A Savvy Tip - FREE Dewalt Pedicures

Ok - don't laugh until you've tried it!  Sure I've got a storage room (or two) full of hot deals and cheap groceries but I also have dry feet and cracked heels from shopping all day!  Well, maybe it's not from shopping since it runs in my family. From my dad and mom to my sisters and brother, dry feet have plagued us for years.  But my Macgyver husband (also known as the toolman) is so clever as usual that he devised the best pedicure ever to wipe away the dry and bring back the soft & supple - a Dewalt Orbital sander of course!

Beauticians beware, you may not like this, but my husband regularly gives me and my entire family (yup, even dad) the power sander pedicure.  We're considering painting them pink and selling them on Ebay ;-)  He uses new 60 grit sandpaper to quickly smooth and refine our delicate feet.  Delicate - yah right!  If you're ticklish this one may be hard to take but for me it feels amazing!  With a little power polish and lotion my feet won't snag my nylons for quite a while.  (When my feet start feeling warm it means he's stayed too long in one spot and the dry skin is all gone.  Move the sander to a new area so you don't sander burn your feet!)

If you've got an orbital sander tucked away in the corner of your garage, dust it off and get smoothing!

On a side note, what an awesome hubby I've got who would sand the feet of his mother and father-in-law as well as all his sister-in-laws.  I love him to death as well as all of his ingenious devices with or without the use of duct tape!

Macgyver and his power tools!

Mom, Dad and Macgyver

Savvy Cooking - Home Made Sparkling Cider

I love Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cider as much as the next New Year's toaster but sometimes the price can be outrageous!  I've learned that I can make my own sparkling juice at a ridiculously low price any time of the year!  It's so simple you won't believe how much it tastes like the real thing!

Home Made Sparkling Cider:


(2) 64 oz bottles of 100% apple juice (Langers is my favorite)
(1 - 1 1/2) 2 ltr. bottle of 7up

Mix together in a glass beverage dispenser (for the fanciness factor) and no one will know you paid less than the price of a full bottle of brand name bubbly for 7 1/2 bottles worth of hand made brew!  Yum!

Savvy How To - Cyber Monday Online Shopping Safety

Phew, for me, the hysteria of Black Friday has passed in the night like a herd of buffalo on a midnight stampede!  Black Friday sales are truly the rush of adrenaline some of us need to kick off our holiday shopping. You may have snagged a few hot deals, and quite possibly you missed out on a few amazing deals that were targeted by thousands of other holiday shoppers.  If you’re disappointed in your Black Friday gift haul never fear, more spectacular discount shopping days are here. 

Cyber Monday – Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, is the newer, hipper Black Friday, one might say. With some of the hottest prices of the year, online retailers typically offer similar savings to Black Friday sales, but you can shop from the comfort and warmth of your own home!  Online shopping does require some additional safety preparations though.

-Make sure your computer has the most recent updates installed for anti-virus and anti-spyware software and spamware!

- Shop ONLY on trustworthy, well-known websites. Some deals from unfamiliar websites may just be to good to be true.

- Confirm your online purchase is secure. Always look in the lower-right corner for the “lock” symbol before paying. “If there are any doubts about a site, BBB recommends right-clicking anywhere on the page and selecting “Properties.” This will reveal the page’s real URL (website address) to ensure it matches the URL in the browser’s address bar. If they don’t match, you may have been directed to a fake, potentially dangerous website.”

 http://www.bbb.org/us/consumer-tips-holiday

- Pay with Paypal. Paypal allows you to shop without sharing your financial information with every site you visit.  Setting up an account is free and easy.  Just transfer money into a  PayPal account via moneypak, debit or credit and use the money to pay for all your purchases.  Retailers never see your bank or credit card information when you use PayPal -www.paypal.com

- Keep Records. Always save a copy of purchase confirmations and emails, just to be sure.  If you have trouble with a delivery, all contact information should be provided in your confirmation.

Week Before Christmas – Most retailers began offering discounted holiday items around Halloween, but if you’re a procrastinator you may be in luck!   Historically, the week before Christmas has some of the hottest prices of the year for last minute Christmas gifts!  Sure, stores will be jam packed with throngs of last minute deals seekers and lines will undoubtedly be long, but if you’ve got the patience you can score some great deals!  Watch for retailers to slash prices on anything from TVs to sweaters just days before Santa is scheduled to arrive.

Catch the Christmas Spirit and a few great deals in the process as you shop for holiday gifts this year.  But, most of all, don’t get caught going over pre-set personal budget limits.  There’s nothing worse than starting the year in debt!  

Savvy Giving - Food Bank Shopping Spree Update

Susan and Amy Shopping for the Utah Food Bank - Photo Courtesy of the Daily Herald

Can I just say how much fun I had on Saturday shopping for the Utah Food Bank at Reams In Springville, Ut!!!  Susan and Michelle were able to come shop with me and we filled 8 carts full of food to overflowing!  We saved over $300 in coupons and because we only bought savvy sale priced items we ended up with over in $1334 food for only $500!!!!  In fact it got to one point that I told everyone we might have to start paying full price for groceries or we would be there all day trying to spend just $500.  We kept getting deal after deal and the ladies reminded me that even if it took all day to spend $500 we should do it - AMEN!   I have to add that the young man who checked us out was quite impressed as the receipt just kept printing and printing and printing!  Thanks to Reams Springville, The Daily Herald, Michelle, Susan and all those who met and helped us there like Craig C., the Hammons, TwoCuff, Asia, Kailee and Ruth N.

My Coupon Portfolio of Savings :-) Photo courtesy of The Daily Herald

Loading The Truck With Our Haul!

Susan, Amy, Michelle from SavvyShopperDeals.com

A Savvy Tip: Protect Your Online Identity

With the plethora of hot online coupons, contests, freebies and all the amazing online holiday shopping deals these days, online safety has never been more important!

When filling out registration forms including your name, address, phone number and email address have you ever worried about who has your information?  I have!  Yes, I know that if anyone tried hard enough they could get all your "digits" online, but I still feel like protecting myself when possible.

Here are 2 of my favorite ways to protect valuable personal information:

Create a FREE email account:

If you're worried about spam or even the occasional cyber stalker, consider creating your own free Gmail or Yahoo email account.  Make the email address name memorable like couponsforamy@whatever.com.  Send ONLY your deal related emails there and you can worry less about getting hacked or spammed from your personal email address.

Create a FREE Google Voice #:

I hate putting my real phone number on registration forms.  Honestly, if you're entering a sweepstakes or other contest you'll have to put a legit phone # in order for someone to call you back.  If you fake a number on this one you can get disqualified to win or you might win and no one will be able to let you know - Ahhh!  You'll also have to enter a valid phone number when registering to shop at major retailers online.  There's a simple way around this dilemma - just choose a FREE Google Voice phone number!  Google Voice gives you a single phone number that rings all of your phones, saves your voicemail online, and transcribes your voicemail to text for FREE (This is FREE text messages folks.  Reply via email and Google Voice will transcribe to SMS!). Other cool features include the ability to  listen in on messages while they're being left, block unwanted callers, and make cheap international calls. I love using Google Voice and now I don't have to give out my real phone number.  You could even use this phone number on business cards and no one will ever have to know your home #!

It's worth setting up some free online protection services if you intend to do business online!  Watch for more online safety tutorials this week like Facebook and how to detect Scam websites! (Can you tell I'm excited for Cyber Monday!)

Savvy Cooking: Edible Thanksgiving Name Cards

If you're looking for a fun way to spice up your Thanksgiving tablescape try these adorable edible Cornucopia name cards from FamilyFun.com!  They are so easy to make and an absolute delight for your guests!

Ingredients:

• Sugar Cones

• Runts, Candy Corns or other small fruit shaped candies

• Ribbon

• Decorator Icing (Or melted chocolate chips poured in a Ziploc baggie - just cut off the tip of the bag and squeeze out melted chocolate for a homemade decorator bag!)

Instructions:

Using decorator icing or melted chocolate as glue, attach one end of a strip of ribbon around the sugar cone by placing a drop of icing on the cone and laying the ribbon on top of the icing.  Wrap the ribbon around the cone, add another dab of icing overlap the ribbon and press ribbon firmly.  Attach a candy corn with another dab of icing.  Write your guest's name on the sugar cone with icing or chocolate and allow to dry.  Fill cone with fruit shaped candies and enjoy.

If you opt for the melted chocolate chips route here's what to do:

Put 5-6 oz of chocolate chips (half a bag) in a microwave safe bowl.  Set the microwave at 50% power.  Cook for 40 seconds and then stir well.  Repeat with 30 second intervals until melted.

Sugar Cone Cornucopia Video Link

A Savvy Opportunity

I love this time of year. Not only do we get to snag some killer Christmas Gifts and deals but our thoughts are also turned to others whom our "savvy shopping" skills can help.  I've got a set budget already and coupons to match!  Join me on Saturday November 20th, 11 am at Reams in Springville as I shop for the Utah Food Bank!!  It will be fun to fill my cart and see how far I can stretch the deals for charity! 

Do you have a question for me or just want to say hello?  Meet me at Reams for great produce deals and advice!  See you there!

Savvy How To: Mystery Shopping Tips

Get paid to go to Disneyland!

Have you ever wondered if mystery shopping/secret shopping was a scam?  Mystery shopping can actually be a fun money-maker when you follow some basic criteria.  I was a mystery shopper for years and I’ve secretly analyzed the up-sale, tactics, cleanliness and all around employee and store integrity of cell phone companies, restaurants, retailers and even Disneyland and been paid to do so.  My best shopping experience included free entrance and parking at Disneyland, free breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, plus $90 in free park souvenirs!  That’s right – Disneyland for FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

So what is mystery shopping and what does it entail?  Mystery shopping is simply a tool used by marketing retail companies, hired by local businesses, to measure and grade the quality of services offered, store maintenance levels or employee attitudes at predetermined locations.  Usually a “normal” shopper is asked to enter, without disclosing their identity, a store within a specified date and time to buy or return products, ask targeted questions or simply check out landscaping and store  cleanliness, and then fill out a survey with detailed, non-biased descriptions about their experiences.  Shoppers then submit receipts to be reimbursed and are typically paid an additional fee for their services.  Three of my favorite mystery shopping companies are Marketforce.com, Bestmark.com and Sassieshop.com. “BestMark seeks individuals with a keen eye, who are extremely conscientious and responsible in honoring their commitments. Successful BestMark mystery shoppers will be able to meet deadlines, follow detailed instructions and write fact-based reports to provide our clients with actionable data.” www.Bestmark.com

Mystery shopping can be fun and financially rewarding if you stick to these rules:

NEVER pay a company to be a mystery shopper – they pay you! There are companies who offer to train you to become a secret shopper, but that is not necessary.  You don’t need to pay to join a shopping list either.  Reputable companies offer timely reimbursement and don’t take any fees for your service.

Practice writing brief, non-emotional essays- just the facts ma’am, just the facts!  Don’t say “the store was a disgusting filthy mess” – rather, “the store was cluttered with debris”.  Many companies also grade your application form on writing skills.  A practice shop is often required to determine if your application will be accepted.  You must get at least a B to pass – and no spelling typos please.

Get referred!  If you have friends who mystery shop, ask them to refer you to the companies they use.  That way you’ll have an easier chance of being accepted and you’ll know you’re working with a reputable company.

Don’t cancel!  Only accept mystery shops you are confident you can fulfill.  Canceling a shop is highly frowned upon.  You can sometimes reschedule within a small window of time, but don’t let this be a habit or you’ll be scheduled for fewer shops in the future.  Determine if you are responsible enough to complete the specified tasks before you accept.

Keep your job a secret too!  If you’re taking your kids on a mystery shop and they blurt it out to a store full of employees, your cover is blown and the job is off.  Make sure taking your kids is ok, (it usually is – though you may want to leave them at home so you can concentrate on the job at hand or bring an extra adult to help out) and keep your cool.  That also means not acting nervous in front of employees.  They don’t know who you are and they aren’t expecting it to be you unless your palms are sweaty and you’re stuttering out pre-rehearsed questions.  Have a little fun and act it up!

