New Blog

Okay, I've let this blog go. There are just too many other blogs like this one, but much better. So I stopped. But I've been toying with a new idea and it started today.

My new blog chronicles my experiment to spend $40.00 a week to feed my family yummy and healthy food. My budget includes food, toiliatries, and cleaning supplies. I'm going to be posting not only what I'm buying for my $40.00 but also what I'm making. I want everyone to see that it is possible to make really good food for really cheap.

I hope anyone who has read this blog will continue on with me to the next. I think it will not only be a better blog, but my hope is that it will encourage you to challenge yourself to spend less.

The new blog is located here:

http://fortyaweekmom.blogspot.com/

Changes

I'm slowly going to be doing changes to the blog to make it a little more user friendly. Since this is my first blog and I'm not entirely computer savvy this might take a while. :)

The first change I've made is to add share buttons to the bottom of each post. This will allow you to share individual posts via email, facebook, blogger, ect.

The changes will be gradually coming. Please comment if there is anything specific you would like to see on the blog, I would love any and all suggestions!

Redbox

My family recently switched to Redbox for our DVD rentals. So far we love it. We rarely have to pay for a movie, because it seems like there are always free rental codes available. For those not familiar with Redbox just use the kiosk (at most grocery stores) to select a movie and it is yours until 9 p.m. the next night for only $1.00 (unless you use a free rental code). If you don't return the movie they will charge you another $1 for each day you have the movie. We use Redbox and the library for our rentals and we've been saving a lot of money.

If you want to try Redbox here are some free rental codes:

DVDONME
REDBOX34
REDBOX (for new customers only)

AMC Movie Deal

AMC Theaters are offering a special promotion this Sunday July 25th.

All popcorn and soda are only $1.00!!

To get this deal you have to "Like" them on Facebook and print out the coupon found there.

Here is the link: http://www.facebook.com/amctheatres?v=app_128583860513353

Target Deals

Today the kiddies and I went to Target in search of some good bargains. We left with more than I planned on! They have baby and toddler (up to 5T) shirts starting at $0.75 and shorts starting at $1.00. My daughter has been saying she wants some more tanks so I was able to get a few for her. My oldest needed a bathing suit cover up, and we got one she loves (Hello Kitty) for only $3.25. My oldest is in the older girl section and they had some great deals there too. And my favorite deal of all was in the shoe department. They had all sizes up to 75% off. My oldest was able to get a pair of shoes she's been eying for only $3.24!

So if your looking for some good back to school clothes or shoes bargains for your kids, you may want to head out to Target. :)

Let me know if you find any great bargains!

Meijers Deal of the Week

This week, this month actually, Meijers has a great deal going on. Purchase $10 worth of Kelloggs, Keebler, or Eggo products get $10 off instantly on 3 Fruit of the Loom items (includes socks, underwear, and undershirts). Your $10 worth of products is before coupons so this can be a great deal.

I purchased 3 boxes of Kellogg's Fruit Snacks and 2 large boxes of Kellogg's Poptarts for a total of $13.00. I used a $1.00 of 2 Fruit Snacks coupon and $1.00 off 2 Poptarts coupon. I also used $4.00 in bottle returns.

I bought 3 6 packs of kids Fruit of the Loom socks at $3.99 each. Total 11.97 (Minus $10.00 instant, 3 packs of socks were only $1.97)!

My total including tax was only $7.97. Of course the bottle returns helped, but this is still a great deal. Especially if you're like me and tend to lose socks all the time, or have children whose feet keep growing!

Snapfish Freebie

Snapfish is offering a free 5x7 Custom Cover photo book to all new customers. The offer expires July 31, 2010. You do have to pay shipping, which is I believe $6.99.

I have ordered these type of books from other sites, and they have turned out great. Unfortunately I'm not a new customer so I can't take advantage of this great offer.

Printable Coupons

One thing that I've recently started doing more of is using internet coupons. I do a quick google search for the coupons I want and about 50% of the time I find what I need.

My example: This week Kroger has Horizon Organic Milk Boxes (3 packs) on sale from $1.99 down from $4.29. Well if you become a member at Horizon's website (for free, and it takes all of 1 minute) you can print several coupons. I printed a .55 cents off 1 3 pack and used it at Kroger, the store I went to doubles up to and including $1.00, so my milk was only 90 cents. Not too bad, especially since I really needed these.

So my tip of the day is, use Google. You can print coupons for exactly the product you want. It's especially nice when looking for some harder to find coupons. I love it for finding coupons on gluten free items, since that is harder to find in newspapers.

Rewards Update

This week has been a good one for online rewards for me. Yesterday I requested a $10 check from Opinion Outpost and ordered a $5 gift certificate from Amazon through Swagbucks (and I'm only 30 points away from another gift certificate from Amazon). I also made a about 300 points on mypoints, which puts me that much closer to my goal.

The rewards add up slowly, but it sure is nice to see some results from just a few minutes of "work."

Sorry for the long absence

So I've been neglecting this blog for a while now. Mostly out of necessity since my computer pretty much died, we moved and didn't have internet for while, ect. Yes, a lot of excuses, but I'm back. And hopefully now that I have a new computer things will go more smoothly. I know there aren't a ton of readers out there, maybe there are none left, but I do plan to be back with the best deals.

CVS Free Magnet Deal Gets Better

The CVS free magnet deal is even better than I realized! If you're creating a new CVS photo account you get a credit for 50 FREE prints. So I created an account, ordered 53 prints and 1 4x6 magnet for a grand total of..... $.57!!! You can apply the promotion code for the magnet (FREE4MOM) at the end of checkout and there is a box you can check that says to apply the 50 free print credit to this order. Click that and you're done.

It was really easy to do. I'm excited to see how the magnet turns out. I made one of my girls from our last Disney trip. They're going to love it!

This is really a great promotion, I hope you can take advantage of it!

