This is a guest post from Rita over at Chi-Town Cheapskate. To check out more of her posts, go here. Thanks Rita!

By creating a gift closet you are able to plan ahead for gift giving rather then running out at the last minute, thus you save time, hassle and most especially money! It also comes in handy for those last minute events that seem to pop-up and saves you the embarrassment of not having something to give.

Location: This is key, while not all of us has an extra closet to devote to “gifts” any place out of the way will do. A cabinet, a bin or shelf in the basement, a drawer, under the bed…you get the idea. Having one or two central locations for your gifts means you’ll spend less time hunting for them when the time arrives to use them. If you can’t find them you can’t use them and you’ll be running out to the store, which really defeats the purpose!

Organization: You’d be surprised how quickly that closet get’s packed and many items are buried and before too long you’re not all together sure what’s in there? One solution is to keep a master list. Create a list with the item name, where you put it, your cost and who you had in mind when you bought if. Now don’t lose the list! Do yourself a favor….don’t wait for 5 minute before you need to be there to try and unbury the item…I know from experience the avalanche it causes is not worth it! And on occasion…oops it’s not there…or oops it’s the wrong size etc…

Know who your shopping for: Take some time to consider what occasions you will need gifts for and what might be appropriate. If you have a 6 year old for example you will probably need some gifts geared towards that age group as he or she will be invited to Birthday Parties. Other ideas include: teacher gifts, gifts for your girlfriends, housewarming gifts, christmas gifts.

It also pays to pay attention to people you gift to through out the year, chances are they are unwittingly giving you clues on what they like/want. When this happens keep your eyes peeled for that item at a rock bottom price.

Re-gifting: We’ve all received gifts we’ve been less then thrilled with and can’t return or exchange. When that is the case put it in the Gift Closet and re-gift it. Just wait match the gift with someone who will appreciate it, if you have someone in mind right away add it to your master list. Put a note on it so you know who gave it to you so you don’t give it back to someone in the same circle or god forbid back to the person who originally gave it to you.

Stocking the Closet: This is the fun part, shopping. It’s not a good idea to run out and “shop” for your gift closet, you’ll waste time, gas and money. Rather keep your eyes out for deals through out the year and snag items at rock bottom prices for your stash.

Holiday Stocking: The day/week after a Holiday is the best time to stock up on seasonal gifts. I have it on good authority that Santa and the Easter Bunny shop for stocking stuffers and Easter Basket goodies at that time! Although it’s not always possible to know what your child will want the following Christmas this is a good time to stock up on holiday socks, pj’s, t-shirts, egg dye kits, ginger bread house kits, etc…

Keep in mind many stores will stock up on non-holiday items at this time as well, such as toys….often they over-stock. Just wait around eventually they’ll go on clearance.

The price scanner is your friend! - not all seasonal/holiday items get put in the same area of the store when they are clearanced. Keep your eyes peeled for anything that looks remotely seasonal and scan it, often the store associates miss relocating these items.

Garage/Yard Sales - This is a great place to find gifts. Look for toys, games, craft kits, puzzles, bath & body products etc…still sealed in their original packaging. If you are giving it as a gift you want to ensure every piece is there so it makes sense to buy something still sealed. Surprisingly you find this kind of stuff fairly often!

Gift Wrap, Bags & Cards - As long as you’re out there keep your eyes peeled for deals on wrapping paper, gift bags and cards. You can find holiday/seasonal wrap and bags the week after a holiday. You should also keep your eyes peeled for Card deals, coupons and promotions around holidays. This Mother’s Day I bought several cards for a steal to use for future holidays by using a sale, promotion and a coupon to get them for next to nothing! Don’t forget about Weddings, is there anything as aggravating as running into a store in a rush on your way to the reception in your high heels because you forgot to buy a card?

Gift Cards – Keep an eye out for good deals on gift cards. Yes believe it or not they often offer incentives for buying gift cards, usually around holidays. Snatch them up when you can get  a deal and save them for gift giving! Teenagers love Gift Cards, and no trust me you don’t know what they want!

Reward Points: I turn my Discover reward points in for gift cards and save them for gift giving!

