Free Child Safety ID Kit from Gerber

Free Child Safety ID Kit from Gerber. Just click the banner above. You'll get information on the Gerber Life Grow-Up Plan, but I have to say that I think it's a great insurance plan. I've had friends who use it and it really helped out their kids when they got older.

And we're back!

At least I hope so. Things got very hectic for us over on our other blog, Bargain Hunting Moms during the holiday season which kept us from posting much here. But I hope we can get back on track with the new year!

If you like to shop online, be sure to check us out over there and also check out our forums to meet some really cool people! (Ok, I realize I'm biased, but I do think we have a great group of ladies who post there. Plus, it's a small community, so you won't feel totally overwhelmed when you say hello! :))

I posted this at BHM, but I thought you guys might enjoy it, too! It's a great freebie for those of us who like a little romance in our reading.

FREE eBook a Day: Receive a Free eBook each day at e-Harlequin. Ends Dec.31. Yes, they're entirely free! Snag yourself one! We also have some other deals from e-Harlequin -- including a $5 off coupon! Take a peek here. One of our posters is reporting that you can get more than one free if you click around the site a little.

$1.50 off Yoplait Kids

Now that we're back in the swing of packing those school lunches, we're realizing it can get a little expensive. (Heck, it's expensive to BUY lunch every day, too, isn't it? It's $2/day here!) That's why we need to find ways to save. Stop by YoplaitKids.com and print out a coupon for $1.50 off any Yoplait Kids yogurt. That's definitely savings I can use! (Also posted at Bargain Hunting Moms.)

Free Vitamins

Click to get a free 14 day supply of Nature Made Vitamins. It's available again and is a great freebie, but hurry. It won't last long this time either!

Free Flowers on September 3

The 14th Annual FTD Good Neighbor Day will take place on Wednesday, September 3, 2008. Hundreds of FTD florists across the U.S. and Canada are planning exciting local events, gathering sponsors, making philanthropic relationships and helping to spread friendship and kindness to their neighbors through the distribution of free floral bouquets. To find a participating flower shop in your area click here.

Via Money Saving Mom

Make It Yourself: "Cream of..." Soups

OK, I started the "Make It Yourself" series and promised to be back and life got in the way and I was delayed. Sorry about that!

Anyway, I'm back and hoping to have at least one "Make It Yourself" suggestion for you each week. Today, instead of Wrinkle Release Spray, like I promised last time, I'm going to talk about making your own "Cream of..." soups. We'll get back to the Wrinkle Release Spray next time...I promise!

A trip to the doctor has prompted me to look for healthier alternatives to some of the things I've been using. I need to cut down on sodium and one of the biggest culprits in my diet is canned soups. They have thousands of milligrams of sodium in every can and some of my recipes use 2 or 3 cans of soup.

I went on a quest this morning and found a recipe at SparkPeople.com for a mix you can keep on hand to use for just about any "Cream of..." soup. Check it out:

Ingredients

2 cups powdered nonfat milk 3/4 cup cornstarch 1/4 cup(or less) instant vegetable bullion 2 Tbsp. dried onion flakes 1 tsp. basil leaves 1 tsp. thyme leaves 1/2 tsp. pepper

Directions

Combine all ingredients, mixing well. Store in an airtight container until ready to use. To substitute for one can of condensed soup:

Combine 1/3 cup of dry mix with 1 1/4 cups of cold water in saucepan. Cook and stir until thickened. Add to casserole as you would the canned product.

Makes equivalent of 9 cans of soup.

Variations:

Mushroom Soup: Add 1/2 cup finely chopped mushrooms
Celery Soup: Add 1/2 cup minced celery
Potato Soup: Add 1 cup diced potatoes, cooked
Vegetable Soup: Add 3/4 cup mixed vegetables, cooked
Broccoli Soup: Add 1 cup chopped broccoli, cooked
Asparagus Soup: Add 1 cup chopped asparagus, cooked

I haven't tried it yet but I'm going to mix some up this weekend and I'll let you know how it works out.

Been to Kroger?

Whoops...we haven't posted here in a while!

Have you been to Kroger this week? I went yesterday and got a great deal! They have Stouffer's and Lean Cuisine frozen meals 5 for $10. Plus, they qualify for the Nestle's deal. For the Nestle's deal, you spend $20 on at least 2 Nestle's products and you get $5 off at the register. I wound up buying 10 LC and Stouffer's for just $15 after the extra $5 off. Not too bad of a deal. I didn't have any coupons or that could have been even sweeter.

The Nestle's deal includes other items, like Juicy Juice, Hot Pockets(those are also 5 for $10) and so on. You aren't confined to just Stouffer's!

Coupon Round Up

Some of these are printable and some you have to sign up and get in the mail. Have fun!

6 Free Cheerios Coupons
$2 off Pretty in Pink - Women's Natural Sleep Formula (Printable)
Pedigree Dog Food coupons - Many to print!

Store Printables:
Bath & Body Works - Free Softest Socks w/ $15 purchase Coupon(these are the softest socks for sure!)
Payless - 15% off Printable

And we have the winners!

Thanks to everyone who entered our very first Bloggy Giveaway! We'll surely be participating again in the next one. This one was a resounding success! Now, onto the winners!

The Webkinz Pink Pony goes to: PS!

