Wednesday Window & Blog Hop Skip & a Jump

Why I love Rite Aid

Rite Aid is quickly becoming my favorite drug store (again).  A few years ago it was my primary drug store and then I moved and it wasn't the most convenient choice anymore so I switched (strictly for convenience sake).  Sometimes convenience is over-rated.  Since I've been shopping sales and going for deals, I've found myself back at Rite Aid again (even though it can be out of my way).

Why do I love Rite Aid?  It might have something to do with the amount of FREE stuff I've gotten there, and the Rite Aid Video Values are to some degree responsible for this.

What are Rite Aid Video Values?  Basically, it's a program that Rite offers, where in exchange for watching short (usually 30 second) commercials online you get a coupon (usually for the item that was featured in the ad).  Once you watch 20 commercials you get a coupon for $3 or $4 off of a $20 purchase.  The VV coupons can be stacked with regular manufacturer coupons and sales, as well as Rite Aid +UP deals, quite often netting you free items.

To register for Video Values and watch the ads, click here.

Right now is a good time to sign up for the VV program as you still have enough time to watch the Dec ads and earn the $3/20 coupon (as well as 2 $1/$1 purchase coupons), which will be good through the end of January, and then you can start over again at the beginning of January and earn another one.

Get Paid to Transfer Prescriptions! The next reason I've gotten so much stuff for free is because quite often in their local ad, Rite Aid will offer a $25 gift card when you transfer a prescription.  I have a LOT of prescriptions and I've transferred pretty much all of them to Rite Aid now.  I've debated transferring them out again just so I can transfer them back to get another gift card, but I'm leaning towards that being unethical (even if it's ok to do it, it just feels wrong).

+UP is Rite Aid's reward program.  If you don't already have a Rite Aid reward card, get one.  You can sign up in the store the next time you are there.  Then when you purchase certain items you will find a coupon at the bottom of your receipt for $$ off your next purchase.  I try to roll these (using the ones I earned on my last purchase to buy the current purchase and at the same time earning more to use next week = more free stuff).  When you sign up for the reward card you will also want to log into your account online and check for coupons as they often make special ones available in your account online to print and use.

In addition to the +UP coupons that print at the bottom of your receipt, you earn points for each purchase you make in the store.  1 point for each $1 you spend, and 25 points for each prescription you fill.  As your points build you earn additional rewards, like 10% off shopping passes and eventually 10% off all purchases.

5 Swag Bucks on the Blog

Check the Swag Bucks blog entry "Kevin!!" for a clue to a code worth 5SBs until 5pm CST.

And if you don't know what Swag Bucks is by now, it's an easy way to earn yourself some free stuff including Amazon Gift Cards. Click here to sign up.

New Coupons on Coupons.com

There are some more new coupons on Coupons.com today:

$0.70 off Kellogg's Raisin Bran Cereal
$7.00 off any (1) NicoDerm CQ
$7.00 off NicoDerm CQ with SmartControl™
$0.70 off Kellogg's Special K Cinnamon Pecan
$0.70 off Kellogg's Corn Flakes Simply Cinnamon
$1.50 off POND'S cream, towelette, or cleanser
$1.50 off TWO packages Kellogg's Cereals
$0.50 off Kellogg's Cinnabon™ Cereal
$0.70 off Kellogg's FiberPlus™ Cereal
$1.00 off WONKA Candy Canes
$3.00 off any Similac Infant Formula
$2.00 off TWO packages Kellogg's Crispix Cereals
$2.00 off TWO Kellogg's Krispies Cereals
Buy One get One Free bag of BUTTERFINGER Snackerz
$1.00 off California Pizza Kitchen
Get one cesar bistro™ FREE when you buy two cesar

if you are like me, your coupon binder is getting kind of thin right about now, as many are expiring this week.  So it's time to start looking for new ones to replenish stock and ensure good savings into the new year.

Free Samples from FreeFlys

FreeFlys always has a ton of free samples, here are a few of the freebies you can snag right now....

Free sample of Vaseline® lotion

Get free trash bags from GLAD®

Coupon for free coffee or tea from Borders®

Free Sleep Number® travel pillow

Free Coffee mate®

Save $20 per seat on Legally Blonde show (till 5pm today)

I should have posted this earlier, but there's still an hour to get this deal.  If you are wanting to see Legally Blonde at the VBCC in Huntsville next month, you can save $20 per ticket today only.

