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Archives for March 2011

10 Ways to Cut the Expense of Eating Out – Part 1 of 5

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If your family is like ours, then spring is a busy season. With sports games, school plays, and other activities falling on school nights, I am faced with time constraints for feeding my family. Sometimes the best option is eating out. Having someone else prepare, serve, and clean up can be a huge blessing on busy days. The cost of taking a family to a restaurant can quickly eat up the food budget. With a little planning and knowledge, the restaurant option can be worth your time and money.

In this series of 5 posts, I will share 10 ways to cut the expense of eating out. I will share 2 options each week. You may not be able to use all 10 of these options at once, but incorporating even one idea can save you money as you feed your family.

OPTION 1:     Use Coupons.

Many companies provide coupons for buy one entrée, get one free, $5 off a food purchase of $25 or more, etc. If you know which restaurants you plan to visit in advance, then spending a little time searching for coupons could pay off for your family. Here are some places to look for coupons:

  • Check the advertisement section in the phone book for local coupons.
  • Signup for free publications that contain local restaurant coupons (i.e. Clipper magazine).
  • Consult your local newspaper.
  • Subscribe to online newsletters, mobile/text, or e-mail notifications to your favorite restaurants.
  • Visit the website of restaurants for specials and coupons.
  • Purchase discount coupon books (i.e. the Entertainment book).
  • Browse a search engine (Swagbucks, Google, etc.) for “the restaurant name” coupons.

OPTION 2:     Skip the beverage selection and drink water.

When our family chooses to drink water instead of taking advantage of the carbonated beverages or tea options, our total bill can be 10-15% less than when we drink the Coke and tea. Our family does splurge on drinks occasionally. But when we need to shave the excess off our total bill, we will opt for water.

Not every option will work in every situation. Our family uses coupons regularly, but some of our favorite restaurants do not offer coupons. When we visit establishments without using coupons, we use some of the other ways to save money. Sometimes we choose to drink water and save on the cost of a beverage. Before making that choice, we check to see if a drink is included with our meal.

During your busy spring season, I wish you lots of time with your family. I hope eating out is a solution to your time constraints, and that these options help you save money as you use your time wisely.

Free Movie for Good Grades

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Last week, I shared about free doughnuts for good grades and how my son participated. Today, I will explain a new-to-me program. Blockbuster is offering a free movie rental for good grades. According to http://www.blockbuster.com/goodgrades, these are the participation requirements:

  • Each eligible student can rent one movie from the Favorites (older movie) collection at participating Blockbuster stores for each grading period.
  • Student must have at least a B average
  • The student’s original signed report card must be presented at time of redemption.
  • Redemption must occur within 30 days of receiving the report card.
  • Program is for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
  • Each student in the family is eligible for redemption.

Since this program is for participating stores, I would call ahead to be sure your store is participating before heading out. Our local Blockbusters participate. Yeah! My son will be thrilled to show his report card for the rewards of doughnuts and a movie.

Wow . . . I’m glad my son gets to participate in these programs. When I was in school, I remember earning an ice cream cone from McDonalds for good grades. The act of taking my report card and showing someone else what I accomplished encouraged me to continue working hard.  I appreciate these companies rewarding my student for his hard work, and I make sure to express my gratitude while visiting their businesses.

Looking for more GOOD GRADE rewards? Chuck E. Cheese rewards up to 15 tokens per student with a food purchase. Also, http://goodgraderewards.com lists many rewards from different businesses. Our family might have to check out some of these.

Checking the Receipt

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After shopping, do you review your receipt? I try to review it immediately after my purchase, but sometimes, I wait until I’m home to check the receipt.

Over the weekend, I went to Bi-Lo to stock up on the chicken deal, eggs, sausage, and bread. The Arnold bread was on sale for $1.99 per loaf, and I printed 2 coupons for $.55 off each. Since Bi-Lo doubles coupons up to $.60, the coupon would double to $1.10 off. The price of each loaf is $.89. Spending less than $1 on bread is definitely a rock bottom price for me.

When I went to Bi-Lo on Saturday morning with my oldest daughter, we got her a cookie, shopped, and checked out. I did not review my receipt until Saturday evening. I then noticed that only one of my $.55 coupons for the Arnold bread was scanned.

WHAT DID TRACY DO?

A. Ignore it.

B. Return the bread.

C. Ask for the $1.10 back.

Can you guess what I did? Yes, I’m a penny pincher, and I refuse to pay more than I need to pay. If you guessed that I ignored it, then spend some more time getting to know me. I will not ignore saving money in any amount.

On Monday morning while I was running errands near Bi-Lo, I stopped by the customer service desk. I had the loaf of Arnold bread in a bag with my Bi-Lo envelope housing my receipt and my grocery list. When the representative assisted me, I explained that I had shopped on Saturday morning. I had purchased a number of items including two loaves of bread and had handed the cashier my coupons with two $.55 off coupons for the bread. I showed the representative my grocery list with the coupons listed, and the receipt showing only one coupon had been scanned. The representative offered to reimburse me the $1.10 for the missed scanned coupon. I agreed to her resolution.

