Sunday, July 24, 2011

Babies R Us: 2 Day Diaper Sale ~ Huggies for $1!!

If you have little ones, you will definitely want to check this out:

Babies R Us: 2 Day Diaper Sale ~ Huggies for $1!!

From what I am reading, it also works at Toys R Us! I am going to try to get there today to try it and will update later today.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

New Snackpicks Coupons!

Kellogg's has put out a new Snackpicks newsletter today and, as usual, there are some great printable coupons available!

As of right now, these coupons are available to print:

.75 off any ONE package of Keebler Granola Fudge Bars
$1.00 off TWO packages of Keebler Town House Crackers
$1.00 off TWO packages of Kellogg's FiberPlus chewy bars
$1.00 off TWO packages of Keebler and/or Sunshine multi-packs
$1.00 off TWO packages of Keebler cookies

You'll have to sign up for their site, or just sign in if you have a Kellogg All-K Pass (which works on several different Kellogg sites), then you can print the coupons. I get an email from them everytime they have new coupons available. Definitely worth it!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Kids Eat Free at Chili's today!




Good only for today, July 20, 2011, get a free kids meal when you purchase an adult entree! Check it out HERE!

Also, if you haven't already joined the Chili's e-mail club, be sure and do that now and receive a coupon for FREE CHIPS AND QUESO!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Check out Oscar Mayer on FB!

Become a fan of Oscar Mayer on Facebook and write a TASTE-a-MONIAL about their hotdogs. Each TASTE-a-MONIAL that is posted increases the amount that the coupon will be worth when it is released. Once they have 60,000 TASTE-a-MONIAL's posted, the coupon will be for a FREE PACK OF OSCAR MAYER SELECT HOTDOGS!! Currently the coupon is worth $3.50 off.

If you submit a TASTE-a-MONIAL, you will receive an email when the coupon is ready, which will be around August 15th.

New coupon ~ $1/2 Bic Stationery products!

$1/2 Bic Stationery Products

You can print two of these ~ just go back to browse the coupons after you print the first one. Southern Savers also warns that you need to print another coupon with this, otherwise it will print a huge ad along with it and doesn't print the coupon itself right.

You can also see HERE where you can use this coupon to score FREE PENS!!

Free socks from Hanes on "Happy Toes Tuesday!"

Go "like" their Facebook page and enter to win free socks in their Happy Toes Tuesday giveaway!

Each Tuesday in July they are giving away 700 pair of Hanes socks, and it's not first come first served, they are going to randomly pick 700 people to win, so everyone has a fair chance.

Be sure and enter! Who can't use free socks?!

Hanes Happy Toes Tuesday!!

SwagBucks

Search & Win

Are you a member of SwagBucks yet? If not, WHY?! I joined SwagBucks a little over a year ago and as of today have earned 40 (yes, 40) $5 gift cards to Amazon! That's $200 in Amazon gift cards ABSOLUTELY FREE! There is no catch either.

The main way to get SwagBucks is to use their search engine. Download their toolbar. Yes it will take up space on your page, but it is helpful and gives you the search bar right there in front of you, so you will remember to use it. I have not had any problems with viruses or my computer running funny or anything since using it. When you search on the SwagBucks toolbar, several times a day you will be awarded SwagBucks. They will vary in amount from 6 to 50 or more. (usually it will stay around 6 to 12 each time you get them ~ Friday is a good day to use the search engine often because they give larger numbers of bucks) You won't get them every time you search, but if you make a habit of using the search engine, you are often just surprised when they pop up! (It will show at the top of the search result page when you are rewarded with them.)

You can also find SwagCodes various places online. Be sure and "like" SwagBucks on FB and you will get a heads up when there are codes available. When you find out, you just go to the SwagBucks page and enter it in. The SwagBucks will be added to your total.

You can also shop at a lot of places through SwagBucks, and get bucks for your purchases. I don't shop just because a store is listed on there, but if you are going to shop there anyway, get some extra bucks for doing it!

There are other ways to receive SB's, including shopping through their website, answering surveys and even pringing and using coupons!

Once you get started with it and decide that you like it, be sure and try to get referrals. Once you start getting referrals, you get SwagBucks when they get SwagBucks, and this makes your bucks add up really fast!

Feel free to ask any questions you may have. :)

It really is as easy as using a search engine and receiving free gift cards for doing it!

If you aren't already signed up, please use my link HERE and give it a try!

Have you joined CrowdTap?

Girls125x125

Join me on Crowdtap - Get $1 just for signing up!
Earn cash for charity and gift cards by collaborating with brands! Answer polls, participate in discussions, sample products and throw sponsored brand parties. Crowdtap is FREE and you can sign up in seconds with your Facebook login. Use my personal invite code and get your first $1 on sign up.

The current sample program is for Old Navy Jeans! (they don't do things halfway ~ these programs are AMAZING!) Recently they also did Old Navy tanktops and Old Navy yoga pants.

The key to get the opportunity to apply is to answer your quick hits and participate in the discussions you are invited to. I'm still waiting to be chosen for one of the sample programs, and I really want to get this one! :)

Great $1.50 Skintimate Coupon!

You'll want to print this one quickly! Be sure to go back to the page a second time and print a second copy.

Save $1.50 on Skintimate

According to Southern Savers, there will be a deal starting Sunday at CVS that these coupons will pair great with...check that out HERE!!

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Breakdown of my Rite Aid and CVS deals

I had a great frugalin trip to Rite Aid and CVS tonight. When I posted my pic and my totals spent on FB I got several messages asking me to break down what exactly I got and how much it cost, so I figure it will make a better blog entry than FB note. :)

Here is my picture of what I purchased (minus the zantac which I realized didn't make it in the pic!):


And here is my breakdown:

Rite Aid:

1 Hungry Jack Pancake Mix Reg 2.79, on sale for $1.99
1 Hungry Jack Syrup, Reg 3.99, on sale for $1.99
2 SAMY Foam hair color, Reg 9.99, on sale for $8.99
1 Zantac cool mint tablet (24ct) Reg 10.49, on sale for $7.99

Q's used:

-$3/15 RA q
-$5 off SAMY RA VV q (Rite Aid Video Value q)
-$2 off SAMY RA VV q
-$3 off SAMY manu q
-$3 off SAMY manu q
-$2 off Zantac RA VV q
-$5 off Zantac manu q
-$1 off Hungry Jack manu q
-$1 off Hungry Jack manu q

-$3 UP reward from last week
-$3 UP reward from last week

subtotal: .14
saved $31.00
99% savings!

Received:

$5 UP from SAMY hair color, $5 UP from SAMY hair color, $2 UP from Zantac

CVS:

(1st transaction)

1 Hershey Bliss Dark Chocolate, 5.99
1 Rephresh tampons, Reg. 6.89, on sale for $6.79
1 Coke Zero, Reg. 1.87, on sale for .79

Q's used:

- $1.00 Hershey Bliss manu q
- $1.00 Rephresh manu q

- $4.00 ECB from last week
- $4.00 ECB from last week
- $3.00 ECB from last week

subtotal: .57
saved: 14.18
96% savings!

Received:

$6.79 ECB for Rephresh, $5.99 ECB for Bliss chocolate

2nd Transaction:

1 Sally Hanson Nail Color, Reg. 9.49, on sale for $2.37
1 LA Looks hair gel, Reg. 3.99, on sale for $2.99
1 John Frieda Hairspray, Reg. 6.79, on sale for $6.00
1 John Frieda Shine, Reg. 6.79, on sale for $6.00
1 64oz water bottle, Reg. 7.99, on sale for $5.99
2 Coke Zero, Reg. 1.87, on sale for .79

Q's used:

- $1.00 Sally Hanson manu q
- $1.00 LA Looks hair gel manu q
- $5.00 John Frieda manu q
- $5.00 John Frieda manu 1

- $5.99 received in 1st transaction
- $6.79 received in 1st transaction

Received:
$2.00 ECB from LA Looks gel, $3.00 for spending $10 in John Frieda products

Subtotal: .15
Saved: 38.84
99% savings!

Regular Retail price of pictured products: $84.02
Subtotal paid: .86
Total savings of 99%!!!
And still have $12 in UPS and $5 in ECBs.

Love when it works out like this!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Do You Sweep?

No, not with a broom. But with your keyboard, or paper and stamps. Do you enter sweepstakes and contests? If not, WHY NOT?!

