Frugal Friday: Using credit offers wisely

Yesterday I received a credit card offer that I can't refuse. While working hard on paying down our credit card debt, I've done my best not to use our credit cards. But if you have willpower, you can use offers to your advantage. Here's what I'm doing:

Yesterday I received an offer to get back 20% on ANYTHING I buy with Card X between now and 8/31, up to $45. That means I can spend $225.00 and get back $45. Now, THAT is a considerable saving! So here's what I resolved to do: use that card for the next $225 worth of purchases, then as soon as the transaction hits the online account, immediately pay it out of our bank. This card does not limit how many online payment transactions you can have per month, so I could pay off 10 transactions if that's what it were to take. Luckily - so to speak - I had to take my daughter to the eye doctor today, so between the exam and the new glasses, I spent $148 right there. I spent another almost $50 on household items and a fan for the church building. So in just two transactions, I've already accumulated most of the $225 I can spend to get money back on.

You've got to have willpower to use credit card offers wisely, though. I'm not going to go out and spend the money on things I wouldn't have bought otherwise "just because" I'm going to get the 20% back. What I spent today is things I would have bought anyway. I'm just sticking an extra step into the payment system. Read all the rules, understand what you're getting into, make yourself stick to the deal and nothing more, and keep up with what you're doing - follow through.



And while we're on the subject of frugality, here's a post on FREE online movies and TV shows that I put up as my "WFMW" post - you can't beat free!

Be sure to visit Crystal's blog for more great frugal goodness!

Frugal Friday: Using the top of your toaster oven

It's been a while since I've participated in Frugal Friday - either I've had nothing to add, or I forget about it! But I figured out a little trick this week that I'd like to pass along.

The top of my toaster oven gets REALLY hot. I mean burn yourself if you touch it hot. The other day, I needed to cook some vegetables, but I had to leave the house for a while. I didn't want to leave them going on the stove, and I wouldn't be able to microwave them while I was gone. What to do, hmmm... Then I realized, why not put them on top of the toaster oven? So I put them in the bowl, covered them with a little foil (to retain the heat) and left them there while the main meal cooked in the toaster oven and I was gone.

When I got back, none of them were done through, but they had warmed up enough (these were frozen veggies) and begun cooking enough that microwaving a bit finished them off. I saved all that energy (stove or microwave) from full-length cooking by using wasted energy from the toaster oven. Not to mention saving my time and efforts and watching and stirring on a regular basis.

It won't save the world from global warming or energy pollution problems, but every bit helps - and it never hurts to have the general mindset of doing what we're able, when we're able.

Don't forget to stop by Crystal's blog for more Frugal Friday goodness!

Frugal Friday: Homemade "Hot Pockets"

Since we homeschool, I try to keep the kids from getting the "not again" blues at lunch *too* often, although it's hard, especially when you're trying to be frugal. I hit a home run today - well, maybe just a triple!

A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled across a fabulous deal - the local Walmart was selling packs of Land O Frost deli lunchmeat for only 50 cents. For 12 ounces! That was a deal I couldn't pass up! Nothing was wrong with them, they weren't even close-dated. It's just that we live in a college town, it was almost Spring Break, and they had more than they knew would sell in the next week with all the kids gone. Score for me - I bought enough ham and turkey to fill a plastic bag!

Today I got to thinking about Crystal's super easy pizza dough recipe. So I made one batch of that and divided it into 6 pieces. (Really should have made 8 - there was really too much bread in each of these.) Rolled out the dough, plopped on about 2 oz. of ham plus one good slice of cheese each, and folded them up sort of like burritos. I baked them at 400 for about 15 or 20 minutes. They were GREAT! Only problem was that I didn't think to pinch the seams and a lot of the cheese escaped. We just scraped it up off the pan and plopped it on the outsides of the pockets.

You could fill these with lots of stuff and make very healthy or not-very healthy pockets, your choice. They're puffy and light and just right, and it was a nice change of pace when compared to yet another ham-and-cheese sandwich.

(And here's another frugal thing - have you gotten your FREE copy of my Presidential Elections lapbook kit yet? Why not?!)

Don't forget to head to Crystal's blog for more frugal goodies!

Frugal Friday: Saving on movie rentals

It's awful that there is so little on TV that's fit to watch these days, isn't it? Especially if you don't splurge on cable/satellite TV - the networks are just filled with filth. We had that problem solved for us when we moved last fall; our new home is between major cities, so it doesn't get decent reception on ANY channel! So we only watch movies now. I don't want to spend consistent money on NetFlix or Blockbuster, so we do old-fashioned renting - then, if we go a while without a rental, we haven't wasted that month's money. Here are the things I do to save money at the rental store:

1. Sign up for their online newsletter, if they have one. Movie Gallery puts out a new "rent one, get one" coupon every week or two, and occasionally puts out a free one. This also allows you to hear about specials going on, like free rental weekends and reduced price rentals. Even if you only go to one store for your movies, if there are competing stores in your area, check if your favorite store accepts competitor coupons. If they do, sign up for the newsletters from those stores.

