Money Saver Christmas: Sweepstakes

Winning prizes from sweepstakes is fun! I usually enter sweepstakes at night when I am watching TV. Sweepstakes prizes can help you save money on Christmas.

I have won gift cards, free coupons, and many other prizes. I have used gift cards to buy groceries or gifts for family. I have given some prizes as gifts or sold them at my garage sale.

If you want to get some free prizes before Christmas then you need to start now. Sweepstakes are given by a wide range of companies from nationally recognized companies to small blogs. Blog contests have usually smaller prizes but they are usually shipped faster and have fewer entrants.

Tips for entering:
1. Enter only for prizes that you want. It will help maximize your time.
2. Sometimes you will receive a prize that you didn't really want. Perhaps it was a 2nd level prize in a sweepstakes. You can sell your prize at a garage sale or donate it to a fundraiser/charity.
3. One Time Entries and Instant wins are my favorites. I have won more prizes on those types of sweepstakes.
4. Never pay to enter a sweepstakes!!
5. Never pay to receive a prize!!

My favorite websites for sweepstakes:

Sweepstakes Today
Sweepstakes Advantage
Online Sweepstakes

Good Luck!

Lowe's Kids Free Build and Grow Clinics

Are you looking for a great free activity for your children? Then consider signing them up for the Lowe's Kids Build and Grow Clinic. It is free and they make cool projects. You do need to register in advance. Click here to register.

Here are the upcoming projects and dates:

Treasure Chest
This chest is perfect for all your child's little treasures! Bring them into Lowe's to build this cool project!
Saturday July 11, 2009
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Helicopter
What kid doesn't love helicopters? Your child will love building this neat project!
Saturday July 25, 2009
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

A Few More Free Samples

Here are a few more freebie samples:

Try a free sample of TripleFlex Liquid Softgels. Click here.

Get a free sample of Goodnites Boxers. Now with the ultimate in softness for a comfortable feel. Click here.

Dove Free Hair Care Sample

Try a free sample of new Dove Heat Defense Therapy or Intense Damage Therapy. Click here for your free sample.

Save $10 at Toys R Us on iTunes + Dvd

No coupon needed. You can save $10 at Toys R Us when you buy any iTunes gift card plus any Disney Digital copy dvd or Digital copy Blu-ray disc. This is in-store only.

Not a great deal but if you are buying a Disney dvd anyway then you can get an iTunes gift card at a discount.

CLOSED: Starbucks $10 Gift Card Giveaway

My last giveaway was so much fun!! So I have decided to give away a $10 Starbucks gift card to one lucky winner!


To enter: please leave a comment below on a cheap fun activity that you are doing this summer. You can do this once and must do this before doing the extra entries.

Additional entries: You can do any or all of the following to earn extra entries. Please leave a separate comment for each that you have done.

- Follow my blog - see the left side bar to sign up. Already a follower, just leave a comment saying that you are a follower.

- Subscribe to my blog - see the left side bar to sign up. Current subscribers are eligible too.

- Blog about this giveaway and leave a link to your post.

- Post my button on your blog and leave a link to your blog.

Giveaway is open to US residents only and ends on Thursday July 9th at 11:59 pm CST. Winner will be chosen using a random number generator. Winner will be posted on this blog and notified by email. Please make sure that you leave your email address in your comment or on your profile so I can contact you if you win. Winner has 48 hours to respond by email or a new winner will be chosen.

Sunday at a Flea Market

Well, I did so well at my garage sale in May that I decided to do a flea market. I was selling my overstock coupon items and some collectibles that I had purchased from garage sales.

Well, I did ok. I sold $236 of my stuff. I did a lot better at my garage sale ($850).
But I met a new friend, Mary. My day went much faster because I had someone to talk to. Thanks, Mary.

I was so exhausted when I got home last night that I didn't have the energy to post many deals. So I apologize for that! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Edy's Ice Cream $1.33 at Target

Yahoo! I love Edy's ice cream. This week Target has Edy's 1.5 quart ice cream on sale 3 for $7. Now here is the great deal: use the $1 off coupon from Target's website. Then the ice cream is $1.33 each. That is a great deal! The usual price is $3.99 so stock up now!

Remember you can print this coupon at the Target kiosk in the store, Save your ink and print at the store.

Best Walgreens Deals 6/27 - 7/4

There are some great deals at Walgreens this week including free deodorant and toothpaste. Money Saving Mom has a great write up of all the good deals. Click here.

Free Rebate Items: Menards 6/28 - 7/12

Great free items at Menards this week!