The following lucky entrants will receive Pringles Stix:

Karin

Bethany

TheresaN

Kathleen

Yes, I know we said 3, but so many entered, that I upped the prizes to 4! Winners - look for an email from me!

It's Friday and it's free!

Free? Did someone say free? Yep! All these things are free. Check them out! It won't cost you a penny.


Free Sample of OPTIMAL Support Packets

Free Sample Dandy Lyon Bites - Healthy Children's Snacks

Free Sample Tide Total Care.

Free Sample of Oatmeal Crisp Cereal.

Free Sample of Meow Mix.

Free page from Babies Online

You may have noticed the Babies Online.com banner on the side of this blog. Babies Online.com will allow you to create a web page for your baby for free! It's a great way to share pictures of your new little one with your family and share milestones.

The site also lets you track your pregnancy week by week with their Pregnancy Calendar
and you can even enter your little one in their Baby Photo Contest.

Here's what your page could look like. If you're looking for a free page like this, go take a look.

Want some more free magazines?

As far as I'm concerned, you can never have too many free magazines. Check these out!


Railway Age Click Here

Free subscription to Television Week Magazine - TelevisionWeek is your comprehensive coverage for developments that affect all areas of entertainment and media, including broadband, On Demand, Podcasting and HDTV. (US) Click Here

Free subscription to Pet Style News - The Leading Publication for Pet Boutique Fashion, Products and Trends. (US & Canada) Click Here

For all the hot moms out there...

As the mom of a teen, I know this freebie would embarrass her! Get a FREE Hot Mom magnet from HottestMomOnline.com. Moms of teens, make them cringe. Send for your free magnet!

Will it kill me if I use it?

Does toothpaste go bad? Yeah, I know there is a date on them, but will it kill you if you use it after that date or is that a "best by" date?

Why am I asking? I seem to have overstockpiled my toothpaste. When we lived in Florida, there were CVS stores all over and I got carried away with their "Extra Care" program. I wound up with so much totally free toothpaste--mostly Colgate--that I haven't bought toothpaste in almost two years and I still have a huge stack.

I've moved my stockpile from Florida to WV and now it sits here staring at me. I'd take a picture, but my camera is on the fritz. So my question is, how long will this stuff last? I've stopped buying it but I have some really good coupons I'd like to use.

Yes, I have a coupon addiction.

Make Money Online Doing Surveys

We've all seen the emails. Sign up to take surveys online and make a ton of money. I hope we all realize those are scams! Most of them point you to a site where you have to pay to sign up for surveys. Why do that when there are plenty of reputable sites to take surveys who send out freebies and award points or cash for completing them? Here are some of my favorites!

I signed up a while back at Vocal Point. Every once in a while, they send me a survey and today, I got my first freebie in the mail from them. It was a packet of greeting cards from Ford. Yes, they say Ford on them, but hey, they were free and would have cost me $5 or more at Hallmark, so I'll take it. Stop on by and sign up. I hear they send out fun stuff! (I started this post a few days ago and forgot to finish it. I've since received some coupons for Coke Zero from them as well!)

You might also want to sign up with General Mills. Their Mills Advisory Panel rewards you with points when you do their surveys. You can then trade your points in for gift certificates. I've only received a few surveys so far, but the points are starting to add up!

Then there are places like Survey Savvy that reward you in cash. This one is nice because you don't have to reach a minimum in order to cash out. If you only have $1 in your account, they'll send it to you. I'm letting mine build up though because if I don't, I'll just spend it on something silly. Right now, I have about $15 in my account. Not much, I know, but in this economy, every penny counts!

Here are a few others that I haven't really tried out yet, but they are definitely worth checking if you love doing surveys online.

Survey Adventure - Get paid to give your opinion. Free sign up.

Synovate

Ipsos Survey Panel

Our first Bloggy Giveaway!

We LOVE to give stuff away so of course we are participating in this round of BloggyGiveaways! This is our first time doing this giveaway and we're excited! We have some fun stuff to give.

Just leave us a comment(make sure to leave your email so we can contact you!) and you're entered! That's it. How much easier could it get? We'll be closing this post to comments and drawing the winners on Aug. 1, so look for the announcement here! We are asking for US entries only.

What exactly are we giving away? Read below for all the details. Good luck and thanks for visiting! Make sure you check out our sister blog, Bargain Hunting Moms for another Bloggy Giveaway!

The prizes:

1. A Pink Pony Webkinz

This is brand new and comes with the code so you can play with her online. It's a $14.99 value!

2. (3) Samples of new Pringles Sticks w/ coupons!

New Pringles Stix are baked wheat cracker snacks and come in several different flavors including pizza, honey, vanilla and plain. They're a great alternative to potato chips and believe me, they are yummy! We'll send you a sample in your choice of flavors.

Tuesday Toot

The point of the Tuesday Toot is to toot your own horn about an accomplishment. Since this is a coupon/frugal/freebie blog, I'll tell you about one of the deals that came in the mail today! I got 4 boxes of checks from this deal for less than what my bank would charge me for ONE little box. I'm so thrilled! I don't write many checks these days, so those four boxes will last me forever! Yippee! I love saving money!

I also picked up some awesome baby gifts at The Children's Place online! Using the coupon code, I was able to pick up baby bibs for $1.49 and some cute little onesies for like $2. I honestly don't remember everything I ordered, but I got 12 items for about $28! That is a deal.

Oh, I just thought of something to be proud of! I started my back to school shopping! I picked up backpacks! One from Lands End and one from eBags. We're on our way now!

