Kmart Doubles Again!

Kmart is doing double coupons yet again. I was a bit disappointed at first when the ad stated that they would double coupons up to only $0.75 (meaning $1.50 off the item) - hardly seemed worth my gas to get there. But then after a quick call to corporate to see if my store was participating, they informed me that the ad was a misprint and that stores were actually doubling up to $2, just like last time!

So, I went through my coupon binder, got a list ready and made it to Kmart just before it opened this morning. I left the house telling hubby my goal was to spend no more than $10.

I came home with two bags of stuff and spent $9.70 out of pocket - that's including the almost $4 in tax. :)

This is what I came home with:

1 Sani Hands wipes for kids
1 Listerine
1 Lysol Neutra Air
2 Renuzit sprays
3 Carpet Fresh foam
4 Pledge dusters
4 Glade scented candle holders
2 Quaker mini boxes
2 Arm & Hammer dryer sheets
1 Huggies wipes

Not too shabby! I was pretty mad though because lots of shelves were empty, and since I was literally the second person to walk into the store, I know it's because they never restocked after the last doubles event. Grrrr!! Makes me mad!!

Anyhow, between this trip, the last Kmart doubles and all my Walgreen's shopping, I'm prety well stocked up on cleaning supplies and smell good stuff for a while. Nice to know I won't have to pay full price on any of this type of stuff for a lonnnngggg time! :)

Swagbucks

Like getting things for free? Anyone who knows me, knows I love getting things for free. That's why I signed up for swagbucks after reading about them on Heather's blog.

What is swag bucks? An online portal dedicated to helping you earn digital dollars called "Swag Bucks", which can be redeemed for exclusive swagbucks merchandise or gift cards.

You can accumulate swag bucks at your own pace by conducting web searches. Best part is, their search results are powered by google and ask.

Download their toolbar to make it even easier. All you have to do is search the web as you normally would and you'll earn!

Simple - so do it! Go here to sign up - it's free!

Another Great Shopping Trip

K-Mart is doing DOUBLE COUPONS this week!! I am super excited about this - I've never done "doubles" shopping before.

So, yesterday, Hubby and Gigi hung out at Chuck E. Cheese while J and I went to the K-Mart next door.

Here's what I got:

2 Vaseline Lotion
4 Nature's Source Cleaners
4 Febreeze Air Effects
1 Glade Carpet
3 Pledge Dusters
3 Listerine
1 Sani-Hands wipes
2 Hormel Compleats meals
6 (2-packs) baby food

Grand total....

$10.25 - including tax!!!

Woohoo!!!

This Week at Walgreens

This week Walgreen's has some good deals on toothpaste and eye drops, as well as a good deal on shaving cream that lasts all month.

This morning I went and purchased the following:

10 Visine Eye Drops
6 Toothpaste
6 Ajax
3 Edge shaving gel
2 Skintimate shaving gel
2 Cottonelle wipes
2 Oust
2 Mentos Gum
2 Easter tumblers
1 Gillette Deodorant
1 Coffee Filter
1 Bottle of bubbles
1 Bag of M&M's - not shown since they were eaten in the car

My total out of pocket including tax was $10.23.

My total savings was $116.67.

A 92% Savings!!!!

PLUS, I still have $3.50 in register Rewards to spend!!

AND I will be getting back $2 at the end of the month for a mail in rebate for the Oust sprays.

I'll be going back later this week for more toothpaste and shaving cream so I can share with my mom and brothers :)

I had to do FOURTEEN separate transactions to get this to work out, but the most expensive transaction was only $0.84. The least expensive was $0.05. Well worth it, I think!

Pump it Up

Today we went to "Pump it Up", an inflatable play place. It is filed with inflatables to slide on and jump in. This was our first time going there.

On Friday morning's they have "Preschool Open Play". The best part is, you pay per child but parents join in the fun for free!!

So for $8 Gigi, hubby and myself got 1.5 hours of playtime - with hubby and I alternating of course because of J. Not a bad deal in my book!

To be honest, I'm not sure who had more fun, her or us! Let me tell you - I think it counts as exercise too!

We will definitely be going back in the future!

My Walgreens Shopping Trip

I hit up Walgreen's this morning for their diaper sale and came out with a few extra items.

