Instead of going out to dinner, buy good food. Cooking at home shows such affection. In a bad economy, it's more important to make yourself feel good.
Ina Garten
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As a frugal mom of 5, who doesn’t coupon, I find other ways to save on my shopping year-round. I use the same strategies when it comes to buying gifts at Christmas time which can then roll over into savings on our grocery bill.
Ebates
I started with Ebates last Christmas. When reading a blog post on a great deal for Melissa and Doug toys, the blogger suggested signing up for Ebates and going through their link to Melissa and Doug to earn cash back on my purchase. Thanks to Ebates, I earned $7.70 back on a $54.90 purchase of birthday gifts for my daughter.
Until recently, Amazon was not part of the Ebates program. Now, as of November 23, 2012, you can earn 4% back on purchases in the following Amazon departments: Toys, Jewelry, Women’s Clothing, Watches, Men’s Clothing, Outwear, Persona Care Appliances, and MYHABIT. If I buy $50 worth of items on Amazon, I’ll earn $2 back which I can then use to save money on grocery purchases through Amazon or elsewhere.
Swagbucks
If you’re going to search for something, why not make some money doing it? At least that’s my philosophy, and why I started doing Swagbucks several years ago. Each time I search for a recipe or a tip about making a new food, I enter my search in the Swagbuck Tool bar at the top of my browser and often earn at least 5 points. On Fridays, I can earn upwards of 2o points on a search.
Each time I collect 450 points, I “buy” a $5 Amazon GC with my points and use the Gift Certificate towards buying food on Amazon. I also turned my teenager on to Swagbucks which he uses to buy Amazon Gift Certificates to pay for his purchase of used games through Amazon. When he’s finished with the game, he sells it as a used game at a local game store.
If you need to save more on your grocery bill in addition to using these programs, check out Authentic Simplicity’s Your Grocery Budget Toolbox which I reviewed over the summer. The ebook is for sale today only in all formats for 50% off – $2.49. Buy it and save more dough!
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for these wonderful tips. I love Melissa and Doug toys and plan to sign up for the ebates deals.
Estelle
Estelle Sobel Erasmus recently posted..The $10,000 Question: Kirkland’s Home for the Holiday Sweepstakes
4% doesn’t seem like much, until you see the total after doing a lot of online shopping. I’d love to see Amazon expand its Ebates program.
I won that ebook this fall and love her book. It’s on my list to review for December. Thanks for these great tips!!
Becky recently posted..Tuesday Greens #10
Congrats! You’ll love it!