Want to try some yummy looking BBQ Sauce? Just sign up here and you can try a sample for free!

Thanks STL Mommy.

Back in the day when I performed in musicals all the time, I often would get a sore throat or start to feel sick and other cast members would recommend this product (no one is paying me for this endorsement) to me. It is called Emergen-C and is like a Vitamin C powder that you put in water and drink (if I understood correctly). Anyway, if you go to the Emergen-C website and sign up, they will send you (or a friend) a free sample! I am excited to try this one out!!

Momma Cheaps has compiled a list of the great photo freebie offers out there now. If you need any photo prints, I recommend reviewing her list as follows (She noted that many of these offers end today):

SeeHere: 100 free 4x6 prints when you use the promo codes prints. 35% off photo mugs with promo code mug-15.


Snapfish: $10 in FREE credit plus 30 free 4x6 prints for new signups. In additional orders, save 40% on photo gifts with promo code WINTER40.


Hoorray: 30 free 4x6 prints for new signups plus 20% off photobooks.


Clark Color Labs: 40 free 4x6 prints for new signups. 8 cent prints (everyday price).


Kodak Gallery: 50 free prints for new signups.

Do you know about ConAgra? They are a food company based right here in Omaha and they include many brands you have heard of and buy, like Hunt's, Chef Boyardee, Orville Redenbacher, Kid's Cuisine, Marie Callendar's, Pam, Reddi Whip, Banquet, and so, so many more (Check out their website for a full list.)

ConAgra foods has a great coupon book that I recently signed up for. I have been trying to make a link work to get there, but it evidently won't work, so just copy and paste the following and sign up for a ConAgra coupon book:

http://startsampling.com/sm/101044/captureAddress.iphtml?item=101044&source=

Need coupons?

Home Made Simple had a great $35 coupon book. You can go here to register for it and it should arrive in the mail in 6-8 weeks. First sign up for the newsletter so you can receive updates on all the coupon books. Then make sure to click on the "refresh your nest" banner on the right side to get the coupon book.

Ginger at attentiontargetshoppers.com put together the following list of what is included in this coupon packet.

• Swiffer Sweeper Vac Starter Kit – $5.00/1
• Buy a Swiffer Sweeper & Get a Free Refill
• Swiffer Dusters Starter Kit or Refill – $1.00/1
• Swiffer Dust & Shine Furniture Spray – $1.00/1
• Buy a WetJet Starter Kit & Get a Free Refill
• Febreeze Air Effects – $.50/1• Febreeze Candle – $1.00/1
• Febreeze Fabric Refresher – $.50/1
• Febreeze Luminary Starter Kit – $3.00/1
• Febreeze Reed Diffuser Home Collection Soy Candle – $1.00/1
• Febreeze Noticeables Kit Dual Refill/2 Refills – $1.00/1
• Dawn Direct Foam Pump – $1.50/1
• Dawn Direct Foam Refill – $2.00/1
• Dawn Hand Renewal – $1.00/1
• Cascade Pure Essentials ActionPacs or Gels – $1.00/1
• Dawn Pure Essentials – $.50/1
• Cascade ActionPacs or Gel – $1.00/1
• Cascade Complete All-In-1 ActionPacs – $.50/1
• Cascade Rinse Aid – $.50
• Mr Clean Multi-Surfaces Spray – $.75
• Mr Clean Multi-Surfaces Liquid – $.75/1
• Mr. Clean Magic Eraser -$.75/1

I am relatively certain that if you are reading this blog, you are a friend or family member, and most of you are probably aware that Wes and I on occasion load the van up with our 4 kids and head out west to see our families in Utah. Between us and Utah is this deep pit of terrible weather called Wyoming. We ALWAYS get stranded in Laramie, Cheyenne or both for a day or so trying to get through.

On one such occasion, whee we were stranded for days (yes days), we got sick and dang tired of sitting around in our hotel room. It was Easter weekend, and as the children were hoping to get a visit from the big bunny, we were in need of a mall. We found in our hotel's guidebook an ad for a place called the Sierra Trading Post. We thought it must be like some kind of outlet mall. It is, but not like what we expected. It is this huge amazing store where the deeper you walk into the store, the deeper the discounts get.

It is amazing-mostly outdoorsy-type active wear and items there. Much of what they have is specialized items that you need to buy if you are really into a specific sport or if you want to be into it. There are high end hiking shoes, kayaks, skis and boots, all sorts of clothing and shoes and just about everything in between. But here is the awesome part-many of the items are marked down about 70% or so. There was a $6000 Kayak there marked down to like $600 (or something like that-my memory stinks). It was one of those places that you just wish you had more disposable income so you could get the GREAT deals and markdowns there on the things you might like to have.

When we got home, we wondered if there was an online site for Sierra Trading post, and (yeah) there is!!! And they are currently having their end of year blowout. I was just browsing the clearance items and saw a $2045.05 Swiss watch for $449.95 & $138 rock climbing shoes for $24.95. Just to give you a couple examples of their deals. Check them out!

Amazon.com still has Lightning Deals going on in their Toys and Games section here. I will try to check them out sporadically and let you know if anything really great pops up, but feel free to check it out yourself as well!

I got an email from the The Disney Store letting me know that their "Twice Upon a Year Sale" is currently going on with prices up to 70% off.

Looks like there are a lot of good markdowns, but here are a few that caught my eye as I browsed the site:

OK, I just spend about 2 hours getting this freebie. I have heard it is an awesome one, so I think it is worth trying to get it to work, but I send out a warning-the site is slower than you can imagine.

Click here and add the item to your cart then proceed to check out. You will get the item and the shipping for free when you get to the end (after an eternity of waiting...)

Pizza Hut pizzas really are $10 each for any size, and any toppings! I just ordered 2 LARGE pizzas-one is a Hawaiian Luau pizza & the other is a Super Supreme pizza. The total with tax is in fact $21.40. NICE!!

We rarely eat food out, but this was a good deal for every once in while. Of course, if you just want to get a cheese or pepperoni pizza-I would stick with the Little Caesars $5.55 (I think it is only $5 in Utah) Hot N Ready pizza, but if you are ordering a totally decked out pizza like I just did-Pizza Hut is a good deal!

These SONOMA life + style® Original Bootcut Jeans, vintage wash original price $36 are now on sale for $14.40 online at Kohls. And (gasp) they happened to have my size in!! So, I ordered that, used the EXTRA20 code for 20% off, which took $2.88 off, then I used the NOCHARGE code for free shipping which took the $.99 shipping charge off. In total my card was charged only $12.15 for these $36 pants! YEAH!! I always need jeans!!

Wow-I am a new Kohl's shopper, but boy do I love it! They have some major gold star clearance items going on here.

If you sign up to receive their sale alerts on your email here you will get (to quote their site "an e-mail that'll save you $5 off your next in-store purchase and 10% off your next Kohls.com purchase! Plus you'll receive e-mail updates about our biggest sales, exclusive free shipping offers, promo codes valid for online orders and clearance updates!"

Now, on top of the gold star clearance, the $5 gift card and sale alerts, there are a number of codes out there right now that you can use to order at Kohls online. Velveetah, the forum super moderator on Moms of Omaha has compiled a list of the current codes (You can stack a % off code with a FREE S & H code):

EXTRA20 - 20% off for all customers (unknown exp date)
NEW5053 - 10% off for all customers (unknown exp date)
NOCHARGE - FREE Shipping and Handling (FYI-I heard this one expires today!)
EBTSHIP25 - FREE S & H w/$25 Purchase (Unknown Exp date)
MYPTS15 - 15% off orders $100+ (unknown exp date)

For Kohls Card holders only:

MVCPRFCT4U - 15% off (exp 12/30/09)

Thanks Moms of Omaha and Velveetah!

This is a bit early, but I will post it before I forget. IHOP is celebrating National Pancake Day on February 23, 2010 by offering a free short stack.

This is what their website says: "Join IHOP to celebrate National Pancake Day on Tuesday, February 23, 2010. From 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., we'll give you one free short stack (three) of our famous buttermilk pancakes. (There is a limit of one free short stack per guest) All we ask is that you consider making a donation to support local children's hospitals through Children's Miracle Network, or other local charities."

The small print reads "The offer is valid at participating restaurants for dine-in only while supplies last and is not valid with any other offer, special coupon or discount."

So, mark your calendars! But be warned-never underestimate the power of the word FREE! When Denny's did a similar promotion last year, I went there a half hour before it started, had to park a mile away walk through deep snow with 3 kids in tow only to find a line that reached about a half mile or so long that was estimated to take 5 hours to take 4-5 hours to get served. I turned around, went to Perkins, paid way too much for breakfast, then watched the news later and saw that many people in the line never got food as it ran out! It was nuts-so prepare for lines! I will still attempt it this time! I cannot resist the word free...

Thank you Mama Cheaps for the heads up on this!

According to Freebies4Mom There are a few codes for free Red Box movies:

ACME25

DVDATWAG (works only at Walgreens locations)


DVDONME

BREAKROOM

I have not yet tried or verified any of these. I do now that sometimes codes posted online do not work locally for me, and often there are time restrictions for the codes. I do not know of any time restrictions or anything on these. You can only use one code per transaction, and each code can only be used once per credit/debit card. Let me know if these codes work for you or not. I have a DVD to return tonight and I will try one or more of these to see if they work for me when I go.

So, apparently for a limited Time, Pizza Hut is offering $10 pizzas. Their Website says "Any Pizza, Any Size, Any Crust, Any Toppings, Just $10" Note the fine pint though which says "Limited Time Offer, Additional charge for Stuffed crust, no double toppings. Crust availability, prices, participation, delivery areas and charges may vary." So, I would double check with your local Pizza Hut to verify participation and everything. You may be able to order this deal online to be delivered! Sadly, I just found out that the Pizza Huts in my area do not take online orders and do not deliver to me. Oh well. I am going to talk to Wes and we might test this out in our area tonight anyway!

Thanks My Frugal Adventures for alerting me to this deal!

OK, I would think most of you are aware of the website Overstock.com, but in case you are not let me tell you about it. As a disclaimer though, let me be very clear that no one is paying me for this opinion in any way, and I am not getting any benefit by sharing it.

That being said, Overstock is just what it says-a collection of overstocked items that they sell at a fraction of the price through their website. I am embarrassed to say that I have not been on their site in some time, but this morning I went over to check them out, and there were some pretty good clearance deals going on. Women's jeans for 13.99, Bikini's for $8.99 (not that I can pull that off after 4 kids in 7 years), Boots for as low as $35 and many more. Now, all the items have a chance to sell out quickly, but they are always replenishing the stock. So I recommend you head over there, and check out the clearance items. There is more than just clothing, I just noticed that clothing was particularly good deals today. To get to the clearance items do the following:

1-Go to their site here.
2- Click on the red "Sale" sign on the right side of their banner near the top.
3-Click on "Clearance Bins"
4-Select Clothing (or whatever category you'd like to browse).

Let me know if you find any killer deals there!

Just browsing Amazon and noticing lots of books on clearance. Of particular interest to me were the Curious George books for around $2. Curious George Up, Up, and Away is $1.72 and Curious George: Cecily G. and the Nine Monkeys is $2.25. Also saw that Peter Rabbit Easter Egg Hunt (Potter) (Board book) is only $1.59. Winnie The Pooh Tells Time is $2.63.

As far as the Adult books go, I just want to throw this one out there. A few months ago for my book club we read a book that I loved. I do not know if many of you have read it, but I highly recommend it, and wouldn't you know it? It is on sale at Amazon right now! The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Random House Reader's Circle) by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (Paperback - May 5, 2009) is currently listed at $7 (new)!!! Great deal.

If you have not read this months book, it is not too late (and FYI, I was quite intrigued by it). Just as another FYI, here are the current Amazon prices for the next few month's books (new, not used):

December: Nightfall (Bantam Spectra Book) by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg $7.99

January: The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett $6.99

February: The Siren by Kiera Cass $11.53

March: The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman $7.50

April: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card $6.99

May: Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert $9.47

Now, if you have Amazon Prime, which I have on a trial that is about to expire :( you can get those prices with free shipping. Many of the books can be bought used for less, but you have to pay shipping. I have never seen Eat Pray Live or The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society so cheap, and those are both books I highly recommend! In fact I checked both of them out of the library to read for book clubs and loved them so much that I bought them for my collection (I paid much more than these prices).

Of course the frugal way to get these is to check them out from your local library, but I wanted to share these prices in case you are planning to purchase any of these books. In fact if you are purchasing any books, I recommend browsing Amazon to see if what you want is on their current clearance!

