In the past, I have couponed but I didn't do it in a way that maximized my spending. I used coupons for items not on sale, I bought items just because I had coupon, etc I did a few doubles but never really saw the point. I then switched to shopping mostly at Aldi or Super Wal Mart.
However, on December 16th 2007 I decided to give it another go around. I stumbled across a few coupon/deals sites and then finally settled on site to frequent based on the friendliness, promotion of coupon ethics (you wouldn't believe what I found on some boards!!), and organization/ease of use. So I recommend Hot Coupon World for helping you find the best deals!
I have since learned that I get the most milage out my coupons by matching coupons to sales and then stocking up at that time. I buy one Sunday Paper for the inserts and then get a few extras from neighbors, etc. so that I can do multiple deals. This is a place where I should mention my personal ethics. I don't think it is ethical to completely wipe out a store when you find a good deal and prevent others from having a deal too. I try to limit myself to using 4 like coupons at at time (an exception is using 5 because store deal requires a certain amount purchased in one trip). If I want more of that deal, I go to another store of same franchise or come back at another time. I trust God to provide me with what I need.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Monday, January 7, 2008
Venturing into Mystery Shopping
About 5 years ago, I did a little bit of mystery shopping but I then I got recalled back to the military after 9/11 and never went back to it. I only did a few shops back then. I decided today that I would go back to it.
My first step was to get my silver certification for $15 at the Mystery Shopping Providers Association website. I have read many places not to pay any company to shop for them BUT that doing this certification will help increase your number of shops. We shall see. I did the test in about 30 minutes. It was 3-4 mini tests each after a different segment of information to study. I felt that a lot of the test questions were not adequately covered before the test and were covered better in the segment after the test. One was definitely poorly written and could technically be true or false depending on how your brain works. Most questions were rather easy and common sense to anyone who has ethics.
My first step was to get my silver certification for $15 at the Mystery Shopping Providers Association website. I have read many places not to pay any company to shop for them BUT that doing this certification will help increase your number of shops. We shall see. I did the test in about 30 minutes. It was 3-4 mini tests each after a different segment of information to study. I felt that a lot of the test questions were not adequately covered before the test and were covered better in the segment after the test. One was definitely poorly written and could technically be true or false depending on how your brain works. Most questions were rather easy and common sense to anyone who has ethics.
Welcome to my blog!
Come join me as I explore saving money and stretching every penny in order to reduce debt. I am a SAHM with both kids in school, one with special needs that requires frequent trips to the school (sigh). I am trying to decide between returning to work full time and deal with before and after school care and less flexibility for our family or looking for alternative ways to generate income and save money so that I can still be there for my family's needs. I am going to explore couponing, refunding, mystery shopping, and other money saving techniques.
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