Frugal Tips and Tricks

It seems almost everyone has a smart phone these days and with the increase in smart phones comes a whole slew of apps you can download to them. There are so many that it’s a daunting task to pick ones that will serve you well without clogging up space on your phone.

So how do you choose? Well, my friend Erin over at Coupon Cravings recently finished a roundup of 30 Money Saving iPhone apps. While her list is geared toward iPhone and iTouch, you may still be interested in reading it even if you don’t have either of those devices. I know many companies have the same apps available for other phone platforms like Blackberry and Android.

Here are a few I hadn’t heard of before:

:: Ask Dave Ramsey - This app allows you to see the most recent call-in topics to Dave’s show. You can read a summary of a listener’s question as well as Dave’s answer or even listen to the on-air exchange. You also have the option to browse Dave’s advice by category. If you love Dave, you’ll love this app.

:: BIGWORDS - This app is a price-comparison search engine for college textbooks. Just enter the ISBN number for the book you want to buy and BIGWORDS will show you where you can buy the book at the best price. BIGWORDS can also show you textbooks that can be rented. And when school’s out, you can even sell your books back through this service. Don’t send one of your children or siblings head off to college without checking out this one!

:: ATM Hunter - We’ve all been there: all the way across town, at the airport or in a strange city and you need cash. This app helps you find the closest ATM to your current location. You can even filter by bank name to avoid those pesky non-network ATM fees. There are also filter options for 24-hour ATMs, drive through ATMs and other features.

These are just three of the 30 Erin reviews. Some may be familiar, others might be new to you. I believe most of them are also free to download as well. Check out the full list HERE.

How about you? What are your favorite phone apps?

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Mission Foods. All opinions are 100% mine.

I don’t know if it’s because I live in Texas or because it’s so easy to cook but we eat quite a bit of Mexican food at our house. Since we eat so much of it, there are three ingredients that I keep on hand pretty much all the time: tortillas, cheese and avocados. I can usually improvise a Mexican recipe with other things I have on hand as long as I have those three things.

One of my husband’s favorite things for dinner (or lunch!) is homemade quesadillas with Mission Flour Tortillas because they taste so yummy. I put just about anything I’ve got in the pantry inside them. The night I made the ones pictured, these were the ingredients. Most everything were leftover ingredients from previous meals.

• Mission Flour Tortillas
• Cheese
• Onions
• Tomatoes
• Mushrooms
• Spinach
• Avocado
• Shrimp

I just sauteed the shrimp, onions and mushrooms ahead of time. Then sprinkled cheese on top of a tortilla. Added all the other ingredients, a little more cheese and another tortilla. I cooked it until the cheese was melted and hot through out. When I’m making a big batch, I’ll put the on a cookie sheet in the oven on low until I’m finished cooking them all so the first ones stay hot.

It a quick and easy dinner or lunch option. Shrimp can be pricey, unless you have leftovers from another recipe like I did. You could substitute chicken or go meatless. One of my favorite things to eat for lunch is a Whole Wheat Mission Tortilla with a little Monterrey jack cheese, tomatoes and chopped avocados. I add black beans for protein and it’s yummy and filling.

Do you have a family favorite recipe that uses Mission Tortillas? If so, you can submit it at Mission Menus Challenge for a chance to compete in a cook off in September. The grad prize is a $10,000 kitchen makeover! Now, who wouldn’t love to win that!? Hurry, the deadline for submitting your recipe is 8/9.

It’s springtime and that means beautiful weather and lots of time spent outdoors. It’s the perfect time to host a yard sale before it gets too hot. It’s also a great time to go yard sale shopping. As people spring clean they want to get rid of their stuff and you can score some great deals.

If you’re up for hosting a yard sale or going yard sale shopping, you’ll want to check out Eastern Shore Mom’s Guide to Yard Sale-ing. It just might inspire you to get going.

Enjoy!

This week’s question comes from Karen:

What exactly is once-a-month cooking? I’ve heard about it but not sure how it really works. Do you cook everything you would eat for a month? How big of a group do you do? How do you store all that food?

The concept of once-a-month cooking is pretty basic: you cook all your meals for the month in one day. It may sound overwhelming but you can modify it to fit your lifestyle.

First figure out how much space you have. Can you store 8 meals, 10? Then work backwards. If you can store 8 meals, that’s a meal twice a week. Plus, if you can eat off it twice, then that’s four times each week you don’t have to worry about dinner.

Then plan your menu. What would you like to eat? There are lots of great recipe sites out there dedicated to once-a-month cooking. How are they different from other recipe sites? They provide recipes that freeze well!

Next you’ll need to spend time shopping. Some things you might pull from your stockpile. Others you might have to buy the week you cook.

Once you have all your ingredients, you pick a day to cook. Pick a day where you won’t have distractions. The kids are at school or a Saturday so you don’t have to go to work.

