As a new member to HomeESP, I checked out the Savings Center to find discounts, both online and for stores where I shop.  Frankly, I always look for a good deal.
And saving money with the HomeESP Savings Center just got faster, easier and even more rewarding. This Product Search, the latest benefit in the Savings Center gives you one place to discover savings on millions of great products. Simply enter the item you want, and enjoy top deals from the world’s best brands.

I needed a couple of things and found the Saving Center's Product Search tab where I could easily compare what was available and at what price.  Maybe there would be some discount coupons as well...

If you want to reduce your cost of home heating and cooling, there's no more effective way than with a programmable thermostat.  Our daily deal for the Honeywell RTH6350 can't be beat.  It's an easy-to-install and easy-to-program thermostat for almost any kind of heating and cooling (except electric baseboard).  You'll see it elsewhere for its list price of $59.99 or maybe on Amazon.com for $53, but no one comes close to our daily deal price of just $35.99 including FREE shipping, handling and 90-day trial of HomeESP Premier.

One of the most amazing things that occurred during our kitchen renovation was how quickly we were able to sell our old cabinets, countertops and appliances.  We put an ad on Craig’s List and within a week all was sold, and at good prices totaling more than $2,000.  But for home or apartment remodelers on a budget, there’s a more reliable resource (at least if you live in Connecticut, New Jersey or Pennsylvania): Green Demolitions.

In three warehouse style showrooms, they offer professionally removed kitchens, new and used appliances, furniture and more.  Savings on complete kitchens can be more than 75 percent off the price when new.  Cabinets are selected for condition and style, so you’re sure to find a wide range of possibilities.  And since new stock comes in every day, if what you want isn’t there today, it’s worth checking back a few times a month – especially if you want to save money on your renovation. 

I had mixed emotions when my wife bought the family a Keurig brewer.  I knew that we benefited from each family member being able to choose his or her different flavors of coffee without fighting over the one drip coffee maker.  However, I was not feeling particularly green.  Although, we keep hearing that Keurig, and folks like Green Mountain are working on developing recyclable K-cups, as of yet they are yet eco-friendly.  My wife solved my problem by buying me a re-useable K-cup for the single-cup brewer.

I love my refillable, reuseable K-cup for the ecological reasons and because I am saving money using coffee by the pound vs. coffee by the K-cup  (see an earlier post where we analyze the cost of a cup of coffee).  And, if you cannot find your favorite coffee offered in a K-cup, no worries, the refillable K-cup solves that problem.

However, over time I found a few things about it that bothered me about the reuseable K-cup I was using, a Keurig My K-Cup Reusable Coffee Filter 5048 (currently $14.29 on Amazon).  The most obvious deficiency is how you need to pop out a Keurig brewing K-cup holder and replace it with a reusable K-cup holder.  This is not a big deal until the first time you forget to put the Keurig brewing K-cup holder back in.  Wait for the next person to use the brewer, put their K-cup into what they think is the working holder to find that water goes flying all over the place and you have wasted the anywhere between 40 and 70 cent K-cup of coffee, not to mention made a mess on the kitchen counter. 

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Take Advantage of this Exclusive Offer by Calling 1-888-339-2071 today or click here to visit Protect Your Home's Website for more details.  You MUST be a HomeESP Premier Member to receive the up to $100 cash back.  To join, just click the "Join Now" button below!

June 2011

When HomeESP went looking to create a Savings Center for our members that would be seen as the best place for on and off-line discounts and big savings on shopping, dining and on everyday living, we looked to our partner Access who boasted America’s largest local discount network.

We prodded Access to gain access to great deals in all our members’ neighborhoods across the country and we are pleased to share the news that our partner has achieved this significant milestone.  The Access merchant network, the backbone for the HomeESP Savings Center, now reaches 100% of U.S. metropolitan areas AND 100% of micropolitan markets. 

Now all communities with 10,000 or more can save money in the Savings Center with Access and our Premier membership.  And the local brick and mortar deals are in the most rural areas as well.  99.6% of all consumers in the United States are now covered by the network.  This is an important achievement because consumers make 80% of purchases in-store within 20 miles of their home. 

Access vows to continue to find more relevant and terrific savings from popular merchants throughout America so they can remain the leading provider of discount programs in the nation.

Be sure to visit the Savings Center today to save big on everyday purchases.  If you are not a HomeESP Premier Member, JOIN NOW and start saving today.

