Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Thanks for the free tea, Kroger!
I played the Kroger Summer of Savings game and won a free box of Tazo tea! So I went tonight and picked up a box of the "Calm" blend, as well as two bags of Goldfish crackers that were on sale 4/$5 (wish I'd gotten the recent printable to print, but it wouldn't work!). Woohoo! And they say there will be a second chance drawing/contest in a few weeks. You can log in and play once a day and the instant prizes are pretty good and will be loaded directly onto your Kroger card.
CVS - Summary for my other card
So as I've said numerous times, I don't like juggling two CVS cards (I have my own, but when I started the "experiment" two years ago, I started fresh with my husband's card and phased mine out over time). But I got $5 in ECBs for doing a survey, and that's totally free money.
So with that $5 plus less than $3 in cash (most of it covering sales tax) I got (over multiple transactions of course):
1 Cover Girl lip gloss (my preferred brand)
2 bottles of Old Spice body wash
1 Schick razor (my husband's preferred brand)
3 Powerbars (they'll come in handy on an upcoming road trip)
4 boxes of Nescafe single-serving coffee (7 packs per box) (I like these)
1 bag of 20 Cascade Action Pacs (our preferred brand)
I daresay that's not bad at all! And now I have zero on my other card again and can focus on ONE card.
So with that $5 plus less than $3 in cash (most of it covering sales tax) I got (over multiple transactions of course):
1 Cover Girl lip gloss (my preferred brand)
2 bottles of Old Spice body wash
1 Schick razor (my husband's preferred brand)
3 Powerbars (they'll come in handy on an upcoming road trip)
4 boxes of Nescafe single-serving coffee (7 packs per box) (I like these)
1 bag of 20 Cascade Action Pacs (our preferred brand)
I daresay that's not bad at all! And now I have zero on my other card again and can focus on ONE card.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Get Rich Slowly on the Internet - A Guide to My Favorite Sites
I find myself telling my friends the same thing over and over, so I'm going to make this into a post that I can email to them. If it helps you, please leave a comment!
My favorite sites to find out about deals/sales/coupons/savings:
http://www.couponmom.com - my most-checked site, she breaks down the sales for all major grocery stores plus Target, CVS, Walgreens, and more, and matches up coupons. She sticks to coupons in circulars and the occasional printable from coupons.com or smartsource.com, but this makes it MUCH easier to handle.
http://www.moneysavingmom.com - my second-most-checked site. If there's a freebie out there, she probably knows about it. If there's a sale, she'll tell you about it. There's a new feature of the site that breaks down coupon matchups/sales for individual stores around the country, and those DO go further than the circulars and easy printables.
http://www.iheartcvs.com - Want to shop CVS? This is the best site for info.
http://www.iheartpublix.com - a new discovery - she has matchups for Publix sales, makes separate posts for the best deals of the week, notes new coupons, lists recipes, and more!
My favorite sites to make a bit of money (NOT A LOT) or to earn gift certificates or free stuff:
http://www.youdata.com - pays you to click on ads that are targeted to your interests. No minimum payout, pays to PayPal each week. Note that lately I haven't gotten any ads at all, but in the past I've gotten about 50 cents a week. Not bad for just a few seconds of time, and I've really enjoyed the websites I've found through the site.
http://www.swagbucks.com - a search engine that awards "bucks" randomly as you search and also awards them for viewing offers or other things. You can earn between 10 and 30 bucks a day with minor effort, and 450 bucks is a $5 Amazon gift card. I've earned about $400 in gift cards over time, so yes, it's worth it. Just use it for your regular searching!
https://www.mysurvey.com/ - points for taking surveys, cash rewards.
http://www.bzzagent.com - they'll send you full-sized products to try out and then "Bzz" about (talk about with others on and offline). Usually you get high-value coupons too.
http://www.vocalpoint.com - they'll randomly send you samples or even full-sized products to try, plus coupons.
http://www.mypoints.com - emails with click-throughs that are worth a few points, plus a site through which you can click to get to sites on which you shop. I've earned hundreds of dollars in Amazon gift cards here too. I suggest setting up a folder in your email box and filtering all their emails to it so you can click through at your leisure. If you want to sign up, I'd love it if you'd use me as a referral - just comment with your email address and I'll send you an email through the site. (They don't do referral links.)
