Review: 99centknobs.com

I LOVE Pinterest. Whoever came up with that site is an absolute genius! I have spent countless hours dreaming and planning. Being able to save all those ideas in one easy, organized area is perfect.

A couple weeks ago, a pin came across my board for 99centknobs.com. It was like Pinterest was reading my mind!. I have been trying to get rid of the fake gold that was all over the house for the past year. The cabinets were a large source of it. Between the old, discolored, broken hinges and those hideous gold and white cabinet pulls, it was time to update.  I had no idea how I was going to afford the replacements though. Then 99centknobs.com came into my life. Now, my kitchen, and all the other cabinets in the house are beautiful!

I was skeptical at first. What is the catch? How can they sell knobs for $0.99 when they are usually $2 to $5 a piece at the hardware stores? Are the knobs super cheaply made? Are the hinges going to fall apart in the first use? I tried to research reviews of 99centknobs.com with minimal success. Their BBB rating was good. There were no product reviews on their site, so it was a gamble. The only "expensive" part of my order was the shipping. They have flat rate shipping of $13.95, so if you only need a couple items, it's not really worth it, however if you need to order 27 pairs of hinges, 9 pulls, and 1 knob, then it is completely worth it. Those items are heavy!! (On a side note, I did order 20 pulls from Lowe's for the main part of the kitchen because I completely fell in love with the design, more about that in a future post.)

As I received some birthday money from my Grandma, I decided to use some of it to make this purchase. I was defiantly nervous as there was no information about this company. However, I was pleasantly surprised when 2 days later, my shipment arrived on my doorstep!

The pulls were very nice. They are slightly more grey in real life, but they are nice, solid and sturdy. I understand that computer monitors are not accurate in displaying colors. They did not include the screws, but I just reused the existing ones, so no big deal. Online, the hinges were listed as being manufactured by Liberty, and I found the identical product at Home Depot for three times the price (literally, listed for $2.98 per pair). I was very pleased to see that was the same product that I received. Everything was new in package.

I am thrilled with my purchase and would definitely recommend 99centknobs.com for large quantity knob, pull, and hinge purchases.

Sorry for the bad pic, but you get the idea!

(For the record, I did not receive anything in exchange for my review. I simply want to share this great company with you!
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Extra Spending Money

Money has always been tight for me. I am in the process of finding a new job/career as my diagnosis of Idiopathic Hypersomnia has ended my ability to drive buses. I have had to be creative in ways to make some extra spending money.

Through a lot of trail and error and research, I have narrowed down what I think are the five best Online Survey sites. These sites have a high likelihood of qualifying and pay "well". I will forwarn you that you will not get rich, as I said, this is a way to earn some extra spending money. Personally, I will complete surveys throughout the year and cash out in November, in time to do my Christmas shopping. Most of the links provided are referral links, I will get credit if you sign up for the sites and complete at least one survey!

5 Best Online Survey Sites

1. Epoll  This site has a minimal time commitment. You only get maybe one survey a week, but you will always qualify and be rewarded for your answers. The surveys don't take a lot of your time to complete, and the points add up fast. You can cash out for PayPal or various popular gift card options.

2. Opinion Outpost  My favorite thing about this site is how quickly you can earn. You get multiple survey invites each week, and if you don't qualify to complete the survey, you get to enter to win either points or sweepstakes entries. You can cash out for Paypal or other gift options.

3. Valued Opinions I find I have excellent success getting into the surveys for this site, and they pay excellent, at least $1 per survey, often more! You can cash out for Visa and Amazon gift cards as well as other sites.

4. SurveySavvy Survey Savvy is hit or miss. They give you many opportunities to qualify but it's less than half the time that I actually do. When you do qualify, they pay decent. They will send you a check.

5. Opinion Square I am relatively new to this site, but so far I enjoy it. If you don't qualify for a survey, you earn tokens to play whatever game of the season they have, right now it's a slot game. You always win points, and not always the minimum. They offer a lot of redemption items from actual products to gift cards.