About a year ago, I decided to try my hand at entering contests. After searching for contests online, I found the website ContestGirl. On ContestGirl, you can search the different types of contests available (single entry, daily entry, weekly entry, blog entry, etc...) and you can also create an account and save the "daily" entry contests that you are interested in entering, so you can go to one place each day to enter your contests. I learned quickly that the ones with the best chances of winning are the daily entries, because so many people will enter those once and leave it at that...if you enter every day the entire duration of the contest, your name is in there a lot! The first month of doing contests, I won one prize pack, and it still makes me laugh. It consisted of: two cans of powdered buttermilk, a can of dutch processed cocoa, an apron and recipe book. But you better believe I was absolutely thrilled!

I started looking around for other good sweeps/contest sites and found Sweeties Sweeps, which is another great site that I highly recommend. I started checking out Sweeties other sites as well, which include Sweeties Freebies and a "secret" site that some were talking about, Sweeties Secret Sweeps. The Secret Site was intriguing to me, yet it cost $25 a year to join. I was told that there were a lot of contests listed on that site that weren't published many places online, and they were broken down into contests for each state, too. I was really against paying for the opportunity to enter contests, but after a few weeks of going back and forth, I decided to go for it. I was going to use the money that I earned by doing surveys online to purchase it anyway, so it wasn't coming out of my pocket...only my PayPal. ;) I made the deal with myself that if, in that year, I had not won enough contests to more than pay for the membership, then I just wouldn't re-up when my one year was up.

I cannot go into detail about Sweeties Secret Sweeps, but I can tell you that to me, it has been very much worth the $25! I have found contests on this site that I have seen nowhere else, including instant wins, text-to-win and mail-in contests. When I did my first mail-in, I bought one book of stamps and made a deal with myself that if I had not won enough to cover the cost of the stamps by the time I finished the book, I would be done with mail-ins.

From Sweeties Secret Sweeps alone, I have won:

* $25 Dollar General Gift Card

* Autographed Brian McCann baseball (he is my favorite ball player and has been since his first rookie year here with the Rome Braves ~ I have a ball he signed then too!)

* Soccer ball

* Various reusable shopping bags

* $500 check (Just got notification of this one about two weeks ago and am anxiously awaiting its arrival! This was a mail-in entry, so I would say that it more than paid for my book of stamps!)

From various other sites I have also won:

* FLIP video camera (from a FB contest by Verizon)

* $20 Target gift card

* Case of Milano cookies (from a FB contest by Milano)

* $25 Wendy's gift card (this one was from a FB contest to send in a video for "Hey Wendy" giving them suggestions)

* Best Buy gift card of some sort...won this one in the KitKat contest I posted on the blog (in March I believe) and finally got an email this week that my win was not, in fact, a candy bar, but a gift card to Best Buy. Don't know the denomination, but it will be either $50, $100 or $500!

There are sooo many prizes out there to win, and entering takes so very little time!

A few tips:

* Instant win games can be easy or complex, but just know that how you perform on the game does NOT determine whether you win a prize. The system is set to give prizes away at certain times and if you happen to be playing at that time, then you win. In fact, you will often see a button to click if you aren't able to view a game...you can do this anytime and it will bypass the game and take you straight to tell you if you are a winner or not.

* The best time to win instant win games is during the night! Think about it...there are fewer people online trying to win, so your chances of being in the right place at the right time is much better than competing with hundreds/thousands/millions of people during the day.

* You can download different AutoFill programs for your computer, which makes filling in contest forms so much easier! I am currently just using the AutoFill that came with my Google toolbar. There are some forms that won't work with an AutoFill, so you can decide if the prizes are worth the time it takes to fill out the form. Roboform is a great AutoFill program too...I have used it before, just haven't downloaded it onto my current computer.

* Read the rules! Be sure that you qualify to enter the contest so that you don't waste your time on it. It's also good to check the rules to be sure that you follow the rules about entering...many times if you inadvertently enter a "single entry" contest more then once, both of your entries are disqualified.

* Consider a separate email address for your sweeps/contests. While winning prizes is awesome fun, many times it is also signing you up for junk email. I don't want it coming into my regular email address, so I have an email address I use strictly for this purpose. You can always set up a free email address on Gmail, Yahoo or even AOL.

* Great contests to enter are those that require you to "do" something: send in a photo, video, write a paragraph, etc...many people don't want to take the extra time to do these things, so the chances of winning these are great!

I know that I have at least one reader who also does sweeps/contests and has even better luck than I do...care to share any more tips? ;)

For everyone else, check it out! And let me know if you have any fun wins! If anyone is interested, I may start a running page of contests. Will think on that one. ;)

Thursday, June 9, 2011

New Publix Coupon book!

Have you ever been checking up the coupon matchups on Southern Savers (or another coupon site) and saw that there are coupons available from booklets that you have never heard of? If so, don't miss your chance to get one of these books for yoruself!

Go HERE and request a copy of the newest Publix coupon booklet. This has great coupons in it, and they are usually store coupons, which means that you can combine them with a manufacturer's coupon for great deals ~ even free stuff!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

want coupons? :)

I always get asked where I get so many coupons for free products and other high value coupons...it's pretty simple actually. I write to the companies!

Now, this does not mean that I write and request samples and coupons...while this may occasionally work, there are hundreds/thousands of people who do this on any given day. What I do is write to them and give my opinion of their product. For example, I may tell DiGiorno that their pizza is the only one that my family can agree on and then go on to tell them how much we enjoy the product. If I have a problem with a product, I write to them and give that information. Companies enjoy receiving your feedback, be it good or bad and more times than not, will reward you with coupons ~ many of which are for free products!

I found a site online that lists a "5 a Day" companies for you to contact. Check it out: Couponing to Disney: 5 a Day!

She lists the companies that she has contacted and what they have sent her, and you can go back in her list and write to various companies that she has already mentioned.

Here are a few that I got from this site, wrote to, and received coupons back: (there are more, these are the first ones I thought of)

Lance sent me 2 coupons for boxes of 8ct crackers

Michelinas sent me 2 coupons for free products

Molly McButter sent me 3 .50 coupons

Aleve sent me a Bayer coupon booklet

I am going to be posting a few of the "5 a Day" companies that she posts on her wonderful site, Couponing to Disney!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Great folks at CVS!

I see so much complaining about stores lately, I wanted to take a moment and brag a little on the folks at my local CVS. :)

Back in March, they advertised a new Revlon product, Revlon CustomEyes eyeshadow. It was advertised for $7.49 and you got $4ECB back. When I scanned my card during this sale, it printed me out a $5 coupon off of the Revlon CustomEyes. I was thrilled, cause this made the deal a MM! However, they didn't have the product and didn't know when they would get it in. The other stores also had not received it. So I got a rain check.

After a few weeks of checking with them when their trucks ran, still no makeup. The day my $5 coupon was to expire, I talked to one of the cashiers, who called the manager and they marked through the expiration date on the coupon and put a note on the back that I had been looking for the product and it was not available, so I was to be allowed to use the coupon when/if the product became available.

I had given up on getting it, after two months, but low and behold, I walked in CVS last night and there it was, in a huge display at the front of the store! All $8.98 of it. :) I grabbed one of them up and noticed a $2 manufacturer q on it. WOW! I am always wary when having to do a deal like this where there are rain checks, ECB's, store and manu q's involved, but the guy working the register was AWESOME!

My deal went like this:

Revlon CustomEyes: 8.98 current price
Revlon CustomEyes: 7.49 (as per raincheck)
CVS coupon: 5.00
Manu coupon: 2.00
Total due: .49 plus tax
Got back: 4.00 ECB!

Yes, they paid me $3.50 to take the eye makeup! I have run into rude people on a regular basis being a couponer, but it's rare that someone waits on you and seems knowledgeable about what is going on and how to do things. Will post about the rest of my deals from CVS later, but wanted to post this first!

New Rite Aid Coupon Policy

Rite Aid has updated their coupon policy...unfortunately it means nothing good for us. I have made BOLD the parts that are going to make the most difference to you, and posted an example of how it will hurt below the new policy.

Rite Aid – Coupon Acceptance


To Our Valued Customers:

Rite Aid gladly accepts the following coupon types as detailed in the coupon acceptance guidelines listed below:

COUPON TYPES:

Manufacturer Coupons

 Manufacturer coupons are found in newspapers, magazines and even affixed to products. The UPC on these coupons begins with a “5.”
Rite Aid Manufacturer Coupons

 Rite Aid Manufacturer coupons generally appear in our weekly circular, on our website and are sent to customers via email. These coupons are labeled “manufacturer coupon” and have a UPC that begins with “49.”
Rite Aid Valuable Coupons

 Rite Aid coupons are labeled “Valuable Coupon” and have a UPC that begins with “48.”

Internet/Print at Home coupons

 Rite Aid will accept internet / print at home coupons up to the equivalent value of $5.00 off.

 A Rite Aid coupon (with the Rite Aid logo) is NOT considered an internet coupon (even if printed off the internet) and is therefore not subject to the $5.00 maximum.
+UP Reward Coupons

 +UP Reward coupons are special coupons earned by a customer in a prior purchase that can be used for any non-prescription purchase with a small number of exclusions that are listed on the +UP coupon. Multiple +UP coupons can be used (subject to the printed exclusions) up to the amount of purchase before sales tax.

Buy One, Get One Free

 Rite Aid accepts Buy One, Get One Free coupons, however only one coupon can be used for each pair of items purchased. A customer can use one “cents off” coupon in conjunction with the item they are purchasing on a Buy One Get One Free promotion (or with a Buy One Get One Free coupon), although the value of the cents off coupon cannot exceed the selling price of the item.

 Buy One Get One Free coupons cannot be used in conjunction with a Buy One Get One Free promotion.


Total Purchase Coupons

 Rite Aid may feature total purchase coupons which discount the total purchase amount based upon meeting specific requirements. For example, $5 off a $25 purchase price threshold coupon.

 These coupons are accepted under the following conditions:
o The coupon is valid and in date; only one total purchase coupon per transaction.
o Total purchase equals or exceeds $25 before tax (before any coupons are applied).
o Coupons for individual items can also be used including another “48” coupon that is tied to an item in the transaction.
o Provided the total of items purchased is equal to or greater than the purchase requirement, other coupons can be used in conjunction with the total purchase coupon.

ACCEPTANCE GUIDELINES:

General Guidelines:

 Coupons must be valid and in date; Coupons cannot be exchanged for cash.

 Register will validate coupon through scanning or keyed entry of the coupon UPC number.

 In the event that any item’s selling price is less than the value of the coupon, Rite Aid will accept the coupon in exchange for the selling price of the item. Coupon redemption can never exceed the selling price of an item and no cash back is allowed.

 When making a return for a product that had a coupon attached, Rite Aid cannot refund cash for the value of the coupon and cannot return the coupon that was used.

 Rite Aid reserves the right to not accept any coupon where the validity or the coupon cannot be established.
Multiple Coupons

 More than one coupon can be used on the purchase of a single item under the following conditions:
o All coupons match the item being purchased.
o The total of the coupons is equal to or less than the selling price of the item before sales tax.

 No more than one “48” Rite Aid Valuable coupon, one “49” Rite Aid Manufacturer coupon, and one “5” Manufacturer coupon can be used on a single item. Rite Aid may accept up to 4 identical coupons for the same number of qualifying items as long as there is sufficient stock to satisfy other customers within the store manager’s sole discretion.

