Just because something is on sale, doesn’t mean it’s a great deal, even if it 60% off.   You need to weigh the value of a deal for you and your family. For instance, today on Groupon they are offering a large Domino’s Pizza with up to 10 topping for only $8.00. (60% off regular price). Now, one large pizza with 10 toppings for only $8 may be a great deal, but it’s not really that great of a deal for our family and here are a couple of reasons why:

• We don’t normally order 10 toppings, we rarely order 3, we’re boring like that!   I can get pizza’s for around the $8 price with coupons.
• We have 7 people in our family (3 of which are teenagers) and 1 pizza isn’t going to cut it. We would have to order 2 more additional pizzas and pay regular price, because you can’t use additional offers or deals with the Groupon.

Here is the cost breakdown for dinner at Domino’s:
1 Large 3 topping pizza @ 8.00 (Groupon)
2 Large 2 topping pizza’s @ $15.39 (regular price, can’t use additional offers or coupons with the Groupon)
Total for 3 pizza’s = $38.78

Here is the cost breakdown for dinner at Papa Johns:
1 Large 3 topping pizza $10.00 (special)
2 Large 3 topping pizza + 2 liter pop @ $18.99 for both (Sounder’s special)
Total for 3 pizza’s + 2 liter of pop = $28.99

Am I telling you not to buy the Domino’s pizza Groupon?  Absolutely not!  If you only order one pizza and love lots of toppings, then the Groupon deal is great for you.  If you need more pizza’s and don’t really like a lot of toppings, you will probably find a better deal somewhere else.

Doing a little research will go a long way when it comes to saving your family money!

Need to make up some Christmas Cash?   December 24 – January 03, when you open up a new checking account at any US Bank in-store location, they will give you $75!

Here is what you need to do to take advantage of this deal:

• Visit an in-store US Bank location
• Open a new, no-fee checking account
• You will need to deposit at least $75 into your account
• You will be issued a temporary Visa Card to access your account
• Once you get the card, you will need to make a purchase of $75 in the first 30 days and
• Save your receipts and then take them into US Bank and they will credit your account with the $75.  (you must show them the receipts totaling $75 to get the credit)

Deals like this do work, remember I scored a FREE iPod Touch just for opening an account at Key Bank.  What would you use your free $75 on?   Dinner out?   Groceries?  Target toy clearance?

Heather over at Queen Bee Coupons has put together an amazing resource for all of us Costco shoppers. She has created a Costco price list database. The database breaks down the cost of all the items so you know how much you are paying per item, per ounce, etc.  This is a big help when deciding if a large Costco item is a good price or not.

She also has a great post that explains what kind of deals you can get by shopping at Costco, or shopping with coupons. It’s very informative and worth checking out!

This is an awesome deal! If you are a new Key Bank customer, you can get an Sony bloggie camera for FREE when you open a checking account. There are some requirements in order for you to get the FREE camera, you can see the complete list of details HERE, but I will list the basics for you.

• Open either a Key Express Free Checking or Key Advantage Money Market Checking account by October 8, 2010.
• Make one Key Bank Rewards debit Card transaction.
• Have a  combination of two direct deposits and/or automated payments each of $100 or more by December 10, 2010

You must enroll in the KeyBank Rewards points program. You can enroll by requesting a KeyBank Rewards debit card from the branch, by calling 877-KEY-ONLY, or through the online application on key.com. There is a $20 annual fee for the KeyBank Rewards Program that will be waived for the first year.

You can get all the answers to FAQ HERE.   This offer is available in the following districts: Cleveland, Eastern OH, Idaho, Western NY, Oregon, Seattle Cascades, South Puget Sound, Central NY, Rochester, Maine, Northwest OH, Michigan, Capital Region NY, and Hudson Valley NY.

You can either apply online or apply at one of their branches if you are interested in taking advantage of this deal.

They has a similiar offer awhile back where they were offering a FREE Ipod Touch, I have had several people inform my that they have in fact received their Ipod, so these types of deals do work, you just need to make sure you pay close attention to all the requirements. I did the Ipod offer, and I am still the in the process of qualifying for it, but I will be sure to let you know when I receive it.

I enjoy eating out, mostly because I don’t have to do the cooking or the cleaning. However, I don’t like paying the high price tag that comes with eating out. With a family of 7 (and 3 kids that can no longer eat of the kids menu) we don’t eat out all that often as a family. When we do eat out, I always try to find a way to save some money.

Here are some of the things that we do that save us money when we eat out:

Restaurant.com – I have used Restaurant.com tons! They often have sales, so you can end up getting a $25 restaurant.com gift card for only $2-3. By using these gift certificates we can drastically reduce our bill for nicer restaurants. Our final bill is usually fairly close to what it would have cost us to eat out at a fast food restaurant.

