How to Organize Coupons for Effectiveness

You’re standing in the grocery line checkout waiting for your turn.  You watch, amazed, as the woman in front of you hands several coupons to the cashier.  Almost as soon as the transaction begun, it’s over, the woman saying goodbye and walking away. Smiling and saying goodbye, the woman is quickly gone. As she walks away, you notice a large binder in her arms.  How did you miss her opening it to get at the coupons, you wonder.

You didn’t miss her opening it, you realize.  The binder she was using for her coupons was so well organized; she was in and out so quickly that it looked like it was never opened. When you get home, you look at your own coupons, strew across your dining room table.  Shifting through the pile, it seems like there is no way to organize them.  Even worse, if you can even organize them, how can you organize them so they’ll be effective to your next shopping trip?  Don’t give up; there are ways to organize your coupon stockpile.  Even better, organizing your coupons properly will cost you little to no money.  The following are two ways that you can use to organize your coupon stockpiles.

Envelopes: Envelopes? I can use envelopes to organize my coupons?  Yes, simple letter envelopes are the simplest coupon-organizing tool.  All you need to organize coupons in the envelope are the envelope itself, a pen or a pencil and coupons.  To make the envelope effective to your next shopping trip, you should record information on the envelope.  The best information to record on the envelope is the type of coupons inside and the expiration date.  So if you have grocery coupons that expire on January 1st, write that down on the envelope.  After January 1st, any coupons that are left can just be tossed out.

Binders: The binder is probably the most common item used to organize and hold coupons.  The extensive use of the binder to hold coupons is due to its size and holding capacity.  If you organize just right, a binder can be used to hold several hundred coupons from a variety of stores.  Here’s the thing, how do you organize the binder so it doesn’t just become a mish-mash of coupons?  Before putting the coupons in it, you should invest in some dividers.  Investing in dividers is the difference between a mish-mash of coupons and an organized, efficient coupon collection.  After you put the dividers in, there are several ways you can organize the coupons.  First, you can organize your coupons by stores.  So for example, if you shop at Wal-mart, Kohl’s and Target, you would have a section dedicated to coupons you use at each store. Another way is organizing the coupons by expiration date.  By organizing the coupons by expiration date, it is easier to keep track of what coupons have to be used first.  If you miss using them, then you can just pull them out and toss them.

Top 10 sites for sweepstakes

sweepstakes

Have you seen the Publisher’s Clearing House sweepstakes commercials but you’re unsure how to get started? Have you wanted to enter a sweepstake but you’re not sure how?  Well why not take a look at the sweepstakes sites listed below. They’ll help you find that Publisher’s Clearing House sweepstake you want to enter. Either that or you can find other sweepstakes you may be entering.

Contest Bee: Contest Bee is one of the top contest sites with some of the largest prizes listed. Contests are sorted by prizes you can win or by the type of contest you can enter.

Contest For Moms: Contest for moms is actually not just a contest site for moms. Though moms are in the name, there is actually a lot more offered than just sweepstakes geared toward moms. Though there are sweepstakes where a mom could use the prizes, there are also money sweepstakes for anyone.

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Top 10 sites to find deals on Air Fare

Summer’s coming soon and it’s already getting time to plan your family vacation. So far, you know you have a budget and you’re afraid that it may cost too much out of the budget to fly. Don’t be afraid, use the following sites to keep flying in your budget.

Get Going: The site Hotwire is used to book a room at a hotel in a destination you’re traveling to. You don’t know what hotel you’re going to get until the site books it for you. Getgoing is set up similar to Hotwire though it is used to pick flights instead of hotels.

Flight Fox: Flightfox is a site that allows people to compete to find you the best deal. Post your travel plans and real Flightfox users will compete to get you the best deal. When the best deal is found, you’ll pay $24 or more depending on the deal and the winning Flightfox user will take home 75%.

FlyinAway: Flyinaway is a new website which allows travelers to figure out their own travel pricing. However, one person is not just allowed to price a flight. FlyinAway is a competitive website for multiple people. This means that people can bid and compete on the same flight.

Hipmunk: Hipmunk is a new site that allows people to book flights or hotels to get rid of agony. The site also contains city guides for several well-known cities including London, England and Miami, Florida.

Geneo: Geneo is actually a mobile app, which was created by the creators of the program CheapOair. It is only available as the mobile app and is perfect for people who need to book flights and are constantly on the go.

Momondo: Momondo is a very colorful site, which searches across airfare sites. The site recommends airlines based on which is cheaper. This means that you could be on one airline for a flight out and a different flight back home.

Bing Travel: Bing Travel uses “tips,” tell you whether to buy the ticket or wait to buy. When using the site, you can filter by airline, specific airports, duration of trip and “flight quality.”

