Saving Freak

It is the 4th of July so there are a bunch of sales running all over the place.  Enjoy your independance day and remember to thank a soldier!!

Circuit City has its 4th of July Super Sale. 

Sears is running a 3-day 4th of July sale with up to 60% off.

Office Depot has a great sale going on plus get an extra 10% off with code “78445094“

eDressMe is running up to 80% off

JR.com runs a sale today with 55 items marked down

Amazon runs a sale every friday so check out their amazing deals on 173 items

Finally Geeks.com is running its half yearly sale with up to 90% off

Shopping boards are one of the most established ways to find deals online.  They are very easy to find just go to Blingo (we don’t use Google on this website find out why here) and type in shopping boards.  A bunch of different forums will pop up.  My favorite is Mycoupons.com.  This is one of the most active shopping boards around.  It was my first foray into using the internet to get better deals on items that I wanted to purchase.

You will find that most of the people who post to these boards are women and that they are VERY thrifty.  In fact many times when they are posting if the deal is less than 50% off the post sounds more like an apology than information.  I myself will post from time to time when I find a great deal.  A few example of items that I have gotten at amazing prices due to these boards are:

Eddie Bauer Mountain Bike — reg price $200 - purchase price $50
Extra LCD screen for DVD player — reg price $100 - purchase price $25
32 piece dish set — reg price 52.00 — purchase price $13.00

These are just a few of the deals that can be found on the shopping boards. The disadvantage to this method of online shopping is that it is very time consuming and highly unpredictable. For most people it only makes sense if you are looking for general deals or are expecting clearance items to start coming through for specific stores. A great example right now is that many Target locations have marked their summer lines down 50% off. In a couple of weeks these prices should drop to 75% off (This happens at Target so check my post on Target clearance). The best way to know when this happens is to watch the LWIF B&M boards and hope no one else beats you to the deals.

Coupon Freebie - at CVS you can get the Zone Perfect nutrition bar for $1.  Use the coupon from the 03-30 Smart Source Circular $1 off

Staples has $25 of $75 with coupon code “29100″

Wilson’s Leather has up to 50% off in it’s clearance sale

ShoeMall.com has 15% off of sandals with no minimum using code “SANDAL15″

Ending today ebags.com has 20% off with no minimum

Target.com has up to 75% off of men’s watches (scroll down to see other watches)

and once again Restaurant.com has 50% off of its already discounted gift certificates using code “FUN”

I have heard many complaints from friends and family about the cost of Microsoft’s office suite.  Some of them cannot do without the actual Microsoft licensed product, but other just need a word processor and a spreadsheet program (word and excel).  For those people who are not high powered users I always suggest using open office.

Open office is a FREE (my favorite word) office suite.  It will open any Microsoft Office document and allow you to save in the same format as the office suite.  I have used the program extensively and have been very impressed with its processing power and ability to do everything that Microsoft’s suite can.  It includes a word processor (word), spreadsheet (excel), presentation software (power point), graphics, and database (access).  The one really nice feature is that it is all one program so it is very well integrated between the different parts.  Overall this is a Saving Freakk 5 star software for useability and price

I honestly thought there would be some cooler sales going on with Father’s day around the corner, but people do not pay as much attention to dear old dad as they do to Mom.  Maybe because if they forget they don’t have to hear about it the rest of their lives.  I guess that is just the way it is.

Restaurant.com is once again cutting 50% off of its already discounted gift certificates using code “DAD”

L.L. Bean is cutting up to 50% off items in its summer sale

Circuit City is Slashing up to $650 off of television

Barnes and Noble has 15% off one item using code “R9P9J7Y”

Get $5 off of $25 at Babies R Us using this coupon

Home Depot is taking $5 off of $50 with code “DAD2008″

Finish Line is taking up to 75% off of shoes in its clearance section.  PLUS get an extra 10% off with code “141705″

Old Navy is taking up to 75% off of men’s and women’s clothing in their clearance section.

