This holiday season get in the habit of looking for the real best price at Amazon. While Amazon has lots of great deals, they don’t hold a monopoly on all of them.
When I’m shopping for an item I make it a habit to look at all sellers. Take the 30 seconds to see if the Amazon price is really the best price.
Check out this Daily Doodle calendar
Amazon’s price (which can change several times a day) is $10.39
But check out the link to other sellers
Notice some items cost $3.99 to ship and others qualify for Free Super Saver Shipping. Those items are FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) items. They are in an Amazon warehouse and can be packaged with the rest of your Amazon order. This helps you get to the magic $25 free shipping threshold faster — and supports a 3rd party seller. In this example, check out the $8.05 price tag — shipped FREE. That’s about 20% cheaper than buying directly from Amazon.
It’s quick and easy to see if there’s another cheaper option. Take the 30 seconds and save yourself some money.
Disclaimer: Yes, the calendar used in this example is actually one from our company. For a full list of what we have for sale at Amazon visit our webstore. Most of these items are available for Free Super Saver Shipping through Amazon’s Fulfillment By Amazon Program. Happy Savings!
There are many things that you can do to your home to make it more energy efficient, but I’m going to talk today about just one simple thing that you can do to save money on your heating bill. And it doesn’t require a trip to the home improvement store or climbing into your attic to check the insulation (although it’s not a bad idea). Many areas of the country allow the customer a choice of energy suppliers. Here in Duke Energy land (aka greater Cincinnati), we can choose our natural gas and electric supplier through Ohio’s Customer Choice program. If you heat your house and/or water with natural gas check out the list of suppliers. So, how do you compare rates? It’s easy!
- Check out your current rate at the PUCO’s Apples to Apples Comparison Chart. There’s a chart for each natural gas supplier in the state of Ohio. Locate what you’re currently paying — listed on page 1. Mine says “Duke Energy Ohio’s Rate” is $0.76 per ccf. This is the base to compare.
- Check out page 2 and compare the rates of the other natural gas suppliers. You can choose a variable or fixed rate. Since I’m not a gambler I chose to look at fixed rate plans. I could save money with a variable rate, but I could also spend more money. I’ll stick with predictable. Your situation may be different.
- Consider early termination fees — this is a real fee. If you cancel your plan with a 3rd party supplier before your contract is up, you’ll have to pay this fee. One supplier currently charges $150 fee to cancel. Ouch! Weigh this against the benefits of a lower natural gas rate.
- Found a company you like? Give them a call or check out their website (listed here) to verify current pricing.
- Grab a current Energy bill and make the call. If you have questions, ask. You can set up a new account over the phone and information will be mailed to you.
If last year’s usage is any indication, this one phone call is going to save me over $100 this winter. Not bad for 15 minutes of my time.
If you’re reading from outside of Ohio and know of a similar program in your state, please leave a comment with a link to your state’s program.
Happy Savings!
The holiday baking season is just around the corner. Survey your supplies and come up with a wish list. Between now and Christmas I expect to see great deals on traditional Thanksgiving foods and baking supplies. Remember many things store well, and can be used next year. I freeze margarine, butter, and nuts to prolong their life.
Here’s what I stock up on for the holidays and the price I’m looking for this holiday season:
- Flour 5# bag $0.99
- Chocolate Chips (name brand) 12oz $1.25
- sugar 5# bag $1.75
- brown sugar 2# bag $0.99
- powdered sugar 2# bag $0.99
- butter 1# sticks $1.50
- eggs $1/dozen
- imitation vanilla (any brand) 8oz $0.99
Watch my weekly deals posted on Monday’s to see when to stock up on these and other items.
When I started putting together the list of Gift Card Bonus deals this holiday season I only expected to find deals from restaurants. But guess what…..CVS is getting in on the action. Order a $25 eCert and get a $5 eCert. Full details here or go to CVS.com and follow the links at the bottom for Gift Cards. Guess what I’m buying…
These gift cards are printable at home and then usable at any CVS loation. Not valid for cvs.com purchases.
More Gift Card Bonus Deals – the list keeps growing….
(photo from the State of Florida)
It’s Open Enrollment season for Health Insurance. Every year we look at the employer based options and try to guess how healthy we’re going to be the next year. We look at past experiences and then try to guesstimate next year’s expenses and which insurance plan will be the best for us. This year I tried something new, and I hope you will too. Our company offered a Q&A about the options available to us. I wasn’t able to be in the office so they offered a call-in conference number. It was great! I got to hear the presentation, ask questions, and hear questions from other employees and spouses. Now I feel like I’m more informed about our choices. Tonight I’m making a chart and picking a plan.
Does your company offer health insurance choices? Do you understand the differences? If not, suggest they offer a Q&A for employees and spouses.
Make it a habit….ask questions about money matters that affect you.
‘Tis the season…..for bonus bucks from retailers, restaurants AND Coinstar. Now through December 6th, bring in at least $40 in loose change and get a bonus $10 (by mail). Full details here.
Coinstar did a similar promotion last year. I collected a bunch of coins and was ready to go. But wait…..Coinstar charges a fee to change coins….UNLESS you convert the amount into a gift certificate or eCertificate. Then coin counting is FREE!
- Look for a machines that offer eCertificates and gift certificates. Look for the
and 
symbols in the location description. I like to turn my change into Amazon certificates, but other options are available too. To see a list of available certs check out this list.
- Bring at least $40 to the Coinstar machine. (I actually have the kids count out $5 extra just to be on the safe side.)
- Claim Form will print at the bottom of the receipt
- Fill out form and mail it in before Jan 6, 2010
Then in about 6-8 weeks, you’ll get your bonus $10 in the mail. Official rules here. (One rule of note — limit 1 per household or address.) So, now you have at least a $40 certificate to someplace like Amazon to use now, and $10 will come in February when the winter dulldrums abound.
More Gift Card Bonus Deals – the list keeps growing….
Yes, it’s true. I just spent 17 minutes on the phone with my local newspaper to save $2. Was it worth it? I think so and here’s why.
I subscribe to the Sunday paper for the coupons. Truely. Yes, we read the comics and sometimes read the articles, but the real reason I subscribe is for the coupons. I’m a big coupon shopper and this is the most effective way for me to get grocery coupons. Sunday’s paper seemed a little small. I thumbed through the ads and noticed there was only 1 coupon insert and no ads for Walgreen’s, Office Depot, or Staples. Usually there’s 2 coupon inserts, so I checked Taylortown Preview’s coupon schedule. Yup, there was supposed to be 2 coupon inserts in the paper.
Armed with the facts, I called. After 2 minutes it was obvious that I’d be on hold for quite some time. I took the opportunity to do a few odd jobs around the house while waiting. After 16 minutes my call was answered. Inside of a minute I explained my issue and was offered a credit on my account. Now I’ll get an extra week of delivery and can continue to save money at the grocery store.
(note: this was written on a Monday, I didn’t wait half the week to call the paper.)
