CouponMom Free E-Book

If you are just getting started with coupons you might want to read the Coupon Mom's free grocery saving e-book. It can be found here.

Stephanie Nelson (aka Coupon Mom) has also written a book called The Coupon Mom's Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half. I believe it is an updated version of her first book Greatest Secrets of the Coupon Mom. I read the first book several years ago and really found it helpful. [Hard to believe now, but I had never heard of CVS (it wasn't in our area yet) when I first visited Coupon Mom's site!]

Free Garden Planner

Can you feel spring coming?? If you have any plans to garden this year here is a free little garden planner. We used this last year and found it helpful as fairly "new" gardeners! If you need more details on how to assemble and use the planner click here.

Getting More Swag Bucks

First, if you haven't already... read "What is Swagbucks?"!

Once you have a Swagbucks account, there are several ways to earn Swag Bucks:

#1 Searches-- either download the Swag Bucks toolbar or bookmark Swag Bucks to easily get to it. Every time you would normally search the internet... use Swag Bucks and earn!

#2 Find Swag Codes-- if you follow Swag Bucks on Facebook/Twitter, read the Swag Bucks blog, or get the newsletter you'll come across these fairly often. It will say something like: "Type [_code_] into a Search and Win site to get [_X_] Swag Bucks"! When you get a code go to your Swag Bucks home (account) page and type the code (it is case sensitive) into the box you see below and click the "Gimme" button.
[You are not allow to publicly post Swag Codes if you find one. You can direct people where to look, but don't post the actual code.]

#3 Special Offers-- basically subject yourself to some adds in exchange for a few Swag Bucks. Go to "Special Offers" on the Swag Bucks home page and scroll through the offers, you'll be eligible to earn Swag Bucks once a day. No Swag Code will appear, instead you'll just get a message with the amount of Swag Bucks you earned. As long as you go through all the offers, you'll be eligible to earn varying amounts of Swag Bucks once a day. (I have been getting 2 or 3 daily.)

#4 Shopping-- you get 2 Swag Bucks for every $1 you spend when you order things online. Personally, I think there are better ways to earn when ordering online (like Ebates) but if you don't want to bother with those definitely start your shopping here.

#5 Recycle Old Electronics-- if you have an old cellphone, MP3 player, video games, or video game system laying around you can send it in (via Flipswap) and earn Swag Bucks. This is totally free (they even give you a shipping label). How much you get depends on what you recycle. [You can also go directly to Flipswap and earn an Amazon gift card. We did this with my husband's older iPod before we ever heard about doing it through Swag Bucks. It worked but the process does take a bit of time for them to credit you.]

#6 Tell Your Friends-- when your friends join Swag Bucks you earn Swag Bucks too!

If you haven't already joined Swag Bucks... it's an easy way to "earn" gift cards and prizes. It's totally free! I got a $5 Amazon gift card just this week!!

CVS Deals 3/6 thru 3/13

Not many CVS deals to list, but here are a few I plan on taking advantage of this week:

Oral B Cross Action Toothbrush at $4
-$0.75 coupon (2/21 P&G)
-$4 ECBs (limit 2)
=FREE plus $.75 overage!!

Gillette Fusion Razor $8.99
-$4/1 coupon (2/7 P&G)
-$4 ECBs (Limit 1)
=$0.99 after coupon and ECBs

Nivea Lip Care for $2.99
Buy TWO and use
-BOGO coupon (2/7 RP)
-$2.99 ECBs (Limit 1)
=2 FREE

Kellogg’s Cereals $2.50
Buy FOUR Get $5 ECBs (Limit 1)
-2 $1.50/2 printable
=$0.50 each

Festival Deals 3/7 thru 3/13

Festival is having a "Dollar Days" sale this week. Looks like there are a few things that will work out to be a good deal.

Pork Steak or roast $1 per pound
TJ Farms Salad dressing $1
Francesco Rinaldi Pasta sauce $1
Gerber 2nd Foods 2 pk $1
Creamette Pasta (spaghetti) $1
No Yolks Noodles $1 and there is a BOGO coupon (2/21 SS), final price= 2/$1 (Thanks Kris!)

