Get Lucky With Giveaways

Here's a cool giveaway for a spill-proof snack cup for toddlers. Check it out.

I haven't been entering a lot of giveaways. They feel like a waste of time, but when I see other people winning or I actually win stuff myself it starts to feel more and more worth the while.

Using an "auto fill" feature makes it super fast and easy too.

Hey, you can't win if you don't play. They say that attitude is everything, so take an inventory of all the lucky things that happen to you every day and see what happens!

Here's one giveaway to get you started with from Chefdruck Musings. She's giving away 4 Guitar Hero On Tour Decades DS Games Bundles (retail value of $47.99). Enter by 12/20.

Good luck!

Free '09 Entertainment Book!

These books have great coupons for dining, attractions, shopping and travel and best of all, you can get it free after a super easy rebate.

Here's the cost broken down:
Retail-$45
Cashbaq price-$25
$10 off instantly and free shipping-$15
$5 Sign on bonus-$10
Cash back rebate of $10 makes it FREE!

Here's how:

*Go to cashbaq.com. This is a rebate site similar to ebates.com or upromise.com where you shop at online stores using links thru cashbaq. You then earn rebates on your purchases. You will receive a check or paypal payment each month that your earning are over $10 (if your earning are below $10 they will roll-over each month until you hit the $10 again).

*Once there click on "Buy Now" on the right side under "Deal of the Day". You'll see the Entertainment book there. The cashbaq price is $25 but you will get $10 off instantly and free shipping.

*On this screen you will sign up by entering your email, password and confirming your password. You will be credited $5 for signing up.

*On the next screen type in your zip code and the books for your area come up at a cost of $15.

*Click "Buy" for the book you want and enter payment and shipping information. You will be credited another $10 within a couple of days.

*One last step-log into your cashbaq account and tell them how to pay you (via check or paypal) and then you'll receive a payment for $15 (the price you paid for the book) by the end of the month!

It's so easy!

Thank you for signing up and shopping thru my cashbaq.com link!

Are You Wedgie-Free?

I got another pair of free Hanes undies in the mail today so I just had to remind you about Wedgie-Free Wednesdays .

I actually stopped signing in each week because I thought it was a waste of time, I never win anything, and I thought the fields to enter info were hard to read and made the whole process difficult but I was getting used to it. So now that I have won another pair I'll keep trying. Some people have won 5 pairs so far.

I have set-up a weekly reminder in Outlook so I can take a few minutes each week and get me some new unders!

Kelloggs Free Flag Offer

Click here for details on the Kellogg's™ Flag Offer with a $10 donation to Camp C.O.P.E. This Camp supports the children of parents in the U.S. Armed Forces. Ends 12/31/09

Make $12 with UPromise.com

If you aren't already a member of UPromise.com click here to find out why you should be, register, then come back to see how to earn $12 easily.

If you are a member of UPromise.com click on the link and go to "auto" then "insurance" both in the left side bar. You will then request a quote from Liberty Mutual on auto and home insurance for $10. You can do this online, on the phone or with an agent. When you get your quote you will get confirmation numbers and return to the already open upromise page and register the confirmation numbers.

You can also earn $2 for requesting an auto quote with insurance.com. This one must be done on-line and I believe is automatically reported to UPromise.com.

It took me maybe 30 minutes to do this and earn $12. Not a bad hourly rate!

UPromise.com

If you aren't familiar with UPromise.com please consider joining then go here and learn how to make $12 immediately, quickly and easily. It is free to join and an easy way to save money for college. I have been a member since September of 2001 so I can safely say it is legit.

Here is how it works:

When you sign up and designate a beneficiary (child, grandchild etc.), you will register all those loyalty cards (CVS, Giant etc.), you will search using your zip code and a list of participating cards will be provided.

You can also register your credit/debit card. I have done this and not had any problems.

When you shop at those stores who's loyalty cards you have registered or pay with the credit card you have registered and you purchase participating brands, 1% to 5% of the sale will be deposited into an account for your beneficiary on things you are already saving money on or hopefully getting for free:-).

When you shop online, go to UPromise.com first, then shop through a retailers link there and earn up to 25%!

You can view the list of thousands of items and online retailer at UPromise.com. Below is the list of my earning.

Company
*Total Upromise Savings
AT&T $0.71
Bayer HealthCare LLC $0.29
Bed Bath & Beyond® $0.61
BIC Consumer Products, Inc. $0.18
Brachs $0.03
Clorox $0.14
Coca-Cola $3.17
Dannon $0.05
Del Monte Foods $0.25
Dell.com $16.38
Domino / C&H $0.22
drugstore.com $2.95
Energizer $0.12
ExxonMobil $5.12
Filippo Berio $0.08
Fujifilm $0.54
Gorton's $0.29
JCPenney $23.56
Johnson & Johnson $0.14
Keebler $0.39
Kellogg's $0.67
Kellogg's Cereal $0.12
Kellogg's Eggo $0.02
Kelloggs Fruit Snacks $0.02
Kimberly-Clark $1.22
Knouse $0.17
Land O Lakes $0.05
magazines.com $10.24
McNeil $0.27
Minute Maid $0.39
Nestle Confections $0.04
Newport News $2.16
OneStepAhead $4.35
Pinnacle Foods $0.19
Procter & Gamble $0.74
Reckitt Benckiser $0.21
Ross Products $0.02
Snyder's of Hanover $0.61
Ventura Foods $0.08
Walmart.com $13.37
Welch's $0.13
White Wave Foods $0.08

Total
$90.37

To some that might not be alot for 7 years but remember, I signed up and shopped as usual and got into the habit of going to UPromise.com first when shopping online so it was minimal effort. Not to mention, I am not a big consumer, we buy what we need and not much more.


UPromise.com">

What Deals I've Been Up To

I'm feeling bad about not posting lately and I hope to really get this blog moving in the near future. There are just so many things that need my attention right now. You all know how that can be! I have a few things I would like to share quickly, hope you find something useful.

CVS
You can score 15 free Promax Energy Bars, Complete Contact Lens Solution, Powerade, cheap Hershey's, free or cheap Rolaids and more. Check out my blogroll to find these deals. My favorite CVS list comes from Money Saving Mom.

Here are a few food deals not listed. I had over $50 in ECBs from all the deals on Thanksgiving so I was happy to see some food items I use and need on sale cheap. I would not have been able to recognize the good prices without my price list and my couponizer.

Planters Deluxe Nuts-I don't normally buy Deluxe Nuts/Whole Cashews/Healthy Mix etc. but this week at CVS they are the same price ($3) as the regular nut price at Walmart. But this deal is even better when you buy 5 cans and get back $5 ECB! It makes them $2 each! Yes I'm nuts for nuts. I love my nuts. Unfortunately, this deal is limit to 1. I may still buy more at $3 each and stock up. There is also a $2 off coupon in the Rite-Aid flyer. I don't know what the price is there, and it would only be for 1 can unless you get a bunch of flyers. Enough with the nuts now.

Helmann's Mayo. I can't believe how expensive this has gotten! CVS price this week is $3 (last I looked at Walmart is was $4.12 ouch) There are coupons from 11/16 RP $1/2.

Skippy Peanut Butter. The lowest price I have for this size is $1.85 at Giant but I don't know what it is as Walmart. $1/2 q in 11/16 RP.

Easy Mac. $2, no coupons but the regular price at Walmart is $2.72.

If you need tea, Lipton is on sale and you'll find coupons on the same page as the Mayo and Skippy.

English Muffin 12 pack on sale again for $1.99.

Giant has $1 doublers this week. I have to work on that list.

Tupperware has some great sales on popular product and children's items too. Order by the 12th to receive by Christmas. Don't mind the pumpkins, I can't seem to get them off the site, oops.

Below are super easy ways to make some money.

I made $10 for the 529 plan (college savings acct.) this morning thanks to Money Saving Methods and can do so again in six months. Click the link to found out how to save money for college with UPromise.com and make some money too!

Yesterday I received my Christmas coupon for $10 off a purchase of $10 from JCPenney. Find out how here.

ING-I have made $50 with ING for opening a paperless checking account. I first wrote about it here and it should still work for you if you haven't taken advantage.

I've received $50 and have another $50 on the way from Sharebuilder. Carrie has the scoop here.


Freebies
Free Schick Razor here.

Today's Free & Easy Samples

I received the above sample last week along with a $10 off coupon personalized Fruit Rollups.
Looks like fun original party favors for your event.

Dunkin Coffee
Vaseline Intensive Therapy

Free hair band from Crest
Bare Naked Fruit & Nut Granola From Freebies 4 Mom

Warning! This is what I saw when I opened the mailbox! :-)





Sample of Glad Bags
Pedigree Good Bites

American Express Gift Card Deal

I have taken a break from my blog to take care of a few and hope to be back soon.

Regarding the American Express Gift Card Deal at CVS: Buy 3 $25 gift cards and receive $10 ECB and send for a $15 gas card by mail. I thought I saw this posted elsewhere but is elusive now, so I found this link to the rebate form if you can't find it in the store.

This gives you a profit of $13.15.

Also, in doing a little research, I found that there is a $2 per year fee for use of the card which is waived initially. So to me that means if you use the card within one year, no fees. But I am still going to read the fine print on the card too.

Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

My Price List

When I first started searching for great grocery deals I was overwhelmed and discouraged not knowing what was a good sales price and what wasn't.

Not being an expert yet or as proficient as I'd like, I am still overwhelmed but thanks to keeping track of grocery prices I am no longer discouraged. I am finally starting to see the benefit.

I keep my list as an Excel spreadsheet with the following columns: Date, Brand Name, Product, (I can sort by brand or product) Units, the next five columns are the store columns and the last is the unit price. It is a work in process (missing units and formulas) but I am happy with how it is coming along.

I get my prices from my own shopping or I enter them from sales flyers when the prices are available. Now that I have it going I don't bother to enter prices if they aren't the lowest. The file is getting long as it is so this way I can look and see, ok, this isn't the best price or yeah, it's the best price I've found so far! I still have the date to keep track of the schedule that store keeps for putting that item on sale.

If you can, check out my spreadsheet. Feel free to use the format and formulas (and prices if you want, these are Hazleton, PA stores) and let me know what you think or if you have any questions. You can get more info and ideas for price books here.

50 Free Prints at CVS-EASY

Here is a super easy way to get 50 free photos at CVS.

1. Go to CVS Photo site and register. You will have to enter your Extra-Care Card.
2. Once you click "Create Now", an email will be sent to you with the link to your free prints.
3. Up-load your 50 pics and pick them up at the store free!

How easy is that?

One Year of Freebies

I just realized it has been a year and a few months since I started purchasing stuff for free trip and I thought it would be fun to post of list of all the items I've paid nothing for in the past year (and my never have to pay for again).

Shampoo
Conditioner
Razors
Contact Solution
Pads
Pledge
Bandaids
Toothpaste
Toothbrushes
Deoderant
Pens
Photo Paper
Peachtree Accounting Software
Flea & Tick Control for Dog
Light Bulbs

Things I wouldn't have purchased but will use.
Kids Listerine and Orajel Rinse
Glade Candles and Air Fresheners

Things I haven't paid for in the last 6 months
Hair color

Snow, Seriously?

Yes, I know this is NEPA but I swear we barely get flurries before Christmas in my neck of the woods. Right now there is 2 inches of slushy white stuff out there and it's not even Halloween!

Oh and guess what? The power is out. Probably won't be long before the interstate are closed-haha, gotta love good ol'PA.

I'm gonna look ridiculous running to Walmart for milk and bread, but I really do need some.

Freebies & Deals Kmart, RiteAid, CVS

Here are the deals and freebies I got at Kmart with their Super Double Coupons, RiteAid's Single Check Rebates, CVS's Extra Care Bucks and coupons, coupons, coupons! I'm not as good and I don't have nearly as many coupons as Frugalsuz but I am getting better. Maybe my list plus hers will help you. If only I could remember to buy extra papers. I've been able to get out to shop on Sundays to get the deals before they are gone but keep forgetting the paper!

Kmart Freebies
Vaseline Men's Lotion $2.99 (used $1.50 the coupon was in the newspaper insert, not sure which one)
Gillette Men's Shampoo $3.50 (used $2 from PG 9/26)
Visine AC $3.99 (used $2 from RP 5/11)
Dove Shampoo $3.79 ($2 from RP 8/17 & 10/12)
J&J Steri Pads $1.69 ($1 from S1 8/10)
Ice Breakers Gum $.99 ($1/2 from S2 9/7)
Tic Tac Chill $1.49 (sorry I don't know where I got this $1.50/2 coupons)
Scrubbing Bubbles Action Scrubber $4.50 ($1 from a previous SB purchase-will send for Mail In Rebate) $2 profit

Kmart Deals
Pedigree Good Bites Multi $3.29 ($1.50 RP 5/7) $.29
Purina Beggin Strips $2.50 ($1 RP 9/14, 8/10 & SS 10/12) $.50
Glade Carpet Deoderizer $2.19 ($1.00 SS 10/5) $.19
Hunt's Tomatoes $1 ($1/4 SS 9/21) $.50 each
Kit Kat & Hersheys Candy 3/$5 ($1/3 SS 9/28) $1 each
Swanson Chicken Broth Carton $2 ($1/2 SS 9/28) $1 each

RiteAid Freebies
6 ft or 9 ft indoor cords
Citre Shine Mist and Shine Miracle
Charles Worthington Conditioner
Kotex Tampons $1.50 profit with coupon from a free sample

CVS
5 Soy Joy Bars ($4 ECB/4 plus $3 off 5) $2 profit
Bic Comfort 3 Razors ($4 ECB plus $2 SS 10/12)

Purchased for Free

I am a little behind on posting my weekly deals.

These are the items that I bought at Rite Aid last week. All free after Single Check Rebate.

Fortunately we don't get sick a lot in this house, so when we do, we usually don't have anything in the house to make us feel better. Now I have a whole arsenal of drugs to try before I have to go buy Aleve-D which seems to work very well for me.

My Rite Aid did not have the Chapstick in stock so I couldn't double dip with the mail in rebate. The Sucrets had a $1.50 rebate sticker attached but I found a $2 rebate form here so this is a money maker.

Here are this weeks CVS freebies. I got one L'Oreal Revitalift with a raincheck sent from the company. I wasn't sure exactly which one it was for but this week when you buy a certain Revitalift you get a certain one free (that's the other shown) The 1st one was $16.99 and the rain check was "Free ($11.99-$11.99ECB)". She didn't give it to me free but took off $11.99. I didn't bring it up because I figured I was pushing it anyway, plus I was paying for the difference with a $25 gift card I got free when I transfered a Rx.

Just For Men is free after ECB and double dip with a Mail in Rebate for $8. The Arm & Hammer Essentials was not free at CVS but there is a Free After Rebate form. I got another one of these free at Walmart the other week, they had a display and the lady was just giving them out free! It pays to hit Walmart on Saturdays.

