Giving away stuff or service for may seem like counterproductive at the first sight but dig a little deep and you’ll find how it works in your favor.

As soon as you start selling something a product or a service you’ll be amazed by the number of people asking for a free trial or sample sometimes as if its their birthright. People asking such favor are generally bloggers who review products, charitable trusts and even simply buyers that are willing to give you a try in the future and dont feel hesitant while for a free of cost favor.

I as a journalist and a writer face this cross road more often and to decide whether or not to is almost always tough. Its people where the sales lie, its at my own expense that i have to squeez out time and energy for it.  A good idea is to determine when and when not to give away a free sample. Don’t decide to never let a person get a free sample out of you nor begin giving away to every single request. There is balance that can be achieved to get the most out of handing out the free samples and stuff. Try asking yourself these four questions that’ll help you decide.

Are you in a position to afford it?

The primary most important question to ask here is whether you can bear the cost of the give-away. If it doesn’t seem like don’t do it even if someone is making you an offer to be a great customer in the future. Unless of course you have some sort of agreement supporting the statements.

What is the equivalent that you get in return?

This consideration is important as you can always think of some item or service against the sample you offer to someone if money is not what you are going to get. For example bakery goods supplied free of cost to the school bake sale stall can get in return a prominently hanged banner with the name of the bakery on it.

Will it help your product or service get a better exposure?

This one is different from the banner at the school fair. The bloggers and product reviewers are referred to in this question. As far as your research indicates that the blogger target the right audiences at any level in comparison your product or service it is a good idea to hand him/her a free sample. The attempt is worth a shot to provide the blogger an opportunity to review if a request is made from his/her side.

Just don’t be too eager to send every blogger a sample. One that shows greater interest will prove to be a great choice. One with good data to show you the access to right audience can also be a good candidate.

 What if it is a morally appropriate thing to do?

As far as you can say yes to the first question here on the list it is completely okay to support a good cause or help someone in need. Just don’t dive in all the way with supporting all the good causes or else you probably will run dry. Pick out a few and stick with them.

A great thing about shopping online is that you can get all of your presents gift wrapped before they are delivered at your door steps. A lot of retailers even send a free card with them as well. You don’t have to deal with any of the time consuming activities for wrapping the gifts. Save your $7 and your precious time by ordering an already wrapped gift from one of these 19 dealers who offer free gift wrapping services during the holiday season.

1- Tiffanys
Tiffanys offer a free gift wrapping for all of their jewelry purchases with a blue box and a red or white ribbon that you can choose from.

2- What She Buys
This retailer also offers free gift wraps with all of their clothing, shoes and other accessories. You get a silver wrapping paper with a burgundy ribbon during the Christmas season.

3- Travel Smith
Travel Smith offers free gift wrapping on all of their clothing and other accessories.

4- Crystal Classics
One of the top retailers for crystal glassware also offer free gift wrapping with 5 different designs of wrapping papers to choose from.

5- Big Smile Toys
A specialty toy store offers cute gifting wrapping for free.

6- Books ‘N’ More
This renown bookstore also offers free gift wrapping during holidays.

7- Bytes ‘n Grins
This retailer offers a lot of gift item such as stocking suffers with free gift wrapping.

8- The Corner Stork
They offer free gift wrapping for all baby product purchase over $50.

9- Raymond Jewelers
You can get all of the jewelry that you buy from this store gift wrapped from 3 different wrapping papers of your choice.

10- The Backyard Bird Company
You can use the code “Free Gift Wrapping” while checking out and they will send you the bird feeder gift wrapped for free.

11- Pretty Baby Gifts
You can get all pretty baby gifts gift wrapped for free by this retailer.

12- Great South Gems & Minerals
This retailer offers a variety of gems and mineral products that you can get gift wrapped for free.

13- L’Occitane
Choose a gift from a variety of health and beauty products and get it gift wrapped for free.

14- Team Beachbody
You can click on the Holiday Special Tab and get a lot of different exercise kits gift wrapped for free.

15- Origins
They offer free gift wrapping on all of their health and beauty products and you also get to choose whether you want to get them gift wrapped individually or altogether.

16- Free Fragrances & Cosmetics
Get the perfume gift wrapped for free to make it more appealing of a gift

17- Mary Frances
Choose from a variety of purses for women and get them gift wrapped for free.

18- Willow Tree Press
Nothing is better than a book for a gift. A free gift wrapped book maybe.

19- Biagio
Choose from a variety of beautiful jewelry this retailer has to offer and get it gift wrapped for free.

Money saving is an important thing. The amount of money you save is directly proportional to the amount you spend – It’s a given. And the more you save, it will be easier to get rid of your debts and once you are free of all the debts then you can start actually saving and accumulate your assets. While it is very essential to be wise in terms of your finances, a lot of people don’t like saving money because of the fact that they have to lose something that they love in return. If same is the case with you then you can follow up the below mentioned tips to save wisely without giving up on things that you cherish.

1- How to Save Money on a Mortgage
Start with saving up on your mortgage. For a lot of us, a mortgage is a scary phenomenon which can terrorize even the smartest and the strongest ones of us. I have a good news for you that It isn’t that hard to get rid of it as many of us think. In case you didn’t know, you can get rid of your mortgage in double-quick time. As soon as you get rid of your mortgage only then are you able to start saving for a longer run.
       Just switching onto a cheaper mortgage deal can help you save thousands per year. We recommend that you set a meeting with a professional mortgage broker in this regard, who will help you consider the best option. In case you don’t know, a lot of mortgage brokers offer free consultancy.

2- Consider New Options
You can literally save up to £500 a year just by shopping around and looking in to what other energy providers are offering. Always look out for various deals by different energy providers. This shouldn’t just be the case with your energy provider but everything that you shop, always make sure that you are getting the best available deal in the market. Compare the various offers by different cellular service providers, broadband and even home and car insurance, so you can make sure you’re not paying more just because of your loyalty. You’re supposed to pay less if there’s another supplier offering similar services at a lower rate.

3- Shop Wisely at the Supermarkets
A lot of people don’t pay much attention to how much they are paying on their weekly shopping tours. Just because you go through  this activity every week, if you manage to save a couple of pounds then they can add up to quite a larger sum at the end of the month.

Back in my old days, going to a public library used to be a big deal. I use to visit a lot of public libraries and mostly the ancient ones because I use to love the smell of their old wooden floors and use to get mesmerized by the stone sculptures on the entrance. Even when a lot of my friends find it funny, I never restrain from emphasizing the importance of free entertainment, education and the sea of knowledge that public libraries have to offer. These days you don’t even have to step into a library to get all of these things. Online libraries might be taking over their outdated fellows but I have compiled a couple of things that the public libraries have to offer for free which the online ones cannot beat.

1- E-book Downloads
In this technology driven world, e-books from Amazon are taking over the paper books really fast. If you are an impatient person like me then e-books are a gift for you as you don’t have to get in line for a paper copy of a book anymore. You can download your favorite book and can read it on your laptop or I-Pad while you’re working, traveling or walking on a beach. E-books are a great source of entertainment while you are doing your daily chores that do not require much attention. They help you pass your time more effectively and you also get a sense of reassurance that you have accomplished something while doing an ordinary chore.

2- Audio Books
If you hate all of the stupid stuff the radios have to offer these days and you like learning more and expanding your knowledge. It is time for you to get introduced to audio books. The next time you jump in your car for a long drive, you should get one of your favorite books in audio, making your journey a delight. There are a lot more to these audio books than just books. There are a variety of audio books that feature language lessons, instructional and motivational speeches, stories and the list goes on.

3- Video Games
A lot of libraries are offering video games on rent so the young generation might develop an interest in them. Some libraries even feature a gaming zone where kids can play networked video games and build friendships.

