Baskin Robins – Buy one regular soft serve cone & get on FREE

Baskin Robins – Buy one regular soft serve cone & get on FREE

Offer Expires 8/8/2010

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Starbucks: Purchase anything BEFORE 2 pm & Get Grande Cold Beverage for ONLY $2 (AFTER 2 PM the SAME DAY) with Receipt.

Starbucks: Purchase anything BEFORE 2 pm & Get Grande Cold Beverage for ONLY $2 (AFTER 2 PM the SAME DAY) with Receipt.

From June 29 to October 4, make any purchase before 2pm and enjoy any Grande cold beverage for just $2 (plus tax) after 2pm the same day at participating U.S. stores. Just remember to show us your receipt when you return and have a cold one on us!

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Bucca Di Beppo (Italian Restaurant >> $10 Off Any Purchase of $20 or More <<

Bucca Di Beppo (Italian Restaurant >>  $10 Off Any Purchase of $20 or More <<<

EXPIRES: 12/31/10 - One coupon per visit per table. Present this coupon at time of purchase to receive discount off your total purchase.

Not valid with any other offers or discounts. Not refundable or
redeemable for cash. Excludes tax, gratuity and purchase of gift cards.
Excludes alcohol in states where prohibited by law. Valid for dine in
or Buca To Go. ENTPub$OFF  Subject to Rules of Use. Coupons VOID
if purchased, sold or bartered for cash. .

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Receive FREE sample packets of SUN CRYSTALS® All Natural Sweetener

Receive FREE sample packets of SUN CRYSTALS^® All Natural Sweetener

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March could be the best time to purchase these select products.

Every month brings new opportunities for saving money.  In March these are the items that you want to look for to be priced to sell.  Patience and timing are two powerful tools for ensuring that you get the best deal on your purchases.

• Winter coats & sporting goods (gear)
• Luggage
• Frozen food: (during National Frozen Food Month)
• Boats
• Humidifiers
• Mattresses
• Easter Crafts
• Cold Weather Accessories (mittens, scarves, gloves, hats)
• Wedding gifts
• Spring clothing
• Washers and Dryers
• Garden supplies
• Air Conditioners
• China

Let us keep you posted with our latest secrets to finding free stuff  by becoming a
leaptocheap facebook fan Or if you prefer to you can follow us on Twitter.

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Is your daily cup of coffee costing you $1500?

Your daily trip to the coffee shop could be costing you around $4 per day.  Over 12 months, this could easily add up to $1500 out of your pocket.   Compare that to the cost of brewing your Java at home which amounts to only a few cents per day and decide for yourself.

Here are a few simple steps that you can take to duplicate the quality that you’ve been pay big bucks for.

1. Get a screw on water filter from target or walmart and only use filtered water when making your coffee.
2. Pick up quality coffee from Target, Walmart or even Costco.  Freshly grinding your coffee beans at home will somewhat improve the flavor of the coffee.  So, consider this step if you have the time and patience.
3. Pour the coffee into a well insulated stainless steel (inside and out) commuter mug to keep it warm and your ready to hit the road with one less stop to make on the way to work.

To take advantage of more of our secret money saving tips, be sure to explore the categories listed on the right hand side of the page or use our friendly search box located in the upper right hand side of this screen.

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Saving on Groceries (10 ways to save)

Some food for thought…….

Thinking back over the years, it’s really hard to believe how much food prices have increased at grocery stores over the years. According to my relatives that lived through the great depression, food prices were affordable to most people of modest means. Well, I’m not sure the same thing can be said these days. Since food is becoming a larger part of the American family budget, we thought that we would throw out a few of our favorite ways to save at your local grocery store.  So, here is the game plan that we came up with.

