Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Right at Home Holiday Gift Baskets


Click here
to see if you can still sign up and be one of the first 2,000 to get a free gift basket this week. If you don't get one this time, there'll be more next week!

Friday, November 27, 2009

Subscriber Reminder

Because my blog posts are randomly posted, if you want to be automatically alerted when I post a new comment, you can become a follower by clicking "follow' at the top of this page next to the "search" box; by clicking here:, or you can subscribe via RSS feed here: It's easier than checking my blog every single day and being disappointed that there's no post (ok, maybe you're not really disappointed but rather annoyed, and I for that I apologize . . .) ;)

My Rite Aid Holiday of Savings Update


Remember the Rite Aid Holiday Gift of Savings I talked about before? Well after my Black Friday shopping trip today, I am already 1/3 of the way there and I haven't spent a dime! Actually, I'm already making money via the Single Check Rebate (SCR) program. Here's where my tally is at right now:

Huggies Pure and Natural Diapers 11.99
Phillips In Ear Headphones 4.99
Luvs Jumbo pack diapers 9.99
Benevia Nutritional Drink 7.99
Subtotal = 34.96

-11.99 Huggies Free Diaper Voucher (won on Huggies Enjoy the Ride Website)
-5.00 Luvs Diaper Coupon (home mailer from a while back)
-5.00 Benevia IP coupon
= 12.97 + 2.88 tax = 15.85, paid w/ 10.00 Gift Card and 5.85 oop (out of pocket), but will get back 17.98 in SCR.

7.99 Benevia SCR
3.00 Huggies SCR
2.00 Luvs SCR
4.99 Phillips Headphone SCR


Total Savings = 39.97
Total = $5.00 Money maker (actually more like a 13.00 moneymaker for me since I paid with a gift card I got for free from a promotion they had last month!) Plus the pre-coupon total (i.e. 34.96) will go towards my 100.00 goal for the Gift of Savings, which when I reach that, means I'll get another 20.00 gift certificate. I still have the 20.00 gift certificate from the Fall Gift of Savings, which I am debating on what to spend it on. The only kicker with the Gift of Savings Program is that the 20.00 comes in the form of a gift certificate good only at Rite Aid and you have to spend it in one transaction. This won't be hard to do since it's the holiday season and I can easily stock up on holiday decorations/gift wrap/stocking stuffers, etc. and again, that purchase will roll into the new Holiday Gift of Savings program (Whew, are you confused yet? ;)

Monday, November 23, 2009

In my mailbox



To all you new couponers out there, be encouraged! Mail in rebates really do work!

Today, in my mailbox, I received a 10.00 gift card to Rite Aid for a promotion they had in their October Single check rebate program; a 20.00 check from Olay for their eye roller deal last month (which double counted for my 100.00 Rite Aid Gift of Savings reward); (2) 5.00 checks from SC Johnson for purchasing candles at Kmart when they had their double coupon days back at the end of September (or was it beginning of October? I can't remember anymore!) I also have my 64.00 Single Check Rebate check from October that's still waiting to be deposited. So that's 104+ dollars I have!! I probably spent about 45.00 purchasing all the goods for the rebates, so for a double profit, that's worth the time spent couponing and shopping, dontcha think?

Oh, also in my mailbox --coupons for fruit from Vocalpoint, my free Shutterfly photo book I ordered last week, and a coupon for a box of free Fruitabu (organic smooshed fruit snacks for kids)!! What a great day :)

Monday, November 16, 2009

Safeway Morningstar and Quaker granola bar Deal


While I was shopping at Safeway today, I came across some new Morningstar recipe booklets which have several 2.00 coupons on the back page. The booklets were on the door in the frozen food aisle. The spinach and veggie nuggets are clearance marked at 2.49, so with the coupon they are .49!

Also, I bought a couple of Quaker chewy granola bars which were priced .99 w/ the Safeway coupon. There is a 1.00/2 m.q. coupon available here
This makes each box just .50 cents. Also, when I bought the two boxes, a Catalina coupon (the coupons that print out with your receipt) printed out w/ my receipt for another 1.00/2 boxes so I can do the deal yet again and stock up on granola bars at a great price!

Monday, October 26, 2009

Target Car seat Clearance


I read about Target having a clearance sale on certain Graco car seats, so yesterday I ran over there and sure enough, I managed to find one on clearance for 12.50!!! The car seat is the Graco Comfortsport. The style I found was Midas. It has also been reported that the Ryder style is also on clearance. I found mine hiding under the displays of baby swings and cribs, amongst other car seats.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Fabulous SC Johnson rebate!




Click here to get the full details, but SC Johnson & co. has a rebate going where if you purchase 3 of the included products, you get a $5.00 rebate. I will be keeping my eye out for the cheapest item matchups for this deal so that it can be a great moneymaker. There is no start date listed so I am guessing the promo is already going. The end date is 7/15/2010 (so there's no rush) ;) and each family can get up to 3 rebates!

Safeway grocery day

Well Safeway's ad this morning isn't doing a whole lot to excite me. It's a good thing I still have plenty of groceries from my shopping trip last week to tide me over. Here are a few deals I see:

Colgate toothpaste 10 for $10 (or 1.00 each)
*use $1.00/1 from 9/27 SS if advanced whitening or advanced clean are included.
Final price= free

Honey Bunches of Oats $2.50
Use $2/1 here
Final Price: $.50

Silk soymilk- 2.99
*use $.75/1 Silk Soymilk, Any 1/2 Gallon - 09-13-09 SS
Final price= 2.24 (a great deal for 1/2 gallon of soymilk!)

Safeway canned vegetables -.79 each

Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Gels $2.99
*use $1/1 from 8/23 SS or $2/1 here
Final Price: as low as .99

Kraft Singles $1.49- limit 2
*use $1/1 e-coupon here
Final Price: .49


Smithfield bacon 2 for $6
*use $3.00/1 IP coupon here if you haven't printed one already
final price= free!

Wheat thins 2/$5
*use(2) $1.00/1 here
final price: $1.50 each . . .not the same as free like they were at Rite Aid and CVS last week, but still a pretty good deal.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Costo's free Triple Flex supplement sample



I know, I know, who wants a triple flex vitamin supplement sample? I DO!!! I have actually had my eye on these supplements for weeks now, ever since the crackle in my knees has turned up it's volume. Does this stuff work? I dunno, but I'm willing to find out for free! If you want a sample too, just click here!
(Thanks common sense with money!)

My freebie mail update

Over the past week or so I've been getting so many freebies in the mail that I've signed up for, it feels like Christmas every time the mail comes :) Saturday my eos sweet mint lip balm that I told you about here came. It's a full size product! The lip balm portion is very good size, and I love the flavor . . .has anybody else gotten theirs? Leave a comment and let me know what you think of yours.

I've also gotten my free Wal Mart greeting cards, Total Cereal, Honey Nut cheerios, and Mars' free chocolate coupon, which they ended sign ups for last friday :(

If you want to get in on the freebie action, just check daily on my blog for links to sign up for freebies, or subscribe to my thread and you'll get an email whenever I update my blog (an easier method).

Stay tuned for today's freebie!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Rite aid, finally!

Seems like my local couponing buddies swiped most of the diapers at Rite Aid, but I was able to gather up 3 in the sizes I needed. Here's what my scenario ended up looking like:

Store 1: Paid 5.11 w/ tax. Will get back 6.99 in rebates
Proantinox-6.99
-3.00 q
-6.99 SCR(single check rebate)
final price: 3.00 mm (moneymaker!)

Seattle's Best dark chocolate-.67 (marked down from 2.69)
Clean & Clear makeup removing facial wash -4.50
-3.00 mq
-2.00 RA adperks q
final price: .50 mm!

Store 2 (because store 1 was out of my diapers!) paid 14.70 (11.98 +2.72 tax). Will get back $10 Huggies rebate, and I am just $2.50 away (pre coupon amount) from getting a $5 rebate for Rite Aid's fall gift of savings rebates. 4.70 for 3 packs of diapers isn't bad (that's .05 per diaper !), and if I get another good deal in the next couple of weeks and qualify for the fall gift of savings rebates (don't forget, this is separate from the single check rebate I'll be getting for the diapers and proantinox), the diapers will end up being free!
Huggies Pure and Natural- 11.00
Huggies Supreme Natural fit- 11.00
Huggies Supreme Natural fit -11.00
Wheat thins 4 oz-.99
Wheat thins 4 oz-.99
- 5/25 RA q
-5/25 RA Health purchase
-3.00 Huggies mq
-2.00 Huggies mq
- 2.00 Huggies mq
-3.00 RA perks Huggies q
-3.00 RA perks Huggies q
-1.00 wheat thins q (printed last week)
- 1.00 wheat thins q (printed last week)

Links to coupons:
3.00 pure and natural here. Print 2 or 3
2.00 any Huggies here (see coupon printing tutorial below if this doesn't print for you)
$5/$25 Rite Aid here
Rite Aid Huggies q here (get Proantinox and clean and clear q's here too)
*the $5/$25 and the $2 Rite Aid huggies q are coupons you print from Ad Perks. Ad Perks is a program Rite Aid does where you watch short commercials on their site and then you get a store coupon afterwards. You can pick which commercials you want to watch. For instance, if you want a Huggies coupon, you click on Huggies, etc. Pretty self explanatory.

Stay tuned: Rite Aid Diaper Deal results coming soon!



Off to do my grocery shopping and my Rite Aid "vacation diaper deal". I'll let you know how it goes.

Printing Bricks Coupons from Firefox


The internet browser that I use is Firefox. Often times when I go to print a "bricks" coupon it takes me to a page that says "Please Wait". . .I wait, and wait, and wait, and no coupon!! Bricks coupons are internet printable coupons that are often high value and therefore very popular. They circulate the coupon world quickly and are very helpful to us who love to ave money. Anyhoo, after having this problem frustrate me to no end, I googled it and found that different browsers have different "languages variants" in the url space. By simply changing the "wi" or "vi" to a "wg" it magically prints the coupon! SOOOO, if you use Firefox, remember to "wg" the link. If you use Internet Explorer make sure there's a "wi" or "vi". Same with AOL.

Hope that coupon printing tutorial helps!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Olay ProX 28 day sample


Just got an email from Vocalpoint and if you're signed up with them, you can request a free 28 day sample of Olay ProX here.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Lazy Week in the coupon world

Haven't posted here much because I haven't seen many deals flying around. It's a super slow week at CVS . . .free toothpaste and that's about it.

I have been scoping out Rite Aid deals because they have a pretty good diaper deal going on right now and since we're going on vacation in October for a week, I will need to get a small stock of disposables going on.

Also, there are free Wheat Thins at Rite Aid this week. And if you can get your total to 20.00 or more, you can score a $5/$20 coupon from riteaid.com if you watch (or pretend to watch while you're really watching The Office on t.v.) a certain amount of ads on their site. Here's the link to the deals I've been reading about on Deal Seeking Mom

Here are some deals worth mentioning at Target:

Skintimate Shave Gel 7 oz $1.89
  • 1.50/1 coupon from Better Homes and Gardens 10/09 issue
  • OR
  • $1.50/1 in Ladies Home Journal magazine 10/09 (Skintimate);
  • $1.50/1 Skintimate in Woman's Day 10/09 magazine
  • $1.00/1 in 8/2 SS
Final price: .39

Earth’s Best Baby Food (2-oz 2nd Stage), $0.69
$1/10 Earth’s Best Baby Food printable
(again, preparing for our trip in October as I have been just making baby food 'cause it's so darn easy if you have a few minutes!)

