Tired, but wanted to tell you....

I had a great "Get-Together" sponsored by General Mills and Yoplait the other day! I signed up under the group "Pssst..." from General Mills, and from time to time they invite me to apply for parties through their company. I got to throw a party at my elementary school, on their dime (and just a few of mine), for 15 lovely ladies (and some of their children!), and we shared recipes, snacks, and information about breast cancer awareness. I also got to read a very interesting book that was written by Susan G. Komen's sister.

All these opinions are my own. I was excited to get the party pack in the mail. They sent me 15 coupons for Yoplait (and boy, were they good ones.... 50 cents off 4 yogurts!!), 15 copies of breast cancer information, a shower hanger to remind myself to check my breasts monthly, a lovely pink leather bookmark for a door prize, and the hardback copy of the book by Susan G. Komen's sister to read aloud during the party. I think everyone enjoyed the party--it is nice to be able to do something for and with my fellow teachers that doesn't cost them anything. Everyone was very appreciative to the companies for their generosity and interest in women's health.

If you are not already a member of the Pssst! team, let me encourage you to do so. It allows you to gain access to exclusive online printable coupons, information about the brands you love, and maybe even have the chance to host a party like I did.

Extra Money for Christmas? Yes, Please!

I apologize for the length between posts. Things get busy in a hurry these days!

As a part of my master plan to get a better hold on my finances, doing more with what I have, and taking advantage of little extras, I have become a part of several survey groups. These opinions are my own.



First, I belong to a survey group called Synovate. This is perhaps my favorite group, because it has garnered me the greatest return on my time. When you join and complete some initial information, they send several surveys to your email inbox per week. The way that you answer some of them may result in your being sent a product to test. So far, Synovate has allowed me to test two different Lean Cuisine branded frozen meals (delivered to my door, frozen)--and guess what? They were delicious!!! The best part about this company, however, is that you earn points for each survey that you complete (or even attempt--sometimes they might not need you to take that particular survey, based on your demographic), and 5000 points translate into a $5.00 check!!! I don't know if it seems like a lot to you, but figure in the 2 frozen dinners @ $3.50 apiece, and I have received compensation for my time along the lines of $26 since March. I call the little $5 checks my "yard sale money"!

The next group that I belong to is called Ipsos i-Say. This group allows you to cash in points from taking surveys for gift cards (American Express, Amazon, Target, etc.). The cash-in point is a little higher, but I could have already received a $5 check--I am simply saving up for a higher-value gift card for Christmas. Another fun thing about this group is: after each survey, you get the chance to enter contests for items like iPads, $500 grocery gift cards, Spa Weekends, and the like. (Update: no dice on the iPad, yet. lol) I have been pleased with this company so far, but it will be that much sweeter when I earn my gift cards for Christmas shopping!


My final group that I belong to--and, by the way, I personally feel is reputable--is Mindfield. This company is a little trickier to navigate than the others, and rewards are harder to come by, as the surveys are extremely picky. More often than not, the surveys tell me that "Unfortunately, you do not qualify for this survey." But when they do....each survey earns you $1. At a minimum of $5 earned, you can cash out in the form of a check. I have only cashed out once, and my check arrived last week. But, here's the deal: through this company, I have received products to test and send my responses back via email. So far, I have received a bottle of Johnson & Johnson's new Natural Body Wash, two boxes of Wheat Thins, and a pack of three Playtex nursers with four nipples. While the reality is that I may not qualify for each and every survey, and thereby might not get every product test, I will get ones that are targeted to my place in life (married w/kids), and many of them will be awesome!

Lots of info here, but perhaps some of it might encourage you to branch out a bit and investigate the possibility of putting away a few extra bucks (or gift cards, or free iPads, haha) toward Christmas.... Leave a comment and let me know what you will be saving toward!

Halloween Costume = FREE Shutterfly Photo Book!

For those of you out there who are not going to hit up your favorite consignment shop, best friend with bigger children, or something else equally cheap (me? All of the above, folks!) for a costume, here is an idea:

Purchase a Halloween costume (or other things including a Halloween costume) and have a receipt totaling $35.00 or more from Party City from now till October 31. If you do this online, the website states that a Shutterfly photo book will "automatically" show up in your cart (which means you will receive an email shortly thereafter with info on how to redeem your free offer). If you choose to purchase in-store (which is smart, considering all the cool things I have found in the clearance section), simply save your receipt and go to http://partycity.com/shutterfly to request your Free Photo Book. The process might take a little longer, but it will be worth it.

Enterprising young types such as yourself might foresee a photo book as being a nice Christmas present for a faraway relative (or an in-town grandmother), a neat way to chronicle family recipes (just use the text feature and use appropriately-sized font) along with cherished family photographs, a brag book for a dad on the move, or a fun record of someone's first pumpkin-picking expedition. Leave a post and let us know how you might use yours.

Free Sample of Crest Toothpaste

Wal-Mart is offering a free sample of Crest Pro-Health Clinical Gum Protection Paste (whew!) to people who fit a certain profile. If you have difficulties with bleeding gums, be sure to check it out...in a few weeks, we can do our "happy dance" out by the mailbox together!

Ingles This Week....Triple Coupons!

(To the tune of "Charge!")
....free, free, free, free, free-free......FREEEEEE!!!!!

Triple coupons at Ingles (up to 50 cents--making it up to $1.50 off) this week means two things. First, you have to remember that, unless you really need the item, most things with coupon matchups are not on sale. Therefore, using the coupon will not result in such awesome sales as might come up next week, or the week after....

Secondly, it does mean that if you want to replenish just a few things in your pantry for CHEAP, just load up your coupons and go (preferably without children....why do I keep doing this to myself?). You won't be sorry!

Great deals that I found in Woodbury, Georgia (which are replicated in most of the Ingles service area--print any coupons TWICE, if possible):

Tetley teabags @ $1.98 B1G1 (0.99)--use a coupon from Coupons.com (50 cents off--makes it FREE)

Pillsbury Crescent Rolls and Biscuits $1 each -- use 50 cents off 2 Crescent rolls from coupons.com (makes them 25 cents apiece)

Dannon single serve yogurt 6 oz @ 50 cents apiece-- use 50 cents off 1 Dannon Light n' Fit (makes them 25 cents apiece)

Del Monte vegetables, assorted 13.5 - 15.25 oz @ 66 cents each -- use $1/5 Del Monte canned vegetables from 9/19 Red Plum insert (makes them 46 cents apiece, which is totally stock pile time!!!)

I also got a rain check for some cheap Totino's pizza rolls, but if I don't make it back and find more this week, the triple coupons will be over. Darn it.

Boneless, skinless chicken breast, family packs of ground chuck, and a nice chuck roast were pretty darn cheap, too. My total for my bill, which of course included random things that my husband was in dire need of (which NEVER, EVER have coupons), as well as staples like milk and bread, was 81.42 for $138.43 worth of groceries (coupon savings of $23.63....not bad for maybe 15 minutes of prep work).

I feel really good about that....basically, I could pay myself $94.52 an hour to do that. Now, do you see why even a little bit of couponing can be effective?

Thanks to my FAVORITE blog of all time, Southern Savers, which allowed me to get ready so quickly. They have an awesome shopping list creator that includes coupon matchups.