If you're visiting us from the MommyCommunity.com, please stop by our sister site, Bargain Hunting Moms, as well. We have forums and you'll have lots of fun meeting other moms.

Free DVDs from Mattel!

Mattel is offering a few DVDs totally free! Just select your country after clicking to start. Choose from a Planet Heroes DVD or a Free Geo Trax DVD. After you order the Planet Heroes DVD, click again and select "return to Planet Heroes" and then "DVD." Once there, another DVD should show as available for free, so you could get 3 FREE DVDs. If these are like the Rescue Heroes videos, my son loved them when he was younger! Thanks Kim for emailing this one to us!

Make It Yourself: No Tangle Spray

One of our forum members recently posted wondering how to make No Tangle Spray at home. I searched and found an answer online and posted it and that inspired me to look for other things I could make myself. What I found is that there are many things you can make at home that I never even considered.

I'll be sharing some of what I've found here with you over the next few weeks in an effort to help us all offset the rising cost of gas and groceries. Today, we'll start with that No Tangle Spray that inspired my quest.

If you've got little girls with long hair, Johnson's No More Tangles or Suave Detangler is a must-have. But the stuff is $3 a bottle or more these days. I looked around and found a recipe to make it at home:

• Take a small spray bottle (reuse your old Detangler bottle if you have one)
• Add 1 part of your favorite brand of hair conditioner to 3 parts water
• Shake well (before each use)
• Spritz in on hair and comb through
  

And there you have it! Who knew it could be so easy? And since you can use any brand or fragrance of hair conditioner, you can customize the scent to your liking.

Next time: Wrinkle Release Spray

Send for Your Free P&G Coupon Book and More

Sign up for this offer to get a coupon book with over $31 in values on Proctor & Gamble brands. Some of the brands shown on the site are Cascade, Dawn, Febreze, Swiffer, Iams and Mr. Clean.

Other great freebies:

Get a free sample of Fibre One cereal plus $3 in coupons
Register and print a coupon for BOGO Jamba Juice
Choose a free sample from 5 different Pantene Expressions varieties

Make money online

We've all seen the emails. Sign up to take surveys online and make a ton of money. I hope we all realize those are scams! Most of them point you to a site where you have to pay to sign up for surveys. Why do that when there are plenty of reputable sites to take surveys who send out freebies and award points or cash for completing them? Here are some of my favorites!

I signed up a while back at Vocal Point. Every once in a while, they send me a survey and today, I got my first freebie in the mail from them. It was a packet of greeting cards from Ford. Yes, they say Ford on them, but hey, they were free and would have cost me $5 or more at Hallmark, so I'll take it. Stop on by and sign up. I hear they send out fun stuff! (I started this post a few days ago and forgot to finish it. I've since received some coupons for Coke Zero from them as well!)

You might also want to sign up with General Mills. Their Mills Advisory Panel rewards you with points when you do their surveys. You can then trade your points in for gift certificates. I've only received a few surveys so far, but the points are starting to add up!

Then there are places like Survey Savvy that reward you in cash. This one is nice because you don't have to reach a minimum in order to cash out. If you only have $1 in your account, they'll send it to you. I'm letting mine build up though because if I don't, I'll just spend it on something silly. Right now, I have about $15 in my account. Not much, I know, but in this economy, every penny counts!

Here are a few others that I haven't really tried out yet, but they are definitely worth checking if you love doing surveys online.

Survey Adventure - Get paid to give your opinion. Free sign up.

Synovate

Ipsos Survey Panel

Free from Friday's!

We went to lunch today at T.G.I. Friday's and noticed a card on the table to sign up and earn free food. Go to www.givememorestripes.com to sign up. You'll get a coupon for a free appetizer, too! For anyone who used to do Goldpoints with them, this looks to be the same thing.

I wish we'd known before we decided to go there today! I could have saved the $8 we spent on the appetizer!

Free Photo Books at CVS!

CVS is offering a great deal on photo books this week! Buy either a 4x8 or 6x8 photo book and you'll get the entire purchase amount back in "Extra Care Bucks!" Here are all the details:

· 4”x6” 10 pg. Hardcover Photo Book – ExtraCare cardholders can pick one up for just $3.99, and they will receive $3.99 in Extra Bucks to use toward a future purchase of nearly anything in the store (normally, a 4”x6” 10 pg. Hardcover Photo Book costs between $5.99 and $7.99). Limit one per household with card.

· 6”x8” 10 pg. Hardcover Photo Book – ExtraCare cardholders can pick one up for just $7.99, and they will receive $7.99 in Extra Bucks to use toward a future purchase of nearly anything in the store (normally, a 6”x8” 10 pg. Hardcover Photo Book costs $12.99). Limit two per household with card.

New to CVS and ECBs? Check out this week's ECB post!

Walmart Freebies

Have you checked out Walmart's free sample page lately? You can pick up 2 Diapers from Huggies, a sample of Emergen-C, Playtex and several others. I have a feeling the Huggies one will go quickly, so head on over there now. Only size 3 was available a while ago!

