Book Review and Giveaway: Good Deals & Smart Steals

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Good Deals & Smart Steals: How to save money on everything is from the editors of Good Housekeeping, and this handy book offers hundreds of ideas for getting the best value for your money on every kind of purchase. I've also got two copies to give away!

The editors have compiled an astonishing amount of tips in the small, easy-to-carry-with-you book. And you want to carry it with you all the time -- it even has carefully prepared scripts for negotiating with sellers in a variety of situations.

It's broken up into two parts. Part 1 explains how to be a smart shopper.  Part 2 shows how to get a good deal.

Part 1 lays the ground work and provides the mind set.  Smart shoppers plan ahead, wait for sales, keep receipts, avoid paying credit card interest, always comparison-shop, and takes advantage of savings opportunities.  It teaches couponing and rebate basics, as well as using the best online resources to compare prices and find the best deals.

Part 2 gives valuable information on how to shop and save money on particular items, like lighting, heating, cleaning, cooling, gardening, pets, home improvement, appliances, electronics, dining, groceries, clothing, beauty, services, entertainment, and more. It really does deliver on its promise to show how to save money on everything.

It's a great guide to have on hand, and two lucky Wise Bread readers can win a copy!

To enter the giveaway, post a comment with your best bargain hunting/smart shopping tip.  Drawing will close on January 18, 2009. U.S. and Canada only.  Must be 18 or older to enter.

Wise Bread will not sell or use your email address for any purpose other than to contact the winner.

This drawing has ended. Congrats to Laura and Carla for winning!

Disclaimer: The links and mentions on this site may be affiliate links. But they do not affect the actual opinions and recommendations of the authors.

Wise Bread is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.


Guest's picture
Nancy

I only buy food on sale and I have an extra freezer and storage for cans. I buy veggies, blanch and freeze. The grocery store also has an area for food about to expire and I buy a lot of things from this area and cook with it or freeze it. I also cook 2-3 meals (double/triple recipe) and freeze it so I don't get tempted to eat out and I save energy by not cooking every night. I also use freecycle to get and give kids clothes.

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Roxanne

I always check out the clearance racks of my favorite stores. I can't pay full price for something, I know it will be on sale sometime

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Jill Miller

I always shop with a list, and rarely buy anything without a coupon.

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John C.

There are a few items that my family uses in fairly large quantities that there are regular coupons available. We're able to get 10-20 legitimate manufacturer's coupons on eBay for a drastic savings. You're not paying for the coupon, but the seller's "time to cut and collect them".

Also, make a grocery list ans stick to it! Avoid impulse buying.

Guest's picture
Ava Johnson

Shop around Shop Around compare get the best deal!Save and save some more.Grow your own garden It isn't so hard.My mom did it My garanma did it and so can I.

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Claire A

Buy three pairs of shoes (on sale or marked down, of course!)

Alternate wearing them, ie, wear pair #1 the first day, pair #2 the second day, pair #3 the third day. The shoes will last far longer than if you wear the first pair until they wear out, then wear the second pair until they wear out, etc.

Cut down on meat, it's one of the most expensive items at the food store. Instead of buying a ham, you can ask the at the deli counter for ham ends, which usually pretty cheap. I like to chop them up for omelettes. Quit being leftover phobic! Eat those leftovers for lunch the next day.

Don't waste bread. Use it for stuffing, french toast, regular toast or bread pudding. Google for a "bread salad" recipe. You won't be sorry!

Use your library! Not only can you get books, but often you can get books on CD, movies, video games, and even toys to check out! Ask your librarian!

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Kathy Scott

Visit your local thrift stores at least once a week. I find new items all the time.

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Trish

Plan ahead. Use the store flyer and coupons to make a list before setting foot in the store. Thanks for a great giveaway!

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Anna

Pay attention at the checkout...you will catch errors that could cost you lots of money....and if you have SCOP (Scanning Code of Practice) in your store...if an under $10 item scans incorrectly you get if free...over $10 items are reduced by $10.00...you can save a lot of money by watching the cash register!!

Thanks for the contest!!

Guest's picture
Marjorie

Actually look at the ads you normally toss. You might be pleasantly surprised...

Guest's picture

For any purchase -- from groceries to appliances -- research to find out what you want, then track prices for a while to find out a "good" price. Then keep your eyes open so that when a fantastic price comes along, you'll be able to recognize it. Stay diligent and jump on a deal when you see it. That's how I got a washer & dryer for $200 new, and a brand-new (well ... with one little scratch that caused it to be returned and clearanced at Home Depot!) counter-depth French-door refrigerator for under $900.

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Mary Marlatt

Shop for meat early in the morning to get "quick sale" or "manager's special" markdowns. Freeze if you won't be using immediately.

