SofaCoins: get a money saving tip, save a buck. Why not?

Save the receipt, save the money...

This is going to save you at least a couple of dollars sometime this year, and even if it doesn't, I have to tell it to you on principle.

Always save your receipts, in case something doesn't fit, or doesn't work, or you don't like it, or you change your mind for whatever reason.

Why?

Because, no kidding, most have a policy that allows them to only give you the SALE PRICE back for the item if you don't have your receipt.  This applies even if the item is not currently on sale, and you actually paid full price.  Sounds like highway robbery, and (in my opinion) it kind of is, but you can combat this "lost receipt tax" by just throwing all your receipts in an envelope when you get home, then periodically going through them and tossing them.  Who knows?  In the process of cleaning them out you might be reminded of something that broke, or was too big, or that you saw on sale a week later.  Grab the receipt and go right back to that store!  You were smart enough to be well-organized, so you get the reward!

The Art of the Mystery Shop...

About six months ago I was trying to figure out a way to save money while I was running errands (besides just shopping smart, of course).  It always kind of bugged me that I was wasting time, going from store to store, dropping off dry cleaning, picking up toothpaste, stuff like that.  I mean, you can do alot of things online now, but there will still come a time when you have to go out and do some stuff, you know what I'm saying?

I was pondering this one day when I read an article about Mystery Shopping, something I had always been curious about anyway.  I wondered-- could I integrate a mystery shopping job or two into my regular errand-running routine, thereby rendering my time spent running around profitable?

The answer is yes....and no.  So far, I have managed to make a little over $100 doing some mystery shopping (certainly enough to make me happy about the time I'm spending running around anyway), but I've learned a few things:

1.  Don't take a mystery shopping job that's too complicated, or that doesn't pay very well.  And by "very wel," I'm talking about $5.00 for something that's going to take 45 minutes of your time.  That is not enough to motivate you to inconspicuously go into a store and check prices of items. 

2.  Do take mystery shopping jobs that occur in places where you would be anyway.  If you sign up for a few of the sites listed below, then log in to their websites (after completing the registration process), you might see a store open for evaluation, and that store might be your grocery/ coffee/ clothing store.  And, if that's the case, I say take it.  You know the place, you'll more than likely be there anyway, and now they're going to pay you to go.  How can that be bad?

3. Do sign up for more than one site.  This is a little time-consuming, but again, in the interest of making everything in your life more efficient, it's worth a few minutes of your time to see what's out there.

Here are some places to get started:

Market Force Information
Mystery Shopping Providers Association
TrendSource, Inc.

File it under "good to know"

On Tuesday I was walking my dog on Wilshire (as I usually do every day around 4:00) when an elderly man stopped to pet him.  He asked the dog's name, how old he was, etc.  Then, for no reason (or, perhaps because I started this blog), he started telling me about how I should feed my dog fresh ground beef, and did I know that Albertson's sells ALL of their ground beef for 99 cents a pound starting at 9:00 pm, because they do all their ground beef fresh every day?

I did NOT know this, nor do I intend to start cooking hamburgers to my dog, who is on a totally specialized diet for his arthritis, but if Albertson's is selling fresh meat for a discount after 9:00, I thought you might want to know about it.  Who knows?  Maybe you cook alot, or have a big family.  Maybe you really, really like ground beef.  All I know is this sounded like a good way to save money if you buy alot of meat, and you can find an Albertseon's near you by visiting their website.  Worth a try!