My favorite Gift Closet find this year: The Hasbro Deck of Card Games. They had Pictureka, Monopoly, Sorry and Scrabble Slam. There were $5.00 printables for these and many came with $5.00 off coupons inside. They were $5.24 at Walmart so I got them for .24 cents. I got oodles and oodles of them….!

What about you do you have a Gift Closet Frugal Tip? If so comment and let me know!

This is a guest post from Staying Lean In Oakland County. To check out more of her posts, go here. Thanks!

Tashena Lynette Gonzales is the author of  http://stayingleaninoaklandcounty.blogspot.com/ and is a Bilingual Supply Chain Specialist by day and frugal blogger at night.  She uses her education in the field of marketing, her experience as a consumer and the plethora of frugal experts already on the web to try to bring tips on frugal living to those in her area of metro Detroit, while still looking for on-line deals that other readers can enjoy nationally.

One of the biggest myths that get under any frugal shopper’s skin is hearing someone say, “I’d love to save money like that but I can’t do that and eat healthy.”  While I will admit that if you chose to eat organic only or have a very strict diet it can be difficult and more expensive to get the things you need that does not mean that you cannot eat healthy and coupon or even eat orgnaic and coupon.  Here are some tips to find what you need to keep saving 50% or more on your grocery bill.

Email the companies you love regularly – Fact of the matter is that organic companies know that you are one of their most brand loyal customers out there and they put out less coupons because of that.  However if you email them they will step up to the plate and send you some.  I literally will walk through a store and think, “Its been a long time since I had Kozy Shack pudding, I should email them . .” and take mental notes to go back and have coupons for the next time I see it on sale.  You can find a list of a few that I have emailed in the past here.

Visit the companies you love regularly and get on their email list – Some companies have regular email list and will periodically send out coupons through that route.  So while you are emailing them asked to be put on their list or look for a link to subscribe to their site.

Check coupons.com for organic coupons – The almost always have 3 or 4 organic coupons per month so check them out. You can find other sites that I have downloaded coupons from here.

Keep your catalinas – Now I will be the first to admit I am not that great at keeping my catalinas.  I probably have some in my trunk at the bottom of my reusable bags, in my car and in my coupon binder bag as we speak.  Some are a joke that I throw away right away.  But they are based on your shopping habits and are usually competitor coupons or coupons for something you bought to build your loyalty.  So if I get a soy milk, oikos, lean cuisine, Sobe Lifewater etc. I will be sure to keep those!

Be on the look out for and stock up on organic and produce coupons – There are a few that do come out in the Sunday paper and a lot of times they are good for 2 to 3 months.  So buy extra papers that week or use a coupon clipping service like the Coupon Carryout.

Get to a store that can maximize your coupons – Most grocery stores in metro Detroit double a certain amount of coupons up to $.50.  Others have even better promotions. If you are in Monroe County you can head down toa northern Ohio Kroger for their Triple coupon event which seems to happen pretty regularly.  (There are also some there that double coupons up to $.99.)  If you are in Wayne County or Macomb County or Easter Oakland County look for one of the places in Macomb County that doules coupons up to a dollar. If you are in Western Oakland County head to Livingston County to find some Kroger or VGs that double coupons up to $1.00.  If you are in Northern Oakland County head to Genesee County for Kroger or VGs that also double up to $1.00.  Waterford VGs also doubles coupons up to $1.00.

Buy organic from coupon friendly organic stores – Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods accept coupons and Whole Foods even has store coupons!

Take a good look at everything in your grocery cart – One of the most important things to remember is that you grocery shop for more than just food.  Even if you are green with all your health & beauty products and cleaning products you can still get coupons for those and save money even on a trip that you don’t have coupons for your food products.

Don’t overlook your everyday low-price stores when in a pinch – If you don’t have time to compare prices or need something without a coupon you can find some good prices at Aldi’s Sav-A-Lot or other everyday low price stores.

Don’t forget to bring your own bags! - Most grocery stores offer a $.05 discount for bringing your own bag and helping the environment.  I usually use 3 to 5 bags per shopping trip.  $.20 discount is not much but it is something.  That can cover my bananas or get me an ear of corn when they are at rock bottom price and in season.

