Welcome WABB Listeners to ESM!
November 11, 2011 by easternshoremom
Filed under Beginners
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. Thanks so much!
Welcome WABB Listeners to ESM!
November 4, 2011 by easternshoremom
Filed under Beginners
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. Thanks so much!
Welcome WABB Listeners to ESM!
October 14, 2011 by easternshoremom
Filed under Beginners
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. Thanks so much!
Money-Saving Grocery Shopping Tips
October 7, 2011 by easternshoremom
Filed under Articles, become an Extreme Couponer, Beginners
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Supermarkets lure us in with coupons and sales, but once we’re inside…POW!…they hit us with the old one-two for a checkout aisle KO. Ultimately, it pays to keep your mental dukes up when you’re in the ring, but first you have to know the rules.
Here are nine tricks supermarkets like to spring on consumers to encourage overspending, along with ways you can overcome them.
1. Something smells really good.
The bombardment starts as soon as the front door swings open. Those mouth-watering smells emanate from the nearby bakery or deli, enticing you to buy the more expensive prepared foods.
The rule, as you’ve often heard, is to never shop on an empty stomach.
2. Distance makes the heart grow fonder.
Ever notice how the things you need most frequently are the furthest away from the door? That’s intentional; supermarkets guide you through aisles of the most attractive foods, hoping you’ll give in to impulse buys.
If you only need one item, it’s actually cheaper in the long run to shop at a small market where you’ll be less tempted to buy unneeded items.
3. End caps aren’t your friend.
End caps are the shelving units at the end of each aisle, where supermarkets place “sale” items that aren’t always that cheap. They’re counting on our preference to avoid heading down an aisle, so we’ll just grab an end-cap item that seems reasonably priced.
Don’t give in; wait until you can comparison shop midst the appropriate aisle.
4. Bend and stretch your way to better prices.
Manufacturers pay big bucks for prime real estate, usually at adult eye level or, in the case of products marketed specifically to children, on the lower shelves. These corporations shell out extra cash because they know we’re more likely to buy something we can see easily.
Before you grab the first item you see, take a moment to scan the entire shelf and make sure you’re truly getting a good deal.
5. Losing with loss leaders.
There’s a reason supermarkets advertise such cheap prices on milk, bread and other basics. These under-priced items are known as loss leaders because the supermarket is willing to take a loss to bait you into the store, where they’ll make up the difference with more purchases.
There’s no reason you shouldn’t take advantage of loss leaders; just don’t let it rule which store you shop and what you buy.
6. BOGO can be a no-go.
Deals that offer “seven for $5.50″ are designed to confuse shoppers who aren’t quick with the mental calculator. The same trick applies to the now popular 10 for $10 game making the supermarket rounds.
Bulk buying can be cost effective, but there are a number of variables to consider. You can fool grocery stores at their own game by checking the unit price for competing products and selecting the one that truly offers the best deal.
7. Expensive eye candy.
Product packaging is usually mind-bogglingly bright, featuring plenty of yellows and reds because these colors attract our eyes. Between this visual whirl and the bright store lights, grocery shopping can lead to migraines.
Buying generic brands is one of many ways to combat escalating food prices. Before grabbing the first item that attracts your eyes, look for less-gaudy house brands and compare unit prices.
8. Super sized can equal undervalue.
Bigger isn’t always better, particularly when a manufacturer increases package size while hitting the contents with a shrink ray. This practice has become particularly popular in recent years since you’re not really expected to check whether a box or can is full.
Give it a shake or visually compare product contents.
9. The checkout stand is a supermarket’s last chance.
The checkout aisle is akin to its own mini mart, featuring all kinds of impulse buys. Supermarkets know we’re a captive audience, so they squeeze in everything and anything that might grab your attention and add to the final bill.
Distract yourself by reviewing your grocery list, a tangible reminder that everything you need is already in your cart.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. Thanks so much!
Welcome WABB Listeners to ESM!
September 23, 2011 by easternshoremom
Filed under Beginners
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. Thanks so much!
Welcome WABB Listeners to ESM!
September 16, 2011 by easternshoremom
Filed under Beginners
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. Thanks so much!
All You Magazine: Just $.83 an issue!
