Thrifty Tidbits - 9/17/10 edition

Both my husband and I have been job hunting this week, so I've been too busy to actually DO any kind of thrifty activities, but I have several awesome deals to share with you!

First of all... it is Mega Swagbucks Friday! If you're already signed up, get searching! If not, click here to get started today! You can win free prizes just by searching the web. Swag Bucks are digital dollars that you earn just for doing the things you're already doing. Remember, the Amazon diapers deal I did last month? I had ZERO out of pocket for a huge box of Huggies because I was able to cash in some Swagbucks. Start racking them up today, you never know when you'll need some extra Paypal cash or some extra Amazon.com money.

Do you or anyone you know need a free Blood Glucose Meter? Click here to see if you qualify - you can even choose your own color! How fun!

Click here for a free sample of Pampers Underjams. (You'll need to sign up with Freeflys to get the free sample, but registration is totally free! Plus, you'll get access to all kinds of other free samples!)

Click here for a free sample of Vaseline Intensive Rescue Lotion! (You'll need to sign up with Freeflys to get the free sample, but registration is totally free! Plus, you'll get access to all kinds of other free samples!)

I just love Dr. Oz and his new show. Did you hear about his "Just 10" challenge? He is highlighting the health benefits of losing just ten pounds. And to encourage you along your way, he's giving away free "Just 10" bracelet! You can tell the world you are one of many taking part in the "Just 10" challenge just by wearing this free bracelet! Click here to get your free "Just 10" bracelet!

When is the last time you went bowling? I hadn't been bowling for at least 5 years, but my little brother and sister dragged me along to cosmic bowling. I stayed up way past my bedtime and had tons of fun! I am terrible at bowling, but I forgot how much fun it is! AMF Bowling is running a special - if you bring a group of 4 people, they'll give you $20 off your game! AMF has locations all over the valley. Click here to print your coupon!

Thrifty Tidbits - 8/20/10 edition

I am so happy its Friday! I haven't been doing a ton of grocery shopping because I am still pretty well stocked from my Fry's trips last week, but I do plan on scoring some free Breyer's ice cream and all the other freebies available this week.

MEGA SWAGBUCKS FRIDAY!

Have you been searching on Swagbucks today? I have been and I've been gathering Swagbucks here and there, slowly racking up enough to cash in for Christmas presents! Remember, today is Mega Swagbucks Friday when more Swagbucks are awarded and in higher values too! If you aren't signed up yet, click here to sign up today! If you're already searching online, you may as well be rewarded for it while you're at it!

MY GIVE AWAY ENDS TODAY!

I am giving away 2 free Redbox codes (valid at Kroger/Fry's only) and 2 codes good for 25 bonus Box Tops for Education! You can enter for any of the 4 prizes as many times as you want! But hurry, the give away ends today at 3pm AZ time! Click here to enter!

What thrifty activities are you guys up to today?

Thrifty Tidbits - 8/13/10 edition

Are you a superstitious person? Does the date today make you nervous? I'm not concerned about it, but there are some people who really get worked up about Friday the 13th. I certainly will not let the date rain on my deals!

Speaking of deals...

FRY'S!
I'm sure you have noticed that I haven't been to Fry's yet this week! It is killing me to see all you guys scoring AMAZING deals and not being able to join in the fun. Here's the reason... I didn't get any papers last Sunday, so I am missing a huge chunk of coupons needed for the freebies this week! Grr.... the one week I don't get a paper! I am hoping today's La Voz has some of those coupons so I can redeem myself. Hopefully there will at least be SOME items left on the shelf when I can finally pull together all the necessary coupons!

GIVE AWAYS!
Have you entered my give away for the $25 Walmart giftcard yet? Hurry, hurry... it ends today at 3pm AZ time! Someone has to win.... it may as well be you! Click here for nine chances to enter!

Arizona Thrifty Mom is giving away a Karmin G3 Flat Iron! This give away ends today at 4pm AZ time. Click here to enter!

Cents'Able Shoppin' is giving away a $60 CSN Stores giftcard. Click here to enter - it ends Monday, 8/16 at 9pm!

Desert Deals Diva is giving away a fun baby accessory - A Juppy Baby Walker! Click here to check it out and enter to win! That give away ends Wednesday, 8/25 at 8pm!

