G's 5 year old Pictures

Better late than never! I finally got G's five-year-old pictures done. I had let two free Picture People coupons come and go and was determined not to let this one get away! G has started taking ballet lessons through the park and rec, so it seemed appropriate to get a ballet picture. :-)

I got this free monkey and a free small picture to go inside it for renewing my Portrait Club membership. We get the membership every year and usually don't get a bonus with it, so I decided to go for it. G was thrilled! A membership gives you 3 free sheets and 3 $10's off through the year, plus 2 free enhancements every time you come in. The membership is $39.95, but I used my first $10 off to make it $29.95, and I still have 2 $10's off and 3 free sheets to use. You can combine these discounts with the free coupons throughout the year, so it ends up being a good deal for our family. We like how their pictures turn out and there are never any sitting fees.

Does your family use The Picture People?

Playing (and Winning) Sweeps

It's fun to play some sweeps. . . and win! I've won all sorts of free product coupons and gift cards in the past 15 months or so. My biggest win was a $1000 Home Depot gift card! I don't play every day, but if I have an extra five minutes I go to Freebies4Mom's sweeps page and try to enter a few of my favorite sweeps. These are the sweeps I am playing right now:

• Cheerios--Receive $4 in coupons for signing up, and play every day to win a free box of cereal by mail. Over 50,000 boxes will be given away.
  
• Pace--Win a free jar of salsa or picante sauce ($4 off coupon by mail). I've won several of these. Get a free code to play by clicking right under the code box.
• MyCoke--Win a $20 gift card or other prizes. I won 2 gift cards last year. Get 2 free entries per day by clicking on "official rules" by "chk undr cap". Scroll down 3 times to the red "click here" under #5.
  
• Extra 3PM Snackdown--Win "snackdown cash" to redeem for thousands of items. Over 11,000 winners. Free code to enter is AZZZZFHG. Then check your email to see if you've won.
• Nature Valley--Win one of 750 prizes, either a Nature Valley T-shirt or a coupon for a free box of Dark Chocolate Peanut & Almond Sweet & Salty Nut bars.
• Dove Spin for your Skin--Spin 3 times a day to win one of 2,000 coupons for a 2-pk of Dove soap.
  
• WhyMilk--Enter every day to win free milk for a year (given as 52 coupons--one gallon a week). 120 instant winners. You can also print off a coupon for a free gallon of milk with a $100 purchase.

I use a different email address for entering my sweeps (not that I get a lot of spam, but just in case). I also heard some good advice about not entering sweeps you can't afford to win. Any big wins will be reported to the IRS, and you have to pay taxes on them, which means money out of pocket unless the prize was cash. So if you win a dream home in AZ or a trip to Europe, make sure you have enough cash on hand to be able to pay the taxes on those big wins. To be safe, I just don't enter the big sweeps. I'm happy with small wins! :-) If you win something, be sure to come back and let me know so I can rejoice with you!

Kraft Cheese Coupon Reset!

Great news! The $1/2 Kraft cheese coupon has reset on Coupons.com, so you can go and print 2 more! These work great when paired with the Kraft catalina deal (buy 5 get $5 OYNO). This catalina was still working when I went shopping this week, so hopefully it will still be working next week as well.

New coupons are put up at the beginning of each month, so if there are some that interest you, print them off now because they might be gone next week. Other good coupons I noticed:
$1/1 Voila meals
$1/1 Red Baron single pizzas
$1/1 Flintstones Vitamins
$1/1 Nature Valley Nut Clusters
$1/1 Caribou 12-oz coffee bags

And here's one more great coupon, available from Reynolds:
Save $1 off Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil (excludes 20, 25 and 30 ft rolls)

Weekly Shopping--saved 81%

Roundy's had their super-doubles event yesterday where they doubled 10 coupons per transaction instead of the normal 5. There was some questions as to whether coupons would double if they said "Do Not Double", but I asked at the service desk and she said the register would still double them automatically. I did 2 transactions and doubled 20 coupons (some said DND, but they all doubled automatically). I only bought what was on sale or what I had a coupon for, so I spent $16.68 and saved $70.23, a savings of 81%.