Free Gift Cards – I have earned gift cards for FREE by using MyPoints. I have been able to redeem my points for gift cards to Panera Bread, The Cheescake Factory and more.

Restaurant Websites – If you have a restaurant that you really enjoy, you should check out their website. Lots of times they will have printable coupons or email clubs that you can sign up for. Here are a just a few of the websites offering deals:

• Sweet Tomatoes – They will email you coupons for Buy One Get One FREE meals and more.
• Famous Dave’s – They will send you a FREE offer on your birthday ranging from a FREE dessert to a FREE All-American feast.
• Qdoba – Exclusive offers and FREE gift on your birthday.

Entertainment Book – I usually always buy the Entertainment book each year, there are lots of coupons in the book that can get you FREE food.

Groupon – I am finding that Groupon is a great way to get some great discounts for local restaurants. I picked up the discounts they had for Fatburger and Garlic Jim’s. Keep an eye on Groupon for your area and something may pop up that interests you.

IKEA – Ocassionaly we take advantage of the great food deals you can get at IKEA. IKEA regularly has FREE food for kids or $1 Meatball meals.

Skip the drinks – Sometimes we will skip the drinks all together and just go for water.  It’s healthier and cheaper!

Share a Meal – Sometimes restaurants serve an enormous amount of food and there is no way I could eat everything that is on the plate.   Instead or ordering a kids meal for my daughter, we will occasionally share my meal.   It’s a great way to save money and not feel stuffed too.

What are some things that you do to save money when eating out?

I mentioned that we would be saving all of the gift cards we earned throughout the year, for our Disney World vacation.  Here is the finally tally of all the gift cards we earned.

$415 – Disney gift cards (Applying for (2) Disney Visa’s and accumulated rewards)
$125 – Target gift cards (MyPoints Rewards, Prescription & Target gift card offers)
$100 – The Cheesecake Factory (Rewards from husbands work)
$50 – Panera Bread (Mypoints Rewards)
$50 – Chevron (Auction)
$40 – Visa gift cards (Rewards from husbands work)
$40 – Tully’s gift card (gift)
$25 – American Express gift card (blog giveaway)
$25 – Costco gift card (blog giveaway)
$25 – Aldi (blog giveaway)
$25 – Jamba Juice (gift)
$10 – Walmart (blog giveaway)

Total = $930

That is $930 in gift cards we can add to our vacation fund to help pay for food, gas, groceries, souvenirs and more!  I usually like to save all of my gift cards and use them for Christmas shopping, it’s amazing how fast they can add up when you save them for something special.   Anybody else like to save their gift card for one big event?

Swagbucks has some fun things planned for this week to celebrate the kids heading back-to-school. Plus, if you are a new member you can sign up this week and get 70 Swagbucks for FREE!

Here is some of the fun that Swag Bucks has planned for this week:

• Swag Store sales
• Limited edition collectible Swag Bucks Bills
• Huge Swag Code Extravaganza on Thursday

If you haven’t yet signed up for Swagbucks, you can sign up now and get 30 Swagbucks just for signing up, you will get an additional 40 Swagbucks for entering the code BackToSchool.  That will give you a total of 70 Swagbucks for FREE, and you will be well on your way to earning enough to get your first $5 Amazon gift card.  The special Swagcode is only good for new members and until 11:59 PM PDT on August 15, 2010.

You can earn Swagbucks by searching the Internet like you usually do, but instead of going to google, you would go to SwagBucks.com and search from there. Make sure you download the Swagbucks toolbar, because it makes it so much easier to search and earn Swagbucks. Plus, you will find special announcements with free Swag Codes every now and then. To really maximize your earning potential, you will want to share Swag Bucks with your friends, family or blog readers.

I use the Swagbucks I earn to buy Amazon gift cards and it helps me to pay for birthday and Christmas gifts.  I also like to save all my gift cards to make bigger purchases that aren’t necessarily in the budget.   Swagbucks has become my favorite way to earn FREE gift cards online.   Give it a try today and get your FREE 70 Swagbucks!

Mint.com is a FREE online money management  and budgeting tool that will help you keep track of your finances. I have to admit I am a pen and paper kind of girl when it comes to keeping track of our finances, but I guess that’s primarily because I don’t currently own any software that can track everything for me.   With Mint.com I don’t need to buy any software, it is totally FREE! We all love FREE!

If you don’t currently have a budget, this tool can help you determine what you spend in each category and then you can determine what your budget will need to be. It can help you decide which areas you need to cut back in if necessary. If you already have a budget, this will help you to keep track of all your spending. It sounds like a great resource.

Mint.com already has over 1 million users, so it must be pretty good.   I am going to give it a try for a month and I will let you know how it goes.   Is there anybody that is currently using this FREE service?   Let me know what you think. If you are interested in signing up for your free account, you can do so HERE.

