Photographer: Beverly A Joyner (Source)

Today we discuss: coupons! I love coupons; as a matter of fact, I’m quite certain that if I lived in the United States, I would end up on the Extreme Couponing show. Couponing combines all the things I love: cheap to free items, strategy, organization and saving money. I try to use coupons in Israel as much as I can, but they tend to be lame and don’t help save much money, if any at all. It’s a shame!

When I CAN use coupons, say when I go abroad to the US or other countries, believe you and I, I go overboard on the preparation. I search the web like a mad woman trying to find deals to all the stores I’m planning on visiting: looking through couponing sites, the stores’ sites, their social media and local couponing blogs. I’ve found amazing discounts in the past, from very affordable hotel rooms, to freebies at Victoria’s’ Secret.  I feel like I live the American couponing dream for a slight moment.

 So I’ve said my piece! How about you, do you coupon?

I love to shop online. It was actually the sole reason why I got a credit card in the first place. When I finally had that beautiful piece of plastic in my hands, I went straight to an e-commerce store and bought a bunch of goodies.  Nowadays, I always prefer to buy online as opposed to brick and mortar stores.

Why, you ask, do I prefer to buy online? Well, let me count the ways!

1) I can find better prices

I’m very strategic about my purchases in general. I always want to save money and find the best deals. The beauty of online shopping is that I can easily search for coupon & discounts in Google. If my purchase isn’t urgent, I can also take my time to wait for items to go on sale. I use comparison shopping websites to make sure I’m buying at the best price possible, even for my supermarket shopping!

2) I can buy products from abroad

Sometimes, there’s amazing products out there that haven’t managed to make their way to my area. But with all the worldwide shipping options that e-commerce stores offer, that’s no longer a problem. I can have it all shipped directly to me, and I’ve never actually had to pay for the shipping!

3) Savings on gas and time

Gas is so expensive here, and I can’t afford to waste it. Parking alone can take me ten minutes while I try to find an open spot. Then, I spin around all over the supermarket or store trying to figure out what I want, only to purchase even more than I had intended & then spend 20+ minutes waiting in line at the cash register! Not only does it take a heavier toll on my pocket, it takes my valuable time away. Since I switched to online shopping, I have saved so much time & gas money. (And I don’t have as many snack items lying around at home)

4) I love the hours

E-commerce stores are open 24-7. You know when my supermarket is open? Up until I arrive home from work. That’s no good! I used to leave work early or wake up early on my days off so I could make it on time to the supermarket. No more! I can just get everything delivered comfortably.

I shared the reasons why I shop online. How about you – why do you shop online? Share below!

As a giveaway and contest lover, I obviously love getting free things, finding great deals and making some extra money.

I also have a lot of things lying around: winnings, former purchases, clothes that no longer fit me, things I no longer use but are still present in my apartment, and so much more.

Instead of throwing it away, I would much prefer to make some money off of it. Well, great news – your junk can be someone else’s treasure!

Let’s go through a few great ways to sell your unwanted goods and get some money in exchange.

1) Sell your DVDs, CDs & Games online

Just because you got some great use of them in the past, doesn’t mean that others shouldn’t now!

We all have dozens to hundreds of CDs, DVDs and games lying around the house. (In my mom’s case, thousands!)

Take advantage of sites that are happy to buy your used CDs and DVDs and pay you money in exchange.

They’ll even let you know upfront how much they are willing to cover.

It’s an easy way to sell your DVDs and CDs, and a profitable way to get rid of all that clutter!

2) Auction it off

Take a picture, write a short description and auction off your goods on sites like eBay.

Before selling anything, make sure that you do your research. You could be selling something valuable for very cheap!

Look up the item’s used sale value online; keep tabs on how much others are selling the same item for, and under what condition.

Assess the value of your item versus other sales listings, and you’ll be able to have a stronger grasp on what is a fair asking price.

3) Yard Sales

I was always obsessed over yard sales; I loved buying interesting, used items for cheap. It was thanks to yard sales that I had a collection of Archie comic books and crafting materials as a kid.

In the end, it was a great way for someone to get rid of their unwanted clutter and sell it to a happy, willing customer: me!

Yard sales can be fun to arrange, albeit a lot of work. You can sell lots of goods, but make sure to advertise as best as you can – on Facebook, newspapers, forums, CraigsList, etc.

You can also publish online in websites like YardSaleSearch so people looking for goodies find your yard sale.

4) Consignment Shops

Consignment shops are unique in that you provide the item, and when they sell it, the earnings are split between you both.

The percentage varies from consignment shop to shop, so do your research when you approach them.

These types of stores are usually very picky and will only sell quality items; they must be in excellent condition and worth a decent amount.

You can find online consignment shops, including some that focus mainly on selling gently used clothing, accessories and perfume.