Get $10 off of $25 at Lowes when you use your Visa card.  Get the coupon using this link

Many of you have read the posts about CVS extra bucks and how much money I save by cycling them (using CVS extra bucks on items that generate more CVS extra bucks).  If you haven’t started cycling CVS extra bucks then this is a great week to get started.  Thre are four extra bucks deals that make items free after the extra bucks.  Here they are

Brut Deodorant 3.0 oz $3.39 (limit 5)- coupon from 4/06 smart source for $1.00 - $3 extra bucks

Listerine Smart Rinse 250ml $3.49 (limit 2) - coupon from 4/27 red plum for $1.00 - $3.49 extra bucks

Oral B cross action tootbrush 2 pack $6.99 (limit 2) - $6.99 extra bucks

CVS Pharmacy Plastic bandages 40 ct $1.99 (limit 2) - $1.99 extra bucks.

When you start out you have to spend some money, but after the first purchase you should never have to spend more than 5.00 unless you want to.  So here is what I would do:

Buy one Brut Deodorant and use $1.00 off coupon
Buy one Listerine Smart Rinse and use $1.00 off coupon
Buy 2 Oral B toothbrush 2 packs
Buy 2 CVS brand Band aids

Total Cost after coupons and before taxes - $22.84
Total extra bucks earned - $24.45

So right off the bat you have made a profit of $1.61 (which will probably cover the taxes). From now on only shop deals from CVS that give you extra bucks. You can find them at couponmom.com.  The registration for the site is a bit annoying because they want you to sign up for a bunch of junk, but just keep clicking no and move on.  After the initial registration it is really easy to get on and check for deals each week.  This has completely cut toiletries and other items out of my budget.

One word of warning, the extra bucks do expire and they can only be used once.  So you cannot come in use part of an extra bucks ticket and then use the other part on another visit.  This is why it is crucial to sign up for couponmom.com so that you come in with a plan on how you are going to maximize the cycling of your extra bucks.

Memorial day is here again.  Please remember to thank someone today who has served in our countries military.  They represent the best and brightest that America has to offer and their sacrifices make it possible for the rest of us to enjoy our freedom.  To celebrate this day I am posting another round of free samples and coupons.  I have been running across some free magazine subscriptions that look interesting so i will be posting those as a part of my Memorial Day free samples

Magazines

American Baby Magazine

Cooking Pleasure Magazine

Handy Man Club of America Magazine ( I am getting this one for my wife)

National Home Gardening Club

North American Fishing Club

North American Hunting Club

History Channel Club

Remedy Magazine

PGA Tour Partners

Free Samples/Coupons

Free Honey-do list maker from Bounty Paper Towels

Free Lipton Nascar Pitcher (purchase necessary)

Free sample Excedrin Extra Strength pain reliever

Coupon for $1 off Quaker Life cinnamon cereal

Free Sample Dove Body Cream Oil

and a free sample of Splenda No Calorie Sweetener flavors for coffee

A lot of people as for my help to find a good deal on whatever is pressing in their life.  I really don’t have time to help everyone so I will usually refer them to a specific blog post that applies to their situation.  However, if you are a regular visitor to the site who comments frequently then I take that commitment to my site seriously.

Yesterday Tina commented on my post about wanting to find a  better price for the Westin Resort.  She had not been able to find a price better than $149 per night.  This particular hotel was the only one that would work due to its unique experience.  Originally I commented back with a better deal but I decided to take it a step further and show the process I go through to find my own travel deals.

I first went through my usual process of checking the travel sites.  Just pick a few they usually give you aproximately the same deal (if you are a looking for a specific hotel that is).  After looking at site after site I found Tina had done her due dilligence and I got the same price she did.

I then went to google typed in coupon codes and started looking for codes to the travel sites to try to get a discount through them.  I found codes for orbitz, hotels.com and cheap tickets.com .The discounts varried from 10%-15% off.  I thought I had found the deal I was looking for, BUT, I was wrong.  None of the sites allowed you to use the code with Westin Resorts.

