Every week in 2013, I’ll be sharing a different way you can save $100 this year. If you do all of these things, you’ll be able to save over $5,000 this year alone! Many of these things will likely be things you’re already doing, but hopefully all of you will pick up at least a few new ideas or some inspiration from this series.
One simple way to save at least $5 to $10 each week without spending a lot of time and effort is to follow a local deal blogger. This is someone who lives in your area who covers the deals at your local store, as well as who alerts you to special sales, clearances, and even free events and other tips on bargains in your city.
There are a few such bloggers in my area and I save a lot of money thanks to their tips. Plus, I love that they do all the legwork to match the coupons and sales at my local grocery stores.
Before I go shopping, I always check their complete coupon match-ups and it’s pretty much guaranteed that I’ll find a few deals that are going to save me at least $3-$5 extra dollars — often more! Best of all, I don’t have to spend time matching coupons and sales, so it saves me an amazing amount of time.
How to Find a Local Deal Blogger
When I talk about finding a local coupon blogger, the first question people always ask is, “Yes, but how do I find one in my local area?” I suggest starting by searching for your local city/town + “coupon matchups” or “deal blogger”.
If that doesn’t pull anything up, try searching for the towns around you. If you live in a very small town, you might not find anything, but if you live in a decent-sized town, there’s a good chance you’ll find someone — maybe even multiple bloggers!
If you still can’t find anything, then search your store’s name and “coupon match-ups” or “deal blogger”. You should definitely find something with that search. You can also check out our Store Deals section to find a blogger who is covering the deals at the stores you shop at regularly.
Once you find some bloggers who you think might be a good possibility, go ahead and sign up for their email newsletter or subscribe to their blog. Follow them for a few weeks and you’ll get a good idea if they are a good fit or not for the types of deals you are looking for.
Can’t Find a Blogger? Create Your Own Frugal Network!
If you can’t find a blogger in your area, don’t fret. Consider starting your own blog or just creating your own frugal network.
Ask some of your local friends who are interested in saving money if they’d partner together with you to share deals they find and pass along any bargains they come across. You could have an email list, private forum, or Facebook Page.
It’s amazing how effective working together to help everyone save money can be. Plus, you might take your frugal network a little farther and set up a frugal club. You can read more about how this might work here.
Remember: Just Because It’s a Great Price, Doesn’t Mean It’s a Good Deal for YOU
Following deal blogs can save you a lot of money, but you need to be careful that you don’t spend a lot of extra money or time chasing “bargains”. It can be easy to get caught up in the excitement and forget to check to make sure you can afford something in your budget. In addition, when other people are all thrilled about a deal, it’s easy to forget to carefully think through whether you need to buy the item.
So just make sure that following deal blogs doesn’t actually encourage you to spend more money than you would otherwise. As I always say, just because something’s a good price doesn’t mean it’s a great deal for you.
Do you have a local deal blog? If so, tell us what area it’s for and share the link to it in the comments!
Sissy says
I recently started a website; I live in south east florida, and it was very hard to find a blogger that had prices that were even close to prices in my area. The large bloggers like Iheartpublix prices were sometimes up to $1.00 different on an item.
So, I started my own: Please check it out:
http://www.southfloridasavers.com
Sissy:)
Allison Hartman says
Hi! I’m Allison Hartman, and I write a local deals blog for Northern Colorado. (Fort Collins, Loveland, Greely and Wellington Colorado) You can check out my blog at http://www.frontrangecoupon.com. Thanks!
jc says
I have a blog regarding savings. Post deals that are centralized around NY/NJ/CT areas.
Catina Mount says
Our favorite here in So Cal is definitely http://www.southerncalisaver.com! Josie covers both drugstore and grocery stores and is excellent at scoping out the unadvertised deals. 🙂
Coupon Cutting Mom says
I blog about Coupon Cutting Mom and and list weekly deals and shopping trips for 2 stores local to Reading/Lancaster, PA – Weis and Giant. If you shop at either of these stores. I would love for you to come over and follow me. Thanks.
Josephine says
Forgot to mention my blog url in the last post
Josephine says
I bring frugal deals and coupons for the Baton Rouge and surrounding areas!!
Kristen @ Joyfullythriving says
Like all your others, your tips are great, Crystal! It is true that deals truly do vary by area. I blog about deals in the Fort Wayne area, at JoyfullyThriving.com.
jennifer says
For the Seattle-Tacoma area, I love thecouponproject.com .
Tiffany says
Thanks Crystal for highlighting local deal blogs! We spend hours in our local stores and try to get all the unadvertised deals we can. Plus I always like to post the free local things to do as well as that is part of a frugal life.
I spent the past 3 hours in my Kroger this monring getting all the great unadvertised mega event items written down and pictures for posting. I saw 2 readers and we had a mini coupon class in the Starbucks inside the store. It was fun!
