frugal tips – Page 6 – Luv Saving Money

5 Things To Do With Broken Crayons

There’s nothing like a fresh box of crayons. But what happens when the kids bring broken crayon stubs home or you accumulate a box of crayon bits that no one wants to use? You could throw them away but, why not reuse them? Here are 5 things to do with broken crayons.

Make Chunky Crayons

There’s several ways to do this. Probably the easiest way is to take a muffin tin, peel any remaining paper off the crayons, break the crayons into small pieces, and place them in the muffin tins. The smaller the pieces the quicker they’ll melt. Bake in the oven at 200 degrees for about 15 minutes. May need to put in longer if you have bigger pieces. Once melted, allow to cool slightly then place pan in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes. Chunky crayons pop right out.

Some other options: use candy molds, soap molds, or other molds that are heat-resistant.

Melted crayon art

Peel any remaining paper off crayons. Put them in a sealable sandwich bag. I let my kids smack them on the table with wooden spoons to make the crayons into tiny crumbs (pieces need to be very small to melt correctly). Pour onto a paper plate. Place paper plate on baking sheet and put in the oven at 200 degrees for about 10 min. Give the kids a Q-tip and let them make designs with the melted crayons on the paper plate.

melted-crayon-art-collage

Melted Crayon Dot Art

Use supervision with this craft. Use 3 oz cups and put a different color in each cup. Place 3 oz cups on a baking sheet and melt the broken crayons for 10 minutes at 200 degrees. Use a Q-tip as a paint brush. Use a different Q-tip for each color. Dip Q-tip into melted crayon and make dots on paper to create a design. If the the melted crayons starts to harden, simply reheat.

Crayon Candles

multicolor-crayon-candle

You’ll need an empty votive jar, a votive wick, about 5 – 3 oz bathroom cups, and broken crayons with paper removed. Place votive wick in jar. Fill each 3 oz cup with a different color of broken crayon IE: one filled with orange broken crayons, one filled with yellow broken crayons, etc. Place one 3 oz cup on a baking sheet and melt in the oven at 200 degrees for about 10 minutes. The smaller the pieces the faster they will melt. Once melted, pour that color into the votive jar containing the wick. Allow to dry Repeat with each color. If you don’t have empty votive jars you can use other heat-resistant glass jars such as mason jars, baby food jars, etc.

5. Crayola Crayon Maker

Ok so this one is not homemade but Crayola actually make something called the “Crayola Melt and Mold Factory” . They even have kits to make crayons shaped like crayon jewelry and other options. Though you would have to buy it, it could come in handy for the future to reuse old broken crayons to make new crayons in actual crayon shapes.

Helpful Hints:

There are several ways to get the crayons into small enough pieces to melt fast. You can use a cheese grater or mandolin slicer (adults only), Or put the crayons in a sealable bag and let the kids smack them with spoons until the crayons are pulverized.

How To Save Money At Staples

More and more people are jumping on board with the idea of home offices. In fact, many people

without a dedicated home office room still reserve some space in their home for office supplies, even if

it is just a desk or nook. And with the growing popularity of home offices over the past few decades,

there’s been a growing demand for office supplies and accessories. Staples has benefitted from this

trend and has grown as well. With its huge selection and affordable prices, Staples has become a

favorite stop for many people outfitting an office space.

Staples’ everyday prices are very reasonable, so it doesn’t take a lot of extra work to get a great deal.

However, with a little extra effort you can turn nearly every purchase into a great discount. Here are

our top shopping strategies to save money without sacrificing quality and selection at Staples.

