savings Archives - Pea of Sweetness

Saving Money and Energy with ENERGY STAR Sound Bars and Dryers

October 31, 2016 by Emilee Evans

When we decided to make the commitment to be an eco-friendly household I learned there is so much more to it than just finding organic and eco-friendly products. Everything we do and use has some impact on our health and environment. That’s why I love that Best Buy is committed to providing sustainable products!
Disclosure: The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.
Best Buy offers ENERGY STAR® certified products which help protect the environment by using reduced energy. This alone is something I feel good about, but there really are savings on the utility bills as well! ENERGY STAR certified products come with two price tags: the price for purchasing the product as well as the cost of operating the product. ENERGY STAR appliances and products can help save money on operating costs by reducing energy expenses without sacrificing performance. Who doesn’t love to save money?
In 2015, Best Buy customers purchased enough ENERGY STAR® certified products to collectively save $67,120,515 in annual energy costs! Amazing, right? Plus Best Buy customers purchased ENERGY STAR® certified products to collectively save enough energy to help power 70,538 households for a year.

ENERGY STAR Audio/Video Equipment – Sound Bars

ENERGY STAR Sound Bars are just some of the great ENERGY STAR certified audio/video equipment available at Best Buy. They are up to 50% more efficient than conventional models! Plus they look great, too! You can save even more energy when you pair them with other ENERGY STAR certified televisions and devices.
Find Sound Bars on the Best Buy Website.

ENERGY STAR Appliances – Dryers

I run my dryer almost every day. That is why I love ENERGY STAR dryers! They use up to 20% less energy than conventional dryers, but they still have amazing features and work well! Plus they have additional features like shutting off when they detect clothes are dry, which is what helps save energy! Many even include handy features like steam cycles, so you can save on ironing time (and energy) as well!

Here is an interesting fact: If all dryers sold in the US alone were ENERGY STAR certified, Americans could save $1.5 billion each year in utility costs! WOW! Plus, we could prevent greenhouse gas emissions that would be equal to more than 2 million vehicles. ENERGY STAR dryers are definitely the way to go!
Find ENERGY STAR dryers on the Best Buy Website. They offer other great ENERGY STAR appliances as well!
Another great benefit for using ENERGY STAR certified products is that you can generally find rebates as well!
Do you use ENERGY STAR certified products? Now is a great time to add some of the great ENERGY STAR certified products at Best Buy to your wishlist! You could kick off the new year with a goal of saving energy and money! Here are more great tips to save energy.

Christi the Coupon Coach book Review

July 23, 2013 by Emilee Evans

As part of the Molly Crew on the Schoolhouse Review Crew I also get the chance to review great products for money-saving tips like Couponing Made Simple by Christi the Coupon Coach. I received a print copy of the book for my review. Couponing Made Simple: Simple Steps to Successful Couponing wasn’t written to for “extreme” couponing, but for real couponing for real people. Christi the Coupon Coach has been blessed with the talent of helping others save money through couponing, and she shares her methods broken down in easy steps that anybody can understand – including someone like myself who doesn’t know the first thing about coupons other than using them when I have one! Her book isn’t about buying things you won’t use but rather saving money on the things you already do purchase and use on a regular basis.
First, I have to admit I was a little nervous after receiving the book and seeing the items pictured. If you follow my blog you may know my husband has had cancer twice, I have medical issues, and all three of our children have special needs. Therefore, we use natural products from our food to our personal care products. I am quite particular about the ingredients in our products and recently we even started switching over to gluten free products knowing it would reap major health benefits for all of us. One thing I truly appreciate about Christi, though, is that she has a heart for helping people. She doesn’t WANT our family to stock up on foods or personal care products we don’t feel comfortable using. She wants to help us save money on the things we DO use. This a relief because one of the reasons I haven’t really given couponing much effort is because I felt like it HAD to be that way – you buy the best deal whether you like it or not. That is definitely not what Couponing Made Simple is all about. Is is about saving you money on what you do use!

So there were a couple of strategies in Couponing Made Simple that wouldn’t work for our family such as the Sunday paper inserts. Our Sunday paper is $3.00 and is full of products we wouldn’t even consider using. The only time I would consider purchasing a Sunday paper now that I am plugged into these new ideas is when there is a local coupon swap because many others would LOVE to have those coupons I won’t use and most likely won’t be using the coupons for the products we do use. Although Christi doesn’t mention any specific websites (because websites could change) she mentions great ways to find websites online for coupon tips and matching. She also has a Favorites Page on her website. As you can see – one of them is Organic! I also used the power of social media to connect to others and ask around for sites where I could find eco-friendly personal care product coupons and organic and gluten-free coupons. There are more out there than you might think! Some even give back to charities!
Because it took me a while to pull all of these resources together I haven’t been able to implement the other strategies in Couponing Made Simple – yet, but I plan on using them! Now that I know where to find coupons I can start matching and implement her very thorough organization system! I know I will be ready! When I did have coupons before I just stuffed them in a drawer. I am sure she would gasp at the thought! Now I know how to keep them organized so they don’t go to waste!
In Couponing Made Simple Christi also explains in detail all of the coupon terms, the tools you will use in your coupon system, organizing your actual coupon run, choosing the right cashier, and more helpful tips. In addition, she shares a Bonus Section with more frugal tips such as shopping at Yard Sales and Thrift Stores!
Although, I don’t have any pictures to share of a successful coupon run yet, I know I will soon now that I am pulling all of the pieces together! Once I do, I will be sure to share some of my successful shopping trips!
The paperback version of Couponing Made Simple can be purchased on Amazon is $18, and the Kindle edition can be purchased for $4.99.
Be sure to check out the other Crew Members’ reviews as I’m sure many had different experiences by clicking on the banner below!

