Freebies, Extreme Couponing and Helping Others

I've been very absent lately.  I started a new job in March and many other things in life have had me very busy.  But back to posting....

If you do couponing, or participate in rewards cards offers, you probably get free items.  What do you do with them?

We donate them to homeless shelters or abuse shelters.  We keep a paper bag that we drop our freebies or samples in.  Once a year we donate them to a shelter.

This is the start of our donations.  

If you read my blog, you know that I shop at Ulta and get free gifts.  I don't need the free gifts, so I throw them in the bag.  There is toothpaste, razors, make up cases and various other things.  

I also use Facebook and other sites to sign up for free items or samples. Anything we don't need goes in the bag.

If we are using coupons and getting free items, anything that is more than what our family needs goes into the bag.  

Shelters can always use personal hygiene items, and these items often end up being free with coupons if you're really watching your coupons. 

So, instead of amassing a massive stock pile that will take you years to use, how about giving some things to people who are truly in need?  I assure you every donation we have given has been greatly appreciated.  

Frugal Living - Sewing

I haven't sewn in awhile, but a recent visit with my friends Nancy and Katrina renewed my love of sewing.

I sewed for several years and then kids came along and my sewing slowed down.  I haven sewn for all the kids that were in my house at one time or another.

Fast forward to about a month ago.  While visiting Nancy we hit a fabric story.  Nancy and Katrina are masters at sewing and I can manage most stitches.  We were lost in a world of beautiful fabrics and tons of patterns.  I have a tween daughter is a little fashionista....with very expensive taste.

However, she has taken to sewing like a duck to water.

This was her first outfit.  Does she look a little proud?  That dress cost a whopping $5.  That includes the fabric and the pattern.  The fabric was on clearance for $3.50 a yard and we only needed a yard and the pattern was $1.

Patterns are where you need to watch your cost.  They can run $12 or more, unless...unless...you get them on sale.  If you have a fabric store near you, get on their preferred mailing list.  They will often send you coupons that you can use, but you will also get sale flyers regularly.  Usually one brand or another is on sale.  At the time I bought this pattern, Butterick was on sale.  This past week, Simplicity was on sale.  Some Wal-Mart stores carry fabric and patterns, but you have to look carefully.

Some things you don't even need a pattern for.

This beautiful piece of fabric came with the smocking already done and the bottom was hemmed. I simply had to measure around my daughter's body to see how much I needed.  These types of fabrics do run a bit more, but there is little work and great for a beginning sewer.  It was $20 a yard and I needed less than a yard, plus it was on sale for 40% off.  Not bad for a cute little dress.  All the sewing that it required was sewing a seam up the length of the material.

The last several weeks we have made hats, purses, tops, dresses, skirts, pants and more.  Many of my daughter's back to school clothes are homemade.  This is also good if you have a hard to fit person in the house.  My daughter is tall and thin.  She has a much longer torso than she does legs.  We can adjust the sizes much easier when we make things ourselves.

We also discussed the fact that all of her clothes are unique.  She has things that other kids won't have.  She got very excited when I told her that when dances come she can make her own dress rather than having to choose from what is in the store.  She is so excited.

This last creation might just be my favorite.  It is so indicative of her style.  She loves the 70s and 80s fashions and lots of color and pattern.

This little vest used less than a yard of fabric.  Again, costing us less than $5.  The pattern also included patterns for pants, a jumper, a dress and a hat.  Our dollar was well spent on this pattern.

If you don't know how to sew, check with your local community college or technical college and see if they offer classes. Many sewing stores offer classes as well.  Everyone should learn to sew to do basic repairs on their clothing and things like hemming pants.  It's quick and easy and saves you money in tailoring charges.

Just look at the pride in my daughter's face over her creations.

Frugal Living - Cosmetics

The above photo is my "haul" for the day.  It cost me a whopping $18.90 (tax included).  Yes, that's right.  Under $20 for everything!

How?  As you can tell by the brands, I went to Ulta.

