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Stretching My Daughter’s Birthday Money

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Stretching My Daughter's Birthday Money

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

My youngest daughter received a Leapster Explorer for Christmas. This gaming console was purchased through Amazon at a great sale price.

Though the unit, charging station, and case were discounted, the game cartridges remained around $25 each. Ouch!

Asking friends, whose children have the Leapster Explorer, where they find their games, I quickly discovered that sales are rare on these items.

Knowing that the purchase of games was in our future, I registered her Leapster device and checked the box to receive e-mail notification of sales and discount items. (Of course, I used my junk e-mail account to prevent overloading my personal e-mail account with offers.)

Waiting for a Sale

Last week as I checked my junk e-mail account, I discovered that for a limited time all the Leapster Explorer game cartridges were 25% off with free shipping. This deal came at the perfect time as my daughter recently turned 3 and had saved her money for games.

Acting on the Sale

In using time wisely and stretching our dollars, my daughter and I made the following purchase:

    1. Logged into my Ebates account.
    2. Searched for the Leapfrog company which carries a 3% cash back on my purchase.
    3. Shopped through Ebates.
    4. Selected two game cartridges and added them to my shopping cart.
    5. Entered promotional code DISCOVER (which has now expired) to receive 25% off and free shipping on my order.
    6. Reviewed the order for errors.
    7. Placed the order using my credit card for which I will earn rewards.

Instead of paying $55 for the two games, we paid a total of $39.73 and will receive $1.19 back through Ebates and $.40 in credit card rewards. Spending less than $20 per game – rather than $25 plus shipping – helped in stretching my daughter’s birthday money. She did not mind waiting for a sale as she knew she could get 2 games rather than 1 if she was patient.

Teaching my children the value of money by showing them how we use the available savings tools to stretch our dollars, I enjoy watching them think through how they can save their money but also get the item they desire. Great lessons learned by waiting for a sale to come along. Happy waiting!

Question: For what have you waited to snag a great deal? 

Note: This post contains affiliate links for Using Time Wisely. For more information, read my disclosure policy.

Christmas Savings: Make a List and Check It Twice

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Make a List and Check It Twice

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

In stretching your dollars this holiday season, you may need to think outside the box.

As you make a list and check it twice, stay within your budget. If your budget cannot accommodate your giving spirit, then don’t fret.

Turn toward free or less expensive options found in Feed It Forward, giveaways and sweepstakes, and bundles to separate.

Feed It Forward

The Feed It Forward program allows you to gift friends and family a $10 e-gift certificate for free. The limit on Facebook friends is 15 per day, while the limit on e-mail addresses is 100 per day. The daily maximum is 100 gifts per day. In using time wisely, you can gift thousands of friends this December for free with a little time invested.

Giveaways and Sweepstakes

Last year, I won a giveaway package from Southern Savers. My gift included a coffee maker, blender, and automatic wine opener. All three of these gifts arrived, and I wrapped them for a friend and family members. The recipients were so grateful, and I openly shared how their gifts were chosen for them. It was a great opportunity to share how entering giveaways and sweepstakes saves our family money.

For giveaways, I like Money Saving Mom, Freebies 4 Mom, Southern Savers, Meet Penny, Becentsable, and Simple Savings for ATL Moms. Giveaways are on-going on some websites and sporadic on others. As you see a giveaway that does not interest you, consider entering. If you win, give the item or service as a gift.

For current sweepstakes, check out Heather Hernandez’ Freebies 4 Mom. On the menu bar, you can find freebies, sweeps, and giveaways. I love how Heather categorizes the sweeps by entry type: weekly, daily, or once. Heather keeps her list current.

Bundles to Separate

When you need to purchase lots of items, look for bundles to separate into separate gifts. In previous years, I have purchased 3-count candles, package of ornaments, and jewelry sets. With the less expensive cost per unit, I can open the package and gift each item separately.

If you purchase on-line, start with E-bates or Shop at Home and find a promotional code to keep your savings within your budget.

In using time wisely and stretching your dollars, make a list and check it twice. Then look to Feed It Forward, giveaways and sweepstakes, and bundles to separate options. Though definitely not all the ways one can save, these three strategies can save you money, energy, and time.

If you still cannot afford Christmas, focus on the experiences. Creating a homemade coupon book, baking cookies, or going on an outing provides a special memory for the recipient beyond a temporal token. Happy gifting!