Liquid Nails
Free after $2.00 mail in rebate, limit 2

20" Hand Saw
Free after $10.00 mail in rebate, limit 2

Not free but a good gift idea:

Crayola Creativity Center
$1.99 after $5.00 mail in rebate, limit 2


Remember if you doing a "Free" after rebate item, you need to purchase $10 in non rebate items. The rebates are in the form of Menards checks. You can use the checks to purchase more free items and keep rolling your money!

Money Saver Christmas: Swagbucks

Swagbucks, Swagbucks, Swagbucks!!!

Have you heard of Swagbucks? You can find this service promoted everywhere on the Internet. It is the most popular program right now because it is easy and fun.

First, the easy part. You sign up and then you search using the Swagbucks search. The Swagbucks search returns results from Google and Ask.com . So you are searching the Internet like you do everyday but now you are earning Swagbucks.

How many swagbucks do you earn? The swagbucks from searching vary from 1 point to 100. The most that I have won on a search is 5 points.

What prizes can I receive and how many Swagbucks do they cost? They have a lot of different prizes. In my opinion, the best prize is the Amazon e-gift card for 45 Swagbucks. You can stack these gift cards and order a more expensive item from Amazon.

It gets better. You can refer friends or relatives. I referred my husband. When they search and earn swagbucks, you earn the same number of swagbucks on your account. Earn up to 100 matching Swagbucks per friend. So for example, you search on Monday and earn 2 Swagbucks. Your friend searches on Monday and earns 1 swagbuck. Now your account is 3 Swagbucks richer!

You can easily earn enough to purchase 1 or 2 gifts on Amazon for Christmas!
Get started now!

If you would like to help me earn points then click here .

Otherwise you visit Swagbucks here.

Free Fish Oil Sample

You can sign up to recieve a free sample of Natures Bounty Fish Oil. Click here. to get your free sample.

Thanks to Freebies 4 Mom for finding this deal !

Giveaway at My Red Apron blog

My friend, Heather, is giving away a $10 Walmart gift card on her blog called My Red Apron. Show her some blog love and go enter her giveaway. Click here to enter the giveaway!

New List of Freebies

I came across this list of freebies. Thought that I would pass them along.

Free Diabetes Meal planner:
Receive your complimentary Diabetes Meal Planner. Click here.

Free Book Summary - The Google Story
The Google Story - Free Book Summary - Know in 10 minutes what it takes others hours to learn. Click here.

Curves - Free Fitness Plan
Join Curves Now and Get 50% OFF & 30 DAYS ON US!. Click here.


Food Arts Magazine
Free subscription to Food Arts magazine - Food Arts provides top-of-the market professionals with cutting edge information from the food and beverage industry. Exceptional recipes and fresh ideas...innovative presentation techniques...business tips and forecasts...news on tabletop, lighting, interior design...hints on where to find special products or produce...restaurant openings and closings...chefs on the move and much more in every issue. Click here.


Free Craft Newsletter + Bonus Craft eBook
Free FaveCrafts Newsletter. Craft ideas, videos, projects, tips & more! Bonus: Free 95-page "Creative Crafting All Year Round Holiday" eBook .
Click here.

Creativity Magazine
Free subscription to Creativity Magazine - Where do you get your best ideas? In the shower? The sushi bar? All night Murnau and Fritz Lang screenings? Over 32,000 advertising, broadcasting and commercial production and post creatives get their best ideas from Creativity magazine.
Click here.


Quality Health - Healthy Summer Samples
Get Your Healthy Summer Samples . Click here.


Planning Family - Free Baby Samples
Formula Samples, Baby Magazines, Diapers Coupons and more!
Click here.


Free Travel Guides
Free Travel Guides and Brochures - Browse destinations, pick travel guides that you'd like, receive guides Free by mail or download.
Click here.

The Winner : iTunes Gift Card

The winner of the iTunes gift card is: comment # 115 guettel78

Congratulations!!
Here are your random numbers:

115
Timestamp: 2009-06-27 15:19:53 UTC

I have emailed the winner and they have 48 hours to send me their address. If they do not respond, then I will draw a new number.

Thanks to all who participated in my giveaway!!

Money Saver Christmas : Start Now

I just realized that Christmas is 6 months away. It will be here fast. Now is the time to start planning for a Money Saver Christmas. I will be doing a series of articles on how you can get free or cheap Christmas gifts. There are many ways to earn gift cards and gifts. Some ways are super easy and others require a little bit of work. You can choose the ideas that you think will work for you.

I already posted about buying Christmas gifts at garage sales. You can see the garage sale articles here.

You can't buy all your Christmas gifts at garage sales. Maybe your daughter wants an iTunes gift card or your son wants a new SpongeBob Lego set. You will end up buying some gifts at the store.

You need to start now and you need a plan. All you need to start is a notebook, an envelope for gift cards, and a empty box for gifts.

