We're excited to have CompAndSave.com as one of our sponsors this month! We had the opportunity to interview them and get to know their company a little more recently:
Tell us about the history of CompAndSave.
My wife and I started in a cramped garage back in 2003. We had our first baby on the way and knew that we needed to do something extra to prepare for this joyous time in our life.
I had IT experience, so I bought and fixed laptops locally. This proved to be too time consuming and my goal was extra finances for my soon to be family and I did not want work to cut into my time.
The idea came to me when I needed to buy printer ink so I could print some flyers for my laptop repair business. I reluctantly paid $45.87 (yup, I remember the exact price) for the ink and while driving back home the idea for CompAndSave.com was born.
11 years and 2 kids later, we now operate out of a 20,000 square-foot warehouse in the San Francisco, Bay Area. We have grown our business to 40 employees and over 100,000 customer base each month.
Not only did we help provide for our family, but we help customers save a fortune on their replacement ink and toner cartridges, as we continue to grow bigger each year!
Tell us about your products.
CompAndSave.com provides printer ink and toner cartridges, besides other printer supplies, such as photo papers, printer accessories, etc… We have a wide range of ink and toners and our inventory offers thousands of different products.
It's a fact that this market is full of ink and toner suppliers, and they all claim to help you save a lot. So what makes CompAndSave different than the others?
Well, it is the post-purchase service, or in other words: Peace of mind when ordering from CompAndSave.com! We offer one-year money back guarantee on every product we sell, and we are proud of having almost 99% customer satisfaction rate.
We are the perfect match for MoneySavingMom.com readers. Our name, CompAndSave.com, which stands for compare and save and we offer compatible or remanufactured ink & toner cartridges that saves you up to 80% in comparison to brand name contenders.
In the end, almost everyone has a printer, and needs replacement ink every other month. Why would you pay a fortune for inks when you can get the same quality for a cheaper price?
Does CompAndSave have any new products or promotions coming up?
We are proud to announce a massive $1 ink campaign exclusive to MoneySavingMom.com readers. We specifically picked the best-selling ink cartridges from our database, and priced them at $1 compared to $20-$30 brand-name ones. Just visit this page, and find your ink within the clearance items list, and place your order for a price of gum.
If your ink model is not listed within the clearance items list, don't worry. You can still save 15% on top of our savings up to 80%. Just use the given coupon code at checkout, and enjoy unbeatable prices.
Is CompAndSave involved in any charity work?
In February, we donated $1 from every transaction to American Heart Association, and we accumulated over $10,000 in one month. Presently, we are working in conjunction with Food for the Poor. Starting from May 2014, we will be recycling ink & toner cartridges, and donating every penny to help orphans and those who are less fortunate.
I would like to invite everyone to ship back their empty ink & toner cartridges to CompAndSave.com, so that we can convert that garbage into much needed donations. Also, in October, we are also preparing for a big campaign that will help us to donate a generous amount to fight against breast cancer.
What would you most like your customers or future customers to know about CompAndSave?
We are a colorful and fun company who not only help you save money on printer supplies, but also offer an entertaining shopping experience (our newsletter subscribers and social media followers know what I mean). We have fun contests with great prizes.
Just last Christmas, we gave away a diamond ring to one lucky customer, as well as a big screen TV, and a couple of iPhones and iPads. And we also work hard to give back to the community by contributing in many charity activities.
How can your customers get the most out of CompAndSave?
By subscribing to our bi-weekly newsletters! Our team works hard to determine what our customers need and want most, and our email campaigns are always driven with this point in mind.
Is there anything else that you would like for MSM readers to know about CompAndSave?
We would like to thank Crystal for having such a great website. We have been a loyal follower of her deal updates for many years, and we learned how to be frugal but also enjoy good things without spending a fortune.
Now, it is a great honor taking our place on MSM, and offering your readers a great way to save on ink. We hope this special $1 ink deal reaches the individuals who need it the most, and weappreciate MSM's existence for helping them stay on a budget!
Interested in becoming a monthly sponsor or advertising with us? Find more details here.
Need printer ink? Visit CompAndSave.com for an exclusive $1 ink sale for Money Saving Mom® followers!
Guest post from Jason of Home Life Organized
I hope our story both encourages and gives you ideas of your own for budgeting and scaling back on expenses.
Between selling our second car, cutting the cord on cable, switching to a pay-as-you-go family phone plan, refinancing our house, and wiping out our credit card debt, my wife and I have learned how to effectively manage our budget and still be able to enjoy life without feeling like we're giving anything up.
So why did we decide to make all of these changes? It was mostly a matter of circumstance for us.
My wife was pregnant and just laid off from her job. Although she tried to find other work, she wasn't able to find anything through her pregnancy.
Once the baby came, we decided that she would stay at home with him. This meant that our take-home income was cut in half; we went from a dual-income couple, to a single-income family with a baby.
I already kept a monthly budget to track all of our regular bills, so I began with looking at what we were spending and where we could cut.
Here is how we ended up saving over $900 per month:
We Switched to One Car
We both leased cars and since my wife is home with the baby, she needed a car during the day. We are about 25 minutes from the train station that I take into work — so it's definitely a sacrifice, but it was also a big savings for us. By switching to one car we saved on the car payment, car insurance, gas, and maintenance.
We Cut the Cord on Cable
The cable bill was out of control at almost $200/month and we needed to do something about it. We decided to cut the cord on cable and use a combination of Roku, Aereo, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and our personal DVD collection for our TV watching. So far so good and we are still able to watch every show we used to.
We Switched Cell Phone Plans
Before we were married we each had our own service through different carriers. We ended up switching to a family plan through MetroPCS which included unlimited talk, text, and data so we haven't missed a thing.
We Refinanced Our House
We already had a great interest rate on our house, but we were paying PMI (private mortgage insurance). Through home improvements we had enough equity and just recently completed the refinance, got rid of PMI, and lowered our mortgage payment.
We Paid Off Credit Card Debt
We just finished paying off our final credit card. We used the snowball method of paying off the lowest balance cards first and adding that extra amount to the next card.
If you had to save $900 per month, could you do it? If so, how?
Jason Bazinet blogs at Home Life Organized. He’s happily married to Keri and father to his amazing son, Reid. He works full-time in marketing, and loves finding good deals, cooking healthful but convenient meals, and spending time with his family.photo source
Need printer ink? Visit CompAndSave.com for an exclusive $1 ink sale for Money Saving Mom® followers! 
