Monday, June 30, 2014

Kellogg's Rewards

If you haven't join Kellogg's Rewards, now is a great time.   As I have mentioned before I have gotten some great Shutterfly freebies just for being a member.  Here's a link to a bunch of current codes.

Use code HAPPYBDAYAMERICA to get 238 points

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Kohl's Cash - UPDATE

Our local Kohl's (Wooster) will no longer accept expired Kohl's cash, effective August 1. Be sure to use it by the exp. date.  I don't know if this is across the board at Kohl's or just our area, so if you tend to use expired Kohl's cash, you might want to verify with your store.

This is a corporate decision so all stores should be effective.  Use your Kohl's cash now.

A Few of My Favorite Northeast Ohio Discount Stores

I'm working on compiling a list of key thrift shopping stores in our area.



Local discount shopping
 

Everything Surplus store & Clothing Warehouse Wooster near K-Mart. Discounted food, clothes & household items.  The stores are beside each other.

Downunder Liquidator - Near OARDC  Discount household items

Friendtique - 223 W Liberty St Wooster.  Profits go toward the Hospice of Wayne County. They have clothing and furniture, household goods, etc. Often have estate type things for sale. 

Massillon Discount store – 1070 NE 1st StMassillon, near Lake & 21.  Discounted food & household items.

Ollie’s – Cleveland Rd N Canton, across from K-mart. Mansfield has a bigger store.  Discounted food & household items


Tuesday Mornings - Canton & Fairlawn - discount household, super clearance

Gabriel Brothers - Canton & Fairlawn - discount clothes & household


MCC Connections– located in Kidron, by Central Christian.  Very clean, like a Goodwill.  Typically nicer things.  I have found some fun Christian movies & books for the kids.  They have a color tag that is $ 0.25 each week.  It changes Friday morning.

Save & Serve - located in Millersburg.  like MCC


Goodwill – Orrville, WoosterMassillon, Canal Fulton, Jackson (near Jackson HS).   Get a free card to get 10% off $15 purchase, 20% in January.  Massillon, Jackson & Canal Fulton have 1 color tag that is $1.50 each week.  There a new outlet in Canton where Circuit City used to be.  You pay by the pound.  Bring gloves for digging through totes of stuff.

New Destinations - Wooster 5382 Cleveland Rd, Barberton. - Like Goodwill money goes toward Barberton Rescue Mission. I don't recommend the Barberton location. 


Nice as New - clothing consignment Cleveland Rd Wooster.  Near Greenleaf Restaurant.

New Orr Notclothing consignment High St Orrville

Elephant's Truck - kids consignment Cleveland Rd Wooster.  Near Greenleaf Restaurant.

Once Upon A Child, Plato's Closet, Clothes Mentor - Consignment stores for kids, teens, & adult.  Often located beside each other.  Thursday Plaza Canton


5 Below - Fairlawn & Belden area.  Everything $5 & under

Dollar Store, Dollar Tree - Canton, Wooster - everything $1

Deals - Akron, Canton , Massillon - discount store like 5 Below

Village Discount - Akron, Cuyahoga Falls - like a Goodwill only cheaper.  The Akron store recently added dressing rooms so you can try on clothes now.

Salvation Army store - Fairlawn & Canton - like a Goodwill.  Wednesdays are family day & most everything is 50% off.

Yoder Bargain Barn - 7802 Salt Creek Rd, Fredericksburg - discount store

Building 9 - 132 Walnut, Massillon; 
546 Medina Road, Medina (Fairlawn)- construction, home improvement discount store

Habit for Humanity Restore - at the old drive-i
6096 E Lincoln Way Wooster  Building supplies

P Graham Dunn - clearance sales usually in May, Aug, & Nov.  Always have outlet section at the back of the store.

Lehman's Outlet - Kidron.  Outlet store behind the main store

Zinck's Fabric Outlet - Rt. 62 outside of Berlin. cheap fabric, notions, clothing and misc. items



For Food:

Aldi - can't beat at other grocery stores their prices on fruits & veggies

Dutch Country – Market St across from FurnitureAnnex.  Buy bags of “ends” of theirrolls.  You don’t know which flavorsthey’ll have but you can get 2 bags of probably 20 ends for $5.  You can also get their apple & peachcrisp & apple dumplings greatly reduced.