Join Staples Rewards

The free Staples Rewards Program is very similar to other store loyalty rewards program. Complete a

simple registration by providing your name, address, phone number, and email address and enjoy

perks and benefits that make it worth your time to sign up for the program. There are lots of benefits

that come from Staples Rewards, including:

2% back on all purchases. Every purchase you make at Staples earns 2% back in Staples

Rewards, which can be redeemed in store credit that can be used on almost anything in the

store. Reward vouchers are issued in $5 monthly increments, but they keep rolling over each

month until you have enough money to cash out or until the end of the following calendar

quarter. One example of this is if you went to Staples today and purchased $500 in

merchandise, you would get $10 added to your Staples Rewards account. That reward would

be issued at the end of the month, at which time you could use it on anything in the store.

Note the 2% reward bonus doesn’t apply to postage stamps, prepaid phone cards, gift cards,

and third-party website orders made on Staples.com).

Free shipping on all orders. It’s rare to find a site that will ship everything for free, so this perk

definitely makes Staples Rewards stand out. Instead of paying for shipping or having to spend

a certain amount to qualify for free shipping on other sties, you can order anything and know it

will ship for free.

Rewards for ink recycling. For every $30 you spend on ink or toner within 180 days at Staples,

you will earn $2 back in rewards, which will be added to your monthly amount.

Bonus rewards events. Staples occasionally offers rewards members bonus points if they buy

a certain item in a certain time frame.

You can automatically upgrade your account to Plus by spending $500 to $1,000 at Staples over the

course of a year. Plus rewards members get 3% back in Rewards on all purchases, as well as $25 in

free print and copy services and a free diagnostic check on a device by a Staples’ tech expert. Spend

more than $1,000 at Staples in a year and you’ll also get exclusive savings offers and $20 towards a

year of tech support.

Use Promo Codes and Coupons

Staples offers a large amount of printable coupons and online coupon codes in the coupon section of

Staples.com. New coupons are released every week, so it can pay off to check back regularly.

Printable coupons can be used online or in store, while promo codes can only be used online. Check

Dealspotr before shopping at Staples to see the newest coupons. Note that Staples doesn’t accept

manufacturer’s coupons.

Staples coupons fall into two categories. “Transaction coupons” include storewide coupons that

discount an entire purchase. “Product coupons” include coupons that only work on a specific product.

You can only use one transaction coupon per order and one product coupon per item. Product

coupons can’t be applied to sale items or used with instant savings promotions.

Staples coupons generally come with a large list of exclusions, including Apple products, Bose

products, or mobile phone products or services. Visit Staples.com for a full list of exclusions.

Shop Staples.com Daily Deals, Clearance, and Deal Center

Staples gives customers lots of ways to save online. One of the best and most popular areas is the

Daily Deals page, which features a new discount every day. Although not every discount is amazing, it

can be worth it to check the site quickly every morning. Before making a Daily Deal purchase, be sure

to read the disclaimer so you are aware of the exclusions.

Another option is the Staples.com clearance section, which can occasionally have better discounts

than the Daily Deals page. Staples.com has a huge clearance selection, and it can be time consuming

to sort through all of the items, but it pays off with discounts regularly up to 90% off.

For a simpler way to save on Staples.com, try the Deals Center, which arranges sale items by

category and makes it easy to search for a specific item or category.

Staples sends printed circulars in the mail or local newspaper, but it also publishes the weekly

promotions on its website. Be sure to enter the right address to get the most recent ad.

Use Staples Rebates

Staples is one of the best stores out there for rewards, and looking at the Staples.com rebate section

can be well worth your time. Rebates typically apple to a specific brand or type of product. After

making the purchase, you usually have to fill out a form online or by mail and provide proof or

purchase. Within a few weeks, you’ll receive a check back for a portion of what you spent on the

product.

The best way to find rebates is on Staples.com, where you can search by product keyword, brand,

SKU, or rebate number to see eligible rebates and track the status of your submitted rebates. Before

making a large purchase at Staples, be sure to check the rebate section. There are typically a large

variety of rebates available, and some can be quite large. Finding a rebate can turn a good deal into a

great deal.