Since you’re making lots and lots of food, you’ll need to block out quite a bit of time. But think of all the time you’ll save on weeknights when you won’t have to cook!

Make it fun. You can always get a partner. Invite a neighbor over and spend the day cooking. If you double each recipe you’ve chosen, then you each will have enough for the month. I wouldn’t recommend too large a group. You know how the saying goes…”too many cooks in the kitchen!”

Want to learn more? Here are a few sites to try:

• Once a Month Cooking World
• Once a Month Mom
• Frugal Mom

There is also a big cooking day going on today. You can follow along on Twitter with #oamc. Or check out some of the bloggers participating: Life as Mom, Faithful Provisions, and Amy’s Finer Things. If you participated, feel free to leave a link in the comments.

Have you ever done once-a-month cooking? Have any tips for Karen you’d like to share? Please leave a comment.

Have a question you’d like answered in You Asked? Submit it HERE.

This week’s question comes from Robin:

I’m hosting Thanksgiving for my family this year. It’s 14 people and I’m really stressed because of how expensive it is! How can I save money and still host a nice dinner?

This is a problem I’m sure many of you face. And if you aren’t facing it for Thanksgiving this year, you may need help hosting Christmas.

Here are some ideas to help you out:

1. Ask people to bring something. You don’t have to do everything yourself. Ask your guests to bring a side dish. This might start a new tradition for your family and future hosts will likely be grateful. Having out of town guests? Have them bring things that travel well like pies, bread or drinks.

2. Shop the sales. Many Thanksgiving items are made with canned goods and baking supplies that keep for a while. You can often find canned vegetables, boxed stuffing and canned pumpkin on sale at different times during the year. You can also puree pumpkin and freeze it for when you’re ready. Whole cranberries freeze well too.

3. Make things from scratch. It seems much easier to buy the sides pre-made but this really increases the cost. To help reduce your stress level, you can make lots of things in advance. Green bean casserole can be assembled ahead of time. Just sprinkle the onion on and bake on Thanksgiving. Bread can be made and frozen in advance as well to ease the load. Many pies can also be made ahead.

4. Keep it simple. The more ingredients in each dish, the more expensive your dinner will be. Keep it simple. There’s no need to be extravagant. There are tons of great recipes out there that call for minimal ingredients and still turn out delicious. Some of my favorite sites: Foodie Daddy, Tammy’s Recipes and $5 Dinners.

5. Decorate with items on hand. Use greenery and other items from your yard to decorate the table. You can also have your kids make the place cards. Just have them write the person’s name and draw why they are thankful for that person. Your family will love it. Plus it will keep your kids busy while you’re cooking!

Do you have any great ideas for Robin? Please share.

Have a question you’d like answered in You Asked? Submit it HERE.

This week’s question comes from Hailey:

I don’t understand the eCoupons you talk about. Do they double? Can I use them multiple times?

eCoupons are a great tool to save additional money. Just to give you a little introduction, there are 3 main eCoupon sites: Cellfire, PG eSaver and Shortcuts.

About the Sites

• PG eSaver is a site only for Proctor and Gamble products. These coupons refresh every month.
• Cellfire is a site for a variety of products. These coupons refresh every 2 weeks. You only have two weeks to load the coupons to your card but you have the entire month to use them.
• Shortcuts is similar to Cellfire in that they have a variety of products. New coupons seem to be available fairly often, usually every two weeks and they typically last for 2 months.

About the Coupons
The eCoupons are single use. This means they can only be used one time on one product. Once you’ve used them, they disappear from your list. They also don’t double. The value on the coupon is the value that will come off at the register.

The good thing about them is that you can stack them with manufacturer coupons. If there’s a coupon for $1/2 boxes of Chex cereal loaded onto your card and you find a $1 printable coupon, then you can use them both to get $2 off. This is a great way to really maximize your savings.

Also, it may vary by stores but often Shortcuts and Cellfire coupons will come off for the same item. Use the manufacturer coupon too and that’s like using 3 coupons on one product. Find a store coupon and it’s like using 4. It really can add up to a great deal. So even though they are single use, you can often use them to get a free items.

How to Get the Coupons
These coupons are only available to load if your store participates in the program. Right now Safeway and Kroger family stores are the most common, though if you have a loyalty card for another store you may want to check. They are working on adding new stores and you could always contact them and try to get them to add your store. When you go through the registration process, you will be asked for your store card number. Make sure you enter it correctly so the coupons get attached to your card.

Once you’re set up, you just click the button to add the coupon to your card. It’s pretty easy. Shortcuts has a 100 coupon limit so you may need to be a little discerning in the coupons you load. Once a coupon is loaded it can’t be deleted until it is used. So if you won’t be purchasing a product, you may not want to load the coupon.

