Tips for saving Money & Time

Restaurant.com

jennhmb — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 20:48:07 +0000

Another favorite site of mine is Restaurant.com. This site allows you to print gift certificates for the restaurant of your choice. Although not every restaurant is on the site, there is a good selection available. What makes this site a huge money saver, is that you can purchase a $25.00 gift certificate for $10.00. Saving $15.00 on a meal is a great deal, right? Well it gets even better…by signing up for an account, you get on their email list. On occasion you receive bonus codes for 70% off and sometimes even $80% off. This translates to buying a $25.00 gift certificate for $4.00 or even for $2.00. That is HUGE!

Given the great savings, there are restrictions that you need to be aware of. For instance, there are not an unlimited amount of certificates for each restaurant, so each week they can sell out. Also, each restaurant has set parameters for the savings certificates; sometimes certain days of the weeks or holidays may be restricted, they require a minimum of a $35.00 total bill in order to use the $25.00 certificate, some will add an 18% gratuity prior to applying the savings. Given the amount of savings, these are fairly minor conditions. Overall, this site allows you to experiment with some restaurants you might not normally visit and allows you to still eat out on occasion in spite of the tight economic times we are experiencing.

Remember, Time is Money so let’s save Both!

Ten Dollar Dinners

jennhmb — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:25:16 +0000

Yes, you heard me right – Ten dollar dinners that will feed 4 people. I have personally learned a few tricks from this show and found new recipe ideas. You can either watch the show on the Food Network (or set your DVR) or go to www.foodnetwork.com to find information on the show. The hostess, Melissa d’arabian, was the winner of the Next Food Network Star from 2009. She has great tips on how to cut costs for some traditional recipes and has some creative new recipes. Her motto is “four people, ten bucks, infinite possibilities”. You don’t even need to watch the show to enjoy the benefits of the recipes…all you need to do is visit the website and they are posted for you to enjoy.

Remember, Time is Money so let’s save Both!

Borders Rewards – It’s Not Just for Books!

jennhmb — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:14:22 +0000

Many store offer rewards programs, some cost money while others are Free. As far as Free ones go, Borders has one of the best ones out there.

In addition to accumulating credit for purchases, they also offer a multitude of savings on other items, not just books. They have partnered with various companies to offer savings on things such as flowers, office supplies, cosmetics, and even restaurants. Under the umbrella of Borders Rewards, they have Weekly Deals and Perks. You receive weekly emails that include some of those savings in addition to % off Reward towards the purchase of a book or item in the store. For example, a couple months ago, they emailed me a 40% any single item in the store. Just this morning I received a 30% off any book. Sometimes they offer a Buy 1 Get 1 Free deal. The nice thing about the program being email driven, is that you can access your coupon codes on your smart phone so they are always with you. Another plus on their program is that you can use your discounts online or in the store, you simply enter your email address online or give it to the cashier in the store (in case you forget your membership card). Inside their stores, not only do they sell books, but they have CDs, DVDs, a kids section with toys, and lots of colorful stationary items and gifts.

I will let you know that you have to watch the dates on their offers…for the most part they are 2-4 days long, not a week. Outside of that, with the fact that their program is Free and can be used in stores or online, the flexibility and savings make their program great!

Remember, Time is Money so let’s Save Both!

Ebates…It’s for real!

jennhmb — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:13:26 +0000

Another great way I have been able to save a few bucks is by using a website called Ebates. It is legit. You go to their site (using your new email address I recommended early on in my blog) sign up for an account, and you are ready to go. How it works is this… Ebates is simply a portal to hundreds of websites that gives you a rebate for purchases you make through their site.

Lets say you need to buy a pair of shoes, order some candy for your sweetheart, and a toy for your cousin-in-law’s 3^rd child. You go to the Ebates website and search through their store list for where you would like to shop. Lets say you like Nordstroms or Piperlime for shoes; Godiva is a must for good chocolate; and either Walmart, Target, or Disney Store for the distant relative’s kid you have to shop for.

Lets’ start with the Shoes…

You look at the site and immediately will see how much of rebate each store offers through Ebates. In this case, Piperlime offers a 2% rebate, while Nordstrom offers a 3% rebate. What that means is that once you complete a purchase on either site, Ebates credit’s your account with the applicable rebate (takes a couple days). Now, you might be thinking, big-deal, 3% of $100.00 is only $3.00…however, if you are someone that prefers to shop online, that $3.00 + other monthly purchases = Money well saved.

Onto the Candy…Godiva currently offers a 9% rebate, that is great savings!

The Disney Store lists a 5% rebate (not bad)…Walmart is only 1%, and Target is only 2%…but hey, something is better than nothing! It all adds up over the course of a couple of months and Ebates will send you a check. NO KIDDING, I didn’t believe it until I received my first one. Don’t believe me, send me your email address and I will send you my Ebates account page that shows in a 15 month time period I have received $109.00 in rebates from simply going to their website first. That is all you have to do. Simple savings for something you already do…

Remember, Time is Money so let’s save Both!

