Shopping everywhere yesterday

Total Spent: $5.73, Total Saved: $42.95 (89%)

Walgreens:

• Placker's Floss, sale $2.00 (used $0.50 q) $1.50 with $2RR back

QFC:

• 6 Bags of Lay's chips on sale "Buy One (@ $3.99), Get One FREE"
• used two "Buy 2, get 1 FREE" tearpad coupons in store
• Paid $3.99 for a total of 6 bags (3 free from sale, two free from q's)
• I found $1.50/2 any Mission product tearpads here too, so then we had to go to...

Albertson's

• 6 Mission Flour Totillas $0.79 each with in-ad coupon
• used three $1.50/2 Mission q's to pay only $0.24 for all 6 bags!
• Note: we actually did this 4 times and took a few bags full of tortillas down to St. Vincents- this is an awesome donation item so if you have the extra q's and a little bit of time- be sure to grab some extras!

I also swung by Safeway to take advantage of a few great prices in-store, pay too much for milk, and to use up my $1 Seattle's Best Coffee Iced Latte q's (Safeway has these on sale for $1 each this week, so FREE!). Of course, I didn't make it there til much later so those items are not pictured.

Lane Bryant- FREE panty!

I just came across this offer and thought to myself that this is an awesome freebie for those ladies who generally miss out on the free panty at VS offers! Simply pop on over here and register to print your coupon good for a free Cacique panty (up to $12.50) at any Lane Bryant, Cacique, or Lane Bryant Outlet. You have through Monday May 3rd to pick up your freebie in-store. Enjoy!!

Thanks SD!

Internet Freebies: the rewards programs I love!

I've been doing this whole thrifty/frugal internet thing for a while, and there are quite a few "rewards program" type things I really enjoy and have certainly taken advantage of. I thought I'd share a few of my favorites for you in case you don't participate because I know that everyone loves a good freebie! I'd love to hear what programs you currently use & enjoy!

Swagbucks: I've been using them for about a year and we do a good number of our searches for them (or, on days when I wouldn't google, I use it to find the sites I do visit- like facebook and hotmail). I've only had two really active referrals, but still have earned $75 in Amazon giftcards and another $15 in Starbucks giftcards for doing something I'd be doing anyways. It's powered through google and yahoo- so the results are generally just as good.

MyPoints: I use this program to earn points in exchange for shopping online (I simply visit mypoints and click through to the store I want to buy from- including ebay!). They also offer points in exchange for clicking ads sent to your email and surveys they send to your email. I don't do the surveys very often and I delete the email ads whenever I'm feeling too lazy to click through them. I earn about $30 in Starbucks/Target giftcards on average a year from them with very minimal participation on my part.

Disney Movie Rewards: I just recently signed up with them (maybe two/three months ago?) and have already benefited. So far, I've entered only the free point codes from Facebook, email newsletters, and the three Disney BluRays we recently purchased but I was able to redeem those point in exchange for a completly FREE Disney DVD (we picked the original Love Bug). They also allow you to pick one FREE BluRay for your birthday (you get a choice of 5, and have to pay $2.95 for shipping)- I just ordered mine today (Meet the Robinsons) and am looking forward to receiving it. Even if you're not buying Disney movies, this may be a decent way to get some free/cheap gifts for the kids in your life.

Huggies Enjoy the Ride: I have two little ones, so this is a nice rewards program/instant win game for us- but even without kids this is one worth signing up for. Most of the codes I enter come from here (freebies4mom does a great job of keeping track) and prizes from the instant win games are just plain awesome for anyone (Prepaid VISA cards, Gas giftcards, Starbucks giftcards, Kohl's giftcards- you don't need a baby to appreciate these!). I haven't won anything big (just free wipes), but I also don't try frequently. I've heard people who play late at night/early in the morning do best.

My Starbucks Rewards: Okay, so it's obvious I like coffee and I do redeem rewards on various sites for SB giftcards (it's my way of "treating" myself, plus it's free), but did you know you can also register your Starbucks card and earn rewards that way? It's super easy to sign up, you can transfer card balances to whichever card you want and load your card with whatever amount you want. Even better, I get coupons in the mail now (FREE birthday drink, and a FREE oatmeal so far) and special perks (free customization and whatnot).

