Scrapbooking

What mom doesn't like to scrapbook!?  It's always fun to preserve your children's precious memories (while you still remember them)!  When buying scrapbook supplies, I hang onto the advice from my sister-in-law:  Shop at Hobby Lobby when their scrapbook stickers and papers are 50% off!  This sale happens more often than I thought, so it's definitely worth waiting for the sale before you buy these scrapbook must-haves.  The 3D embellishment stickers are only 30% off, but not the same week as the other stickers and the papers - so you may end up going twice, unless you don't mind buying when they aren't on sale!  

In addition, on the Hobby Lobby website, you can click on weekly specials and print the weekly coupon. ( http://www.hobbylobby.com/weekly/weekly.cfm)  It is almost always a percentage off of one regularly priced item.  The percentage varies, but is usually 40 or 50%  off.

Contests/Sweepstakes

I'm not really one for entering these things, but some of you may enjoy them!  Here is a site that lists all of them with their expiration dates and a link to the rules and entry forms.  http://contests.about.com/od/sweepstakeslistings/a/sweepsbyexpdate.htm

Who knows, you could win 10, 25, or even $50,000!!!  And with some of the contests, you would actually be earning it based on your own creativity or culinary skills!

Printing Pictures

As a mom, I know you must print pictures!  The best deal on pictures that I have found is at Walgreens.  If you start a folder on your computer for pictures that you want to print, you can upload them to Walgreens.com at your convenience.  I have found that it's best to do this as you take the pictures, so you always remember which pictures you have looked through to select the ones for printing!  

You can always get your 4x6 pictures for 9 cents each if you wait until they offer "Buy 25, get 25 free."  You can use this deal up to 5 times per account, so depending on how many pictures you need to print, always only print 50 at a time.  If you are left with less than 50, wait until you have 50.  They offer the deal pretty regularly, so don't worry!  The next best deal is 10 cents each, when they offer "50 pictures for $5."  If you must print pictures, you can use this deal.  The drawback to this is that you actually have to go to Walgreens to pick them up.

If you are printing 5x7 or 8x10 pictures, it is actually cheaper to print them yourself!  Occasionally, Walgreens offers a free 8x10, no other purchase necessary.  This, of course, is a great deal.  Watch my blog for when they have these deals, and take advantage!  Only 1 free 8x10 per account, per deal period, which is usually only a day, so watch carefully.

If you like photo books, Walgreens offers 25% off and 33% regularly, so put your book together, and wait until the deal period to order.  Shipping usually isn't too bad, and is cheaper if you order more than one book at a time.

Money Saving at Target

Ok I lied....there is a third credit card you must own!  If you open a Target Red Card account, you earn 10% on your first purchase.  However, not many people know that you also earn a 10% off shopping day AND a 10% off online order when you spend $1,000 on your card.  And believe me, when you are shopping at Target for groceries as well as for everything else, that's really easy to do!  On your 10% shopping day, try to spend as close to $1,000 as you can  by buying necessities in bulk, such as toilet paper, paper towels, bottled water, frozen food, baby wipes (they are cheapest here), baby food, etc.  Save the rest of the $1,000 total for a much later date, to earn your next 10% off day.  Then use the day, again, to buy in bulk.  If you spend $800 each trip, it's like making $80 every time you shop at Target!  And because Target usually has pretty good deals, you can't pass it up.  Occasionally Target offers deals where you earn Target gift cards for purchasing certain items, such as a $5 gift card for purchasing two packages of toilet paper.  Well, on your bulk days, if you buy 6 packages, that's an additional free $15!  Yay for Target!

2 Credit Cards you must Own!

These two credit cards are necessities!  And I'll tell you why.  They both offer cash back programs.  That's like free money!  

  1.  American Express One - offers 1% cash back on every purchase AND sets up an additional savings account, which earns higher interest than most banks.  The cash back is automatically deposited into the savings account, so you do nothing and earn free money!  The cash is deposited on a monthly basis, so it begins earning interest almost immediately after you earn it, and you don't have to wait all year to receive it, like most other cash back rewards.

