Frugal Pages

Tuesday

Saving Money on Meat - Zaycon Foods

Lately it seems like the deals for meat are getting few-and-far between. And the quality of the meat being offered on sale seems to be going down as well.

Recently, though, I found a company that offers great prices on high-quality meat and other produce.
It is a place called Zaycon Foods.

Why in the world would anyone want to order from an independent start-up company like Zaycon Foods?

  • First = Quality.
    They only sell products they would eat themselves.  High-quality, healthy food products.
  • Second = Price.
    Fresh, retail quality food product sold at wholesale prices.
  • Three = Service
    Easy-to-understand the entire process, from ordering, to reminders, to quick pick-up.

They are able to keep the prices low because they sell directly from the farmers, with no stores to maintain. They have what are called local 'events', where they offer certain types of individual meats or produce at each event.

So far I have purchased the Boneless skinless Chicken Breast (which is 100% natural, with no added hormones, additives, or artifical ingredients), and the 93% Extra-Lean Ground beef.  They have been excellent quality meats and I am very happy with the entire process. 

Granted, it is a bit different than driving down to your local grocery store and buying meat with the rest of your food.  But it really seems to be a great deal, and oh so worth it.

The process goes like this:

  1. First you go to the website, Zaycon Foods and sign up with your e-mail address. 
  2. Then go and select the area that you live in.  Once you have that set up, they can contact you when they have events in your area.  Each event offers a different type of product.  One event will feature chicken.  Another event will have produce - like apples, or pears, or peaches, or tomatoes, or blueberries. The next event might have bacon or hamburger.  It all depends on what is fresh and available at that time.       
  3. Next, when they plan to be in your area for an event, they will e-mail you details about that event.  This will include details on the food they will be offering and when you can sign up to purchase it. 
  4. From there, on order day, you can log on and purchase the amount of packages you want.  Zaycon offers bulk type of purchasing, not single servings of the products.  So, you'll have to be ready to package and use the case size of product when you pick it up.
  5. Once you have made your purchase, and then selected a location for pick up,  on the day that is assigned, you will go and pick up you meat or other product.
  6. Essentially, the pick-ups occur at various locations around your area.  You choose the location you want to pick up your product.
  7. There are signs directing you where to go.  There is someone standing there.  You confirm with them your name and quantity you've ordered.  You drive up to the truck and they put your order in your car for you.  You don't even have to get out.  
    Average pick-up time is under two minutes.  

The first time I placed an order was for the chicken.  When ordering, the chicken price was originally purchased at $1.69 a lb.  (By the way, that is a KILLER price for this quality of boneless, skinless meat).


However, a few days after I had purchased, they sent me an e-mail saying that the prices had been lowered to $1.49.  So,  they actually credited my account for the difference - AFTER I had already picked up the meat, without me doing anything.

How many retailers do you know who would do that!?
Not many - I dare say.

I was so impressed that they had gotten a lower price, and were passing the savings on to me, instead of keeping the extra profit. What a class act! That impressed me so much that I knew as soon as other things were offered in my area I would be making another purchase.

The only down side to it is that you have to purchase in large quantities.

The Chicken and ground Beef come in 40 lb cases.  And the Bacon comes in a 30lb case. They will not break them up.  So, you have to agree to purchase the entire case.  But at that price it is a deal!

Basically, it is essential that you have a bit of time once you get home to repackage it and freeze it for later use. But for me that is not a problem at all. If you do not have enough freezer space you could consider splitting the case with a friend or your family. That way you can still take part in the deal but have less to store.

They have events offered all over the U.S.!

So go sign up now so that you can get in on these great deals!
Currently they are having a Ground beef event in the local Florida area. You can order between today and Friday evening the 28th and pick up is on the 2nd of November. 

And as a side note for any of our local friends... I would be willing to pick up your order.

I purchase from the Tampa location. (I am hoping that they will come to Lakeland soon, but for now I will go to Tampa to get it.)  So, if would like to get some, but you are unable to get to the location to pick it up I would be willing to do it for you and drop it by your place!

