Rebates and Freebies, How-To and When-To

Rebates:

I've got a picture here of just a few items I've submitted for rebates. There are different blogs and websites you can look on to find suggestions but most "Try Me Free" items are found at the store with stickers on them with the needed rebate information. It takes just a keen eye to find them as you go through the store. Another common way to come across rebate offers is in the newspaper within the ads and coupons.


Pros of Rebates:
Free stuff!
Surprises in the mail
Ease (some are done online and through paypal)

Cons of Rebates:
Having to pay the money out of pocket and wait several weeks
You don't get reimbursed for taxes
Sometimes the guidelines are vague and can be hard to understand
Having to deposit checks often (I hate it-I'm a direct deposit/online bill pay kinda gal)

Hints and Tips:
-Make sure you're getting something you actually want and would be willing to pay for in case you missed something and you don't actually get the rebate!
-Check and double check all requirements before sending in
-Pick and choose (some require you to jump through a dozen hoops while some simply require a receipt or upc with a form).
-Keep track of your rebate information such as how much you are expecting, when it was submitted, where it was sent to, how long you expect for it to take. If you haven't seen it after the expected timeframe, you can contact the company you sent the rebate request to.

Familiar Rebate Programs:

Staples: Staples often offers rebates, I only go for those that make for free items. I've gotten tissues, paper (white and color), address label sheets, and photo printing paper). They have an "Easy Rebate" program that really is easy-just take the receipt they give you and enter the codes on their website. Turnaround time is pretty quick and you can select a check or paypal.

Walgreens: These can be submitted online or via mail. I've done 3 rebates with them since January and haven't gotten a check once :( Hopefully soon, technically they're still within the 6-8 weeks.

Rite Aid: I believe theirs is also online...I've only done 1 with them and their turnaround time is faster than average.

Freebies
I sign up for a lot of "freebies" or samples. Target.com and Walmart.com often have free samples they'll ship to you. Other samples I sign up for are listed as limited time offers on Facebook pages. I follow multiple blogs for ideas and sign up for what tickles my fancy when I have a moment or so. Here is another picture, showing some of the samples I've gotten since January.


Pros of Freebies:
Free stuff!
Surprises in the mail
Unlike rebates, you don't have to pay anything upfront, including the cost of an envelope and postage!
Most times you will also get coupons that come with your free sample :)

Cons of Freebies:
Sometimes the request form requires too much information or takes too long.
Sometimes the samples are really limited in quantity. If only 2,000 samples are available and I read about it on a blog-I don't even try, everyone else probably already snatched it up!


Tips and Hints:
-Watch what personal information is required. I learned a lesson quickly to not request samples when they required my phone number. Getting calls about samples at work is just not ok (had to jump through that hoop for the scope/pampers/dawn you see pictured). Also, I have an email dedicated especially for these since they like to send you offers later.
-Pick your battles and be patient. Sometimes samples run out before you get to them or webpages run slow because of all the traffic on the site-everyone else wants it free too!
-*Ask companies directly*-My husband and I like the Orange air freshener on the left of the picture. That can was actually purchased, not a freebie. We love the natural, pure, orange oil scent! Not being a "major" company like Glad or Air Wick, we never see or find coupons for them. I went to their website listed on the spray can and contacted them asking for coupons or samples. They don't have any coupons but they said they'd send me a sample, I'm really looking forward to it :)

Let me know if you have any other questions, comments, or want more information on these topics or others :)

Why Wouldn't You Do This?

I feel like a fool now that I know how to really save money, a fool that I ever spent so much, paid full price!!!

My sister-in-law helped a lot and introduced me to Swagbucks.com. I've mentioned them briefly before but I got a package today that made it feel like it was Christmas and I thought I'd share :)

Join Swagbucks HERE. It's totally free and you can be extra casual with earning points if all you do is just use their search engine instead of others like google. We've gotten at least $40 in gift cards since February! They also have special promotions that you can do if you want. I saw they had a Vistaprint option (you have to be a new user, I've bought from them before but my husband hasn't and we have different Swagbucks accounts)-get a free custom t-shirt and just pay for shipping. A good deal on its own, it also gave you enough Swagbucks points to get a $5.00 Amazon.com gift card. Vistaprint always offers other freebies with the hopes that you'll opt into a paid upgrade. I chose all freebies and got tons of business cards, a pen, the t-shirt, and a return address stamp-all customized-all free. Only shipping. I got that package today.

