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Thrifty Tuesday
Each Tuesday Storm and Chris will give you all sorts of tips and links that will help you save money atthe grocery store, gas pump and all sorts of other establishments throughout the heart of Florida! Come here BEFORE you spend your hard earned cash.
Movie with the girls. Ka-ching! An $8 focaccia sandwich for lunch. Ka-ching. The cat's blood-pressure medicine. Ka-ching! Late fees, insurance, utility bills. Ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching. Sure, you could save money — if only you could stop spending it. You can't, of course, but you can spend it more slowly, wisely, and purposefully. How? Set aside one day (or a few evenings) and devote the time to cutting costs, following the daylong schedule on these pages. Along the way, take a look at Real Simple's solutions to readers' top four money problems. Then observe as you reap the benefits — and save up to $5,000 this year.
Are you a shopaholic? You know you're a shopaholic if a thief steals all your credit cards and goes on a shopping spree, but when you get your monthly bill it's the lowest one you've had in years.
As I've written here before, if you're a typical American you can't honestly embrace the green movement without also accepting that you need to consume less in your own life. We Americans are only five percent of the world's population, but we consume almost thirty percent of the world's resources. Conservation starts with the next time you get out your wallet or open your purse.
How to break yourself of a spending addiction? Try a spending detox, or what I call a fiscal fast: Go for a week or more each year without spending any money.
Think of it as forgoing the use of legal tender for the sake of tenderizing your non-monetary soul.
The Golden Rule: NO stockpiling in advance. A fiscal fast is the week to use it up, make it last, or do without.
It's a chance to eat up the groceries in your cupboards and refrigerator, especially food stuff nearing its expiration date. It's the week to try carpooling or walking or bicycling to work rather than driving. And a fiscal fast gives you a chance to finally open up those little bottles of shampoo you've been saving from the Holiday Inn for the past 20 years, and rediscover all the terrific clothes in your closet you forgot you even own.
It's a week for your family to make its own fun, rather than pay for entertainment; dig out those old board games you haven't played in years or borrow some books from the library.
A fiscal fast will put you in touch with your own green cheapskate and do three things to help reshape your relationship with money and stuff. First, you'll save some money during the week, which is always a good thing, particularly in challenging economic times like these. Don't rush out the following week and spend what you saved during the fast; instead use it to pay down some debt or put it in your savings account.
A fiscal fast will also give you a new appreciation for how you spend -- and probably waste -- money in a normal week. It's like being embedded in a virtual spreadsheet of your household budget. Finally, and most importantly, a fiscal fast will remind you of all the wonderful things in life that have nothing to do with money.
People from across the country have been contacting me to share their fiscal fasting stories since reading about the exercise in my book, and I've yet to hear from anyone who regretted the experience, even if they didn't make it through the entire week. In addition to the above benefits, folks have reported shock and awe over everything from how much less household trash they generate to how much less they drive -- and how much more free time they have -- when they swear off spending for a week. Give fiscal fasting a try, and give my regards to your green cheapskate when you meet him or her along the way.
From prescription drugs and stock trades to movies, cruises and legal advice, it's possible to get plenty for nothing -- or at least at a deep discount.
With Wall Street smarting, the dollar withering and food and fuel prices soaring, we could all stand a little something for nothing. If only there were indeed a free lunch.
Good news: After a bit of searching, we uncovered a bunch of 100% discounts hiding in plain sight. In many cases, the only effort that's needed to claim them involves the 15 seconds it takes to type in a name and an e-mail address.
Cheapskate, skinflint, tightwad -- whatever you want to call us, we hate spending money and love finding a good deal. If we can save a few bucks, we're happy. And if we can get something for nothing, we're in heaven.
Even in these days of $400 haircuts and million-dollar starter homes, you can find plenty of things for nothing. We've pulled together a list of 26 of our favorite freebies, and they're not junk. These are valuable goods and services you'd actually want, from free music and movies to legal advice and financial services.
To save money on snack items for lunches, buy large bags of favorite chips or boxes of Ritz and put some in ziploc bags inside the lunch box. Those small bags of chips and packs of crackers can really add up!
Pack In Reusable Plastic Containers
Buying large bags of chips and splitting them up into single servings is a great way to cut costs for packing lunches, but you can save even more (and help the environment) by using reusable plastic containers instead of disposable ziploc bags. I know some people wash their ziploc bags, but plastic containers are much easier to wash and will last a long time. I have picked most of my containers up at yard sales, so it is possible to use them and still be thrifty.
Thousands of consumers may be holding fraudulent coupons for groceries and toiletries after an Internet marketing fiasco that one industry spokesman described as an unprecedented consumer mess that could take years and a million dollars to clean up.