SWAGBUCKS!

Phew, this was a busy week for all of us Swaggernauts out there! Tons of codes were released yesterday with lots of Swagbucks awarded. Have you been searching on Swagbucks today? I have been because it is Mega Swagbucks Friday and you can win even more Swagbucks with a single search! Click here to sign up if you aren't already racking up those Swagbucks! Remember, if you sign up before the end of the day Sunday, 8/15 and enter the code BackToSchool you'll earn an extra 40 Swagbucks on top of the 30 you get just for signing up! Wowza- that's a ton of Swagbucks for not too much effort!

NEW AZ BLOGGER FRIENDS!
I have added a few new local bloggers to my AZ blogroll on the left side of the blog. There can never be too many scouts out there hunting up local deals! Here are our new friends - The Coupon Don, Clever & Crafty, and Michelle's Bargains & Freebies!

What thrifty activities are you guys up to today?

Thrifty Tidbits - 8/6/10 edition

Check out these grocery prices from 1950...

Wow, that would be nice! With prices like this, you wouldn't have to use coupons anymore!

Well, back to 2010...

PRINTABLE COUPONS:

I'm printing these coupons today, what are you printing up?

1.00/2 Bic Stationary Products - print here

.50/1 Del Monte Fresh Pineapple - print here

SWAGBUCKS:

Have you been searching on Swagbucks today? I have been because it is Mega Swagbucks Friday and you can win even more Swagbucks with a single search! Click here to sign up if you aren't already racking up those Swagbucks!

TARGET:

I am headed back to Target today for more of the same freebies from yesterday! I printed out some more DiGiorno, Bic, & Papermate coupons, so I'm heading back for some more fun.

FREEBIES:

Bath & Body Works Lotion!

I printed out this coupon for a free (no stings attached) travel size Bath & Body Works lotion in their new scent "Dark Kiss". I'll pick that up today - gotta love a freebie! Print your coupon here - it's good through Sunday, 8/8!

Anthony's Pasta Meal Planner!

Click here to sign up for Anthony's Pasta meal planner. The planner contains recipes and coupons! This is only open to Arizona and California residents, so take advantage of this great deal!

Safeway Refreshe Soda Sample!

Click here to request a free sample of Safeway's new soda, Refreshe.

Free Food from Circle K!

I also picked up a free pack of donuts and a hot chocolate (not a coffee drinker) from Circle K this morning with my Diamondbacks Strike Out Coupon I printed out last night. Lots of other people are reporting they were able to print a coupon for a free deli sandwich. Those coupons change depending on the strike out count. Click the Circle K/D-Backs icon on the right side of my blog next time they have a home game (which is tonight at 6:40pm). The Free Sweet Snack & Free Coffee coupon is still up and valid all day, so hurry & print it out here!

Free Taco Bell Tacos!

Speaking of the Diamondbacks, they won their home game last night which means 3 free taco Bell tacos for everyone between 4-6pm (with purchase of a large drink)! Go DiamondBacks! Click on the big taco icon on the right side of my blog for more details!

DEALS FROM READERS:

One of my awesome readers, Cindy, spotted the "Kellogg's Fuel for School" coupon booklets at Basha's this week. Make sure you grab a couple for some awesome deals! Thanks Cindy!

What thrifty activities are you guys up to today?

Thrifty Tidbits - 7/29/10 edition

Phew, yesterday was a super busy day of Thrifty Tidbit activity! I am running around doing last minute things to prepare for our trip to California this weekend and pulling together loose ends for my daughter's second birthday party on Saturday.

BIRTHDAY PARTY:

I wanted to make a super cute banner and candy buffet table kind of like this one...

I don't want to spend a fortune on candy, so I think it will be a smaller version with maybe 3 or 4 glass jars. As far as the banner goes, I headed over to Scrapbooks, Etc. in Mesa on Lindsey & University and used their die cutting machines to cut out some super cute letters spelling out my daughter's name. I am using a hot pink and black color scheme and the whole banner only cost me 1.67 to create! And that was the cost of the paper. I will take a photo of the real thing at her party this weekend.