Free Photo Magnet From CVS

CVS is offering a free 4 x 6 photo magnet! Create the magnet online and enter code FREE4MOM at checkout, select instore pickup to avoid shipping charges, and pick up your FREE magnet at your local CVS! What a great freebie!

20 FREE Songs From I-Tunes

Become a fan (or now a liker) of I-Tunes on Facebook and get 20 FREE music downloads of your choice from I-Tunes! I love this giveaway, I'm definatly doing this!

Orgins Earth Day Freebie

If you have an Orgins near you, bring in whatever you are currently using for skin care and they will give you a free full-size bottle of one of their cleansers. I don't know where one of these stores are, but if you do you may want to check it out! I think this is for tomorrow only!

FREE 6 Pack Sample of Nescafe Taster's Choice Coffee

Nescafe Taster's Choice is giving away free samples (6 pack) of their coffee. Go here: www.tasterschoice.com to request your free sample!

Organic Coupons

If you're wwwinterested in saving money on organic products defintatly sign up at www.mambosprouts.com. Mambo Sprouts periodically mails out coupon booklets, with TONS of great coupon in it. You will also receive a newsletter via email that also has coupons in it. Organic coupons can be hard to come by, and this is one of the only ways I know of to get good coupons that you otherwise wouldn't be able to find.

If you know of any other ways to save money on organic food pass them on here, I'd love to hear your ideas!

Clearance Finds at Target

Just back from a quick trip to Target. Of course they didn't have what I was looking for but I did get some great bargains for my kiddies. It's that time of year when you realize that none of your kids summer clothes from last year fit, and that they're going to need an entire new wardrobe.... I don't know why I'm so surprised that this happens EVERY year.

Anyways, my youngest daughter has about 4 short sleeve shirts, so I figured I better get looking. Target has 2 piece outfits on clearance for $3.70! Plus it was her favorite color...SCORE! I also picked up another 2 piece outfit for $6.00. And my best finds were in the shoe department. I bought my oldest daugter a pair of black dress shoes in the next size up for $2.49, oldest daughter also got a pair of dressy sparkly leather flip flops for $3.00, and youngest daughter got an awesome pair of black sparkly dress shoes with purple butterflies on them for $3.27! None of the shoes were marked these prices, they were all marked over $10, but a lady in the store said to scan them at the U-Scan machine cause they were coming up cheaper. I'm really glad about the shoe deals, since my kids feet are growing like weeds lately.

I spent under $20 for 2 complete outfits and 3 pairs of shoes. Can't beat that!

Pop Tart Rewards

One of my daughters favorite (unhealthy) snacks is a Pop-Tart. I don't know what she finds so wonderful about them, but she would pick a Pop-Tart over just about any snack. Pop-Tarts has recently started a rewards program. Just buy different flavors with the specially marked package and you can redeem them for various prizes. I plan to use my points for a free movie ticket (a movie ticket is 5 points).

I love when buying a product we frequently use can get me a reward, like a free movie ticket. I recently noticed that even 7/11 has a Slurpee Rewards program now. What a great way to reward loyal customers!

Swagbucks Rewards!

Just ordered my Amazon gift card through swagbucks! I won on 3 searches today!! I usually only win once or twice a day. Plus I entered the swagcode, so I made almost 60 Swagbucks in 1 day! I'm so excited, I'm getting closer to my goal! I want to get my daughter this book. Guide to the Magic for Kids. She will flip out over this book. She loves her Birnbaums for Kids book, but she's seen pictures of this online and this so up her alley. She, of course, loves Disney World and I know this book is perfect for her. It has pictures of all the attractions, stickers, an autograph section... pretty much everything a 5 year old Disney enthusiast could wan. It's $30.00, which I think is pricey for a kids book, but with my Swagbucks it will be free! Now I just have to get $15 more in the next 5 weeks so I can get it 100% free.

I love that Amazon participates in this program. Amazon.com is one of my favorite online shopping sites. They have everything, for great prices. I can even order my gluten free products in bulk! What more could a girl want....

My Money Saving (I hope) Organic Garden

As I've posted before I'm really trying to switch to more natural, organic eating and living. But organic food can be EXPENSIVE! To help with the cost I've decided to start trying to grow some of my own food! I'm actually really excited to try this. Today we started our seeds. We're starting small. My girls and I planted tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. Since we have no actual place to plant these, they will be grown in planters (which I have to find... so any good deals post here please).

I really hope this works out. I would love to have organic veggies and be able to turn these into organic pasta sauces and salsa. Yum! Maybe I could even try pickles if I get brave!

Any tips? I'm a newbie to all this and I'm not so sure I have a green thumb!

Swag Code Out!!

For those of you that use Swagbucks there is a code out worth 9 Swagbucks. To find the code click the down arrow where it says "From TSG" on the toolbar. The first thing that pops up should be the code. Hurry it expires soon!

So far I've made 42 Swagbucks today! Only 3 away from my next gift card!!

Don't know what a Swagbuck is?? It's my absolute favorite online rewards program. It's a search engine (searches through Google) that awards you random points (not every search will win) in the form of Swagbucks. You can cash out your points for many, many, prizes. My personal favorite is the $5.00 Amazon Gift Card, for 450 points. But you can cash out with paypal or for lots of other gift cards too. Winning searches earn at least 10 Swagbucks.

It's a great program. 100% free and so easy to use. I highly recommend this site. You can click at the link to the right to check it out!

Clarification

Just a FYI for those of you that don't coupon often. Nearly all the coupons I use are from the Sunday paper. If I use an internet printable I'll put the link. But 99% of the coupons I use are from the paper. I clip any coupon I think I may ever use. I have 2 expandable coupon holders, one for grocery and one for health, beauty, and cleaning. I file them in the organizers by catagory. It works well for me. I don't have a ton of coupons, I get 1 or 2 papers a week. And since I buy about 90% gluten free items I don't usally buy or cut coupons for the processed items since we can't eat them anyways.

