Thursday, October 22, 2009
Brilliant Bargains classes are COMING....sooner than later!!!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Welcome to Brilliant Bargains!!
The first book is entitled "Coupons to Cash: Creative Ways to Cut Your Costs." With over 150 pages, this manual covers the basics of finding, clipping, organizing and redeeming coupons as well as specific details for over 10 grocery and drug stores in our area and how to save and even make money on the things you buy! We'll cover topics like stockpiling your stuff, rebates/samples/freebies, donating a monthly box of food to charity (that you got for free with coupons!) and soooooo much more!
Our second book is not directly related to the first, so you can skip over the first if you'd like and cruise right into the savings on this must have read! "Discovering Dramatic Deals in Clark County" is a home grown manual, with ways to save for everyone, from kids to families to senior citizens. We include tips and tricks on the cheapest ways to eat out, find local entertainment, shop big box retail stores, finding quality used clothing and furniture, traveling on the cheap and using your credit card to make money for you! And this gem is the only place you'll find our top 10 picks for local Happy Hours and the famous "50 cheap but amazing things to see and do in Clark County, WA" list!
We will be hosting classes in January to explain in detail how to get paid to buy your groceries, how to receive checks in the mail for buying everyday toiletries and household items and a million other money-saving techniques in between. Keep your eyes peeled for the Vancouver Parks & Rec Winter catalog and the Clark College Community Education pamphlet, both coming to your mailbox before the holidays. Be sure to sign up early, since spots will be limited and we anticipate there to be a HUGE demand for these classes! And there will even be some awesome door prizes and games, so it'll be well worth your while!
Come along and let us help you find some Brilliant Bargains!
Happy savings from our homes to yours!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Albertson's paid me to shop for my groceries yesterday!
$106.74 (amt. of savings) + $1.42 (amt. paid)= $108.16 so.....
$106.74/$108.16= 99% savings!!!! (a new record)
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Halloween Candy for FREE this year!!
Friday, August 14, 2009
"Cutting Out Hunger" and Giving Back
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Happy Birthday, Mommy! Benz knows the key to my heart...
Thursday, August 6, 2009
When Brilliant Bargains became more than just a hobby!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Hi! My name is Melanie and I'm addicted to saving money!
I don’t think I can put a date on when I fell in love with shopping for bargains. My mom has been ashopping for thrifty treasures since I was a wee little one and she’s been finding Brilliant Bargains ever since! I could always count on a trip to Walgreens after Sunday Mass; you could set your watch by it. I also recall my mom making her weekly purchases in a very organized manner. Her routine involved sitting down at our dining room table on Saturday evening (New Orleans received an early edition paper Pre-Katrina) and she'd cut out all of the deals she planned on snagging. She would gather up any manufacturers' coupons that she planned on using and paperclip everything together. At the register was where my mom showed off the rest of her money-saving tactics. She’d always split her order in two, so she could get one hot item for our household and one for my elderly grandparents. I remember being about 8 or so and mentioning that couponing seemed like a lot of extra work and Mom reflected back, “Well, Mel, I try to cut corners wherever I can so that we have extra money to buy the fun things.” And boy did that hold true! We had a freebie stash of toothbrushes, shampoo and deodorant that would have covered an entire neighborhood for a year! So that must have left room in their wallet to take us to the occasional movie, local fairs and other goodies throughout the year. I have to admit that I was quite embarrassed of my mom’s frugality as a pre-teen and young adult and would even go so far as to run out to the steaming car and wait for her to return with her bargain basement deals. Suffering from heat exhaustion seemed worth the risk to not have to stand in line with the rain check/rebate/coupon guru each week.
This attitude about saving money trickled down to clothing as well. My parents both valued our private school education (from preschool to college) so highly, that they were willing to give up fancy cars, a bigger house and extravagant trips to invest in our futures. But paying for tuition was always a challenge and it meant that we had to cut back on day-to-day things, like clothing. As much as we may not have liked it as teenagers, we had an understanding that name brand clothes and shoes were just not in the cards for us. Luckily we wore uniforms for the first 12 years of our school lives, so there wasn’t as much pressure to dress like the "in-crowd." I can only remember a handful of times growing up that I went with my Mom to buy clothes at the mall. We were regular shoppers at our local thrift stores and big fans of garage sales and hand me downs. We also seemed to end up with lots of copycat shoes and clothes from those big box stores that try to make their stuff resemble the name brands but most of the time the quality fell short (can you say LA Gear tennis shoes from Kmart, anyone?). And once my brother and I were old enough to start working, we were thrilled to be able to use our pocket change to buy the cooler clothes we had drooled over for so long! In fact, we both got jobs at clothing stores in the mall and thought it was so awesome to get an employee discount on clothing that we had to wear to work (but in reality we were just piping our paycheck that the store gave wrote to us every other week right back into the retailer....what a scam!). And I remember my first day of college, when I found myself staring at my closet in my dorm room with utter confusion, asking myself, “you mean I actually have to pick out something to wear to school EVERY DAY??” I figured it out pretty quickly and even though I have been working since I was 15, I never wanted to spend ALL of my hard earned money on just clothes.
