Lost Receipts Make My Day!

Good day fellow savers! I finally found a reciept that I have wracked my brain trying to find for weeks now. This was my pride and joy, my best saving at Publix to date! OK, alright, this isn't Extreme Couponing amazing BUT for anyone who shops at Publix Supermarket knows getting an almost $50 savings on your grocery purchase is AMAZING!

Which is what I did, my savings was $49.28 and I am so proud of myself. My mom didn't believe me but here it is. This was just when my girlfriend was laid off, we received food stamps, also known as EBT.

This purchase was plenty of buy 1 get 1 free (bogos) deals. I bough a few bogo pastas with bogo pasta sauces, some bogo sodas, meats on amazing sales, chicken discount, and lots of other yummy goodies. I don't know about you but food tastes better when you make it with lots of love and get it an amazing deal.

I have tried my darnedest to try to beat my record for savings, but alas I have not. Doesn't mean I will stop trying, just means I haven't met the right deals as of yet. I still hunt, I still coupon, I still feverishly coupon hunt online for those deals that will make my day, my week and even my year.

Happy savings everyone,
Mel

Purchases of Saturday, August 28, 2014

Normally, I do the dreaded grocery store run once a week. This weekend was about convenience because I was on a time crunch. Lately, my weekends have consisted of house hold cleaning, homework and grocery shopping.

This weekend I needed to make a detour. I absolutely had to buy a pair of flat shoes for work. Again, normally I have both Saturday and Sunday to run my errands. Alas, I only had time for one store to find shoes and one store for a grocery run.

The only reason I went to Kohl's was because I received a 30% off coupon in the mail this week. I figured I could get a good deal and I did. I found a pair of copper colored flats that are cute, comfortable and cheap.

Publix Supermarkets are usually more expensive than Walmart or Winn-Dixie stores. Today, I couldn't really afford to be incredibly picky. Publix had some really awesome buy 1 get 1 free (aka bogo) deals that I was more than happy to take advantage of.

Kohl's Savings: $36.10
Publix Savings: $19.22
Total Savings Today: $55.32

Happy Savings,
Melissa

Some Banks Give You Money Back?!?! What?

Just recently I found out some Banks give you money back on shops you frequent. Isn't that amazing? I know Bank of America offers a certain percentage back on stores like California Pizza Kitchen, Petco, Starbucks, etc. Usually, there is a list of 15-20 stores you can receive cash back for purchasing items.

You can find your deals using the Banking Online feature and selecting Cash Back Deals. Make sure to click on the store or stores you plan on buying from so you can get those deals. Below you'll find a very simple way to find the Cash Back Deals.

As of now, I will receive $1.50 in a few weeks. Not much, but it will continue to grow.

Word of advise: Be careful. What may look like a deal, might not be a deal at all. Just be aware of pricing. I noticed Petco was one of the stores. Petco is also one of the most expensive pet stores I have ever walked into. I have only shopped at Petco when Lucky or Max needed food and it was on the way home and of course I was in a super hurry to get to the house. But other than that I stick with Walmart for pet food.

Happy savings,

Mel

Find your deals

You can choose cash back deals right in Online Banking. Visit theCash Back Deals tab to see all your deals and the cash back you’ve earned.

Halloween Horror Nights 2014 Tickets Purchased!!!

HHN 2014 Ticket Prices

I am so excited to announce I have purchased our Halloween Horror Nights tickets for a steal of a price. As I am trying to save as much money as possible for this trip, I am even managed to snag a super savings on our tickets purchase.

The least expensive tickets for this event are the Sunday- Thursday tickets. Which means you only have admission to HHN Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday nights, no Friday or Saturday nights included. Which is fine with me because the most crowded nights are indeed Friday and Saturday.

Normal price for these tickets are $100. The last couple of years Coca-Cola has partnered with Universal Studios Halloween Horror nights to offer significant discount on tickets if you buy a Coca-Cola product with a special code you enter in the Official HHN site to purchase your tickets. Or you can also purchase your tickets at Publix with the special discount without actually purchasing any Coca-Cola product. Which is what I did.

Each ticket on the HHN 24 online purchasing portal is prices at $95.99. However, with the Coca-Cola discount each other Sunday - Thursday tickets come out to $45.99 (including tax). That is a $50 savings on each ticket, which means I saved $100 on HHN tickets! That makes me deliriously happy!


Happy Savings,
Melissa

Saving by Switching Cable Providers and a bonus $200 Visa Gift Card

Hello fellow money savers. This weekend I received a letter in the mail from a competitor cable provider, AT&T. Currently, I have Comcast and pay way too much for cable and internet. There is no reason I should be paying $165 for internet and cable.