If you have any questions about how to get started couponing send me an email or leave a comment and I'll get back to you asap, I love helping other people learn to save money!

Meijer Deals

Today was my grocery shopping day at Meijers. I think I did pretty good. I spent $40.60, but that included all the things I needed to start my little garden. And since this is my first attempt at starting a garden I needed to start from scratch. For my garden I got: 40 peet pots, containers to put the peet pots in, seeds, potting soil, and a trowel. I plan to grow tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. I wish I could grow more, but I just don't have the space. I'm hoping it turns out well and I have lots of nice yummy organic veggies. I'd love to be able to make and can some salsa and pasta sauce.

Anyways, the deals I found today were:

Halls Cough Drops - sale price $.99 (minus $1.00 coupon) Final - FREE
Clorox Green Works - sale price $2.58 - bought 2 for a total of $5.16 (minus 2 $.50 coupons doubled...so $2.00 off) plus Meijer has a promotion that if you buy 2 Green Works products you get $2.00 instantly at register.... so Final - $1.16 or $.58 each! Plus each bottle came with 1 free sample of laundry detergent
Rimmel Bronzer - Reg price $6.99 - clearanced to $1.72 (minus $1.00 coupon) Final $.72!
Hidden Valley Dressing - sale 2 for $5.00 (minus $2.00 coupon) plus Meijer has a promotion buy 2 Hidden Valley get lettuce free. So $3.00 for 2 dressings and lettuce! (Would have been better if I'd had 2 coupons)
YoPlus Light Yogurt - Sale $2.00 (minus $.50 coupon doubled) Final $1.00 each (I got 2 - we eat a lot of yogurt)
Meijer Organic Milk $3.00 for 1/2 gallon. Yummy!
Sargento Reduced Sodium Shredded Cheese $2.00 (minus $.55 coupon) Final $1.45
Cantelope $1.50 each (we cut into this as soon as the groceries were put away)

This is just some of what I got. I'm really trying to convert to more organic products, so I was excited for the Clorox Green Works deal. I would love to use cleaners that are all natural. I'm interested to try the detergent sample to see how that works. Plus I was out of Organic Milk, so I was glad that was on sale too!

Did you find any deals at Meijers this week? Post them here!

My New Addition

A tragedy has turned out okay after all. My slow cooker, one of the most used things in the kitchen, broke last week. I was bummed (especially since dinner was already in there cooking). So my shopping began, trying to find the perfect one. My last one was just a standard slow cooker, no bells and whistles, but it did the job. I figured since I was buying one anyways, I might as well upgrade. Now I can set the time I want it to cook and it will automatically turn to "keep warm" statu when done. It has a locking lid so it's easy to transport. And it came with a spoon. Yes the spoon is what sold me..... it has a place to rest ON the lid! I am a slow cooker nerd apparantly. I can't wait to use it!

FYI - I can't find a picture of the exact one I bought, but this is kind of close. Mine just has the electronics and LCD on the front.

Rewards Program Updates

Last week was pretty hectic, but I think I still managed to do okay on my rewards programs.

Opinion Outpost - made $6 (took about 40 minutes)
My Suvey - made about $5 (tooka out 20 minutes)
My Points - made about 200 points (took about 2 minutes)
Swagbucks - made 200 swagbucks (don't really have a time, but I only searched for things I would have been doing anyways... so I guess that doesn't really count as extra time).

I'm only 45 swagbucks away from another gift certificate. I'm excited about that! I'm trying to supply nearly all "free" gifts for my daughters kindie graduation. So far I think I'll do okay.

I'm also excited about my points. The points are really adding up fast, and I think in about a month I'll have enough for a $25 gift certificate for Rainforest Cafe. The kids and I will have a blast there while my husband's at his convention in Orlando. I've never been to the one at Disney and I know it will be awesome!

I should be ready to request checks from Opinion Outpost and My Survey by the end of the week (I wait until I reach at least $10). That's $20 more for my vacation!

Reusable Bag Deals

This week there are a couple reusable bag deals in honor of Earth Day. My favorite was in today's newspaper.

Mail 5 plastic Target bags in and you'll receive a coupon for $1.00 off a Target Reusable Bag priced $1.49 or more. Everything you need is in the paper (in the coupon inserts). The ad turns into the envelope and postage is even prepaid. All you need is tape and the plastic bags. I'm definitly doing this!

Walgreens has a coupon in their ad for 3 reusable bags for $1.00! I'm planning to do this too.

I recently decided I'd like to switch to using all reusable bags, and these offers sure will help!

Sorry For My Absence

Sorry, I haven't been around in a couple of days. My mom had to have surgery, and although the surgery itself went well, the recovery is going badly. She responded badly to the anastesia and has been unable to keep any food down and has been so dizzy she can hardly walk. I was at the hospital helping out, and wasn't near a computer.

Anyways, she's still in the hospital... but should be getting out today! My dad is with her and I was able to come home and get some much needed rest. I promise the deals will be coming, although it may be slow. I'm not sure when I'll be headed over my parents to help take care of my mom.

Meanwhile, if you see any good deals out there feel free to contact me and I can post them here.

Thanks!

Entertainment Book Deal

If you want an Entertainment Book right now you can get it super cheap through Shop at Home. If you don't already have a Shop at Home account you'll need to create one, and you get a $5 credit just for signing up! Shop at Home is an online shopping rewards program. If you order your Entertainment Book through them they will credit your account $7! The Entertainment Book is $15 with free shipping. So if your a new customer you will pay $15 for the book buy your account will be credit back $12 ($5 for being a new member & $7 for the Entertainmen Book Credit). You'll end up paying just $3 for the book!

Be aware that you do need to have a $20 balance in your Shop at Home account to request your check. But if you do a lot of online shopping this should be fairly easy to accumulate.

This offer is valid through the end of April!