I received a flyer advertising a sale that I had hit before.  Spend $17.50 or more on Ulta brand products and receive this little kit for free.  I paid for the 2 products on the left.  The Ulta Gel Eyeliner that I love, and the eye shadow crayon.  Everything else was free.  All the products, except for the shampoo were my free gift.  There is eye shadow, nail polish, lipstick, dual lip gloss, mascara, blush, 2 eye liner pencils which actually have 4 colors, and 3 makeup brushes.  Plus the carrying case. There were also 3 color palates to choose from so you have a choice.  This make up will pretty much last me until the next time they offer up this special.

The shampoo was also free because I use my Ulta loyalty card.  In my flyer was a coupon with a list of free products I could  choose from based on what I had spent in the previous few months.  The shampoo was the highest value, so that's what I got.

I was very happy with what I ended up with, and my daughter's eyes lit up when she saw the total.  Having a tween daughter in the house, I know that make up is going to be an issue in the next few years, so teaching saving techniques now is crucial.

If you don't have an Ulta near you, a great brand to save money is NYC Cosmetics.  It's available at most stores like Target, Wal-Mart or K-Mart.    Their prices are fabulous!

When I see cosmetics advertised and see prices like $30 for a mascara or $20 for one eye shadow, I just shake my head.  I feel sorry for the people that pay those crazy prices.  What a waste.  The set of eye shadow above runs about $5, or less, for the entire set. It includes 4 full sized colors, a primer to make your eye shadow last longer, and a highlighter for the corners of your eyes to make them whiter and brighter.  A tube of mascara starts at $2.  Those prices are far more reasonable.  After all, at the end of the day what do you do?  You wash your make up off!  No one looking at you can tell whether you spent $2 or $20 on your mascara, so why bother?

Save the money for a great vacation, a donation to a charity, or a date with your partner.  It's far more worth it.

Frugal Living - Facebook

Some people love Facebook and others hate it and find it absolutely useless.  However, it can be very valuable to your budget.

There are various Facebook groups that post free or discounted offers.  Some of my favorites are Hey It's Free, Sisterly Savings, Woman Freebies and Teen Freeway.  (Come on, I have a tween kiddo).

These groups post links to free offers, coupons or giveaways.  For those of us in rural areas, not all the offers are useful, but many are.  Your freebies can range from a sample size of something, which is a great way to try a new product before you spend money on the full size version, or coupons for free products.  I have gotten free yogurt from Dannon and Yoplait, full size bottles of shampoo from Pantene and Herbal Essence, packages of Tide stain releaser, and my favorite freebie was the day Fed Ex showed up at my door.  Skinny Cow had sent me 2 full boxes of the new candy they were introducing.  It was beautifully packaged and had ice packs in it to keep the candy cool so it didn't melt.  Who wouldn't like free chocolate delivered straight to their doorstep?

When we moved our son into his first apartment for 6 weeks before college started, we loaded him up with free items and introduced him to the Hey It's Free page.  He had handfuls of samples of shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant and other toiletry items.  It saved us money and it was easier to transport for both him and us.

Another way to use Faebook is to "Like" the page of your favorite products.  Virtually every company has a Facebook page now.  If you like their page, you will be notified of new products coming out, and often times are free giveaways for the new products.  It's an incentive to get you to try it.  Other times you will find coupons for items.  Companies try to reward you for being a customer to keep you as their customer.

One word of caution.  The coupons, especially for free items, vary greatly.  Sometimes they are mailed and other times you print them from your computer.  As to whether or not a store accepts the coupons is hit and miss.  There are frauds with internet coupons so not all stores will take them.

A final word of advice... set up a separate e-mail account that you use to sign up for your freebie offers.  Many companies tend to send you more e-mail than you want (and make sure to opt out of e-mails if possible) so having an account just for these e-mails is helpful to keep your in-box from filling up with junk mail.  You can get free accounts from Yahoo, Gmail and Hotmail.  Your in-box will thank you for it!!