My first FREE sample!

Ok, so I will admit that since I started signing up for free samples and magazines, I've been a little too excited to check my mail everyday. I feel like Ralphie in A Christmas Story, waiting every day for his Little Orphan Annie Secret Society decoder pin to come.

Well, I got my first FREE sample in the mail today! (I actually have gotten free coupon books in the mail, with a ton of coupons and savings, but I won't count those)

My sample is a Quaker True Delights Chewy Granola Bar. Flavor: dark chocolate raspberry almond. It also came with a $1.00 off coupon good towards any one box of these bad boys. Most samples will come with good coupons.

FYI: There are other flavors, I wish I could try them all! I will wait until these go on sale and use my coupon and hopefully get them for next to nothing.

Also, none of the free magazines have come in the mail yet, those can take up to 8 weeks, depending on the day of the month they were ordered on. Most of these I plan to take to work so we can all kill time when its slow, but I have the following ordered:

Elle Decor
Martha Stewart Living
2 issues Real Simple
A gossip mag - I think it is Us Weekly for 2 months
And either Woman's Home Journal or Family Circle. I can't keep track!

80% off at Restaurant.com

Go to Restaurant.com and get really good deals on gift certificates, especially right now - they're on SALE!!! I got a $10 gift certificate to Braza Grill for only .60. There is no charge for shipping and handling either, you just print the certificate right off of your computer. The gift certificates have certain restrictions, such as must spend $25 or purchase 2 entrees. They are good for a full year. This is a good idea to get some now for birthdays, anniversaries, special nights out, etc. A lot of them are becoming out of stock because it is such a good price, so hurry! The gift certificates restock on the 1st of every month, but the sale ends February 28.

its not too late! Free RedBox Monday

Sorry it took me all day to make this post, but you still have a few hours (depending on where you live) to get a FREE movie rental from RedBox!

Here is the promo code you type into the kiosk:

S39XKT

Hurry and go to your nearest Redbox and treat yourself!

$58.13 Shopping trip!

Here are all the details of our last grocery shopping trip:

Albertson's is having a sale when you purchase 10 participating items, you get a $10 off coupon good towards your next purchase, with no minimum purchase amount required! We split up our transactions, buying the most inexpensive foods first to start getting our first coupon and made our way up to the most expensive and ended up getting most items for FREE! All prices listed are the SALE prices, not regular price. Each item was more expensive before the sale. Prices that I paid OOP (out of pocket) are after sale prices and after all coupons and promotions.

1st transaction:
2 Betty Crocker cake mix (1.25/each = $2.50)
1 Betty Crocker frosting (1.67)
1 Betty Crocker cookie mix (1.67)
2 Pillsbury Grands biscuits (1.25/each = $2.50)
2 cans Progresso soup (1.50/each = $3.00)
2 Betty Crocker Warm Delights (1.67/each = $3.34)

Total before coupons: $14.68
Total after coupons: (-2.40) = $12.28 + $10/off next purchase!



2nd transaction:
4 Pillsbury Toaster Strudels (2.00/each = $8.00)
2 Betty Crocker frosting (1.67/each = $3.34)
1 Pillsbury Orange Cinnamon Rolls (2.00)
2 cans Progresso soup (1.50/each = $3.00)
1 Betty Crocker muffin mix (2.00)

Total before coupons: $18.34
Total after coupons: (-13.20) = $5.14 + $10/off next purchase!

3rd transaction:
2 Trix cereal (2.50/each = $5.00)
2 Lucky Charms cereal (2.50/each = $5.00)
6 cans Progresso soup (1.50/each = $9.00)

Total before coupons: $19.00
Total after coupons: (-15.20) = $3.80 + $10/off next purchase!

4th transaction:
6 Campbell's Soup at Hand (1.00/each = $6.00)
1 Old Orchard frozen pineapple juice (1.67)
24 Top Ramen (.15/each = $3.60)
2 cans Del Monte green beans (.79/each = $1.58)

Total before coupons: $12.85
Total after coupons: (-12.50) = .35!

Total groceries before all sales and coupons: $119.59
Total after sale and before coupons: $64.87
Total paid OOP with all sales and coupons: $21.57

After that, we made our way to Smith's, where we picked up:
3 Simply Orange juice on sale for 2.99/each = $8.97
Total before sales and coupons: $13.77
Total after coupons (-3.00) + tax = OOP $6.24

These juices are regularly $3.19 at Wal-Mart, I believe, and the cheapest I've seen them on sale for is the $2.99. So with our 3 $1.00 off coupons, I consider this a good buy!

At Harmons, we picked up fruits and veggies, all on sale plus:
2 Viva Cottage Cheese @ 1.25/each = $2.50
+ fruits and veggies and tax: paid OOP $30.32

I don't know how much the price would have been at regular price because it doesn't say on the reciept, but I am sure it would be almost double the $30 we paid.

