Couponing for Real Life

istockphoto.com

Extreme I am not. I don't have stashes of elbow macaroni boxes and Windex. I have a much more moderate take on the subject. The key to successful couponing is balancing your time and effort with your savings. Here's how I have found my coupon Nirvana.

February - The Month of Pitfalls

People, last month wasn't pretty. As I shared, there was a unexpected things come up and some that we took on ourselves. All that added up to a negative savings rate.

February Savings:

-1%

Beyond pathetic for someone that is suppose to be so focused on savings. Here's what drove us over. 

An App that Pays

ibotta.com

So far I haven't found a lot of apps that are very useful for saving money, but ibotta is one that has worked well for me. It's pretty simple. Download it to your smartphone (or iPod Touch like me!). Browse for products that you would normally buy, or even better, items you have coupons for already. Select a product and watch a video. Answer a trivia question. Like the product on Facebook. Etc.. The more "tasks" you do, the more money you'll save. I've found all the tasks to be simple and fun.

After you shop at a store that is on their list. I shop at Target and that's one of the stores they recognize. Redeem your offers by taking a photo of your receipt. After they verify it, they will credit your account. 

Once you hit $5 in savings, you can cash out using PayPal. So far, I've earned $6. It's not a lot of money. It's like coupons – every dollar back in your pocket is a dollar you can spend somewhere else. Or better yet, save!

PROS: Simple, quick and there's products I would buy
CONS: The products can be somewhat monotonous

When the car starts smoking...

And a nicotine patch just won't work. (laughs?) 

It has been a month of surprises. The bad kind. The type that seems to come around the most often. The car needs a new serpentine belt. The dogs are due for their rabies shots. I thought I didn't take out my contacts, rub my eyes raw and had to go to the eye doctor the next day. Etc, etc, etc.

January Savings

Since this blog is to encourage us to save, I thought it might be motivating to record our saving progress at the end of each month. I'm going to share the percentage we saved from our monthly income along with what we did a good job with and what we could reign in.

Savings Percentage for January: 31.09%

Experiencing Your Saved Pennies

I had an idea the other day for saving as I'm apt to do. I received a renewal notice for a magazine I enjoy. I was just about to check the "Bill Me Later" box and mail the postcard. Then I realized while I like the magazine I usually give it a quick once over and never look at it again. Is that glance worth $20? Can I get that info somewhere else? Is the print business dying? Yes. Yes. Yes (my sympathies).

Putting in the Time - part two

This is a continuation of my last post as it was starting to get too long. Picking up from where we left off…

Putting in the Time - part one

I wish saving money just came to us by osmosis. That companies would reward you for your loyalty by reducing your payments over time. That the best deal available was laid out in front of you in a clear way and you could simply choose. And while I'm at it, that money grew on trees – specifically in my backyard.

Losing Weight on the Cheap

When it comes to getting fit/losing weight, I think it's unnecessary to join a weight loss plan or a gym. There's plenty of free or low cost options available. To be honest, I've wasted $40 a month at a gym I never went to. And was on a $30 a month system to eat right. That's $70 a month, $840 a year to do something I could do on my own with enough motivation. Anybody want to spend that $840 a year on something else? I do!

52-Week Money Saving Challenge

This idea is something a co-worker brought to my attention to this morning and it's gone viral. Probably because it's such a simple and fun way to save money. The challenge is to put a manageable amount of money into savings each week. $1 for week 1, $2 for week 2...you get the point. So at end year-end you would have $1378 if you've contributed every week for a year. A perfect amount for Christmas/Holiday spending or just a nice cushion to your savings account.

An Introduction

The beginning of the year. A clean slate. A great time to start a collection of thoughts, ideas and challenges to save even money in big and small ways. It's something I've been doing for 7 years and am always striving to save even more. That's why I was inspired to start this blog.