Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Greeting Cards - How to Save Money and Time (and Stay Organized)

Two Scenarios - 

A.  You're standing in Hallmark, surrounded by too many choices.  You look from option to option, starting to sweat.  Which wording would be best?  Finally, you choose a card.  You pick it up, turn it over, and see that this simple little card costs $4.99!  You put the card back and run out of the store!

B.  Your child gets invited to a last minute birthday party.  The night before, you realize you don't have a birthday card.  You run out to the grocery store just for a card.  Then, the following week, you do it all again.

Everyone loves a nice greeting card.  It sends the message that someone is thinking of you fondly.  But, that doesn't mean that finding the right cards should be stressful or expensive!

Are you ready for my system?!  It's easy, organized and saves you time and money!


How to Make Your Own In-Home Greeting Card Store

Supplies
-  An expanding file folder
Tip:  Get a large, durable plastic one with many tabs and room to expand.  You can purchase one at a store like Staples.  In January, sometimes Target sells them in their dollar section upfront.  Jackpot!
-  Build your very own greeting card stash (see how below).

Build Your Own (Inexpensive) Greeting Card Stash
-  Decide what categories of cards you normally buy
Tip:  Here are some to get you started - Friend Birthday, Child Birthday, Family Birthday, November / December Holidays, Congratulations (includes wedding, showers, baby, new house, and general), Anniversary (yours and other people's!), Just Because, Thank You, Mother's Day, Father's Day

-  Right now, Hallmark is offering a printable $5 off $10 coupon.  The coupon is good until 12/24, but it can only be printed once per computer, so get creative...  Print it from work, your parents' house, etc.  Stop in a store whenever you're near one (with a new coupon) and stock up.  Sometimes, magazines also have a pull-out with the coupon in it.
-  Also check back in Hallmark often.  Several times a year they get rid of their old card lines to make way for new (often more expensive) ones.  They'll designate a huge section of their cards for $0.50 each.  It's awesome.
-  Go to the Dollar Store - You think I'm kidding, but Dollar Stores have a GREAT selection of ALL kinds of cards (including holiday cards!).  Usually, they're $0.50 each!!!!!  Don't be afraid to spend at least $15 building up the categories you really need. 
-  Check out Trader Joe's & Wegman's.  All of Trader Joe's cards are only $0.99 each, and are beautiful.  Wegman's has a great subset of their cards that are only $1.00 as well. 
Five Below also has a decent selection of reasonably priced cards.
-  Order from Greeting Card Universe.  They're not always the cheapest, but they do run specials.  Make sure to google for promo codes, first.

So, let's review...

Purchase a Sturdy File Folder

Build up your card stash (yes, these are from the dollar store!  Not bad, huh?)

Label your categories (In mine, the categories are written on pieces of scotch tape and taped on, in case I want to change them later.).

Sort your cards and enjoy!