Dollars & Sense: Readers share a wealth of frugal tips

Precipitous stock market drops. A bankruptcy of a major investment bank. A billion-dollar bailout of an insurance company. Do we need another sign to start putting our own financial houses in order?

Readers had no trouble doing that when I asked them last month to share tips for saving cash. I promised $50 to the first three readers who get three of their tips published in Dollars & Sense or on my blog (www.startribune.com/blogs/dealspotter). I've published 12 tips below, but no one has had three tips published yet. It's not too late for you to win $50! When sending in tips, don't make them too specific or too general. A tip about Best Buy in Bloomington having 10 copies of a "Best of Andy Griffith" DVD for $2 is too specific. Letting me know that Target has a bunch of video games on clearance is too general.

Grocery and restaurant savings

Andrea Neumann Novak of Columbia Heights likes the "kids eat free" section on www.momtalk.com. The site points out free kids meals at Twin Cities restaurants for each day of the week, but call ahead to verify that the deal is still good. For example, on Tuesdays kids eat free from 4 to 10 p.m. at all Denny's locations, and selected Champps, IHOP and Perkins restaurants (hours vary).

Jenny Rice mentions a similar site that includes not only restaurants where kids eat free but also free activities at connect4parents.org/free_activities.htm.

Kowalski's, Lunds and Byerly's might not be low-price supermarket leaders, but even bargain shoppers might go out of their way for their specialties. Sue Jacobson of Minneapolis signed up in Kowalski's to receive a coupon each month for a free product. This month it's a free bouquet of flowers. Past freebies included a box of frozen burgers, a pound of cheese and sausage. Customers can request the coupon by mail or e-mail. Sign up in the store or at Kowalskis.com. Look for the "Let's keep in touch" program.

An anonymous tipster suggests signing up for Lunds' weekly e-mail coupons sent on Thursday mornings. A recent coupon offered $10 off a $50 purchase in the store or online. Other recent coupons: a gallon of milk for 99 cents, Lunds frozen pizza for $1.99 (reg. $6.99), and a free five-pack of corn on the cob with a $10 purchase. Sign up at www.lundsandbyerlys.com.

I've written before about the uncompetitive prices on prescription drugs at Walgreens and CVS, but maybe the profit margin on drugs is what allows good deals on other items. Kim Crumb of Bloomington suggests getting on Walgreens' e-mail list at walgreens.com. Near the end of the month, usually on a Thursday, you'll get a coupon for "$10 off $40 purchase" or "$5 off $20 purchase" good on a Friday and Saturday. It can be a good deal if the coupon is used on sale items, Crumb wrote.

Jenny Rice likes the Iheartcvs.com site for those new to the CVS Extra Care Bucks program. The site helps to maximize your savings. She estimates that she's saved $200 from the tips on the site.

Media deals

An anonymous reader is tuned in to the deals offered by local media. He/she mentioned Startribune.com/shopping for coupons and notification of sales. Personal note: For my blog tip of the day, go to www.startribune.com/blogs/dealspotter or the weekly video at www.startribune.com/video. Sign up for drawings of "free stuff on demand" at Cities97.com. The site's 50 percent discounts on local "dining deals" is updated with new offerings on Thursdays. KARE11.com offers a "moms like me" tab with coupons and user groups that share frugal tips. Each site also offers free merchandise drawings for DVDs, concert tickets and hotel stays. The odds are better since the drawings are local.

Online deals

Havemeier also suggests looking for Lowe's or Home Depot coupons on eBay if you've got a big purchase. People will sell coupons that they can't use (often valid for only a few weeks) such as $20 off a $150 purchase or $40 off a $400 purchase for less than the stated value.

Jason Alvig of Mound trumped all of the tips I got about individual sites. He likes www.ipromocodes.com, which compiles deals all over the Web from sites such CouponMountain, SlickDeals.net, RetailmeNot, DealNews and DealCoupon.com. Another site that performs a similar service is www.boddit.com, but it has fewer listings and takes longer to wade through the deals.

Miscellaneous

Forget the expensive brands of dry shampoos such as Sephora, Aveda and Rene Furterer Naturia for $22 to $24 mentioned in an article earlier this month. Nancy Elleby of Wayzata buys the Psssssst dry shampoo by Clairol for about $8 at Walgreens and thinks it's the best out there.

There are several coupons for the Downtowner Car Wash in St. Paul at www.downtownercarwash.com/coupon.cfm, wrote Chris Heck of St. Paul, but the best one is a free gold car wash ($22 value) on your birthday. Coupon can be redeemed within a week of your birthdate with ID. If the Downtowner isn't convenient, ask about birthday deals at closer car washes.