Does this really work? For the week of 04/19/2010 There were not many good deals at Kroger so I gathered up my healthy coupons and looked for deals.  Below are details of what I bought and how I combined these strategies to still save over 50% while looking for organic and healthy products.  This tirp was done at the Kroger in Grand Blanc which doubles three like coupons up to $1.00.

Terra Chips Regular Price $4.99 sale price $3.49 MQ coupon for $1.00
Final cost $1.49

Silk Almond Milk $2.99 Catalina coupon for free Silk Almond Milk
Final cost free

Del-Monte Fruit Cup Regular Price $2.99 sale price $2.49 (2) MQ coupon for $.75/1
Final cost $.99

Dole Fruit Cup Regular Price $2.99 sale price $2.00 MQ coupon for $.75/2
Final cost $1.25

Del-Monte No Sugar Added Fruit cups Price $3.19 sale price $1.80 (2) MQ $1.00/2
Final cost $.80 each

Cascadian Farms Frozen Edamme Beans Regular Price $3.59 sale price $2.99 $1.00/1 printable
Final cost $.99

Naked Juice Regular price $3.49 sale price $2.99 $1.00/1 printable
Final cost $.99

Bolthouse Natural Juice Regular Price $2.99 sale price $2.50 $1.00 mailer from emailing (reads do not double)
Final cost $1.50 or $.50 depending on if coupon is restricted or not

Imagine free range chicken broth and vegetable broth Regular price $2.19 sale price $1.99 $1.00/2 printable
Final cost $.99 each when you buy two with coupon

Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt (3) Regular price $1.75 sale price $1.25 $.50/1 printable, $.50/2 Catalina
Final cost 1 for $.25 and 2 for $.75

Amy’s Burrito Regular price $2.49 Sale price $1.99 $.75/1 mailer from emailing
Final cost $.50

Glaceua Vitamin Waters (4) Regular Price $1.30 Sale price $.99 Buy One Get One Catalina
Final cost $.50 each

So as you can see above I used several strategies, I shopped at a store that would maximize my coupons, I had coupons from the Internet, newspaper, catalinas and from emailing companies.  If I shoppe with no coupons and nothing was on sale this is $53.61 worth of products.  If I shopped sale items with no coupons I would’ve spent $44.21 saving a little more than 17%.  But by getting to a store to maximize my coupons and using them and searching for them I paid $15.29, saving 71%!  Now you may not be able to get to a store that can double coupons up to $1.  Even without that incentive you’d end up around $25 still saving a little over 50% if the store at leasts doubles coupons up to $.50.  So the proof is there! You can save 50% on your groceries if you work a little harder even if you shop organic/natural!  What other tips do you have to reduce your expenses on Organic/Natural products?

This is a guest post from Rita over at Chi-Town Cheapskate. To check out more of her posts, go here. Thanks Rita!

Here are some tips for saving money on Hair Cuts. We all need to “trim” our budget these days and this is as good a place to start then any!

• Don’t go to a Salon
  I have a simple no-frills cut, for years I would go to a salon and spend $35-$45 every 6-weeks, I’m afraid to add up how much that costed me. I was reluctant to go someplace like Supercuts or Fantastic Sams believing I’d get an inferior cut. I finally swallowed my vanity and went to Fantastic Sams and was pleasantly surprised with a more then adequate cut. The women who worked there were older and obviously very experienced, unlike what I thought they would be young and fresh out of beauty school!
• Look for Newly Opened or Opening Salons
  They will often offer discounts and promos to build up their clientelle!
• Ask for a Junior Stylist
  If you just can’t give up the Salon for a cheaper franchise store, ask if your Salon has a junior stylist. This is someone with less experience and will often offer their services at a discount.
• Get your cut at a Training Facility or Beauty School
  You’ll get a salon cut without the salon price. Keep in mind that they will do their work under the supervision of their instructors from a supervised stylist in training. They usually offer cuts, perms, manicures, waxing and more for a fraction of the cost. Think about asking who is nearest graduation, thus ensuring you’ll get somebody with the most experience. 

