Saving money on those expensive printing supplies

I have several friends that keep repeating to me that they want to buy a printer so they can print coupons but are hesitant because of the the cost involved.  It’s not only an investment upfront to purchase the printer in the first place but it will also affect their ongoing budget as well.

My side of the argument that I continuously have with them is that it may be an upfront investment in order to purchase one but they would save more money in the long run from having the ability to print valuable coupons. 

Considering all the coupons that are on Coupons.com and all the other sites there are definitely alot of printable coupons available to print.  Plus, there are coupons offered online that are not available in the Sunday paper.  For example, Walgreens and CVS just released high dollar $5 off $25 coupons to print.  Coupons such as this help maximize the savings you are getting on the things you buy and help offset the cost of the printing supplies you are buying.  Savings that would not been available to you without a printer.

So, in my opinion, purchasing a printer is definitely worth the investment!  Plus, if you’re looking for additional ways to save money on printing supplies then checkout this article from Hollie at Happy Couponing.

Trouble Printing SmartSource coupons? Here’s a fix…

I ran across a really great post a The Freebie Blogger and wanted to share it with you.

I’ve posted before how you can change the URL for a Coupons.com/Bricks printable coupon link but this is the first time I’ve saw detailed instructions on printable trouble for SmartSource coupons.

1. Make sure you have installed the SmartSource Coupon Printer. You will be automatically prompted the first time you try to print a SmartSource coupon. Instructions for your particular browser will appear, but usually the download will begin after you click ‘activate’ and will only take a few seconds. Note: some anti-virus programs classify the coupon printer as a threat, but it is safe.
2. You must have Java from Sun Microsystems installed on your computer. You should receive an automatic prompt. If not, follow this link.
3. Make sure Java is enabled:
4. For Internet Explorer v6 or higher:
   1. From the menu bar click “Tools” –> “Manage Add-ons” –> “Enable or Disable Add-ons…”
   2. At the top there is a drop-down box labeled “Show:”
   3. Choose “Add-ons that have been used by Internet Explorer” in this drop-down box.
   4. Next, click on the column titled “Publisher” to alphabetically sort the list by publisher.
   5. Look for anything by publisher Sun Microsystems, Inc. (may say “(Not verified)”)
   6. Click on each item you find with this publisher with a Status of “Disabled” and enable it.
   7. Click OK to save your settings.
   8. You should now restart your browser (close all open windows) and come back to the page you initiated printing from to try again
   9. Also, click Start –> Control Panel –> Network and Internet Connections –> Internet Options –> Advanced tab. Make sure the box for Java(Sun) is checked.
5. For Firefox 1.x
   1. From the menu bar, choose Edit –> Preferences
   2. Select the Advanced category
   3. Check the box labeled “Enable Java”
   4. Click OK to save your preferences
6. For Firefox 2.x and 3.x
   1. From the menu bar, choose Tools –> Options…
   2. Select the Content category/tab
   3. Check the box labeled “Enable Java”
   4. Click OK to save your preference.
7. For Safari
   1. Click “Safari” and then “Preferences…” in MacOS or “Edit” and then “Preferences” in Windows
   2. Click the Lock Icon labeled “Security” at the top.
   3. Make sure “Enable plug-ins”, “Enable Java” and “Enable JavaScript” is checked.
   4. Close the Preferences dialog window to save your settings
8. Make sure your computer meets the following system requirements:
   1. Windows XP, Windows Vista, MAC OSX 10.4 (tiger) or 10.5 (leopard).
   2. Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher, Firefox 1 or higher, Safari or Google Chrome.
   3. SmartSource is compatible with AOL, but not with Windows 2000, CompuServe, Linux or WebTV.
   4. Connected to a working printer cabable of 300 dpi resolution. Coupons cannot be saved.
   5. Note: Your computer at work is probably behind a firewall that prevents the coupon printer from downloading.
9. If all else fails, click here to contact SmartSource technical support.

Thanks, The Freebie Blogger!