Starbucks

Don't forget to bring in your reusable mug to Starbucks to get your FREE coffee today!

Swagcode is Out

If you've signed up for Swagbucks there is a swagbuck out worth 5 swagbucks. If you downloaded the toolbar click on the little down arrow next to: From TSG there should be something that says Congratulations on Having the Toolbar. Click there and the code is in the message. Hurry before it expires! (It's against the rules to actually post the code.... you can only post directions)

Don't know what a swagbuck is? Feel free to email or leave a comment and I'll get back with you. Or check out the link on the right side of the blog!

Save Money While Shopping

Since I love shopping, but would be broke if I went as often as I liked, I've had to find some creative ways to support my habit. My favorite way is to sign up for all my favorite stores reward programs and coupons. I regularly get coupons in the mail for $15 off a $15 purchase, $10 off a $10 purchase, ect. To me it's like free shopping money. The best store for this is Kohls, I get $10 off $10 coupons from them pretty regularly. I've gotten so many things for free there. I go in and look through the clearance and I always find something great, especially in the kids department. I aim to get as close to $10 as I can (you have to have $10 before tax to use the coupon), and many times I've only paid tax for my purchases. I've gotten a blanket for my daughters bed (regularly $30, after sale and coupon....$4), 2 piece outfits for my daughter for free, dresses for me for free, $60 Vera Wang shoes for $1 after clearance and coupon.... really my list is endless.

Many stores participate in programs like this. Some I am sure participate are:
JCPenny
DSW (I received a $10 cert in the mail just for signing up in store)
Kohls
Joanns, Michales, Hobby Lobby (sends 40% off coupons via email and regular mail)
Children's Place (receive frequent % off coupons via regular mail)
New York and Company/Lane Bryant (I think these stores are owned by the same company....and they both send out coupons)
Toys R Us/Babies R Us (I usually get $$ off coupons from here)

I love shopping this way. This weekend I went out using my gift certificate like coupons and I bought:
2 pairs of Steve Madden socks
1 pair of undies
1 dress shirt (regular price $50)

I spent....... $3.00!!!!!

If you know of anyother stores with programs like this please share. I'll add it to the list!

Update on Lakeshore Learning Earth Day Crafts

I just got an email from Lakeshore Learning and they have even more planned for Earth Day! From 11-3 you can participate in:

Hands on activities
Free crafts
Plant your own flower seed

Sounds like it's going to be a great day!

Cinnabon Freebie

On April 15th Cinnabon is giving away 2 FREE cupcake bites to each guest. This promotion is from 6-8 p.m. You may want to call your local shop to make sure they are participating.

Sound yummy, doesn't it!

Get a FREE Reusable Bag at Kroger

Kroger has a great contest out right now. Design a reusable bag (takes about 2 minutes to do this, can take more if you get fancy) and you're entered into a contest to win $1,000. But just for entering you will get a credit for a free reusable bag added to your Krogers Shoppers Card. Just redeem it next time you're in Krogers. I did this last year, and it worked. I love having reusable bags around!

The website is listed below. Many other stores are participating in this so be sure to check the list of stores if Kroger is not in your area!

http://www.designareusablebag.com/

FREE Coffee From Starbucks!

Bring in a reusable mug to Starbucks on April 15th to get a free cup of coffee!

For the good of the planet, Starbucks is encouraging everyone to switch from paper cups to reusable travel mugs. So bring in your mug for a free cup of coffee.

For more details check out their website here:
http://www.starbucks.com/thebigpicture

Thomas the Train Event at Toys R Us

This Saturday Toys R Us Stores are having a Thomas the Train event. It goes from
11-1.

Activities Include:
Storytime
Coloring Fun
Thomas Trivia
Special Offers
Free Gifts

Make sure you call ahead to your local TRU to make sure they are participating.

This sounds like fun. My youngest daughter loves trains so she might be really into this!

Money Saving Tips

So you want to save money. So do I. There are probably a million in one ways to do it, so I don't know why it can be so hard sometimes. It's kind of become my thing. My M.O. if you will....

Anyways, this post is to put some ideas out there on how you can save money easily.

First of all - USE COUPONS. Buy the Sunday paper. Where I live it's cheaper to buy it either at Dollar General or Meijer. You won't save money if you buy stuff just because you have a coupon. The best way to save is use coupons to buy things you already use when they're on sale. I try to save coupons for when an item is on sale and than I stock up. I routinely get things that I would have bought anyways for pennies or even free.

Second - Make use of catalina deals in a store. A catalina is a coupon that prints out at the register when you pay. The deals are usually advertised in the store circular or by signs. For instance, Meijers had Betty Crocker Fruit snacks on a catalina deal. If you bought 3 you got a coupon for $1.50 off your next order. Well, I only needed 2, but hey they cost $1.86, so why not buy 3 the 3rd one ends up being $0.36 after the catalina deal.

Third - If you buy online shop through a rewards program like ebates or mypoints. You get a percent back for each purchase. Many retailers are listed. It takes minutes to do it this way and you'll get a check for your efforts.

Fourth - Shop smart. Look at clearance racks first, than move on to sales. Or even better, try out alternative shopping methods. My mom used to routinely hold clothing swaps. It was great, we all brought clothes we didn't want/fit anymore and "shopped" from our friends stash. Everyone ALWAYS took something home, the extra was donated. We brought clothes, shoes, purses, jewelry, ect. It was a blast. I think this would work great if you have friends with kids, and could do a kids exchange. Unfortunately my friends all have boys or girls whose sizes wouldn't match with my girls. But I would love to do this.

Fifth - If you want to make a big purchase check online prices first. We recently needed bunk beds for our girls. The one we liked was $1200 in the furniture store. We found an almost identical one on Amazon.com for $500. And you know what? When it came and was set up, I like it even better than the more expensive one! That's $700 in my pocket. I spent that $700 on my new couches. The couches were bought at American Freight. They're Simmons leather and so far are great. Way cheaper than the regular furniture stores. Check online to see if there is a location near you, they are located nationwide.

