Frugal Living

Frugal and Fun Hot Chocolate Bar

November 29, 2016 By Sarah Roe 1 Comment

Hot chocolate is my favorite. MY FAVORITE. I grew up with bad asthma and somewhere along the way I figured out if I would drink hot chocolate, my symptoms would calm down. Even thought I do not have asthma today, I still drink hot chocolate every single morning.

On a rare occasion I will make homemade hot chocolate but for the most part, I use a Swiss Miss packet simply because I need to make it quickly and get all the kids out the door for school. I do have an amazing Hot Chocolate board on pinterest though filled with recipes including a recipe for slow cooker hot chocolate which sounds like a great addition to the Hot Chocolate Bar for a party.

I do make my own homemade marshmallows on occasion though and those are flat out amazing. They’re perfect for hot chocolate, there’s a lot of powdered sugar though so I wouldn’t just take a bite of it, throw it in the hot chocolate and it will become foamy and delicious.

That’s what makes this Hot Chocolate Bar so much fun, it’s completely customizable! Pour some hot chocolate mix in a bowl and gather up your favorite toppings like whip cream, caramel, mini chocolate chips, mints, marshmallows, anything you can think of! Isn’t it gorgeous?

If you’re having a Christmas party at your house this year, be sure to pull out the Hot Chocolate Bar. It’s a hit with kids and adults too especially this adult!

Vanilla Latte Table Decor

November 29, 2016 By Sarah Roe Leave a Comment

Need a simple way to make your house smell amazing while decorating at the same time? Pick up a bowl from the dollar store (this one was literally $1), fill the bowl with coffee beans and place a vanilla tea light candle right in the middle.

The coffee beans will make your house smell delicious but with that vanilla candle, it will create a vanilla latte smell. You can use plain coffee beans, even grab some at the dollar store if they have some. I used french vanilla because I love the smell of vanilla already so I wanted a double dose.

It’s cute, simple and frugal. Plus, you’ll love it, I’ve already made several!

5 Easy Ways to Save Money Fast

November 5, 2016 By Sarah Roe Leave a Comment

As we approach the holidays, saving money right now becomes key for most of us. The good news is, it is easy to save cash quickly with just a few basic steps. I thought I would share a few of my favorites with you today please feel free to add your own!

5 Easy Ways to Save Money Fast

Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half: This one is easy, simply shop around what is on sale and use printable coupons to help cut the price even further. Those two steps can save you up to 80% on your grocery bill which means instant savings in your pocketbook.
Earn Gift Cards, Rewards & Samples: Participating in offers could land you plenty of free gift cards, samples and rewards you could use towards this busy shopping season. Use legit websites such as MySavings.com to find the best and most current free reward and sample offers.
Start Selling: Now is the time to purge! Go through your home and find items you could sell online or in Facebook groups. Selling on Facebook is super hot right now and you can easily tap into that plus make extra cash for yourself.
Earn Amazon Giftcards: If you haven’t signed up for Swagbucks, you need to, this one has been around for the long haul and they make it super easy to earn free gift cards to Amazon. In fact, this is one of the best ways I save money and shop during the Christmas season.
Reset Your Budget: Think about how you shop over the holiday season, maybe it’s time to change up the family gifting to “only buy for the kids” or a $25 limit on each person. Think outside of the box, for our family, we bring one gift card and do an exchange. It’s fun and it keeps us from overspending.

These are just a few easy things you can do right now to save cash. I do believe keeping balance is also key, sometimes it is easy to go overboard on our kids or our spouses. Nice things are great but so is quality time and beautiful memories.

7 Things That Are Almost Always Cheaper on Amazon

November 4, 2016 By Sarah Roe 1 Comment

This post originally appeared on the Dealspotr blog. Dealspotr is the most accurate coupon site that pays you to save. I’m @MoneySavingQueen on Dealspotr, use my link to join today and earn 5,000 bonus points.

For online shoppers, and everyone else for that matter, Amazon needs no introduction. They’re fast, they’re reliable, and their prices are known for being lower than the majority of their competition.

But not everything should be purchased on Amazon. You know how it goes: You’ll find a few deals on Amazon, start getting excited and looking around for more deals, and before you know it you’re buying everything you can on the retail giant’s website.

If you don’t know what to look for, you may not even realize you’re overpaying for items unnecessarily.

Look, Amazon is a great place to shop, but one of the keys to saving money on Amazon is knowing which items are smart to buy (items they tend to have the best price on) and which items you’re better off getting locally or elsewhere online.

Not to mention you can skip those items on your regular shopping trips, which saves you time and hassle.

So whether you’re an Amazon fanatic or just a casual shopper, here are 7 items you’re sure to save money on by purchasing from Amazon.

Books

Amazon started out as an online bookstore, so it’s no surprise they’re prices are consistently competitive. They also have a massive selection compared to traditional book stores, which makes shopping for books elsewhere senseless.

Here’s a quick price comparison of a popular book “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen:

Amazon: $19.50

Barnes & Noble: $20.28

iPhone Cases

iPhone cases can get expensive if you buy them through a mobile phone company like Verizon or T-Mobile, or if you buy higher-end cases through companies like Sena.

