Friday, September 4, 2009

FREE Chick-fil-A Sandwich on Labor Day!


Stop by any Chick-fil-A on Monday Sept. 7 and get a FREE Chick-fil-A Original Sandwich. You have to wear a sports team logo (little league, semi-pro, pro, high school, any one will do). Stop by anytime between 10:30 am to close.

Also, hurry to chickenwave.com and sign-up to get another FREE Chick-fil-A Original Sandwich if you are one of the 250,000 to join as a fan. (I think they'll mail or email a coupon.) Your picture will be added to others doing the wave.


Thanks, For the Mamas!

FREE Ice Cream for Labor Day!


Buy Blue Bunny Aspen or Sedona this WEEKEND and get them for FREE with this rebate. If you have a $2 coupon (from the August 2 Smart Source insert). You will make $2 for eating ice cream! Thanks Hip 2 Save!

Make sure you buy it between September 5th-7th. Mail in your original receipt and the original UPC bar code from the package, along with this rebate form. Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery of your rebate check.

I missed the last time they had this rebate offer but I did get to sample it when they had FREE Ice Cream for Memorial Day at Wal-Mart. Maybe this will be an annual Blue Bunny event, free ice cream for the start and end of summer. Sometimes, it's the little things that make frugal shopping worthwhile!

Shopping Tip: Chew Gum at Checkout


I was reading this guest post at MSM titled Five Strategies for Shopping Success. And she mentions bringing snacks. That is so true! It could save you so much money from NOT impulse buying.
This post made me think of what I do to make my shopping successful. One important thing is that I chew gum at checkout. Weird, but it keeps me relaxed. When I hand over my coupons, I get nervous that something will go wrong. Or that I will forget something. Or that she won't let me have overage. (Walgreens is notorious for this!) And every time I've gone to checkout while chewing gum I haven't felt nervous. Plus it keeps me from getting the munchies for all those candy bars by the registers. And Mentos is my favorite. But I wait for what's on sale at CVS and buy it nearly for free. Try it. It might work for you!

Frugal Friday - Trade Magazines for Used Bookstore Credit

Do you have a used bookstore where you live? We have two near us. They sell books, CDs, DVDs, and magazines. I have traded old books for credit there a few times. I often tell friends who shop for used books to bring their old books to trade. But I forget to remind them about magazines. I once traded mine and received at least $8 credit. This goes a long way at a used bookstore since books are at least half off the retail price.

So, if you get FREE magazines like all those I have above, trade them for "new" books (or more magazines). Lots of blogs tell you about FREE magazine subscriptions. So keep on the lookout. Read them, pull out the coupon booklets, and get "paid" for them at the used bookstore! Don't forget to call first to see which magazines they are taking.

If you live in Pensacola, my favorite used bookstores are:
Turn the Page Books & Gifts (Green House)
9105 Gulf Beach Hwy
(850) 456-5200

Hawsey's Book Index
803 North Navy Boulevard (near Shrimp Basket)


Did you like this frugal tip? If you have a frugal tip to share, stop by Frugal Fridays at Life as Mom.

(850) 453-1430

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Local to Pensacola? Saturday Trip Scenrio around Cordova Mall Area

Being frugal has taught our family how to make the most of what our community offers. Besides awesome beaches, Pensacola has lots to offer especially FREE events that have a high WOW! factor. But on weekends when nothing is happening, it's easy to get bored. One thing we do to beat this is going by the mall (NOT to the mall, just the area stores around it). We spend a few hours in the area and do at least one shopping trip and one kids events. I wrote up a Trip Scenario below. It is similar to what we would do minus restaurant trips. We like to pack snack and lunch instead.

If you live in Pensacola and have young kids, here is a little Trip Scenario for you this Saturday morning around the Cordova Mall area:

1. Arrive for breakfast at Village Inn off 9th Ave (free kids meal).
2. Stop by Home Depot off Davis Blvd between 9am-12pm for the Kid's Workshop to make a Bean Bag Toss Game. Come early in case they run out! Thanks for the heads up Mummy Deals!
3. Head over to Barnes and Noble at 11am for Storytime. (Take left out of Home Depot then right on Airport.) If hubby is with you, try to sneak out next door to Sam's Club, if you're a member. Saturdays means lots of free samples. Leave the wallet and kids with him and just enjoy a few minutes of ME time.
4. You must be ready for lunch now. Head over to TGIF also next door to use your BOGO coupon. Thanks MSM!
5. Don't leave yet. Since the mall is just down the street, get in there and grab your FREE Bath and Body Works travel item with any purchase. Thanks Hip to Save!