September 13, 2011 by easternshoremom
Filed under Beginners
All You magazine is the TOP magazine for couponers! Not only is it filled to the brim with coupons but it also has really great frugal living articles inside. You can find All You magazine at Walmart for $2.99 an issue OR you can order it here for $25 for 30 issues (just $.83 an issue)!
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. Thanks so much!
Welcome WABB Listeners to ESM!
September 9, 2011 by easternshoremom
Filed under Beginners
If you are new here, WELCOME to EasternShoreMom.com! Go ahead and click your “Bookmark” icon, because we would love it if you came back to visit again. Below is a little information that goes “below the surface” of EasternShoreMom, affectionately known as ESM.
Weekend Deals: Highlights from the Show
What HOT deals can you snag this weekend? Freebies to get the fun started early? Eastern Shore Mom has your low-down on all things fun & frugal for this weekend:
We had a special “themed” morning on WABB due to Qtip, one of the morning hosts, getting married this weekend! Here are tons of freebies & deals to make your Wedding day extra special & under budget:
FREE issue of Bridal Guide Magazine
Free Popular Wedding Songs CD when you register for The Knot wedding website (free)
Craft Store coupons for you wedding supplies:
- Hobby Lobby Coupons
- Michaels Coupons
- JoAnn Coupons (enter your email at the bottom of the page)
Get a FREE photo canvas (8 X 10) for your guest book table, perfect for your engagement photo or wedding pictures! (just pay S&H, valued at $50!)
Also, get 100 FREE postcards which would be perfect for save the date or thank you cards! (just pay S&H)
Looking to put together your wedding registry? We have a huge list of links to popular registries
- Bed Bath & Beyond Registry
- Bloomingdales Wedding Registry
- Crate & Barrel Wedding Registry
- Dillard’s Wedding Registry
- Kohl’s Wedding Registry
- Macy’s Wedding Registry
- JC Penney Wedding Registry
- Pottery Barn Registry
- REI Wedding Registry
- Restoration Hardware Registry
- Sears Wedding Registry
- Target: Club Wed
- The Great Indoors Wedding Registry
Who is Eastern Shore Mom?
Get to know me, the author of EasternShoreMom on my “About Me” Page.
Beginners Guide
When starting out couponing, there are lots of online programs and links you want to sign up for and know about to catch the deals in time. Lots of time the freebies & coupons are for members of a certain club (Kraft First Taste is an example) and if you are not members you will miss out on great deals! For you beginning out there, or those of you that are veterans but unaware of some of these cool offers, I have compiled the below post the help you step out into the frugal world and become a part of all the fun!
STEP ONE:
Create an Email Address for FREE: What is saving money if you are having to pay for an email address to get all the deals? It is a good idea to have a “DEAL” email address to sign up for all of the clubs and programs with. That way all the spam that may be associated with signing up for these things does not bog down your personal account. You can sign up FOR FREE with Yahoo, Gmail, & AOL for an e-mail account.
STEP TWO:
Start signing up! Here is a list a brief description of things I suggest signing up for:
Coupons & Freebies
- Dollar General- Get exclusive Dollar General coupons.
- Facebook- Sign up for Facebook (with a fake name if you like) and join in the fun of manufacturers putting HIGH VALUE coupons on their pages.
- Home Depot- Sign up for ALL OF THESE: Garden Club, Home Depot Pro, Home Improvers Club, & Movers- to get exclusive coupons to Home Depot!
- Home Made Simple- Sign up and get the Home Made Simple coupon book delivered to your home with TONS of P&G coupons.
- Huggies Enjoy The Ride- Earn point when you buy Huggies products to redeem for prizes & coupons.
- Kraft First Taste- Taste Kraft products first and get HOT HOT coupons!
- JC Penny- HOT offers like a $10 off $10 purchase coupon!
- Pampers Village- Sign up and get Pampers coupons & more.
- P&G EveryDay Solutions Coupons- Sign up to receive P&G coupons online and in your email.
- Vocal Point- Get FREE products from various companies to try along with high value coupons.
Rewards Programs
- Swagbucks- This is a FREE search engine powered by Google where you earn points for searching that you can redeem for gift cards and other prizes. You will hear A LOT about Swagbucks on EasternShoreMom!