Check the job boards regularly!  Most shops are offered on a first come first served basis.  The early bird gets the worm on this one.  Make sure you log in daily to check for the highest paid and easiest shops as they go quickly.  Fast food and restaurant shops are some of the most highest sought after jobs, so when you see one of these offered grab it quickly.

Meet the requirements! Before you sign up with any company, just note you will likely need: a high speed internet connection, a scanner/fax machine, and reliable transportation and be at least 21 or older.

Remember that while mystery shopping is fun – it’s still work and the better you are as a shopper the more exclusive shops you‘ll be offered.  Participating in shops will most likely be a part time hobby – not necessarily a full time income for most shoppers.  If you’re looking for an easy job with flexible hours and little fun, then mystery shopping might be right up your alley.

If you’re interested in trying your hand at mystery shopping, there are hundreds of companies offering these services; however finding them is sometimes kept a secret too. You can Google “mystery shopping” but the best way to find potential companies is to ask your mystery shopping friends for referrals and start submitting your applications to see if additional shoppers are needed in your area.  It may take a few months for your application to be accepted, but keep trying and it should pay off in the end.

UPDATE:  A local Utah Mystery Shopping company needs shoppers right now!!! Read More HERE!

Savvy After School Snacks

I can remember as a child coming home from school every day to a snack prepared lovingly by my mother.  It was never fancy.  Almost always it was fresh cut apple wedges or oranges fanned out on a 70's style melamine plate :-).  Regardless of the cost, the mere fact that she cared enough to cut up an apple made truly feel loved through this simple act of kindness.  As a mother with children of my own, I try to make sure my kids have a healthy afterschool snack waiting for them when they get off the bus.  It's a tradition worth keeping!

"Gobble Me Up" After School Snack

As I was browsing through Family Fun this week, I saw a great Thanksgiving Snack that I'm making for my kids this week.  It's snack love + Infinity King's X (that mean's "it's the best and you can't top it", in my family).

Instructions:

1. Arrange apple and clementine or navel orange slices on a plate as shown, and lay a cored pear half on top.
   
2. Use scissors to snip small triangles from an orange slice and tuck them under the pear to form the feet.
   
3. Finally, use peanut butter to attach mini chocolate chip eyes, a nut beak, and a dried cranberry snood.
   

Try this savvy healthy afterschool snack for your kids this week and share the love!

• What's your kids favorite after school snack?

Savvy How To - My Favorite Black Friday Tip

The unofficial start of Christmas shopping begins in just a few days with retailers offering doorbuster deals, early bird specials and an array of loss leaders intending to turn customers into energized swarms of shoppers.  Why offer such amazing sale prices to the masses?  Black Friday is the day that retailers hope to go from being in the red to being in the black (making money).

Shhh, I'll let you all in on one of my favorite secret Black Friday Shopping Tips!

Buy the Wrong Size/Color:  If a store is out of your size or desired color, buy whatever style they have in stock and exchange it later! I have bought XXL jeans that no one wanted only to return them a week or two later for the appropriate size!  Love it! (Just make sure the item is regularly carried at that store and not a special make/model specifically for Black Friday only!)

Check out the rest of my Black Friday Shopping Tips HERE!

Just My Two Cents: Panic Shopping vs. Pantry Shopping

Being a savvy shopper is more than just using coupons and shopping sales, it’s using common sense when applying these shopping tactics at the store and at home. In my savvy world there’s two different kinds of shopping, panic shopping and pantry shopping. 

Many shoppers apply the panic shopping model to their grocery trips on weekly basis.  If you’ve ever made a weekly menu and then created a shopping list to supply the ingredients for those meals you have panic shopped.  Panic shopping is the simple act, though an expensive one, of shopping in the moment based on immediate desires, not needs.  As an example, let’s say you’ve decided to have tacos on Tuesday but you have no ground beef.  You now have to run to the store and buy taco meat at full shelf price if no one has it on an advertised sale instead of using previously packed and frozen beef from your freezer which should have been purchased at a discount.  You had to have the taco meat for Tuesday’s meal so you likely had to sacrifice a larger portion of your budget than desired to allow for the meat expense.  And what about chips and salsa or any other taco night ingredients – you’ll have to buy those as well if you’re out.