Whew! This is a lot. But everything is within 1 mile or less of each other. And you would have gone out to eat twice for cheap. So plan to go home for a quick nap and head to the beach in the afternoon for a picnic (that's ham sandwiches for us).


Smokey Bones $10 off $20 Coupon

Use this coupon to save $10 off $20 at Smokey Bones. This is a great coupon. Thanks Together We Save

Ultimate Recipe Swap- Favorite Recipe




What is your favorite recipe? Share it this week at Life as Mom's Ultimate Recipe Swap. My new favorite is lentil stew. I mentioned it before and posted the recipe here. Tarah left a comment with her favorite lentil stew version from Giada de Laurentiis. Check that out. It is very simple and sounds yummy.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Super Shopping at Target

First of all, let me tell you how happy I am with Target today. On a few occassions, I've had a very negative experience there. But today must have been a divine appointment because I made two great trips. To avoid previous problems, I tried two deals in the morning on two separate transactions to make sure everything was working fine. I also found that giving the cashier the Target coupons first then the manufacturer's eliminates a lot of confusion. This picture shows the food I bought. I also bought the All-Natural whole chicken they sell on clearance for $2.50 (regular $4.99) I paid $54.36 and saved $83.66. (It's really even more savings since I bought cheese and cereal on clearance.) But wait, I also got $15 in Gift Cards and will get up to $15.48 in mail-in-rebates. This will bring my total to $23.88, or 78% savings!


When I first stopped by Target in the morning, I brought a flier from Save-A-Lot with me. They have 3lbs for $1 bananas (Dole brand). I was going to price-match them at Target because I am in desperate need of potassium. (This is my own theory but may not be the sole cause of my feeling off-kilter lately). Well, I do believe Someone upstairs hear the desires of our heart and often grants our wishes. Because, lo and behold! these overripe bananas were $0.75 for 3 lbs. Plus my Save-A-Lot would not have saved me becausee Target carries Chiquita bananas (not Dole). I bought two and went home to get $0.50 off bananas Target Q. So I ended up paying only $3.50 for 30 lbs of bananas!
So 2 bags were $1.50 from the morning trip
8 bags were $2 ( I used 8 -$0.50 off Qs)

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I paid $0.32 for 4 items using these coupons:
FREE Scented Oil Refill from Redplum, type zipcode 23225 if you can't see it.
Inside the tin can, there is a $1.50 off coupon.


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Sometimes it seems silly to hold on to coupons you may never use. But if you can get even just slightly organized, it will pay off having coupons you've saved for things that go on clearance now. Like these Kellogg's All-Bran Cereal. I paid $4.42 for 4 boxes of cereal & 2 Activa yogurt w/ these Qs:
Redplum.com for $1.50 off 2 Kellogg's
I also had two $1 off internet Q (no longer available)
I had two Buy 2 All-Bran, get FREE Activa (from Winn-Dixie tearpad Q)


Plus, I have a rebate form for All-bran. This was a peel-off form on the box I got from Publix, also a while back. So, I should get $1.98 back (or $3.96 if I find another peel-off form on the box, since you are allowed two per household, using 2 forms).


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I bought these all in one transaction to do the Kellogg's Fuel For School Rebate (Get $10 back by mail). Well, I am not the most organized person (not by far). And I lost my receipt the first time I set out to do the deal. But alas, God is gracious enough to give me a do-over. And this time, I am sending everything out tonight!
I paid $15.12 (w/coupons) for everything here. Plus:
A $5 Target Gift Card
2 gallons of milk FREE *
Coffee for $1.44 instead of $3.44*
and will get a $10 Rebate check in 6 weeks!
*scroll below to see deals further explained


A short recap of the rebate details:
-All items must be bought in one transaction like I did.
-They need original cash receipt with prices circled.
-All the UPC codes cut out

Go to coupon.com and use these Special K coupons:
-$1 off Special K crakers
-$1 off 2 Special K bars
-$1 off Special K Blueberry cereal
-$1 off Special K Chocolatey Bars
You can print 3 per page and can print them twice.
Don't forget you can stack these with the Target Q for $0.50 off Kelloggs snacks from Hot Coupon World.
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If you have not done yours, you have until Sept 30 to shop. But buy it now at Target while they have all these nice Kellogg's deals.
Buy 4 Special K items, Get $5 Gift Card. You can get Special K Crackers, Bars and Cereal

Scenario:
Buy 4 Special K bars
Use two $1 off 2 bars here
Use four $0.50 off 1 bar here
Pay $5.56 first, then get $5 Gift Card!