Honorable Mentions

American Consumer Opinion  A decent site that rewards you for completing the pre-screeners.
MySurvey So many survey opportunities, however it seems hard to actually qualify.
Ipsos iSay Lots of opportunities, but I tend to run into fustrating technical difficulties. You may have better success on a Windows computer.


Cashback

Another awesome way to earn some extra money on online purchases you are making anyways! I am a HUGE fan of Ebates. You may have seen it advertised on TV and went yeah right....sounds too good to be true. Well, I'm here to tell you that it isn't. And they aren't even paying/rewarding me to say that!

There are two ways to get your cash back,  first is to go to Ebates and pick the store you are shopping at and it will automatically add your cash back shortly after you complete your transaction. The other way is to add the toolbar, that way you will never have to worry about missing cash back from your favorite store.

The picture to the right is an actual screen shot of my account info, and I honestly have earned that much money on purchases I was making anyway! You would be surprised how quickly even 2% cash back can add up. Every little bit helps. Each quarter, they will either send a check or make a PayPal deposit.

Hopefully these sites can help you earn a little extra!

Spring Cleaning and Online Yard Sales

As we live in a mobile home, space is limited. Even though I got rid of a lot of unnecessary things when I moved, I still feel overwhelmed with clutter and junk. My craft room is, well now was, one of the biggest problems. I had all sorts of craft supplies that I haven't touched since we moved in. Well it finally came time to get rid of the stuff closing in around me.

In order to cut down on the clutter, I needed to get rid of items I don't like anymore, don't use, haven't touched in a year, etc. I went through my various containers one by one, grouping items into two groups, sell and keep.

My favorite way to get rid of unnecessary items is through my local Facebook Yard Sale groups and Varage Sale. Find your local groups by typing "Yard Sale" into the Facebook search bar.

My tips for Online YardSale Safety and Success:

1. Price your items reasonably. This is a yard sale and people are looking for bargains. Start a bit more than you expect to get so you can reduce. 
2. Join more than one group. You get different people with different interests. Something that has no interest in one group may be a hot ticket in another!
3. Write a good description. Keep it simple and precise, but do make sure to disclose any damage. Include the town (or area of city) you are in. 
4. Bump your post/album at different times. Write in the comments section of your item/album the word "bump" to bring it to the top, or use the comment section to change the price. Do it at different times as people browse Facebook at all hours 
5. MOST IMPORTANT Always meet in a public place! Arrange a time and place to meet through the Private Message section rather than in the comments where everyone can see. On Facebook, regularly check your "Other" messages in your inbox (Click upper left corner, next to Inbox) as messages from people you don't know usually end up in there. I always pick a larger parking lot where there is a lot of traffic. I tell the person I am meeting the color/make/model of my car, and expect the same from them so I know who to expect. 

As far as payment goes, cash is king. Don't accept checks.You can even get yourself setup to take credit cards! If you have or sign up for a PayPal account, you can get a Paypal Here personal credit card reader for your cell phone. There are other personal credit card readers out there, I chose this one as it has a low fee (2.7%) and I already had a PayPal account. I have yet to use it, but I keep the option open. It did not cost me anything. 

How to Save Money at Target

Money is tight, very tight. With all the snow days and two vacation weeks so close together, it is hard to make ends meet. I am always shopping for deals. I will go weeks without finding anything worth pursuing, but every once in a while I hit it big! Today was one of those days. I thought I would share this example of how to get the most for your money. I don't run a couponing blog, nor do I want to, but I would like to share some simple tips and a real life example on how to save a decent amount.

Target is a great place to start saving big! Make sure that you have signed up for text coupons and downloaded the Target Cartwheel App for iPhone or Android. Also go online to http://coupons.target.com and print any relevant coupons for your needs. The text message coupons, or printed Target coupons can all be used as well as manufacturer coupons you either clip or print. The Cartwheel discount is applied last after all other discounts, but can be used with both Target store and manufacturer coupons. The Target RedCard automatically saves you 5% on everything. I personally love the debit card version as it doesn't add to my debt, but they do have a store credit card and a Visa credit card.

I scored big at Target today. My trick was to do two transactions to maximize my savings. Target is known for doing Buy X Number of products and get a Gift Card. I always do those together in a transaction first. Today, they had a deal on AirWick Air Fresheners. While the actual item wasn't on sale, it was part of a Buy 3 Get a $5 Gift Card promotion. To maximize my savings, I bought 3 items and used a $1.50 off coupon. I still get the $5 gift card but I also save that bit extra out of pocket. I also picked up a few other items while I was there and had coupons and Cartwheel savings.

Another thing to remember at Target is to scour the aisles for clearance deals. Most likely they are on the back side of the aisles, hidden from the main path of travel. I was able to find an awesome deal on my deodorant; normally priced at $3.99, it was on clearance for $2.78 and I had a $1 off 1 coupon, so it only cost me $1.78 for brand name deodorant with a travel size one attached! The feminine products were a great deal as I had 2 coupons, one for $1.50 off 2 and a manufacturer coupon for $1.00 off 2. I was able use Cartwheel off of the M&Ms as well as a manufacturer coupon.

I know that particular transaction doesn't look all that impressive, however I did save a total of $12.46. These were all products I planned to buy this week anyways, so any savings is beneficial.

My next transaction is where it's at, whatever it is. As you know I own two cats. Two cats who generate a lot of waste. Target had an awesome text-in coupon for $10 off a $40 pet purchase. A perfect chance to stock up on cat litter as my Black Friday supply was running low. I used a combination of manufacturer coupons and store coupons, plus the $5 Gift Card I scored on my previous transaction so I only paid $18.41 for nearly $50 worth of cat litter! Of course, in all the excitement at the register, I completely spaced using Cartwheel. I am kicking myself for that as I had an extra 10% off the Purpose litter and the Lightweight Litter. I know I can go to Customer Service and get the difference, but I'm already home now. Darn. However, I did save a total of $31.45 including the $5 Gift Card.

When all is said and done, I saved $43.91 in both transactions, all off things that I was purchasing anyways. I can't complain about that.



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My Favorite "Holiday"

Today is traditionally considered Black Friday, a wondrous day of best price of the year sales. Recently, stores have started their sales as early as Wednesday and most big stores start their sale on Thanksgiving. I am "old fashioned" as far as in store shopping....Friday is the day. I got up at 5:30am to start my shopping spree.

Me being me, I had bookmarked a wonderful site called bfads.net which had leaked ads. I created a spreadsheet of all the deals I was interested in, I collected coupons, I made a "day of" checklist; I was prepared; and boy did it pay off!! Combining sales and coupons I saved $352.41, an average savings of 49% at 8 stores including Walmart and Target. The majority of my purchases were very boring; household supplies at CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens. But the savings in that area were massive....an average of 62%, my best transaction was 84% at CVS! Very exciting to watch the numbers drop. We now have a year supply of laundry detergent, plenty of toilet paper, and plenty of paper towels! Luckily my bf was able to finish building the shelf in our laundry room cabinet this morning so I had a place to store all this stuff.

I was also able to buy 115 pounds of cat litter, 16 pounds of food and a couple toys at a lovely 50% off at Petsmart.

As far as the fun stuff, that was limited this year due to a lack of fundage, but I still managed to get some nice things at an average of 38%. Much of that was purchased online Thursday as many sales went live. The best part was being able to get exactly what I wanted while avoiding crowds and traffic.

We definitely won't need to buy M&Ms anytime soon lol! I think 6 bags will last us a while. I was very happy to find an inexpensive Wall Mount for the bedroom TV. I will no longer have to worry about the cats knocking it off the bureau! Yay! My best find was a camouflage lightweight hoodie for $10 at Walmart. They were sold out online and in the first Walmart I went to. Even in the second Walmart there were none left anywhere, except one that I found mixed in with the women's jackets! Lucky for me, it just happened to be my size!

Now, to wait for my online orders to arrive....

Black Friday Recap

I love Black Friday. I love getting stuff cheap. I love having saved up money to be able to go on a shopping spree. It is one of my most favorite days of the year!