Price Match

Compared to most other stores, Staples has one of the best and most cooperative price matching

policies. Staples will match a lower price on the same item from a competitor, meaning any store that

sells products in store and online, including Amazon.com. Exclusions include clearance, grand

opening and liquidation sales, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or flash sales. Nearly every product in the

store is eligible for price matching, except for gift cards, postage, and tech support services.

Things get a little more complicated when you consider rebates. Staples considers its own rebates

when looking at price matching, but it doesn’t consider competitor rebates. For example, if you buy a

$50 item at Staples that has a $10 rebate, Staples will price match an item that is cheaper than $40,

not $50. On the other side, if a competitor has the same $50 item with a $10 rebate, Staples will price

match the item to $50, not $40.

You can also take advantage of price adjustments at Staples. If you buy an item and it goes on sale

within 14 days of purchase, you can visit the store and get a refund for difference between the price

you paid and the sale price.

Buy Discounted Gift Cards at Cardpool.com

Although they are typically thought of for gift giving, gift cards can also be a very useful tool when it

comes to saving money. Cardpool.com sells discounted gift cards for thousands of stores. It has

Staples gift cards for sell with a 7.5% discount, which means you can get a $49 gift card for $45.50.

Think of it as getting a 7.5% storewide discount. And because gift cards are simply a form of payment,

you can combine your gift card with sales and rebates to maximize your savings. When you add it up

over time, it can lead to major savings.

Cardpool.com sells electronic gift cards that can be used online immediately after purchase or printed

and used in store. The site also sells physical gift cards that are sent to you in the mail with free

shipping. You can also earn $5 for every friend you refer to Cardpool.com, so get out there and spread

the word to bring in the money!

Where Can I Get Coupons For That?

As a frugal lifestyle blogger and a mom of 4 I don’t like to pay full price for anything . Not only is it better for my budget but I feel a sense of accomplishment when I get my family things they need and not have to pay what’s on the price tag . I love me some coupons. One thing my friends and coworkers have asked me more than a few times is “Where do you get coupons for that?” So here’s some places to look to find coupons for the things you want and need.

1. Newspaper – ok this might be the obvious one but did you know that different areas might have different coupons? For example: When I buy my coupon papers I buy a Johnstown paper and a Pittsburgh paper. Often they have different coupons OR when it comes to Procter & Gamble inserts and things like that I get several then.

2. Coupon websites – sites like coupons.com, savingsstar.com, and more offer coupons you can either print or load to a grocery store card. Sites like coupons.com will usually allow you to print each coupon twice so if you see a 2 for deal or just really like a product, go ahead and print 2.

3. Load to card – Those rewards cards you have for Rite Aid, Giant Eagle, etc. If you go to the website you can register your reward card and load coupons right to your card. Then when you buy that product the coupon gets taken off automatically. No worries about forgetting your coupon. My only issues is, sometimes I forget what coupons I have on there and when they expires. So it’s a good idea to print a list and keep it in your car or purse. Cross it off when the coupon expires or you’ve used it. It’s easy. Often they have a load to card option on the site once you’re logged in. Just tick off the coupons you want and they’re on your card. Here’s what Rite Aid’s load2card option looks like. You can find the load2card option for Riteaid under the “Deals” category and select the load2card option or under the wellness+ option:

4. Company websites – sometimes the coupons aren’t in the paper or on a printable site. BUT occasionally the company websites has coupons. I’ll give you a for instance. Giant Eagle recently had International Delight coffee creamer on sale 2 for $4. I love my coffee creamer but wanted to see if I could get an even better deal. I couldn’t find a coupon anywhere else so I went to the company website. I registered on InternationalDelight.com and there it was a printable coupon for $1 off 1 International Delight Coffee Creamer. I was able to print it twice and got my creamers for $1 a piece! Also it helps to sign up for your favorite brand’s emails newsletters.

