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 Tub of Wipes for You and a Friend!

Sweet deal! (Er, at least fresh....) Cottonelle is offering a free tub of wipes (via a coupon, snail-mail style) for you and a friend when you give your friend's email address to share the promotion. My guess is that this won't last long, so be sure to do this.

Not that you EVER have to save a free coupon for a rainy day, but....wouldn't it be cool if these wipes went Buy One Get One Free (BOGO Free) at a local drugstore? If they were, we would get TWO tubs of wipes for free, since a "free" coupon is essentially a cents-off coupon.

The way it would work is this:

*Buy 2 tubs Cottonelle Flushable Moist Wipes (which would ideally be on sale BOGO free)
*Use one "Free" coupon, sent in mail (which all stores should accept, since it is not a printed coupon)....

= tax only on two items, or two free tubs!!!

I can dream, can't I? :-)

Thanks, Jenny from Southern Savers!

Swagbucks 101

This is the first in a series of three posts I will be doing that explain very specific parts of my online quest for shopping excellence. :-)

Swagbucks is basically a site that rewards you for doing things that many of us do daily. Do you conduct internet searches? make online purchases? play online games? take surveys? Through the Swagbucks website, you can do all these things and be rewarded with Swagbucks, which the site compares to frequent flyer miles. When you have amassed a certain number of Swagbucks, you can trade them in for free stuff, like Amazon gift cards. OK, so did you catch that? You can earn FREE Amazon giftcards for searching the web. Are you thinking, Christmas presents? Because the other possible giftcards to earn are from Macy's, Target, and Bass Pro Shop, to name a few.

Yes, this is a very quick overview of a website that has much more to offer. This is yet another one of those very complicated and involved things that can be as intricate as you want it to be.....or it can be extremely easy. I only use Swagbucks in one way--to search the internet. I downloaded the toolbar onto my computer and use it instead of any other search engine (Bing, Altavista, or Google). And, very rarely do I ever need to search for anything out of the ordinary....I searched "Blogger" to get here. I search "facebook", "gmail", and the other coupon blogs that I subscribe to, as well as my college online learning website. So far, I have earned one $5 Amazon giftcard and am saving up for a larger giftcard for Christmas (maybe a $50 one).

Today is "Mega Swagbucks Day"--every Friday is. So, searching can earn you many more points than on other days. Last week, I got 50 Swagbucks for searching for my own blog!!!

Happy searching!

3 Free Cards from Shutterfly

Oh, there is nothing like finding a deal! It works on me like a medicine!

Log on to Shutterfly today to get three cards (5x7 folded or invitation-size) for free plus shipping. Each card is about 36 cents after postage. I just made the cutest card with pics from our beach vacation, and I will use them as stationery to send a letter to my grandmother in Kentucky and some other relatives.

The coupon code is SUMMERCARDS. Enter it at checkout, and the discount will come off immediately.

If you are new to the site, you will get 50 free digital 4x6 prints.

Please sign up through one of the cash-back sites before completing your purchase (just got my "Big Fat Check" from Ebates yesterday and did a huge deal on ShopAtHome last night and this morning, so that check should be rolling in shortly). I promise you, you won't be sorry. Come on! I clip coupons that are worth 25 cents. You better believe that I will get cash back anywhere I can.

I will post more information on these websites later in the week. Until then, just try it if you are interested. TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!!!

Rewards Programs for Diapers...Scam or Deal?

It all started three and a half years ago, when I was beginning to show during my first pregnancy. I was making a diaper cake for one of my friends at work when I noticed a sticker-thing stuck to the inside of the pack of Pampers. I looked, and it was a sticker with a numerical/alphabetical code, a website, an expiration (which, it turns out, is fake), and the promise of free stuff.

For those of you who know me, that's all it took.

I began keeping and entering codes for Gifts to Grow, which is the Pampers diapers, wipes, and training pants rewards program. Basically, you keep up with the stickers, found inside the packages of diapers and training pants, or the code etched into the top of tubs of wipes/printed on the side of wipes refills, and enter them at the Pampers website. Thereafter, you can use the points earned from the codes to "buy" rewards.

So far, and I have been doing this program for 3.5 years.....I have earned a Melissa and Doug flower pot toy, a Sesame Street book (both with free shipping), 12 free birthday invitations from Shutterfly (only had to pay shipping)....and I now have 970 points, which means that I am ready to order my baby girl's birthday invites for this fall! It doesn't sound like much, but there are many opportunities to order other things that are as cheap as 400 points. At 150 points, you can earn a $3 credit to Diapers.com....which is a great site that many of my friends have used with success (don't forget...you can mail in coupons to your diapers.com account for use on your next order!). I just happened to want to save my points toward things that are a little pricier (and many times I would forget to keep codes/save tubs, which would have meant more points). Interested? Sign up here.

