Monday, January 3, 2011
Shopping Centsibly at Whole Foods Market
Clip both in-store and manufacturers products for items on your shopping list. Whole Foods Market has a policy of allowing "stackable" deals. This means (for those of you not hip to couponing lingo) you can combine Whole Foods Market deals with Manufacturer Coupons. Whole Foods Market does NOT allow double coupons however. This means that you can only use 1 of each particular coupon for each transaction. If you have a coupon out of a Whole Foods Market book and you have a coupon for that same item from, say, your Sunday paper, you CAN do that - thats called "stacking" and not "doubling" ;) The difference is in the source of the coupon and not the item itself. Kiwi Magazine Online is a good source for organic coupons. We've been posting a lot of organic grocery coupons at Centsible's facebook page. Wholesale Foods Market also lists their instore grocery coupons online.
AND, this month, don't fail to buy a 2011 Whole Foods calendar for $2 and get $20 in coupons.
Be sure to not get too hung up on using your coupons only at Whole Food Markets. Many of the products sold there will also be available at other local grocers. It could be worthwhile for you to start a spreadsheet with a worksheet for manufacturers coupons and a different worksheet for in-store coupons. On the instore coupon list, have a separate column each for the store, the product brand, the discount and the expiration date. On the manufacturers coupon page, have a column for the brand, the discount, the product type (ie dairy, cleaning, frozen foods, etc..) and the expiration date. This way, you can quickly perform a search on your spreadsheet by brand or product type while matching up your coupons with sales. Sorting your inventory by expiration date will help you to keep on top of your coupons and make sure you don't miss out on any good ones. Keep your coupons grouped together in your wallet by store or by product type if they are manufacturers coupons.
Keep aware of what's on sale at your local Whole Foods Market when you sign up for newsletters and read your store's online flyers. "The Whole Deal" downloadable PDF file appears once every two months, bringing recipes, meal plans and featured bargains. Browse the specials and plan meals around discounted items. Visit the websites of products featured on sale and see if they're offering any manufacturers coupons. Check your growing spreadsheet to match up deals with coupons you may already have. While you're visiting your favorite products sites', sign up for their newsletters and get coupons sent to you rather than having to search them out. After a while, you'll have established a whole strategy.
Make it easier to stick to your grocery shopping list by familiarizing yourself with your local Whole Foods Market store. Visiting a Whole Foods Market is a treat. It smells fantastic. The food looks amazing. The layout is less grid-like than a standard supermarket, urging you to wander through most areas of the store. All of these factors make impulse purchases a real danger. Eat a good meal before you shop so you'll be less tempted by the appetizing smells and have a good list. Most importantly, stick to your list and match as many coupons as possible to it. Have your coupons organized, maybe even clipping them to your shopping list so you can refer to them for a useful reference of product details for valid items.
Combining menu plans, in-store sales, store coupons and manufacturer coupons will help you save money on your next shopping trip to Whole Foods Market. Not only will you reap immediate savings from following these couponing strategies for Whole Foods Market, you'll also save in the long run from the improved health you will enjoy from eating organic, healthy foods.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
KMart: How To Save Money Shopping Online At KMart
We've been revisiting Kmart's website for our shopping review of Kmart coupons, Kmart sales and Kmart shipping and return policies. There have been a few updates - we even clarified something on their site that was confusing and suggested Kmart update their own site to reflect correct info. That's the beauty of Centsible: we read the fine print for you and analyze it, calling customer service if we have to, so you can know exactly how to be the smartest shopper possible.
Kmart's Shipping Policies
You may not know it, but KMart is owned by Sears. The shipping and returns policies of the two stores often overlap. Its difficult to tell if the shipping rates at Kmart have gone up since we last checked in 2009: Kmart prices its shipping by item and also the delivery preference. A couple things are new with Kmart's shipping however.
Shipping to Alaska and Hawaii
First, Kmart now ships to both Alaska and Hawaii: their website gives conflicting information on this one so we called them up and asked. The customer service team had to inquire themselves but did confirm that shipping is available to these two states now. K-mart also now offers both a Ship Vantage program and Go-fer shop online and pick-up in store program.
