personal finance in a coupon blog

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It's Easter Sunday this weekend! While Easter can become a very costly holiday, like anything in life, you can drastically reduce the costs by making some small changes and doing things yourself.

From your basket to your dinner, with these easy Easter makeover tips you can cut costs to stay on or below your budget:

The budget-friendly Easter basket

Easter baskets can be very costly. However, if you follow these 8 tips on how to put together a Easter basket on a budget from Northern Cheapskate, your basket will be pocketbook friendly. You should also think outside of the box when you think of inexpensive ways to fill an Easter basket like Thrifty Tiff and/or consider these 32 cheap kids Easter basket ideas from Sami Cone. From hair ties to lip balm, these items can all fill a basket nicely and be reused. Read More »

It's Spring break this week (at least for Los Angeles Unified School District) and Easter Sunday is coming up this weekend. What are your plans for Spring break and Easter?

In lieu of sending my daughter to camp for 1 week, I'm having her stay at home with me. In order to make sure she isn't bored throughout the day, I made a mini-camp schedule filled with arts, crafts, sports and gardening. Not only will this keep my daughter happy during her break, I'll be happy because I've saved $500 on camp costs.

For Easter, the kids will be participating in an egg hunt which they always look forward to. Instead of doing it in my own home, I take them to a local event and pay $5 for each of them. Because I do this, I save about $40, a day's worth of time and energy, plus the kids enjoy it more because they have a friendly competition with kids their own age.

Since I get to save money on Spring camp and the Easter egg hunt, this week I'm going down my list of birthday gifts I need to purchase and actually purchase them. To get things started, I've got this week's top 5 deals for you: Read More »

We here at Savings.com strive to help everyone save money, no matter their living or non-living status. Our latest Savings pro can show you how it's done, and help you survive a zombie apocalypse in the process.  Read More »

If you've ever tried to use a tablet as an e-reader, especially a big tablet, you know that it's not exactly ideal. Larger, heavier models can be hard to hold for long periods, and I find them especially unwieldy for reading in bed. Read More »

Easter is just a few short days away, and most people rush out, last-minute, for decorating and fun craft supplies. But there are some simple ways that you can celebrate Easter, but also be frugal at the same time - even if you did procrastinate in preparing!

Here are 10 tips for how to celebrate Easter on a budget.  

1. Use leftover baskets from the previous year, or use baskets that you have on hand. Almost everyone has baskets in their homes, so utilize what you have! 

2. Use leftover green tissue paper from the holidays to stuff your baskets vs. buying new plastic grass. 

3. Go for the plastic eggs vs. decorating real eggs. These can be used again next year, thus saving you money in the long-run.  Read More »

This Easter, focus on time with your family and avoid going over budget when you follow a few tips. By planning ahead, and using items you already have on hand, you'll enjoy a relaxed day of rejoicing with family and friends.

Reuse what you have from last year: Dig out last year's baskets, plastic eggs, and even grass. There is no reason to spend money every year on a new basket. In fact, the kids think of their basket as their own personal "stocking" which is hung at Christmas. Read More »

^{(Pictured: Pistachio Ringo. Photo credit: Erin West)}

Happy National Puppy Day! You're probably busy enjoying all the National Puppy Day barbecues and parades, but if you need a break from all the action, I've compiled my best tips on frugal dog ownership. Read More »

Spring is finally here, hopefully it's getting warmer where you are. There are some really great freebies starting to pop up.

If you want to stay bug free while you enjoy the great outdoors, you can get a free mosquito repellant bracelet right now. Need something to read on a lazy day? Snag a free subscription to Ladies Home Journal. And for your cat, use the coupon to get a free can of Friskies or Fancy Feast. We've got 10 freebies for you this week:

Freebie #1: Bugslock Mosquito Repellant Bracelet - Offer from 1SaleADay for new customers accounts only. Add the item to your cart and go through the checkout process. No credit card needed and shipping is free too. Read More »

Easter's coming up, and we just love to chat about the eggs, the food, the decorating, the fun and everything else related to Easter! So why not have a party for fun?

Let's chat about how to save money and have some fun for Easter this Tuesday, March 26, 2013 at 6pm PT/9pm ET with the #EasterSavings hash tag and our awesome DealPro hosts!

Hosts: @sistersshopping @survivingstores @mommysavesmoney @tiffanitaff @valpakcoupons @savings and @savingsclasses. 

RSVP: Put the link to your Twitter handle below in order to RSVP. Read More »

Are you still waking up to frost? Or even worse, snow? Do you believe that the rumors of spring have been greatly exaggerated? While spring may not have arrived to your region yet, it is still possible to start your garden now.

Why would you consider starting a garden when you are still wearing long johns? First, you can't get any more local than your backyard. Second, you have complete control over how your produce is grown, so you know exactly what was used on your fruits and vegetables. Finally, eating homegrown produce is a great way to save on your grocery bill.

Here are some tips for starting a spring garden in a cold-climate:

Pick cold-hardy plants. There are a number of vegetables that can survive cold weather; many can even survive a light snow. Cold hardy vegetables can be planted 4 - 6 weeks before your last frost date. Read More »

Flash drives are all kinds of awesome, little storage warehouses you can attach to your keychain or slip into your pocket. Read More »

Today is National Proposal Day! We couldn't pass this day up without giving it some special recognition to all the folks that will be getting engaged today or in the near future. Because we know that the high cost of rings can sometimes delay the whole engagement process, we've come up with the top 5 beautiful engagement rings under $1,000 that will brighten up your loved one's face:


If you're going for a classic and timeless look for an engagement ring, this one will never go out of fashion. The 1/4 ctw round diamond solitaire ring in 14k white gold will do the job. Coupon: 10% off your purchase. ($650; Zoara) Read More »