Favorite Things....Ebates

In my inbox today was one of my favorite emails...
"Your big fat payment from Ebates"
I love rebates and money in my pocket that didn't take more energy from me other than what I expend already. 
Ebates is one of those awesome resources. 
Shopping on line.
Stop first at Ebates.
Sometimes you will find codes for deals for your store...BONUS!
Find your online store/website on their site and click on the link. 
They open the shopping window. 
You shop.  You pay and close the deal.  Ebates takes note and processes your r"Ebate" payment for you. 
They pay out 4 times a year. 
Who doesn't like a BIG FAT PAYMENT, especially one that doesn't require you to copy the receipt, clip the UPC code, fill out the form and pop it all in the mail box. 

Free Household Cleaner anyone?

My sister recently received the opportunity to test out Soft Scrub's All Purpose with Bleach cleaning product.  The spray bottle works upside down.  She mentioned it is difficult to get it to work upright immediately after using it upside down.  That would be a little bothersome if you forget.  However, I am forever just needing a bottle to work from strange angles.  Getting a chance to give it a try for free excites me....woohoo!! 
Just so you know, I get nothing more than a friendly and loving thank you from my sister for helping to spread the word.  I don't even get extra "tickets" in the drawing. 

Check out this post and opportunity for free bathroom cleaner from Soft Scrub.



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Like Mother Like Daughter!!! I am so Proud of Her

It was one of those days.  I had been putting it off all week.  The weekend came and I felt crummy.

Hubby gave me a pass and let me rest the weekend away.

I just didn't want to do it.

It was ~

GROCERY Shopping!

With kids in tow!

Mondays the Commissary is closed.

We were scraping the bottom of the barrel. 

But the bonus is, we really cleaned out the freezer, cause this wasn't the first time in the last 6 weeks I pushed off the inevitable. 

With one kiddo on a church outting, and two at home playing games I made my way to the store. 

With not 2 kiddos but 3. 

If you know me well, the math does not add up.

But we were babysitting this particular Tuesday.

Talk about putting things off and not getting any better as time passes.

My kids aren't so bad, but it was a BIG trip.

Did I mention we had no food in the house? 

You aren't suppose to go to the store hungry.

So I popped some popcorn for in the car.

REALLY!

All sorts of suggestions and requests, cause you know, they had seen so much food in forEVER!

And food is a growing child's LOVE language.

and LOTS of IT!

I am couponing.  I am thinking.  I don't have a list, but it doesn't

really matter cause the cupboards are bare and I am just

getting the ESSENTIALS!

We discover lemonade for 50 cents, cause someone left a whole bunch of awesome coupons! 

YEAH!

A few more aisles along, I head to the meat counter and Fun Girl

starts trying to talk to me. 

There are 2 times in my life children are not to talk to me...

when I am paying bills and balancing the checkbook

AND

when I am grocery shopping with coupons and trying to not go over budget.

YEP!

AND my 16 year old Fun Girl is trying to tell me something about BBQ sauce.

Really, cause doesn't she know I don't like the stuff?

Really! 

Let me pick out the MEAT already.  

Not to mention, our friend for the day is asking me all sorts of questions about the meat.

She thinks she is one of mine and keeps asking me if we can buy stuff.

Obviously, she isn't one of mine or she would know NOT to talk to me.

(Are you laughing yet?)

While I am selecting meat she says..."GROSS!!!!

If that is lunch I am not eating it. "

And I am trying to think about anything but lunch

cause when I am done,

 I don't want anything to do with food again for at least 12 hours. 

PLUS, this is the area, that always gets me into trouble.

I, always, go over budget in the meat department. 

So bad so, hubby is suppose to shop with me and take care of it.

BUT, alas, he is not there and I am trying.

And

 they

are

talking

 to

 me.

Further down, she asks, "WHAT IS THIS?"

Brisket.

