Rebate Relief

Back in June I came across a FAR for Centrum Cardio. The form said it must be postmarked by June, 30th. I was well ahead of schedule when I got this rebate ready to be mailed. I filled out the form, circled the price on the reciept, cut out the UPC and made a copy of everything. I then re-read the instructions to make sure there wouldn't be a hitch. That's when I noticed the purchase had to be made before June 1st! It was June 6th. Had I not gone as far as cutting the package for the UPC I would have returned the product but now I was passed the point of no return (pardon the pun). I even had the envelope addressed and stamped! So after all that work, I figured I'll take a chance on losing my postage too and mailed it.

Well today I got the check! So the moral here is read the fine print carefully and if you have nothing else to lose, go for it. It may pay off in the end.

I was getting another rebate ready today and noticed it must be post-marked by July 31st so check to see if you have any rebates that need to go. I have a list of some rebates here.
If you found this post helpful, let me know, I'd love to get your feedback.

Making My Own Laundry Detergent

I've been making my own laundry soap because I just can't bear to actually buy it in the stores with the cost of everything. All total, this recipe cost me about $1.06, some hot water, less than 30 minutes time and fills a 300 ounce laundry container.

Here's how I do it:

1 bar of Ivory $.32
1 cup Borax $.30
1 cup Washing Soda $.44


Begin boiling one quart of water.


Start shaving the Ivory (use a vegatable peeler) into the pot of water.

Once boiling, turn it to low and stir until dissolved. Keep your eye on it at all times, it can boil/suds over easily.

Pour this into a clean mop bucket and add Borax and Washing Soda. Stir to dissolve.

Add two gallons of warm tap water and lavender, rosemary or tea tree oil for fragrence if you like.

You will have to shake and/or stir this mixture and maybe add more water after a few loads to get the right consistency.

This stuff is cheap (a little more than a penny a load) and more natural. My laundry comes out just as clean and smells better too. It's better for your wallet and your environment. I was using All Free & Clear. Last time I checked it was $10.97 for 150 oz. I could not find the 300 oz. container at my big Walmart to compare the price. My hunch is they stopped selling them because nobody wanted to drop $20 at once on detergent even if it was cheaper that way.

I found this recipe and more like it at tipnut.com.

Staples Stuff

Wednesday is the last day for Staples $.05 deals.

Get Two 12 pack cap erasers and Two 6" plastic protractors for $.05 each.

If you already got these this week, you are allowed two per customer PER DAY.

Cadoozles mechanical pencils are free after instant savings and easy rebate.

Limit 4 assorted plastic binders.

Check your flyer here.

Don't forget to sign up for and use your Staples Reward card. My rewards check is below and of course it arrived in the mail the same day I had already stopped at Staples!

I cannot believe I spent $114 on ink in 6 months! That isn't even including ink I purchased at Walmart. OUCH

Another Good Article from MSN

I love MSN Money. In fact, it's responsible for my interest in frugality and blogging. I always find great articles about saving money or making money. This one is regarding little known credit card perks such as free Extended Warrenties, Return Guarantees, Coverage of Stolen or Damaged Goods and Price Protection. Some good information to keep in the back of you mind.

My Shopping Last Three Weeks

I did not post about my shopping 3 weeks ago because frankly I was overwhelmed by all the free items I had gotten and had to start putting them away before I took a pic. I did manage to make a list of most of the items I got and calculated an approximate total of freebies at $75-$80!

Walmart
-3 bags of Purina Cat Food came to $.056/oz after a coupon for $1 off, one free bag and one free bag with the purchase of two. I don't recall what Special Kitty costs, which is what I would have bought, but the Purina was definately cheaper.
-Blueberry Muffin Cereal FAR
-Gillette Body Wash Trial with a $.21 overage
-Noxema Razors FAR

Staples
-4 Purell for 4 cents
-4 Twelve packs of pencils for 4 cents
-20 folders for 20 cents

CVS
-2 packs of pantiliners
-2 cans of Pringles for $1

Walgreens
-candy bar

-Vitamins with $1 overage
-Breath Rx Kit

Rite-Aid
-2 Herbal Essences shampoo/conditioner
-1 Infusiom shampoo
-1 Crest $.25 overage

I figured I spent about $3.82 out of pocket for the above.

Last week wasn't as good but I still got some really useful items. I just can't remember what they were!

Walmart-2 Suave hairspray for $.97, 3 more Johnson's Buddies soaps, 2 trial size Head and Shoulders and assorted other samples from the mail.

Rite Aid-Electasol $.99, 2 Coppertone Sunscreen $.75, crest toothpaste free and 2 Revlon Tweezers free after coupons and rebates.

