Professional Couponing Explained

professional-couponingProfessional Couponing – How the Coupon Masters Save Big Time at the Store

If you are searching for an professional couponing course, look no further. Here, you will be introduced to extreme couponing tips that will have you saving big time at the store, just like all of those coupon masters that are featured on various television shows, news features, and other forms of media. The tactics that will be outlined in this guide are not the ones that will allow you to clear off shelves at your local store, or develop a massive stockpile that will overrun your home. This extreme couponing 101 guide is not designed in such a way that it encourages you to engage in unethical practices. The extreme couponing tips will simply allow you to save a tremendous amount of money through the use of legitimate methods that will allow you to get more of what you need and want, for less.

Finding Coupons

The first step in this professional couponing guide is to learn how to find coupons. It is not at all uncommon to find yourself overwhelmed at the assortment of methods in which coupons may be obtained. There are paper coupons, printable coupons, and even electronic coupons. In order to find the best coupons for your needs, follow the steps outlined below:

  1. First, check out the inserts that are located in your local weekly newspaper. In most instances, these inserts are present in the Sunday paper; however, there are some instances in which you may find them in a Wednesday, or other mid-week newspaper, too.
  2. Next, go on the internet and do a search for “printable coupons”. You will discover many websites, such as coupons.com, that offer a large assortment of savings on your favorite brands.
  3. If you have a smart phone or a loyalty card for a particular store, you may find eCoupons. These load onto your card or smart device automatically and may be deducted when you make an appropriate purchase at the checkout.
  4. Catalina printouts are becoming increasingly popular among retailers, such as Dollar General and Winn-Dixie. Essentially, these print out on your receipt or immediately after you make a purchase at checkout.
  5. Blinkies are another coupon type that is popular among those interested in extreme couponing 101. These are found within the store on special displays or hanging along shelves.
  6. Magazines often include some coupons that include massive savings. Examples of the magazines that you may find savings include Good Housekeeping and All You.

When to Use

The next extreme couponing 101 lesson involves knowing when to use your coupons. This will allow you to get the absolute most for your money. First, you will want to save your coupons for when the items go on sale. You should never give your coupons away for a full-priced item. Instead, use them when the item goes on sale so that you may save the most amount of money. Next, you should follow the cycles of sales. For example, candy typically goes on sale around Halloween and snack foods are commonly at the lowest prices during the time of the Super Bowl. Simply research the cycles associated with grocery sales to determine what can be bought each year, at the cheapest prices.

How to Use

The next professional couponing tip is to ensure that you know how to use the coupons that you find. It is important to inquire at the store that you shop at about savings opportunities so that you have the ability to take advantage of those. The following outlines some common questions that you may direct to the retailer:

  • Does your store engage in the act of double coupons? If the store answers, “yes”, you should then ask for the double coupon policy and learn every detail possible about it.
  • Does your store allow the stacking of store coupons? In most instances, this means that the store allows you to use both a manufacturer coupon with a store coupon.
  • Does your store allow coupons to be used from competitors? If so, be sure to make use of every opportunity that you can when it comes to savings.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many professional couponing tips that will allow you to optimize your savings at the checkout. First, you need to know exactly how to find coupons. Next, you need to know the best times to use those coupons. Finally, you need to learn all the methods associated with how to use the coupons that you find. By taking these three simple professional couponing tips, you will find that you are able to purchase more, for less. All it takes is a little commitment to the endeavor, a little knowledge, and a bit of creativity, and you have the potential to save thousands of dollars a year at the store, just like all of those high profile master coupon experts!

Experience The Amazing Benefits Of BooHoo Discount Code

The boohoo shopping site is an online site in the form of an outlet store which stocks a wide collection of dresses that are meant for both men and women. In addition, it also sells a number of additional accessories such as jewelry that can be easily accessed. The latest of both men’s and women’s shopping clothing can be obtained from the boohoo.com shopping. This wide variety contains a wide range of products that represent style and elegance.

The range of clothing from boohoo includes a variety of dresses that include party dresses. These party dresses can be obtained from the ebay portion. This is also an outlet that is highly utilized by the boohoo shopping outlet.

In order to attract a large number of customers, the boohoo shopping store provides a variety of discount codes such as the coupons that offer a discount of up to 15% off. These are offered by the boohoo promo code or coupons and there are several coupons that are currently available in the market to offer discount prices on most of the products. The shop has an additional new outlet that you can dive into and obtain most of the clothes that you require. Most of the other clothing stocked at boohoo include the bohemian clothing that includes chic dresses, vintage styles and designer wear.