5. Write the company – When all else fails, you can sometimes have luck with emailing or writing the company . I had a thing for those Annie Chun’s soup bowls for a while. They were a bit expensive. I emailed the company to let them now how much I liked their soups and praised them for their eco-friendly packaging. They wrote back, thanked me and offered to send me coupons. I of course accepted and they sent me a small stack of coupons for their soups.

6. Coupon kiosks – My local BILO store actually had a coupon kiosk where you could print BILO store coupons you might need for your shopping visit. You need to print only the ones you needed because they normally expired within a day or two but it was nice to grab an extra coupon or two when shopping.

7. Check your receipts and register printouts – Plenty of stores will have coupons either right on your receipt or as a separate print out. Giant Eagle does a separate print out, Rite Aid will print them right on the receipt, Dollar General has them right on the receipt ($5 off $25 purchase sometimes), etc. Check your receipts!

8. Right on the package – Occasionally you will buy a product that has a coupon taped right to the package or sometimes a tag around the neck of a bottle like a cleaning product or soda, for instance. Sometimes it will even say something like “save $2 now save $2 later” etc. These you can use. Do NOT cut coupons off of packages.

9. Sales papers – sometimes your sales papers will have a store coupon in them. Rite Aid usually has one or two each sales week. CVS will do this too.

10. Sampling kiosks – Walmart does this often. They have someone at a sampling kiosk and you can try a little taste of whatever they’re trying to sell that day. Often there will be a small pile of coupons meant for you to take one or two to buy the product. I tried a sample of a Kellogg’s cereal the one time. The lady had a huge stack of coupons. I took one (never be greedy) and she said “honey you can take more than one” so I took two. She said “Take more than that, I have plenty” so I did. lol

11. In the package – diapers will do this often . Pampers, Luvs, Huggies will kindly put a coupon inside the package. You’ll sometimes find them inside the back panel of cereal boxes or frozen foods.

12. Magazines – Magazines like all you, Parenting, Taste of Home and more will have coupons in them sometimes as small booklets or right in the ad for the product.

I wrote a guest post on how to save money on vehicle maintenance too. As soon as it’s like I’ll post the link here.

Saving For Christmas 2015 Should Start Now

Maybe you’ve just put your Christmas decorations away or maybe you still have them up. (I do, I’m avoiding it) But to create a financially stress free Christmas you need to start saving now. Start saving now to avoid using credit cards, start saving now to avoid overdrafting your account trying to squeeze gifts in, save now so you’re not so stressed later.

You might have seen the weekly Christmas savings plan that’s floating around on the internet:

Here’s my issue with this challenge. Actually I have several issues. IF you are actually on a budget or living paycheck to paycheck, in theory, this sounds like a great idea. So you start saving $1 in saving the first week, $2 in savings the next week…hey this is easy right? Ok well then you get to about week 30 and you’re putting $30 a week away. If you get paid biweekly, that’s $60 per pay, $120 per month! If you’re living paycheck to paycheck or already putting money in savings for a safety net (as you should) then this is unrealistic. Then you come down to week…i don’t know 46, 47 where you’ve probably started shopping for Christmas with black friday and cyber monday. Who can put $50 a week away when you’re already buying Christmas gifts? I mean if you can, good for you, but you probably have a little more free flow with your money than others.

So I’ll tell you what I do. As a mom of 4 living the frugal lifestyle. As soon as I finish my Christmas shopping whether it be Black Friday or Christmas Eve, I start putting money back into my holiday club to start replenishing for next year. I get paid biweekly so I put anywhere from $5-$20 per paycheck away, EVERY paycheck. Whatever I can afford to take out of that paycheck and still pay bills and have some fun and incidentals money. If you get paid weekly try putting $5-$10 a week away. If you get paid monthly try putting $20-$30 away per pay. Then, Any other non-paycheck money that comes through such as tax returns, winning money on a scratch off, put a percentage of that away too.