Buy 2 Nutrigrain Cereal, Get FREE Milk.
I only used the Target $0.50 Q. But if you are more adventurous and have the Sunday Ad for Dollar General, go to the customer service desk and price-match their ad for $2 for 8-count Nutrigrain like in this scenario:

1 Milk & 2 Nutrigrain for $2 Price-Matched
-two $0.50 Target Q
-FREE Milk (takes off discount at register)
Pay $3 for everything!
See the Market Pantry Coffee? It was $3.44 but I paid $1.44 using the $2 off coupon. (If you buy 2 Nutrigrain, you get $2 of store-brand coffee.) I found it in that "$104 Savings Inside" booklet. They still have a bunch of these booklets at Winn-Dixie. It also has the rebate form for Fuel for School.

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Lastly, some Special K boxes, like the Blueberry Cereal, say FREE workout DVD. You don't need receipts or UPC codes. (So you can still use these for the Fuel for School Rebate.) The box will have a stamp that you cut out and collect 5. Then, cut out a form printed on the inside of the box and send in for the FREE DVD.


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Since I got $15 in Gift Cards today, I had some money to burn on some fun things for the kids. After coupons, my total was $8 plus tax. But I paid nothing (YAY!) because I used the Gift Cards.

It is worth mentioning that Target has great $1 homeschooling items at the $1 Spot section like this graph paper I bought. Plus they have phonics and math workbooks, maps, science charts, and more!


Two movies for $10 is a great price. But make it sweeter with two $2 coupons from here. Just print twice. Thanks Hip to Save!


Connect 4 was one of my favorite games when I was little. I'm glad I to find these at the Luggage section (endcap). This costs $4.99 but use the $4 coupon here. I first learned about this deal from this post. I looked for it at Kmart, Wal-Mart, and at the toy section at Target but just now found them.

Extra Special Target Deals




I just came back from Target because I saw a few really great deals but I forgot to grab my coupons. Fortunately, it's only a short drive.


Pepperidge Farm Cheese Crisps has a Try Me Free Peelie on it for a mail-in-rebate.


I didn't know that the Special K crackers are part of the Buy 4 Special K Get $5 back. Coupon.com still has $1 off Q's and you can print 2.

Also, lots of Back-To-School Items are 30% off (where they are in big bins in the back, not in the Office/School Supplies aisle). Globes, maps, backpacks, lunchboxes, binders, and much more are on sale.
Artic Zone lunchboxes $2.78
4-pack spiral notebooks, $0.42
some Composition books, $0.35




Bananas at our Target are $0.75/3lb bags because they are starting to get overripe. Use the $0.50 Target coupon here and get 3 lbs for $0.25! Peel, slice and freeze for smoothies and banana nut bread.


In the cold foods section I also saw:
Kraft Natural Cheese shreds from $1.52-1.99
Oscar Mayer Center Cut Bacon , $1.50
Kellogg's All-Bran Cereal (by clearance section near cheese), $1.93

Also, Bounce Dryer Bar and Tide Stain Release are $3.79
Both have $1.50 Target Q and $1.50 Manuf Q's (Vocal Point mailed $2.50 off Tide) so it should be free or $0.79 each. Not bad for trying a new product.

Food World Deals, September 2-8




Frugal for You is proud to be part of the Grocery Gathering! It is a collection of the best deals in national and local grocery and drugstores. You will also find Frugal For You's Publix and Winn-Dixie Deals in the Grocery Gathering. You may also view Food World's ads at their website.



Food World is once again offering low price on chicken. Remember, you can price match this at Wal-Mart, if yours carries family pack split chicken breast.

$0.99/lb split-chicken breast, fmaily pack
$1.19/lb pork spareribs, sold whole
$1.59/lb center cut boneless pork loin
$1.19/lb red, black, green seedless or red globe grapes
$0.48/lb bananas
$0.99 Food World Buns, Sandwich or Top round breads
$2.50 Mayfield Select Ice Cream, 48 oz carton
3/$5 Bush Baked or Grillin' Beans
Buy 1 Get 2 Free Large Raw Shrimp (save up to $18 on 3)
$1.99/lb USDA Choice Black Angus Whole Brisket
$2.49/lb USDA Choice Black Angus Shoulder Roast
$1.59/lb ground chuck, 5 lbs or more

more to come, I just need a quick break!

