Using the Internet to Save Money

Hi gang!

I wanted to share a few tips and tricks for online shopping and coupon hunting that may help you during this Christmas season.

First of all, I highly recommend forums for information on sales and coupon matchups.  The ones I use are all free sites.  Some of my favorites are:

• Slick Deals
• Hot Coupon World
• A Full Cup

When you join a forum community, plan on it taking a little while to find exactly how to maximize the site for your purposes.  I am just now finding which forums within the communities work best for me.  All three sites have region specific forums that can help when planning shopping trips since prices vary by region.

I also recommend printing coupons for items you will use.  I have a few sites that I love plus I have found one Slick Deals forum that is incredibly helpful as it lists all coupons that are out alphabetically with a guide to where to find these coupons!  So helpful when searching for deals on specific items!

• Slick Deals Printable Manufacturers Coupon Compilation
• Coupons.com
• Couponbug.com

For online shopping, I suggest you use rebate sites.  There are many to choose from!  Some sites give cash back, some sites give points back.  When I know what store I want to use, I compare the rewards between these companies and go with the highest rebate amount.  Here are some that I use:

• Shop at Home - Cash back rebate site.  Print coupons here for groceries, find online coupon codes, get cash back for purchases.  New members get $5 in their account if a purchase is made in 60 days.  Request a check once you hit $20!
• Ebates - Very similar to Shop at Home.  Has no grocery coupons.
• Mypoints - Get paid in points for online purchases.  Points can be redeemed for gift cards.  Read emails for points.  Review websites at their frogpond for points.  Report for campaigns for BzzAgent for points.  Earn points for playing games.
• Swagbucks - I love swagbucks!   I cash out at 45 swagbucks for a $5 amazon gift card.  Since April, I have received $100 in Amazon gift cards plus have $15 pending to clear this month!  Earn bucks by searching the internet.  Earn bucks by recycling/trading in old gear.  Earn 1 swagbuck for every $5 you spend  by shopping online through this site.
• RetailMeNot - This is a great site for online coupon codes!

Remember to use your shopper card at grocery stores to get extra savings.  Add electronic coupons to your card.  These ecoupons do not double like some paper coupons, but they can be paired with paper coupons for extra savings!

• pgesaver.com
• shortcuts.com
• cellfire.com

 Lastly, I LOVE daily deal sites!   My favorites are the WOOT! sites - they have Woot-off's every so often.  Woot-offs offer more than just one deal per day with savings up to 80%!

• Woot
• Woot woot-off tracker website
• Kids woot
• Kids woot woot-off tracker website
• Shirt woot 
• Wine woot
• Target daily deal
• Toys r Us daily deal
• Baby Steals
•  Amazon Daily Deals and Lightning Deals

 Happy bargain hunting!

Baby Einstein Video Refund

A friend of mine (thanks Missy!) just emailed me information from the Campaign for Commercial Free Childhood.  They are working to free children from corporate marketing.  They have had a victory in the campaign against baby videos.  They have pursuaded Disney to offer a full refund to anyone who has purchased a Baby Einstein video in the past 5 years. 

Here is the text from the email:

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood Reclaiming Childhood from Corporate Marketers

We've got great news.  CCFC's ongoing campaign to stop the false and deceptive marketing of baby videos has had a stunning success.  We've persuaded the Walt Disney Company to offer a full refund to anyone who purchased a Baby Einstein DVD in the last five years.  The refund is only available for a limited time, so please help us spread the word now!


Our 2006 Federal Trade Commission complaint forced Disney to stop claiming that Baby Einstein videos were educational for infants, but the company made no move to compensate parents who purchased them.   

We thought parents deserved better.  So, with help from CCFC members like you, we kept the pressure on until Disney agreed to reimburse Baby Einstein customers. 

The refund offer is a wonderful victory for families and anyone who cares about children.  Recent research shows that screen time is not educational for babies. Now parents who purchased Baby Einstein DVDs, mistakenly believing the videos would make their babies smarter, can recoup their money.

You can help by spreading the word. Letting friends and family members know about the refund will help parents get their money back - it's also the perfect way to start a conversation about babies, marketing, and screen media. After all, a screen-free babyhood is a critical component of a commercial-free childhood.

What you can do:

1. If you've purchased a Baby Einstein DVD in the past five years, click here to learn how to get your refund.
2. Share this email and our fact sheet on baby videos with any parents that you know.
3. Pass on news about the refund and our success on relevant blogs, parent listservs, and social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
Thanks for all you do,
Susan Linn
Director, CCFC