Just got the Big Lots ad for Thanksgiving

It may be old news to the Thanksgiving sale stalkers LOL but I got this in my email today:

Big Lots sale Thurs, Fri, Sat
Open 7am-8pm Thanksgiving day

The only thing I am excited about is the vacuum

$35 for a "factory reconditioned" Eureka altima
My vacuum is a piece of junk - i just hot glued it back together last week! Am I a cheapskate or what?

Electronic 20Q games for only $5

DVD / VCR combos for $35

A few other items, but shop before 11am and spend $50+ and get a $10 certificate for your next trip. It doesnt say what the minimum purchase is on the next trip in the fine print, so I am guessing there may not be a minimum. I hope! Valid Nov 30- Dec 13.



Happy Saving!

Which charity?

SO I have been CVS'ing, etc all year. I started in January.



I have accumulated so much STUFF. It takes up one filing cabinet, 2 crates and 3 shelves of a large bookcase in my office and a medium sized rubbermaid container and the floor in a closet. And that doesnt even include food, candy, and laundry stuff! :o



Anyway, I really want to make a difference with all of this stuff I have a surplus of. ( Bad grammar, i know) I jokingly call myself the CVS missionary LOL



I donated a huge amount to a mission trip back in the summer and i have nearly replenished that stock!



So, who needs it the most? Where will I make the most difference?
Which will convey charity to my children the best?

the Operation Christmas child shoeboxes?

the local freestore/food bank?

church missions?

Some to each one?

Somewhere else?


I dont want to put off deciding and then it is Dec 24th and i am too late. ugh!

I have been collecting the Johnson and Johnson buddy bars with the Kroger deal ( i am up to 52!) and kids toothbrushes to give to my son's preschool. They have the neatest thing called the backpack program where families ( who want to be included) who need a little extra help are sent home items in their child's backpack over the weekend. Items like granola bars, juice boxes, fruit cups, toiletries, etc. The backpack thing is very discreet and the distributor puts the items in his/her backpack when the kids are outside or at the library or whatever. Isnt that awesome?! It just warms my heart! In our school district, i never would have guessed that there were truly needy families. Just goes to show that you never know what your neighbor needs. ( i dont mean that to sound snobby, it isnt. We live in the scummy section of town LOL)





I know I really need to pray about this, but I really am a terrible decision maker. I believe that I have such little confdidence in my own decisions that God has to use other people to speak to me LOL



Anyway, anyone have any suggestions? What do you plan to do to help the less fortunate this holiday season?

thanks for the ideas!

:)
Amy

Great way to earn giftcards & print more coupons!

Have you heard of MyPoints? http://www.mypoints.com/

I have been a member of MyPoints for YEARS!

If you dont know about it, please send me a message and I would LOVE to send you a referral link. :) ( I can earn points that way, but after all, I am referring you, right?)

Anyway, it is a cool way to earn free stuff just for reading emails and clicking through, answering surveys or shopping through their site. This one is totally legit and it is so easy. I dont get into giving away all of my personal information to get free stuff. This place has been around for a very long time and I have never had a problem with it.

I used to be very religious about clicking on the emails they send me and I would regularly earn enough points for $10 giftcards to Red Lobster, gas stations, etc... but lately i have really slacked off on responding to the emails because my "junk" email is so inundated with junk email! LOL

Well, I realized that over the year, since i havent redeemed any points, i have enough for a $10 gift card to lots of places, or I can get on the ball with clicking on their emails and probably earn a $25 before Christmas.

I was browsing through their list of merchants where I can redeem my points and on that list are....
CVS and Walgreens!
Target and WalMart are also on there, but i already knew that cuz I used to get them regularly.

They also have printable coupons like coupons.com and smartsource.com and you get points when you redeem those coupons.

Anyway, I am just so excited to have ANOTHER way (besides filling Rx) to get more free gift cards to get more free stuff at CVS and Walgreens!
yay!

More online coupon and sample sites

wwwwwwWhile browsing today I came across these...
thanks to http://www.moneysavingmom.com/ ,
http://cheapsk8mom.blogspot.com/and
http://www.thecentsiblesawyer.blogspot.com/

I think I have used them occasionally but not commitedly ( is that a word?)


