Get free paper towels

Oh, paper towels. The product this budgetologist has a love/hate relationship with. On the one hand, they are so necessary to clean spills and what have you. On the other hand, who wants to spend money on something that you use once and have to throw away?

Paper towels can get pricey too. Bounty and other brands can run you some serious cash. Of course, if you must buy them, it’s always better to buy in bulk like at Costco. I had a boyfriend who would only buy one role of paper towels at a time. It would piss this budgetologist off to no end! Like he wouldn’t be needing more after that role. What a waste of money $$$.

Gas stations almost always have paper towels outside. Simply pull up to a gas station and take as many as you’d like. FREE OF CHARGE. I figure, we pay gasoline companies billions of dollars, they can at least give us a few paper towels right?

Cheapest Solution to Body Odor

Let’s face it…it happens to everyone. You’re working out before work, nervous for a presentation, or just plain hot from the weather and you start sweating. Maybe there’s odor involved.

The problem is getting rid of body odor is expensive and often times flat out unaffordable. How many deodorants do you have to buy and go through before you find the right one? How many expensive perfumes do you have to get? And how many times do you have to spray them throughout the day?? It’s just.too.much.

This budgetologist has suffered with the two notions of smelling nice and living frugally for years, with seemingly no solutions in sight. That is, until I discovered an over-the-counter remedy to body odor that is cheap and very effective!

Apple cider vinegar is like a cheap-person’s dream. I use it for so many things. Face toner, appetite suppressant, conditioner. But most importantly, every morning I dab some under my armpits.

Take a cotton-ball, put the apple cider vinegar then just dab it under your arm pits.  (WARNING: DONT DO THIS AFTER YOU SHAVE! It will burn like holy hell!)

You can choose to put deodorant on afterwards but it’s not even necessary. The vinegar kills all the bacteria that cause B.O. and leaves you smelling pleasant all day. Just when you thought it wasn’t possible.

(P.S. the cheapest yet most efficient one I’ve found is the picture above, just click on it to buy it online).

♥ The Budgetologist

 

No Money? Get Lunch Free

I don’t know if you fools know this but this Budgetologist does not make a lot of money. Yes, I have a job in television that I love and yes maybe I could be a corporate sell-out and make more that way, but I just don’t wanna! So for the sake of full discretion I will tell you right now I make a few cents over minimum wage in my state, as of this January. What does that mean? That means a lot of times I’m broke-da-broke!

(Click on this picture to get to a FREE Costco app)

A membership to Costco costs over $50 a year and ain’t nobody got time for that. The problem: Costco samples are some of the best. You can get a quarter of a sandwich, mouthfuls of ravioli and all the mixed nuts you can ask for just in one sample tour.

(Click on the picture to get FREE Costco coupons!)

This is what I do almost every day — I go to Costco and eat the free samples WITHOUT a membership. But how do you get through the door with the security guards there? Well, I just say I’m getting lunch. Lunch at Costco is open to the public and you do not need to be a member. After that, I just walk through the aisles and get all the free samples I want while also getting some exercise (that place is huge!)

The sample ladies are usually very nice so you can take three crackers with chunky tuna on them and they won’t even mind. Eat enough to get full.

Once you’re in the store, is anyone really going to stop you and ask you for your membership? Uh, no. How would they even know? They wouldn’t. Go forth and eat samples!!

♥ The Budgetologist

Creative Free Baking Sheet

If there’s one thing this Budgetologist loves it’s pizza. I don’t know about you, but I can’t get enough pizza. Sometimes I’ll even splurge on my own box of pizza. (BTW cheapest whole box of pizza definitely goes to Costco).

What I always try to do is make the pizza into as many meals as possible. I can get eight meals out of one box sometimes if I practice the utmost willpower. But what about other ways to get use out of that money you already spent?

You can use the lid of the pizza box as a baking sheet! Simply rip it off!

A good way to recycle while not wasting money on a baking sheet or on cleaning a baking sheet is to use your pizza box covers.

Every pizza box comes with a little flippy lid. Instead of wasting all that cardboard and simply throwing it into the trash, reuse it, dammit! If you don’t have a baking sheet, you will save money on one. If you do have a baking sheet, you won’t have to wash it and can save money on using your water and dishwasher.

If you’re baking something messy, like ribs, throw the cardboard away right after you use it. But if it’s something not so messy you can even reuse the cardboard 2-3 times. This Budgetologist likes to think of it as frugal recycling or fru-cycling.

♥ The Budgetologist

The cheapest cleaning products to buy

You don’t need to be an extreme coupon to get handfuls of items for less than $5. You just have to be an efficient couponer! To give you an example, this budgetologist is going to  tell you about my shopping experience today at CVS.

CVS is a fantastic store why? Well, because you can SAVE A TON OF MONEY! And right now they’re having some pretty sweet deals on cleaning products.

So let me break down for you how JUST TODAY I bought 2 tubes of toothpaste, cleaning formula, dish soap and 4 sponges for only $2.28 out of pocket.

Here’s what happened: I had a coupon for $2 in extra bucks. I took that $2 coupon and I bought two tubes of toothpaste. Here is the brand:

Crest Pro Health with Whitening is on sale at CVS right now. Each tube is about $3.79 but when you buy two you get a $4 coupon in extra care bucks. See where I’m going here? So first I buy my toothpaste for a total of $6.15.

Ouch, ok that totally kinda hurt this budgetologist’s soul…it’s just too much…but bare with me little chickities because it’s about to get a lot better.

What I needed: cleaning products! So now that I had my four dollar coupon I was ready to take on the store like there was no frugal tomorrow.

I ran out of cleaner and really needed to get something with bleach in it. I chose Ajax with Bleach. Why? Because right now it’s only $0.99 yeeeeah less than a dolla dolla I’ll take it. (Click on the pic to find it online).

 

Something I was in desperate need of was dish washing soap. So I, again, reached for the Ajax. This time I got the Tropical Lime Twist because right now at CVS it’s on sale for only $0.77 a bottle. What?! I will spell it out…seventy-seven cents a bottle! You can’t even make DIY dish soap at home for that cheap. Unbelievable.

I would stock up like Costco on that shit if I were you. In this case, this budgetologist didn’t because, well, I didn’t want to spend the money and botch my sweet coupon deal I had going. Below is the bottle label to give you an idea of what to look for. Mine was a little skinnier than that one but hey, I’ll take it…practically for free too.

I also got four sponges. They were $1.99 meaning fifty cents each. I got them A.) because I needed them but B.) because I wasn’t at my $4 coupon limit yet so why not go a little nuts?

Okay, so my total turned out to be $4.28. I used the coupon for a total out-of-pocket cost to me of twenty-eight cents. Add that to the $2 out of pocket cost to me for the two tubes of toothpaste and my total for all my cleaning supplies for the next four months or so comes to: $2.28. I love it.

♥ The Budgetologist

The best cheap wine under $3

This budgetologist purposely stays away from expensive wines so that her taste buds don’t acquire a taste for it…and you should too! Less money spent on wine is more money in your wallet of course.

With that being said, this budgetologist also cringes every time she has to pay over $3 for wine. I strive to pay $2 every time I buy a bottle. And if you think about it, spending $4 on a bottle of wine is TWICE the amount I would normally pay. Paying $6 a bottle is THREE TIMES the amount I would normally pay! Ain’t nobody got time for that.

With that in mind this is the best wine you can get on the cheap. It’s Less than 3 dolla and honestly, if you have a Walmart by you, you can get it for less than two dolla!

Quail Oak is by far the cheapest and the best quality…way better than Charles Shaw. Charles Shaw tastes like dirt and everything bad in this world! Meanwhile, Quail Oak is epic!!

At the time of this blog post, the Quail Oak sweet red wine bottle at Walmart was only $1.96! Less than 2 dolla gets you a nice buzz for two days! (Half the bottle now, half later to save even more money!)

If I were you, I’d hit up Walmart TODAY to get these sweet red bottles of wine on the cheap. This budgetologist is definitely a cheap drunk, and always will be. Don’t waste your money on fancy wines…that’s a little pretentious.

♥ The Budgetologist 

Get Money Back Shopping At Target

Target is decently priced. You can probably get cheaper things at Walmart, but this budgetologist discovered a loophole in the system that might not make that so.

A loophole! In the SYSTEM! What a beautiful thing to save money and feel like a smooth operator at the same time.