Google Flights: Google Flights is Google’s own flight searching program.  Google Flights works best on domestic flights throughout the United States of America.  International flights are not included in the search engine by Google.

Yapta: Have you spent money on a flight and found out the next day it was discounted? To find out that the flight is cheaper after you booked it must be disappointing. Yapta wants to get rid of this disappointment. If you use Yapta and you find out that the flight you booked is cheaper, then Yapta will get you the difference back.

Adioso: Adioso is built for travelers who have a very flexible itinerary.  If you want to go somewhere and are flexible then Adioso is for you. The site is very good for giving you outlined plans based on a flexible location and span of days.

When it’s time to plan your vacation, use the sites above. They’ll help keep flying in your vacation budget this summer.

5 Money Saving Apps for iPhone

In today’s economy, many people are finding that it is becoming harder to save money.  It seems like every time you turn, you have to spend money on something.  From your kids’ clothes to maintenance on your car, money seems to just be flying away from you.  It also doesn’t help that the cost of many day-to-day items seems to constantly be rising. From the price of gas to the price of food, everything just continues to increase. If you’re constantly on the go and have an iPhone, why not download the following apps to help you save some money.  The apps are sorted from helping you manage your budget, helping you earn rewards for the shopping you do and helping you save on gas.

Award Lite

Award Lite is an essential phone app if you have a lot of reward programs you participate in. It does the work for you of keeping track of your points. It also lets you know when it is time to redeem any of your points.

Mint.com

Mint.com is a free app, which does the work of categorizing your finances for you. It will automatically organize your spending into specific categories. Originally a website, Mint.com has been around since 2005.

Shopkick

Shopkick is a free shopping app for iPhones. Depending on where you shop, you can earn “kicks” or reward points. You can also earn “bonus kicks” if you scan specific items within participating stores. When you earn enough “kicks,” you can redeem them on reward points for retail or restaurant gift cards.

Ace Budget Lite

Ace Budget Lite is a 99-cent budget app designed for iPhones that will allow you to keep track of your budget on the go.  The app located here, divides the items you spend on into categories. The categories are Income, Groceries, Eating Out, Clothing, Movies, Transportation and Utilities.

Gas Budget

Gas Budget is an app, which allows you to find the cheapest price of gas locally.  This app is great for people who want to save money on gas as they’re on the go.  You can also earn points toward give-aways if you use the app to report the gas prices you found. Reporting the gas points you find, allows other people to also take advantage of the great gas savings.

The five apps listed above are great apps for saving money. They are also great for finding cheap gas, managing your budgets and earning rewards on your spending.  If you want to save and you have an iPhone then you should definitely look at downloading these apps.

10 tips to save when shopping online

So the Christmas season is now over and you’ve been given gift cards. To cut down on the stress of dealing with the after Holiday rush, you’ve decided to shop online. Before you shop online, there are 10 tips you need to know to help you save when you shop online.

Be ready to shop around

Just because you know what you want to buy, doesn’t mean you should buy it right away.  Before you buy, you should shop around.  Shopping around from Website to Website will allow you to compare prices and find the best one. For example, take the buying of a new TV. You look at Best Buy and it costs $500.00 to buy.  Then you look at Amazon and it costs $400.00.  If you didn’t shop around, you would never have found the better deal through Amazon.

Search online for coupon codes

If you go shopping and want to save money, you bring coupons with you that you can use. Why should Internet shopping be any different? Just like coupons for physical shopping, you can use coupons for online shopping.  Instead of printing out the coupons, you type the coupon information into the website where you want to save money.

Know whom you’re buying from

If you have kids, then you know how important Internet safety is for your children. Why should you act any differently on the Internet? If you preach about being safe on the Internet, then you should practice it to.  Make sure you know whom you’re buying from before you buy.

Write a list

Why not use a shopping list when you shop online.  A shopping list will help you keep track of exactly what you need to buy online. It will also help keep track of what you’ve bought.

Know your money limits

Before going to the store, people often check their bank accounts. Checking the bank accounts, allows people to know how much they have to actually spend. It will also allow you to prevent an accidental overdrawing of your accounts.

Remember shipping costs

Unlike physical shopping, shopping online will add costs. Remember to take the shipping costs into account before you buy something. Depending on the item, shipping costs can add anywhere from a few cents to a few dollars onto your shopping trip.

Read Product Review

Since you are shopping online, you will be unable to touch the products you want to buy. As a result, make good use of the product reviews. Product reviews will allow you to judge the condition of a product before you buy it.

Ask for help if you need it

If you are unsure of how to shop online, never be afraid to ask for help. Whether you ask for help from a family member or from the person who owns the site, don’t be afraid. Everyone needs help one time or another.