Starting tomorrow, you can keep track of your Christmas savings progress.

Free Candy Friday !!

Remember that today is free candy Friday from Mars candy! Go here to sign up for your free coupon. See my original post here for full details.

Kmart Doubling Coupons 7/5 to 7/11

Some Kmart stores are doubling coupons again from 7/5 to 7/11. You can email Kmart to see if your local Kmart is participating. They are making harder it now because you need to purchase $25 in groceries or drugstore merchandise. From the way that I read the email, the $25 needs to be without coupons. Also there is a limit of 10 coupons per day.

In Iowa, only the Davenport store is participating.
Here is the email that I received:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Sandy,

Thank you for contacting Kmart regarding the Double Coupon Event. We appreciate your interest in this promotion.

This event is for select participating Kmart locations from 07/05-07/11 for coupons up to $2 with purchase of $25 or more in grocery and drugstore merchandise. Grocery and drugstore items include: all food items, health & beauty, baby diapers, household cleaning supplies, detergents, paper goods, shampoos and other beauty items, over the counter medicines such as Tylenol, aspirin, etc.

Participating stores only. Amount of credit from doubling a coupon cannot exceed the current retail price of a single item. No cash or in-store purchase credit will be awarded for any amount exceeding the retail price of the item. Limit 1 coupon for each item purchased. Only 1 coupon will be doubled per item. You may only purchase 4 of the same item using double coupons. Excludes Buy One, Get One offers, Kmart Savings coupons and Kmart Store coupons. Coupons do not apply to sales tax. Limit 10 coupons per customer per day.

Offer excludes products prohibited by law, including but not limited to alcohol, tobacco, and prescription medication. Not valid on non-merchandise, federal or state regulated items, prior purchases, Lands’ End, Sears merchandise rung on Sears registers within Kmart and kmart.com. In the event of a return, coupon savings may be deducted from the refund. Exclusions apply. Please see store associate for details. Sears Holdings (Kmart) reserves the right to modify or cancel this program at any time.

The Davenport Kmarts are the only participating stores in Iowa.

Thank you for taking the time to contact us. We appreciate your business and value you as a Sears Holdings customer. We certainly hope you will continue to make Sears Holdings your choice for quality and value.

Sincerely,
Brooke G.
Retail Customer Care
Sears Holdings Corporation

Free 8th Continent Soymilk & Coupon

I just ran across these great deals. You do need to register at the 8th Continent Soymilk website.

Here are the 2 great deals:

1. Send in a UPC from Silk™ or another soymilk product and receive a coupon for a Free half gallon of 8th Continent Soymilk. Follow the directions here. If you leave your opinion, you will be entered to win 8 months of free soymilk.

**Bonus: for every friend that sends in a UPC and gives your name, you will receive an additional Free soymilk coupon!! **

2. You can print a $2 off 8th Continent Soymilk Coupon. Click here to print coupon. Again you do need to register in order to get your coupon.

Free Sundae Mondays at Ben & Jerrys

Ben & Jerry's ice cream is trying to change the way you look at Monday's.

Go to a participating Ben & Jerry's scoop shop to buy one Sundae and get one Sundae free. Valid only on Monday's. Click here to see a participating ice cream shop near you.

Chex Cereals Are Now Gluten Free

Great news for people who are on gluten free diets. Chex cereals are now gluten free! The only Chex cereals that are not gluten free are Multi-Grain Chex and Wheat Chex.

My son is on a gluten free diet and this will be a big boost to my budget. The special gluten free cereals are so expensive! So Kudos to General Mills! Look for the new gluten free label on the Chex cereal boxes.

Join A Full Cup

New Walmart Samples

Walmart has some great new samples available.

Aveeno Nourish Hair Care
Playtex Gentle Glide
Stayfree sample
Kotex Overnight
Sun Crystals Low Calorie Sweetener
Prilosec
Scott product sample

Click here to request your free samples! Hurry before they disappear!

Best Walgreens Deals 6/21 - 6/27

Some good deals at Walgreens this week. Here are the best ones:

AquaFresh Advanced toothpaste $3
- $3 Register Reward
= Free


Lysol Disinfectant Spray 2/$7
- $2.00 Register Reward when you buy 2
- $2.00 off 1 coupon (s 5/3)
= .50 each = $1.00

Buy the Aquafresh first, then use the $3 Register Reward on the Lysol so you don't have to pay the $1.00 out of pocket.

Home Depot

Free PaintBrush At Menards

Great free item at Menards this week!

3" trim brush or 2" angle sash brush
Free after $4.00 mail in rebate, limit 2

Remember if you doing a "Free" after rebate item, you need to purchase $10 in non rebate items. The rebates are in the form of Menards checks. You can use the checks to purchase more free items and keep rolling your money!