"OHHHH BEEF"

sure thing sweetie

"MOM the BBQ deal is really good" ~ Fun Girl.

again with the BBQ sauce.

Deep breathe, okay sweetie tell me about this deal.

You buy this, and this and this and it is like free!

HUH?

So I try to do some mental math, but my head is back in the meat dept. 

I left condiments and lemonade a long time ago. 

I come up with well, it will cost us about $4 but okay, just give me the coupons and lets

get the stuff in the cart so I can get back to my meat.

$4 is worth it if they stop talking.

She hads me coupons and then she says,

"Don't forget these!"

What are these?

WHOA  NELLY! 

This deal just got sweeter.

She has learned the fine art of stacking coupons.

It is a 3 part deal.

Coupon for lemonade we found on lemonade shelf.

Plus, coupon for if you buy 2 BBQ bottles and 1 lemonade.

Plus coupon if you buy 2 BBQ.

3 items ~ 3 coupons.

End result

$0.50 overage for each threesome.

It didn't cost me $4.

It provided me with $4 in overage

THAT IS MY GIRL!!!

She was so excited and couldn't wait to tell her daddy.

She did it all on her own.

Good thing my family likes BBQ sauce, cause did I mention, I don't like the stuff!

But I do like the lemonade.

Purex Laundry Detergent GiveAway!

Head on over to Quiet Waters and leave a comment with a tip on teaching kids on how to do laundry to enter for a chance to win a coupon for FREE UltraPacks Purex Laundry Detergent.

Seventh Generation Coupon Give Away!

Head on over to Quiet Waters and leave a comment sharing what you are thankful for to enter for a chance to win 2 coupons for Seventh Generation Products.

Justice deals starting at $1.80 ! !

For an awesome printable coupon click
JUSTICE
40% OFF in store or online.
Right now they have clearance items marked down to 2.99. Making them $1.80 and up.
Perfect for early back to school shopping, fall birthdays and Christmas presents.

I even found some great bath items for $0.99, after the coupon $0.59. Perfect for using in "Spa" birthday bags for my girls' friends or my little neices.

Super Cheap Gum at Walgreens!

At Walgreens today picking up a script I had transferred over. Was also turning in my "check" for $25 when you transfer a prescription to Walgreens.
Stopped in the candy aisle to see what sales they had on gum.
I don't like to pay for gum, so I stock up when I can get it free or almost free.

Eclipse Breeze is on "clearance" sale for 69 cents a pack.
Walgreens March coupon book at the front of the store has a coupon for $1 off 2 packs of Eclipse.
19 cents a pack of gum. About what I paid for gum when I was a kid. Now those were the days. I can even remember getting Jolly Ranchers and Tootsie rolls for 3 cents.
How I loved finding pennies on the ground when walking home from school.

MOre Quaker Coupons!

Taking a few minutes to order free samples on the internet and I came across this great coupon for Quaker Oatmeal here.
My kiddos love their oatmeal.
I love to stock up when there is a sale and coupons aren't always easy to come by.
Thanks Quaker.

Really Cool Dillons deals! !

When I finished shopping the mega I was hmm, okay.
Nothing really jumped out at me as super exciting.
Since I only shop with coupons and sales ads now, it is the norm for me to have a high percentage of saving. This time I was bummed cause I was thinking I hadn't scored any freebies or super awesome better than normal deals.
Booo on me.
I really shouldn't be so bah humbug about the savings.
So I started checking out my receipt.
This week Northern Toilet Paper is part of buy 10 get $5 off sale.
My receipt suprised me.
After the $5 off the TP was 5.99
I had a manufacturer coupon for $1 off, and on my receipt there was a $2 electronic coupon taken off. I think it was from the Dillons website, but I am not for sure. All I know it was a super wonderful suprise to find out I got TP for 2.99!
A family of 7 goes through a lot of TP!