Zaycon Foods also offers produce, but at this time I have not been able to purchase any. But when I do I will let you know what I think of it.

Friday

Grocery Savings

Here is what was on my grocery list this week and the breakdown of savings.
This is what I got during last weeks sales at Publix. I was able to work out a great deal with a new coupon that came out late in the week. So I went on ahead and got a few more things that I had been thinking about getting earlier in the week. The total for everything would have been $31.29 and after sales and coupons I paid $3.07.
This is what I got.
20- Cups Publix Yogurt. sale price .40 each. No additional coupons used.
6- Suave Mens Shampoo and conditioners $2.19 I used 3 manufactures coupons for buy one get one and 1 manufactures coupon for .50 off 2 and 2 Publix coupons for $3.00 off 3 mens care products. Bringing the total for all 5 bottles to .07!
2- 1 liter Coke on sale for .99 each. I used a manufactures coupons for buy one get one free making them .49 each
3- 20oz coke $1.59 I used  manufactures coupons for free coke making them all FREE!
I was able to use a competitor store coupon for $5.00 off a $25.00 or more purchase making my total out of pocket only $3.07.
That is a total saving of 91%! not bad for a last minute trip to the store.

And here is what was on my list for this week!
4- DiGiorno Cheese $4.79 BOGO I use manufactures coupons for $2.00 off 1 making the .39 each
4- Tropicana Lemonaids $1.99 BOGO no other coupons used making the .99 each
4- Smart Balance Milk half gallon $3.00 I used manufactures coupons for $1.50 off each making them $1.50 each. or $3.00 a gallon. And that here that is cheaper than the regular milk.
5- lbs pears Sale price of .88per/lb total for all $4.32
1- 4lb bag Oranges $2.99 no other coupons used.
4- bags Nestles candies $8.49 BOGO used manufactures coupons for $1.40 off each making them $2.84 each
2- Jennie-O Ground Turkey. on sale for $2.99 each
4- Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal $3.49 BOGO used manufactures coupons for $1.10 off 2 making them $1.19 each
1- Honey Nut Cheerio on sale for $1.99 used a manufactures coupons for .75 off making it $1.24
6- Skippy Peanut Butter on sale for $1.99 used manufactures coupons for .60 off 2 and Publix store coupons for $1.00 off each making them .65 each.
I broke all this up into 3 different transactions so that i could use the competitor store coupon of $5.00 off a $25.00 or more purchase taking an additional $15.00 off the total. So before sales and coupons all this would have cost $135.31 and after I only paid $31.99. For a total saving of 87%
 If you have any questions just ask. I would be happy to help you work it out and help you start saving for your family.
Chris

Thursday

Saving money on new clothes!

Clothing our family on a budget has not always been an easy thing to do.
Thankfully, there are many strategies that can help make it more budget friendly. 

One of the ways came about unexpectedly... the mail! The other day I got a postcard in the mail from Kohls. Usually I do not shop at those department stores because I thought that they were too expensive. But boy has that perspective changed! With a bit of patience, and knowledge of working deals, you can really make a difference in your clothing budget.  Now it may not be the same for all department stores, but Kohls really has some great deals. On the postcard that I got it had a gift card for $10.00 off a $10.00 or more purchase.

Like this one.
Now when you read the fine print on the back of the card you will see that it says... 'can be combined with other discounts and offers'. So I also signed up for the Kohls e-mail list. And in doing that I get weekly e-mails from them.  Many times they have additional coupons that can be used. Some that I have gotten are...

  •  $10.00 of a $20.00 purchase
    Or 
  • 15% off entire purchase. 
So they are a great way to stretch that $10.00 gift card that I got in the mail.

Another way to stretch it is to look in the clearance sections of the store. Kohls usually has a large clearance sections so there can be fantastic deals to be had!
Here is what I got last time I got a gift card in the mail and my receipt to show the discounts.

I was able to get a pair of shorts for myself that were on clearance for $3.00 and a pair of underwear for 3.20.  And a  biking shirt for my daughter for $5.60.  The total that I ended up paying for all of it was only $1.93!

With this purchase I did not end up using any other coupons or discounts, other than the clearance prices, but I have in the past.

The great thing is that they keep sending me more! I thought that once I used the first one I would not get any more but that is not the case at all. I have no guarantee that they will continue to come but I will happily use the them for as long as I do.

I have been able to get several things for free and super cheap because of those cards. I have gotten 2 pairs of shorts, 2 underwear and a shirt for myself. 3 shirts for my daughters and a pair of convertible pants for my husband. We also got a super deal on a coat for my daughter that we will be giving her for Christmas.  For all of it my out of pocket has been well under $20.00.  Each time that I go, with the gift card in hand, I am never sure what I will get. But by looking over the clearance racks I can always come up with something that is needed.
I know that by only spending close to that $10.00 mark each time means that I can not get a completely new wardrobe for all of us. Or for that matter for one of us but  I can get us things that we all like and that can replace some more worn out pieces that are in our closets. Or be able to better afford the needed ones, like the biking shirt for my daughter!

So, go sign up for department stores mailing lists and e-mail lists. Read the fine print on all of the offers to see how, or if they can be combined and you never know what deals might come your way because of it!

Wednesday

Swagbucks - the Swag Buck Basics

Even if  you are filthy rich, you must be aware of the extreme methods Americans are using to save money right now.  Honestly, I have never seen anything like the current economic conditions, before, in my lifetime.  I do know that the Depression (of the 30's) was probably a very similar situation, but most of the people in the U.S. were too young to have ever experienced that.

Great Depression: man dressed in worn coat lyi...Image via Wikipedia
Our family is not immune to these circumstances, and we have implemented some pretty drastic measures in our food budget, our travel expenses, and in our recreation habits, to reduce costs.  Making these changes has had AMAZING results on our emotional well-being during all of this hardship.  Although I can't say that the world is warm and fuzzy for us right now, at least we have developed some tools to help keep costs lower.

Additionally, we found an added source of online earnings which we have been exploring for over a year now. This is not something that I would call extra income.  However, I would say it is a strategy that brings in added money for expenses you might not have afforded before.  If someone in your family isn't working, or finds themselves at home with internet access, this is an excellent boost for extra spending.  And, in fact, I have recently started using it at work as well.

What is this additional source of money I'm talking about?

It is an online service called Swagbucks.com.

Ok, Chris ...
What is Swagbucks?

Swagbucks is a search engine tool.  Just like Google.com, or Bing.com, or Ask.com.

However, unlike a typical search engine, you can also earn bucks for using the different tools at Swagbucks.com.


How to earn swagbucks?
The most basic part of Swagbucks is to use it as a search engine ... you search and you earn.  The more searches you do, the more bucks you can earn.  Additionally, you'll get 30 swagbucks just for starting up a new account.
Here's a sample search from their search engine.
When you do searches at Swagbucks.com, some of your searches earn you points.

Basically, they want you to do natural searches, like you would normally do on other sites. These points are called Swagbucks. Searching is essentially how you earn your Swagbucks points when you are first starting out. You can get banned for several hours, if you just keep searching, and searching, and searching, without actually visiting the sites you are searching. (I don't suggest this)  Instead, just use it to do normal searches whenever you might search something at home or work.


However there are many other ways for you to earn Swagbucks, as well.
  1. They also have Swagbucks Swag Codes.
    These are codes that they release throughout the day. When you find these Swag Codes, by following and hunting down clues, you can plug them in at Swagbucks.com and earn extra points.

    Typically there about 2-5 extra Swag Code hunts per day. You have to keep your eyes peeled for these, because they are like a treasure hunt giving you extra spending power everytime you find one.

