Garbage Bag Confession

They say confession is good for the soul....well, okay...here it goes....I don't buy garbage bags!!  There, I said it.  I haven't bought garbage bags for years...I use my old grocery bags. Yep. The paper ones in the tall kitchen can and the Target/Walmart type ones in the bathrooms and other places. 

Why this confession now? Well, let's just say I was feeling a little guilty when I was standing in the "baggie aisle" the other day and I saw what my family had been missing. For instance, the colors....who knew garbage could be so pretty. And then there are the scented liners too.  Not only can garbage look pretty, it can smell pretty too! (And to think that I was of the opinion that since it was just going to be thrown out anyway it didn't have to be pretty or smell good.) I also know that my family has never had the satisfaction of stuffing a "flexible garbage bag" to the max without tearing it, because I've never purchased a flexible bag. *Gasp* I thought that when the garbage was full it should go out and since that was a bit of a struggle at times, why in the world would I want a bag they could stretch so that the garbage could stay inside longer? And since I'm bearing my soul, the whole drawstring thing is also something that my family knows nothing about!  They have not had the pleasure of tying our garbage into a neat little bundle with a bow on the top. So unless the Target and Walmart bags count, (we kind of tie the handle thingys) my family has been deprived once again.  Somehow I just can't bring myself to pay for something I'm going to throw away anyway....I have to do that for some other products...like toilet paper for example and that irks me.

So, there you have it.  My garbage is not now, nor has it ever smelled good, looked good, or been presented in a neat little package.  The lawn bags however......

Do you have a thrifty confession story?

Saving Money/Making Money,

Jean

School Days Savings

Wow! Where did summer go? School is just around the corner in my neck of the woods. Those days are behind me, but I love watching other families gear up for the back to school time of the year.  Right now there are lots of fantastic sales at Walmart and Target when you're looking for back to school items. Walgreens even has some great prices if you watch their fliers closely and just get the coupon items.  Even if you don't need to shop to send kids back to school, now is a great time of year to pick up stocking stuffers, Operation Christmas Child box gifts, and just some extra "office" supplies at discount prices.  (I always snap up notebooks for journaling, grocery lists, family communication pads, etc. when they're on sale in the fall.)

*Tip ~ you can have your kids get the plain spiral bound notebooks for 15 cents a piece and "cool them up" themselves.  Grab a bunch of old magazines/photos/calendars and let them collage the front of the notebooks themselves. Finish it off with some contact paper and voila' designer notebooks!

A place you may not have considered for school supplies is Oriental Trading Company.  They have a great selection of items that are inexpensive and you can have them shipped right to your door!  One less errand to run ~ whew! 

For you college parents out there, this one comes from my sister ~ the Queen of Deals ~instead of buying those expensive college books, rent them!  Hot tip of the day for all you college bound students!! Go to Chegg.com or bookrenter.com and rent your college books for 1/4 of the price! My daughter just pd $60 for a book that would have cost her $165!! (She found all of her books there too!) They give you a return label to ship is back when you're finished with it!

Saving Money/Making Money,

Jean

All You Magazine

Hello, Fellow Money Masters:) If you've checked out Pocket Your Dollars at http://www.pocketyourdollars.com/ you've probably seen All You magazine coupons listed in her coupon stacking lists. Well, even though I've been using the Pocket Your Dollars site for a few months, I never really checked out the magazine. I wish I would have checked it out sooner! I just picked up an issue at Walmart last week. (one of the few places you can get it in my area.) Wow! Talk about your coupons galore! The top of the magazine says "This magazine pays for itself!" I believe it!

Better yet...if you want to try it, and not buy a copy like I did, you can go to their website (http://www.allyou.com/ )and get 2 free issues. Of course, like any free issue offer you will need to cancel your subscription after you receive the 2 free issues if you don't like/use the magazine. Their site is fun with a lot of links to freebies, rebates, tips, etc., etc., Seriously, go check them out.

I like the idea of having the magazine "pay for itself." That's what I want my book, "The Money Master, " to do....pay for itself by helping you think differently about your money and giving you ideas that you can apply to immediately bring in some revenue:) It's in an ebook format to keep the cost low for you ~ and to be one of the ways you can immediately increase your income:) You can purchase the book at www.themoneymaster.net/resources.html And you can create additional income by helping me to promote the book by clicking on the "Create Additional Income" link on the same page:)

Saving Money, Making Money....now that's what a Money Master is all about!

Free Stuff ~ Walmart

Did you know that on Walmart's website there is a link to free items from manufacturers?  I have a "junk" email account that I give out for public surveys, and freebie sites, etc. so I don't have to face the deluge of junk mail when I give out the address....and you know what?  I've gotten some pretty cool stuff just for taking a little time to fill out the manufacturer's survey.  Hey, if I'm sitting down to catch a bit of my favorite show or just take a load off, I figure why not use the time and get something free?  One less thing I have to buy, right? 

If you want to get free stuff go to http://www.walmart.com/   Then, go to the In Stores Now tab on the left menu bar. When you roll the cursor over the tab it will pop up another menu box ~ go to In Stores Now and click on free samples:)  Have fun!

 You may need to create an account (which can come in handy when you want to order photos....just upload, do your cropping/sizing and voila' you can pick them up at the store or have them sent directly to you.) 

Did you know that you can shop at Walmart.com and not pay shipping by having anything you order shipped directly to your local store?  Hey, save time at the store,(just roll in and pick up your order) and rack up some points or miles on your debit or credit card ~ remember our "Double or Nothing?" Then, kick back and reward yourself, because you are a "Money Master:)"

What did you get for free?  I just got some Emergen -C:)

Thrifty is Nifty!

I don't know about you, but I love thrift stores and garage sales! I love the thrill of the hunt and there's nothing quite like getting some brand name item for next to nothing!  I laugh when I read some of the women's magazines that talk about what a bargain it is to get a jacket for $125 or some jeans for an equally ridiculous amount.  Don't get me wrong ~ if that's the wardrobe piece you need and you have NO other options, go for it....but, in my experience, there's a bargain just around the corner if you're willing to wait for it.

I haven't been to Turn Style in a while, but I've gotten some really great professional clothing at some fantastic prices.  And when I need to clean out my closet, they will accept my clothing (brand name in great condition only) for consignment...what a way to make your wardrobe (a.k.a. your money) work for you.  I got a new suit, tags on, for only $10.  Price in the store would have been $150....you just can't beat bargain shopping like that:)  The location I visit most often is the one in Roseville at 2393 Fairview Avenue North, St Paul, MN 55113-2707.

If you're on a thrift shop hop, you can also check out Unique Thrift Store in Columbia Heights, MN ~ I got a couple of leather blazers for $3 each.  Again...you can't beat bargain shopping like that:)

Of course, you can't talk thrift store shopping without mentioning Saver's (that's for all you die hard Saver's fans out there.) Scuttlebutt has it that the Saver's on Lake Street is a great place to snag some of the latest trends because of it's location to Uptown. 

I also stumbled upon Hidden Treasures a while back. They are in the New Brighton area.  I love what they're all about.

What are some of your favorite thrift shops/consignment stores in town?  Do tell:)

Double or Nothin'

To follow up on the "Leverage" post of last Thursday, I thought I would throw out a little challenge for the rest of the week.  And that challenge is to try to get your money to work double for you until next Tues 8/17.

How, you ask?  Let's just say that any time you use money this week that you try to get more than face value for it.  For instance....use the double coupon trick I mentioned last Thursday.  You've gotten "more than" the dollar or 50 cents or whatever it is in savings, so you've leveraged your money.  Or how about using the speedy rewards program at Super America?  I've gotten a few tanks of gasoline by accumulating points from purchases made at Super America ~ not to mention numerous free beverages:)  You can check out the program for yourself at www.speedway.com/SpeedyRewards  (The program is free.) The point is that if I'm going to purchase something anyway, I want to think about making my money work harder for me. I call it the double or nothing principle.