1. Shop with a detailed list of only what you need to purchase.
2. Larger sized packaging marked as “value buy” may not actually being saving you any money.  In fact, it may end up costing you more per unit.
3. Keep a running list of prices that you prices that you spot at different stores and either try to map out a sensible route and schedule or see if some of the stores closer to you will price match (e.g. Wal Mart)
4. Always verify at the register that you received the posted sale (or club card) price.  Double check your receipt before you leave the store.
5. Consider getting take out from the grocery store deli instead of a pricey restaurant.  This simple tip could save you both cash and time.
6. Create and stick to a weekly family meal plan.  Make sure to take a good look at the fridge as well as your kitchen cabinets before making you list for the week.
7. Keep a “to buy” list on a piece of paper in an easy to find place in your kitchen and update it frequently as you start consuming food items.
8. Plan out your tips to various store in a way that will minimize your time and mileage on your vehicle.
9. Make sure to check the per unit price on items (vs. just the shelf price).
10. Always ask for rain checks when a store is out of an item on sale.

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Quick Tip: Calculated Savings

When shopping at the grocery store you may want to bring your calculator with you.   While you may find per unit prices on many shelf items, you probably won’t find it shown on all products. Instead of just comparing the prices of one item to another, we suggest that you compare price per unit (e.g. price per ounce, etc) to ensure that you are getting the most for your money.  We found that while some products are priced less to attract buyers, after a closer look at the per unit price, we learned that we would actually end up paying more if we were to buy the product with the lower shelf price.

If a per unit price is not listed on the shelf, use your calculator to determine the unit price.  Simply take the shelf price of the item and divide it by the total number of units in the container.  Then do the same for the item you are comparing the first product to and then simply compare the two unit prices.

The same technique can be used for paper towels, napkins and other items that are marked with a product count.

After you start pricing by unit, you might be surprised at what you find (especially if it those extra dollars in your pocket)

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Cashing in on coupons…

Many people don’t realize how much money they can save by using coupons from the newspaper, web, direct mail, etc. Here are some of the ideas that we tried out recently.

• Ask yourself if the product associated with the coupon is something that you really need.  Sifting out the coupons that don’t make sense for you and your family is a good way to control spending.
• Start a coupon trading club with your friends and co-workers.  This is a win win strategy that may allow you to double dip on the savings.
• Sort your coupons by:
  • Expiration date (earliest to latest expiration date)
  • By major categories (e.g. food, dinning, clothing, crafts, entertainment, travel)
• Check store ads and clearance racks to see if you can combine a sale with your coupons.
• Try keeping the coupons with you whenever you leave the house.   So, if  for example, you or your family decides to dine out, you can consider the coupon savings opportunities before deciding where to dine.
• If the store is out of stock of the item(s) that match up with your coupons, ask the store manager if you can get a rain check on the coupon.

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Cheap and smart ways to eat out for less…

These days if you work at it you can actually eat for substantially less that you thought.  We have identified several ideas to help you get started.

Coupons can be a great way to save on food at restaurants.  However, it is important that know which ones are really a good deal.  Here are some tips.

• Do the math first – Calculate your saving ahead of time.  For example, if the coupon is a buy one sandwich get one free deal when you purchase one fountain drink, make sure to check the price of the required fountain drink.  Add the regular price of the sandwich and the fountain drink price.  Next, subtract the price of the regular price of two sandwiches and there is your saving.  Some establishments have been cleverly raising prices and marketing coupons.
• The fine print – Make sure to check the expiration date and other requirements to redeem the coupon.
• Saving $ off of what? – Some establishments will jack up their prices and then offer awesome discounts off inflated prices.

Money saving strategies for dinning out for less

• Fast Food
  • Stick to the real deal -Lately they have been offering great deals (e.g. value meals).  Remember, that the restaurants are probably barely breaking even on their cheap deals.  So, they hope to make money on the higher priced extras like fries, soda and deserts. Lately McDonalds figured out that they can make a decent profit by selling fancy coffees similar to what the expensive coffee chains offer, but for less.
  • Home base for saving – Save big by skipping the fries and snagging the soda at home.
  • Double up on that 99 cent burger, sandwich, baked potatoe (wendy), salad, etc and make a meal out that.  Skip the fries and soda and your eating cheap.