Complete total before all sales and coupons: $183.36 ( I just guestimated that Harmons would have been $50 even before the sales)
Total spent on entire grocery shopping: $58.13
Total saved: $125.23

Earn with swagbucks.com and redeem for gift cards and prizes

swagbucks.com is a google-powered search engine that lets you "win" Swag Bucks when you do searches on the internet through their website. If you are like the average person, you probably do regular searches online anyways, so why not get free stuff while you're at it?! I have been a "member" for a few days and I already have 8 Swag Bucks. There are a number of different gift cards and prizes in different amounts:

$10 Starbucks gift card = 130 Swag Bucks
$20 Target e-gift card = 220 Swag Bucks
$25 Fandango e-gift card = 450 Swag Bucks

and so on and so on. It might seem like a lot of swag bucks are needed to redeem prizes, but you can also find codes on sites such as facebook.com, the swagbucks blog or twitter. Visit swagbucks.com for all of the details and start earning!!! Click on the banner below or on the picture link on this blog. Let me know what you think of it!

Free sample of Degree men's deodorant

Sign up for a free sample of Degree Men Absolute Protection. You have the option of signing up to recieve emails from Degree Men or Unilever brands, or not at all. Either way, you get a free sample!

Go here to get your free sample!

Thank you to A Frugal Friend!

Click here to get a free sample of Huggies new Soft Skin baby wipes!

Free $10 coupon booklet

Do you want to feed your family healthy food but not give up an arm and a leg for it?

Receive a FREE* booklet packed with $10 in coupon savings, helpful tips and favorite healthful recipes when you sign up for the eatbetteramerica® email newsletter!

*coupon books are limited, so hurry up!

Sign up to get your free booklet!

Free Redbox Monday

Every Monday, Redbox gives a free promo code for $1.00 off your rental. Is you return the movie before 9 pm the next day, your movie is free! Here is today's code:

M7DM23

You can only use a promo code at the Redbox location. It cannot be used if you reserve a movie online. For all info, visit redbox.com

Free Tide laundry soap!

I won't say no to a free sample of laundry soap! It is for Tide Total Care, which is actually something I've been wanting to try for a while. Copy & paste the link below to sign up to receive your sample in the mail:

http://www.tide.com/en-US/offers.jspx
Only while supplies last, so hurry!!

There are also coupons available to print off for other Tide products.

Cellfire

I have recently found out about a few places you can go to online to get extra coupons that you can use in the store.

Cellfire lets you "load" coupons onto your store savings card. In this case, our region only allows Smith's Grocery store cards. I don't have a card number, but the card is saved under my phone number. I was able to sign up online and save multiple coupons for really great products to my store card. No coupons to clip or carry to the store! If I am not mistaken, when you purchase these items and use your store savings card, they will automatically be redeemed and you can use a manufacturer's coupon on top of that to add to the savings. If not, it's still a great way to just store and save coupons to get good deals. Some phones will be able to get other coupons for retainers such as Hollywood Video that the store will just scan right off of your phone. Mine does not, so good luck with your phone! Also, check out the blog (the link is at the bottom of the web page) for additional coupons and savings.

P&G eSaver

P&G offers the same thing as Cellfire but specifically for their products only. It also only allows us in Utah to add the coupons onto our Smith's savings card. I was able to add a lot of coupons by typing in my phone number that the card is linked to. As of now, all of the coupons expire March 28, 2009. Wait for the items to go on sale at Smith's, use manufacturer's coupons, and your store savings card for the best deal. Good luck!

Go here for the web page

$5 off RiteAid coupon

Today and tomorrow ONLY you can print out a coupon for $5 off a $20 or more purchase.

Click here to print the coupon. There are certain restrictions, read the fine print on the coupon.

Click here to view their weekly ad in your area.

Click here to view unadvertised specials throughout the store.

FREE magazine!

Here is an offer for a 1-year free subscription to Martha Stewart Living magazine:

Just click on the link above, answer a few questions and a short answer at the end (I felt like I was doing a quiz in elementary school again, only no studying involved!). You don't have to enter any credit card info, participate in additional offers, or anything. Just put your name and address and start getting your magazine in about 8 weeks. Once you fill out that, it will ask you if you'd like to get another "reward". In this case, it was a 1-year free subscription to Woman's Day magazine for me.

Try it out and enjoy!

Free Redbox rental

Every Monday, Redbox gives a free promo code for $1.00 off your rental. Is you return the movie before 9 pm the next day, your movie is free! Here is today's code:

25CH63

You can only use a promo code at the Redbox location. It cannot be used if you reserve a movie online. For all info, visit redbox.com

Frugal enlightenment

I've recently been inspired to become a frugal person. I'm learning as I go, and doing a TON of searching and finding as far as the best deals go, and I would love to become an inspiration to others! It's always a great feeling to get a good deal, even if you're not much of a bargain shopper. If you ever have any suggestions, comments, or questions, feel free to contact me and we can save money together!

p.s. As of now, I will probably only update this blog once a week as I learn to find more deals to share with you. The more deals I find, the more often I will start to post. Please check back often, or follow this blog to get the most recent updates. For now, here's all the great deals I've got so far!

Valentine's Day gifts

Here is a cute, inexpensive gift to pass out to friends, family, teachers, neighbors, your mailman, etc.



link here

The following are links to save $2 on any 2 Purell hand sanitizer products:
Link 1
Link 2

Try to print each coupon more than once for additional savings, and stock up for next year or another gift-giving occasion if you have leftovers!