Welcome!

MamaCheaps.com is a frugal blog. Meaning?  It is a site that is constantly updated with the hottest freebies, coupons, store deals, online deals and savvy tips and tricks to help you hang on to more of your hard earned money!

Some helpful links:

:: To learn how this site got its start, head over here.

:: New to couponing? Consigment sale shopping? Making a budget? Our Beginner’s Section is loaded with lots of practical how-to information!

:: FREE toothpaste, razors, shave gel?  For real?  YES!  How do I do it?  I play the “drugstore game” at CVS.  Learn all about that here.

:: Check out the latest freebies, coupons and restaurant deals that have posted to our site – plus be sure to look through the offers ending soon.

Stay in touch!

:: Sign up for our 100% FREE daily email digest – ONE email every day containing EVERY deal we post.

:: “Like” our Facebook Page – instant updates on the hottest deals – plus some good conversation!

:: Follow @mamacheaps on Twitter.

My very very very favorite time of year is upon us! Consignment sale season is such a wonderful time to stock up on quality clothing and kid/baby items on the cheap.

Today’s tips are for the consignment sale SELLER!

Are you interested in consigning items at a local sale? Being a consignor has some great advantages. Besides getting rid of kid-related clutter in your house, saving items from a landfill by recycling them and making some money off of them, you can shop at the sale early, before the public, to get some great deals. Here are some tips for being a consignor at a local sale:

• Check out the consignor agreement or rules for the sale you are interested in participating. Sign up early for the sale, since many sales limit the number of consignors due to space constraints. Each sale has its own rules regarding what can be sold, how it should be tagged, how it should be hung on a hanger and so on. Read the Rules!! Not following them means your items will not sell. The rules will also cover what percentage of the sales you will make and what the consignor fees are, if any.

• Consignors are usually assigned a number for selling. It helps to keep the same consignor number from sale to sale. When signing up to consign at a sale again, check to see if you can keep your number. That way, if you pick up and keep your unsold items at the end of the sale, you can easily relist them at the next sale without having to re-ticket them.

• At the end of each season when you are sorting through your child’s clothing, sort the items into piles…one to keep, one to donate, one to sell. Be picky about the ones that you sell. Make sure they are in good condition, not torn or stained. Think, would you buy the item used?

• Found some great items but they have stains? Try treating the stain and washing the items again. Many times this works. Also, iron or steam out the wrinkles of your clothes. Button the buttons, zipper the zippers. A nicer presentation will sell more easily. Clean up shoes and tie the laces. Selling used toys or baby goods? Wash them too. No one wants to buy a toy covered in juice or crayon. Often toys are easily cleaned up with a magic eraser sponge or soap and water. Keep in mind the condition of the items that you are willing to buy and be sure that your sale items are in just as good condition.

• If selling a two piece outfit, it helps to make sure both pieces are attached well so they will not separate during the sale. Safety pin the pieces together and wrap a rubber band or twist tie around the two hangers to keep them attached. When selling toys with many parts, place the parts in a sealed plastic bag and tape it shut. Clear packing tape works great to keep toy parts together that do not fit in bags. Use plastic bags (such as Ziploc) to contain onesies, socks, underwear, shoes, or other small items. Tape the bags shut so that buyers are not tempted to take the contents apart, resulting in loss sometimes.

• Price your items to sell. Set aside your emotions for a cute outfit, as the buyer will not know that the sweater your little one wore in his first photo was special to you. If an item is priced too high, it will not sell. Also, consider the brand. A Circo brand tee shirt that was $4 new will not sell for more than $1 usually. On the other hand, a higher end sweater that cost $25 will not sell for $20. A general guideline for pricing is 25-33% of the original selling price, depending upon brand and condition. Selling a new item with tags could fetch 50% or more of the original price. Always keep in mind when pricing, “would I pay that for this item?”

• If you are unsure of how to price used toys, baby equipment, outdoor equipment, and so on, check out prices on Craig’s List or Ebay to see what used items are going for currently and use them as a guideline.