Some may even pay you for the item upfront rather than wait until a customer completes a purchase!

5) There’s a used store for everything online

We live in a digital age where everything can be done and found online.

Take advantage of that privilege and search for sites that cater to the specific products you want to sell. Interested in selling electronics like mobile phones, computers or tablets?

There’s a site for that. Interested in selling books that you have read too many times? There’s a site for that, too.

What about the stuffed animal your ex-boyfriend gave you for Valentine’s Day three years ago? Yep! You can find a place to sell that online, too.

These shops are becoming more social and active, so your items can be showcased to your Facebook friends.

Payments will come in easily and promptly through Paypal or if you chose, through gift cards to online stores like Amazon.com.

My trip to the UK is coming up and as a frugally-conscious spender, it’s time for me to figure out how to save my money!

I like to prepare ahead of time for those moments – there’s no sense in me spending so much money unnecessarily.

That mission takes proper research.

In comes this new gem of a website that I have just discovered: Couponster.co.uk – this site is the gift that keeps on giving!

Source: Beverly A Joyner

When you land on the website, it speaks for itself – there are hundreds, if not thousands, of vouchers at your disposal and all are easy to acquire by merely clicking a button.

The site is really organized and can help you move through the vouchers by categories like Babies & Kids, Books & Magazines, Music and more.

You can easily check out the more popular vouchers, see when they expire, for what company and the worth of the voucher.

It’s all incredibly accessible and aesthetically organized.

Of course, anything that has expired will automatically be removed and won’t fool you into thinking it’s still available.

I preferred to look at my vouchers by shop, so I clicked up top on the button called “Shops” and got an organized alphabetical list of all the UK shops and brands offering discounts.

There were more than I imagined… I’m going to be saving a lot of money on my purchases!

A simple search can also help you find your desired coupons. It’s all so easy to work with. They get an A+ for having the ability to organize something that could potentially be so disorganized.

On we go to my actual redeeming of vouchers…

We’re staying a night in the Marriot, but alas – we couldn’t find a good deal that included breakfast. Well guess what?

I scrolled down and kapow! I immediately found a coupon for a free breakfast. The beauty of this site is that when I clicked on the Marriot image, I got to see even more coupons that can be used at the hotel.

I just redeemed a voucher for a second night at the Marriot for 30% off. Hello savings!

I was also planning to buy some shirts and clothing items from Macy’s online while there.

Well, thanks to Couponster, I’m paying 25% less. Those savings are going into more clothing. 🙂

I also just redeemed another voucher to get a pair of free footwear with my purchase… these offers are just adding up the more I go through the website.

No doubt about it – this is my new favorite coupon website.

If you’re anything like me, you want to save money. But I don’t just save money – I make it an art form! I pre-plan my purchases every year so I can buy only when items are at their cheapest.  Spring is a great month to save on fall and winter-related products. Winter stock in particular is being sold for ultra-cheap: stores want to rid themselves of their seasonal goods.

Are you looking to save as well? Here is my list of my off-season purchases for spring:

1) Christmas stuff

April is the best time of the year to buy your Christmas decorations, lights and miscellaneous bits and pieces. Why? It’s simple economics! Demand is down, so prices go down. Christmas-related companies are selling their stock cheap, and it’s a smart time to take advantage of their sales. The specialty stores are the place to go: for example, ChristmasLightsEtc.com has a 40% discount. Heck, you know what you need already, you don’t need to wait until the Xmas rush and high prices to buy it.

2) Presents for all the kids

Have you ever made a gift closet? If not, you really need to. If you have children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews, it’s a great way to stock up on all the presents you need for the rest of the year. This is especially true if you have kids of your own who also have dozens of friends’ birthday parties to go to. Why spend heaps of cash and time on last-minute purchases? Stock up on gifts now when prices are low and stores are trying to rid themselves of what’s left-over of Christmas stock.

Source: All the Frugal Ladies

3) eBay becomes more active

eBay is wonderful post-winter. Everything that was gifted in Christmas, but not desired, will be up for grabs for cheap! Enough time has passed that the receivers of the gift will no longer feel guilty, or they may lose desire or use for the product. This winter hit hard, so shipments and selling was limited… no one wanted to walk to the post office in such extreme conditions. But now that the weather has warmed up, the goods are up for grabs!

4) Non-spring clothes and shoes

Anytime the season is changing, stores will provide sales and discounts on their product in order to make room for the new seasonal trends. March and April is the moment when I go to stores and check out what they offer from their Winter stock. I get all the necessary goodies that I need for the winter – jackets, heavy coats, boots, and sweaters. I’ve gotten insane discounts at times, even paying 10% of the original price. The trick is to avoid the overly trendy clothes and shoes: pink and black dots may have been on trend this past season, but they may be untrendy a year from now!

Do you buy seasonal products off-season? Tell us below!