Survey Programs-
- Inbox Dollars- This is a good programs that sends you emails and surveys, then you earn cash.
- Neilson Home Scanner- Lots of people who have been approved for this have had success. You apply and they send you a scanner- you scan your products in and earn cash & prizes. It is a consumer panel.
Photo Deals-
- CVS- Get 50 FREE prints when you sign up for a FREE account online.
- Kodak Photo- Get 50 FREE prints when you sign up for FREE account online.
Store Cards & Programs
- CVS- Sign up for your CVS card.
- Publix- Sign up for The Baby Club, Family Style, Grape Magazine, Greenwise, & The Toddler Program.
- Rite Aid- Sign up for your Wellness Card.
- Winn Dixie- Sign up for a Winn Dixie Card & The Baby Club
Connect with EasternShoreMom
Do you know all the ways to connect with EasternShoreMom readers online? Below I have listed all of our social media/online resources. If you are not a follower/member/fan/friend you should be! You never know when a surprise gift card giveaway will pop up or when you are going to miss out on important info shared on there. Lots of the time I use the social media sites to get quick and important information out until I can get home and blog about it.
FACEBOOK: EasternShoreMom has a FAN page of Facebook and a FRIEND page on Facebook. Become and fan and friend of both so you don’t miss a thing!
TWITTER: Do you follow EasternShoreMom on Twitter? If not, this is a great way to know when new blog posts go up. Right away when I post a new blog entry they are tweeted through the ESM Twitter Feed.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. Thanks so much!
What is a “MATCHUP”?
September 8, 2011 by easternshoremom
Filed under Articles, Beginners
___________ Ad Deals
___________ Best Deals
___________ Coupon Matchup
What are all of these things and what does the lingo mean?
These are the best thing a frugal blogger could give you. A “matchup” is a roadmap for any couponer to save the most money at their favorite stores.
Matchup (noun)- When you take the sales ad from a store and match the coupons available with the items on sale. By using coupons on top of sales items you save the MAXIMUM amount of money.
When talking about the “new” version of couponing, matchups are the main reason for the change. No longer are you having to pilfer through your coupon stash and find coupons for the items you are buying- there are frugal sites that do the work for you! By using coupons on top of sales items you are maximizing your savings and using matchup sites where 80% of the work is done for you makes this super easy.
What if the item I need is not in this week’s matchup?
- Use a Coupon Database like the one available on EasternShoreMom! Search for them item you are looking for and it will tell you if there are any coupons available for the item and where to find them!
How do I read coupon matchups? Here is an example of a matchup:
Huggies Diapers $8.99
- $2/1 5/02 SmartSource
= $6.99
Line 1: What is on sale & the price
Line 2: The coupon amount, the date the paper came out, which insert in that week’s paper
Line 3: The final price
Where do I find matchups? Should I only use one source?
- You can find matchups on any of your favorite couponing websites/blogs like EasternShoreMom. Usually look for a tab listing store names or something in the sidebar listing store names.
- I suggest using MANY different couponing website/blogs for matchups. You never know when one site has a deal that you like and another site has another one not listed on the first. To keep all of your deals together, open a word document and copy and paste the deals you like from each matchup. That way after you are done reading all of your favorite coupon blogs you can go back and look at the document to see your compiled shopping list with the coupons listed that you need to use!
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. Thanks so much!
Welcome WABB Listeners to ESM!
September 2, 2011 by easternshoremom
Filed under Beginners
If you are new here, WELCOME to EasternShoreMom.com! Go ahead and click your “Bookmark” icon, because we would love it if you came back to visit again. Below is a little information that goes “below the surface” of EasternShoreMom, affectionately known as ESM.
Weekend Deals: Highlights from the Show
What HOT deals can you snag this weekend? Freebies to get the fun started early? Eastern Shore Mom has your low-down on all things fun & frugal for this weekend:
SUPER HOT FRIDAY FREEBIE:
FREE Nail Polish! Ladies- last week we had a freebie for this guys & this week it is your turn. Head over to the link to grab your FREE nail polish with FREE shipping!
For the kids this holiday weekend: Home Depot – Kids Workshop 9/3 9:00 – 12:00 – the kids can make an ESPN College Game Day Board.