Save on Houston Attractions with CityPASS!

July 13, 2013 by Emilee Evans

Each of our family members received a complementary CityPASS during the GoHouston! Travel Campaign hosted by New Creative Writing and Social Media Marketing, home to Money Saving Parent.com. All opinions are my own.

Something I love about Houston is the fact that there is so much to do. There are museums, the zoo, the Downtown Aquarium, Space Center Houston, Kemah Boardwalk, and so much more! When you’re a family of five visiting so many different attractions the cost adds up quickly! That’s where CityPASS comes in! With CityPASS you get admission to 5 must see Houston attractions for one low price! One ticket booklet saves 49%! When you have a large family that adds up to a lot of savings! For a family of 5 it would be a savings of $187.09. That’s almost $200! So we can enjoy all of these attractions and have extra to purchase souvenirs, which is something we often don’t purchase because of the initial cost of admission!
With the Houston CityPASS you have the option to visit:

Space Center Houston – admission with NASA Tram Tour
Downtown Aquarium – admission to Aquarium Adventure Exhibit
Houston Museum of Natural Science – exhibit halls admission
Houston Zoo -admission OR Kemah Boardwalk – all-day ride pass
The Children’s Museum of Houston – admission OR Museum of Fine Arts, Houston – admission

If you’re thinking you don’t have enough time to visit all of them – don’t worry! You have 9 days to use your CityPASS, which is plenty of time to fully enjoy each attraction. Since we were only in Houston for a couple of days we didn’t have a chance to use ours to the fullest, but once we move back to the Houston area I plan on using CityPASS often instead of paying for each attraction separately! You can’t beat the savings!
We had a chance to visit Space Center Houston, Kemah Boardwalk, and the Downtown Aquarium.

There are other advantages of using a CityPASS like:

Low cost upgrades. An example is at The Downtown Aquarium for only $5/person we could also get full access to all the rides!
Additional savings. In the back of the CityPASS booklet you will find additional coupons and savings.
VIP lines. Certain attractions offer VIP lines for CityPASS holders.
A chance to win $500! After experiencing your CityPASS you can share your experience on their website for a chance to win $500!

Travel tip: Something to keep in mind is CityPASS does not cover parking, so be prepared to pay for parking at certain attractions where parking costs a fee. Many take debit or credit cards now, but I always recommend having cash on hand just in case!
CityPASS is really simple to purchase and use and is also available in the following cities (in addition to Houston) – Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Hollywood, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Southern California, and Toronto.
If you’re planning a trip to Houston or live nearby I definitely recommend Houston CityPASS for major savings! Visit their Website for more information!

Extreme Couponin vs. Couponing

May 7, 2013 by Emilee Evans

Extreme Couponing vs. Couponing

Coupons are a great way to save money on the items you buy everyday. For some people couponing is a hobby, but for others it can be a lifestyle. With the introduction of TLC’s Extreme Couponing show came tens of thousands of stay at home moms looking to get $800 worth of groceries for a buck. Many of which gave up on extreme couponing completely when they found out that shopping trips like that take hours and hours of planning, sorting, clipping, and more. Those people on the show work 40-50 hours a week on couponing. But should you just give up completely?
Saving money is always nice. Whether you are saving 100% on your grocery bill or 25%-50% shouldn’t really matter! Saving is saving and every penny counts! Try grabbing a Sunday newspaper and clipping a few coupons. Turn on your printer and print a coupon or two when you see something you usually buy. Keep them with you when you shop and you will start seeing the savings! Be sure you check you local sale papers for different stores. You may find the sales at one store are much better than another. Your local drugstore is also a great place to save big on your household items such as shampoo, conditioner, bodywash, cleaners, etc.
Some people use their savings each week to go out to dinner, or you can take the amount saved on your groceries and put it in a jar and watch it grow each week! Maybe even go buy yourself a new pair of shoes, or a bag! Whatever you do with your savings, you will be surprised at just how much money you can save by simply cutting a few coupons each week! You don’t have to be extreme about it! You can still coupon the “normal” way!
Special thanks to Angela @ Xtreme Qpon for this great post! If it wasn’t for someone like her, people like me would still be clueless about couponing!