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jamie g

I ask local businesses if there is a cash discount for bigger purchases. After researching lowest prices online, I bring a copy of that and ask if they can match or beat it with a cash discount.

Hope this helps! Hope I win!

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peggy

I noticed some markets will put up big signs for products that are not actually discounted. So don't assume sign=cheap. Read the shelf label for the retail price!

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Dani

I try to buy as much clothes as possible at the thrift store. At least classic clothes like pants or jeans and then supplement them with more trendier items to keep my look fresh

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Darice

I pay attention to bargainist.com and bankrate.com

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Colleen

I research practically "major purchase". I use Amazon's comments on products often also. There have been a few things I thought I wanted but then after reading the comments have had second thoughts. After I research... I compare prices at different stores/websites. Whenever possible I use coupons along with sales. I never buy unless it is on sale! I can usually wait.

Guest's picture
Erin

This tip applies primarily to services and utilities rather than goods. When I'm not receiving the full value of a service, I contact customer support to document the problem.

For example, during the first month of receiving internet service in my apartment, coverage was spotty, hardware sometimes didn't work, and our download rate was intolerably slow. I called customer support every time something went wrong, which had two benefits. First, technicians were eventually able to restore service. Second, I was able to request that the first month of charges be removed from my bill because I hadn't received sufficient service to warrant the price. Because I had documented all of my interactions with technicians, I was able to support my claim and it was processed by the billing department with no trouble.

Thirty dollars in my pocket made it worth navigating automated phone systems and grating on-hold music!

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Trisha

i hit thrift stores and clearance racks and buy for future gifts for the kids friends!

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Guest

I go to garage sales and thrift stores for deals.

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Sarah

Shop around or your kick yourself later!

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Laurie

I found that if I hit the stores first thing on Saturday mornings - around 9am - that I can get a better selection of everything. The shelves are newly stocked and ready for their busy Saturday shoppers. Most people like to sleep in on Saturdays - so early morning shopping trips almost always allows me to find everything on my list and not having to get a raincheck for things the stores have run out of later in the day.

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Heathe

Never take anyone(kids, husband) with you and make a list and stick to it.

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Ashley

discount stores! places such as marshalls offer great namebrand products for a fraction of the price

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Amanda

Hit the clearance aisles

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Janice Wright

This sounds like an excellent book. Thanks for the giveaway.

My best bargain hunting tip is getting free stuff from www.freecycle.org. Join the one in your area. People put free things on this site to reduce clutter in landfills. I've got some great things from this site, a hardly used Filter Queen vacuum cleaner, a sewing machine for my mom, all kinds of books, as well as other things. It's a great site!

Guest's picture
Guest

Nothing can substitute for doing your research. Invest the time to find out what things cost, and become familiar with sites that generally offer the lowest price. You'll be competing with people who do this when you want to make a purchase, so make the commitment!

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Vicki B.

I scour discount stores for grocery finds and make my own cleaners at home using baking soda, vinegar or hydrogen peroxide. Saves a ton of money on cleaning products. I also use freecycle when getting rid of my old things and/or looking for new treasures.

Guest's picture
Patricia Wagner

Bread stores for the bread, rolls and breakfast cakes.

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Karen Gonyea

I always start at bargain stores - Aldi's for groceries, Big Lots for other things, etc, etc...and then only if I can't find what I'm looking for there do I go to the mass merchandisers..

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Angela C

My best bargain tip is to watch for buy one get one free sales and then use TWO coupons for those items. Stock up on items that don't expire! THANKS!

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Lisa

I do a lot of prescription "hopping" to get free gift cards to drugstores. Then I only use them to buy stuff I really need, rather than wants.

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Michelle

Sign up for emails from your favorite stores to get first notice of sales, coupons, free samples, etc.

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c. clemens

i always use coupons, and i got to stores that double/triple them.
But i dont use a coupon if i can get a off brand for cheaper.

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Will

Compare prices... look in stores and then buy online. However, don't spend too much effort looking around or the money you would have saved might get eaten up by time and transport costs.

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Regina

Stick to your list, buy generic, and research large item purchases.

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Katie

I'm a college student so my major expenses include textbooks. I use campusi.com which saves me time by comparison shopping for me, and they also include coupon code information to save me even more money.

I giggle to myself the first few weeks of each quarter as I see students coming out of the university bookstores, most times having paid literally HUNDREDS more for the same book I got.

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Jennifer Hedden

Use copouns

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I grocery shop with coupons and get my lists from several websites that match coupons and sales for the best prices. I usually get my groceries for half the retail price this way. Last week I fed 2 adults and 2 teens for $24.98!

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julieh

Research the item on line to determine the store with the cheapest price.