In this photo are the free samples I recieved in the mail this week (Tide, John Freida, Always Infinity). I paid $2.43-$1 MQ-$3 ECB for 2 bottles of Welch's Light=For a $1.57 profit. Thanks Frugalsuz.

Here are my freebies and deals from 2 weeks ago but you can still take advantage of them all.

That A&H Cleaner free at Walmart.

Pack of mints from Vocalpoint.com.

Free bounce sample.

Free Greenies Dog Treat.

Kotex-There were a lot of $1 coupons floating around to make these free at Walmart and I got coupons for $1.50 with free samples. Muir Glen Organic Tomatoes $.26, Easy Mac $.25 each and Ronzoni 12 oz pasta $.50 after coupons found here ($1 Kotex and A&H coupons too).

Wow. It has been awhile! These were CVS Freebies from 3 weeks ago. You can still get the following free after ECB in October:


CVS Vitamin D-400 IU 100 Tablets
Colgate Maxfresh Toothpaste-You need a coupon from 9/28ss or CVS coupon flier. You may be able to find coupons elsewhere too, they are abundent.
WellPatch Arthritits Relief Free plus $1 with 7/13ss.
CVS Bar Soap free after $1 ECB

Check with Frugalsuz for current and upcoming weekly CVS deals





More free Kotex and free samples.
A free Quaker Granola Bar.

Free bag of coffee from Weis, there was coupon for this in an insert, now expired. I need to pay more attention to those inserts, I almost missed this one and I just saw a free roll of paper towels coupon I missed and expired! Ouch.

Free Greenies Cat Treats and Dog Treat (shown above)

A cool free razor, no longer available, sorry.

See other "Drugstore Divas" at The "Cent"sible Sawyer

Congratulations Michelle!

Congratulations to Michelle who won the Halloween Sweatshirt Giveaway!

Please stay tuned for my next giveaway "The Greatest Secrets of the Coupon Mom".

Happy Halloween!

Let's Make Some Money!

If you've got a blog you're looking to monetize then I'd like to recommend Logical Media.

Being new to blogging I was very excited to have my blog accepted and have the opportunity to earn some money with Logical Media.

My hard work is beginning to pay off. Why not let your blog work for you?

Freebies and Samples

I have been wanting to start a list of free samples and other freebies which are quick and easy to sign up for. Nothing that you have to spend 5 minutes answering a survey or pay for anything. Just minimal info and you get the goods. Here are a few to start.

Click the ad below to sign up for the Dinner Made Easy newsletter and get a free sample of Betty Crocker Potatoes. Yum, free food!



Walmart.com is always a good place for free and easy samples like Folgers, Always Infinity, Playtex Sport, Goodnites, Carefree, Jergens Naturals, John Frieda, Kotex, Shopping list pad from PUR, Benefiber and Nicorette.

Golden Harvest Food Storage

Thanks to Freebies 4 Mom

Quaker Simple Harvest Granola Bar
Yogi Tea Sample

Free Hanes Undies Got mine today!

Thanks to Money Saving Mom

Men's Degree Deoderant Sample
Free tote bag
Haydee Chocolate Samples
Free chocalate anyone?!?

Mileage and Fuel Cost per Mile Summary

I stopped for gas yesterday despite the fact I wanted to wait a little longer. You get a more accurate mileage number when you use as much of what is in your tank as possible. I hadn't factored in yesterday's trip when I left the bigger cheaper town on Monday because I thought I would be using a different vehicle. Now I didn't know if I would make it back to big cheap town without the anxiety of that needle getting lower and lower. By keeping track of my mileage, the fact that gas gauges cannot be trusted is easier to deal with but this car doesn't give me much lee-way or warning when it get very low and truth be told, I've run out on more than a few occasions.

This morning I figured my mileage to be 29.295! That is so cool and interesting. This was cheapo Giant gas. My mileage had been going down the last few months which was depressing. Here is what I did differently:

I cleaned 25 pounds of un-needed junk out of my car.

I have been experimenting with putting the car in neutral. This requires less fuel when you can do it and gets you a little farther because the gears aren't holding you back, though I do like to use the gears to slow me down because this car eats brakes. So depending on where I am and the traffic, I think shifting to neutral will be a big help.

And of course "driving without brakes" is great to save on gas and brakes. This is what I do when lights change to red, I'm going down an incline or the speed limit is reduce. I stay as close to the speed limit. When a light changes or I know I am going to stop or turn, no more gas, or "no more speed, I'm almost there" (love that song). This is not recommended in traffic but I have noticed more and more drivers not following as closely. Maybe they are doing this as well, but if someone is right on my rear I may step it up if I get below the speed limit.

For more info check out this post on my mileage. Go here to view my mileage and cost spreadsheet. I don't know what happened to my initial formulas so if you want to use the spreadsheet delete rows 2-6.

How Not to Get the Flu

I received an email this morning regarding how to avoid getting the flu without a flu shot which they say doesn't necessarily work and can be dangerous.

The video is kind of long but you can read the important points below the video. It is very interesting.

Here is a clue to the secret weapon: It is free at CVS this month!

If you suffer from allergies, back pain, high cholesterol, insomnia or depression you can get a FREE 3 year subscription to REMEDY magazine. No credit card required. Click Here

Another Giveaway!

Here's your chance to win a great book to show you "How To Save Money On Everything" from Bargain Brianna. Enter until October 31st. Good Luck!

Halloween Giveaway!

Here is my Halloween Giveaway. It is a cute new black adult size small 4/6 sweatshirt with three skeleton in the Halloween spirit.

If you would like to enter please leave a comment telling me about your favorite part of Halloween. Me, I love it all! Well, 'cept for the really gory and scary stuff. I love the fall colors, the weather, the decorations, the costumes and the spooky movies and TV shows. (yeah Ghost Hunters)

If you'd like to receive bonus entries then do this:
1. Post about or put a link up to my giveaway on your site. Could be your blog or myspace or other site. Does not matter just put the link in a separate comment.

2. Subscribe to my blog by clicking "Subscribe in a Reader" or "Fave This Blog Technorati" in the top left sidebar. Leave another comment that you did so.

3. Once you've done the first 2 bonus entries, enter as often as you like, but no more than one entry at a time, ex. someone else must enter between your entries. Here's a tip: Have followup comments emailed to you, that way you know when you can enter again.

The contest will end on Tuesday, October 21st at Midnight (oooh, spooky :-) Please make sure there is a way for me to contact you if you win.

Stay tuned for my next giveaway "The Greatest Secrets of the Coupon Mom". I know you want it!!

Freebies 4 Mom Celebrates 1 Year!

If your on the net surfing for freebies you have to check out Freebies 4 Mom. She's got the mother-load of freebies, giveaway and deals and she's celebrating Freebies 4 Mom's one year anniversary this month! Congratulations!

Giant Coupon Mailer

Yesterday I received the Giant Mailer with the following coupons.

Gotsta love cheap sausage!

$1 off 2 johnsonville sausages all var. 10-16 oz pkgs. Brats on sale BOGO ($3.99) and use 2 $1/1 coupon from 10/05 S1. If you have the 2 manufacture Q you could get two packages for $1 or $1 each with one MQ!

$3/$50, $5/$70 or $8/$100 Not as good as the $5/$50 or $55 that have been printing with my order but my orders haven't been that big anyway.

$1/5 Produce Dept. You may have gotten a Catalina for $2/$5

$1off 2 dixie paper products. all var. plates , cups , or napkins. Maybe next week there will be a better sale and manufacture coupon but I wonder if Walmart would still be cheaper even without the store coupon.

$1 off smuckers natural peanut butter 16 oz jar plus $1/2 from 8/3RP

$1 off hillshire farm ultra thin or hearty slice bowl all var. 6-10oz pkg.

$1 off 2 kraft singles 12oz pkg

$.50/2 progresso microwave soups

$1off tgi fridays skillet meal all var. 24 oz cont.

$1.off bertolli dinner all varieties 24oz bag plus $1.75 off from 10/12 RP
$1.0ff bertolli sauce pouch all varieties 13.5oz pkg plus $.60 dbl to $1 from 10/12 RP

$1 off giant light or dark or largerbrown sugar 2pds.

These Giant coupons expire on 11/08/08. I am going to wait and see if these other items go on sale between now and then to really get the most from these coupons, while also paying attention to the expiration dates on the manufacture coupons and watching for new manufacture coupons.

Easy Ham & Bean Soup

This Ham & Bean soup is one of my standby recipes for those days when I am too busy and forgot to plan dinner (something I am working on for sure). It is so easy. It involves cutting ham and potatoes but it beats buying gross take out and cost less than $6.50 to make.

Start a medium-large pot of 5-6 cups of water boiling while you cut 4-5 medium potatoes into bite size pieces and add to the pot.

Add
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 chicken bouillon cubes

Cut 1 pound of ham into bite size pieces(turkey ham is cheaper and healthier and doesn't taste much different, to me anyway :-)

Add the ham and 12-16 oz frozen green beans. Return to a boil then reduce to a low simmer for 15-30 being careful not to over cook the potatoes.

1.5 lb potatoes $1.13
1 lb ham $4
12 oz Green Giant Green Bean Steamers Free (on Sale at Boyer's for $1. Used $1 off coupon from 9/7GM)
2 bouillon cubes $.13

If you try it, let me know how you like it. Everyone in my house likes this, thankfully!

Free Money From ING Direct

Open a free paperless checking account and make 3-signature based transactions with your debit card within 45 days and receive $50 free on the 50th day. Signature based transactions are when you use your card as a credit card and you have to sign for it as opposes to using it as a debit card with a pin. It still comes out of your checking account, it is just processed differently. I emailed sales to see if it counts at those stores that do not require a signature when your bill is below a certain amount and those transaction do count.

Go to ingdirect.com/electric50
Use Code EM227

There are no fees except for overdraft or over-nighted check, that sort of thing. If you are not familiar with ING I have a couple of savings accounts and CDs with them for years and love it. They require no minimum balance and their interest rates are pretty decent.

Let me know if this works for you.

Mileage and Introducing My Mileage Calculator

My mileage went down and I'm not quite sure why. While I had a few appointments to get to that prevented me from "Driving Without Brakes", it didn't seem to be anymore than usual, I could be wrong.

Could Sheetz gas actually be better than Sunoco? I doubt it. Check out the Mileage Calculator I made to track my mileage, my cost per mile and possible reasons for my ups and downs. If you would like to use it to track your mileage, feel free. I am no expert on Excel nor am I a mathmagician so if you see any flaws in my formulas or theory, please let me know.

Not many people like the Giant gas points program. You have to have $100 in purchases to earn $.10 per gallon. Other ways to earn is to buy a lot of particular brands to get a discount. While I would like to have a stockpile of peanut butter, spagetti sauce and cleaners, I don't want to pay almost full price for them. Then the points expire fast and I have to make sure I get there to fill up before I run out. I had somehow earned $.10 off per gallon bringing it to $3.24/gallon. Wow, that's cheap. (note sarcasm) I was able to time my empty tank and my trip to Giant to coincide and I saved a whopping $1.34 on a little over 13 gallons.

Oh, and then, when I limbed it to save $1.34 on cheap Giant gas, the tanker was there! Just my luck. I have been passing up gas stations who are getting a delivery and stirring up all the gunk in the tanks so I don't put that gunk in my car. But since I was on E and my points would have expired I fill up anyway. Everyone else was so I didn't feel too stupid plus I change my fuel filter regularly.

Here is a tip on conserving gas. When parking in a lot, drive thru so that you can just pull right out. Then you won't waste gas backing out. This doesn't work well if you have to get groceries into your trunk but if your trunk hasn't opened in 6 months because it's broke like mine then your in luck! Hey, I always try to look on the bright side.

New Momma Findings Giveaway

Momma Findings has added yet another Halloween giveaway.

I'll be adding her to my blogroll too!

Here are her previous giveaways still going on:

At Momma Findings you can enter many ways and times to win cool Halloween apparel!
HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE.

SAVING is good.

Giveaways

One lucky visitor to Deal Seeking Mom will get their own Pillsbury Sweeter America Prize Pack. The prize includes a selection of Pillsbury baking products, including:
Pillsbury Stars and Stripes Cake Mix and Frosting
Brownie Mix
Quick Bread
Pillsbury Apron
and a Pillsbury Doughboy Doll that giggles
Ends Oct 5th

At Momma Findings you can enter many ways and times to win cool Halloween apparel!
HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE.

SAVING is good.

I Heart My Empty Fridge

My fridge has looked like this for a few months now. During the summer, things got pared down every few weeks as we were able to get away on 4 different occasions. Also contributing to the emptiness is the fact that I have been studying how to save money on groceries by stocking up when prices are low and using coupons. However, I just haven't seemed to get the right sales and the right coupons yet and not only do I not have a stockpile but I hardly have anything because I know I can get more for less, I'm not sure of the rock bottom prices and I'm afraid to buy something only to find it cheaper later on.

The good news is, this empty fridge deal is actually working out nicely. First, it's a lot easier to keep clean. Next, I know exactly what is in there and it is so much easier to utilize the left overs and incorporate the other items into a new dish. We've always had pickles but I never offered them to my DD as a snack because I just didn't think of it. My mind is so clear now, it's amazing.

What's even more amazing is that my DH hasn't complained about there being nothing to eat like he had when the thing was packed. This is mostly due to knowing that there is enough leftovers for his lunch and having snacks of nuts and chips (and elusive pickles) available.

I've even been able to take a night or two a week off from cooking, which frees up so much time for me to actually accomplish something in a day. When there are two or three days of leftovers piling up, I can see them and use them. If I could have done that when I was working, working might not have been that bad. Yeah, right.

Another benefit to the lack of food, not only in the fridge but the freezer and cabinets is that when I finally get around to creating an inventory it won't be such a project. Denise at the "Cents"ible Sawyer has been putting together some great videos for you to check out, the latest being about meal planning, including organizing the freezers and taking inventory.

So eventually I will know my rock bottom prices, find my deals and fill up the freezers and cabinets but I hope I can keep my fridge looking a lot like this because it has made my life so much easier and less wasteful.

Giant 07/29

I tried to make the best of my 6 Giant 50 cent triplers. I even took all my 50 cent and less coupons to the store to look for unadvertised specials. I was only able to use the $.20/2 pringles. I didn't really have a need for anything else even after the discounted prices. This is what I got.

Sorry no pic my CF card is shot.

Planter’s Cashew Pieces and Halves has a $1/2 Planter’s peelies.
These and Mixed Nuts are on sale for $3 and they come to $2.50 each after coupon.
This is the cheapest I have seen besides the deal at Rite-Aid the other week and if Rite-Aid can’t keep them in stock I don’t benefit from the sale! I didn’t realize it but I could have asked for a raincheck.

Pringles Chips used $.20/2 which was tripled bringing these to $.70 each. All the regular flavors, of course were gone.

Dole Fruit cups on sale for $2. Used a $.75 coupon from August All You, doubled to $1makes this $1. Here is $1 off Del Monte printable to use when that brand goes on sale.