Rainbow Foods also has a rewards program. Since I shop there (for the double coupon days) I got a Roundy's card and had the pleasure the other day of getting $1 off per gallon of gasoline on my gasoline purchase:)  Color me happy! $20 in my pocket that would have gone in my gas tank instead ~ all because I accumulated points on groceries I was buying anyway.  Here's the link to that program: www.fuelperks.com/roundys

Another easy way to do "Double or Nothin'" is to make your purchases with a debit or credit card that has reward points of some sort, be it airline miles, cash back, etc.  (If you make purchases with a credit card, be sure to pay the balance off in full each month.  Otherwise, you're defeating the purpose!)  So how about a  triple play? Use your debit or credit card with rewards points to purchase your gas at Super America with your Speedy Rewards card. Points on debit, points on Speedy Rewards, you made your money work twice for you ~ money, plus points, plus points = a triple play:) 

Who's up for the challenge?  I want to hear your "Double or Nothin" story!

Leverage

When you're a true Money Master, you will learn that leverage is a word that you must employ to make the most of your time, energy and money. Leverage is the concept of moving a large mass by using a focus point and a lever. You must learn to leverage not only your own efforts, but you must also learn to leverage other people's time, other people's money, and other people's expertise. No man is an island, and you won't accomplish what you hope to accomplish without other people, like it or not.

How do you use leverage? Think about trading babysitting/daycare services with another family instead of paying for them.  Get together with a group of moms and try cooking once a month instead of coming to the end of the day in a panic because it's dinner time and you have no idea what you're going to make. I did this when my kids were younger.  It was such a relief to know that there were meals in the freezer ready to go.  Even if you don't follow the menu strictly for a month, it's nice to know that you have back ups available for dinner. (I even used a couple of my made-ahead meals for other families who needed a meal dropped by:) Check out the sampler one week sampler. www.once-a-monthcooking.com/includes/MenuSampler.pdf
You can get the "Once a Month Cooking," book by Mary Beth Lagerborn and Mimi Wilson at the Focus on the Family bookstore http://www.focusonthefamily.com/ or on Amazon,com

I like to leverage my coupons. In my area, Rainbow Foods, my local grocery store doubles up to 5 coupons per $25 order (the price before the coupons are applied) on Wed. and Sat.  The largest coupon they will double is $1 ~ but hey, turning $1 into $2 makes me happy:)  When I apply that to some of the sale items, I'm getting some items free:) Now that's leverage!

What are some of your "leveraging" ideas?

A Huntin' We Will Go!

Hunting for money is like hunting for anything else. You have to be alert and on the lookout at all times or you just might miss what you're looking for.

Let's think outside the box today. If you were a hunter, hunting for ducks, where would you look? Chances are you would go to a lake, pond or some water source, because that's where ducks usually are. Hunters look for whatever they're hunting for in its'natural habitat.

Now, think about money. If you were hunting for it, where would you look? Couch cushions? The bottom of your purse? Your bank? Remember, if you're a hunter, you need to think about the habitat of the object you are hunting. Where does money live?

It actually lives in your mind. It's closer than you think, because if you can change your thinking about money, you can change your monetary situation. You really can.

After reading "The Money Master, " a girlfriend of mine said, "I can't believe all the money I just had laying around, that I never even thought of as money." You guessed it. After reading the book, she took action and transformed some of her things into money to help pay her bills. You can do this too.

Remember, things that are being hunted can be missed if you don't know where to look. Start with your own thought processes and work from there.

Money Saving Tip: Make the most of your coupons! Rainbow has double coupon days on Weds and Sat.  You can double up to 5 coupons per $25 order.  That's $25 before the coupon discounts are taken, so when you find a great or free deal, stock up:)