Queen of the Discount

Posts

Affinity Discounts-Part 1: Military, Nurse, Student, First Responder discounts-and MORE

In honor of this being Memorial Day weekend, I thought it would be a good time to post about a nifty Affinity Discount Platform called ID.me . If you're a current or former member of the Military, you've probably already heard of ID.me (and probably already have an account). If you've ever accessed the US Government's Social Security website, you probably also have an account. You may not have otherwise heard of them-and it's time to learn this trick! ID.me started out years ago as the name of the company somewhat implies-as a way to verify identities for whatever was needed (access to military benefits, social security, etc..), and somewhere along the way, they realized that there are tons of companies out there that offer discounts to Affinity Groups (alumni is always a big one, but think about teachers, nurses, etc...as well). At best, these companies would have an internal database where they manually track and manage all of their Affinity members. UGH....

Online Grocery Shopping-Faster, easier, and cheaper than in person!

I've been regularly shopping for my weekly groceries online since 2018-a full two years before the pandemic, when most of us probably tried online grocery shopping at least once. Initially, I started doing this because the parking lot where I shopped was utter madness. I seriously thought that I'd either get in an accident when getting in and out of the lot, or figured I'd be mugged when going to/from my car to the store. Or both. So, in early 2018, I decided to give online shopping a go for my weekly food shop, and I haven't looked back. How do I love online grocery shopping? Let me count the ways... I love online grocery shopping because it massively reduces the impulse purchase-either because I'm not trolling aisles for my shop-and finding items that are new/cute/reduced price (so,what's the harm? I'm saving $!). Instead, I make my list (like I always do), and that's what I shop. That's it. Well, maybe once a month, when I'm...

Savings for Summer Travel Season (and any day you're at home!)-PART 1

Summer Travel Season is almost here-and no, this is not a post about how to find the best travel deals. :) I'll share my thoughts on that later. Instead, this is a post about how you can save $$ when you are on those awesome trips-and possibly every day you're at home as well! I have a checklist of things I do before travel, and want to share that list with you. Everything on this list is meant to reduce my energy consumption while we travel. I'll provide a few details on each item to help explain.. Stop ice in Freezer Increase Fridge temp to 43 degrees Turn on Vacation Mode for Rinnai Turn on Vacation mode for HVAC Unplug TV, Bed, Alarm Clock, CPAP, Coffee Maker Turn off Roomba schedule Stop Ice in Freezer : No need to make ice if we're not home to consume it! It's a small item, but without the icemaker continuing to make ice, we probably save a few pennies every trip. Increase Fridge temp to 43 degrees : While we're gone, the f...

NEVER Stop Paying Attention to your Bills!

Like most of us, I like to put my recurring bills (Utilities in particular) on autopay if I can. I don't want to take another moment of my time paying a bill if I don't have to. ...and that's all well and good until something isn't right. So, even if you have everything on autopay, NEVER Stop Paying Attention! Autopay does not mean ignoring reality. Just this past week, a $20 credit to my monthly mobile bill just 'disappeared' for quite literally, no good reason. So, when I saw my monthly bill suddenly spike by $20, I dug in to see what was going on-and when I saw the credit no longer on my account, I called immediately and had it reinstated. The call took me less than 10 minutes, and it will save me $160 for the balance of the year. A pretty good 'hourly rate' I think! So please NEVER Stop Paying Attention to your Bills! You never know what you might find that will save you some $$.

Online Auctions: The Ultimate Shopping Hack-or Not?

Even The Queen learns something new these days! ...and the lesson for me this week is the wonderful world of Online Auctions (and as a relevant side-bar...Charity Silent Auctions...). I live in a city that has a plethora of Auction companies-mostly online-in which shoppers can truly find some *amazing* deals if they know how to play the game. Like...90%+ off retail kind of amazing deals. But, as the saying goes, if it's too good to be true...(you know the rest). So, in the course of researching this topic over the past few weeks-and playing around with several online and charity auction websites, I've come to quickly see what the 'gotchas' are, and wanted to share some of my learnings to save everyone from making the same mistakes I have. Without stating the obvious, make sure the Auction site is a reputable company. I know that sounds basic, but it's worth stating, as I have seen reviews from some sites that are truly abysmal and would make me ...

Streaming Service: Know When to say When

Yesterday, I was talking to a couple of neighbors about streaming shows we were watching and liking, and in the course of speaking with the husband and wife, as they started talking, the husband started listing programs, and the wife would say, 'Wait-what app is that on?'...and the husband would tell her, and then she'd say, 'Oh. I didn't know we had that app.' After a few minutes of the back and forth listing shows, and the wife asking what streaming app this show was on, it became apparent that the couple probably had at least 10+ *paid* streaming services. And, I wasn't the only one that had done that mental math. At some point in the conversation, the wife asked the husband how much they were spending on monthly streaming, and he replied, 'About $350.' At which point, she lost it...and while I kept my mouth shut (a major miracle for me!), I realized there was a massive savings lesson born right in front of my eyes-and this post practically wrot...