Reserve your FREE Breakfast at Chick Fil A- Go HERE to reserve it then September 6-10 you will have to print your reservation to get your FREE entree at Chick Fil A!We have a HUGE list of printable coupons for the Holiday weekend including Hobby Lobby 40% off, $10 off $50 purchase at Old Navy, & TONS more!
Who is Eastern Shore Mom?
Get to know me, the author of EasternShoreMom on my “About Me” Page.
Beginners Guide
When starting out couponing, there are lots of online programs and links you want to sign up for and know about to catch the deals in time. Lots of time the freebies & coupons are for members of a certain club (Kraft First Taste is an example) and if you are not members you will miss out on great deals! For you beginning out there, or those of you that are veterans but unaware of some of these cool offers, I have compiled the below post the help you step out into the frugal world and become a part of all the fun!
STEP ONE:
Create an Email Address for FREE: What is saving money if you are having to pay for an email address to get all the deals? It is a good idea to have a “DEAL” email address to sign up for all of the clubs and programs with. That way all the spam that may be associated with signing up for these things does not bog down your personal account. You can sign up FOR FREE with Yahoo, Gmail, & AOL for an e-mail account.
STEP TWO:
Start signing up! Here is a list a brief description of things I suggest signing up for:
Coupons & Freebies
- Dollar General- Get exclusive Dollar General coupons.
- Facebook- Sign up for Facebook (with a fake name if you like) and join in the fun of manufacturers putting HIGH VALUE coupons on their pages.
- Home Depot- Sign up for ALL OF THESE: Garden Club, Home Depot Pro, Home Improvers Club, & Movers- to get exclusive coupons to Home Depot!
- Home Made Simple- Sign up and get the Home Made Simple coupon book delivered to your home with TONS of P&G coupons.
- Huggies Enjoy The Ride- Earn point when you buy Huggies products to redeem for prizes & coupons.
- Kraft First Taste- Taste Kraft products first and get HOT HOT coupons!
- JC Penny- HOT offers like a $10 off $10 purchase coupon!
- Pampers Village- Sign up and get Pampers coupons & more.
- P&G EveryDay Solutions Coupons- Sign up to receive P&G coupons online and in your email.
- Vocal Point- Get FREE products from various companies to try along with high value coupons.
Rewards Programs
- Swagbucks- This is a FREE search engine powered by Google where you earn points for searching that you can redeem for gift cards and other prizes. You will hear A LOT about Swagbucks on EasternShoreMom!
Survey Programs-
- Inbox Dollars- This is a good programs that sends you emails and surveys, then you earn cash.
- Neilson Home Scanner- Lots of people who have been approved for this have had success. You apply and they send you a scanner- you scan your products in and earn cash & prizes. It is a consumer panel.
Photo Deals-
- CVS- Get 50 FREE prints when you sign up for a FREE account online.
- Kodak Photo- Get 50 FREE prints when you sign up for FREE account online.
Store Cards & Programs
- CVS- Sign up for your CVS card.
- Publix- Sign up for The Baby Club, Family Style, Grape Magazine, Greenwise, & The Toddler Program.
- Rite Aid- Sign up for your Wellness Card.
- Winn Dixie- Sign up for a Winn Dixie Card & The Baby Club
Connect with EasternShoreMom
Do you know all the ways to connect with EasternShoreMom readers online? Below I have listed all of our social media/online resources. If you are not a follower/member/fan/friend you should be! You never know when a surprise gift card giveaway will pop up or when you are going to miss out on important info shared on there. Lots of the time I use the social media sites to get quick and important information out until I can get home and blog about it.
FACEBOOK: EasternShoreMom has a FAN page of Facebook and a FRIEND page on Facebook. Become and fan and friend of both so you don’t miss a thing!
TWITTER: Do you follow EasternShoreMom on Twitter? If not, this is a great way to know when new blog posts go up. Right away when I post a new blog entry they are tweeted through the ESM Twitter Feed.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. Thanks so much!
Welcome Deal Seekers! I am Aubrey Nix, owner/author of ESM.This site was created and is written just for YOU! From the deals I post, freebies I find, and giveaways here on the site, I focus what YOU want to see. You all are who keep the site alive and make it worth my time publishing ways to save money as a consumer. 