I am also trying to dig up some pizza coupons for her birthday party lunch. We are ordering pizzas from our favorite home town pizza place and they are pricey, but they accept competitor's coupons. I never have any pizza coupons around the house, because whenever we order pizza we get the $5 large from Hungry Howies. Do any of you guys know where I can snag some pizza coupons? Maybe I'll stop in at Domino's or Pizza Hut and see what they have. I'm looking for a BOGO or a $10 large or something like that.

I had a few magazines, board games, & a puzzle to trade. I got $8 in trade credit, so now I am up to $28 in Bookman's credit. Last time I was there, I saw they had "A Bug's Life" DVD for sale. I didn't buy it then, but went back looking for it yesterday because I wanted to grab it for my daughter's birthday present. She's 2 - she doesn't know its a used copy. :) When I went back yesterday, it was gone! :( That's what I get for procrastinating! I didn't see anything else I wanted, so I'll just hold onto that trade credit until I see some more Disney movies pop up on the shelves. While I was there, I signed up my daughter up for the Bookman's Kids Club which will give me 10% off future purchases and a $5 gift certificate during her birthday month - which is next month! Maybe with all those Kids Club promotions, we can get 2 movies!

I had a Rubbermaid tub full of little girls clothing that my daughter never wore - either because it was the wrong season or because she had too many clothes. They were taking up a corner in my bedroom, so I hauled those off to Once Upon A Child and got $10 cash for them! Yay!

I had a couple of garbage bags of old clothing that doesn't fit us anymore, plus some other left overs from the yard sale I had earlier this summer. The garbage bags have been sitting in the same corner of my bedroom for a couple of months now waiting for the next yard sale. I decided today that I didn't want to look at the clutter anymore, so off to Goodwill I went. Hopefully, someone else will get some use out of that stuff.

And finally, Costco. I used to be a religious Costco shopper, dutifully buying my paper towels, toilet paper, & diapers in bulk. Spending about $50-75 a trip thinking I was getting a good deal. That was until I saw the couponing light! I haven't stepped foot in a Costco in over a year. But I did yesterday to pick up some prints of my daughter's 2 year pictures to frame and use as decorations for her party. They are unbeatable for local photo printing when it comes to quality and price. I looked into Snapfish and other online retailers, but no one could beat Costco's prices. I paid 3.33 for one 8x10 and four 5x7s. What a deal!

Phew... that was a lot of errand running! What are you guys doing to be thrifty in everyday life?

Thrifty Tidbits - 7/23/10 edition

After some tylenol with codeine and resting yesterday afternoon, I am feeling much better! Root canals are just plain awful! Thanks to all of you sweet readers who wished me well. At least I can eat today. I am catching up on all the new printable coupons and awesome deals that surfaced while I was resting on the couch yesterday, watching "The Little Mermaid" over and over again with my almost 2 year old.

PRINTABLE COUPONS

Here are the coupons I am printing today:

.75/2 any Taco Bell Originals products

Free bananas at Circle K - good today only!

PRESCRIPTION COUPONS:

I had to fill a prescription for Tylenol with Codeine after my root canal yesterday, but I remembered I clipped a coupon last Sunday for a $10 Kmart gift card with any new prescription. I was in serious pain, but (being the obsessive frugal person I am), I drove further to Kmart so I could get that gift card. The prescription ended up being $10 even, so with the $10 gift card, it was a wash.

GIVE AWAY

I entered Desert Deals Diva's give away for a 16x20 rolled canvas print. If I won, I would get a print of one of my wedding pictures or a family photo. It ends Tuesday, 7/27 at 8pm AZ time - enter here!

SWAGBUCKS

Today is Friday - Mega Swag Bucks Friday! I've been searching this morning and I've already won 10 Swagbucks! I am hoping to pay for Christmas presents with Swagbucks this year. How many Swagbucks do you have? If you aren't signed up, click here to get started! If you start now, you could definitely have a ton of Swagbucks racked up by the holidays to pay for those Christmas presents!

I'm planning a trip to Fry's today, so I'll post that later today. I'm hoping they have Captain Crunch, Kraft Cheese, & Philidelphia Cream Cheese in stock!

