If you’ve been reading this site for long, you’re probably aware of All You magazine. I recommend it under my list of coupon resources, since every issue is filled with coupons. Thanks to the recent Eversave deal, Jai and I both have a subscription to it now! So when All You contacted me and asked if I’d like to check out a copy of their first-ever special issue devoted to smart shopping, I was very interested to have a look. But here’s the best part: 10 lucky Super Coupon Girl readers will each win a copy of All You’s Smart Shopping special issue, so read on for your chance to win!

The All You Smart Shopping special issue is a standalone magazine, meant to serve as a consumer guide to saving money. This special edition features articles with tips for saving money on household items, from food to appliances. Unlike the monthly installments of All You magazine, this special edition does not come with tons of coupons – there are only 2 coupons in this issue, both for other magazines. There are also some online coupon codes listed, but that’s it; I just wanted to be clear on this, so that none of my readers buy this solely for coupons and then become disappointed! The goal of this edition is that purchasing it will save you money because of the information contained, rather than providing a lot of coupons. So how does it stack up?

I enjoyed flipping through this magazine – I always like reading articles on ways to save money. No matter how much frugal know-how you have, you can still pick up a trick or two by continuing to read and observe. Most of this magazine contains fairly standard advice, at least for someone like me, who has been living frugally in one way or another my whole life. Some of the articles didn’t strike me as being very cost-effective at all; for example, there’s a section titled “Head-to-Toe Fall Outfits for $200 or Less”. I’m the biggest fashionista I know, but I have never spent that much money on a single outfit in my life – I’m the kind of person who buys cocktail dresses for .50 cents!

Another article of note was “Are you paying too much for convenience?”. In this, they break down the prices of pre-packaged foods versus the time spent preparing your own to see which is really most cost effective. I really like the premise of breaking down the numbers like this; the trouble is that prices vary so much from region to region, and pairing coupons with a sale can dramatically change which method is cheapest. But it’s good food for thought, and I think this kind of comparison can inspire readers to do some number crunching on their own!

All in all, I think this magazine would be the most useful to the frugal novice. I did, however, pick up a few ideas: For example, they provided a useful suggestion for making your own moldable ice packs, and I learned that there is a product you can buy called an “Oil mister”, which enables you to fill it with standard vegetable oil to create your own PAM-style cooking spray. Who knew!
My favorite section by far was the recipes – this magazine includes a recipe for a simple Three-Bean Chili that I really want to try!

Want a sneak peek inside this special issue? One of the magazine’s articles, “Tips for Buying Appliances”, is available to read online – click here to check it out.

TEN Super Coupon Girl readers will each win a copy of the All You Smart Shopping special issue, valued at $4.97! Here’s how to enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post and tell me: Have you ever bought an issue of All You magazine?

Want extra entries? Do any of the following, and leave a separate comment for each one:

2. Link to this post on your blog, then come back here and leave me the link!
3. Write about this on Twitter, then come back and leave me the link to your tweet! One Twitter entry per person. You can use the button at the bottom of this post to tweet with one click!
4. Post my button on your website – just copy and paste the following code, and let me know where you put it: