Valpak.com Shopper & Coupon Blog: September 2005

Friday, September 30, 2005

Save on Shoes by Shopping Online

Looking for new shoes? Have you tried searching the Internet? Check out some of the great deals going on online:

Shoes.com is always having sales for women, men and kids with prices starting as low as $9.99. Plus, Saturday, October 8 is their big 60% off sale, so be sure to check them out. Not to mention, they offer free shipping for all 50 states and they carry lots of name brand shoes.
Another great online shoe stop is Payless, who is currently having a 50% off sale on all fall boots. Join their email club and be the first to know about the great deals and styles they have out.
Looking for a wide variety of brand names? Check out Zappos.com. They also offer free shipping as well as free return shipping. Become a member and register to win a free shoe giveaway. They draw winners weekly.
Shoe Carnival also lets you earn rewards and savings by becoming a member. Registration is easy and you’re guaranteed to be the first to know about the latest styles. They also offer weekly specials, so be sure to check back with them frequently.

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Be Careful When Filling Up With Your Debit Card

Watch out when using your debit card at the pump. Did you know that every time you top off the tank, a chunk of your checking account may be blocked—sometimes for days, with the potential to cause you all sorts of financial headaches and bounced checks? Also, you stand the chance of being declined if you don't have enough in your account.

If you use your debit card at a pump that does not require a PIN, the station may block out an amount—often $50 or $75—on your card. That amount doesn't "un-block" as you drive away. Instead, the hold remains until that evening, and sometimes for up to several days, until the station does a "batch" transaction, according to the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

Each big oil company has a different policy:

Shell places a $75 hold for gas purchases, and it can stay in place for as long as three business days.
British Petroleum (BP/Amoco/Arco) places a $75 hold on accounts when customers use debit or credit cards, but the hold is usually lifted after about two hours.
Chevron applies only a $1 hold to debit cards, to ensure that a card is active.

The reasoning behind this policy is that oil companies don’t know how much gas you're about to pump—only PIN-based debit transactions are processed immediately—and so they earmark a certain amount of your money.

Read more…

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Enter to win a year's worth of FREE Gas valued at $2,500 from Valpak!

Thursday, September 22, 2005

Save Time By Shopping In One Store

Saving time by shopping in one store for more than one thing is a great when you have plans for a weekend or are in a rush. Super Wal-Marts and Super Targets are starting to pop up all over.

Super Target has on their site where you can get weekly coupon specials for their store. They give you around 9 coupons and also give you a list of the weekly store specials on meat, produce, deli, bakery, frozen goods and pantry items. This is a great way to save money and time by doing all of your shopping in one place instead of having to travel from store to store.

Here are a few other savings:

Febreze has a $10 OFF coupon for their new product called Febreze ScentStories. Also, when you purchase a Febreze Scent Stories machine, you can mail in the UPC code and get a FREE ScentStories disc.

Tide, Downy and Bounce with Febreze Special Offer

Register on Betty Crocker.com and be able to print out coupons for cereals, baking goods, snacks and more.

Stouffer’s Lean Cuisine - SAVE $1.00 on 4 entrée dinners

Fill out a form for a $2.00 coupon by mail for Swiffer Duster

$1.00 OFF Cascade with ShineShield

Monday, September 19, 2005

Have A Pet? Save on Animal Care

Many of us have a pet of some sort at home. With all the supplies and medical bills that come with owning an animal, their expenses can add up quickly. Here are some tips to keep those prices down:

Compare the ingredients of name brand foods to those of the store brand foods. Often times they will contain nearly the exact same ingredients yet the store brands will be less expensive.
Keep vaccinations up to date to avoid paying pricey medical bills if your pet gets sick.
To save on vaccinations, call your local Animal Control/Humane Society to see when they have “sponsor days” where you get all the shots at once, generally paying about half the price.
If you have adopted a stray dog or cat, many vets will give you discounts on services.
Ask for samples of new products and foods from your vet.
Keep your dog’s and cat’s teeth brushed. Oral bacteria can lead to serious health problems down the road.
Clipping and grooming animals yourself can save on grooming fees.

For more ideas read 21 Ways to Save on Pet Care.

For more online savings try these great sites:

Check the clearance section of PETsMART. They often have multiple pages of items for your pet.
Also check Petmarket for savings on pet supplies and accessories.
Finally, visit Valpak.com for coupons at your local pet store.

Friday, September 16, 2005

September Is National Coupon Month!

Did you know September is National Coupon Month? Celebrate by clipping or printing a coupon today! Did you know the first coupon appeared in 1894? Asa Candler, the druggist who bought the formula for Coca-Cola for $2,300, distributed handwritten "tickets" for a free glass of his new fountain drink. Find out more fun coupon facts at couponmonth.com.

The Coupon Council offers the following coupon tips:

Look for coupons in the Sunday newspaper, in magazines, in your mailbox, at the grocery store shelf, on the Internet and with your cash register receipts.
Call manufacturers' 800 numbers or visit their website to request coupons.
Use a coupon organizer to sort coupons and keep it with you at all times (for those "unplanned" shopping trips); organize your coupons in the order that you shop the store for quicker savings trips.
Use coupons with shorter expiration dates first to stock up on necessary items.
Shop on double or triple coupon days and use manufacturers' rebates to realize additional savings.
Use coupons in conjunction with loyalty/frequent shopper cards from your local retailers.
Use coupons to cut your grocery bill and feed the hungry at the same time. Use coupon savings to purchase products as a charitable donation. To learn more about how you can help, visit cutouthunger.org.

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Tips for Planning and Saving on a Great Theme Park Adventure

While planning an adventurous weekend or vacation to any theme park you can go to Theme Park Insider. This site lists parks all over the world. You can also check out the reviews and make reservations for hotels associated at the theme parks they have listed.