Thrifty Tidbits - 7/19/10 edition

PRINTABLE COUPONS:

Now that I've got Safeway out of the way for this week, I am preparing for my Fry's Mega Mix & Match Event run. I'm crossing my fingers there are still some items left, but I am prepared to grab rainchecks if necessary. I've been printing out some coupons in anticipation of my Fry's trip including this 1.00/1 Miracle Whip Facebook coupon and this .50/1 Softsoap coupon.

GIVE AWAY! I just entered Desert Deals Diva's CSN Stores give away for a $60 gift certificate! Have you? Hurry, click here! It ends Tuesday 7/20 at 8pm AZ time!

BIRTHDAY PARTY:

My sweet baby girl is turning 2 next month! I can't believe I have a toddler. Her birthday party is coming up quickly and I am trying to be as frugal as possible. Here's what I've done so far...

Tutu- I love everything about having a little girl. Bows, headbands, and tutus! It is so much fun to dress my little doll up. She doesn't mind yet, but I know this will end soon. I made her a tutu for her 2 year photos and although not professional at all, it turned out surprisingly well for my first one. The supplies cost me a total of $6.96 at Hobby Lobby. I bought 2 rolls of hot pink tulle and 1 package of elastic for the waistband and used 40% off printable coupons I found on their website. I used this online tutorial and it only took me about 45 minutes to put it together.

Here's a photo of the finished product:

Photo Shoot- A good friend graciously offered to take my daughter's 2 year pictures for free! What a great friend. It was miserably hot even at 9am in the morning and we were all super sweaty and gross by the time we were done, so she really went above and beyond the friend call of duty. Thanks Katy!

Invitation Design- My other awesome friend, Kristy designed the invitations and did an AMAZING job. There were tons of designs I loved, but we settled on this one (edited for family privacy)-

Invitation Printing- I sent this file over to Walgreens and using their free 25 prints deal when you sign up, I got all the invitations printed for free! I also avoided shipping charges because I picked them up in the store.

So far, I am into this $6.96, the cost of the tutu supplies. I'll have to get creative with the food and party expenses, but I love a good challenge!

What have you done to control costs of your children's birthday parties?

Thrifty Tidbits - 7/6/10 edition

I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July! We enjoyed the cool weather in Southern California and got to sepnd lots of time with our family. My favorite part of the long weekend was watching my almost 2 year old's face lit up by the glow of the fireworks and to see the wonderment and awe in her innocent little face. What did you guys do for the 4th of July?

Here is a fun video I found online for all of us grocery shoppers to enjoy. It was made for a home economics class and is a primer on sensible food shopping. In the video, we learn to read canned food labels and get a glimpse at the mysterious grading system for various foods (and may understand why food grades are no longer advertised unless they are Grade A). Many of this films messages are still poignant today, especially since supermarkets are designed to encourage impulse buying. Either way, it's entertaining. I didn't have home economics at my high school, so this is fascinating to me.

PRINTABLE COUPONS:

Today, I've been catching up on printing out some rare fresh produce coupons made available in the past few days. Here are two of my favorites:

1.00/2 California avocados

.50/1 Del Monte fresh pineapple - new link!

MY FAVORITE DEALS: Since there was no mail yesterday, "My Favorite Deals" list may be a bit delayed tomorrow morning. I will be working furiously on them tonight, but I've lost a day with the holiday weekend, so bear with me!

MAIL CALL MONDAY: I will post on my mail this evening as soon as I get home. I'm sure its packed from being gone all weekend. Can't wait to see what's waiting for me! Except for the ugly SRP electric bill that should be coming any day. That one can just get lost in the mail.

GIVE AWAY: I will be hosting a fun give away this week, so make sure to check back in for that!

Thrifty Tidbits - 6/29/10 edition

Are you going at midnight tonight? I will be there with all the teenage girls!

I got my free movie ticket (courtesy of an Axe promotion from Wags a few months ago) and cannot wait! I have many beefs with the Twilight movies, but I am a loyal fan of the book series and haven't missed a midnight showing yet. If my posts tomorrow are a little jarbled, you'll know why.

I am slowly emerging from my vacation brain. I felt hazy for the first few days and was not very productive in the couponing world. I just finished up "My Favorite Deals" list for the upcoming sales week, so I am back in the game! I will post that list tomorrow morning at 6am!

