qmnonic/Flickr
Cathy from ChiefFamilyOfficer shared this week’s Ralphs deals. If you’ve never used coupons, read my post on the basics of clipping coupons. Or fast forward to advanced coupon clipping techniques in my interview with master clipper Erin Gifford of Coupon Cravings.
Farmer John Bacon – $1.97
Use $1 off 1 Farmer John Bacon printable coupon
Final price: 97 cents after coupon
French’s Mustard – $1.67
Use $.50 off 1 Frenchs Classic Yellow Mustard from the 1/24 Smart Source (exp 3/31) or 3/21 Smart Source
Or use $.50 off 1 Frenchs Mustard Spicy Brown, Honey Mustard or Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce from the 1/24 Smart Source (exp 3/31) or 3/21 Smart Source
Final price: 67 cents after double coupon
Welch’s 100% Juice – $2.99
Use $1 off 1 Welchs 100% Grape Juice or 100% Grape Juice Blend from the 2/7 Smart Source
Final price: $1.99 after coupon
The following deal will be available only during the 8-hour sale on Thursday:
Tropicana Pure Premium OJ – $1.88 (limit 2)
$1 off 2 Tropicana Pure Premium or Trop 50 from the 2/21 Red Plum or $1 off 1 Trop 50 from 3/14 Red Plum
Final price: as low as 88 cents after coupon
Read the rest of the deals at Ralphs Cathy found. Thanks, Cathy!
makelessnoise/Flickr
By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of BobbisBargains.
Decorating and dyeing Easter eggs is a wonderful frugal activity. For about $4-$7 you can buy dye, a dozen or more eggs that you are going to eat anyway, and create family memories.
Dyeing eggs
1. Boil or blow your eggs. Blowing out raw eggs requires putting a small hole in one end and a slightly larger hole in the other end. While holding the egg over a bowl, gently blow into the small hole so that the liquid egg goes into the bowl.
2. Mix warm water and a coloring agent. I use 1/2 cup warm water to one dye tablet. An egg dyeing kit at your local drug or grocery store is about $1.99 before sales. Each kit includes dye tablets and a dipping tool. The best part is the box. It comes pre-scored so that you can push out holes and then put your eggs in the holes for drying. This is the only product that I actually buy FOR the box, above. Many stores have post-holiday clearance sales and some start before the holiday. Buying your supplies at the last minute can lead to great discounts.
Tip: You can also use food coloring and the empty egg carton for drying to save even more money. Why buy dye tablets if you already have food coloring at home?
3. If you want to be more natural, use natural dyes to color Easter eggs. Use spinach for green, beets for pink and red zinger tea for lavender. Coloring the eggs in this manner is more expensive, but could be more educational.
4. Using some sort of dunking tool (use plastic gloves if you use your hands) put eggs in the dyeing liquid.
5. Wait a few seconds for light coloring or a few minutes for a deep hue. You can double dip but wait for the first shade to dry.
6. Take egg out and put in stand to dry. Drying times vary. If you want to eat the eggs later, do not put the eggs in the sun to dry.
Decorating eggs
1. Disney’s FamilyFun site has a wonderful list of Easter egg decorating ideas that include using cotton balls, string, elastic bands and thumbprints to enhance your dyed eggs. My favorites are:
- Dribble glue on the eggs. Let them dry, then dip in dye. Once the dye is dry, gently pull off the glue.
- Glue small stickers on the eggs. Ensure they are well stuck on. Dip, dry & peel.
- Glue string on the eggs. Let dry. Dip & dry. You may want to keep the string on for a new texture.
- Or… just forget the entire dyeing idea and paint the warm egg with crayon. The warmth of the egg melts the crayon.
2. Put bunny ears on the eggs and hide them. Eat lots of chocolate while you do this.
3. For more decorating ideas check out these Easter egg decorating instructions from eHow.
Is Vinegar Necessary?
All of the articles I found suggested adding vinegar to the dye mixture. However, this is not necessary for every color. My daughter and I experimented adding vinegar and it makes every color brighter except purple and red. For these colors vinegar makes the colors come out duller. Anyone a chemistry major? Why is this so?
We have a winner, folks! More than 650 readers entered the GoBankingRates contest on BargainBabe.com for a chance to win $500 worth of groceries. The randomly selected winner is…April from Dayton OH. Congrats!
Oh my gosh! I’m replying!
What all do you need from me? I’m so excited! Thanks so much!April
Thank you to everyone who participated! There will be another giveaway in a few weeks.
me and the sysop/Flickr
The votes are in, I’m going credit card-less for one month beginning April 1 despite the disadvantages of giving up credit. Here’s how I’m going to prepare.
- Hide my two credit cards in my jewelry box so they are out of sight, out of mind.
- Average my credit card bills from Jan, Feb, and March and set that as my spending limit for April.
- Head to my local bank branch to withdraw a fat roll of cash (my average credit spending from the past three months).
- Carry around $100 at a time for security.
- Begin spending!
My biggest concerns are safety, not having enough cash on me, and figuring out what to do about online purchases that require credit. I’ve decided to keep paying two bills - cell phone and student loan – as I have in the past, through a transfer from my checking account. These bills are consistent month to month and I don’t have the option to not pay them. My focus is on how using cash changes my day-to-day spending, not my fixed expenses. Remember how I got into this mess?
Okay! Ready, set…cash!
UPDATE: Joe asks:
Does that also mean no debit cards? I don’t use credit cards often, but I live by my debit card.
Yes, Joe, that means no debit cards. I’m going to be free of plastic!
Janet has a neat system that tricks her brain into thinking she only has cash:
My credit card is buried behind my drivers lic. I forget it is there but should I need it, I have it. I have learned to use cash because there is a huge difference in how I look at the cost of an item based on how I pay for it. This is been a modification in behavior, for sure.
good luck to you!
shazeensamad.com/flickr
By Mike Barclay of 10CentsWorth.com.
It’s been a ridiculously long day. Your boss was breathing down your neck all day, the guy who sits next to you wouldn’t keep his mouth shut, and your computer kept freezing. Finally, you get to your car and what’s the first thing you do? You reach into your pocket and grab a cigarette. Instantly, a calming feeling rushes over you.
How do I know this? I used to smoke. Eventually I realized all the negative things about smoking and I quit. It reduces your lifespan, it causes lung cancer and a number of other diseases. It makes you smell and turns your teeth yellow. There’s a million reasons you shouldn’t smoke, yet so many people overlook how much their cigarettes are costing them. Let’s break this nasty little habit down, shall we?
The average cost of a pack of cigarettes is around 5-6 dollars. So we’ll go with an average of about $5.50 with tax. The average smoker will smoke about a pack of cigarettes a day. That means that you’d be spending:
Weekly: $38.50
Monthly: $154.00
Yearly: $1,848.00
That’s A LOT of cash to be spending on something that is physically unhealthy! And I’m just talking about the direct cost of the pack of cigarettes itself. When you factor in all of the other medical expenses that will inevitably come from all of the junk going into your system, who knows what the total cost at the end of your life would be.
What could I do with an extra $38.50 a week? It could go towards my weekly groceries (especially if you’re trying to keep your grocery spending to around $25 a week), my monthly auto insurance, or credit card bills. You could even use it to splurge on your family once in a while and go out for a nice family dinner.
A lot of people have problems quitting, which wasn’t that difficult for me. You may be able to kick the habit in seven days if you really are motivated. Buy some Vitamin C from your local grocery store, and a couple bottles of pure grapefruit juice (not the cocktail, just straight grapefruit juice.) Use the Vitamin C as much as you want (you can’t overdose on it) so it flushes everything out of your system. Should take about 3 days to totally cleanse yourself of the actual nicotine. Then, it’s no longer about the chemical addiction, but just the habitual.
Carry around some grapefruit juice with you wherever you go. When you have the urge to smoke, take a swig. Knocks the urge right out of you with the shock of the tartness. All of this will cost you maybe an extra $5-15 a week until you’re finally rid of the addiction, which may only take you three weeks. And in the long run, it saves you thousands.
And of course, your life.
UPDATE: Linda has some painful, I mean helpful advice for quitters:
I, too, am an ex-smoker and believe me it was very hard for me. Took 3 trys. One more thing that helps with the habit part — put a thick rubberband on your wrist and snap it every time you want a cigarette. This helps because you will start to associate smoking with pain.
Emmy says knowing where your bottom line is, is powerful:
Ha! If I had been a smoker I think this great insight might have been pretty darn helpful. Seeing how much things cost makes you really take a second look at where you are spending your money and allows you to really ask yourself … Why!
David Reber's Hammer Photographer/Flickr
Here are three places where you can file your taxes online for free. If you are doing your taxes yourself, check out these basic tax tips to get started. If you are hiring a tax professional, make sure to ask these five questions.
Okay, here is how to file your taxes online for free.
Option No. 1. You can file your federal returns for free using the traditional IRS Free File, which offers step-by-step help if your adjusted gross income is $56,000 or less (this number could vary slightly for 2009). The software puts your answers directly into the forms and does the math for you. You can get a refund in as quickly as 10 days if you opt for direct deposit. This service is also available in Spanish.
Option No. 2. You can fill in your own tax forms without the help of software using the Free Fillable Forms, thanks to a partnership between the IRS and the Free File Alliance LLC, a group of private sector tax software companies.. This hands-off approach lets you prepare and e-file your 1040, 1040 A and 1040EZ federal returns. There are no income limits as with Option No. 1. State forms are not included.
Option No. 3. If you are a senior, you can get free tax preparation and filing help through AARP.
If your returns are complicated and you want to buy Turbo Tax or another program, remember to use a tax software coupon code!
I just hired two excellent bloggers to write for BargainBabe.com: Bobbi of BobbisBargains and Mike of 10CentsWorth. You will see their bylines starting today with a helpful post by Bobbi on the best time to arrive at garage sales.
I hope you enjoy their fresh take on saving money!
~Julia
aka Bargain Babe
PS. If a post has no byline it was written by me!
Get 50 free photos from CVS when you register on CVSPhoto.com.
Use this Piperlime coupon to get 20% off now through April 1, 2010 when you sign up for their email list.
Get 20-30% off at Coach Factory stores with this Coach coupon. Expires April 5, 2010.
Check out all the coupons and deals on my WalletPop blog.
bluesmoon/Flickr
I’m excited to announce another fabulous giveaway – this time a $100 CVS gift card! I partnered with Friendgiftr, where you can buy swappable gift cards, for this giveaway. If the recipient doesn’t like the retailer you picked, he or she can swap it for another retailer.
To be eligible to win, sign up for my daily e-newsletter (Mon-Fri). If you are on my weekly list or read BargainBabe.com through RSS, you are not eligible to win. I’m reserving this prize for BargainBabe.com most loyal readers.
The contest ends at 11:59 p.m. PST Sunday, April 4. I will randomly pick one winner and give them 48 hours to respond to my notification email. The winner will be announced on the blog.
Good luck and thanks for reading BargainBabe.com!
By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of BobbisBargains.
besighyawn/Flickr
Today I had the chance to arrive at a great yard sale just as the people were bringing out the boxes. I picked up about 60 dollars of future presents for about 10 bucks. First to arrive is one of the best times to get great deals at a yard sale. But, it isn’t the only time.
There are distinct advantages and disadvantages to shopping at various times during a yard sale.
First-to-arrive
Pro – If you are the first person to arrive at a yard sale, you will have the pick of all the “best stuff.” This can range from unopened “gift” items to collectibles. Believe me, the people who sell antiques and collectibles are on hand several hours before the noted starting time, looking to snatch up some deals.
Con – Sometimes if you arrive too early, much of the merchandise isn’t even out of the garage yet. It usually takes most people at least an hour to get all of their stuff out. Sometimes they remember items as late as 3 or 4 hours into the sale.