On Green Sheet with coupon:

• Red Gold tomato sauce 3/$1
• Duncan Hines brownie mix $1
• Flavorite Chicken Noodle/Tomato 2/$1
• Aunt Jemima waffles $1

$1 with Festival store coupon (newspaper):

• 1 gallon milk (limit 1)
• 1 pound butter (limit 1)
• 8 oz. shredded cheese (limit 2)

Be sure to check the red interactive coupon box at the front of the store. Sometimes there are coupons available that match up with the weekly store coupons. (Even on the Flavorite brand!) Festival's blog said that this is one way to "double" your coupon savings.

And... did you know you no longer have to cut out the Festival newspaper coupons? Just stop by the service desk and pick up one of the flyers that have the store coupons (not the green sheet, that's separate) on them or hand them the whole newspaper ad. The cashier just has to enter one code for all the coupons and you don't have to cut them out. It's a win-win time saver for you and the cashier!

Mega Swag Bucks Friday!

It's Friday... which means it's Mega Swag Bucks day. If you search on Fridays there is a greater chance to earn MEGA Swag Bucks!!

Don't forget ... now when you go to "Special Offers" and scroll through the offers, you'll be eligible to earn Swag Bucks once a day. No Swag Code will appear, instead you'll just get a message with the amount of Swag Bucks you earned. As long as you go through all the offers, you'll be eligible to earn varying amounts of Swag Bucks once a day. (I have been getting 2 or 3 daily.)

If you haven't already joined Swag Bucks... it's an easy way to "earn" gift cards and prizes by searching the internet. And it's free!

Home Depot Kids Workshop

The Home Depot Kids Workshop for March is the 6th. So head over to make a rain gauge. No registration required, just show up between 9am and noon.

GM Cereal Deal at Piggly Wiggly

The deal this week at PW is if you buy ANY 6 GM cereals - you get $10 off instantly and you get a FREE gallon of PW milk. Keeping in mind that cereal can be a bit more pricey at PW...here is how it worked out:

2 Cheerios at 3.99 ea = 7.98

1 HN Cheerios at 4.79

1 Kix at 3.59

2 Choc Cheerios at 3.69 =7.38

Total for cereal =23.74

Less $10 off

Less $2.39 for FREE milk

Less $1/3 GM coupon

Less 2 of $1.25 off 1 coupons =2.50 0ff

I PAID $7.85 for 6 boxes of cereal or $1.31 each - YEAH!!!!!!

Other good PW deals include Propel 6 packs which are 4/10.00 and Jack's Pizza which are 10 for $20! Wish I had more room in my freezer :)

3/3 Copps Shopping Plan, Double Daze (10 coupons!)

Here are my deal plans for tomorrow at Copps. They're having Double Daze again, where you get to double 10 manufacturer's coupons per $25 order instead of 5, so make sure to take advantage of that! My list contains items that are good sale/coupon matchups as well as good stock up prices w/o coupons.

• Meal Deal (not sure if I'm getting this... depends on ham size): Ham 1.99/lb., get 3lb. Butterball turkey breast, Hormel Little Sizzlers, and 1 dozen eggs FREE (total price depending on weight)
• Lunchables, $1 each - (2) $0.75 printable MC (doubled) = 2 FREE plus possible overage
• Milk, $1.98 (limit 2), 2 for $3.96 - $3.50 off milk from GM earned last week = 2 for $0.46
• Eggs, price? - $1.75 off eggs from GM earned last week = FREE
• Jack's pizza 5/$10
• Kellogg's cereals, buy 5 get $5 off plus free milk coupon, 5 for about $11 - $1.50 off 2 Mini Wheats printable MC - $1 off any 3 Kellogg's MC (doubled) = about $7.50 or $1.50 per box **PLUS: $1 off next shopping order from Kellogg's**(up to $4 possible if purchasing 5 of Frosted Flakes, Apple Jacks, Froot Loops, Corn Pops, Cocoa Krispies, and/or Honey Smacks)
• Kashi Heart to Heart, price? - FREE coupon from Vocalpoint = FREE (this is why you should join Vocalpoint!)
• Birds Eye Steamfresh, $1.25 - $0.35 MC (doubled) = $0.55
• Yo-Plus yogurt, BOGO - (2) $1 internet printable MC's (doubled) = 2 FREE plus possible overage
• Crest toothpaste, $1 - $0.75 MC (doubled) = FREE plus possible overage
• Oral B Indicator toothbrushes, $1 - $0.75 off 2 MC (doubled) = 2 for $0.50
• Crest kids' toothbrush, $1 - $0.50 MC (doubled) = FREE
• Roundy's 8oz. shredded cheese, $1 each
• Roundy's bread, $1 each
• Crab delights, $1 each
• 8oz. mushrooms, $1
• -$2.50 off total earned last week buying Betty Crocker fruit snacks!