I've also been working on organizing my coupon mess. It is a disaster and is in no form to go to the grocery store. I'm such a procrastinator.

I've entered a few giveaways today, including this fun one from KC over at Desert Deals Diva! She is giving away an 18x24 sticky wall print - how fun. Think of all the things you could get - a family portrait, a piece of artwork from your child, a favorite phrase or saying. It ends tonight at 8pm AZ time, so hurry over so you can enter and hopefully win!

Also, since I've been back from vacation, I heard some sad news. Safeway has revised their coupon policy and now they will only accept competitor's coupons on specific items. No more Register Rewards or OYNOs from other grocery stores. Well, I can't say I'm surprised. It was fun while it lasted!

Oh, if you are planning a Fry's trip next week, make sure to grab some rainchecks for the following items. Some prices in the Daytona Mix & Match Event are going up! Here are the ones I've noticed...

Totino's Pizza Rolls .69 this week increases to .97

Coke 2 Liter .69 this week increases to .99

GM Cereals 1.99 this week increases to 2.19

Capri Sun & Kool Aid Jammers 1.47 this week increases to 1.87

Thrifty Tidbits - 6/17/10 edition

Wow, look at these grcoery ads from the 1950's... 21 cents for Kellogg's Corn Flakes?

Well, Arizona Savings readers, I am getting ready to go on vacation! We are leaving Saturday and won't be back until late Wednesday. I'll probably do a little shopping today and tomorrow between packing and getting ready to go. What does this mean for you?

The sad news...

I will not be posting "My Favorite Deals" on Wednesday morning. I will work hard Thursday to get it up by the end of the day. Sheryl over at CentsAble Shoppin' does a great match-up, so check her blog on Wednesday for the newest sales. You can also check Pinching Your Pennies for a complete match-up.

The good news...

I have prepared lots of fun posts to keep you company until I get back...

I have created some Store Guides to help new couponers understand this complex world! I have created one for each of the 4 main grocery stores in Arizona - Albie's, Bashas', Fry's, & Safeway. Those will post over the next few days and then will be permanently linked to the top menu bar under "Store Guides".

I have also created a series called "Change the Way You Shop in One Week!" I am really excited about this and I wish someone would have laid it all out for me when I first started couponing. There will be one post per day and at the end of seven days, each newbie will have a toolbox of information and will be ready to attack the stores! Look for Day #1 on Monday, June 21!

See, you'll have plenty to keep you busy while I'm gone. You won't even miss me!

While I'm gone, I'll be hosting a fun contest. I'll be posting pictures of our vacation destination on Twitter. The first person to correctly identify my location will receive an envelope full of random coupons! Click here for my Twitter account. If you aren't already a Twitter follower, click here to get started - it is super easy!

Oh, also remember to log into your Cellfire account at 12pm (AZ time) today to get the Cinderella Cellfire coupon they are releasing! Click here at noon and then let us know if you got it and what it is!

Thrifty Tidbits - 6/11/10 edition

Just a few random things here and there on a Friday!

I grabbed my free 3 pounds of bananas from Circle K today - did you get yours? Click here to print your coupon - it's only good for today, so get to your nearest Circle K ASAP!

Also, I've had a few people ask about Eve and her "My Southwest Savings" blog. You may have noticed her blog has disappeared from my AZ blog roll. I am sad to say, she has shut down her blog due to some major problems she was having with blogger. It was taking her HOURS to upload pictures, when it should only take seconds. We all miss her awesome blog & if you are reading this Eve- we appreciate all the hard work you put into blogging. We will miss you in the blogging world, but I'm glad to see you posting on the SD boards. :)

Did you load the Cinderella Savings Cellfire e-coupons to your Fry's card today at 3pm? Last week, their site was majorly overloaded, but eventually, they got up and running and the coupons loaded just fine. This week seems to have run much more smoothly. If you forgot, don't worry, they'll do it again next Friday 3pm. Remember, to register your card with Cellfire first & then click here to get those awesome high-value EQs!

Did you play Fry's Summer of Savings instant win game today? I did and I won a FREE Kool-Aid Fizz Drink Mix EQ! Click here to spin the wheel and see what you win! I'll have the Summer of Savings button on the right side of my blog until the instant win game ends in September.

