250 off a vacation purchase.

Eddie Bauer:  $15 off any purchase.

Fuddruckers:  Free burger.

Famous Daves:  Free entree with the purchase of another entree.

GoDaddy.com:  25% any purchase.

IHOP:  Free Fresh ‘N Fruity Rooty Tooty entree.

Mackenzie River Pizza Co:  Free dessert with a $10 minimum purchase.

Maurices:  $5 off any regular priced purchase.

Old Navy:  Coupon for $10 of any $50 purchase.

Papa Murphys:  Free cookie dough with any pizza purchase.

Perkins:  Free Magnificent Seven meal.

Pita Pit:  Free 22 oz. fountain drink

Pizza Hut:  Free dessert or side with any online order.

Redbox:  Free movie rental.

Red Robin: Free burger (and they offer unlimited fries with these!)

Sephora:  Free mini lip treatment duo.

Starbucks:  Free drink.

Victoria’s Secret: Free $10 gift card to use on any purchase.

Wendys:  $1 coupon off any combo.

Do any of those birthday goodies look good to you?  They are really simple to get! All you have to do is go online and find your favorite restaurant, coffee place, or other business, and sign up for their emails, newsletters, coupons, or whatever it is that they offer. You may also have an option to get on their text list, which will provide you those freebies right to your mobile device.

The list above doesn’t even include all of the local coupons I received for free meals, and I even found an awesome birthday freebie at a local thrift boutique!  I had noticed a sign on the counter near the cash register for the Happy Birthday Club. I asked the cashier about it, and he said that during the week of your birthday, you can come in and pick out a free outfit, valued up to $20! My birthday was 2 days away, so the timing was perfect.  So after browsing around a bit, I found a pair of American Eagle jeans and a brand new sleeveless shirt to take home that day. Thanks, local thrift boutique!

So as you can see, there are many businesses that offer birthday rewards, coupons, and freebies.  And even though I was not able to use all of the coupons and discounts I received,  it sure was fun to have a whole week’s worth full of opportunities to save money while celebrating. Now what can be better than that….

Frugal Tips:

• Visit the websites of the products and restaurants you enjoy and sign up to receive their coupons, newsletters, etc.

• Create a new folder in your email for all of your birthday email coupons. I labeled my email folder “Birthday”. Once you start to receive those coupons, simply move them over from your inbox to the new Birthday folder, so they will be easy to find and print when you need them.

• Check for expiration dates on the birthday coupons.  Some of the birthday coupons will only be valid if you use them on your birthday.  Other coupons are a little more flexible and may expire a week or two later.

• Print the coupons and file them in a folder, coupon binder, etc., and  keep it with you. That way, you will have them with you when you need to use them.

Have a fabulous birthday and enjoy all of your savings! 

One of my favorite online stores is Dayspring.com. As a Christian, I love to share God`s love with others, and one way I like to this is to purchase inspirational gifts for my friends and family through Christian retailers.

Have you ever visited the DaySpring.com website? If you haven`t, go check it out! Not only do they have a wide variety of beautiful and inspirational gift ideas, they also have some great deals going right now.  I spent some time searching through their clearance section over at www.dayspring.com, and I found some great deals!  I ended up buying 23 items for $26.97, and saved $175.74!!!

Not too bad, right? Well, throw FREE SHIPPING in there, and I was one happy camper.  Take a peek at some of the things I purchased:

Christmas Gift Bags for only $0.99!

I stocked up on these gift bags for next year.  These are perfect for anyone: family, friends, teachers, you name it.  They also include a free gift tag that reads: Jesus is the gift.  (Regular price: $3.99)

Really Woolly DVD`s for only $1.29!

These DVD`s are perfect for birthday gifts, or even Christmas gifts for next year. Again, I stocked up on these, since they were a steal!  (Regular price $9.99)  (These would also be a great item to donate to your church library or MOPPETS group!)

More Really Woolly DVD`s for only $1.29!

More stocking up, here. These are entertaining DVD`s that your children will love, and they all include wonderful, encouraging messages for their precious little hearts. This one is about obeying your parents.  (Another idea for these gifts would be to include these in a church fundraiser or benefit as small prizes.)

Get this cute little Titus plush sheep for only $1.29!

This little sheep named Titus will be the perfect stocking stuffer for next Christmas. I also got an extra one to fill my Operation Christmas Child shoe box for next year. Yes, I am always thinking ahead. Retail price: $9.99.

Veggie Tales Valentine`s Day Cards (26 pack) for only $0.99 each!

I was so excited to see these Valentine`s Day cards already on clearance BEFORE Valentine`s Day!  I ordered several of these for my kids to use this year, and next year. Retail price: $3.99.  (These would also be another great idea for a Sunday School class or MOPPETS group!)

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Well, as I mentioned before, I received FREE SHIPPING on my order. HOWEVER, this was not offered on the Dayspring website!  Want to know how I got it? Keep reading!

Whenever I am ordering something online, I ALWAYS log in to my ShopAtHome account and then search for the online store where I am planning on buying something. Once I logged in today, I searched for Dayspring, and found several coupons, including one for free shipping for any $25 or more purchase. BINGO! By using this free online code from ShopAtHome, I saved myself $7.45 in shipping costs.

So, frugal friends, if you have not signed up for a FREE account at ShopAtHome yet, please do so here:   http://www.shopathome.com/?IAFCG=5cSuSPrz6zureYsLCE39Iw==

Once you are signed up, and make your first online purchase through ShopAtHome within 60 days, you will receive a $5 bonus! Easy, right?  Then, if you think ShopAtHome is as awesome as I do, you can refer others with your own unique link, and once they sign up, you will both receive a $5 bonus! Free money, my friends! And a ton of savings!

ShopAtHome also offers a ton of cash back opportunities when you log in to your account and start your shopping there. I have already earned over $50 in cash back from doing this for just the past few months.

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Frugal Tips:

1.  Sign up for a FREE ShopAtHome account (see link above).

2.  Search for the store Dayspring, once you are signed up and logged into your ShopAtHome account.

3.  Select the online coupon code you would like to use, click on it, and ShopAtHome will take you directly to the Dayspring website. Easy as pie.

4.  Search through the clearance sections on Dayspring.com and once you`re ready to check out, be sure to enter in your FREE SHIPPING code.  (Remember, you must have at least $25 of merchandise in your shopping cart to receive the free shipping discount. )

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Congratulations! If you just completed the 4 steps above, you have just scored a ton of savings from selecting some awesome clearance items to bless others with, you received FREE SHIPPING, and since you just signed up for ShopAtHome and made your first purchase (within 60 days of signing up), you will receive another $5 from ShopAtHome!

High Five, Frugal Friends!

The North Valley Family Center, otherwise known as NOVA, is located in Florence, MT, and is a community based Family Resource Center.

NOVA`s mission is to bring people of all ages, skills and abilities together to create a network of support that will:

• Strengthen resiliency in parents and their children
• Provide Information and resource referrals
• Engage families in lifelong learning activities, and
• Encourage volunteerism, leadership, and civic engagement

NOVA`s activities and programs are free, and offered to people of all ages, regardless of income level. Some of the classes and activities offered for preschoolers and their parents include: Tot Time, Ready! Set! Play!, and Music in Motion. 

For more information on NOVA, or to see their upcoming calendar of events, friend them on Facebook under North Valley Family-Center, or visit their blog page at www.novafrc.org.

Traci`s favorite places to shop:  

Anywhere local and cheap!! She loves thrift stores, especially the Secret Seconds stores in Missoula, MT.  She also frequents Goodwill quite often.

The best deal Traci ever got was: 

When Traci was shopping at the Goodwill outlet in Oregon with her Mom, they ended up buying a huge area rug (and a bunch of clothes) for $10.  That same month Traci was in Lowes shopping, and found the exact same area rug for $300!

How Traci saves money on things that she buys:

Traci usually tries to wait until something goes on sale, but she said she needs to get better about using sales + coupons to maximize her savings.

Traci`s frugal tip to share: 

Traci said she was fairly new to the world of Couponing, but if she had one tip, it would be to ONLY buy what is on your list.  Often times she goes into the store, with only a few things on her list that she really needs to buy, and she will come out spending a lot of money on things she really didn’t need. Traci said that it`s a hard habit to break, but now that she is on a limited budget, she’s gotten better to sticking to her list.

Thanks for letting us get to know you, Traci!

How many of you toss your receipts after you`ve purchased something?  You`re not going to need it, right?

Let`s take a look at the flip side. How many of you keep your receipts in case you might need them later?  Maybe you just file them away, and if you ever need it, you know right where to look.

I used to be a receipt tosser. Then I discovered that I actually needed receipts more often than I thought, and I made the switch.

Here are several reasons why you might want to hang on to that little piece of paper the cashier so graciously hands you.

1.  Check to make sure that your items rang up correctly. 

Always double check your receipt to make sure everything rang up as it was supposed to.  Sometimes things ring up incorrectly, and the cashier may not even notice.  You`ve got to pay attention once you get to the register.

For example:  I had recently purchased a peacoat at Old Navy, which had been orange ticketed and marked down to $23.97. (Gotta love those after Christmas markdowns!) Anyway, for some reason, the peacoat rang up as $32.97, and I didn`t notice the error until I got home and looked at the receipt. Nine dollars may not seem like a lot to some people, but it was worth a trip back to the store for me, a few days later.

The cashier fixed the problem immediately and credited me back the $9.  I`m sure the error was just due to a glitch in their system,  and it was easily remedied with a valid receipt and a courteous salesperson. Because I had double checked the receipt after my visit and had not thrown it away, it netted me an extra $9 in my pocket. Receipts = money.

2.  Price adjustments.

Don`t you love it when you purchased something last week only to find out it went on sale this week? Well, it`s a good think you hung on to that receipt, so you can go back and get a price adjustment, if the store allows.  Most stores will credit you the difference between the price you paid and the current sale price, as long as it falls within the store`s allowable timeframe. Just bring in your receipt, confirm the current sale price, and bam…you`ve got more money in your pocket. Once again, receipts = money.

3.  Easy Returns.

We`ve all been there. You bought something and now for some reason or another, you need to return it.  Do you still have your receipt?   I have been so frustrated with myself on several occasions when I went back to the store without my receipt, and the store could only offer me store credit. And, as most of you know, most stores will only give you the current sales price of the product returned, which might be significantly less than what you paid for it. So in essence, you may be losing money by not having a receipt when doing a return. Receipts = money.

Some stores, like Target, are able to look up your receipt in their computer, if you don`t have it with you.  However, you will need to present the exact debit or credit card that you used to make the purchase. This method is very quick and easy to use, if you don`t have your receipt. (Yeay for Target!)

4.  Get your reward!

Look at your receipt.  Is there a customer survey offered on it? Here`s your chance to share your customer experience with the store management so they can get a birds eye view of your visit.  If you received great service from friendly and knowledgeable associates, tell them that.  If you had a bad experience in the fitting rooms or at the cash register, let them know so they can improve on their shortcomings.  Your feedback is very valuable to these businesses, and they are willing to reward you for it.

I have received a variety of rewards by completing these quick and easy surveys, such as free food, a coupon code for $10 off my next purchase, and more.  Some surveys only took me 2 to 3 minutes, and it netted me $10 in savings on my next visit. Not too shabby! So frugal friends, receipts = money.

5. Tracking your expenses AND your savings!

Have you ever wondered how much money you spent during the year? Are you curious to see how much you have saved? Keeping your receipts and organizing them will give you a pretty good picture. There are several different methods of organizing receipts, which I will go into in my next post.  So, stay tuned!

Frugal Tip:  The next time you get a receipt, think about holding on to that little piece of paper. It might just be more valuable than you think.