  2. Additionally, if you ever buy or order sample products online, you may be able to earn extra Swagbucks for buying online. Up to now, I have not made any purchases through Swagbucks like this, but many people make their purchases this way, so they can earn those extra points.

  3. Printing and using coupons for different products, at local grocery stores.
    One strategy I use all the time, is printing out coupons on the Swagbucks site, and then redeeming them during my grocery shopping trips.  Those coupons eventually make it back to the Swag site, where I get bucks for each coupon I use.

  4. Also, you can earn swag bucks by using these features as well:
    Swagbucks TV - swag tv once in a while, Swag t.v is time consuming for very little bucks.
    Daily deals - I have used the daily deals a couple of times, To get the groupon and Living social deals that I bought. 
    Daily polls - daily polls is one I do every day, for one swag buck each day!
    Special offers - Special offers I only ever do the free ones
    Tasks - little jobs or projects you can sometimes qualify to do in order to earn some extra bucks.  

My Swagbucks Strategy:
I suggest using Swagbucks to search those sites you visit often -

  • Facebook 
  • Your email accounts 
  • The Speer Family blog 
  • Twitter (if you like that) 
  • Maybe Youtube. 
Just use this engine to find those sites, instead of going straight to them. For example, in the morning, I usually search my favorite sites until I get points. This is usually about 3-5 searches. Then, you can do the same in the evening. Of course, you can do more searches throughout your day - but this strategy makes it more reasonable for those with normal lives and jobs.  During the day, at work, I will use the search tool to look for zip codes, products, or customer locations I am working with at the time.


What exactly are swagbucks?
Over time, you earn 'bucks' for doing all of these different activities at Swagbucks.  These bucks can be traded in for actual prizes and gifts offered on the site.

Swagbucks prizes:
Over time you will earn more and more swag bucks. When you collect enough of them, you will be able to use them to trade in for high-quality gifts and prizes. This is why I call it 'extra earnings', and not income. In a way, it is extra money you are making. But the money comes via gift cards, gifts, or digital payments which you can then use to get what you want.

Last year, we used our points to pile up $5 Amazon gift cards.  We used the gift cards to buy things on Amazon, during their super low priced Christmas gift sales.  You can use these money cards for anything, though, including Christmas gifts, birthdays, special events, or for everyday purchase items.

For example, you can see in this photo that I have saved up 344 bucks towards my next prize. Currently, the $5 gift card takes about 450 swag bucks.
You can get a maximum of 5 - $5 Amazon gift cards per month.
I was able to get all 5 this month, plus I'm still collecting points.

Here are some other Swagbucks Prizes you can get:
As you can see ... there are LOTS of options.
  • Starbucks gift cards
  • Southwest Airlines gift cards
  • Paypal money deposits
  • Apple (store) gift cards
  • Target gift cards
  • iTunes store gift cards
  • Restaurant.com
  • Barnes & Noble
  • Lowes
  • Nintendo
  • REI
  • Bass Pro Shops


** ONE Super Important Note **
When we originally started with Swagbucks, they only allowed one account per household.
If you had more than one account, they would deactivate your account, and you would lose all the points you'd earned. As of this writing, Swagbucks is now allowing one account per person.  This means you can have more than one account per household.  
We opened our second account this month.  So far, both accounts are still open and active, and collecting bucks.  If this changes - I will re-post an update for you RIGHT HERE. 



Finally, I wanted to show you my proof, because many of my friends are asking ...
Does Swagbucks work?



Obviously we all are going to have different results, because no person will have exactly the same searching, buying, and time strategies. But, since I joined Swagbucks in January of last year, I earned well over $150 Amazon gift card dollars that Al and I used for Christmas gifts for the girls. Plus, we used some of our earnings from earlier this year, to help lower the cost on a laptop computer.


If you are at all interested in joining Swagbucks, and you have any questions, I'll be glad to talk with you about it. You can email me at Chris {at} ScrapbookRadio {dot} com.

Talk soon!
Chris
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