4- Free Internet
A lot of libraries not only features free WIFI for laptops and other gadgets but they also feature rows of computers that can be used for an hour. These computers come fully equipped with Microsoft office for the people who can turn to a public library in case their computer broke down and they have to complete some emergency work. There are a lot of standing booths in some libraries too that can be used for 20 minutes for using anyone of the famous social networking site or sending a quick email. Besides providing free internet services, some libraries also offer a lot of different computer courses of all levels.

Money saving is not always as difficult as it seems. To save money all it takes is a strong determination, patience and try. The New Year is coming very soon and I am sure that you would want to become more financially stable than before in the upcoming year. So you should gear up for that because today I am going to tell you about some awesome and simple tricks that will help you to save a lot of money and it will take you closer towards your dream of financially stability.

There are many ways you can save ……

Making up your own mind to save money is more important than any other thing in the money saving process. You should avoid to buy useless and extra stuff. Your mind should be very clear about your goals because without this firm determination you would not be able to succeed in any sort of environment.

• The first thing you should keep in your mind is that whenever you buy a thing or pay for something always keep your change and do not throw it. These little pennies add up to become Dollars that can help you in future. Although you would be thinking that how this would work but I challenge you to do this and save your daily change in your Jar and after a month you will see how much money you were wasting in your past.
• Secondly, you should be keeping a record of what and where are you spending your money. To achieve the financial stability keeping track of your spending is very important because in the end of the month you would be able to see where you were wrong means where you spent your money that was not much important and at what point you were out of your budget.
• Before buying anything new that will cost much on your budget always think about it that is it that worthy to spend on it? And if it is that important make a plan and do a lot of research and wait for a week or so to get the best offer and discount. A little bit of research before buying a product will help you to save a good amount of money.
• Setting up your saving goals is also a very important part in the money saving process. You cannot succeed without a goal. Making monthly and yearly goals weakens your determination so always go for short term goals like you should set up your daily saving goals and when you will be able to achieve your daily goals these daily savings will become a very big amount.
• Most of the times people tend to buy things just to show off others about their life styles and people tend to live in a life style that they cannot afford and then in the end they go in to a lot of debt. This is a very dangerous situation you should never adopt a life style that you cannot afford and in order to save money for your future you should try to live a simple life. Do not buy things that are not use full to you at times. This habit will help you to keep a better and simple life with a lot of savings.
• Do you know who much you earn for an hour? You would have never think of that before. It is important to know your worth and know what you are earning in an hour. When you want to buy a new thing, do check that how much hours would you have to work to buy that item and then work for extra hours to buy that thing, this will help you to buy the thing without disturbing your regular budget.
• Everyone has dreams that they want to achieve so as you! These dreams tends you to stay more active and determined towards your goals. So you should always discuss your dreams with your friends and family so that you could go according to your plan and stay focused.
• If you buy online then you should wipe all the temptations that tends you to buy new items. The first thing you should be doing is to clear all your browser cookies so that it would be harder for you to make a purchase.
• Using your credit card and debit card properly is an essential step towards money saving. You should always be looking to save money all the time. For this you should never use an ATM that is not operated by your bank because all other banks charge for using their ATM other than your bank. By this you would be able to save your ATM deduction. It is not a bad idea to walk some extra steps to get some extra saving.
• Another step in money saving is that you should stay punctual about your payments. You should always try to pay bills and other payments on time so that you should not be charged the late fee and other fines.
• One general approach towards money saving is that you should hide your Credit card and Debit card. You should not use your credit card for day to day shopping. Make a list of the things to buy and buy them at the start of the month. Do not use your card on daily purposes because it will increase your banking expenses.
• Buying an insurance policy is very important but never buy a policy that effects your budget. Always look for lower monthly plans that does not affect your monthly budget and the most important thing you should do is to check that is your company giving you insurance? A lot of companies have bought insurance policies for their employers so that when they retire they could get a handsome amount. So if your employers pays for your insurance never buy another one.
• If your company does not pay for your insurance then you should buy your own. Before buying spend a time in some research so that you could buy a cheaper one. There are many online tools that you can use to get one of the cheapest polices that you will have to pay less and you would get more.
• Now moving towards your house. If you are paying for a big house and you have spare rooms then you should change your living house. Rent a house according to your need so that you could save more on your monthly expenses.
• Before renting a new house make sure you select the place that suits you and your family, you should rent a house in that area that is closer to your workplace so that you could save more fuel and time.
• If you are paying for debt and you are paying very high interest rates then you should go for lower interest rates. There are hundreds of methods available to get lower mortgage rates. You can also take loan on less interest rate to pay the one with higher interest rates.
• Saving electricity is much important it benefits you and your surroundings too. Always try to save electricity so that you could lower your monthly expenses on energy. Always try to turn off the light when you leave your house. This simple habit will make a good affect in your monthly bill. You should change that appliances that consume more energy with less consuming appliances so that could that also help. The first thing you have to do is that you should change all your bulbs with the new LEDs. These LEDs tends to save more energy. Now for your air conditioner you should try to use the air conditioner as less as you can and try to use a fan so that when it is not as much hot outside you can save by turning off the air conditioner and you should apply an automatic thermostat in your home so that you could save more while you are not in home. These automatic thermostat adjust their temperatures according to your time and your monthly energy expenditure will decrease.
• More simple method to save your energy cost is that you should protect your house from the outside weather. For example in winters you should use window covers to protect your house from outside temperature and in the summers night you should open your window to get benefit from the fresh air to decrease the temperature inside your home. These steps will help you save 40% of your monthly energy expenses.