In all I purchased:

1o packages of size 2 Huggies diapers
2 packages of size 3 Huggies diapers
5 bottles of Garnier conditioner
3 bottles of Garnier shampoo
1 Garnier hair gel
1 Garnier hair smoother
2 Gillette Fusion razors
1 Glade Sense & Spray kit
1 Glade lasting impressions
9 packs Orbit Gum

Unfortunately, not everything is pictured since my husband started swiping things to put them away (he was trying to be helpful) and once I realized, I was too lazy to take another picture. :)

Anyhow, in all I purchased everything for $51.83 out of pocket - this is BEFORE tax.

My total saved was $154.96.

Plus, I still have $20.00 in "Register Rewards" that I will be saving for another purchase. So, really it"s like I actually paid $31.83 out of pocket because the RR is like cash at Walgreens.

I would have actually had more shampoo and conditioner, but I was a good daughter and shared with my mom. :)

I'd say it was a day of Great Deals!

Diapers Are a Must!

Diapers are a must in our home with my little guy. If they are in yours as well, you'll want to go to
coupons.com and redplum for some AWESOME coupons!!

There is one for $5 off a Huggies Gentle Care product and $3 off a Huggies Natural Fit product. You can print each coupon twice from each computer you have. Pair them with this week's upcoming Walgreen's sale on Diapers and you could be going home with a really cheap stockpile!! The sale will begin on 3/8. The diapers will be $10 a pack. If you buy $25 or more you get back $10 in register rewards to be used toward another purchase!

Even if you use cloth diapers, the Gentle Care coupons work on wipes as well, so they are worth you paper and printer ink!

Some Great Shopping Resources

Okay, so I've already mentioned Deal Seeking Mom, but I came across yet another great resource to maximize your money when shopping.

A Full Cup is a great, free site that has some wonderful links for coupon info. Plus they have the "Target Coupon generator", a great tool that allows you to print out as many Target store coupons as you want all at once!

In addition, this site also has a forum where members not only alert each other of great deals, bu also I have found are very generous at sharing coupons you may need that they have, as either a trade for coupons they need or even simply a postage stamp!!

I am in heaven!!

My Target Shopping Trip 2/28/09

Okay, so I admit to being a geek. I get VERY excited over good deals. It's a bit of an obsession really. But hey, If grabbing good deals helps me stay at home longer to raise my babies then I don't care how much of a dork I am!

Anyway, I've really been getting into couponing. It's like free money if you do it correctly! And who doesn't like free money?? Especially these days.

With the help of some really great sites I've found like Deal Seeking Mom, which I've mentioned previously, I am starting my adventure of savings!! My brother's girlfriend lovingly called me the "Coupon Queen" one day after my mom told her about all the free stuff I got from the mall! I don't think I quite deserve the mark of Royalty but I do aspire to one day!

My latest success story was at Super Target.

I purchased:

(2) Huggies Gentel Care refill wipes
(3) 2-pack Renuzit air fresheners
(4) Bags of Goldfish Crackers
(2) Large bottles of Johnson's Bedtime Bath
(2) Large bottles of Johnson's baby powder
(7) Bars of Johnson's Buddies soap

Total Cost Before Taxes: $43.44

My total out of pocket cost: $$13.32

That's a 69% savings!! Not as good as some other women who can come out only paying for the tax, but hey, I'm still learning!

My FREE Mall Trip!

My mom loves going to the mall. Hubby works almost every Saturday, so that is my day for "girl time" with my mom. She seems to always go the mall. Being he frugal gal that I am, those trips are more for window shopping and walking. 99% of the time I leave empty handed.

This weekend was different. I left the mall with a tote bag, a tube of lotion, and a small vial of face cream - and all for FREE!!

You know how I love free stuff and great deals, right?? Well, one night when I was just surfing the net, I came across this blog. It's the blog of a woman who is called, "Deal Seeking Mom". This woman is awesome! She alerts her readers to all the great deals she comes across - and they are great!! If you like deals, I suggest checking out the site.

Thanks to her I scored this tote bag and tube of lotion from Victoria's Secret for free.

The lotion was from this printable coupon. The tote was for joining Pink Nation. The small tube of night time cream was from this coupon from Origins.

Then I went to Origins were I received a 10 day trial of Andrew Weil's night time cream.

If you like free and cheap as much as I do, check out her site. Thanks Deal Seeking Mom!!

Free Stuff!