My other unexpected suprise was the Old El paso Mexican Rice. (Not a part of the mega deal. It is by the taco shells. Little yellow pouches you can heat and serve. On sale for 3 / $4.
I had 3 manufacturer coupons for $1 (sortof... if it is 50 cents or more I call it a $1 on my sheet since Dillons doubles.) (printables + inserts). So I got 3 for $1. But the kicker was, I had 2 coupons on my card from cellfire. Each was worth 50 cents. So I got all 3 packs for free.
** Bonus** I then received a catalina for $1 off my next purchase because I had bought 3.
Woohoo !

My last suprise was Nestle Tollhouse cookie dough. It is a part of the mega deal.
When you buy 10 it is a $1.70. I had 2 coupons for $1 off 1. I jumped on cookie dough for 70 cents. The deal is even sweeter. I had coupons on my card again I didn't know about. Each coupon was 55 cents. Cookie Dough for .15 cents! !

Now if all I had bought was cookie dough, kraft mac n cheese, toilet paper and rice my total spent would have been incredible and I would have done a happy dance. But I have some hungry kiddos here so I bought a little more than just that. I will be completely happy with my 54%, 61%, 57% savings at Dillons. ( yes I did 3 transactions...or 3 30's) We have travel food and crazy night food and just to fill em 'up because the only thing easier would be if the kids were cars and they could just pull up to the pump and be filled. :)

Dillons coupons for whoever wants them...

I have Dillons coupons I would like to pass onto someone. There are some really high dollar ones. Some are for items on sale this week. I will break up the bunch, if need be, but if you are taker who would like me to mail them to you, I would prefer you take the whole bunch or at least a good portion of them. I don't want to mail out a bunch of one coupons per envelopes. I think my hubby would strangle me for all the stamps that would mean I go through. :) I will try to update the list as coupons are spoken for.
If there are no takers, I will happily toss them into the recycling Monday. Our recycling buddies come on Tuesday morning bright and early!
So here goes...
Some expire 1/24/2010 but Dillons takes them up to 2 weeks after exp. date (so that would make them really expire 2/7/2010)
exp. 1/24/10
2.00 on 2 Gatorade 8 pack
1.00 on Velevetta 32 oz cheese

exp. 2/14/10
2.00 on Theraflu or Triaminic (theraflu on sale this week)
2,00 on Nature Made product (vitamins, etc.)
1.50 on Nyquil/dayquil

exp. 2/21/10
2.00 on Farm Rich Snack
75 cent on Dole Salad
1.00 Pretzel Crisps
1.00 on 4 Philadelphia cream cheese on sale this week.
50 cents on Bertolli Pasta Sauce product
1.25 on Private Selection Prepackaged or Prepared Deli Party Tray, any size, any variety
10.00 on one Private Selection Standing Rib Roast fully cooked
1.50 Private Selection Frozen Meal, any size, any variety
1.00 Butoni Refrigerated Pasta or Sauce
1.00 off 2 boxes of Pepperidge Farm baked Naturals snack crackers
75 cents off Private Selection Frozen Appetizer
40 cents off Kroger Nice n Elegant Napkins
50 cents on Heinz Cocktail sauce
1.00 on 2 Triscuit crackers (on sale this week)
3.00 on one Private Selection Tiger Shrimp Ring, 20 or 30 count

Couponing Thrill sure can make a rough day better!

I haven't been to Walgreens much since they dropped the Easy Saver Rebate program.
It doesn't help that the Walgreens that works into my regular route, the people are really grouchy and dislike coupons. I just dread going in there. I do try my best to smile and be cheerful, but it is a real downer and decreases the thrill of a deal when you have to work with people who are not pleased to see the stack of coupons.

But in spite of all that I did dare to venture to Walgreens. I needed a prescription 2 days ago and well, it was time to just get it done. I didn't take a picture. I would have had chaos on my hand. My kiddos would have seen all the goodies and begged, pleaded and bugged me for the next couple of days for the treats I bought. But I will do a quick a run down.

