Frances | April 29, 2009

This is our trip to Rite Aid this week. We ran into The We Can’t Take Internet Coupons issue at the Daphne store. We must have jinked ourselves by writing about this yesterday.

The Daphne Rite Aid clerk questioned our internet coupons. The Daphne Rite Aid has in the past taken our internet coupons while the Fairhope store has been hit and miss on taking them. The last trip was a hit, the store manager physically took the coupons (see comment from Rite Aid post). This time the Daphne clerk said “we can’t accept them unless they have a Rite Aid logo on the coupon”. We just smiled and said “Is this a new policy at this store?” She said “you know what I am not sure, let me check with the manager”. We said “OK, we don’t want to get you in trouble”.  Few minutes later she said the manager would take them.

Success!!!  Smiling and being nice does it almost every time.

We were prepared to buy the products for a fraction of the cost without the internet coupons (see below). Here are the details of what we bought with the internet coupons.

MiniDrops Eye Therapy 30ct $6.49
-$1 off MiniDrops printable
SaltAire Sinus & Allergy Relief 1ct $6.99
-$1 off Saltaire printable
Skintimate Shave Cream 6oz $2.99
-$.75 coupon 4/26 SS
Electrasol/Finish Quantum Tabs 12ct $4.49
-$2.50 coupon 4/19 SS We didn’t have this coupon, shocking we know.
Listerine Mouthwash $4 (bought 2)
Note: The fresh burst came with a free bottle of Listerine Tooth Defense-$4/2 Listerine in ad store coupon
-$4/2 store coupon
-$.50 printable (used 2)

-$5 off $25 Rite Aid printable

Total of Products: $28.96

Out of Pocket: $16.21 (not including tax)
Rebates:$17.72
Total cost after rebates: Money Maker of $1.51 (not including tax)

• $6.49 SCR #30 (limit 1)
• $6.99 SCR #33 (limit 1)
• $2.24 SCR #96 (limit 1)
• $2 SCR #114

If we buy 2 more bottles of Listerine before the end of May we will qualify for  $5 SRC #50.

Just for grins and giggles, let’s say that you did not pick up last Sunday’s paper and the store would not take the internet coupons only the Rite Aid coupons. Here is the cost for purchasing the same products.

MiniDrops Eye Therapy 30ct $6.49
SaltAire Sinus & Allergy Relief 1ct $6.99
Skintimate Shave Cream 6oz $2.99
Electrasol/Finish Quantum Tabs 12ct $4.49
Listerine Mouthwash $4 (buy 2)

-$4/2 Rite Aid coupon
-$5 off $25 Rite Aid printable

Total of Products: $28.96

Out of Pocket Charged to the Debit Card: $19.96 (not including tax)
Rebates:$17.72

Total cost: $2.24 (before tax)

See we can do this with or without coupons, better if you have coupons but you get the idea.

Are you new to Rite Aid? Check out this link  for more information.

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Frances | April 29, 2009

Did you watch the Biggest Looser last night? We didn’t watch most of the show but we did catch one of our new favorite quotes from Felipe.

“You can’t help everyone everywhere, but you can help someone somewhere.”

This statement sums up the entire purpose of why we started Frugal Fairhope.

We want to help as many people as we can.

“Rough economic times” or not we are here to make an impact on someone’s life.

Post by post, coupon by coupon, freebie by freebie…saving that $.50 to getting a smile on your face when you open the mailbox and find something there besides bills. A “happy” (gift) as my 99 year old great grandmother Mamo use to put it. She loved getting “happys”. She was such a caring person that she wanted to re-gift the “happy” and give it back to the original person or to someone new. It was almost like she wanted to share the happiness with everyone.

Frugal Fairhope is our “happy” to you and we hope that you will share it with everyone you meet.

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Frances | April 19, 2009

We welcome our new pets to the Frugal Fairhope family. We have wanted bees for a long time, yesterday was “Bee Day” so we were lucky enough to get 2 pounds of bees and our own queen.

We did say there are “No Limits” to what you will find at Frugal Fairhope. What is frugal about 11,000 bees? Free honey for our family and to sell!

No Limits. FrugalFairhope topics are un-limited. Through the years I open this will be a “one-stop-shop” for everything you need. Just to give you an idea, my husband and I participate in a lot of hobbies everything from embedded computer software programming, remodeling homes, running a B&B, farming, international travel, to raising bees and chickens. So stick around there is no telling what you will find in the years to come.

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Frances | April 14, 2009

Welcome WKRG 5 Viewers to Frugal Fairhope!

If you’re visiting my site after watching me on WKRG 5 this evening you will be pleasantly surprised that I have put together a one stop shop for you to review the deals I talked about.

Be sure to take a look around our site, we have lots of other freebies and deals you’ll be interested in. We couldn’t fit them all in the short segment.

• Get your $25 gift certificate for $3

• Get your free Precious Places DVD from Fisher-Price

• Get free samples on Walmart.com right now, including free lotion, dog food, detergent, and diapers

• Get your $4 Huggies diapers

• Get your Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, and Target deals

• Get your free magazine subscriptions and more here and here

• Have you recently lost your job? Get your “Out of the Box Solutions to Job Loss” here. These are real tips that you can use now, even if you have not lost your job.

We update the site every day, sometimes several times a day, so subscribe to our RSS feed or newsletter.

Share with your friends and family, there is enough to go around.

Want to see more of Frugal Fairhope? Contact WKRG, click on “Contact Us” at the top right of the screen and ask to see more of Frugal Fairhope.

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Frances | April 2, 2009

In celebration, yes I mean celebration of my job loss due to a lay off I bring you this post. Yes, I am scared. Yes, I am worried. None of these emotions are going to get me through the next couple of months. Hopefully this post will ease your mind as it has mine in these troubling times.

So, I celebrate my few weeks of relief from the stress of a job, I celebrate the new path that God has planned for me. I celebrate the love and support from my family and friends. Thank you.

Out of the Box Solutions for Job Loss Part 3 of 3
These tips are not just for those who have lost their jobs, read on you may pick up something that you can use. Click here to see part 1 of 3 and click here to see part 2 of 3 of this post.

Clothing

• Always buy clothing on sale. If it is not on sale, wait. If your size is gone after it has gone on sale, it wasn’t meant to be.  Don’t get caught up in the wants, look for the needs. Do you really need that particular shirt or do you just want it and what you need is a shirt?
• Buy winter clothes at the beginning of summer and summer clothes at the beginning of winter when clothing is on sale.
• Instead of buying a new pair of jeans could you fix the hole with a patch? For kids clothes, turn those worn out jeans into designer jeans by adding decorative patches to cover the worn spots.
• Do you know someone that could teach you to sew or a class you can take at your local community college? Sewing your own clothing can not only be rewarding, but you can save tons of money.  Don’t go out and buy a new sewing machine, ask if you can borrow from a friend or family member that is not using theirs, and look for used in the newspaper, garage sales, or thrift stores.
• Buy clothing at thrift stores, consignment shops, and garage sales. You would be surprised what you will find. Check out the great find I found at a local thrift store.
• Clearance racks are in the back of the store.
• Look for promotion codes if you are purchasing on line.
• Use cold water to wash your clothes.

Other Savings

• Send holiday and birthday postcards instead of cards to save postage.
• Attend Home Depot and Lowe’s workshops to learn how to do your own home repairs.
• Carry a cooler with drinks and food when you are out looking for a job or running errands. This will stop the temptation of going through the drive-thru.
• Look for unusual places for sales. For example drug stores have toys in stock and sometimes they have huge discount sales.
• Shop for holiday and birthday gifts year round. Shop for Christmas gifts after Christmas, Easter after Easter, and look for discount sale items on last years toys for future birthday parties. This year I bought a huge box of Valentines Day cards for $.10 at Rite Aid. I have purchased several Play Dough kits for under $4 at Winn-Dixie’s toy clearance, I have these tucked away for a child’s birthday party gift. “The cat is out of the bag”, if we are invited to a birthday party, you know what you’re child is going to get. Actually, I am not really sure that is a bad thing?
• Write down your budget and ever penny you spent for the month. Then go back and see where that money is going. Dave Ramsey (who I really admire) has promoted the envelope system. Years ago, (way before Dave, actually this was before debit cards) my dad use to drive around with white envelopes and pay his bills at ever stop. This sounded a little crazy to me at first, but if you think about it, not a bad idea. The driving part no, but placing cash from your paycheck into an envelopes and paying the bills out of that envelope is a great way to get a handle on what you are spending ever month. Using cash to pay for items like gas or groceries really gets you to thinking about how much you are spending. Pulling a debit card from your wallet doesn’t have the same impact as giving that $100 bill to the cashier.
• Can you walk to the grocery store for that gallon of milk in stead of driving? “kill two birds with one stone” (Mamo use to say), exercise and groceries.

Got to Get Out of the House

• Go to the park with the kids and have a picnic.
• Find local free events in your area. Here the link to ours.
• Trade babysitting nights or days with another family with children.
• Sign up for restaurant birthday deals. Restaurants will email you free food coupons on your birthday. Ruby Tuesday’s offered me a free burger for mine.
• Use Restaurant.com for any out of town guest that may want to go out to eat or family outings.
• Look into volunteer vacations. AmericanHiking.org ise one of the ones I have heard about. they maintain public hiking trails.
• Check out tripadvisor.com/tankofgas for a vacation spot that is one tank of gas away.