Just an FYI here-I just stopped by my local Walmart and as you would expect, there are some GREAT sales on their Holiday clearance items. 24" Lighted Wreaths are only $5 right now, and many of the rolls of wrapping paper are around $1-$1.50. Christmas Candy is all 50% off and all the other Christmas stuff as well. I assume this is a nationwide thing. Check the Holiday clearance at your local Walmart and I bet you can score some great deals-I bought 3 1lb boxes of chocolates tonight for (are you ready for this) $3.75 total.

Now, here is the deal that may give my mom a heart attack...at my local Walmart tonight Rip sticks are overstocked from Christmas so they are selling them at (gasp) $49! Seriously good deal if you are in the market for one..

Are you looking at potty training any time soon? Get a free potty training kit from Pampers Easy Ups. Click here to sign up.

Want a free sample of Pampers Extra Protection diapers from Walmart? Click here to sign up! I am a Huggies mom all the way, but I am SO willing to try out a FREE diaper. I will let you know what I think of it when it arrives!

Enjoy free breakfast Saturday, December 26 through Sunday, January 3, 2010. Limit one per customer. Valid for one small breakfast (value 99¢) and one cup of coffee (value 99¢). Valid at participating US stores only. Hours may vary by store

First I want to say the my favorite website in Omaha to find steals and deals around town is http://www.momsofomaha.com/. I also get emails from a number of places around town, and check other websites as well as getting emails from my good friend Tausha about the free events she has found around town. But, most of the deals I find listed elsewhere are posted on the Moms of Omaha site. So, I just want to throw that out there. I will not be posting everything they list, mostly just free things, or really great deals I want to share. So, you can check out that website if you are interested in more ideas...

Ok-can I just note that I love Skatedaze right now? Seriously! In case you have not heard, they have FREE birthday parties going on right now for a limited time. The party includes about 45 minutes in a party room, hot dogs and soda, and free play in the playdazium (basically a giant McDonalds play land, a bouncer, and a ball pit) for up to 8 kids. The catch is that you cannot bring in cake so, if you want cake, you have to get a dozen cupcakes for $15. So, that part sucks, but it's basically $15 for a whole party and there is no mess at your house. We did it for Solace's birthday this month, and I am hoping the deal continues for Ender's birthday in April. Skatedaze also has FREE Mom & Me play for free play days in the playdazium Tuesday-Friday from 10 am-3pm. Note-this program is suspended until school is back in on Jan 6th. Please see details for both programs on their website at http://www.skatedaze.com/. They are listed on right side of the page. Check it out!

Amazon is currently offering a free $4 credit towards anything in their Video on Demand catalog, which includes thousands of movies and shows. Enter code AVODGIFT. The credit is good until 11:59p.m. January 3rd, 2010 (PST).
Instructions

1) Click the "Redeem a gift card or promotion code" link on the right side here .

2) Enter the claim code, AVODGIFT, in the pop-up window and click the Apply button.

3) Click the Buy button to complete your purchase.

(If you don't have an amazon log in you probably have to make one...)

Go sign up here for a free Aveeno sample bag (value $8). 

This one's for you mom!

I just signed up for this last night and I hope it works! Who doesn't love a free book? Well, you can sign up to get 3 free books from Crown Publishing here.

The other day I signed up for this free "weekender sample kit" from become.  It is free beauty supply samples.  It looks like a fun freebie. If you are interested, go here to sign up.

Seriously, this is awesome!! If you live in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, or Wisconsin, and are over 18-yrs old, you can enter to win one of 20 $100 gift cards at Hyvee. I LOVE Hyvee! I do most of my shopping at Walmart, but secretly, I wish money was no object so I could shop at Hyvee whenever I want to! This gift card would ROCK!!

Go here and enter DAILY to win!

OK people, if you have young kids like I do, chances are you buy a lot of Cheerios. Right now, you can sign up here to get 4 $1 off coupons by mail over the next few weeks, as well as a chance to win one of over 50,000 full size boxes of Cheerios. That would be nice...

OK, There is a whole thing out there about the drug store wars...there are often great sales at CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens, and combining them with whatever their store program is and manufacturers coupons, can save you a LOT! In fact, many of these frugal people get things free or "make money" on their drug store shopping trips. I have not looked into CVS or Rite Aid yet, but I have used Walgreens and scored some good deals so far (nothing free and no moneymakers yet, but pretty lots of savings). In fact, last week, I bought 3 12 packs of Diet Coke, 4 coloring books, 3 boxes of tissues, and 4 Snow Globes, and I paid $13 total for it.

Walgreens has a thing called "register rewards" which is how people get "money makers. A register rewards basically means you purchase something for the regular or sale price, and at the end of your transaction you get a register reward back (basically like a coupon for money off you r next transaction) for purchasing that item. So, on my shopping trip the other day, Diet Coke was on sale for 3/$11, and if you bought 3, you got a RR (Register Reward) back for $3.

Most Walgreens will also let your "roll over" your transactions, meaning you can do separate transactions so you can use your register rewards right away (I have heard about some Walgreens not letting you use them the same day thought it seems to be rare). So in the case of my transactions, I paid for the 3 Diet Coke 12 packs first. Then in my second transaction, I had coupons from my local Walgreens ad for the coloring books & tissues, and the snow globes were on sale. I used the 2 coupons and my $3 RR (the one I had just gotten for the Diet Cokes). So, I spend $10 in my first transaction (and got a $3 RR back). I used all the coupons, including the RR with the second transactions, and paid only $3 total for the 4 coloring books, 3 boxes of tissues, and 4 Snow Globes.

So, check out your local Walgreens ads and see what is on sale, what has RR, and what kind of deals you can get. Also, please check out the website http://iheartwags.com/ for the best Walgreen weekly match-ups (She will list the best deals to get using RR and coupons from the newspaper or online.) Give it a shot and let me know if you score any great deals!

Beckee

At the bottom of this blog, you will notice a "Swagbucks" widget/ad. Other frugal blogs I check RAVE about this site. It is essentially a site where you can search, purchase things, and earn points, aka swagbucks, with which you can buy gift cards to many, many places. Quite a few of the frugal ladies out there used their swagbucks points to pay for all or most of their Christmas this year. I have been on for a couple weeks now, and have only earned 15 points. I have not purchased anything using them yet, I have just earned those points by using their search engine (which randomly rewards points). If this is something you might be interested in joining and using, please use my referral link here. That will help me get a few more points I think.

I am just getting to use this site and figure it out, but I think it could be really good. If you have tried it or have more to add about how to use it or anything, please leave a comment!

Beckee

About a month or so ago, my husband's cousin Christy, posted a picture on her Facebook page of a shopping trip where she saved more than half her bill by couponing and carefully budgeting. I had just that day heard about "Super couponing." I had a few months ago begun religiously going through my local grocery ads and price matching everything at Walmart (cheap, one-stop shopping). I was really trying to save money and spend very little on our monthly groceries and expenses. I was also trying to spend as little as possible on Christmas gifts while still making it a great Christmas all around. I was watching ads, but after Christy's post on Facebook I saw that she had posted the name of a frugal blog where she had seen the deals. I went there, and in the past month, I have discovered a whole new world and level of "saving" that I had no idea existed.

I have a confession about it, I became obsessed. From the first blog, I found a second, and a third, and many many more resources to save, save SAVE!! I admit it, I became obsessed, and I have truly spend a great deal of the past month glued to Wesley's new laptop checking frugal blogs, couponing sites, looking for freebies, finding ways to save. I just really want to get as much free stuff as possible...

Now, I should tell you all that I come by this obsession honestly!! There is a famous story in my family about my Papou (Greek for Grandfather) who recently passed away. Once many years ago, Papou went shopping and though I do not remember all the details accurately (my memory stinks), the basic jest is that on a shopping trip, he found ash trays on mega sale (I believe they were like 10 pr 20 for a dollar), so Papou bought a case or two of them. No one in our family smokes at all and no one ever has, but he could not resist that deal. 40 or so years later, my mom and XiaXia (grandma) are still using those ash treys as candy dishes...

I like a deal as much as Papou did, and I am constantly seeking them out. The few moments over the last month that I was not online seeking out deals and freebies, I was on the phone calling my mom, my sisters, my mother-in-law...whoever I could think of to share the great deals with! This blog is an attempt to share those deals I find without breaking the bank on my long distance bill!

A previous obsession of mine is finding free family activities to do here in Omaha, so I will try to include those as I hear of them as well. I know that most of my family and friends that might read this do not live in Omaha, so I will post SLC things if I find any as well. My blog will certainly not be the best frugal blog out there, nor am I a great couponer, but I just want to let you know the deals I find and like. Hope you enjoy it-and please, feel free to leave comments and let me know what you think!

Beckee