Local Deals Abound for Veterans Day

Local businesses salute our service men and women with special deals year-round as well as on Veterans Day.

A number of local businesses are saluting veterans, military service men and women, and their families this Veterans Day by offering local discounts, specials and promotions. Here's a quick guide to many of these great deals to be found on Veterans Day in the area: For military service men and women only: THE DISH: more Secret Discounts! Remember, the whole point of Veterans Day to thank and remember our troops and November is Military Family Month. Thank you to our troops and their families for your service, and thanks to all of the local businesses and Newport County Chamber of Commerce for supporting our troops and their families!

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Extreme Couponing Films in Norton Roche Bros. [VIDEO]

"Couponator" Judy pulls away with the win.

On Oct. 25 in the Roche Bros. Supermarket located in Norton, Connecticut's "Couponator" Judy faced "Sister-Save-A-Lot" Antoinette of Chicago in a couponing battle called "Extreme Couponing All-Stars," which aired on TLC 10:30 p.m. Jan. 3. In "Extreme Couponing All-Stars," 12 couponers compete to see who can save more. Whoever has the highest percentage of savings is named the winner of the round. There are several rules to determine the winner including a shopping time limit of 30 minutes, spending at least $500 retail before bonus card and/or in store savings and not paying full price for anything. Judy carted away her winnings, earning a personal best of 95.9 percent savings. Her total retail cost was $584.88 while only coughing up $24.…

MUSINGS ON MOTHERHOOD

Frugal Family: When It Pays To Complain – Part 2

Letting companies know how you feel pays

Last week I told you that it can be worth your time to let companies know how you feel about their products. I outlined several questions to ask yourself before contacting the company. This week I will tell you how to properly go about doing so. Please remember that when you call or email the company to be pleasant and professional. The person on the other end didn’t make the product, they’re just customer service. Remember these tips when you call or e-mail: Usually the company will mail you a coupon for a replacement product, and you can ask if they will also mail some cents-off coupons on future purchases as well. Some companies will mail you a replacement product or comparable item. I had Barbara’s Cereals and Annie’s mail me a box of …

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MUSINGS ON MOTHERHOOD

Frugal Family: Simple Changes to Save Yourself Some Money

Spring is coming, so make some changes in your routine!

Even though a few snowflakes came down this week, change is in the air. We’ve seen the robins bobbin’ in the yard, announcing springs arrival. Here are a few simple changes that you can make in your like that can really add up to some savings and maybe even your sanity! 1. Make your coffee or tea at home. This is a major cost savings – at $1.89 for a medium cup of Joe at Dunkin’ versus that same price for a small can of coffee on sale = $491 savings per year! And just think of the sanity savings…no waiting in line at the drive-thru, and then getting aggravated when they make it wrong. You’ll make it the way you like it every time! 2. Buy frozen versus fast food -- avoid another drive-thru and head to your microwave instead. In our fast-…

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MUSINGS ON MOTHERHOOD

Frugal Family: My Family’s $.49 Day

How to have fun on a shoestring.

In my never-ending quest to save money, I will share with Patch Readers the story of how I filled a summer vacation day full of fun for my four children. You can put these tips into action for this week’s school vacation! The day started with a free movie at Showcase Cinemas in Randolph. They were showing previously run movies, but who cares – they’re kid movies on the big screen! Bring your big purse and fill with snacks so you don’t have to buy the overpriced concession items at the theatre. Cost: $-0- Next stop was Ryan’s Amusements for bowling to use the gift certificate one of the kids won as a prize in the reading program at the library. Cost: $-0- Look for discount coupons for $.99 games of bowling in the ValPak coupons that come in…

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MUSINGS ON MOTHERHOOD

Food Shopping Part II: Couponing 101

Break out those scissors and save some money.

One of the easiest ways to save money is to study area grocery flyers, clip coupons and make a shopping list. I usually pick the store that has the best sale that week for what I need. If I feel real ambitious I will stop by each store when I'm driving that way, and just pick up the sale items. Your list has the items you need, and items on sale that you could buy a few extra of to restock your pantry or freezer. You also have an envelope with your coupons with an index card separating them by category. Write on the front of each index card what the category is, i.e. toiletries, frozen foods, meats, etc. To save time in the store, as you write out your shopping list, have your coupon envelope nearby. You might remember cutting out a coupon…

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MUSINGS ON MOTHERHOOD

Saving Money - Food Shopping

Save your hard earned cash for toys this holiday.

I love the holidays! I just hate all the work you have to do for them. I long for the days when all I had to do was go to my grandmother's for Thanksgiving dinner. This past week has been a blur of cooking, cleaning, travel and more cooking. As if one Thanksgiving feast wasn't enough, we had to have two. I'm always looking to save money, especially on food - which goes very fast in our family of six. Here is some helpful money saving tips for your food shopping this holiday season. Coupons are dollar bills in your pocket. Would you throw away George Washington? I'm so cheap, I pick up loose change in the parking lot. Spend the $2 to $4 on your local Sunday newspaper to get the manufacturers coupon inserts (except on holiday weekends). Don'…

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