Cha-Ching on a Shoestring™

Living Large on a Limited Budget

Readers Tips: How to Have a Successful Yard Sale

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I’m having my very first on-my-own yard sale this weekend, hoping to get rid of some of our stuff before our upcoming move.  (If you’re in the area, stop on by!)

I asked for tips on our Facebook page and am loving the helpful responses.  Here are just a few of them:

  • “Price as much as you can beforehand. It’s a big turnoff for customers if there are no prices on items. And price a little above what you’ll accept, because most people like to bargain.”
  • “Display is the key to a successful yard sale . . . make things easy for people to see. If you have clothes try to hang them up. Organize like items together. Put things at different levels . . . have some things on a blanket on the ground, others on a table.”
  • “If you have any bright colorful kids stuff put it right out by the street where it can clearly be seen. Also advertise well…post in newspaper, craigslist, & GOOD signage (put up several days ahead).”

And many more helpful tips!  Head on over to the Facebook page to get in on the discussion or leave a comment below!

Saving Money on the Arts (and a Giveaway!)

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Let’s face it.  There are some things in life that are just not that easy to score for free.   In order to appreciate the finer things in life, sometimes we have to dish out more than we’d like.

I asked my sister Tamara (who is the thought-provoking writer behind Living Palm) to write a post sharing ideas on how to save money on the arts–music, books, visual art.   She has more knowledge than just about anybody that I know on this topic, and I’m so excited to share her expertise with you.  Head on over here and learn all sorts of tricks for getting more for less in the world of the arts.

She also is offering a FUN giveaway here for Cha-Ching on a Shoestring readers.  Enter to win some FREE music and give her some WARM Cha-Ching love while you’re at it, will ya?

Guest Post: Conquer the Budget Busters

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The following is a guest post from Shelly at Coupon Teacher.

Please tell me you have the same problems as me.  It seems like I am rolling along pretty well with my low grocery budget, and then BAM! All of the sudden, the cat needs food and litter, we are out of milk and bread, and hubby forgets to tell me he is out of deodorant.  Oh and maybe, I find out that somehow I am completely out of chicken.

There is no way I can get all that in one week and stay under budget (unless there is a special coupon event going on).  What are some strategies to use when all the expensive items are needed the same week?

  1. Preventative Measures. I guess this isn’t a real strategy for when it happens, but it might help before it happens.  Keeping a close eye on your stockpile and food levels will help prevent the week when everything expensive runs out.
  2. Keep an extra envelope. A lot of you are probably on the all cash system.  If you are, when your grocery envelope runs dry, you are out of money. Period.  If your budget allows it, keep an extra envelope with $20 in it for the rare occasions like this one.
  3. Get gift cards. Ask for gift cards to the stores you shop at most for your birthday and/or Christmas.  Save the gift cards until there are bigger items you need to purchase.  Don’t forget to enter blog giveaways for gift cards too.  I haven’t paid for cat food since I started blogging, because I have won several small Walmart and Target gift cards.
  4. Use ECB, RR, or rebate checks. I know it hurts to not roll those ECB or RR, but sometimes you can use them for needed items.  As a matter of fact, sometimes you might have to.  It will be ok.  You can earn more.  I try to put all my rebate checks into savings, but if necessary, I will add them back into my grocery budget.
  5. Plan your menu to leave out items you don’t have. If I am out of chicken and it isn’t on sale, we won’t be having chicken that week.  Now I realize that milk, bread, and eggs are staples, but some items we can do without until we have more money or a sale.

What do you do when your grocery budget seems like it won’t stretch far enough?

***

Shelly is a full-time fourth grade teacher and blogs at Coupon Teacher. She wants you to share and celebrate your successes with her, and she may give you a few tips along the way!  Right now, she is offering a free savvy shopping course.  She would love for you to join her!


Moms Mini Van: FREE Printable Road Trip Activities

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My sister-in-law and I are are getting ready to take a road trip up to NY with four active little ones in tow.  I was delighted to re-discover some old Road Trip Bingo cards a few weeks ago.  I received them at a MOPS meeting several years ago for such a time as this. We took them on our last road trip and they actually kept my four year old engaged for quite some time looking for road signs and cows and airplanes.