Final Price: $0.59 ea. wyb 10 after coupon!

Target Cranium games

7.99-9.99
There is a $5/1 Target printable HERE
Final price: 2.99-4.99
(a great gift idea!)
Thanks Charlene, from My Frugal Adventures for hightlighting this deal!


littlest man just woke up so I'll post about my Rite Aid trip after I go tommorow. Also, I'll be doing a grocery trip in the next couple of days and will post that as well. Target trip will be coming this week, too!

Friday, September 18, 2009

Free Chocolate Friday


Don't forget to go to realchocolate.com to sign up for your FREE Mars candy bar. Yep, totally free either snickers, milky way, twix, 3 musketeers, or M&Ms. Hurry and head over there, as they limit the number of coupons they send out each friday and they usually run out by early afternoon.
I like to use "free item" coupons at CVS to help increase my pre-coupon price to get me to 20.00, 25.00, or some other number so that I can use my $4/20 or $5/25 CVS store coupon that prints out on my cash register tape (CRT). Does that make sense? By doing this I end up paying nearly nothing oop (out of pocket) after all coupons which is always my goal.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Target cleaning deals


Thanks to Charlene over at My Frugal Adventures for posting about this great Target cleaning products deal for Windex, Shout, and Scrubbing Bubbles toilet cleaning gel:

Windex $2.54
Shout $2.50
Scrubbing Bubbles $3.94
Subtotal: $8.98

Use $1 Windex $1/1 HERE
Use $1/1 Shout
Use Scrubbing Bubbles $1/1 coupon from 8/2 SS
Use FREE starter kit coupon (also from 8/2 SS)
Use Target $2.50 coupon (8/30 SS)
Final Price: $2.93 for all 4 items or .73 each!
...
For those who like more natural cleaning products (like me!), you can do this deal:
Buy Shout (regular Shout) $2.50
Nature's Source Windex $2.49
Nature's Source Scrubbing Bubbles $2.94
Subtotal: $7.93
Use $1/1 Shout from 8/2 SS
Use (2) $1/1 any Nature's Source cleaner from 9/13 SS
Use $2.50/1 Target coupon
Final Price: $2.43 or .81 per item!
She also mentioned that there may be store coupon peelies for the Nature's source products on the bottles so keep your eye out for those.
I think I'll be making a trip to Target tomorrow!

Common Sense with Money: A chance to win a $250 grocery gift card

I was browsing some other coupon/frugal living/money saving blogs and came across Common Sense with Money's grocery gift card giveaway. By visiting Mercedes' blog you can enter for your own chance to win this great giveaway!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Attention all Mall shoppers and What Not to Wear lovers!

Enter for your chance to win a shopping spree with the What Not to Wear t.v. show crew HERE. The t.v. show is partnering with a mall corporation GGP, Bank of America, and Express clothing, touring the country and having a 2,500 shopping spree and trip to New York City sweepstakes.

Is it a long shot? Yeah.

Would it be great to win 2,500 and a trip to NYC? Oh yeah.

OR, you could cash in and get $5,000 and forgo the trip to NYC. Oh yeah.

One can dream!

Another part of the same deal is if you spend 75.00 at a participating mall between Sept. 17th and 20th, you can go the the mall office and get a 10.00 gift card. So, if you plan on doing some shopping this weekend, keep that in mind.

CVS deal helpers


All CVS shoppers or want-to-be shoppers:

If the idea of formulating your own CVS deals is overwhelming right now, hop on over to BeCentsAble's grocery gathering and take a look at some deal ideas for this week. If you're not ready to jump on the CVS boat yet, you can at least take a look and become familiar with ways to get the best deal possible. Kerrie from Save at home mommy has put together some free and really cheap deal ideas which is a great help to beginning couponers. Check it out here:

LUVS diaper Promotion



Hey mommies!
LUVS.com has a promotion going that if you register on their website they will send you a 5.00 coupon for a pack of diapers! That's a great high value coupon. Even though I am a cloth diaperin' mom, I always like to have a small stash of disposables around for vacations where a washer and dryer won't be accessible. I rarely have to buy diapers (have only bought 2 packs in 6 months) but when I do, I don't like to pay more than 4.00 for a pack. This 5.00 coupon will really help me achieve that!

CVS trip

Yesterday I did my weekly CVS trip and scored some pretty good deals even though there wasn't too much on my list. Here's what I rounded up:

Ziploc Freezer bags -2.50
Ziploc gallon freezer bags- 2.50 ((stocking up to use for my once a month cooking :))
Edge shaving gel -2.00
(2) Reach toothbrushes- 2.99 each
Listerine Total Care-3.69
Colgate Tot. Adv. toothpaste-2.99
(2) Glade soy candles - 3.29 each
Total pre-coupons: 26.24+tax
Coupons:
$5/$25 purchase(a CVS coupon that printed out from the scanner when I scanned my card upon entering the store)
3.25 glade candle q--coupon I received by emailing the company
3.00 glade candle q--IP coupon from coupons.com a couple of weeks ago
3.00 Listerine/Reach q (8/30 SS)
1.00 Colgate toothpaste q
(2) 1.00 Ziploc q's--had in my stash--either traded for them or got them on ebay super cheap.
.75 Edge q-(8/30 insert I think)
10.00 ECBs
Total: -.01
had to add some peanut M&Ms to make it a positive amt. due (the lady had a fit about not being able to PAY me a penny to take all this stuff. So my total OOP was .50
Received: 4.00 in ECBs.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Once a month cooking