I'll add to and update this post periodically. I know I've made posts like this in the past, but I've finally set it up so I can find this one easily and refer back to it!
My favorite sites to find out about deals/sales/coupons/savings:
http://www.couponmom.com - my most-checked site, she breaks down the sales for all major grocery stores plus Target, CVS, Walgreens, and more, and matches up coupons. She sticks to coupons in circulars and the occasional printable from coupons.com or smartsource.com, but this makes it MUCH easier to handle.
http://www.moneysavingmom.com - my second-most-checked site. If there's a freebie out there, she probably knows about it. If there's a sale, she'll tell you about it. There's a new feature of the site that breaks down coupon matchups/sales for individual stores around the country, and those DO go further than the circulars and easy printables.
http://www.iheartcvs.com - Want to shop CVS? This is the best site for info.
http://www.iheartpublix.com - a new discovery - she has matchups for Publix sales, makes separate posts for the best deals of the week, notes new coupons, lists recipes, and more!
My favorite sites to make a bit of money (NOT A LOT) or to earn gift certificates or free stuff:
http://www.youdata.com - pays you to click on ads that are targeted to your interests. No minimum payout, pays to PayPal each week. Note that lately I haven't gotten any ads at all, but in the past I've gotten about 50 cents a week. Not bad for just a few seconds of time, and I've really enjoyed the websites I've found through the site.
http://www.swagbucks.com - a search engine that awards "bucks" randomly as you search and also awards them for viewing offers or other things. You can earn between 10 and 30 bucks a day with minor effort, and 450 bucks is a $5 Amazon gift card. I've earned about $400 in gift cards over time, so yes, it's worth it. Just use it for your regular searching!
https://www.mysurvey.com/ - points for taking surveys, cash rewards.
http://www.bzzagent.com - they'll send you full-sized products to try out and then "Bzz" about (talk about with others on and offline). Usually you get high-value coupons too.
http://www.vocalpoint.com - they'll randomly send you samples or even full-sized products to try, plus coupons.
http://www.mypoints.com - emails with click-throughs that are worth a few points, plus a site through which you can click to get to sites on which you shop. I've earned hundreds of dollars in Amazon gift cards here too. I suggest setting up a folder in your email box and filtering all their emails to it so you can click through at your leisure. If you want to sign up, I'd love it if you'd use me as a referral - just comment with your email address and I'll send you an email through the site. (They don't do referral links.)
I'll add to and update this post periodically. I know I've made posts like this in the past, but I've finally set it up so I can find this one easily and refer back to it!
Friday, June 18, 2010
Publix - Free Baileys coffee creamer and Muir Glen tomato sauce, and free isn't always worth it
Yes, I have been going to the grocery store a lot lately. That should slow down enormously soon.
At Publix tonight I spent $33 (before tax) and saved $25.50. Nice.
I got the free Baileys coffee creamer - it was BOGO at $2.09, I used two $1 coupons and one Publix store coupon for 55 cents off. (I'm still not 100% sure about using more than one Publix store coupon at a time, but I only had one with me anyway and figured it was still free+overage - and I don't like to be greedy!)
I also got more free Muir Glen tomato sauce - 89 cents for the can, use the $1 printable. It still stings that I got yelled at for doing this once at a different Publix, but whatever, it's a legitimate purchase and I don't go to that Publix anymore so there.
Plus I got Laughing Cow cheese for $1.50 each (on sale 3/$6, I got 4, used two $1/2 coupons from a tearpad on the display woohoo - this stuff lasts forever and ever so it's worth stocking up), I found the "Eat This" type of tortillas (I got a copy of Eat This Not That for about 15 cents at a yard sale last year), and I decided that since I was getting some nice overage, I'd try Vitalicious Vitatops. They're not terribly priced - I was expecting them to cost more but they're $4.49 for four. If I like them, I'll probably only buy them if I either have a coupon (which apparently is a rare thing) or overage (which I can often get at least a little of with the Muir Glen deal that happens periodically).
Meanwhile, Kraft sent me six try-me-free coupons via their First Taste program - I mentioned this in an earlier post. I gave away the shaved meat coupon, as I'm vegetarian. And then I went tonight to get the rest - well, the Kool Aid fizzies have aspartame (which I refuse to ingest) (I also try to avoid other artificial sweeteners as best as I can) and the Crackerfuls have HFCS (I try very hard to avoid this), so I skipped them both. I forgot to look for the DiGiorno pizza (I hope it doesn't have trans fat or HFCS) and the 100-calorie cheese bites (which are processed cheese but which I will consider getting since, well, I eat tons of Laughing Cow...). I did get the Homestyle mac and cheese - the ingredient list is really long and probably contains some of the above, but it's also mac and cheese - and since it's shelf-stable/nonperishable, I could donate it. Remember, I *try* to avoid these things... ;) I think I will try to trade these high-value coupons though, because I know not everyone cares about food additives in the way I do. But just because it's free doesn't mean I'll automatically grab it.
ETA: I've found a good home for the other free coupons. The breadcrumbs in the Homestyle mac and cheese have partially hydrogenated soybean oil, so we're going to just make it without them. Remember, just because a package says 0% trans fat does NOT mean it doesn't have trans fat. My chewable Rolaids that I got for free at CVS a few weeks ago have hydrogenated oil in them!
At Publix tonight I spent $33 (before tax) and saved $25.50. Nice.
I got the free Baileys coffee creamer - it was BOGO at $2.09, I used two $1 coupons and one Publix store coupon for 55 cents off. (I'm still not 100% sure about using more than one Publix store coupon at a time, but I only had one with me anyway and figured it was still free+overage - and I don't like to be greedy!)
I also got more free Muir Glen tomato sauce - 89 cents for the can, use the $1 printable. It still stings that I got yelled at for doing this once at a different Publix, but whatever, it's a legitimate purchase and I don't go to that Publix anymore so there.
Plus I got Laughing Cow cheese for $1.50 each (on sale 3/$6, I got 4, used two $1/2 coupons from a tearpad on the display woohoo - this stuff lasts forever and ever so it's worth stocking up), I found the "Eat This" type of tortillas (I got a copy of Eat This Not That for about 15 cents at a yard sale last year), and I decided that since I was getting some nice overage, I'd try Vitalicious Vitatops. They're not terribly priced - I was expecting them to cost more but they're $4.49 for four. If I like them, I'll probably only buy them if I either have a coupon (which apparently is a rare thing) or overage (which I can often get at least a little of with the Muir Glen deal that happens periodically).
Meanwhile, Kraft sent me six try-me-free coupons via their First Taste program - I mentioned this in an earlier post. I gave away the shaved meat coupon, as I'm vegetarian. And then I went tonight to get the rest - well, the Kool Aid fizzies have aspartame (which I refuse to ingest) (I also try to avoid other artificial sweeteners as best as I can) and the Crackerfuls have HFCS (I try very hard to avoid this), so I skipped them both. I forgot to look for the DiGiorno pizza (I hope it doesn't have trans fat or HFCS) and the 100-calorie cheese bites (which are processed cheese but which I will consider getting since, well, I eat tons of Laughing Cow...). I did get the Homestyle mac and cheese - the ingredient list is really long and probably contains some of the above, but it's also mac and cheese - and since it's shelf-stable/nonperishable, I could donate it. Remember, I *try* to avoid these things... ;) I think I will try to trade these high-value coupons though, because I know not everyone cares about food additives in the way I do. But just because it's free doesn't mean I'll automatically grab it.
ETA: I've found a good home for the other free coupons. The breadcrumbs in the Homestyle mac and cheese have partially hydrogenated soybean oil, so we're going to just make it without them. Remember, just because a package says 0% trans fat does NOT mean it doesn't have trans fat. My chewable Rolaids that I got for free at CVS a few weeks ago have hydrogenated oil in them!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
More free e-coupon money!
