Follow Me Monday

This week I am participating in the Being Frugal & Having Fun Follow Me Monday blog hop. 



I definitely suggest you check out the hosts blog (and a few of the others in the hop.   Now for the fun part....

The Question of the Week:  Are you done Christmas Shopping?

Not quite, but I'm really close.  I had most of our Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving thought about getting here, but there's always a few last minute things to pick up.  Are you done yet?

Drug Store Deals 11/28-12/4

It looks like there are some really good deals going into this week at the drug stores.....

Walgreens

• Scotch Tape (BOGO @ $1.99 w/ in-ad Q) - use (2) $1/1 Coupons from Publix Winter of Savings booklet to get 2/FREE
• Scotch Mailing tape 2/$3 - use (2) $1/1 coupons from Publix Winter of Savings booklet to get 2/$1
• Nyquil/Vicks $5 (get $5RR wyb 2) - use $4/1 Sinex coupon and $1.50/1 Dayquil/Nyquil coupon to make this a money-maker

CVS

• Suave Deodorant .88 -.50 coupon = .33
• Dawn .88 - .50/1 coupon = .38
• Pantene $3.33 - $1/2 coupon = 2/$5.66
• (Spend $20 on select P&G products get $5 ECB)

Rite Aid

• Gillette Fusion Pro Glide razor $9.99 -$4 coupon from 11/28 newspaper (get $5+UP) = $1
• Holiday bagged candy 2/$5 (get $2+UP wyb 2) -$1/2VV coupon = $1 each (can probably lower this with manufacturer Qs
• Old Spice deodorant 2/$7 (get $2+UP wyb 2) = 2/$5

Other Deals to Make Use of while you are at it.....

$20 P&G Mail-in Rebate WYB $50 of participating beauty products (before coupons)
Rite Aid Gift of Savings - enter your reciepts on the Rite Aid website to get up to $20 back.

Kroger Mega Sale is BACK!

This coming week Kroger is doing another MEGA SALE (the buy 10 participating items, save $5 variety) and there's quite a bit on this sale worth checking out..... (prices listed are after the $5 off discount for buying 10 participating items)

• Healthy Choice Steamfresh Meals $1.69
• Marie Calendars Entrees (including Flavor Fresh Steamers) $1.69
• Marie Calendars Pot Pies $1.39
• Betty Crocker Brownie Mix .99
• Bumble Bee tuna or salad kit .49
• General Mills cereals (select varieties) $1.79
• Hunts tomatos and tomato sauce .99
• Kraft Shells & Cheese or Deluxe Mac & Cheese $1.29
• Degree or Dove Deodorant $1.50
• Dove Mens Body Wash $2.75
• Gillette or Old Spice deodarent $3
•  e-coupon on Kroger.com for $1/1
• Gillette or Old Spice Body Wash $3
• e-coupon available on Kroger.com for $2/2
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There are quite a few more deals in this sale, these are just some of the ones that caught my eye.  For the full ad with coupon match-ups be sure to check out: I heart Kroger

WARNING!! Jingle Cash vs Register Rewards (Walgreens)

If you haven't already found out on your own, Jingle Cash is not the same as Register Rewards at Walgreens.  Usually with RR you can "roll" them, meaning you can buy the items, get the register rewards then go back and use those RR to get the same items.  You can't do that with Jingle Cash. 

I found this out the wrong way after heading back to Walgreens to grab seconds of some of the items we'd gotten earlier this morning.  I used my Jingle Cash from the first purchase to pay for the second purchase and because of this I didn't get Jingle Cash for the second set of items.  So, I'll be taking a few things back after the weekend is over.

This really kind of irked me, so if you haven't already made your Walgreens trip this weekend, beware!  That said, my local Walgreens had PLENTY of the items that you can get free via Jingle Cash.  If you don't see them in their usual locations check endcaps or ask a salesperson.  Each of the two Walgreens I went into had them in different places but they had pretty much all of the Jingle Cash items together.

Black Friday/ Cyber Monday Madness

I'm over it. I've combed the ads and I really don't see anything that's so special as to make me want to get out of bed (or not go to bed). There was really only one thing I was interested in and I've already ordered it off of Amazon (it will arrive on Friday).

I may still run out tomorrow for some of the great drugstore deals, but knowing my luck the items I want will be sold out before I get there...lol.

