Savvy Shopper Tip-Feed them for FREE!

With 16 month old twins who can now polish off an entire kid's meal each and a 3 yr old who doesn't like his brothers to touch his plate, going out to eat can be a HUGE budget breaker. By the time we order 5 meals, drinks, and add in a tip we could have easily gotten nearly an entire week's groceries.

So does that mean we stay home? ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Thanks to excellent resources like KidsMealDeals.com we can go out to eat without breaking the bank. With a few simple clicks at kidsmealdeals.com, I can find out which restaurants in our area are offering "Kids Eat Free"* meals every night of the week! I typed my zip code into the search box at the top of the page, chose a 30 mile radius (if you are from this area you know that it is not uncommon to have to drive a little bit to get ANYWHERE!) to get the most results, and hit "Search". Within seconds, I had 26 detailed results of restaurants that were offering free food for my kiddos TODAY! I think I know what we are having for dinner...

*Offers vary by restaurant. Many have age limits and purchase requirements. KMD.com recommends calling ahead to verify the offer.

Savvy Shopper Tip-Start Slow

Start slow! Saving money by shopping sales, stockpiling, and couponing can seem VERY overwhelming at first. Seeing some of the deal scenarios and abbreviations may make your head spin. (I know it did for me!) If you start by creating mini-goals for yourself, saving money can become second nature. Take it one step at a time until you are comfortable with a certain savings method and then add in another one.

My first step was to STOP paying for Health & Beauty items. I made a list of the products we use on a regular basis and noted any brands that do not work for us. Then, I checked out the ads and started picking up the freebies in larger quantities than I would normally buy. This way we have the items we need without having to run to the store at the last minute AND without spending big $$ on them. My current stockpile (which took me about 5 total trips to complete) has been going strong since MARCH 09!

That was my first step. Others have suggested reducing their grocery bill by as little as 10-20% or simply finding additional savings on their favorite brands. What will your first step be?

Surveyhead

Does anyone really care what you think? Yes! Companies want to know and are willing to pay you for your feedback. Surveyhead is one great company that charges no fees to join and is proven to pay out! Plus, get an extra $5 just for registering with them! Payout is at $25 and you can chose to receive Paypal or any number of other reward options. They always seem to have many survey options to choose from and I have completed surveys paying up to $5 for just minutes of my time.



Note: Some of the actual survey companys do take quite awhile to validate the data so this is not a "quickie cash" option.

Savvy Shopper Tip-Manage Your Mail

Create an alternate email address to be used specifically for bargain shopping. You can use this address to sign up for coupons, earn rewards points, and register for extra saving with your favorite brands without flooding your personal email inbox. Keeping these emails separate also allows you to take time to deal with them on YOUR schedule and can help you maximize your savings!

My Points

One of my favorite ways to earn money is by using reward sites or cards to make my searching or shopping do double-duty. MyPoints is an excellent reward site that features THOUSANDS of retailers and opportunities to earn points which can be redeemed for a wide variety of gift cards or other rewards. I highly recommend creating an alternate email address to use MyPoints effectively because they send out many emails daily that give you chances to earn points just by reading. You may feel a bit overwhelmed if they are flooding your regular inbox daily.

Swagbucks

Swagbucks is probably my absolute FAVORITE way to earn extra cash by doing absolutely nothing that I wouldn't be doing anyway. Rack up the bucks by simply searching the web as you normally would and trade them in for awesome gift cards, prizes, paypal, and MORE!

Currently, I have the Swagbucks Toolbar installed and use it to perform all my searches. But some members are taking advantage of the Facebook, Twitter, and Swagbucks Blog to really maximize their experience.

Best part? I can actually have my Swagbucks account linked to my real email addy and only see a newsletter from them (containing a swagcode!) once a month or less! No Spam!

What are you waiting for? Start Swagging!