Shearer’s – Discounted pretzels & chips at their factory in Brewster

Dairy Dock – Smith Dairy dock near the main fire station.  You can get ½ gallons & other various novelty items significantly less.  They might be slightly damaged.  I think they are open Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri now

Nickels Bakery Thrift Stores – 21 South of 30 & 807 Spruce Wooster. Nickels Thrift stores are a great place to get incredible deals on breads, buns, & dinner rolls.  You don’t always know what you will find, but often you can get a loaf of bread for $1.  In the Entertainment book there is a coupon for up to $5 off, so if you buy $10 worth of food, it will cost you $5.  They also have reward cards that you can get stamped & earn a free item.



Scratch & Dent stores – Kidron road between 250 & 241; Apple Creek – D&S 8828 Dover Rd, Grocery Discount Store , also on Rt 3 north of Hartzler's Dairy, Bent and Dent Rt. 62 about 2 miles south of The Amish Door complex outside of Wilmot.

Bulk Food – East Union (old 30), Shady View Pantry (Zuercher Rd Kidron), Country Hilltop Market 585 & Benner Rd– drastically reduced prices on deli meat & cheese, nuts, snacks, etc.
 


Fruit &  Veggie Stands - Octad on Carr Rd, just north of 30, Raber's on Kidron Rd south of 250.  good prices for fruits & veggies.  Raber's has pick your own flowers reasonable.


Let me know your favorites.

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Keeping Up With My Fabulous Deals

Want to keep up with my deals on blog

Add my blog to your favorites

Facebook - "Like" My Fabulous Deals on Facebook to add my posts to your newsfeed.

E-mail - enter your e-mail on my home page under "follow by e-mail"

Follow me on Google by click the G1 on the top right of my page for updates.

Favorite Websites for Deals & Online Shopping

As you look on my blog, you see a lot of links to different websites.  I use my blog as a way to get to my favorite sites easily.

Online Shopping Codes - I always check Coupon Cabin, Retail Me Not, and/or Brad's Deals before I shop online of current deals.  Another alternative is to search for the store name + “coupon” or “deals” i.e. kohls coupon


Facebook - sometimes if you "like" companies on facebook, you can get extra coupons.


Cashback Sites - I usually use ShopAtHome to shop on line to earn cashback.  I will check Ebates, but often Shop At Home is better.


Shopping - I obviously use Amazon & sometimes Ebay for shopping.  I also like 1 Sale A Day Flash sales.  I have gotten some beautiful jewelry with free shipping for great prices.


Restaurant/Travel Deals - We rarely go out to eat without a coupon.  I always Google the restaurant name, join their clubs, and/or check Facebook.  Groupon & Living Social are good places to find deals.  My favorite now is I Shop Stark (or Summit).  They have great 1/2 certificates & coupons for the area.  Sometimes they run better than 1/2 price deals.  I check it almost every day.


Daily Deals  - Include saleaday.com, gaggleofchicks.com, jasmere.com, etc.  These offer a different deal every day, mostly merchandise or gift certificates.  You can sometimes find some really good deals.


Disney Movie Program  -Even if you don’t buy Disney Movies, you can still join the club to earn free merchandise.  You can often find free codes to use.  I got a Cars watch without ever buying a single Disney movie.

Pampers Rewards - Here’s another reward program where you don’t have to buy Pampers items to earn free things, including Shutterfly gift certificates & magazines.  There are free codes at least 1-2 times a month.

Kellogg's - If you aren't currently signed up for Kellogg's Rewards, I'd encourage you to do it now.  I think I've gotten at least 2 free Shutterfly Books, 2 - $20 certificates to Shutterfly, & numerous free magnets.  I rarely buy Kellogg's products, but there are often free codes on blogs or Kellogg's Rewards Facebook page.

Coke Rewards - We don't think much pop at our house but you can find free codes on line.  You can also ask people to save their lids for you.  Occasionally they run promotions to get free things without any codes.

Inbox Dollars - earn money for filling out surveys

Bzz Agent - fill out surveys & get free products sent to you to try out.


Photos -

  • Snapfish – get 4x6 or 4x5.3 (doesn’t cut any of the picture off); only 1 coupon at a time; I like the quality of picture the best
  • Shutterfly – can do multiple coupons; gives an index sheet that can be used for other crafts, prints your title on the back, shipping is higher; lots of free 8x8 book codes – 20 pages, 7.99 shipping; often has free shipping with $30.
       Cyber Monday – I was totally amazed by all of the great deals available on-line the Monday after Thanksgiving.  I did the majority of my shopping that day.  I don’t like to battle the crowds on Black Friday.