Revised May 2011
~~~~
At first glance it doesn't seem *too* bad, right?
Well, take this for example:
Last week I bought 2 of the Airwick iMotion. They are $13.99 each, but the same was b1g1 free last week. So I used (2) $4 off coupons and a $1 VV coupon...this brought the total to $4.99, then I got back $4 in UPS, making the total .50 each for the air fresheners. Awesome, right? Well, with the new policy, it would go like this: $13.99 each, b1g1 free. Use (1) $4 off coupon and $1 VV value coupon, which will bring the total to $8.99...after $4UP, each air freshener will still cost me $2.50, which is a good deal, but I won't be able to afford.
Stinks. :(

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

$10 Bounce Coupons by mail

Bounce Coupons!

Be sure and check this out ~ they will send you Bounce coupons (including Dreft and other laundry items) by mail!

Monday, May 23, 2011

Great Rite Aid trip this weekend!

Wish I had taken a pic of my loot, but I didn't and I have already opened some of the makeup and the kiddos ate the candy, so I'll just tell you about it. :)

Remember, the key to having trips like this to Rite Aid is to keep rolling your UP rewards over! I had $16 that were expiring on Saturday, so I spent those on items that were on sale, offered more UP rewards and that I had coupons for. I ended up paying $2.99 OOP and getting back $11.00 in UPS to play with next week. :)

I got:

2 Purex Laundry Detergent @ 1.97 each
2 Oral-B Cross Action toothbrushes @ 2.99 each
2 AirWick Ultra iMotion kits @ 13.99 (b1g1 free)
2 Rimmel Eyeliner @ 3.99 each (b1g1 50%)
1 Rimmel Eyeshadow @ 5.19 (b1g1 50%)
1 Rimmel Day2Night Mascara @ 7.99 (b1g1 50%)
2 KitKat candy bars @ .50 each

Coupons used:

2 $1.00 off Purex Laundry Detergent
2 $1.50 off Oral B Cross Action toothbrushes
2 $4.00 off Airwick Ultra iMotion kits
1 $1.00 off Airwick ULtra iMotion kits (RiteAid VV q)
1 $2.00 off Rimmel Day2Night Mascara (RiteAid VV q)
1 $2.00 off Rimmel Day2Night Mascara
1 $2.00 off any Rimmel cosmetic
1 $2.00 off any Rimmel cosmetic
$3/15 q for survey
$2/10 Beauty Products (RiteAid VV q)
$1 off any non-pharmacy product (RiteAid VVq)
$2.00 UP
$2.00 UP
$2.00 UP
$5.00 UP
$4.00 UP

Total before Q's: $43.99
After Q's, my subtotal was in the negatives, so I had to throw the kitkat's in to bring it above $0!
Total after Q's: $2.99 (which included $2.52 tax!)
Got back: $11.00 in UPS!

FYI, the pre-tax total of the original prices of the items comes out to $72.10. This is the price that we would normally pay if we just went in to pick up a few things and didn't use our Wellness Card, coupons and UP rewards...CRAZY to think I just paid $.49 for $72.10 worth of products!

Not bad.

Free Sample of MoJo Chocolate Milk

Check out MojoMilk for a free sample!

This looks like an awesome product! It appears to be like the little drop-ins that we use for water, but it's chocolate flavor to add to milk! I know, of course, white milk is the most healthy, but many kids just won't drink it...this looks like a great compromise! Not only does it have the yummy chocolate flavor, but it also contains probiotics (like those found in yogurt!)

Note that they do ask that you share Mojomilk on either your FB or Twitter profile. :)

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Great coupon ~ $1.00/2 Coca-Cola or Dasani Products!

If your family is anything like mine, by the time you get to the checkout, at least one of the kids is whining about being thirsty...with this coupon, you can save $1.00/2 Coca-Cola or Dasani Products ~ that comes out to paying for one and getting the other for about .25!

Print it HERE!!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Restaurant.com

Are you familiar with restaurant.com? If not, CHECK IT OUT!!

Restaurant.com offers discounted gift certificates to restaurants all over the country. Previously, they didn't really have any offers for the Rome area, so we only purchased from them when we were going to Myrtle Beach. Now, however, they offer several places to choose from in our area!

Currently, you can get gift certificates from:

Johnny's New York Style Pizza (Cartersville Location)

$10 gift card for $5 ($20 min purchase)
$25 gift card for $10 ($35 min purchase)

World of Wings (WOW)

$10 gift card for $5 ($20 min purchase)
$25 gift card for $10 ($45 min purchase)
$50 gift card for $20 ($100 min purchase)

Bennett's Steakhouse (Cave Spring)

$25 gift card for $10 ($50 min purchase)

These are great prices, right? Even with the minimum purchase, you can't beat it...or can you? Restaurant.com offers Promo Codes almost all of the time...currently there is a code out to save you 80% on your order! Yes, 80%! I just purchased 4 - $25 gift certificates to WOW for $8 total! $100 of food for $8.** :)

The Promo Code is STEAK (you will see a place to enter it when you view your cart). This Promo Card is only good through April 14th. If you miss this one, though, you can use the Promo Code CABIN which will save you 50% off of your order. Be sure and do a search before ordering, though, and be sure there isn't a current code out that will save you more money!

If anyone is interested in knowing about the restaurant.com Promo Codes, please comment and let me know, and I can do a short post when I find them.

** Keep in mind that you MUST purchase the minimum order before the gift certificate will be applied. An 18% gratuity will be added prior to discount. The certificate is valid for FOOD ONLY.

CVS Freebie on Twitter

CVS has several free offers going today! If you have a twitter account, Follow CVS on Twitter. Enter your CVS ExtraCare Card # and your email address and they will email you a coupon for a free drink or candy.

Do it quickly, though, cause it's only good for a few days!

CVS Beauty Club Freebie!

Check out the CVS Beauty Club Facebook Page. "Like" them and put in your CVS ExtraCare Card # and your email address and they will email you a coupon for Free Full Size Essence of Beauty Antibacterial Collection item!

Free is always great...free FULL SIZE product is even better!

Sunday, April 3, 2011

And the winners of the Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce are...


#21 ~ Kupon Klipper!

and


#25 ~ Coolwhip!

Congratulations on being the winners of my very first blog giveaway! I will email you for your addresses. :)

Keep an eye out for more giveaways soon!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce Review and GIVEAWAY!!!



When you go to the store and come to the bbq sauce/ketchup/mustard section, you are probably like me and do one of two things: (1) you grab the same brand you always use or you (2) grab the bottles you have a coupon for. If this is you, then chances are that you have not tried Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce. I admit that I have seen it on the shelf, but haven't tried it because I really wasn't sure what an "All Purpose Sauce" was all about.

After beginning to follow Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce on Facebook and seeing all of the giveaways they put up each and every day, I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to sample their sauce.

My husband (Mr. Chicken?) is definitely a "sauce" kind of person, and loves everything from steak sauce to bbq sauce to hot sauce, so he was excited about trying a new sauce...the kids weren't too sure about a new sauce, but let's face it, give a kid a piece of chicken and they have an urge to dip it in something!

We started out with crockpot bbq chicken. We added the Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce about an hour before the chicken was done...it turned a little dark in the crockpot and concerned me a bit that it might be burned, but when I tasted it, it definitely wasn't! It was a slightly different taste from regular bbq sauce, maybe a little sweeter, but it was really good! Mr. Chicken liked it and so did kid #2...(kid #1 and #3 just don't like bbq anything, LOL...)

Mr. Chicken decided that because it wasn't actually a bbq sauce that we should try Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce it on other things, so we pulled it out last night for chicken nuggets and french fries. All three kids liked it better than sweet and sour, honey mustard and regular bbq sauce for their nuggets, and Mr. Chicken and kid #2 both used it for their fries instead of ketchup...yes, a 9 year old replaced his ketchup for Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce. That's high praise, indeed!

We did not have a chance to try it on steak yet, but definitely plan to. I absolutely recommend Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce...it is not a bbq sauce but an "all purpose sauce" and seems to perfectly complement most anything you pair it with!

And now, what does this mean for you? Well, Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce has given me four bottles of their wonderful sauce to give to YOU! Yes, two of you will win not one, but TWO bottles of Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce!!

How do you enter?

Mandatory entry: Go to the Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce website, then come back here and let me know what you would like to try the sauce on.

For an extra entries: (please leave a separate comment for each of these that you do ~ up to 7 total entries per person)

** Follow “The Frugal Chicken” via Networked Blogs ~ right side of blog page. (If you are already a follower, you get this entry too!)

** Follow “The Frugal Chicken” via Google Friend Connect ~ right side of blog page. (If you are already a follower, you get this entry too!)

** Like “The Frugal Chicken” on FB HERE!

** Like Country Bob’s on FB HERE!

** Follow Country Bob’s on Twitter HERE!

** Follow The Frugal Chicken on Twitter HERE!

Remember, leave a separate comment for each of these extra entries that you complete! You can have up to 7 entries/comments. :)

The contest will close at 9pm EST on Sunday night, April 3rd. I will use random.org to choose the winners. Please list your email address in your comment so I will know how to contact you. Once I email the winners, you will have 48 hours to respond with your mailing address. If I don't hear from you, I will have random.org choose another winner.

Good luck!

Monday, March 28, 2011

New rebate on Kellogg's Cereal ~ $10 pre-paid MasterCard!

Kellogg's Cereal is offering a $10 pre-paid rewards MasterCard! Check out the information and print the rebate form HERE!!!