2. Look for special coupon booklets or calendars. Movie Gallery puts out a calendar at the end of every year that has 15 "rent one, get one" coupons on it. They are dated by month, so if you miss one, you've missed it, but the calendars are super cheap (I think only about $2 or $3.) so even one coupon makes you break even.

Now, those are ideas for rental places. Of course, there are ways to see movies for free, as well!

1. Check your library. Some have a decent selection, some don't. And it's a pretty sure bet that you will not have to wade though a ton of horror flicks and skin shows just to find one movie that's fit to watch.

2. Go online! There are more and more places these days that are offering quality TV and movies online, absolutely free, with limited commercials. My very favorite is Hulu.com, but Fancast.com is also pretty good. AOL Television has a lot of old shows, but their servers don't always work well, leading to lots of skipping and sticking. Hulu has a lot of movies in a wide range, old and new, family and non-family-friendly alike. But even there, at least you don't have to trudge through the boxes on the shelf, praying your kids won't look at them too closely!

Be sure to visit Crystal's Blog for more frugal goodness. Then come back and stay a spell - maybe you'll see something you like!

Frugal Friday: Checking prices at the cash register

One of the tips you'll see over and over again about saving money at the grocery store is to watch the cash register screen as they ring your prices, to make sure you're not getting overcharged. But one of the best ideas I ever read for implementing this, I've only read once.

When possible, do NOT get in the shortest line. Don't get in the longest one, either - just get behind someone who's only about halfway done, if you can. This gives you enough time to get settled in and get most - hopefully all - of your own groceries on the belt by the time the person in front of you is done. Then, when the cashier starts in on your stuff, you are free to pay attention to the register screen and watch the prices, correcting any mistakes before you actually shell out money.

Now, those of you with young kids who STILL can't pay attention to the screen, don't come crying to me. I never completely figured that one out, myself. ;-) (Having a shopping partner, like Dad, comes in handy at those times.)

Of course, you should still check your receipt before you leave, but it's far easier to catch the mistakes at the register and have them corrected there, rather than having to wait in yet another line and go through the hassle.

Be sure to visit Crystal's blog for more frugal-ish goodness! And don't forget that today is the LAST day to enter my Ultimate Blog Party contest to win a free set of Spring notebooking/journaling pages!

Frugal Friday: My Coke Rewards!

I don't normally do product "reward point" programs, because they take so long to build up enough points to do any good - and you often feel the pressure to buy things you wouldn't ordinarily buy just to get enough points to get the whatever-it-is doodad you're saving up for. So, in general, they're not frugal at all.

But I do like to do the My Coke Rewards program. I started up with it when it first started, because I had also happened to win a TON of free 2-liter bottles in a contest Coke was running in conjunction with the Olympics. So as I bought my free Cokes and we drank them, I put the codes in to the MCR site as well.

Since then, we've rarely bought any Cokes, but I still manage to snag a fair amount of points. My kids and hubby pick them up for me when someone has thrown down a cap in a parking lot, or when they find a clean fridge pack box. DH snags caps at work when he spots an empty bottle in the break room.

It's only a few points at a time, but over the last couple of years, I've ordered: a $25 Sony.com gift certificate (spent it on two movies, one I wanted, one for the kids), a movie for my son for this past Christmas, and just the other day, I ordered a 3 piece set of Farberware skillets! All of this was totally free! (Some items, usually just the Kodak things, do require a shipping charge.)

So while I don't spend money on this program myself, it's definitely paying off. You do have to keep an eye on the prize list, because it changes often, and some things disappear quickly. All in all, it's been worth it to me - it's very easy to do (since it's all online) and doesn't take much time at all. That's frugal to me!

Be sure to visit Crystal's blog for more Frugal Friday goodness!

Works For Me Wednesday & Frugal Friday: Prescription Savings

I'm going to let this one stand as my Frugal Friday post as well:

Homeschooling usually means that the family budget is slimmer than the average American, if not downright anorexic. This means we have to save every penny we can. Doctor bills and medicines can really do you in, though!

I've found that when one of my family is prescribed an ongoing medication, if I go to the website of the medicine, you can usually find savings deals. These always require you give up your address, but in return you get coupons or savings cards that can knock a good deal off your prescriptions.

This has become especially important for my family - our new insurance requires that we pay up front, file a claim, and then get reimbursed. So even though we get 80-100% of the money back in a couple of weeks, it's no fun being out that amount in the meantime. So those savings really Work For Me!