I am sure that most of us have had a time in our life where we needed to make some extra money. This has definitely been the case for our family. Our financial situation is different today than it was years ago. We had a period where a company my husband used to work for, wasn’t doing well, we went months without receiving a steady paycheck. This can be very stressful!

I have always been a stay at home mom (17 years now), but I have also tried to bring in some extra money for our family. I am going to share with you the different things I have done, to bring in extra money for our family. Some worked great, and others not so well. Hopefully, if you are in need of a little extra money, either to supplement your income, or to pay for things you want, this will give you a starting point for some ideas. I will be sharing the things that I am familiar with and have experience in, but I would love to hear from all of you too.

So, here are the things that I have done to earn extra money for our family:

Ebay – Ebay is what saved our family during those lean times. I will be sharing in detail the items that I have sold that have been great moneymakers for me, particularly Gymboree clothing and Target clearance toys. You can see $740 in profit I made at Christmastime last year by selling items on Ebay.

Blogging – This one is a surprise for me! When I started my blog I had no idea that it would be a way to make money. The great part is, it is something that I enjoy, I am able to share my love for coupons, deals and frugal living. I get to help others, and our family is blessed in return.

At Home Parties – I have been a consultant for several of the at-home party companies, like Pampered Chef, Stampin’ Up! and Discovery Toys. If you are disciplined and outgoing, this can be a great way to make a little extra money. I usually just spent my earnings on new product, so it didn’t always work out to be a money maker for me. The starter kits are usually a great deal, so it is something to think about.

Promos – If you look around for promos that companies are offering, you can actually make a little money. Examples of this are the banking deals: Key Bank is offering a FREE iPod iTouch for opening a checking account, and Chase was offering $100 for opening a checking account (Chase deal is expired now). I know the iPod isn’t cash, but you can sell it on Ebay to earn money.

Reward Sites – Sites like Swagbucks, Mypoints and Ebates, can help to supplment your income. You can redeem your points for gift cards and then you can use those to buy groceries or other items you need. You may not make a ton of money, but the potential is there! I have done really well with Swagbucks and Mypoints, I have earned hundreds of dollars in gift cards from both of those sites.

Hobbies – My mom and I used to do craft shows. I would make floral arrangements and to decorative painting, my mom would sell sewn items. We had a ton of fun together. We actually had some really good shows a couple of times. We also had some really lame ones too. I also had the opportunity to make some money being on a design team for a scrapbook company, I was paid cash for the layouts that I had published. It really is possible to make some extra money with your hobby.

Seasonal or Temporary Work – I started working at a flower shop in high school. I now have to opportunity to help out at the flower shop on holidays and during school dances, this brings in a little extra money at times. I have also delivered phone books to earn some extra money.

Talents – I mentioned above that I used to work at a flower shop. In the past I had the chance to do quite a few wedding flowers. I was able to do this out of my own home, so it didn’t effect my family. If you play the piano, you could teach lessons out of your home. There are lots of ways to make money with the talents you have.

Over the next couple of weeks I will be explaining more about all of these items in detail, hopefully,  you can get some ideas of things that may work for you. I am no expert at making money, but I can share what has and hasn’t worked for me.  If you have something that you do that brings in some extra money, please share! If you would be interested in writing a guest post, that would be great too, just shoot me an email at thriftyandthriving@gmail.com.

Leave me a comment if there is one of these particular categories you want me to explain in detail first.

Here is another great bank offer for you! This one is even easier than the Key Bank FREE iPod Touch deal. When you open a Chase checking account by May 28th, and use the printable coupon found HERE, you can get a $100 cash bonus. Just print the coupon and take it with you into the bank. If you would prefer to apply online, you can do so HERE.

Here are the requirements:

• You will need to make a $100 deposit
• Keep the checking account open for 6 months

Then do either of the following (within 60 days):

• Set up direct Deposit OR
• Make 5 debit card purchases

Sounds like an easy $100 to me!   This offer is only available to new Chase checking customers.   The $100 should be credited to your account 10 days after you meet the requirements.   Remember, this deal expires May 28th, so you will need to act quickly.

Thanks Money Saving Mom!

I mentioned that an additional way we are save money for our Disneyworld vacation, is by saving all the gift cards we earn for FREE. I have the following additions to add to the envelope:

$30 worth of  Target gift cards
$25 American Express gift card
$50 Chevron gift card (won this in an auction)
(I already added the AT&T MC in the photo)
Gift Card Totals for our trip = $250!!

This is a great way to save money for almost anything! Save all those Target gift cards you earn from promotional offers all year long, and by the time Christmas rolls around, you should have a nice pile of gift cards that you can use for Christmas shopping. Is there a camera or a larger ticket item you want to purchase? Saving the gift cards you earn can help you purchase those items too.