Instead of planning family meals based on wants, I choose meals based on ingredients already on hand and “in stock” in my own personal store – my pantry.  My daughter often calls our basement storage rooms “the store”.  She questioned once why it actually looked like a store.  First, let me say that while I’m not clinically diagnosed with organizational OCD and I don’t HAVE to turn all the labels the same direction on the shelves in order to find inner happiness I choose to do so because it looks nice! (Ok – maybe borderline OCD.)  When I’m planning meals for the week I shop from my pantry first, meaning I prepare weekly meals from food I have already purchased at significant discounts found by watching sales and using coupons.  I literally shop my pantry for a meal before I shop at the actual store.  Stocking up on family favorites and buying more than one can or even case of a family favorite when it’s in my price point, the point at which the price is low enough that I’m willing to buy it, ensures that my pantry will hold a bevy of recipe conscious ingredients at all times. 

Once you’ve established your pantry, or even if you’re working to establish it, shopping from the front page of local grocery ads for additional fresh ingredients, packaged goods and produce can also save shoppers a significant amount of money.  The front page of a grocery or retail ad is often referred to as  a “loss leader”.  The items displayed for sale on this page are typically significantly discounted deals intended to lead you in to the store to buy even more product.  This ensures a great deal can be found on page 1.  Consider using these items in your meal planning lists to supplement current pantry ingredients.

Saving money on your monthly grocery bill goes hand in hand with saving time and money in the kitchen. Panic shopping is expensive and stressful in my opinion.  A little pantry planning can save you hundreds of dollars a year and hours of unnecessary time at the store.  

A Savvy Craft - Tissue Paper Flowers

Tissue Paper Flowers

I'm famous (in my family) for being the Martha Stewart of Utah County.  I love making inexpensive, but fun craft projects out of ordinary products, like my frugal wrapping paper bows.  Yesterday I was asked to teach a youth group how to make some tissue paper flowers to decorate for an upcoming event.  These flowers are so gorgeous that no one will know they only cost about $0.05 a piece to make.  I have made these flowers dozens of times to decorate birthday parties, bridal showers, Mothers Day gifts and church events.  The Savvy clan and I have even turned them into giant flower pens using floral tape and stick pens.  I even made them to decorate the church gym for my daughters baptism.  We have an  enormous extended family and the church was the only place to hold the luncheon.  I wanted the room to be a bright celebration of this exciting day and used tissue paper flowers to spruce things up. (And of course I got a deal on all that food :-)

I thought I would share this simple and inexpensive decorating idea with you.

Family Luncheon decorated with Tissue Paper Flowers

Tissue paper flower table arrangements - I even sprinkled matching Laffy Taffy and flower erasers (from the dollar store) across the tables for the kids.  They loved it and all got to take a flower home.

Project Ingredients:

• Chenille Pipe Cleaners
• Tissue Paper
• Scissors

Tissue Paper Flower How To:

Step #1:

Fold 2 Pieces of Tissue Paper in half and then in half again - see below

Tissue Paper Folds

Step #2:

Using Scissors cut folded edges to create (8) 1/4 sheet pages

Step #3:

Accordion fold tissue paper sheets and secure in the middle with any color pipe cleaner

Step #4:

Trim both ends of accordion with scallops, points or fringe for different flower effects

Scallop, Point & Fringe white tissue paper flowers made last night for a church function

 Step #5:

       Beginning with the top sheet, pull tissue paper up to the center of the flower.  Pull from the base of the paper, not the tips, to avoid tearing.

 

Complete Flower

You'll end up with gorgeous multi-colored or solid color flowers which you can display in vases, tape to gifts or garnish a party table with.  These flowers are truly easy to make - my 6 year old and 10 year old made these:

A Savvy Tip: Thanksgiving Cupcakes

I saw these Jelly Belly "corn cob" cupcakes and couldn't resist sharing them with you - They look so real!

These faux cupcakes are easy to make - you just need 24 vanilla frosted cupcakes and about 4 cups assorted Jelly Belly jelly beans in russet, orange, gold, cream, and brown colors. Slide three frosted cupcakes together to form the cob and garnish with Philo dough husks or real husks if desired.

