Don't Trade Your Used Car into the Dealership!

If you want to save money and possibly make money on your used vehicle, don't trade it into the car dealership!

The auto dealers are going to buy your car for wholesale, and then turn around and sell your car for a profit.  It may be tempting when you have your eyes on a nice ride, and you are anxious to get rid of the car you have.   Believe me, I have been where you are!

I was extremely tempted to sell my Volvo to a Ford Dealer who offered me a measly $3500 for the car.  Well I owed about $6000 to my finance company which meant I would've been out of a couple thousand dollars...a nice down payment on a new car.    Being the practical person that I am, I decided to take the advice my friends and put the car on www.Craigslist.com for free.  My friend have had great experience selling her car on Craigslist.  She told me that she sold her broken down Saturn that had issues in less than a week!  She was upfront about the much needed repairs and someone bought it as is!

I decided I would put my car on Craigslist to see what would happen.  It was in good condition, but in need of new tires.  I sold it in about a week, and even though I sold it at a loss (to account for the needed tires), I was only out of pocket a few hundred bucks instead of a few thousand.  If the car had some better tires, I would've been able to get at least what I owed on the car.

Save money and try to sell your car yourself.  You don't even have to spend any money advertising it, I didn't!  So now I'm free to lease or purchase a new car without rolling over any payments.  What a great feeling!

Great Finds on Craigslist.com!

My co-worker recently shared with me that he put his flat screen television and entertainment system on www.craigslist.com. He sold it within a week, making over $1000 toward a new HD flatscreen television!

Being that I have items to sell, and items I want, I decided to check out this totally free online classified site and I posted my car for sale. Well, I have also been wanting to purchase a hobby greenhouse so I decided to look for one. And, what do you know? I found EXACTLY the one I was thinking about purchasing that retails at $199. I called up the seller, who lives less than one mile from my home, and I negotiated her down to $100 from $150. It was so simple and she was extremely friendly.

I picked up the greenhouse and it was still brand new in the box and was never opened after she purchased it two years ago. What a great find for me, I saved $100 plus shipping costs if I had purchased this same greenhouse at www.greenhouses.com.

Craiglist has everything you can imagine from all states. Real estate, auto, pets, furniture, you name it they got it. People are posting items that are new and used right in your own neighborhood. Check it out. www.CraigsList.com

Here is that greenhouse that I purchased today.

Free Entertainment For Your Child's Birthday

Instead of spending a small fortune for a clown or other cartoon characters for your child's birthday, have all the parents or some of your friends dress up as wacky characters or fantasy characters instead!

Not only will this make the party fun and interesting, it won't cost you a dime! Especially if you have the parents use halloween costumes from previous years (as long as they aren't the scary ones). You can also opt to have the adults purchase and wear costumes instead of giving your child a gift -- that is a gift in itself...keeping money in your pocket instead of burning a hole in it.

Cool!

Beautiful Begonias - $7.99 per pot at Sam's Club

This beautiful pot of begonias was only $7.99 at Sam's club yesterday. They come in different color pots and the begonias come in red, pink, or yellow. They are beautiful. And the pot is pretty big, although it doesn't look that big in the picture. You will easily pay $20 or more for this anywhere else!

90% off at Michaels Arts & Crafts - Again

On my way to Target to get some medication for this horrible cold I have, I decided I should check in Michaels to see if they had anymore great savings. Back in January, I was able to get gorgeous silk poinsettias for $2 ea. (regular $19.99) and $1 ea. (regular $9.99 each). The ones you see in the top photo were only $1, so I bought 10 and put them throughout my house. And the ones in the bottom photo were $2, and I bought 5 of those, bringing my grand total to $20 + tax for 15 silk poinsettias. I saved $180!! The more expensive ones are huge and they have a yellow tip on the flowers. They are stunning!! Remember, you can only get this deal about the 3rd week in January. They have all kinds of Christmas decor, but you have to remember to save at least $50 if you want to really rack up. Otherwise, $20 will get you a whole lot!






Now, back to the great savings I got today. Of course, I went into Michaels looking for a great deal and that is exactly what I got! I bought 16 stems of silk Peonies and Hydrangeas for $12. The Peony stems were regular priced $7.99 each, and the Hydrangeas were regular priced $6.99 each (photos on left).

These were not cheap quality stems you can find at the dollar store! These were top quality stems you find in arrangements that can cost hundreds of dollars. Shop at Michaels, and you can really rack up, but you have to go at the right time and be on hunt for deals. Not all Michaels carry the same item. I bought these at the Michaels on 14 mile and John R. in Madison Heights, MI. I almost bought them out, but there are a few stems left (although not of this kind.) I have a plan for these!

Free Mini Greenhouse for the Price of a Rotesserie Chicken

If you are really into gardening and you start your flowers and veggies from seeds, you don't have to spend a fortune on those expensive mini-greenhouses that are sold in many gardening stores.

My co-worker gave me a really good tip today and I thought I'd share. You know the containers that the cooked rotesseries come in at many grocery stores, well those make the perfect mini greenhouses!

All you do (after you eat the rotesserie) is clean the dome, and then add some moisture control miracle grow in the bottom, plant your seeds, cover with the lid, and watch your plants grow! Many Sam's Club stores will even give you the domes for free if you simply ask for them!

I don't know how many times I've thrown out the rotesserie domes, never thinking that they would make great greenhouses, and I am a Gardener at heart! They are also great for teaching the kids how plants grow.

Happy Gardening!

Use Envelopes to Fund Your Activites for Fun Days

My mom gave me this really cool tip. This is a really great technique to save small amounts of cash for rainy day activities! You will need to use cash for this method.