Theme Parks Online is another great site that gives reviews on the parks and hotels.

If you are an AAA Member, you can visit AAA for discounts on Theme Parks and you can always go to Valpak.com and print off restaurant and entertainment savings to use in the area that you are visiting. This is a great way to save a little extra.

Kimberly Burton, Bella’s Online Budget Travel Editor, explains more ways to save time and money in theme parks.

• Bring food with you
• Do your souvenir shopping first, last, or not at all
• Make sure you’ve got everything the night like cash, sunscreen, etc.

To read more, visit More Ways to Save Time and Money in Theme Parks

To read more about Budget Sensitive Ideas, visit Vacationing on a Budget (Yes it can be done)

To a Great Adventure with Theme Parks and Savings.

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Update on Katrina Post

In my last Hurricane Katrina update I mentioned that we still had people unaccounted for along the Gulf Coast. Since that time, we've spoken to everyone working for us in the affected areas and, thankfully, they are all safe. We hope that help gets to those that are still suffering in the area. Please, visit the Red Cross to make a monetary donation to aid the relief effort.

If you still have someone unaccounted for in the affected areas, please visit the Yahoo! News Boards. One has been created in an effort to search for those people still missing.

Buying A New Car? Save Money!

As a smart shopper, you need to know the common strategies that dealerships use to pad their bottom line—from tricky negotiating tactics to trying to sell you unnecessary extras—and how to avoid playing their game. Consumer Reports' auto-test staff, which buys more than 50 vehicles a year, has had hundreds of dealership experiences. Following are some of the most common things you could encounter and Consumer Reports' advice on how to avoid falling prey to them.

Avoid mixing negotiations—Once you've settled on a price, discuss financing and any trade-in separately. This makes it easier to get the best deal at every step of the transaction.
Compare Financing Rates—Don't make financing a purchase-time decision. Before visiting the dealership, make sure you know how you'll pay for the vehicle. Call ahead to find out what the dealer's rate is, and compare it with what you could get from banks, credit unions, or other lending institutions. Dealers like to arrange the financing for your vehicle because it gives them another source of profit.
Watch for Rustproofing & Dealer Prep Fees—Another profit source for dealers is extras such as rustproofing, fabric protection, paint sealant, and etching your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) on windows to deter thieves. Vehicle bodies are already treated to protect against rust. Upholstery is typically treated at the factory, or you can do it yourself with a can of spray-on fabric protectant. Paint sealants and waxes are available for under $15 at any auto-parts store. Some states do require dealers to offer VIN etching, but none require that you buy it from them. If you want VIN etching, you can do it yourself with a $25 kit. Dealer prep fees—such as checking tire pressure—should be included in the purchase price, not listed as extras. If these items are on your bill of sale, refuse to pay for them.

Read the full article to get even more tips on how to save money when buying a new car.

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Useful Automotive Web Sites:

Autotrader.com - Sell your car or find a new one
Advance Auto Parts - Order the parts you need and avoid high mark-ups at the repair shop
NHTSA - Has your car been recalled?
Valpak.com - Print coupons for oil changes, car washes and more

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Save the Cookies!

With all the hype about spyware and Internet privacy, cookies have gotten a bad rep. In reality, cookies aren’t a bad thing. I mean, whenever you return to a site where your preferences are stored, that’s probably thanks to a cookie. In fact, cookies are what make your print basket function when shopping online and when you return to that site to reorder those products; cookies are what call up the details of your past orders.

Basically, a cookie is a text file that a web server can store on a user’s hard drive. The only purpose these files serve is to track and record your activity on a website. For instance, how many times you have returned, whether you have a made a purchase and of what, which pages you have viewed on that website, etc.

Cookies cannot be considered spyware because they cannot give your computer a set of instructions to carry. Spyware programs are software that, when placed on a hard drive, tell the computer what to do, such as to pull up and copy personal information. This is the difference between spyware and cookies.

In actuality, cookies provide a more pleasant web surfing experience for users. Without them the Internet simply wouldn’t be the convenience people use it for.

To learn more, please visit How Stuff Works.

Thursday, September 01, 2005

Hurricane Katrina

The Valpak.com team's deepest sympathies go to the Hurricane Katrina victims and their families. Some of our own were caught up in the Gulf Coast devastation and we are still waiting to hear from several of them. It was just a year ago that some of our South Florida franchises were affected by Hurricane Charlie. We hope everyone will recover from this tragedy as soon as possible.

We would like you to join us in doing whatever you can to help during this time. The safest and most efficient way to make a donation is through the Red Cross.org. When a tragedy like this occurs it is horrifying to think that people are trying to profit from it. Even this soon after the storm phishing scams are popping up around the Net. Please read Brian Kreb’s article to learn how to keep yourself from being duped.

Labor Day Savings

Labor Day is the end of the summer for most. The good news is there are a lot of sales that are full of great values.

Here are three great offers full of savings for the Labor Day Weekend.

Macy*s - HUGE Labor Day Sale: Save 10-50% Sitewide + Take An Additional 25% Off Clearance! (thru 9/5)

Site59 - Find a great deal on last-minute Labor Day weekend getaways!

JCPenney - Free shipping on any $25 purchase! (thru 9/5)

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There will be a lot of cookouts this weekend too.

Looking for some time saving recipes? Here you go.

• If you like Potato Salad, try this great recipe:
New Potato Summer Salad – and it can be made in less than 30 minutes.

For more great quick recipes, visit Kraft Foods.com.

Be safe this weekend, I hope this saves you time and a little money!

Valpak.com Shopper & Coupon Blog