These items were better than free: Pillsbury pizza crust x4 and sweet rolls x2. I did the Pillsbury catalina deal and had $2.64 in overage. :-) I also earned an automatic "Roundy's Reward" of $1 off my order for spending $20 (which must be calculated before coupons).

These items were free: Salt and Pepper set x2, Puffs tissues, Crispix cereal, and Cheese Nips.

These items were $1 or less: Kleenex tissues, No Yolks x2, eggs x4, Kraft sliced cheese x2, Kraft shredded cheese x2, Kraft parmesan cheese, Hunt's spaghetti sauce x2, Chili powder x2, Muir Glen diced tomatoes x4, Uncrustables x2, bananas, lettuce, and Sunny D smoothie.

I also bought: Johnsonville italian sausage (for lasagna), New York garlic toast, and Orange juice.I went to Walgreens to buy my milk because they will take the free chocolate milk coupons. I got 4 gallons of milk and 2 half gallons of chocolate milk. I spent 11.16 on milk at Walgreens, making my overall total for the week $27.84. I really only paid $6.16 OOP at Walgreens because I used the $5 Huggies RR--and I had used the $10 Pepsi RR to pay for the Huggies, but I count the RRs (or catalinas) toward the product I am buying (to consider if it is a good deal), so that's why I didn't count it toward my OOP on the milk.

My goal is to spend an average of about $50 a week on groceries throughout the month. Because I shop the sales, usually I have a couple of bigger weeks and a couple of smaller weeks. This week was a smaller week. My average spending for the month of January was $52.32 with an average savings of 71.5% or $116 a week. (You can see my other shopping trips for the month here, here, and here.) If I spend 2 1/2 hours a week clipping coupons and shopping sales, that's like "making" $46 an hour! Is couponing worth it? It is to me! :-)

I chatted with Caela in the store and we both noticed that the sales were weaker on the super-doubles weeks. Last time the store doubled 10 coupons I also spent less than usual (not that I'm complaining!). I like that they've done it at the end of the month both times, so I can use up some coupons that are about to expire. Rumor has it this might become a semi-regular occurence. I won't complain, as long as all my coupons double!

How about you? What deals did you score at your store? Leave a comment so I can celebrate with you! :-)

Search with Swagbucks!

I just love searching with Swagbucks! Remember that today is Mega Swagbucks Day, so you might win a higher denomination today just by doing a few searches. I do a few searches a day and always win at least 1 swagbuck, but lately I have been winning a lot of 2's, and 2 weeks ago I won a 4! They add up fast if you search everyday and if you redeem them for a $5 Amazon gift card, 1 swagbuck is worth 11 cents (I know it might not sound like much, but that's 11 cents I wouldn't have if I searched with another engine). I have also won more than once throughout the day. After you do a search, when the page comes up with your search results, sometimes you will see a message like this:If you haven't signed up with Swagbucks yet, or if you have but haven't started searching, know that it IS worth it and you WILL save money! You can even save up all your Amazon gift cards through the year and pay for Christmas presents--getting them shipped right to your door (or even their door!) saving you time. Sign up by clicking here and get 3 free swagbucks to start off! Add swagbucks to your toolbar or your favorites to help you remember to search each day, and have fun earning those swagbucks!

If you don't like Amazon, you can also redeem for Paypal "cash" for 70 swagbucks or other prizes. Obviously with Amazon you get "more bang for your swagbuck"!

Huggies Wipes--Only $0.75 each!

According to Deal Seeking Mom, there is a new in-store coupon booklet at Walgreens. I haven't been to my store to verify this, but I'm hoping it's true! Why? Because one of the coupons is for $1/1 Huggies Wipes tubs (limit 2), and if you combine it with the $0.75/1 Huggies coupons I told you about here, (looks like they are gone now, so I hope you printed them last week!) you can get wipes as low as $0.75 this week at Walgreens because they are on sale.