We paid $8.73 for shipping. After the $5 gift card, we really only paid $3.73 for all these goodies!!! Gifts or just-because items anyone? (Sorry no pictures, some of these items were actually customized to be a gift for someone...don't want to let the cat out of the bag in case they peek at my blog :)

I've said it before, and I'll say it again....

My sister-in-law doesn't live as close to a Target as I do and saw the awesome game deals this week. I told her I'd pick something up for the kiddos for early Christmas shopping. Most selections have been pretty well picked through but I saw the Simon Flash and thought it could be fun for the kids. Then I went to get the free Hasbro card game and all of those tagged for the promo were wiped out. None in the back, signs say "No Rainchecks". A possible shipment tomorrow but no guarantees any of the games are on that truck and it would take another trip to the store. We decided after the promotion and coupons, a $25 game was still a good deal for $5 even if it didn't get sweetened up by an additional free card game.

And then I got an idea...
I've noticed at Target that when they run out of promo items sometimes they hang tags on similar items that state "Instant Subsitute". I found another Hasbro card game that wasn't included in the promo that was only $0.10 more than the others and figured I'd give it a try asking the manager to do an instant substitution. They were kind and did it for me :D Remember this is solely up to their discretion and may not always work. Being kind and shopping/approaching them when the store isn't swamped helps as well I'm sure!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...If you never ask, you'll never get it ;)

My Newest Shop! LiveItAgain

I am proud to announce the launch of my newest shop LiveItAgain.etsy.com! I only have a couple small listings so far, but I plan to expand with more upcycled, or re-cycled goods. I have made items such as paper beads and jewelry from recyclable items as well. Have an idea for a custom order? Let me know!

Back to Business...Amazing Sales, Taxes and Couponing.

I regret that I haven't been able to finish my grandmother's memorial project that I wanted, some technical problems creeped up-but I hope to by week's end. Tomorrow I start a new position as a trainer at work, I'm more nervous than I feel I should be but I just have to remind myself that I always have a hard time with change...it will work out.

Anyway, Having some spare time and a large amount of curiosity, I wanted to know about how Washington taxes apply with coupons. I know some states don't have to pay tax at all if the coupon takes the price down to $0.00. But in Washington we have to pay tax on the pre-coupon amount. I knew from checking out my reciepts that it clearly wasn't off of the pre-coupon amount for both store and manufacturer coupons because I often stack them and it just didn't add up. Here you can find the legal info on the WA government website, but basically it explains that you are taxed on the cost after store coupons but after manufacturer coupons.
Example:
Product on sale for $4.99
Store coupon for $1 off.
Manufactuer coupon for $1 off.
You will be taxed on the $3.99 value.

One last quick mention about Target deals-I am a game a holic and they have some amazing game sales this week (We may have bought some for ourselves and rationalized it by wrapping them up in Christmas paper and labelled them to ourselves from Santa already....).

Example:
Some games such as battleship are on sale for $10 each (Usually over $18).
You get a free Hasbro card game with this purchase (about $6-7 value).
Use a $3 off manufactuer coupon + a $3 off target coupon
Get 2 games ($24.50 value) for $4.

Example:
Some electronic games such as Flash Simon on sale for $15 (Usually over $25)
You get a free Hasbro card game with this purchase (about $6-7 value).
Use a $5 off manufactuer coupon + a $5 off target coupon
Get 2 games ($31.50 value) for $5.

To see the Target ad and check out exactly which games are on sale, go to target.com and see their weekly ad. To print off the store coupons I mentioned, go to their coupon section on the site.

For the manufacturer coupons I mentioned, they were in this last Sunday's paper, or you can print them here.

Happy hunting!

Target goodies, Plus :)

I just got this nice haul at Target. Unfortunately I don't think the coupons I used are still available.

$0.46 (taxes)-done in 2 transactions


Transaction #1
8 pack My First Crayola triangle crayons $2.69
Used a $2 off 1 manufacturer coupon (printed off of their Facebook page, no longer available)
Used a $1 off 1 target coupon (available at target.com)
=FREE

Trimmer $2.99
Nail File $1.27
Used a $5 off of 2 Revlon beauty care items Target web coupon (no longer available to print)
=FREE

Reusable target shopping bag $0.99
The Revlon products printed a catalina for $1 off and it paid for this.
=FREE

Transaction #2
8 pack My First Crayola triangle crayons $2.69
Used a $2 off 1 manufacturer coupon (printed off of their Facebook page, no longer available)
Used a $1 off 1 target coupon (available at target.com)
=FREE