Check out the other adorable Jelly Belly cupcake ideas as well!

Savvy How To: Eating Healthy With Coupons

My Two Cents:  Eat Smarter

If you know anything about me, it’s obvious that I am a coupon-a-holic!  I teach coupon seminars frequently and there demonstrate the amazing savings of coupons in my family’s life.  During these Savvy Shopping Seminars I often hear participants question if the majority of coupons are for prepackaged foods or canned goods they would not normally eat in their homes.  To answer that question, in actuality, the majority of the coupons I use, and find some of the biggest overall savings with, are for household products, cleaners, health care and personal hygiene items.  Products like laundry detergent, diapers and even deodorant and toothpaste are big ticket saving items in my savvy pantry.  Paying little or no money for these items allows me to allocate my budget to include enough fresh produce and other healthy options to satisfy even the stingiest budget.

It’s certainly true that amazing deals can be had on packaged goods and canned goods, as well as sugary snacks and drinks.  However, I also teach shoppers that there are always healthy options to most any purchase.  The choice is ultimately yours as to what you choose to stock in your pantry.  As an experienced shopper I have found a few tricks to eating healthier while still saving with coupons.

1. Smarter Breakfast Cereals.  I’ll admit Peanut Butter Cap’n Crunch is my cereal temptation.  I love its’ peanut buttery goodness, but not necessarily the sugar content so it’s not a cereal I stock up on often.  However, when it does go on sale and can be combined with a great money saving coupon I try to balance the sugar with some common sense cereals as well.  Most cereal coupons include a low sugar option like Corn Flakes, Cheerios or Rice Krispies.  Many of these now include whole grains versions as well and combined with low fat milk make a great breakfast in our home.  I make sure that at least half of my cereal purchases, if not more, include low sugar cereals as well as kid favorite choices.  We alternate cereal breakfasts between these two choices on a regular basis.  Another option would be to only eat sugary cereals on special occasions like birthdays and holidays.  Growing up my parents let us choose a sugar cereal of our choice only on our birthday and the rest of the year we ate low sugar cereals.  (Guess what I picked?) This is another great sugar busting breakfast option.  I also stock up on low sugar, high fiber instant oatmeal for a quick and hearty breakfast when the price is right and coupons are a plenty!

2: Smarter Snacking:  It seems like chips and high fat snack crackers are always on sale and there’s a coupon to match.  But, have you noticed the baked options are on sale right along with them?  Not only can coupons be used for higher fat chip and cracker buys, they can also be used for low sodium, baked and “thin” low calorie product lines.  Rarely will a coupon exclude the lower fat varieties.  Another coupon snacking option would also be pretzels.  We don’t eat many fried chips in our home, rather we opt for pretzels and baked snacks to cut down on cholesterol raising snack choices.  Chips are reserved as a treat and usually only for back yard barbeques and holiday parties.

3.  Smarter Soups & Canned Goods:  There’s nothing better than a bowl of warm soup on a chilly day, but sometimes the sodium levels are out of this world, not to mention the sugar!  That’s why I love to purchase the low sodium, high fiber and “healthy” lines of name brand soups.  Manufacturer coupons rarely exclude these options and in fact almost always include them.  I can’t taste a big difference between the two versions and neither can my kids.  While I’d love to make homemade soups every night, our lives get so crazy that opening a can is sometimes the best option.  I try to make that option as healthy as possible, and make sure we add fresh produce and sides to our dinner plate.

I have found that when many new-to-the-scene couponers begin their amazing savings journey that cake mixes, cookies and fruit snacks are purchased in abundance.  Even though these products hit rock bottom prices with coupon savings there is still a need to balance our purchases with healthy, low calorie, low fat buys.  Smart shopping is more than just buying blindly with only cost as the consideration. Savvy Shoppers shop smarter by opting for healthier product versions while still seeing out of pocket expenses reduced with coupon use.  And remember, you still need to have enough fresh produce, meats and dairy choices to provide a balanced diet and meet nutritional guidelines in your home.  We even get coupons for those as well!