Celestial Seasoning Tea on sale for $2. I wanted to try Grapefruit that was advertised but they didn’t have it so since I was there I got Pear. See how they get ya? But I hadn’t tried pear before either.

Alpine Lace Provolone used $1 off a half pound coupon from the last 1 or 2 issues of Quick and Simple.

My $28.89 bill produced a $4.50 off my next purchase of $50. Check out Mom's Need to Know. She is going to post about her Giant trip. She had $.99 triplers.

Deals and Freebies Last Week

Quaker Granola Bars-I found a coupon on a store flyer in Sat. newspaper for $3 of purchase of $10 Quaker purchase. The Granola Bars were on sale for $2. This was also on unadvertised sale at Giant for $2 and the manufacture coupon worked. I was glad I didn't have to drive to the other store since I didn't see anything there I liked. I got 5 boxes for $1.40 each. There are always several coupons for this in the inserts but I didn't need to use those this time.

Wet Ones Travel Pack-$.25 at Walmart after $.75 printable coupon. I don't think it is available anymore.

CVS

Adidas Deoderant-This was free after ECB and $1 coupon. I just realized this had a $1 peelie and I could have saved the other coupon. Well this one is good till 06/09 so if, and there usually is, another deal on this I will try to use it. Maybe I am better off as the coupon I used would have expired sooner.
Nivea for Men-Free plus $1 overage after ECB and coupon.
How do you find these deals? Visit my favorite blogs on the left for lists of the best deals weekly.

Free Crystal Light using my last buy 3 Kraft products get a product free coupon from All You magazine. I think these are expired.

In the Mail:
Playtex Tampons Sample
Kashi Cookie-Yummy, I waited all week to take its pic then eat it!

From the company that must not be mentioned:
Dog Food
Coffee Sample

Family Fun Mag Subscription free with Amazon.com gift card from Stamps.com deal.

Coke for $1.50/12 pack at CVS

Check out Bargain Briana's post on how to get really cheap Coke at CVS. If my calculations are correct and this works you can get 4-12 packs of Coke products at $1.50 each! I am totally bumming because I was lazy and didn't enter My Coke Rewards Points and now have none. And I'm all stocked up on Pepsi.

Chinese Recalls

I am passionate about avoiding products made in China. Not just for the fact that American jobs are lost when companies move over seas but also because of the extensive and ever growing list of recalls of products made in China. It's down right scary knowing that these are everyday products that millions of Americans use. Even scarier? There are products for which it is very difficult to tell where the materials or ingredients listed originated, even if the final product was produced or distributed from a location within the states.

Here is a list of items recalled with links to more info. This list is not all inclusive as I am no expert but will serve as my way to warn reader of the dangers of these products. I will update it as I hear of new recalls, unfortunately that will be quite often.

Click here for an extensive list of recalls in 2007.

Latest Chinese Recalls
09/29/08 Cadbury Chocolates-One of the manufacturing plants used to be located just 15 minutes from me. The recall is in Hong Kong, Tawian and Australia as of now. It's nice to know that the company is getting what they deserve in lost sales and trust, regardless of where it is recalled. This just came out today. I wouldn't be suprised if the recall reaches us.

Baby Formula-I have not heard of the melamine tainted baby formula reaching the US but Coffee and Tea Products have.

The tainted milk has even harmed zoo animals.

The milk in the above products has been tainted with Melamine. What the heck is that? Umm...plastic produced by mixing urea with formaldehyde. It is used to make floor tiles, Formica, microwavable dishes, flame retardent fabric, Magic Erasers, oh, and don't forget pet food (tainted wheat) and now baby formula. So why is this plastic in our food? It's an inexpensive means of raising the protein levels of food products so they can pass inspection. Oh, ok then.

That is all I can stomach to write about today. Here's a tip to save money when you can't avoid taking your children shopping with you. Teach them about the poisons and dangers in products made in China and that you prohibit the purchase of it. Since just about everything is Made In China these days, well they are going to be hard pressed to find anything to spend your hard earned money.

As the first post on the topic, the list is very, very short. If you know of a recall I've missed please leave a comment. Thanks.

Free Bakin' Miracle or Fryin' Magic

I found this today and don't see any reason why this won't work to score a free product, other than the fact that I have never heard of this brand. On the other hand I don't often shop for this type of product either. My plan is to use a UPC symbol from a Shake N' Bake product already in my cabinet for umteen years. That is the only way this could be a good deal is if you already have it around or you get it cheap.

All you have to do to receive one coupon good for one FREE 16 oz. box of Bakin' Miracle or Fryin' Magic is enclose:

One UPC symbol from any size Shake 'n Bake®* or Oven Fry®* A 3" x 5" card with your Name, Address, City, State, Zip, and Phone in an envelope and mail to:

Little Crow FoodsFree Product Offer
P.O. Box 1038
Warsaw, IN 46581-1038

Limit one request per family, household, group, or organization.
Please allow 6 weeks for delivery. Offer void where prohibited or taxed.

Shake 'n Bake and Oven Fry are registered trademarks of General Foods

I also see no expiration date on this deal.

Last Week

My freebies from last week include:

Walgreens

Brita pitcher filter

Crest

Colgate (I messed up here and think I paid $1 for this)

Pert Plus

Glade Candle

Revlon Nail Color

Walmart

DH Cake Mix maybe

JJ Bath Buddy Soap

Target

Tylenol

Rite-Aid

L'Oreal Facial Cleansing Cloths

CVS

Just For Men made $4. $2 ECB, $2 printable coupon, and mail in rebate

Excedrin

In the mail

2 cascade action pacs (carried me two days till I got to the store :-)

Magic Eraser

"a monthly gift" I wish they would send me tampons monthly, wouldn't that be nice.

Ok, so these are my freebies. I am sad to say that I still haven't been able to get really good grocery deals and I don't know why. There are people out there paying nothing for pasta and tuna. I want to pay nothing for pasta and tuna! I can not live on free toothpaste and shampoo alone.

Shoot, I Goofed Again

Update: I received my rebate check and fast too! Only 10 days.

I have been keeping and posting a Free After Rebate list which I thought would come in handy for anyone looking to see many rebate offers in one spot. I try to keep these to simple "try me free" offers. There are alot of "money back gaurentee" rebates out there which means if you are not satified with the products you may get a refund. I won't generally list these rebates because I don't plan on buying something I wouldn't normally buy hoping I won't like it so I can get my money back.

The reason for this post is to bring to your attention that the Duncan Hines Decadent Carrot Cake Rebate Form that I listed is a money back if not satisfied offer and I would not feel right about sending for the rebate if there was truly nothing wrong with the product.

I am going to send for the rebate however because I am dissatisfied with the fact that I went through the trouble of printing the form and buying a product I wouldn't normally have bought only to fill out the form and realize this is not a try me free offer which is the impression I got.

This is how I am filling out the form:
Reason I am dissatified: Other: Please Explain
"Rebate form doesn't state clearly, at the top of the form, that this is a money back gaurentee. I thought it was a try me free rebate which is the impression the form initially gives. I would have used my coupon on a less expensive product if this rebate was clearer."

Well it's worth a try. I seriously would have used the coupon on a different type and paid no more than $.12 for the cake. If I don't receive the rebate I will consider returning it (big pain) on principal. Any thoughts?

Now that won't work either. I can't return it to the store with the UPC cut out. Ok, if you've found yourself in this situation, wait 8 weeks to see if I get a refund. If not, return yours to the store. The rebate is good till Jan. I will keep you posted.

