Organized to save money, energy, and time
Wishing you the luck of the Irish today! Beware of those who pinch if you choose not to wear green today. (I already pinched my hubby for his failure to wear green. Couldn’t let him get away with it. 😉 )
For those who love the holiday spirit, you might find a parade or enjoy a quick view of Chicago’s parade including the dyed-green Chicago River during the scenes from The Fugitive (1993).
Photograph Credit: Flickr (Bert Kauffmann)
However you spend your day, enjoy using time wisely on this
Photograph Credit: Amazon.com
Oh, the value of our $43 personal articles insurance policy! Paul and I have insured my wedding rings and our 2 cameras on this insurance policy. Our cost is $43 per year to fully insure these items and worth every penny.
When the girls and I attended a Valentine’s Day party, I was taking pictures of the exchange of cards. One of the attendees backed into my insured point-and-shoot camera and jammed the lens.
At first, I was upset. Not because of the accident, but because here was a fantastic photo opportunity, and my camera would not work. Realizing that I would need a new camera, I did not panic at the cost because the accident was a covered incident. By using time wisely and insuring our expensive property, we hold a personal articles policy to protect our budget when accidents occur.
Since the camera would not take pictures, I put it away. Later, I called our insurance agent and explained the situation. Our agent looked at our policy and determined that he could reimburse us up to $160 for a replacement camera.
With a $160 budget, my husband went looking and found a great camera, retailing for $249, on sale for $183.98 with a case and memory card. Realizing that this camera was a great product, on sale, and we would receive reimbursement of $160, we purchased the camera.
Upon receipt, we worked with the camera to make sure it worked properly. When it did, we took our broken camera and receipt for the new camera to our insurance agent.
The agent confirmed that the old camera was the insured camera model and wrote us a check for $160 (the retail value of our old, broken camera). He then deleted the old camera from our policy and added our new camera with a replacement value of $249 (listed on the receipt).
Though we paid $183.98 for our new camera, we received a $160 check bringing our camera replacement cost down to $23.98 which included a camera case and memory card. Our personal articles policy covered the accident and allowed us to upgrade to a new model without breaking our budget.
If you have valuable cameras, electronics, jewelry, or collections (i.e., coins, stamps, etc.), you might consider a personal articles policy. A little research and protection now can save you money, energy, and time in the future. In using time wisely, a personal articles policy can help in stretching your dollars. I know, because it saved us $160. Happy savings!
Question: What items do you or would you add to your personal articles policy?
Photograph Credit: Burger King
Let St. Patrick’s Day celebrations begin!
Burger King is offering each guest a free value-size French fry on Saturday and Sunday, March 17 – 18, 2012.
This offer is while supplies last, and served with green ketchup. How fun!
I want the free fries just to try the green ketchup. What a fun twist to St. Patrick’s Day! 🙂
Per Burger King’s Facebook Wall:
- You don’t need to wear green and you don’t have to be Irish to feel lucky this St. Paddy’s Day Weekend at BURGER KING® because we’re giving away FREE fries March 17th-18th!
- NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.
- While supplies last.
- Restrictions apply.
Not sure what the restrictions are – no restrictions listed. But if you will be near a Burger King on Saturday or Sunday and want a snack, then stop by and ask for your free value-size fries. Enjoy!
For the first quarter rewards, I expressed my concern with my son’s school transitioning from an official report card to on-line records.
Not knowing how Krispy Kreme would handle the change, we stopped by with our printout.
True to form, Krispy Kreme Doughnut employees accepted the printout, congratulated my son on his good grades, allowed him to choose his 6 doughnuts, and stamped his printout.
What a joy to watch my son carefully choose his rewards, remembering to choose special ones for his sisters. His sweetness melts my heart. 🙂
Due to their merger, Blockbuster has removed the good grades promotion page from their website. At this time, Blockbuster is not offering a free movie for good grades. If this promotion returns or changes, I will pass along the information.
To find other good grade rewards, click on this comprehensive list. In using time wisely, I suggest you call your local businesses to verify participation before arriving. 🙂 Better to find out before you arrive that a store is not participating than having to explain the situation to your disappointed child.
If you find other programs, please share the information in the comments. Happy weekend!
Question: What good grade rewards does your child receive?
Photograph Credit: Flickr (Dan4th Nicholas)
On my weekly shopping trip to Bi-Lo, I restocked on a number of items that were on sale buy one, get one free and paired the sales with coupons.
In addition to those items, I also purchased Huggies diapers that were on a $.20 fuelperks! bonus and a sale and paired with each package a Publix store coupon and manufacturer’s coupon.
Well, at least that was my plan.
After shopping, I headed to checkout. With only one register open, that was not a self-scan or express lane, I unloaded my savings. Prior to scanning my items, I presented my coupons to the cashier. He placed them to the side and checked me out.
At the end of scanning, the cashier grabbed my coupons, and they dispersed. (Gasp!) All my coupons that were in perfect order were now on the register, conveyor belt, and floor. To make matters worse, the line behind me was lengthening.
After collecting the coupons, the cashier called a manager since the competitor’s coupons will not scan. The manager viewed the coupons, punched in his code, and left. Then another coupon needed his override. We went through this process three times before the transaction finished. Did I mention that this was the only line open?
With the confusing checkout process, I stood shocked at the total since I expected a lower price. Not wishing to hold up the line any longer, I paid, apologized to those behind me, and left.
Later at home, I reviewed my receipt. As I matched my items with the coupons indicated on my shopping list, I noticed that my 3 packages of Huggies diapers showed only the competitor’s coupons. The manufacturer coupons were not deducted. I checked the receipt again making sure that the $6 ( 3 – $2 off coupons) had not been deducted from another product. When I confirmed that those coupons were missing, I filled out the store survey.
In the survey, I indicated the problem. Within 12 hours, I received an e-mail from a manager offering a $6 refund on my next visit. I printed the e-mail and placed it in my store envelope.
On my next visit to the store, I stopped by customer service, asked to speak to the manager, showed him the e-mail, and received $6 for the missing coupon discount and an apology. The problem was quickly addressed and solved. 🙂
By checking my receipt to verify that all the coupons got deducted, I saved $6. Otherwise, I would have overspent $6. As I keep track of my food budget this month (one of my goals for March), checking my receipt to catch $6 mistakes helps in stretching those dollars.
As you use coupons and stack savings, spending a few moments to check your receipt is using time wisely. Keep increasing your savings as you feed your family. Happy savings!
Question: How often do you find errors on your receipts?