Currently, it offers 5 new promotional coupons for you to choose as a customer. These are inclusive of one coupon code, 3 sales as well as one free shipping promo. The latest offer includes the promotion that targets the saving of an additional 10% of all the sale items. In addition to this, some of the additional 3 promo codes have been put into use in the last day.

BooHoo Discount Code And Discounts

Boohoo Discount Code

There are a few shopping codes that contain some of the % discounts that it offers. An additional benefit of the boohoo shopping site is that it provides free shipping boohoo codes such as the code 2014. For instance, for the year 2014, some of the most common discount codes that have been offered at the shopping site include 15% off stride and up to 75% off sale in addition to an extra 15% off. Some of those that were used in the previous year expired. The most current code is:

  • DRESS4LESS for 20% discount on women’s dressings

It expires soon so you should shop now. Such coupons or discounts are also offered in relation to the shipping charges where the prices are subsequently greatly reduced.

As a customer, while shopping at boohoo you are also guaranteed of the ability to track your purchase. With this, there is a less chance that the goods obtained are likely to be misplaced or get lost in the process of shipping. There is free shipping offered on all sales. This is additional to the fact that a customer is able to save about an additional 10 % of all the sale items. The boohoo shopping site has been able to obtain and retain a large number of customers as a result of their unique services and especially their discounts and coupons that enable their customers to buy the available goods at a much lower price.

How A Fashionista Can Save Big With Missguided Discount Code

There is no longer an excuse of not looking fabulous and trendy thanks to the latest fashion. The online store stocks clothing of modern style, accessories, and footwear all at throw away prices for the young and modern women. Missguided has gone the extra mile to furnish its customers with the most recent trends in the world of fashion. Because of this, new styles are continually being added. You can now shop online on the latest trend of fashion. This fashion store offers you the opportunity to save when shopping. If you are seeking for extra price cut, you can consider using the Missguided discount code, which is always 100% free. Why pay more when you save up to 50% by simply entering a valid code.

How to use discount code

Only Missguided among all the e-commerce companies takes great interest into the managements of online shopping. Students can look forward to getting a generous 10% reduction while the rest can benefit from their seasonal sales of up to 50% off. It  likes to make use of seasonal festivals such as 10% off at Christmas, Valentine, and Easter. Prior to checkout, make sure you have your coupon close by since you will be required to input the digits before checkout. Take note that the promotional code is non-exchangeable, non refundable and only valid up to a specified time.

Missguided Discount Coupon

Saving Opportunities

Whether you are a Fashionista seeking a bargain or a student, Misguided has unlimited options for your to gain price cut when shopping. Before doing your shopping online always, be sure to visit Missguided saving database since their offerings on coupons and discount code change regularly. With Valentine is around the corner, why not take the advantage by searching for the perfect gift early in advance that will earn you those valuable brownie points. Missguided understands perfectly how to satisfy their customers. You are capable of saving an extra 10% off all products.

This retail store has everything you could possibly want for your wardrobe. You will find modern celebrity styled fashions that are reasonably priced, making it convenient for you to purchase something dissimilar for every invited function. One of the drawbacks of shopping online is that delivery can at times be a little bit costly, particularly if you urgently need the product. Nevertheless, Missguided are showering UK with next day delivery at a price of only £1 and no delivery fee for spending deliveries that are over a low threshold. This is the best discount ever offered.

Redeeming Your Points

With the following step carefully followed, you can be able to easily save a large amount of money using discount vouchers.

  1. Peruse online its product collection.
  2. Then visit the product page of the fashions you desire to buy.
  3. Choose the desired quantity as well as preferred size.
  4. Run your fingers and tap on “Add to Bag”.
  5. At the top right corner, click on “Bag”.
  6. At the right bottom, a box containing the promotional code will appear.
  7. Enter your price-reduced voucher and tap on “Apply”.
  8. You can now freely finalize your shopping by clicking on “checkout now”.

25 Dates under $25

cheap datesAfter two years of marriage, date night is a rare occurrence in our house. Fancy dinners out and long weekend getaways are now replaced by Redbox, take-out and errands. Where did the passion go?

