For the next 6 days, Living Social is running an amazing deal on one-year Sam's Club memberships! The memberships are normally $100 per year, but right now Living Social has a deal on them for just $45! Not only do you save $55 on your membership, but you also receive vouchers for free fresh food totaling $22.18 (one each for free rotisserie chicken, French baguette, Daily Chef cookies, and Artisan Fresh spinach artichoke dip. In addition, you will receive a $20 Sam's Club gift card.
Awesome deal, right!? But that's not even all!
If you are a member of Swagbucks
(a free site I use to earn extra money on a daily basis- if you don't have an account yet, follow this LINK to sign up and start earning money today for watching videos, using coupons, searching the web, playing games, shopping, and more),
you can save even more on this deal by shopping through Swagbucks. In fact, this one actually makes you money! Right now Swagbucks is offering 10 Swagbucks per dollar spent on Living Social. That is a 450 Swagbuck rebate, which equals out to be $4.50 if you're cashing in for PayPal or most gift cards. So you are paying $45 upfront for your Sam's Club membership, but the $20 gift card and $22.18 in free food vouchers makes it seem like you're only paying $2.82 for your membership. But then, if you use Swagbucks, you are also receiving a $4.50 rebate for your purchase. Therefore, you are technically getting paid $1.68 for purchasing this deal! And how handy are the free food vouchers and $20 gift card around the holidays!!
This is a deal for new customers or if your membership has been expired for 6 months or more.
I've been hearing a lot about this new Walmart Savings Catcher lately. Anyone who reads this blog knows that I am all into doing whatever I can to save money, especially on our grocery bill. I decided to give the Savings Catcher a try this past weekend. First off, I found a great sale on 12 packs of Pepsi. I normally buy the 24 packs because they are generally cheaper per can, but this week 12 packs were on sale for $3. Ibotta had a $0.25 rebate on any brand of soda, so my 12 pack of Pepsi turned out to be $2.75. I also was able to use Ibotta to get a $0.75 rebate on my favorite Bert's Bee's lip balm that I just ran out of, a $0.50 rebate on by hubby-to-be's favorite bar soap, $0.25 rebate on bread, and $0.25 rebate on cereal. My shopping trip consisted of things I needed that were already on sale, then a $2.00 rebate from Ibotta... so I felt pretty good about my shopping trip. Then I submitted my receipt to the Savings Catcher and received an additional $0.71 back on my purchase.
Basically what the Savings Catcher does is price match. If there is an advertised price from one of Walmart's competitors on the items you purchased, Walmart will give you an e-gift card for the difference. Pepsi 12 packs were on sale for $2.66 and the Herbal Essences spray gel I use was on sale for $3, both at CVS. I had paid $3 for Pepsi and $3.37 for the hair gel. So Walmart paid me $0.71!
Some might say, "yeah, but it is only a $2.71 savings." This may be true, but I did not have to put much effort into saving the $2.71. Just snapping a picture of my receipt and uploading it to a couple websites. THAT'S ALL! Maybe 5 minutes worth of work. Not to mention the savings add up! I do most of my shopping at Walmart so I can only imagine how quickly this is going to add up. And just in time to do some holiday shopping! Needless to say I am now hooked on the Walmart Savings Catcher. Pair that with Ibotta, coupons, and store circulars and there is big money to be saved in the grocery store!
As many of you know, Thomas and I have a lot going on financially right now. We are attempting to pay off our credit card debt by the end of this year (mine: $2270 his:$1450), save up a decent down payment and purchase our first home by this coming spring, and have a rustic backyard wedding this coming September. We both have full-time income, but considering we are trying to expedite the paying off of the debt and purchasing a home so that we can have our backyard wedding, we have been exhausting all options for making extra money.
I came across this site earlier today when I was searching Google for ways to make extra income...its called FushionCash. You can use it to earn money by watching videos, performing easy online tasks (some take less than 2 minutes!), listening to the radio online, shopping at various online retailers, taking short surveys, etc. There's also a $5 signup bonus (as long as you confirm your email address) and bonuses for referring your friends.
I'm so excited to find another fun way to make extra money online! I couldn't help but pass along the tip to all of Little Miss Cheapskate's readers! Just follow the link below, sign up for your free account and $5 sign-up bonus, and start earning more income today!
Click here to start earning!
