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Archive for category: Katrina’s Coupon Tips

Katrina’s Coupon Tip #14 – Call Your Cable Company

Katrina’s Coupon Tip #14 – Call Your Cable Company

CouponTip14_CallCableCoDid you know that you can save money each month on your cable bill by calling them?  It’s really as simple as that – promise!  You know how I feel, you sign up for the 2-year introductory price that is a smoking deal + they give you extra channels and then your husband loves you because they also give you all the NFL channels for FREE.  But there is a catch, this deal is only offered for the first 2 years and by then, you know you LOVE their service and all the amazing channels.  It’s like a punch to the gut when you get your first bill after this 2-year introductory period is over and the bill is tripled in price.  Ugggh!!  For a money-saving mom like me, I just couldn’t imagine paying full price for our cable bill.  It was either stick with our current cable company and hope for a discount or switch to another cable company and see what type of introductory deals they could offer us.

Between you and me, I love our current cable provider so I was hoping that we would not have to switch, but we didn’t want to keep paying the high prices.  My amazing husband decided to give our current provider a call and see if there was any way we could cut down on our bill – or he was going to end our contract and switch to someone else.  You know what?  Calling them was a great idea!  He saved us a ton of hassle of switching to a different company and having to deal with changing equipment, etc. by just asking for a discount.  Crazy huh?  He was able to negotiate a $63/month discount + new equipment upgrade – all from simply asking for a deal!  In fact, our cable company told him that we could call them every 3 months and ask for the current promotion to be applied to our account for future savings with them!  Woot!  Woot!  I’m super excited!

Remember, if you call your current provider, they may not be able to give you the same discount we received, but it doesn’t hurt to ask and shop around!  Just remember to be polite – no need for demanding a deal.  If they don’t give you the type of discount you want, then call another provider.  Being polite goes a long way in receiving special deals – keep in mind, the company needs to make money too, so don’t be unrealistic when asking for discounts.

CouponTip14_CallCableCo

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November 29, 20160 commentsRead More
Katrina’s Coupon Tip #13 – Buy In Bulk

Katrina’s Coupon Tip #13 – Buy In Bulk

KCouponTip_BuyInBulkWhen you come across an amazing deal on something that you use regularly – then go ahead and buy it in bulk!  Today is a perfect example – I found a GREAT deal on ground beef at my local grocery store.  This was a totally unexpected deal because I had not planned on buying meat at all.  I found 3lb rolls of ground beef for $3.79 total…not per pound – but per 3lb roll!  That’s just a little over $1 a pound!  Which is an awesome deal!  There were lots and lots and lots of rolls – so I went ahead and bought in bulk – 60lbs to be exact!  Yes, you heard me right – 60lbs of beef, 20 3lb rolls.groundbeef_300x800

My family loves ground beef, especially for tacos, which just so happens to be my husband’s favorite meal.  I know we will use our beef over the next year and we have a very large professional grade freezer in our garage for meats and frozen items we buy in bulk.  I’m super excited about our great deal today!  You can find great deals like this at your local grocery store by talking to the manager and asking when certain departments mark stuff down, and then be the first one there to get the great deal!

*** I can let you in on a little secret…a lot of grocery stores mark down perishables (like meat, dairy, and fruit) during the week to make room for fresh products to fill the shelves over the much busier weekends.  There are lots of great deals to be found during the week!

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February 12, 20160 commentsRead More
Katrina’s Coupon Tip #12 – Don’t Stock Up Too Much

Katrina’s Coupon Tip #12 – Don’t Stock Up Too Much

CT12_DontStockUpAre you stocking up so much that you are bursting at the seams and your kids’ closets are now full of toilet paper instead of clothes?  It’s really easy to get in the mindset of making sure you don’t let any coupons go to waste.  This can be very dangerous.

If you stock up a bunch on an item without paying close attention to the expiration you can get more excited about the money you are saving and end up buying a lot more of the product than you can actually use before it expires.  You may find yourself throwing food away that has expired and then you realize that the great deal you thought you found for that product is actually not really that great of a deal.

A perfect example is condiments.  One time I came across a great sale on Ranch dressing, we use a lot of it, so I purchased 8 bottles of it with my coupons and didn’t pay attention to the expiration date.  I ended up throwing away 4 bottles because they expired before we were able to use them all.  This is very easy to do with all sorts of products, so just make sure that you can use or can give away all the products you purchase that have a short expiration.

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September 22, 20150 commentsRead More
Katrina’s Coupon Tip #11 – Why I Use Self-Checkout

Katrina’s Coupon Tip #11 – Why I Use Self-Checkout

Do you use thrylyn_selfcheckoute self-checkout lane at the grocery store?  If you haven’t already discovered the power of the self-checkout lane at your favorite grocery store then you are missing out!  I love using the self-checkout lane for many reasons, but mostly because I can control the transaction and make sure that everything is ringing up properly. You would be amazed at how many items you purchase that ring up incorrectly.  There is power in using the self-checkout lane because you can question any item or price that you feel is wrong!  

It’s also nice that you can scan your own coupons and can make sure that each one is deducting and doubling correctly. Be careful, because a lot of stores have item limits for their self-checkout lanes, so make sure you check before beginning your transaction!