In our quest to ignite the fire once more, my husband and I have committed to reinvigorating our social life. Since we are a young married couple on a budget, we set the limit of our dates to $25. But there are lots of options for having dates on a budget. All it takes is a little bit of extra creativity and perhaps some planning.

25 Dates Under $25

  1. Picnic in the park
  2. Visit the beach
  3. Go on a hike
  4. Go to a matinee movie, or better yet, visit the $1 theater
  5. Find a local cheap wine tasting (we googled and found one that has 8 tastes for $5!)
  6. Take a class at Whole Foods (learn how to make sushi? Yes Please!)
  7. Visit a local fair or festival
  8. Scout out free local Art Walks
  9. Attend a free concert in the park
  10. Take advantage of happy hour
  11. Order dessert at a four-star restaurant
  12. Visit a museum on a half-priced day (there are a lot in the summer)
  13. Find an adventurous recipe online, go buy the ingredients, and cook together
  14. Go thrift store shopping
  15. Walk to get frozen yogurt together
  16. Create DIY art for the home
  17. Tackle a home project together that ends with an evening of wine
  18. Spend $25 in gas and take a day trip (pack a lunch)
  19. Go to your local zoo
  20. Volunteer at a local animal shelter
  21. Bake a decadent dessert together
  22. Drive around looking at your dream houses
  23. Go for brunch at a small boutique diner
  24. Take advantage of a good Living Social or Groupon deal to a restaurant
  25. See if your city offers Restaurant Week and take advantage!

The Importance of Date Night

Date Night has long been a discussion in many women’s groups, as well as ministries across the country that commend the importance of a night out with your significant other. Most of these discussions are geared toward people with children, since couples can often lose sight of their relationship while trying to raise little monsters, er, I mean kids.

However, date night isn’t just for couples with children anymore. We find ourselves–as a relatively young married couple–falling into the same routine and ruts. Perhaps, it doesn’t help that we have conflicting work schedules, with one of us sometimes working weekends and nights, that makes it really hard to plan a good date night.

Date night is not just a reason to go out and spend money. It’s a time to reconnect and separate yourselves from the drama and exhaustion of everyday life. We often get bogged down by the little things, like things that need to be fixed around the house, bills that need to be paid, or social obligations that we need to attend. It gets to be too easy to just say “We’re tired, let’s stay in.” And while I am the biggest proponent of staying in and vegging out, I also realize the importance of date night and how great I feel after having some quality uninterrupted, no-distractions time with my husband.

The Key to a Good Date Night

Oftentimes, it’s not what you’re doing on date night that’s important. What matters most is that you both feel that you’re getting what you need from the relationship. Make a point to act like teenagers–kiss more, hold hands, be affectionate. And most importantly, be present in the moment. Don’t let yourself get bogged down by grievances and annoyances.

If you’re feeling like you just really won’t be able to enjoy date night, offer your partner a massage to help them destress. That always leads to best kind of date night ; )

photo by spiritquest

Save Big with an Entertainment Book!

entertainment bookSince everyone loves convenience and saving money, it only makes sense to put the two together.   This is what you get in an entertainment book.   It gives you easy access to a multitude of valuable coupons that you don’t have to tear the house apart looking for every time you want to go out.   But in order to know how to save thousands with an entertainment book, you have to plan ahead.

 

Rule #1:

The first rule to saving: keep the book in your car.   That way, if you decide at the last minute to go somewhere, you’ll always have it with you.

 

Rule #2:

Books are available each year as of November 1st.   But if you can hold out for a month or so you can get one at a reduced price.   Saving money before you begin saving.

 

Rule #3:

Take some time to plan your trips.   If you don’t plan ahead of time you won’t realize that you have a coupon for somewhere until after you leave.   If you have a trip planned somewhere, take the time to scan the book before you leave.

 

Rule #4:

The travel savings are unbelievable.   Taking advantage of these deals can easily allow you to pocket some serious cash.   The retailers who advertise these deals in the entertainment book are able to offer such savings for one reason: they are counting on the likelihood that most people aren’t going to utilize these coupons.   Prove them wrong!

 

Rule #5:

Read the coupons carefully.   Each coupon has specific rules attached to it’s use.   Read them to make sure that you meet the guidelines before you leave.   This avoids the embarrassment and disappointment of finding out you don’t qualify when it’s time to pay.

 

Rule #6:

Categorize the coupons.   Put all of the meal coupons together.   That goes the same for clothing, sporting events, etc.     This eliminates the possibility of overlooking the one coupon that you need out of the entire book.

