The Mom Entrepreneur: smart shopping

I continue to cut coupons and look for sales at five different stores every week. It is amazing the discounts you can find if you look for sales, save coupons and then match coupons to sales items at different stores. This process for me has become a game. I enjoy seeing how much money I can save every week.

I wrote a post last week about using ebates.com for additional savings when purchasing online. I also listed a number of online coupon and freebie sites that I recommend.

This past weekend, I found an article at abcnews.com entitled "Coupon Parties Big on Fun and Savings". This has become a very big business. I tried to find someone who offers these parties in New Hampshire, but no luck yet. The article also had some great tips on layering savings and other tips.

After reading that article, you should also subscribe to the Never Pay Retail Again blog. Jodi runs this blog and she really knows her stuff. A few days ago, she gave a great explanation about how to shop CVS by using coupon layering and getting Extra Care Bucks back in order to get tons of items for free.

I will be giving more tips about the art of saving and using coupons over the next several weeks as I continue to experiment and learn about the process from many different experts.

I would love to hear your tips and resources for finding bargains and saving lots of money on retail goods.

Happy savings!

I wanted to share with you a great site I have been using to purchase gift certificates for local restaurants. Occasionally you can purchase $25 gift certificates from Restaurant.com for only $3.00 each. I have done this three times now and find the savings are great especially in this economy when you still would like to go out and eat every now and then.

Today, I found an even better way to buy gift certificates at Restaurant.com. I signed up at Ebates.com, then purchased my gift certificates at Restaurant.com through Ebates.com and earned 15% back on my purchase. That makes the certificates about $2.55 each. Great deal! In addition, I received a $5 sign up bonus at Ebates.com.

The $3 for every $25 Restaurant.com gift certificate promo ends March 31st. Use code SAVE at checkout to get your discount.

So here is what you do to save:

Go to ebates.com using this link…> (sign up for free today - it only takes 15 seconds and you'll also get a $5 sign up bonus (I'll get one too!))
Search for Restaurant.com in their list of stores
When on the Restaurant.com site, enter your zip code to see what restaurants are in your area
Purchase the $25 gift certificates you want (pay attention to any special restrictions)
Enter code SAVE at check out
Print out your gift certificates
Pass along your Ebates.com savings idea to your network

If you have additional savings ideas, please share. I went to the grocery store today and saved $40 using coupon layering techniques that I have been learning. I was psyched.

For more savings ideas, I suggest subscribing to the following blogs: http://neverpayretailagain.blogspot.com/, www.consumerqueen.com, www.coupondivas.com/, http://www.shop4freebies.com (this one is great for freebies and samples – I have gotten dozens of great items in the past few weeks), and I recommend www.thecouponizer.com for storing all of you wonderful coupons!

Happy savings!