If your New Year’s resolution is to Save Your Money, here’s a plan!

Do the math…if you cut your spending by just $11 a day, you’ll save just over $4000 a year! How’s that for a New Year’s resolution!

Let the Budget Diet girl help you count the ways you can cut your spending and save your money! You can save money everyday by eliminating small expenses that really add up! It’s all part of frugal living!
 
 

1. Kick the Starbucks habit…SAVE $3 per day, $1095 per year!

 

2. Don’t do the drive-thru for breakfast…SAVE $5 per day, $1865 per year!

 

3. Brown bag it to work…SAVE $6 per day, $2190 per year!

 

4. Use The Grocery Game, Inc. to maximize your grocery savings…SAVE at least $50 per week, $2600 per year!

 

5. Eliminate packaged, prepared food from your grocery list…SAVE $20 per week, $1040 per year!

 

6. Eat in, not out for dinner. SAVE $40 per week by cutting just 1 dinner out, $2080 per year!

 

7. Buy discounted gift cards to save at stores you normally shop weekly like Target. $100 gift cards for as low as $70 to purchase brand name products at your favorite stores! PlasticJungle -Buy, sell & trade gift cards

 

8. If you shop online, start with Ebates.com – you’ll find coupon codes and earn cash back on every purchase!

 

9. Slow down! Driving 65 mph uses 15% more gas than 55 mph…that’s like paying 40¢ more per gallon! Suppose you use a tank of gas each week on highway driving, you’ll SAVE $8 per week, $416 per year.

 

10. Avoid excessive car idling! Turn off your engine while your waiting in that carpool line and you’ll save nearly 20%! Better yet…if you’re close enough to school, walk or ride bikes!

 

11. STOP making impulse purchases! SAVE A LOT!

 

12. Take advantage of FREEBIES by checking The Budget Diet’s freebies page everyday!

 

Some of these money saving tips don’t save big bucks, but The Budget Diet girl’s motto is EVERY LITTLE BIT ADDS UP! If you can incorporate just a few of these tips into your life, you’ll soon find yourself saving $4000 a year! VACATION ANYONE????

I’ve just touched on money saving tips that most of us can take advantage of every week, but if you’re looking for money saving tips in every area of your life, and you’d like to save more than $4000 a year…just click on any of the topics on the left side of this page!

Good luck with your resolution, and remember The Budget Diet girl is here to help you with all your money saving challenges!

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Photo courtesy of Free Web Photos

Order discounted gift cards today and you’ll be ready to shop next week! It’s no-brainer instant savings, and nobody will know that you didn’t pay full price! Here’s a rundown of the discounted gift cards currently available on PlasticJungle.com, but remember the inventory changes daily!

AMF Bowling – 10% off
Best Buy – 6% off
Build-A-Bear – 15% off
Claire’s – 12% off
Coach – 9% off
Coleman – 25% off
Columbia – 10% off
Home Depot – 7% off
Jos. A. Bank – 12% off
Marriott – 7% off
New York & Co. – 13% off
Payless – 16% off
Petco – 9% off
Regal Entertainment – 12% off
Sport Chalet – 13% off
Sunglass Hut – 15% off
Walmart & Sam’s Club – 2% off
Zumiez – 15% off

I just purchased my daughter’s required school uniform shoes online and saved nearly 30%!

Tell me more!

Show me how!

Help me save!

It’s easy to save money when you’re shopping online if you follow these 3 easy steps:

1. Start by doing an internet search for the item you’re shopping for and visit a few of the shopping comparison sites that pop up like Nextag and Yahoo. You’ll quickly discover which store has the best price. Here’s how I did it for my daughter’s school uniform shoes…I searched for Sperry Angelfish women’s size 8, and I discovered prices ranging from $90 to $69.89. Who would pay $90 when you could get the exact same shoe for $69.89!
2. Now, head over to Ebates and enter the name of the store where you found the lowest price, so you can save even more money. Ebates will give you coupon codes plus cash back at over 1200 stores! In our case, Ebates did not work with the store that had the lowest price, so we moved on to step 3.
3. This step is only necessary if the store you’re looking for is not listed on Ebates. The final money saving trick is to use a site like RetailMeNot.com or Save1.com for finding coupon codes. You just won’t earn any cash back like you would with Ebates, but you will find money saving coupon codes. Even better, when you use Save1.com to save money, they provide a healthy meal to a malnourished child!
   Lucky me…I found a coupon code to save 10% and get free shipping!