Helpful Websites

• Free Napkin – It is the EBay for free stuff
• BluJay – Completely free auction site
• LinkedIn – Network site
• Simply Hired

I hope this has helped you and remember what Mamo use to say “Don’t let the tail wag the dog”. Trust in God to work everything out.

Frances
Former corporate employee and creator of FrugalFairhope.com.

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Frances | April 1, 2009

In celebration, yes I mean celebration of my job loss due to a lay off I bring you this post. Yes, I am scared. Yes, I am worried. None of these emotions are going to get me through the next couple of months. Hopefully this post will ease your mind as it has mine in these troubling times.

So, I celebrate my few weeks of relief from the stress of a job, I celebrate the new path that God has planned for me. I celebrate the love and support from my family and friends. Thank you.

Out of the Box Solutions for Job Loss Part 2 of 3
These tips are not just for those who have lost their jobs, read on you may pick up something that you can use. Click here to see part 1 of 3 of this post.

Putting Food on The Table

• Taking care of yourself and your family comes before everything on this earth. Call Angel Ministries in your area and find out when the next box of food will be available. This is a great program that is available for anyone, regardless of income status. “Angel Food Ministries is a non-profit, non-denominational organization dedicated to providing grocery relief and financial support to communities throughout the United States. By buying food from first-rate suppliers at substantial volume discounts, Angel Food Ministries is able to provide families with approximately $65 worth of quality nutritious food for $30.” This is also a great program for a senior citizen that may not be able or want to cook. Thirty dollars will provide meals that will feed that person for almost a month. Here is the information from their site about the senior citizen meals: “Ten perfectly seasoned, nutritionally balanced, fully cooked meals—just heat and serve. Each meal has been developed with the dietary needs of senior citizens in mind, and contains 3 oz. of protein, a starch & two vegetables or fruit.”
• Buy discount grocery cards from EBay or SwapaGift. This is an on line place to pick up great deals for Wal-Mart and other grocery cards that someone else doesn’t want. When this post was written you could get a $50 Target gift card for $45.
• Of course check FrugalFairhope.com for you on line deals. Now is the time to start your stockpile while you have time to search for the deals.
• Make your own laundry detergent. Just Google and get the recipe.
• Plant a vegetable garden. Even if you don’t have the yard space, you would be surprised what you can grow in a pot on your porch.
• Join a food co-op.
• Only buy produce that is in season or on sale.
• Use filtered water instead of buying bottled water.
• Go to farmer’s markets for produce.
• Instead of buying premade lunches, ask the kids to make their own lunches.

Medical Costs

• Get your doctor and your pharmacist evolved. As for any free samples and discuss any alternative therapies that can help you with your current prescription. Pharmacists are a great source if you want to know what prescription drugs are sold or about to be sold over the counter.
• If you need a new prescription and you are not sure how you are going to react to the medicine or need a pain killer for a short period of time, ask your doctor to lower the amount of the prescription. How many bottles of 30 ct medicine do you have in your medicine cabinet that you have never finished and never will? You could save a lot of money by buying just what you need instead of a full bottle.
• Call around to different pharmacies for pricing your generic prescription, you will be surprised that the cost is not the same.
• Consult with your doctor to see if you can change your prescription to a generic brand.
• Wal-Mart has over 350 generic medications for $4 for a 30 day supply and $10 for a 90 day supply. Here is the link to their list of medication pricing. Here is the list for Sam’s Club, Target, and Kmart.
• Target, CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens all offer gift cards for transferred prescriptions. Sometimes they even offer gift cards for new prescriptions. This is a good way to pick up a few groceries with free money.
• Check out NeedyMeds for coupons for medical prescriptions.
• Did you know that Kmart has discounts for pet medication? Don’t have a location in your area, no big deal they send the prescription through the mail.
• Need contacts? Check out VisionDirect and 1800Contacts and do some comparative shopping.
• Need eyeglasses? Check out Zenni Optical for glasses starting out at $8!

Making a little income

• Did you know the average American has over $3,000 in items in their house that they can sell on EBay? Look around, find what have you not used in a year and sell it. Try selling your item on BluJay, this is a completely free auction site.
• Have a garage sale for the items you don’t need. If you put out enough signs people will come. Try calling into your local radio station and announce the garage sale. I have heard that holding a garage sale in the afternoons during the week is a great time, little or no competition and you catch people on the way home from work. Don’t forget the lemonade, cookie, or iced coffee stand that the kids can run.
• Do you have books to sell? Check out Cash4Books to see what your books are worth, they even offer free shipping. Cash For Books – We Buy Books & We Pay The Shipping!

Mortgage

• If you are having trouble making the mortgage payments, could you rent out your home and find a lower rent place? As my great-great grandmother, Mamo use to say “this is a hard pill to swallow”; but it could be a better alternative for your family to get some relief from high mortgage payments.

Come back tomorrow to see the final post.

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