Hidden Auction Blog

Hey! My kids eat for free when we go out to eat.. do yours?!

Just like timing my grocery shopping– and stocking up on deals when I spot them, the same goes for going out for dinner.  By selecting the right restaurant on the right night, you can save BIG.

Here’s a couple sites that can help you find restaurants local to you that have a “kids eat free” night: (and, as always, you will want to verify that the “kids eat free” promo is available both the night you’re going and the time you’re going, as well.  Additionally, it may make better financial sense to use a coupon– like buy one adult entree, get one free– in lieu of the kids eat free offer–do the math and make sure it makes sense!)

Notice, that I’ve included MULTIPLE sites.. why, you might ask? Because no one site is comprehensive or even covers every area.  If there’s a great site that I’ve neglected to include, please let me know either by leaving a comment or by emailing me directly at jodi@hiddenauction.com.

Here are the sites:

My Kids Eat Free
Kids Eat Free
Coupon Divas
Kids Meal Deals
Kiddie Menu

Happy going out to dinner (with the kids in tow!)

Rachel here with some good news for HiddenAuction.com. Last week I went in and cleaned up all the code for Women and Children’s Clothing, had a little debugging done so now the search box works properly, and made the home page much more user friendly.

Did you know that many of the women’s brands have lots of misspelled auctions? I found a really cute Anthropologie top for $.99. I got distracted and forgot to snipe it so someone else got it instead and the closing bid was still $.99. Argh!

If you didn’t quite get the swanky threads you were looking for in your Christmas present this year, this is the way to pick up some really nice clothes for cheap. And really, isn’t it time you quit spending your clothing budget on the kids and picked something fun up for you? Take a look through the list and see if anything jumps out at you (I put a few kids’ brands in just because, you know, I’m nice that way):

Go see what you like and post your wonderful finds on our Facebook page or on our Twitter page (I feel so connected now!).

So have you guys been enjoying Jodi’s posts? She’s pretty wonderful, isn’t she? Next time I shop, I want to go with her.

Go check out the new and very improved home page, join our blog network on Facebook, and keep up with new developments on Twitter (and I’ve got a pretty neat new development that will hopefully be up next week).

Happy shopping!

Rachel

Starbucks– way back when I wasn’t a frugalista– used to get WAY too much of my money.  Don’t get me wrong, I love me some caffeine– and especially the yumminess that is a Frappuccino… but I *so* don’t love the price for what is essentially just coffee and ice– plus, if you save the $4 per DAY what a frappuccino costs– that’s over $1500 a YEAR just for that one little luxury.

Yup, $1500 a YEAR. Ouch.

But since I’m all about being fabulous and *not* just frugal– mama still wants a frappuccino, so what to do? Make your own, of course!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 tbs sugar (or use equivalent in sweetener)
1/3 cup strong coffee
1 cup ice

Directions:

Combine all ingredients, except ice– in blender, whirl until sugar is dissolved– add ice and blend until smooth.  If the consistency is too smooth, add some more ice.

Recipe adapted from here:
http://www.recipezaar.com/Mocha-Frappuccino-113022

That’s it!

If you’re feeling fancy, you can add Cool Whip– or a dollop of chocolate syrup for a mocha frappuccino– or caramel syrup for a caramel frappuccino.

Not only is this yummy as all get out— you can also control the fat content, the sugar content– and your bank account will thank you, too!

Happy caffeinating!

Thanks, Amanda, for reminding me about this– hope your hubby likes it!

What’s for dinner? Check what’s in your pantry and fridge and check here…CookingByNumbers

This website is brilliant! You input what you have on hand and it gives you suggestions and recipes– dinner made easy!

Thanks, Michelle, for forwarding this!

Can’t afford a babysitter and you haven’t gone on a date with your husband since, well, since your wedding? Well, here’s a way that you can go out and still have the cash to pay for your date.. a babysitting co-op.

Babysitting co-ops can be just as simple as trading off with another couple– one weekend you watch their kids and the next they watch yours.  You can have their kids come over to your house until the parents come to pick them up or one of you can go to their house and babysit the old fashioned way. 

You can also have a more formal arrangement with more couples– where you ‘earn’ credits by babysitting and ’spend’ them by going out.  And, babysitting co-ops need not be only for date nights– they can also provide coverage during the day when you have an appointment that would be oh-so-much easier to attend without a little one in tow. 

And, the best part of a co-op is that rather than a distracted teenager who is (half, if at all) watching your kids you instead have experienced parents supervising.  And, if your kids are friends it can be like a playdate that you’re getting ‘paid’ for hosting. 

