Money Saving Tips

Decorating a Little Girl’s Room on a Budget

by Kristi on January 14, 2012

When we decided to redo my daughters room this year, we quickly learned that furniture stores were out of our price range. Everything we found that we liked was upwards of $2,000; and this was just for a bed (no mattress), dresser,  and mirror! There was no way that I was going to drop that kind of money for a child’s room (especially when they grow so fast). I had to find a way to spend less on furnishing her room.

First off, I did my research. While I have shopped online for many things, I have never purchased furniture online. We already had a mattress and twin frame, but I really wanted a headboard for her bed. I had considered purchasing one from a thrift store, but with the whole bed bug scare, I thought I’d better go with something new.

We ended up finding a really cute Cottage Headboard online at Target of all places for only $110 (after a discount code). I also got a real bargain on her bedding by shopping the clearance rack at TJMaxx (it was less than $25)!

When her brother’s hand-me-down particle board dresser fell apart, I knew that I wanted a real wooden dresser that would hold up to all the opening and closing of drawers.  We looked at several different stores, including low end retailers like Walmart and Target, but we couldn’t seem to find anything under $200 that wasn’t particle board. I almost gave up, but found the perfect dresser on clearance for under $200 shipped online at JCPenney’s. It was just the right height for my daughter and was made of real wood!

Many who know me, know how I love thrift stores and yard sales. To add character to my daughter’s Princess themed room, I found the beautiful Disney Store Jasmine Mirror for only $3.50 and the Sleeping Beauty light for a low $3 at my local Goodwill store!

We took drapery hooks that the previous home owners left behind and a scarf valance that I picked up at a thrift store to create a wall canopy above her bed.

I made the monogram from a wooden letter I picked up at Michael’s for 50% off and modge-podged it some scrapbook paper.

Her bookshelf (made of real wood) came from a yard sale for $10 (along with most of the books on it) and the Princess lamp was a gift from her grandparents (who found it on clearance at Lowes Home Improvement). The Disney Store Princess themed lithographs were scored at a yard sale for $1 each!

It took a while for the entire room to come together, but when I look at how much money I saved, it was worth all the work I had to do to locate the best deals.

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Change the Way You Shop Online

by Kristi on January 2, 2012

If you have gift cards you plan to redeem online, be sure you get the most for your money by shopping through Ebates. Ebates is a shopping site that gives you up to 26% Cash Back every time you shop online. You can shop at over 1000 stores including  Barnes and Noble, Macy’s, Gap, Children’s Place, Old Navy, Kohl’s and Bath & Body Works. Plus, you get additional savings with exclusive coupon codes, free shipping offers, and limited-time sales!

Here is how it works:

1. Sign up with Ebates

2. Log into your account when you are ready to shop

3. Search the alphabetical listings for the store you want to shop

4. Click the link to that store

5. Shop as you normally would (Ebates takes care of the rest)

6. You’ll get a confirmation email stating that you made a purchase & that your Ebates Account has been credited

7. Every few months, Ebates will cut you a Big Fat Check!

Want to see how much I earned this year? Here is a glimpse at my Cash Back summary:

That means that I got back over $100 just for shopping as I normally would online! That is FREE MONEY you could be losing if you are just shopping on the store’s website without going through Ebates first!

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Cut Back Your Grocery Bill by using Coupons

by Kristi on January 1, 2012

If you have made the decision to start saving money, one of the easiest ways to begin is by using coupons. While many coupons can be found in the paper, you can also find coupons in places besides the Sunday inserts, like the internet. You can even contact companies to request coupons for products your family uses regularly!

Coupons are only good if you use them. You’ll be wasting time and money if all you do is cut them and leave them sitting at home!  The key is to be organized. While there are many ways to organize coupons,  I prefer using the binder method. For me, it is a matter of being able to easily locate the coupon when I want to find it. With a binder, all I have to do is flip through the pages til I find the ones I want to use.

Be sure you know your store’s coupon policy. Some stores will allow you to stack store coupons with the manufacturer coupons and some will even price match if you bring in their competitors ad.  By doing all of these things, you will surely start to see big savings on your grocery bill.

What other ways are you saving on groceries?

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Preparing for Black Friday

by Kristi on November 21, 2011


It is hard to believe that we are only 3 days away from Black Friday! Stores are releasing their black Friday ads almost daily so you don’t have to wait for the Thanksgivings Day inserts to plan your trip!  If you like to get the most for your money and are brave enough to deal with the crowds on Black Friday, here are some things to remember before you go:

  • Start by setting a budget of how much you are willing to spend.
  • Create an action plan! Create a list of items you are planning to buy and decide which stores you are going to hit and in what order.
  • Consider shopping at a store (like Walmart) that will allow you to price match (watch my video on price matching).
  • Pull the fliers for each store and then use a sticky note on the top of each flier to help you remember what you plan to buy while you are there.
  • Keep the fliers in a central location (like a binder or folder) and take it with you to every store so that you can make sure you are getting the right price when at the register!