You have to send the UPC's from 10 boxes of participating Kellogg's cereals and the rebate form. They must be postmarked by 12/31/2011 and received by 1/7/2012. What I think is awesome about this deal is that unlike most rebate programs, there is not a limit of one...in fact you can do this deal FIVE TIMES!!!

The Participating Brands are (unfortunately not the kids cereals I have a lot of already, LOL!):

All-Bran Original
All-Bran Buds
All-Bran Complete Wheat Flakes
Smart Start Strong Heart Antioxidant
Smart Start Heart Toasted Oat
Corn Flakes
Corn Flakes Touch of Honey
Raisin Bran
Raisin Bran Crunch
Raisin Bran Extra
Crispix
Product 19
Mueslix
Cracklin' Oat Bran
Lowfat Granola with Raisins
Lowfat Granola without Raisins
Lowfat Granola Original
Fruit Harvest Strawberry/Blueberry
Rice Krispies

(must be 10 oz or larger)

Remember to print these these Kellogg's Coupons before you head out to do your shopping!


Thanks to Southern Savers for the heads up on this awesome offer!

Check out Smile.ly ~ free products for your opinions!

I am new to this site, but it looks pretty neat! You sign up and fill out a profile, and they will offer you "Missions" which include sending you coupons for full size products...your mission is complete once you try the product and report back with your opinion. It will want to post your opinion to your FB page, not sure if that's mandatory or not...but for each mission you complete and each friend you refer, you earn "smilies" and the more smilies you get, the more missions you will qualify for!

I was approved for two missions and should be receiving a coupon for a full size country crock spread and G.U.M. flossers in the mail anyday now. Those are great freebies!

If this is something you are interested in, please use my link to join, and then pass your own link around to your friends!

smile.ly—Be Heard. Be Happy.

Free Coupon Book ~ Organize in Style!

Several times a year, the site Home Made Simple offers a new coupon booklet. They are absolutely free and have WONDERFUL coupons in them!


All you have to do is go to the Organize in Style Coupon Booklet and request your copy!

Are you a member of Vocalpoint yet?

Vocalpoint is a community for women that provides valuable and interesting insights about new products, surveys, daily tips, articles, and coupons/samples you can share with those you care about. These surprising gifts are certain to brighten your day.

Vocalpoint

They offer a lot of great samples on a regular basis, many of which are full size products! Most of the time, the samples will also come with great coupons, as well. Right now they are offering samples of Breve and the new fruit filled frosted mini wheats. Definitely worth the time of signing up!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

KitKat Text to Win Game

A lot of people have been winning this one, including myself! The only thing is, it doesn't tell you what you have won, it only tells you that you will receive your prize in 4-6 weeks! Chances are that most of us are winning a free candy bar, but there other great prizes too. It will just be a fun surprise when it shows up in the mailbox! (OK, if it's a candy bar I sure hope it's a coupon for it...a kitkat wouldn't last too long in the mailbox on a sunny day in May down here in Georgia!)

KitKat Text to Win Game!

You can enter online at the above link, or you can text the word KitKat to 44144. It will ask you a few questions and then let you know if you are a winner!

So check it out and let me know if you win!

Suave Facebook Giveaway TODAY 3/24!

Be sure and "like" the Suave Professionals FB page HERE!!

Then keep an eye on your FB feed or on their page today, cause they are doing a giveaway with 200,000 prizes available!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Possible John Frieda haircolor FREE!

Go "Like" their FB page...

John Frieda Salon Precise Color

Then scroll way down to COMPLETE SURVEY and see if you qualify to get a coupon for a free box of their new hair color!

I took the survey and was told I would receive a coupon in the mail soon!

Free Appetizer at Longhorn Steakhouse!




To receive an email for a free appetizer at Longhorn Steakhouse, be sure and join The Longhorn Steakhouse Western Hospitality Club

Who doesn't love cheese fries ~ especially FREE ones?! YUM!

Soft Scrub Coupon is back ~ save $1.50!!

Go to Soft Scrub's FB page and "like" it. You can then click on the "Get a Coupon" link on the let side of the page. These don't last long! Remember, this is a "bricks" coupon, so be sure and hit the "back" arrow 3 times and print a 2nd coupon!!

Soft Scrub

Free Kindle e-book ~ "The Simple Dollar: How One Man Wiped Out His Debts and Achieved the Life of His Dreams"

Amazon is offering a great book right now for Kindle absolutely FREE!

Trent Hamm's "The Simple Dollar: How One Man Wiped out his Debts and Achieved the Life of his Dreams."

You can get this even if you do not have a Kindle! There are apps available for smart phones (I use my Android) and you can even just download them to your computer and read them! Amazon lists it's "Top 100 Free e-books" list, and there is always something good to read!

Keep in mind that these change often, so before you click "Buy" look twice at the price to be sure it didn't change while you were deciding whether to download it or not!

Target Beauty Bag

Target offered a "Beauty Bag" freebie a few weeks ago, and mine came in today!


This included a cute little make up bag, a sample of Nivea Express Hydration lotion, Pantene Shampoo, a Neutrogena naturals lip balm, Fekkai shampoo and conditioner sample, a sample of Revlon Colorburst lipgloss and $25 in Target "Beautiful Bucks" which are just Target Store coupons toward brand name items.

I am not a Target shopper often, but those coupons will work just as well at Publix. :)

I will be posting these fun freebies when I find them, so keep watching!

What a great freebie!

New Coupons on Snackpicks!

These go quickly, so check them out and print them if you want them ~ several for cereals and for crackers.

Snackpicks Coupons!

Free Subscription to Woman's Day ~ HURRY!

Mercury Magazines is offering a free 1 year subscription to Woman's Day Magazine...these don't last long, so check it out asap!

Just "skip" the offer pages, no problem! Let me know if you get it. :)

Fill out the form here!!!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Check out this quickie giveaway!!

Crazy Coupon Mommy is having a quickie giveaway to win a copy of Suze Orman's "Action Plans."

Because entries are only accepted for a short period of time, the chances of winning are great!

Check it out HERE!!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Trying out Wal-Mart's new Q policy.

In the past, Wal-mart has NOT been a friend to those who try to be frugal and use coupons. However they recently changed their coupon policy (see the updated policy HERE.

The part I have been seeing so much about (and that I wanted to try out!) was this: •If coupon value exceeds the price of the item, the excess may be given to the customer as cash or applied toward the basket purchase. I saw one customer post that after using her coupons, Wal-Mart actually PAID her $76 to leave with her purchases!

That was enough for me...I took my coupons and went shopping last night!

What I bought:

2 bags of Tidy Cat Kitty Litter (1.97 each)
5 trial (2 pk) Purex Complete laundry sheets (.97 each)
2 DiGiorno Pepperoni Pizzas with TollHouse Cookies (6.50)
1 DiGiorno Meat Pizza with boneless wings (6.50 each)
2 cartons Mayfield Ice Cream (2.97 each)

Used:

2 - 1.50 Tidy Cat Q's
5 - 3.00 Purex Q's
3 - FREE DiGiorno Pizza coupons (took off 6.50 each)

After the Q's came off, Wal-Mart ended up owing ME 1.89!!

The cashier wasn't sure how to do that, so she called someone else over who tried to tell me that they couldn't give me cash...I pulled up the new policy on my phone and showed it to her. She still didn't like it, so she found someone else to talk to about it, they pulled the policy up on their computer and went back and forth over it (while people behind me got mad and went to different lines), and came back over to discuss it further. When I pointed out that they were going to be reimbursed not only the face value of every coupon, but an additional .08 each, they started realizing that I was not cheating them, and that this very situation is the main thing that Wal-Mart changed about their policy. So they showed the cashier how to pay ME to take the products out of the store, and the cashier said (very quietly, LOL!) "You go girl, way to stand your ground." And then asked to add me as a friend on FB so I can help her learn how to frugal, LOL!

I will definitely keep an eye out for great Wal-Mart deals, and when I find them, I'll let you know!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

My opinion on Kroger's new coupon policies...

As most of you know, Kroger has a "new" corporate wide policy that they will no longer accept e-coupons and manufacturer paper coupons on the same items. They also are only accepting one like printable coupon (even if you buy 5 like items, they will only take 1 printed coupon) and they are only doubling two like coupons (regardless of how many you have).

I would like to suggest that every one of you go to the Kroger website and click "contact us" and tell them what you think of these new policies! It may not make a difference, but it sure can't hurt! The more complaints they get, the better. They need to realize that they are going to be losing a lot more money than just the e-coupons once people start shopping other places!

Here is my letter to Kroger:

I have been a Kroger shopper for many, many years, and I started using coupons when my family of 5 became dependent on only one income. I have had great shopping experiences at Kroger, up until this past week.

I was very surprised and dismayed to learn of the new rules regarding the use of an e-coupon and a manufacturer's paper coupon. It is hard enough for me to make ends meet for my family, and to have this savings taken away really hurts! I spend several hours every week trying to work out the best way to spend my grocery money, and up until now, nearly 100% of my money was spent at Kroger. With the new rules, however, I have no other choice than to drive to the next town over to start shopping at Publix. I have to do what is right for my family, and I can save more there. I was told that Kroger was losing money accepting both types of coupons, but I daresay that once the serious couponers start shopping at Publix, you will be losing a lot more money.