Never give out your social security number

Never give out your social security number if anyone asks you.  If you are shopping on a website and someone asks for your social security number, then it is not a legitimate site. A legitimate seller will never ask for or need your social security number to process your transaction.

Whenever you shop online, please remember these ten tips. Remembering these ten tips will allow you to save when you shop online. These tips will also keep you safe.

Top 10 One-Day (Flash) Deal Sites

That new dress you want in the store window is going to cost you $100.00. Between supporting your family and going back to school, can you afford that? If you deal site shop online, you can afford that dress.  Just go to the following sites and see how you can afford that dress.

Woot: Woot is a deal site for name brand goods that you can buy and use.  Some of the things Woot contains deals for include home goods.  One deal is offered everyday at 12 noon.

Kids.woot: Kids.woot is a sub website of Woot. Kids.woot is the place to look for if you are looking for deals on kid items like clothes and furniture. At the time of this writing, Kids woot was offering a deal on a Ciao! Baby Portable High Chair for $44.99.

That daily deal: That daily deal is a deal site where a new deal is offered everyday. Deals extend from a new tarp to new clothes. Deals from the previous seven days can be seen and ordered as long as they are not sold out.

Deals For Schools: Deals for schools is not a standard deal website. Like standard deal websites, there are deals offered from many big retailers. Unlike the standard websites, your favorite school can receive up to 30% cash from the deals you make.

1saleaday:1sale is a deal site, which offers five deals at midnight everyday. The deals on the site last until midnight the next day or until they are all bought out.

Steep and Cheap: Steep and cheap is a deal site, which offers one deal at 12-noon everyday. The deals are on items, which are used, in an active, outdoor lifestyle. Deals include outdoor watches and hiking boots.

ThingFling: ThingFling is a great and easy deal site to use. A new deal is offered at 12:00 noon everyday. Move quickly though if you want to buy something because the deals are so great that they go fast.

Yugster: Yugster is a great deal site to use. Just read the reviews on the website under each deal. It is very easy and clear to navigate. One deal is made at 6:00 am everyday.

Daily Steals: Daily steals is a deal site, which offers up one deal at 12-noon everyday. The site is very easy to navigate. There is a bar that shows the daily deal and past daily deals. Clicking on the picture of the deal expands a break down of the item and the exact deal.

Price Plunge: Price Plunge is a deal site, which offers one deal at midnight every night. The site is easy to navigate and buy from. There is one deal offered a day and there is a sidebar where you can comparison-shop the item that is being offered as the deal.

If you go to the above deal sites and shop you can afford anything you want. Don’t worry about dropping unneeded money; deal shopping will actually save you money.

Top 10 Groupon Like Sites

Your kids are bored and you’re looking for something that you can do with them. You’ve already seen the latest Disney movie and you really don’t want to go again.  Everything is also so expensive and you’re on a tight budget. So what can you do? Why not look for deals online, there are many sites that you can use to have fun with your kids but still save money.

Living Social: Livingsocial is the second largest deal site after Groupon.  Like Groupon, Livingsocial allows you to search for deals locally.  You can search for deals on items like hotel stays and restaurant meals.

Sweet Jack: Sweet Jack is a deal site started between the radio stations Clear Channel and Cumulus. As a result of this, the deals are very wide reaching.

Amazon Local: Like Groupon and Livingsocial, Amazon local allows you to search for deals locally. Unlike Groupon and Livingsocial, Amazon runs Amazon local. As a result, you can also find deals on items being sold through Amazon. At the time of this writing, a coupon was being offered for half off select Kindle Accessories.

Plum District: Plum District is the leading deal site for family deals. You can find a lot of good deals for entertainment you can do with the whole family.  Deals include entertainment you can do with the family like eating out at restaurants.

Fam Grab: Fam Grab is a deal site that specializes in family deals. The site is joined with Plum District so many of the deals that can be found on Plum District can be found here.

CBS Local: CBS Local is a deal site run by CBS. The deals are joined with CBS properties in the participating cities.  Deals can be found both locally and nationally since the site is run by CBS and is joined with CBS properties.

Gilt City: Gilt City is a deal site, which focuses on deals to upscale establishments. Participating cities include San Francisco and Washington D.C. Some deals include savings on massages and upscale dining establishments.

Scoutmob: Originally started as a mobile app, Scoutmob expanded to offering local deals.  It has now expanded to offering deals at the national level. Deals that are offered include items such as jewelry, and clothes.

Woot: Unlike the other deal sites listed, Woot is not a deal site for entertainment or restaurants. It is a deal site for name brand goods that you can buy and use.  Some of the things Woot contains deals for include home goods like vacuums and kids toys.

TravelZoo: Travel zoo is a deal site for travelers. If you want to save on anything from flights to entertainment while you are on vacation or business then Travel zoo is the deal site for you.