Favorite Buy & Sell Websites


Facebook has groups that I have done really well with selling on.
Search – search for items you have listed or something you are looking for
PM – Private Message
Other Folder – When you message “non friends”
If “non friends” e-mail you, it will probably go to your “other” folder

You can also sell & buy things on Craigslist Akron.
  • By creating an account, you can renew your postings & delete once you sell.

Finally Ebay.  For bigger things you can also do local pick-up.  This is the only that you have to pay a commission on what you sell.

Just be smart with meeting people.  I tried to do it in public places.

To find garage sales - I check out the Daily Record on line  or Craigslist Akron has a garage sale listing.  People also list them on the Facebook groups.

Paypal – a way to send & receive payment

1. Include a Good Image

You need to have a clear image of the item you are selling. Potential buyers should be able to tell what it looks like, and see what condition it’s in. Blurry images, or no image at all, won’t be as effective. Since you are dealing with people who might not be able to see the item before they pay for it, accurate and clear representation is vital. If it’s allowed, multiple pictures, from different angles, should be used.

2. Be Specific

Clearly describe the item. Be specific about the dimensions. If you’re selling jewelry, you should be able to describe different features, such as the karat weight of the gold, or the clarity of the gemstone. When selling other items, you should be able to describe it as new, unopened, light wear, like new, or with some other designation. Pay attention to the specifics so that potential buyers can figure out if it really does fit their needs. Look at the descriptions of successful postings to get some ideas.

3. Price it Right

Before you post an item, make sure that you do some research. Find out what similar items in a similar condition are going for.  I check Craigslist & eBay before listing. Pay attention to pricing. Consider pairing related items together, and offering a discount. In some cases, you will be more successful selling a set, rather than splitting it up. You can also specify that you are willing to break up a set, if you want to remain more flexible. Consider being open to negotiation if you are really concerned about getting the item off your hands.

4. Repost After a Few Days

On many sites, the older listings get pushed to the bottom. After a few days, your listing will no longer be easy to access. Instead of waiting 14 days, or 30, for the listing to end, go ahead and post again after a few days. On an auction site, you can keep the length of the auction between four and seven days. Reposting can help you generate fresh interest in the item. Additionally, before you repost, think about why your item didn’t sell. Tweak your posting to see if you can sell your stuff with different wording, or better images — or a better price.

5. Respond Quickly

When you’re selling on eBay, potential buyers might ask questions — and you will need to respond quickly if you want a good rating, and to get a few more bids. When selling on local Classifieds sites, or selling on Craigslist, a fast response is vital as well, especially if you are “competing” against other sellers. Often, the first one to respond is the one who gets to sell the item. If you are slow, the buyer may purchase a similar item from someone else.
6. Safety
Be smart when you are meeting people you don’t know.  I always meet in a public place if my husband isn’t home.

7. Donate
Donate what you don’t need to want.  Our church collects clothing for harvest ministry/clothing giveaway.  Non-profits MCC Connections in Kidron or Goodwill can give you a tax form.
8. Garage Sale
Have a garage to sell your unwanted items.  I feel you can give more from selling online if you have time to meet people.  I try to sell my bigger tickets on line before my garage sale.




Favorite Phone Apps

 I know there are a lot of fun game apps, but I'd like to know some of your favorite apps that save you money, save you time, or make your life easier or better.

Some of mine are:

  • GasBuddy - save money on gas by finding the cheapest gas in the area
  • Kindle - read free books from Amazon
  • Holy Bible - lots of good reading plans and a ton of different versions of the Bible.  You can also select to listen to the Bible (You Version & Bible App for Kids
  • Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Joann's - coupons 
  • Yelp - good for finding restaurants or stores in the area
  • MapQuest - GPS
  • iTV - TV guide
  • iHeartRadio - I like to listen to the Dave Ramsey channel
  • Focus on the Family Daily - the daily broadcast.  Great to listen to while I exercise
  • Pandora - free radio
  • SleepMachine Lite - noise machine to help me block out noise & sleep
  • Netflix - watch my Netflix shows
  • Cardstore - stores my loyalty card numbers so I don't have to carry them around.
  • Shop Savvy - can scan barcodes to compare prices
  • Amazon Instant Video - watch Amazon shows with Prime
  • Echo - set up texts for prayer request reminders
Let me know your favorite apps.