• Sit down restaurants
  • Predictable prices – Stick with restaurants that have standard pricing any time of the day (as opposed to place that jack up their prices for dinner).  One example is Chili’s bar and grill.
  • Two meals for the price of one - Many restaurant serve larger portions that people could (or should) eat in one sitting.  Instead, eat half and take the doggie bag home or to work and enjoy another meal.
  • Adults eating childish - Some people suggest that you order off the lower priced kids menu to save money.  I might try that on a to go order, but I don’t think I would have the guts to order that kind of meal when dinning in the restaurant.
  • Being fair -  If you choose to eat inside a sit down restaurant, don’t skip the tip.  Waiters work hard and they should be treated fairly.  If you’re not into tipping, order take out instead.

• Take out at the buffet
  • Several restaurants will allow you to do take out from the buffet.
  • Typically, the rule is that you can take out what you can fit in their take out container (typically a decent size).
  • The price for this may not seem cheap, but don’t be surprised if you get at least two meals out that take out container if you packed it up to capacity
  • This allows you save on those expensive beverages by getting them at home or out the reasonably priced vending machine at the office.
  • Also, since a waiter is not involved, there is no need to tip.

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Finding free stuff that’s actually free….

When it comes to free stuff, the saying “there is no such thing as a free lunch” applies most of the time.  You end up working for potentially  free stuff  by giving out your email and street addresses, completing surveys and jumping through several internet based hoops.    We took a look around on the internet and found some deals that are actually free.

• Earn college credits (or even a degree) by taking free online courses.  No, were not kidding.  That being said, you will need to do some leg work of your own for this to work.
  • We think that this web site is probably the best place to start.  Remember stay away from the many bait and switch web sites where free is not actually free.
• Free software
  • If don’t feel like shelling a bunch of cash for Microsoft’s office product, try the free software equivalent called  open office (Word processing (like Microsoft Word), Spreadsheet software (like Excel), a drawing application (like Visio) and even presentation software (like Power Point).
  • Free software replacements for proprietary applications running on Microsoft windows.
  • A well respected and free Anti-Virus software package known as AVG
  • Ad-Aware free SpyWare removal software.
• Free Food
  • Apparently Saturdays are the best time to snag free samples at grocery and warehouse stores (like Costco)
  • Kids eat free deals  (search for restaurants by zip code)
  • Sign up for email specials directly on restaurant web sites (only give out a trashable email address that you will check weekly.  Never give out your actual street address or phone numbers if you want to avoid unwanted spam).  Examples include:  El Torito,  Sizzler,  Olive Garden,  California Pizza Kitchen, PF Changs Outback Steak House , Dennys
• Free teacher and learning resources from the Federal Government
  • Federal resources for education excellence.
• Free eBooks  – Project Gutenberg has 28,000 eBooks to download and print free.
  • Project Gutenbert FREE ebooks
• Free Internet Radio customized to your specific artists.  Essentially, you build the station play list yourself.
  • Pandora Internet Radio
• Print your own Free graph paper (several different styles)
  • Incompetech Free Graph Paper PDF’s
• Create your own work or personal planner forms. Choose from about 100 templates.
  • Download, print and customize your own planner at D*I*Y planner
• Kinda Free stuff - There  are tons of free stuff web sites on the internet.  Most of them will require you to provide your name, email and street address, etc.  If you want to try this, I would strongly suggest that you:
  • Sign up with the post office for a local post office box ($30 for 6 months).
  • Create a new email address that you are willing to trash later
  • Never provide your real birthday, social security number or phone number (or any other private information).
  • So, when you sign up provide them with your P.O. Box Address, your new trashable email address, a fake birthday, etc.
  • Go forth and Google something like “free stuff”
  • One final word of advice, if the site suggests that you try something to win a discount coupon, etc.  Skip it and move on.   The main thing you have to loose is your time.
• More kinda free stuff.
  • 250 Business Cards for Free?
    Well, not exactly.  After going through the online setup for the free business cards,  you’re billed about six bucks for the shipping and handling.  And that is the cheap slow boat to china shipping option.  So, you figure that might make two to three bucks on the deal.  The other not so free aspect of  order the business cards online is the avalanche of  offers you need to skip (or de-select) before you can finalize your order.  That being said, it was worth it for us to sign up for the not so free cards.  If you are interested just google “free business cards”.

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