Nail Buffer $2.99
Nail File $1.27
Used a $5 off of 2 Revlon beauty care items Target web coupon (no longer available to print)
=FREE


I also wanted to share a secret of mine I found out to getting free candy. I've noticed that on easter bags of M&Ms and Dove that they have peelie stickers that are $1 off of 2 selected items (twix, snickers, dove, etc). I found these on tons of bags at both Rite Aid and Walgreens. There are no restrictions so I used them on candy bars that are on sale 2/$1-they are completely free! Not even tax here in Washington :)


Lastly, I will show you a tasty pizza we made last night-homemade cooking can be done with coupons as well, not just all the frozen dinners, poptarts, and chips!

The ups and downs and food for thought.

Today started out rather frustrating at Rite Aid when I went on my lunch. I wanted to get 3 simple items, use 2 coupons. They wouldn't accept 1 of them because it was an internet coupon that wouldn't scan. I get so frustrated with most stores having an addition to their coupon policy that they won't "force" the printed off coupons. Basically, they don't trust them because of people illegally copying them. I always feel insulted, like they're questioning my integrity or intelligence and I know I've done my research and am abiding by all the rules. What I don't find fair, is that the coupon scanners seem to always hate my coupons no matter if they are from the Sunday paper or the internet, so it's a little unfair that they decide to pick when they will and will not demonstrate good customer service. Anyway, I ended up walking out and taking my money elsewhere.

In the evening, it got a lot better when we went to Walgreen's. We got this haul for $.09. And I don't mean each-I mean all of them. We paid tax only on the carefree (I laughed when I took this picture, it must look like I have PMS).


Later as I was reading my emails, I had time to ponder on today's happenings. My sweet grandmother passed away this last Saturday and we're talking about helping pack her things, etc after the funeral. I thought of how she is in Heaven wih grandpa, happy and careless as to her possessions and the things of the world. How beautiful it is to think about that and put things into perspective. No matter how frustrating it can be for a silly coupon to not work, or how fun it is when you get things for free, in the end, it's what we learn and do, the memories that we take with us.

There's some food for thought. And I'll leave you a with a couple shots of some tasty food I've made recently. French Onion Soup and Galabki (Polish Stuffed Cabbage Rolls). MMmmmmmm. Good night all!

Swirled Alpacas and Bountiful Baskets

Here is the finished product I've talked about-the Alpaca Farm Swirl Art :) I LOVE how it turned out. Again, I'm so grateful for my husband's help because he's much better at sketching structure than I am :) Let me know what you think!



2nd, here is our first haul from Bountiful Baskets-it's a local fresh grocery co-op program. This cost us $19.50 ($3 fee for your first time, so it will only be $16.50 each time after this now). We signed up on Monday and paid in, picked up this morning. I've already dug into an apple and we had some chopped up tomato. These fruits and veggies are beautiful and will help us be healthier! It sparks my imagination and creativity as well with cooking because what you get in the basket is random every week. Do a search in your local area and see if it's an option for you!

Donate $5 to charity for free, takes about 2 seconds!

I have volunteered over the years with the Second Harvest Foodbank of the Inland Northwest. I get their emails and check this out!!!


Every New 'Like' = $5 for Second Harvest

Our friends at Walker's Furniture are donating $5 to Second Harvest for every new "like" on their Facebook page during the month of March. We're so honored by their generous support and hope you will stop by their page, click "like" and share it with your friends. It's an easy way to help feed hungry people in our community!

Reclaiming the Apartment! And the DUO strikes again :)

I can finally announce my good news-that I am getting promoted to a trainer at work. It should be exciting, I'm looking forward to a new opportunity!

I had to laugh at work the other day because of what a coworker said. Until the change takes place, I'm still a "Subject Matter Expert". I'm known around work as "the" gal, knowing the ins and outs of procedure, keeping all the rapid changes organized. Someone commented "you must have a really clean house". Sadly, I laughed. Ask my mom, she'll tell you I've never been the most organized of children and pre and post wedding chaos have not let up on our little apartment. But I can happily say: we have taken a stand and are re-claiming our home from the clutter! It really didn't help that I got into couponing...but as of tonight, all items have a place including items we coupon to donate to charity. They no longer belong on the kitchen table :D

As for the DUO striking again-I'm doing another swirl art except this time it's a barter on etsy instead of a sale. A lady that has an alpaca farm is swapping some alpaca yarn with me for a swirl art of their farm. I was doing decent with my preliminary sketch until I met disaster trying to make trees that didn't look like Dr. Suess was helping :( My husband came to the rescue again though, he is such a more amazing artist than myself! If he weren't so shy (and stressed as a perfectionist), I would push him more into trying to sell his skills :) I'll try to remember to upload a picture when it's finished.

Lastly, I forgot to mention the awesomeness my sister in law came across. She's the one that first got me into couponing and swagbucks. She was at the store the other day with her coupon binder when someone approached her and offered her a bunch of paper inserts from the beginning of the year. My sister in law was looking for a service project for a family get-together and had thought of collecting expired coupons to clip and send to overseas military families. This is the perfect opportunity! I hope to have a coupon party soon where we can do this and I can teach friends the basics of what I do.

Oh heck, while I'm rambling, might as well go more into swagbucks. I haven't mentioned it before, but it's something I'm really enjoying. With swagbucks, you just install their tool bar and you can earn points tons of ways. The easiest is just through internet searches. Instead of using my internet favorites to go to my blog, I search and sometimes win points! It takes 450 points to get a $5 Amazon.com gift card. We've only done this for less than 2 months and we've redeemed $15 at Amazon.com and we have enough points to redeem $15 more! It's pretty awesome! If you want to join, go HERE. It's absolutely free! 1 double bonus is you can print coupons from swagbucks (connected to coupons.com) and when you redeem the coupon at the store, you also get swagbucks!!!

Giveaway Winner and Today's Shop

Carla's Inspirations is the winner of the sidewalk chalk giveaway! Please comment with your email or email me at feelin_gr_8@live.com to claim your prize!

Today's shopping was extremely, ridiculously, and overly frustrating. I had my husband go to 1 store while I was still working and then we went to 6 together after work. At all 6 we went to, all the local couponers had picked the shelves dry. All of my plans were ruined and I was not a happy camper :( I'm trying to get over it, but it can really put a damper on things. Ironically, the 1 store that went perfectly was the 1 my husband went to alone. I'm glad for that because it can stress him out trying to figure out the deals I want him to get. I joked that I must have been the sour factor of all the rest of our shopping and he should do all the couponing by himself from now on. The look he gave was priceless and he said (I quote) "I will die a horrible, painful death". Anyway, here's the shop he did successfully:



Target-Less than $16 total (2 transactions)
4 sponges = free
2 Renu trial size = free
6 packs of gum = free
2 Mio drink flavorings=$1.79
1 Revlon lipstick=$1.99
2 shirts=$12

I had him pick out shirts and cosmetics he'd like to see on me within a certain price range including the coupons I gave him. HE DID FANTASTIC!

Unblogged deals, mini stockpile, giveaway still going!

1st of all, I need to get out my frustration-I think I have a bug with my computer because it won't print coupons right now! So frustrating :(

2nd of all, I can't believe I posted last night that my giveaway was ending tonight. It ends tonight so there's still an hour and a half to enter here.

Unblogged deals you say?
I follow 4 different blogs for a variety of matchup and hints. I feel so great when I spot a deal that none of them have blogged about! Here are a couple I plan to take advantage of this week:


$0.19 Salad Dressing!
Good through Tuesday at Safeway is the in-ad coupon for Ken's salad dressing-16oz for $1.19 with card and coupon. In today's paper, lo and behold, a $1.00 of 1 bottle-same brand and size! My husband puts sauce on pretty much everything (sometimes I remind him he should try to taste the food, not just the sauce), so we could use some more dressing. I have yet to try this brand, but for .19, I can't go wrong can I?



$0.90 Mio
Target's flyer today advertised Buy 1 Mio, get the 2nd for $1. Regularly $3.79 each it's not a bad deal. Combine with 2-$1 off manufacturer coupons (I think from the 2/26 paper?) and 1 Target printable $1 off coupon (may not be still available, my computer is being slow so I can't get to the site right now). It comes out to .90 each! I love this stuff (encourages me to drink lots of water when it's a tasty flavor) but I hate paying full price for it.

And lastly, my mini stockpiles. A couple of great friends helped me organize my stashes for sanity. Here you will see my cereal wall as well as health & beauty and vitamins/cold season items. Buy it cheap once, no need to run out to the store when you realize you need it later and pay full price!

