The Best Dollar-Store Deals

If you haven't checked out your local dollar store lately, you are missing out on the savings. Today's dollar stores offer products equal to those found in regular stores, sometimes the exact same thing, and at prices up to 70% less than the prices found in drugstores and supermarkets.

About.com lists the best buys at dollar stores:
~cleaning products
~snacks-potato chips, candy, crackers
~bath and beauty-shampoo, bubble bath, bath sponges
~gift wrap
~scrapbooking supplies
~containers-plastic bins, fabric-lined baskets, food storage, glass jars and bottles
~kitchen gadgets and tools-big spoons, every day serving utensils, spatulas, timers, measuring cups and spoons, graters, can openers
~children's books
~school supplies-paper, pencils, binders, organizers

TIP: This idea is from my brother-in-law. Keep two separate "To Buy" lists: one for grocery store items and one for dollar store purchases.

What's New At Enhance

Stain resistant grouts! If you have been thinking about new tile for your bathroom, kitchen or foyer, and the only thing holding you back is dreading cleaning the nasty grout, then you need to know about the new stain resistant grouts that are now available. Enhance Floors & More offers two options to traditional sanded (porous) grouts: Prism and QuartzLock. Both offer superior stain resistance and come in a variety of colors sure to complement your tile selections. And upgrading to one of these high-tech grouts can save you time, money, and aggravation. No more spending your weekend on your hands and knees scrubbing your grout!

Flooring Deal Of The Week

Carpet may well be the best consumer value on the market. You can buy quality carpet for the average living room, dining room, and hall for less than the price of kitchen granite countertops. Nothing can beautify your home more, so quickly and so inexpensively, as brand new, freshly installed carpet.

This week's featured item is a super-soft, subtly textured carpet by DreamWeaver. Choose from 5 neutral solids and 7 flecked colors, including Sandalwood, Sable, Doeskin and Sand Dollar. You will have a lifetime stain warranty on most common household food and beverage substances. This "better" carpet installs for $2.32 per square foot during our New Year ~ New Look sale. That great price includes a new 8 lb pad, removal of your existing carpet and pad, and furniture moving. Come by today and see this best selling carpet.

Get Paid For Referrals

Tell your friends, neighbors, and co-workers about Enhance Floors & More and make sure they tell us when they come in that you referred them. Once Enhance installs their new floor, you will receive Decorating Dollars equal to 5% of the sale. You can use these Decorating Dollars toward your next purchase-on anything in the store! Rugs, cleaning and maintenance products, new granite countertops, flooring, designer fabrics-whatever you choose! Send enough new customers our way and YOUR next project is free!

Money Saving Ideas For 2012

We all want our money to stretch further. Some things are out of our control, like taxes and gas prices.

Year-end data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that the average American family spent $48,000 in 2011. The three major categories that families spent their money on are:
•Housing - 30 percent
•Transportation - 15 percent
•Food - 12 percent
There are some easy things we can do that can really add up. For example, reducing your expenditures on food by 5% would save the typical family almost $600 this year.

Here are some ideas:
~price shop your cable, internet, and phone plans
~turn down your water heater before you leave for vacation
~consider energy efficiency when appliance shopping
~unplug appliances and phone chargers when not in use
~make sure all your electrical devices are on a surge protector, especially your entertainment center and computer equipment
~check GasBuddy (internet or Smartphone app) before you fill up to find the lowest prices close to you
~keep tires properly inflated, don't speed
~stock up when there is a big sale on items that have a long shelf life, such as toothpaste, toilet tissue, paper towels, deodorant, most cleaning supplies, and products for your car
~take your lunch to work one more day a week than you do now
~sign up for free store loyalty/rewards programs everywhere you shop
~invest in a deep freezer
~pack food and drink before your go on a road trip
~rediscover your crock pot and use on busy days instead of picking up fast food
~do holiday shopping right after the holiday (this works for all holidays: for example, buy your Valentine's cards for next year on February 15)
~go through all the financial deals you have - whether it's car insurance or a savings account - to see whether they're still competitive

Now Some Of The Worst Money Saving Ideas

These are from readers of The Consumerist and fatwallet websites:
~cheap toilet paper
~cheap Qtips
~discount razor blades
~waxing your own eyebrows
~cheap kitty litter
~buying in bulk if you can't/don't use it all
~dollar store trash bags
~buying the very cheapest of major purchases like tires, appliances, electronics (and flooring) If you have to replace it years sooner, you did not save yourself any money
~cutting your own hair
~not going to a professional sooner (doctor, dentist, lawyer, accountant)
~using one month disposable contact lenses for longer than a month
~cheap dress shirts
~buying cheap insurance-health, auto, etc.

Flooring Featured Item

If you like hardwood floors, but are worried about how the wood will hold up with your children and animals, then you are sure to love Mohawk's Bayview laminate. This textured floor is available in oak and hickory styles and is perfect for high traffic areas. This is Mohawk's #1 best selling laminate floor and is also one of the 20% OFF Featured Items during our "New Year ~ New Look" sale. Now until January 31, the sale price is only $4.48 per square foot, and that includes Mohawk's MoistureGuard pad and basic installation.
Tired of waiting for new floors? Now is the time to buy!