My new interest venture is once a month cooking. Although I've heard about doing bulk meal preparation before, it seemed daunting, very time and effort consuming, and well, just difficult. However, with having 2 little ones now, working 2 evenings a week, and being an avid coupon clipper, meal preparation has become more of a daily task rather than a truly pleasurable daily experience. I wanted something that helped me make this daily task more efficient and less stressful. Upon my research into how I can become more efficient in daily dinner making, I came across Onceamonthmom.com. Here, Tricia lays out everything you need to plan a month's worth of meals: menu plans, shopping lists, cooking day layouts, and even food labels are included on this website. Because I am trying to include minimal red meat for our family's meals, I can easily substitute chicken or some other alternative for the beef recipes. She even gives ideas on how to substitute or alter recipes to make them more friendly for your own family.
Also on her website, she has meals/instructions on doing once a month cooking for your baby. . .she divides her menus into 6-8 month purees, 8-10 month foods, etc. and even plans meals according to what produce is in season! How fabulous for a mom of a 6 month old like me!
I plan on doing this once a month menu starting next week, as this week is busy with final plans for my sister's baby shower. I will keep you aprised as to how it goes! If anyone is interested in doing once a month cooking with me, just email me :) We can cook together!

So, until my life is once again in the spot where meal preparation is a calming, exciting, and art-like experience (yes, it once was for me!) I will be working on getting healthy, nutrutious, yet delicious meals on the table for me and my 3 boys :)

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Printable Q's





Missed the papers today? You can still get some coupons from your computer!

Redplum: click here
Smartsource: click here

Target tonight

2 Honey Sunshine cereals (2.88 each)
1 Kashi Southwest frozen entree (2.88)
1 Kashi dark chocolate chip cookie (2.88)
1 Healthy Choice multigrain crackers (2.88)
1 Healthy Choice entree (pumpkin squash ravioli . . .YUM!) (2.19)
1 Softsoap Ensemble starter kit (4.99)
1 Softsoap Ensemble refill (2.99)
1 Softsoap Nutriserum body wash (2.99)
2 Rimmel mascaras (2.29) -
1 Welch's 100% grape juice (splurge for my kiddo)
1 Up&Up infant ibuprofen
minus these q's:
1.50 honey sunshine
1.50 honey sunshine
1.00 Kashi cookie q
1.00 Kashi cracker q
1.00 frozen entree
2.00 healthy choice entree
3.50 Target/Softsoap q
3.00 manu. Softsoap q
2.00 Softsoap q
(2) 2.00 Rimmel q's
.75 Welch's q
total saved: 19.75 in coupons PLUS got a 5.00 gift card
Total spent: 13 dollars and change, or you can look at it as spending 8 dollars and some cents after the gift card. Not too bad!

Major coupons this week



Don't forget to get your newspaper(s) today! There are 5, count 'em 5(!) coupon inserts in the major metropolitan papers this week, which makes the money you spend on the paper well worth it. If you didn't get your paper in time, click here and you can buy the coupon inserts!

Target has a great Kashi deal this week. If you have signed up for Vocalpoint and happen to have gotten the Kashi Honey Sunshine cereal coupons, your deal will look like this:

Promotion: Buy 5 get $5 gift card back

Kashi Items: Buy 5, Get $5 Gift Card Back- Includes the following at $2.88 each:
.
Heart to Heart Cereal, Go Lean Crunch cereal, Honey Sunshine Cereal
Frozen Entrees
TLC Bars- granola and cereal
TLC Cookies (cookies were priced at $2.54 at my store)
.
Use $1.50/2 any cereal HERE
Use $1.50/1 Kashi Honey Sunshine HERE
Use $1/2 HERE any TLC Bars
Use $1.50 off Crackers, Snack Bars or Chewy Cookies when you buy cereal HERE
Use $1.50/2 Kashi Crackers, Bars or Cookies when you buy Go Lean HERE
Use $1.50/1 Kashi cereal or snack HERE
Use $1.50/1 any HERE (new members only)
Use $1.50/2 cereal HERE
If you are a Vocalpoint member and have those Kashi Honey Sunshine coupons from a little while back, now is the time to use them. There was even a coupon for a FREE box, which will make your deal even sweeter!
There also may be peelies on the front of Go Lean cereal boxes for $1 off crackers, cereal or cookies which you could use instead of getting all cereal. Since I have cereal coming out of every crevice in my kitchen, I think I'll use some of those alternative product coupons.

While you're there, pick up some Softsoap Nutriserum body wash:
Softsoap Nutri Serum Body Wash $2.99
Use $1/1 HERE
Use $1/1 Target coupon from 9/13 SS (Smartsource insert)
Final Price: $.99


Also, there is a 3.50 Target q when you purchase an Ensembles handsoap AND a refill (9/13 SS). Pair it with a 3.00 man q. from 8/30 SS and you can score a free handsoap AND a refill, or possibly turn it into a moneymaker, depending on the prices in your Target store.

For more Target deals, click here (Thanks Charlene!)

I will be going to Target this afternoon (after my lemon cheesecake with gingersnap crust comes out of the oven) and will post how my deals went as well as pictures on how I did :)

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Target Aquafresh Iso Active toothpaste


If you are a Northern Californian like me, our CVS' didn't include the awesome Aquafresh or Sensodyne Iso Active toothpaste deal like the rest of the country's CVS' did. Well, we can cash in our coupons and get Aquafresh's IsoActive Toothpaste for 1.49 using the 1.00 IP coupon here and the Target printable 1.00/Aquafresh coupon here. This week it's on sale for 3.49, so using the store and man. q's for 1.00 each makes the toothpaste just 1.49 which isn't free, but it's still a pretty good deal, especially if you're picky about toothpaste!

Deal of the Day: Cheap Rimmel Mascara



If you've been collecting your Sunday coupon inserts over the past few months, go get your 8/23 Red Plum insert and cut out the coupon for $2/1 Rimmel beauty product. At Target the mascara is about 2.29-2.79 for their mascara. Using the $2/1 coupon, you can get some mascara for .29-.59!! And, while you're at Target, you might want to do the Fiber One deal of the week: Buy 5 Fiber One products (certain ones are part of the deal) and get a 5.00 gift card. There are several places you can get Fiber One coupons from. I have a few from a home mailer coupon book I got. Go to Hotcouponworld.com's database and type in Fiber One to find out different sources of their coupons and make your deal even sweeter!

Monday, September 7, 2009

Free Bare Naked granola



Get a free sample of Bare Naked cereal or granola here. I love their granola because it's all natural with no preservatives or artificial flavors. My little one loves to munch on it as a snack, too!

Free Secret Deodorant from Vocalpoint


Vocalpoint is giving away free Secret Clinical Strength deodorant to their members. If it's a full size product, it's a great score as this is usually 5.00+ at the store. If it's a trial size, I like to put them in my travel dopp kit. If you are a member, click here to request your free sample. All you have to agree to do is review the product! You've heard me talk about Vocalpoint many times. If you haven't signed up for it yet, now's a great time :)
Thanks Charlene!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

My favorite blogs

I LOVE Saving!
I love blogging on here about my savings and now that I've started keeping a total of my monthly expenses I plan on posting how much I've saved at the end of each month. I wish I could say that I find all these great deals on my own, but I don't. I browse my favorite blogs to find great deals, sales, freebies, and bargains. That's the beauty of the couponing world, you find some deals, you share some deals, and EVERYONE saves money! A lot of these women blog from home as their full-time job and can invest a lot more time in posting about their savings than I can. So if you want to find out more about couponing, living frugally, shopping smart, or just want to see what the fuss is all about with couponing, you can check out my favorite blogs on the right hand side and clicking on the button.
Happy Saving!!!!

Kmart Doubles Week


Just a reminder that this is Kmart's last week of the year that they are doubling coupons. All coupons up to 2.00 in value can be doubled unless otherwise noted. Check out Charlene's Kmart lowdown here to get the full scoop. It's a great time to stock up on free deodorant, dish soap, snacks, and other home supplies!

Monday, August 31, 2009

My weekend loot

I'm pretty happy with how this week's trips to CVS and Target went. Besides the Sensodyne and Aquafresh Iso-active toothpaste CVS didn't have in stock yet, I was able to get everything I wanted for the week!

CVS:
transaction #1:

Gillette Fusion Razor-8.99
Gilette men's shampoo-3.99
Glade Fragrance Reed diffuser-6.99
-2.00 razor coupon
-free shampoo coupon(4.99-yes that's right, they deducted the regular price, not the sale price for the shampoo, so an extra 1.00 taken off!)
-3.00 glade coupon
Total 9.98, paid with 10 ecbs.
Got back: 3ecbs, 1 ecb, 6.99 ecbs = 10.99 in ecbs!!

transaction #2:
1 gallon milk- 1.99
1 6pack mini Almond Joys-.77
-.50 milk coupon
total = 2.26, paid w/ 2 ecbs and .26 change (needed milk and didn't want to make a separate trip to the grocery store. We ususally buy dairy-less milk, such as almond milk or rice milk, but we made an exception this week.

And, my little transaction for my Vornado loving husband:
1 Vornado air circulator fan-26.49 (regularly 52.99!!)
used my 11 ecbs from 1st transaction and paid just 13.00 oop (out of pocket) for a 53 dollar fan! We have one in the boys' room and now one in our room and it's a great sound machine to help us sleep, plus it circulates the air in the room really well.

And on to Target. . .I did my Target shopping trip after dropping my husband and oldest son off at the park to set up their kites to go kite flying :)

In my 20 minute shopping trip I rounded up:
2 boxes Special K crackers
2 boxes Special K chocolate pretzel bars
subtotal - 14.56
-(2) .75/1 box bars q
-(2) .50/1 Target Special K snack coupons
-(2) 1.00/1 Special K crackers q
-(2) .50/1 Target Special K snack coupons)

New Total- 4.06, received 5.00 gift card for promotional offer!

Transaction #2:
Huggies Jumbo pack diapers - 8.99
Boost Kid Essentials drink - 7.99
Motts Apple Juice - 1.83
Hefty 1 zip bags .97
-1.50 Target huggies q
-1.50 manuf. huggies q
-1.00 Hefty q
- 5.00 Boost manuf. q
-2.00 Target Boost q
Total w tax= 9.48- 5.00 gift card = 4.48 out of pocket!!!!

After our quick Target trip, off we went to have a fun evening of kite flying at the park. Can't get much better than that!

Friday, August 28, 2009

Emailing companies really does work!

and


I took some advice from some other coupon bloggers and emailed Johnson & Johnson (consumerproducts@scj.com) telling them I was interested in one of their new products yet my Sunday newspaper was excluded from the coupon they provided that week.
I received a reply today and this is what the nice lady at SC Johnson and Company said:
Courtney,

We appreciate your interest in our Fragrance Collection by Glade® soy candle.

I'm sorry the coupon was not found in your Sunday's newspaper. We would like you to be able to try this product so I'm mailing you a free coupon.(bolded that myself) :)

Talk about customer service!! I'm so excited to get my free soy candle now :)

On the email subject, I also received a shipment notice from the Dr. Pepper company informing me that my free bottle of Venom Bite energy drink that I signed up for last week is on it's way! Click on the link to get your free bottle, too! Free chocolate, free energy drink, free candle, almost free cereal . . .Hooray for free fridays!

Super Safeway Trip


Remember how I posted my anticipated Safeway cereal deal on Wednesday? Well I finally made it to the store today for a quick trip and my deal ended up being even sweeter, because I realized that Kashi's Honey Sunshine cereal was included in the cereal deal. Here's how it went:

Post Honey Bunches of Oats=3.00
Post Honey Bunches of Oats=3.00
Special K Blueberry= 3.00
Kashi Honey Sunshine=3.00
Kix cereal = 2.50
Subtotal=14.50
- 5.00 off when you buy 5 cereals (store promotion)
-3.00 Free Kashi Honey sunshine coupon from Vocalpoint
-1.00 Special K blueberry coupon here
-.75 Kix coupon here
-2.00 Post HBO coupon here
-2.00 Post HBO coupon here
Total = .75 or .81 with tax =
16 cents per box!!!!!!
During that trip I also got 2 free bags of salad, some bananas, apples, avocados (with a .50 coupon), and an eggplant for a veggie lasagna I'm making tonight. I also used a 1.00 off total purchase coupon I had from buying 2 single servings of shells and cheese (had a BOGO coupon so got both for .60 each) during a previous trip.

My total: 7.05 for everything pictured!

Super Sweet Friday!!



Today is Mars Chocolate Relief Act day, which means you can get a coupon for a FREE candy bar from the Mars chocolate company!! Click here to see if you're one of the first 250,000 for today. And remember, it's only on fridays that they do this giveaway, so go sign up now!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Old Navy weekly



Don't forget, today is Thursday which means Old Navy should be changing their weekly coupon hunt page and resetting the coupons. This could be your lucky night to get 75.00 off 100.00 purchase and give you a jump start on Fall clothing! Click here for the link.

Also, this Saturday they will be continuing their 1 day deals. This time it is Buy 1 pair of jeans @ 19.00, get a free graphic print tee(I'm eying their sweetheart skinny jeans to go with a cute pair of boots:) And, for cardholders, the Stuff and Save 20% event starts this weekend too!

Free Eos Organic Lip Balm

Click here for your free Eos Organic lip balm. Got this deal from Christina over at "A day in the life". Thanks Christina! And hurry, this freebie is only for the first 50,000 people to sign up for the freebie.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Safeway Deals for the day


I will most likely update this in a little bit, but I couldn't pass up mentioning a great cereal deal Safeway has right now.

They are advertising Buy5 Save $5 mix and match cereal deal. Post Honey Bunches of Oats and Kashi Go Lean Crunch and 7 grain puffs are included in the deal. If you buy 5 boxes the price of HBO's and Go Lean Crunch are 2.00, 7 grain puffs are 1.00. Print (2) 2.00 coupons for HBO here.
If you don't have any other Kashi q's in your coupon library, you can print some here: for 1.50 off two. Your deal will look like this:

(2) Post HBO = 4.00
2 Kashi Go Lean = 4.00
1 Kashi 7 grain puffs = 1.00
- 4.00 HBO coupons
-1.50 Kashi coupon
______________total = 3.50 for 5 boxes of cereal, or .70per box! Not bad.

NOW, if you've been stocking up on your coupons or if you've been a Vocalpoint member and have hung on to some of your Kashi coupons, this is what your deal could look like:

(2) Post HBO = 4.00
2 Kashi Go Lean = 4.00
1 Kellogg's frosted mini wheats = 1.50
-4.00 HBO coupons
-2.00 Go Lean Crunch coupons
-.75 Kellogg's mini wheats coupon = 2.75/5= .55 per box!

Sunday, August 23, 2009

New Target Baby Coupons





Click here to go to Target's new baby coupons, which include 1.00 off 2 Gerber graduatess, .75 off Earth's Best toddler cereal or snack, 2.00 off California Baby product, 1.00 off Aveeno baby product (pair with a 2.00 off any Aveeno product here to score a really good deal . . .just click on the lower left corner where it says 2.00 off coupon by the moisturizer. It's really good on any Aveeno product), and many more great coupons! Remember, you can use both a store coupon AND a manufacturer's coupon for 1 item!!

O.K., here's the list of available coupons:
Here's the list of available Target coupons:
  • $1.50 off jumbo pack or larger Huggies diapers
  • $1 off jumbo pack or larger Luvs diapers
  • $2.50 off purchase of both Pampers diapers or training pants and wipes
  • $.75 off Earth's Best toddler cereal or snack
  • $1 off purchase of two Gerber Graduates fruit juice, treats, Healthy Meals, Fruit Twists, or granola
  • $1 off purchase of two Gerber Graduates Yogurt Melts, Mini-Fruits, Crunchies or Puffs
  • $2 off 6-pk Boost Kids Essentials nutritional drinks
  • $2 off 16 oz or larger Similac powder infant formula
  • $2 off Enfamil 23 oz or larger Enfamil or Next Steps in 12 oz or larger Nutramigen
  • $1 off Aveno baby toiletry (excludes trial size)
  • $1 off Burt's Bees Baby Bee toiletry
  • $2 off California Baby shampoo or bubble bath
  • $1 off Desitin Diaper Rash ointment (excludes trial size)
  • $1.50 off Huggies 184 ct or larger Huggies baby wipes
  • $1 off Johnson's baby toiletry (excludes trial size)
  • $.75 off Kandoo toddler toiletry or wipes
  • $1 off Gerber feeding accessory
  • $1 off Gerber onesies or layette
  • $2 off Medela accessory purchase of $9.99 or more (excludes breast pumps)
  • $1 off 2-pk 9 oz Platex insulator cups
You can print these coupons as many times as you need. The Target coupons expire September 5.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Old Navy Reminder


Thursday nights Old Navy resets their coupon page and you can have a chance at some great coupons, up to 75.00 off 100.00 purchase! Go to their main page (Oldnavy.com) and click on the upper righthand corner where it says Old Navy Weekly.com. I scored a $20 off $50 purchase but am holding out for a better one! Hope I get one tonight! Look around 7pm, that's the general time they reset the site. And do it quickly . . .the coupons go fast!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Check out Becentsable


BeCentsable is a great site to get coupons from, read about grocery deals at various stores, and learn how to stretch a buck. You can check them out here/
They're currently giving their website a makeover of sorts, and doing workshop giveaways to celebrate!

Kashi Coupon alert


If you signed up to be a member of Kashi, you can now print another 1.50/1 box of their Honey Sunshine Cereal! Even though I have cereal coming out my ears, I won't pass up Kashi deals because they're so healthy and my little guy loves their cereal.

New EverSave coupons


Click here to get some new coupons from Eversave/Smartsource. You can sign up for Eversave and get frequent emails on coupon deals sent directly to you if you'd like.

Savemart Deals

Savemart Deals:

Just a few good deals that might make you wanna make a quick pit stop there:

Organix Hair Care BOGO
I've been seeing promo tags on their bottles for a mail in rebate, so if these
tags are indeed on the bottles there or if you have a rebate tag from Walgreen's
or CVS, you can get 2 bottles FREE!

Sunny Select Mac & Cheese 2/$1

Cheez-It, Wheatables, Special K crackers 3/$5
Print a .75/1 coupon here
Final price = .92 each if you can print 3 coupons

more deals coming!

Safeway shopping day!!



Here are the Safeway deals I've found while browsing through the paper today:

Nectarines- .69/lb
logal ORGANIC(!)seedless red grapes- .89/lb
local ORGANIC broccoli- .99/each
local ORGANIC heirloom tomatoes-2.79/lb

Post fruity or cocoa pebbles 1.99 each
use 1.00/2 from 7-26-09 SS
final price = 1.50 each (not great, but not bad either)

Post Honey Comb-.99 with club card and in ad coupon
use 1.00/2 from 7-26-09 SS
final price = .98 each!

Safeway brand hotdog or hamburger buns-1.19/ea

Electrasol 75 oz liquid or 15 to 20 ct. tablets- 3.49 with club card and coupon in ad
use .50/1 printable coupon found here
final price - 2.99

Airwick scented refills 2.49 each after in ad coupon and club card
use .50/1 coupon printed from same link listed above
final price- 1.99

Safeway Select or Eating Right meals-5/10
final price =2.00 each

Lucerne large eggs 18 ct - 1.49 w/ card and in ad coupon

Kraft Handi-Snacks (looks like 6 count) - .99 each!!

Kraft Easy Mac single servig - .69 each

Safeway 100% orange juice (1/2 gallon)- 1.77

Monster Energy Drink - 1.49
use 1.00/1 from coupon tearpad if you have it
final price - .49

Contessa frozen shrimp-3.99/11-12 oz bag with club card and in ad coupon

Safeway chicken nuggets or strips - 3.99 each

Safway English Muffins -.99 with club card and in ad coupon

Iceberg Lettuce - .49 each (not quite the .33 each from Savemart last week, but not bad :)

Safeway brand breads- 1.49 each!

Will post a few great Savemart and Raleys' deals worth mentioning in a little while . . .

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Target's Current Coupons


All of my friends know that I love me some Target, even MOREso when I can use coupons to get great deals! Here are Target's current coupons. Log onto HotCouponWorld.com (or click here for a shortcut and go to the Target forum to find out how to use these coupons and get even more bang for your buck.

Gymboree Sale coming up!


Annnnnd, if you're a die-hard Gymboree fan, their circle of friends sale starts Thursday:

Crazy8 clothing coupons


Charlene over at My Frugal Adventures found that Babycheapskate.com has posted a great 25% off coupon code for Crazy8 clothing, which is Gymboree's less expensive sister store. The Friends and Family coupon is good for 25% off your purchase August 20 (Thursday) through August 23. Just use code CZYEMAIL or print out the coupon and take it to your local store. Free shipping on orders of $75 or more or a flat $5 for orders less than 75 bucks. Click here to visit Crazy8's clothing website

Monday, August 17, 2009

CVS this week

So here's my breakdown of my CVS trip from yesterday:

Transaction #1:
2 Composition books= 1.98
get 1.98 ecbs
final price = free

Blink tears (like Visine) 7.99
- (3.00 q)
get 7.99 ecbs
final price= $3 money maker

2 pencil boxes 3.98 (as advertised in ad)
get 3.98 ecbs
final price=free

1 Johnson & Johnson 1st aid kit .99 - (1.00 q)
1 Johnson & Johnson 1st aid kit .99 -(1.00 q)
get 2.00 ecbs
final price - $2 money maker

2 paper refill 1.98
get 1.98 ecbs
final price = free

Emeral nuts trail mix pack 1.00

I also used a $4 off $20 purchase coupon, and
I used 13.99 in ECBs I already had. So after all my coupons
my subtotal was -.04. I had to pay tax. That's it. And I got back 18.00
in ECBs.

Transaction #2 (the one I was really excited about)

1 Loreal advanced revitalizer wrinkle repair 14.99
1 Loreal revitalizer facial cleanser 5.99
- 5.00 printable coupon available here
-4/20 coupon available in CVS's coupon booklet from the pharmacy in back
-1.00 printable coupon available from their website as well. (link is posted above). When you click on the link above, just go to the lower left corner where it says "special offers and savings" and print out the 5.00 and 1.00 coupons.
Subtotal after coupons= 10.98. I paid with the ecbs I made in the previous transaction :).
SO, got it all FREE!!
(Well, again I paid tax (1.40) out of pocket because I didn't want to waste a 2.00 ecb that I have for 1.40 of tax.)

