Pinching pennies proves prudent by Sarah Cocchimiglio

Pinching pennies proves prudent
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SARAH HEARTBURN
By: Sarah Cocchimiglio
09/18/2008
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I bargain shop like it's my job. And now it sort of is.
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One of my responsibilities at the new company is to organize the first company picnic later this month, and I was given a budget with which to feed everyone and provide one cool prize for each family attending.
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At first I was a little overwhelmed - my boss wanted me to buy things like a weekend in Atlantic City and a family pack of passes to HersheyPark, for at least eight families, plus prizes for each of the kids, and still have money left over for burgers and beer. Even for a tightwad like me, that sounded impossible.
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But my husband, Anthony, encouraged me to look at planning a great party on a tight budget as a personal challenge, so I do what I do best: I made a lot of lists, and I did a lot of shopping around.
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After a couple eight-hour work days spent in retail stores and online (life's rough, isn't it?), I think my haul will impress my boss and make for a great inaugural picnic: A DVD player with Blockbuster gift card; a "dinner in" package with 12 pillar candles, an Applebee's gift card and a Blockbuster gift card; six tickets to the Reading Phillies for the 2009 season; $500 to an Atlantic City resort and casino; four tickets to HersheyPark; four tickets to the Philadelphia Zoo; a Magellan GPS unit; a "dinner out" package with Fandango.com gift certificate and Ruby Tuesday gift card; eight packages for the kids full of toys and kits, all for less than $1,200, with more than $300 left to spend on food and beverages.
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I know, I rock. I think my co-workers are going to love me.
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My deal-discovering at work is not only limited to party-planning, either. One day not long after I started, my boss asked me to shop around for a good deal on a microwave for our new office. When I came back with a brand new Sanyo model and a receipt for $55, she seemed shocked.
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"You got a new microwave for less than $60?" she asked.
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I found a good deal at Bed, Bath and Beyond, and in addition I had a 20 percent off coupon. (Bed, Bath and Beyond, by the way, will honor those coupons even after the expiration date, so don't toss them - ever.)
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In fact, I've sort of become the office shopper. Whenever someone needs to buy or order something, it seems they're coming to me to find the best deal.
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When I brag about a great deal I found, people sometimes ask me why I'm so thrifty. I honestly don't know the answer to that, except that I get a rush out of buying something on sale or with a coupon, that I need or want, or can give as a gift. I think I also may have inherited the good-buy gene from my parents. Christmas morning is a joy with gifts from my mom, little trinkets and doohickeys she finds on sale or markdown and collects all year long. And my dad is famous for finding deals at the grocery store. "It was on sale and he had a coupon," is an axiom in the Sando household.
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Although at the end of the day I'm sure he appreciates my saving tendencies, Ant teases me about my frugality. I clip grocery store coupons, and even belong to a few Web sites like CouponMom.com and eversave.com, where I can print out manufacturer' s coupons and find stores where those items are also on sale. (Not all stores accept printed coupons, check your store's policy before printing.)
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I also do a quick Google search for "coupon code" or "promotion code" every time I buy something online, and I recently joined a Web site called Ebates.com which pays cash rebates of up to 26 percent for online purchases, and where you can double your savings by also utilizing the aforementioned online coupon and promotional codes. (When you join, say you were referred by 1luckygirl@gmail. com and they'll give you a $5 bonus to start.)
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I always browse the clearance section at a store before I check out, especially at retail stores - there are sometimes some great buys there. I've gotten a pair of jeans for $4.25, bookends for 49 cents, small jar candles for 10 cents each, and a pair of Reef flip-flops for $3. And that's just in the last few weeks.
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Occasionally, I pick up things at a huge discount and list them on eBay at the price I paid for them. Last week I sold two boxes of printable Martha Stewart invitations for $17.50. The retail price for each box was $29.99, but I bought them at 90 percent off for $2.99 each. I made almost 300 percent on them.
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And I've bookmarked sites like BlissfullyDomestic. com, ThriftyFun.com and BeingFrugal. net, which have blogs and forums offering tips on saving money and, well, being frugal.
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Anthony tells people I could back up to a wall and pull out a brick, if you know what I mean. I take it as a compliment, because he doesn't complain when he gets the bank statement. And he never gives me grief when I come home with a car full of shopping bags. How many women can say that?
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The savings are out there, you just have to be determined to find them. Take it as a challenge!
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Article Link
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http://www.zwire. com/site/ news.asp? brd=1306
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I read this today in my local paper "The Spring-Ford Reporter" in the Opinion section. I really like the tips Sarah mentioned.
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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/themastersmilieu/message/905