Sixth - Save your change. If you have a "extra" you'd like to save for set up a jar. In our family we use cash for everything. We average about $75 a month in change. It all goes in the jar, which gets deposited into our vacation account once a month. Easy money that we don't even miss. Plus husband's pockets don't jingle when he walks, and my purse is lighter. Everybody wins!

Seventh - Check sites like craigslist.com. Of course use common sense with this. My husband is always the one to do exchanges, ect. But it can be great. We got a Wii for free last year by doing an exchange for an item we no longer had a use for. Loved it.

These are my money saving ideas. What are yours?

Lakeshore Learning - Free Reusable Tote

This Saturday Lakeshore Learning is having an Earth Day Craft for the kids. They can design and keep their own reusable bags. This craft is 100% free. It runs from 11-3. My kids are excited about going to do this. :)

Free Books!

Since I love reading (and have an unhealthy obsession with buying new books) I was excited to learn that my husband's new I-Pad has a reader feature. I browsed through the free books available through Apple and was pleasantly surprised. Now I have about 40 books on his I-Pad, which I borrow when he's home. They had all the Jane Austen books (my personal favorite), tons of Henry James books, and lots of other goodies. Mainly the classics, which are what I prefer anyways. If you have an I-Pad or I-Touch/I-Phone you may want to check it out.

Disney Movie Rewards

As is probably obvious my family loves Disney. We travel there, we watch Disney Channel, and we buy Disney movies. Disney Movie Rewards is a great site that rewards you for buying Disney movies, cd's, movie tickets, ect. We started using this program a while ago and have received a couple of rewards from them. In the past we've received CD's. And I just ordered another reward today. I bought my oldest daughter a Disney mp3 player a while back on Amazon, and I just needed some headphones to go with it. Well I had enough points in my Disney Movie Rewards account to cash out for some behind the ear Hannah Montana/High School Musical headphones (they have interchangable plates so you can wear them Hannah style or High School Musical style). She will love these. I'm giving her the mp3 player as part of her Kindergarten Graduation gift. I just have to load it up with all her favorite songs! Of course I'm not paying for the mp3 downloads. I'm using my Coke Rewards points to pay for those (I think I have enough for 15 downloads)!

I love using rewards programs!

Vacation is Booked!

I am so excited about this I have to share! I booked our vacation this weekend! We'll be staying at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort. I've never stayed here but I'm so excited to, especially since they just redid the pool and they added a water playground feature. Plus of course, I got a great discount on my room. I've never paid full price for a Disney Resort. This time I'm saving about $80 a night. If you're planning a trip to Disney there are some great deals to be had. For this years trip I'm using a PIN code to book my room. A pin code is a deal that only you can use, it comes direct from Disny via email or snail mail. No one knows for sure how to get these random codes, but one thing that has worked for me is signing up for an account at Disneyworld.com. This is free, and allows you to create customized travel maps that Disney will mail to you 100% free, these are great maps that only have the attractions you choose on them. My kids love these. You can also make dining reservations, ect. Also sign up to receive the free vacation planning DVD It's 100% free and I received my discount code about 2 weeks after ordering. My kids love watching this DVD. It's all about the parks and you can even see the Disney Resorts so you can decide where you want to stay.

I love vacation planning, it's seriously one of my favorite things to do. Now that my resort is booked I get to start planning our dining reservations!

Vacation Fund Deposit

I received a check from Opinion Outpost Friday so this morning I made a deposit in my vacation fund.

$9.00 from Opinion Outpost
$12.40 in loose change (this was about 1 weeks worth)

$21.40 towards my vacation!

I was going to cash out for a gift certificate for Rainforest Cafe for my trip this morning, and of course now that I have enough points the certificate I want is no longer available! It figures :)

Clearance Deals at Sears

We stopped by Sears this weekend looking for some shoes my daughter needs for her dance recital. They didn't have the shoes, bu they did have some awesome clearance deals. I was able to get a nice pair of black leather dress boots for $4.99! I was so excited since I've been looking for some for a while. They're the tall kind that almost go to the knee too. They were exactly what I wanted and the price can't be beat.... now I just have to wait until fall to wear them.

They also had tons of Lands End clothes/coats for 70% off the clearance price. They had jackets marked as low as $19.99 with 70% off that! I need a sprint jacket, but couldn't find one that would work for what I need. It might be worth checking out if you need something for next year.

And I finally found some shoes for my daughter this morning. So I'm excited. She needed all white tennis shoes and they were so hard to find in her tiny size. She should get her costume this week! I'm so excited!

Lakeshore Learning

Don't forget tomorrow at Lakeshore Learning there will be free crafts for kids. This weeks craft is a Customized Door Hanger. My kids love going here, we try to make it there most Saturday afternoons. The craft is from 11-3 and is 100% free. They usually have markers, glitter glue, stampers, stickers, jewels and shapes to glue on... lots of room for creativity. This is hands down one of my girls favorite things to do on the weekend! My only problem is that I can't leave that store without buying something. They have so many great things for kids of all ages. My kids have loved everything we've bought there and it really does make learning fun.

Maybe we'll see you there.

Mega Swagbucks Day

Every Friday is Mega Swagbucks day! That means that your random searches are more likely to pull high number Swagbucks. The most I've ever won in a single search are 50 swagbucks, but I know people who have won over 100. I think the most awarded is 1,000. Not too bad for just doing a simple search. Don't know what a swagbuck is, check out my earlier post. Or just shoot me an email or leave a comment on this post.

Free Potholder From Stouffers

You can get this potholder free from Stouffers by following just a couple of easy steps. First go here: www.dinnerclub.stouffers.com
Second: Create an account, this will take about 1 minute to do and you get 100 points for signing up.
Third: Click on the Earn Points tab and take the survey. This is worth 100 points and takes about 1 minute to complete.
Fourth: Click on Rewards and you can get the potholder for 200 points. 100% free, you don't even pay shipping.

