Refunding Makes Cents-- a Sign of the Times?

As the economy seems to worsen and people all over the United States are pulling the proverbial belt a little bit tighter, it seems likely that more people than ever are looking to learn how to save money and stretch their family budgets. After all you can't reduce your mortgage or decide to pay less for your utilities or phone bill and one of the few parts of a family budget that can be trimmed is money spent on food and other household goods. The good news is that you do not have to lessen your quality of life just to stay within your means and Refunding Makes Cents can help you get started.

Michele Easter has been publishing her magazine for more than twenty years and has run a website for several years. The magazine is informative and well written. It relies heavily on subscribers submissions, so you can learn how people just like you are saving money. She often features stories that show how regular people trim their grocery bill with step by step instructions, so that you can easily copy them and fill your pantry with freebies.

Personally, I am hooked on her website. She charges a small fee (currently $4 for a 3 month trial) and I would venture to say that almost anybody could recoup that in savings by finding just one good deal from Centsible Chat. Centsible chat is a board where subscribers share current information on hot deals. For example when I logged on recently I learned of a good deal on Hillshire Farm lunch meat at Safeway. The lunch meat is on sale for $2 and when you buy 5 packages a catalina coupon prints at at the register for $10 off you next order of almost anything at Safeway! This is a deal that can be "chained" which is another thing members share. A chain is something that can be repeated, so I can buy those 5 lunch meats and then turn around and buy 5 more and use my $10 off coupon and another $10 off coupon will print. This is one of the ways I can "stockpile" things that my family uses on a regular basis and I can trim our grocery budget along the way. I use Refunding Makes Cents to catch any deals I miss seeing on my own.

While I do like almost everything about Michele's site, there are a few things I do not like. She does moderate postings, so there is a lag time before things are posted. There is an "Off Topic" chat board that is heavily moderated and has some stringent rules (no political posts for example). Personally speaking, I think subscribers can moderate themselves fairly well. She also heavily relies on referrals, so the front page is littered with Tupperware links and things of that nature. I could live without seeing how I can spend $50 on overpriced Tupperware and get free shipping (or whatever the current offer is), but that is just me.

Overall, I think Refunding Makes Cents is a bargain.