Have you noticed the staggering number of possible FREE items this week? It almost feels like stealing... almost. ;-) Definitely looking forward to this trip. Not including the meal deal, I should be able to get everything for around $25. I'll have to see how big the hams are before I decide whether it's worth it. I don't want anything too big and the smaller sizes are likely to be sold out. There are, of course, other coupon/sale match ups available, but I am sharing the best deals that I see based on the coupons I have. Common Sense with Money is a good resource for a more complete list. I'll try to post my actual results tomorrow night. Happy shopping!

(this is a repost from my personal blog)

Free Books

Paper Back Swap is perfect if you want to...

• -get books free...
• -read books the library doesn't have...
• -get rid of some books...
• -need books for school or homeschooling...
• -give books as gifts...
• -declutter...
  
• -reduce, reuse, and recycle...
  

It's free and easy and FUN! You list books you don't want and when someone requests your book you mail it to them (costs under $3). For each book (it doesn't have to be a paperback) you send you get a credit to request one of your choice and the other person pays to ship it to you. When you list your first 10 books you get two free credits to give it a try. So you can order 2 books right away - free of charge -- and have them mailed directly to you! No strings attached. No gimmicks. No spam mail. Nothing.

When we signed up we chose 12 books we didn't want anymore and listed them. Almost immediately we had 3 requests. I was shocked. Now these weren't bestsellers. They were an odd assortment of non-fiction and cookbooks. But most people, now us included, have a "wish list" of books and as soon as one of those books is listed you get an email request for them. For every book mailed out, you get one in return!

After we cleaned our shelves and my mom's too. :) I started looking for other book sources. Now we go to the library book sale on the last day and fill a bag for $2. Then I come home and list them all on Paper Back Swap. You never know what will be requested. Sometimes you are sending a book every couple days and sometimes it's quiet for weeks. If you run out of credits and really want a book you can buy a credit for $3.45 which beats paying store prices any day!

If you love to read or if you have books sitting around collecting dust that you'll never read...it's great! You get "new" books and get rid of ones you don't want anymore! The selection is awesome and changes constantly. We have a great time putting books on our wish list (if a book isn't immediately available you just add it to your "wish list"). We have a huge wish list and books come up all the time! The real fun starts as you ship books and start getting others in return!!

If you are a PBS member, leave a comment about your experience. And if you're not feel free to ask questions!

Crayola Free Coloring Pages

Did you know Crayola's website has TONS of free coloring pages? They have different pages for seasons, holidays, and just for fun. There are even lots of learning/workbook type pages as well. If you happen to have kids that are getting a little stir crazy waiting for spring... head over and let them chose a few pages to color!

Book Review: Family Feasts for $75 a Week

After hearing about it on a few blogs, I was excited to get this book from the library to see if I could learn a few new grocery saving tips. Unfortunately, Family Feasts for $75 a Week fell short of my expectations.

I felt a little misled by the title. Knowing Mary Ostyn has 10 children, I figured if she could feed her family for $75 a week, I had a few things to learn from her. But the author (or editors) did the math for her family and then reworked it for a family of four to come up with the title. Mary is not paying $75 a week to feed her family. Instead, she pays about $75 per person per month or around $200 per week. With her numbers our goal (for a family of 8) would be about $138 per week. We're already under that!

The first section covers the "how to" and is relatively short. If you need a "beginner's guide" to grocery savings this book would be an excellent place to start. It's not that I disagree with anything she says... in fact, the reason our grocery spending is so low is that we are doing many of the things she suggests! I was just disappointed by the fact it didn't really have an "new, improved" ideas. The second part of the book is recipes, some of them sound really good, so if you are looking for some new frugal recipes this book might be worth reading.

Either way, I suggest you check it out from the library first to see if you find it helpful before purchasing it.

*This is repost from my personal blog.