Redbox Code For Monday & Tuesday

Here's a new Redbox code that is good for Monday 6/22 and Tuesday 6/23 only.
Use code: rbxthxu6.

New Coupons At Target

New coupons are out at the Target website. Here is the list of the new coupons available:

$1 off 1 Driscoll’s strawberries 1- or 2-lb.
.50 off 1 Duncan Hines baking product
$1 off 1 Sutton & Dodge steakhouse beef: Steak or Roast
$1 off 1 Hillshire Farms deli select lunch meat
$1 off 1 Edys or Dreyers Ice Cream
.75 off Pepperidge Farm bread
$1 off 1 Taylor Farm bagged cut vegetables
.50 off 1 up&up food storage Bags, Foil, Wrap or Containers

Remember that you can stack a manufacturer's coupon with a Target coupon. Go here to print coupons at the Target website or click here to print the coupons from A Full Cup website.

Christmas Shopping at Garage Sales

My family knows that I buy gifts at garage sales. They don't care because they receive nicer gifts. You can find great gifts at garage sales. OK, now some of you are thinking, I can't give a gift that I purchased a garage sale. Why not? Some items are new and others are barely used. I usually purchase about 50% to 70% of my Christmas gifts at garage sales.

Here are some great ideas to get you started:

Babies & Toddlers: people are always selling new baby items that they didn't get a chance to use. A toddler does not know that you didn't buy the gift at the store and doesn't care.

Kids & Teens: I find brand new toys all the time. Also why pay $19.99 for a board game when you can buy for about $2. If you are buying a used toy, then make sure that all the pieces are there. For girls, you can buy new hairbands and necklaces. For teens, you can find used video games and DVDs.

Adults: do you have a relative that collects a certain item? Chances are you can find it at a garage sale. Precious Moments, Dept 56, candles, etc are easy finds. Small appliances are great gifts and usually are barely used.

So save some money and keep items out of the landfill by Christmas shopping at garage sales.

Visting St Louis

Instead of taking a long vacation this year, we are visiting prospective colleges for my son. We arrived in St Louis today. Tomorrow we are visiting St Louis University.

St Louis has great free attractions. Today we visited the zoo for free. We found street parking for free. Tomorrow we might visit the City Museum or the Science Station which also have free admission.

It is great that the attractions are free because I splurged on the hotel. We are staying at the Moonrise Hotel. Every review that I saw for this hotel said it was great. It is so cool. I just have to share pictures. I definitely recommend this hotel if you visit St Louis!

Have A Party For Free

I love having parties! It is fun to hang out with my friends and neighbors. So I am a big fan out of two websites that let you have free parties!

HouseParty.com : you register on the website then you can apply to host a party. You fill out an application and then HouseParty will let you know if you are selected. Click here to register.

I was a lucky hostess of the South Beach Living Party. I received free South Beach samples to share with my guests. Only problem is that I am now addicted to the South Beach Living Fiber Fit Smores bars. Yum!!

SheSpeaks.com : you can share your opinions at SheSpeaks.com. They offer free products for you to review and oppportunites to host parties. Click to here to register.

I was a lucky hostess of a Haagen-Dazs Five ice cream party. I was shipped 7 pints of ice cream. It was a great party with some friends and their children. I especially liked the coffee flavor.

If you like hosting parties or reviewing products, then sign up for these two totally free programs. Just remember to invite me to your party!!

Weight Watchers IncrEdible Rewards

Weight Watchers has a rewards program called IncrEdible Rewards. It started last fall. I wanted to mention it here because some people have not heard of the program. I was surprised lately when two of my friends had not heard of the program.

Here are the basics of the program:
1. Purchase Weight Watchers products
2. Cut UPC 's from participating products
3. Mail in UPC's with the claim form
4. Receive an email with your points
5. Purchase items with your points

Unfortunately only select products can earn points so read the list carefully. The program does have a great selection of prizes including video games and cameras. Remember you can ask friend and relatives for their UPCS too. Click here to go to the IncrEdible Rewards website.

What I Got at Garage Sales Today

Today I only had time to visit a couple of garage sales. I went to a block sale which I thought would have lots of sales. The block sale consisted of only 2 sales but I found great stuff at one of the sales.

I purchased 2 board games for $1 each. The best part is that they had a table with free stuff. I found about 30 gift bags, box of wrapping paper, spiral notebook, and 2 new pencil sharpeners. All Free! It turned out be a great sale.

Garage Sales : How To Choose ?

So you are all set to start garage sailing. You open the paper or look on the internet and there are zillions of garage sales. How do you choose the best ones?

