Tag Archives: Frugal Living

Washable Shower Curtain

Posted by shopaholicsavers on January 7, 2011 None comments

My mom gave me a high quality shower curtain about a year ago. It is completely white with a woven pattern. When it got moldy (as all shower curtains eventually do) I was going to throw it away but instead I washed it with bleach and laundry detergent and it looked new. Today I washed it again and it still looks exactly like it did when I got it. This is about the 4^th time I have washed it. If I had been buying the cheapest clear plastic shower curtains that are sold in stores at $2 each I would have paid at least $8 for new ones by now. I like cloth shower curtains better and you don’t have to worry about them containing as many chemicals as plastic ones.

1/3/11 A Very Strange Shopping Trip

Posted by shopaholicsavers on January 3, 2011 1 comments

Tonight was a very strange shopping trip. I got out of work around 10 pm and long story short I still hadn’t bought my usual Sunday papers (I wish I could only buy the coupons!). So I went home looked up Walgreens and CVS deals for the stores around the corner hoping that one of them would have Sunday papers.

When I left my apartment I drove past the trash compactor where the residents take their trash. I live in a very nice community but it is also a high traffic community where people move in and out of a lot and often they can’t take all of their possessions. People often leave things next to the compactor such as furniture that won’t fit inside it and I have noticed that people will come and take things as well as dropping them off. I think that this sort of swapping is very beneficial to the environment because it prevents a lot of larger items from ending up at the dump when others can use them. As I drove by tonight I noticed some items and I got a clear plastic three drawer set which I know sells for $18 new because I have two in my closet. I’m not sure what I will do with it but I’m sure that someone in my family can use it or yard sale it.

From there I went to the 24 hr CVS which it turns out is no longer a 24 hr CVS and it was closed! So I went across the street to Walgreens (Walgreens and CVS always seem to be across the street from each other). Unfortunately the Walgreens didn’t have any Sunday papers but I decided to do a deal I had on Children’s Flu Medicine. It was $8.99 Register Rewards (Walgreens Store Dollars) WYB Children’s Oscillococcinum Homeopathic Flu Medicine at $8.99. Other coupon websites were recommending using the $5 off coupon in the Walgreens January coupon book and a $2 off printable coupon in order to pay $2 and get $9 Register Rewards back. However, when it I went to purchase the flu medicine it only rang up at $3.62. I used the $2 off coupon and paid $1.62 and I got back $9 Register Rewards and the coupon printer also printed out a coupon for Free Breathe Right Nasal Strips. I did this deal twice.

I then used one of the $9 off coupons to buy some things I needed

– 2 twelve packs of Real Soft toilet paper- on sale for $3.99 each (usually $5)

– garlic salt .99 cents

– and a piece of candy .29 cents (I only bought this to get my total to $9 so I could use the coupon)

I paid .80 cents

I then went to the gas station next door where I was able to buy my Sunday papers 🙂

12/31/2010 Publix Shopping Trip

Posted by shopaholicsavers on December 31, 2010 None comments

Today was a slightly unusual shopping trip to Publix because, while I did need groceries, I was mostly going tonight because I had a stack of $1 off Bakery, Deli, Meat or Produce Publix coupons that were expiring today. I found a stack of these coupons in the flyer/Ads/coupon holder in the entrance of Publix. I used 21 $1 off coupons today and I got a lot of stuff. I love dollar amount off department coupons because it gives you the freedom to pick your own items and I usually choose the cheapest items I can get while still qualifying to use the coupons (these coupons required that the items were at least $1 to start with). As you can see, I got quite a haul today. It is usually not easy to get coupons for fresh produce, deli items, bakery items, or meats so I wanted to make sure I got as much as I could (and could use) today. I gave away the rest of the coupons I couldn’t use. I will freeze some of these groceries but most of them we will eat in the next couple of weeks or give away to someone who can use them.

