Do You Use Grocery Smarts?

One of the most helpful tools I've discovered over the past 18 months of couponing is the Grocery Smarts website.  Have you heard of it?  Chances are, if you are already an avid money-saver, you use Grocery Smarts lists on a regular basis to plan your shopping trips.  If you're new to all this coupon stuff, then you may not be as familiar.  Either way, you can use Grocery Smarts free of charge to make your shopping trips as economical as possible.  Let me use my plan for the week to show you how it works:

1.  Decide on a store to check out.  This week the winner is definitely Smith's!  So we can view the Smith's grocery list this week here
2.  Once you're on the list, notice the buttons near the top right side.  Click on "Start".  This will cause the whole page to become gray.
3.  Now click on the star above "Stock Up Star" in the left column.  This will highlight all of the 4 and 5-star offers for the week.  These are the ones you really want to pay attention to, as they are the best deals. 
4.  Scroll through the list and remove any items you don't want on your list by clicking on them to turn them gray again. 
5.  Once you've completed step four, go back up to the top and click on "Shrink" beside the "Start" button.  This will shrink your list to just include the items you wanted.
6.  Choose "Print" to make a tangible copy of your list.

Once I have my list printed, I'm ready to review my shopping strategy.  Make sure to keep your computer-based list on the screen while you decide if there are any online printable coupons you need to get.  You'll notice that all available coupons are listed right next to the sale item, including links for online coupons.  Review the list again, and print off any printable coupons that you don't have.  Other available coupons from newspaper inserts and other sources may be listed as well, and you can choose the ones you have to pair with the sale.

With list and coupons, you're ready to go shopping!  I jot notes on my list and work up several scenarios just in case something is out of stock.

Choose several of the best deals to stock up on.  This will save you a lot of money over the long term.  Each week I try to add a few stockpile items.  Thanks to this strategy, we now have laundry soap, toothbrushes, paste, tp, tissues, dish soap and many other items stored to last us for six months or more.  That means I don't have to buy them at full price because we ran out!  Give it a try--I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised at the savings!

Any questions about Grocery Smarts?  Just ask! 

Time for Another Giveaway! Three Winners!

Today is our TWO WEEK ANNIVERSARY here at So Simple to Save, so let's celebrate! 
I have some rebates to share, so let's pick three winners who will receive both a current beer rebate (not sure what a beer rebate is and how you can use it even if you don't drink?  See my post here) and a selection of coupons!  Here's what you do to be entered:

1.  Leave a comment at the bottom of this post sharing what your favorite post from So Simple to Save has been so far.
2.  Earn an additional entry for becoming a follower.
3.  Earn up to five more entries for referring friends and family!  (Just email me at sosimpletosave@hotmail.com to let me know first names of those you've referred!)

Three winners will be selected on Tuesday, July 20th at 8pm!  Good luck!

Save a Ton on a Fun Weekend!

I don't know about you, but on the weekends, our family loves to spend time together.  But I don't want to just sit around at home, so it's always great to find amazing deals on fun things to do together!  So I wanted to put together a list of great places to get discounts on eating out, amusement, movies and more.  And one more thing--also consider these great options for vacations!  If you're heading out anywhere, make sure to do a search for the places en route or at your destination!  Our family saved a TON of money when we went to Disneyland recently because we purchased certificates ahead of time for the cities we were visiting.  There's even a certificate for a Downtown Disney restaurant, so you can eat without leaving Disney!  Who knew?
So check out these great options to save a lot of money!


City Deals provides discounted certificates to local and national businesses throughout the country.  Right now they have a great sale going on, and you can buy certificates to places like Bucca di Bepo for 40% off!  Check it out--there is something for everyone! 



Restaurant.com offers discounted certificates for restaurants all over the country.  You can buy $25 certificates for only $10, but most of the month they offer even bigger discounts!
Save 60% Off Restaurant.com $25 Gift Cert. + get a free Orbitz gift. Use code VACATION and pay $4 through 7/19/10.
So starting today, for each order you place, you'll not only get a $25 certificate for $4, but you'll also get a voucher good for $50 off your next qualified hotel or hotel + airfare purchase on Orbitz.com!  Wow!  I've never seen an add-on deal so great before!  And I've been buying from Restaurant.com for a LONG time!  One of our family's favorites is Sam Pan in West Jordan.  If you like Chinese--they make the best, homemade food!

So these are two options to get you started!  I'll be adding a few more coming up later!  Let us know what you find!

Mega Swag Bucks Day!

It's Friday!  That means it's Mega Swag Bucks Day!  Today our chances of earning swagbucks increases dramatically!  So make sure you're signed up for Swag Bucks here and that you use the search box or go to right to the Swag Bucks site above to perform your internet searches!  That's it!  You'll start earning points that can be used for gift cards, iPods, games and just about anything you can think of!

Let me show you what's happened to my Swag Bucks account so far this morning:
1.  I logged onto the computer and saw a pop-up box informing me that I won ONE Swag Buck for having the tool bar installed.
2.  I did my first search for one of my favorite savings websites, and another award--I won TEN Swag Bucks in that search!
3.  Then I checked the news on a website quickly, then I made a search for this blog So Simple to Save and I was awarded SEVEN more Swag Bucks!

So over the course of about 15 minutes, I've already won EIGHTEEN Swag Bucks today!  Imagine if you just use the search box for your regular searches--you'll be earning Swag Bucks for free stuff right away!  Remember my post on how to get Christmas for free?  Swag Bucks can do that for you!  Review the post here!

And let's get those Swag Bucks rolling!