I’ve hinted about it for days now, and finally here it is – your chance to win a $500 Walmart gift card!!!
Just in time to make your holidays a little happier, Nickelodeon and Walmart have teamed up to offer this fabulous contest hosted by the Elevenmoms.
Yep, that’s right – each Elevenmom is giving away one $500 gift card on her blog, so you have 20 chances to win! Find details on the Elevenmoms site on how you can enter to win each one. Please note that you may only win once.
So who wants to add $500 to their holiday budget? You didn’t really think I was going to make this EASY for you, did you? You’re going to have to work a little bit for a prize this big.
In light of the tough economic times, this contest is all about discovering new ways to help each other save money. Yesterday I wrote a post detailing seven easy ways to cut at least $1 from your budget per day in the hopes that it would inspire you to participate in The One Dollar Give. I only just scratched the surface though, and I know that you all have some amazing tips to share as well.
So there you go – holiday-themed or not, I want you to share your best methods for cutting back by at least $1 a day!
Methods of Entry*
Every reader can submit up to three (3) different tips to enter this contest. Choose one each of any combination of method one, two, or three for up to a total of 3 entries!!!
YOU MUST LEAVE A TIP WITH EACH ENTRY. ENTRIES THAT DO NOT FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES BELOW WILL BE DELETED.
1. Leave a comment sharing your best money-saving tip to cut at least $1 a day out of your budget!
2. Subscribe to my feed via RSS or email and leave a separate comment letting me know you have done so along with another money-saving tip. If you’re already a subscriber, simply leave a separate comment letting me know you’re already subscribed along with another money-saving tip. Lovin’ my subscribers! You guys make this all possible.
3. Spread the word about this contest in some manner and come back and leave a link in a separate comment along with another money-saving tip. If you have a blog, you can blog about it. But if you don’t have a blog, you’re not at a disadvantage. You could review and Stumble it. You could Twitter it. You could post about it in a forum. Use your imagination!
*Please read the rules for entering and the timeline information carefully as this contest differs from the usual giveaways that I host.
It is important that you leave a separate comment for each type of entry because each comment is equal to one entry. Sorry to harp on this, but it really is that important to tally and select the winner easily, so I thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me simplify the process!
Prize:
1 $500 Walmart Gift Card
This giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. EDT on Monday, December 15th. The judges will select ten of their favorite entries to be highlighted on Deal Seeking Mom, and I’ll use Random.org to select the winning comment. The winner will be posted on Tuesday, December 16th, and the prize will be mailed out on December 17th. Good luck!
While you’re in a contest entering mood, don’t forget to check out the Giveaway Gathering for a variety of contests being hosted on Deal Seeking Mom readers’ blogs!
Sara
I’ve started making my own yogurt. It may not save EVERYONE $1 a day, but we go through a ton of yogurt and I calculated that it’ll save us upwards of $2 a day.
Sara´s last blog post..Dollars and sense
Sandi R
I just subscribed sandibeek(at)gmail(dot)com
Tip#2 Save On Gas.
When the weather is nice you might be able to walk or ride your bike to work or on errands. Even with a baby you can walk and put your purchases in the stroller. If you live too far from work to walk, carpool with coworkers or even employees of other businesses near yours.
Going on a trip alone? Take along a college student! Whenever I head down to visit my sister (a three hour drive) I post an ad on the local university ride board. I usually have room for one or two students that want to go home for the weekend. By charging them $10 each I travel for free! To be safer, I usually only give rides to girls.
Keep your car in tip-top shape. Make sure your tires are properly inflated and balanced and that everything else on your car is working right. So many things affect gas mileage.
Don’t drive around needlessly. Don’t go clear across town and out of your way to save one cent on gas. Your car probably only holds 15 gallons, so the most you would save is 15 cents. How much are you wasting in your drive? Also, don’t drive in circles around the parking lot trying to get a good space. You will use far less gas by parking further away and walking to the store. While you are at the store, don’t waste money to try to save on gas. If the store offers 5 cents off per gallon when you spend $50 in groceries, don’t add a $3 item you don’t need just to reach the $50 mark. You are only going to save 75 cents at the pump!
By following all this advice you could save $1 a day, or more if you go on a lot of trips!