The Bingo cards were printed from a site called Moms Mini Van which is full of other such fun (and sanity saving!) activities for kids while you head out on those summertime road trips.  The site also contains many other great ideas to keep your little ones entertained.  I highly recommend checking them out before you head out on your next long trip.  (Or even your next five minute trip!)

You’ll thank me later!

Ask the Readers: Birthday Parties on a Budget

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Some of you have asked recently for ideas on how to have a great birthday party on a budget.

And you know what? I think this is a GREAT question to share with you all.

Both of my boys’ birthdays are in August.  I am a big fan of birthday parties and usually end up trying to outdo myself each year (even though each year I vow I will keep things simple!). I just can’t help myself.  I like themes and decorations and lots of people and food and fun.

However, since the birthday cake fiasco last year, I am feeling a little uncertain about my skills in the birthday party arena.

So, help me out, dear readers.

What are your tips for making a birthday party fun without breaking the bank?

{And while you’re at it, I could use some tips on decorating cakes too!}

Did You Notice We Made Some Changes?

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Welcome to the new and improved Cha-Ching on a Shoestring!  Charlie from Solution Three and I were hard at work behind the scenes late last night making some fun new updates and improvements to the site.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be continuing to move things around a bit.  I am hoping to make this site as user friendly as possible, so please be patient with my work in progress!

I wanted to highlight a few of the updates that were made last night:

  • Check out my new navigation bars at the top.  If you take a few minutes to check out the new links, you’ll see that it’s much easier to find what you are looking for now.  (I still have a few more changes to make, but it will be all spiffy and new in no time!)
  • Notice that all of my store deals are now listed in that fancy new dropdown menu.  Just a heads ups that there are still some technical issues going on with this feature in IE.  These will be ironed out soon.
  • My FAVORITE new feature is for those of you who would would like to take Cha-Ching with you on your mobile phone.  We installed something called WPTouch, which will allow you to navigate the site easily from your iPhone or Blackberry (or fill-in-fancy-gadget-name).   Now when you’re at CVS and you forgot your list, you can just pull out your phone and check my CVS post!  How cool is that?

So, whaddya think?

That Time I Was Almost on Nightline

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nightline coupon story

I mentioned last week, that I was almost on Nightline.  (Almost = I had already made plans to go buy a new outfit when it fell through.)

I thought I would post the link to the news story that aired last night.  I had mixed emotions as I watched it.

I was correct in assuming that they were looking for couponers who were more extreme than I am.  (Check out the Jello art.  However, one of the comments did indicate that this was donated to a local charity later.)

On the other hand, I did appreciate the fact that there were helpful tips shared throughout the segment.  It wasn’t just another story about ‘those crazy couponers’ (like this article).

Here were a few of my thoughts:

  • I wish they had clarified that not all sections of the country have stores with these kinds of crazy deals.  Kroger is well-known as one of the best stores for couponers.
  • The topic of buying and trading coupons never came up.  I have to believe that this is a huge part of each of their strategies.
  • I’m also not sure why there wasn’t more information shared on donating to local charities.  From what I understand, both of the couponers do so.

If you get a chance to watch it, I’d love to know what your thoughts are on the piece.  Would you classify yourself as an extreme couponer?  Do you think that this was a fair depiction of couponing?  Did you learn anything new from the piece?

Ask the Readers: Coupon Clipping Services

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couponclipping

Dearest Readers,

I have a confession to make. I am somewhat embarrassed to admit this, but here goes.

There is an area of couponing that completely baffles me.

I have attempted to figure it out, but to no avail.  I need your HELP!

I am looking for any of you that have experience with purchasing coupons from coupon clipping services or on ebay? Or have you discovered a way to trade coupons that really works for you?

I’ve had many readers ask me about this, but I have not been able to give them a credible answer.  So, here’s where you come in.  Here are my questions:

  • What service(s) have you used?
  • Which do you feel is the best?
  • How much does it cost?  (This is what confuses me.  It seems like I will end up paying far more than what the coupon is worth.  What am I missing?)
  • How quickly do your coupons usually arrive?

I would be dee-lighted if you would take a few moments to leave this baffled girl some tips in the comments.

Sincerely,

Kaley