Browse by Tags

• The 1-month coupon strategy

  Posted Mar 07 2008, 07:47 AM by Karen Datko
  Filed under: Spending, Saving, Simple Dollar, Groceries
  Rating:

  This post comes from Trent Hamm at partner blog The Simple Dollar.

  Many people don't bother to clip coupons, mostly because they believe that a 50-cent coupon isn't worth the effort. On the surface, I agree. Without a clever coupon strategy, it's probably not worth the effort.

  About two months ago, I was talking about this with a friend who works for Hy-Vee, a grocery store chain here in Iowa. He gave me a tip: Take the coupon section out of the Sunday paper and put it aside for four weeks. Then open it up and clip everything that's even remotely of interest, whether you'd normally buy it or not.

  Take the coupons to the store and look at the shelves. Magically, most of the coupons will sync up with stuff that's on sale. When you combine the sale price and the coupon, you'll usually be able to get items for next to nothing.

  I tried this myself. I saved the fliers from a month ago, cut them up and took them to the store. What did I find? About 40% of the coupons I cut out matched up with items on sale. I wound up getting salad dressing for less than a dollar, a package of diapers at the cheapest price I've ever bought them for, and a container of good vanilla ice cream for 19 cents. And those are just the ones I remember.   Read More...

  Discuss ( 15 comments) 17,886 Views Digg this | Email this | Link to this

• Simple frugality by the hourly rate

  Posted Feb 01 2008, 07:39 AM by Karen Datko
  Filed under: Extreme savings, Saving, Simple Dollar, Groceries
  Rating:

  This post comes from Trent Hamm at partner blog The Simple Dollar.

  Quite often at The Simple Dollar, I'll suggest a frugal idea, like rewashing Ziploc bags, and inevitably someone will complain that I'm a "cheapskate" and that I should "get a life."

  I usually find such comments amusing, simply because those individuals aren't looking at the bigger picture. One instance of frugality doesn't save you very much, but when that instance doesn't take much time, the effective "hourly rate" for frugality can be impressive.

  Let's take a look at that Ziploc issue to show you what I mean. Let's say that a new Ziploc bag costs 20 cents, roughly appropriate based on the many varieties and quantities you can buy. (We like two-gallon freezer Ziplocs for meal storage, and those are far more than 20 cents, but the sandwich bags are much less.)

  Now, let's say I need one of those bags. It takes me about six seconds to dig a new one out of the box and about 12 to grab a used one and clean it. That means the time cost of washing and reusing a Ziploc bag is six seconds. That six seconds saves me 20 cents.   Read More...

  Discuss ( 6 comments) 2,756 Views Digg this | Email this | Link to this