 
There you have it, that’s how I bought a pair of $90 school uniform shoes for just $62.89. Thankfully, her feet are done growing!

Happy Shopping, Happy Saving from The Budget Diet Girl!

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Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Today’s the day to order discounted gift cards, so you’ll have them in time for back to school shopping!

Yes…discounted gift cards do exist! The folks at PlasticJungle.com are always buying & selling unwanted gift cards, and the savings are passed along to you! Even better…shipping is always FREE, but the gift cards do take about a week to arrive, so order today and shop next week!


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I just checked PlasticJungle.com, and as of today they have plenty of discounted gift cards perfect for back to school shopping! Take a look…

American Eagle – 13% off

Barnes & Noble – 18% off

Buckle – 15% off

Claires – 12% off

Dell – 10% off

Kohl’s – 15% off

Macy’s – 10% off

Old Navy – 20% off

Pac Sun – 25% off

Children’s Place – 10% off

Sear’s – 8% off

Combine your discounted gift card with a great sale, and you’ll save some serious money! By the way, nobody will know that you didn’t pay full price for your gift card…it’s our secret!

Get in the habit of checking Plastic Jungle often because inventory changes daily.

Here’s a complete list tax free weekend dates for 2012 listed by state.

Mark the tax free shopping dates on your calendar & save on back to school shopping! Click on your state for more details.

• Alabama 8/3/12 – 8/5/12

• Arkansas 8/4/12 – 8/5/12

• Connecticut 8/19/12 – 8/25/12

• Florida 8/3/12 – 8/5/12

• Georgia 8/10/12 – 8/11/12

• Iowa 8/3/12 – 8/4/12

• Louisiana 8/3/12 – 8/4/12

• Maryland 8/11/12 – 8/18/12

• Mississippi 7/27/12 – 7/28/12

• Missouri 8/3/12 – 8/5/12

• New Mexico 8/3/12 -8/5/12

• North Carolina 8/3/12 – 8/5/12

• Oklahoma 8/3/12 – 8/5/12

• South Carolina 8/3/12 – 8/5/12

• Tennessee 8/3/12 – 8/5/12

• Texas 8/17/12 – 8/19/12

• Virginia 8/3/12 – 8/5/12

Did you know that according to the National Retail Federation…the average American family spends $400 per child on back to school expenses…
WOW! Remember The Budget Diet girl’s motto: every little bit adds up! Don’t miss the tax free shopping weekend in your state!

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Image:
FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Buy Victoria’s Secret gift cards discounted at 14% from 4/26 – 4/27 through Plastic Jungle!
If you’re a Victoria’s Secret shopper, this is a no-brainer for instant savings!

This offer valid through 12:58am on Saturday April 28th, 2012

 
 
 
 
 
 
Just in time for a little spring clothes shopping, Plastic Jungle is offering Kohl’s Gift Cards at 13% off! Remember, discounted gift cards work like any other gift card…nobody will know that you didn’t pay full price!
Kohl’s gift cards discounted 13% 4/12 – 4/13 at Plastic Jungle!

This offer valid through 12:59am on Saturday April 14th, 2012

 
 
 
 
 
 
Plastic Jungle is offering additional savings on Gap gift cards! Gap gift cards will be discounted 10% April 10th & April 11th. There is no promo code necessary to redeem this offer.

Gap gift cards can be used interchangeably at your favorite Gap brand stores: Gap, GapMaternity, babyGap, GapKids, 1969 Jeans, even Old Navy, Banana Republic, Athleta and Piperlime.com.

Gap brands gift cards discounted at 10% 4/10 – 4/11!

This offer valid through 12:59am on Thursday April 12th, 2012