You know I LOVE Free stuff!!

• You can go to this website to receive a booklet by mail of over $27 in savings on great home care products from P & G.

• Go here for a free sample of Dark Chocolate Raspberry Almond True Delights

• Fill in your info here for Splenda samples.

• Some free Playtex infant care items can be obtained here.

Enjoy!

My Scholastic Books Arrived!

Today I received my shipment of Scholastic items that I had ordered on January 3rd. While I am very happy that I finally received them, I am equally as disappointed that several items were missing. Now, I understand that since these were dollar items, they have a limited quantity and once they sell out, they're gone. However, I would have expected an email notifying me that me order was going to change. Instead, they just shipped out whatever they had in stock. So, of the 18 items I originally ordered, 6 were missing.

Still, I am very excited about the books I DID get. Some of the books I am really happy about are:

1. A desktop reference flip book - has the alphabet, numbers to 100, shapes, colors etc. Great for Gigi who sometimes has trouble remembering what a letter looks like when she is trying to write a word.
2. Follow the Directions...and Learn
3. Learn the Alphabet - Puppet Pals
4. A to Z Letter Formation Practice Pages
5. ABC Poem of the Week
6. Irresistible Sound-Matching Sheets & Lessons That Build Phonemic Awareness

I am really looking forward to incorporating these into our daily lessons...that is, once we get back to actually HAVING daily lessons! We will get back there eventually. I believe my goal to get back on track with school was by mid-February. I'll have to start planning some things now.

A Night at The Drive-in

Last night we piled into the van with pillows, blankets and popcorn and headed over to the drive in. First, I must say, I LOVE the drive in! Here are a few reasons why;

1. We can bring our own food and snacks
2. We can recline in our chairs
3. We can snuggle up under blankets
4. We can bring the kids
5. I can nurse J comfortably
6. If Gigi acts up - no one knows!
7. If J cries no one knows
8. It's only $9 for hubby and I to get in
9. Both kids are free!
10. You can watch two movies
    

So, last night we went.

They were showing "Mall Cop" and "Marley and Me".

Mall cop was funny. I figured it would be - I like Kevin James, plus it was a Happy Madison production. Still, not as funny as some other Adam Sandler movies, but worth the laughs.

Marley and me surprised me - pleasantly. I was expecting a comedy with a dog in it. It was SO much more than that. It was about life; marriage, careers, friends, moving, having kids etc.
It had so many moments that seemed to have been plucked right from our own life. It really touched home and pulled at the heart strings. I was really impressed by this one.

Scholastic Give Away

Scholastic has a new department made just for little ones. It's called "Little Scholastic". They have lots of great books for babies and toddlers, including loads of tactile books which were always a hit with Gigi.

Right now, while supplies last, they will send you one free book when you send them an email requesting it. I've sent my email, now I just have to wait. I will let you know if and when I get it and what I think.

I love free stuff!

"Make Your Memories Last Forever"

That's the tag line of Makit - a company that helps you make plates, mugs etc. into a lasting work of art. You buy a kit, decorate a template, send it back to them to get processed and then you receive the artwork your created on usable dishware! How cool is that?

Want something else cool? If you request a catalog and enter the promo code "Learn08" into the comments section, they will send you one free kit to try them out!

I just received mine today. If it works out well, I think these will make some great gifts for relatives! You can even do hand prints, which I think is always cute.

I don't know how long they will honor this give away, so get yours now. Good luck and have fun!

Scholastic Savings

It's here again!! I get so excited over this! Scholastic is having their "Dollar Days" sale once again for educators - this includes home educators! You just need to set up an account with them which can be done quickly and easily online. There are hundreds of fabulous resources for educators being sold for only one dollar each. Anyone who knows me knows, I love getting things for only a dollar!

There are professional books, books that contain reproducibles, posters, classroom sized calendars, incentive charts, stickers, bulletin board kits, accents and cut outs, workbooks and much more.

This is a great time to stock up on things that you will use throughout the year. You may even want to consider looking at some items that are above your child's current level and hang on to them for future use. It's a great deal so take advantage!

I have already placed my order and I can't wait to get my items in the mail - which should arrive in only about 7 business days. Plus, I bought about 20 items and shipping was only $2 and change! How awesome is that?

Ok, I know I'm a geek, but these are things that get me excited - Great Deals!