Would you have returned to the store? If so, would you have addressed the issue with customer service? I know some people think, “It’s only $1.” You’re right! It is $1, but it is $1 more that can be used wisely to help someone else.

A Clutter-Free Inbox – Step 3 of 4

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Are you making progress on your e-mail account? If you have way too many e-mails to weed through, you may just need to pick a date (i.e. February 1) from which to start. Then delete all e-mail prior to that date. You can then start fresh and work to stay on top of current messages.

In working through my e-mails each week, I am sharing how I work to keep my inbox clutter-free by following 4 steps. In case you missed the first two, you may read them by clicking the following links: STEP 1 and STEP 2. Today, I will cover Step 3: Identifying and Deleting Spam.

STEP 3:

Identifying and Deleting Spam.

1.       As I scan through the remaining e-mails in my inbox, I look for names of senders that I don’t know.

2.       I then look at the subject line. I notice the information listed (i.e. lottery winner, politics, employment, prescriptions, “free items with participation,” etc.).

3.       If the e-mail subject line contains information that I will not even consider reading or researching, then I mark it. I click on the little box to the left of the message.

4.       I continue to scroll through my e-mails marking all items from which I never want to receive e-mail messages again.

5.       I then locate the SPAM button on the Title bar of my e-mail program. In Yahoo!, the button is identified as SPAM between the FORWARD and MOVE buttons. In Gmail (Google), the button reads REPORT SPAM between the ARCHIVE and DELETE buttons.

6.       When I press the SPAM button, all those unwanted e-mails get sent to my SPAM folder. When I get more messages from those senders, my account will automatically send those messages to the SPAM folder. This action will help keep your inbox spam-free.

7.       I will then delete my SPAM folder in Yahoo!. In Gmail, the spam is automatically deleted.

By the time I have deleted unneeded items (step 1), unsubscribed to sales and newsletters (step 2), and identified and deleted spam (step 3), I should have the messages I would like to read remaining in my inbox. Next week, I will conclude this series on keeping your inbox clutter-free.

No Time for Taters

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QUESTION TO MY READERS: Let’s say you were in a club, and this club was hosting a dinner for 20 guests. You had offered to bring all the mashed potatoes for the event. Then two days before the event, you decide that you don’t have time to peel, cut, cook, and mash the potatoes. What do you do?

A)     Decide not to bring anything because you just don’t have time.
B)     Order mashed potatoes from a restaurant or grocery store to take to the event.
C)     Show up at the event with scalloped potatoes.
D)     Contact the coordinator.
E)     Enlist the help of your family in peeling, cutting, cooking, and mashing the  potatoes.
F)     A combination of the above.

I ask this question because I watched the results of three of the above decisions today. The coordinator handled the situations well. However, she could have used her time more efficiently had the volunteers contacted her.

The question posed is the issue. We have all had situations arise that prevent us from accomplishing what we planned to do. In those situations, I feel that the best and most considerate option is to (D) contact the coordinator. Even if you plan to (B) order it and bring it or (E) get help to finish it, you might still run into problems. If the coordinator knows your situation, she might have another option. For example, someone else may have offered to bring something, or the coordinator may adjust the menu to something else easier for your schedule. For me, it is just considerate to inform the coordinator, so she can be working on a backup plan.

To me the worst solution is (A) decide not to bring anything. This choice was revealed today. The coordinator graciously sent another helper to the store to purchase the needed item. This action wasted time. Had the coordinator known that a side item would be missing, she could have made it last night, picked it up at the store, or had someone else bring the dish. During the time of executing the planned activity is NOT the time to be running to the store for more food.

A less than perfect decision is choice (C) bringing scalloped potatoes. This solution was also evident at the meal and did meet the needs of the event. When a coordinator plans the menu, she has much to consider: color, type, consistency, and taste. Changing one item may or may not change other items. Again, contacting the coordinator prior to the morning of the event would help her adjust. Without a heads up, the coordinator just makes it work and adds another item if necessary.

Having attended and watched this coordinator rearrange her menu on the fly, I have a greater appreciation for dependable people. I realize life happens. But when a coordinator is depending on you and you drop the ball, someone has to pick up the ball. Just admitting to the event coordinator IN ADVANCE that help is needed or offering a substitute menu item will significantly reduce the amount of time taken to add or correct the items brought.

So what is my answer? Save time and money by (D) keeping the coordinator informed. I would contact her, explain my time constraint, offer suggestions, and wait for her to respond. If she then needed those mashed potatoes, then I would enlist the help of my family, neighbors, or friends to get those spuds peeled, cut, cooked, and mashed.  In the end, I will be dependable and help that coordinator give the best event possible. My hat goes off to today’s patient coordinator, who handled each situation with calm, clarity, and class!