So Sleepy

Bear with me today, I'm slightly exhausted. Last night I was so tired I brushed my teeth with my hair smoothing creme. And even worse it took me a while to realize it. I knew the "toothpaste" tasted funny (FYI - hair smoothing creme tastes like soap), but I still didn't even give it a second thought. I did eventually realize it and rebrush, but man that taste could not be washed out. Than I took sinus medicine that kept me tossing and turning, and of course my youngest decided last night would be the pefect time to try staying up all night.

All in all, I am just trying not fall asleep in my seat. And I'm mainly just counting time until I can go to bed. I hate days like this, and it's definatly not helping that it's so gloomy outside. I need to wake up!

Great New Freebie

Bring in the cover of the May issue of Seventeen Magazine (or a print out of their home page) to Aeropostal for a FREE T-Shirt. You must be between the ages of 13-29 to be eligible for the offer.

Thanks couponingtodisney.com for this great offer.

Disney Store Freebie

Stop in any Disney Store on April 22nd to receive a free baseball hat in honor of Earth Day. All you need to do to receive the hat is bring in 6 empty plastic water bottles.

Earth Day Freebie at Target

This year on Earth Day (April 18th) the first 1.5 million to make purchases at Target will get a FREE reusable tote bag.

Today Only FREE Prints at Walgreens

Today only Walgreens is offering 20 free prints. Upload and order online (you can pick up in store to avoid shipping charges). Enter code PRINTS20 at checkout. Gotta love free pictures!

Online Surveys

In the past 45 minutes I've made about $10 while watching t.v. with my sick daughter. I'm a member of several online companies that pay you for your opinion. My 2 favorites are mysurvey.com and opinionoutpost.com. Both companies send you periodic emails with opportunites to take surveys for money. They will give you an approximate time it will take to complete as well as how many points you will recieve (you need 1,000 for a $10.00 cashout from mysurvey and 500 for a $5.00 cashout from opinionoutpost) it's up to you to decide if it's worth it to participate. For me it's easy, and I enjoy making a little extra vacation money on my own. It won't make you rich, but I'm hoping to make a couple hundred extra dollars this way by my vacation in November.

Do you have any reward sites you recommend?

Kmart!

Since it's double coupon days at Kmart I'm trying to take advantage of it and stock up on things for the next few months. Here's how I did today!

$4.49 Loreal Eye Shadow (needed color for my daughter's dance recital)Minus 2.00 coupon doubled .... so $.49.

$3.00 Crest Vivid White Toothpast - minus $1.00 coupon doubled... final price $1.00

$3.50 Oral B Cross Action Toothbrush - minus $2.00 coupon doubled... final price FREE

$2.61 Reach Toothbrush - minus $1.00 coupon doubled... final price $.61

$4.29 Tylonal Extra Strength - minus $2.00 coupon doubled... final price $.29

My total - $3.01 (including taxes)

I love when Kmart has this deal. I can stock up on so many things that we'll use. Any of you have any good deals to share?

Movie Deal at CVS

My kids have been bugging me to buy the new Alvin and the Chipmunks the Squeakwell, for the past couple of weeks. We saw it at the theater and they LOVED it. This week CVS is having a pretty good deal on the DVD. If you purchase $20 in participating Proctor and Gamble items (a list is in their ad and the $20 is before coupons) you get $15 off the movie making it only $4.99!

I needed a few things anyways, and I had some pretty good coupons to match up with the ad. I bought

2 9pks of Charmin - total $9.98 (minus $1 coupon)
2 28pks Always - total $10.98 (minus $6.99 coupon)
Alvin and the Chipmunks $19.99 (minus $15 for Proctor and Gamble special)
Total $17.96 plus tax. Not too bad considering I got the DVD

Plus Proctor and Gamble is doing a special offer right now. If you spend $50 on Proctor and Gable products (before coupons) by the end of May you get a special coupon booklet worth $100 for free. So because of this deal I'm about $21 closer to that $50 (you can use multiple receits).

I'm saving the movie for one of her gifts at my daughter's Kindergarten Graduation party!

Online Rewards

One of the ways I'm saving for my trip is by doing online rewards sites. One site that I use frequently is Mypoints.com. Mypoints is one of the easiest things to start doing. Once you create an account you'll start receiving paid emails from them. All you do is click on the link in the email and you receive 5 points. You also earn points by doing online shopping. Go to mypoints.com and search for the retailer you're looking for, chances are they participate and you will receive points for each dollar you spend. Since I'm not much of an online shopper I get most of my points from clicking on emails. They also have a daily "wheel" you can spin for points. I've won anywhere from 5-100 points a day doing this. So far I'm 1/2 way to my goal, I'm saving my points to redeem on a Rainforest Cafe gift card for our November trip (they have to locations in Disney World).

This is a slow way to save, but it probably takes me less than 1 minute a day to click on all the emails so it's worth it.

Blockbuster Express

Blockbuster Express has a code out for a free rental. Use the promo code GA13A4 to get a FREE rental!

If you're not familiar with Blockbuster Express it's a kiosk that works just like Red Box. Go to the link below to find a location near you!

http://www.blockbusterexpress.com/kiosks/

Kmart Super Doubles Days!`

If you have a Kmart near you there are awesome deals this week only. Become a rewards member (it's free and easy, sign up at the Customer Service desk they just need your name and address) and they will double your coupons up to and including $2! This makes for some great deals. The limit is 5 coupons per day. I stopped by today and here's how I did.