Ship Vantage Membership
When you participate in Kmart's Ship Vantage, you'll receive free standard shipping at both Kmart and Sears for 12 months. 2-day shipping runs $0.99 per item and overnight shipping is $3.99 per item. You'll get a free 30-day trial of the program when you sign up. If you choose to keep it, you'll be charged $79.99 for the year of this service.Go-Fer Shop Online and Pick-Up In Store
Kmart now offers a facility where you can shop online for items and pick them up in store. Not all of Kmarts items are eligible for this service: look for the "Go-fer" logo. Some items are available the same day and can be picked up 2 hours after ordering online. Other items are "available the next day" and you will receive a confirmation email within 2 hours of ordering with a time frame that your order will be available for pick up.
Kmart's Return Policy
We did note on Kmart's returns policy that you must now include the original packaging with your returned item and also several aditional items have been added to the list of items that can only be exchanged for an identical item after the packaging has been opened. The returns policy at Kmart remains comparable to that of other stores.
All in all, we've seen a HUGE improvement in Kmart's online site over the past few years. Go ahead and check it out for yourself - you'll be surprised!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
The Dark Side of 'Underland' - How much do Alice and Dorothy have in common?
A movie match-up instead of stacking savings strategies
Centsible, the savvy shopper's blog, is taking a break from deal hunting today and instead is finding connections in mega-blockbuster movies. Today we're not matching up shipping deals, retail coupons or sales tax savings. Instead, we're dishing insight on last weekend's blockbuster release, Alice In Wonderland. There was something a bit 'curious' (yet not obvious) about the 2010 film version of this classic tale. In fact, it took a few days to realize this story has been told before.
Not a "reimagination" of the Alice In Wonderland story
The Alice In Wonderland of 2010 and The Wizard of Oz from 1939 have more than a few similarities. Both Alice and Dorothy are spirited girls in mundane situations. Dorothy is in Kansas in the middle of nowhere and Alice finds herself nearly engaged to a self-important dud of a man in Victorian England. One is blown away by a cyclone to somewhere over the rainbow, while the other falls down a rabbit hole when chasing a waistcoat-wearing white rabbit. Dorothy finds friendship in a brainless scarecrow and a cowardly lion. Alice gets support from a mad hatter and a Bandersnatch monster. Dorothy is after the wicked witch's broomstick while Alice steals the Red Queen's Vorpal Sword. At the end of it all, both ladies are given the option of remaining in their wonderlands or returning home, with the final choice being theirs.
A headstrong girl for a story's heroine is a formula appearing in many tales, but Alice In Wonderland and The Wizard Of Oz have more than just the main characters in common. Both Alice and Dorothy reacquaint themselves with personalities appearing in both their real and their fantasy worlds. Farmhands Zeke, Hickory and Hunk are reintroduced in Oz as the scarecrow, the tinman and the cowardly lion. Alice finds great similarities with Underland's Tweedledum & Tweedledee and twins Faith & Fiona (from her engagement party). Absolum the Caterpillar and Lord Ascot are both older & wise male characters who respect Alice's judgment. While Dorothy's Wicked Witch of the West simply is Miss Almira Gulch (her foe back in Kansas), Alice confronts the simple concept of being true to herself and not just performing others' expectations. More than a passing resemblance can be put on the Red & White Queens and The Wicked Witch of the West & Glinda the Good Witch. Almost everywhere you look in Wonderland you'll find a reminder of Oz.
Beautiful to watch but difficult to film
Each movie's filming conditions were difficult on both the actors and post-production teams. Alice in Wonderland made use of a green screen technique for its combination of live action and animation. Long filming hours using the green screen nauseated many cast members, with director Tim Burton even requiring lavender tinted glasses to counteract the effects of the green. The Wizard of Oz relied on technicolor for much of its visual brilliance. Technicolor requires the use of extreme lighting, often raising temperatures to over 100 degrees on the set. Baking heat with cumbersome costumes and sometimes toxic makeup plagued The Wizard's cast. Post-production efforts on both pieces were also time consuming, however The Wizard of Oz took a different path than Alice In Wonderland. Alice in Wonderland was filmed in 2D, with post-production teams applying the 3D effects after the scenes were shot. They continued with this plan through the end of production. MGM's art department began The Wizard of Oz using the arduous and lengthy post-process of manually 'stencil printing' sepia tones on each film frame to ease the transitions from black-and-white to technicolor. They later abandoned this practice to take the 'easy' route and paint the barn's interior sepia and dress Dorothy in sepia tones as she opened the barn door to the colorful Oz (with the whole scene filmed in color) during one of the film' most memorable scenes.