Tuesday, Dec. 21, from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm for Broadway Theatre League & 10:00 am - 5:00 pm for the VBC Box Office, save $20 off regular ticket price for Legally Blonde The Musical, January 7 - 9 at the Mark C. Smith Concert Hall. One Day Only Special Offer available ONLY in person at BTL or the VBC Box office, or by phone at 256-518-6155.

 

The show is Jan 7-9; Friday - 8pm, Saturday - 2 & 8pm & Sunday - 2 & 7:30pm

CVS to Include Coupon Match-ups in Ad

Just saw the new ad for next week at CVS over on  Simply CVS and read/saw that CVS will now start including coupon match-ups in their .  Unlike Walgreens (which also does this), instead of just showing a note that says "coupon in most Sunday papers", the CVS ad will actually show how much the coupon is expected to be for and show you the final price after coupons and ECB reward bucks.  This should make it much easier to plan ahead for your weekly CVS trip!

- thanks Simply CVS

Starbucks Stocking Stuffers

Buy a 12 pack of Starbucks Via (aka Starbucks instant coffee) today or tomorrow and get a $5 Starbucks card.

If you are still needing some stocking stuffers or last minute gifts... or if you just like Starbucks coffee and want a deal, you might want to run over there and grab this one.

Personally, I like to have some of this on me when I travel. I've never found the coffee they make available in the hotel rooms to be worth drinking and this is a great alternative.

Buy 2 Get 2 Yankee Candles

There are several coupons available from Yankee Candle that are good through this weekend. The best one is the Buy 2 Get 2. I don't know if the other retailers will have the Free Tote or not but just the B2G2 is a good deal and I'm pretty sure that Bed, Bath & Beyond carries Yankee Candles, so perhaps you can stack this coupon with one of their 10% or 20% coupons (I know I've got 3 different ones currently).

Print the Yankee Candle Coupons


And if you are out and about shopping still, please remember to be nice! Be nice to those around you, whether it's sales people or other shoppers. When we go out this close to Christmas, we should expect to wait in line and expect others to be rude, but that does not give us permission to react badly. Put a smile on your face and pass it on, others will appreciate it.

20 Holiday Cards for just $1.99

Ok, so it's too late to get them out for this year, BUT sometimes the best time to get next year's Christmas cards is ...well, now!


Limited Time Only! Get 20 Photo Holiday Cards for just $1.99! WOW! Click Here

It was too late for this year when I thought of a great idea for personalized Christmas cards, but the idea will still work next year, so I'm going to order them now CHEAP and have them for next year. I'd tell you my idea but you might be getting a card and I'd hate to ruin your surprise :)

While you are there, you may want to check out all the other free things Vistaprint has.

Free Snack

Grab a (possible) free snack with these two deals. First, grab the $1/1 Diet Coke coupon here, then head over to Facebook and sign up for Ruffles .99/1 .99 bag of chips coupon (it looks like they will mail it to you).

If you want something a bit more healthy, Vitamin Water has a BOGO coupon on their Facebook page.

Save Recipes from any site to one Recipe Box

If you are like me you are probably tired of digging through tons of sites to find that one recipe you saved that one day, I just found this site that may have the answer. Recipe Nut allows you to save all your recipes to one Recipe Box. Join Recipe Nut to build the ultimate recipe box by saving and sharing from anywhere. Click Here

Micheal's Deal of the Day

These are some great gift ideas from Micheal's, and just $6.99 each! Even if you are done shopping for this year, you may want to pick up 1 or 3 and put them away for next year.

Before you go, be sure to print off your 50% off any one Regular Price item before you go.

The $25 Stocking

We don't have kids but the one Christmas tradition that I've carried into my adulthood is the stocking. I believe everyone should get a stocking at Christmas, filled to the brim with goodies. BUT, I don't believe they should be expensive goodies. The stocking is about FUN. Hubby and I agreed this year not to do presents for each other. We are trying to save money after all and usually when there are things we each want we buy them ourselves. This year we decided to buy a Wifi Blu-Ray player back around Thanksgiving (when Amazon had a good deal) and that has been our Christmas present. But, we are still doing stockings and I made him promise to keep the stocking at $25 or less. Admittedly, this is much more of a challenge for him than it is for me since I'm the one who shops the sales and sees the deals online. If he's just read my blog he'd get all kinds of great ideas for stocking stuffers within the alotted budget, but we'll see how that turns out after Christmas.

I won't post (just yet) what I found to stuff his stocking with, but I found some great stuff and I'll be doing good to fit it all in his stocking.

Whether you have kids or not, you may want to check out Frugal Living & Having Fun's blog post on stuffing a stocking for under $25. She has some great suggestions for items you can pick up for just $1 or $2.