I got up Thursday morning while my husband was voluntarily working (triple pay...yay!) and headed to the Tedeschis convenience store near my apartment to pick up a coffee and the newspaper.  This is my new tradition as of last year. I love the fresh newspaper with the humongous amount of ads! I actually saw something online that said the Portsmouth Herald had the largest selection of Black Friday ads, so the Herald it was! Of course, I didn't even open the regular paper part, going straight for the most important part, the ads!

I had previewed most of the stores I was interested in through either the store site or an iPad app called Black Friday from FatWallet. Nothing compared to actually going through each circular in it's paper form, being able to slowly peruse each item and it's price. The digital world just can't replace it. It's just not the same online.

This year I had a fairly limited budget as my work hours have been cut so drastically and I need to keep something in savings just in case. I had to really plan my shopping and keep a list.

I went through each flyer looking at the deals and writing down the ones I was interested in and the Out of Pocket cost. I focused on the pharmacies (Rite Aid, Walgreens, and CVS) as they had a lot of household and candy deals that paired very nicely with coupons and their rewards back programs. I planned on two transactions per store, one that gave me the rewards certificates and the next that used those rewards certificates. This plan worked perfectly at CVS and Walgreens, but unfortunately I was unaware that Rite Aid did not give instant rewards on your receipt. Luckily, they were a small portion of my overall plan.

I was able to get two of my larger purchases online so I didn't even have to deal with the stores! One was an amazing deal on a present my husband has been wanting badly, and the other one was a $15 Craftsman Multimeter at Sears, which was something I have been wanting as my Geo Metro Convertible has been cranky with some electrical things.

I also went through the lists for Target, Walmart, and a couple other stores. There were several DVDs I wanted both for myself and as a gift. I wanted to go to Kohl's as I had a $10 off $10 purchase coupon and an additional 15% off everything. I also love crafts, so Michaels and JoAnns were two more stops I had toward the end of my trip as I didn't actually need anything, but would like to find a couple things as they had nice % off entire transaction including sale items.

Household Stuff

I packed myself a tote bag with the ads of the stores I planned on going to, a list of the items and their prices/coupons/rewards totals paper clipped with the necessary coupons, and a paperclip of the other coupons for the various stores. As I struggle with low blood sugar I packed a lunchbox with snacks and drinks to keep me going throughout the day.

I have to say all the planning I did Thursday paid off big time Friday!! I saved 56% on my entire purchase overall. Best part is I didn't leave my house until 6:30AM Friday!

Obviously all my deals can't be shown as quite a few were gifts, and he reads this blog!

I got some great deals on Laundry detergent as the pharmacies had buy 1 get 2 free that I combined with coupons. I got Buy 1 get 1 free batteries (Duracell and Energizer) also combined with coupons and rewards. It was great being able to stock up on name brand products at less than the generic prices! I was very happy that the pharmacies had plenty of stock, as I was worried they would have sold out on Thanksgiving.

Fun stuff for me

My all time favorite deal, and the one I had to work the hardest for was the Cat's Meow toy and the GoGo Pillow. Walgreens had an awesome promotion where it was Buy 1 get 1 free on select As Seen on TV products, the other pharmacies had a similar deal, but not on products I actually wanted. My husband and I decided the cats were getting the Cats Meow toy as their present this year, so regardless of sales, we were going to purchase it. When I saw it was included in the Walgreens sale, I knew I had to try and get one. I almost caved and went out on Thanksgiving to buy one, but didn't. Unfortunately, when I got to my local Walgreens, they were sold out. The associate was very nice and checked in the back and even called the other store semi-nearby. As it turns out, they other store had a truck come in that morning that hadn't been unloaded yet, so I was asked to call later to see if they had them in stock. I did, and was able to go up to the other store and get the toy and got a GoGo Pillow for free (which I totally love!!! It's perfect to support my iPad!).

My luckiest find was the off brand loom bands....the peachy color is usually only sold at one store, which is not in my area and regularly cost $3 or more; they were only $0.99!  I need this color as I plan on making the nativity scene. I purchased extras to list online and they sold within a day! Awesome!

Of all my lists and stores, there was only one thing I did not find....a DVD copy of the Vow for around $4. Oh well. I would say this Black Friday was a resounding success, and I didn't even have to wake up stupid early or shop on Thanksgiving to do it! :-D

I can't wait for next year!

