Shopping Tips for the Bride on a budget!

.....and everyone else too!! I often share about ways I save for the actual wedding, but decided to do a post on saving money otherwise! The fiance and I are on a tight budget- well, I've always been on a tight one with my meager teacher salary, but we especially are now with moving into a few home, extra wedding expenses, etc. So I'm doing whatever I can, to save wherever I can! Most of the time we eat dinner together. I hate cooking for one!! Although, lately I don't have a lot of time to cook, but we're trying to eat healthy! Too bad unhealthy food is so cheap!!

Here are some things I do to save!

#1 It PAYS to complain! 
   Recently, I've had bad experiences with a few products- a broccoli potato dish with no broccoli, crackers that tasted like a hardware store smells (wood and varnish! ew!), Oreo granola bars, so bad that I couldn't even finish the tiny thing...etc.
   I got online, shot off emails to all of the offending companies, and they were GREAT! They all sent back replies within a day or two saying that they would make it right! They all sent me coupons for FREE products! :o) Gotta love free! And it took me all of about 15 minutes to write the emails!
   Also, if something is wrong at a restaurant, your bill is marked incorrectly, your food isn't cooked right, TELL them!! As long as you tell them nicely, you'll either get it fixed or get something taken off the bill, etc! Once our bill was too much at Olive Garden and my grams had paid and didn't realize it until later. They mailed her TWO gift cards for $25!! Two because the first took so long to mail that she complained about that too! She, my mom, and I usually eat soup and salad at OG, so we ate like 3 times for free!! 
   Sometimes you might get nothing, but hey- it's worth a shot!

#2 It pays to compliment!
  There are several products that we've been eating a lot of lately, yet I can't seem to find any coupons or deals on them! I've only done this twice, but I again went to the website and complimented the products, asked where I could find coupons, and was sent coupons free products!! :o)



#3 Get the Sunday paper on Monday!
  The Sunday paper is very valuable for coupons! There are usually two fliers in each paper, but I often find that they "accidentally" put extra copies sometimes! Like this past Sunday, I had two of the same coupon sections and also two of several store fliers! Whoops! Yay for me! 
  I don't subscribe to our local paper, but I do usually pick the Sunday paper up in the store. To really get a good deal, you can buy it on Monday for just $1 at stores like Kroger! They keep the extra copies around until they sell out! Just don't wait too long into the week or they will be gone!



#4 Don't throw away all the ads you get in the mail!
   I used to immediately throw away all the ads until I discovered that sometimes there was the same coupon section as in the Sunday paper! Bonus copies if you get the paper! They aren't always there though, so you still might want the paper! You can also email the major coupon companies like SmartSource and Red Plumto get them at your house and visit their sites to print online coupons.

#5Join coupon websites like Couponmom.com and The Grocery Game
   Both are sites that match up coupons with sales at stores to get you the best bang for your buck. Coupon Mom is free and The Grocery Game is a paid for site, but it really is the better one! I've tried both and prefer The Grocery Game! The cost depends on how many stores you want lists for! I've already saved a LOT and stocked up on a lot of free deals! They even match up rebates at different stores, where sometimes by using a rebate and a coupon, I actually get paid to buy an item like a toothbrush or toothpaste! :o) It's a great way to stock up on essentials (can goods, toiletries, non-perishables, etc.). It was a little confusing at first, but I think I've got the hang of it and am saving a LOT!! :o)
   If you want to sign up, do it under me please! You earn free weeks with friend referrals! :o) Just let me know and I'll give you my email address to sign up under! It's my junk email address so you might not know it!

#6 Get frequent shopper cards at stores you visit often!
  Yes, all those little cards hanging off of your key chain can get annoying, but it really does help save you money! Kroger and CVS have some of the best deals! Kroger often takes $ off the end of your bill for buying a certain amount of products from a certain brand, and CVS prints out register rewards based on things you buy frequently and that's how they give you rebates too! So you can turn right around and buy something else!

#7 Shop the clearance aisle/end caps in stores!
  This is one of my favorite things to do in places like Target and Kohl's! I've found lots of great deals on things I need and lots of great deals on things I don't really need! Hehe!!

#8 Let's hear your tips.................