Getting Started

Welcome to Real Simple Saving Methods! I designed my blog to help people save and earn money. I try to update several times a day since freebies, coupons, and deals are changing daily. (PLEASE NOTE: I am NOT a financial expert, this blog is created by me out of pure enjoyment.)

This Getting Started Guide was written to help you get started on saving and earning money through various methods. Everything in this guide is what I personally do or use to help me save and earn money. If you have a better way of doing it, fantastic! Don’t change the way you do things if they’re working out great for you. Any previous posts on this blog that were posted before you stumbled upon us may not still have current information for promotions. Always read the fine print if you’re skeptical about something before signing up.

The tools I need to be successful:

- Robo Form :: This is a free program that makes life easier when constantly filling out forms online with your name, address, email, etc. It also saves user names and passwords. There’s NO spyware OR adware included in the download. I’ve been using it for a year now and it’s my favorite program. Download or read more about it here.

- Email Address :: You will definitely need a separate email address from your personal one. Some websites require you to sign up in order to get the coupons or freebies you’re seeking and they may sell your email address, causing SPAM! But, I really enjoy looking at all of my product newsletters and offers in a separate email account anyways, so it’s not an inconvenience to me. My offers account is with Hotmail, but you can use whatever you’d like (Yahoo, Gmail, Excite, etc.). Also, make sure you read the confirmation page after requesting something because they may require you to confirm your email address before they will confirm the request! Usually when they require you to do this, they’re a company that will sell your email or pass it on to their sister sites.

- Local Newspaper :: If you want the good coupons, you have to get your local newspaper. Whether you subscribe or only buy it in the grocery store on Sunday, this is important! In the paper you’ll also find all of the sale ads for the week ahead. I just recently found out that my local paper has an “Early Sunday Edition”. It’s packed with all of the coupons and ads that are in the Sunday paper. To get a discount on your local paper, visit this link.

- Monthly Planner :: If you like to sign up for trials to programs in able to get a sign up perk, you’re going to need a way to keep track of when the trial is going to end and charge you. For example, you buy an item from a website. On the order confirmation page you get an offer for a free gift card or rebate for the purchase if you sign up for their service trial. You can have any type of planner that you want, but I personally like an actual planner, one I can hold in my hand and take with me wherever I go. I put Post-It’s in my planner with the company name, any membership numbers I need, the company phone number, and the charge date. I use Post-It’s because then I can move them around in case I can’t call on the day I planned to cancel.

- Coupon Organizing System :: if you’re going to be couponing, you’re going to need a system. Whether you use a binder system or a cancelled check file, make sure you have something that works for you. I was using a cancelled check file, but I have accumulated so many coupons that the check file is now too small. I now have mine in categories and in labeled envelopes. I carry those envelopes in a manila envelope. I also put them in order (in each category) by expiration date. The most current expiration date is first, going all the way to the one that’s furthest in the future. For restaurant and retail coupons I use a large one pocket envelope.

- Rewards/Savings Cards :: I acquire these for everywhere I shop or dine. I have savings cards for my local grocery stores, American Eagle, Office Max, Staples, Subway, etc. If you’re going to shop or dine there, why not earn free stuff or save money? The most important cards that you MUST get are the grocery ones for sure though. The only way you can save money at grocery stores (besides using coupons) is to have these cards! They are how you get the store’s advertised sale prices on items.

- Notebook or Other Tracking System :: This is optional. I didn’t use to keep track of my savings, but I find it fun to now. I like to see how much I can save in a shopping trip or can earn from mail in rebates.

- Receipt Filing System :: I keep all of my receipts. Even the grocery ones. After 2 months from the date of purchase I’ll throw them out. I use a cancelled check file for filing my receipts. You always want to save the receipts so you can return items if needed or use the receipt for a mail in rebate.

Helpful Internet Tools:

- The Grocery Game :: This is one of my favorite websites to use for finding deals and saving money. It helps match sales at your local grocery and drugstores with coupons to give you maximum savings. If you want to try it out, you can get a 1 month trial for only $1 (please use realsimplesavingmethods@ymail.com for your referral). After your 1 month trial, the price is $10 every 2 months ($1.25 a week) for your first store and $5 each for any additional ones. What stores do they have in your area? Go take a look, your favorite store may be listed. I personally use it for Smith’s, Albertson’s, Rite Aid, and Walgreens. I recommend at least trying it out for a month. You’ll be amazed at how much money you can save, especially when using the drugstore lists.

- Refund Cents :: is similar to The Grocery Game, but it has more than just drugstore savings (but they don’t really do grocery stores). Mail in rebates are listed on this site, which is SO nice! I’ve only been a subscriber to Refund Cents for about a month and have already sent in 10 rebates! Yes, you do have to subscribe to Refund Cents like The Grocery Game. For 3 months (which includes a monthly print issue) of site access it’s $8. For 3 months (without the monthly print issue) it’s just $4. There are other tiered pricing arrangements as well.