How to find other parents:

If you’re new to the area or don’t have a lot of friends who have children yet, consider asking around at your child’s school or joining a local mom’s group (which might already have a babysitting co-op ALREADY set up!)

Once you’ve located other parents to participate you need to set up a way of tracking the time earned and spent.  Consider designating a treasurer to track the time or some co-ops use poker chips or monopoly money that they ‘pay’ other members with– if you’re low on chips, it’s time to start babysitting!

Consider how to schedule– a weekly email? a shared online calendar?

All members should have contact information–including emergency contact information– of all other members and just like with any other babysitters, parents are responsible for informing members of any allergies or issues.

Any other rules/items that I’ve missed? Please leave a comment below!

Happy babysitting co-oping!

After my last post about saving money at the grocery store using Wine Tags, I got a TON of questions about them.  I have mentioned them before, in this post:

http://neverpayretailagain.blogspot.com/2008/09/how-to-save-money-on-meat-dairy-produce.html

I figured that now was a good time to revisit them as people are making their New Year’s resolution to spend less.

Wine Tags (WTs) are a great way to save money on ‘real’ food on items that almost NEVER have a coupon such as produce, meat, even ice and firelogs.  If you can combine a WT with a sale price, you can  *really* save BIG– also whenever possible, use them on SMALLER packages of meat, cheese, whatever the wine tag is for to really amp up your savings as a $2 off coupon is a much better deal when you used it on a $3 purchase than when you use that save $2 off coupon on a $30 purchase.  If necessary (when it comes to meat), ask the butcher to repackage the item into smaller portions– or, when it comes to produce or anything else, buy multiple and smaller packages rather than one LARGE package.

Okay, enough blathering– here are the nitty gritty details.  Wine Tags are found hanging from the necks of wine bottles– they aren’t available in all states (check below if your state has them available) and they are often good with No Wine Purchase Required (NWPR.)  Now, I have asked the store management in my local stores if it is okay to take them if I’m not buying the wine and they’ve all said “yes”.  To be fair, I never take a lot at once– and I never, EVER take the very last one.  They are regularly replenished by wine reps and, in fact, I’ve seen wine reps in the aisle and more than once I’ve been handed a stack of them by a wine rep (:happydance:)

Wine Tags can be either dollars off or mail in rebates (MIR.)  And just to clarify, even if your state doesn’t have wine tags in stores, you can STILL use them in those states unless the wine tag itself specifically excludes your state.

Here’s the list of states and stores where you can find wine tags:

List updated on 7/5/08

Alabama - YES
Alaska - NO
Arizona - YES -
Arkansas - NO
California - YES - (Central) Safeway, Albertson’s, Ralphs; SaveMart;
(San Jose) Albertson’s, but all WPN; (Gilroy) Albertson’s, Safeway,
both WPN and NWPN; (Southern - Torrance, Marina Del Rey and Pacific
Palisades) Vons (Safeway), Albertsons, and Ralphs, both WPN & NWPN
Colorado - NO
Connecticut - NO
Delaware
Florida - YES - Albertson’s, Publix, Winn Dixie
Georgia - NO - (has MIR WTs) Someone found a random one once, but never again.
Hawaii - YES - rare
Idaho - YES - Albertson’s
Illinois - YES - (Chicago) Jewel, Cub Foods & Dominicks (few);
(Central) - YES -Cubs, Jewel-Osco, Krogers, Shop N Save, Schnucks,
Walmart (few), Meijer, Target(even non super), Hyvee.
Indiana - YES
Iowa - YES
Kansas - NO - (Kansas City) maybe random ones from the other side of the river
Kentucky - NO
Louisiana - YES
Maine - YES - Hannaford, Shaws (Augusta); rare
Maryland - NO
Massachusetts - YES - rare, more MIR; no instant coupons on beer/wine by law
Michigan - YES - All stores including Kroger, Rite Aid
Minnesota - NO
Mississippi
Missouri - YES - must be NWPN by law - HyVee, Super WalMart, Price Chopper (Kansas City), Dillions (Springfield), Schnucks
Montana - YES - also MIRs for beer on 12- & 24-packs
Nebraska - YES - No Frills and Bag ‘n’ Save; NWPN ones tend to be MIRs
Nevada - YES-Albertson’s
New Hampshire - YES - Price Chopper, Shaws, Market Basket, Hannafords - MIR, WPN & NWPN
New Jersey - NO
New Mexico - YES - both WPN & NWPN; (Albuquerque) Smiths
New York - NO
North Carolina - YES - Harris Teeter, BiLo, Lowes Food, Food Lion, Kroger, Piggly Wiggly, BJ’s
North Dakota - YES - very, very rare; (Bismarck) maybe once a year at Cashwise
Ohio - YES - Giant Eagle (rare-ish), Meijer, Tops, Kroger (hit or miss), Acme
Oklahoma - NO
Oregon - YES
Pennsylvania - NO
Rhode Island - NO - rare MIR for groceries & wine
South Carolina - YES - WPN & NWPN, more in heavily populated areas;
Bi-Lo, Winn Dixie, Ingles, Publix, Food Lion, Harris Teeter and Piggly
Wiggly
South Dakota - YES - Safeway, Albertson’s; some instant, some MIR
Tennessee- NO - have state liquor stores; do find tearpads (NWPN)/MIRs (WPN)
Texas - YES - Kroger, HEB, Randall’s, Albertson’s
Utah - NO
Vermont - YES - Shaw’s (Middlebury) had both WPN & NWPN
Virginia - YES (mostly MIR) - rare; MIRs everywhere around Hampton Roads! Kroger, Farm Fresh
Washington - YES
West Virginia - YES
Wisconsin - YES - rare
Wyoming - YES - rare; can have both NWPN and WPN per state law

Many thanks to Larissa, Super Moderator at www.hotcouponworld.com, as she’s the one who pulled this list together.

Find her original post here: http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/winetags/62-states-have-winetags-store-listings-too.html

Happy Shopping!

. 

Myth #1: Buy generic, it’s cheaper.

Yes, the price on the sticker is generally cheaper for the generic and yes, many generics are made by brand name manufacturers.  BUT, here’s the trick.. you can get the BRAND name cheaper if and when you stack a sale price, on top of a coupon (or, even better, stacking BOTH a store and a manufacturer’s coupon.)  When you do that, nine times out of ten, the brand name is CHEAPER than the store brand. 

Myth #2: Buy larger sizes, it’s cheaper.

Yes, the price per unit IS cheaper– but again, if you’ve got a coupon, it will be a much better bargain to buy a smaller size.  Why? Simple, let’s use real numbers to illustrate– if you have a coupon for $4 off any size of diapers, for instance– if you use that coupon on a box of diapers that are $29.99, it’s 13.3% off.. if you use that same coupon on a smaller package of diapers that costs just $9.99, that same $4 off coupon takes 40% off the retail price.  Even though (before coupon) the unit price (in this case, per diaper) was lower, chances are excellent that the the difference in unit price wasn’t low enough to make it worthwhile to buy the larger box.  Of course, always compute the unit cost (after coupon) before selecting which size to buy to maximize your savings.

Myth #3: Buying clothing at discount stores and/or thrift stores is cheaper.

Yes, thrift stores and discount retailers (Kmart, Target, and Walmart– for instance) can be a great source of inexpensive clothing.  But, truth be told, you can do better at ‘high end’, or at least higher end stores like Macy*s, Gymboree, The Children’s Place, Ann Taylor, etc.. especially if you buy at the end of the season.  Walmart– for example, has Everyday Low Pricing– which, at least when it comes to clothing, isn’t that low! 

I can routinely do better elsewhere– plus the clothing from name brands can be resold, if you choose to do so, on eBay sometimes for more than you paid for them.  Often, I have found and purchased evening gowns and winter coats for more than 90% off at Macy*s– making them even cheaper than a day dress or a sweatshirt at Walmart.  For children’s clothing– I routinely get tops and pants for under $5– either by shopping the Monster Sale at The Children’s Place (when all sale items are reduced AND you take an additional 50% off– plus stack a birthday coupon on top for *another* 15% off AND 3% cashback from ebates AND a free shipping code from a store AND I earn $10 for every $75 I spend from Children’s Place Perk Points— see where this is all going?! They almost pay me to take these items away!) or shopping a good sale at Gymboree– plus either a coupon or a Gymbuck. 

And, shoes?! If you have a DSW or shop online at Shoebuy when they have a good coupon code– or Amazon’s shoe deals, you will spend less than $20 for a pair of brand name shoes. 

Myth #4: If you really want to save money at the grocery store, you can’t eat healthy or “real” food:

Again, false! There are sales running and coupons available for “real” foods– even organics.  Also, bargains abound at farmer’s markets and other, non-traditional stores– especially ethnic grocery stores.  And buy buying meat, seafood and poultry when they are on sale– you can feed your family healthy, “real” food on the cheap.  Befriend the staff in your local grocery stores… find out when they mark down their produce, meat and fresh baked goods (usually it’s the morning of their “sell by” date) and make a point to go to the store and seek those bargains out– but only if you’re able to use the items THAT day.  Because throwing away food isn’t frugal– it’s wasteful.