The sites listed above are ten Groupon like deal sites that you can use to save money and still have fun with your kids.

Top 10 Deal Sites for Online Shopping

After the holiday season has ended, it is time to save your money for anything big that could happen. If you need to buy anything and are looking to save, read on for information about the top 10 deal sites.  Each section also contains a hyperlink so feel free to explore each site on your own.

Slickdeals: Slickdeals is a deal site, which allows you to buy anything from apple products to kids items. It points you to the best deals from websites or stores. One such current deal is for FlingSmash with Wii Remote Plus for $15.00.

Dealigg: Dealigg is another deal site, which points you to deals on many things.  Some of the items you can buy include home products. One such current deal it points you to is on 13 Gallon, Glad Odor shield Tall Kitchen Drawstring Trash Bags. According to Dealigg, you can save 25% off of these trash bags if you buy them through Amazon.com.

Dealnews.com: Dealnews is not just a deal website. It is also a news website containing articles on how to find deals.

Retail me not: Retailmenot contains coupon codes. However, the coupon codes contained are not for basic grocery store purchases. Instead the coupon codes are for popular stores like Advance Auto Parts and Home Depot.

Pricegrabber: Pricegrabber is a deal website where you can find deals on everything from clothing to cameras. There is a weekly newsletter that you can have emailed to you so that you can keep up on the deals. There is also a mobile app that will let you stay on top of them as you are on the go.  Even better is the fact that you know you can trust it since well-known sites like The Wall Street Journal have sponsored it.

Google: As search engines go, Google is one of the best if not the best. So why shouldn’t it be used to find good deals. In my writing, I used Google to find all of these sites I wrote about.

Beatmyprice.com: Beatmyprice was created by the team who made Retail Me Not and Bug Me Not. Beatmyprice is a search engine that will allow you to figure out whether you’re finding the best price or not.

AllYourPrices: Allyourprices is a comparison-shopping website.  It allows you to see a range of prices and the stores or websites that offer those prices.  Comparison on front pass shopping comparison

Half.com: Half.com is a website that is run by ebay. As a result, you can use pay pal to purchase anything that you want. When you buy something on the site, you spend half of what it would cost in the store.

If you are looking for great deals on items you need to buy, then look no further than the websites listed above. Each website was picked for this article based on how easy it was to navigate them and how great the deals were.

You Get What You Pay For With Cheap Mortgages – Buyer Beware

Far too many home owners are being tempted by the idea of getting a cheap mortgage. First time buyers are especially vulnerable, because they are so eager to get a house by giving as little a deposit as possible. However, experts have warned these people that many of the cheap mortgages they are signing up for are not what they seem to be. These so called discount mortgages will actually lead people to pay back a lot more than they expect. Here is an overview of some pitfalls that are generally associated with these cheap mortgages.

Discounted Variable Mortgages

The cheap mortgages being dangled out by banks and building societies are known as discounted variable mortgages. These mortgages have an interest rate that is far lower than the standard variable rate the lender would normally charge. However, these companies have the ability to change the standard variable rate on the mortgage at any time they want. This means that they may offer a young couple a mortgage at 5% interest rate, only to raise that amount to 10% or 15% whenever they want.

For example, the 5,000 or so borrowers who have taken out a mortgage through ING Direct will see the interest rate on their mortgage go up from 3.5% to 4%. This increase would result in the average monthly payment change from 750 pounds to roughly 400 pounds. This is an increase of about 50 pounds a month, and that is just the start.

Dangers

The number of people who sign up for these mortgages is in the millions, with companies such as Halifax, Yorkshire Bank, Bank of Ireland, and Co-Op offering discounted variable mortgages. Each of these companies has been slowly increasing the rates on the borrowed amounts, and will continue to do so for years to come.

Nationwide, an institution that often lends at discounted variable rates, used to have a SVR that was at 2.5%. This figure was costing the bank up to 750 million in a year. As a result, they made a decision to raise their SVR to 4%, which was far more than the current Bank Rate in the UK. In the past, lenders would always have a correlation between their SVR and the current bank rate. However, the crisis with the Eurozone, and other European economic troubles, have lead to them changing their minds.

Increase in Discount Borrowers

While institutions continue to offer these discounted mortgages, the number of people signing up for them has been steadily increasing. In 2009 there were only 3% of borrowers who were taking on this type of mortgage. By 2012 that number had risen to 8%,and will only continue to rise. Borrowers are tempted by the low initial offer, and do not spend much time thinking about what future increases could mean.

If you are serious about buying a home for the long term, it is much better to get a reputable deal. Getting a temporary discount, only to see that amount rise as much as the lender sees fit, is not a good idea. It will throw of your budget in future years, and could lead to you having to default on your mortgage.