One of my friends posted these tips in the Discussions part of my Facebook page, and I LOVED them, so I thought I would share! Above and beyond couponing, these are some great tips to get the most savings for your every-day life.

1. Use coupons! I cannot stress this enough. Many people don't realize this, but you can often mix a manufacturers coupon with a store coupons. I combine Publix coupons with manufacturers coupons all of the time and I usually can get a lot of free items this way. You can even mix a bogo deal with coupons and get paid to shop!

2. You can get free music every week. Every Tuesday, Starbucks picks a new artist of the week. You can pick up cards at your local Starbucks for a special code that gets you a free Itunes download. In addition to this, Itunes offers a free song each week as well.

3. For those of you who love cappuccinos, order a coffee with steamed milk instead. This will save you a few dollars every time.

4. Instead of getting a manicure and pedicure each week, you can go to the nail salon and ask them to do your nail polish only. You can get your nails and toes done for half price just by not using the water tub thingys.

4. Sign up for the groupon.com deals. You will receive a coupon via email each week for restaurants, spas, and more. (Also check out Living Social, Tanga, kgbdeals, Plum District, and Tippr- remember that no matter what city the deal is in, you can get it if it is an online deal like Fandango, soap.com, etc!)

5. Pack your lunch. Eating out is way too expensive. If you must eat out, order water. Drinks can cost up to $2.00 a pop.

6. Save your ticket stubs after seeing a movie. Apparently it's good for a free chicken sandwich from Chick-Fil-A. (Call your local store to verify this).

7. Save your church bulletin after the service, many places will give you a discount on Sundays if you bring the bulletin with you.

8. If you are a student, ask local shops if they offer discounts. You can receive discounts at Starbucks, movie theaters, and other places.

9. If you feel like catching a movie at the theaters, check out what is playing at your local dollar theater. It's not a dollar anymore, but it is still a lot more affordable than paying $10.00 elsewhere.
 (Atlanta area: check out the Picture Show at Merchant's Exchange in Marietta! Tix are only $1.75, and I think that the matinees are even cheaper!)

10. Instead of paying tons of money for framed pictures, make your own. If you take pictures with your own camera, you can have them developed (pretty much anywhere) as a black and white photo. Buy a fancy frame and voila, you can decorate your bare walls! (I have to give credit to Charlene, she's the one who thought of this one).

11. Shop amazon.com. I haven't paid full price for books or dvds in years. (You can also check out www.paperbackswap.com for free books! I use it all the time to get rid of books I no longer read and to pick up new FREE books! When asked who referred you, tell them Katie-M!)

12. Switch from high speed dsl to economy dsl. My friend Rachael says she can't even tell the difference and she saves a ton of money each month.

13. Pay attention to special offers on items that you buy. I usually ignore these, but just last week I got 25 free music downloads just for buying a package of razors for $2.00 (I used a coupon). What a steal!

14. Look through the clearance bins at Kroger. I have found tons of deals in these each week. I just bought 3 packs of gum for 99 cents.

15. Shop for clothing at Plato's Closet. That store rocks and you can buy name brand clothing at super low prices.

16. Look in the creative loafing for free events. (Atlanta Area) Often times there are days when you can visit museums, concert and other events for free!

17. If you buy the daily paper, be sure to look for the Publix penny item. Every Thursday, Publix has a mystery item that only costs you a penny. These items are often things that you buy anyway like coffee and toilet paper.

18. Sign up for a gym membership in the summer. This is when their enrollment drops (because everyone would rather be outside). The winter months are the worst time to sign up for a gym membership.

19. Make your own cards. It will be more meaningful than a store bought one, and can save you a ton of money in a year.

20. If you are wine drinker, then you should definitely try two-buck chuck from trader joes. These wines are actually about $2.75 a bottle and are available in red, white, and blush. It's yummy wine at a price you can't beat!

21. For those of you with kids, take advantage of "kids eat free" specials at your favorite restaurants. Look on their websites to find out what day you can take advantage of those offers. (Fab Steals and Deals also has a page dedicated to Kids Eat Free- check it out, and if you know of any others, send me a message!)

22. Sign up for emails at your favorite stores. You may want to create a seperate email account just for this. You will receive fantastic coupons at places that you already shop. I receive emails from New York and Company, Victoria Secret, and Sweet Tomato, and they are SO worth having an additional email address.

23. Looking for a cheap way to spend your Saturday? Volunteer! Not only is it free, but you'll be making the world a better place. Spend a few Saturdays building with Habitat for Humanity or walking dogs for the Humane Society. It will keep you out of the malls and it will boost your self esteem!

24. Buy staple items on sale. Anytime laundry detergent, toilet paper, or paper towels go on sale, I stock up. You will use it eventually, and you don't want to pay full price for these items. They tend to be pretty expensive.

25. Don't ignore free offers that come inside of the items that you buy. I have gotten free music downloads from buying a pack of razors and free movie tickets from buying a box of tampons.

26. You can download free audiobooks from your local library. All you do is check them out, download them to your computer and then put them on your ipod. They delete the file from your computer, but it will stay on your ipod indefinitely. I got the whole Twilight series for free!

Thank you, April, for these awesome ideas!
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