Swagbucks - Earn FREE stuff you really want!

Have you heard of Swagbucks? If you haven't joined yet, you need to do it TODAY (just click here). Really, it's one of my favorite ways to get free stuff on-line. And honestly, it's very cool free stuff.

Here's how it works -

• Swagbucks is a search engine, just like Google. Actually, it's powered by Google (and Ask), so you know the quality will be great.
• You save it as your homepage (or as your preferred search engine on your toolbar - they have a tool to do it for you..easy, breezy, lemon, cheesy!)
• Then every time you need to do a search on the web, you do it through Swagbucks instead of Google or whatever program you currently use.
• Then, you randomly get awarded "swag bucks" that can be redeemed for gift cards, vintage baseball cards, concert t-shirts, hard-to-find hardback books, car memorabilia, video games, DVDs, etc. The gift cards are for great places, too (Amazon, Starbucks and more).
• On average, you can make approx. $5 to $15 a month in gift cards for doing something you already do. You can let it build up and redeem for big ticket items, too (gaming systems, etc.).
• AND....if you refer friends, you can make even more $$.
• When your friends sign up, you earn a swagbuck every time they do, up to 100. That can add up fast, if you tell lots of people.
• AND THE PROGRAM IS 100% FREE! Sign up today and you'll be surprised how quickly you are drinking free Starbucks coffee! :-)

Using Less - How to save on energy

Well, I don't know about you, but every time I get an energy bill these days, I truly cringe before opening it.

Here are a few tips on saving energy around the house. Now, none of these individual ideas will save you a fortune, but it does add up (not to mention being better for the environment, which is a nice bonus!). Remember my saying, "pennies make dollars and dollars make house payments"!

• Turn off the oven a few minutes early. Turn off the oven and leave the food in, with the door closed - the built-up heat will continue to cook the food without using any energy. Here's a good rule of thumb - if you're cooking something for 50 minutes or longer, turn off the oven 5 to 7 minutes early. If you're cooking something for less than 45 minutes, turn off the oven 4 to 5 minutes early. If you're cooking something less than 30 minutes, turn off the oven 2 to 3 minutes early.
• In the winter, after you're done with the oven, leave the door open a few inches to let that heat warm up your kitchen (don't do this with "little ones" running around).
• Using the right pot or pan on stove burners...did you know that a 6" pot on an 8" burner wastes over 40% of the burner's heat!
• Beware wasted energy - this has been in the news lately, but it really bears repeating. Energy Vampires are electronics throughout your home that are always plugged in, even when not in use. Did you know that these items still use electricity, even when turned off? This includes: televisions, cell phone chargers, battery re-chargers, DVD players, gaming systems, etc. It has been estimated that this extra electricity costs US consumers more than $5.8 billion annually! Walk around your house and look for these things - for example, in our rarely used guest room, we had a digital clock, TV and DVD player plugged in; we started unplugging our cell phone chargers when not being used, etc. Easy changes that could easily add up to lots of money per year!
• Call you energy company for a credit on your bill (FREE MONEY) - Duke Energy (and many other energy companies throughout the country) offer many energy saving programs, but my favorite is one where they actually pay YOU! A program called Power Manager is a great fit for many families. They give you up to $35 credit on your bill (one month only) to let them install a PM box on your AC unit. Then, on the hottest days of the summer (usually only a handful of days) they may cycle your AC on/off a few times, for only a few minutes at a time. They credit your bill on the days when they do it IN ADDITION to the initial $35. They only turn off the AC during the week, during the day (when many are at work) and for only a few minutes at a time.
• Cold water - only wash your clothes in cold water. This saves Hundreds of $$ per year in energy costs and is actually better for your clothes. I've been doing this for years and honestly, there is NO difference in how clean the clothes get. (I do use bleach on my whites, but wash them in cold water.)
• Turn off the lights (or don't even turn them on) - Another good rule of thumb - with regular light bulbs - turn them off if you're going to be gone for 5 minutes or more. Flourescent bulbs - turn them off if you're going to be gne for 10 minutes or more. On that note, change all of those bulbs to flourescent and save 100's of $$ per year! (Some energy companies offer coupons or rebates, call yours to find out).

If you've got some additional ideas, please share!

Free Stuff Thursday

• Love to Scrapbook? Archivers is having a freebie event this weekend! February 20, 21, 22 - they are opening one hour early on Friday & Saturday to take full advantage of the sale & freebies - DURING THE FIRST HOUR OF EACH DAY EACH CUSTOMER WILL RECEIVE TWO FREE STUDDED STICKERS plus two free projects to make while you're there!


• Love coffee? I'm addicted to the good stuff and it doesn't get much better than Gevalia. Here's a fantastic deal - Gevalia - 3 Boxes for $3 + Free Mug + Free Shipping. Click Here


• 100% FREE business magazines - could make a great gift for your hubby to to improve your own skills! Lots to choose from Click Here


• As always, you can count on Walmart to have good freebies on-line, just Click Here and click on the "Free Samples" button for lots of goodies!


• Do you collect Pampers Reward Points? Here are some codes for free points! WELCOMEBONUS089, HAPPYHOLIDAY089, GIVE09UNICEFGTG


• Free samples of Degree deodorant for men, Click Here.


• Get TONS of Free Samples. Updated with a complete new list of Free Stuff every 24 hours. Get yours Now! Click Here


• FREE flexible baking pan, get them while they last! Click on logo here:

Meet Me at Meijer - Deals for the week of 2/15

Here's my latest installment of the deals from Meijer. Got some amazing deals and picked up a few things that I had to have (stockpile was bare, GASP) and got an OK deal on those.