Biggest Con – At the beginning of a sale, people have an inflated idea of what their stuff is worth. You will pay top dollar for items if you arrive early.
Mid-sale
Pro – You arrive during a busy portion of the sale. Most people have their mathematical skills taxed by this time, so they are willing to give you a better price if you buy a lot of items. Also, all of the merchandise is out of the house.
If you arrive during a lull in the middle of the day, everyone is laid back. They have gotten past the big morning rush. Whew! They want a rest and are willing to give you a pretty good price.
Con – If there are still several hours of the sale left, the sellers might still be holding out for a top dollar price. Most of the really good stuff is gone and now you have to pick through what is left. I consider this the worst time to yard sale.
End of Sale
Pro – Everyone is tired and just wants to be done. You can get rock bottom prices on whatever you want. Many times, the seller is willing to give things to you for free just to get rid of the stuff.
Con – The merchandise is picked over. However, I have found wonderful gems during End of Sale shopping.
Whatever time you land at a yard sale, remember to limit yourself to what you intended to spend. Just because it is a yard sale doesn’t mean that you can’t ruin your budget. Determine ahead of time how much you are going to spend during your yard saling and don’t go over that limit. There will always be another day with another sale.
goXunuReviews/Flickr
There is a 40% off sale at Old Navy going on right now. Lots of summery clothing for women, men, and children between $5 and $20.
Download this free Kindle for PC software and get access to more than 400,000 books on your computer – even if you don’t own a Kindle!
The 25% off sale at SmartBargains.com is sitewide but ends today, March 26, 2010.
Check out all the coupons and deals on my WalletPop blog. Later this afternoon I’ll post a Borders 40% off coupon and a 50% off coupon at Michaels.
BlatantNews.com/Flickr
This post is brought to you by Coupon Cactus, a great source of online coupon codes for taxes, groceries, and more.
Gulp. Readers overwhelmingly supported my experiment to give up credit cards for one month and rely solely on cash. When I last checked, 86% of readers said go for it, 8% suggested an alternative, 4% said leave the plastic at home, and 2% had no opinion but were nice enough to vote.
Richard would never give up using credit cards because of the perks he earns.
We use our credit card for everything we can. Why? Airline miles. Last year we flew roundtrip to London, business class, for a total of $330 (taxes). However… we immediately deduct all purchases from our checking account (Quicken), sort of a pseudo-debit card so it’s like we pay cash. I pay the credit card bill online a day or two before the statement date so our credit report shows minimal card usage.
Ellie D.’s cash-only system has withstood the test of time:
Having a pay-as-you-go routine is definitely more economical than using cc’s for all your expenditures. I withdraw a certain amount of cash from my checking account each month, and ration it out on a weekly basis. When it’s gone, that’s it! However, I usually have something left at the end of each month, which means withdrawing less $$$ the next month. I do use cc’s on occasion, but pay them off monthly, and have never had a debit card.
Ashley pointed out three major disadvantages of using cash-only:
…a reason I have had problems making the switch is that I use mint.com and if I use cash it can’t track my purchases (I could but always forget to update and next thing I know I don’t remember if I spent $5 on groceries, $10 for a meal and $5 for parking or was it $10 on groceries and $5 on the other two. And finally, going only cash you can’t gain points that are available with some credit and debit cards and you can’t shop online where sometimes it is possible to find a better deal on products.
But Jenni says there is one major perk – staying on budget!
A dear friend uses this method All The Time, and she has 3 girls in various activities. Her budget is planned down to the penny, and when they are paid she gets out the cash she will need for the entire month. She bags the cash for their activities and labels them (i.e. “piano”, “ballet”, etc.), then does the same with her bills (“market”, “cleaners”, etc.). She even has a “miscellaneous” baggie for gifts and mishaps. She saves quite a bit of money every month, and she and her hubby are self-employed, so this helps in leaner times. Her spending is never out of control! LOVE her organization.