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gala2

never pass by a garage sale.
And have one of your own with some friends every so often

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Rosanne

I always scan clearance areas in stores to stock up on things even if I don't need them right now.

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aylaeh

i use coupons for the items that i need and good sense not to buy things that i cannot afford.

Guest's picture
aylaeh

oh and i forgot to mention - if you have books, cds, dvds or computer games that you no longer want or use you can trade others for items that you do want on swaptree.com. all you have to pay for is postage.

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Angie P.

I use coupons regularly, and when I see a good deal I'll buy off-season, be it clothes or Christmas gifts.

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Debbie Criss

Love to yard sale and thrify store shopping. Please enter me, thank you

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sito

I carefully go through the newspaper coupons, immediately disposing of those for products I would not buy if I didn't have a coupon. Then I go through the grocery ads and match the specials with the coupons. It seems that those companies that offer coupons also offer incentives to grocers, so you can score some great deals. I also watch the Walgreens monthly rebates and instant coupons and use my health/beauty coupons there when they have good deals -- there've been times they've paid me to buy something.

Guest's picture
Nancy R

Never go shopping without reading ads on line, checking for coupons and researching credit card deals. I am currently saving a minimum of 30% on groceries and have saved a small fortune on household items on Ebay and Amazon. Have enough Christmas wrap, and cards to sell at flea market next Christmas. Love to learn how to save. The days of conspicuous spending are over. Viva la discount!!!

Guest's picture
Pauline M

I use coupons for almost everything and I try to play my shopping trips to coincide with coupon days. I save an average of 40 dollars every time I do my big shopping!

Guest's picture

I no longer purchase books - I trade or take out books from the library

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Chrisitna

I find that clothes have the highest price when originally put out on the rack, and in time (a week to a month) cost less and less for the very same item!

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Judy

Check with the store that you're shopping in to see if they will Price match if an item is sold for less at another store.

Price adjustments...Some stores will adjust your receipt if your purchase is marked down within 14 days(it varies). Here's the technique; buy your item on sale, go back 2 weeks later and get your price adjustment. Then the item is really a great deal!

Guest's picture
Becky Gouge

buy christmas presents during the year as they go on sale

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Bev

My best tips are to use coupons or buy generic, shop clearance, and shop online for best price for large ticket items.

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Jay F

Shop the endcaps of Target. When I go to Target, I always circle the store around the far edges, looking for clearance sales on the end caps. I have on occasion found spectacular deals there.

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Sarah

When it comes to buying any item over $50, I wait at least 3 days . . . to be sure it's an item I'll really use and not just an item I want but don't need.

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tammy nowakowski

clip coupons then look in the flyers to see when those items go on sale. Sometimes I have gotten the item for free

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Brian E.

...experiment with generic / store brands (i.e. food, OTC drugs, paper towels, etc.): some aren't worth the savings but you may find a few that you like !!!

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Angela Garland

I always save my coupons and then use them when the item goes on sale for extra savings.

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william graves

Great place to pick up books for kids. Sometimes paying only 10% of price. I've found books as little as 10 cents. Easy to build up a kids' library at that rate. I also buy camo for the boys there. When they grow so fast, there is no need to spend $60-80 on a hunting outfit when you can get one for $3-5.

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Tina H.

I match my coupons with the weekly sales, that way I save even more. :)

sweeps4us@gmail.com

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Carrie Baird

My best money saving tip is always to shop yard sales. I have gotten some really great deals on good merchandise - pennies on the dollar. The trick is buying only what you really need & will use.

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Hesper F

I take advantage of double coupon stores and have saved up to $35 a week on my grocery bill!

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Lisa Fosses

I use coupons on sale items to maximize savings

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Anna

Lately I have been shopping at thrift stores. I go to my local store every Wendesday night. Of course, you can't go shopping with a specific shopping purpose, but you never know what you will find, and a lot of items are brand new. I have left with tons of shoes and clothes for my toddler that still have the tags on, and have never been worn, and I only paid around $1-$2 for each item. We live in a culture of mass consumerism. People have so much, things that they never use. So they donate these things. It's a form of recycling. I'm saving money, and saving our environment.

Guest's picture
Amy Tucker

My best shopping tip is to shop in the morning on a Saturday before the afternoon crowd hits.

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Melissa P

I like to shop at my local grocery store early in the morning because they usually have meat marked down.

Guest's picture
ELV

I use a combination of web tools for my discount needs. Generally, I'll use pricegrabber.com to get the best pricing and then I'll use any of the various cash back / coupon sites to see if I can improve upon that pricing.

These include upromise, ebates, fatwallet etc.

Guest's picture
joan olson

I always clip coupons and look for bargains but I have after years of waisting realized just because it is a good deal I only buy what i need. Usually like others here I go online for the coupon or code via google and naughtycodes

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Marion B

I buy things in bulk if I have the room to store them.