Staples this week netted 4 plastic binders for $1, 2 packs of pencil erasers for $.10 and a pack of mechanical pencils FAR.

This week I got the 3 free photo books at CVS, 2 100 ct Excedrin for $1.99 each, 24 ct Excedrin FAR, Physician Formula foundation and Brow-Tweez 3-in-1 FAR. I also had a CVS coupon for $10 off $50. Because of that I bought a Neutragena Eye Concealer that I have wanted ever since I recieved a sample I liked. It was $10.

Find New Free Products and Free Cat/Dog Food

Most people do there shopping at Walmart because, let's face it, if there's not a really good sale at another store it's cheaper at Walmart 99.9% of the time. I've spent a lot of time searching for those new products that are being offered for free but Walmart doesn't seem to carry these items as often as the other stores like Giant and Weis. So if it's going to end up being free anyway, spend a little more money (initially) and less time and look for these items in stores other than Walmart.

Also try visiting the product website and click on "Where to Buy" or "Find a Store". This was a huge time-saver for me with my Nutro dog and cat food free coupons. (Thanks Freebies 4 Mom) I have also found additional rebate forms for Nutro Products here.

How I Screwed Up at CVS

This week I got the 3 free photo books at CVS, 2 100 ct Excedrin for $1.99 each after CVS, manufacture and EBC coupons, 24 ct Excedrin FAR, Physician Formula foundation and Brow-Tweez 3-in-1 FAR. I also had a CVS coupon for $10 off $50. Because of that I bought a Neutragena Eye Concealer that I have wanted ever since I received a sample I liked. It was $10.

I had all intentions of purchasing the photo books in a separate transaction so I could pay for one transaction with the ECBs from the other. The cashier automatically rang everything together and I didn't realize it until well into the transaction. This meant that I went in with $9.97 in ECBs and left with $29.97 in ECB. Not what I wanted to do.

I then got home and realized I had put 3 items, which needed original reciepts for a mail in rebate, on one transaction. So I ended up back at the store to get separate receipts for the 2 Physician Formula products. While I was at it I had the cashier refund cash for these items and then used some of those ECBs. So that helped.

Also, although I knew I wanted to buy the Neutragena Eye Concealer and used that $10 off $50 as an excuse to get it, I should have been more prepared because I found a coupon for $1 off afterwards. I should also have waited for a sale.

I hope this helps people by showing them what not to do! Good luck and don't beat yourself up to much if you mess up a deal. Just think of all that other stuff you got for free!

Deals at Staples July 6-9

Staples usually has one or two deals a week for supplies or software after rebate. If I'm in the area I will run in to pick it up. Here are some deals good until July 9th:

Pentel Handy-lines retractable Highlighters
$4.99-$4.99 Easy Rebate=Free-limit 1

2-pocket paper folders
$.01 each-limit 10

Dixon #2 yellow pencils-8/pack
$.01 each-limit 2

Purell 0.5 oz bottle
$.01 each-limit 2

These are the best deals. Check out the flyer for more items that you may have a use for. Back to School will be here before you know it!

Weekly Loot

Last week I received a lot of great samples:

Neutragena Lip Gloss and Concealer samples

4 pads

1 bottle of baby lotion. The other bottle was free with a coupon I got with the first one and the 3rd bottle was free with a printed coupon. Those I got at Walmart and had a $.12 overage each.

Free 3 month sample of bio spot.

Free sample of dog and cat food from Blue Buffalo.

At Giant:

Mustard was on sale for $1. I used a coupon from the catalina for $.75 off.

Salad dressings were $1 each. I used a coupon for $1/2 and that coupon was doubled with the $1 doubler coupons Giant has every few weeks. So they were both free.

I am still new to this and feeling a little overwhelmed with all the great deals I could be getting if only I could wrap my mind around it all and get really organized. Tommorrow I will be able to hit Target and Walgreens on top of my other stores but I am really going to have to get a plan. There is already a problem though, the Sunday paper didn't come today! I am not sure if I can pull this off. Please leave comments with links to posts with organization tips if you would like.

Murphy’s Law

I really dislike checks. Not the money that comes with it, just that inconvenient piece of paper that I have to baby-sit until I get to the bank.

I went to work for a bank soon after college so direct deposit was required. From then on all my paychecks were direct deposit. Life was easy, except the working part, of course.
Then I became self-employed, yeah! But now most if not all my income comes in the form of a check.

Sometimes I will hold on to one, two, three or more of these little things until I can get to the bank. Sometimes I hold off going to the bank because I know I have a check on the way. Sometimes I bite the bullet and hit the bank before I lose the checks or my mind. And it’s those days I come home from the bank to find a check in my mailbox!