  Go here to find one near you —>

• Look for Coupons
  Keep your eyes open for salon coupons in your junk mail, newspaper and coupon booklets. Also check to see if some of the Salon’s near you have an email mailing list and get yourself put on. That way you’ll be notified of sales and promos. Don’t forget to Google a salon with the word coupon to see what will come up!
• Stretch the Time in Between Visits
  They would love you to think you need your hair cut every six weeks but that’s a myth. The next time they say “let’s put you in the book for your next visit now”….kindly decline. If you have simple cut/style you can easily stretch that to 8-10 weeks that will shave 3-4 visits off per year!
• Get Your Bangs Done, Free
  Don’t pay to get your bangs done. Most stylists will trim your bangs between cuts for free. You simply drop in and the trim takes less than five minutes. At best they will charge you a minimal fee of $5, this can help you stretch time between haircuts!
• Wash and condition at home.
  Many salons, including the franchises like Great Clips and Fantastic Sams will charge you extra for that shampoo. They very sneakily will not tell you this, so when you look at the marquee or pricing pamphlet you are seeing the price w/out the Shampoo and Conditioner. Do what I do jump in the shower before heading and arrive with freshly washed and still wet hair. Or let them spray it down to wet it. You’ll save a minimum of $3.
• Blowdry & Style
  Same as the wash and conditioner this costs extra, so I always skip this part. Plus I really don’t have the patience to sit through it, once my hair is cut I’m antsy to get out and finish running my errands.
• Go to a Barber
  If you have a simple cut/style consider going to a barber, they’re not just for Men. I realize this can take some guts but you’ll pay alot less in most cases.

This is a guest post from Katie over at Coupon Katarina. To check out more of their posts, go here. Thanks!

WEEKEND NEWSPAPER: This is (and always will be in my opinion) the #1 way to get coupons. In my area we receive our coupon inserts in the Saturday paper; however the majority of you will want to purchase the Sunday paper to receive all your coupons. ALWAYS CHECK to make sure the paper you are purchasing has the coupons inside. I’ve been burned a couple times…got home…no coupons! Ugh. That’s the worst. Usually on holiday weekends there are no coupon inserts (boo!), but sometimes they surprise you, so always check. The coupon inserts are as follows: RedPlum, Smartsource, General Mills and Proctor & Gamble. Go here to view the 2010 Coupon Insert Schedule and see what coupons will be in the coming weekends inserts!

INTERNET SITES LIKE: coupons.com, smartsource.com, redplum.com, etc. I will also give you a daily update on what other printable coupons are available. There is an insane amount of printable coupons these days – it is never ending.

Facebook has become the new cool place to release HOT high value coupons and even FREEBIES. If you are leary of putting your info on the internet for all the world to see, I would still sign up with Facebook even if it is JUST to grab HOT coupons and freebies.

ASK FRIENDS and FAMILY: Chances are most of your friends and family are not using all of their coupons. Speak up and ask if you can save them from the trash! My mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law both give me their extra coupons and I repay them with some of the free stuff I got from using them! Seems like a fair deal to me.

BLINKIES and TEAR PADS: Blinkies are little machines that spit out coupons and tear pads have coupons attached to them. Be on the look out for these at all times!

PEELIES: These are coupons and offers attached to products. These are ONLY for the customer purchasing the item. It is NOT okay to peel off coupons from items you are not buying!

CATALINA MACHINE: This is the little machine that prints along with your receipt. It’s main purpose is to reward you for a specific purchase, but sometimes it has advertisements for upcoming Catalina deals and such, but many times it spits out extra coupons!

CHECK RECYCLE BINS: Now some of you might turn your nose up at this idea, but if you’re anything like my husband…you live for dumpster diving! Hey, don’t knock it. You can get lots of freebies! Our local paper recycling bin contains ONLY paper and mostly newspaper, so it’s actually pretty clean!

TRADE ON THE INTERNET: There are several coupon trading/clipping sites. There are several of these companies out there, but here are just a couple you can choose from: Manufacturers Coupons, The Coupon Clippers, Ebay (Go through Ebates or ShopAtHome to earn 1-3% cash back on Ebay purchases!). I purchase coupons from these sites once in awhile. For example, when Rite Aid has their Covergirl BOGO Free sale and there is a BOGO Free coupon…I stock up and get tons of FREE makeup a couple times a year.