Hey guys,
Just found a new way to make money online by boosting website traffic. Follow the link below to check it out and start earning! I will be using this to pay off what's left of my student loan and increase the down payment amount on our house!
Start Earning NOW!!!
Did I mention there's a $25 sign-up bonus?
Whether you are planning a night out with the family or just in a pinch come dinner time, this list of restaurants offering free or extremely inexpensive kids meals is a great thing to have in your arsenal of money-saving ammo.
Tuesdays at Applebee's: One free kids meal with each adult entree purchase (excludes 2 for $20 menu). If you have more children than you do adults, not to worry. Each additional kids meal is only $1. This offer is also not valid with any other promotion or coupon.
Tuesdays at Bob Evan's: Free kids meal with every adult entree purchase after 4pm.
Tuesdays at Chick-Fil-A: It is my pleasure to announce that you can get one free kids meal with each adult meal purchase from 5:30pm-7:30pm.
Daily at Culver's: Kids age 12 and under receive free custard with the purchase of their meal.
Tuesdays at Denny's: Kids eat free with the purchase of an adult entree from 4pm-10pm. Ask your server for details.
Monday's at Golden Corral: Kids 10 and under eat free with the purchase of an adult meal. Up to two kids per one adult. BONUS: Kids age three and under are always free.
Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays at IHOP: Kids 12 and under eat for free from 4pm-8pm. Limit one free kid's menu item per adult menu item purchase. Drinks are not included.
Tuesdays at Lone Star: Kids eat free all day long. Up to two free kid's menu items per one adult menu items.
Tuesdays at participating Pizza Hut locations: Kids 10 and under get a free lunch buffet with the purchase of each adult lunch buffet.
Tuesdays at Ponderosa: Kids eat free with the purchase of an adult dinner buffet from 4pm-close. Up to two free kids buffets with the purchase of one adult buffet.
Sunday or Wednesday at Qboda: Kids eat free with the purchase of an adult entree. Participation varies by location.
Mondays at Red Robin: Kids under age 10 eat free with the purchase of an adult entree.
Saturdays and Sundays at participating Steak n' Shake locations: One free kids meal with every $9 purchased.
Varies by Location: Kids 12 and under eat for free from 4pm-9pm. Excludes Ranger Meals. Dine in only. Check out your nearest location for details. Up to 2 free kids entrees with the purchase of 1 adult entree. Not valid with any other offer.
Varies by Location: Kids 12 and under eat free with the purchase of an adult entree Mondays and Tuesdays.
Mondays: Kids meals just $0.99 from 5pm-9pm.
Tuesdays: Get up to 2 kids meals for just $0.99 each with the purchase of each adult meal from 5pm-8pm. Applies to children 12 and under.
Did I miss anything? Add anything I missed in the comments section below!
Thomas typically does not enjoy sloppy Joe's because they are so messy. I, however, end up craving them every once in awhile. They are also fairly cheap and quick to prepare for a couple of busy, working college students. I decided to give these a try the other night and Thomas loved them! Not only were they great for a quick dinner on the cheap, but these "un-sloppy" Joe pockets are also great cold for lunch the next day.
Here's what you'll need:
1 pkg refrigerated pizza dough ($2)
1lb lean ground beef ($3)
1 can sloppy Joe sauce ($1)
Brown and drain the ground beef. Season if desired (I chose to season mine with black pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder). Stir in a can of sloppy Joe sauce. Roll out pizza dough and cut it into circles. I used a cereal bowl to cut mine out. Place the circles on a greased cookie sheet or pizza stone. Spoon some of the sloppy Joe filling onto one side of the circle. Fold over other side the other side of the dough to make little handheld pockets. Use a fork to press and seal the edges. Poke a couple small holes in the top so the pockets do not explode in the oven. Bake on 350 degrees until golden brown. I have seen some recipes that add cheese too, but I like mine without.
Pair this recipe with a side of steamed veggies and you have a complete meal for $7 that can feed a family of 4-5 with leftovers for lunches the next day!
Remember when I said you should make a wishlist of the items you have been wanting to purchase for your home, kitchen, wardrobe, etc., and try to find them on Craigslist, at yard sales, and on Ebay for lower prices? Well you should also be searching the store circulars for deals too. The Brita water filter pitcher has been on my wishlist for some time now because I despise wasting money on bottled water and hate drinking chlorine and zinc infested tap water (in our area you can really taste it...ick). Unfortunately we also live in a rental unit with an older refrigerator without a built in filtration system. We tried at one time to purchase the Brita faucet mounted water filter, but it did not fit on our faucet so we ended up returning it.