What I have been less successful with is the Huggies rewards program, which they began a few years back as their answer to Pampers' program. It is called Enjoy the Ride Rewards, and it seems to be pretty cool. They have many things, such as entries into raffles, that you can buy with your points for cheap, but I'm not the lottery type. So I have faithfully socked away my Huggies points, also stickers found inside the packs of diapers, swim pants, and training pants, as well as refill packs of wipes, and have....172 points total. I am very (VERY) patiently working toward coupons for a free tub and free refill of wipes. Grrrr.... Again, this would probably not be the case if I had rescued every sticker from the garbage after DH threw the empty bag away, or if Huggies had not been trying to offload every old pack of diapers at the start of this summer (lots of deals on packs that had no stickers). Unlike Pampers, however, you can earn points by completing polls, reading things from their websites, and so forth. Long story short, you can go for it here, but maybe it would be more fun to spend points on the instant win giveaways than just wait, like me.

Some free rewards codes (which are completely legit, as they are not the actual codes from within the packs; it is unethical and impossible to share those, as they are unique) for Pampers include:

WELCOME2PAMPERS (50 pts)
FACEBOOKJUL10
ENJOYYOURSUMMER (10 pts)
15GTGSUMMERFUN (15 pts)
25GTGSUMMER2010 (25 pts)
GTGSPRINGFREE10 (10 pts)
THRIFTYMOMMYGTG (10 pts)
WELCOME2VILLAGE10 (10 pts)
JOINTHEFUNGTG09 (10 pts)
WELCOME2GTG2010 (10 pts)
GROWWITHVILLAGE (10 pts)
GTGLEARNMORE089 (10 pts)
GETSTARTEDNOW10 (10 pts)

That oughta get you on your way!
The only one I can share for Huggies is BDTXQ-TXPHP-GXPGB (5 pts).

Ever gotten a reward from one of these programs? Share with the group! (Or let me know if one code has expired....since I've already used them, I don't really know.)

Deals Found at the Piggly Wiggly in Manchester, Georgia

There is a tearpad of coupons on a display of Kool-Aid Sugar-Free Drink Mix Canisters; the coupon is $1 off one can, which, when they are 2 for $4, makes it $1 apiece. Remember, it is only good etiquette to take two coupons per store visit so that other consumers have a chance.

Also, Double Luck Cut Green Beans are $0.50 a can, which is pretty much the lowest price without coupons that one can get.

ConAgra foods, such as Hunt's Ketchup (10 for $10, but you DO NOT have to buy all 10 to get sale price), Chef Boyardee canned pastas ($1 apiece, several varieties), Hunt's tomato sauce ($1/2 cans) and Hunt's Snack Packs ($1 apiece) have been on sale for awhile. However, here is a deal idea for beginners:

Buy: 10 total items from ConAgra (Hunt's Ketchup, Snack Packs, Chef Boyardee, Hunt's Pasta Sauce, etc.)
2 boxes fruit snacks (up to $2.00 in value)

Use: 2 - Coupons from In-Store Circular "Buy 5 ConAgra items get 1 Fruit Snacks Free" (since you may ethically use two such coupons if you retrieve them on this trip; found next to shopping baskets in front of store)
- several Qs from 8/1/10 newspaper for Snack Packs ($0.30/2, which will double to $0.60 per two Snack Pack purchases, making them $0.70 apiece)

(It would actually be cheapest to purchase 10 cans of tomato sauce @ 50 cents apiece, but you may not need/want to have that many cans of tomato sauce.)

Get: staple items that you need for cheap (I'm thinking lunchboxes). If you combine this deal with a few other things here and there, you will be spending more than $25, which means that you will also receive a *FREE* item at Piggly Wiggly. On Tuesday, 8/10/10, this was a box of Kraft Mac & Cheese, although they have also given a loaf of bread, a 2-liter Coke, and a dozen eggs.

Some of you may be rolling your eyes and saying, "Fruit snacks? Macaroni? What am I, five years old?" As always, you may not eat it, but perhaps the food pantry would gladly accept your donation....maybe your local church's Children's Ministry (ahem) would accept fruit snacks....maybe the church's youth group could use some nonperishable items for their next trip. All of the above items are at low prices, and a little coupon-clipping that results in nothing more than kindness or compassion toward a fellow human being is worth it, in my book.

Also, save your receipts. ConAgra did a cool coupon book when you buy $10 in their products twice this spring. I have the feeling they may come out with another offer like that fairly soon.

Finding Diapers For Less

I have two small children, and so for the past three years or so, my budget (and life) has all but been consumed by the need for diapers, wipes, and other baby necessities. I used to wait and go to Wal-Mart, buying those huge boxes of all different brands, depending on what was on sale. I even saved diaper coupons, but never did such a hot job of actually using them when I had them. I felt like we were always out of something, and it placed an inordinate amount of stress on me.