However, if you’re simply looking for a quality (and somewhat stylish) iPhone case that will accomplish the job of protecting your phone, Amazon is the place to go. Even if you’re looking for more popular brands like OtterBox, Amazon is still going to be one of the cheapest – if not the cheapest – place to buy an iPhone case.

OtterBox Commuter Series iPhone 6/6s case price comparison:

Amazon: $16.80

OtterBox Website: $39.90

Diapers

We’ve talked about this in a previous article, but one way to save money on diapers is to buy them through Amazon or sign up for a diaper subscription through Amazon. After all, you’re going to have to buy them anyways, so you might as well go ahead and pay a set amount to have them delivered to your door for you. You’ll save yourself time and money.

But even if you don’t go the subscription route, Amazon can still save you money on diapers.

Pampers Swaddlers Diapers Size 1 (8–14 lb) Economy Pack Plus, 216 Count price comparison:

Amazon: $37.97

Walmart: $39.97

Light Bulbs

Light bulbs are another item that you simply can’t avoid purchasing. As long as you have lights, you’ll need light bulbs, so why not purchase them on Amazon and have them delivered to you for less than you can pick them up at the store.

GE 60 watt bulb 4 pack price comparison:

Amazon: $6.16 per 4 pack, comes with 3 4-packs

Walmart: $6.18

*Amazon has even better prices on other bulbs that Walmart doesn’t show in their online system, so all-in-all I think you’ll find you get a better selection and slightly better prices buying light bulbs on Amazon.

K-Cups

If you have a Keurig, then you know just how convenient K-Cups are. The only problem is, they’re crazy expensive! Don’t worry though, because Amazon has you covered, so you can enjoy your quick, easy, tasty coffee without the guilt trip of spending too much money.

Green Mountain K-Cup price comparison:

Amazon: $39.59 for 72 count

Walmart: $9.98 for 18 count

Prices on more popular name brand K-Cups tend to be very similar, but you can save a decent amount of money by purchasing the larger packs of K-Cups from lesser-known brands on Amazon.

Personal Hygiene Items

Tired of spending an arm and a leg on personal hygiene items at the supermarket? Why not buy them on Amazon and save the space in your shopping cart. You’ll save money by doing so.

Crest Whitestrips price comparison:

Amazon: $36.90

Walmart: $37.45

Cleaning Products

Cleaning products eating away at your grocery budget? It’s time to start using Amazon to save even more money at the store, and even more buggy space. (You might even be able to make the express checkout by now!)

Clorox Disinfecting Wipes Value Pack, 225 Count price comparison:

Amazon: $8.54 with Subscribe & Save

Walmart: $8.97 (normally $9.97)

How I Support My Family & Work From Home

October 27, 2016 By Sarah Roe Leave a Comment

Yesterday, I announced this deal. It is a BIG deal. Why? Because I have been a professional blogger for nearly 10 years and I have supported my family while doing so. I have taught blogging workshop and have attended several over the years and this deal encompasses all of that!

Right now (for only 6 days), you can get the Genius Bloggers Toolkit. We’re talking about 62 ebooks + e-courses plus, printables and bonuses! This is SO HUGE! I can’t even say it enough, I’m so excited I bought one too!

This is a digital package crammed full of brilliant tools to help you grow your blog, work smarter & make more money.

(But for way less than you’d normally spend!)

The team at Ultimate Bundles has put together the best resources on ALL the topics that matter to bloggers, like mastering social media, monetization, creating and selling products, time management and productivity, nurturing an email list, and so much more.

Here’s what you get:
24 eBooks
33 eCourses & audio files
5 printable packs

In total, the toolkit includes over $3,500 of blogging tips, strategies, tutorials and amazingly practical information and ideas. Plus you get free bonus offers worth $1,447, with 17 tools and services to help you run your blog.

But the truly amazing part? They’re selling it for a crazy 98% off of regular price!

I know, it sounds too good to be true, but I promise it’s not. Ultimate Bundles has been around a long time and creating these packages is really their thing (they’ve sold over 180,000 of them on all sorts of topics), so you can trust this is the real deal.

Even better, they’re all about making sure you LOVE this toolkit. There’s a full 30-day happiness guarantee, so there’s really no risk in trying it out.

The most important detail, though, is that this toolkit is available for seven days only. After Tuesday night, November 1st, the sale ends and you’d have to buy all of these products individually.

I’d hate for you to miss out, so click HERE to learn more or buy the bundle.

It’s even backed by a full money-back happiness guarantee, so you can make sure it’s right for you. Get what you need to work smarter instead of harder, grow your platform, and earn more. Learn more or get your bundle HERE.

Disclosure: This is an affiliate offer, this is one of the ways I monetize my blog however, this particular deal is AMAZING. I say that because I have never seen so many resources offered together in one package at this insane of a low price. Blogging is work, this isn’t an easy path and you’ll need resources, this is the best bundle of resources I have ever seen. I’m buying one too!