Are you looking for a specific item that is harder to find? For example,you looking for a dining table, treadmill, double stroller etc. then you should scan the garage sales for that specific item. If you want or need that item badly, then go to sales that advertise that specific item.

Just looking for good deals, then the best garage sales are the town sales, neighborhood sales, and block sales. You will save money on gas and be able to go to more sales in a shorter period of time. Of course, lots of other people have the same idea so you need to go early. The larger the area of sales then the earlier you need to go. For a town sale, try to arrive 1 1/2 hours early. Someone will be setting up and let you look. For a block sale, try to arrive 1 hour early. Then you can catch each garage sale as it opens. Fewer sellers means less of a chance that any will open more than an 1 hour early.

There are 3 exceptions to early opening guidelines. If they say no early birds on a single household sale then go about 20 minutes early. If it is raining, then deduct 1/2 hour from your early starting time. People don't like to open when it's raining. Go to yard sales about 1 hour early because people have to set up outside.

Looking to sell collectibles on Ebay? Your best bet is still the large neighborhood sales. Otherwise, you can go to the sales that say collectibles, antiques, etc. but don't overlook the other sales. Look for sales that are being given by people with older kids or senior citizens. How do you know? You need to look for clues in the ad. My favorite is knickknacks! This is a term generally used only by the older generations. Also look for sales that advertise only dishes or household items but no clothes.

Do you know the neighborhood? New neighborhoods tend to have more baby and younger kid items. Older neighborhoods will usually have a higher percentage of senior citizens. More affluent neighborhoods tend to have more new or never used items.

Have fun! I love looking for a bargain. It is more fun when you take a friend. Stay positive that the next garage sale might have a great deal !

Bath & Body Works Free Hand Sanitizer ~ Home Mailer

Ooh, I received a nice surprise in the mail today! Bath & Body Works sent me a coupon for a Free 1.7oz Foaming Hand Sanitizer with any purchase. Check your mail ! Right now, Bath & Body Works is having a big sale and some items are 75% off. Remember you can also buy the cheap $1.00 nail file or $1.00 gift bag to get your free item.

Here is a photo of the postcard that I received in the mail:

Village Inn eClub & Pie Rush Wednesdays

Sign up for Village Inn's eClub to receive coupons and promotions via email. When I signed up, I immediately received a coupon for a free entree with the purchase of a adult entree and two beverages. Nice! Click here to join the eClub.

In addition, some Village Inns are offering a promotion called Pie Rush Wednesdays. On Wednesday, you can receive a free slice of fruit pie with any purchase. So free pie with just the purchase of coffee or soda. This is not available in all areas. Click here to see the Non Participating locations.

Contest Closed: Giveaway: $10 iTunes Gift Card

To celebrate my new blog design, I have decided to give away a $10 iTunes gift card to one lucky winner!

To enter please leave a comment below on how you are saving money in this tough economy. You can do this once and must do this before doing the extra entries.

Additional entries: You can do any or all of the following to earn extra entries. Please leave a separate comment for each that you have done.

- Follow my blog - see the left side bar to sign up. Already a follower, just leave a comment saying that you are a follower.

- Subscribe to my blog - see the left side bar to sign up. Current subscribers are eligible too.

- Blog about this giveaway and leave a link to your post.

- Post my button on your blog and leave a link to your blog.

Giveaway is open to US residents only and ends on Friday June 26th at 11:59 pm CST. Winner will be chosen using a random number generator. Winner will be posted on this blog and notified by email. Please make sure that you leave your email address in your comment or on your profile so I can contact you if you win. Winner has 48 hours to respond by email or a new winner will be chosen.

Good Luck to all !!

CVS Money Maker : StyleScience Lens Cleaning Tissues

Great deal at CVS! Thanks to Southern Savers who posted about this!

Buy 2 StyleScience Lens Cleaning Tissues at .99 each and get a $10 ECB. You end up making around $8.00 profit. Limit 1 per card.

I tried this in Eastern Iowa and it worked great! You can find the StyleScience Lens Cleaning Tissues on the large sunglasses display in the store. Here is a photo so you can see what the package looks like:






My store had a good supply. Good Luck!

Be Part of the Nestle Family

Sign up here to join the Nestle Family. I joined and received a newsletter with fun ideas and an offer to print $7.00 in coupons from the Nestle site. I can't share the link to the coupons with you because it is personalized for me. It is free to join.

Here are the coupons that I can print:

$1.00 off 2 Juicy Juice products
$1.00 off Stouffers Large Family, Party size, or Skillet entree
$1.00 off Nestle Refrigerated Cookie Dough or Brownies
$1.00 off 1 bag of Butterfinger, Nestle Crunch, or Baby Ruth fun size or miniatures
.60 off 1 Ovaltine 12 oz any flavor
$2.00 off 1 Boost Kids Essentials multi pack
,75 off 2 packages of Nestle Toll House Morsels 10 oz or larger

Old Navy Sale on Saturday

Yahoo! My daughter saw this advertised on TV. On Saturday June 20th, Old Navy is having their women's tank tops on sale for $2 !! I called the store and they confirmed the sale.

Go early and be there when the doors open at 9 am for the best selection!

Saving on Everyday Items at Garage Sales

Garage sales are a bargain hunters dream! Garage sales are a great place to save on household items. You can spend full price at the store or you can get new or slightly used items at great discount.

Here are some of the deals that you can look for:

Gift supplies: wrapping paper, gift bags, and cards can be found easily at garage sales. I have bought never used cards and gift bags for .25 each.

Party supplies: graduation, wedding, and anniversary party supplies can be found. Usually people are selling the decorations that they used and paid full price for. When you find a sale with these items, you can usually pick up all your decoration supplies at once.

Toys & Games: buy for birthdays and Christmas gifts. Since stores have tightened their return policies, it is not unusual to find brand new toys at a great discount.

Appliances: find new and slightly used appliances. People purchase new appliances thinking that they are going use them a lot. Then reality sets in and they realize that they don't really like their new appliance so they sell it at their garage sale.

Books: I like to check out books from the library but I buy books at garage sales to take on trips or give as gifts. Hardcovers are usually $1 and paperbacks are usually .50

DVDs & Music Cds: I buy DVDs for my kids to watch in the car on trips to their grandparents house. I buy cds to load on to my Ipod. DVDs are garage sales are priced around $2 . Cds are priced around $1 each. A lot cheaper than at the store.

Kitchen items: lots of dishes and kitchen utensils. I bought my can opener at a garage sale.

Decorator items: you can find vases, lamps, curtains, bathroom decor etc. , People want to change the look of their rooms so they buy new decor items. Then they sell the barely used items at their garage sale.

I could list many more bargains but you get the idea of the deals to be found. I will talk tomorrow about how to find garage sales and pick the best ones.

Free Sample of Emeril's Original Essence Seasoning

You can sign up here to get 2 free sample packets of Emeril's Original Essence Seasoning. Limit of 1 request per person, household,or address.

I have used this seasoning and I really like it. Great chance to try it for free!!

Shop For Fathers Day at Kmart

If you are looking to purchase clothing for Dad this year then check out the deals at Kmart. Kmart is offering 2 free Transformer movie tickets ($7.00 value each) with a $50 men's wear purchase. This offer is available through 6/21. The offer excludes shoes, hosiery, and jewlery. Click here to go the Kmart site for full detail.

In addition, click here to print off a $5 of $50 purchase at Kmart. The coupon is good on any regular or sale priced merchandise.

So with a $50 men's wear purchase, you can get 2 movie tickets = $14.00 + $5.00 coupon discount = $19 value.

I Won, I Won !!!

I am so excited!! I just found out that I won the Dryers/Edys Ice Cream for 6 months giveaway at Rockin' Mama!! Six months of wonderful ice cream! I am in shock. Thanks so much Dryers/Edys and Rockiin' Mama for sponsoring this giveaway. Dreyers makes wonderful ice cream with so many great flavors. Wow!

Menards 6/14- 6/20

There are some good deals at Menards this week! Here are the best deals that I found this week:

Crayola Tools:Markers, Highlighters, or Glue Rollers
Free after $3.00 mail in rebate, limit 10
**Note: The stores have restocked. So if you missed out last week, you have a another chance to do this rebate. **

Act II 6 pack Popcorn: .99 after $1.00 mail in rebate, Limit 6
** Movie Theatre Butter and Butter only **

9" Poly Torpedo Level: Free after $1.50 mail in rebate, limit 2

3 in 1 Micro Fiber Mitt: .99 after $3.00 mail in rebate, limit 2

Remember if you doing a "Free" after rebate item, you need to purchase $10 in non rebate items. The rebates are in the form of Menards checks. You can use the checks to purchase more free items and keep rolling your money!

Make the Most of Garage Sale Season

Well, garage sale season is in full swing. I love garage sales! You can find so many bargains. You don't go to garage sales? Need to improve your garage sale finds? This week I am going to write a series of articles on how you can save money and make money at garage sales. I will show the thrill of garage sailing!

Best Walgreens Deals 6/14 - 6/20

Yahoo! Walgreens has 1 really great money maker this week and a few other good deals. Last week was a bummer at Walgreens so I am excited to visit the store this week.

Best Deal: This is a money maker!
St. Ives Body Wash $2.99
- $2.99 RR
- $1.50 coupon
= FREE + $1.50

Other Good deals:

Right Guard/Dry Idea Deodorant .99 (with in-ad coupon)
- $1.00 coupon
or
-$2.00 coupon from coupons.com
= Free

We Refinanced Our Mortgage !

