Restaurant.com - 80% off code!

This is good for today ONLY at www.Restaurant.com. Use code EIGHTY for 80% off. Wow. Get a $25 gift certificate for $2! Great way to try new places or hit your favorite spot more often! :)

$15 Cookie Magazine Refund form

It's not really a "form", but here's a link, scroll down and you'll see the refund info. You can also click on the Cookie Magazine link from an Amazon screen where you are looking at the item and there's a pic of the magazine and find the same info.

Click here!

Happy Shopping!

Saving Money on Halloween Candy

I've done this the last two years and saved a lot of money on Halloween candy. Our church does a "Trunk or Treat" in a parking lot and last year it was so big, we went through 13 bags of candy! It was crazy....but fun, and that's why we keep going back. But the candy can add up....

So in a recent Sunday paper, there was a coupon for $1 off 2 on M&Ms, Snickers, etc. bagged candy.

Now I wait for a sale.

2 years ago, Walgreens had Halloween candy 2 for $3 with an Easy Saver coupon. Combine that sale and the Walgreen's coupon with a manufacturers coupon, you pay $1.00 per bag! Not bad!

Last year, Target had a better deal and I don't remember the details...it seems like their candy on was sale for 3 for $6 and then they had a Target coupon for $1 off 2 or .50/1 and then combined with a manufacturers coupon, I got them for around .66 each!

I will order coupons on ebay in anticipation of a sale. If I have 10 coupons, I can get 20 bags of candy for $13.00-$20.00. I may not need that much - but between our Trunk or Treat, school parties, and actual Halloween night with our cousins, we probably will.

I will post details of sales that I see in the next few weeks. Last time the sale at Target was the week before Halloween -but at the price I paid, I can wait.

Amazon Toy Sale!

Amazon is some good deals on toys right now....just in time for the holidays!

Here's the scoop:

1- Put $25 worth of toys in your cart that qualify for free shipping.

2 -You will get a free subscription to Cookie Magazine when you spend $25 on toys. If you don't want the magazine, then you can request a $15.00 refund.

*If you would like a refund for your 24 month subscription (a $15 value) as part of your purchase, send a completed copy of this form with a copy of your Amazon.com order confirmation, within 30 days, to: Amazon Special Offer, PO Box 37722, Boone, IA 50037-0722

3 - You can also get $5 off $25 when you pay with Bill Me Later with code BMLDEALS, expires 10/12.

4 - Finally, if you order $25 worth of qualifying products, you can also get a free Mr. Potato Head. You need to add it to your cart. Look under "special offers" on each item to see if it qualifies. (Probably mostly Hasbro stuff)

So - spend $25 on toys. Get $5 off $25 with bill me later. Get a $15 refund if you don't want the Cookie Magazine. You are down to $5 for your purchase AND you may also got the free potato head in the process!

They have lots of toy deals - click into the toy outlet, or go to the toy home page and look for 50-70% off sales. You can look at the side bars for hot items, etc. There's tons of ways to find cheap toys. I haven't purchased yet, but there's plenty in my cart....I just need to look at my list and see who needs what!

Happy Shopping!

McDonald's Coupon Books

The kids coupon books are back at McDonalds! They run $1 to $1.50 each and are loaded with coupons for FREE stuff like apple dippers, cookies, ice cream cones, fries and/or a small drink. I've read that this time might include hamburgers too. They are worth the investment! Makes a great gift too. For use between Oct 31 and Dec 31, 2008. My store didn't advertise this last time, but when I asked, they had them. Good luck!

Make $50 today!

Money Saving Methods has posted step by step instructions on how to make $50 from ShareBuilder. All you invest is $5. I have done ING Bank offers like this in the past, and have received the $50, so I knew this also would be a good offer. It's SUPER easy if you follow her instructions. And what an easy way to make some extra cash for the holidays!

Click here to find out how.

CVS this week and an update

I have been absent from blogging lately.....for one thing, I haven't been shopping a lot. I hit Coscto a week and a half ago and spent about $150 on formula, baby wipes, and some food items. We left town for the last part of last week, and I was really busy getting ready for that - so I apologize for the lack of posts.

CVS has some decent deals this week and I went last night. I had to fill a prescription yesterday afternoon and $6 in ECBs printed! I think those were from my quarterly earnings, including the $1 on every 2 prescriptions filled. I fill A LOT of prescriptions and I just started giving them my card to scan when I do so.

• Glaceau Vitamin Water is $2.29 with $2.29 ECBs back, so it's FREE after ECBs! Limit 1
• Buy $20 of select Tylenol (children's too!), Bayer, Sudafed, Motrin, Pepcid, Mylanta, Viactiv products, etc. you will get $10 back in ECBs. (There's quite a bit to choose from!)
• Mennen Speed Stick Deodorants are $1.99 with $1.00 ECB back, limit 5. There were $1.00/2 coupons in the 9/28 paper, which makes them less than .50 each after ECBs.
• Bic Soleil Razor or Cartridges are $5.99 with $4.00 ECBs back. There's a printable for $2.00/1 off here and that makes it FREE after ECBS! Limit 5.
• Always Infinity Pads are $4.98 with $4.98 back in ECBs, so they are FREE after ECBs! Limit 1
• Colgate MaxFresh toothpaste is $2.99 with $2.00 in ECBs back. There was a $1.00/1 coupon in the 9/28 paper and you will to get this FREE after ECBs. Limit 2.
• Colgate Cavity 4.6oz Toothpaste is .99, and there were also coupons for $1.00/1 Colgate Adult Toothpaste in the 9/28 paper.

I went back to CVS last night to get some Motrin for my sick baby. Unfortunately, infant's Motrin was not part of the Buy $20 get $10 deal. So, I spent a little more out of pocket than I wanted, but I did do pretty well for a tired mom and little prep time! There are no x off xx CVS coupons right now that I could find - what ever happened to all those great coupons? So this is what I did:

1st Transaction: (2) Bic Soleil Razor Cartridges, plus (1) Lady Speed Stick Deoderant. Used (2) $2.00/1 Bic coupons, and (1) $2.00/1 Lady Speed Stick CVS coupon that printed on my receipt. I had a small gift card balance, so I paid ZERO out of pocket after coupons, $6 ECBs and about $2.45 on the gift card. $9 in ECBs printed!

2nd Transaction: (2) Children's Motrin ($6 ea) and (1) Bayer Aspirin ($8 ea), plus infant's Motrin at $5.49, I bought the CVS brand. I had a $2.00/2 coupon on the Motrin from 9/14 paper and $1.00/1 Bayer coupon from 9/28 paper. After coupons and the $9 in ECBs from the last transaction, I spent $14 out of pocket, BUT I got $10 back. I could have waited and bought the infant's motrin with the $10 in ECBs along with some vitamin water, etc. but I got a call that my little guy was awake again and crying, so I cut it short and headed home. Now I have $10 in ECBs for next time! I'll probably go back and get some free toothpaste and mineral water!

So - since I'm tracking my grocery shopping.....I decided to add that to my side bar. That way I don't have to post every time and I can keep track of a monthly total better. I went to Walmart yesterday and spent $41, plus Fresh and Easy last night and spent $10. With the CVS trip for $14, that's $65 for the week!

Fresh & Easy and a Grocery Shopping update

This is a new grocery market type store in the Phoenix area. They are popping up all over the place. There are a few things I like about Fresh & Easy:

1 - They ALWAYS send out coupons in the mail/Sunday paper, etc. $5 off $20 or $2 off $10 are the most common. When you shop in their stores they give one another one for the following week. I often use these coupons at Alberstons, but sometimes I use them there too.

2 - Their products are made with high quality ingredients, and contain no artificial colors, flavors and no added trans fats. They're delivered daily to the stores, so they're always fresh.

3 - They have great in store specials. I had to go somewhere yesterday to buy 2 things: lettuce and yogurt. They had signs up all over the store to watch for 50% off savings. Things that were close to expiration. I found some fresh chicken nuggets (already cooked and lightly breaded) for $2.25, fresh baked choc chip cookies for the kids for 0.75, a some yummy chicken tortilla soup for 1.50. They also had some prepackaged apple slices marked down to $2.25 for 5 bags. (These are great in school lunches, since the slices don't go brown).

So, I picked up what I needed and a couple more things and spent $9.33!

By the way, I did hit Albertsons with some coupons last Friday and spent $15.56 on groceries. I went to CVS yesterday and spent $25 on 1 mega pack of diapers, 2 12-packs of toilet paper, 2 boxes of cereal that were marked down to 0.25 and a can of formula. After coupons and ECBs, I paid $25 between two transactions. So for this week, I've spent $50 on groceries which includes diapers and formula!

Albertsons & Fry's deals - this week!

Albertsons:
Albertson's has a Kraft Deal going on this week - if you spend $20 on Kraft items in the ad, then you get $5 back instantly. Some items include (Nestle morsels - use $1.50/1 coupon from a previous post, Ritz crackers, Hot Pockets (1.25 ea after $5 off!), Juicy Juice, Chips Ahoy cookies, Wheat Thins, etc.) I was able to print (4) of the Nestle morsel coupons, which are on sale for $2.50 ea, after the sale, they are $1.88 ea, after the coupon, they are .38/ea!! There's not a lot of coupons out there for the other items, but this is still a decent deal - especially if you use the Nestle coupons. If you use (4) that takes $6 off your total! So w/out any other coupons, you spend $20, get $5 back and $6 off with Nestle morsel coupons for a total of $9!!

There's more. They have 5-pack boxes of Mac & Cheese for $2.99 and Mac & Cheese crackers for $2.50 ea. If you buy 2 (mix and match), you get a free box of Capri Sun.

My advice? Do both deals, add a few more things in your cart that bring your total to $20. (Like milk $1.99/gallon, gala apples .67/lb, etc) Use a Fresh & Easy coupon (if you are a local AZ reader) and you get it all for around $15!

Frys: (thanks to my sis in law and her friend Tina for the heads up on this one)
Fry's has Powerade Zero on sale for .50 each. If you buy (6), and spend $3, a catalina coupon prints out for $4! So, you make $1.00 on each transaction. You can do this over and over again. Next transaction, buy (6) again, and add something worth $1 to your cart. Use the $4 off coupon and you pay nothing, plus get a $4 catalina for the next time.

If only I lived close to Fry's. It's kind of a trip for me and with kids....doing stuff like this stresses me out. It's not hard, but you have to do separate transactions and that takes a little time and patience. But if you like Powerade Zero - this is a great deal!

This weeks grocery shopping

So, this week I went to Super Walmart for my grocery shopping. I had a few things to get that were not "grocery" items per se, so I knew I could get everything in one stop. I pretty much shopped for the next two weeks, excluding produce, and I also price matched some produce and milk and paid $41.00 for everything.

I also went to CVS. I needed to buy some things I that signed up to donate for my son's fall carnival this week. I forgot to pick them up at Walmart. However, CVS was having a peanut butter sale, so my first transaction, I spent $5 with $3 back in ECBs. My 2nd transaction, included the case of water and bag of candy to donate, plus 3 Johnson Buddies Soap, and an Exedrin Migraine (free after ECBs, plus used a $2/1 printable coupon), and after my coupons as ECBs, I paid $5.53, and came home with $3.99 in ECBs for next time.

So, for this week, I spent approx $51.53.

Next week, I'll be spending more, as I'm gearing up for a Costco trip for formula and a few other things they have coupons for this month. I might also hit Albertsons to get some .38 chocolate chips and other things that go with that sale (you have to spend $20 to get the $5 back on that deal). CVS is also having a Kimberly Clark sale - spend $25, get $10 back. I'll post the details, but it includes toilet paper and diapers - two things I always need, so I'll probably spend some money there next week too. I'm not trying to stick to a weekly budget per se - more of a monthly budget -since I shop sales, I don't need to buy the same amount every week.

I didn't know peanut butter was so cheap.....or chocolate for that matter!

Today I got (6) jars of peanut butter for $2.00! How? I had ordered some coupons off of ebay for another sale, I think at Walgreens. Anyway, you can't just order 1 or 2 coupons, so I had some left over from that sale.

This week at CVS, Skippy PB is 3/$5. When you spend $10, you get $3 back in ECBs. (There are other items included in this deal). So, I put 6 PBs in my cart, used a $2/$10 CVS coupon, used (3) $1/2 Skippy PB coupons and paid $5.00 even. I got $3 back in ECBs, so it's like I paid $2 for all that peanut butter! The cashier was even impressed. It comes out to be $0.33 a jar! Wow! That's some cheap peanut butter.

So, I read about another great deal over on Mommy Making Money. She tells you how to get Tyson Chicken Nuggets for $2.79 a bag! Wow.... here's the details:

Target Tyson Chicken Nugget Price - $4.79, use $1/1 coupon from 9/7 Sunday paper, and $1/1 Target printable coupon from a Full Cup Coupon Generator, and you pay $2.79 a bag! That's a great price. I just ordered some more coupons off ebay so I can stock up on cheap chicken nuggets!

And one more thing click here for a GREAT coupon on Nestle Morsels - $1.50/1! Wow! I had to sign in/register first and come back and click the link for the coupon. They are on sale this week at Walgreens for $1.99 each, so that's .49 ea after coupons. Our Albertsons also has them on sale with another promo, so if you are doing the promo and use the coupons, they come out to be .38/bag! I was able to print 2 coupons.

Safeway Super Coupons!

Today's Sunday paper had lots of Safeway super coupons, which could be good deals with coupons:

Progresso Soup 3 for $3, limit 1 purchase of 3
Use .50/2 coupon from 9/7 paper and if it doubles, you can get 3 for $2!

Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs, $1.99
Use .70/1 Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs coupon from 7/27 paper to get it for $1!

Shrimp, medium cooked is $4.99/lb

There are some other coupons - but they weren't great prices without matching coupons to them, or the prices were high to begin with.