Luv2bFrugal

Frugal Friday: What to do with Used Electronic Gadgets

Julie — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:00:03 +0000

When we started redoing our house one room at a time last summer (we still have one room to go), we decluttered things at the same time. Along the way, I discovered electronic gadgets that we no longer used were stuffed in closets, taking up space. Can you relate? Here are some options for you to turn your clean into green:

Trade it in

Best Buy – Go to www.bestbuytradein.com to get a price. Then ship it for free or take it to a trade-in location to get a gift card to Best Buy.
Amazon– Trade in books, electronics, video game items, DVDs, Blu-ray discs, or HD DVDs for an Amazon.com Gift Card, plus they pay the shipping! Be advised, though, that you might do better at a yard sale for some of those items. For instance, my son has tons of Thomas the Tank Engine DVDs that he rarely watches. I checked to see if Amazon would take them, but I would only get $.25 from them. No thanks. Go here for more details on the Amazon Trade In Program.

Sell it

Game Pawn – A site to sell used video game items from a variety of platforms. Free shipping when you are selling at least $30 worth of games. I haven’t used this company. If you have, let us know how well it works.
Gazelle.com– I have used them before, but their prices seem kind of low unless it’s the latest and greatest item you’re trading in. Do a Google search for coupon codes to get more back. When I traded in some phones awhile back, I found a code for 10% more back! So far, I’ve earned $225 through them!
Ecosquid.com– This one is cool because it searches across the web to find offers for what you’re selling. I typed Droid X with light wear and got anywhere from $3 to $42
offers.
Flipswap.com– This doesn’t appear to be one of the ones compared on Ecosquid. It gave me a price of $44 for a Droid X. Not bad!

Are there other things you’ve done with your used gadgets? I’d love to hear about it.

Verizon Hosts FREE Smartphone Workshops!

Julie — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:00:07 +0000

If you have a smartphone, are you getting your money’s worth by using all of its capabilities? Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone walk you through all the amazing things your phone can do? Be excited. Be very, very excited. Because Verizon Wireless has heard your cry, and they’re doing it for FREE, both online and in person!

To help customers keep up with the blazing speed of technology innovation, Verizon Wireless has announced it will host free local workshops to educate consumers on the basics of wireless platforms and devices. The workshops will give hands-on demonstrations and answer questions for people of all ages who want to learn more about their mobile technology. Classes for owners of the new iPhone 4S are coming up in Ooltewah, and Verizon expects to hold future classes all throughout the Chattanooga area.

These aren’t just limited to iPhone. You’ll also find Android workshops, too. In fact, for my local readers, the Tullahoma store hosts these workshops frequently. You can find those details here.

In addition to in-store workshops, the Verizon offers many of the same workshops online in English, as well as some in Spanish, on-demand at www.verizonwireless.com/workshops.

Wondering what to expect at a workshop? Watch this short You Tube video:

For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com/workshops.

At Least 3, Possibly 4 Coupon Inserts This Weekend!

Julie — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:00:19 +0000

There should be at least 3 coupon inserts this weekend: 1 SmartSource, 1 RedPlum, 1 PG BrandSaver, in this Sunday’s paper. According to the Sunday Coupon Preview, there may be 2 RedPlum inserts in some areas, not just one.

For a look at which coupons and values you will likely see in these inserts, check out the Sunday Coupon Preview. Although there are usually slight regional differences in coupons, it will give you an idea what to expect.

How I Got Passport Photos for $ .38

Julie — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:00:45 +0000

I’ve never needed a passport until now. (That’s because our church took up a surprise collection for Pastor Appreciation Day in October to send my husband and me on a 5-day cruise, just before our 20th wedding anniversary this summer! I still can hardly believe it!) Thanks to some helpful information from veteran travelers, we made the arrangements to get our passports.

The passports were so expensive ($135 each, including a $25 processing fee. Ouch!), and there was no way around that. I saved my rebates and money from taking surveys into a special account, and when I got $270 built up, we went to get the passports.

I couldn’t bargain shop for the passports, but you can believe that I was doing some price-checking for the passport photos. The post office wanted $15 each. Walgreens and CVS were a little cheaper, but when I found ePassportPhoto.com, I hit the jackpot.

ePassportPhoto allows you to take a picture and upload it to their site where you can format it to perfect 2″ x 2″ size to fit the passport application. I followed the official specifications (white background, headshot, etc.) When I was done, they offered to print it for me for a fee, but I chose “no thanks” at the bottom. The next screen allowed me to download the file! I promptly repeated the process for my husband’s picture, and then uploaded both the pictures to Walgreens photo center. The printed, 4-up, on a 4 x 6 print. Final cost: $ .38 for the two photos!

The funny thing is, when I went to pick them up at Walgreens, the guy behind the counter tried to tell me that since they didn’t make those passport pictures there, they couldn’t guarantee the pictures would be accepted at my passport appointment. HA!

Actually, I paid only $ .37 total because I went through Ebates to order the pictures, and got a penny cash back!

FREE Cinnamon from Prepared Pantry, + FREE E-Books

Julie — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:00:15 +0000

The Prepared Pantry is offering several freebies right now, including 4 oz of FREE Premium Korintje Cassia Cinnamon. Just pay shipping of $2.99. This is higher quality cinnamon than you would find in the grocery store and and usually sells for $6.49, plus shipping.

To get your FREE cinnamon (limit 1), go to this link. The info is at the top of the page. You can also snag an e-book on how to make your own pancake mix as well as a 250 page “How to Bake” e-book, both FREE!