 

Rule #7:

Don’t throw any coupons away.   Many people will go through their book and pull out coupons that they think they won’t need as a way of thinning the herd.   They believe that this makes it easier to locate what they really do use.   As soon as you throw away a coupon you’ll inevitably find yourself in need of that very one.

 

Rule #8:

Online coupons.   This book allows you access to additional online coupons that will save you even more money.   These are coupons that you otherwise wouldn’t have.

 

Rule #9:

Let the book make the decisions.   Instead of dreading through the same monotonous evening over and over again, let the book decide something new and refreshing.   It introduces you to things in your area that you might not have considered before.

 

Rule #10:

Each book comes with a coupon for a discount on next year’s addition, including free shipping.

 

Rule #11:

Buy two books.   Sounds crazy, but you’ll find that the extra coupons that you can utilize in the second book more than pays for it’s cost.

 

Take these tips and go use your Coupon book efficiently and start saving.  The way most people use them is a waste of money.  The more you use them, the more you will be saving!  One word of caution though.  If owning an entertainment book is something that will tempt you to go out more and spend money you don’t have, you should avoid buying one of these coupon books.  For the rest of us, these books are a common sense way of saving hundreds each month on things we typically spend money on anyways!

photo by camkage

How I Got Screwed by my Lack of Patience

lack of patiencePatience has never been one of my strengths.  I can think back all the way back when I was a kid and even the long road trips for family vacations irritated me.  I’ve always been someone who wants things to get done quickly with very little waiting around.  I could excuse myself by saying that I need that type of mentality because I work in the construction industry where schedule is EVERYTHING.

However, that would just be a poor excuse.  I’m a sinner like everyone else.  I mess up and let my lack of patience get the better of me.  It’s never a good ending when you are impatient. Thankfully God has stuck by me and helped me grow in this area.  Without the grace of God, I would be a lot worse off!

I was thinking about this article and how I would relate patience back to personal finance.  I even thought about writing something that made me look good.  But, I’ve decided to do something else. I’m going to share with you a story of how my lack of patience slapped me in the face and lost money.

It starts with a “want.”  This want was a desire to buy a luxury desk chair.  With the increase of hours managing this website, I thought investing in a new desk chair would make sense.  This is a great premise but it goes downhill from here…

 

The beginnings

I go to a small church just north of downtown San Diego.  Near my church there is an  industrial  district with outlet stores.  I’ve always seen signs advertising discounted prices and “one day only” sales.  Many of these stores are  furniture  outlets and others are carpet liquidators. When I started thinking about my desk chair purchase, I began to notice a certain office chair outlet store.  Imagine an entire store dedicated to office chairs!  It really got me excited.

 

Overwhelmed

One weekend I decided to visit this office chair store.  I had looked them up online and found out that they had a massive selection of office chairs.  So, why not, right?  The moment I walked in I was attacked by two salesmen.  No one was in the store so I think they were desperate for some commission.  They toured me around and asked me what I was looking for.  I told them I didn’t know and I perused the store until I stumbled onto the most comfortable chair of my life.  You can check out the chair here.  Not only was it a cool looking chair but it was super comfortable.

 

Price tags lie

The next thing I noticed was the price.  It was retail for $400 with a discount down to $200.  I thought it was such a steal!  Since I was at an outlet store, this had to be the lowest price anywhere!  I was confident in my purchase and happy with the price point.

I got home and cut the tags off.  I was excited to sit in my new chair!  I was curious about the company that made the chair and did a quick Google search.  The first thing that popped up was a link to Amazon for $150.  My stomach sunk.  I had just been had.

 

No excuses

At first, I felt anger towards the outlet store.  But then common sense took over and realized what had just happened.  I broke my own policy when buying expensive products.  Always do your research before you buy something!  I willingly  purchased  the chair at an outlet store at the more expensive price.  No excuses, I made a mistake.  Times like these are good reminders about taking your time when buying products.  Don’t be like me and let lack of patience slap you around.

 

Lessons learned?

So, what can you take away from this experience?  Well, I came up with a short list.  Use my poor choice to your advantage and don’t make the same mistake I made!

-Research prices before you go out to stores.  Often times, online retailers will have the cheaper price.

-Don’t buy a product just because it’s “on sale.”  It might not be that good of a price.

-Have patience when it comes to buying expensive items, it will pay off in the end.

-Walk away and take some time before buying something.