My total after coupons + tax – $11.15

I used $7.22 I had on a visa gift card

Final Total- $3.93 (Not bad at all considering the gallon of milk alone cost me $3.29)

Saved- $23.40 before gift card and $30.62 after the gift card

CVS Deal 12/30/10

Posted by shopaholicsavers on December 30, 2010 None comments

Today I went to CVS to get the Tone Bodywash that was on sale for 3.88 with 3 dollars ECB’s (Extra Care Bucks aka CVS dollars) back. After going to the first CVS and finding them sold out I gave up but found electric tea light candles on clearance for 4.99. I bought 3 and used 7 dollars ECB making my total around eight dollars. I was excited to do this unexpected deal because I have a plan to use these at my upcoming wedding. Last Christmas before I discovered couponing I spent 2 dollars on two electric tea light candles for my sister so I was pretty excited to get 60 for 8 bucks.

Then I decided to go to another CVS that was on my way home to get the body wash. They had one left on the shelf! I had 5 dollars ECB that were going to expire on the third so I bought the Tone body wash, a cvs brand cucumber melon body wash and a small Johnson and Johnson lotion. My total came to .10 cents and I got 3 dollars ECB. Making a total profit of 2.90.

by Candy <3

Free Shout Color Catcher

Posted by shopaholicsavers on December 29, 2010 None comments

Click HERE to request a free sample of Shout Color Catcher.

$10 Amazon.com Gift Certificate from Viewpoints.com

Posted by shopaholicsavers on December 20, 2010 None comments

On one of the blogs I read I saw an advertisement for a campaign run by a website called Viewpoints that reviews products (and almost anything else). The deal was to write ten reviews in certain product categories and receive a free $10 Amazon gift card. Recently they e-mailed it to me. This was a really cool deal.

They then e-mail me the below offer but their offers are only for the first certian number (usually thousands) of people who complete them and I think it’s probably too late for this one.

Click HERE to visit their site. I plan to continue to do deals with them in the future.

Where I Find My Deals

Posted by shopaholicsavers on December 20, 2010 1 comments

People constantly ask me where I find my deals. Here are some of the blog sites I use most often-

The first three are fantastic couponing blogs that also post great deals and ways to get free stuff. Combined they have saved me thousands of dollars. If you go through their sites and click on the stores you shop at, they will show you what deals each store is having every week and what coupons you can match up with those deals, often to get free stuff.

www.southernsavers.com – includes videos on how to start couponing

www.moneysavingmom.com – also posts articles about real life and saving money, including how her and her husband paid 100% down for their home

http://hip2save.com/ – includes a lot of online deals

www.heyitsfree.net -posts free stuff that you can get online, mostly through the mail. Through this site, I’ve gotten a lot of free food, coupons for free stuff, free magazine subscriptions, and a lot of other random free stuff in the mail. They focus on collecting legit, non-spam freebies.

Frugal Christmas Shopping

Posted by shopaholicsavers on December 7, 2010 1 comments

Click HERE to read 30 Ways to Save Money This Holiday Season

Being broke and living more frugally teaches you a lot. I am refusing to use the heat in my apartment unless absolutely necessary and another benefit of cooking myself is that using the stove warms up my apartment. Not using the heat and obviously not using the air conditioning will save a lot on my electric bill this month. When I’m cold now instead of running for the thermostat I dress more warmly, I use throw blankets when I sit on the couch, and there is an extra blanket on my bed.

In my living room is a Christmas tree and decorations that my roommate borrowed from her grandparents. We can even do Christmas cheer on a budget. My brother and I decided, after hauling too many boxes of surplus Christmas stuff into our mother’s attic last year, that no one in the family is allowed to buy anything that has to be packed up again after Christmas. It will be a more practical Christmas than ever before but it will still be fun.

This year I went so far as to ask my loved ones a few months before Christmas what they really, really needed or wanted. I think I’ve done a good job with that list. Hidden behind the couch in my apartment sits the stack of Christmas gifts I’ve been collecting for the last six months when I found things that for the right price that I knew my loved ones would enjoy or could use.