Kroger P&G Deals

Be sure to check out your local Kroger ad this week! They are running a special offer. When you buy 3 Proctor & Gamble products, you'll get $3 off at the register. Eligible items include Tide, Downy, Secret, and many others. Since some of these items are also on sale and you can match up coupons from your P&G coupons in yesterday's paper, you can get some great deals this week! My pick out of this is Herbal Essences shampoos and conditioners. These are on sale 2 for $5 or $2.50/each. There's a $3 coupon in yesterday's coupons, so that drops the price down to $2 for 2. Then when you buy 3 P&G items, you'll save another $3, so effectively, that takes another $1 off each bottle making them FREE!

Tell us if you find any other great deals at Kroger this week. I need to plan a trip!

Photo prints for a penny

We don't often add these kinds of deals here, but with so many folks taking summer vacations, this seems like a really good deal to me. First, Snapfish has a deal where you can get 50 free prints plus a free collage poster when you sign up. Then, you can also get up to 50 prints for a penny each when you enter coupon code JUL4PENNY08 at checkout. That code expires on July 12, so get your photos uploaded. I've used all the online photo places and Snapfish is my favorite by far.

If you like this deal, be sure to check out Bargain Hunting Moms for more deals like these!

10% off coupon - Home Depot

Are you planning on moving soon and would like 10% off supplies? Click Here to enter your mailing address and receive a 10% off coupon. I've moved a few times over the past few years and coupons like these have certainly come in handy! Get it before it's gone.

Freebie Friday: July 4th Edition

Happy Independence Day! How better to celebrate freedom than with a few freebies?!

This has to be one of the most interesting ways to get something for free. Chick-fil-a is celebrating "Cow Appreciation Day" on July 11th and rewarding customers who dress like a cow with free food. If you sport head-to-toe, full cow gear, you'll get a free combo meal. Come in with partial cow attire and get a free entree. Visit their website for more info and tips on how to dress like a cow.

Also on July 11, after you grab your free Chick-fil-a, shed your cow gear (or leave it on if you prefer) and head on over to 7-11 for a free 7.11 oz. Slurpee in celebration of 7-11 Day. To find your nearest 7-11, use the store locater at Slurpee.com.

Free vitamins and more!

Get a 14-day supply of your favorite vitamin - FREE! Nature Made(R) Liquid Softgel Vitamins. Only while supplies last! Click Here - You can choose from 6 different kinds!

More freebies! FREE Healthy Samples from REMEDYLife. You can get Brand name samples like Crystal Light, Blistex, Purell, and many more! Great Healthy Samples from the Award Winning REMEDY Magazine team. Click here to get started! Click Here

BusyBodyBook Giveaway

Mom2Cait, one of our moderators over at Bargain Hunting Moms, raves about her BusyBodyBook. She even thinks it could get ME organized! We'll see about that, but if you need a little help with organizing your life, these are the perfect things for that. You can go take a peek at the books at Amazon. Once you do, make sure you're registered in our forums because we're going to be giving away FIVE BusyBodyBooks very soon! Remember - you need to be a registered forum member to win!

CVS Deals for 6/29

There are some great deals to be had at CVS this week. Take a look:

Buy 1 Physician Formula Mascara at $7.99, Get $7.99 ECBs (Limit 1)
Match with the $1/1 coupon from 06/01 SmartSource to make a dollar!

Buy 1 Accu-Check Compact Plus Diabetes Monitoring Kit at $9.99, Get $9.99 ECBs (Limit 1)
Free after ECBs

Buy 1 Bic Soliel Razor plus 1 4 ct. Cartridges, Get $5 ECBs (Limit 4)
These are priced $6.99 each at my CVS. Use two $4/1 coupons from the 06/02 SmartSource insert and pay only $0.98 after coupons and ECBs.

Buy 1 Right Guard Professional Strength at $6.99, Get $5 ECBs (Limit 1)
Use $1/1 coupon from 5/18 SmartSource to get it for $0.99 after coupon and ECBs.

Buy 2 Coppertone Suncare products, get $10 in ECBs (Limit 1)
Prices start at $4.49 for the face stick, so this could be a money maker if you can find them.

Also on sale this week:

Schick Intuition Razors and Refills - buy 1, get 1 free. Prices start at $9.99. There is a coupon in this week's SmartSource as well. Mine was $4 off, but I have read that others were $2 or $3 so ymmv on this one.

Plus, for 2 days only you can get the following:

Cottonelle Toilet Paper (12 double roll pack) - $4.99

24 pack Gold Emblem Water - $2.99

For the complete ad, visit CVS.com

Freebie Friday - Luvs coupon, Auntie Anne's Pretzel & more

If you've still got one in diapers, don't miss out on this! Sign up to get a $5 off coupon for Luvs diapers.

Print a coupon for a free pretzel at Auntie Anne's. I've heard that some people have been having trouble printing these, so here's a link to request that a coupon be mailed to you instead.

Order up a sample of Multigrain Cheerios from Wal-mart. While you're there, check out the other freebies like Playtex, Benefiber, Frizz-Ease and Pantene.

Propane Deal at Walgreens

Just in time for the 4th of July cookout, the Walgreens ad for 6/22 - 6/28 includes a coupon for $3 off a Propane tank exchange. Just like everything else, propane prices have been steadily going up around here, and we've put off refilling our tanks in hopes of finding a good price.

At my local Walgreens, the regular tank exchange price is $15.99, which is already cheaper than our Wal-mart at $18.99. Using the $3 off ad coupon, it made the price $12.99. Even better, the coupon said limit 1, but the manager allowed us to refill 5 tanks at the $12.99 price (Don't even ask why my husband insists on having 5 propane tanks).