Couponing for the "normal" person

Round 2...my iPad ate my blog entry! Wrote it all up and went to hit Publish, then nothing! It disappeared! Guess i have to stick with posting from my good old Macbook Air, at least the web layout autosaves so I don't lose everything!

I coupon for the everyday person, not the person with the extreme stockpiles that cost nothing except for hours upon hours of time and energy.  I coupon within reason, spending a short time each week on my couponing, not letting it take over my life.

My husband and I are a bit tight on funds right now, we are working on paying off our debt so we can buy a house in the next couple of years. As I only work part time, I use couponing as a way to help pay the bills.

To get my coupons, I visit Coupons.com and Target store coupons weekly. I also occasionally go to Smartsource and Save.com (Redplum), however I often have difficulty printing from these sites as I use a Mac (my only complaint about Apple). I also get hand-me-down coupon fliers from the paper from my parents (my mom cuts out the coupons she wants, I get the leftovers), as well as the occaisional flier from work. I subscribe to The Krazy Coupon Lady and The Extreme Coupon Professors as guides to seeing some of the best deals. Some of the stores are not relevant as we do not have them in NH, but it helps to see what prices are possible.

I organize my coupons in a binder with baseball card sleeves and tabbed dividers that separate them into categories (frozen, fridge, grocery, snacks, household, personal, medicine, and pet). I leave the coupons in the sleeve until I actually place the item into the cart, then I move the coupon to the little flap at the front of the binder.

To find deals, I take our weekly grocery list and the sales fliers for the local supermarkets (Shaws, Hannaford, Market Basket) and Target. I match up the coupons to the items on the list, then I make another list separated by which store I want to buy which item at depending on the sales. The default store is Walmart because they normally have the lowest prices, with the exception of fresh foods like veggies, fruit, seafood, meat and deli (a quality thing, not a price thing).

This week was particularly successful for me. I saved 47% ($13.21) at Target, 37% ($20.05) at Shaws, and 23% ($6.00) at Market Basket. These numbers aren't astonishing, but they also don't include how much I saved regarding sale versus regular price items. It still comes close to $40....which is a nice chunk of change, especially these days when every little bit helps!

My best deals this week were:
 -Kotex Pads $2.19 for 40-48ct package (Shaws on sale for 4.29 for a 40-48ct box and buy 2 get 1 free, coupon for $2 off 2)
- Glade Scented Oil Warmer $0.57 (Target, coupon $1 off 1)
- Glade Scented Oil Warmer refills $2.50 for 2 (Target, on sale for $4.50, manufacturer coupon $1 off 2, store coupon $1 off 2)
- Prince Pasta Portions $0.38 box (Market Basket, on sale for $0.88, coupon $1 off 2)

It was very enjoyable having the time and motivation to do couponing. Hopefully, I can continue!

Black Friday Recap

Black Friday is probably one of my most favorite times of the year. Of course I am a shopaholic, and now am required to send my credit cards into hiding until they say $0.

I left the house at 7, hit zero traffic and until an early lunch at 10, I had zero wait in lines. After lunch the lines in Kohl's and JoAnns wrapped halfway around the store! But my last stops of Target and Walmart were uneventful. Overall, I managed to get everything I wanted, and more. My best deal was a nearly $400 digital camera, case. extra battery, and memory card bundle that I paid $177 for. Epic awesomeness. I got a lot of $2 DVDs and $5/$10 Blu Rays I wanted to see. A $49 Blu Ray player and a $39 Wireless HP Printer. There were definitely some excellent sales. I also did 90% off my Christmas shopping for the fiancé. Just some stocking stuffers and he'll be done!

My overall savings was about 45%. I won't post the totals I spent, because they are absolutely disgusting, it's amazing how things add up so fast. After the bills are paid off, next year I really have got to be smarter about it. Got too carried away. Maybe going to a job with lower pay and less hours isn't a good plan, nah. it'll be fine because I won't be spending so much in gas and wear and tear on my car.  Just remind me that my Christmas money needs to go to my bills!