Thrifty Tidbits - 6/10/10 edition

Wow, I've seen some pretty awesome sales, but .29 for a box of cake mix?

I haven't been grocery shopping much this week. It's so darn hot and I usually shop on my lunch hour, which means climbing in and out of a hot car and sweating. I think I'll condense all my shopping into one big evening trip.

Here's what I've been up to the past few days:

CVS - I stopped into CVS yesterday to check which coupons were printing out of the magical coupon machine. I got some good ones:

• 3.00 off one Huggies box
• 2.00 off two Axe Shower Gels
• Free Dove Chocolate Bar - free chocolate? CVS knows the way to my heart.
• 1.00 off Dove chocolate (8.5 oz.+)
• 1.00 off any CVS brand Allergy Item
• BOGO Godiva Gem bag- what is a Godiva Gem bag?

KOHL'S- I have a $25 Kohl's gift card from my birthday in March that I've been hanging onto. I collected a few $10/20 Kohl's coupons this week from the AZ Republic. Those are good through 6/20, so now I'm just watching my email waiting for a 15% off shopping pass. They come out all the time. As soon as it does, I will attack!

CRAFTY PROJECT - I am in the middle of making a crafty project for my 22 month old. Have you ever heard of a quiet book? Click here for an example. My mom made some of these felt books when I was younger to play with at church and other places where we had to be quiet. They are so fun and I think my daughter would really get a kick out of an activity book like that. She is very into zippers, clasps, clips, and buttons right now.
 
You know me, I don't want to spend a penny on this, so I am trying to figure out the cheapest way to create this. I have been printing every 50% off Michael's, Hobby Lobby, & JoAnn's coupons I can find and searching through the clearance bins looking for fabric remnants and other odds and ends. I have quite a collection going. WARNING! CHEAP PLUG - if any of you have any extra felt (any color, any size), fabric, buttons, clips, zippers, ... anything like that, I will take it off your hands! As I start to construct it, I will show my progress on the blog so you can make one too if you want. Start gathering all the odds and ends you can find.

FEBREZE HOUSE PARTY - I was selected to host a Febreze House Party on Saturday June 26th! I am so excited about this one... who doesn't love Febreze products?

As a party host, I will receive:

• 1 - Febreze Set & Refresh Branded apron
• 2 - Home Collection Room Spray (Pomegranate Mango)
• 5 - Home Collection Flameless Luminaire Starter Kit (Pomegranate Mango)
• 8 - Febreze Set & Refresh Starter Kits (Hawaiian Aloha)
• 8 - Febreze Set & Refresh Starter Kits (Linen & Sky)
• 10 - Home Collection Scented Reed Diffusers (Pomegranate Mango)
• 18 - Home Collection Flameless Luminaire Refills (Pomegranate Mango)
• 20 - Sandra Lee and Entertaining Tip Cards
• 20 - Febreze Home Collection product samples
• 20 - Febreze Set & Refresh Branded Cocktail Napkins
• 18 – Febreze Set & Refresh Coupons

Woo hoo! Stay tuned for more pictures when the party pack arrives and when I have the actual party. Also, look forward to a give away of Febreze products and coupons after the party! Are you signed up for House Parties yet? If not, sign up here!

E-COUPONS & PRINTABLES - I have been checking each day for new EQs and as I find them, I've been loading them to my store cards. If you haven't checked in a few days, click on the EQ links on the right side of my blog. There have also been some awesome printable coupons released in the past few days. Make sure you guys are printing those too so when I do my coupon match-ups, you can do them too!

Remember to click here and enter my "Good Earth Gift Pack" give away! It ends tomorrow - Friday, June 11th at 3pm (AZ time) - less than 24 hours to enter! At this point, you have a pretty good chance of winning. If you enter the maximum number of times, you'll have a 25% chance of winning!

What have you guys done to be thrifty & frugal today?

Thrifty Tidbits - 6/2/10 edition

Have you ever put heels on to go grocery shopping?