Tamara is going through a similar process:
I am in the process of transitioning to all cash. I think it will make me think twice about my purchases, and I am going to split up my money into jars to better track where my money is going using Gail’s system (http://gailvazoxlade.com/blog/).
All of this discussion makes me want to take a closer look at the perks I am earning using my credit cards. Which is greater? The credit card rewards I am earning or the money I am saving (as many readers say I will on a cash-only diet) by leaving the plastic behind? I won’t know the answer to this question until the end of the experiment, which begins April 1.
In the next few days I’ll think about how to deal with online purchases that require a credit card and what I’ll do about bills that I pay on my credit card. What other guidelines should I set before the cash-only experiment begins April 1?
iVinchy/Flickr
Cathy from Chief Family Officer emailed me to share her top five coupon matches at Ralphs this week. If you’re asking yourself what the heck is a coupon match, read my post on coupon clipping basics.
To take advantage of these deals you’ll need to have saved the coupon inserts you receive in the mail or with your Sunday newspaper. Here’s how master clipper Erin Gifford of Coupon Cravings handles coupons organization.
If you do not have a Ralphs near you, I’m sorry!
RP = Red Plum coupon insert
SS = SmartSource coupon insert
$1/2 = $1 off coupon when you buy two
I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter - 99 cents
50 cents/1 I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter printable
Final price: FREE
Starburst or LifeSaver Jellybeans – $1.50
$1/2 Starburst Jellybeans from 3/7 RP
$1/2 LifeSavers Jellybeans printable
Final price: $1 each when you buy 2
The following deals are part of a Buy 8, Save $4 promotion:
C&W or Birds Eye Steamfresh Frozen Vegetables – 99 cents
$1/3 Birds Eye Steamfresh Vegetables, Rice or Pasta from 2/28 SS (exp 3/28), 3/7 RP or 3/21 SS
$1/3 Birds Eye C&W Vegetables (excludes Steamfresh) any bag from 3/21 SS (note: picture includes non-Steamfresh veggies)
Final price: 66 cents each when you buy 3
PowerAde – 39 cents + CRV
To see the rest of Cathy’s coupon matches for Ralphs, please visit Chief Family Officer.
My frugal friends at Savings.com shared these coupons.
Get 20% off at The Container Store. Expires April 4, 2010.
Get 50% off one regularly priced item at JoAnn.com. Expires April 3, 2010.
Get $50 off $150 at Soma.com. Expires April 19, 2010.
Get 15% off flower order with free glass vase at ProFlowers. Unknown expiration date.
Get 10% off $100 or more with free shipping at Rock/Creek. Expires March 31, 2010.
Brithanglishman/Flickr
Time to play that game again where I review my monthly credit card bill and pick one purchase. That I really. Should not. Have bought.
Groan.
This month’s dishonorable mention goes to the $10.99 I spent getting my car washed and vacuumed. Yes, my mother was coming to town and I wanted her to think my car is always neat and tidy.
But making time to wash it myself at the drive-in car wash would have done the job just as nicely – and only cost $4. Last month’s regrettable credit card purchase was a USB postal scale that cost me $8.10. Readers had plenty of spending problems, too.
On a happier note, my credit card bill last month dropped significantly – a few hundred dollars. Was it tied to the self-induced public credit card bill flogging? Perhaps!!
What do you regret buying this month?
UPDATE: Christine regrets a sweet birthday purchase.
Oh boy! I’ve got a doozy! My daughter turned one year old this past weekend and we were having a SMALL party. Nothing fancy, just cake and appetizers. I was in a hurry and had heard about a great bakery in Canoga Park. I went in and spent $70 on a cake for a one year old. I must have been out of my mind. I could have gone to Costco and spent $16.99. ARGH!!! DUMB, DUMB, DUMB. The cake was good, but not THAT good! Lesson learned!
Mike has NO regrets. Kudos to you!
This is my favorite post of the week. Because it makes me look back on my week and go “what shouldn’t have I bought?” I did good this week! I only bought necessities! Go me!