• When packing up your items to take to the sale, it helps to have a hand truck and those stretchy jump cords. Use plastic totes or boxes and stack them. It makes it much easier on your back to bring in your items. Many sales also require that you distribute your items on the sales floor. Having your items sorted by size and sex ahead of time makes the distribution process much faster.

This list of tips is certainly not inclusive. Please feel free to leave your own tips for buying and selling at consignment sales in the comments section to help others out. Happy Shopping!

Diane is a contributing writer for Mama’s Little Helper. She chronicles her life on her personal blog, Knitting Zeal.

It’s always good to review my “cheat sheet” of coupon abbreviations to make sure that you get the most out of my site!

First, a refresher on how I write my coupon match-ups… I will tell you which coupon I used, how many products you must buy, how much it’s worth, and which insert you can find it in. For example, “$1/1 RP 4/5″ means: $1 off any 1 of that product which can be found in the April 5th Red Plum coupon insert.

Here are some common coupon related abbreviations:

SS: SmartSource insert
RP: Red Plum insert
P&G: Proctor and Gamble insert
Unilever: Unilever Insert
DND: Do not double
YMMV: Your mileage may vary (what works for one person at one store may or may not work for you)
B1G1/BOGO: Buy one get one
WYB: When you buy
OYNO: On your next order
OOP: Out of pocket

I haven’t posted this for a few months- don’t forget about helping our military! What do you do with your expired coupons? Throw them out? Did you know that you can send them to military bases, and families can use them for up to 6 months after they expire?

I just adopted a US Naval Military Base in Sicily! I spent 20 minutes cutting expired coupons from my inserts, and stuffed an envelope containing over $155 in expired coupons!

Check out the OVERSEAS COUPON PROGRAM! If you adopt a base, leave a comment telling us which one!!  (It doesn’t look like they have updated the site in awhile – but the military base addresses are still current.)

P.S. Shipping to a military base is the same cost as mailing something within the continental U.S.!

Lots of coupons!

Packed up and ready to go!

My very very very favorite time of year is upon us!  Consignment sale season is such a wonderful time to stock up on quality clothing and kid/baby items on the cheap.

Today’s tips have the consignment SHOPPER in mind.  Watch for a second post a few days from now that will feature tips for SELLING at consignment sales!

• Know your kid’s sizes, including shoe size and bring them written down, especially if you are shopping for more than one child. Remember that you will be most likely purchasing clothing for the next season. If your child is currently on the border of a size it may help to buy the next size larger. Sometimes bringing your child’s measurements is easier, especially since sizing from different manufacturers varies. Bring a tape measure with you to compare your child’s measurements to the items you are interested in purchasing. Good measurements to have include length from back of neck to hem for dresses, pants length, inseam, waist, hip, and chest. Land’s End has a great sizing chart that may be helpful for obtaining and understanding your child’s measurements. If you are unsure of current shoe size, stop by a shoe store to have your child measured before the sale or trace your child’s foot onto cardboard and bring it with you to “try on” shoes without the child present.
• To make shopping easier, leave your kids home, if possible. It really makes it much easier to shop. Consignment sales are often huge and crowded. I’ve been there when kids have been lost and that isn’t a good experience for anyone.

• If you can, bring a laundry basket or large tote bag(s) to hold your items while you shop. Those blue Ikea bags or reusable grocery bags are great too. I’ve even seen people shopping with a clean large plastic trash can on wheels!

• If there are particular items you are looking for, it helps to make a wish list. Sales floors are often crowded and it can be easy to be overwhelmed. A list adds a bit of order to the trip and may help you stay on budget.

• Is there a special occasion coming up (Holiday, photos, wedding) that you will need dress clothes for your child? Consignment sales are wonderful places to pick up dress clothing, shoes and accessories. They are often only worn once, so can be resold for like-new at a fraction of the original cost.

• Shop early, shop often! Going on the opening day will give you a better chance of finding items that are on your wish list. Many times the last day of the sale is the discount day when most items are half off the listed price.