4 Hours Left for FREE sidewalk chalk (And a Walmart Shop)

Only 4 hours left for my sidewalk chalk giveaway, your odds are great as participation is low ;) http://rekamirecreations.blogspot.com/2012/03/booming-business-super-savings.html

I was also going to share the awesomeness that I had at Walmart. We were needing oil for a change in our vehicles so I naturally brought my coupon binder. We got 3 free Renu Contact Lens starter kits from the eye center. (We had printed off 2 coupons but they handed us 3 :) We went to the back of the store to look at the clearance bread rack and they were having samples. I like the samples they've been doing because they often have coupons. They didn't have any out that I could see but I figured-why not ask? The lady that was doing samples of the Emerald Breakfast To Go said they didn't technically have coupons to giveaway but she found they had coupons printed on the inside of each box she was using for samples. She tore it right out of the box for me. If you never ask, you'll never get it ;)

Best Crepes Ever!

So we made up the crepe batter today from my post last night. Here's the breakdown of our delicious breakfast:

Juice-Old Orchard. I haven't done it a lot lately, but I have an account at OldOrchard.com. You can earn points from different promotions and by submitting a recipe and/or question weekly. You can also play games and get points. Once you get so many points, you can get things from their store or get coupons for free juice. My favorite thing about Old Orchard is that it's 100% juice.

Strawberries-This week Fred Meyers is having a strawberry special- 3lbs for $5 which is great! I didn't want to go all the way so while I was at Walmart I grabbed some and they price matched it for me. (Sale is good through today)

Vanilla Activia-Very good, I don't usually like vanilla yogurt! I got these at Safeway where if you buy 4 4packs, you get free milk. I think this special is still going on, you'd have to look on the doors of the milk area.

Spinach Crepes-I explained last night about the spinach we used in these. I don't remember the exact recipe-I'm notorious for googling a recipe and forgetting where I got it after I use it. Crepes are pretty simple-just egg, milk, oil, flour, salt, and in this case spinach. Just remember to cook them thin and have some patience. This batter made 17 crepes. I remember from my culinary classes that crepes freeze well, you just need to put a little wax paper between them.

Chicken Filling-We cooked up a bunch of chicken in our crockpot from Zaycon Foods (natural wholesale-worth looking into) and shredded it. We froze small portions in the freezer to use in different recipes. Throw some BBQ sauce on it and you're good! Or in this case, mix it with some Cream Cheese!(I got it on sale a while ago at Safeway-BOGO Free, the sale is back and good through Wednesday!) I had my hubby make the filling (he's such a good cook!) Along with the chicken and cream cheese he added some sour cream, onion salt, salt/pepper, and some mushrooms and garlic that we also had leftover from our wedding-we sauteed them up and froze them :)

Are you drooling? You should be! I love when he has Saturdays off and we can cook together! Happy Saturday :)

Frugal with Food (And other goodies)

There were a couple tips I utilized recently that I thought I'd share.

The first frugal with food tip I want to share is to freeze fresh foods before they expire. On the left of the picture I posted you will see a spinach crepe batter. We did a DIY salad bar for our wedding reception and ended up having tons of spinach leftover. We could only eat so much fresh, thus we froze some before it went bad. Just a quick thaw and it's good as any cooked spinach. I decided to do a little research and I like the tips posted on FavoriteFreezerFoods.com. I find it interesting that bacon can still go rancid in the freezer and I may try freezing eggs next time I have some expiring.

The other frugal with food tip I have for you is something that I actually saw on a TV show called "Extreme Cheapskates". It was a pretty intense show and my husband agreed that we will NEVER do things like use cloth toilet paper, but I actually liked one of the ideas someone had on there. On the right of the picture posted, you will see cereal dust. You know the stuff at the bottom of the bag that you don't want to go in your bowl and mix with the milk? It's that stuff. I save it up in a little airtight container and when I go to make something like banana bread, I add it in as part of the flour. Why waste?



Soooooo.....more goodies. I just wanted to share some pictures of felted wool balls I made for a barter on Etsy. These are great for so many purposes-cat or dog toys, soft play toys for kids, decoration, stress balls, and some people even swear by them for use in the dryer to help soften clothes, lower dry time, and help keep away static. I'm adding a listing to my CustomCreativityGal shop tonight so anyone interested may purchase some as well :)



Lastly, don't forget about my giveaway! So far we have less than a dozen entries-see a couple posts below this. Your chances are great to win some sidewalk chalk, go enter and tell your friends with kids to enter!