Now, I can't WAIT to go and hit a diaper sale at a drugstore or Kroger....and that says a lot. Right now, I usually don't purchase diapers (name brand jumbo packs, mind you) for more than $5 a pack (many are cheaper).....and I am getting many, many more diapers for my money than I used to.

Here are my top three ways to get cheap diapers:

1. Clip coupons and check blogs (of some sort). Diaper/wipes coupons are regularly found in at least one coupon insert per month; they are usually always in the Procter & Gamble insert, when one is present. Baby product (i.e., Johnson's & Johnson's products) Qs require more patience when only purchasing a Sunday paper. However, there are constantly new coupons being put on one of the big 3 printable coupon sites. Also, the blog thing--many blogs will have coupon matchups with deals that can be done in a specific order to save money. Although you can certainly DIY, unless you know all the ins and outs of the drugstores, it is very helpful to see how someone else is going to get that pack of diapers and other assorted goodies in the transaction.

2. Pay attention to sales and loyalty programs. If you don't go get every pack of diapers that cost $1.94 from CVS because the nearest store is 45 minutes away, that's okay! Simply buying a pack of diapers on sale for $8.99 from a store in your town and using a few coupons to sweeten the deal can be helpful. Although it is certainly one way to do things, NOT EVERYBODY wants to stockpile (which is what many of the blogs set up their coupon matchups to do). Simply paying attention to when prices are at a good level when you might be running low can prevent you buying the same pack of diapers from a gas station at 11 p.m. for $11.99. (Been there.) It also helps to sign up for things like Single Check Rebates from Rite Aid, which often allow you to get $1 or $2 back in rebate form at the end of a month for buying a pack of diapers. You kiddin' me? I already do that, and to get an extra buck or two just for typing in my receipt number is totally worth it. When those checks roll in, I think....yard sale money! :-)

3. Try new things. There is a company called Arquest that works with manufacturers and consumers to conduct diaper studies several times during the year. It varies as to what sizes and genders they are testing at any given time. I just finished a study this week on training pants. They sent me three packs of training pants and three paper surveys; I also had two scheduled phone interviews to relay my information to the surveyor. In all, the phone interviews took about 12 minutes, and the paper surveys took about 15 minutes. I will receive a check for $10 in the mail as a "thank you gift" for my completing all three of the surveys within the time window (for basically 30 minutes of my time)....but three packs of undergarments for free is a huge help, anyway. I have tried this survey option with both my boy and girl; however, I would encourage some caution, as some children are sensitive to ingredients in diapers, and you don't always know "whose" diapers they are...some friends have kids who can only wear one brand or another, or who have to stay away from Pampers Cruisers, etc. However, my kids have rear ends like armadillos, so that wasn't a concern for me (although I would have discontinued at first sign of rash). Here are the numbers to contact the company; simply leave a message detailing what size diapers your child wears, along with the regular stuff.

GIRLS: 1-888-342-7372 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 1-888-342-7372 end_of_the_skype_highlighting ext. 646 (The woman you speak to is named Georgia)
BOYS: 1-888-342-7372 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 1-888-342-7372 end_of_the_skype_highlighting ext. 634 (The woman you speak to is named “Cheyla”, but it sounds like Sheila)

Hope this wasn't too wordy, and I hope it gives you a place to start with baby items. Have any great tips for saving money? Leave a post for the good of the group.

My First Cheapskate Post!

Since my husband has had it with all my talk of great deals and "working the drugstores" and coupons fluttering out of every folded piece of paper he takes off the counter....I thought I would help him out by posting my ideas and finds online. (Doesn't help file my coupons, though...:-)

On my first post, I wanted to talk about a great website that I got hooked up with....House Party. House Party is a company that matches curious consumers with willing companies who want to get the word out on their new, improved, or just plain awesome products. In the past, I have seen where there have been parties for Oscar Mayer hot dogs, Bullseye Barbeque Sauce, Splenda Sugar Substitute, and even specialty wines! Basically, there are parties and products that appeal to a broad base of individuals so that you can find something that really floats your boat!

By filling out applications that take less than 10 minutes, you can apply for parties that earn you complimentary product samples, coupons, and/or other assorted goodies that vary from party to party. You must, however, agree to host a party on a selected date, invite people via email/printed invitation with an invite code, upload party pictures afterward, and be a great host to the people you have over. It is a wonderful way to sample new products AND get together with friends, which some of us (crazy cheapskates always hunting deals) rarely make time for.

At our House Party, we tried out some excellent Kleenex Hand Towels as we engaged in lots of messy activities! I didn't know whether or not it would seem completely strange to be doing product placement at a get-together, but honestly, the hand towels just sort of sold themselves. We used them in the restroom, at the kitchen sink, for cleanup at the bubble station, and to mop up soupy ice cream and greasy pizza messes. (And it reminded me that, during cold and flu season, when I grab the nearest paper towel to blow my nose, I won't be wincing. These are actually quite soft and strong!)

So, take a gander at my House Party and leave a comment! Let me know what you think!

Erin