Quick note: If you sign up for swagbucks through the link posted, I'll earn points when you do (up to 1000). If you're not a member of Disney Movie Rewards or MyPoints and would like to give it a try, I'd love to refer you (and earn a few extra points) but can only do so through email- if that's okay with you, just let me know and I'll be happy to email you my referral link!

My Shopping Trip: Safeway & Walgreens

Spent: $4.79, Saved $65.99 (93%)

I started Walgreens today with $9 worth of RR and ended with $10 in RR. I purchased the personal trimmer, skintimate, dentek, and tootsie rolls in two transactions- with only $2.34 out of pocket. Everything else in the photos were from Safeway- I bought mostly Chive&Onion Philly Mini's because all of my local stores were out of the regular flavor (and the blinkies to go with them). I spent only $2.45 on the bagels, carrots, and ramen (I've been craving this stuff for an after bed-time snack).

Safeway trip today

Total Spent: $8.10, Total Saved: $29.80 (79%)

I told you all a couple days ago that I was excited about grapes for $1.49/lb, but I actually nabbed some yesterday at QFC for $1.48/lb so I didn't get any more today. Here is what I did buy:

• 2 milk $3.98 ($1.99 each wyb 2)
• Yuban Coffee $7.99 (minus $4 in ecoupons and $2 coupon) $1.99
• Delimex Taquitos $6.99 w/in-ad coupon (minus $3 ecoupon and $2 blinkie) $1.99
• Bread $0.89
• Philadelphia Cream Cheese Mini's $0.49 each (after buy 5 promo*. Minus one $1 coupon and 4 $0.55 blinkies) -$0.15 each

*The "Buy 5, save $5" cheese promo is not supposed to be working on the cream cheese mini's (the ad actually states that they're not included) so try this at your own risk. There are several reports that it is working, but if it does not work for you- then you're out of luck seeing as they're not tagged and not supposed to be included. I have not seen any reports of it not working, but you never know and I'm sure once the store catches on this will get fixed. Some people are actually getting back a $0.75 catalina- although this seems to be fairly regional and is not working in my area.

Awesome thrifty day for me!

Do you ever just have one of those awesome thrifty/deal/freebie days? I'm certainly having one today, and I love it! Want to know what awesome thrifty things are going my way?

1. Got a FREE Natural Instincts hair dye q in the mail
2. I won another FREE jar of Pace
3. I won a FREE king size Reese's (for the husband)
4. I won a free t-shirt from Slim Jim by playing this silly game (also going to the husband)
5. I also won a $10 calling card (will be giving this to someone who needs it)
6. and I scored a 5-lb bag of organic lollipops from Amazon for only $2.88 (Swagbucks paid for $10 of my total- this will be a fun potty training treat for the toddler- hopefully!)
7. I got my menu plan done for the rest of this week and all of next week. I've been slacking with the menu plan for weeks and it's nice to feel organized again!

I was also just plain excited to get grocery ads for tomorrow in the paper. The ConAgra promo at Albies looks nice, so I'm considering that one. I'm also way excited about $1.49/lb grapes and $0.99 Fresh Express at Safeway. Plus the Safeway q that makes Delimex taquitos only $6.99 (or $1.99 when you use the $3 ecoupon from shortcuts and one of the $2 blinkies that was out last month!)... and the $0.69 Pepsi/7up on the weekend (will pair nicely with the $0.55 printable 7up coupon out).

...Now if I would just get the stuff I ordered off ebay on the 9th (doesn't that feel like forever ago??) I'd be thrilled!

QFC & Fred Meyer today

QFC & FM:$15.93 spent, $35.75ish saved

We stopped by QFC to grab diapers this morning (for overnight purposes). Luvs are on sale for $5.99 a pack, I used two $2.50 coupons from a home mailer and two $3 catalinas leftover from buying BC potatoes, making my total only $2.01 (more than half of which was tax). I saved $17 in that transaction.

Then we hit Fred Meyer to take advantage of a few new sales prices (all good through Saturday) and here's what I bought:

• Tillamook Cheese, on sale for $3.99 (limit one)
• Onion $0.54
• Artichoke $1.25
• Carrots $0.25
• Whole Chicken $3.64
• 2 bottles 7up $1 after FM coupon minus $1 IP's (no longer available) FREE
• 3 Snuggle Fabric Softner (used $3 coupons) $0.99 each
• 2 packs Fiber One (on markdown for $1.09 each, minus $1 coupon) $0.09 each
• Kahsi Cereal (used free item coupon) FREE