Huggies Wipes, 2/$5 (on sale this week)
Use $1/1 Walgreens Huggies coupon (will deduct $2 automatically)
Use (2) $0.75/1 Huggies Wipes coupons
$0.75 ea. after coupons!

You can "stack" these coupons because one is a Walgreens store coupon and the other is a manufacturer coupon. These are also part of the buy $25 in Huggies products, get $5 RRs deal this week. Let me know if you find this Walgreens coupon book in your store by leaving a comment!

Share Your Stockpile

Now that you know how to spend less and get more, how can you use your new found skills to bless others?

The Salvation Army is an easy one--and usually there is a branch in just about every major (or even minor!) city. Just give them a call. They are thrilled when I drop off bags of cereal and pasta (for example--those are 2 items I can get for very cheap or free and have plenty of).

Another idea is to call your local homeless shelter. One year my then 3-year-old daughter H said she wanted to share her birthday cupcakes with some of the poor. I politely shooed away her idea, saying that probably wouldn't be possible, but that it was a nice thought. But God wouldn't let me let it go--he kept it on my heart! So I pulled out the phone book and gave them a call. I told them we had some homemade cupcakes from my daughter's birthday that she wanted to share and we had an extra dozen--could we drop them off to brighten someone's day? She said we sure could, so H and I drove right down and delivered some cupcakes. It was a humbling learning experience for me. It doesn't hurt to ask!

Last year I helped gather toothpaste and toothbrushes to send to Lima, Peru with a missionary I have contact with. She had a goal of 1500 toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste, and I was thrilled that I was able to help. A few friends helped, too, and I mailed off a box FULL of about 100 toothbrushes and 4 oz. tubes of toothpaste!

You can also share some of your stockpile with friends and family. There have been many times I've given away boxes of cereal, bottles of mouthwash, tubes of toothpaste, tubs of wipes, and other items to friends and family members because we have more than we need.

A lot of grocery stores have drop boxes for local food pantries. This is an easy way to donate some items so you don't even have to make a special trip!

Several churches are willing to take donations, too. Church nurseries and preschools welcome donations of diapers, wipes, crackers, Cheerios, and other items. Our church also collects individually wrapped candy to hand out to kids at Awana or special events.

Every year our family likes to put together shoeboxes for children for Christmas. We do some for Operation Christmas Child and donate some locally. Stock up on school supplies, wipes, socks, small toys, soap bars, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and other items throughout the year when they are on sale. Set aside an area (like the top of the closet) with some bags that you can fill throughout the year with small items. Once it's time to assemble the boxes, you'll be surprised at how much stuff you already have to fill them!

Toys for Tots is another easy Christmas idea. Watch the off-season sales for toys or games and then save them in your special donation area to donate later.

What other ideas do you have? Please leave a comment!

By this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' Acts 20:35

Pillsbury Catalina Deal and More Printable Coupons

It looks like at both Roundy's and Kroger stores (and probably other stores) there is a Pillsbury catalina deal going on right now, good until 2/21.

Buy 4 Pillsbury Refrigerated products in one transaction, get $2 OYNO catalina.
Buy 5, get $3 OYNO.
Buy 6, get $4 OYNO.

There are a LOT of printable coupons available to make this a great deal, especially if your store doubles coupons!
$1.00/2 Pillsbury Sweet Rolls or Grands! Sweet Rolls
$0.30/2 Refrigerated Pillsbury Grands! Biscuits
$0.50/2 Pillsbury Crescent Dinner Rolls
$1.00/2 Pillsbury Refrigerated Cookie Dough
$0.40/2 Pillsbury Italian Meal Breads
$0.75/2 Pillsbury Refrigerated Holiday Cookies
$1.00/2 Pillsbury Refrigerated Cookie Dough
$0.30/2 Refrigerated Pillsbury Grands! Biscuits
$0.40/2 Pillsbury Italian Meal Breads (Includes any Loaves, Breadsticks, Dinner Rolls, and Pizza Crust)
And more on the Pillsbury website!

Also, I've seen some comments on other blogs that the Kraft catalina deal is still working (buy 5, get a $5 OYNO catalina). If so, here's some good coupons to use with that deal:
$1.00/2 Kraft or Cracker Barrel Natural Cheese
$1.00/4 Philadelphia cream cheese
$1.00/1 Kraft parmesan cheese
$1.00/2 Kraft Shells and Cheese
are more!

While you are in a coupon printing mood, here are some more great ones to print off. Wait for a sale for some cheap or free oatmeal and cereal!
$1/1 Quaker Oatmeal (create your day, then print the coupon twice)
Sign up to get 5 $1/1 Multigrain Cheerios coupons by email
Sign up to get 5 $1/1 Cheerios coupons by email (in the yellow box)

Remember, some of these coupons have pre-set print limits, so once a bunch of people print them off, they could be gone. So if you think you might use these in the next month or so, print them off now before you miss your chance.

Free Insulated Bag--First 30,000!

UPDATE: Sorry, these are all gone now!
If you are one of the first 30,000 people to fill out the form, you’ll get a FREE insulated freezer bag from Sam’s Club! You don’t need a Sam’s Club membership number to request your bag.

Thanks Deal Seeking Mom!

Dairy Coupons for IA, SD, MO, NE, CO, & KS

If you live in South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Colorado, or Kansas, you are in luck because there are some dairy coupons you can print off from Roberts Dairy, even for $0.55/1 gallon of milk! Click on "coupons" on the top bar.

All You Magazine-$1 per issue

Do you get All You magazine? I don't have much time to read magazines, but this one I do pay to subscribe to because it has all sorts of coupons in it, so I feel like it pays for itself. The only place you can buy it is at Walmart stores, but you'll pay at least twice as much if you buy it off the rack. Subscribing is definitely the way to go.

Freebies4Mom found a way to get a subscription (or extend your current one) for just $1 an issue! Considering the coupons inside, this is a good deal. And if you have some Amazon gift cards saved up from searching with Swagbucks, you can lower your cost even more!

Get a 2-year subscription to All You magazine for $34 on Amazon and get a $10 credit for a future purchase. That's like getting 24 issues for $24 after "rebate", or $1 each. If you'd prefer, you can also get a 1-year subscription for $15, and instead you'll get the "All You Guide to Health and Fitness" for free. That's $1.25 per issue, but still a good deal, especially if you want to lower your upfront OOP. Note that these offers are only good until January 31st, so hurry if you are interested in this deal!

Roundy's Matches--Double 10 Coupons!!

Roundy's is having another super double event this week! On Wednesday, you can double not 5, but 10 coupons per $25 order! So get your scissors ready for some super savings! (For my personal shopping list, scroll down.)

Dannon yogurt $0.50 each
$1/6 here
$1/6 or $0.17 each ADC!

Johnsonville Bratwurst $3.49
$0.55/1 Johnsonville Sausage
$2.39 ADC

Nabisco Snack Crackers $3.19
$2/2 printable here
$2.19 each

Kraft Deli Cheese $2
$1/2 Kraft Natural Cheese
$1 each ADC

Progresso Light soup $0.98 limit 2
$1/3 here (if you already printed it)

BOGO Pillsbury Pizza Crust, Dinner Rolls, Breadsticks, Biscuits or French Bread
$.30/2 Grands! Biscuits
$.50/2 Pillsbury Crescent Dinner Rolls
$.40/2Pillsbury Italian Meal Breads here and here

Fisher Whole Cashews, Pecans or Mixed Nuts $3.99
$1/1 here
$1.99 ADC

Blue Diamond Almonds $2.50
$1/2 here
$1.50 each ADC

Huggies Mega pack Diapers $14.98
$2.50/1 Pure & Natural Diapers
$2/1 Little Snugglers or Little Movers Diapers
$2/1 Overnites Diapers
$1/1 Any Huggies Diapers

Campbell's Condensed Soups $1.25
$1/4 here
$3/4 or $0.75 each ADC

Muir Glen Tomatoes $1.79
$1/1 here or $1/2 here
Better than free ADC!

Cottonelle 6 Double Roll Bath Tissue or 84 ct. Moist Wipes $3.99 each
$0.50/1 4-pack or larger of Cottonelle Aloe & E Toilet Paper here or here
$0.50/2 tubs or refills or ONE 72 ct refill or larger of Cottonelle SoothingClean Flushable Moist Wipes or here

I've been asked many times why I don't post my grocery shopping list BEFORE Wednesday, so that you all will know what deals I am going for and can copy my transactions. There are a few reasons why I haven't so far:

• I'm just not that organized! Sometimes it's all I can do to post the coupon matches each week by Tuesday. I usually don't pull my own coupons until 5pm on Wednesday night!
• Everyone's family's shopping needs are different, so your $25 transactions won't look the same as mine, which could make it frustrating to match my deals.
• Everyone's coupon stash is different--Some have access to multiple papers or coupons from family members, some get All You magazine, some have printed off the coupons at the beginning of the month and some haven't. I don't want to frustrate people with coupons that aren't available to them, which is why I only post the current printables.
  
• I frequently am shopping with rainchecks or competitor's coupons, which other people may not have.

Given these reasons, I do understand why people ask, so I will try my best to highlight some of the deals I plan to go for. This week some of the sale items I plan to buy are red grapes, eggs (limit is 2 per transaction, I may get 4 if I do 2 transactions), Muir Glen tomatoes, Johnsonville Brats, Nabisco crackers, Kraft cheese, Kellogg's cereal (I have some $1/1 coupons that came in some cereal), New York garlic bread, and maybe some McCormick spices if there are some on sale (I have some coupons).

Kroger Printable Coupon Matches

Kroger doubles coupons up to $0.50 every day. There are a TON of coupon matches to go with the Kroger Mega Event this week!

Kroger Mega Event--Buy 10 participating items in one transaction and get $0.50 off per item. Mix and Match any 10 items below.

Kraft Cheese products $0.99 wyb 10 participating items
$1/2 Kraft Natural Cheese
$0.49 each wyb any 10 items!

Pillsbury Savorings $2.49 wyb 10 participating items
$1/1 here
$0.55/1 here and here
$1.94 wyb 10 items

Pillsbury Toaster Strudels $1.49 wyb 10 participating items
$1/2 here
$0.55/2 here and here
$1.22 each wyb any 10 items

SoBe Lifewater $0.49 wyb 10 participating items
$0.25/1 SOBE Life Water printable
FREE ADC wyb 10 items!

Nabisco Snack Crackers $1.70 wyb 10 participating items
$2/2 printable here
$0.70 each wyb 10 items

Nature Valley Granola Bars $1.99 wyb 10 participating items
$1/2 Nature Valley Granola Bars printable
$1.49 wyb any 10 items

Fiber One Granola Bars $1.99 wyb 10 participating items
$0.40/1 here
$1.19 ADC wyb 10 items

Chex Mix $1.49 wyb 10 participating items
$0.50/1 Chocolate Chex Mix here and here
$0.49 ADC wyb 10 items

Johnsonville Bratwurst $2.49 wyb 10 participating items
$0.55/1 Johnsonville Sausage
$1.94 wyb any 10 items

Frank’s Red Hot $1.19
$0.50/1 Franks Red Hot printable
$0.19 ADC wyb 10!

French’s Mustard $1.19
$0.50/1 French’s printable
$0.19 ADC wyb 10!

Coffee-mate Creamer $2.49
$1/1 Coffee-mate Liquid or Powder printable
$1.49 wyb any 10 items

Oscar Mayer Deli Creations $1.99
$1/1 Oscar Mayer Deli Creations Sandwiches printable
$0.99 wyb 10 items

Oscar Mayer Fun Pack Lunchables $1.99
$1/1 Oscar Mayer Lunchables printable
$0.99 wyb 10 items

Farm Rich Appetizers (22-28 oz.), $3.99
$0.75/1 Farm Rich Product printable
$3.24 wyb any 10 items

Starbucks Coffee $6.49
$1/1 Starbucks Bag Coffee printable
$5.49 wyb any 10 items

Tums $3
$1/1 Tums Product printable
$2 wyb any 10 items

Dove Men’s Bar Soap $2
$1/1 Dove Men+Care Product printable
$1 wyb any 10 items

Kleenex Facial Tissue (75-100 ct.), $0.99
$0.50/3 Kleenex Facial Tissue printable

$0.66 each wyb 3 ADC!

Other sale items
Campbell's Condensed Soups $1
$1/4 here
$0.75 each

Huggies Diapers $8.99
$2.50/1 Pure & Natural Diapers
$2/1 Little Snugglers or Little Movers Diapers
$2/1 Overnites Diapers
$1/1 Any Huggies Diapers

Sign up for Birthday Freebies

Our family LOVES eating out, but the bigger our family gets, the more expensive it gets! On the other hand, the more birthdays you have in your family, the more freebies you can get, too! These are some of our favorite birthday freebies, most of which don't even require another purchase, so they are TRULY FREE! Sign up for these restaurant eclubs and they will email you coupons for freebies on your birthday.

Red Robin: Adults get a free burger/entree, Kids get a free kids meal. As part of their eclub, they will also mail you great coupons throughout the year. We love this family-friendly restaurant.

Qdoba: Join the eClub and get a coupon for free chips and salsa when you join and a free entree on your birthday.

Noodles and Company: Join the noodlegram club and get a free dish WITH a protein (meat or tofu), plus a BOGO coupon right away and on your Noodle anniversary.

Cold Stone Creamery: Adults get a free Love It size ice cream creation, kids get a smaller size. Sign up here.

Baskin Robbins: Get a free 2.5 oz scoop on your birthday by signing up here.

Toys R Us: Kids age 2-10 get a free $3 off a $3 purchase by mail by signing up. This has been a fun birthday tradition for our kids, going through the store to find something that is $5 or less.

For more birthday freebies, especially some BOGO offers, go here and here. It's best to sign up for most of these clubs 4-8 weeks before your birthday, to make sure you get your freebie in time. Sign up your whole family today for a whole year of freebies!

Mailbox Monday

New week, new freebies!

• Get a free sample of Clorox GreenWorks here
• Click here to get a free Exfoliating Foot Ointment sample from Kerasal.
• Get a free sample of CankerMelts.
• Get a free Baby Mozart music download from Baby Einstein after you login or register. Expires January 27.
• Sign up for the free Spanish General Mills magazine here which contains coupons for General Mills products.
• There's a new link to get a free sample of Mariani Dried Plums here. Enter code ADSUPER.
  
  

Word Picture Meaning

On "Wordless Wednesday" I posted a rebus that H had made for me. As promised, here is the meaning of her word pictures, which I thought were really clever! You can click on the picture to enlarge it. "I love you every
week. Thank you for
helping me with my homework.
May God bless you
and keep you.

Seriously, how sweet is that? :-)

New Picture People Coupon

Click here to print a coupon for a free 8x10 or 10x13 plus 20% off your purchase at the Picture People. There are never any sitting fees, and we love how the pictures turn out--you just have to restrain yourself from buying all the pictures! Offer expires February 14th. I'm going to FINALLY get G's 5 year old picture done--better late than never!

Are you Searching? It's Mega Swagbucks Day!

Have you been doing your searches on swagbucks? If not, then you are missing out! I usually earn at least 1 or 2 swagbucks a day (you can win more than once a day, I've found), and last Friday I won 4 swagbucks! It doesn't sound like much, but they add up really quickly and you only need 45 to get a $5 Amazon gift card. Click here to sign up and you can start with 3 free swagbucks.

Another way to earn is every week (starting on Thursdays, I'm told), there is a new swag code under the "special offers" on the left side. Just keep skipping through the offers until you find the swag code (it only takes a minute), then enter it on your homepage for a free swagbuck! One word of advice--do your searches first and win your swagbucks, then go for the extra swag code. Happy searching!

Make a Tic-Tac-Toe Game at Lowe's--1/23

You and your child can make a free Tic-Tac-Toe game at Lowe's on Saturday, January 23 from 10-11am. You can register for this event here. The pieces look like they store inside the box, so this looks like a fun craft and game! Have fun!

Mark your calendars for the next free clinic at Lowe's. It will be on February 13th and the project is a jewelry organizer. After decorating, it could be a good gift for someone either for Valentine's Day or Mother's Day.

Weekly Groceries-Saved 69%

This week I did 4 transactions and then went back in for 2 more, a total of 6 transactions. I spent $66.75 over 6 transactions and saved $150.91, a savings of 69%. I had so many groceries I had a hard time getting a picture of them all, so here's a whole view and then 2 half views closer-up. You can also click on the pictures for a closer view if you'd like.The cereal deal was great as usual--The subtotal was $18.94 for 6 boxes, (plus $9 in other items so my coupons would double). Then the $10 General Mills promotion came off, making the cereal $8.94. I doubled 5 $1 internet printable coupons and used 1 more $1 off that didn't double, taking $11 off, effectively making my cereal total -$2.06 (but remember, I had other items so my total didn't actually go negative). Then I got a catalina for $3.50 off milk which I used on my next order. Take -$2.06+$4.70 for 2 gallons of milk=$2.64, minus the $3.50 catalina, which made my total -$0.86 for 6 boxes of cereal AND 2 gallons of milk! I love these promotions! Now you see why I will NEVER pay more than $1 for a box of cereal--and I definitely prefer to get it for free!








These items were better than free: Dreamfields pasta (made $0.11), Cereal x6 and 2 gallons of milk (made $0.86--I only had a catalina for one milk, but I had so much overage I counted it towards the other gallon of milk and still had overage!), and Kraft cheese x4 and Kraft parmesan cheese (spent $4.65 after coupons, got a $5 catalina--made $0.35). Not a whole lot of overage this week, but still a lot for better than free!

These items were free: Campbell's soup x4 (after raincheck and doubled coupon), Activia yogurt x5, Danimals yogurt x2, Betty Crocker potatoes, Tree Top 3-pk. juiceboxes x4.

These items were $1 or less: Campbell's soup x2, Danonino yogurt, Blue Bonnet margarine x2, Old Orchard juice x4, Pillsbury crescents x4, PastaRoni x10 (our girls' favorite--and it hasn't been on sale for awhile so I had to stock up!), bread x5, bananas, apples, tomatoes, yogurt covered peanuts, chicken patties and nuggets x5, and Fiber One cottage cheese x2.

I also bought: 3 packs of diapers, broccoli, lettuce, Doritos, Sunchips x2, string cheese, ricotta cheese x2, and 8 pizzas (I was selected to host a DiGiorno House Party, but my party pack never arrived, so I bought some pizzas anyway--I don't want to disappoint 26 people!).

How about you? Did you take advantage of the cereal deal or the P&G deal (spend $20, get $5)? Did you get anything for free or better than free?

Walgreeens Pepsi/Lay's Deal

There is a great deal going on at Walgreens this week on Pepsi/Lay's products. Buy $20, get $10 RRs. 12-packs are 3/$15, chips are 2/$5, and 2 liters are 4/$5. I got 5 12-pks of Mtn Dew, 2 Tostitos chips, 4 oreos, 2 gallons of milk, and a 1/2 gallon of chocolate milk. I spent $18.33 after RRs. Walgreens did accept my free chocolate milk coupon! I could only use one, though, because they only had 1 gallon each of whole and 1%. Oh well--I got 2 free gallons of milk at the grocery store this week anyway!

CVS also has the Pepsi deal running this week--spend $20, get $10 ECBs, but the prices are different so it's not quite as good a deal (but still not too bad). If you don't have time to go this week, CVS and Walgreens will be doing something similar next week, but the prices look like they may be different. And if you are wondering what to use those $10 RRs or ECBs on, Walgreens has a Pampers deal this week and a Huggies deal next week, and CVS has a Huggies deal the week of 1/31. If you haven't already, you can print some great Huggies coupons here.