Have you heard of Groupon? What a brilliant idea and a great way for us to save money! With so many people who have been affected by the state of our economy in some way, Groupon is a great resource for entertainment. Groupon was started in 1998 and 13 years later is thriving in 500 markets and 44 countries. Groupon is a website you can subscribe to for free. The website features great, daily deals for various businesses in your city. Here in Phoenix, I have seen restaurant deals, shopping deals, pumpkin farm deals, spa deals, yoga deals, cabin deals, and just this weekend my mom purchased a Groupon for her favorite crafting shop. She bought $20 worth of supplies or classes for $10...what a deal?!
Groupon uses collective buying power to bargain with business by committing a certain number of customers to the company in exchange for a deep discount. The website will send you a daily email listing the daily deal and you have the option to buy it right then. You do not have to use the Groupon that day, but will be sent an email with the details of how to redeem your purchase. Signing up for the emails does not require a commitment, so do not wait, you may find your new, favorite restaurant on Groupon! www.groupon.com
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
More on Extreme Couponing
Happy Tuesday!! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Mine was on the not so wonderful side, a leak in the house requiring a great deal of deconstruction that is still not done, then two kids with stomach flu to top it off! There is nothing like a little coupon therapy to make things better! :)
Interest in couponing has really exploded because of the show Extreme Couponing, so I thought I would give a few thoughts on methods I have tried and why I do my couponing the way I do. Every Wednesday night I am motivated to have a huge coupon trip because of the show and I start to pull out all my coupons, open my laptop and start making lists. As you know I am a member of a website called Coupon Sense and have been for about three years. I have saved significant amounts of money using the site, however, I have never had a $700 grocery trip cost me $5.00. I have consistently saved over 70%, but seeing those numbers on the TV make me hungry for bigger savings.
Last week I decided to surf the net for other blogs that have coupon matchups for the stores I shop at and see if I could save more than ever. Well, I spent about two hours surfing sites, making lists and another hour pulling coupons (in random order) for this great trip. At first I thought I was going to really do well this way, but in the end, I saved 66%...what a disappointment.
What I did discover is that Coupon Sense is the best site for me. Yes, I pay for it, but the time I save is huge. I do not have 30 or 40 hours to spend on couponing like the people on the show and sitting for hours clipping coupons and organizing them in a binder, then surfing multiple sites is just not for me. Coupon Sense has me file whole packets of newspaper coupons by week with a unique numbering system, it has an incredibly user friendly database where I can search and sort by item, price, store or coupon, I can click on the items I want and print "my" list....no handwriting anything. I then print my list and at the end there is an incredible list of the coupons I need and they are listed in order! I can make a list and pull coupons in about 30 minutes and shop my favorite store in about 30 minutes! Half the time the other method took me. Will I have a huge trip that takes me 3 hours to check out? Maybe not, but I am not sure I care. I have had trips where I save 91% on about 15 items...I think maybe that is just good enough for me! Here is my latest trip to Fry's!
Interest in couponing has really exploded because of the show Extreme Couponing, so I thought I would give a few thoughts on methods I have tried and why I do my couponing the way I do. Every Wednesday night I am motivated to have a huge coupon trip because of the show and I start to pull out all my coupons, open my laptop and start making lists. As you know I am a member of a website called Coupon Sense and have been for about three years. I have saved significant amounts of money using the site, however, I have never had a $700 grocery trip cost me $5.00. I have consistently saved over 70%, but seeing those numbers on the TV make me hungry for bigger savings.
Last week I decided to surf the net for other blogs that have coupon matchups for the stores I shop at and see if I could save more than ever. Well, I spent about two hours surfing sites, making lists and another hour pulling coupons (in random order) for this great trip. At first I thought I was going to really do well this way, but in the end, I saved 66%...what a disappointment.
What I did discover is that Coupon Sense is the best site for me. Yes, I pay for it, but the time I save is huge. I do not have 30 or 40 hours to spend on couponing like the people on the show and sitting for hours clipping coupons and organizing them in a binder, then surfing multiple sites is just not for me. Coupon Sense has me file whole packets of newspaper coupons by week with a unique numbering system, it has an incredibly user friendly database where I can search and sort by item, price, store or coupon, I can click on the items I want and print "my" list....no handwriting anything. I then print my list and at the end there is an incredible list of the coupons I need and they are listed in order! I can make a list and pull coupons in about 30 minutes and shop my favorite store in about 30 minutes! Half the time the other method took me. Will I have a huge trip that takes me 3 hours to check out? Maybe not, but I am not sure I care. I have had trips where I save 91% on about 15 items...I think maybe that is just good enough for me! Here is my latest trip to Fry's!