Anyway, I have been holding off on purchasing the Brita pitcher simply because I haven't had time to go out and get it. Waiting ended up paying off big time! I was out shopping with my mom and sister yesterday when I noticed the Brita pitchers were on sale for $18.99!
I had received a $20 Target gift card from a friend just before Christmas. Not only did I have a gift card, but I had a coupon for $3 off a new Brita pitcher. This brought the price of the pitcher down to $15.99. In addition to being on sale for $18.99, Target was also running a promotion for 1/2 off any other Brita product with the purchase of any Brita pitcher. Because I could get any other Brita product 1/2 off, I decided to stock up on filters. Target offers a 4-pack of filters for $18.99 (they are usually $6.99 each so you're saving $8.97 by purchasing them in a 4-pack instead). Half off $18.99 abour $9.50. I also happened to have a coupon for Brita filters $2 off any multi-pack. That brought the prices of the filters down to $7.50 for 4 (or $1.88 each).
My total after coupons was $23.49. After tax and my gift card. I only paid $5 out of pocket for my brand new Brita pitcher and 4 filters! If I would have purchased this item right after receiving my gift card, I would have paid $25.99 for the pitcher and $18.99 for the filter. But by waiting, watching sale adds, using apps on my phone, and being patient, I saved $21.49!
One last way I saved on this purchase was by using my iPhone. If you're not using the Ibotta app yet, you need to stop what you're doing and go download it NOW!!! This is a free app that allows you to earn money back on groceries. These are not weird grocery items that no one ever buys either. You can earn money back on items such as milk, diapers, bar soap, shampoo, granola bars, snack crackers, fruit, dry pasta, frozen family size dinners, cereal, oatmeal, frozen pizzas, bread, body lotion, over the counter medicines, and cleaning supplies. The grocery stores are not weird hole-in-the-wall stores either. They are stores like Walmart, Target, Whole Foods, Walgreens, Sam's Club, Kroger, Dollar General, Costco, and CVS. You perform activities such as reading a fun fact, voting in a poll, post on Facebook, Tweeting, or watching a video to earn. Then all you do is scan the barcode on the product after you purchase the it, take a picture of your receipt, and send it in easily right on the app, and you receive your rebate within about 24 hours. You can also earn by going to see certain movies and eating a certain restaurants. After you have at least $5, you can cash out using PayPal, or purchase gift cards.
Anyway....Brita just happened to be on Ibotta the past few weeks. There is a $4 rebate on any Brita pitcher! By redeeming this offer, I earned $4 off of the purchase of my Brita filter. This brings my total savings to $25.49 and my total out of pocket cost for my Brita pitcher and 4-pack of replacement filters to $1 out of pocket!
Now I can begin saving even more money by bringing my own water to work and school instead of purchasing the despised bottled water! I'd say this purchase has already paid for itself just in the 24 hours I have had it!
One great way for college students to save money is to take advantage of their student ID card. The following is a list of retailers and restaurants that offer student discounts:
1. Amazon: 1 year free subscription to Amazon Prime.
2. AMC Theaters: discounted movie tickets on Thursdays.
3. Apple: 8% off in stores or online.
4. Amtrak: 15% off tickets.
5. Banana Republic: 15% off.
6. Charlotte Russe: 10% off in store.
7. Burger King: 10% off at certain locations.
8. Dairy Queen: 10% off at certain locations.
9. JoAnn's Fabrics: 10% off.
10. The Limited: 15% off.
11. Pizza Hut: 10% off at certain locations.
12. GM: Various discounts on GM and Chevy vehicles for college students and recent grads.
13. Greyhound bus lines: 20% off tickets.
14. Qdoba: Free drink with purchase.
15. Chipotle: Free drink with purchase.
16. Subway: 10% off.
17. Waffle House: 10% off.
18. Arby's: 10% off.
19. Chick-Fil-A: Free drink with purchase.
20. Buffalo Wild Wings: 10% off.
21. Valvoline Instant Oil Change: 20% off.
22. Annie's Frozen Custard (Edwardsville/Glen Carbon, IL): 10% off.
23. Penn Station: Free drink or small fries with purchase.
24. Bull & Bear: Half off appetizers.
25. Hollywood Tan: 25% off lotions.
26. Scott Credit Union (My favorite discount EVER): $50 free when you open a checking and savings account, and get a debit card.