Tips for helping a new parent

Gabrielle at Couponing in Critical Times just welcomed a new nephew this week.  Congratulations!

I know how much it meant for me to have family living close by following my return home from the hospital.  I was able to have help with some of the older kids or trips to town which helped out tremendously.  Gabrielle was fortunate enough to be able to travel out of town to help her sister during her first few days at home and she wrote a very touching post here on a variety of ways to help a new mother.  Check it out!

Quick Tip about the order E-Coupons are applied

Have you ever wondered the logic behind how E-Coupons apply to the product they’re intended for?

Let’s look at an example where both of these coupons are for the exact same product:

• $1/1 shortcuts.com e-coupon which you loaded to your card two days ago and it expires tomorrow
• $1/2 cellfire.com e-coupon which you loaded to your card a week ago and it expires in two weeks

It’s a bummer that with the way e-coupons work you aren’t able to choose which one is applied because in this example I would choose the one that expires tomorrow which is also for a higher value.  Wouldn’t you?  But the way the register is programmed, it won’t.  It will choose the second one based on it’s programming.  Why?  The registers are programmed to apply the coupons based on the order you load them to your card.

I just wanted to give you some details of a conversation I had this week with Kroger Corp. Web IT nice guy Greg.  This month there are the three different downloadable Yoplait Yogurt coupons from three different sources.  Cellfire .50/6, Shortcuts .40/6 and Hope for Table $1/10.  I asked him if all were loaded on our card, which would come off first if we were only buying 6.  He said the one we downloaded first would come off first. 
Tamara

Thanks for the awesome tip Tamara!

Cleaning with Ammonia, Lemonade, Vinegar & more

Check out Saving with Shellie for some amazing ways to clean with Ammonia!  She has quite a few tips other than cleaning the window with newspaper.

And while you’re on her site don’t forget to check out all her other Spring Cleaning tips!

Got Lemons? Don’t Make Lemonade!
Vinegar is Vine-Great!
Don’t Ditch Your Dryer Sheets
Super (Baking) Soda

Looking for some Birthday Freebies?

My house has had several birthdays recently and I have stumbled across some great sites that I thought I’d point out for everyone’s enjoyment.  Bookmark them, they’re great!

You can get boodles of things from Free Meals to Discount Coupons.  Definitely worth your time!

FreeBirthdayTreats.com – Great site for adults, kids & pets freebies with state filtering.

Freebies 4 Mom – Heather updates this list monthly with comments from her readers.

FREE Take Care Clinic Visits at Walgreens

Wags, you have my heart right now. I love all the free stuff I get to "buy" from you with my coupons but now you're opening your arms up to Take Care of the jobless & uninsured. Aww! I just grabbed the following from Mercedes at Common Sense With Money and it's HOT!! Times are tough for alot of people right now and I can relate. I have suffered through unemployment and I have sick family members right now who can't afford a doctor's visit. This will definately help!

Walgreens will be offering free care clinics at their Take Care Clinics to those who lose their job and health insurance after 3/31/09. The free clinics will run Mom-Fri from 11am to 3pm. The clinics will offer free treatment for respiratory problems, allergies, infections and skin conditions, among other ailments. Free services won’t include free checkups, vaccinations or other injections, but things that people may need from urgent care center or even an emergency room. Spouses and children are also eligible for free services if they are also uninsured. Find the Take Care Clinic closest to you here. Although demand is uncertain the free clinic hours are expected to run through the end of 2009. Read more about this here.

Trouble Printing Coupons? Easy Peasy Fix…

I had a reader comment that she was having trouble printing coupons. The easiest for me to say is that if it doesn’t print in your Internet Explorer browser then copy the link over to Firefox which will normally solve the problem. It’s really trial and error. If it doesn’t work in one then you switch to another.

But, if you want to get all technical and fix the link yourself then I have grabbed these great tips from The Freebie Blogger which are awesome! So, if you keep getting the “please wait” and then nothing ever happens these tips may be helpful to you. Happy Printing!

Problems printing Bricks coupons? This may fix your problem!
So, everyone uses different browsers, from IE to FireFox to Safari.

Sometimes people paste Coupons.com/Bricks links that they received in FireFox, which do not work in Internet Explorer or vice versa. You get the “Please wait…” or “Please Install The Coupon Printer” even if you already did.

This trick will allow you to simply change 2 characters in the URL to make a FireFox link work in Internet Explorer and vice versa

Here’s how easy it is, the following is a FireFox link:

http://bricks.coupons.com/Start.asp?tqnm=ri3peuo59687503&bt=wg&o=53740&ci=1&c=GM&p=TyQrvJA

note the “wg” in the URL. This link gives the repeating Please Install The Coupon Printer in Internet Explorer.

To make that link an Internet Explorer link we simply change “wg” to “wi” OR “vi” (in this case, both variations work, other coupons it may be wi or vi, trial and error):

http://bricks.coupons.com/Start.asp?tqnm=ri3peuo59687503&bt=wi&o=53740&ci=1&c=GM&p=TyQrvJAY

or

http://bricks.coupons.com/Start.asp?tqnm=ri3peuo59687503&bt=vi&o=53740&ci=1&c=GM&p=TyQrvJAY

UPDATE: If you want to print Bricks coupons on a MAC with Safari, replace the “wg”, “wi”, or “vi” to “xs”. You can also do the reverse, take a Safari link “xs” to IE “wi” or “vi” or to FireFox “wg”.

You do the opposite if you want to print an Internet Explorer link in FireFox!

Free Eco-Living Tips from Ideal Bite – For the Green Guru

I could live a little more environmentally friendly and IdealBite.com has some fun eco-living tips.  And they even break it down in an understandable way.

• The Bite: Their Eco-Tip
• The Benefits: They tell how the tip helps
• Personally Speaking: They give you a personal experience
• Wanna Try: They give you an easy way to do it
• Related Topics: Related Stuff
• Tip Source: Linkups to where info may have came from

Sign up here to have the green gurus deliver some tips for you to take a bite into being more eco friendly.

Asking A Manufacturer for Mailer Coupons

I used several mailer coupons on my last trip so I thought I’d throw out a quick tip about how I get manufacturer coupons in the mail.

Leave a comment on the manufacturer’s website asking for them.

Simple enough, right?  I randomly pick a brand that we eat and go the manufacturer’s website and let them know how much I like their product.  Majority of the time I get a response back that they are placing coupons in the mail. 

How often do I do this?  Just whenever.  I made two requests this week.  See below:

My kids love Foster Farm corn dogs and they are about $5/box.  We don’t eat these very often but they are nice to have for a quick fix.  Their website has printable coupons for their other products but not for the corn dogs.  So, I left a comment and stating so and asked for some coupons.  Here’s their response…

Thank you for taking the time to contact our Foster Farms Consumer Affairs Department.  We do have discount coupons available for some of our products, and I will be glad to place some in the mail for you.

My kids also love the Pepperidge Farm goldfish.  These often go on sale for around $1 which is my buying price.  Target had an awesome deal this week using a Target printable coupon to get them for .66.  There was also supposed to be a Manufacturer printable on the Pepperidge Farm website to bring them down to .16!  Awesome deal but I was unable to print the coupon by the time I read about the coupon so I left a comment on their website about my printing problem.  Here’s their response…

We received your message and appreciate your taking the time to contact Pepperidge Farm about our Pepperidge Farm promotion.

We appreciate your interest in our Pepperidge Farm products, and hope you will accept the complimentary coupon we have sent to you via the mail, which you will receive within 7-10 days.

So, see a minute or two of my time netted me some coupons in the mail that I know I will be using during future shopping trips.  These are products that we use and alot of times the manufacturer will send really great $off coupons and sometimes FREE coupons, which I love!

What are you waiting for?  Pick something in your pantry and let the manufacturer know how much you love it.  Be truthful too!