Yesterday my husband and I signed the mortgage refinancing papers. We were lucky that we had locked in the interest rate at 4.375% since the interest rates are now over 5%. In the beginning, I wasn't sure that refinancing would save us much money. I am glad that I decided to run the numbers with our banker.

Our interest rate went from 5.625% to 4.375% and we went from a 30 year loan to a 15 year loan. Our payments went from $1381.58 a month to $1456.55 a month. Yes, our payments went up about $75 a month but we are paying off the loan in 15 years versus the 24 years that we had left on the old loan.

How much will we save over the loan period by refinancing?? Drum roll please..... almost $70,000 !!!! Wow!

If you have a higher interest rate and good credit, you might want to talk to your bank to see if refinancing will save you $$$.

Free Candy Friday !!

Remember that today is free candy Friday from Mars candy! Go here to sign up for your free coupon. See my original post here for full details.

Betty Crocker Coupons

Are you a member of BettyCrocker.com? It is worth signing up! When you are a member, you can print coupons from their website. As a member this month, you can save up to $12.05 in BettyCrocker.com coupons this month. To sign up, go here.



Here are some of the coupons that you can print:

• SAVE $.40 on any Betty Crocker® Suddenly Salad® Mix


• SAVE $.50 on ONE TUB any flavor/variety Betty Crocker® Frosting


• SAVE $.50 on ONE any flavor Betty Crocker® Warm Delights® Bowls OR Betty Crocker® Warm Delights® Minis Bowls


• SAVE $1.00 on any TWO General Mills cereals listed on coupon


• plus more!

Coldwater Creek Sale

I love Coldwater Creek clothing. Right now, you can use the code WKH2997 to get 30% off plus free shipping! The code works for Sale and Outlet items. You can check out the Outlet items here.

Fandango Buy 1 Get 1 Free Offer for Visa Holders

I am sure that you have heard of Fandango. Fandango allows you to order movie tickets online. Right now they have a great offer for Visa Signature card holders : Buy one movie ticket on Fandango and receive a second ticket to the same show free. Click here to see the offer and order tickets.

You can use this offer once per month. Fandango does charge a convenience charge.

My Kmart Double Coupon Shopping

Well, I found out that my Kmart was not doubling coupons this week. Fortunately the Kmart manager honored the Kmart email saying that all Iowa stores were doubling coupons. The manager was great! I wish that I could do the doubling all week but it was a one time exception.

Here is what I found:

7 Band-Aids @ .49 = $3.43

4 Oust = Free

Friskies Treats = Free

Temptations Cat Treat = Free

7 Ziploc bags = Free

Total Cost: $3.43 + Tax

Cheap Party Favor Idea

What a cute idea! See my little potted impatiens plant.

My husband and I attended a wedding on Saturday. At the reception, these cute little potted plants were placed around on the dining tables. .Every guest was allowed to take one home.

I thought that it was a neat idea for a party favor. These can be made very cheaply! The pot is only 2 1/2 inches tall. They would make great party favors for a wedding or anniversary. Also they could be used as a craft idea for a kids birthday party and every child would have a party favor to take home. When using for a kids party, I would skip the bow and tag. Instead let the kids use paint to decorate their pot.

Party favors don’t have to be expensive to be fun!

B1G1 Free Entree at T.G.I . Fridays

T.G.I. Fridays is offering a buy one entree get one free coupon. You can print it here. The offer is good through June 22nd and can be used on multiple visits.

CVS Deals 6/7 - 6/13

Not alot at CVS this week! Cheapsk8mom has a complete list of deals here. From that list, I think that these are the best deals:

Gillette Fusion or Venus Spa Breeze Razors $7.99 with $4 ECB.
- $4 coupon from 6/7 P&G insert
= Free after coupon and ECB. Limit 1 deal per card.

Bayer Contour Meters $14.99 get $5 ECBs
- $30/1 coupon from 3/1 and 3/22 RP inserts
= FREE plus $5 overage after coupons and ECBs

Kellogg’s Special K, Frosted Flakes, Mini Wheats, or NutriGrain Bars are B1G1 Free
Buy 2 to get one free
- 2 of the $1/1 from the 6/7 inserts
= about $0.80 cents each after coupons

Redbox Free Code

Yahoo! You can get a free Redbox rental with code DEVRY6268. The code is good through 6/8. I t can be used once per debit/credit card.

Haven't tried Redbox yet? It is so easy! Go to Redbox for details on how to rent and movies that are available.