I have become an expert at Christmas shopping on a budget. Many of the items I’ve collected have been free through couponing including personal items and stocking stuffers. I have new clothes for my family that I bought at Rue 21’s $3 clothing sale. I have best selling/collectible books that I bought for .10 cents to $1 at thrift shops and the library book sale. I got four free gifts when my Borders reward card gave me a free $10 gift certificate. I got two gifts for about $1 when I found a free $5 Hallmark printable gift certificate. I bought items such as headphones at CVS when they offered them free after CVS dollars. I hit up the $1 sale at Claire’s. I used coupons to get items free at Bath and Body Works with any purchase, usually buying the new sample fragrances for $1 in order to get two gifts for $1.

I followed sales and used my resources. My work is giving away a free $20 gift card each shift to the person who gets the most people to give them their e-mail. I did my best with this every shift when most people weren’t even trying. So far I’ve won 6 of them. I will use them as gifts or to buy gifts for free.

My couponing has provided me and my loved ones with so many household products that I will be making Christmas gift baskets for other families for free. Sure, there are things that I would love to buy my loved ones that I can’t afford right now but then I would love to give them the moon and stars too, but I know they will settle for the small mountain of gifts that I have amassed as cheaply as possible.

Write For Rights Write-A-Thon

Posted by shopaholicsavers on December 7, 2010 None comments

Yesterday, my brother came to visit me and I am always excited to see him. We both ended up with the day off of work and it always makes me happy that he would choose to drive an hour each way and spend gas and toll money to see his big sister. We thought about going Christmas shopping, but knowing that neither of us had much money to spend we decided to go to the Orlando branch of Amnesty International’s 2010 Write for Rights Write-a-thon. We spent two hours having snacks and learning about people around the world who were prisoners of conscience. These were people who had been stripped of all rights and freedoms, often without explanation. We wrote letters to government officials in the hopes that they would not be forgotten and we also wrote letters to the prisoners themselves trying to give them hope. We left having learned about people who were fighting for the freedoms we take for granted every day. All it cost us was a little bit of gas and toll money and it made an impact on our lives a lot more than spending money going Christmas shopping would have. If you would like to get involved or learn more CLICK HERE.

After, we had spaghetti for dinner. A year ago we would have gone out to eat or gotten take out but being broke teaches you to be resourceful. I had spaghetti sauce, pasta, and a block of cheese that I had gotten for free/almost free couponing. We stopped at Walmart and got ground meat and garlic toast. I now know that you can make garlic toast with garlic powder, butter and salt and I will make it myself next time to save even more money. I grated the cheese myself to go over the spaghetti with the cheese grater I got for $1 at a thrift shop (a year ago I probably would have bought shredded cheese). Dinner cost a little over $4 and it was way more than enough to feed the two of us and my boyfriend. I now have food cooked for at least the next couple of days and cooking with my brother while we watched the latest episode of Hoarders (the epitome of waste) was a lot more fun than sitting in a restaurant.

Article- “Surviving (and thriving) on $12,000 a year.”

Posted by shopaholicsavers on December 7, 2010 4 comments

When I was reading news articles on the internet the other day I came across an article written by a woman named Donna Freedman titled “Surviving (and thriving) on $12,000 a year.” For some people this would be unimaginable, but in these current times of economic hardship it is becoming a reality for many Americans. Donna starts by saying “I’ve made my choices, and they include no more husband, a college education and huge changes in the way I spend money.” She goes on to explain that she is living off of alimony and a school grant, about $1,000 a month, while she goes back to school to finish her college education. After her rent and car insurance she has only $382 dollars a month for all other bills and expenses.

In the article, she describes the sometimes extreme lengths she goes to in order to save money/survive. Donna states in her article that her current financial situation is temporary but it made me again wonder how many Americans in today’s world are going to extreme lengths to survive financially. I give her credit for everything she did in order to finish her education. I enjoyed reading her story, which you can find HERE.