Scoring big with a stock up fund

One of the best ways I have found to save on groceries is to have a stock-up fund. It can either be part of your grocery budget that you accrue towards stocking up on items when there's a great deal or a separate fund you save just for these special sales. We live in a smaller town, and I am blessed to have a sister in Kalispell, who is happy to pick things up for me if I can't get up there for a certain sale. Part of my Wednesday morning routine is to check out the grocery store's ads online.

In September they had some good baking sales up in Kalispell at Smith's. They had their Quaker Oats on sale. The 42 ounce containers were on sale for $1.50 (regularly $4.00). I bought 30 containers of oatmeal. I bought 20 of the old fashioned oats because I like to make my own granola. I bought 10 of the quick oats because I make lots of oatmeal cookies.

In September at Albertson's they had their Hershey chocolate chips on sale for 80 cents each when you bought them in groups of 10 ($1 each and then $2 off if you buy 10). I bought 10 packages of chocolate chips. It has been wonderful to have them on hand as I made Christmas cookies.

Sometimes you just happen on sales. In November I was at Walmart and the cashier mentioned that they had eggs and butter on sale for a $1. I thought it must be the 8 ounce packages of butter, but it wasn't, it was the 1 pound packages. Because Christmas was coming and it freezes great, I stocked up and bought 72 pounds of butter. Check Walmart out when there is other baking sales in town, because they will mark down their eggs, milk and butter to match their competitors prices. This particular purchase would have blown my grocery budget if I hadn't had a stock up fund.

In November I also stocked up on celery. As part of the Thanksgiving specials they had celery on sale for $.28 a pound. I bought 3 stalks of celery. I chopped up the ones I couldn't use right away and froze them in 1 cup portions to use in soup later.

So take advantage of those sales, and if you find a great bargain, stock up!

3 keys to getting that rebate check

Rebates are sometimes a necessary evil to get a good deal. But, it won't be a deal if you don't receive your rebate.


Around our house, we use Norton anti-virus on our computers. We can usually find a way to get it for free or close to free. I am aware that there are free anti-virus programs out there, but we prefer Norton. When it gets close to the time our subscription expires instead of lazily renewing online (which takes minimal effort), my husband begins to look online for deals. This year he was able to get it for $15 and there was a $20 rebate on it. So, they are actually paying us $5 to use Norton for a year! This means that he has to reinstall it every year, but that is a savings of $39.99 off the suggested price.

I have to say, my favorite place for rebates is Staples. They have a great website and you are often able to submit your rebate request online.

It's important to read the requirements carefully to get that refund you're expecting.

1. Make sure you have all the required documentation. Typically you are required to submit a rebate form, an UPC symbol from the item and a copy of the receipt. These requirements are usually clearly noted. If in doubt, give them a call and ask. One time I was submitting two rebates on the same item. Both requested the original receipt. With one quick call, I was able to find out who truly needed the original and who would accept a copy of the receipt. If there are more than one UPC symbols on your item, include all of them.

2. It's important to take note of the expiration dates and get them mailed in right away.

3. Make copies of your rebates and keep them until you receive your refund. If you don't receive your refund, you will have the information to contact the company so they can rectify the situation.

Rebates are a great way to get deals...but you have to play their game of filling out paperwork and submitting it right away.

Saving big on a light fixture

We "needed" a chandelier for our dining room. When we bought our house, we knew the existing chandelier would be taken out as it was a family heirloom. We didn't immediately purchase a replacement when we moved in. Finally six weeks later, we went to Missoula to find a light fixture. We had already looked at Home Depot and Lowe's on previous trips and didn't find anything in our budget.

Doing our best to stretch our finances, we stopped by the Home Resource Center in Missoula. They are a business that recycles home building materials. We looked through all the chandeliers that they had and bought a small one for $8. I had my heart set on something big and beautiful as we have lofted ceilings. However, I was determined to be content, and was happy to have something to hang up. As we were leaving town we stopped by Lowe's to cruise through their clearance items. While I was looking through the garden center, my husband called me from the light section. He said there was a light he wanted me to see. When I got back there, there sat a big beautiful chandelier in pieces in a shopping cart. Thankfully, my husband is way more technical than I am and was able to see that there was one small part that was broken. It was marked down from $250 to $85. We looked at it, but because there was a broken part we weren't sold on it. Finally, we decided if they would take $50 for it we would buy it. My husband asked the sales clerk, who simple walked over crossed out the price on the clearance sign and wrote $50 on it and initialed it. When we got home my husband was able to salvage the piece we needed off the $8 chandelier we got at the Home Resource Center and fix the beautiful chandelier and we now have light in our dining room. I am thankful for a fixture I can really enjoy at a price that was a real bargain!