I love shopping trips like these!

With the price of gas, I find myself thinking twice--or maybe three times--before getting in the car to go anywhere. I've been trying to combine my errands and not make extra trips if I don't need to. Today, I needed to go to Walmart, so I thought I would combine some other stops along the way. It made for a long day, but I sure had fun!

First, I stopped at Petsmart to pick up some puppy toys. No coupons, but his favorite ball had been destroyed, so we needed another. I restrained myself and only spent $10 there.

Then it was off to Bath and Body Works. I had two coupons for free lip products with any purchase(print your own here.) They were nice enough to let me use both on separate purchases. I bought 2 lotions and got my free lip balms for under $5! They're having their huge semi annual sale right now, so now is definitely the time to go! My lip balms were originally $7.50 each and the lotions were 75% off, so I think that was a deal!

Then I hit Fashion Bug. I had a $10 off any $10 or more purchase coupon. Sorry, I can't point you to a printable, but if you sign up for their mailing list, they might send them to you. They had racks up on racks of clearance that was an extra 20% off! I was going to just pick up one shirt, but then I realized it wasn't quite $10, so I wound up getting two shirts(yes, both were pink!) for $7 with tax.

After that, I hit Walmart where I used coupons from the Sunday paper for free Old Spice body wash. I picked up the sample size for .97 and the coupon was $1 off any. I also got 2 free bars of Johnson's Buddies soap using this coupon. I had a few miscellaneous coupons as well, but I won't tell my total here since I bought a lot of stuff I shouldn't have. My goal was to just use my coupons, but that didn't happen today.

All in all, it was a fun trip. I like free stuff!

Free Bridal Shower Invitations!

Planning a bridal shower? Print some free invitations here. The site also offers some great tips and info for bridal and baby showers, plus they have printable games. The printable games aren't free, but they are reasonably priced.

Saving Dinner

Are you looking for a way to save money on your grocery bills and also get yourself organized? When my husband and I first got married, money was tight! Can you believe we spent only $100 a MONTH on food for the two of us? We'd have to make runs for milk and bread, but that was about it. I managed to do that by planning our menus and making most of our meals from scratch. We ate very little pre-packed and convenience foods.

Because of my experience with menus and knowing that if you plan ahead, you can save, I'm confident when I recommend this site to you! Saving Dinner offers you menus and recipes on a weekly basis. You can choose from quite a few menu plans from kid-family, to kosher, to low-carb friendly. You can tailor the menu to your family's needs! When you sign up for a monthly subscription for just $9.95, you'll also receive a detailed shopping list. Stick to the shopping list and the menu and you will definitely save money!

Saving Dinner helps answer the one question that drives me crazy! "What's for dinner, Mom?" Now you'll always know exactly what is on the menu. Check it out and let us know what you think.

Freebie Friday!

It's Friday! Let's celebrate with some free stuff:

Get a free subscription to Remedy Magazine plus valuable offers, free samples, and the opportunity to participate in health surveys and polls.

Grab a free sample of Lacoste Elegance cologne for men.

Get your printer ready, then click the link for a coupon for a free Thomas train (up to $12.99 value) at Toys-r-Us. Coupon is valid through 7/5/08!

Help Burt's Bees save the honeybees by ordering your free wildflower seed packet.

'All You' Magazine: Great Coupon Source

If you're looking for a good source of coupons to supplement the Sunday paper, look no further than the magazine rack at your local Wal-mart. That's where you'll find "All You" magazine.

"All You" is published monthly by Wal-mart and sold exclusively in their stores and in the Wal-mart Neighborhood Market grocery stores. The cover price is $1.97 but Wal-mart discounts that by 10%, as they do with all magazines. You'll quickly get that back by using the coupons to save on groceries, personal care items and more!

The June 27th issue is on sale now. Inside there are $24.00 worth of coupons. I was also delighted to find at least 19 recipes as well as fashion and beauty features, health and finance articles and a few fun things like sudoku puzzles and a find-the-differences picture puzzle.

You can save even more with a yearly subscription, which is only $19.97 through Magazines.com. That's less than the amount you could save with coupons in just 1 issue!

Home Depot Garden Club

Register with the Garden Club for bi-weekly offers and coupons from Home Depot!
Click Here


Not only will you get some great coupons, but you'll also get gardening tips! Works for me.

A Few Grocery Deals to Check Out

YMMV on these depending on where you live. These are from the Dallas/Fort Worth area:

Albertson's

Imperial Sugar - .99 (limit 1)
Powerade 32 oz - .50 (use .75 coupon from 6/8 paper to get it free with possible overage)
Owens Sausage - b1, g1 (the sign in my store said $4.29 but it rang up $2.99 and I still got one free plus I used .35 coupon which was tripled to $1.05)

Kroger

Right Guard Deodorant - $1.00 minus .75 coupon from 5/18 SS = .25
Dove liquid hand soap - $1.00 - .60 cent coupon from 5/18 SS = .40
Ken's Salad Dressing - $1.50 - 1.00 coupon from 5/4 SS = .50
Ragu Spaghetti Sauce - $1.53 - .25 coupon from 5/18 RP (tripled) - .75/2 e-coupon = $1.56 for 2
Knorr/Lipton Sides - $1.00 - .75 coupon from 5/18 RP - .75 e-coupon = .50 for 2
Colgate toothbrushes - $1.00 - .75/2 coupon from 6/1 SS = $1.25 for 2
Oral B floss - $1.00 - $1.00 coupon from 6/1 P&G = FREE! (my store was out darnit!)