Giveaways

Here is a giveaway you will want to get in on. The Thrifty Mama is giving away a two year subscription to All You magazine. If you aren't familiar with this great resource for coupons and real world tips head on over to The Thrifty Mama and then find out how to received multiple entrys to win!

Got My Couponizer!

Since I wasn't able to win one, I took some B-day money and got a Couponizer. I have finished filling it with all my clipped coupons and I can see how much easier this is going to be for me already.




Initially I used the no clip system I learned from couponmom.com and will continue that to some extent. But with the Couponizer I can clip the coupons for products I will most likely buy, as well as high value coupons and coupons for items that are almost always free (ex. toothpaste). I also have a lot of coupons which came in the mail or with products or from catalinas, blinkies, internet, etc. I had no good way to organize these, didn't remember I had them or couldn't find them if I knew I had them.

Now they are all in catagorized pockets so if I am looking for a deodorant coupon I can pick up my compact couponizer, go to the Personal Hygiene pocket and search through a small stack of similar coupons.

There are also pockets for entertainment, restaurants, service and rebates so everything has it's own place and isn't scattered about.

I also received "The Greatest Secrets of the Coupon Mom" free, a value of $17.99, and you can too! Don't forget to use the code "STARTNOW" for 10% off your order. Click the banner above and start organizing and saving EVEN more!

Me On Nuts, Rite-Aid is Nuts, Walgreens Even Nuttier and Pepsi Pricing

I love nuts so I buy them a lot. Before I started all this frugality, I just bought nuts regardless of the price because I figured I'm going to buy them anyway so why pay attention to the price. I used to have this attitude toward gas too (yes, I'm a little ashamed of myself).

Last week Planters Nuts went on roll-back at Walmart for $3 (smaller cans, which make them cheaper per oz then the larger size) making them .32/oz for Cashews and .26/oz for mixed nuts. I thought that was pretty cheap and bought four cans. I would eventually like to stock up because we do eat at least 2 cans a weeks. So four cans was not a lot but I was afraid that there would be a cheaper sale elsewhere.

Well they did go on sale at Rite-Aid for $3.88 for the larger size, bringing the price to .22/oz for Cashew halves and mixed nuts (about .39/oz on whole cashews and deluxe mixed nuts). The problem is they, of course were sold out (or did they ever stock the shelves to begin with, sometimes I wonder).

The nutty part of Rite-Aid's nut sale was how they try to pawn off the store brand nuts at $3.99 making whole Cashews .41/oz and premium nuts .47/oz. The ad says "Compare to Planters". Why? So you can see that Planter's, the better, less buggy name brand is actually cheaper than the store brand?

Ok, I thought that was bad but then I saw Walgreens Planters sale B1G1 at $6.99 a can! Are you nuts, Walgreens? It's not just about being cheap or even being frugal. Comparing prices is smart to avoid being ripped off big time.

Take the Pepsi 12 packs on sale at Rite-Aid. 3/$11 or $3.67/ea. Ha! Next week at CVS you can get Pepsi at $2.25 per 12 pack wyb 4 (after ECB) plus a free 2 liter Sierra. See frugalsuz for details. But don't buy Pepsi at CVS this week at 3/$11. I love how they say "Limit 6" like this is an excellent deal.



What are your thoughts on all this shifty advertising?

Some Things I Did Not Know About CVS

A while back I read a post containing shopping tips that mentioned two tips that go hand in hand. 1. shop on the same day of the week and 2. get to know an employee who can share sales info with you. I searched for this post and unfortunetly I am having a hard time finding it. I can say that I read it on one of the blogs in my list to the left. (if you happened to have written the post I am refering to please send a link, it was great)

I never really liked shopping on Saturdays because the new sales pricing was going up and the old ones were coming down and I would be afraid to buy something that was on sale but didn't have the sales pricing on the shelf or buy something going on sale but maybe the computers weren't updated yet.

One Saturday I did go to CVS and mentioned my concern to the employee putting up new tags. She explained that yes, the outgoing sale was still valid, even if they already took the tag down, due to time constrainted. Of course this is pretty obvious. But what she told me next I had no idea.

She explained that because the new flyer comes out Saturday, the two weeks overlap that day making Saturday the best day to shop. In the perfect world you could do 2 weeks of CVS shopping in one, not that you would ever find all the products in one trip, but still good to know. This also explains why sometimes items are sold out even by Sunday afternoon.

The employee was eager to share with me details about how you can use sales, ECBs and coupons to get cheap and free prices. It was funny, the two of us kneeling in the aisle flipping through the flyers. I took advantage of the situation and ask several questions to help clarify CVS shopping for me. I also made sure to take note of and actually remember her name.

One other tid-bit of info regarding the overlapping sales is this:
ECBs shown in the monthly flyer are good both weeks but if the ECB deal is shown only in the weekly sales flyer you will have to wait until the sale officially starts on Sunday to take advantage of that. As an example I will use this list of best deals posted by frugalsuz:

CVS

Nivea for Men Bodywash $4.99, use $1 coupon (7/20 SS) and get back $4.99 ECB (Limit 1) = $1 overage

This Nivea deal is in the Sept. extra value book, so look for it on Saturday.

The rest on this list are not in the extra value book so you'll have to wait until Sunday

(not the best example of why shopping Saturday is better, but it gives you idea. Maybe by Saturday the shelves will be restocked!)
Sunday & Monday only: L'Oreal Advanced Revitalist anti wrinkle serum $11.99, use $3 coupon (7/20 SS) and get back $11.99 ECB (Limit 1) = $3 profit
Crest Pro Health $2.99, get back $2 ECB (Limit 2) and use $1 coupon (8/31 P&G) = FREE
South Beach and Kashi Bars two for $5 (buy two of each), use two $2 South Beach coupons and two $2 Kashi coupons plus a $2 off $10 coupon = FREE
Adidas deodorant $4.99, use $1 coupon (7/27 or 9/7 RP) and get back $4 ECB (Limit 1) = FREE
Pepsi 12 pack four for $12 and get back $3 ECB (WYB 4), use Sierra Mist Q (free bottle WYB 3 profitcases of Pepsi)

Free Money CVS Advisory Panel Survey

If you signed up for the CVS Advisory Panel, check your email because there is a survey being conducted this Sunday. If you get both the CVS and Walgreens flyers in your Sunday paper, you will be asked to compare them and complete a survey in exchange for $10 ECBs! You know your going to be comparing them anyway! You have to take a pre-survey (by today, I think) to see if you qualify.

If you don't get these flyers together in the Sunday paper, take the pre-survey anyway and you will get $2 ECBs for less then 5 minutes of your time.

Free Money With Thank You Points

If you are going to be making a larger purchase, here's a way to make the most of your buying power.

Consider applying for a Citi Card with Thank You points. You can get 10,000 Thank You points with a $300 purchase. You can then cash the Thank You points in for a $100 gift card to places like JCPenney or Panera. See a list here. You can also choose cash or product rewards but I think the gift cards give you the best value for your points.

Check out little know benefits of using credit cards here.

Bank of America Gave Me $220

I received $220 from Bank of America last month for this deal. I thought the envelopes were junk mail and set them aside to open and be sure it was actually junk at another time. I thought the money would be directly deposited into my account. Oops!


But I got the money and yeah! I got $50 each for opening a business checking and credit card account, $20 for a business savings and $100 for referals.

You can also earn rewards for opening personal accounts if you don't have a business. See your branch for info and make sure your favorite teller gets credit for refering you!