27. Papa Murphy's Pizza: $10 Tuesdays- any size!
28. AT&T: 10% off bill.
29. 54th Street Bar and Grill: 10% off.
30. Clarkson Eye Care: $30 off eye wear.
31. Coldstone Creamery 10% off.
32. Great Clips 10% off.
33. Culver's: 10% off.
34. Mojo's Music (with RoverTown app): Free guitar strings or drum sticks.
35. Jack in the Box 10% off.
36. La Fonda (Edwardsville, IL): 10% off.
37. Los Tres Amigo's: 10% off.
38. Pasta House: 10% off.
39. The Cup (Edwardsville, IL): 10% off.
40. Verizon Wireless: 25% off.
41. SGT. Pepper's: 10% off.
42. Edison's Entertainment Complex (Edwardsville, IL): 10% off food and beverages.
43. IHOP: 10% off.
44. To-Do's Party Supply (Edwardsville, IL): 10% off.
45. Quizno's: 10% off.
ALDI is one of my favorite places to purchase groceries! Although they do not accept coupons, their prices are super low because they do not advertise as much as larger grocery stores, they do not offer free bagging like most other grocery stores, and they carry their own brands. The following is a list of items I purchase at ALDI on a regular basis, and the amount of money I save by doing so.
1. Produce: I absolutely love purchasing fresh produce, especially in the spring and summer when most of my favorites are in season. If I go to Walmart or another grocery store chain for my produce, I always feel like I am overspending and my produce goes bad sometimes before I get the chance to use it. When I buy my produce at ALDI, I am getting a great price and it seems to last longer for some reason.
Bananas at ALDI $0.38 per pound v. Bananas at Walmart $0.58 per pound.
Fresh Brussels Sprouts at ALDI $1.50 per pound v. Walmart $2.79 per pound (when you can find them).
Oranges 3LB bag at ALDI $2.99 v. Walmart $5.99.
Fresh green beans at ALDI $1.99 for a 2LB package v. Walmart $1.99 per pound. That's like half off!
Russet potatoes 5LB bag at ALDI $3.49 v. Walmart $5.99.
Fresh asparagus bunch from ALDI $1.99 v. Walmart $3.99
2. Olive oil: My family is not only Greek, but really into healthy cooking as well as Italian cuisine. So we tend to go through a lot of olive oil. High quality extra virgin olive oil at ALDI $2.99 per bottle v. Walmart $6.99 per bottle! That's a savings of $4! I also love the olive oil cooking spray. If I were to purchase this product at Walmart, I would spend $3.99 per spray can v. $1.99 at ALDI for a savings of $2.
3. Meat: Some cuts of meat can be found on "Manager's Special" for an extremely low prices. But when I can't find good cuts on special at the regular grocery store, I head over to ALDI. Family sized packages of boneless pork chops are usually priced around $4.35 each v. Walmart $7. Boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins 2LB packages at ALDI for $3.80 v. $5.99 at Walmart. One pound packages of ground turkey $1.99 at ALDI v. $3.99 at Walmart.
4. Spices and Herbs: I cook and bake with so many different spices. Because I have a history of high blood pressure, I also make my own spice mixes instead of purchasing the premixed envelopes. If you have walked the spice aisle at regular grocery store lately, you know that the price of certain spices can set you back as much as $7 or $8 for a single jar! At ALDI, spices are $0.99 per bottle. In addition, the bottles are larger than most you purchase in the grocery store. They do not carry all of the spices that you will find in the grocery store, but most of them I use on a regular basis such as cumin, crushed red pepper flakes, garlic powder, onion powder, basil, oregano, paprika, cinnamon, parsley, chili powder, and cayenne pepper. You can also find table salt for $0.32 v. $1.50 at Walmart.
5. Frozen Pizzas: Because Thomas and I are both working full-time and going to school full-time, some nights it is easier just to toss a frozen pizza in the oven. I know that when I purchase frozen pizzas from ALDI, I am getting a great quality pizza for not a lot of "dough" (hehe, sorry I had to). ALDI frozen pizza $1.99 v. Walmart $4.79.