If you put $20 a month away until November That’s $220

IF you put $30 a month away until November that’s $330

If you put $40 a month away until November that’s $440

Then if you put other money away for example you get your tax return and you put $100 of it away you can add $100 to your total. Say you won $60 at a football game for their 50/50 you can put $20 of that away. If you get a holiday bonus you could put 20% of that away, etc. You can see where you can build on your savings. Depending how much you spend on Christmas the monthly amount might be enough for you.

Everyone’s financial situation is different, put what you can away. You can actually use this idea for your safety net savings as well.

Do Penny Auction Sites Actually Save You Money?

This post does contain referral and affiliate links. Regardless I only post legitimate offers from trusted sites.

You’re watching tv and you see an ad pop up for one of those penny auctions sites. You know the ones where people are claiming they won laptops for $53 and big screen tvs for $75 or whatever the claim is. It might be easy to wonder if you really can win and save money on these sites. If you talk to the person that won, they’d probably tell you yes. If you talk to the other 80 people that bid on that Xbox One they’d probably tell you no. I get asked this question frequently.

Penny auctions sites have very similar set ups. Quibids, Orange Bidz, Deal Dash, all similar set up. Sometimes they will offer you some free bids to sign up. After that you start paying just to bid. You’ll buy a bid package. Looking at a site like Quibids, the cheapest package is $27 for 45 bids. So if you think about it in that aspect it costs you 60 cents every time you place a bid whether you win or lose. I also think the commercials only tell you part of the truth. Yes the lady in the commercial may have won the ipad for $50 but what they don’t tell you is how many bids it took her to get there, how many bids she bought, and how many others bid and didn’t win.

Pennies wikimedia — picture credit to wikimedia.com

If you don’t win you lose whatever bids you used. So yes, if you lose, you lost 60 cents per bid. If you look at one penny auction site, in their terms and conditions it gives you the average number of bidders depending on the cost of the item. Of course bigger ticket items like flat screen tv’s and ipads get more bidders. For items that cost $500-$1000 the average number of bidders is 88.8 for items over $1000, 186.3 bidders. Remember there’s only 1 winner for each auction. Depending on size of the auction the price will only go up 5 cents for each bid. So even if there price is only at $50, do that math, that’s 100 bids already. Depending on the site, when you get down to the last 30 seconds or so, every time someone bids the clock resets to 30 seconds again. It continues this way until there’s finally a winner. So you can imagine how many bids actually go into the auctions. I could only imagine that as the holidays approach the number of bidders increase.

You then pay the winning price. Let’s stick with the $50 for a laptop but you also spent the money on whatever amount of bids you used plus shipping. If you lost, you take a chance on another auction. Again you can only bid as many times as you bid package you purchased. Sure they allow you to buy more but you have to do the math. You could realistically bid on 10 different auctions not win and actually be out $100+ with nothing to show for it.

So in a nutshell, I say no, they’re not a good way to save money.

You want my opinion on how to get legitimate deals and be sure you’re going to walk away with something with your hard earned money? These are some of my favorite deal sites for finding deals on electronics and bigger ticket items:

Yugster
1SaleaDay
BradsDeals I highly recommend signing up for their emails to keep up on top of the deals
CouponCodeDay
Groupon (check out the electronics category in the left column or the “Goods” column from the tabs at the top)
LivingSocial (under the “shop” tab)
Amazon Gold Box Deals (hit or miss but worth it to check or get the email updates)

Also if you want to stay on top of the deals but don’t have time or resources to compare all the deals, using a site like Nifti helps. You set up a free account, add nifti to your toolbar, and add the items you want to your nifti account. Choose a price you’d like to pay and it will keep track of the price for you and notify you when/if it hits the the price you chose. This site helped me save a lot of money last Christmas. You can try it with some of these products below.

How Nifti works: search for the item you want. Use your Nifti tool bar bookmark to add it to your list, input the price you’re hoping to pay, Nifti does the rest of the work for you. Emails you when/if the item hits the price you want.