Take out a few small envelopes and title them what you want to save for (i.e. Manicure, Pedicure, Massage, Shoes, Lingerie, Amusement Park, Movies, etc.). You can have as many envelopes as you like.

You decide the frequency that you will put small amounts of money away in them (every month, week, etc.) and everytime you get paid or whenever you have some cash, put your cash away in your designated envelopes. So whenever your girlfriend calls you up to do something, or you want to do something exciting for yourself you can always turn to your rainy day funds to save the day.

I have envelopes for Borders Bookstore, Spa Treatment, and New Wardrobe. My goal is to have a all day spa treatment once a quarter and a enough funds for a spring/summer and fall/winter wardrobe!

Learn How to Style Your Own Hair and Save BIG!

How much are you spending on your hair by going to the salon every 2 weeks or every month? When I used to go to the salon every 2 weeks I would spend $35 for a blow and go ($70/month) and when I needed a perm it would be ($83 - every 6 weeks). So you can see how that adds up.

Over the years, I have learned how to care for my hair and I've experimented with different styles and curls. I honestly believe that I can do my hair better than the licensed hair stylist. Guess who styled my hair in my profile picture? MOI!

By doing my own hair, my hair is growing like a plant that gets plenty of water, and now I only spend $5.99 every 6 weeks for the same perm that I would pay $83 for by going to the salon. And don't think that your stylist isn't upselling other services. "Girl, it's time to get those ends trimmed" or "I think you could use a little more color" or "Your hair is a little overprocessed, you are going to need a hair treatment." You know...all those "extra" services add up.

So, if you want to save money or if you are in desperate need of that spa treatment like most of us moms are, forego the salon one month and treat yourself to a spa day. Or do like me and forego the salon forever!

Birthday Cakes on the Cheap!

Wanna save on your child's Birthday Cake? The best way to save money on Birthday cakes or other special occasion cakes is to make them yourself! Become the mom of all trades and take a cake decorating class and you will find so much joy in making the cakes yourself. You can also get very extravagant with cupcakes and tiered cakes and not spend a fortune. A great website for novice cake decorators is http://www.cakecentral.com/ and http://www.wilton.com/

Another great tip is to get your cake or cupcakes from Sam's Club or Cotsco. Here in Michigan, cupcakes are only $11 for 24 cupcakes, and they are extremely nice. 1/2 Sheet Cakes are only $15 when you grab and go (they will write on the cake for free), or you can order a custom cake for only $19.99.

I must tell you that Cotsco has the best sheet cakes. Although I am a Sam's Club fan, I will hunt down someone who has a Cotsco card that I can use to purchase a cake from there when I don't feel like baking a cake. The membership is about $40, but it pays for itself if you shop there every month like I do.

Celebrate Valentine's Day on February 15th

To get the most out of Valentine's Day, celebrate it on February 15th. If you have been married or involved with the same person for a while, it seems like Valentine's Day becomes not so big of a deal anymore. It's not like it was when you were in high school.

In fact, many married couples forgot that yesterday was Valentine's Day when they woke up, and many don't even bother with cards or gifts. But you can still make your honey feel special by making your own special Valentine's Day on February 15th when all the Valentine's gifts are 50 - 75% off. You can get chocolates, stuffed animals, candles, intimate apparrel, and other great things for next to nothing when you shop after Valentine's Day. Then turn around and put what you saved in your "Spa Treatment" fund.

Now is also the time to rack up on Valentine's gifts for next year! The best stores to go to right now for great savings are: Target, Michael's, Kohl's, JCPenney, and Kmart. If you have time go scavening if those stores are in your area for great deals.

Become A Scavenger

Before I start giving you money saving tips and ways you can get more for less you have to learn how to be a scavenger.

You will be particularly looking for 75 - 90% off signs and tags. 50% off signs are good too, but you will get more for your money if you can get 75-90% off.

When you are out shopping you have to scavenge for good deals and keep your eyes open for "CLEARANCE" signs, red/pink tagged items are usually "clearance."

Whenever you go out to a store, ALWAYS look at the clearance items. You never know what you might find! The main thing is that you have to keep important dates, special events, and holidays in mind at all times because you will be buying items now to save for a later date.

For example:

My niece's birthday is May 13th. She will be 5 years old. My daughter will be turning 2 years old in April. Two weeks after Christmas I happened to go into CVS/pharmacy to pick up a perscription. Well, I had on my bargain radar and saw they had an aisle full of Christmas items that were 75% off! So immediately, I went through the items, thinking about upcoming birthdays and other occasions. I don't buy items just because, they have to be for a reason. So to make a long story short, I bought two really nice looking dolls that were originally $14.99 for $3.75 each!

Now I have birthday gifts for both my daughter and my niece and I didn't spend a fortune. If I waited last minute I probably would've paid full price for something else!

Keep on your bargain radar and be sure to scavenge for clearance items while you are out shopping or shopping online.

Welcome Penny Pinchers!

Welcome to The Penny Pinching Mom!

As a working middle-class mom, sometimes it is hard to save a buck. And even more harder if you are a stay-at-home mom who relies on your husband or significant other for financial support. It always seems like you never have enough money to do what you want to do for yourself does it?

Sometimes we, as mothers, tend to take care of everyone else and neglect ourselves. So buy the time we do that, we have spent our discretionary budget for the month and haven't spent a dime on ourselves! So what do we do? Well, I am here to teach you how to shop for yourself and others while getting the biggest bang for your buck!

If you love to shop, like me, you will have the greatest of time. All you need is $5, $10, $20....or even more if you can spare. But you will come home with so much stuff your husband will have thought you spent a fortune and put the family into financial ruin! Stay tuned as I deliver great tips for shopping wisely for yourself, your kids, and the whole family!

You will be able to get that spa treatment you've been wanting for years.