Good News :D

So....I have good news but I can't technically tell anyone yet. My hubby bought me flowers today though, for Women's day and to celebrate my good news :)

I haven't had too many couponing trips lately nor will I until Monday. I know I'll take advantage of Albertson's doublers in this next Sunday papers (though I want more than the 3 I get :P) Also, I have a catalina at Safeway from their frozen foods deal going on and a small register reward about to expire at Walgreens. Honestly, I don't see too many great deals from the paper ads I saw previews of online. Perhaps some cheap body wash but I promised the hubby no more until we're down to 2 bottles...I think I'll enjoying couponing for more people when we have a larger family than the 2 of us :) Anyway....rambling....

It's late and hopefully I'll have the go ahead to share my news. Until then, have a great night all!

Booming Business, Super Savings!

I've been shocked and appreciative lately of the the orders I've been getting through my etsy shops. I'm bartering for some amazing products and supplies for some projects I want to do and Christmas gifts. I've also got some large order sales for custom rubber stamps and sidewalk chalk. Which makes me think, I want to have a giveaway! Read lower to participate :)

Super Savings-I've been trying to cut down on my couponing-I promised my husband I wouldn't get any more toothpaste for our stockpile for a while, even if it is free! I loved the deal I got at Target yesterday including free floss and cheap nutrigrain bars.

Nutrigrain bars=$2.50/box. Buy 5 boxes, get a $5 gift card.
Used (2) $1 off 2 Manufacturer Coupons
Used (2) $1 off 2 Target Web Coupons (go to target.com)
After coupons and gift card, they were only $.70 a box! I have to pay more than that just for 1 at the vending machine at work. Well worth buying a spare box and keeping it in my desk drawer for when I need a snack!

Up & Up brand floss=$.89
Used $1 off Up & Up Oral Care Item Target Web Coupon (go to target.com)
Free!!!

I'm excited for the doubler coupons and catalinas for Albertson's this Sunday-Tuesday. I plan to get lots of tasty goodness such as Nature Valley Thins (haven't yet tried these, have been waiting for a good deal to use my coupons).

So back to that giveaway idea....

Thinking of the (off and on) nicer weather, I want to offer a
SPRING FORWARD WITH FUN GIVEAWAY!!!


The Prize: A sample pack of handmade sidewalk chalk-fun shapes and colors!
Deadline: Giveaway ends at 12:01AM Monday, March 12, PST.
Entries:

1-Follow this blog
1-Go to my jollyjennifer.etsy.com shop and tell me what your favorite item is
1-Go to my crafting4causes.etsy.com shop and tell me what your favorite item is
1-Go to my customcreativitygal.etsy.com shop and tell me what your favorite item is
1-Share a link to any of my shops and to this giveaway on Facebook or Twitter
1-This blog will be focused mainly on saving money (couponing), DIY wedding/party ideas, crafts, Eco friendly ideas, and cooking-let me know which is most appealing to you?
Limit 6 entries per person (1 of each type listed above). Each entry must be left in a separate comment on this blog.

Most Recent Project/Order

I was commissioned to do some of my swirl art as gifts for someone based off of a picture of a building. They wanted me to have some fun with the colors. When I first got the request, I was confident I could do the piece but structure is definitely not my forte. My hubby is a much better artist than me in that arena so I had him do the representational outline and I filled it in :) I love how they turned out and so does the buyer! Custom orders are available in my shop with other examples of work I've done at customcreativitygal.etsy.com

Sweetest. Husband. Ever.

When I got home my husband had cooked up some ribs, asparagus, and mashed potatoes. Later, he made a perfect caramel, chocolate, and sunflower seed sundae. I also got a much needed shoulder massage and he listened to me and gave feedback about my presentation I have to give for an promotion interview tomorrow :)

FYI: Last night we brought a friend over to catch up. At the end of the night before going home we took her to Walgreens. Got Glade sprays for free after a manufacturer coupon and register rewards and used them to buy some tasty candy. I keep bragging on facebook and to coworkers about the money I've learned to save and I think I'll open up my place to have a couponing party sometime :)

And lastly-randomness (coupon style). You know what would be the best deal...ever? An Albertson's shop where all of these factors combine:
-You find a good sale or clearance
-You use a store coupon (heck, a doubler)
-You use a manufacturer coupon that you printed off of Swagbucks (so you get Swag Bucks after redemption)
-You get credit for a SavingStar purchase
-You get points on your store reward card
-While you're at it, you may be able to find a rebate of some sorts for the items you got!

Just a thought ;)