MAGAZINES: Several magazines feature a few coupons per month…don’t let those get away! Even the ones you wouldn’t expect to have coupons will sometimes surprise you!

I cannot say enough about ALL You magazine, which features 40+ coupons each month. I will make sure to give you a heads up when this subscription is offered at a great price! Check my Magazines category for the latest deal on this mag.

STORES: Many stores, especially drugstores like Walgreens will put out their own monthly coupon booklets to be used exclusively in their stores. The great thing about these is that these are store coupons that can be stacked with a manufacturer coupon, which makes for some great deals! Another way they promote coupons is in their weekly ads, so don’t forget to check those out.

Grocery stores, like Kroger will mail you coupons based on what you buy.

EMAIL YOUR FAVORITE COMPANIES DIRECTLY: Just ask! I try to email about 10-15 companies each month to compliment them on a quality product. In response they mail me coupons! It only takes a few minutes of your time and the majority will respond with coupons. These coupons are usually higher value than ones you find anywhere else. To avoid bombarding your inbox with junk mail, I would definately open a separate email account through yahoo or hotmail just for this purpose.

MAILERS: If you sign up with different companies they will usually mail you promotional offers and coupons periodically.

INSIDE PRODUCTS: Make sure to check inside the products you buy. Also sometimes manufacturers will put coupons on the box, so don’t throw away anything without checking for coupons first!

LOAD ELECTRONIC COUPONS TO YOUR STORE LOYALTY CARD:

Another great way to amp up your coupon savings is by loading them directly to your store’s loyalty card (example: Kroger Plus Card). It is very convenient…never forget your coupons again!

3 easy steps to instant clip-free savings

1. Register your store card on each electronic coupon website

2. Check the coupons you wish to load

3. Swipe your card at checkout and coupons are automatically deducted

(the coupon deduction does not show up at the end of your receipt with the other coupons…it shows up immediately after the item scan)

Here are the 5 websites I load coupons from each month:

Shortcuts, Cellfire, P&G e-Saver, Kroger and Upromise

Each month, I always print a list of what I’ve loaded to my shopper’s card and keep it with me so I can easily match up sales to coupons to clip-free coupons. This makes for some great deals on the spot!

Sometimes these coupons are stackable with a paper coupon. It depends on your store, which site you loaded it from – and sometimes it just depends on the weather! It is so inconsistent that I always consider it a bonus when a digital coupon comes off in addition to a paper coupon.

Where do you get coupons?

This is a guest post from Staying Lean In Oakland County. To check out more of her posts, go here. Thanks!

Tashena Lynette Gonzales is the author of  http://stayingleaninoaklandcounty.blogspot.com/ and is a Bilingual Supply Chain Specialist by day and frugal blogger at night.  She uses her education in the field of marketing, her experience as a consumer and the plethora of frugal experts already on the web to try to bring tips on frugal living to those in her area of metro Detroit, while still looking for on-line deals that other readers can enjoy nationally.

Have you ever noticed the dreaded “Do Not Double” on a coupon and been worried about it?  I live in a great area I have a Meijer that doubles coupons up to $.50 as well as several local grocery stores.  I have a VGs that doubles coupons up to $1.00 and I work near a Kroger that doubles coupons up to $1.00.  So when I have a plethora of coupons that say “Do Not Double” what does that really mean?  There are actually a two groups that these break down into.  The first group are the coupons that are readily accessible and the bar code starts with a 9.  These are usually the tearpads, blinkies and some home mailers.  They are coded to not double because the manufacturer knows they have a higher redemption rate.  Any barcode that starts with a 5 will double automatically when scanned.  So why are some coupons that will double automatically worded with Do Not Double? Well I have read a few articles and heard it discussed and here is the deal.  When a store offers double coupons that is an additional Store incentive.  When this first occurred some stores wanted to solicit the full amount from the manufacturer which manufacturer’s did not authorize.  So to make it clear that to stores they will only be reimbursed the face value of the coupon they put “Do Not Double” on certain coupons.
The stores are taking a hit on these coupons and using them like they do their ”loss leaders” to get you to come to their store rather than a lower priced store.
So what about the Do Not Double coupons that start with a 5?  Basically two things are involved, the coupon policy and the cashier.  If the coupon policy states that all coupons are doubled to a certain amount then they should be doubled.  Some coupon polices do state that all coupons (of a certain value) will be doubled unless the coupon states otherwise.  (For example check out Busch’s Coupon Policy.)  Then there are the cashiers who not knowing the intent of the “Do Not Double” will restrict your coupon.
So basically know your coupon policy and the cashiers and act accordingly.  If the coupon policy states that all coupons to a certain amount are doubled but the cashiers restrict them often at that store perhaps speak with the manager.  (But proceed with caution because the end result could be changing the wording of the coupon policy.)  You may also want to opt for the U-scan or take your business else where.  You can find more in depth information at these two articles  here and  here.

