Sarah Roe

Walmart – Unadvertised Mar 29 – Apr 4

March 30, 2015 By Sarah Roe Leave a Comment

Check out this week’s Walmart sales and coupons below:

Dollar General – Dollar General Mar 29 – Apr 4

March 30, 2015 By Sarah Roe Leave a Comment

Don’t miss out on this week’s Dollar General deals and steals:

Click here to see the complete list

Cotton Candy Funfetti Trifle

March 30, 2015 By Sarah Roe Leave a Comment

Easter is almost here and I’m sure many of you are searching Pinterest like crazy for some fun deserts well, here’s a great one for you! I recently saw Pillsbury started making a gluten free version of Funfetti cake mix which is just flat out amazing if you’re able to find it! Otherwise, you can substitute it for a gluten free cake mix if you’d like and add sprinkles. I don’t do a lot of desserts but I think I could make an exception for this one!

Cotton Candy Funfetti Trifle

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook: 12 minutes

Total: 27 minutes

Servings: 8 (4” across trifle) to 16 (2” across trifle)

Funfetti Ingredients (as per box)

1 Box (15.25oz) Pillsbury Funfetti Cake Mix
1 Cup Water
1/3 Cup Oil
3 Whole Eggs

Icing (as per box)

1 Box (7.2ox) Betty Crocker Home Style Fluffy White Frosting Mix
½ Cup Boiling Water

Decoration

1 Pkg. Cotton Candy (Used here: Pastel Colors)
1 Cup M&Ms – Bunny Mix (Used here: M&M Bunny Mix in Pastel Colors)
½ Cup Sprinkles (Used here: Easter Shapes in Pastel Colors)

Instructions

Note: Please note that some of the instructions below were taken from the Funfetti Cake Mix and Betty Crocker Fluffy Icing box instructions.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray large, thin pan with non-stick cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, blend cake mixture, water, oil and eggs. I highly recommend using a Cuisinart or KitchenAid mixer for maximum results. Mix until moistened. Beat with mixer for 2 minutes on medium speed.

3. Pour a thin layer (about 1 inch) of cake mix into your large, thin pan (you may need 2 pans for all of the mixture). Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 10-12 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean.

4. Set aside and let cool for 10-15 minutes.

5. Boil ½ cup water. Beat frosting mixture in a small bowl (metal or glass) and slowly add water while mixing on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on high speed for 5 to 7 minutes.

6. Take any size circular glass trifle dish (I recommend anywhere from 2” across to 4” across) and place upside down onto cake pan. Press down firmly and twist – cutting out a perfect size circle for your dish. Do this 2 to 3 times, depending on the height of your dish and your preference. Once you have your desired cake layers, start building!

7. First, add a cake layer to the base of the dish. Next, add a layer of fluffy frosting. Add a thin layer of cotton candy. Finally, add M&Ms. Repeat this process until you have reached your desired height.

Top your dessert with a final layer of fluffy frosting, twisting your spatula in the center to create a swirl. Add Easter sprinkles for the perfect Easter celebration!

6 Things Worth Haggling Over (Part 2)

March 29, 2015 By Sarah Roe Leave a Comment

Want the best deals? Then, sometimes you HAVE to negotiate. Check out yesterday’s post, 6 Things Worth Haggling Over and check out the post below, you’ll never miss a deal opportunity again.

6 Things Worth Haggling Over

4. Personal Services – Always negotiate prices on yard work, handyman services, house cleaning, anything you are paying an individual to do at your house! Just don’t be too hard on the teenage babysitter that lives next door! Seriously, these service providers expect you to negotiate and will usually mark up their prices expecting to come down.

You don’t want to be the one that pleasantly surprises them by just paying the first price they offer. Make sure you are very specific as to what services will be performed as it is always more expensive to go back and add work in the middle of a job!

5. Buying Multiple Items – This may not work at Wal-Mart or Target, but it will work at almost any furniture, electronics (even at Best Buy), jewelry, or similar type store. The idea is that the more you are buying, the lower the prices will be. Most of these stores have high enough markups that they can discount significantly and they will IF you ask!

Pick out all the items that you are planning to purchase then, ask for their best price. After that, offer 10% less. Or ask them to throw in all the expensive cords you need to hook that new Blu-ray up to the new television.

Best Buy has predefined programs where floor reps can add in all items being purchased and the registers will come up with a package price, often a discount of 10% of more. Make sure you get all the extras such as cords, remotes, surge protectors and the like put together before they package it as these extras often will have the highest discounts!

6. Medical Bills – Hospital stays, physician services outside of normal office visits, these bills can kill a family budget and drain saving accounts very quickly. But you should know that there are ways to stretch out and reduce the amount of these bills so that you don’t blow your budget and can maintain an emergency fund.

Here’s my strategy: Wait for insurance to pay their part and then wait for the final bill with amount you owe after insurance, only then call and talk to billing department. They almost always can offer a discount for setting up a payment plan if you are making a first payment right away and an even larger discount if you will pay the entire amount right away.

Don’t agree to more than you can afford. Also, be sure to call back every few months and try to negotiate it down further. As long as you are making payments on time, they will normally continue to work with you to pay off your bills without killing your budget. Don’t put these charges on your credit card. Most of the time the payment plans worked out with the medical provider will not be charging interest, but your credit card will!

I hope these tips have helped you, be sure to share your negotiating tips too!

6 Things Worth Haggling Over (Part 1)

March 29, 2015 By Sarah Roe Leave a Comment

There is a time to haggle and a time to just pay, do you know the difference? This is the first part of the series, 6 Things Worth Haggling Over and I promise, a few of these items will shock you! You’ll never miss a deal again!

6 Things Worth Haggling Over (Part 1)

1. Hotel Rooms – Hotels have a unique problem, if they don’t sell a room on a given night, it is gone. So, they will often discount deeply at the last minute if they have unsold rooms. Try naming your own price at Priceline.com the day of your stay, but be prepared, you can specify the star quality and general location, but can’t pick the specific hotel. However, you can get some great deals this way.

If you must stay at a particular hotel, try calling and asking for a special rate. Get the details of the room or you may end up staying in the living room of a suite without having the bedroom, sleeping on a couch at a great rate! True story.

2. Garage Sales – Very few people having a garage sale expect you to pay the marked price on anything! They may have a sentimental dresser from grandma that they don’t really want to sell and won’t negotiate from that high price, but for most things I’d take the following strategy: Gather up everything that interests you, add up the prices and go up to the owner and offer 50% to 75% of that total.

The more you are buying and the later in the day it is, the more they are likely to take your offer. They might counter a little bit higher, but still far below the marked prices. Remember, at the end of the day, they DON’T want to be carrying that stuff back in their house!

3. Cars – Most people know you have to negotiate the price of a car, but what’s the best strategy to get the best deal? My strategy is to go to a reputable website like Edmunds.com for the True Market Value or KBB.com and get the Fair Purchase Price.

These are averages that customers are actually paying in your area for a given make and model, make this the highest price you will pay. Then, talk to at least two dealers and let them know the prices that the other is offering.

They can usually go lower if they have a target to beat. Don’t be afraid to go to a lower trim level of a car and add the features you want rather than paying for a higher trim level and paying for features you don’t want. Be specific with the dealer and remember, they can search the inventory to find the exact car you won’t and it doesn’t have to break the bank!

Want more deals? Be sure to check out Part 2 of 6 Things Worth Haggling Over tomorrow!