  2.  BP VISA - offers 5% cash back on all BP purchases, 2% on travel and dining, and 1% cash back on everything else....except purchases at other gas stations, of course!  If you get the card during the bonus rewards period, the cash back doubles during the first 60 days (from the application date....).  That means you get 10% cash back on all purchases at BP!  The only drawback to this card is that you have to log into your account to redeems your cash back, which they send in the form of a check, so you have to go to the back to deposit it.  You do, however, also have the option to receive a $25 BP gift card or donate the money to charity if you choose.  But if you want the cash back, make sure you select $25 check when you order your reward!

It's best to use the American Express everywhere, except at BP, restaurants, and hotels. However, American Express is not accepted everywhere, so use the VISA as a back up card that still earns you cash back!  Set up automatic payments, so you never have to worry about paying a late fee.

Best Kept Secrets at Publix

The best way to save money at Publix is to take advantage of their "Buy 1, Get 1 Free" deals!  Buy items you use in bulk whenever they are on sale.  Publix also has secret ways to save money!

  1.  They take competitor coupons - so save that $5 off of $30 Bruno's coupon!

  2.  They offer discounts on wine, when you buy multiple bottles.  5% off of 4-7, and 10% off 8.

  3.  In addition to items in the weekly add, they offer advantage buys, which usually last about a           month.  See the ad book in the front of the store to find deals and coupons.

  4.  Did they run out of an item you wanted that was buy 1 get 1 free?  Ask for a rain check at the          register to receive the item at the half off price for a future purchase.

Tricky Websites

Oh....these masterminds behind all of your favorite baby stuff buying websites think they are geniuses!  They are, by the way.  They are very tricky when pricing their items.  They have the best deals on one item, diapers for example, but other items can run anywhere from $.49 to $4.00 more than the same item on another website!  And though a few sites claim to match prices, I have had trouble with them actually matching the price.  The price match does not include coupon codes for any site, any discounts that you might want to use, and must include shipping costs, if applicable.  By the time you add up all of these things, it is usually just better to follow these rules:  Only buy from sites that 1.  do not make you pay tax  2.  offer free shipping of some kind  3.  you can get some kind of discount, whether it is $5 or 15% off  3.  ships your items in a timely manner

On a future post, I will list many favorite items, and the best prices for them.

Diapers

    Looking for the best place on the web to buy diapers?  If you are a first time online diaper buyer, I would start at diapers.com.  If you enter the referral code SNXX5814 in the promotion & referrals section at checkout, you can save $10 off of your first order.  This discount can be combined with the instant click $2 Pampers coupon available on the site.  These discounts plus no tax and free shipping (on an order of $49 or more), can leave you spending a grand total of $71.98 on two value boxes of diapers!  As if that isn't enough, you also get a subscription to Parenting magazine, or...wait for it.....a refund check for $14.97, if you would rather have cash than the magazine!  Just don't forget to complete the rebate form.   After your initial purchase, watch for specials and deals that can save you extra money for additional diaper purchases.  As a side note, they do take manufacturer's coupons - wait until you get an envelope full, and then send them in all at once to save on postage.  

    In the meantime, head on over to drugstore.com to set up an account and begin purchasing diapers there!  You can earn as much as $10 off of your first order and free shipping, just for being a new customer!  This site also has instant coupons, so just click and save $2 off of your box of diapers!  To receive the discount, click here $10 Off $50 for New Customers

Then watch your inbox for more deals like this one to use on future purchases.  You can only use one of each deal per account, so check expiration dates and be sure to use the discount in a timely manner!  I recently used a save $5 off of a baby purchase of $25 or more, and that included diapers!  Additionally, check Coupon Cabin for  $10 off of $80.  You do not have to pay tax here either.  

    The best part of drugstore.com is the 5% that you earn back for every purchase.  This money builds up to use at a later date, currently the month of October.  So, the rundown of purchasing two value packs of diapers from this site:  $71.98 for your first purchase, plus $3.60 to use later!  Your second purchase (make sure you get free shipping - this may include buying a bottle of shampoo or something, which right now Herbal Essences is buy one get one free!) will also earn you $10 off (if you use the coupon cabin code) and $3.60 to use later.  Rewards from both purchases earns you a total of about $8 free money!  Continue purchasing diapers from this site (and earning rewards!), unless there is a special going on over at diapers.com.  

With all of these great deals, your days of lugging heavy diaper boxes home from the store are over!