Here's what I've been up to the past few days:

• CVS - I went on a clearance hunt for Huggies diapers and came up empty-handed. I raced around to 4 different CVS stores this afternoon (in the 95 degree heat) and all I found were empty shelves where the clearanced tags were still hanging. I may check a few more stores closer to my house, but at this point, I think the clearanced Huggies have set sail.
• WAGS - My plan B was to take care of my Walgreens shopping for the week, but I left my coupons sitting on my desk at work! Great. I was able to, at least, scout out a couple of Wags and find out if they had the items I was looking for (Neutrogena bars, Hershey's Pieces, & Ecotrin). I was planning on hitting up Wags on the way home, but then I read on Frugal Suz's blog that next week, the Neutrogena bars will be 25% off. I will definitely be holding out for that discount, since the Neutrogena is a monthly deal. I may just skip Wags altogether this week.
• BANK - I stopped by the bank today to cash my McNeill refund check.
• FREE SAMPLES - I have signed up for every free sample I've seen listed on my favorite blogs. Hopefully, some of those samples come with free coupons too!
• E-COUPONS - I loaded my store cards with the newest EQs released yesterday and today. Make sure you load yours up before they're gone. The EQ links are on the right side of my blog. After loading all possible coupons yesterday, there were a few new ones today, so check back often!
• TARGET - I have a huge list for Target, but I need to print some more coupons at home before I can go. Hopefully, I'll get this out of the way tomorow.

What have you guys done to be thrifty & frugal today?

Thrifty Tidbits - 5/25/10 edition

Here's what I have done to be thrifty today:

• I printed some new printable coupons that have been released in the past couple of days. Here are some of my favorites:
• 1.00 off any 1 Bic Stationary product (equals a free pack of pens at Target - thanks KC!)
• .55/1 Vlassic product (this will get me free Vlassic Relish at Bashas starting Wednesday)
• 5.00/2 Mirra products Kroger IPQ (which will give me .52 overage at Fry's! - thanks Sheryl!)
• I requested a free sample of Crystal Lite through Vocal Point which hopefully will come with some coupons. Request yours here!
• I signed up for "The Real Dish" Smart Ones Weight Watchers sample program. Just for signing up, they will mail you a free MQ for a Ham & Cheddar Breakfast Scramble Smart Ones Meal. Yum! Now, the question is, do I have room for one more Smart Ones meal in my freezer? Sign up here!
• I scored an ice cold, straight from the fountain Diet Coke from Circle K for free using this coupon. I am loving this Diamondbacks promotion they are running. What did you get with your 5.00 off any food purchase Circle K coupon? Print yours here!
• I entered the AZ Central 30 days of give aways daily drawing. This week, they are giving out one 10-pack of Harkins movie tickets each day and the grand prize for the week is a year's supply of movie tickets (104 tickets)! Enter every day here!
• I loaded some Shortcuts EQs onto my Safeway and Fry's cards. I'm noticing a huge drop-off in the amount of EQs available to load. I'm sad to see some of my favorites disappearing, but I'll use whatever EQs they give me! Check to see what EQs are available for you here!

And of course, I am furiously working on all of "My Favorite Deals" to post tomorrow morning. Get excited - there are tons of great BBQ deals and freebies starting Wednesday! Make your last minute runs tonight if you haven't already cashed in on these deals ending tonight:

• Fry's
• Free Smart Ones freezer meals
• Money maker Kraft Salad Dressing
• Free Hunt's Ketchup
• 1.00 pineapple
• Bashas
• 1.68 milk
• Safeway
• Ziploc Containers deal
• Albie's
• .59 dozen eggs

What have you guys done to be thrifty & frugal today?

Thrifty Tidbits - 5/17/10 edition

Wouldn't this be great?

I don't know if I like the name "Thrify Tidbits" for this type of post. Does anyone have any better ideas? I'm not feeling very creative today. Hopefully, one of you are more inventive than I am!