$4.00 - 1 Gilette Body wash (minus $2.00 coupon doubles... so FREE)
$6.00 - 2 Crest Pro Health Touthpaste (minus 2 $1.50 coupons doubled... FREE)
$3.59 - 1 Stayfree (minus $2.00 coupon doubled... FREE)
$4.59 - 1 Tampax Pearl (minus $2.00 coupon doubled... $.59)
$.49 - 1 pack of gloves (2 pair) for next winter
$1.99 - Girls Blazer (for my daughter...it was 90% off)
$1.50 - Sunday paper

Total including tax $5.29

Not too shabby. I plan to go back tomorrow!

Hot Prints - FREE Photo Book

Hotprints.com is an online photo company. Once you create and account with them (it's free) they offer you a free photo book each month, all you have to pay is shipping!

I love making photo books. I make them for my kids and they go crazy for them. I've never used HotPrints but I plan to use them for my next photo book. Can't get much better than free!

Lakeshore Learning

If you have a Lakeshore Learning near you, did you know that every Saturday they offer a FREE craft for kids? If you're in Michigan the only location is on Hall Road (near Babies R Us), but many states have locations. The craft is offered from 11-3 and there is a list in the store to tell you what's coming up. This weekend is a Silly Bunny Puppet. My kids love going to do the crafts there, and it's a great store. We've bought so many great products for them. They're a great store for homeschooling supplies or to supplement your childs education. My daughter does well in school but has really enjoyed doing "work" at home too. My favorite things are the dry erase lapboards (starts at $2.49) and dry erase pouches. The pouches are great, you can put anything in them (we use 1st grade workbooks) and they become instant dry erase. It's great because my daughter isn't writing in the book she can do it again and again. And it will still be good when her little sis is a big enough. The pouches are $19.99 for 10, but my store will sell a single pouch if you ask for $2. You can also order any of their products online. This is one of my favorite stores, they have great products. And if you have little kiddies they have a lot of educational and safe toys.

Love this store!

Computer Issues

So it's been a slow go today. My computer is having issues, that I haven't been able to completely resolve yet, so bear with me.

So far I only have 1 deal for you. The 1st 100,000 people to become fans of Butterfinger on Facebook will get a coupon for a free bar.

I'll be back with more deals sooon, assuming my computer remains functional!

Red Roof Inn for 1 Penny!

If you need a hotel in the next couple of weeks, or if you just want to get away for a night, check out this deal at Red Roof Inn. Starting today you can book a room for $.01 (while supplies last) for two days out. So today you could book for tomorrow or Friday. This sale is going on for the next 2 weeks. I was looking for a hotel near me with an indoor pool, but no luck. Let me know if you get a room, it's a great deal!

Here is a link to the article:
http://ocdeals.freedomblogging.com/2...e-penny/47199/

On a side note...

This is not at all budget related but I thought it was funny.

I was helping my 5yr old daughter do something and after I finished I said, "You didn't know I was such a genius did you?" It was MEANT to be retorical.

She answered, "No, I really didn't." Completely serious, not trying to be funny.

I just startd laughing and she looked at me like I was crazy wondering what was so funny. Than she gave me a small pity laugh like you hear after a very bad joke.

Geez, I thought kids were not supposed to think their parents were lame until they were teenagers.

HOT Toys R Us Game Deals

This week at Toys R Us if you buy $20 worth of Hasboro games you get a $5 gift card. Here is a scenario that would get you games at a steal..

Battleship $8.99 print a $4 off coupon here:
http://print.coupons.com/Couponweb/Offers.aspx?pid=15162&zid=st48&nid=20
This game is also eligible for a $3 rebate (info should be on the box)

Operation is $8.99 you can print a $5 off coupon at the same link above
This game is eligible for a $3 rebate

Memory, Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders are $4.99
These games are all eligible for a $3 rebate

So purchase 2 games at $8.99 and 1 at $4.99 - After the coupons, the rebates, and the $5 gift card you get for buying $20 in games your final cost ends up at $0.99 or $0.33 each!

There are other games on sale too, look at their sales ad to find a deal that works for you!

Of course your initial out of pocket expenses will be a little higher, but you'll get $8 back in rebates and you'll have a $5 gift card for your next purchase!

If you're a member of Toys R Us reward program you may have gotten a $5 off $25 purchase in the mail recently. This could make the deal even better!

Meijers Deals This Week

Here's some of the great deals at Meijers for the week of March 28th - April 3rd 2010

Reddi Whip sale price $1.50
use $.50 coupon (should double)
final price $.50

Mrs. Dash Seasoning Blends sale price $1.99
Buy 2 and use 2 $0.50 off (should double)
Stack with $1 off 2 Meijer Mealbox printable coupon
Final Pice - $0.49

Tropicana on sale for $2.50
Buy 2 and use $1 off 2 coupon
Stack with $1 off 2 Meijer Mealbox printable coupon
Final Price - $1 each

Did you know you can stack coupons at Meijer. You can use manufactures coupons plus Meijer Mealbox coupons. Meijer Mealbox coupons are printable coupons right from Meijers site. It can make for some great deals. Other stores also have programs like this. Target has printable Target coupons on their website too. As long as the coupon states that it is a Target coupon you can stack it with a manufacturers coupon too.

What's on your list this week? Post it here.

More on Swagbucks

I wrote a bit about Swagbucks yesterday, the awesome site that pays you for searching. But did you know there are more ways to earn? Once you sign up you can start referring people. When you refer your friends and family you earn points everytime they do (you can earn up to 1,000 points from each referral). I really can't say enough good things about this program. Just today I've earned about 20 swagbucks from random searching. If you want to sign up and start earning click on the link on the left to get started.

Happy swagging....

Crocs Deal Just Got Sweeter

Okay so yesterday I posted the great deal on crocs. Well it gets even better. Today they are having a 1 day sale. Apply the code CROCSAFF25 at checkout to save an extra 25%.... and it works on sale items. I really wish I'd waited a little longer to order my girls a pair, this deal would've saved even more. It's today only so don't wait!