Sandi R
I just subscribed sandibeek(at)gmail(dot)com
Tip#2 Save On Gas.
When the weather is nice you might be able to walk or ride your bike to work or on errands. Even with a baby you can walk and put your purchases in the stroller. If you live too far from work to walk, carpool with coworkers or even employees of other businesses near yours.
Going on a trip alone? Take along a college student! Whenever I head down to visit my sister (a three hour drive) I post an ad on the local university ride board. I usually have room for one or two students that want to go home for the weekend. By charging them $10 each I travel for free! To be safer, I usually only give rides to girls.
Keep your car in tip-top shape. Make sure your tires are properly inflated and balanced and that everything else on your car is working right. So many things affect gas mileage.
Don’t drive around needlessly. Don’t go clear across town and out of your way to save one cent on gas. Your car probably only holds 15 gallons, so the most you would save is 15 cents. How much are you wasting in your drive? Also, don’t drive in circles around the parking lot trying to get a good space. You will use far less gas by parking further away and walking to the store. While you are at the store, don’t waste money to try to save on gas. If the store offers 5 cents off per gallon when you spend $50 in groceries, don’t add a $3 item you don’t need just to reach the $50 mark. You are only going to save 75 cents at the pump!
By following all this advice you could save $1 a day, or more if you go on a lot of trips!
Tracy
I grow lots of our food! This summer, we grew and harvested several gardens, and my food bill is so much less than before.
Tracy
Providencefarmacademy@hotmail dot com
Tracy
I grow lots of our food! This summer, we grew and harvested several gardens, and my food bill is so much less than before.
Tracy
Providencefarmacademy@hotmail dot com
Shaina
My money-saving tip #1: Buy in bulk and use it.
Buy the three-pound tube of hamburger for tacos and the value pack of soft tortilla shells. Make all of the meat and use the leftovers for easy enchiladas that can be rolled into those extra tortillas in a covered baking dish and frozen for up to 6 weeks. You’ll save money buying in bulk, save time preparing an extra dinner or two by doing it all at once, and you’ll have something to throw in the oven on a day you would have otherwise resorted to fast food.
Shaina
My money-saving tip #1: Buy in bulk and use it.
Buy the three-pound tube of hamburger for tacos and the value pack of soft tortilla shells. Make all of the meat and use the leftovers for easy enchiladas that can be rolled into those extra tortillas in a covered baking dish and frozen for up to 6 weeks. You’ll save money buying in bulk, save time preparing an extra dinner or two by doing it all at once, and you’ll have something to throw in the oven on a day you would have otherwise resorted to fast food.
Shaina
I’m a subscriber!
My money-saving tip #2: Be creative and make your holiday decorations
Whether it’s Thanksgiving, Christmas or Valentine’s Day, making is so much cheaper than purchasing when you use stuff you already have lying around the house. Get creative with stuff you already own.
For example, for Christmas my kids and I will be making sock snowman. To keep it cheap, we’re using old white ankle socks for the bodies (bleached to near-new white) and red and blue infant socks my four-month-old just outgrew for hats. We went through our scrap pile to get pieces of decorative ribbon for scarves and leftover buttons to sew on for their faces and on the bodies. If you don’t have cute colored buttons, just paint a few neutral ones in bright colors.
One thing we also do is keep our craft drawers stocked with the leftover scraps for just this reason. No need to buy rolls of ribbon for tiny 4″ pieces when we have them lying around from other crafts, kept off the tops of old gift baskets, etc. If you do buy something to complete your decoration, go for something like a red ribbon that can be reused when you’re making Valentine’s Day decorations and again for the 4th of July.
Not only will you save money, you’ll make memories with your kids or family members while you make them, and memories are worth more than the dollars you saved.
Shaina
I’m a subscriber!
My money-saving tip #2: Be creative and make your holiday decorations
Whether it’s Thanksgiving, Christmas or Valentine’s Day, making is so much cheaper than purchasing when you use stuff you already have lying around the house. Get creative with stuff you already own.
