A Frugal Tip - Saving money and time with Amazon Subscribe and Save

In the past when I saw an Amazon Subscribe and Save deal on a blog, I never took advantage of it.   I really didn't know how it worked and it sounded complicated to me.  But, recently I have been using this service with good results!  And its very easy and convenient.

There are a few money saving blogs that I read most days and when I see an Amazon Subscribe and Save deal for a product that we use all the time, like toilet paper, I go ahead and sign up for it.  Some of these have a coupon that you just click on before ordering, to further sweeten the deal.

Some good points about Subscribe and Save that I enjoy are:

Shipping is free. 
You get plenty of notice before shipping if you need to change your order.
Its easy to skip a shipment or cancel it altogether.
I love having a good supply of things like toilet paper, dishwasher packs, facial tissue, and more.
Its easy to make sure you are getting the best price for an item.
If you are subscribed to at least 5 items you save an additional 15%
Driving up after work to find that monthly box of stuff is fun.
You can choose your monthly delivery date.
Amazon gift cards earned with Swagbucks can be applied to your order.

Here are some of the items in my Subscribe and Save account.  I don't get all of these every month.  You can get them how ever often you want them.  For example in December, I skipped all of my items altogether and then resumed in January.  If you only want to get an item for one month, that's fine too.  Just cancel it.  Several of my items only come every 3 or 4 months.

Scott Extra Soft Toilet Paper
Angel Soft Toilet Paper
Angel Soft Tissues
No Sugar Added Del Monte Canned Pears
Olay Foaming Face Wash
Cover Girl Professional Mascara
Finish Dishwasher Packs
Cascade Dishwasher Packs
Peanut Butter (gave to food pantry)
Ecotrin low dose aspirin
Dish Liquid

Some of these had a coupon and some were just a limited time good deal.   Sometimes the Amazon price IS NOT the best price.  You have to compare prices with your grocery Store.  Figure out how much the per unit of an item is, such as the dishwasher packs, and you will see that often buying the larger box from Amazon is a much better price than buying the smaller boxes more often.

There is a section on Amazon that contains all the Subscribe and Save items.  Not everything is available that way, but lots of things are.  I have found a few good deals by just searching there myself, but most of the good deals I have found came from money saving blogs such as these:

Jungle Deals and Steals
Money Saving Mom
Moms by Heart
Southern Savers
Fabulously Frugal
We use Coupons



I go to these blogs by searching for them on Swagbucks, which helps me to earn more points to get my Amazon gift cards.  If you don't already use Swagbucks, I would love for you to sign up through my referral link HERE.  That way, any points you earn up to 1000, I would get credit for also.  Once you sign up for Swagbucks and start earning Amazon gift cards, anyone who signs up through your referral link can help you earn the gift cards faster.  Each $5.00 Amazon gift card requires 450 swagbucks.

If you sign up for Swagbucks, the above list of deal blogs are good sites to search for, even if you don't want to participate in Subscribe and Save. 

EBay Success!

I have been really concentrating on selling on-line during the month of January! My FH (frugal husband) has been helping me with cooking and grocery shopping so that I would have more time for EBay and the Etsy Shop. Isn't he sweet?!!!

Anyway, back to EBAY.

My goal was to sell $25.00 each week, which may not sound like a lot, but adds up. I reached or exceeded this goal each week in January. The things I sold were things I had but wasn't using or things I had been given that I didn't think I'd be able to use. So my initial investment was zero.

Learning to use EBay is fun in itself. I never knew there were so many little things to learn or be aware of. For instance: Last week I listed 5 items on Sunday night to run for 7 days which mean't the listings would end last night. The bids were coming really fast the first of the week, but then slowed down and there were almost no bids at the end. It finally dawned on me that the auctions were ending right in the middle of the SUPER BOWL!!!. I was short of my $25 goal by $5.00. Several of these items were similar to ones I sold the week before at higher prices.

I had read in the EBay books I got from the library that holiday weekends weren't good for ending auctions, so I guess the Super Bowl is kind of like a holiday weekend! Guess What, I went on line and renewed the EBay books! I need to educate myself further.

I get a kick out of checking "My EBay" several times a day to see if there are any new bids or how many watchers I have!

I applied for a PayPal debit card so I can use that for purchasing items for resale and paying for shipping supplies and postage.

I'm also very excited about my Etsy Shop! I have so many ideas for things to go in there. I've just got to find some things that are in demand!

Have a great Monday! We're having above normal temperatures here in North Carolina for a few days. Sixties and seventies!

Valentine Bag Give Away and Etsy Shop Grand Opening

Happy February to everyone!

Well as promised today my Etsy Shop is finally open. I have worked hard in my spare time to get some items finished. I seem to be on a pocketbook making tangent right now, but many different items are promised to come! I plan to do a post showcasing any new item I come up with. Please let me know if there is something you'd like to see that I could try. I just know there is a demand for something out there that I could become good at making!

I had microwave heating pads listed in the Etsy Shop originally, but when I checked the cost of shipping on them it was more than I was charging for the pads! They are a little heavy with the rice in them. Nonetheless, if anyone would like to order a microwave heating pad, let me know. (grin)

I have 27 commenters who would like to win the Valentine bag with matching mini wallet and tissue holder and so also as promised I have drawn a name out of a hat:





THE WINNER IS: Heidi of THE HACKNEY FAMILY!!!!!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered the drawing!