I grabbed the letter, called the number provided and asked how much my bill would be if I had the same options I have now. Basically, it will come out to about $50 a month cheaper and I will be receiving a $200 Visa gift card that I can use on whatever I'd like. Can you guess what I will be using my gift card on? That's right folks, Halloween Horror Nights!

There goes $200 towards my big goal of saving $500 for my trip to Orlando, FL to have the living crapatosis scared out of me at Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights.

Moral of the story is that I will be saving $50 a month on cable and internet by simply shopping around for better prices. And I get a nice little bonus of $200 to spend as I please in a few weeks. I hope this gives you an idea on how to save some money on your end.

Happy Savings,
Melissa

Free Books Make Me Happy

I am an omega nerd who loves to read. Normally, I prefer really good romance novels. But on occasion I have been known to read something other than romance.

Since I am on my saving mode, I have restricted myself from purchasing any books. Which made me really sad until I found website that offer free e-books. You can purchase these e-book on the Amazon Kindle which you can download free on your smart phone.

Don't think that just because a book is free means it sucks. That isn't always the case. Sometimes new or independent authors put thier books on Amazon or Barnes and Nobles' Nook sites for free to start their audience. 

Also, if you're lucky you can find an author who are willing to send you ARC copies of books. These are free versions of their books that the authors or author's assistant e-mail you. They do this in exchange for an honest review on the big book sites such as goodreads.com, amazon.com and possible your own personal blog. 

Find some sites below to start your free or bargain book hunt. New books are added daily.

http://freebooksy.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/ebooks

https://www.bookbub.com/ebook-deals/recommended

http://bargainebookhunter.com/

Happy reading and saving,

Melissa

Saving on Birthday Presents and Cat Food

You're birthday only comes once a year and I believe it should be celebrated with gifts and cake. My friend's birthday is coming up and I wanted to get her a little something to let her know how special she is to me. Of course, I wanted to do this on a budget. I purchased gift wrapping paper, a candle set and a Bar sign that's a wine bottle holder all for $7.60.

Kohl's send a coupon the mail once a month. The coupons range from 15%, 20% or 30%. This month I only got a 20% coupon, that is what I used for this transaction. Every few weeks Kohl's offers $10 Kohl's when you make a purchase of $50 or more. Plus I received a $10 off savings pass in the mail which I used for this purchase. The purchase came up to $7.60 with a $96.80 savings.

That was my best purchase of the day. I still got a little savings at Target for cat food and birthday card. My total savings at Target was $1.50.

My total savings for the day was $98.30. That made me so happy! Hope this is inspirational and you get your happy savings behind in gear to get you an almost $100 savings for a day of shopping.

Happy Savings,
Melissa

Saving Helpful Tips

Helpful tips #1 - Sunday is Funday for Deals

Sunday is the day when the newspaper has the newest ads and the most coupons. I know newspapers are so old school. However, it saves mega bucks when it comes to clipping coupons. Look through the paper with a fine tooth comb, clip what you need and save the coupons you might need soon.

Helpful tip #2 - Smart Phone Apps 

• Ebates, Checkout 51, Ibotta - These are 3 different apps that all get you money back on items purchased. There is no feeling like getting a check in the mail for products you've already purchased. These are super easy to use apps that give you simple instructions on how to start saving money.
• Cartwheel - This is a Target Store app that gives you a percentage off on hundreds of items in the store. You just need to add the items you will be purchasing on your next Target trip to  your Cartwheel, connect to the Target store wifi and have the store associate scan the barcode at the time of purchase for instant discounts on items you are purchasing.
• RetailMeNot - By far one of my most favorite apps, ever. RetailMeNot is activated when you are near a store with a deal. You'll receive a notification on your phone letting you know what stores near you are having sales. 

Hope this helps you on your savings journey.

Happy Savings,

Melissa

Welcome to the World of Saving Money

Welcome to my blog where I want to explore the art of saving money. We live in a bad economy. About a week ago, my girlfriend was laid off from her job and now it is my job to be the sole financial provider of our household. My girlfriend was laid off from her amazing job as Store Manager for a local grocery store.

The girlfriend has already been approved for the maximum amount of unemployment she can get, which is a total of $275 a week. Isn't that barbaric? Isn't that completely ridiculous?

It is completely possible to be able to live comfortably, have enough money for food and pay rent with our new circumstances. And I am going to show you how to save as much money as possible.

My short term goal is to save at least $400 by the middle October 2014. Even though my girl doesn't have a job, we have planned to go to Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando, Fl. this year. I really want to make this happen. I hope you find helpful hints and tips to help you save money as well.

Happy Savings,

Melissa