The best way to get a discount? Ask for one!

The prices of many services seem like they're set in stone, and some very well may be. But if they aren't, a company isn't going to publicly announce that fact. You'll have to ask for a better price.

Case in point: May is car insurance month at my house. Instead of writing a check to our provider, we called around a few other places to ask what they'd charge for similar coverage. With that information, we went back to our provider and asked for a price match. The company didn't match the lowest price, but the agent did actively look for discounts that applied for us and lowered our bill $20. That's a win to me: $20 that stayed in my pocket and continued coverage from a company we've done business with for a long time.

The same principle applies when promotional rates expire. The special rate for my internet and cable service expired at the end of May. The company had sent a rather vague letter saying that when the promotional rate expired, they'd offer me another rate lower than the normal price but higher than what I was paying. But in the letter they never told me what the new rate would be.

When I got my statement, I saw the company increased my bill by $20. I called customer service and asked to speak to someone in the retention department. He outlined all my options. I took careful notes. Then I asked the key question: "Is that the best you can do?" In the end, I agreed to one of the plans he outlined, which will cost us only $3 more than our old deal and will last until May 2010.

The key to haggling is to not be intimidated. Companies want to keep your business. Your dollars help them stay in business, thus they're often willing to work with you as a customer to keep your business. And the worse thing anyone can tell you is "no." If they do... oh well. But they may very well say "yes" and drop the price or find some other way to work with you to improve your service.

Triple coupons at Harris Teeter this week!

Remember when triple coupons happened, oh, once every 2-4 months.

I'm glad that's a thing of the past!

Harris Teeter has ramped up the frequency to about once a month, and is tripling manufacturer's coupons all week starting today (offer ends 6/2). The grocer will triple up to 20 coupons with a face value of $.99 cents or less per day when you use your VIC card.

Utilizing triple coupon days is one of the best ways to get the most bang for your buck. Eggo waffles are on sale 3/$5 this week. That's a pretty good deal to begin with at $1.67 a box. But when you match that with the 75 cents off coupon that came out a few weeks ago, you'll save $2.25 ($.75x3=$2.25). That means free waffles!

But enough talk. Here's what you're really looking for: a list of great deals available this week.

Sort your coupons, check you cupboards and head to Harris Teeter. I'll probably see a few of you in the aisles. And feel free to come back by Love it for Less and let me know how much you saved!

You've got to know when to hold 'em - Part 2

If you're a new couponer, you'll see a recurring trend pretty early into your rookie season: Lots of coupons for a certain item or a line of products followed by store sales that lineup with those coupons.

It's not a coincidence. From a marketing standpoint, the purpose of a coupon is to encourage a consumer (ie: you) to buy a certain product. The same can be said for a sale. I, admittedly, don't know all the business sense behind it. But I do know it happens. Often.

Case in point: Kraft recently offered internet printable coupons on a bunch of sites. That was savvy on their part. With Memorial Day around the corner, people are thinking cookouts, and a lot of the coupons were for grilling staples.

Now, check the local sales circulars. See a trend? A lot of Kraft products are on sale this week, about a week or two after the internet coupons were made available.

Now to my point: This is a relatively common occurance, especially with new products companies would like you to try and love. If you need an item right away, by all means, buy buy buy. But if you can hold out a few weeks, wait to see if the items in question go on sale somewhere. They often will, and that means bigger savings for you.

You've got to know when to hold 'em - Part 1

Your coupons, that is.

There were some pretty awesome coupons in last Sunday's (5/17) paper. Especially the $2 of A-1 sauce coupon. My husband LOVES that stuff.

Apparently a lot of other folks do to. The A-1 section at Harris Teeter Monday had a serious dent in it. And if you needed A-1 for Monday night's dinner, then using that coupon was a great way to get some for less money.

But if you wanted some for, say a Fourth of July cookout, then you should have held onto your coupons a bit longer to see if you could pair it was a sale for even greater savings.

The key to holding is the coupon's expiration date. If it expires this week, go ahead and use it. But if you have a few weeks before it expires, hang on to it for a bit. I often do this with coupons that are worth $.99 or less hoping that a grocery store will have triples before it expires. That's a great way to get the biggest bang out of your buck. (If a store doesn't have triples or a good sale before the expiration date, then by all means, use the coupon. Some savings is better than no savings at all.)