Fuel Cost Per Mile Summary

I posted earlier about my MPG and have figured out my cost of fuel per mile as well. With Hess gas my cost was $.1286 per mile. Sheetz gas was $.1356 per mile. Sheetz was $.02 less per gallon and my mileage with Sheetz was 1.553 MPG less than with Hess. I beleive Hess to be a higher quality gas than Sheetz so it appears that you do get better mileage with better gas. It also appears that even if you spend more on better gas, it is actually cheaper.

Here is the formula I used:
MPG X Gallons Purchased=Total Miles Driven
Total Cost/TMD=Fuel Cost Per Mile

Example: On 09/04 I purchased gas at Sheetz. My MPG since my last fill up at Hess was 27.66. I multiplied 27.66 by the volume (11.9 gallons) I purchased at Hess the week prior which comes to 329 Total Miles Driven.

The cost of the gas at Hess was $42.33 which I divided by 329 for a Fuel Cost Per Mile of $.1286.

If anyone sees any flaws in this formula let me know because my mind was kind of boggled by this but I think it's right. Also, I created an Excel spreadsheet so all I have to do is plug in the numbers next time.

Let me know if you find this information interesting and useful.

Mileage

While I'm happy gas has come down a bit, I didn't do so hot in the mileage and price paid dept. this week and I'm not happy about that.

First of all, I went out Friday for some groceries and gas. On the way to the store I noticed gas at Sunoco and Turkey Hill, across the street was $3.49/gal. I didn't feel like stopping until after the store. At some point I heard a report on the radio that because of Ike prices were bound to go up. I sighed and switched stations.

When I returned to Sunoco I started pumping only to realize that the price went up 10cents in less than 1 hour! I looked across the street to see a packed Turkey Hill and $3.49 gas. What the...? Not only did I spend more money but I also felt like an idiot all by myself at Sunoco.

So this morning I figured out my mileage and got 26.09MPG down from 27.66 MPG. Why the difference? Well, I had to go to work a few days and while I didn't have a particular time to be there, I was running fairly late as usual. Not to mention I have to be back for the bus at a certain time too. So I didn't take it as easy as I would have liked. I'm not talking about speeding. I just like to, when possible, coast to stop signs or turns and down mountains. This saves gas and brakes. I know I need to prepare for my days and allow myself a few extra minutes. Just one of the habits I need to work on.

One other reason for the lower mileage could very possibly be the Sheetz gas I put in last time. I generally try to buy Sunoco gas, but if Giant or Sheetz is cheaper or I'm in a certain part of town, I fill up when and where I can.

I will figure out the price per mile as well to see if using cheaper gas is actually cheaper and post a summary of my MPG and fuel cost per mile. I've called it fuel cost per mile because it will not include all the other costs of operating a vehicle such as wear and tear and insurance. I had read a few years back that the average cost per mile was $.50. Ouch! That was an eye opener then, and I don't even want to know want it is today.

Kiss My Face Giveaway Ends Today!

I don't know how I missed this giveaway for Children's Kiss My Face Products. With DD any kids bath and body products are appreciated. Get over to Stretching a Buck now for your chance to win!

Give-A-Way

Had to end this early as I was getting phone calls from lawyers.

Guess this particular company doesn't want/need any extra promotion.

I promise to never in any way, shape or form mention this company again. Promise.

Freebies and Deals, Stamps.com and Price List

Walmart
Free Purina 3.5 lb Cat Food with coupon here.

Free Centrum after rebate plus used a $3 off coupon so purchasing this at $9.99 gives a $3 overage. Rebate form and coupon in last weeks inserts.

CVS
Loreal Facial Cleansing Cloths Free
2 bags Chex Mix $.99 each. Used 2 coupons for $1.oo off.
2 Packs Extra Care Gum on sale for 2/$2. Used 2 $.75 coupons from last couple All You issues and paid $.25 each.
Hawaiian Tropic Flip Flops were $5.99 at 90% off came to $.59!

In the mail received 2 pads and 2 tampons and a Schick electric razor.

I called Stamps.com to cancel my subscription, after I printed all my excess postage onto envelopes so not to miss out. I wish I had called sooner because I paid for 3 months at $17.99! With this promo I got a $25 Amazon card and $25 in postage. I've learned my lesson and will following moneysavingmethods.com footsteps and keep everything I sign up for organized. She also recommends entering the date to cancel in Outlook with a reminder and writing a reminder in your planner. So they waived this months fee, gave me $10 in postage, sent more stamps and told me the date I would need to call by to cancel.

At Giant I got a free bag of Green Giant Corn in a steamer bag with sale and coupon. I don't usually buy the steamer bags because 1. they are more expensive and 2. I don't think it is healthy to microwave food in plastic. So when I do get a deal on steamers I still use a glass bowl.

Cambells and Tomato Soup on sale for $.66 a can and used a $1/10 from recent insert to make it $.56 a can. It may be cheaper at times, I am not sure but I have gotten a good start on my price list so in the future I can take advantage of the best deals.

Make Money from a Previous SCR Deal

Turns out this is only good if you purchase a bottle that has a peelie.

*Charles Worthington Results, Dream, or Big hair care product
Go to Hooray for Rebates for instructions. Expires 12/31/08

Here is my plan: I remembered that this was a Free after SCR at Rite-Aid a while back. I went to the SCR site and saw it was an August deal. I clicked on it and narrowed the date down to 08/03 to 08/05 and was quickly able to locate my reciept. So not only was it free after SCR but I should be able to make $4.99 if this works.

Hannah Montana You Make Me Look Bad

Yeah my kid is a freak for Hannah Montana. This didn't happen until she went to a party of another Hannah Montana freak, but hey, I can't keep her in a bubble all her life right? I don't mind my daughter's infactuation with Hannah (as long as she doesn't turn into a Brittney) but I have a problem with spending money on products that make Hannah Montana and others richer then they already are and leaves me, well, with less money. And have you notices these products are everywhere! I thought celebrities just signed on to sell with one company like, Walmart, or KMart, or JCPenney but not anymore.

I bought a HM back pack at Walmart and in as few words as possible, describe the purchase as follows:
Backpack, needed.
Walmart, bad.
One zipper pull, bad.
Hannah Montana, good.
$10, good.

I bought a HM T-Shirt at JCP for $10, free with coupon. Good.

But Hannah Montana fruit snacks at the grocery store? Please. First, those fruit snacks are junk. Second, I have no coupon and ther is no sale. This is what I say to my DD. "Don't you think Hannah Montana has enough money?" God knows half her songs are about how great it is to be a rich celebrity. What is up with that? Plus, "Wouldn't you rather keep our money instead of giving it to Hannah Montana who has enough already?" My DD sometimes whines that "so and so has more webkinz" then she does. "So what, you have more this or that" or "went here or there" so don't worry about it!

It would be so nice if she could aspire to catch up to Hannah Montana in the money department.

Does this make me a bad mommy?

Mileage

I have been wanting to write about my mileage here and see what I can do to improve it and keep tabs on what I've done to make it worse so I can avoid it next time. I have figured that for the period of 08/22 to 09/04, I have gotten a whopping 27.66 MPG. Not too shabby, but I think I can do better. Now that I'm on track, here are a list of things I know I can do to make my mileage better or at least not make it worse:

I will check that my tires aren't low every time I drive the car.

I'm sure it could use a new air filter, after 160,000 miles, I'm not sure I ever changed this, oops.

I'll do the speed limit and coast when I can. This is a bonus because I will save my brakes too. No jack-rabbit starts either.

This tank was Hess gas. I wonder how it compares to Sunoco, Giant or Sheetz? I'll let you know.

I know there are other thing I can do but can't think of them right now. Do you know of anything I can try?

Freebies and Deals, A Rant and Tomatoes

Here's how I did this week.