I've never been a big Black Friday shopper, maybe it's because I don't have kids, maybe it's because I don't care about buying things I don't need/want, even if they are a really great deal.  I've already done the bulk of our Christmas shopping this year. That was easy since we aren't really buying much for anyone, including each other.  This year it's more important for us to save money (by not spending it at all) than to get great deals on things we don't need.

All that said, there are two places I may try to go on Friday....

Bath & Body Works - I can always use more bubble bath and I really want the VIP tote they are selling for $20 with a $40 purchase.  I considered buying it online, but the whole "can't be combined with another code" AND having to pay shipping kinda killed that idea (it's available online today btw).  As long as the stores still have the buy 3 get 2 Free on Signature Collection items going tomorrow, I'll probably get it.

Target? - I saw a couple of different places have really good deals on picture frames tomorrow. Target is one of them. I need to go back through the ads again to see who else had them.  We've got a picture project we are doing in our living room and we need frames for it, so if I can get 10 frames for $12, that's a bit hard to pass up.

Wednesday Blog Hop

I love these blog hops as they are a great way to find other interesting couponing & money saving blogs that I didn't know about.

All In One Photo Printer Deal

Office Depot has this deal on the Epson Artisan 810 AIO.  I bought this printer probably 6 months or so ago at Best Buy and have been quite happy with it. I chose it over other AIO's available at the time mainly because it was rated well and because it was one of the only ones that still uses 5 different ink cartridges (whereas most are moving back to just 4).  This is no longer the newest model on the market, so the discount makes sense and I'm sure you can beat their regular price online somewhere, but from what I've read this is the best price for this item right now.

I will say I have one complaint about this machine.  It's really not made for lots of low end printing (the way I've been using it lately).  It doesn't want to take as much paper as I think it should at once, and if I load too much it declares paper jam and has me running back up the stairs to see what's going on (I've since learned to load the paper, press start and wait to see if it's going to print before I leave the room).

Ink use has been quite reasonable (despite the complaints I'd read online before buying it).  It's actually much better on ink than the HP AIO I had previously.  Wireless setup on this thing is super simple, as well.

FREE Books

yeah, I know... that's what the library is for. But, I don't like to be locked into their terms... and sometimes I like to own my books.  So, I'm all about finding ways to get to own my books for little to not cost.

Until I discovered better options, I would just shop the clearance rack at my local Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million, but now I've found better ways.

1. PaperbackSwap.com - There are a few sites like this out there, but this one is TOTALLY FREE.  The only thing you pay is shipping when you send a book out to another member.  When you sign up they automatically give you 1 free credit and then another after you list so many books (I think it's 10) that you are willing to pass on to others.  Then when someone wants one of your books, you take it off the shelf, package it up and send it out (paying the shipping).  In exchange for that book you sent someone else, you get a credit to request a book from someone else (FREE of charge).  They even let you print the postage directly from their site (there is a small fee for loading postage credit, but if you want to make a run to the post office that's free).  I love this site!

2. Read it Forward - I just found out about this site a couple of months ago and I've already gotten one book for free through it.  It's sort of a contest/sweepstakes site for books.  About once a month they post a new book that they are offering up and you enter your info. If you are chosen, they send you the book.  Then once you read it you can post it on paperbackswap and trade it for another book :)

Time Saving Mode

I've been raving about Remember the Milk to everyone I've talked to this week. I found it via another blog and now I'm sharing it with you.  This is a FREE (yes, FREE) online ToDo List.  Since it's online you can access it from any computer. You can also add list items by emailing yourself (from your phone, perhaps).  And for just a few bucks ($25/yr, I think) you can upgrade to the PRO account, which will let you integrate with your smart phone (Iphone, Android, Blackberry, etc).

I've only been using this program for a few days and it just keeps getting better each time I use it.  You can set up events that repeat on a regular basis, and even include notes within them (ie. your grocery list within the reminder to get groceries).  Time IS money as they say and Remember the Milk saves you both!

New CoffeeMate Coupon

If you drink as much coffee as we do you'll like this one.

$1/1 Coffee Mate Coupon - just go to their Facebook Page and Click the Coupon tab, or just click here. You should be able to print it twice.

This week the Coffee Mate is on sale at Walgreen BOGO for $2.49 (so after the coupon it would be .50 for 2). It's also on sale 4/$5 as part of the Yellow Advantage Sale at Publix (giving you the same after coupon cost). If you haven't already printed it (and if it's still available to you) you may also be able to get this $1.50/1 coupon (which would give you at least 1 for free - I think it will also let you print it twice).  If you can get both then you can get 4 bottles for just .50!