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John Deal

With smaller companies I ask for a discount if I'll pay cash.

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Susan

I always try to avoid two aisles in the grocery store: the baking goods and the cokes/candy/cookies. My body doesn't need that stuff and my wallet can't afford it!

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Eileen D

Use non-traditional stores for certain food items. I check the Dollar Store (and others like it) for non-perishable items. Also, the online-coupon sites are wonderful as they can be customized to your area.

Guest's picture
Kimberly Miller

best way to save money on beauty products is to go to Bath And Bodyworks's semiannual sales in June and January.

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christopher h

spend the money to join a warehouse club, its worth it

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Tiffany S.

I combine coupons with sales to get the best deals. I also subscribe to the grocery game. You can never go wrong using coupons. There are also tons of sites to help you find the best deals!

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Rita Orwosky

Thank you for offering this contest. This is a good book to learn how to save and cut back, during these tough times. I would love to win it.

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Donna M. Clark

My best tip , thing I do to save Money the most is my subscription to RefundCents.com. It costs about $1 a month, and the other users are brilliant at finding anything you need for the best deal.

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melinda smith

What I like to do is to purchase things off season. For instance we bought our swimming pool AFTER summer for sixty percent off.

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K. Cleaver

I match coupons up to sale items. That's when I buy. I also shop for Christmas presents all year long when I see sales and clearance items.

The most important thing is to know your prices before you buy.

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Kathy S

I always eat before food shopping, I check the ads and collect my coupons that coincide with items on sale. For special occasions and holidays, if I see something on sale at a great price that I know someone will love, I buy it and keep it in a special container marked "Gifts." Also, after Christmas, it's like a full time job for me to buy gifts for the following year, including decorations!

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Terri B

I make the grocery list, cut the coupons and watch for sales. Then, I send my husband to the store. He sticks to the list and gets the shopping done quickly.

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Diane

I visit the websites of items/companies I purchase often. They often have free samples or coupons that are better than those from the newspaper inserts. For more expensive purchases, I check the site to see if there is an active rebate form I can use. I recently contacted a company who has a cheese salsa that my family LOVES to let them know how great we think their product is. The responded with coupons for 3 free jars!!

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Deb K

Always ask if a store price matches. I've gotten some great deals using this method.

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Teri Preston

I use swap sites online to get used books/cds/movies or games. You just pay for shipping.

Guest's picture

Before making a major purchase check out the prices you can get on the internet, a lot of times you can get an amazing deal online rather than in stores.

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Chrysa

My best tip is to always try to price match if your store allows it and always try to buy items that are both on sale and have a coupon at the same time!

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Elizabeth Ray

Regarding Christmas - I shop the sales throughout the year and store things in my closet. Always pay off the bills as you go - racking up interest on early shopping isn't any bargain!

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jennifer gersch

look up printable coupons on a seach engine

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Guest

I always try to use coupons with sale items, you can save alot!

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Guest

I know from working retail that sometimes a "reduced" sale item hasn't been marked down to clearance price because the retailers can't always keep up with the demands of the clearance sales. So always use those scanners in the store to see if your item you like has been reduced/clearanced more before putting it back on the shelf and losing a "great find". Especially do this at "Extra percentage off clearance" sales.

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Katherine Frazier

I shop clearance and reduced items and when I find a sale I stock up. I also don't buy new clothes except for underwear, everything else I get at the thrift and resale shops.

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Amy Griffin

When items are on sale I will try to buy about 3 months worth. That will usually last until they are on sale again. Hence, never paying full price for your regular items.

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Veronica Garrett

If your town has a farmer's market shop it for frsh vegetables and other items.

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kathy pease

when i walk into a store my eyes are trained to seek out the clearance signs..lol i buy summer clothes in the fall and winter clothes in the spring for next to nothing :)

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Linda Russell

I always shop the sales, use coupons when I can and check out internet sites for the best prices.

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Lexi

I do a lot of mail-in rebates for "try me free" items.

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Vicky S.

Well of course when I grocery shop I look for the specials and use coupons. However, when I get to the grocery store I put money on a gift card that is attached to my son's school (We get 6% back toward his classes). But I use my Debit Rewards card to put the money on the grocery store gift card (and I get 4 more points for every dollar, but you have to run it as credit and not debit, so you have to sign for the transaction) so I earn gift cards or visa cards also. I feel like it is triple dipping, use coupons and save, get money for schooling and get visa gift cards all at once.

Guest's picture
Becky1

I usually just watch for the sales and stock up...I also have a membership to Costco and will go there and stock up on things I use ALOT...

Guest's picture
Kelly Grant

Clearance, clearance, clearance. I am alos trying to use coupons more, finding the stores that double and when.