- My Points :: This site is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE for earning while you shop online! It’s SO easy to use and you can even just earn points by clicking on email offers you receive (you don’t have to respond to the offers, just click, open the site, and that’s it!) They also have a coupon section (it’s pretty much coupons.com, but on the My Points site) where you can print free grocery coupons and you get points whenever you redeem them. I have already redeemed points 7 times and received gift cards for Starbucks, Red Lobster, Sears, Barnes & Noble, Old Navy, and Target! I check my email all of the time and LOVE freebies, so I really benefit from the 5 points per email. But I also use it for making purchases online. For example, when purchasing a big item, such as an MP3 player or gaming system, from Best Buy I purchase it online for in store pick up. This way I can get my points, but don’t have to pay for shipping costs. I would at least check it out. It’s completely free to sign up for.

- Mr. Rebates :: This a great site for cash back on purchases. I’ve only been a member for about 3 weeks, but I’ve already bought from Brylane Home, JC Penney, Magazines.com, and Container Store and I have $15 cash back already! Right now Mr. Rebates is offering a $5 sign up bonus. It’s very easy to use, just make sure you click through the site BEFORE shopping to ensure it gets the whole purchase. They also show coupons on the website’s information page before you click through to buy.

- eBates :: This is very similar to Mr. Rebates, and every other cash back site I suppose. I like to use multiple cash back sites because some offer more back than others. So I do the research before buying to see where I can get the most money back.

- Big Crumbs :: I’m a BIG eBay shopper, and this site offers up to 36% back on eBay purchases!

- Cash Baq :: This website is also offering a $5 sign up bonus right now. I currently have $15 from cash back earned on this site. I ended up getting an Entertainment Book for FREE through Cash Baq. I had the $5 sign up bonus & then received $10 for buying the book. The book was only $13.00, so I actually profited $2 since shipping was free too! I really like this website because they also show you how you can earn a flat rate of cash back instead of always just a percentage.

- Swag Bucks :: Earn points to redeem for gift cards by searching the internet (pretty much the same thing as Google).

Freebies:

When searching for freebies not all websites that offer them are credible. You may never receive anything from some or it may not be the quality you had thought. If you’re requesting it right from the manufacturer’s website, then usually it’s a pretty safe bet. I usually request just about everything I post. If I won’t use it, I’m sure I know someone who will. And it’s free, so why not?

Coupons:

Clip everything, especially if it has a value over $1. I print and clip every coupon I can. You never know if you could end up with a free item after sale price and coupon use. Many couponing sites suggest that save the whole coupon insert and write the day’s date on it since most deal sites tell you which insert brand (i.e., P&G, SmartSaver, or RedPlum) and the date it was put out so you know which coupons to use. I personally like having all of my coupons clipped and filed, so I clip everything for that reason as well. Use coupon printing sites such as Coupons.com or manufacturer’s websites. Look for coupons on product packages or blinky machines in store as well as in magazines. Some grocery stores such as Smith’s and Albertson’s have Catalina coupons that print during checkout that you can use on a future purchase. Some stores offer reward cash to use on a future purchase for buying a certain amount of a brand in one transaction. Save these! Generally you get Catalina coupons printed out for things that you buy regularly.

Deals:

As stated in the section above, I use The Grocery Game and Refund Cents to find out about grocery and drug store deals. I’ve tried matching the deals and coupons myself, but I don’t have the time or patience to do it myself. Products are on a sale cycle ranging from 6 to 8 weeks. When they go on a really good sale, stock up because they usually won’t go back on that sale for at least a month. Some items that you shouldn’t ever pay full price for (unless you run out and need to) are: canned goods, cleaning products, laundry items, personal items (such as shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, etc.), cereal, paper products (such as toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, etc), and bottled goods.

Sweepstakes:

I enter as many as I can, as long as they seem legitimate. The majority of the ones I enter are on manufacturer’s websites. Some examples of things I have won are: P&G product set (I ended up getting a $35 American Express gift card to spend on the products I won, but I could use it on whatever, so I bought groceries with it instead), Rockband concert tickets (from Seventeen magazine), $200 Office Max gift card, $50 Snapfish credit,  a pedicure kit, and many other things. Someone has to enter and win the sweepstakes, so why not? The next winner could be you!

Rebates:

Rebates or refunds, whichever you prefer to call it, are an easy way to try products for free or receive free items in return. For example, for buying a Dummies book during March, you can receive a $5 rebate when you send in the filled out form along with the dated receipt that shows the purchase. Refund Cents offers a whole data base of rebates and their printable forms. One tip that is VERY important when sending in for rebates is to make sure that you have a receipt for each item you’re sending for! If you are shopping at Walgreen’s and buy 3 different items that you plan on sending in rebates for, you need a separate receipt for each item. 99% of all rebates require the original dated receipt be sent in for redemption. Before I send in for the rebate, I personally like to make a copy of the receipt, form, and anything else I need to send in so that I have it on record in case I’m rejected or I don’t receive what I was sending for.