I spent out of pocket $94.57! I stocked up on a bunch of allergy medicine and pain reliever, which means I get reimbursed by flexible spending account. That total is $64.92. So in all I spent $30.65.
First I picked up my waiting prescription (more on that later) and the Walgreens coloring book. Lots of good children's products coupons in there. Best part you don't have to surrender these coupons when making the purchase. They are Walgreen's coupons so you can hold onto them till they expire. You can pair them up with manufacturer coupons and sales for some pretty awesome deals. (Right now that includes the children's Listerine rinses and Benadryl).

Like I said I stocked up on allergy medicine.
I have to keep Benadryl on hand in multiple places for my food allergic child.
My daughter will be switching to Zyrtec later when she finishes up the other stuff she has. So that will make two of us taking Zyrtec. Gotta stock up when there are deals. This time around I got $7 Register Rewards for each purchase. Woohoo! Plus I had a Manufacturer Coupon for $4 off. I like to go to this website to look for medicine coupons. There I found $2 off of Zyrtec as well.
I also stocked up on the Tylenol buy one get one free. Paired up with coupons, a good deal there.
I also did the kids Listerine deal. I had a buy one get one free Q plus after the fact I got RR as well.
Dental floss was on sale and if you used the in-ad coupon to make it 99 cents and paired that up with Manufacturer coupon even better. Buy 3 and you get a Register Reward as well.
I gobbled up some of the Rimmel makeup with my coupons from All You magazine. I am finding makeup, nail polish and the like make really good "tween"/early teenager gifts. With Fun Mom being 13 as well as her friends, they are all experimenting with makeup goodies. So when I get them for free or almost free, I get really excited.
I stocked up on the scotch tape deal. Christmas is just around the corner. My kids like to wrap presents and tape is used up real quick. So this was a great time to stock up.
I also snagged a bunch of the scotch envelopes. They are great for various mailings, but I also use them sometimes for stuff I sale on ebay, so this helps keep my shipping costs down.
I also am trying to make good of the Goody Ouchless hair products. These are great for Operation Christmas Child, Christmas stockings and birthday gift fillers. Also helps to replace what my hubby vaccuums up, as he won't pick them up when the girls (rolling my eyes) "unknowningly" drop them on the floor.
I also snagged a bunch of Orbit gum and misc. candy that was clearanced. About now I start thinking ahead to Christmas stockings. Cause the kids behaved while I was gone and showered as well, I grabbed some sweets for my sweets to say thank you. All bought with register rewards. I also picked up a few goodies for Fun Mom's friends, who have birthdays lined up between now and eternity.
So that is what I got for $30.65 after all the coupons and register rewards I spent and my flexible spending account.
What I also didn't mention is I bounce my prescriptions around to whoever is offering the best deal if you transfer your scipt. So I did that this week with Walgreens and they gave me a $25 check to spend in the store. So if I add that into my savings that total is $173.72.
Best part is I still have $11.00 in Register Rewards to spend!!

Ah the thrill. Sure turns a bumpy evening into a little happier place of mind. The day went well, but on Thursdays it seems I have two that must fall apart for 2 hours in the evening. It drives my NUTS! At the end of the two hours they are fine.

Military Commissary Shoppers!

Awesome Schik Quatro deals to be had. While at the Commissary this morning I discovered many were marked $4 and $5. I had $4 Manufacture Coupns with me. FREE RAZORS and some for $1.
Kraft Cheese 2% is on sale 2/$4. After the Kraft $1/1 coupon, bags of shredded cheese for $1.
Country Time Lemonade is on sale for $1.50. Use your manufacture coupons $1.50/2. Like buy one get one free! ! 75 cents each.
Our commissary still had a lot of case lot deals. My favorite was the Dove bar soap. 14 bars for $9.49. I am lucky to find it on sale for a $1/bar and have a coupon. This bargain was 68 cents a bar. Only soap my crew uses!