6. Fish: Most of the time we like to eat healthy so we tend to buy a good amount of fish. A bag of 4 salmon fillets (which is two meals for us or dinner one night and lunch the next day) $4.99 at ALDI v. $7.99 at Walmart. A bag of 4 pieces of Tilapia at ALDI $4.99 v. $6.99 at Walmart. Shrimp is also very affordable at ALDI; just $3.99 for a bag of peeled and de-veined v. $6.99 at Walmart.
8. Wheat Bread: I can stock up on my favorite wheat bread from ALDI for $0.99 per loaf v. $1.99 at Walmart. Since bread freezes so well, I buy several loaves as a time so we always have bread on hand.
9. Milk: No matter what kind of milk you like to drink, it is most likely cheaper at ALDI. Since we are thinking about starting a family soon, I have switched to drinking vitamin D milk. This is only $2.99 per gallon at ALDI v. $4.09 at Walmart.
10. Honey: This is another ingredient we go through a lot of. I love putting this in tea, making Asian inspired dishes, drizzling it on toast, making sopapillas (a Mexican dessert that is kind of a fried tortilla topped with honey and powdered sugar), etc. At ALDI, this honey costs just $2.99 v. $4.99 at Walmart.
As you may already know, Thomas and I have some big goals we are looking to accomplish within the next year to year and a half. These include paying off our credit card debt, paying off a 5 year motorcycle loan within 6 months-1 year, purchasing our first home, getting married, and possibly even starting our family. All of these goals are going to take a significant chunk of money. One of the most important things, at least for the females, is the wedding day. Most of us have grown up dreaming about this day and we become a bit obsessive about every little detail. I am definitely one of those girls that has big dreams for the wedding day. However, I am also a very frugal person. I still hope for the big day I originally envisioned, but I am not willing to spend thousands of dollars on one day. At the same time, I hate the idea of having an off season wedding (because Thomas and I are both very outdoorsy) and he idea of having our wedding on an unusual day of the week (many of my family will be coming in from out of town so this would be a huge inconvenience for them). These ideas are all normal money saving ideas that will not leave you feeling like you had to compromise.
After having the dreaded wedding budget discussion with the fiance, we have come up with some pretty good ways to have our dream wedding on a frugal budget. Here's what we have come up with. Hopefully this will help those of you who either cannot or do not want to spend thousands on your wedding too.
1. We have decided that we will use our new home as both our ceremony and our reception location. Now we just have to find the house! Thomas and I were already planning on purchasing a home in a more rural area on a spacious piece of land anyway, so why not take advantage of the money we are already spending and turn our back yard into our wedding venue as well? Compared to the two venues we were originally considering for our big day, having a back yard wedding is saving us between $850-$2500! Not only is this going to save us a huge chunk of our wedding budget, but the idea of getting married in our own back yard gives our wedding a more intimate feel.
If you do not have the space to have a wedding in your back yard, try asking your parents, close family friends, or other relatives that have larger backyards.
Because we are using our own home (which we will be living in alone) as our wedding venue, we also do not feel the need to rent out a wedding night suite. Our home will still be new to us, but it is also home so we feel like spending our first night there as husband and wife will make the event that much more meaningful. The wedding party can still go in and go crazy decorating and such. By not renting a hotel suite on our wedding night, we will be saving approximately $200. The bridal party will also be getting ready in our home so there will also be another $200 saved by not renting a suite for the bridal party to get ready. If the home we end up purchasing is large enough and has different stories, Thomas and his groomsmen will also most likely be getting reading in our home as well (avoiding the women out of superstition of course). If not, Thomas' aunt and uncle live close by. This brings the total savings to $1450-$3100. That's a honeymoon!!
When you use your home as your wedding venue, you will avoid having to pay extra fees for using your own caterer, cake cutting fees, cork fees, etc. All of these are hidden costs that can set you back hundreds!
One thing you do not have to worry about too much when using your home as your venue is sticking to a strict timeline. If your ceremony runs a little late or if your reception lasts longer than expected, you will not be charged venue fees for staying late. These fees can add hundreds of dollars to your wedding expenses.
Lastly, we will not need to hire a limo service or anything to transport us from our ceremony to our reception, or find a ride from our reception to our home.