They both have their own unique "muchness"
This is not the first time the Wizard of Oz has been connected to other cultural phenomenons. Comparisons have already been made between the two stories themselves. Both involve a young heroine's adventures in an alter-world. Political interpretations were assigned to both Frank L. Baum's Wizard story and Lewis Carroll's Alice story: The Wizard of Oz is said to represent America's Great Depression and Alice In Wonderland has characters connected with English history in Bill the Lizard (Benjamin Disraeli) and the War of the Roses. The 'Dark Side of the Rainbow' names Pink Floyd's 1973 album Dark Side of the Moon as an alternate score for 1939's The Wizard of Oz film. What we haven't yet tried is looking for synchronicity between The Dark Side of the Moon and Alice in Wonderland 2010 (although we're sure someone eventually will). Despite all the similarities with The Wizard of Oz, the 2010 release of Alice In Wonderland stands on its own as an original work. It definitely doesn't follow the original Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass books or even Disney's 1951 cartoon version of Alice in Wonderland. The stunning visuals and special effects of 2010's Alice in Wonderland will guarantee its place next to last century's cinematographic masterpiece, The Wizard of Oz. Maybe the most compelling comparison between these two films is their possession of great 'muchness'.
Alice In Wonderland movie tickets online at Fandango for your purchase.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Delivery by Valentines Day Is Still Possible
Delivery by Valentines Day Is Still Possible
Centsible Valentines Shopping
There is still hope for those last-minute Valentines Day Shoppers. Centsible will be tweeting up a storm for the rest of the week, letting you know what stores can still send your sweetie a Valentine in time for the big day this year. In 2010, Valentines Day falls on a Sunday.
Valentines Day SUNDAY in 2010
A Valentines Sunday puts a wrench in many plans for those who normally order floral delivery for their Valentine: many florists don't deliver on Sundays. UPS is another provider that does not offer Sunday delivery. Your best bet will be to get deliveries made Friday or Saturday. Let Centsible do the legwork on finding out who can still accomodate these delivery dates. Follow Centsible's Tweets to get updates on Valentines Delivery Ordering Deadlines for the rest of the week.Dinner and a Movie
If you're staying in for Valentines Day this year, we can help you make your evening extra special as well as giving you shopping tips for your gifts. We've been researching BLOCKBUSTER Online and Netflix for your movie at home. Dinner? We've checked out Delivery.com and are prepared to let you know how to make the best of this online service to order your dinners delivered. If you DO decide to brave the weather and the other lovebirds who are out and about this Valentines Day, we've also got the goods on Fandango: find out what is playing where, what the showtimes are and order your movie tickets online, all in one place!
Stick with Centsible all week long and have the best Valentines Day for less this year. And don't forget about our giveaway: you can enter through February 14. We're giving away a $50 gift certificate to NOVICA. If you haven't joined already, you need to get in on it!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Win a $50 NOVICA Gift Card from Centsible
Win a $50 NOVICA Gift Card from Centsible
Enter up to 5 times between Feb. 9 and Feb. 14, 2010
Centsible is introducing a new online store to its shopping advice site with a $50 gift card giveaway!
The store is NOVICA, a unique website offering artisans across the globe a platform to independently sell their wares. On NOVICA, you can purchase home décor, gifts, fine arts and apparel & accessories from artisans in the regions of West Africa, Thailand, Mexico, India, Central America, Brazil, Bali & Java and the Andes.There are five ways you can enter to win this $50 NOVICA gift card:
- Follow Centsible's 'Deals of the Day' Blog and post a comment on this page stating your favorite product available on NOVICA. Your favorite product does not have to be one you intend on purchasing, just the item you find the most exciting. (You must be an active Centsible Deals of the Day blog follower at the time of the drawing to claim your prize)
- Get an extra entry by following Centsible's Tweets on Twitter and tweeting about this giveaway on Twitter and being sure to include the tag #vdaycentsible in your tweet.
- An extra entry is given when you blog about Centsible's $50 NOVICA gift card giveaway and send us an email at admin@centsible.net with a link to your blog post
- Get another entry when you Become a fan of Centsible of Facebook and post a message about your Valentines Day Plans this year.
