Happy New Year!

And welcome 2009!













Word is there will be some great coupon inserts in this Sunday's paper (1/4/09)- get your scissors ready!

Discover Card Cashback Bonus

Don't forget to cash in your Discover Card Cashback Bonus when your total reaches $40. I cashed in $40 of my bonus and got a $45 CVS gift card! Also if you go to the Discover Card website you can sign up for a 5% bonus on certain purchase categories. Oct-Dec 2008 was 5% on groceries & restaurants. Jan-Mar 2009 is 5% on travel. Apr-Jun is 5% on clothes & home. Jul-Sep is 5% on gasoline. You get 1% cashback on all other regular purchases.

Start the New Year with Upromise

You may have heard of Upromise. It is a free program- you sign up for an account linking your store loyalty cards like Giant Eagle and CVS- and you start accumulating earnings with qualified purchases.

From the Upromise website:
Welcome to Upromise. Where your everyday spending can pay you back with money for college. Upromise has thousands of partners nationwide, brought together under one convenient service for college. Every time you make an eligible purchase, our partners return a portion of that money back to you. Those earnings accumulate in your Upromise account until you decide to use it to invest in a 529 plan, help pay down eligible student loans or assist with college expenses—all tax-free!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Here's a link to my other blog.

Another free photo print at CVS

Go to CVS and you can get a free 5x7 or 8x10 print- good until 12/24. Use the code ENLARGE. Also if you sign up for a CVS photo account with your email you will get an email for 50 free 4x6 prints.

I just wanted to add- I just tried this deal- it said there was $1.49 surcharge on orders under $5. The 8x10's are $3.99 and the 5x7's are $1.49. I ordered one 5x7 and one 8x10 and entered the promo code ENLARGE. I was able to get BOTH prints for free- the subtotal was $5.38 so there was no surcharge.

Giant Eagle week 12/18-12/24

The deals are pretty blah at Giant Eagle considering it is the week before Christmas. There is one fairly good deal on cereal.

Jumbo size box of Honey Nut Cheerios or Lucky Charms 2/$10- what!? you say $5 for a box of cereal!? Yes but it is the super large 1-1/2 pound size box. But the deal is better- buy 2 boxes and you get $5 off instantly- so you pay 2/$5. But wait there's more. Go here to print a $0.55 cents off coupon for both the Honey Nut Cheerios and Lucky Charms. Giant Eagle will double the coupons to $1.10. So pay $1.40 per box for the extra large box.

Gift Idea- Free 8x10 from Walgreens

Get a free 8x10 print online from Walgreens Photo- use code FREEGIFT- through December 20- no purchase necessary.

Office Max Friends & Family Event

Two days only at Office Max December 19 & 20, Friends & Family sale event. Print this flyer to get special sale prices. Includes color copies for $0.29.

Low Priced Food Options

Here are two low-priced food ministries. They are similar- but Angel Food has a lot more host locations. Basically for $30 you get about $60 to $80 of "Aldi" type food.

Angel Food Ministries Angel Food is available in a quantity that can fit into a medium-sized box at $30 per unit. Each month's menu is different than the previous month and consists of both fresh and frozen items with an average retail value of approximately $60. Comparison shopping has been done across the country in various communities using a wide range of retail grocery stores and has resulted in the same food items costing from between $42 and $78. There are no qualifications, minimums, income restrictions, or applications.

Great Food For All The "Basic Food Box" anchors the program and is loaded with enough food to assist feeding a family of four for about a week, or a single person for almost a month! This food box, with a retail value of between $60 - $80 is provided for only $30. The menu changes each month in order to provide a variety of food. NO membership fees, NO paperwork, NO hassles, NO purchase limits, NO end to savings, just a Great Deal and ... GREAT FOOD FOR ALL!

I have done Angel Food but not Great Food For All. The basic $30 box of food (bring your own box) is quite a lot- I can stretch it most of the month. Check the website for host locations. You have to place your order about a month ahead.

Free Bath & Body Works

If you sign up your email at Bath & Body Works- you will get an email coupon good for a free 2 oz Signature Collection Body Lotion- with any purchase. They have several items in the store right now on clearance for $1. I picked up and Evergreen room spray for $1 and got the small lotion free. Makes a great stocking stuffer or teacher gift.