Tiffany in Houston @ http://www.mylitter.com
Molly says
Hi there Tiffany from Houston, this is Molly from Mission, Texas (neighbors!) I just emailed you through your site. It is so good to see a blogger from Texas. I now have more inspiration to start my own blog/website.
bethany says
I am close to Portland Oregon and I follow Frugal living NW. She is great about local deals and simple living.
http://www.frugallivingnw.com
Ericka Chatman says
I have a local deals blog in Kansas City called Ericka Saves. http://www.erickasaves.com. I post daily deals, free or cheap events going on around town, and grocery match-ups. I also teach coupon classes. Thanks for the opportunity to share here.
brett says
I blog in New Hampshire! I can be found at http://www.thethievingbear.com!
Alisha says
I’ll keep your site in mind! Any other New England bloggers?
brett says
Thanks! I also have a ton of giveaways going on right now and got the Shaw’s complete match-ups done today! You should hop on over and check it out 🙂
Courtney says
When she’s active mavenofsaven is good. I used I believe coupondivas as well. I found them to be pretty good.
Julie @Logger's Wife says
http://www.darlenemichaud.com aka Deals By Darlene is a great one for Shaw’s match-ups in Maine. Maine is a tough one as we don’t have a lot. Most people have a Hannaford, Walmart, and Rite Aid. Then others have more variety.
I have a blog that I post some deals on but it isn’t my main focus. I don’t have time for that. lol. I love Darlene for the Shaw’s stuff. It’s a 4o minute drive for me but if there are enough good deals, it’s worth it. She gets the flyer 4 days earlier than the rest of us and posts if and deals she sees on her website.
Jessie (aka MoolaSavingMom) says
Great tips! I run MoolaSavingMom and cover Harris Teeter, Lowes Foods, Food Lion, Bi-Lo, Publix, Aldi, Target, CVS, Walgreens , Rite Aid. I am located in NC but cover much of NC, SC, VA and even MD 🙂
In my opinion- it’s best to find a blog that actually SHOPS at the stores you do 🙂 That way they can often give you inside info you can’t get from someone who doesn’t shop there.
Crystal says
That’s what I love so much about a local deal blogger — they are giving me firsthand reports of what they are finding at my stores. So, so helpful!
Elizabeth Rotering says
HI!! Does anyone know of a blog that covers Madison Wi???
Julie S says
Elizabeth,
Try Rose Knows Coupons. I think she’s down in that region or she could point you to someone.
Jennifer says
Thanks for posting this tip. I live in a really rural area so I always assumed there wouldn’t be anyone in my geographic region doing this, but I found two people! At age 43, I should know better by now not to assume anything…
Andrea says
I teach coupon classes and blog about great deals in the central Kentucky area. Subscribe to my page for free in the right sidebar and get daily emails about the deals!
Melissa says
I blog in the metro Detroit area. I cover CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, Dollar Tree, Dollar General, KMart and Family Dollar. In addition to those store matchups, you’ll find other retail deals, freebies, DIY projects, and nut free recipes. And speaking of nut free, I also talk about my son’s Peanut Allergy treatment…yes, treatment! He’s going through oral immunotherapy to help him tolerate being around peanuts. It’s so exciting!!!! Stop by and say hi!
http://www.dontmakemenuts.com
Penny says
For the Twin Cities, Minnesota: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/top-lists/best-money-saving-blogs-in-minnesota/
Cheri A says
I’m in the Twin Cities area too. Great link. Thanks! I’m a loyal PYD fan, but I am going to check out the others that are listed also. 🙂
Julie says
I blog locally in Southern Middle Tennessee. We live in a town that’s a lot like Mayberry: two stoplights, 1200 people, and not too many stores. I cover the Louisville Kroger match ups, Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid (all in neighboring towns since all we have is Dollar General. Come say hi at http://www.luv2bfrugal.com. 🙂
Molly says
I don’t think there is anyone in my area that is doing this, so i have decided to start my own blog in my area. Because of Moneysavingmom.com and Blogging with Amy, i feel that i am able to get my blog up and running. I have been doing alot of research in my area to find local deals and freebies. I never knew that there was so much to do in my area, not only frugally and free! Thanks for this post, i now have the confidence to go forth and start my blog!
Crystal says
Woohoo! I’m proud of you!
Molly says
Thanks! When i am up an running, you will be the first to know. I want all my readers to know your site!
Molly says
Hi Crystal!
I told you that you would be the first to know when i started my blog. I want to thank you for this awesome post. It is because of you that i had the courage to do my own blog. It’s a work in progress, but you have to start somewhere. I have so much to share with my town. So thank you
Crystal says
Yay! I’m so proud of you!
Tahesha says
I follow the Krazy coupon lady. Its hard to find local couponers in NYC 🙁
Rachael says
As I thought, not much to be found for Waco, Texas. Ah, well. I love the idea of doing it myself, but I can hardly keep up with my various tasks as it is. Perhaps some day.
Thanks for the idea!
Jessica says
I have a few friends that are awesome couponers and we alert each other to markdowns and such at nearby stores 🙂