$2.99/lb Wild Caught Salmon Fillets

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Super Shopping Wal-Mart, Aug 31


After Walgreens. I went by Wal-Mart to use up expiring manufacturer's coupons. Sometimes it really pays to keep coupons in case you find a deal, like the Glade Soy Candle. When Glade first came out with these, I would have gotten them for free but my printer was out of ink so I couldn't print the coupons needed for the deal. This was at least 4 months ago. Now I have two, one from CVS and another from Wal-Mart. I've forgotten how calming it is to have candles burning around the house, especially at night when the kids are fast asleep. We used to get free Home Interiors Candles from my mother-in-laws friend but she's not in the business anymore. So these are certainly nice to have, especially for free.
Here is what I bought last night:

6 Off Active Spray by the cash registers
$2.92 each, used $2 Q

3 Kashi Pizza
$4.50 each, used $3 Q
(I forgot about these Q's until I saw this post)

Glade Soy Candle
$4.50, used $4 Q
(go here for $3 Q's. Type zip 23225 if you don't see it.)

Mc Cormick Spices
$4.76, used three $1Q

Cost before savings: $40.40
Total Out-of-Pocket: $11.69
Saved 71%
!

Walgreens Deals and Shopping, Aug 30-Sept 5


The past two trip at Walgreens have surprised me for sure. My cashiers, Lou and Breanna, were more than pleasant and very helpful. They were both at the Cosmetics counter. Lou gave me lots of good tips. The most important was to go to the cosmetics counter and find the SBA (Special Beauty Associate) because they have more time to help you and in Lou's case, she knew all the deals and even had some extra coupons for a customer. If your SBA is very helpful, make sure you let corporate know at the Walgreens website because they earn stars (pins they wear on their workshirt) for positive comments. These ladies are truly rare gems and make me want to shop at Walgreens regularly again.


Last night, we stopped by Lifeway to enter the Race for Reading contest. And down the street was the 24 hour Walgreens. There are a few stores closer to our house but I reasoned that since this is a 24 hr store, the employees are not rushing to close the store for the night and get home. So they might be nicer to a couponer. And I'm glad I listened to my intuition. The cosmetics counter cashier and Mrs. Hobard her supervisor were very helpful. They even reminded me to get the FREE toothbrush.


I had to do 3 transactions for this trip because the register was not allowing me to get all the Scuncii products for $0.99 in one transaction. (The limit was for 3 and I bought 8.) Why so many? We have lots of long hair here, not to mention the Barbies. And somehow all the clips and ties get lost after a few months. We'll see how long 147 hair ties will last. Plus I saw the cutest blog about fabulous kid hairstyles called The Story of A Princess and Her Hair. There are lots new styles I would like to try for my daughter.


Anyway, this is the breakdown of the transactions. Scroll below for the deals info and other register rewards deals this week. I found these deals from The Thrifty Mama. Check out her post here for even more deals!



First Transaction:
3 Scuncii
Colgate Toothbrush
Theraflu
Rembrant
3 Kraft Easy Mac
Used $10 RR, $2 Theraflu Q, & 15% off Q
Total: $2.53, Got $8 RR back

Second Transaction:
2 Scuncii
Theraflu
2 Kraft Easy Mac
Used $5 RR and 15% off Q
Total: $1.09, Got $3 RR back


Third Transaction:
3 Scuncii
Gatorade and Nestle Strawberry Milk
Total: $2.65

Combined Total: Paid $6.18 and got $11 RRs!

Looks like I made about $5 after RR's! One thing I didn't realize until now was that if my total was $2 including tax, I can't use a $2 RR because you can't use RR's on tax. But I can buy food products that we'd actually eat instead of chapstick or gum. I can use my EBT card for these and the $2RR will work. I was getting frustrated with not being able to use up the RRs and this solution works better for me. So minus all the EBT purchases, my total was only $0.83!



Here are the deals for what I bought:
Colgate 360 Actiflex Toothbrush $2.99, Get $2.99 RR
=FREE after RR!

Rembrandt Toothpaste $5, Earn a $5 RR when you buy one
=FREE after RR!

Theraflu Cold, Cough or Sinus Relief $4.99, Get $3 RR
-$2/1 printable HERE
=FREE after coupon and RR!

Scuncii hair products, $0.99, limit 3
Any product up to $3.99 is only $0.99!

Easy Mac Cups, $0.89, limit 3
I bought 5 for the Nabisco Rebate (will post info later)

Gatorade, $1 w/ in-ad coupon
*they told me about this deal too

Other Register Rewards Deals Available:
Breath Right Nasal Strips 10ct $4.99, Get $4 RR =.99 after RR!

Carefree ultra protection pantiliners $1.99, Get $1.99 RR
=FREE after RR!

Reach Total Care Toothbrush or Floss $2.99, Get $2 RR
- $1/1 coupon from 6/14 SS insert
=FREE after coupon and RR!

Men’s Zone Razor Blade System $3.99, Get $3.99 RR
=FREE after RR!

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