So after I completed college and found myself in my own home as a wife and stay-at-home mother, I began looking for ways to cut costs so we too could have extra cash for “the fun things” in life. So when I found out I was pregnant with my first son, my mission became: "why not find name brand baby clothes for a cheaper price than the mall?" I was totally all over scoring some super cheap and ADORABLE clothes for him at local consignment & thrift stores. Sure they may have been worn by another child, but since babies grow so fast, they are usually only in a size for a max of 3 months. And most of us are so inundated with new clothes from baby showers that we’re lucky if our kiddos have a chance to wear each outfit more than once! I wash them well and I’m very picky about buying mainly name brands and clothes that have been barely worn (and I’m always careful to pass up the ones with pills, stains and tears). In fact, on almost every clothing hunt I make I usually walk away with clothes that still have the tags on them, for next to nothing! Sure the shirts or pants may be from last season’s line at Gymboree, but will your one-year old really know the difference? Believe me, there will come a day when my kids are only wanting to wear certain styles or brands from the latest trendy store and I may have to spend a little more out of pocket to keep them well dressed. So I vow to save some extra money for now by sticking with the second hand rule for clothing. & I'm enjoying the days of filling up my boys' closets with amazing wardrobes for next to nothing!
I've taken my mom's talent for saving money in creative ways and combined it with my sincere love of shopping (I can thank my grandparents for those genes). Over the last six years I have developed and tweaked my savvy and smart shopping skills; I know how to follow each store's unwritten "coupon rules." You may have to do a little digging, but most stores are so generous with their freebies that I now have enough toiletries and non-perishables to give a full box away to a women’s shelter each month. Looking back on how I was raised, I am so thankful for all of the tricks and tips my Mom modeled for me over the years. Her tenacity to save “a little here and there” has truly inspired me to continue the tradition of chasing those Brilliant Bargains, both for my family as well as yours. Now this is not to say that I haven’t encountered my fair share of problems and transactions that have gone south, but all in all the deals keep on coming so I keep on going back for many more "Brilliant Bargains." Won't you join me?
Friday, July 31, 2009
Hi, my name is Traci and coupons are my new best friend!
So I decided to look up the best deals in conjunction with my coupons and my obsession began. I was amazed by the great deals that other people were able to find. I was inspired! And the best part is, with so many great money saving websites out there, most of the coupon research work is already done for me. I just needed to get my coupons collected and organized and away I went.
Traci Ludlow
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Want to Learn More?? Email us please!
Melanie--- melaniebrawley@gmail.com
Traci--- freebiesforme@comcast.net
Friday, July 24, 2009
Our money-saving manuals are coming soon!!!
Our first money-saving manual is entitled "Coupons to Cash: Creative Ways to Cut Your Costs." With over 150 pages, this book covers the basics of finding, clipping, organizing and redeeming coupons as well as specific details for over 10 grocery and drug stores in our area and how to save and even make money on the things you buy! We'll cover topics like stockpiling your stuff, rebates/samples/freebies, donating a monthly box of food to charity (that you got for free with coupons!) and soooooo much more!
Our second book is not directly related to the first, so you can skip over the first if you'd like and cruise right into the savings on this must have read! "Discovering Dramatic Deals in Clark County" is a home grown manual, with ways to save for everyone, from kids to families to senior citizens. We include tips and tricks on the cheapest ways to eat out, find local entertainment, shop big box retail stores, finding quality used clothing and furniture, traveling on the cheap and using your credit card to make money for you! And this gem is the only place you'll find our top 10 picks for local Happy Hours and the famous "50 cheap but amazing things to see and do in Clark County, WA" list!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Our Favorite Money-Saving Blogs
Money Saving Mom
A Thrifty Mom
Abundant Food Savings
Moms By Heart
The Krazy Coupon Lady
I Heart Wags!
I Heart Rite Aid!
Freebies 4 Mom
Frugal Living NW
Coupons.com
Coupon Mom
Smart Source
Red Plum