A little story for explanation
My old house was right by Rite Aid & I shopped there frequently for things I needed & ran out of. One day, I go into the store & I'm behind a lady with like 2 carts full of stuff. I didn't think much of it. She was charging everything on a credit card & she kept ringing up seperate orders. So, I just started chatting with her [because it took forever]. She was telling me about how all of the stuff would end up being pretty much free; just the cost of tax & interest.
She shared her rebate method with me. I haven't used it yet, but once I get a credit card with nothing on it, I will.
Her method:
She frequently shops at like RiteAid/Walgreens/etc. for the household items/personal items that are "free after mail in rebate".
She said she charges them onto a credit card allocated for rebate shopping alone. She then mails out the rebate forms & receipts or files them electronically when possible. Then, when the check comes in [according to her, usually 2-4 weeks], she applies the whole check to her credit card. If the rebates don't come in on time, she just pays the minimum until the rebate checks do come in.
I, of course, was like "WOW how brilliant is that!? I never thought of that before". It's like being able to get namebrand products for free! It's something so simple, but I never thought of it. :shock: I was in awe. My next question to her was, "Will you even USE all of that stuff?!" -She had 2 full carts, remember... She said, "Probably not..." But apparently, she takes what she can use, gifts some to family & friends for Christmas giftbaskets, & the rest she donates to shelters that desperately need donations of such items for homeless, battered women & children, etc. I thought that was great.
Hope some of you can take advantage of the savings!! :D I know I can't wait til I get a credit card with no balance to get free items to free up my budget on necessities!!
Wow is right, rite aid has some awesome rebates, the only problem with them is when they have a sale they do have the higher prices, I love their clearance aisle.
That's what I mean the theory behind it is you really aren't pAYing anything for the stuff you are actually just using the credit card for the purchase then reimbursing your credit card with the funds from the rebate checks when they come in so you are getting the items for pennies rather than for the retail price or the higher "sale" price. Personally I think it's brilliant lol. I take full advantage of any way to reduce expenses when I can. Currently my cards all have balances and I want to get one cleared just for rebating. For the meantime dollartree is my best budget keeping way for necessity items. It would be nice to get good conditioner and hair products again lol dollartree hair products Leave my hair brittle most of the time blah
The dollar tree is awesome, especially if you are planning something like a birthday party or some other costly event. I use a bargain warehouse and dollar general too. We also have a grocery store that gives fuel perks and food perks which I use the crap out of.
I believe every one is going to be looking for ways to cut on expenses that is a good idea but the closes rite aid to me is like an hour away. I save buy buying things in bulk I usually only go about once every six months to the warehouse. So other than milk and bread I'm set. Some of the things I buy last longer and it beats going to the grocery store spending $300 each time and being out of things a lot sooner.
goodnatured, i agree. I use the dollar tree pretty much for everything; as much as possible. The family dollar & dollar general are great for savings too but I only get stuff from those places that wouldnt be at the dollar general.
There are also tons of "recipes" for household cleaners & you can even make your own laundry detergent. I personally would rather pay the price for storebought just because I like to SMELL things. Homemade laundry detergent [I tried...] does clean your clothes, but they don't leave a smell on them. & most household cleaners that are homemade are made from vinegar or baking soda or dish soap. I don't like the smell of vinegar at all. I tried these cleaners & they clean pretty good. But like I said, I don't like the smell of vinegar, so yeah...I just buy a bottle of allpurpose cleaner from the dollar tree and dilute for the majority of my cleaning needs. $1 spent lasts me a long time.
debra,
i agree. everyone SHOULD want to cut back on expenses. Honestly, I don't know why I even spent more on products when I have always grew up frugally. That just goes back to the "the more you make, the more you spend. I wish I would have controlled my expenses better when I had a job. But, then again...who doesn't wish they controlled their expenses better??
Yes I believe the economy being in the shape it's in has tought us all a lesson. Me myself I know if it does pick back up I will definitely change my spending habits. The first thing I want to accomplish is getting my house paid for. That was the plan before all this happened. Then I almost lost it. And that is the worse thing I have been through is telling your child we have to move out of our home. It wasn't because I wasn't paying the payments before all this happened it was because I couldn't afford it after it did happen. Some people call it living above your means but I couldn't rent any cheaper than my house payments are.So I don't think it's that at all. It's going from making $60,000.00 a hear to unemployment is the problem. Even though I worked to pay into it so I would have that benefit if something like this happened it still don't cut it. But that goes to show you life can through you a curve ball at anytime that you are not prepared for.
It is times like this that we find out what we are truely made of, we find out ways to skimp and save that we would not ordinarily do if we were not on a forced budget. Imagine if we did this for at least once a week when we had money in our pockets where we would be.
I always said that if we could live one month of the year as if we were only making minimum wage the money we could save. So clip the coupons and pull the tips and start saving a few bucks.
We recently moved and this is when the economy started taking tis turn. Hours of work were lost and construction cost skyrocketed past what was budgeted. I lived that first year just short of a nervous break down. It still is rough trying to catch back up, work is now picking up for my hubby but not for me. You knw I would not have traded this valuable lesson. I look at my past spending and think of all the clothing I only wore for one year before giving away, all the wasted food, and so much more. I believe some good lessons come in disguise.
Yep, are you more careful now? Sometimes life throws a little lesson, hopefully your frugalness will be by choice and not by demand.
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