• Consider volunteering to work at your favorite consignment sale. Typically, volunteers get to shop first on a special night before the sale opens to the public. It’s a great way to get the first pass at the goods for sale. If you cannot volunteer, but are considering consigning some of your things for the sale, there is usually a sales time set aside for consignors to shop after the volunteers, but before the sale opens to the public.

• Make sure you have money! Check the rules of the sale you are attending ahead of time to learn what forms of payment they take so that you do not have problems making your purchases. Many sales are cash only, so if you are like me and use a debit card for everything, be sure to hit the ATM on your way to the sale. Using cash also makes it easier to stick to a budget!

• Be aware of brands and pricing of items. You do not want to overpay for an item that you could get brand new on sale or at Marshall’s. I’ve often found what I thought were great buys only to be disappointed to find out I could have purchased an item new at Kohl’s on sale. Typically, if an item is in like-new to good condition, expect to pay about 25 to 33% of the original price. Many times there are items for sale that are new with tags. Expect to pay a bit more for brand new items.

• Once you have picked out the items you are interested in buying, really check them out in good light, if possible, or even with a flashlight. Check seams and underarms for holes; look for stains that are unacceptable, zippers and snaps that work, or worn out knees/elbows. Usually the consignment sale’s rules restrict torn or stained clothing from being sold, but sometimes they slip in, so it helps to carefully inspect before you buy, since there is usually a no return policy. For purchasing toys, be sure all parts are included and in working order. I’ve had the experience of not carefully inspecting toys only to get home and find parts broken that were not obvious. If an item is taped shut, ask a salesperson/volunteer to open the item to let you inspect it. Be courteous and do not take apart taped up boxes or packages!

• If you are looking to purchase a car seat, check the expiration date on the bottom of the seat. When buying, you are taking a slight risk that the seller is honest and that the seat was never involved in an accident.

This list of tips is certainly not inclusive. Please feel free to leave your own tips for buying and selling at consignment sales in the comments section to help others out. Happy Shopping!

Diane is a contributing writer for Mama’s Little Helper. She chronicles her life on her personal blog, Knitting Zeal.

Here’s a really informative post that I wrote last year – I continue to receive a bunch of questions on how to save at the store while using coupons – here’s how I do it!

Every week I receive several emails asking for tips and advice on how to really save at the grocery store. More specifically, how do I stay on budget, plan my meals, and keep my sanity (okay, okay, I added that last one).

One of the emails I received last week was from Meredith and 2 of her specific questions were:

• Could you talk a little more about how you keep your spending so low?
• Do you strictly match coupons with what’s on sale and plan your meals that way?

.I thought I would use my grocery trip from last Friday to illustrate how I save big. Keep in mind, you may have to play around with these methods and find what works best for you and your family.

Meal Planning: I flip flop between two methods of meal planning on a budget without much rhyme or reason.

1. Some weeks I plan my meals around sales and matched up coupons.
2. Some weeks I plan my meals around foods that are currently in my stockpile. I might only need to pick up a handful of fresh ingredients at the store, as I am usually well stocked on pastas, meats, etc.

.

Grocery Shopping: Simply put- I shop the sales WITH coupons. You have all probably seen my Acme and Superfresh matchups that I post each week. I scour the circulars and match current sales with coupons currently available either online or in recent newspaper inserts. Keep several things in mind when using this approach:

1. Buy multiple copies of the Sunday paper. I am telling you, if you want to build a decent stockpile (for pennies on the dollar) it really helps to buy a few copies of the paper for those valuable coupon inserts. Having multiple coupons allows you to purchase several of each item, thus building that stockpile. I decide how many copies of the paper to buy each week after checking out the coupon preview list (to see how good the coupons are based on typical sales in my area and what my family purchases). A good rule of thumb is to purchase one paper per family member.
2. Remember that there are other places to find coupons (make sure the stores you shop at accept internet printables before including them in your weekly shopping!). There are online coupons available at SmartSource, Red Plum and Coupons.com. If there is a super hot coupon for a product that your family LOVES, you can always purchase additional coupons from sites like The Coupon Clippers and Ebay. Last week I purchased 20 $.75/1 coupons for Breyers YoCrunch yogurt for $1 plus $.44 shipping. We LOVE this yogurt and Superfresh requently puts it on sale for $2-$2.50. Superfresh will double those coupons to $1.50 and I will be able to snag 4 packs of YoCrunch for $.50-$1 each. That’s a great stock up price!
3. Match sales to available coupons. You can do this yourself (I just keep a running list of current newspaper insert coupons in an MS Word doc) or find a blog that does the legwork for you. I am lucky to have several fantastic bloggers near me who cover the local stores that I don’t. I also like looking through store deals at www.afullcup.com.
4. Be flexible. The more flexible you are willing to be with brand names and stores you shop at will maximize your savings. I bounce back and forth between 3 or 4 different grocery stores in my area, depending on who has the best sales/matchups on any given week. Sometimes I will even hit 2 stores in one week to get the best deals from each one. Likewise, being flexible with the brands you buy will save you a lot. Brand X might be on sale for $3 from $5… but Brand Y might be on sale for $3 from $5 AND have an available $.75/1 coupon. You’ll pay $1.50 for Brand Y if your store doubles coupons- literally half of what you would have paid if you fell into the brand loyalty trap.
5. You don’t have to buy meat or other items every single week. To build a true stockpile, some weeks you will buy a mega pile of meat if there’s a great sale. You can freeze that meat and use it, even on weeks that meat is not on sale and you might not buy any. On any given week you will see a big variation on what I buy. One week I might buy 10 boxes of cereal because I was able to get it for less than $.50/box. You may not see any additional cereal purchases by me for another 2 months… it all depends. When I have a good stockpile of a certain item, the only way that I would buy more before it runs out is if I can get it for FREE to less than $1.
6. You can get things for FREE with coupons. This one baffles a lot of people- I know I was shocked to learn about it. There are so many times that you can get products for FREE using coupons. It’s simple: a product is on sale for $1. You have a $1/1 coupon= FREE. Or if your store doubles, a product could be on sale for even more… say $1.50 and you have a $.75/1 coupon= FREE. The scenarios are endless, but the result is always the same. Coupons can get you free product. Free is free- you win! When your store runs a catalina sale and you use coupons with catalina deals, you can even MAKE MONEY on what you buy.
7. Saving is not limited to coupons. Of course, I won’t lie. I save the majority of my money from coupons. But there are other ways to save some dough. Simply by shopping by the sales and using store loyalty cards, your savings will add up! Become a price savvy consumer: learn what prices are rock bottom markdowns for your store(s). That way you’ll know when it’s time to stock up on product.

.

So keeping all of that in mind, let me show you what I purchased at Superfresh on Friday. My weekly budget for my family of 3 is $50. That does NOT include diapers (which we buy by the case @ Walmart every 2 weeks or so for $13.67).

You will see that I used my multiple coupons to purchase several of certain products. In other words, building a stockpile. The products that I bought multiples of were all on sale and I was able to use coupons for them as well, further lowering my price.

The shelf price for the food you see above is $72.08.

I paid $28.58.

Here are the following products that I stockpiled using sales and coupons and how much I paid/saved:

• Bounty Paper Towels: These rolls are usually $1.19 but were on sale for $1/each. I bought 6 ($6) and used 3 $1/2 coupons (-$3). I paid $3 for all 6 rolls, or $.50/roll. We actually don’t use paper towels much anymore. We use dishtowels for almost all wiping and cleaning in the kitchen. However we still keep paper towels on hand for pet messes and such. I consider $1 to be a good price for store brand paper towels, so to be able to get the name brand rolls for $.50/each was a great deal!
• Quaker Chewy Granola Bars: We love these to snack on so I always stock up when they go on sale. I would say between $.50 and $1 per box is a great stockup price. These were on sale for $1.24/box (when you buy 5). I bought 5 and used two $1/2 coupons. Total was $.84/box.
• Francesco Rinaldi Pasta Sauce: We use lots of pasta sauce, so I always stock up when there is a good deal. I won’t pay more than $1 for a jar of sauce. Normally $2.49, these sauces were on sale for $1/each. I bought 4 jars and used 4 $.30/1 coupons which each doubled to $.60 off. I paid $.40 for each jar of sauce.
• Rold Gold Pretzels: Such a healthy snack! I’m always looking for a great price on pretzels and this was one of the best I’ve ever gotten. Normally $2.99/bag, these were on sale for $1.50/each. I bought 2 and used 2 $.55/1 coupons which each doubled to $1.10. I paid $.40 for each bag of pretzels. (I was so excited about this price that I actually purchased a set of 20 more of these coupons on Ebay! These will be super for summer bbqs and snacks both at home and when we travel.)

.

How does all of that sale/coupon matching add up?

I bought: 2 bags of Rold Gold Pretzels, 4 jars of Francesco Rinaldi pasta sauce, 5 boxes of Chewy Granola Bars and 6 rolls of Bounty Paper towels for a whopping $9.60. Price before sale and coupons: $55.77.

That’s a savings of 83%!!!

So, in a nutshell, that’s how I do it. That’s how I consistently save money while purchasing name brand items that we will use. Having only spent $28.58 at the store this week, I still have $21.42 left in our weekly budget. I went to the QMart over the weekend and purchased $15 in produce: 5 lbs potatoes, carrots, oranges, eggplant, green beans, lettuce, green peppers, yams, grape tomatoes and broccoli! We may also have to stop at the dairy for milk- 2 half gallons @ $2.05 each.

New to couponing? I highly recommend The Coupon Mom’s Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bill in Half- it is a fantastic, very easy to read book that will serve as your couponing bible!

I would love to hear your thoughts! Do you shop in a similar way? If not, what have you found that works for you?

When I very first started on this frugal journey, I quickly realized that saving heaps of money was not just limited to the drugstore and grocery store.

In fact, there are SO many ways to save upwards of 90% on CLOTHING – I can’t really imagine ever paying retail again to outfit my family.  I’ve already told you how much I love consignment sales and how much you can save at Salvation Army.  In fact, there are also many stores that consistently offer fabulous sales and clearance deals.  Kohl’s is one of my faves – they almost always have some great clearance deals and frequently mail coupons for up to 30% off in addition to the markdowns.

Old Navy is another store that offers some fabulous clearance deals.  Every few months they hold a “50% off clearance price” sale… and you can take an ADDITIONAL 50% off the lowest ticketed price.

My last trip to Old Navy was right after the 50% off clearance sale but everything in the store was 30% off – so I still scored some deep discounts with 30% off clearance price.

Here’s what I bought:

Keep in mind- these are brand new clothes.  The reason that I point that out is because the price I ended up paying easily rivals if not beats consignment sale or Salvation Army shopping – and that’s for gently USED clothing!

Original sticker price of everything pictured above: $98

Price I paid: $17.35

The breakdown:

Kids’ Holiday Long Sleeved Shirts: 2 were originally $8.50, 1 was originally $5 – I paid $.68 per shirt

Poker Themed Graphic Tee for Biker Bob: Was $14.50 – I paid $2.79

Denim skirt for me: Was $29.50 – I paid $5.59

Fleece jacket for Lily Bean – Was $12.50 – I paid $2.44

Sweater for Lily Bean – Was $19.50 – I paid $3.49

Not bad!

Now, when you are shopping clearance sales, many times you need to shop ahead for the next year.  The reason the winter clothes were on final clearance sale was because the store was getting ready to bring in their Spring clothing.  So I went into the store thinking ahead for NEXT winter.  Lily Bean is currently wearing 2T clothing… so I bought all 3T for next year.  I do the same thing each season – always filling Lily’s closet with cute clothes at a fraction of the retail cost.

Where do you find the best savings and discounts when it comes to clothes?