Not only that, but there have been many other "new" rules lately, including only accepting one internet printed coupon on same items (even if you purchase 5 items, you can only use 1 printed coupon) and also on only doubling two like coupons.

In this day and age, families are struggling to put food on the table, and I am deeply saddened by the fact that instead of making it a little easier for their loyal customers, Kroger is basically kicking us while we are down and taking away the savings that we depend on, that we NEED.

Publix has wonderful customer service, double coupons, accept internet printables AND competitor coupons...Kroger should take a few lessons from them. I hate to go elsewhere to shop, but feel that you have given me no choice.


So go ahead, make yourself heard, and tell them what you think about the new policies!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

New $35 ConAgra Coupon Book!

ConAgra has a new coupon book offer! Purchase $15 in ConAgra Foods, send in the form plus your receipts, and receive a coupon book with $35 in coupons!

Click here to download and print the request form!

Click here for a list of ConAgra foods!

This is valid on receipts dated between 12/26/10 and 3/31/11, so if you are like me and keep your receipts, most likely you can request your booklet without having to buy a single thing!

Must be postmarked by 4/15/11. :)

Free Chips & Queso at Chili's!




Are you a member of the Chili's E-mail club? If not, sign up now and print a coupon for free Chips & Queso! These coupons usually go quick, so sign up and print ASAP!

House Party

Have you signed up for House Party? If you haven't, why not?!

House Party works with leading brand name companies who have something new that they want to get out there ~ maybe a new product, tv show or a cause ~ and they choose thousands of people from around the country to host parties for them! The parties are all held on a single day, and the hosts receive ~*~ aMaZiNg ~*~ Party Packs to get things started!

They list the parties that are currently available, and you have to apply for each one. The applications are kind of long, but if you are chosen, it is SO worth it!

I have had the pleasure of being chosen for 2 different parties...the first was a Star Wars: The Clone Wars Party that my 9 year old was beyond excited about! We received a big box that included a dozen action figures, board game, coupons for more figures, codes to use with an online game, tattoos and more.

The second party hasn't happened yet, but I got the Party Pack in this week to host the DiGiorno Pizza and Hoops House Party. DiGiorno is promoting their new products which include their DiGiorno frozen pizza and packages that also include breadsticks, boneless wingz or Nestle Tollhouse Break and Bake Cookies. This Pack is awesome! We got an over the door basketball goal, pizza cutter, spatula, basketball shaped timer, basketball pot holder, DiGiorno plates and a coupon booklet, which included 6 coupons for free DiGiorno pizza (the new combo packs) and a dozen $4 off coupons. All we have to add is drinks, and we are good to go!

Currently, they have open several parties...the one the kids would love to host is the Little Debbie Cloud Cake House Party.


If you are chosen for this one, you will receive:

•Little Debbie Cloud Cakes
•Little Debbie napkins
•Little Debbie Cloud Cake note pads
•Little Debbie coasters
•Little Debbie Cloud Cake magnetic photo frames

You will also make your own commercial for the product and have the chance to win awesome prizes.

Make a note of the dates that they will be contacting winners too, and check the website and your email often that day ~ they always offer the parties to more people than they need, and the ones who get back to them and set up their party websites are the ones who get to host. I lost out on a Febreeze party when I first started out with House Party because I didn't respond quick enough!

There are almost always multiple House Party events accepting applications, so check back often!







.

Sunday Coupon Insert Previews!

This week, our newspapers should contain two inserts, (1) RedPlum and (1) SmartSource. To see what coupons you should receive, check out Southern Savers Coupon Preview for 3/13.

Also, be sure and check out Whole Coupon Inserts and see what coupons they are going to be offering this week...get that order in as early as you can so you can get your q's that much sooner!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

How to Organize Your Coupons

How to Organize Your Coupons

Once you start collecting your coupons from the sources that I previously posted about, you will want to find a way to organize them. Believe me, it’s much easier to start organizing as soon as you start collecting coupons…I had a stack of coupon inserts/printed coupons about 4 inches thick before I figured out what worked best for me, and it took many hours to get everything like I wanted it.

There are many, many ways to organize your coupons. I am only going to touch on three, and they are the ones that most people online seem to use.

1) Coupon Binder – This one will be in the most detail, because this is the one that I use. If you have ever seen the shoppers with a big notebook in the “kid seat” in a cart, this is what it was!

***Purchase some form of binder. I highly recommend a zipper closure so that nothing falls out, but get whatever your finances allow. To start with, if you want to use a binder that one of the kids used in school last year, that works just fine. I also have a zipper pencil pouch in the front of my binder where I keep a pair of scissors, store coupon booklets, rain checks, extra pens and store coupons (like ECB’s from CVS or UP’s from Rite Aid).


***Purchase a pack or two of plastic sleeves. You can get various sizes of plastic sleeves…my binder is full of baseball card pockets (plastic sleeves with 9 pockets on each), but you can also use plastic photo sleeves, and these can have from one pocket to twelve pockets I believe. The coupons are “clipped” and folded into the slots of the sleeves so that you can just flip through your coupons page by page. If you cut along the edges of the printable coupons, they tend to fit perfectly in the 9 pocket pages. You can purchase these in bulk on eBay, but I usually get them at Wal-mart on the baseball card aisle up with the check-outs.


***Decide how many categories you want to use in your binder, then purchase that many dividers. (Just like what we used in school.) I have seen people saying that they think the fewer categories you have the better, but I completely disagree. I have my binder divided into 35 sections (which I will list at the bottom of this page) and I must say that I think the more categories you have the better. If you run into an unadvertised sale on toothpaste at Kroger, it’s much easier to flip to your “Dental” or “Teeth Stuff” category and scan 2 pages than it is to flip to your “Toiletries” category and flip through 30 pages!


Now, what do you do with your binder once it is set up? (Keep in mind that this is strictly what works for me…you may find something completely different is best for you!)
When I print my list of what I plan to buy (usually from Southern Savers) I pull the coupons I plan to use. I keep a dozen or so empty pages at the front of my book, and I start filling them with the ones I will need. This way I don’t have to flip all over the book, what I need is right there in front of me. When I put the product into the cart, I will either pull that coupon out and put it in an envelope or pull it out and clip it to the page. This way I don’t get to the register and wonder if I have all of the coupons I need, and whether I forgot to get something. At the end of my shopping trip, if there is still a coupon in a sleeve, I know that either I forgot to pick something up or else the store was out of it.

2) Coupon Box – With this form of organization, you would clip your coupons and separate them into different labeled envelopes. The envelopes are then stored in a small plastic box, which sits in the child seat of the cart. I would highly recommend a box with a secure lid! This is a plastic box (preferably with a secure lid!) This probably works best if you are only clipping coupons for the products that you know you will use. If you are like me and clip everything, this would probably get out of control very quickly! (I clip everything because you never know what you can get free ~ and even if I can’t use it, someone can!

3) Coupon Insert Method – This is where you pull the inserts from the Sunday newspapers out and don’t cut them right away. You would write the date on the front of the insert and file it , usually in an expandable file folder. You could label files for the types of inserts they are (RP ~ Red Plum, SS ~ Smart Source, P&G ~ Proctor & Gamble, etc…)
What do you do after you file your inserts away? Well, typically blogs/coupon information sites will tell you where to find a coupon that you need to complete a deal. It may say “Use the .50/1 Crest Coupon ~ 1/2 SS”…so you know to go to your Smart Source file and pull the one out that you got on 1/2 and clip your coupon. You can then put it in an envelope, a coupon box or one of those small coupon billfolds some people carry. A lot of people swear by this method. My only problem with this method is this…if you are only taking the coupons that you plan to use to the store, you can miss out on a whole bunch of great, unadvertised deals! When you see Crest at Kroger for .99 and your 1.00 coupons are at home, it doesn’t do you any good! That said, if you don’t have time to clip all of the coupons when you get them, this is a really good way to stay organized and still get really great deals

Again, these are just a few of the different ways that people organize their coupons…maybe one of these will work for you, or maybe a combination of these three will work for you! It’s all trial and error, but hopefully this will give you a little insight into the best way to get organized so you can start saving big $$!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

These are the categories I use in my coupon binder:

1) Razors
2) Teeth Stuff
3) Deodorant
4) Makeup
5) Lotion
6) Bodywash & Soap
7) Cleansers, Moisturizers, Skin Care
8) Fem. Hygeine
9) Hair Stuff
10) Baby Stuff
11) Vitamins
12) Medicines
13) 1st Aid
14) Air Fresheners
15) Candy
16) Dish Soap
17) Kitchen Cleaners
18) Bathroom Cleaners
19) Etc. Cleaners