If you buy something on target on sale, let’s say a dress was $20 but is on sale for $10, then when you get to the register you will pay the sale price, a receipt will be given and you will go on your merry way.

Now, if you wait until that dress is no longer on sale at target and then return it with the receipt and original credit or debit card you paid with, a loophole will become apparent. Target will have to give you back the full price of the dress and you will receive $20 instead of $10.

It’s a weird system they have but it’s required they give you back the price of the dress as it is now, not as it was when it was on sale. You can do this with virtually anything in the store and even make a profit with this method!

Check online to see what kind of temporary sales Target is having, buy said item…return it after the sale to get even more money back! Booyeah!

♥ The Budgetologist

Get Cans of Tuna for 87 Cents Each!

Right now, CVS is having an incredible sale. They are selling cans of tuna for only 87 cents. I don’t know about you, but this budgetologist can make a can of tuna into a meal and be full from it until it’s time for the next meal.

Want a cheap ass snack? Or perhaps, a whole lunch? Put some mustard and mayo in there and you’re set. (Get the mayo and mustard from the Cosco lunch stand if you don’t have any and don’t want to pay for it!)

Best of all, you might even be able to get the cans of tuna for free if you use a CVS card.

I had a $5 receipt coupon from CVS after a shopping day. I was able to buy 6 cans of tuna, and got my lunch for the week for free. Make sure to take advantage of these “Extra Bucks” to get free goodies. They’ll go a lot further for you the cheaper items you can get.

Is the tuna the highest quality? No! It’s under a dolla, yo! But…it will be enough for a meal and fill you up. This deal might not last forever, or maybe it will. This budgetologist didn’t check the details of that. Regardless, you’re going to want to hit up CVS right away to get tunalicious.

♥ The Budgetologist

Get Free Clothing Hangers Anytime With This Tip

If there’s one thing this budgetologist always needs more of it’s hangers. Mine disappear! I don’t know where they go. Luckily, there is a way to get free hangers anytime you want and it involves: KOHL’S!

I love Kohl’s. Have you seen their jewelry clearance section?? I get necklaces for $4 there. But there are two great things about Kohl’s you can use to your advantage: 1. They have a lenient return policy and 2. They let you keep the hangers.

See where I’m going with this? Do the following: Go to the Kohl’s CLOTHING clearance section. There you can find things for under $10. It doesn’t really matter what you buy. Buy 5 things, 10 things, whatever. Check out.

They will ask you if you want to keep your hangers. Say “yes! Absolutely without a doubt! Thank you very much!!” Then walk out of the store with your bag of junk and your free hangers.

You can then return the clothes the next day, next week, heck, even in the same hour if you feel like it. And the best part is, you don’t have to return the hangers with it. It’s not even expected you bring them at all!

You will get a full refund (as long as you have the receipt and the card you made the purchase with). Do this as many times as you need to for as many hangers as you need.

It might be a bit of a shlep to Kohl’s, but it will save you tens of dollars on hangers in the long run.

♥ The Budgetologist

Get Free Food At Any Fast Food Joint With This Secret

This budgetologist tells you how to get discounted products that will save you tons and help you maintain a frugal life…but let’s take it a step further now.

In an earlier post, I showed you how to get free drinks at any fast food joint with a simple secret.

Now that you’re on your way to becoming scientists in budgeting…or budgetologists…I’m going to teach you a simple secret that will allow you to get free fast food at any joint you want. It requires a little bit of digging, literally, but it’s worth it when you are seriously strapped for cash.

Step 1: Find some kind of fast food receipt. This can be your friend’s receipt, on the ground, from the garbage…where ever your  ego and dignity will allow you to search. Keep looking until you find a special order receipt. Something like “one burger, no pickles.” You can also just order a burger with no pickles and use that receipt, but it will cost you for the price of the first burger.

Step 2: Call the number on the receipt.

Step 3: Say something along these lines “hi, I came through your drive-thru today and ordered a burger with no pickles but mine had pickles and I’m allergic…can I get a new one?” They will say why yes, of course, come through the drive thru again and just present your receipt.

Step 4: Drive through the drive thru and give them the receipt. They will make you delicious fast food that you will get without paying a single dime.

Step 5: Repeat this to your heart’s desire. Just make sure you go to different fast food places so they don’t recognize you!

♥ The Budgetologist