Kroger Deal of the Day E-Coupon: $1.50/1 Oscar Mayer Carving Board Meats

Julie — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:00:04 +0000

Today’s coupon is $1.50/1 Oscar Mayer Carving Board Meats. You can go here to load today’s coupon. Here’s a reminder of what Deal of the Day coupons you can expect through the end of the promo:

~~1/22 – $1/1 Orville Redenbacher Pop-Up Bowl popcorn (3 pk)~~

~~1/23 - $1.50/1 Mio Liquid Water Enhancer~~

~~1/24 - $1.50/1 Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts (16 oz jar)~~

~~1/25 - $.75/1 Velveeta Shells & Cheese Dinner or Kraft Deluxe Macaroni & Cheese Dinner~~

~~1/26 - $.65/1 tub of Philadelphia Cream Cheese spread (Indulgence Spread excluded)~~

1/27 – $1.50/1 Oscar Mayer Carving Board Meats

1/28 - $2/1 ANY Quilted Northern Ultra Soft or Soft and Strong

1/29 - $2/1 Brawny 6-Roll Pick-a-Size

1/30 - $.75/1 Frank’s RedHot Sauce

1/31 - $1.50/1 Lay’s or Tostitos creamy dip (salsa and queso excluded)

2/1 – $2/1 Gatorade 8-pack

2/2 – FREE Pepsi 2-Liter when you buy 5 Pepsi 2-Liters

2/3 – $2.50/1 Velveeta (32 oz)

2/4 – $1/1 Quaker Chewy Granola Bars

Go here to load today’s coupon. If you scroll to the bottom of the screen, you’ll see pictures of upcoming items mentioned above.

Shutterfly: $10 off $10 code = Photo Mug + Chocolate for $2.77 + Shipping

Julie — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:09:52 +0000

A custom mug is a great Valentine’s Day gift, but a custom mug with Ghirardelli chocolates? Sign me up! Even better, here’s how you can get it for just $2.77 + shipping:

Go to Shutterfly and either sign in or sign up. (If you’re new, you’ll get 50 FREE prints, too!)
Type “custom mug with chocolate” in the search bar on the top right.
Choose the 11 oz white mug to personalize (other sizes cost more).
Personalize your product..
When you check out, be sure to enter coupon code HAIR10 to take $10 off your purchase.
Final price: $2.77 + shipping, which is $6.99.
Have it shipped to you or to a Valentine recipient.
Enjoy!

Thanks, Hip2Save!

Note: The coupon code HAIR10 is actually good for $10 off your purchase of $10 or more, so if you’re not keen on mugs or chocolate, explore the Shutterfly site to see what else you can get for FREE or cheap!

One more thing – I checked the price of the regular custom mug without the chocolate: it will cost $1.35 plus shipping. To me, it’s worth $1 more to get the chocolate!

$1.85/3 Coffeemate Printable Coupon

Julie — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:02:12 +0000

There’s a relatively new coupon network in town, and it’s put on by Catalina Marketing, the company that’s in charge of the coupons which print out at the register. It’s called Coupon Network, and there are two ways to save.

Printable Coupons. This works the same way as other printable coupon sites. You choose which coupon you like, add it to your cart, then print them as a group when you’re ready. That’s where you’ll find the Coffeemate coupon pictured above.

Your Bucks Offers. It’s my understanding that these are Catalina deals that you can find at your favorite stores. You can print them if you want to know which items to purchase to get Catalinas back, but they’re not coupons, so I’m not planning to waste my ink. Instead, I’ll make a note of which items I need to buy.

First-time users are asked to download a Coupon Printer software. It won’t hurt your computer. All it does is make sure you’re not printing a zillion of them and not leaving any for other shoppers.

If you’re ready to explore, you can go here to get started. I’ve also put a Coupon Network ad on the bottom right sidebar so you can access it more easily.

Note: The links in this post are my referral links. Read my Disclosure Policy.

FREE $30 Credit to Paper Coterie!

Julie — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:42:20 +0000

Paper Coterie is at it again: offering classy, free stuff for just the cost of shipping. (I was SO pleased with the anniversary album I ordered for my husband. He has looked at it again and again. And yes, that’s his handsome mug up there in the picture!) Choose anything you want (think Valentine’s Day gifts!), use coupon code MAINEMOMMA to take $30 off, and pay just for shipping. Then sit and wait for your beautiful creation to arrive.

Maine Momma has all the details…including the fact that you can use the code more than once until February 7!

I will tell you up front that the shipping is a little steep. but every single thing I have ever ordered from Paper Coterie has been beyond elegant. Well worth the shipping price, even for this frugal zealot! Check out the awesome things they offer. Then go here to get started!

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ShopRunner Membership just $1 today (regularly $79!)

Julie — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:36:57 +0000

ShopRunner is offering a one-year membership for only $1 today (a $79 value!), but only to the first 10,000 to respond. Plus, your $1 goes to feed the hungry through Philabundance! Use your membership to get free 2-day shipping from ToysRUs, Newegg (where I buy my toner!), PetSmart, Domino’s Pizza delivery, and more, with NO minimum order size. Nice! I wouldn’t pay $79 for it, but for $1? I’m all over it!

By the way, you can still go through Ebates and take advantage of ShopRunner’s free shipping. That’s what I do when ordering toner at Newegg. The free shipping comes off at checkout, and I still get my cash back! Gotta love double dipping!

Go here to get yours.