Anyway, I wanted to share and document so I remember them too! I think Ihave signed up to receive an email from most of them too, which is a nice reminder to print them when new coupons are added and updated. :)

http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/coupons/
http://www.redplum.com/
http://www.boxtops4education.com/Promotions/
http://www.pillsbury.com/coupons-promotions/
http://www.dinnermadeeasy.com/ currently giving away a recipe booklet with $10 in coupons or printable coupons at the top right corner
http://www.pgeverydaysolutions.com/ specifically http://www.pgeverydaysolutions.com/pgeds/en_US/jsp/EDS_Page.jsp?pageID=SCSCL&edstempseg=GP&utm_source=GP&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Nov08Newsletter
sometimes offers samples and printables or coupons mailed to you right now they have tide samples and coupons and pantene samples

edited to say I found this one in my email today!
www.family-cents.com
It is from general mills. Somehow the same as betty crocker but some different coupons maybe.

Online coupons and new juicy juice coupon!

I have some favorite places I like to get online coupons like
http://www.coupons.com/
http://www.smartsource.com/
http://www.couponbug.com/
http://www.boodle.com/
http://www.mypoints.com/ ( please let me send you a referral so I get credit for it, thanks! )
You can usually print each one twice at each site by going through and picking the ones you want again.
Some overlap and sometimes the limits overlap. I havent figured it out!

Then there are coupons for specific items that are often at the company's website.
I register at many of these so I get emails and newsletters and such from them that often include coupons. ( I use a separate junk email for this purpose.)

Yesterday I got an email from juicy juice and they have a new printable that is $1 off of 1!! WOO HOO!!!
So go here: http://www.juicyjuice.com/ and register and click on special offers ( I think).
Hit back to print 2.
If you have trouble let me know!

Then there are places you can load e-coupons onto your Kroger (and other stores) card like:
http://www.pgesaver.com/ p&g coupons last week I got free Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner through this!
http://www.shortcuts.com/
http://www.cellfire.com/ this is relatively new and I havent used it yet.

I think you can only load 25 to your card at a time so be selective!

hope this helps you save some money and ....never pay full price! :D

What do you mean "What sale at Kroger?" ?!?!? JUST GO!

Warning: this post will have lots of !!!!!!
ROFL!

If you have a nearby Kroger and regularly shop there, I truly hope you realize that they are having a MEGA sale. ( I think they call it a "Mega Event".)
Regardless of what it is called, I think I have died and gone to coupon shopping heaven. LOL

I have been to Kroger 3 times in 4 days and have done 6 transactions!

If you dont know what this mega, super, awesome, unbelievable, incredible sale is, essentially it is this:
buy 10 items from a select group of many, many items and receive $5 off your total. That boils down to 50c off each item.
You can do 30 items per transaction! ( why i had to do multiple transactions)

There are lots of lists of everything that is on sale at http://www.afullcup.com/ and many other blogging sites. If anyone wants a full list, I will share it with you. I just want to share what I got and how much I spent.

My husband asked me last night "What is it with you and coupons lately?" haha! I told him it is my quest to get the best deals possible and never pay full price! Hence the name of my blog.
( I have a conspiracy theory about retail prices and couponing, etc, but that's not for this post.)


So anyway...here's what I got last night and today ( saturday's receipt is gone, if i find it i will add it in) ...
FOR FREE
item, sale price, coupon and final price

