December 26, 2008 by Mouse.

Yesterday I saw this girl at the Dim Sum place wearing a super cute gap sweater dress. I had to have it for Minnie, so as soon as I got home I went online to look for it.  Of course, being so close to Christmas it was sold out on the GAP site, but there was just one available on eBay in the size I wanted. The asking price was just about what the sale price on GAP was. Of course, I also checked all my local stores-no dice.  So, I decided my only choice was to get the one from eBay on Buy It Now, before someone else snapped it up.  However, as you know I can pay ‘full’ price even if it’s already discounte. I emailed the seller, and asked if she would  be willing to entertain offers. She emailed me right back, knocking $5 off the total price! No chance of finding it cheaper since it’s already sold out online and in stores.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

March 16, 2007 by Mouse.

So it seems that there’s this great new water or on the market that has mint essence.  I love mint, and it helps the water go down a lot easier. I have found myself drinking much more water lately, because of the mint flavoring. 

What doesn’t go down easy? The price of about $1.65 per 1/2 liter!  So, how do I get my minty tasting no-calorie treat for less? Luckily Trader Joes sells peppermint drops at about $3 for a 4 ounce bottle.   You need only a capful to flavor two liters of water, so the bottle lasts for a very long time.  A half liter of mint water now costs me just a few cents.  Now that’s coool no matter how you look at it!

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

August 14, 2006 by Mouse.

I have this friend whose kid was slightly injured on a trip, and they had to go to the Emergency Room to make sure she was OK.  Her bill, after her insurance processed it came out to over $500.  So, as she was telling me this story two things went through my mind (as you know, I always try to salvage some savings out of every cost):

First of all, you never pay a medical bill until you make sure your insurance paid their share, whatever it may be.  There have been several times now that my insurance has mistakenly denied a claim that they later paid just by calling them and asking them to reprocess it.  By the way, this is accomplished much faster by the patient than by the physician’s office.  After all, YOU are their customer, not the doctor so YOU are the one they would want to please.  Don’t assume you have to pay, just because you got a bill..

Second, hospitals sometimes offer a “prompt payment discount”.  This allows you to kill two birds with one stone.  For one thing, you can pay a lot less if you call and pay by phone within the discounted time period, sometimes even 60% less than the insurance determined you owe.  That would reduce my friend’s cost to around $200 from  around $500.  The second bonus is that if you put it on a credit card you actually have 30 more days to get the money to pay for this (love that one-month grace period!) The final bonus is that if you have a credit card with rewards on it, you actually get rewards for this transaction. 

Now stir a little and Voila! LEMONADE…

Mousetracks:  Got an unexpected medical expense? It may not be as bad as you think.  Make sure your insurance paid their share, and ask the hospital for a prompt payment discount.  Finally, pay by credit card to get some rewards.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

July 25, 2006 by Mouse.

Every once in a while I have a shopping attack, and start ordering things online like crazy and bidding on eBay stuff at lightening speed.  Then, for several days after that the delivery people of my neighborhood, who know my house all too well I’m afraid, make daily visits to my house carrying packages of all shapes and sizes.  So of course you can imagine how mr. mouse and I cracked up like crazy when we saw the tv commercial where boxes of different sizes are chasing people and jumping into their cars.  In fact, I would love to add a link to this commercial so if you remember what it was advertising please let me know and I will find it online.  Mr. mouse said that this is what our house looks like all the time.  By the way, I had a great experience with an eBay seller today.  I’m going to start a favorite eBay sellers list in the next few days so you can see what they have currently selling, and bid/buy with confidence.  EBay can be a little scary and intimidating at first, but there are tricks of the trade just like anything else. For one thing, never bid early-especially not your maximum bid, or are you in the habit of showing your entire hand at the beginning of a round of Poker? Second, I have been know to go a little nuts and get caught up in the last minute bidding frenzy where you add just one dollar, then just one more, and before you know it you could have bought it on another web site cheaper and risk free.  Avoid this by picking your top price at the moment you start watching an item, and stick with it! Apropos other web sites, if you like something on eBay always do a search for it on google first to see if you can find it cheaper somewhere else, and vice versa.  Never buy something from a web site without checking eBay first. Always check the shipping and make sure you include that amount in your maximum purchase price.  Spend the extra buck and get insurance! More tips to follow at a later date, the mouse is still collecting them for your bidding pleasure.

Mouse Tracks:  Do your due dilligence when shopping online, check eBay before buying somewhere else.  Be smart when you shop on eBay and within a week your delivery guy and you will be on a first name basis.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

July 20, 2006 by Mouse.

A mall mouse loves to save while shopping…but (!) what if you could save and SAVE at the same time!

A friend told me about this, and it was also featured in a parenting magazine, so I had to check it out for myself.  There is a free program that allows you to get a percentage of your purchases free from participating companies called Upromise (www.upromise.com).  For example, you spend $100 at Target, Target puts $2 in your special savings account. Doesn’t sound like a lot? Who cares, you’re getting something for nothing and you can then use that money to pay for your child’s college education (free money!).  Also, they have many online merchants, grocery stores, and restaurants that all give you FREE MONEY for your little rodent’s college education.  Some give 5%, some 8%, if you buy and sell real estate with a participating merchant you get $3000. How ya like me now!

Now, I just signed up for this. Mouse Jr. is 4, and Baby Mouse is 4 months old, so by the time they go to college, all my shopping should add up to tuition, books, room and board, Ferrari to get to class in…you get the drift.  You can also open a 529 savings account linked to this (that’s a college savings account) and put in $50 a month, which along with what you get from Upromise should add up fast.  You link your credit cards to it so all your purchases put money into the savings account.  So far, I did not open a 529.  I want to see how much actual free money comes in and how fast it adds up from shopping alone.  By the way, if you don’t have kids and you’re not saving for college, you can save for yourself, for anything you want.  The money collects in a Upromise account, you cash it out, then pay taxes on it - still free money!

Mouse tracks:

go to www.upromise.com –> Open an account –> register credit cards, grocery cards, etc–> shop–> get free money to send your little rodents to college.

(as always, the information provided is anecdotal and does not constitute legal or financial advice)

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

July 17, 2006 by Mouse.

Welcome to the Mall Mouse Blog.  This is going to become your gourmet cheese shop away from home for stories of my (almost daily, to my husband’s great chagrin) shopping conquests.  You know, there is a reason the term “retail therapy” was born.  Is there a bigger high than coming home with a bag full of ferocious finds?  

This is a diary of great money saving experiences. Some postings will be a tale of a “retail therapy” session followed by a short summary of what was bought, where, and how.  Others will be examples you can use in your everyday life to save a little bit of money while maintaining the lifestyle to which you’re dying to become accustomed.

 One day junior mouse, age 3, asked me to play a game with him. He wanted to play the “cash register game.”  This was something we had never played before, so I asked him to explain this game to me because I don’t know how to play. His answer was, “that’s not true mommy, I’ve seen you play the cash register game in the store lots and lots of times!”

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »