Saving

Tips for Saving Time and Money at Christmas

With Christmas just around the corner, things are bound to be busy. Between juggling shopping, meals and parties, many people find themselves exhausted by the big day. Here are some ways you can make the holidays easier, giving you a bit more time to relax!

Holiday Tips on Saving Time and Money

Cookies: Yes, the Christmas Cookies. Are you one to remember it?s time to bake just at the last minute? This year, consider visiting a nice bakery and purchasing a huge box of every kind of cookie you find. This may not save you money, but it will save you plenty of time. If you love your own recipes, bake a batch or two early and freeze them, taking them out as Christmas day approaches. If you are invited to a Cookie Exchange, RSVP with a big yes. You will need to make a batch of cookies, but will come home with even more!
Cooking: Plan meals for the three days before Christmas and cook them this weekend. Choose things like chili, spaghetti, lasagna or soup and freeze them once they are cool. This may take up an afternoon, but the time you save the week of Christmas will be invaluable!
Just Say No: Do you have a handful of party invitations this month? Consider saying no, you just can?t make it. Then rent a good video, put on your jammies and have movie night with the family. Don?t forget the popcorn!
Gift Wrapping: This year, save some time on gift wrapping by purchasing gift bags and tissue paper. Simply drop the present in, cover it with tissue paper and you are done! If you have kids, why not purchase paper bags and let the kids put glitter and paint all over them for wonderful homemade gift wrapping.
Decorations: Two years ago we only took out two boxes of decorations and filled the tree and house with those. Although I felt guilty at first for missing some of our ?traditional? decorations, I was pleased with the time I saved both setting up and taking down Christmas!
Kids Only: To save money, buy for the kids only. This may be initially strange for couples, but it will save your family a good deal of money. Or have each adult buy one $50 gift for themselves, wrap it and put it under the tree. This takes the guesswork out of presents and gives each parent something to look forward to.

Save with Organic Coupons

If you shop organic, I’m sure you’ve noticed that most organic products are significantly higher than non-organic items. Shopping organic doesn’t need to break the bank. Looking around online for coupons can often times help bring your organic groceries back down to affordable prices.

Organic Coupons

One Organic Company Worth Mentioning,
Organic Valley (from their website):

Always Organic & Farmer-Owned since 1988

When we wrote our mission statement we included our own definition of organic to guide us. We adhere to all of the regulations set forth by the USDA Organic seal (shoot, we helped write those regulations!), and to us, it can be very succinctly put into one sentence. Organic is a philosophy and system of production that mirrors the natural laws of living organisms with an emphasis on the interdependence of all life. Simply put, we farm in harmony with nature.

If a company is going to make a difference in today?s world, it?s going to have to think differently. At Organic Valley, our philosophy and decisions are based on the health and welfare of people, animals and the earth. We?re a mission-driven cooperative, owned by family farmers, and we?ve been leaders in organic agriculture from the very beginning.

How to Use Coupons

During these tough economic times, many moms are searching desperately to come up with creative ways to reduce their household expenses and using coupons might just fit the bill to help save.

Extreme couponing shows are where stay at home moms are featured getting a massive amount of products for free or almost free.? First off, these moms are spending an enormous amount of time scoping out manufacturer coupons online, looking through several store flyers, visiting the stores, writing down what they find as they go down the aisles. They then go back to the stores over the next couple of days to grab their stash. They have traded their hours for the job title of an “extreme couponer”.? Most moms don’t have as much time as they do to get the deals by couponing. Does it mean that moms who are not extreme couponers should just give up? Of course not. They can still save and slash their grocery bills by collecting coupons and using them.

Double Coupons

Double coupons are born when a customer redeems a typical grocery coupon for twice its value during a double coupon promotion. A bit of patience and attention is necessary in order to observe when local stores are running double (or even triple) coupon promotions.? A shopper can help save a lot of money on products used the most. They can even use this technique to obtain many items for free. For example, if an item that usually costs $4.00 is on sale for half-price, using a $1.00 off coupon on double coupon day, will cost nothing!

Coupon Stacking

Coupon stacking is the method of ?stacking? or combining the savings offered by the manufacturer of a product with in-store sales or coupons and buy-one-get-one specials to increase savings.

Coupon Match Ups

The art of coupon match ups is when a shopper can ?match up? drug store or grocery coupons with a sale on a particular item with that specific retailer.

Newspapers, circulars and Valpaks are not the only source for free coupons. A shopper can also access a coupon database through the computer to obtain printable coupons for deals on specific items that are offered by both manufacturers and retailers. They can use the printable coupons for coupon stacking and matchups to save on their weekly grocery bill.

Extreme Couponing

Extreme couponing is used by the more avid and experienced coupon shopper to take the potential savings processes of coupon ingenuity (coupon stacking, coupon matchups, use of a coupon database and printable coupons) to an art form. An extreme coupon shopper uses all of the saving techniques of coupon shopping to stock large quantities of products at home for literally pennies on the dollar. Of course, the ultimate goal of the extreme couponing enthusiast is to obtain the product for FREE!

How to Save with Coupons

With a combination of these coupon techniques and a bit of practice and experience, any mom can become a coupon using, money saving aficionado. She can use the internet, read the ?how to? articles on couponing websites, ask questions and follow the advice offered by the growing number of coupon experts who have honed the art. As a coupon saving mom watches her pantry fill up and her grocery bill shrink, the mundane act of going to the grocery store may become an exciting challenge to look forward to rather than a wallet crunching dreaded chore.

Affordable Easter Dresses

Every year I am on the look out for affordable Easter dresses. With so many holidays to dress up for, I want my little girl to look beautiful for those memorable photos that we will be looking through for years to come. With Target and a few other retailers, it’s good to know that this year a new dress for the occasion won’t break the bank. And, as usual, I am looking for a dress last minute.

Here are a couple of my finds for affordable Easter dresses that I just think are beautiful. Let me know if you agree!

Toddler Girls Boatneck Ballerina Dress

Toddler Girls Jacquard Ballerina Dress

Both of these dresses are at TARGET and just $20 but you can save 10% and get 50% off the second dress if you buy both.? See details below

buy 1 get 1 50% off clothing, shoes and accessories

save an extra 10% on select Kids’ clothing with promo code EASTER10

6 Affordable Dresses at Target

Are you looking for affordable spring dresses for your little girl? Once again, we found a nice selection at Target from 19.99 to 34.99 which is sure to please your pocket book. Have a look. Don’t delay, some sizes are already gone.

Coupon Round Up

This weeks round up savings.? These are printable coupons that can save you a bundle if you can find items on sale at a store that allows you to double or triple coupons.? Be sure to check out the coupon policy of the store to which you are shopping. I easily save $20 off my grocery bill using weekly coupons.