Freebies in the mail:

Roll of toilet paper

Pack of Stride Gum

Coupon for free box of Cheerios

CVS Freebies

Dawn Dish Soap

Colgate Toothpaste

Rite-Aid Freebies

Pantene Conditioner $4.99 ($2 off coupon from 8/31)

Pantene Hair Spray $3.50 (free with Pantene Conditioner-coupon from 8/31 insert)

Crest Toothpaste $2.49 ($1 off leaves $.25 overage)

Rite-Aid Deals

The following, along with the Pantene Products and Crest above will go toward September SCR #75

1 Tampax Pearls $6.99 (use $1 off coupon)

3 Crest Pro-Health Rinse at $4.99ea. (SCR #602-$10 back on 3) I used $1 off coupon for one of these.

Warning-Rant Ahead-I also had a coupon for $2 off 2 Crest toothpaste products from a Giant mailing. It was a manufacture coupon and I thought I might have to argue that, while these rinses are not "Crest toothpastes" they are "Crest toothpaste products". Crest has always been a toothpaste so the rinses should be a Crest toothpaste product. Am I right? Anyway, I didn't get that far because the cashier said they can't accept it because it was for Giant. I pointed out that it was a manufacture coupon but no go. Rite-Aid has also denied my internet coupons (though I still try since some cashiers forget, don't know, whatever). Other stores don't have a problem with these coupons, so why Rite-Aid? My guess would be that they just don't get how to properly submit coupons in the first place and it has nothing to do with the internet or the fact that the MQ happens to have another store name on it. End Rant.

These items get me to $32.94 and a $10 gift card for offer #75.
And the grand total for those items is $.29 overage. Not bad. I think I'm getting the hang of this. Thank you frugalsuz. Her post was a huge help for getting these things my family needs for free!

Also shown are a Glade plug-in I got free at Walmart after a coupon for $4/off and a coupon for a free Crest toothpaste product.

In the background are tomatoes my husband and I canned last night. For the time and effort involved I wondered if it was worth it. Well, we'll have the satisfaction of eating our own 100% organic tomatoes for a little while longer and the time spent together didn't kill us. When I asked DH to help me with this task, he said, he works all day and was so hoping to come home to full jars lined up on the counter. I must have said "I can't believe you expected me to do this all by myself" about 20 during the whole process.

Coupon Organizer

If your coupon stash looks anything like mine, get over to Mom's Need To Know for a chance to win a Couponizer. I am so frustrated with not being able to find the coupons I need or know which ones I have. I haven't been able to find a decent place to keep my coupons so if I don't win one I am going to buy one.

Shopping Excursions of the Week

Staples-
Free unless noted
10 folders
3-12 pack cap erasers
2-slider pencil cases $.10
3-pencil sharpener

KMart

2 Rimmel Eye Shadow-$.34 (tax on one)
Rimmel Cosmetics BOGO
Used the BOGO Eye Shadow Q from 8/24RP
I forgot to try the $1 on any from the same insert.
This did not work for me in a similar situation at Walgreen's but the blogs I read suggest it all the time. I would be interested to here what others experiences have been with these scenarios.

Pony 2GB Mini Drive $9.99 on sale
Sunsilk Trial Size Conditioner $.99
2 Pocket Tees $4
Used $1.50 off any Sunsilk 8/17RP
Used $1 off 2 Fruit of Loom product (sorry can't remember where this is from arrgh!)
I really needed that drive and this is the cheapest I could find it, needed the tees and there was a $.50 "overage" from the sunsilk which is for curly frizzy hair so I'm excited to try it while camping. I'm pretty happy with K-Mart for once.

CVS
4-12 packs of Pepsi $12
1-2 liter Sierra Mist $1
1 Sobe Life Water $1
Use this coupon for the free Sobe w/ purchase of one pepsi 12 pack

Use this coupon for the free Sierra Mist 2 liter w/purchast of 3 pepsi 12 packs

The above came to $12, used $10 in ECB, recieved $3 in ECB

I haven't gotten to Giant yet but this is my plan for the $1 doublers:

-2 packs of Dixie Napkins on sale for $2 each

I'll use the $1/2 from 8/17 RP to make them $1 each after the doubling. This works out to be slightly cheaper then the cheapies at Walmart.

-One Arm & Hammer Essential Cleaners Starter Kit

I'll use the printable $1 coupon which will be doubled and send for the rebate. Free plus some!

-2 Heluva Good Dips on sale 2/$3 and use the $1 coupon to make these $.50 each. The coupon is good for cheese, horseradish or cocktail sauce too so I am going to look out for an unadvertised sale on one of those.

-Snuggle Fabric Softener $2.99 each, buy two, use $1/2 from 07/13RP and doubler for $2 each

I will have a few other $1 coupons to keep my options open if I can't find the above deals.

I visited Rite-Aid 2x this week and left empty handed! I don't know what to say about that. No free pledge, tape or Pert with overage. Uggh!

Of all the samples I have sign up for and gotten, I was suprised at how few coupons came with the sample. Today though, there was a coupon for a free cup of Wholesome Goodness cat food with my sample of dry cat food. It pays to visit Walmart.com for free samples. I also received seeds this week. The Hannah Montanta shirt was free at JCP last week (how?).

Staples Free and Nearly Free

I like the freebies at Staples again this week.

These items are instantly free:
Staples cap erasers 12/pack limit 3 (for some reason we have hundreds of pencils around here, none of which have erasers!)
2-pocket paper folder Limit 10 with and without fasteners
Staples manual pencil sharpeners Limit 3 (this was a learning experience for the kid, she insisted we buy one of these when they were $.99)

Slider pencil cases $.05 Limit 2 (she wanted this too, but I was able to hold her at bay unto they were cheap again)

Coupon Tips-What I've Learned and a Question

Watch for buy-one-get-one coupons (BOGO) Use these when your store has a BOGO sale and get both items free. If you have a $$ off coupon for this product, you may be able to justify using the BOGO on the 1st and the $$ off on the second. I've learned that many make money this way but be prepared if that $$ off coupon is denied. Hey, at least everything is still free.


When a coupon says "any" (versus "excludes trial size") you can use it on trial size products to get it for cheap, free, or to make money. Examples:

Use a $1Q off any Axe shave product on the $1.50 trial size-cheap.

Use $1Q off any Head & Shoulders product on the $1 trial size-free.

Use $1.50 off any Sunsilk shampoo or conditioner on the $1 trial size-$.50 overage!

I just used the Sunsilk coupon at K-Mart. The extra $.50 came off my other purchases. They will not give you back the $.50 and if you have nothing to put the extra money toward you may not be able to use the coupon. You could always get a free candy bar but I'm not sure anything is sold for $.50 these days! The coupon was in the 08/17RP.

If your store doubles coupons, all coupons under $1 are potentially worth $1. Always keep this in the back of your mind when looking through your coupons and sales papers. A coupon for $.50 of any French's Mustard will result in that product being free if it's on sale for $1 as it is a lot of the time.

Watch for high value coupons. When something goes on sale, offers rebates and you have that whopper, well, you may get something for free or real cheap.

Here is my question. It doesn't keep me up at night, and it may not be worth the while to ask or answer but here goes:
You have 2 coupons from the same manufacturer, same value. One is for a specific product and the other is for any product. The "any" coupon expires 09/01, the "specific" coupon expires 09/15. You want to buy the "specific" product. Do you use the "specific" coupon and hope that you have a chance to use the "any" coupon before it expires or do you use the coupon that is about to expire and risk running into a deal that will make you regret using the "any" coupon?