$43.17 spent and $83.52 saved for a percentage of 66% and time saved!
I do not have a magic formula for using coupons, I simply use the resources available to me and take a little time! I currently have more body wash than I need (will be donating this week), razors, 12 bottles of laundry detergent, shampoo, conditioner, cereal, pasta, pasta sauce all that I got for free...not two years worth, but heck, it only took me two months to get this...why do I need two years worth?
To learn more about Coupon Sense or sign up for a trial membership send me an email directly to erathier@yahoo.com (not through this blog I do not seem to get them) or check out my blog post http://survivingthisazeconomy.blogspot.com/2011/04/coupon-sense.html. The one tip I will give you is extreme couponing is much easier when you get multiple sets of coupons. I can help you get multiple Sunday papers delivered to your house, just send me an email to erathier@yahoo.com! Happy Couponing!!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Weekend Plans 5/20-5/22
Here we are approaching the weekend again and I have found a few low cost things to do. Since the weather is still going to be nice here in Phoenix, we certainly need to take advantage of it!
Astronomy Night: Friday night 7:30 p.m.at Vistancia. Tony Laconte will take participants on a guided walk on the Discovery Trail to the solar garden where he will give a presentation on the constellations and some Native American folklore and Greek mythology behind the stars' stories. Check out www.vistancia.com for more information!
Friends of Avondale Libraries Book Sale: Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m - 4:30 p.m. at the Avondale Civic Center Library. Admission is free, book prices vary. www.avondale.org/library
Be Green and Be Healthy Fair: Saturday, 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the Surprise Recreation Campus at 15960 N bullard Ave, 623-222-2000. Guests can have a blood-pressure check, meet with health professionals, get a five minute massage and learn how to conserve resources. Admission is free, check out surpiseaz.gov/specialevents.
Despicable Me: There are two places you can take your family to see this movie for free this weekend. You can head over to Westgate City Center on Friday where a rep from the Arizona Challenger Space Center will host science demonstrations, space simulations and astronaut mascot meet-and-greets before the movie starts at 7:30 p.m. Or, head out to Surprise Stadium and bring blankets and pillows and stretch out on the lawn to watch the movie at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free to both, concessions available at Surprise. No lawn chairs or ice chests will be allowed at the Surprise Stadium. www.peoriaaz.gov/specialevents
International Museum Day: Friday, May 19th, check out the various museums in the Valley for discounts and special events!
If none of these events sound fun to you, find a park and have a picnic, or head up a Phoenix mountain for a hike. Enjoy this unusual May weather!!
Astronomy Night: Friday night 7:30 p.m.at Vistancia. Tony Laconte will take participants on a guided walk on the Discovery Trail to the solar garden where he will give a presentation on the constellations and some Native American folklore and Greek mythology behind the stars' stories. Check out www.vistancia.com for more information!
Friends of Avondale Libraries Book Sale: Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m - 4:30 p.m. at the Avondale Civic Center Library. Admission is free, book prices vary. www.avondale.org/library
Be Green and Be Healthy Fair: Saturday, 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the Surprise Recreation Campus at 15960 N bullard Ave, 623-222-2000. Guests can have a blood-pressure check, meet with health professionals, get a five minute massage and learn how to conserve resources. Admission is free, check out surpiseaz.gov/specialevents.
Despicable Me: There are two places you can take your family to see this movie for free this weekend. You can head over to Westgate City Center on Friday where a rep from the Arizona Challenger Space Center will host science demonstrations, space simulations and astronaut mascot meet-and-greets before the movie starts at 7:30 p.m. Or, head out to Surprise Stadium and bring blankets and pillows and stretch out on the lawn to watch the movie at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free to both, concessions available at Surprise. No lawn chairs or ice chests will be allowed at the Surprise Stadium. www.peoriaaz.gov/specialevents
International Museum Day: Friday, May 19th, check out the various museums in the Valley for discounts and special events!
If none of these events sound fun to you, find a park and have a picnic, or head up a Phoenix mountain for a hike. Enjoy this unusual May weather!!
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