• 4 boxes of hefty storage bags ( gallon and/or quart) $1.50, $1.00 after mega sale - 55c coupon doubled up to $1 These also had 20c off peelie coupons on them that I will save for later
• 6 yesterday and 3 today Johnson and johnson buddy soap bars 99c - $3/3 coupon = 3c overage applied to tax ( these also spit out a coupon for another $3/3. I have done this many, many times. I now have 49 bars of this soap to donate to a drive at J's school!!! yay! )
• 1 box of hamburger helper $1.60 - free coupon on box of betty crocker potatoes ( buy 3 get 1 HH free)
• 10 cans carnation evaporated milk $1 on sale =50c after mega event. I had 5 coupons. some were 50c off 2 from a newspaper insert which doubled = $1 and then there are printables for $1 off 2 here: http://www.verybestbaking.com/ hit your back button and you can print 2 per computer
• 7 (yes 7) tylenol rapid release gel caps 24 pk $2.50= $2 after sale less $2 coupons from a recent newspaper
• 13 3L bottles of ice mountain bottled water $1 = 50c after sale - $1 off 2 coupons from a recent paper. I had to pay 50c for the 13th one. I accidentally got 5 last night but I needed one more item to make it an even 10 anyway so 50c is a worthwhile investment to save $5! What am i going to do with so much water?!?!?
• 1 bottle of fruit punch powerade $1 = 50 c after the sale - 75c off coupon doubled to $1 so I got 50c overage on it! Thanks to a coupon angel for leaving that coupon on the store shelf!
• 2 boxes of swiss miss hot chocolate pkts = $1= 50c after sale. I had a coupon for $1 off 2 PLUS I had 50c off 2 loaded to my Kroger card from http://www.shortcuts.com/ (go there! Load some coupons! LMK if you dont know what it is!) so 50c overage!
• 4 colgate regular toothpaste ( i got a couple on Sat. too) = $1.50= $1 after sale - coupons for 75c off 1 doubled to $1 more free toothpaste
• 3 pks kiwi shoes laces= 99c (not part of mega event) - $1/1 coupons
• 1 12 ct box of alka seltzer (i got a couple on saturday too) = $1.50= $1 after sale - $1 off coupon printable here: http://bricks.coupons.com/Start.asp?tqnm=rjieehl71401332&bt=wi&o=52456&c=AS&p=VM73lIXi ( remember print 2)
• 1 box quaker quick oats = $1.50= $1 - 50c coupon doubled. This was from the 10/05 paper I think and we forgot to buy more than the 1 we get delivered. BOO HOO! (haha!)
  

So all of that was FREE after coupons, (just tax) plus some overage for some coupons and the ones that were loaded to my Kroger card.

I also got these items as part of the sale:

• 1 boxes of Orville Redenbacher natural microwave popcorn $2= $1.50 after sale - 1 coupon for 75c doubled to $1 = 50 c
• 2 Orv. Red. mic. popcorn$2= $1.50 - 40c coupons doubeld to 80c = 70c each
• 2 4pks Activia strawberry yogurt= $2= $1.50- $1 coupon = 50c
• Pillsbury Toaster Streudal $2=$1.50- $1 coupons that were printable (but gone) = 50c each
• 3 Johnson and Johnson baby powders $3= $2.50 - $1 coupons = $1.50 each plus it spit out another $3/3 J&J products coupon :)
• Welch's grape juice= $3= $2.50 - $1 = $1.50 WOW!
• Nestle chocolate morsels $2.50= $2 - $1.50/1 coupon. (It was a printable that seems to no longer be available. sorry) There were 75c off/3 coupons in the blinkie machine though!
• 3 pks betty crocker instant buttery mashed potatoes = $1.50 = $1 - 40c/1 coupons here http://www.bettycrocker.com/coupons-promotions/coupons/default.aspx?WT.mc_id=partner_startsampling_com doubled = 20c each! ( plus there was that hamburger helper coupon on them) (I bought a whole bunch of these on saturday- au gratin, julienne, mashed sweet pot. scalloped, etc. 20c for side dishes is a steal! PLUS they are a good item to donate that has a long shelf life)ALSO there was a shortcuts.com coupon!
• 6 LG cans of Hunt's diced tomatoes and crushed tomatoes = $1.50= $1 less 3 coupons for 40c off 2, doubled means 40c off each. 60c for these giant cans! (got several on saturday too)
• kroger sugar free syrup ( for DH) = $1.50= $1 after sale - no coupon ( gasp!)
• 2 5lb bags of Domino sugar = $2.50= $2 - 50c coupon doubled = $1 for sugar! I am inspired to do holiday making now! haha! ( combine it with all that evap milk and make something yummy!)
• 5 Viva paper towels $2= $1.50 - 50c doublesd to $1 = 50c for paper towels!
• 2 viva towels = $2= $1.50 - $1/2 catalina coupon (the ones that come out at the register)= $1 each.
• 3 dial hand soap ( 50% free!) = $1.50= $1 - 30c coupon doubled. = 40c!!!
• 4 pk cottonelle = 99c (not part of sale) - 25c manu doubled = 50c each
• Land o lakes spreadable butter w/canola oil ( we love this stuff!) $2.50= $2- several coupons for 55c (doubled) or $1/1 I think I got 8! ( this was on Sat.)
• M&M's ice cream sandwiches = $2.50= $2- $1 coupon I had from a previous box = $1
• Dove Ice cream Bars _ same as M&M deal
• 2 Bags of 40 count Totino's pizza rolls ( I LOVE THESE!!) $3= $2.50 - 40c coupon for one ansd 50c on another = $1.50 and $1.70 - less than the price of the small boxes!
• Betty Crocker cookie mixes= $1.99= $1.49 less coupons, i had some 75c ( doubled to $1) and some others I cant remember ( saturday's ctrip) so I paid 49c each for most. I prefer homemade cookies of course ;) but these are nice to have on hand for a quickie dessert or something quick to take when you are going somewhere or for school, etc....
• 1 12 oz bag of organic frozen strawberries = free with coupon from kroger mailer
• 1 sm can of kroger coffee- free with coupon from kroger mailer
• 8 scotch brite nail saver sponges I THOUGHT these were $1.50 so $1 after the sale and I had a whole bunch of $1 off printable coupons here: http://www.3m.com/us/home_leisure/scotchbrite/ultranailsaver/coupon.pdf and 50c/1 from the paper. They rang up at $1.99 and when I went back today the sign was changed. GGGRRRR I think they realized why they were flying off the shelf. So I paid 49c each I guess. {sigh} I wouldnt have gotten them if I thought they were free cuz that added $4 to my total and i didnt really need them.

I also got

• 10 lbs potatoes $3.98
• 1 pillsbury crescent rolls on sale for $1.66- shortcuts coupon 50c - printable coupon for $1 = 16c
• 2 cans of green beans 50c each
• 2 boxes of Arm and Hammer baking soda 59c each - $1/2 coupon found at http://www.armandhammer.com/ 9c each!
• 1 bottle of Juicy Juice ( the first time i went they were out of the welch's) $2.74 (?) - $1 = $1.74 new coupon foudn here: http://www.juicyjuice.com/ you'll need to register
• bananas 48c lb (ouch) = $1.08
• 2 cans kidney beans 67c each( werent these just 47c 6 mths ago?!)
• 1/2 gal milk on sale for $1.25
• Kroger shredded cheddar, pizza and colby cheese on sale 3/$5 - 45c shortcuts.com coupon
• hot dogs buns - clearance priced at 99c for a 16 ct pkg!
• 6 ct pkg whole wheat english muffins clearanced to 69c (yummy breakfast sandwiches!)
• V8 ( dh's favorite) $2.50
• kraft sliced american cheese $2.50 - 50c from sunday's paper = $1.50
• 2 or 3 lb bag of onions = $2.99
• 3 apples at 99c/lb
• 2 land o frost lunchmeat pkgs ( ham and turkey) b1g1 at $4.99 each
• tyson boneless skinless tenderloins B1G1 I think they were 6.99?? ( again, from saturday)

Whew! I think that is it! Sorry I dont have Saturday's receipt, I added in what I could remember! I also got soy milk for J ($7), bread, bunsx2,3 1/2 lbs ground chuck, 1 lb ground turkey & I forget what else. But between all 3 shopping trips I thinik I got all of that stuff for around $100!! ( I need to double check my total with the check book.)

Yesterday and today I saved $123.50 with coupons! ( no sure about Saturday but I think it was an addl $80)

Can you believe it?!

If you got through all of that, then you are invited to come over for some bottled water, instant potatoes made with Evap milk and Land O Lakes butter and some betty crocker cookies! ROFL!