This is a guest post from Amanda over at A Few Short Cuts. To check out more of her posts, go here. Thanks Amanda!

Amanda Carlisle is a busy mom of 3 who runs A Few Short Cuts. A Few Short Cuts saves you Time and Money in the Kitchen and at the Store by bringing you great recipes, and coupons. A Few Short Cuts offers 3 weekly recipe posts; Tide You Over Tuesday, Weekly Meal Deal, and “Snack”urday.

It’s that time of year when the sun is shinning and you can sit by the pool with a nice cool glass of lemonade! Lemonade is so refreshing and brings back all kinds of childhood memories. Why not make your own memories with your kids?

These Lemonade Cookies are the perfect treat for a hot summer day, or a rainy day, or any day for that matter! They are simple and delicious! I made these cookies for “Snack”urday a few weeks back.

What is “Snack”urday??? On my site A Few Short Cuts every Saturday is “Snack”urday. I try to put up a snack or dessert recipe every Saturday! Trust me…you don’t want to miss it!

So, go grab a lemon and make some lemonade cookies! You will be so glad you did!

Lemonade Cookies

Lemonade Cookies Printable Version

• 1 1/3 cups flour
• ¾ tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ½ cup butter or margarine (1 stick), softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp lemon zest

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In small bowl combine all the dry ingredients.

In the mixer beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. (This will take a few minutes on high)

Beat in egg and vanilla until blended.

Reduce speed to low and beat in flour mixture just until combined, scraping the bowl with a spatula.;

Stir in the lemon zest

Drop dough by heaping teaspoons, 2 inches apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes or until just brown around the edges.

What??? I forgot to take a picture before I iced them! OH well, you get the idea!

Icing

• 3 Cups powdered sugar
• 2 TBSP Lemon Juice
• 2 Tbsp Light Corn Syrup
• 2-3 Tbsp Water

Mix all of the above together to form icing.

Put ½ in one bowl with 2-3 drops of red food coloring to make pink icing. The other half of the icing goes in another bowl with 2-3 drops of yellow food coloring.

Spoon icing onto cookies as desired and allow to cool!

YUM!

**If you would like to make these GFCF I recommend using butter flavored Crisco, and a All purpose GF baking mix instead of the flour. Don’t forget 1 tsp xanthum gum!

Check out more great “Snack”urday recipes at A Few Short Cuts!

There is no doubt that babys are expensive!  I have found that if you sign up for the following mailing lists (email and snail mail), you can save big on everything baby!  I hope that you find this list helpful!

Diapers:
Huggies
Pampers
Goodnites GoodNites®
Luvs
Diapers.com

Make sure and sign up for the Rewards Programs for Huggies and Pampers!

Bath &Body Products:
Johnson & Johnson
Aveeno Baby

Formula:
Enfamil
Similac
Bright Beginnings
Nestle Good Start
Parent’s Choice
Member’s Mark

Other Baby Items:
Playtex
Avent
Boudreaux’s Butt Paste
Desitin
Dr Smiths

Baby Foods:
Gerber
Beech-nut Baby Food
Earth’s Best Baby Food
Del Monte Nature’s Goodness

Clothing:
Carters Celebration Club
Children’s Place
Gerber Clothing
BabiesRUs

Books & Magazines:
American Baby
BabyTalk Magazine

Developmental Updates
BabyCenter

If you know of more, please leave a comment on this post and we will add them!