For those of you who don't collect the weekly coupon inserts from newspapers ,this is still a good deal for you to get in on because the coupons are printables from Loreal's website. Then, you get some good skincare stuff and you get in on the ecb action. A great place to start.

AND, I still have 20.00 in ecbs for my next purchases.

And c'mon, WHO doesn't want FREE skincare products? Who doesn't want to prevent wrinkles? Maybe I'm slightly obsessed with taking good care of my skin, but so be it. I will do everything I can (within frugal limits!) to take good care of my skin and what better way to do it than free? :)

Also, you might be asking "What does she need all those school supplies for?" I don't need them. Well, some of them I keep for my son's craft projects but most of them I donate to local schools and have them give them to whatever kids are in need at their school. It's my way of being able to donate to the community but do it within my family's budget.

So there you have it. My CVS trip for the week.

Stay tuned for my Kmart deal I did today!

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Free Emergen-C sample


Cold season is just around the corner. How about boosting your immune system with a free sample of Emergen-C? Click here to take advantage of Walmart's freebie offer. It's their new Cherry-pomegranate flavor.

Also, stay tuned to see the great deals I put together for CVS!! Hint: you can score some realllllly cheap Loreal skincare products. AND, if you haven't gotten in on the great CVS deals yet but you've been wanting to, now's the time. You can spend a minimal amount out of pocket, score some great stuff, and be well on your way to stocking up on some ECB's (Extracare Bucks, like cash at CVS).

Friday, August 14, 2009

Can-O-Rama





Today my savings adventure comes in the form of canning my own peaches. Some friends and I took our kids to Chico State's peach orchard yesterday and I picked a daintly load of 11 lbs of peaches. Today I went to Winco and picked up my mason jars for 6.02. After I make the peaches I'll figure out how much per jar they ended up costing. Stay tuned for pictures and results!

CVS deals for week of 8/16



Thanks to Seedlady over at my favorite coupon forum Hotcouponworld.com, you can get a sneak preview on the deals to be had a CVS next week. If you want to get into couponing and haven't already, CVS is a great place to get deals at. Go and sign up for an Extra Care card (not a credit card, just their store's club card, like a Safeway card). When you have an Extra Care card, you can buy items and get ExtraCare bucks (ecbs), which are like cash towards your next purchase. Paired with coupons, you can get deals where you actually make money by buying them!


Week of 8/16 CA ad
3-Day Sale:
1.29ECB wyb Ice Breakers Ice Cube sugar free gum 10ct.
no coupon
2.00ECB wyb Dibs 4oz, Nestle or Haagen-Dazs ice cream singles 3-7oz
tearpad coupon

2.00ECB wyb Xtra 2X laundry detergent 28 loads
no coupon
9.99ECB wyb Physicians Formula Plump Potion Mascara
tmf
4.00ECB wyb Aquafina or Pepsi 12pk 4/$12
peelie
FAECB: (limit 2) filler paper 0.99 and Paper Mate pens 10pk 0.99
no coupon
Ladies Fleece Robe $40 value Now $5
$2/10, $3/15 house brand oar

ECB deals:
2.00ECB wyb any (2) Band-Aid Brand bandages 6-100ct, J&J Red Cross products or any Neosporin products Limit 5
08-02-09 SS,06-28-09 SS, 05-17-09 RP

7.99ECB wyb Blink Tears drops 0.5oz or gel 0.34oz
08-02-09 RP

10.00ECB wyb $20 Lysol, Resolve, Electrasol, Woolite or Airwick products
08-09-09 SS, 07-12-09 SS

1.00ECB wyb Cascade gel or powder 45oz 2.99
no coupon
3.00ECB wyb Cottonelle dbl roll or Charmin big roll 20pk 12.99
07-26-09 SS, 07-26-09 SS, 08-02-09 PG, 06-21-09 SS

1.00ECB wyb Colgate Max tp/tb 2.99
07-26-09 SS

2.00ECB wyb Pantene, Herbal Essences or Head & Shoulders 5.99
08-09-09 RP, 08-02-09 PG, 07-26-09 RP



5.00ECB wyb $15 Garnier Nutritioniste, Fructis, Nutrisse or 100% Color
10.00ECB wyb L’Oreal Advanced Revitalift Deep Set Wrinkle Repair and a cleanser Limit 2
5.00ECB wyb (2) L’Oreal EverPure shampoo/conditioner 1.7-8.5oz
5.00ECB wyb $15 Nivea or Eucerin Skin Care
3.00ECB wyb $10 Pantene Pro-V
2.00ECB wyb multipacks of Crest tp, Glide floss, Fixodent, or Oral-B tb
1.00ECB wyb Listerine 1L 3.99
1.00ECB wyb Milk 1gal 2.29
3.00ECB wyb Bausch & Lomb ReNu Multiplus solution twin pk, or Alaway eye itch relief 12.99
5.00ECB wyb $25 AMC Entertainment Card Limit 2

thanks to socalcheapskate @ afc

Old Navy $2 Tanks!!!




Tomorrow, Saturday August 14th, Old Navy is having a sale on their signature tanks. Score a tank or two for just 2.00 each!!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Old Navy Coupons


Every week Old Navy posts a new picture with hidden coupons on their website. If you get there in time, you can score some sweet coupons, such as 75.00 off a 100.00 purchase or 50.00 off 100.00. Other coupons include 20% off, 15% off, etc. The rumor is that they reset the website on Thursday evenings. Click here to check it out and look for your super coupon!

**Edited to add: If you move the girls blue headband from one picture with the headband to the picture of her that doesn't have the headband you can score a 10.00 off 50.00 purchase, perfect for back to school shopping!

Free Burger Hut burger


Head over to Burger Hut next weekend and enjoy one of their tasty hamburgers for free! Just click here and print out the coupon to take in.