Photo credit: ERIC ALBRECHT

I thought I would share with you a couple of money articles that I read this week that I absolutely loved.  First, is a story about a teen who bought a home with her 4-H winnings, that she had saved since she was 4 years old. It’s refreshing to see a money savvy teen.  I think it’s just amazing that she was able to pay cash for a house at such a young age.   What an inspiration!   I also find it amazing that you can actually buy a 4 bedroom home for only $40,000. I think I need to move to Ohio!

The second article is 11 Budget-Planning Mistakes to Avoid. I agree with everything Ann-Marie Murphy said in her article. I highly recommend the you read the article, and if you haven’t started budgeting, then get started TODAY!! It’s amazing how much your finances can change just by being aware of what they are.

Have you read anything interesting lately? If so, leave a link, I would love to check it out.

I am sharing with you some of the money mistakes I made last month. One of these items is something that happens on a regular basis (library fines), and I want to change that. Nobody likes to throw money away. I am posting these to get you thinking. What mistakes do you make that result in you throwing money away each month, and how can you fix it. Please share!

Library Fines – I had some books/movies that I returned late last month, resulting in $3.10 worth of fines. $3.10 doesn’t sound like a lot, but if I had that same amount in fines every month, it would total $37.20 for the year. Do you know how many groceries and items you can get for $37.20. All of these items HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE only cost me around $20.00, so you can imagine how much you can buy with $37.20.

MY GOAL: Get those library books in on time! (I am off to a bad start, because I already have a movie that was due 2 days ago)

I didn’t call on a Catalina that didn’t print – I did a deal at Safeway, I bought the correct items, but my $10 Catalina didn’t print. I had planned on calling the Catalina company, to have it sent to me, but I never did. It seemed like a hassle whenever I thought about it, and I just let it go. Now I can’t find the receipt. That’s $10 I threw away.

MY GOAL: To get over it! Sometimes when I make a mistake I let it bother me for far too long. I am going to forget about it and move on!

I haven’t done my taxes yet – Did I just admit that? We were out of town when they were due, so I filed for an extension. I have them almost complete, I was just waiting for 2 bits of information I needed to get from my husband (he gave them to me over a month ago). We don’t owe any money, so I won’t have to pay any interest, but we are getting some money back. Money that I could have put into our savings account and be earning interest on it. I should have done them in February like I normally do, I just kept putting them off.

MY GOAL: Get my taxes filed by next Monday.

I am sure I have had more money mistakes from last month, but I am going to stop there before I get really depressed at the amount of money I have thrown away. I can’t be alone! Let me know about a money mistake you made last month, big or small.

1.  We Don’t Buy Paper Towels
I don’t think we have bought a roll of paper towels in over 10 years. We simply use our kitchen rags or sponges to wipe up any spills. We used crumpled up newspapers to clean glass and mirrors. It works perfect, and doesn’t leave any streaks. Plus, I am sure most of us have stacks of newspapers lying around.

2. We Mostly Drink Water
We don’t buy juice or pop all that often. Water is so much cheaper and better for you too. We usually save pop for special occasions like birthday parties. I will buy juice on occasion, but not nearly as much as my teenage son wishes I would. Two of our children prefer water over the other drinks anyway.

3. We Use our Library – ALOT!!!
The library is a HUGE money saver that almost anyone can take advantage of. You can get books, CD’s, magazines and movies all for FREE! I think most libraries allow you to put items “on hold” online and then pick them up when they come in. Here is a tip: Our library puts upcoming books and movies in their system months before they come out. This allows us to put the popular books on hold before they are published and we can often get them the day they are released. No need to rush out and buy a book the day it is released – put it on hold a couple months before. I use Amazon.com
as a resource to see what new books and movies will be coming out.

4. We Cut our Own Hair
My husband does most of the hair cutting in our family. We bought a nice pair of clippers, and my husband says it super easy to cut the boys hair. I’m not saying we don’t ever have our hair cut by professionals, but it is super easy to maintain the boys hair cuts at home (we have 5 boys including my husband, so that is a lot of savings) I find it easy to trim up mine and my daughters hair too.

5. We go with Basic Cable (usually)
I had to throw that “usually” in there, because when we moved  we signed up with a deal that gave us more than the basic channels, but it turned out to be cheaper than just the basic cable when you factored in the cash back we received. Once our year is up, we will probably just switch back to the basic cable. We are not big TV watchers anyway, just need our Survivor and we’re happy campers. By the way, I am loving the whole Heroes vs. Villains theme this season.  I will admit I am loving  HGTV.  Give the basic cable a try!  You will save money and probably spend less time watching TV.

I would love to hear something you do that saves you money. I could always use some more money saving idea, so share your tips.