I found this great deal on one of my favorite blogs....couponingtodisney.com

Free Burger at Checkers

Do you have a Checkers nearby? I don't, but here's a good deal for those of you that do. Text champt to 30101 and you'll get a coupon for a free Champ Burger texted to your mobile phone. Show the cashier your coupon at the register for your free burger.

Disney Gift Card deal at Kroger!

Planning a trip to Disney? If you are here's a deal for you. This week at Kroger purchase the Disney gift card bundle (3 $15 gift cards) for $45, and you get a $5 coupon for your next order. Conceivable you could roll the coupon and purchase another set of gift cards. It's a pretty good deal if you plan to go, how often do you see discounts on gift cards? The gift cards are good at Disney World, Disneyland, and the Disney Store. You can even use gift cards to pay for your Disney resort stay and theme park tickets.

I think I may get a couple to put away for our November trip!

Meijers Trip!

Had a pretty good mini-shopping trip to Meijers, not a lot of coupons but some good prices. It would have been a normal shopping trip had my husband not taken my bank card... but I digress....

Anyways, here's the breakdown -

1 Can Mighty Dog (FREE with coupon)
1 Nail Clipper (on mega clearance for $.09)
3 Nail buffers (on clearance for $.09)
1 Box of Pop-Tarts (a big box not on sale and no coupon but I promised my daughter she could pick something)$2.99
2 bags of Cheese puffs (gluten free snack for my youngest daughter) on sale $1.39 ea
1 box of fruit snacks $1.88
2 boxes Chex (gluten free!) $1.99 ea minus $1.00 off coupon
1 Jif Peanut Butter $1.99
1 Snuggle Fabric Softener 70ct $3.29 minus $3.00 coupon ONLY $.29!
1 Chi Chi's Natural Chips $1.50

Subtract $3.30 bottle refund

Total $12.81

I didn't use a ton in coupons, but everything I bought was on sale. The Snuggle was a GREAT deal. I had a ton of coupons for free dog products, and of course Meijer didn't have any of it in stock. Should be doing my major shopping tomorrow, I mainly went today cause we were out of cereal and I wanted to make sure I got the Snuggle before the mega couponers snagged them all up!

What are your great deals this week? Post them here.
Erin

Free sample of Pantene!

If you're not a member of Vocal Point, you may want to consider signing up. They send out emails every once in a while inviting you to try out new products. This week you get absolutely free Pantene Shampoo and Conditioner samples.

Sign up here at: http://www.vocalpoint.com/index.html

Supplies are limited so sign up before the offer disappears!

Good deal on movies at Amazon!

If you're in the market for some new children's DVDs you might want to head over to Amazon to take a look there first.

Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs is $6.99
Alvin and the Chipmunks is $6.99
Monsters vs. Aliens is $6.99
The Penguins of Madagascar Operation: DVD Premier $6.99

One great thing about shopping with Amazon is that usually if you purchase over $25 worth of products shipping is free! They have pretty quick shipping too!

Happy shopping :)

Free Shampoo/Conditioner at Walgreens!

For those of you not familiar Walgreens has a program called Register Rewards. Basically if you buy the qualifying product you get a coupon for $ off your next order. This week at Walgreens Dove Shampoo and Conditioner is on sale for $4.00. If you buy it you get a Register Rewards coupon for $4.00 off your next order. Now you can only do this deal once per day and you can't use the Register Reward for the same item the next day, but it's still a great deal. What makes it even better is that many bottles have $1.50 off one bottle peelies on them. So you pay $2.50 and get $4.00 back, you're making money! If the bottles at your store do not have the peelie on them there was a $2.50 off 2 bottles in this past Sunday's paper.

I just love free stuff. I haven't paid for shampoo or conditioner in about a year!

Crocs Deals!

If you're in the market for some crocs for summer there are some great deals out there. My favorite is the Crocs Mary Janes for Girls. There are several styles in the Crocs Outlet. They're $9.99 and you get a free jibbitz with purchase!

I just ordered these for my girls last week, they should be coming today! Now if only the Fed Ex man would get here, I can stop obsessivly looking out the window!

How I'm Saving - Part 1

I first started off by using coupons and putting the savings into my Disney fund, it's accumulating slowly but surely. I've also recently started doing a few reward programs that are starting to pay. I'm planning on covering them slowly in the blog so I don't overwhelm anyone.

So far the rewards program that I like the best is Swagbucks. It's the first rewards program I tried and it's awesome. Basically all it is a search engine that randomly pays you to use it! How easy is that!

Once you sign up for swagbucks (there is a link on my blog) the first thing you should do is download the toolbar, this allows you to search from anywhere basically. Once that's done just do all your internet searching through Swagbucks. It's that easy. You'll randomly be awarded points (aka - swagbucks)that you can redeem for just about anything, including paypal cash out if you so desrie. You'll usually be awarded 10 Swagbucks minimum. You won't win everytime, but I average twice a day. You also get points randomly awarded just for having the toolbar! I can't say enough about this program, it's so easy and they really pay. I usualy redeem my Swagbucks for the Amazon.com gift card, since it's the best deal. It's only 450 Swagbucks for a $5 gift card. So far I've earned 3. While it is only $15, it's $15 I've gotten just for searching the internet for something I would have been looking for anyways. You don't have to spend the $$ right then either. Once you add the gift card to your Amazon account it does not expire, you can keep adding more until you have enough for what you plan to purchase! I'm saving mine for a book I want to get my daughter for her Kindergarten graduation. It's $30, I'm halfway there!

Look for more rewards sites coming up. I belong to quite a few and plan to feature them all!

My goal

So, I'm a stay at home mom, which means I have no income of my own. This means that when I get the urge to travel or do something outside of our families normal budget I need to come up with a way to pay for it. Not too easy when you have 2 young kids and not a lot of time. For instance, my husband is being sent to a conference in Orlando in November. How can I, a HUGE Disney World lover not go? He can not go with out me and the kids, no way - no how! So I've begun the process of "funding" the trip myself. How? Of course I'll share! Stay tuned!