So here were some methods by which you can save money, these simple hacks are generally applied in your daily life and you can save a lot by setting your mindset as I have told you in the above points. The simple hacks from your banking and house are very easy to apply and I myself have applied each and every point in my life and got the results. Although this do not seems that much attractive but these simple methods worth a lot. Do comment in the comment section below and also share your experience of how your life has changed and how you have changed your approach towards money saving and how successful you were in that?

Have a good day!

Grocery Shopping is one of the important sections of the budget. We spend a lot of money in a month on grocery shopping. To live a life we have to eat and to eat we would have to buy groceries. Thus grocery shopping is one of our utmost need. Now coming to the point, one of the biggest portion of our income is spent on grocery and according to a report of USDA a family of 4 members including 2 kids below teenage and above 6 would spend an average of $642.50 to $1280.70 in a single month. But after reading this article you would be able to spend under $600 dollars on grocery even with a family of 6 members.

You would have to trim your expenses in such a way that it would not affect your diet. By taking steps like that you would be able to save a good amount of money every month. As saving money brings a lot of benefits for you. So let us start from the 1^st idea,

1- Online Couponing and Cashbacks

Now a days, you do not have to spend hours on finding coupons and getting cashbacks. There are many online platforms that help you to use digital coupon and get cashbacks by other means. You can use them to save a good amount of money every month.

One of the sites to find coupons is Coupons.com. You can get coupons for every type of shopping. Cooupons.com is a user friendly website and it is very easy to find a coupon that is suitable for you. You can get hundreds of coupons that you can use to buy grocery items on a discounted price. You can search for coupons and when you find a suitable one you can print that coupon and use it. This site also includes digital coupons. One of the best thing about this site is that it is completely free and they also have a mobile app that you can use to make your saving easier. Make sure you do not fall for extreme couponing and end up with spending a lot of money.

To get online cashbacks, you can use the app named as Ibotta. It is a kind of different from coupons.com as it allows you to earn cashback on the purchases you make. Ibotta is one of the apps in which you have to scan the receipts. To get cashbacks, you will first have to open their app and select the stores in which you want to do shopping. Ibotta works with over 270 stores that include Target, Walmart and Hy-Vee. After you select the store you want to shop, you will then see the number of offers that are available on that store. If you are interested in any offer, you will have to select the offer and after the selection you will have to go to the store and do shopping and after that you will have to scan the receipt. You will receive your amount within 2 days in your Ibotta account. You can use that money wherever you want, you will receive your cashback in direct cash rather than gift cards or other offers. You can also get discount and offers on generic food. Thus Ibotta is one of the easiest and quickest way to save money online.