Here's what I have done to be thrifty today:

• I took 3 grocery bags full of magazines to Bookman's for trade credit. I have a ton of free magazine subscriptions so when my magazine pile starts to topple over, I bundle them up and head over to trade them all in. I got $14 in store credit today! I also found out I can donate the magazines they don't want to a Maricopa County prison reading program. Fabulous! I don't have to haul all the magazines back out to my car and an inmate somewhere gets to read Car & Driver! Win win! If you are unfamiliar with Bookman's, click here!
• I took some yard sale leftovers to Goodwill. It's super easy for me to drop stuff off because there is a Goodwill right next door to my office. I feel good for donating and I feel even better having all that clutter out of my house! Click here to see where your closest Goodwill store is.
• I loaded some new Shortcuts EQs onto my store cards today. There is another 3.00/1 Delimex Taquitos EQ! It's only good at Safeway. Now, I have 2 3.00/1 Delimex EQs loaded. Paired up with the 2.00/1 MQ from the 4/11 SS, I am seeing more free taquitos in my future! Load your Shortcuts EQs here! And check to see if you have any new Cellfire EQs or Safeway EQs available too!
• I was going to submit my Motrin information for this massive McNeill recall on Tylenol, Motrin, Bendaryl products, but I realized I tossed the medicine without writing down the Lot # or the expiration dates. I just wanted to get that Motrin out of my house and I checked the site and didn't see anything about a lot #! Grr! :( McNeill said they will not issue a refund without that information. I'm so frustrated because I verified my 4 bottles were included in the recall and all lots are included in the recall, so really, what does it matter? I know McNeill has to put safeguards in place to make sure scammers don't abuse the system, but honestly! I have the receipts! I have contacted a few friends to find out if they have the lot number and expiration date so I can submit a complete form. Gosh, what an ordeal!
• I am organizing my usual Tuesday round up shopping lists before the end of the sales cycle tomorrow. See "My Favorite Deals" here - they all end tomorrow night! Here's a rough outline of my plan for tomorrow:
• SAFEWAY - Free Captain Crunch, .49 Lucerne cheese, cheap milk
• FRY'S - .97/lb. grapes, cheap milk
• ALBIE'S - I need to cash in rainchecks for free Suddenly Salad, Chex Mix, Yoplait greek yogurt before in case the $1 coupon event ends tomorrow.

I'm excited to check my mailbox and see what kinds of treasures are waiting for me. I'm hoping my grocery ads are in there so I can start My Favorite Deals list and I'm crossing my fingers that Fry's & Albie's are continuing the $1 coupon event for another week. Check back tonight for my "Mail Call Monday" post! It may be a little late ... I have to watch the Suns beat the Lakers Lakers beat the Suns at 6pm tonight! :(

What did you guys do to be thrifty today?

Thrifty Tidbits - 5/5/10 edition

I did lots of random money saving things and I think I'll call this post Thrifty Tidbits.

1. MAIL - I received a free issue of Marie Claire magazine. It's fun to read AND it has great coupons inside! I also received an envelope of coupon inserts from my sweet grandma in California. She is so wonderful, she even signed up for a second newspaper subscription so she had enough inserts to send to my sister in Utah! She's so great - thanks Grandma!
2. I stopped by the mall to pick up my free cami from Lane Bryant. They have the camis in black and white and they are behind the counter. I picked up a black one, paid no tax, and walked out with my free cami! Gotta love a true freebie! Print your coupon here - the coupon expires 5/10.
3. Have you heard about this massive McNeil recall of Tylenol, Motrin, & Benadryl products? Scary! I checked the recall list with my stockpiled medicine and it was all included in the refill. Thank goodness I hadn't used any yet. I will submit my information to McNeil. They are offering your choice of a cash refund or a free coupon. I haven't decided which one I want yet.
4. I also filled up my car using the fuel rewards program at Fry's. Just by couponing at Fry's, I saved 10 cents per gallon bringing down the price of my fuel to 2.75 - pretty awesome! It's easy to enroll - all you need to do is enter your Fry's shopper card number to the fuel program. Click here to get started!
5. My husband and my sweet baby girl came and took me to lunch today - what a treat! This doesn't sound like a frugal activity, but we went to Quizno's where kids eat free under this new promotion. This special cut our bill in half! Usually, my husband gets a small sub meal and then my daughter and I share a kid's meal. With the kid's meal being free, our family was able to eat for about $6!

I've been clipping all my coupons and getting my lists ready so I can hit the stores tomorrow. I'll post a full report! Thanks to all of you readers who have commented after testing out the sales I posted. You guys are awesome!