Also, if you are anything like me and you allow your kids to shop with you, then using the self-checkout lanes means they can help you scan items!  Yes, this can get a bit crazy, but if you are patient it can be really fun!

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August 10, 20150 commentsRead More
Katrina’s Coupon Tip #10 – It’s All About Planning

Katrina’s Coupon Tip #10 – It’s All About Planning

CT10_PlanningPlanning is essential to maximize savings at the grocery store! If you want to save a lot of money on your groceries, you MUST take the time to plan.  I like to think of grocery shopping as an art form and practice makes perfect!  I’m totally serious about this.  I won’t save on my grocery bill if I don’t take a few hours each week to plan where to get the best savings and which store to get them at.  

Every Wednesday when my grocery store sales ads arrive in the newspaper, I will glance at them and start making my shopping list.  On Thursday I will check and print coupons from my online sources, go through my coupon book, start clipping coupons from the week before and matching up what coupons I have with the items on sale that week. On Friday I will double check my list and my stockpile and finalize my shopping trip. It takes work, but on average I save about 55% on my grocery bill each week.  The time is totally worth it!

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July 21, 20150 commentsRead More
Katrina’s Coupon Tip #9 – Use Coupon Apps

Katrina’s Coupon Tip #9 – Use Coupon Apps

300x800_IbottaThere is a lot of savings to gain by utilizing coupon applications!  I have a couple really great coupon applications that I like to use on a consistent basis – my favorite is called IBOTTA.  It’s simple, download the app to your phone and go shopping.  Upload your receipt and you earn extra money!  I like to think of this app as using digital coupons and you can redeem the money you earn for gift cards or for cash!  You can even use paper coupons on the products you redeem – like a double dip!  It’s awesome!

Try IBOTTA today and when you refer your friends you can earn cash!  You can also try out SavingsStar – works the exact same way, but I’ll be honest, for me, I’ve had a lot better luck with IBOTTA.  There are a lot more apps out there, just find one you like and start saving TODAY!

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June 30, 20150 commentsRead More
Katrina’s Coupon Tip #8 – Write to Manufacturers

Katrina’s Coupon Tip #8 – Write to Manufacturers

CT8_WriteToManuMake a list of your favorite products and brands and start contacting them via letter or email.  Express how much you like their products and ask them for high-value coupons to purchase their products.  I’ve done this many times for my favorite products and I’m always pleasantly surprised when I open the mail and find a bunch of really good, high-value coupons for products my family loves!  Just takes a little work, but it pays off!

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May 6, 20150 commentsRead More
Katrina’s Coupon Tip #6 – Teach Your Kids

Katrina’s Coupon Tip #6 – Teach Your Kids

CT6_TeachYourKidsTeach Your Kids How to Coupon Too! Great behaviors are taught and what better thing to pass along to your children but a love for saving money!  I’m a mom of three kids so I know how hard it is to take them to the grocery store, but I try to make it fun for them! 

I give mine their own list, I will bring along a kid-sized shopping cart, and then I will let them help me scan the items at checkout!  Yes, I am a little crazy, but I’ve found that they really enjoy helping me shop when I can give them a job to do!  Plus it’s teaching them about saving!  I dare you try, and let me know how it goes (FREE cookies from the bakery always help too)!

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April 14, 20150 commentsRead More
Katrina’s Coupon Tip #7 – Ask For Discounts

Katrina’s Coupon Tip #7 – Ask For Discounts

CT7_AskForDiscountsDon’t forget to ask for discounts – even on ripe fruit! My kids LOVE smoothies for breakfast and I usually bulk them up with over-ripe frozen bananas (it gives them extra sweetness).  Just today, I asked the produce manager at my local grocery store if they sell the over-ripe bananas at a discount because I didn’t see any out for sale.  He didn’t have any over-ripe ones, but he did proceed to give me all the single bananas that were left not attached to any others for a discount – half off! 

Although I was looking for over-ripe ones, instead I got perfectly almost-ripe bananas for a cheaper price than the lady standing next to me who bought the exact same ones (her’s were just attached to a few others)!  Such a great deal that I bought 5lbs of them and I’ll just let them ripen on my counter!!  It pays to ask for a discount! I was excited for the deal and the produce manager said I was really helping him out too, because they have a hard time selling the singular ones that are left!  That’s a double deal in my book!  A win-win!

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Katrina’s Coupon Tip #5 – Stand Up For Yourself

Katrina’s Coupon Tip #5 – Stand Up For Yourself

CT5_StandUpIf you question something, speak up!  If you think the grocery store cashier has miscalculated something or a coupon is not ringing up correctly, SPEAK UP!  Respectfully say something, question it, stand up for yourself!  Afterall, cashiers are just people and people make mistakes and sometimes computers make mistakes too!

If you think a price is ringing up incorrectly, don’t just accept the higher price, question it (respectfully of course), and make sure you are ok with the price before continuing on with the transaction. Don’t worry about the long line behind you, and don’t feel bad about voiding an item if you choose not to purchase it – just remember, you are the only voice for yourself and you need to make sure you are getting every last penny of your savings!

Honest mistakes happen all the time, if you catch one, then speak up!

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March 11, 20150 commentsRead More