Myth #5: Being frugal means deprivation.

Actually, the opposite is true.. being frugal gives you the freedom to have MORE disposable income and a well stocked home– which helps smooth out those monetary bumps in the road.  If need be, I can go weeks without shopping for food (with the sole exception of fresh milk) and *still* feed my family well.  And, I almost never HAVE to go to the drug store for things that I need– my stockpile includes almost every necessity that you can think of.  My family is well dressed, well fed and, by being frugal– your bank account will be healthier, too.

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You don’t have to do EVERYTHING
all at once, it’s easy to get overwhelmed—even if you are saving $10 per
week—that’s $520/year.  Saving $50 a
week? That’s $2500 per year.

Five simple things that everyone can do:

      1)   MENU PLANNING: Plan your weekly menu from
the flyers:  If chicken is on sale this
week, you’re eating chicken this week. 
Have a bunch of different recipes at your disposal that you can easily
make—cook once and eat twice.  Roast a chicken
for dinner, have a chicken sandwich for lunch the next day—or a chicken stir
fry the next night. 

      2)   DON’T SHOP WITHOUT A PLAN: Prepare your
shopping list ahead of time and stick to it. 
Match up both printable coupons and the ones that come in your Sunday
paper with sales items—there are online sites that will do this for you, all
you need to do is pull the coupons together and go to the store and shop.  Coupons are like cash, treat them as such—
and if you can’t find them when you need them, what’s the use in clipping them
in the first place? 

      3)    PRICE BOOK: Know what you’re paying for EVERYTHING
you regularly buy— and write it down and carry it with you in your price book.  That’s the only way to recognize an okay vs a
good vs a great deal.  When it’s a
*great* deal on a non-perishable item—that’s when you stock up. 

      4)    DON’T BUY IT UNLESS YOU NEED IT: Don’t
spave—that means you’re spending on unnecessary things JUST because they’re on
sale.  It’s not a bargain if you don’t
need it—and even if you spent only $5 on a $100 item—you didn’t put $95 into
your bank account, you just took $5 out!

      5)   LITTLE THINGS ADD UP: It’s the little things
that add up—the daily coffee, the extra channels that you never watch on cable,
the gym member ship that you don’t use— and conversely, small savings over
time add up, too! Keep track of where all of your money is going, so you can
find the places you can easily trim and tuck that money away for a rainy day. 

I love making things with my children and here’s a great project that would be a great stocking stuffer or party favors for the 5 and under set. Molded crayons!

If your children are anything like my children you have more broken crayons that you know what to do with.. here’s a creative solution to both eliminating those broken crayons AND making something fun, creative, cute, CHEAP and educational! Oh, and remember all those 24-packs of crayons that I got for a penny at Office Max? I found a great use for them!

Here’s how to make the cutest crayons– my kids *loved* these, I hope yours do too:
http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2008/11/vroom-vroom.html

I made the same transportation ones that Allie from www.notimeforflashcards.com made — and I purchased a mold with hearts for my girls.

And, if any of my IRL friends are reading this– act surprised when your kids get these at one of my kids’ birthday parties, okay?

I’ve been meaning to post this for a few days, but I’ve been buried in Amazon deals, LOL.

A few days ago, I got my CVS extracare year-end savings statement and… (drum roll, please)

I’ve saved $1,711.71 from 10/1/07 through 9/30/08
(and that DOESN’T include the manufacturer’s coupons that I’ve used– just the Extra Care Bucks and their sales.  AND, this just on my card, this doesn’t include any purchases that my husband has made with his card!) 

I’ve paid next to nothing for almost ALL of my household goods and toiletries.  Think toilet paper, paper towels, diapers, dish soap, medicine, wipes, contact solution, shampoo, conditioner, razors, make up, toothpaste, mouthwash– you name it, I’ve stocked up on it at CVS.  And, I don’t buy things that my family can’t use and don’t need (though I do buy and stock up on the things I *do* need– even if we don’t need them right away.)

Now do you all understand why I *love* this store?!

Are you shopping yet at CVS? If not, what are you waiting for? Want to learn how to shop at CVS (yes, it is a learned skill– and takes a little while to master, but well worth it– again, I saved nearly $2000 there in one year!), read here:

http://neverpayretailagain.blogspot.com/2008/09/how-to-start-cvsing.html