Here are the highlights:

Kellogg's Cereal Sale - Buy 5 boxes at $2 each and get a free gallon of milk - I had a Catalina coupon from last week for $4.50 off 3 boxes of Kellogg's Shredded Mini-Wheat and a $1.50 of two boxes (from RP insert on 1/18). So, I got 5 boxes of Kellogg's cereal and a gallon of milk for only $4.00!! That's free milk plus each box of cereal was only NET = .80 each! Friends, I was giddy in the aisles of Meijer over this one! My cereal stockpile is officially full (for now).

• 10 items for $10, get 11th for free (NET = .90 each before coupons) - I picked up:



• organic carrots,



• 2 packages of broccoli,



• 2 Knorr Rice Side Dishes (.75 coupon off 2 doubled to $1 from 1/18 RP insert) = NET price was .40 each



• generic sandwich bags (150 count)



• Green Giant frozen Lima Beans (.50 coupon off 2 doubled to $1 from 1/4 SS insert) = NET price was .40 each



• 2 packages of organic mushrooms



• 1 package of Quaker Rice Cakes (.50 coupon doubled to $1 from the 1/18 RP insert) = NET FREE





• Folgers Coffee - Vanilla Biscotti flavored usually $6.99, SALE price $5.50 ($1.00 coupon, cut from the top of last month's Folgers coffee can) = NET price $4.50





• Grapefruit 10 lb bag = $5




• Clearance priced Red Gala apples only .30/lb! (ALWAYS check the clearance racks at Meijer - there are some great deals, especially on produce)




• Items that I HAD to have and paid more than I wanted to: Kitchen garbage bags and Ketchup, together $6.94.

My TOTAL OOP = $36.27

The TOTAL retail value = $73.14

TOTAL savings = $36.87

OTHER GREAT DEALS:

• $1/lb Asparagus


• $1/lb Apples


• Marzetti Salad dressing - sale $1.67 (available coupons $.55 on 2 in the 1/25 RP Insert & $1 in the 2/1 RP Insert)


• Dole bagged salads - sale $1.67


• Aunt Millie's Healthy Goodness Bread - sale $1.25 (available coupons $.50 & $.35 in 1/11 RP Insert)


• Arm & Hammer Laundry Detergent - sale $3 (available coupons $1 Printable here (click Get Coupons)
  


• Old Orchard juice concentrate - part of the 10 for $10 get 11th for free deal




• Don't forget - Be sure to save the $20 gift card for any NEW or Transferred script at the pharmacy...good toward groceries or gas (these are a GREAT money saver - just file them with your coupons for later use).
  
  Shop at Meijer this week? Please share your deals with others, using the comments box below. Thanks!

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CVS Deals - week of 2/15

AHHHH, Maybe it's just the recent Valentine's Day holiday, but I seem to fall more in love with CVS with each passing week! They have (had) an amazing two day sale on diapers this week, which I took full advantage of (of course). Here are my deals for this week:



Transaction #1 - Diapers

• Huggies Jumbo package (two packages) - regular price was $12.49 each (total of $24.98)


• On sale for $8.99 per package


• 2/$1.50 off coupons (one per package)


• $5 ECB from last week


• Total OOP was $10.80...however, I had $1.50 in Upromise e-coupons which will deposit into that account AND the Caregiver's Marketplace Rebate of .75 per package, so my actual total cost = $7.80 for TWO JUMBO PACKS OF HUGGIES DIAPERS (that comes to $3.90 per package!!)

Transaction #2 - toothpaste

• Colgate Total Whitening - on sale for $2.99


• 1/$1.00 off coupon


• $1.99 ECB


• FREE plus $2.99 in ECB for next week!

Transaction #3 - Gillette Shampoo

• Gillette Men's shampoo - on sale for $4.99 (shelf tag said $5.99, but it rang up $4.99)


• 1/$2.00 off coupon


• $2.00 ECB from last week


• Total OOP $1.00 plus $3.00 in ECB for next week!

Catch lots of CVS scenarios at Keeping the Kingdom First weekly $5 CVS scenario! Tons of great ideas for saving money...my favorite hobby!

Please note: I know my total scenario was over $5 oop (as per the rules on Kingdom Clippers site) but to make that work, I would just buy one package of diapers, which would give me a total OOP, after the rebate and Upromise, of $4.90

Target Clearance - Valentine's Day

I have to admit, I've been known to enjoy a good Target clearance....who doesn't? When I see those little red tags, my heart starts racing!

I'll be heading over to Target on Wednesday to see what leftover treats are there for me. I usually buy valentines for the upcoming year (for my kids to trade at preschool) and maybe some stickers or other "crafty" type items to make scrapbook pages or cards (think outside the box...can those cheap boxed cards be cut apart to make something cute...usually, YES!) One year I bought chocolate to store away and it didn't even make it to Easter...My thighs and I learned a valuable lesson about stockpiling chocolate ;-)

Here's an after-holiday shopping tip for you - Target usually follows a set schedule for clearing out their post-holiday items (the exception is Christmas). Here are the general guidelines:

• 50% off - marked down on the day after the holiday, usually for 3 days
• 75% off - marked down on the 4th day after the holiday, usually for 3 days
• 90% off - marked down on the 7th day after the holiday, usually for 1-3 days

I usually call my store when they open to verify the holiday markdowns...the operator at the store is happy to tell you the % off for that day, but she/he CANNOT tell you what it will be marked tomorrow. Just go to http://www.target.com/ and click on store locator...find your favorite one and write their number in your planner - then it's always there when you need it.

Here's another tip - you CAN use a coupon with those holiday clearance items - for example, Glade holiday candles, themed paper towels, Ziploc baggies with snowflakes, etc. Just remember to use the price scanner to make sure they consider the treasure you're holding "holiday" merchandise and therefore, marked down. Also, remember to look at the end caps near those household items..often, holiday items are found there, too.

Have fun "Targeting"...