- Get yet another entry when you become Centsible's Friend on MySpace and add a comment to our MySpace Page.
A few products available online from NOVICA
NOVICA offers over 10,000 products. Here is a quick sampling of a few of them.
View all of Centsible's NOVICA promotional codes, shopping tips and free shipping advice
Click here for the Official Rules and Regulations of Centsible's $50 NOVICA gift card giveaway.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Silk Fortune Cookies - On Sale!
Silk Fortune Cookies - On Sale!
But what exactly are "Silk Fortune Cookies"? Updated our featured gifts page at Centsible, I came across these and was curious enough to take a closer look.
3 1/2" in length and 2 1/2" wide, this little silk brocade pouches are actually kind of cool! We can think of lots of potential uses for these too.
- packaging for a gift card
- packaging for a gift of money
- packaging for a piece of jewelry
- spare change pouch
- travel pouch
- keepsake pouch
These Silk Fortune Cookie Cases are lined with silk and available exclusively through Gardeners' Supply Company. They come in a set of 3 and are normally priced at $16.95. As of January 31, 2010, they are on sale for just $11.99. That's $3 per case.
Gardeners Supply Company
Gardeners' Supply Company is headquartered in Vermont where they have two retail locations. This means that by law they are only required to charge sales tax on orders shipping to the state of Vermont. Most of their sales are conducted through their website. According to Vermont's WCAX, on December 21, 2009, Gardeners Supply Company became an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Program). This means that the company's 250 employees in effect own the company now. There is no free shipping threshold for Gardeners Supply Company and shipping charges range from $5.90 for orders totaling $10 and under up to 11% of your merchandise total for orders of $250 or more.
Getting the best deal on this item
Unless you're living in Vermont, you won't be paying any sales tax. With the current sale price of $11.99, you surpass the $5.90 shipping charge for orders totaling $10 or less and move up to the $7.90 shipping & handling category. Orders totaling $20.01 to $35 ship for $9.90 and orders between $35.01 and $50 ship for $10.90. If you can find enough items to push your total up to $75 or more, you can get Free Shipping on orders of $75 or more through 3.10.10. Clicking through the link above will activate Gardeners Supply Company Promotion Code XNET8320 to your order: all you then need to do to activate your free shipping is make a qualifying order of $75 or more.
Click through to read Centsible's entire online shopping review for Gardeners Supply Company for even more tips.
New Look for Centsible in 2010!
New Look for Centsible in 2010!
Bite-size pieces of information
Centsible is starting off 2010 with a brand new look! We've got tons of bargains and are updating our savvy shopping information daily. Things can get out of hand sometimes though and when it hits you all at once it can get a little overwhelming. We've gone ahead and broken things down into more manageable chunks for you. Go ahead and have a look at Centsible's new home page!
Shop A Variety of Different Ways
Sometimes you may want to shop by store. Other times you may want to see a list of shops presented by department. There may also be times when you have a specific style or type of purchase in mind and want to do some online window shopping by viewing a selection of products from our online retailers. Shopping in all of these different ways has always been possible at Centsible, we've just never made the options and possibilities as obvious before. Give each of these shopping strategies a try: you might find a new favorite store!
Know all of the ways that you can save by shopping online
There is more to savvy online shopping than just promo codes, online sales and free shipping offers. The everyday cost of a retailer's items comes in to play. What is the big deal of a 50% discount when a certain store charges twice as much for their products in the first place? Is free shipping really a deal when the every day flat rate is just around $5? Can you get your order minus paying sales tax if you shop through someone else? Centsible is here to help you look at the big shopping picture. Read up on how to account shipping rates in to your savings strategy. Check out store's sales tax policy to see if you can get an additional percentage chopped off your bill. Quickly navigate to Centsible's hand-picked online clearance racks and featured sales.
Don't coupon codes matter?
Of course they do! A good deal is only a deal if its not shrouded in extra shipping fees, sales tax and inflated prices. Once you've done your savvy shopping online at Centsible's virtual shopping mall, check and see if you can add an online coupon or promo code to your shopping to sweeten the deal.
What are you waiting for? Go ahead and make another trip to Centsible.net and make sure you're not overlooking any way to save money when shopping online!