For example, for Christmas my kids and I will be making sock snowman. To keep it cheap, we’re using old white ankle socks for the bodies (bleached to near-new white) and red and blue infant socks my four-month-old just outgrew for hats. We went through our scrap pile to get pieces of decorative ribbon for scarves and leftover buttons to sew on for their faces and on the bodies. If you don’t have cute colored buttons, just paint a few neutral ones in bright colors.
One thing we also do is keep our craft drawers stocked with the leftover scraps for just this reason. No need to buy rolls of ribbon for tiny 4″ pieces when we have them lying around from other crafts, kept off the tops of old gift baskets, etc. If you do buy something to complete your decoration, go for something like a red ribbon that can be reused when you’re making Valentine’s Day decorations and again for the 4th of July.
Not only will you save money, you’ll make memories with your kids or family members while you make them, and memories are worth more than the dollars you saved.
Cindy B. in Montana
I’ve posted the giveaway on my blog…
https://thebabblingbrooks.typepad.com/the_babbling_brooks/2008/12/could-you-spend-500-at-walmart.html
Save a bundle by not using your clothes dryer! Sure, some things need to be put in the dryer, but many items can be hung on a clothes line in the sun to dry and they smell nice, too :) I have an old fashion accordian type wood drying rack that I use in my laundry room for many items in the winter!
Cindy B. in Montana´s last blog post..Grandma Cindy Went Pajama Shopping…
Cindy B. in Montana
I’ve posted the giveaway on my blog…
https://thebabblingbrooks.typepad.com/the_babbling_brooks/2008/12/could-you-spend-500-at-walmart.html
Save a bundle by not using your clothes dryer! Sure, some things need to be put in the dryer, but many items can be hung on a clothes line in the sun to dry and they smell nice, too :) I have an old fashion accordian type wood drying rack that I use in my laundry room for many items in the winter!
Cindy B. in Montana´s last blog post..Grandma Cindy Went Pajama Shopping…
Shaina
I added you to the Frogpond on BzzAgent.
My money-saving tip #3: Take advantage of a deal.
Tara is obviously well-versed in this area, and it can really help make your budget stretch that much farther, especially at the grocery store. You could, for example, look for coupons and sales to combine to buy multi-use items. In this case, my family went for a sale+coupon offer on a huge container of croissants.
We used the croissants for three separate meals:
1) Breakfast sandwiches with egg, cheese and ham for a Saturday brunch (late breakfast really)
2) Buns for chicken salad melts finished in the oven for an easy dinner
3) When they started to get dry, cut up, sprinkled with olive oil and dried herbs, toasted in the oven and used as croutons on a family salad night
We saved by combining both a sale and a coupon, purchasing in bulk and utilizing the croissants on three separate occasions where we could have purchased other bread products and spent two to three times as much.
Shaina
I added you to the Frogpond on BzzAgent.
My money-saving tip #3: Take advantage of a deal.
Tara is obviously well-versed in this area, and it can really help make your budget stretch that much farther, especially at the grocery store. You could, for example, look for coupons and sales to combine to buy multi-use items. In this case, my family went for a sale+coupon offer on a huge container of croissants.
We used the croissants for three separate meals:
1) Breakfast sandwiches with egg, cheese and ham for a Saturday brunch (late breakfast really)
2) Buns for chicken salad melts finished in the oven for an easy dinner
3) When they started to get dry, cut up, sprinkled with olive oil and dried herbs, toasted in the oven and used as croutons on a family salad night
We saved by combining both a sale and a coupon, purchasing in bulk and utilizing the croissants on three separate occasions where we could have purchased other bread products and spent two to three times as much.
maryanne
I go to the library and use free redbox codes for entertainment.
maryanne
I go to the library and use free redbox codes for entertainment.
Nikki
We have a wood burning stove that we use in the winter to heat the entire house. Rather than spend the money on Electric for the furnace to run and Oil for propane (what our house is normally heated by), we use wood to heat the house and only run the fan on the furnace. We don’t incur a cost for oil at at all this way as usually we fill up our propane tank once every other year and that sustains us with no problems and even when it’s bitter cold, I can have my house to a comfortable 75 degrees inside and save over $400 or more every year on propane.
