Welcome WBAY-TV viewers!
If you decided to check out Green Bay Consumer after seeing me on WBAY-TV’s news, welcome! (If you missed it and want to see the story, click here.)
Green Bay Consumer’s goal is to provide consumers in Northeast Wisconsin with useful information to help you save money. Green Bay Consumer gives you the latest sales information from your favorite local grocery stores and a bit of online sales information, too (Just for the record–I LOVE Amazon.com
Kristin and I write posts almost every day, from Festival Foods and Piggly Wiggly sales information to the latest free or cheap events going on in the area, to using my journalism background to research which grocery store is the cheapest in town or why you might not find coupon inserts in the newsstand copies of your local paper on Sunday. That’s stuff you can’t find on ANY OTHER money-saving websites. It’s catered to you, the people of Northeastern Wisconsin.
I also host FREE coupon classes to teach you how to coupon ethically, not like you see on TV’s Extreme Couponing. You can find information on any classes near the top of the Green Bay Consumer home page. If you’d like to host a class for your organization, feel free to Contact me and I’ll see what I can do to help!
How do you keep track of what’s going on here at Green Bay Consumer? There are several ways you can get the latest information (click here for a detailed explanation):
- Sign up for a daily or weekly email on the Green Bay Consumer home page. You’ll receive a daily email blast in the afternoon with a list of everything we’ve covered.
- Become of a fan of Green Bay Consumer on Facebook. All of the posts on this website are posted directly to the Facebook page. Once in a while when I see a time-sensitive deal, the only place I will post it is on Facebook.
- Follow GBConsumer on Twitter. All our posts will show up on Twitter. We also tweet interesting articles we’ve read on the topic of saving money, retweet some of our favorite blog deals, and stick our toes into Green Bay Packers discussions once in a while..
- Subscribe to an RSS feed.
Looking for an article on a specific topic? Use the handy dandy search engine on the home page. Whether it’s the Hansen’s Pizza Warehouse Sale, Green Bay Packers Pro Shop Tent sale, if we’ve written about it, you’ll find it by using the search box.
If you’d like to know more about the site or myself, click the About tab on the home page. Want to know some of our personal favorite sites to find great deals an useful information to keep your costs down? You can click on the Resources tab. I’ve also done a handful of public appearances on local television. You can check those out under Media/Advertising tab.
If you’ve got friends and family throughout the great state of Wisconsin, they can check out our “brother and sister” sites Milwaukee Consumer and Madison Consumer.
Green Bay Consumer values your feedback, opinions, and deals that you have found, so please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Thanks for stopping by!
Saving Money on Little Things: The Bare Minimum
I was doing laundry last week (oh, heck, let’s face it, I do laundry every day!). But last week, I got to the bottom of the bottle of eco-friendly liquid detergent. Or what most people think is the bottom of the bottle. Years ago I discovered by removing the spout and letting the bottle drain, I was able to get another 5 ounces of liquid detergent out. That’s another 2-3 loads!
This got me thinking about all the little things we do in our lives that can help save us money.
For example, do you:
- … put a pea-sized amount on your toothbrush (as indicated on the product) or do you cover your bristles entirely with paste like you see in the advertising for toothpaste?
- … use a full measure of detergent when the load isn’t that dirty? Or do you test lesser amounts to find the amount that works for you?
- … use more of a product when it is a new bottle?
- … likewise, use as little as possible when getting to the bottom of a bottle?
- … use more of a product when you have a backup or stockpile in your house because you know you have more?
- … wash plastic baggies and re-use them or just toss them when they are dirty?
What are some of the little things you do to save money?
Do what works for YOU!
The final post of my “vacation” week is another article that got a lot of positive comments when I wrote it in July of 2011. The title of this post is one of the main things to remember as you navigate the couponing world and is something I always mention in my coupon classes: Do what works for YOU and no one else!
————————————————–
I think my friends and family are afraid of me. No, seriously. Every time Green Bay Consumer or the topic of shopping has come up in conversations the past few weeks, they start apologizing that they:
- Have only shopped one grocery store instead of trying to hit the best sales
- Couldn’t wait to purchase something on sale and they paid full price
- Forgot to go to Copps on Double Daze (Wednesday)
- Ate out and didn’t print an available coupon
- And so many other infractions…
On the one hand, it’s kind of funny and cute. But on the other, it’s kind of frustrating, too. Not because of what they told me, but because they were apologizing for it!
Geez, Louise, I am NOT The Oracle. I will never claim to save 80% off every single thing I buy. Not even 50% for EVERYTHING. I can, however, say that I rarely buy something if it’s not on sale. If I had to guess, I’d say at least 40-60% overall on groceries and 35-40% off other items.