How do I Know it Worked?
Usually on your receipt immediately under the item, you’ll see manufacturer ecoupon listed and the amount. I’ve occasionally seen them reflected at the bottom of the receipt. If you don’t see them, then it didn’t work. Call the respective eCoupon company and find out why. If you purchased the right products, they will reimburse you for the coupons that didn’t work.

Do you have any additional eCoupon tips for Hailey?

Have a question you’d like answered in You Asked? Submit it HERE.

This week’s question comes from Sarah:

I see a lot of your posts correspond with coupons for processed and convenience foods like Pop Tarts, granola bars and frozen things. I try to feed my family fresh, all natural products. How can I save money on these kinds of things?

I understand that while many people appreciate the free granola bars and frozen veggies, other readers may not find these appealing. Natural and Organic coupons are becoming more prevalent. Here are some good sites you may want to bookmark.

• Delicious Living
• Eating Well
• Food For Life (not for all areas)
• Health E Savers
• Horizon Organic
• Kiwi
• Mambo Sprouts
• Nature’s Oasis
• Organic Valley Coupons
• Stonyfield Farms

Also, keep your eyes peeled. I’ve posted about BOGO egg coupons and produce coupons and various milk coupons in the past. When you have the opportunity to print these, print as many as you can. See if you can match them with a good sale and freeze what you don’t use. I know you can’t freeze eggs but you can make up a bunch of waffles with them and freeze those. Then you have a quick easy breakfast that was made with healthy fresh ingredients.

Occassionally I find big money making opportunities like the Joint Juice promo a while ago. Take advantage of these. You may not drink Joint Juice but I bet you could donate it or give to a neighbor. Then you can use the profit you made from buying it to put towards fresh produce and meat or other products that are difficult to find on sale. Like the eggs above, if you can’t freeze the items, cook them into something that you can use and freeze it for later.

Finally, be sure you maximize your savings in other areas like toiletries. If you are getting your toothpaste, laundry detergent and shampoo on a deep discount, you’ll have more of your grocery budget to spend on the fresh natural products that are pricey.

It is possible to eat healthy, natural products on a budget. It may take some work on your part but you can save money doing so.

Have you had success buying fresh, natural products for less? Please share your tips for success with Sarah.

Have a question you’d like answered in You Asked? Submit it HERE.

This week’s question comes from Tiffani:

Sometimes when I’m trying to print a coupon it keeps asking me to install the coupon printer. I know I have it installed and it just keeps asking me. What am I doing wrong?

I agree, it is frustrating when your coupons won’t print. There are two things you can try:

1. Many times there are different links for Firefox and Internet Explorer users. I try to list both links but sometimes I miss one or don’t realize there are separate ones. Look at the link and you should be able to see if you are using the right link for your browser.

Here is an example of an IE link:
http://bricks.coupons.com/Start.asp?tqnm=qjihabv31143565&bt=wi&o=59273&c=BI&p=q1zS0NDU

Here is an example of a FF link:
http://bricks.coupons.com/Start.asp?tqnm=qjihabv31143565&bt=wg&o=59273&c=BI&p=q1zS0NDU

Sometimes instead of a “wi” you’ll see a “vi.” If you’re using Firefox, just change it to “vg”

2. Another way I’ve had success is to install the coupon printer in your secondary browser. If you use Internet Explorer, try installing it in Firefox. Then restart your computer and see if that works.

Do you have any more printing tips for Tiffani? Please share.

Have a question you’d like answered in You Asked? Submit it HERE.

This week’s question comes from Amy:

I keep hearing about Alice.com and how you can get great deals. Is it really that great? How does it work?

Alice.com is a great site. It’s especially great for people who don’t like to clip coupons. A few things about it:

• Shipping is always free
• There are lots of clip-free coupons available that automatically come off. You can only use one like coupon per item.
• There is a 6-item minimum order, unless it’s your first time. Then you only have to order one item.
• When you sign up HERE, you’ll get a $10 credit once you’ve purchased $50 worth of products.

It really is as easy as it sounds. There are some good deals on the site, especially considering you don’t have to leave your house. However, everything you see isn’t the best deal. But I plan on highlighting the best deals I see each week.

This week here are a few of the good deals:

• Kotex Pantiliners (22ct) – $.41
• Schick Razors (5ct) – $1.77
• Dove Invisible Solid – $.97
• Tag Body Spray – $2.29
• Suave Invisible Solid – $.98
• KY Personal Lubricant – $2.08
• Bounty Basic Single Roll – $.59

Again, go HERE to sign up and get started to earning that $10 credit. I fully intend to use mine on stamps to help offset the cost of our Christmas cards!

Do you have any more Alice.com tips for Amy? See a great deal I missed? Please share.

Have a question you’d like answered in You Asked? Submit it HERE.