Kmart is Doubling Coupons Starting Tommorrow

Most Kmarts are doubling coupons starting tomorrow! Check your local ad. You can double coupons up to $2 . There is a limit of 10 per person per day.

I went to Kmart today to check prices so I could be prepared for Sunday. Here are some the deals that I found:

Oust 3.29 - 2.00 coupon doubled = free
Band aids 2.49 - 1.00 coupon doubled = .49
Degree deodorant 2.49 - 1.00 coupon doubled = .49
Secret deodorant 2.69 - 1.00 coupon doubled = .69
Friskies Party Mix 1.99 - 1.00 coupon doubled = free
Temptations Cat Treats 1.69 - 1.00 coupon doubled = free
Ziploc bags Expandable Bottoms 1.99 - 1.00 coupon doubled = free

Let me know if you find some good deals too! Good luck!

Free Candy Friday from Mars

Just a reminder! It is free candy on Fridays from Mars candy! It is part of their Chocolate Relief Act. I love chocolate!

EVERY Friday through 9/25/09 , Mars is giving away a quarter million coupons redeemable for a free single-size package of any M&M’S Brand, Milky Way Brand, Snickers Brand, 3 Musketeers Brand, Twix Brand or Dove Brand product.

There is a limit of 1 coupon per email address each Friday AND a total limit of 4 coupons per household throughout the entire promotion. You can sign up here starting at 9am EST each Friday. The coupons will take about 6 weeks to arrive.

Be Proud of Using Coupons!!

I have been using coupons for forever. My mom used coupons and did refunds so it has always just been a part of my life. I actually have fun finding a great deal with my coupons. Now using coupons has become mainstream because of the economy. Still, though, some people look down on coupons or they just don't understand how much money you can save.

So if there is someone in your life who doesn't think that saving money with coupons is worth the effort, I have a little trick that I use. When they say coupons are not worth it, you take out your wallet. Drop a penny on the ground and say " Would you stop to pick up a penny?" Of course, they will laugh and say no. Then you say "I wouldn't either". Next, take a $1 bill out of your wallet and drop it on the ground. Ask them if they would stop to pick up a $1. Now almost everyone will say "Sure, I would pick up a $1". Then you can say " Coupons are like that $1 bill. They are found money. I save money on my grocery bill every week . Not using coupons is like walking past $1 bills all over the ground." Oh, yeah, remember to pick up your $1.

People also forget that coupons are tax free money. Every $1 bill in your wallet is what is left after taxes. Coupons are not taxed. By the time that you account for state taxes, federal income tax, and FICA, that $1 coupon is more like $1.50 in wages that you earn.

So be proud of using coupons and saving money! Everyday more people discover the financial benefits and fun of using coupons!

Free Light Smoothie at Orange Julius on June 19th

Calling all smoothie fanatics! Orange Julius has launched their new line of light smoothies. You can download a coupon for a free light smoothie on June 19th. Click here to print your coupon.

PR Info

Hi! My name is Sandy. I am a stay at home mom with two teenagers, a husband, and a dog. Things can get crazy at our house but that is what life is all about!

I love blogging! I am a fun and outgoing mom with a teenage girl and a teenage boy. I would love to review your product or host a giveaway for you! If you'd like to promote a product or your company, please email me at smartcentsmom@yahoo.com .

Here is a list of items that I love to review:

Electronics
Clothes & Accesories
Toys
Teenage related items
Health & Beauty products
Movies, DVD’s, CD’s
Any household product
Craft items
Jewelry
Home improvement
Cleaning Products & Tools
Home Organization
Travel related items
Fitness products
and more!

How does a review and giveaway work?

For any reviews, I require a sample to be reviewed. I need to test the product myself so I can give an honest review. Also if applicable, I will show photos of the product being used. The sample will not be returned. I will point out the positive aspects of the product or service. If I cannot give a positive review, then I will contact you before making any comments. I will include a direct link to the company product site in my review.

Giveaways are a great tool to increase traffic to your site or to promote a new product. Giveaways will run fo ra minimum of 1 week. I prefer to have the company ship the product directly to the winner if possible. You can request that the reader visit your site and answer a question about your products or website. Unless otherwise discussed, most giveaways are held in conjunction with a product review.

This is a family blog so all products and services must be of a family-friendly nature. Please email me at smartcentsmom@yahoo.com if you are interested in having me do a product review and/or giveaway!

Reminder : Mail Your Blue Bunny Refund Soon

Did you purchase the Sedona or Aspen Blue Bunny ice cream treats last weekend? I did. I purchased the Sedona Double Chocolate Granola Sandwich. My daughter and I give the ice cream sandwiches a "Big Thumbs Up"! We really like them.

Now remember to mail your refund. It must be postmarked by June 10th. By mailing soon, you won't misplace the needed upc code and receipt.