I did notice you can use Ebates to get 3% cash back at a few of the travel sites.  So I thought at the very least you could use Ebates and then use a rewards card and get somewhere between 4% and 8% back.

Ultimately, I thought this was a cop out and should only be used as a last resort.  So I went looking for coupon codes for the Westin and Starwood Hotels and Resorts, which is their parent company.  Finally I hit pay dirt.  I stumbled upon a link that gets you 20% off the price on their site.   This price just happened to be $20 less than the travel sites.  So after the price drop and the 20% off the price came out to $103.20 per night a 31% savings.  If you use a good rewards card you could grab another $3-$5 and get that price below $100.

I hope seeing this process helps a lot of people find a better way to get travel costs down.

Wednesday again and there are some great deals online this week.

A friend asked me to find some good deals on bedding sets so I went out to Amazon and found the Renaisance 600 thread count sheets for $49.99, Pinzon 400  thread count Egyptian cotton sheets for $29.99, and the Pinzon 440 thread count stripe sheet set for $34.19.  All these prices were for queen size they may vary depending on the size of the sheets.

Also in Bedding Linens ‘n Things has the Lexington 8-piece comforter set for $49.99.  Use coupon code “26620000008″ to get 20% off.  Shipping starts at $9

Until midnight tonight Spirit Airlines is offering the Ocho and the temple of Savings sale.   You can fly for $8 each way between select cities.

For the men out there Sears has its 95 piece mechanics tool set for $59.88, but first activate this coupon to get an extra 10% off and drop the price to $53.89

No matter what anyone says when my wife saves up to 60% off at the Victoria’s Secret Semi-Annual sale it is always a gift for me.

Coupon Codes

PetsMart has 15% off  with no minimum using code “PETWINNER”

Office Depot has 10% off with no minimum using code “99012634″

If you buy a large specialty pizza at Papa John’s you can get a large one topping pizza for $0.99 using code “VISA03″ OR if you just want to get one pizza with five free toppings use code “PIZZA3″

If you go crazy at the above mentioned Victoria’s Secret sale you can get $15 off $100/ $30 off $150 /$75 off $250 using cod “SP811005″

JC Penney always runs a special sale on Wednesdays (one of the reasons I write this post on wednesdays) and you can get an extra 15% off with code”FLWRJCPC”

Hope this helps you save some money on things you NEED.

I absolutely killed it at the grocery store yesterday.  I was so impressed with my haul that I called my good friend Joe Sangl to brag about the amazing amount of food that can be purchased if you are willing to couple the sales with coupons.  My wife and I are going to be hosting 5 teenagers at my home for the weekend for an event through our church so a good bit was snack food, but it also included dog food and yogurt which are items that we go through like crazy in my house.

The most interesting thing about this shopping trip was that I accomplished it at Bloom.  For those who are not familiar Bloom is an upperend grocery store.  Their main selling point is convenience.  The store is laid out logically, the carts have maps of the store on them so you can find items quickly, and they even have touch screen monitors where you can look up a recipe and, once found, a little printer prints it out for you with where all the items are located in the store.  Overall Bloom is one of the best shopping experiences around.  The trade off is you pay a little more for every day items if you do not shop the discounts.   So, of course, I shop the discounts and boy did it pay off this week.  Here are the numbers:

Regular price for all groceries after taxes - $67.18

Weekly promotional disounts - $29.02

Manufacturers Coupons- $10.05

Store Coupon - $10.00

Grand total - $18.11

That’s right $67.18 worth of groceries for $18.11.  That is a 73% savings off the regular price.  The key to this whole equation is the $10.00 store coupon.  You see Bloom has a rewards program called the Breeze Card.  They are still working on how the program works, but by signing up you are immediately put on the mailing list to receive $10 off coupons ( you have to spend $35 to get $10 off).  You get these coupons in groups of four and can use one each week over the course of a month.  If Bloom is doing this I will bet other grocery stores will follow or are already using similar promotions.  Check with your favorite chain to see if they do any special promotions for people on the mailing list and you could save a ton!