20) Clothes Washing
21) Etc. Drug Store Items
22) Paper Products
23) Pet
24) Salty Snacks
25) Sweet snacks
26) Drinks
27) Cereal
28) Pasta/Cans/Etc
29) Condiments
30) Refrigerated Section
31) Baking
32) Ice Cream
33) Frozen Pizza
34) Frozen Foods
35) Dairy

Free Waffle from Waffle House!

Waffle House is offering a free waffle to all of the members of their "Regular's Club"...you can print your coupon HERE!!

There is also a link to follow Waffle House on Facebook. You can find the link to sign up for the Regular's Club on their FB page, or at their website Waffle House.

The coupon is good through March 1, 2011.

Ice Cream coupons!

Yes, it's a little cold for ice cream, but when does that stop most of us?! Blue Bunny makes some great products, and if you join their iScream Team, you can print coupons too! When you join, you can print $1.00 coupons right away, and they will email you coupons throughout the year. Occasionally they will send you a link to take a survey on their products, but it doesn't take long and you don't *have* to do it.

Be sure and check Blue Bunny's iScream Team out!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Kroger deals 1/2-1/8

Courtesy of Southern Savers

Kroger is still running their P&G deal. When you purchase 4 participating P&G items, you will save $4 off of your grocery total. The prices are already really good, but when you add in the coupons that were in the P&G newspaper insert last week, it is even better!

A few of my favorite deals:

**Charmin Bathroom Tissue 12 Double Rolls $5.99 ea
**Charmin Bathroom Tissue 30 Double Rolls $15.49 ea

Available Coupons:

-$1 off Charmin product, P&G Have You Tried This Yet? booklet
-.25/1 Charmin product, PG 12/26
-$3 off Charmin bath tissue, 24 roll +, PG eCoupon
-$1 off Charmin Sensitive bath tissue, PG eCoupon
-$1 off Charmin Sensitive, Upromise eCoupon

(It was 5.99, I had the $3 e-Q and the .25 paper Q, making my 12 double rolls $2.45!)

**Crest Toothpaste 4-6.2 oz $1.50 ea

Coupons Available:

-.75/1 Crest Pro-Health or 3D White toothpaste, PG eCoupon
-$1 off Crest toothpaste 4 oz + or liquid gel, Proctor & Gamble $110 booklet
-$1 off Crest toothpaste, 4 oz +, P&G Have You Tried This Yet? booklet
-.50/1 Crest toothpaste, 4 oz +, PG 12/26
-.75/1 Crest toothpaste, 4 oz +, PG 12/26

(I had the .75 e-Q and a .75 manufacturer's Q, making this, yes folks, FREE TOOTHPASTE!)

A few of the food deals:

**Fage Greek Yogurt 5.3-7 oz $1

Coupons Available:

-$1 off Fage Total Greek Yogurt, (facebook) printable
(makes it FREE)

**Athenos Hummus 7 oz., (near Deli) 98¢

Coupons Available:

-$2/2 Athenos product printable
(makes it FREE)


To see the complete list of the participating P&G products along with the rest of the great deals available at Kroger this week and to find the clickable links to print the coupons you need, please visit Southern Savers!!

T.G.I.Friday's Coupon ~ Save $5 off purchase of $15!

T.G.I.Friday's ~ Save $5 off purchase of $15!

Monday, January 3, 2011

CVS deals 1/2-1/8

CVS is where I learned to frugal, and it is still a great place to get great deals!

Some highlights this week are:

**$10 ECB WYB $25 in listed products: Limit 1

Wisk Liquid Laundry Detergent $5
-$2 off Wisk laundry detergent, RP 1/02
-$1 off Wisk Laundry Detergent printable or printable
Angel Soft Bath Tissue, 24 big rolls, $9.99
-.50/1 Angel Soft bath tissue, 6 pk double roll +, RP 11/14 or printable
Planters Mixed Nuts, Cashews, Nutrition or Smoked Almonds $3.50
-$1/2 Planters nuts, Kroger Giving Thanks home mailer
Sparkle Paper Towels, 8 pk., $5
Quilted Northern Soft & Strong or Ultra Plush, 12 rolls, $7
-.50/1 Quilted Bath Tissue printable
Nabisco Chips Ahoy, Lorna Doone or Nilla Wafers, 9.5-15.25 oz., $2.50
-$1 off Nabisco cookies WYB milk 1 gal printable
~~
**Deal Idea**
Buy:
(5) Wisk Detergents $5 ea
Use:
(5) -$2 off Wisk laundry detergent, RP 1/02
Total Due: $15
Get Back: $10 ECB, makes it $1 ea

**$10 ECB WYB $20 any Excedrin Products Limit 1

Coupons available:

-$1 off Excedrin Express gels, 20 ct + printable
-$1 off Excedrin Migraine product, 24 ct + printable
-$1 off Excedrin product printable
-$2.50 off Excedrin PM, 20 ct +, SS 12/05
-$3.50 off Excedrin PM product printable (limit reached)
-Free Excedrin Extra Strength product, home mailer
-Free Excedrin Migraine product, home mailer
~~
**Deal Idea**
Buy:
(4) Excedrin PM 20ct $5.49
Use:
(4) -$2.50 off Excedrin PM, 20 ct +, SS 12/05
Total Due: $11.96
Get Back: $10 ECB, makes it 49¢ ea


**$7 ECB WYB any (2) Revlon Cosmetics or Beauty Tools Limit 1

Coupons available:

-$1 off Revlon Beauty Tool printable
-$1 off Revlon Color Cosmetic, October Marie Claire magazine
~~
**Deal Idea**
Buy:
(2) Revlon Nail Clippers starting at $2.99
Use:
(2) -$1 off Revlon Beauty Tool printable from Target.com (limit reached)
Total Due: $3.98
Get Back: $7 ECB, you make $3 profit!
***************

Check out Southern Savers to see the rest of the great deals available this week, as well as get the links to the printable coupons for these products!

Rite Aid Deals, 1/2-1/8

Rite Aid has quickly become my favorite place to frugal! They now have "UP" rewards, which are used like ECB's at CVS. Meaning that you make a purchase and your "UP" reward dollars will print at the end of your receipt. You can then use them on your next purchase.

Rite Aid also offers "Video Value" coupons. You go to their site and watch short videos, and then you receive a coupon from each product. The amounts are not huge, but because they are actually Rite Aid coupons, you can stack them with a manufacturer's coupon and get some amazing deals.

My favorite couponing/deal site ~ Southern Savers ~ has posted the great deals at Rite Aid this week! A few of the ones I plan to take advantage of are:

**$2 +UP WYB $12 or $10 +UP WYB $20 worth of Aquafresh Toothpaste, or Actiflex Manual Toothbrush at $2.50

Available coupons:

-$1.50 off Aquafresh IsoActive toothpaste 4.3 oz or Advanced toothpaste 5.6-6 oz (Rite Aid coupon), printable
-$1 off Aquafresh Advanced 2x Whitening printable
-$1 off Aquafresh Advanced Enamelock Formula printable
-$1 off Aquafresh Advanced or Advanced 2x whitening, 5.6 oz + printable
-$1 off Aquafresh Extreme Clean product printable or printable
-$1 off Aquafresh Gel Fresh or Deep Action Toothbrush printable
-$1 off Aquafresh Iso-Active foaming gel, RP 1/02 or printable
-$1 off Aquafresh Iso-Active, 4.3 oz + printable
-.50/1 Aquafresh Extreme Whitening Action printable
-.75/1 Aquafresh Advance, Extreme Clean, White & Shine or Sensitive toothpastes, 5.6 oz, RP 1/02
(buy 8, use (1) store and (8) mfr coupons, makes it 50¢ total)

** $1 +UP WYB Wet Ones Wipes 40 ct. or Singles 24 ct., or Vanity Fair Napkins 100 ct., at $1.99

Available coupons:

-.75/1 Wet Ones canister 40 ct +, singles box, or Big Ones wipes printable
-$1 off Wet Ones 40ct. + printable
-$1/2 Vanity Fair napkins, December Taste of Home magazine or November Cooking Light magazine
(use $1 off, makes it FREE)

** $2 +UP WYB (2) Tums Antacid 60-150 ct., or Beano 30 ct., at $4

Coupons Available:

-$1 off Tums Antacid tablets (Rite Aid coupon), 36-160 ct, printable
-$2 off Beano product (Rite Aid coupon), 15-100 ct, (no longer available to watch) printable
-$1 off Tums product, 24 ct +, (register) printable
-$1/2 Tums product, 24 ct +, RP 11/14
-$1 off Beano product, 30 ct +, RP 1/02
(use $1 off and $2 off store coupons and (2) $1 off mfr., makes it 50¢)


These are just a tiny taste of the amazing deals available at Rite Aid this week...please check out
Southern Saversto see the rest of the deals, and to get links to the printable coupons that you will need to make these deals work!

CVS trip, 1/3/11

OK, I posted yesterday the plan I had for CVS. Yeah, it didn't go like that, LOL! I re-figured the toothpaste/brush/floss deal and I was going to have to pay $2 for it...yes, I know, that's nothing, but when I don't actually NEED the product, it's more than I am willing to pay.

Also, in the mail today, I received a coupon for a free bottle of Excedrin, and via email I received a printable coupon to save $4/20.

So my deal went like this:

3 bottles Excedrin PM @4.99 each
1 bottle excedrin migraine @ 5.49
2 (4pk) Olay Age Defying bar soap @ 2.99 each
6 Christmas wreath bows @ .49 each
3 packs skittles sour @ .50 each

used:
-4/20
-2.50 (Excedrin)
-2.50 (Excedrin)
-2.50 (Excedrin)
-5.49 (Free Excedrin)
-2.00 (Olay)
-2.00 (Olay)
-10.00 (ECB from previous purchase)

Total OOP: 1.83 (this is only tax)
Total saved: 42.85 (96%!!)

Not only that, but I also earned another $10 ECB for my next purchase. And in case you were wondering, I only added the Skittles to the deal because I hadn't spent enough to use my entire ECB...he was only going to use $8.39 of my ECB, and I wasn't about to lose any of it, so I added the Skittles cause they were going to be free anyway. The kids had a nice treat tonight. :)

So, to start my running total of savings:

Paid OOP: 1.83
Saved: 42.85
Total %: 96%

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Where do you find coupons?

One of the questions I am asked most often is where do I find all of my coupons. The following is an article I did for a local frugal site...

Congratulations! If you are reading this, then hopefully you have decided that you are ready to stop paying full price on your groceries and your toiletries. You are ready to learn how to save 25, 50, even 75% or MORE on your groceries each week! Once you get started using your coupons and deals, you will begin to wonder how on earth you ever just went to the store and filled your grocery cart, with no regard to the prices.

Now that you have decided to start saving money on your grocery bills, your first question is probably going to be “where do I find coupons?!” Well, I’ll help you out with that!

The first place to look is probably the most obvious, but it is the Sunday newspapers. Most of us get at least one Sunday newspaper, and if you don’t, it’s easy to find a store close by to purchase your papers. I would recommend getting a copy of all of the papers that your store sells that contain newspapers…here in Rome/Floyd County, that would include both the RN-T and the AJC. I recommend both newspapers for several reasons. The first reason being that while the newspapers may both have the same coupon inserts, the AJC will most likely have more coupons. The second reason being that if you find a really good deal, you will want more than one copy of that coupon!