The point is, it doesn’t matter what deals I show you, you have to do what works best for you. Do I take advantage of every offer I mention? Good heavens, no!
And here’s a deep dark secret that some money-saving writers won’t tell you: sometimes we don’t follow our own rules! HORRORS.
- Last week I made a trip to Target on a Saturday, the last day of a sale. When I got there, I realized that there was a Target store coupon I wanted to use sitting at home. So you know what I did? I bought the item without a coupon. Don’t fall over from shock now.
- My kids got Happy Meals AND we ate Glass Nickel Pizza recently. However, while I used my ShopDailyDeals Glass Nickel certificate, I did not use my McDonald’s coupons.
- I went to Starbucks twice in one day, ironically the day before I posted The Latte Factor, something I wrote about a month ago. It was Treat Receipt Day so I got my second drink for only $2. But the fact that I spent money on overpriced drinks might shock you.
- I’ve bought things out of the work vending machine for ridiculous amounts ($1.10 for a soda?!?!?), knowing that if I had just brought my own, I would have saved money.
- I have actually purchased an item for full price. !!!! I bought a stained-glass looking scarf that I matches all my winter coats and jackets and I spent $35 on it! But you know what, I love how it looks and every time I go out, people compliment me on it. I’ve had it for four years now and will probably have it at least another ten. To me, it was worth the price.
I get a little frustrated at some of the money-saving bloggers I’ve read and how they don’t seem to be teaching as much as chastising readers for not doing things their way or buying the things for which they go crazy. Geez, I hope I never sound like that. If I do, reach into your computer screen and smack me upside the head!
Don’t ever apologize to me or anyone else if you coupon, how much you coupon, or if you buy something for full price. Don’t apologize if you are like me and use a ton of coupons, either! My goal here at Green Bay Consumer is to provide you with the information to make smart choices. What you choose to do with that information is entirely up to you.
Welcome Good Day Wisconsin Viewers
If you decided to check out Green Bay Consumer after seeing me on WLUK’s Good Day Wisconsin, welcome! And longtime readers who may have missed the segment can see more about today’s Thrifty Thursday by clicking here.
Our goal here at Green Bay Consumer is to give people in Northeast Wisconsin useful information to help you save money. Green Bay Consumer gives you the latest sales information from your favorite local grocery stores and a bit of online sales information, too (Just for the record–I LOVE Amazon.com). And every day you can check the Green Bay Consumer home page to find the latest and greatest daily deals in our area from sites like Groupon, Living Social and Groucher.
We (The Bargain Sleuth and my “Wingman” Steph) write posts almost every day, from what’s popping up on clearance at our area Target stores, to the latest free or cheap events going on in the area, to using my journalism background to research which grocery store is the cheapest in town or why you might not find coupon inserts in the newsstand copies of your local paper on Sunday. That’s stuff you can’t find on ANY OTHER money-saving sites. It’s catered to you, the people of Northeastern Wisconsin.
How do you keep track of what’s going on here at Green Bay Consumer? There are several ways you can get the latest information:
- Sign up for a daily or weekly email on the Green Bay Consumer home page. You’ll receive a daily email blast in the afternoon with a list of everything I’ve covered.
- Become of a fan of Green Bay Consumer on Facebook. All of the posts on this website are posted directly to the Facebook page. Once in a while when I see a time-sensitive deal, the only place I will post it is on Facebook.
- Follow GBConsumer on Twitter. All my posts will show up on Twitter. I also tweet interesting articles I’ve read on the topic of saving money and retweet some of my my Favorite Blogs deals.
- Subscribe to an RSS feed.
- We’re also on Google+
- We’re even on Pinterest!
Looking for an article on a specific topic? Use the handy dandy search engine on the home page. Whether it’s the Hansen’s Pizza Warehouse Sale or the list of coupons we actually got in our local newspaper inserts, if I’ve written about it, you’ll find it by using the search box.
I also host FREE coupon classes. There are several lined up for the next few months. You can find that information near the top of the Green Bay Consumer home page. And if you’d like to host a class for your organization, feel free to Contact Me and I’ll see what I can do to help!
If you’d like to know more about the site or the people behind Green Bay Consumer, click the About tab on the home page. Also check out the Resources to find great deals an useful information to keep your costs down? You can click on that tab, too. I’ve also done a handful of public appearances on local television; you can check those out under “In the Media”.
I also host FREE coupon classes. There are several lined up for the next few months. You can find that information near the top of the Green Bay Consumer home page. And if you’d like to host a class for your organization, feel free to Contact Me and I’ll see what I can do to help!
If you’ve got friends and family throughout Wisconsin, they can check out my “brother and sister” sites Milwaukee Consumer and Madison Consumer.
Green Bay Consumer values your feedback, opinions, and deals that you have found, so please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Thanks for stopping by!