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Disney World Vacation Tips

by Kristi on November 18, 2011


As many of you know, I just got back from our annual Disney World trip. This was our second trip this year and we decided to check it out at Halloween. It was a blast and I promise that I will write a post about it soon.  We also stayed on the resort for the first time and let me tell you, it was magical! As always it reminded me that I need to update my Disney on a Budget and Disney Tip series. If you are planning a trip to Disney World, you might want to sign up for the FREE vacation planner dvd. We did and it was a wonderful way to get ready for our trip. Looking for more details, be sure to check out:

Planning Your Disney World Travel Dates

Choosing Disney World Vacation Accommodations

Dining at Disney World on a Budget

Locating Your Stroller at the Park

Making the most of Fast Passes

Bring Your Own Snacks & Kids Lunch

Kids can have Fun at Epcot

Where to find Characters at Epcot

Kids Discovery Club Program at Animal Kingdom

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Join Right@Home to Get Money Saving Printable Coupons

by Kristi on November 8, 2011


Become a member of Right @ Home and get great offers, time-saving tips and recipes. They send out great printable coupons several times a year and they are only available to those who sign up, so be sure to do it today!

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You Don’t Have to Miss a Deal

by Kristi on November 5, 2011

Worried you might miss a great deal? You don’t need to check in on my blog all day long, instead you can get on my email list & get all the deals sent straight to your in box once a day (usually between 5pm-7-pm EST).  Don’t worry, it is a secure list so I won’t be sending SPAM or asking you to send me money to my personal account.

We all know that some deals are time sensitive, so if you really want up to the minute notification of deals as I post them, then you probably should follow Spend Less and Save More on Twitter or like Spend Less and Save More on Facebook. My blog posts feed to Twitter automatically and I throw out deals through out the day on Facebook (some that I don’t post anywhere else).  Either way you look at it, you have many opportunities to catch up to the minute deals!

If you are like me, it is great to stay informed without having to check the blog every few hours. I hope that you will take advantage of one or all of these ways to stay caught up on all the deals I post!

 

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Where to Get Halloween Costumes for Cheap

by Kristi on September 12, 2011

If you are looking for Halloween costumes for children or yourself and don’t want to spend a ton of money, you need to watch my video for an insider tip:

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Save Money by Emailing Companies

by Kristi on August 23, 2011

How many times have you taken the time to send a company of a product you like a compliment? Think it is not worth your time? Think again.

This past year, I have emailed several companies, complimenting products that I enjoy using. In return, I have score a ton of coupons for either FREE products or for high valued savings. There have even been times when I have received FREE Product samples!

Try it for yourself. Make a list of your favorite products, look up their contact information on line (sometimes it is on the package itself) and send them an email. You may not get anything in return, but you also might get some great money saving coupons!

Do you ever email companies? What have you gotten in return?

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Back to School: Saving Time & Money on Lunch

by Kristi on August 2, 2011

Since the kids are getting ready to head back to school this year, it is time to think about ways to save both time & money when preparing their lunch. It is easy to toss a Smucker’s PB&J with a prepackaged bag of crackers/chips, pre-cut apple slices & a juice box into your child’s lunchbox, but those items are not only full of preservatives, but can also get pretty expensive. We often overlook the price of such items because of their convenience.

What I have learned is that if you are willing to do a little work up front, you can still have the benefits of such types of pre-packaged food, but for less money!

Over the weekend, have your kids help you get lunch & snack items ready for the week ahead:

  • Cut up bite sized fresh veggies, fruit or cheese and place small portions in baggies. Keep them in the crisper drawer so that they are easy to grab the morning you are putting together your child’s lunch.
  • Make lunch meat roll ups ahead of time & keep them either in baggies or a plastic sandwich container in the meat drawer.
  • If you have chicken or similar meat leftovers, go ahead & cut them into bite size pieces right after your meal and place in a container that you can pack in a lunch box.
  • Take a box of crackers like Goldfish or Cheez-its and divide them into single serve portion baggies as well. These can be kept inside the regular box in your pantry so children can easily grab them when they need an after school snack or to help pack with their lunch.
  • Fill up a few reusable water bottles ahead of time & keep them in the fridge so they are cold & ready to go.
  • Create your own frozen PB&J sandwiches! Simply make a peanut butter & jelly sandwich as your normally would, decrust & crimp the edge with a fork (or use this cool Pampered Chef tool), toss in a baggie & freeze.
  • Freeze yogurt & use it in place of an icepack. It will keep food cold in the lunch box & thaw in time for lunch!

I’d love to hear your creative ways at making packing lunches more time efficient!

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