Do you find that you visit my site for one or two things in particular? Maybe it’s freebies and coupons.. maybe it’s Amazon deals and Groupon deals. Whatever it is, you can get there with a direct link – bookmark your faves and when you use those links, it will filter out other posts that you may not be seeking!

Top MC direct links:

Freebies: http://www.mamacheaps.com/category/freebies

Coupons: http://www.mamacheaps.com/category/printable-coupons

Online Deals: http://www.mamacheaps.com/category/online

Groupon Deals: http://www.mamacheaps.com/category/groupon

Amazon.com Deals: http://www.mamacheaps.com/category/amazon-com

Restaurant Deals: http://www.mamacheaps.com/category/restaurant

Deals Ending SOON: http://www.mamacheaps.com/category/ending-today

Photo Deals: http://www.mamacheaps.com/category/photo-deals

Grocery Store Deals: http://www.mamacheaps.com/category/grocery-store

Drugstore Deals: http://www.mamacheaps.com/category/drugstore-deals

Great Beginner Tips: http://www.mamacheaps.com/category/beginners

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.

Phew.

Crazy night on my Facebook page.

I was a little bit of a rager, which I try not to do.  But Facebook is really pissing me off.  While I understand I can only complain so much b/c Facebook is FREE – I have said it before and I will say it again, “I would rather pay an (affordable!) usage fee for my Facebook blog page and in return get SUPPORT from FB and *gasp* have my posts SEEN by my fans.”  (Crazy concept, I know).

If you’re already on my FB page (love you!) then you saw me lose my cool a bit this evening as I posted a picture of how much Facebook is now giving me the “opportunity” to pay PER POST to reach 21k of my 34k fans.  Are they SERIOUS?  Who can afford that?  And even if my pockets were lined with gold bars (which I can ASSURE you, they are not), there is not even an option to REACH all of my fans.

Fans = people who have, of their own non-coerced free will, chosen to click that little “LIKE” button which is basically like saying, “YES!  I want your status updates and subsequent posts to roll through my news feed because I surely would hate to miss a wonderful deal!”

WHAT?!

Who will benefit from these Facebook shortcomings?  Big companies, obviously.  Companies that can afford to run big, splashy, expensive advertising campaigns will have no problem reaching most of their FB fans while the rest of us are left shouting desperately into our empty cavernous FB pages in the hopes that even one reader will hear us.

Alright.  So short of convincing Mark Zuckerberg that small businesses/blogs/websites are run by amazing, self-motivated, creative persons who work their buns off and deserve to be helped, promoted and celebrated instead of squashed out by the almighty dollar and big corporations *takes a breath* there are a couple things you can do to make sure you are seeing all the good stuff your favorite pages post – whether that includes mine or not.

1)  Go to a fave Facebook fan page.  Hover your mouse over the almighty LIKE button.  Select Show in News Feed.  If at any time you don’t see that page’s updates in your news feed, go back and make sure this option is still checked.  Facebook is notorious for changing your preferences without telling you.

2)  Create a list that includes your favorite fan pages.  This is a nice option if you like to follow more than one fan page.  It will plunk all of their updates into your news feed and will also allow you to categorize and organize your preferred pages.

Here’s how to create a list.

Go to the fan page you’d like to add.  Click on the arrow button next to the MESSAGE button. Choose the option to add to interest lists.

I did not have any lists created so I need to choose NEW LIST.

Select the fan pages that you want to appear on your new list.  After you have selected your desired pages, click NEXT.

Give your list a name.  Decide who (if anyone) should be allowed to edit your list.  Click DONE.

Head back to your HOME screen on Facebook.  You should see your lovely new list on the left sidebar.

That’s it.  That’s all I got.  According to my Facebook stats, on average, only about 9% of my current Facebook fans are seeing the posts that I put up.  So after breaking my back for 3+ years to beg and plead for Facebook fans, it appears to have been in vain.

But there is a bright spot.

I now have the “privilege” to promote my posts to folks who are already my fans.

Touché, Mark Zuckerberg, touché.

p.s. Want to follow my awesomeness?  Like my Facebook page.  Even though you will probably never see a thing I post.  Unless of course you are one of the elite Cheaps 9%ers.    Thanks to Sarah for coining that glorious phrase.

Photo Credit

If you are one of our readers out there wondering why Mama Cheaps updates have disappeared from your Facebook feed, you’re in good company.  I am getting messages every day from readers asking how to fix this because they are missing all of their freebie and coupon updates.

Unfortunately, recent Facebook changes have made it harder to find brand/company pages, even though you have elected to see their updates in your feed by clicking the “LIKE” button on their page.

There are a few things that you can do to get these pages (including MAMA CHEAPS!) back in your feed.

1.  MAKE SURE that your Facebook feed is set to “Sort: Most Recent.”  It defaults back to “Sort: Top Stories” without warning (especially on mobile devices) – so check often, even daily.

2.  INTERACT with our page!  LIKE, SHARE and COMMENT on posts – even if it’s just once every day or two.  This shows Facebook that you care about our updates – and they will make them more visible in your feed.

You can interact with us ON Facebook AND on our actual site!

Try those tips – and let me know if I appear back in your FB feed. 

Do you find that you visit my site for one or two things in particular? Maybe it’s freebies and coupons.. maybe it’s Amazon deals and Groupon deals. Whatever it is, you can get there with a direct link – bookmark your faves and when you use those links, it will filter out other posts that you may not be seeking!

Top MC direct links:

Freebies: http://www.mamacheaps.com/category/freebies

Coupons: http://www.mamacheaps.com/category/printable-coupons

Online Deals: http://www.mamacheaps.com/category/online

Groupon Deals: http://www.mamacheaps.com/category/groupon

Amazon.com Deals: http://www.mamacheaps.com/category/amazon-com

Restaurant Deals: http://www.mamacheaps.com/category/restaurant

Deals Ending SOON: http://www.mamacheaps.com/category/ending-today

Photo Deals: http://www.mamacheaps.com/category/photo-deals

Hottest Deals: http://www.mamacheaps.com/category/hottest-deals

Grocery Store Deals: http://www.mamacheaps.com/category/grocery-store

Drugstore Deals: http://www.mamacheaps.com/category/drugstore-deals

Great Beginner Tips: http://www.mamacheaps.com/category/beginners

So yea, unless you’ve been living under a rock…

Facebook has changed yet again.

Many of you have written to me asking how to find Mama Cheaps updates in your Facebook feed.

Here’s what you need to do:

Find a status update from Mama Cheaps.  Click on the arrow on the top right corner and choose “Mark As Top Story.”

Do this on a couple other Mama Cheaps posts and hopefully you will see them in your feed.

(Thanks, Shannon.)

Don’t forget to download the MamaCheaps.com Toolbar!

This toolbar will fit in right at the top of your browser and is automatically updated when new posts go up. You will have instant access to deals, site searches and even our social media pages!

Best part? It’s 100% FREE.

Check it out here.