Quick President’s Day Tip

jennhmb — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 16:01:32 +0000

I probably should have sent this out yesterday, but the old saying ‘better late than never’ might apply here. Today, Monday the 15th of January, is President’s Day. As of 7am PST, I have received about 10 emails from various online entities offering me various savings and discounts. Here are a few examples: MLB.com (Major League Baseball) is offering 10% off a $50 purchase, up to 20% off a $100 purchase; Disney.com is offering 25% off purchases; CafePress is offering 20%. If it not a percentage off, it might be -0- shipping cost or a dollar amount off.

My tip for you is if there are any purchases that you have been considering, today might be the day to make it happen. Not everyone is running a deal, but a lot of sites are. A simple check on the website you are thinking about purchasing from might save you a few dollars today.

Remember, Time is Money so let’s save Both!

Ask for Help

jennhmb — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 02:43:32 +0000

I know this may sound silly, but I am serious when I tell you to ask your bank or account holder for help. On many occasions I have been able to have Late Fees or Over the Limit fees reversed by simply talking to the account holder. Let me give you an example… I had a mix up with two different accounts that were held with Chase – I paid the wrong account on the wrong due date. When I went online later in the month to pay what I thought was the correct account, I saw a Late Fee posted to my statement. I called in, asked for help, and explained what happened. They reviewed my account, saw I was telling the truth, and reversed the charge. I have had the same thing happen with Over-The-Limit charges.

Most people don’t like to call and ask, but what is the worst that can happen? They can say no – that’s it. What’s the best that can happen? They can say yes which saves you money.

Remember, Time is Money so let’s Save Both!

Peet’s Coffee for Less

jennhmb — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 16:35:06 +0000

Peet’s Coffee has a great email club that is worth giving your email for. They don’t spam you and they send out great discounts. You can either go to www.Peets.com or you can sign up in their store. The beauty of their email club is that you will receive a free drink coupon just for signing up. Now I don’t know about you, but I could easily tally up a $5.00 beverage. You will occasionally receive other promotional emails that sometimes promote Peetniks, the club for people who automatically have coffee shipped to their homes, or in store events. You will also receive an occasional surprise of a Buy one for a Friend and get 1 Free coupon…I just used one last week with my husband and we had the best Rasberry Mocha’s ever!

So even if you just occasionally go out for coffee, why not save a few bucks?

Remember, Time is Money so let’s save Both!

Avoiding Over-the-Limit Charges

jennhmb — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 18:40:17 +0000

A quick word on trying to avoid the dreaded Over-the-Limit Fee…

I don’t know about you, but on occasion, I can push the envelope on the available credit on one of my credit cards. As with Late Fees, credit holders can charge enormous amounts of money for allowing us to go over our credit limits. I have found the easiest way to avoid this from happening is by setting an alert with the credit holder’s website. As with sending payment alerts, you can usually set available balance alerts with a % or $ amount that you choose. The credit holder would either email or text you the alert, then you can immediately make a payment to protect yourself from going over the limit. In addition to saving you money, it can save you a lot of stress!

Remember, Time is Money so let’s save Both!

This Week’s Restaurant Spotlight – Chevys

jennhmb — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:54:16 +0000

Quick recommendation for those of you that like to eat out. Many restaurants offer online deals for people who give them their email address. (Remember I recommended obtaining a separate email account for these types of offers)

Today’s restaurant spotlight is Chevys. If you to to www.chevys.com and sign up for their ‘Compadres Club’, they will allow you to print a Free Appetizer coupon. They will also send you occasional emails with buy 1 get 1 Free deals, or other discounts. Chevys is very family friendly and celebrates Kids eat Free on Tuesdays…for each entree purchased, you get a free kids meal.

Remember, Time is Money so let’s Save Both!

Just Say ‘No’ to Late Fees

jennhmb — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:32:22 +0000

This is a quick word on keeping your money in your account…what I mean by that, is don’t let the holders of your accounts tap into your money with fees and charges. An easy way to do this is to set up alerts through your online account access for each of you accounts. In the account settings of most credit card websites, there is usually an Alert section. This allows you to set the parameters you want for your account. For instance, you can have an alert sent via email or via text to your cell 5 days before your due date to remind you to make you your payment. You can also have payment confirmations sent, past due notices, you name it. By making sure you make your payments on time, you save yourself late fees which can be anywhere between $10.00-$39.00 each. Most recently, the fees have gone up, so if you are late on two accounts per month, you could be paying in excess of $75/month x 12 = $900.00 in one year. That is a lot of money! The beauty of setting these alerts is that you set it once, then it’s done.

If your account does not offer alerts, you can create your own on your cell phone/calendar. Simply check your due date on your statement and set an alert 5-7 days before that date so an alarm goes off. Works the same way either way you do it…allowing you to ‘Just say No to Late Fees’!

Remember, Time is Money so let’s save Both!