In your newspaper, you will find several different coupon inserts. These include Red Plum (RP) and Smart Source (SS), and the first Sunday of every month you will receive the holy grail of coupon inserts, the Proctor and Gamble (P&G) insert! There are also sites that you can go to to purchase only the coupon inserts for much less than the cost of a paper…you can check that out at www.wholecouponinserts.com.

The second place to look for your coupons is on the internet! There are hundreds upon hundreds (probably even more!) of sites that give you the option to print coupons. Unfortunately, a lot of them are not legitimate and when you get to the stores, the coupons will be refused.
A few of the best sites for printing coupons are as follows:
(1) www.coupons.com ~ On coupons.com, you will see a variety of coupons. When you find one you want, just click “CLIP” and continue perusing the pages of coupons. When you have selected all that you want, click on “Print Coupons” and your coupons will print.
(2) www.smartsource.com ~ You just select your coupons and click “Print Now.” Super easy!
(3) www.redplum.com ~ At redplum.com, you can select “Grocery and Drug.” You will be prompted to enter your zipcode and submit, and then you will be presented with coupons tailored to your area. Just select the ones you want, and print!

When printing coupons offline from these sites, you will be prompted to download a free software application to print your coupons…this is perfectly fine and will enable you to print very valuable coupons!

There are other legitimate sites, but these are the ones I tend to use most.

If you do choose to download from another site or are sent a coupon via email, you want to make sure that it is legitimate! There are several things you can look at: (1) Is there a limit to the number of times you can print the coupon? If no, it is probably not legitimate. (2) Is there an expiration date? If not, then it is probably not legitimate. At one time coupons did not have expiration dates, but it’s hard to find coupons these days without an expiration date. (3) Is it for a free product? If so, then again it is probably not legitimate. Very, very few coupons that you get online are for free products. And also, be sure and check the spelling on the coupon…if there are misspelled words, toss it, because it’s not real!

Do stores accept printed coupons? Yes! I have not found any local stores who just flat out do not accept printed coupons. Most of the stores do insist that the coupons scan ~ if they do not scan, then they will not be accepted. Kroger also will not accept any printed coupons for “free” products. Just check with your local stores to get their coupon policy. If the local stores do not have them, then either call or email their corporate offices. Most of them are very happy to provide you with a copy of their policies.

While we are discussing internet coupons, be sure and check out e-coupons! E-coupons are electronic coupons that download straight to your store card (Kroger, around here!) If you go to www.kroger.com and register your Kroger card, you can go to their page of e-coupons. It’s as simple as clicking the ones that you want and telling it to “load to card.” After you choose your coupons, you can then print out a list showing which coupons you have on your card to use. When you check out with these products, watch your receipt ~ the coupons will automatically come off of your total! And what’s really cool about these e-coupons is that they are considered store coupons…and that means you can take one of your paper coupons along with you for additional savings.

Also online is www.uPromise.com. This is a rather unique site, in that these coupons do not reduce your total at the grocery store or drug store…what it does is credits you money to a savings account! You load the uPromise “coupons” to your store cards, and when you buy the products, the amount of the coupon is automatically put into an account for you. It’s a great way to save money for the kids’ college funds!

If there are certain products that your family really enjoys, by all means go to their website and request coupons! Studies have shown that more than half of the time, the companies will be happy to send you coupons for cents off or even free products! (What can be better ~ or easier! ~ than that?!)

When you are in the store (be it Kroger, Walmart or even Dollar General!), you have surely seen the little blinking red boxes with coupons in them along the aisles. Even if you don’t plan to purchase that particular product that day, be sure and take a couple of these coupons! Most likely the products will go on sale soon after the blinkies are offered…and even if they aren’t, you can still file them away with the rest of your coupons to use at other stores when they have sales on these items! Just because you get your blinkie coupon at Kroger doesn’t mean you have to use it there!

If you look closely, you can also find tear pads of coupons at these stores. Again, be sure and tear off a few of these! In most cases, these will not have a store name on them and you can use them anywhere!

And lastly, I get a lot of my coupons from samples! I visit a lot of free sample sites and request freebies…most of the time these freebies are delivered with not only a free product, but also with great coupons! (Usually better than the newspapers and internet printables!)

So you see, there are so many coupons out there in various places, just waiting for you to find them and use them to help save you money!!

Next time, we will discuss the best way for you to store/file your coupons now that you are beginning to collect them!

Planned CVS trip, week of 1/2/11

I have to hit CVS tomorrow because I have a $10 ECB that expires tomorrow. My current plan is this:

(4) Excedrin PM @ 5.49 each

use:

(4) 2.50 q's

Total before Q's: 21.96
Total after Q's: 11.96 - $10 ECB = 1.96 + tax OOP and I will receive another $10 ECB

I then plan to turn around and purchase:

(4) Reach total care toothbrushes @ 3.00 each
(1) Reach floss @ 3.00
(1) Listerine Total Care @ 5.00

use:

(2) B1G1 free Reach total care toothbrushes q's (-6.00)
(2) $1/1 Reach toothbrushes q's (-2.00)
(1) $2/1 Reach floss (-2.00)
(1) $2/1 Listerine Total Care (-2.00)

Total before Q: $20.00
Total after Q: 8.00 OOP

I will find another item for around 2.00 (hopefully that offers an ECB), and then will pay with my 10.00 ECB that I got from my Excedrin. I will be paying tax on this purchase, and then it will print me another 5.00 ECB to use next week.

I have to keep an open mind, though, because it's often that I get to the store and they don't have what I'm looking for. My goal is to spend the $10 ECB and as little OOP as possible, and then have more ECB for next week. :)

About Me

I am Juli, a 30-something stay at home mom with three kids, ages 11, 9 and almost 4. I love being at home with my children, and in order for that to happen, sometimes we have to get creative! For years, when my husband got paid, we would go immediately to Wal-mart to buy groceries, and were always proud to get out of the store with a bill less than $200 (for one week of groceries and toiletries!) If we managed to get out with spending less than $150, it was cause for celebration!

I have seen for years online how people save a lot of money using coupons, and even dabbled around with coupons for a few weeks in 2009, but got confused and never really understood it enough to start saving much of anything.

In the summer of 2010, it started looking like I was going to have to find a job. I'm not against this, but let's face it, in this economy, I'm not likely to find something that will work around my "kid schedule" (baseball, karate, schools, etc). So I started researching couponing. I started with one site that taught me one particular way to organize coupons...I saved some (enough to thrill me!) but not what I was hoping to do. After a little more research, I found the organization that worked for me, and I was off!

Currently I have both a toiletry and a food stock pile.

My toiletry stockpile includes: 32 men's body wash, 24 men's deodorant, 14 women's deodorant, 30+ tubes of toothpaste, a dozen toothbrushes, 16 nice razors and shaving cream, a dozen shampoo and a dozen conditioner plus kids shampoo and detangler, multiple packs of toilet paper...and much much more. Of the hundreds of things in my stockpile, I have less than $10 in it. I will never again pay for toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, bodywash or razors. When people question why I need so much stuff, my first question is this...when you run out of toothpaste what do you do? Their answer is typically "I go to the store and buy a new tube." At regular price? Well, of course. That is $4 right there, and at my house when we run out of toothpaste, we go to my closet and grab another tube that I got for free. I am not a hoarder, in fact just last week I donated several boxes of toiletries to a local homeless shelter. When I am able to get things for free, I get them even if it isn't something that I can use, knowing that there are so many people and shelters that can use it.

My food stockpile includes: 10 jars of spaghetti sauce, 25 boxes of pasta (all free, plus profit!), 20 boxes of cereal (my 3 kids eat it for breakfast and for snacks), shelves of hamburger/chicken helper, canned foods, salad dressing, muffin mixes, etc...I rotate it out so that nothing goes bad. I also have frozen meats, vegetables and shredded cheese. In all honesty, my family could probably go 6 weeks+ without buying anything except for dairy and bread. I hope not to have to do this, but we could do it if we had to.

And guess what? It's all brand name stuff, not off, store brands. Not to say there is anything wrong with store brands, but I get the brand name stuff for much cheaper than what the store brands cost.

At drug stores, I tend to save 90-95% on my purchases, and my grocery bills tend to show a 60-75% savings. I'd like to save more, but for now I am very content with this.

My family has gone from spending $150-200 a week on groceries and toiletries to spending $150-200 a MONTH on groceries and toiletries (and sometimes less). I am here to tell you that it CAN be done, and the happiness that I get from knowing how much I am saving is something I cannot explain.

In 2011, I am going to keep a running tally of how much I spend and how much I save. I will post my good deals here, along with how I got them, and I will post links to my favorite sites that I use when setting up my deals.

Here's to a great year of saving!