Over the last month or so, I’ve been experimenting with our FoodSaver Vacuum Sealing System.  Sure, I’ve frozen meat and leftovers.  But simply sticking those items in freezer bags doesn’t lock in freshness and taste. In fact, very often those items I’ve frozen (including meats and fish) develop freezer burn and I end up tossing them, despite my best intentions. The concept is actually quite simple:  When foods are properly vacuum sealed, they can be stored in the freezer and kept fresh up to 5 times longer without developing freezer burn.  So buying in bulk no longer has to result in wasted food, because isn’t the goal to save money? FoodSaver claims that in one year, users can save up to $2700!  So, how do you think I did?  Stay tuned for my complete experience with the FoodSaver Vaccuum Sealing System.

If you’re interested in taking the FoodSaver challenge, you can save $10 on a system by visiting SmartSource.  To find the coupon, search for “FoodSaver” on the drop-down menu under Brand.  You can also save 10% on a system by liking FoodSaver on Facebook.

Do you buy in bulk? What tips do you have for saving money on groceries?

Disclosure: I participate in the Walmart Moms program and am compensated for my time and honest opinions.

As part of Walmart’s commitment to deliver everyday low prices, they’ve simplified their ad match policy, which is currently the strongest one on the market.  Walmart’s goal is to make it easy for customers to save money without having to shop around at multiple stores.  If you find a lower price advertised at another store, simply notify an associate, who will match the advertised price at the register (the item must be identical).   In order to assure that the policy is implemented across all stores, Walmart has provided extensive associate training on their ad match policy.

Here are just some of the ways Walmart matches a competitor’s price:

• Buy one, get one free ads with a specified price
• Competitors’ ads that feature a specific item for a specified price at a specific retailer
• Preferred shopping card advertised prices for specific item

If you’d like to read the entire policy, I encourage you to visit their corporate website.

In order to put Walmart’s policy to the test, I went in to the store with a competitor’s ad which advertised a product for about 20 cents less than Walmart’s price.

As I mentioned in my video, getting the competitor’s advertised price was quick, easy, and hassle free.  If you want to take advantage of the policy, you’ll have to do your research ahead of time.  To be quite honest, I had a difficult time finding an item that was priced lower at a competitor, as Walmart’s prices truly are consistently lower than most stores on most items.  But knowing that Walmart will match a competitor’s price means that I might be able to save a little gas and a little time by limiting the number of stores I frequent in search of every day low prices.

Have you had an opportunity to try out Walmart’s ad match policy? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Disclosure: I participate in the Walmart Moms program and am compensated for my time and honest opinions.

As you can imagine, I get a lot of information flooding my inbox on a daily basis.  Part of managing this site is filtering through the information to find what is relevant, fresh, and exciting for you.  With the new school year up ahead, I thought it might be useful to share some tips I received for saving money this season (courtesy of World Vision):

• Become an avid coupon cutter – especially online. Mobile devices and the Internet make it easier than ever to locate discounts and coupons quickly.  If you own a smartphone, make use of applications that assist in finding coupons, discounts and information on local sales.

• Value the dollar. Stop by the local dollar store to take advantage of their selection of low-cost school supplies.

• Research local non-profit organizations. Local organizations like World Vision often host backpack distributions to provide supplies to families in need.

• Search your household. Take a supplies inventory or have a fun scavenger hunt of your home before hitting the stores. It may be surprising to find many left over pens, pencils and notebooks lying around.

• Stick to the list. Most teachers provide school supplies lists, and many students often come to the classroom with unnecessary materials.

What are you doing to cut costs this school season?

{Photo Credit: cienpies}

I’ve been hinting about a Kodak giveaway for two weeks now and I bet you’d probably like for me to just get on with it!  Well…it’s finally here!

A few weeks ago you read about my participation in an online blogger briefing with personal finance journalist and author Laura Rowley.  The event was hosted by Kodak and included twenty-five AMAZING bloggers live via video stream and conference call, and online via Twitter.  Laura shared practical, savvy tips on how we can all save money in every room of our house.  Here are some of my favorites:

1.  Eat In! Consumers (like myself) can save up to $2700 a year just by taking time to plan meals.

2.  Use Coupons! I shop at natural food markets so I signed up to receive coupon booklets from Mambo Sprouts, which helps me save on natural and organic products.  You can also opt for Whole’s Food’s generic 365 line of foods and products which are conventionally more cost-effective than their name brand counterparts.