Nikki´s last blog post..The Struggles of the Heart
Nikki
We have a wood burning stove that we use in the winter to heat the entire house. Rather than spend the money on Electric for the furnace to run and Oil for propane (what our house is normally heated by), we use wood to heat the house and only run the fan on the furnace. We don’t incur a cost for oil at at all this way as usually we fill up our propane tank once every other year and that sustains us with no problems and even when it’s bitter cold, I can have my house to a comfortable 75 degrees inside and save over $400 or more every year on propane.
Nikki´s last blog post..The Struggles of the Heart
Wendy
I pack lunches for my 3 boys instead of paying $3 per day for each lunch at school!! We do make exceptions for pizza day;)
Wendy
I pack lunches for my 3 boys instead of paying $3 per day for each lunch at school!! We do make exceptions for pizza day;)
Dawn
There are so many ways I am saving money this holiday. First and foremost, following your website! I am new to using coupons, and also budgeting. I am amazed at the deals I am now getting and love to see the amount “SAVED” on the bottom of my receipts.
Tip: Instead of exchanging gifts with all my friends and going out to dinner we are having a potluck ornament exchange. That saved me a lot of $$ there. Also, setting spending limits on gifts and actually sticking to them. Yay for Black Friday, as I was able to nab many gifts at doorbuster pricing.
Good luck and Happy Saving for the Holidays & Everyday!
Dawn
There are so many ways I am saving money this holiday. First and foremost, following your website! I am new to using coupons, and also budgeting. I am amazed at the deals I am now getting and love to see the amount “SAVED” on the bottom of my receipts.
Tip: Instead of exchanging gifts with all my friends and going out to dinner we are having a potluck ornament exchange. That saved me a lot of $$ there. Also, setting spending limits on gifts and actually sticking to them. Yay for Black Friday, as I was able to nab many gifts at doorbuster pricing.
Good luck and Happy Saving for the Holidays & Everyday!
Kelli T
Money saving tip: Instead of buying a fancy diaper pail with expensive refill bags, use a small step trash can and use plastic grocery bags. Not only does a smaller can take up less space, it is a great way to reuse plastic bags. Another use for plastic grocery bags – doggy pick up bags.
Kelli T
Money saving tip: Instead of buying a fancy diaper pail with expensive refill bags, use a small step trash can and use plastic grocery bags. Not only does a smaller can take up less space, it is a great way to reuse plastic bags. Another use for plastic grocery bags – doggy pick up bags.
bek
Here is my tip -especially applicable to the christmas season: I set amounts for each and every person i have to buy for, before i start thinking of gifts or looking for gifts. this way i’m not tempted to spend more on a person then i really have to spend. and it helps me narrow down to what kind of gifts i can actually afford!!!!
bek
Here is my tip -especially applicable to the christmas season: I set amounts for each and every person i have to buy for, before i start thinking of gifts or looking for gifts. this way i’m not tempted to spend more on a person then i really have to spend. and it helps me narrow down to what kind of gifts i can actually afford!!!!
Jeanine
I am already subscribed :) and I love it here. thanks !
Jeanine in Florida
Jeanine
I am already subscribed :) and I love it here. thanks !
Jeanine in Florida
Jeanine
My tip is to walk down the wine aisle at your local grocery store . Look for “wine tags” hanging around the wine bottles. I find alot of “tags” that are coupons that are for grocery items like cheese , meat, eggs , etc that do NOT require that you buy the wine !!!!
For example – If the coupon is for $3 off seafood , and I find 4 coupons – then I will get 4 bags of shrimp that are just over $3 for free.
Jeanine
My tip is to walk down the wine aisle at your local grocery store . Look for “wine tags” hanging around the wine bottles. I find alot of “tags” that are coupons that are for grocery items like cheese , meat, eggs , etc that do NOT require that you buy the wine !!!!
For example – If the coupon is for $3 off seafood , and I find 4 coupons – then I will get 4 bags of shrimp that are just over $3 for free.
KellyH
We wear our clothes, esp. our jeans, more than one day. I also hate to use the dryer. I hang clothes outside as much as possible. Yesterday it was 25 here in Illinois, but the sun was out and a breeze. I hung out towels and bedding. If not outside, I have three wooden dry racks for jeans (I never dry them), sweaters, shirts I don’t want to shrink, bath towels, etc.
I posted at https://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=12255827#post12255827
KellyH
[email protected]