Question: How are you stretching your dollars this Christmas season?

Amazon.com: Free One-Day Shipping with Discover Card

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From February 15 to March 31, 2012, Amazon is offering free one-day shipping for eligible items when you pay using your Discover Card. To qualify for the free shipping, all items must ship within the Continental United States.

Photograph Credit: Amazon.com

While using time wisely to buy items from the comfort of your home, this free one-day shipping option can help in stretching your dollars. Happy savings!

On-Line Shopping: Rebates – Part 5 of 5

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (ideas4Christmas2010)

The idea for this series began after the purchase of my husband’s waffle iron. After sharing how I stacked my savings and learned a new technique along the way, I hope you can increase your savings while stretching your dollars through on-line shopping.

If you have missed any of the money saving strategies in this series, you can catch up here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. In this last post of this series, I will be stacking my savings from the purchase of the waffle iron by submitting a rebate.

#5: Submit a Rebate

Some manufacturers offer rebates for items purchase through a single retailer. Around Thanksgiving, you will find a number of rebates offered on sale items on Black Friday. Before Paul and I had children, we used to camp out at Best Buy early on Friday morning waiting to gather our savings when the doors opened. Our waiting paid off since we would gain hundreds of dollars of merchandise at a huge discount after the rebates.

The waffle iron I purchased for Paul had a $10 rebate offer attached which added to our savings. We started the deal with a retail price of $59.99 which was on sale for $29.99. Then we added in the FREE SHIP TO STORE option and a $10 off promotional code which brought the cost down to $19.99. With tax, I paid $21.19. After receiving the merchandise, I submitted the $10 rebate which will be processed within the next 6-8 weeks.

To review, I paid $21.19, but will get back a check for $10 and a credit of $1.79 in my Shopathome.com account for a future disbursement. If I wanted to subtract these future savings from this order, then I got the $60 waffle iron for $9.40 by stacking my savings.

Yes, working through these five steps takes some time. But when I see these types of savings, I know I am using time wisely. Whether you use one or more strategies when shopping on-line, you can stack your savings while stretching your dollars. Keep your eyes peeled for some great deals and use your money-saving strategies to snag some inexpensive gifts on Black Friday, this upcoming Christmas season, and throughout the year. Happy savings!

Question: How often do you submit rebates for items with rebates? Curious to see your answer.

Disclosure: Affiliate links to Using Time Wisely are included within this post.

On-Line Shopping: Discounted Gift Cards – Part 4 of 5

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (ideas4Christmas2010)

Having heard of discounted gift cards but not knowing where to obtain them, I have not used them. However, after doing some research for this series (since I will not recommend something without personally trying it or reading about successes from others), I am ready to try this money saving technique.

Thus far in our series, we have stacked our savings by using cash-back sites, free shipping codes, and promotional codes. Today, I will share the research I have found with discounted gift cards.

#4: Purchasing Discounted Gift Cards

There are gift cards to retailers that are sold for less than their face value. Yes, you can purchase them, too. For example, I could have purchased a $25 J.C. Penney gift card for about $21.50 (15% discount). I could have then made my purchase shopping through Shopathome.com (cash-back site), received free shipping by selecting FREE SHIP TO STORE, and inserted the promotional code. Then at checkout, I could have selected payment by gift card and then used the $25 card to pay for the purchase. Though I did not use this option for this purchase, I will be taking advantage of these discounted gift cards for future sales.

Knowing that discounted gift cards are available, I can recommend two sites for purchasing them:

1. Giftcardgranny.com. This site offers different percentages of savings for each card. You can select which card you desire to purchase, but check the shipping since some are free while others are not.

2. Plasticjungle.com. This site seems to offer a flat set percentage of savings for each card to a particular store. Some of these cards are e-code (on-line cards) while others are physical. If you purchase a physical card, you will receive the card via mail. The e-code versions can be used right away on-line.

By purchasing discounted gift cards you can continue stretching your dollars while stacking your savings. In using time wisely to shop on-line, you can save money, energy, and time by incorporating these stackable savings strategies. Come back next week for the conclusion of this money saving series. In the meantime, continue stretching your dollars!

Question: Have you purchased discounted gift cards? Would love to hear about your experience.

Disclosure: Affiliate links for Using Time Wisely are included within this post.