2. Go to Bridal Shows! I have read so many blogs not that deter brides from visiting bridal shows because of the cost. However, if you do your research, brides and one guest can typically get into most of these bridal shows for free. Going to these bridal shows can give you one-on-one time with vendors in an informal setting. Many vendors offer special discounts for bridal show guests. One of the local party rental businesses in our area gave out vouchers that are going to save us about $80 on our linen rentals for our reception and another $80 on our chair rentals. There are also drawings and prizes associated with attending these events. I won a rhinestone bridal headpiece that just happens to match perfectly with my wedding day jewelry and looks amazing with the hairstyle I already had planned out. This saved me approximately $40. I also won a $200 gift certificate to Savvi Formal Wear for tuxedo rentals for Thomas, the dads, and the groomsmen. This was on top of the special they already offer of a free groom's tuxedo with the 5 groomsman/father rentals.
3. Speaking of chair rentals, why not use the same chairs for both your ceremony and reception instead of renting double the amount of chairs? This is going to be pretty easy for us to pull off considering we are having our ceremony and reception in the same place. We are planning to rent white wooden folding chairs similar to the chairs pictured below, and these tend to get pricy fairly quickly. Therefore, we are only spending enough money to rent a single chair for each person and we will just have a little rearranging done between the ceremony and the reception.
4. Shop for used wedding items. Craigslist and Ebay are great places to purchase used wedding items for cheap prices. Even though most of these products are used, they still look brand new, but do not have the brand new price tag! Sometimes you can even luck out and actually find brand new, still in the package items that brides either had excess of or decided not to use. I lucked out big time with Craigslist! One of the wedding trends right now are the colored plastic charger plates. They look sophisticated when they are placed underneath ceramic dinner plates and I instantly fell in love with this look. Upon shopping online for charger plates, I was disappointed to find that it would cost me nearly $400 to rent and nearly $600 to purchase enough charger plates for each place setting we needed for our reception. That is when I found a wedding planner on Craigslist that was selling 130 silver plastic charger plates for $75. That is only $1.73 per plate opposed to $4.50 per plate! Because not many people need 130 plastic chargers, I will be selling most of these on Craigslist following our wedding to help another bride on a budget. Therefore, I will also be earning most of my money back on this purchase!
Also do not be afraid to post your own ad on Craigslist under the "wanted" section for specific items you are hoping to purchase for your wedding. In doing this I was hoping to find some of the items I needed for our wedding day at a reasonable price. I was not expecting what ended up happening. I received an email from a lady that lived close by and she explained to me that she enjoys doing random acts of kindness. She had seen our wanted ad on Craigslist and decided to go on Amazon and purchase some of the items I had been looking for. I was afraid to call her because of so many scams I have heard about and I did not think the offer was real. Thomas said, "What's the worst that can happen, the offer isn't real?". So I decided to call the phone number the woman left in the email and, to my surprise, the offer was completely real! The woman called me a week later to set up a meeting time when the items had been delivered. Because of her kindness, we were given a wonderful gift of the cake serving set, champagne flutes, cake topper, and guest book we had been searching for. Her kindness absolutely amazed me and we will forever be grateful for her contribution to our special day! Her gift to us saved our wedding budget approximately $150!
Our "wanted" ad also yielded free antique wooden window we are using to make our country inspired reception seating chart and bar menu and free wooden 8"x10" photo frames we are using to make our DIY photo card box.** Just as a reminder... Please be careful when conducting transactions via Craigslist. Only deal locally and pay cash, meet in a public place, and do not meet people alone!
5. As you can see from the photos above, we are doing a lot of DIY projects for our wedding instead of purchasing some services and supplies. This is a great way to save tons of money on your wedding expenses. I have always enjoyed crafting, so this is not a huge deal for me to be doing to many DIY projects for our wedding. If crafting is not your thing, you may be able to enlist some of your wedding party, relatives, or close friends to help. We are making the following items ourselves for our special day, wooden wedding arch, personalizing our aisle runner, lantern reception centerpieces, garter set, invitations, reception cards, response cards, thank you cards, ceremony programs, corsages, bouquets, boutonnieres, card box, decorations, beer bottle labels, lace doily lanterns, log candle holders, mason jar candle decorations, sand ceremony shadow box, clay pot serving platters, tree slice serving platters, wooden garden arch, and more. As you can see, this list is pretty extensive. If you are extremely busy or do not enjoy crafting, I do not recommend taking on a DIY list of this magnitude!
6. Use students for your wedding services. We found a wedding planner with incredible prices on services such as photography, catering, music entertainment, and photo booth services that employs students from Le Cordon Bleu for catering and cake baking, and students in other areas from different institutions. The work I have seen/ tasted is exactly the same service you would get from a professional, but we are paying less than half! Using this strategy is saving us approximately $4000!