3.  Program your Thermostat! Try turning down your thermostat a degree each day to where you’re most comfortable.  If you program your thermostat for a lower temperature when you’re asleep or away, you could save five to ten percent on your heating bill.

4.  Unplug! Vampire electronics are draining both the environment’s precious resources and your wallet.  Invest in a power strip and unplug (not just turn off) any appliance you’re not using.

5.  Ditch the Dry Cleaners! “Dry Clean Only” labels are designed to protect the manufacturer. Try using Dryel or Dry Cleaner’s Secret.

6.  Invest in low flow water fixtures!

7.  Go generic! From beauty products to prescriptions, there is always a generic, cost-effective alternative that most likely works as well as it’s counterpart.

8.  Evaluate and Negotiate! Seek out Services to help you analyze your cell phone bill for ways you can save money.  Contact your insurance broker to negotiate lower rates.

9. Take a vacation…or a staycation! Spend some time re-evaluating your cable usage by putting your cable service on vacation mode.  This will give you an opportunity to evaluate which channels you really need.  And while you’re at it, why not stay close to home and rediscover historical landmarks, parks, and attractions as a tourist in your home town?

10.  Blog It! Use your blogging services to…WHAT?  Make money?  What a novel concept!  Any takers?

31 year old mother and nurse seeks to promote your company through her witty, honest, sometimes tongue-in-cheek writing and savvy public relations skills.

The goal of Kodak’s Print and Prosper campaign is to shed some financial light on the subject of ink costs.  Last year Americans overspent by $5 billion on inkjet printer ink.  Kodak’s new line of printers are designed to help you save up to $110 on the cost of ink alone.  I recently reviewed the Kodak ESP 7 All-In-One Printer, designed to print smart and effectively.

Win It! One of you will win a Kodak ESP 7 All-In-One Printer right here on my blog.  Oh…but it gets better.  There will be 25 winners total over the next 5 weeks (1 winner from each of the 25 bloggers participating in the campaign) and out of those 25 winners, 5 will a FULL BlogHer scholarship (and it’s sold out!) including travel costs. Go Kodak!  The contest here on my blog will end on Sunday, April 19, 2009 at 10 PM PST and the winner MUST respond ASAP so that the information can be sent over on Monday.  Here are the blogs participating this week (I’ll give you a new list each week):

Simple

Mom In the City

Blissfully Domestic

This is a very special giveaway, so the rules will be differ slightly from those on my other giveaways.

First entry:  Leave me a comment with your best money saving tip, how to avoid being taken advantage of financially, or how you stimulate your home economy.  Please keep in mind that winners will be chosen by celebrity guest judge Laura Rowley and will be based on how well they represent the “Print and Prosper” theme.

Subsequent entries:

Post the “Win a Printer!” badge on your blog and leave a comment with a DIFFERENT tip

Blog about the giveaway and leave a comment with yet ANOTHER tip

Follow me on Twitter AND tweet about the giveaway and leave a comment with ANOTHER tip (getting the drift yet?)

Subscribe to my feed via email or reader and leave a comment with ANOTHER tip

Click on one of the very cute buttons below and digg, stumble, fav, etc. Just let me know what you did in the comments along with ANOTHER TIP

IF you signed Mr. Linky and joined in on the Twitter conversation the day of the briefing, you may leave ANOTHER TIP (be sure you leave a link to your Twitter account)

<a href=”http://rockinmama.net/?p=3864″ mce_href=”http://rockinmama.net/?p=3864″ target=”_blank”><img alt=”Kodak Giveaway” src=”http://rockinmama.net/images/Buttons/kodakbutton.jpg” mce_src=”http://rockinmama.net/images/Buttons/kodakbutton.jpg” border=”0″ /></a>

I’ve been hinting about my involvement with Kodak for the past week or so (and you’re probably wondering when I’m just going to get on with it!).  Last week I had an opportunity to participate in an online briefing with personal finance expert Laura Rowley and Kodak, to talk about about the numerous ways we can save money in every room of our homes.  The briefing was timed perfectly, considering the state of our economy.  30 bloggers joined together both live in NYC and online to learn and share information.  And how impressive it was to see over 700 “tweets” during the online briefing.  If you missed the event, here is a summary of the tips Laura Rowley provided:

LIVING ROOM: MAKE A LIVING FROM YOUR LIVING ROOM

Use your family room to unplug, literally. Vampire drain of electricity in “standby mode” –turned off but still plugged into the wall – drains our wallets $3 billion per year. Plug items into fuse-protected power strips that don’t suck energy from the wall when turned off.

