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Moms Talk Q&A: Shopping Tricks and Tips

Every parent has their shopping tricks and tips, learn some from our Moms Council, and why not share yours?

Moms Talk is a place to drop in to talk about the latest parenting hot topic or basic questions about your kids. Be sure to send suggestions for a Moms Talk topic or questions to steven.bartholow@patch.com.

Living in a capitalist society means we all have to shop- for food, clothes, toiletries, entertainment, etc. Some people love to shop, and others simply hate it. But no matter what side of the aisle you fall on, there's a way to save money when acquiring life's needs and wants.

The Santee Moms Council discusses some Santee-centric shopping tips and tricks they've learned over the years, please join in and leave some of your own tips:

(to see the longer version of this contribution go ):

In today’s economy, we need all the resources we can find to save money.  The Internet can be your new best friend in saving money. All you need to do is go on your search engine, whether it is Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. and search for the store or stores you plan on shopping at.

If you plan on shopping at Kohls, type in “Kohl's coupons, Kohl's coupons 2011, Kohl's printable coupons, and Kohl's online coupon code.” You will come up with several sites, so read the brief description before opening the site, to make sure it would work for you. Please use caution opening up sites, and make sure that your server and anti-virus programs indicate it is safe. 

If you enter a site that requires information such as your name, address or other personal information, avoid these sites. If the site requires membership, especially a fee for membership, avoid these sites. There are plenty of sites, where you just simply print off the coupon or they provide coupon codes, which are safe.  Please read the restriction on the coupons and expiration dates, this will save you embarrassment and time.

I have used this method for shopping in Santee and rarely pay full price for anything. Why pay full price, when all it takes is a computer, Internet and a printer? Happy Saving!

:

I am practically a professional shopper- I love to find a good deal! It's something my mom passed on to me. 

When it comes to things for the house or even clothing I really try clearance. I love to decorate for each holiday. I will wait till things go on clearance so I can use it the following year. Always check out a thrift store when thinking of redecorating! You can get such a cute chic look for a fraction of the cost!  

For clothes, if I see something cute for my son (19 months old) but know the weather isn't right for it now, I will buy it in a large size so he can wear it later. There is nothing wrong with not paying full price for something that your kids is going to grow out of quickly and, more likely than not, ruin it before that!

I love a good sale- puts on some good ones and you can even get on a email or text notice for many stores now. has a good program now of getting 5% off of your purchase when you use your target card. Target also takes a little off when you bring your reusable bags instead of using plastic!

When it comes to groceries, a lot of the store brands are as good as the name brands. I suggest clipping Sunday coupons and looking for things on sale. Many times when done right, you will save more then you spend! Always look at the store ads on Tuesdays that come in the mail. Many stores will team up with the manufactures and do sales to go with the coupons. Once a month has an eight hour sale so that you can stock up on certain items.

For electronics, many things go on sale around and also around the end of summer just before the new school year starts. And car dealerships have some good deals in the summer and again at the end of the year when trying to clear space for the new models.

Jodi:

Keeping it simple-

• Buy pantry items (toilet paper, pasta, detergent, etc.) when on sale--beyond what you might need at the time.

• Buy out of season clothes 1-2 sizes larger to allow children to grow into them.

• Shop consignment stores, especially for seasonal clothes--holiday dresses, coats, etc. in Santee has some great children's clothes.

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Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
Steven Bartholow (Editor) May 16, 2013 at 03:53 pm
Thanks for posting this. I also added this to our events list. In the future I suggest posting anRead More announcement and event for maximum exposure- http://santee.patch.com/posts/event/new Good luck with the fundraiser!
RainWaterSystems May 17, 2013 at 10:58 am
That's awesome! We wish you success and recovery. We suggest two books; A Purpose Driven Life byRead More Rick Warren and Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill. I hope to be in a position to hire a salesman this fall.
Steven Bartholow (Editor) May 16, 2013 at 10:34 am
Anyone else recommend a Santee family owned business that's outside the city?
Retha Knight May 17, 2013 at 11:05 pm
Where do you type what you want to view, like "Quail Brush"?
Steven Bartholow (Editor) May 17, 2013 at 10:01 am
No drop down menus, just click the header links for more options. For story categories click newsRead More and look on the left hand column. I know the redesign will take a bit to get used to, but I really think it will be a better site for community engagement, and easier to use. Feel free to post your feedback to the redesign on the boards, I'll check it out and respond, but you might also send your feedback straight to Patch headquarters with this form- http://feedback.aol.com/rs/rs.php?sid=patch Engineers will be furiously tweeking the new site based on your suggestions.
Retha Knight May 17, 2013 at 06:40 am
The new format from my iPad is very boring. Where are the drop down menus?
Mike Walker April 23, 2013 at 01:20 pm
this is why the battlefield has changed temporarily from the political arena to the Energy Arena.Read More Co Gen Tricks and the usual suspects are making their big money bet on two inevitable facts that will force the hand of the CPUC and CEC to place a new gas power plant somewhere in the area. 1) the Electric Vehicle Mandate. 2) voltage support (power factor) needed by the industrial wind and solar farms in the desert. There is more to what meets the eye with the aggressive push by the usual suspects to cover our open spaces in the East County with these poorly sited RE projects. More wind and solar farms means more gas power plants. There is only one way to fight the destruction of our open spaces, and that is with roof top solar, conservation, energy efficiency and community owned energy districts. The fisrt thing that needs to be done is the City of Santee exempt residential scale PV installs from needing a building permit. Australia, Germany and the State of Vermont do not require a Building Permit to install PV.
Retha Knight April 23, 2013 at 03:48 am
Well said Stephen! Knowledge is TRULY power! The fight is not over! Cogentrix is just onceRead More again playing their wait, wait, wait game in the public eye and playing their lobbying game behind closed doors.
just my opinion April 22, 2013 at 01:04 am
Stephen, well said!!!!!