Despite a few glitches/slowness/weirdness on the website, I scored today's Cellfire Cinderella coupon - $5 off my next purchase of $5.01 or more at Kroger! I love e-coupons - no need to bring a thing with me if I don't want to, but I also can combine them with paper coupons if I do want to!
Now...what to get? It expires in 3 days. Hmmmm.
Now...what to get? It expires in 3 days. Hmmmm.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Free stuff in the mail - June 16, 2010
Six coupons for free products from Kraft: shaved meat (which I'm giving away since I'm a vegetarian), pizza, Kool Aid fizzies, Homestyle mac&cheese (second freebie of this one), Crackerfuls, and 100 calorie "cheese" (I shouldn't turn my nose up at it though - I'm the Laughing Cow fan after all!).
One big lovely reusable bag from Earthbound Farms, plus coupons.
I tried the Laughing Cow mozzarella and tomato flavor today. I just ate it by itself - I think it really needs something else to complement it, whether a cracker or melted over pasta/shirataki noodles. The tomato was stronger than I expected, but overall it was good. I'm excited to try the queso one next, and I'm really glad I found those $1/2 coupons on the display...
One big lovely reusable bag from Earthbound Farms, plus coupons.
I tried the Laughing Cow mozzarella and tomato flavor today. I just ate it by itself - I think it really needs something else to complement it, whether a cracker or melted over pasta/shirataki noodles. The tomato was stronger than I expected, but overall it was good. I'm excited to try the queso one next, and I'm really glad I found those $1/2 coupons on the display...
Kroger - Cheap stuff, plus Shortcuts has great customer service!
I walked over to the small Kroger near my house because I had a coupon and a Shortcuts coupon for both Blue Diamond Almond Breeze and Fiber One. The Almond Breeze is on sale this week for $1.99, so in my head that meant I would get it for 44 cents ($1 paper coupon, 55 cent Shortcuts coupon). I didn't know how much the Fiber One was but I figured I could get a decent deal since the paper coupon was expiring.
I didn't realize that the Annie's mac and cheese was part of the 10/$10 sale too, so I grabbed 4 boxes of that. The Fiber One turned out to be $4.29 - so $2.74 after coupons. I decided that was a reasonable deal - I want to try using it ground up as a coating for onion rings and soy-chicken tenders ala Hungry Girl - but next time around I'm waiting for a good sale.
So. All was well, but the 55 cent Shortcuts coupon for the Almond Breeze didn't come off (though the Fiber One did). I went on Shortcuts.com, filled out the dispute form, and within about 60 seconds I had a reply that my account had been credited 60 cents! So now I have 60 cents off of...anything. I'm amused that I'm that excited about 60 cents.
So my plan is to go back and get one more box of Annies for 40 cents! Hooray! (A dollar for the Almond Breeze is still an amazing deal - wish I could find my other coupon but it seems I either used it or lost it, boo.)
Also today I signed up on Facebook for a free box of DaVinci pasta - I'm pretty sure the offer has now ended, but I'm really excited to get it! Free pasta yay!
I didn't realize that the Annie's mac and cheese was part of the 10/$10 sale too, so I grabbed 4 boxes of that. The Fiber One turned out to be $4.29 - so $2.74 after coupons. I decided that was a reasonable deal - I want to try using it ground up as a coating for onion rings and soy-chicken tenders ala Hungry Girl - but next time around I'm waiting for a good sale.
So. All was well, but the 55 cent Shortcuts coupon for the Almond Breeze didn't come off (though the Fiber One did). I went on Shortcuts.com, filled out the dispute form, and within about 60 seconds I had a reply that my account had been credited 60 cents! So now I have 60 cents off of...anything. I'm amused that I'm that excited about 60 cents.
So my plan is to go back and get one more box of Annies for 40 cents! Hooray! (A dollar for the Almond Breeze is still an amazing deal - wish I could find my other coupon but it seems I either used it or lost it, boo.)
Also today I signed up on Facebook for a free box of DaVinci pasta - I'm pretty sure the offer has now ended, but I'm really excited to get it! Free pasta yay!
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