Do the surveys =)

OK so I initially came to my computer today to respond to my stack of receipt surveys for FREE goodies & a blog idea hit me.

How many of you actually reply to the lil surveys on the bottom of your grocers,fast food, local home improvement stores etc??? I have found that YES YES YES they are worth the time. A penny saved is a penny earned =) I collect all my receipts in a stack & then once per month I take the stack to my computer & reply - I typically receive codes for free products or email coups for free products. Cant beat that with a baseball bat ;-) (can you tell little league just started here ) I recommend setting up an email account specifically for such offers. It is fantabulous to open up your email acct & get coups galore,plus it doesn't load up your daily email with "junk mail". You can check the "coup" email as frequent or infrequent as your schedule alots. Anywhoo, what I have found is I spend approx 15 mins. doing this a month& my family can get a treat FREE most times when on the run from all the fantabulous offers I receive. I do truly believe the key to this is having them in bulk quantity. A free donut at Dunkin Donuts doesn't seem like much , until you have 6 of 'em. (Our local DD doesn't think the free donut is a great incentive either so they give a free medium coffee hot or iced ) Starbucks emails coups for a FREE beverage, restaurants will email you sporadic coups for free appetizers or desserts, and so on. Home improvement stores will send you $$$ of a certain purchase amount. The great part about these lil survey coupons is that most do not require any additional purchase.
Where are you storing your coups??? Are they in a PRACTICAL spot? I have a special resealable bag that is stored in my vehicle for my "on the go" coupons. These are the restaurant coupons, retail store coupons, fast food coupons etc. Anything that you may use while out & about . I rarely plan to eat out at a local fast food chain, so the best place for my coupons is in the car. The best coupon dictates where I am headed usually LOL. What good is my Build a Bear workshop or Sport Chalet coupons if they are on my kitchen counter? I don't know about you but If i have a $5 off coupon at home & need to pay full price I am so disappointed :/ Bottom line store your coupons in a practical place where they can be utilized & SAVE SAVE SAVE you $$$$ =)
How many of you utilize the savings on the back of your grocery store receipts. Currently our local grocers ads are for FREE Chick-Fil-A sandwiches with no purchase necessary, $15 oil change for a local automotive shop, B1G1 free at McD for smoothies. Not too shabby for a receipt you most likely will be throwing away. So check the coups & clip! clip!clip!
That brings me to another question......... How often do you check your receipts prior to leaving a store? The answer in a perfect world would be ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS!!! The statistics of how often we are overcharged for an item since scanners became common is astonishing. This month I received $24 back from my grocery store on a single transaction due to compound errors. My mom had to return to a local toy store when a sale item was not scanned at 50% off :o oops! The easiest & most convenient way to ensure you were billed accurately is to review your receipt prior to leaving the store. Many grocery stores reimburse you the cost of the item too, a nice little perk. I rarely receive my reusable bag credit offered at many retail stores , hey, that 5cents per bag ( and I have 20) will add up over time! Check, check & double check your receipts prior to departure

***Since reusable bags came up I will add this GREAT idea on here. There are a ton of very cute reusable bags out there now & hey are typically under $2. Most gift bags cost anywhere from $1-$6 easily especially when they have licensed characters. I have begun to purchase a variety of reusable bags for less than the paper gift bags in varying sizes and prints as gift bags. They are more fun & more durable ***



TTFN Managing Mommas,
Jen =)