Monday: Save a Few Bucks AND Save a Few Lives

For anyone that has read more than one or two entries from this blog, it should be very clear that I am all sorts of cheap and thrifty. If you can buy a $20 product for $10 or even $5, do it! Well, at least that's the way I think when it comes to shopping. So, what's better than saving a few bucks? How about saving a few lives? You can do both with a website I recently discovered called Save1.

Save1 is, in essence, a couponer's best friend. You go to their website, search for what you want to buy, and they'll connect you with coupons from all over the Internet to save you money with coupons from companies like Kmart, Walgreens, New Balance, Target, Overstock, Express.... you get the idea. Use their website and save money. Sound good? Well, it gets better. Save 1 receives a commission each time you use a coupon and they use the funds from this commission to feed starving children. The organizations that Save 1 works with are all accredited, respected charities, like Feeding America, Feed My Starving Children, and Project Peanut Butter.



An easy to understand breakdown from their website

So there you have it. Go to Save1, have some fun shopping, and know that every time you are saving money, you are helping to save lives. I'm glad that a website like this one exists, but I do wish that more people knew about it! Spread the word on Twitter, Facebook, even MySpace, if you're feeling old school. It's really a win-win situation.

Thursday: Restaurant Refried Beans from a Can

I have, for years, eaten terrible refried beans from a can. I had no idea how little it takes to transform an ordinary (and honestly awful) can of refried beans into a wonderful side for your Mexican food that tastes as good as your favorite restaurant.

Ingredients
*1 can refried beans
*grease from 4 slices of cooked bacon (not healthy, I know- but amazing!)
*1 1/2 tsp chili powder
*1 Tb onion salt
*1/2 Tb cumin

All you have to do is heat the refried beans over medium heat and mix in the bacon grease and seasonings. It makes all the difference and it tastes like heaven. I have never before had refried beans at home that I wanted to eat. They're delicious! And because of the bacon grease, you may want to enjoy them sparingly... but all things in moderation!

Monday: Online Couponing Made Easy

Couponing. Sometimes I feel like it's synonymous with being a stay-at-home mom. Most of the stay-at-home moms I know coupon, either extreme-coupon style, or just a few diaper coupons here and there. I must say, it's those extreme couponers that give me major guilt. You know, when they brag about the two cases of green beans that they bought for a dollar each... So, it's only natural that I would coupon.

However.

I coupon with moderation.
 
Here, you'll find a basic compilation of the most useful websites for couponing and save you from the headache of searching, downloading, and sifting through hundreds of thousands of websites that are far from useful.

There are many websites telling you about various deals, sales, coupons, and perfect ways to combine them- but I mean it when I say there are MANY websites. Let me give you the top four websites that actually have coupons, and not just a list of sales.

Websites With Coupons
(Most require you to install a coupon printer- do so at your own discretion. Oftentimes, the website will try to piggy-bag a program or two on the coupon printer so that you will unknowingly install extra programs. To avoid this, watch the download steps very carefully and make sure to uncheck any extra program you don't want to download.)

1. Coupons.com 

Coupons.com is probably the most popular coupon website, as it has the greatest variety of coupons. Most coupons have a print limit, generally only allowing two or three printings per coupon. Coupons are added and taken off daily, so it can be helpful to get on a few times a week (if and ONLY if you have the time)

2.SmartSource.com

 SmartSource.com has a medium amount of coupons available at any given time, but their grocery coupons are mixed with a large amount of random website coupons, i.e. entering into a vacation raffle, buying flowers on line, etc., so expet to spend some time sorting through them all.

3. RedPlum.com 

RedPlum.com doesn't have as many useful coupons available as Coupons.com, but it does have a fair amount of coupons. It also has a nice feature where you can either print the coupons directly or load them onto a card for use at the store, which requires no clipping/printing.

4. CouponCabin.com 

While CouponCabin.com has many deals and coupons, it is a bit harder to navigate. It doesn't have as many direct coupons available, but the ones it does have are really useful. It can take some time to go through and find what is available, which is why it is number four on the list.

Websites With Couponing Information

There are seemingly infinite websites teaching, informing, and directing you in how to use coupons, where to use coupons, where to find coupons- it can be overwhelming. I was going to give you a few options, but, honestly, combined with the websites for printing coupons above, all you need is CouponMom.com

CouponMom.com
 

I can definitely give CouponMom.com the top ranking for websites that teach you to coupon. Its main features are that it features the ads of every area/state in the United States for nearly every store. All you have to do is create an account with them, select an area, and select the store where you want to shop (Wal-Mart, K-Mart, WinCo, etc.), and it will automatically show you a listing of that stores best ad prices, matched with coupons that are available. For example, if you select Target in Delaware, it would show you that Chef Boyardee pastas are on sale for .99 each, and that there are coupons available for .50 off of 1. (if it is an online coupon, CouponMom will also include a link to where the coupon is located) Then, it will show you the final price of .49 each. Helpful? Heck yes! Especially when you consider that it shows ALL of the ad prices for ALL stores in an area, combined with the best coupons available. Sweet!


An example of some of the great information available on CouponMom.com

Hope this helps start you on your way! Start saving a few bucks.