What other deals are you finding at your local supermarket?

Another great summer reading opportunity for kids!

I recently told you about rewards your kids can get for summer reading. Well, here's another great opportunity I just found with an awesome freebie reward!

Reading with Ringling gives kids (ages 2-12) the opportunity to earn a free ticket to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus this summer.

All they need to do is visit the local library in participating cities and read a few books. Details should be available at participating libraries and includes a packet which includes bookmarks, puzzles, coloring sheets and even a clown nose!

Check out the website or call your hometown library to find out more!

Coupon Nazis

We've all seen them. They make us feel like thieves for using coupons. You know who I'm talking about! I ran into one of my own yesterday. It wasn't the cashier. It was the manager who happened to be bagging my groceries. It made for a very uncomfortable scene when my coupons beeped at the register. I think we all dread that sound, don't we? He decided to take it upon himself to lecture the cashier about checking to be sure the appropriate items were purchased. (They all were.) And then told her that someone in the store wasn't taking coupons properly. Like this was MY fault?

So, tell me. How do you deal with Coupon Nazis?

She Speaks!

I love doing surveys online. In addition to earning a little cash, sometimes we run across really cool sites like this one. SheSpeaks.com is your chance to sign up and try out new products. Your opinions might even influence the way things are produced. Yes, your opinion will help IMPROVE the product.

How does it work exactly? They match you with a product. They send it to you(yes, free stuff!) You try it out and then give your opinion.

I love this idea because let's face it, I love getting free stuff in the mail. I also like trying out new products and of course, I love to tell my friends(including all of you) about my new finds.

She Speaks looks like a great fit for me. I signed up last night and hopefully they'll have a product match for me soon! Once you do sign up, please be sure to fill out your profile so they can match you up with products.

Coupon Preview

Our friends over at Taylortown have their weekly coupon preview up. Go check it out so you can figure out if you can put together any great deals at your stores this week!

Monday Freebies

It's Monday and time for a new round of freebies! Here are a few to start you off.
Free Sample of Gillette Body Wash.
Free Coupon for Purina Dog or Cat Food.
Free Sample of Folger's Coffee.

You can always find more freebies listed in our Freebie Forum.

Caregivers Marketplace - Rebates on things you buy anyway

I heard about this site in my email and wanted to share it with all of you. CareGivers Marketplace offers rebates on many items you buy on a regular basis, including Huggies diapers and Pull-Ups! Simply visit the site and print out a rebate form. Save your receipts and send them all in for a rebate. You must purchase at least 5 items to qualify, but if you're buying diapers, that stipulation should be easy enough to reach!

Aside from Huggies, you can also get rebates on items like Cottonelle, Gold Bond, Ensure, Polident and many other products! The best deal about this rebate program is that you can use coupons at the store and we all know how fun it is to do those CVS deals! With prices going up every day, we all need an extra way to save, so bookmark this site and get ready to save.

Organizing Coupons: What Works for You?

When I first started couponing, ages ago, I just used one of the small, accordion-type coupon organizers. This worked fine until it filled up and was basically ready to explode at any second.



I switched and used the binder system for a long time. The binder system is just what it sounds like: a 3 ring binder similar to this one.



I like the kind that zips all the way around so nothing can fall out. The coupons are sorted using baseball card sleeves and/or picture sleeves. I loved the system but was so bulky and I really hated when I would go somewhere that I didn't usually coupon and find a deal and not have my binder with me.

I really wanted a Couponizer (and still do really), but I didn't have the extra money to spend while I was having my coupon identity crisis, so after a lot of thought and a little creativity, I used some things I already had laying around the house to make my own coupon organizer.

I took an old DayRunner I had sitting in the drawer from when I used to be organized (read: before kids). Then I took some standard envelopes (from a box that I got on clearance at Wal-mart for 66 cents), sealed them and cut part of the front off to make a pocket. I punched holes in them so they fit the rings in the planner. I used my $4.98 clearance Dymo labeler from Target to label the envies with categories. I already had some credit card pouches for the DayRunner so I used those for my store cards and it also already had a calculator in it and a zippered pouch in the front. It's about 5x8, so it fits in my purse.


It was all fine and dandy until I added billions of coupons and now I have to hold it closed with a rubber band. So...I'm still searching for the right system for me.

What works for you? Envelopes? File boxes? Binders? How do you stay organized?!

Add coupons to your store card

There are several places you can visit to add coupons to your store card. Once you add the coupons you want to your card, when you go to the store, the discount automatically comes off. Now, do you know what makes this even better? You can use a manufacturer's coupon with these coupons! I know people are getting killer deals by using this system.

Shortcuts lets you add to many different store cards. You can find a list of stores here.

The Unilever site and the P&G Esavers lets you add to your Kroger card. Let us know what other stores work with these!

Disney Crocs at Gabe's!

Do you have a Gabriel Brothers store near you? If you do, fly there! They have Disney Crocs for kids for just $12.99! I also saw some Dora and Spongebob as well as some limited grown-up sizes for the same price.

It's a good place to check on a regular basis. Today they had new Juniors stock in from The Limited, New York & Co, Urban Outfitters and more. I even found a pair of dress pants for my son for $1. If you need school uniforms, I saw Izod khaki shorts for $4.99/pair and they were on the same rack as the pants I bought for $1, so they might be marked down as well. Those are great to start school off in and even at $5, you are saving!

