Bottled Water

Someone once told me Evian spelled backward is "Naive."  Bottled water is a ripoff.  I cringe whenever I find myself at the ballpark, or the zoo with a thirsty kid.  Society has made "tap water" taboo.  So then, I get to fork over $3 for a 16 ounce bottle of water that I could by as part of a 30 pack for $0.20, or fill up at home for less than a penny.

Bottled water bottles aren't great for the environment.  In some instances, they've come a long way with making the bottles with less plastic (better for environment, less expensive to produce, did you notice the price didn't go down?

Spend $13 to $30 HERE for one of those pitchers with the charcoal filter.  Spend $1 for a 32 ounce Gatorade.  Drink the Gatorade and meet your new water bottle.  If tap water bothers you, or if the water in your area tasted funny, fill the Gatorade bottle with the filtered water from the pitcher.  If you want a cool water bottle, go HERE and order one.  I'm not a fan of Bubba Keg. 

Why all the hassle?   Allow me to explain.  Let's say the typical family of four buys the $5 30 pack of 16 ounce bottles each month.  That's $60 per year for roughly $0.50 worth of water.

You just saved $60 per year.


Sincerely,

The Frugal Maestro

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Another Awesome Website - Retailmenot.com

I've learned of another great website.  Whenever you buy items online, you should look for the "promotional code" box or "coupon code" box.  This is a box were you enter a special code.  Maybe the code was sent to you in an email, or a catalog, or in the mail.  You enter this code in the little box and you receive a discount.

What happens if you don't have the code?  Should you be punished for not having it?  I think not.

What if there were a website that has the codes?  What if this website received user feedback on whether the code worked for them?  Such a site exists.  http://www.retailmenot.com/.

1) Go to the SITE and enter the company name that you're looking for.

2) Click "Search"

3) Jot down the code.

4) Go to the site from which you're ordering, and try entering the code in the promotional code box.  Complete your purchase.

Did it work?  If so, go back to the SITE and give feedback.

I've used this on sites like Kohl's, Amazon, and Active.com.  It always pays to at least check.  Sometimes it's $5 off your order, other times it's free shipping.  It depends on the company and the offer at the time.  Enjoy!

Sincerely,

The Frugal Maestro

Disclaimer

A Cool Free Money-Saving Phone App Called Shop Savvy

There's this awesome Smartphone App called ShopSavvy.  It's available for Iphone, Windows, or Android.  And it's free!

Here's how it works.  1) Using your cell phone camera, you scan the barcode on something that you want to buy.  If you don't have the product to scan, you can type in. 

This app then tells you how much it costs both online, and at several nearby locations, based on the location of your phone.  Since prices fluctuate from store to store, you're able to locate the best deal.

You can do this two ways.  First, you can scan your items at home and make a list by lowest price for each store, or, if you're already at the store and contemplating a purchase, you can scan it to see if you're getting the best deal.  Then, you have an equation on your hands: I save X dollars if I drive Y miles, and it will take Z time.  Maybe for one product, it wouldn't make sense, but if you have half of a grocery list that's cheaper at the other store, then it might make sense.

This app also contains consumer reviews of the products you're scanning, so you can see if they're even worth the hassle.

I've used this app for everything from DVD's to car wax to coffee to frozen vegetables.  I believe that one could pay for the extra cost of having a Smartphone with this one app.

If you're interested in this app, but don't have a smart phone, THIS is a good place to compare prices.

Sincerely,

Frugal Maestro

Disclaimer

Christmas Trees - Go Artificial

There are Real Christmas Tree people, and Artificial Christmas Tree people.  It all depends on how you were raised, who in the marriage has the stronger opinion, etc.

Every year, people make a tradition out of cutting down a tree in the snowy woods, or haggling with some Christmas Tree dealer in a lot somewhere.  Prices vary by region, but larger trees generally cost $60 to $80, and smaller trees generally cost $35 to $50.  The tree lasts a few weeks, and the needles fall out, and you throw it out.  The following year, you spend $60 to $80 again, and repeat until you die.

I grew up with the almighty artificial tree.  I bought my tree on 12/26/1996 at Kmart for $50 (half-off Christmas decorations).  You can spend in upwards of $600 for a beautiful artificial tree.  I checked the websites for Kmart, Walmart, Lowes, and Home Depot.  All have nice artificial trees ranging from $50 to $200.  Amazon has trees ranging from $30 to ... (plus shipping).

That's a one time expense.  Heck, my Grandfather, in his later years, stored his decorated tree away in a closet.

It's a question of sentimentality versus cost.  You can save $80 a year after that one initial investment.  Check Kmart or Walmart or Lowes or Home Depot on December 26th.  Maybe Amazon will have some deals too.

That's a savings of up to $80 a year.

Sincerely,

The Frugal Maestro

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