Watch a little closer. Americans pay an average of $60 for cable, but only watch 15 channels, according to the Consumers Union. If you pay for premium cable, call your provider and put the service on “vacation mode.” You’ll still receive basic service but save temporarily on the extras – and get a good sense of whether you miss them. If you don’t, call the cancellation department and say you’re considering eliminating service altogether – this department has the best deals on hand to keep you as a customer.

HOME OFFICE: CREATE A HOME (OFFICE) TO CALL YOUR OWN

Rethink your ink. Equip yourself with items that stretch your dollars like Kodak’s All-in-One Inkjet printers, which can save you up to $110 a year on ink.

Channel your inner freegan. Sign up for free services like Skype that lets you make long distance calls online without spending a penny and faxzero.com, a service that allows you to fax for free by adding an ad coversheet to your faxes.

BATHROOM: DON’T FLUSH MONEY DOWN THE TOILET
Go with the low-flow. Water bills can be cut back 25 to 60 percent by replacing showerheads and faucets with low-flow aerating models for $10 to $20 each. Look for a model that’s 2.5 gallons per minute to save on average $200 per year.

A prescription to save. Only one-third of prescription drugs are mostly covered by insurance, according to a recent Consumer Reports survey. Prices can vary as much as $100 between designer and generic drugs so make sure you ask your physician for a generic equivalent, which can cost up to 40 percent less.

LAUNDRY ROOM: DON’T GET TAKEN TO THE CLEANERS ON YOUR DRY CLEANING
A dirty secret. Households spend an average of $1,500 a year on dry cleaning, and 65 percent of those clothes are washable, according to Proctor and Gamble research. Wool, cashmere, silk, rayon, polyester and spandex can all be laundered, saving America $750 a year.

This is just the information shared by Laura during the briefing.  If you do a search on Twitter for #printprosper, you’ll find creative, unique tips from moms about how they save money.  Be sure to check out Kodak’s Print and Prosper website, complete with an overpayment calculator (don’t be discouraged…you’re not the only one and today is a new day).

As part of the campaign, I had an opportunity to test out the brand-new Kodak ESP 7 All-In-One Printer.   And yes…the printer is amazing!  It prints, scans and copies photos and documents for less money, saving you 50% when compared to similar inkjet printers.  Black ink cartridges retail for approximately $10, color ink cartridges retail for approximately $15.  By using this printer (or one like it), you can save $110 a year on printing costs without sacrificing speed or quality.

This printer will print a 4 x 6 in 28 seconds and 32 pages in black ink / 30 pages in color ink in one minute. That means I don’t have to wait until next Mother’s Day to get all of my son’s photos printed and sent off to the grandparents.  The quality of the photos I printed was amazingly professional.  If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that they were printed at a photo lab.  The colors are crisp and distinct and I love the high quality photo paper that I was sent to print out my pictures.  I just completed two ZoomAlbums for my mother and my mother-in-law for Mother’s Day on this printer.  I did this same project on MY printer and there was a definite difference in the look and feel of the book.

One of my favorite features is the fact that it’s enabled with wireless printing because I’m lazy and don’t want to get off of the couch to plug my computer into the printer.  The printer comes with a built-in, secure, mechanism that allows for Wi-Fi printing.  The printer is so smart that you don’t even need a computer.  Take your memory card from your camera, stick it in the printer, and print!  Here is a little video I did of the printer in action:

The  Kodak ESP 7 All-In-One Printer retails for $199.99 and is available for purchase directly from the site.  Be sure to come back Monday for your chance to win this printer!

1.  Nintendo Wii (for Mii)

2.  Hair Clips (because my son broke mine)

3.  Easter Basket including 2 Children’s Easter books, plush Easter bunny,  12 plastic eggs, red Hot Wheels Easter Eggsclusive car, and Dove Truffle Eggs (who am I kidding…those are not for my son)

4.  Conditioner

5.  Nuby Flip N Slip Sippy Cup (BPA Free of course)

6.  2 sets of Organic Cotton Sheet sets for our new King bed

7. Toddler Bed

8.  Safety Gate for our son’s doorway

Ok…so I bought all that and STILL have about $24 left.  Can you believe it?  I wish I could find you all of the links to all of the products but unfortunately, online inventory differs from in-store inventory.  If you see something you’d like to know more about, just leave me a comment and I’ll help you out!

By the way, you may have noticed that cute new button on my right side bar.  Yes…I am now a proud member of More Than Elevenmoms.  This is “an exploratory community seeking to define the role of a larger community inspired by the elevenmoms group.” I’ll definitely update you on the lastest happenings!