 

I hope my honesty helps you in some way.  Take this experience and don’t make the same mistake! Man, the things I could have done with $50.  Here in San Diego that’s a whole tank of gas!

How PromotionCode.org Can Save you Thousands

discount

Yes, you heard me right. Head over to PromotionCode.org and start saving thousands. You might not save thousands right off the bat, but you will in the long run. If you’re like me, you love a great deal at a discounted price. Well, meet Promotion Code, your new best friend. Promotion Code is a new coupon site that offers a unique experience.

My favorite part about the site is that the home page has a search tool. This allows you to search the entire coupon site for any relative coupons and discounts. This is a whole lot easier than having to scroll through countless stores to find your store of choice.

After you click through your store, you are able to see the vast multitude of coupons and which ones have the highest success rate. Seeing the success rate allows you to pick the best ones and helps you avoid wasting time. I know this has been a pet peeve for me, I’m sure it is for you. They state clearly that “Unlike most coupon and promotion code sites, PromotionCode.org goes through great lengths to ensure that the codes on our site work. In addition to us spot-checking, visitors vote on the success rate of codes. If a code has not worked for more than three days and hits a certain percentage of failure, it is automatically removed from the site.” I like knowing that they take the time to take down coupons that don’t work any more. I don’t want to be spending hours on their site trying to find one that works!

Another great feature is the ability to have coupons for your favorite stores automatically sent to your email inbox. For people on the go, this is a must and Promotion Code provides! You simply click on the various stores you want updates for and you will start receiving coupons in your email inbox immediately.

If you’re social like me, you will love the ability to stay connected with Promotion Code over facebook and twitter. Also, there is a free shipping section that might interest you. The free shipping section has tons of codes for free shipping on your next order at any of the listed stores.

In conclusion, I really like the layout and feel of PromotionCode.org and will be using it on a regular basis from now on. Its simple layout and straight forward directions make it easy to find coupons at my favorite stores. Printing is a cinch and I’m on my way to the shopping mall. This site is for anyone interested in buying their favorite products at discounts. Go check them out!

Cardpool Review

Gift cards, gift cards.  Like em’ or hate em’ they will always be around.  Nearly all stores carry or offer them.  There is a huge market for unused gift cards and exchanging them.  This is where Cardpool comes in.  It’s a sort of gift cards exchange.  They buy and sell gift cards, helping consumers to make better decisions to use their gift cards.

How it works

-Cardpool buys your gift cards then sells them to  other  people

-You can get hugely discounted gift cards through their site with relative ease!

-There is free shipping on all purchases.  You will receive a free shipping E-label to help out with the shipment.

-You get a cardpool purchase guarantee which means that you are guaranteed satisfaction up to 100 days after your purchased the cards.

 

You can buy gift cards from Cardpool

You can find huge  discounted  prices for gift cards!  Here is a short list as an example!

  • Abercrombie & Fitch (9% off)
  • Aeropostale (13% off)
  • AMC Theaters (20% off)
  • American Airlines (5% off)
  • Ann Taylor (15% off)
  • Anthropologie (15% off)
  • Barnes & Noble (12% off)
  • Bed Bath & Beyond (8% off)
  • Build-A-Bear (15% off)
  • Chili’s (10% off)
  • CVS (5% off)
  • JC Penney (14% off)
  • Macy’s (8% off)
  • Michael’s (15% off)
  • Office Max (9% off)
  • Outback Steakhouse (10% off)
  • Panera (7% off)
  • Pottery Barn (10% off)
  • Target (3% off)
  • Toys R Us (8% off)
  • Victoria’s Secret (9% off)

Advantages

-They offer free shipping for all gift card purchases
-It’s extremely simple.  They offer no expiration dates and the website does not have ads and banners.
-You can trade them in for Amazon credit instead of cash.  This is huge for Amazon addicts!

Disadvantages

-You won’t find certain retailer’s cards in stock.  Not all companies will be available!
-There is no search function so it’s hard to find the card you’re looking for right off the bat.  Other than this, it’s a streamlined and extremely efficient website.
-Sometimes, Cardpool will buy your gift cards for a 20% discount.  Beware of this before you make any big moves.

Final Word

You have tons of options if you’re looking to get rid of your gift cards and try to turn a profit.  Cardpool is the go-to guy if you want very little hassle and maximum cash benefit.  Cardpool offers wonderful features and I highly recommend that you get in on the fun!