A few more ways to raise some cash

Here's a few more ideas I had to raise a little cash for Christmas gift-giving.

Sell your used infant and children's clothes, gear, toys, and maternity clothes at a re-sale shop such as:
Once Upon a Child
Children's Orchard
The Growing Years
Plato's Closet

Bring your spare change to a Coinstar machine- no fee when you choose a gift card instead of cash.

Check out Caregivers Marketplace- a cash back program for anyone who gets, gives, or needs care. If you buy Huggies diapers or many other products- you can get a cash rebate back by mail.

Finally, consider donating your old clothes and household items to charity. Here are some guidelines from Goodwill for what you can claim on your taxes if you itemize.

CVS Huggies deal

One of the deals this week (12/7-12/13) at CVS is:

Buy $25 worth of Huggies products get $5 ECB back.

Sign up here for Huggies diapers coupons or here for Pull-Ups.

Diapers and Pull-Ups are on sale for $10 and wipes are 2/$5.

Buy 2 packs Pull-ups @$10= $20
and 2 packs wipes @2/$5= $25 total
Use 2- $2 off pull-ups coupons- $21 OOP
Get $5 ECB back
Get $2 back from Caregivers marketplace.

Free Eggs at Giant Eagle

I won't post all the Giant Eagle deals- but you can get a free dozen large Giant Eagle eggs- when you buy 4 Betty Crocker baking products. The eggs are $1.79 at my store and they take an instant $1.79 off your register receipt.

I bought 2 Betty Crocker cookie mix packet 2/$4
1 Betty Crocker frosting can 2/$3
1 Betty Crocker brownie mix box 2/$4

There are several coupons available from the newspaper insert or online here and here.
(Betty Crocker webiste)

Free Redbox codes for December

Free Redbox rental codes for Sundays in December from Deal Seeking Mom- go here. Thanks Deal Seeking Mom! (12/7/08 through 1/4/09)

How I organize my coupons

I have tried a few different methods, but here is how I currently organize my coupons. First of all, if I have several of the same inserts I usually only clip one. I use an empty baby wipes container to store my coupons. It's the perfect size to fit several letter size envelopes. I stapled an index card to each envelope and wrote the name of the coupon category on each card. Voila! An easy filing system that was practically free to make.

Ways to make a little extra money

I have been doing online surveys this year- you won't get rich, but it's a very easy way to make some spending money. The two I use are reputable:

Your2Cents- I have earned $60 dollars so far with no trouble. You need to answer short surveys they email to you. I suggest using a "junk" email account like yahoo or gmail. You can also sign up to do surveys by cell phone. They send you a check in the mail each time you reach $10 in rewards. You earn between $1 and $5 per survey.

The other is Pinecone Research- it's a little trickier to sign up for as you have to find a referral site. I have not made as much money off Pinecone- but they do offer PayPal as a way to receive your money from them. They sometimes also offer products for you to try at home.

One site I absolutely DO NOT recommend is Phonehog. I will not even post a link to them. They offer free long distance minutes for filling out email offers- but they send you a TON of unsolicitated emails. I don't like them at all.

One last idea is selling used books, video games, CD's, and DVD's on Half.com which is an Ebay company. It's very easy to do- all you need is the product ISBN or UPC number. I like it better than Ebay because your item stays listed like a store until it sells. You can also put your account on vacation if you are going to be away. We have made several hundred dollars over the years with Half.com.

Leftover Turkey Recipe

Here's a recipe to use up that leftover Thanksgiving turkey in the frig:

Easy Turkey Stuffing Bake
1 box any flavor Stove Top Stuffing- prepare according to directions on box
Leftover chopped up turkey- whatever you got
1/4 cup diced onions- and - 1/4 cup diced celery (I had both leftover)
1 can of vegetables drained or one bag of frozen vegetables thawed- whatever you have on hand- I used corn
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup (or mushroom or celery)
1/2 cup milk- mix milk and soup in a bowl
Preheat oven to 350
Spray 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray
Place turkey and veggies in dish
Mix with soup/milk mixture
Add onions and celery (you can omit)
Top with prepared stuffing mix
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes
Top with shredded cheese if desired
Enjoy!