CPSC Safety

I want to share with you some things about CPSC, the Consumer Product Safety Commission

We've seen the big recalls on the news, but they don't report them all. Some things come with cards to register, but maybe you forgot, it got lost and look at all the things we buy, they don't have a card. What if you're set of pans are recalled, a child's jacket, dog leash, bean bag chair...the list goes on. You would never know until it was too late. And what about pool safety, bicycle safety and all those things to keep you and you're family safe?

That's where CPSC comes in. You can look up recalls, read up on safety, laws, statics and they have a blog and email subscription. You can also report an unsafe product here.

You can pick what you want to receive in your email. Public calender items are what's going on at CPSC if you like to get into what issues they are working on and new regulations etc. You can sign up for just recalls or recalls and news releases, which I like or you can subscribe to all 3. You can change it at any time and the emails are really easy to do a quick read. I recommend you send this to your main email account so you don't miss anything. 

I also have a widget you can see on the side of the blog that has the latest recalls.

Savings "Eating Out"

I want to talk about saving money eating out.

We all love a nice home cooked meal. But some days we need someone else to do that for us and sometimes when you are out or forgot to pack lunch for work, you need a good meal and you need it cheap.

First, sign up to all the restaurants you like. Check the local papers for coupons and check your apps for deals too. Grab a small folder for just your restaurant coupons so you can keep them in your purse or car. Check to see if they have a reward program and ask if they have any specials going on.

When you order a meal at a fast food restaurant, you can order a different sized drink and fry. They ring up the meal with a discounted fry and charge you the full amount for your drink. Drive thru, ask for no or light ice with your drink. If you're dining in, get the small drink and refill, no need to pay extra. And even if you don't see your sandwich as a meal, ask. If you order a sandwich, fry and drink, don't expect the person taking your order to turn it into a meal for a discounted price.

Going out for dinner. I hope you have your coupons and didn't forget to sign up for deals. You may get emails for coupons like a free dessert, free appetizer or even a bogo meal coupon. Either way, you're saving money! Bring yourself a to-go cup. Before you go, ask for a refill and dump it in your cup. Most places will bring you a cup, but hey, who needs the extra trash. If you don't mind sharing a drink, order water and share one tea or soda.

If you keep up on the deals and specials, you can make it a family night to the local ice cream shop for half off sundaes or buy a dinner, get a dinner free with drinks included. Even on a tight budget, you can still treat yourself and family to eating out.

Have saving tips you use for dining out or on the run. Leave a comment below.

App 4 That "Key Ring"

We all have them and they hang from our key chains like colorful accessories or take up room in our wallets and they can usually be found in strange and lost places since they always give you some extras. I'm talking about your rewards cards, those savings cards, loyalty and member cards.

And they don't have an easy life, they get bent, peal apart and you may have tried to use them to clean or get something out of a crack or use as a screwdriver... with no luck of course. Well no more I say! Say NO to those reward, savings, plastic cards! Ok, don't say no, but let's get them off our already cluttered key chain and out of our wallets.

Say hello to the Key Ring app! Key Ring app takes those cards and saves them on your phone. You can download it from your app store for your apple, android or blackberry device. Scan each cards barcode or enter it manually and you're set! You'll be able to open the app, select the store and present the barcode to your cashier to scan.

The other great part, you can join new programs from the app, sign up for a 100% free pharmacy savings program, get coupons and get exclusive Key Ring app deals you can use from your phone. Another great thing for families, you can share your cards with them. Talk about making things simple, that's saving space, saving time and saving money.

Oh...and it's FREE :)

Target Cartwheel Saving

So, this is in beta stage and is a totally new way to save. You have your coupons, hopefully you have the Target card to save yourself 5% and get free online shipping (check my links page) and you've brought in your reusable bags to save an extra 5¢ cents for each.

You're going to go here Cartwheel, please check out the Help Center for all your questions. Quick run down of the program, you need a Facebook account. There are settings you can change if you don't want to share with friends, but there is no other way to sign up right now, they are in beta and hopefully in the near future, you'll be able to sign up other ways. You can sign up with your facebook account or email. You can browse all offers, go by collections or do a search. Click on the offer and select Add or you can share it to friends or check details.

You can see all your deals in your Cartwheel and either print out a barcode or show it from your phone when you check out. Now, you can only use each single deal on 4 qualify items and you can scan your barcode 6 times a day. That means if you buy 5 sodas and 3 shampoos, you'll only save on 4 of the sodas, but all 3 of the shampoos and you can go back and use that barcode 5 more times that day. If you need more than 4 of anything, checkout and go back to get your deal.

When you sign up for Cartwheel, you get 10 slots to use. You can earn more slots and there is no limit, besides the number of slots you have, as to how many deals you can redeem each transaction or per day. So 10 deals, 4 items per deal, 6 times a day would be 240 items you save on. The savings are endless.

I've seen deals as high as 40% off. I don't know if there are higher ones, but the deals are a percent off instead of a dollar amount or bogo type deal.

The best part...this stacks with your manufacture coupons and store coupons.

*Unknown if this stacks with your Target card or pharmacy rewards. Will update when I find out. It does stack with your Target card & pharmacy rewards. Will also stack with employee discount.