Preview of June CVS Deals

June will be here in less than a week so it's time to start preparing for the CVS June Extra Care Bucks deals.

Freebies this month:

CVS Pharmacy Sheer or Plastic Bandages 40 ct - $1.99
Free after ECB (Limit 2)

Listerine Smart Rinse 250ml - $3.49
Free after ECB (Limit 2)
There are coupons out there for the $1 off the Listerine (4/27 RP) to make this one profitable.

Oral-B Cross Action Manual Toothbrush 2pk - $6.99
Free after ECB (Limit 2)

Other good deals:

Huggies lotion, Hair & Body wash 15oz or Washcloths 20 ct - $3.49
Receive $2 in ECB (limit 5)
Coupons from 5/18 SS for $1 off make the final cost 49 cents!

Brut antiperspirant, aftershave, cologne or splash - starting at $2.69
Receive $3 in ECB (limit 5)
Coupons from 4/6 SS for $1 off make this one profitable!

Here are the rest of the deals for the month:

Spend $19.99 on Sun Effects Sunscreen Lotion or Spray 4 or 6 oz - $5 EB (Limit 5)
Spend $10 on Dove Skin Care or Deodorant products - $3 EB (Limit 5)
Nu Hair Regrowth Tablets 50 ct or DHT Blocker 42 ct - $5 EB (Limit 5)
Neutrogena Healthy Skin Rejuvenator Puffs Refill - $2 EB (Limit 5)
Miracle Hand Repair or Miracle Foot Repair 8 oz - $2 EB (Limit 5)
Kerasal Ointment 1 oz or lotion 4 oz - $2 EB (Limit 5)
Buy (2) Softlips Lip Protectant 2 pk. - $2 EB (Limit 5)
Buy (2) Purell Hand Sanitizer with Aloe 8 oz - $2 EB (Limit 5)
Zest 3 pack, Safeguard or Ivory 4 pack - $1 EB (Limit 5)
Blade Shower Gel 12 oz or Emerald Mist Body Spray - $1 EB (Limit 5)
CVS Men's Shampoo in Haircolor - $2 EB (Limit 5)
CVS shave lotion, pre-electric or after shave 3-9 oz - $1 EB (Limit 5)
Gillette or Old Spice product - $2 EB (Limit 5)
Degree Clinical protection for women or for men 1.7 oz - $2 EB (Limit 1)
Nice n' Easy colorseal conditioning gloss 1.96 oz - $2 EB (Limit 1)
Mitchum men's or women's clear gel anti-perspirant 2.25 oz - $1 EB (Limit 5)
Sleepright select no-boil night guard - $5 EB (Limit 5)
Dentemp or DOC Denture Repair kit - $1 EB (Limit 5)
Buy (2) sea-bond denture adhesive 15 ct - $2 EB (Limit 5)
Cepacol mouthwash 24 oz - $1 EB (Limit 5)
I white product - $5 EB (Limit 5)
Assorted GUM dental care products - $1 EB (Limit 5)
Smart Mouth long lasting mouthwash 16 oz - $1 EB (Limit 5)
Crest whitening rinse 32 oz, crest pro-health or scope original 1.5 L - $2 EB (Limit 3)
Any diabetes essentials products - $2 EB (Limit 5)
One Touch Ultra mini meter - $5 EB (Limit 2)
Bayer aspirin with heart advantage 30 ct - $2 EB (Limit 5)
Citrucel soft chews 60 ct - $5 EB (Limit 5)
CVS acid reducer 150 mg 65 ct - $2 EB (Limit 5)
Any little tummys product - $2 EB (Limit 5)
Fleet laxative suppositories products listed - $1 EB (Limit 5)
Bonine adult 8-16 ct or for kids 8 ct - $1 EB (Limit 5)
Any Dulcolax product - $5 EB (Limit 5)
Digestive advantage 30-32 ct - $1 EB (Limit 5)
Rohto V Eye drops 0.4 oz - $2 EB (Limit 5)
Bausch & Lomb alaway drops 0.34 oz - $4 EB (Limit 5)
Vagisil creme 1 oz or moisturizer 2 oz - $1 EB (Limit 5)
Howard Leight earplugs 2 or 10 pr. - $2 EB (Limit 5)
Murine earlgate 3.3 oz - $7 EB (Limit 5)
CVS pharmacy cotton swabs 500-625 ct - $2 EB (Limit 5)
Auro-dri 1 oz $1 EB (Limit 5)
Ivarest anti-itch cream 2 oz - $1 EB (Limit 5)
Arnicare pain relief gel 2.6 oz - $5 EB (Limit 5)
Staph or poison ivy care product listed - $2 EB (Limit 5)
Stingeze 0.5 oz - $1 EB (Limit 5)
Bright Beginnings infant formula 25.75 oz - $3 EB (Limit 5)
Huggies mega wipes 208-232 ct - $2 EB (Limit 5)
Stuart prenatal supplement 100 ct - $5 EB (Limit 5)
Naturally Pomegranate dietary supplement 16 oz - $3 EB (Limit 5)
Buy (2) Perrier 0.5 L or S. Pellegrino 16.9 oz - $1 EB (Limit 5)
Mega-T Green green tea 30 or 90 ct - $3 EB (Limit 1)
Buy (4) South Beach Diet 2.11 oz or Balance Nutrition Bar 1.76 oz - $3 EB (Limit 5)
Homedics Shiatsu Massaging Cushion - $10 EB (Limit 5)
Maxell CD-R 10 pk. - $1 EB (Limit 5)
TDK DVC Camcorder Cassette 60 min. 3 pk ger $2 EB (Limit 5)

No Coupons This Weekend

Remember, as is the norm with most holiday weekends, there are no coupon circulars in the paper this Sunday.