And that A-1 coupon? That special sauce is on sale this week (5/20-27) at Lowe's Foods for $2.50/bottle. The A-1 marinade is on sale Buy One, Get One free (regular price $3.15 each; sale price $1.57 each). Sunday's $2 off coupon makes the marinade free (if you buy one bottle at half price) and the sauce just $.50 a pop. Now that's a price I can stock up on!

Swagbucks, how I love thee...

I earned 25 Swagbucks today! 25!

I'm a big Swagbucks fan on normal, 1-5 Buck days, but I'm super stoked about today's windfall. Those 25 Swagbucks put me more than halfway to the 45 bucks necessary to earn another $5 Amazon.com e-certificate. Just for searching vocabulary words I would have had to look up anyway.

For those who may not know, Swagbucks is a search engine powered by Google and Ask.com that randomly rewards you with Swagbucks when you do internet searches. The Swagbucks can be redeemed for a number of prizes. I always go for the Amazon.com e-certificates because, really, what can't you buy on Amazon.

Go Swagbucks!

Finding the sales on your front door or online

As the owner of a journalism degree, a former newspaper reporter and an overall news junkie, I think everyone should have a subscription to their local newspaper. All kinds of good stuff comes in the paper: investigations into how your tax dollars are being spent, coverage of nearby teams and events, witty insights on local customs.

And coupons. Don't forget about the coupons.

But -- due to the same credentials listed above -- I'm also a realist and keen observer. I know that many folks, including many of my friends, don't subscribe. That also means they don't get the Wednesday sales circulars telling them what's on sale at the grocery store or the Sunday circulars showing what's on sale at the drug store.

And that's a shame. How will you know what's on sale without a sales circular?

Well, you go online. Most stores post their sales papers online. Shoot, many retailers will email it to you if you sign up for their email alerts. Check the website of your favorite retail establishment and look for a link the says "weekly sales" or something similar.

Then save all your pennies from those great deals and buy a subscription to your local paper. Seriously.

Fresh (and frugal) strawberry goodness

My husband and I discovered a new love when we were planning our wedding last year: the fresh strawberry cake from Maxie B's, a local bakery.

My mouth waters just thinking about it. But at about $5 a slice, it's a very rare treat.

So when The Pioneer Woman Cooks! posted this recipe for Strawberry Shortcake Cake -- and I realized that all the ingredients were staples I already had in my cabinets -- I decided I had to give it a shot. If it was only half as good as Maxie B's version, I'd just eat two slices. ;)

Based on the reaction of our dinner guests, it was a success. My brother-in-law quickly claimed half of the cake to go back with him to his apartment.

Some of the ingredients are things I bought a while ago, but this is me we're talking about, so it's a pretty solid bet I bought them on sale or with a coupon. Probably both.

Let's see what I remember:

• The Gold Medal flour was $.99 from Harris Teeter's holiday baking sales.
• The Argo cornstarch was free during triples at Lowes Food.
• The sugar was super cheap during holiday baking sales.
• The vanilla is Aldi's store brand, but I just bought a new bottle of McCormick's at Harris Teeter during triples for when that one runs out (gotta love a stockpile!).
• The eggs were $1/dozen at Walmart.
• The powdered sugar was on a "we're no longer carrying this brand" clearance at Harris Teeter.
• The cream cheese wasn't on sale when I bought it -- but it is on sale this week at Harris Teeter 4/$5 (pair that with the Kraft printable coupons for Philadelphia cream cheese if they're still available for a great deal).
  
• The strawberries are a container I picked up on sale at Lowe's Food last week. I would have preferred some fresh picked ones from the Farmer's Market, but I was too lazy to get out of the bed yesterday and go...

Take into consideration the fact that I used just a fraction of the above ingredients for the cake, and I think I found a tasty and frugal alternative to Maxie B's. It may not be as pretty -- hey, I'm not a professional baker -- but it's not going to last that long at my house anyway!

Loving it for Less,
Lanita