2- Develop a Meal Plan

As it is important to have a budget to save money, it goes same for grocery section. In order to save money on grocery shopping you should have a meal plan so that you could stick to it. A meal plan will help you in certain ways like you will only buy according to the need of your family or it will restrain you from over spending on grocery and dining-out. Dining out is one of the expensive things, even if you go to a normal restaurant it will still cost you some dollars over the budget. You should try to find inexpensive meals so that you could save money.

To make a meal plan you do not have to do extra ordinary things. You just have to spend some time in a week in which you will have to write down the things you would have to need. Firstly you should calculate how many meals you would have with your family. Try to include inexpensive meals such as oats oatmeal or chicken fajitas. After you write down your meals, it is the time to write down the items that are required for the meals. Some of the items are already in your house such as flour or sugar etc and for others you will have to write down the quantity you will need in the upcoming week. After that write down the extra items that you will need in your weeks such as milk, fruits and bread etc.

After completing your meal plan, when you go for shopping try to stick to your meal plan. Do not buy anything out of your budget and don’t get in to lure of shopping anything extra like chips or soda etc.  When you will follow your meal plan strictly, you will be able to save money.

If you find it difficult to make a meal plan, you can use an online platform named as eMeals. It will help you to plan your meals easily and you would find multiple ideas here. For eMeals, you would have to pay a $5 for a year.

3- Skip Snacks and Processed Food.

One of the biggest budget destroyer is buying snacks and processed foods. Most of the time we do not need these snacks and foods but we still buy them just for fun. Buying pop corns, snacks, chips, cupcakes and other products like that slowly destroys your budget and you end up with over spending at the end of the month. These small things do not make a big impact if bought for once but a habit of buying these things while you go out slowly destroys your budget. If you calculate the amount you spend on it monthly, you will be amazed.

When you are addicted to such junk foods, it is sometimes difficult for you to give up. So if you are unable to give up on this shopping try to replace your junk food products with healthy products. By the time you will be able to give up on the bad habits.

If you give up on your this habit you could easily live in your grocery budget.

4- Shopping from the Sale.

One of the easiest way to save money on your grocery budget is to do shopping from the sale. By this simple way you would be able to save a good amount. look through the ads so that you could find a good deal for yourself, there are some days in the week when some products are on sale so note down the products you want to buy and mark the days on which the products will be on sale. By this you will be able to save on what you are going to buy.

When you are making a meal plan for the upcoming week, try to add the things which are on sale. So that you could spend your week in less amount than you have planned for. For example, if you find apples on sale, then buy it instead of other food products or if chicken is one sale then try to have more meals based on chicken. Thus in this way you would be able to save a big amount for yourself.

Another way to save money while shopping for grocery is to buy in bulk. If you see a sale on the products that you usually use and could preserve, then you should buy those things in bulk. These things may include floor, sugar, baking soda, juices and other products. Thus look for the things when they are on sale so that you could save a good amount. Sometimes there a things that cost less than the real amount if bought in bulk. Thus you should make use of these opportunities to save more money.

One of the thing that you need to take care of is that some of the stores tries to fool you with the word sale and the price they offer in the sale is the same and you can find same products for less from the other stores. Thus make sure you have a knowledge of the products that you are going to buy so that you could not get fooled.

5- Reduce your Food Waste

One of the biggest problem of the modern world is food wastage. According to a study, one third of the worlds is wasted every year. That is a very choking statistics. So you should try to waste as less as you can in order to save the maximum. One of the things that will help you to not waste your food is a menu plan. The menu plan will help you to not buy the things that you do not need. When you are making the meals try to cook the amount required. Do not cook more than your need. This will help you to save grocery. You should also look upon your left overs and you should not throw them away. Instead of that eat them with the next meal you are going to take.

So these were some of the ideas that will help you to reduce your grocery budget or to save money on your grocery budget. These simple tricks would not take much time but you will be able to save a good amount every month. Make sure you take advantage of these in full spirits.

Do comment in the comment section below and also share your experience of saving money from grocery shopping. Have a good day!