Instead of clipping new coupons, I'll be sorting through my old ones, getting rid of the expired coupons and saved circulars and studying the Memorial Day sales to see what deals I can find. Who knows? I might even take some time to relax and enjoy the 3 days off!

Enjoy your weekend too! Happy Memorial Day everyone!

Free and Cheap Summer Movies for the Kids

A good boredom fighter that won't break the bank is free or $1 summer movie clubs. Most national and regional chains offer something like this. We always try to hit a few of these over the summer. Most are movies the kids have already seen, but they love going to the theatre to watch them on the big screen anyway. Here are a few you might want to check out:

Regal Cinemas Free Family Film Festival

Regal is again offering FREE family movies. Movies start at 10:00 am on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The "festival" runs for 9 weeks. Start dates vary by location, but most begin mid-June. To find theatres in your area, visit the Family Film Festival page.

AMC Theatres Summer Movie Camp

The AMC Summer Movie Camp starts June 25 and runs through August 6. All movies start at 10:00 am on Wednesday morning. If I recall correctly, this camp used to be free, but this year they are charging $1 admission. It's all good though, because all admission proceeds will benefit Variety – The Children's Charity and the Will Rogers Institute. You can also purchase a KidsPack, which includes popcorn, a snack and a drink, for a discounted price of $3.00.

For a list of participating theatres, check out AMC Theatres.

Cinemark’s Summer Movie Clubhouse

Cinemark's Summer Movie Clubhouse runs for 10 Weeks, featuring a different movie each week. Showtimes and start dates vary by location. It's usually the first show of the day. In my town, movies start at 9:30 am. All 10 movies can be purchased in advance for $5.00, or can be purchased separately at the box office for $1.00 per show. For more information about the theatres in your areas, visit the Summer Movie Clubhouse web page.

These are the big 3, but I'm sure there are others out there doing similar things. Check with the cinemas in your area to find out what they're doing. Feel free to share the information with us!

Summer Reading Incentive Programs

If your home is anything like mine, the "I'm bored" and "There's nothing to do" statements start on the 2nd or 3rd day of summer vacation. I try to look for free things to keep my kids busy and summer reading programs have always proven helpful. Most programs offer incentives - ranging from free books and gift cards for the child to donations to the needy (which is a great way to get a lesson in about helping others). Books keep their minds sharp, teach them things and help alleviate boredom. There are so many benefits to summer reading - not counting the freebies! They can participate in all of the programs at the same time so when they read one book, they can record it for each program they are participating in.

Here are a few programs I've found for 2008:

Half Price Books
Feed Your Brain – Kids read 15 minutes per day and complete a reading log. Completed logs can be returned to either Half Price Book locations or CiCi's Pizza and redeemed for a $3 shopping card to Half-Price Books or a Free Kid's Buffet at CiCi's. You can do this every week from now until August 2! You can find more information at HalfPriceBooks.com.

Barnes & Noble
Kids read any eight books — library books, books borrowed from friends or books bought at Barnes & Noble — write about their favorite part, and bring a completed tear page to a Barnes & Noble bookstore. They can then choose a free book from a list of paperback titles. Find out more at Barnes & Noble.

Book Adventure
Book Adventure is a FREE reading motivation program for children in grades K-8. Children create their own book lists from over 7,000 recommended titles, take multiple choice quizzes on the books they've read, and earn points and prizes for their literary successes. It works a little like the Accelerated Reader program if you're familiar with that. This one's not just for summer either. Check it out: Book Adventure

Scholastic Summer Reading Buzz
Read 4 books and Scholastic will donate a book to a child in need. You can also enter a sweepstakes to win a dream vacation. Reading logs, games, message boards and more are on the Scholastic website.

Public Libraries
Most public libraries have Summer Reading Programs as well. In my area, they not only reward kids with an incentive, they also have activities at the library like magicians and storytellers. They're great for when you just need to get out of the house for a while. Check with your local branch to see what they've got planned this summer.

I'm sure there are other programs around. Please leave us a comment and let us know of any others you've found!

Free Teddy Grahams and more!

Who doesn't love Teddy Grahams? Get yourself a free sample from Scholastic by clicking HERE.

Walmart also has some great samples available! Check these out.

Free Playtex Gentle Glide Sample

Free Excedrin Sample

Free Crystal Light, Kool-Aid or Country Time Drink Samples

Freebies for May 17

Free Museum Admission - If you have a Bank of America ATM, Debit or Credit card, you can visit a number of museums free of charge the first weekend of every month. Click HERE for a list of participating museums.

Free Fruitista Freeze at Taco Bell - These look delish! Click HERE, then look for the "Download Coupon" link on the bottom right hand corner of the page.

Free Onion Rings - Looking to treat Dad on Father's Day? How about making a trek to TGI Fridays for some beer battered onion rings? Click HERE for a coupon.