There have been too many times that I was in a store and found something I was interested in that had no price on it.  I would look for the nearest “price check scanner” and wonder when the “big box” stores were going to get high tech scanners right on all their wagons.  After I thought about that, I wondered how much more additional information could be provided by the scanner. 

Well, as seen in Home Depot commercials now, the future I thought about may be closer than I dreamed.  In the Home Depot commercials, a customer uses her smartphone to scan a plant’s bar code.  The scan sends information to the smartphone and the customer can learn how much light or water the plant needs.

The bar code technology allows the stores to provide reams of data from product reviews to customer ratings to “if you like this, you might like …” One could easily envision, price comparisons and recipes for that fruit or vegetable that is healthy but you find difficult to get your kids to eat.  For the DIY crowd, the stores can offer how-to primers via the word or video.  The opportunities to enrich the customer experience by helping them with immediate at your fingertips information seem endless.

As the dreariness of winter passes and balmy weather approaches, it’s time to prepare for Spring travel. Whether you’re driving to support your team for college basketball’s March Madness, or taking a long-deserved mini-vacation, don’t let skyrocketing fuel costs keep you or your members from hitting the road.

To help you stretch your travel dollars, here are some money-saving tips for saving on car maintenance and repair:

Keep your engine properly tuned for maximum fuel economy. A car noticeably out of tune wastes 4% more fuel, and fixing such problems can improve your mileage as much as 40%. HomeESP Premier members can keep their car in top condition at any one of 566 Pep Boys locations nationwide. Visit the HomeESP Savings Center to Save $20 off maintenance and repair services ($100 minimum, online coupon required).

Keep your tires properly inflated, and you’ll boost your mileage up to 3%. Visit the HomeESP Savings Center to Save 15% off selected tires and service at any of the 585 Firestone Complete Auto Care Centers nationwide.

Use the right motor oil, and keep it fresh. Using the recommended grade of motor oil can improve your mileage 1-2% annually. Premier Members can enjoy $5 off a full service oil change at over 680 Valvoline Instant Oil Change service centers throughout North America.

And if you are starting to plan your road trips with the family, remember you can save up to 10% at Disneyland; up to $30 at Six Flags; up to 20% at SeaWorld and Busch Gardens on single day tickets.

Premier Members can save on these and thousands of other deals by simply logging in to the HomeESP Savings Center.

I had mixed feelings when my wife bought us the Keurig as a gift for the family.  

We had used a Keurig over Thanksgiving at her sister’s home and there were some terrific benefits to having all the selection.  With 5 adults, 1 teen and 2 children, there were many different tastes for strength and flavor of coffee or tea or hot chocolate.   It was a great looking appliance and easy to use.  My daughter actually made her OWN cup of tea.  Wow.

However, I pride myself on being conscious of the environment and the extra trash created by the non-recyclable K-cups bothered me. I also thought about the fact that I could make weeks and weeks worth of coffee with my under $10 pound of coffee bought at the supermarket while K-cups at best cost about 50 cents a pop.

My wife, sensing my despair, then bought me a reusable K-cup coffee filter exclusive to the Keurig Home Brewing System.  This reusable filter allows me to use my own gourmet ground coffee in a Keurig brewer.  I have been using my reusable filter for days now and I love it.

Some people have complained about the reusable filter because they don’t like to remove it for cleaning after every use.  I find it no different than cleaning any filter and worth it.  I would much rather spend the couple of seconds extra and get two big benefits.  

I feel guilty every time I throw out a used K-cup.  Although Green Mountain claims they are close to developing a recyclable and biodegradable package, they aren’t there yet.  From Green Mountain’s Website: “Reducing the environmental impact of our coffee packaging materials and brewing systems, including the K-Cup® portion packs used in our Keurig® Single-Cup Brewing Systems, is a top priority for us and we are dedicated to finding a solution.”  (Personally, I believe them.)

As a side note: Some people also worry about the type of plastics used in the manufacturing process and packaging.  Green Mountain assures us that all K-Cup portion packs and all water path components of Keurig home brewers are free of Bisphenol-A (BPA).
Then of course, there is the money-saving advantage of the reusable K-cup.  I calculate that I can save 30 cents a cup.  I am a three cup a day guy (I am not proud of that fact but there it is.) resulting in an annual savings of $328.50.

I found a reusable K-cup coffee filter on Amazon for only $21.67.  I also found some on eBay that were opening bids at $10 to $14.  (No matter where you find the item, be sure to check that the one being offered fits your specific brewer.)  This is well worth the purchase.  Now I save money on every cup of coffee and feel good about doing something for the environment, too.