7. We will be making our own wedding cake. This is something I do not recommend doing unless you have experience! Fortunately for us, my mom used to make wedding cakes as a way to make money while being a stay-at-home mom before she got her degree in education. I also used to work for a custard shop that also made cakes, so I have a little bit of cake decorating experience as well. The cake baker we were originally going to hire was going to charge us over $300 for this cake! I could not justify spending this much money on cake when my mom and I have so much experience making cakes. Since we are getting married at our home, Mom and I can bake, decorate, and assemble the cake right there at the house and not have to worry about transporting it anywhere.
We will be making a smaller version of the cake pictured above (probably only 2-3 layers). We will then serve guests pieces of sheet cake to cut down on the cost of serving everyone the decorated cake. We will also be supplementing the amount of cake needed by having edible decorations on our cake table in he form of the cupcake flower pots pictured below.
8. Purchase your dress from a store that offers free accessories with your gown purchase. I happened to fall in love with a gown during my first appointment at a bridal shop in Alton, Illinois, called Frew's Bridal. My mom and sisters helped me pick out a beautiful Alfredo Angelo gown for just under $1,000. I realize you can get bridal gowns for a lot less than this at other stores, however, I fell in love with this dress and it actually came in under my wedding gown budget. The bridal shop gave me a choice. I could either take a little off the price of the dress making it $950 before tax, or I could choose free accessories to go with the dress totaling $170. Since I was planning on purchasing accessories anyway, I opted for the $170 in free accessories. So far, I have used that credit to purchase a matching veil. I still have some of the credit left that I can use on shoes, jewelry, ceremony accessories, undergarments, a gift for me groom, etc. Keep in mind too that nearly everything in the wedding industry is negotiable...dress included! P.S. If you live in the St. Louis area, Frew's is an amazing place to find a bridal gown! I had such an amazing experience. I am considered a plus size girl and they actually had gowns I could try on and even some that were too big for me (that never happens)! It is like a mini Kleinfeld's in there. The shop is beautiful, they have a large selection of designers and styles, the staff is an absolute delight and they're very helpful, and their prices and offers are incredible.
This bridal shop also offers great deals on bridesmaids dresses. Select dresses come with a credit for shoes or accessories. You may also want to check out your favorite bridal shops on social media sites. Frew's Bridal offers $10 off when you like them on Facebook!
I want to take this opportunity to thank my parents who generously paid for my wedding gown. I was not expecting any help in paying for our big day, but my parents decided they wanted to help by paying for my wedding dress and I will forever be grateful for them and everything they have done for me; not only for my wedding, but throughout my entire life! I love you, Mom and Dad!
9. Utilize gifts to help pay for your wedding day. Gift cards are popular gifts in our family not because we don't like to put thought into the gifts we give, but because it gives us an opportunity to go out and spend a day together. For my last birthday I received Kohl's gift cards from both my grandmother, and my sister and brother-in-law. I decided to use these gift cards to purchase the jewelry I will be wearing on my wedding day. I purchased a beautiful rhinestone bracelet, necklace, and earrings. Everything was on sale so I was able to use the gift cards to cover the entire purchase and I even have some left over too!
10. Credit card rewards can be a great way to help pay for your wedding. I usually do not promote the use of credit cards, but in this case it actually helps you save money! I have a Citi Visa credit card. We have been using this credit card to purchase items for our wedding ONLY when we have the money in hand to immediately pay off the balance (we do not want to pay interest on anything). Not only does this boost the good ol' credit score (which will make purchasing that home easier), but I am earning rewards points for these purchase too. Right now we are saving our points for plane tickets, hotel credits, restaurant gift cards, and attraction gift certificates we can use on our honeymoon. Citi rewards also offers gift cards to stores like Walmart. These could be a big help when it comes to purchasing wedding supplies.
10. Don't forget about coupons. I'm not the CRAZY coupon lady, but I do love saving money with coupons. All of the items for those various DIY projects can really add up the dollar signs, so I typically do not purchase anything unless it is either on sale for a great price or I have a coupon. Michael's offers great coupons on a weekly basis. Just last week they had a coupon for 25% off of an entire purchase, including sale items! We will also be using coupons to help save money on the supplies needed to make our wedding cake as well. If you are self-catering, coupons are also a great way to save money on food and beverage needs.
11. Hire a friend to bartend. Several of my friends from high school have gone into bar tending. Although we are not that close anymore, we will be hiring a couple of them to bartend at our reception. To save even more money on your wedding you could eliminate alcohol all together, but Thomas and I both like having a drink in our hand from time-to-time and people have come to expect alcohol at a wedding. We will be offering beer, wine (from the winery where we got engaged), and a couple signature cocktails-- some for the men and some for the ladies.
12. Ask to borrow items for your wedding instead of purchasing them. Instead of paying to borrow tables and silverware from a party rental establishment, we will be borrowing these items from our church. This will save us hundreds! Do not hesitate to ask to borrow items like this. Maybe your friend has a pair of shoes you love or your mom's veil matches your wedding gown.
13. Utilize the dollar store for some of your wedding decorations. Candles, clear candle holders, silk flowers, vases, and even white silk flower petals can all be purchased at the dollar store now! Purchase the things you can from the dollar store and use the savings in other areas of your budget!
14. Instead of the formal, multiple course dinner, we will be serving comfort foods. These are often cheaper and they happen to fit into the rustic, country theme we have decided on. Instead of serving steak, chicken, and fish, we chose southern comfort foods such as fried chicken, barbequed beef brisket, macaroni and cheese, greens, etc. We are still having a sit down dinner, but the food will not cost nearly as much.
15. Single page invitations are the way to go unless you are alright with spending more money on extra postage. We will be making our own invitations, but I made sure the design of the invitations was single page in a standard size so we would not have to buy special envelopes or pay for extra postage.
16. We will not be springing for the champagne toast at our reception. Toasting with beer, lemonade, wine, or a signature cocktail is just fine and, in all honesty, not that many people really enjoy the taste of champagne. Wine is just fine in my opinion. We will be serving wine from the Grafton Winery in Grafton, Illinois. This is not only my favorite winery EVER, but this is also the place Thomas proposed!
When you purchase the wine for your reception, be sure to ask the winery or store if they offer a discount on bulk purchases. By doing this we are going to save 10% on every three bottles of wine. At $16 per bottler for about 80 people, this is going to be a huge savings.
17. Shop online and use deal websites for purchasing wedding supplies. I love making extra money online from home on websites such as Swagbucks, Send Earnings, Inbox Dollars, and Ebates. You can earn money back on purchasing products from online stores such as Walmart, Target, Red Envelope, American Wedding, and more. If you do not want to sign up for memberships to these sites, at least use online promotional codes from sites like Retail me Not to save money off of your order! This extra savings can be used on other areas of your special day such as catering, the dress, photography, or the honeymoon!
18. Hit up the after holiday sales. Shopping the days following holidays can be a great way to score items you can use for your wedding at up to 90% off! You can find gift boxes, ribbon, and clear light strands after Christmas. Candles, flower petals, chocolates, candy, champagne flutes, and naughty wedding night essentials after Valentines day. Sparklers, streamers, etc. after Independence Day. Pastel decorations and candy after Easter. We are decorating with clear light strands and plan on having guests surround the dance floor with sparklers during our first dance so we will definitely be hitting up these after holiday sales.
19. Play the honeymoon card heavily! At the airport, restaurants, attractions, hotels, etc. Make sure everyone knows you are on your honeymoon. You may end up getting special discounts, free upgrades, discounted meals, etc. Another great way to save money on your honeymoon is to register for one. There are so many great free websites that allow you to register for meals at restaurants, airline tickets, honeymoon suites, trips to certain attractions, bottles of champagne, couples messages, etc. at the location of your honeymoon. Guests can go online and purchase these gifts or contributions toward certain portions of your honeymoon. It is always good to give your guests options so I recommend registering for your honeymoon and for the typical wedding gifts.
20. Wear shoes you already own with your wedding gown. Thomas bought me a beautiful pair of Justin cowgirl boots for my birthday this past year. Since we are going for the rustic, southern feel I decided that I would wear these under my dress instead of dropping $100-$200 on a pair of shoes. Since they are also my new favorite pair of shoes, they are nice and broken in so there will not be any blistered or sore feet on the wedding day.
Well these are the things we have done so far to get exactly what we want out of our wedding day without spending more than planned. I hope these tips inspire you to find creative ways to shave costs from your wedding expenses too. Although this will be one of the most expensive days of your life, it doesn't have to be full-priced!
Have money saving wedding tips of your own? Be sure to share them with us in the comments section!