SmartMoney.com Offers Tips on How to Get the Best Price
(CBS) With the economy teetering on recession, there isn't much for consumers to celebrate these days. But like most dark clouds, this one has a silver lining. That's because when it comes to many discretionary items, it's a buyer's market. Still that doesn't mean retailers are giving things away. You need to know how to negotiate to get the best price. Kelli Grant, SmartMoney.com consumer reporter, offers some tips on the art of haggling.
First, envision the worst-case scenario. Everyone from big-box retailers to flea market sellers build extra profit into their prices to account for price drops, usually, sales. You have the right to ask for a better price. The worst they can say is "no." So, don't be afraid to ask.
Also, bring cash. When you use plastic, the issuer charges the seller a processing fee. So many stores and companies are willing to offer a discount of up to 20% if you pay with cash. Keep small bills on hand so you can say, "I'm willing to give you $45 for this" and flash the cash.
Be a smart shopper and check out competitors. Businesses would rather give a discount than lose you to a competitor. Most major retail stores have price-matching policies in place to meet or even beat others prices. Print out a few prices you find online, or simply say you've seen similar items cheaper elsewhere.
Don't hesitate to point out the flaws in items. Don't expect to pay full price for a lime green car, last season's sweater or a scratched armoire. Point out anything that makes the item less desirable to buyers, and you in particular. Employees may be willing to let the item go for less.
And finally, ask to speak to management. Whether you're negotiating a lower credit card rate or a better price on a sweater, ask politely to speak with a manager. They have more leeway to offer a discount. Try to catch them during off-peak hours, when they won't be too busy to help.
While researching the worst dollar store buys, it didn't surprise me to find that there were many more items that even Wal-mart and Costco couldn't compete with for price. And, as some readers pointed out, sometimes you don't have either the budget or the storage space for bulk buys. Anyway, here are a few of my picks for top dollar store buys and remember, I can only report on prices that I find in my neck of the woods, so please check prices in your area.
Ivory hand soap At three bars for a buck, even the big box stores couldn't compete with 33 cents a bar. Our local Wal-mart sells Ivory bar soap in packages of 16 for $5.98, or 37 cents per bar.
Tame Shampoo A similar brand, in the same size costs almost twice as much at Wal-mart. If you don't need or want a fancy shampoo, $1 is plenty to pay.
Oral B Toothbrushes Even Costco couldn't beat $1 per toothbrush. They sell these toothbrushes in a package of seven for $14.99, which works out to $2.14 each. You can get other brand-name toothbrushes at Dollarama, too. Colgate, for one but it seems that dollar stores are only getting medium bristles in these so, if you need soft bristles, buy a two-pack of off-brand toothbrushes, an even better deal.
Paper coffee cups Dollar store price, 16 cups for .062 cents per cup; Costco price, $12.99 for 200 cups or .065 cents each. Granted, the difference isn't huge, but, if you only need a few of these, the dollar store is still a good deal and probably a lot easier to get in and out of than the big box giant if you're running errands on your lunch hour.
Medium freezer bags There was no difference in price for this size of freezer bag. So, whether you're buying a box of 15 for $1 or 150 bags at Costco for $9.99, you'll still be paying about .067 cents each.
Garbage bags Twelve 20 x 22" garbage bags cost .083 cents per bag at Dollarama. The same size garbage bag is sold at Costco for $11.49 for 100 bags or .115 cents each. I don't use a lot of this type of garbage bag anymore, preferring instead to use a plastic garbage can. If you're in the same situation, 12 bags are plenty to have on hand at any one time.
Breton crackers Wal-mart sells these large crackers for $2.17 for a 225 g. package. Dollarama has Champagne Crackers in the same size for only $1.
Lip Balm Buy a tube of Blistex at Wal-mart for $2.43 or a tube of Lypsyl at Dollarama for $1.
Cotton Balls Department store cotton balls cost $1.29 and up for a package of 100. The same number of dollar store cotton balls are only $1 and I like their quality better than most of the department store ones I've tried.
Dental Floss I used to see the Lavoris brand on store shelves everywhere but, like a lot of brands that have been pushed out of mainstream markets by more popular products, Lavoris is now a dollar store staple. I've been using their dental floss for several weeks and like it at least as well as Johnson and Johnson or Butler Brands. Johnson and Johnson floss cost $1.97 for 55 yds. when I checked recently. Butler floss is available in a 200 yd. size for $3.97. You can have the same amount of Lavoris floss for $2 at Dollarama when you buy two packages.
Marlene Alexander is a freelance writer and dollar store diva. She writes articles on budget decorating using only items from the dollar store.
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Each Tuesday Storm and Chris will give you all sorts of tips and links that will help you save money atthe grocery store, gas pump and all sorts of other establishments throughout the heart of Florida! Come here BEFORE you spend your hard earned cash. 
