Today's shopping trip,

So despite the rainy and windy weather, I went out today to see if I could snag anything because, due to my hectic schedule, I hadn't been able to do that in a few weeks.



I wound up going to Walmart, Target, CVS, and Walgreens. All of them are relatively close to my house, so it didn't require a lot of driving in crappy weather, which is always a plus.

No one had anything super outstanding, but everything in the above picture (only thing not pictured is an All You Magazine I picked up)? $ 21.02 (not counting the magazine, it's 18.33)

I'm just going to list all items together and not by respective stores since I got so few items at each store.

1. All You Magazine: 2.69
2. Texas Toast Croutons: 1.28
3. Chef Boyardee Lasagna: .98
4. 30-cound Band-Aids: 2.10
5. 2 bottles of Immodium A.D. Liquid (ya never know, right?): regularly 5.99, clearanced 2.1 each/4.82 both
6. 72 count Listerine Cinnamon Pocket Packs: regularly 2.50, on sale at CVS for 1.99
7. 2 Revlon eye shadows: 3.99 ea/7.98 total
8. Revlon 12 hour quad eyeshadow: 4.99
9. 2 Revlon Nail clippers: 2.99 each/5.98 total
10. Lysol NeutraAir Starter Kit: regularly 13.99, on 50% off sale at Walgreens for 6.99
11. 2 Halls Cherry Cough Drops: 2.29 each/4.58 total
12. Catwalk Root Boosting Spray: regularly 14.99, on the clearance shelf at Walgreens for $3.00
13. John Frieda Root Awakening Smoothing Serum 4oz: regularly 6.49, on Walgreens clearance shelf for $2.00
14. 2 Stayfree Maxi Pads, 48 count: regularly 6.99, on sale at Walgreens for 3.99 each/7.98 total.

Coupons used:

1. (1)Texas Toast Croutons: -.75
2. (1)Target Band-Aid: -1.00
3. (1)Band-Aid (from Sunday circular stacked with Target coupon): -1.00
4. (1)Immodium, buy 2 save $4: -4.00
5. (1)$7 off $15 worth of Revlon products, CVS coupon that printed from their scanner: -7.00
6. (2)Revlon color cosmetics: -2.00 each/-4.00 total
7. (2)Revlon Beauty tools: -1.00each/ -2.00 total
8. (1)Revlon color cosmetics: -1.00
9. (1)Listerine Pocket Packs: -1.00
10. (1)Lysol Neutra Air starter pack: -4.00
11. (1)Walgreens circular coupon making each bag of Halls .99 each: -2.60
12. (2)Halls cough drops: -1.00 each/ -2.00 total
13. (1)John Frieda Root Awakening full size product: -2.00
14. (1)BOGO Stayfree Pads: -3.99

Total before coupons/sales: $94.51
Total after sales/coupons: $21.02
Total Savings: $73.49 or 78%

Yankee Candle $10 off $25

Click here for a coupon to save $10 off any $25 purchase at Yankee Candle. This can be used in store or online.

Valid until 04/24/10

Cheap Neutrogena Acne Therapy!

My friend Crystal alerted me to this one. Did you know they sell acne products online at Toys R Us/Babies R Us? I didn't. Right now they have the Neutrogena Advanced Solutions Complete Acne Therapy System on clearance for $ 8.98!! I don't see any free shipping codes, but even with shipping, it's cheaper than in stores currently. If anyone does see any codes that would work feel free to post them in comments!

You usually can't find this system in stores (Even Walmart or Target) for under $25 so this is a steal! Pick up more than one if this is something you use often, you probably won't find it at this price again!

Here is the link.

Reminder

Every once in awhile I'll link back to this post for those that are new to my blog.

It was my post on what survey sites I use where you can earn a little extra cash for you or your household.

30% off at Old Navy

This one is actually printable! Print out the coupon here and save 30% off any one item in any participating Old Navy store. This coupon is not valid at Oldnavy.com. Valid through 04/04/10.

30% off Kohls coupon

You can save 30% on any kohls.com purchase by entering the code SAVE30KC at checkout. This offer is valid online only, from what I can see. Code good through 03/31/10.

Sears Clearance sale!!

Sears is having an awesome clearance sale online right now. There are deals in pretty much every department. You can score clothes, home items and even handbags for as low as $1.99. Check out their clearance section here! No free shipping coupon codes, though. But, even with paying shipping you can still get some awesome deals.

Free Leather Conditioner

Fill out a short form and you'll receive your choice of either a Leather CPR Cleaner and Conditioner, Granite CPR Cleaner and Conditioner, or Carpet Spot and Stain Remover. Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery.

Blech

Boy, when I get heartburn...I get heartburn. I feel like there is a fire in my chest, at this moment. I did the crazy thing of randomly falling asleep after I ate dinner earlier, and woke up with not nice feelings in my esophagus.

It wouldn't be so bad if I had just nodded off for a couple minutes. My moment of just "laying down for a minute" turned into a three hour nap, and yet I'm still tired. I used to just get little bitty heartburn pains when I was younger, but now it's either no heartburn, or full-blown pain that only responds to Maximum Strength Pepcid.

Here's hoping I don't feel like complete crap in the morning....

Protein Bar Sample from Special K

If you join Special K's "All K Pass", you will be signed up to receive a sample of a Special K Protein Bar, along with coupons for $1 off Special K Protein Bars and $1 off Special K Protein Shakes.

I've never had the bars, but the protein shakes are really good!

Check it out here!

Victoria Secret Free Bracelet and $10 off of $50.

Register here for Victoria's Secret Pink Nation Club and you'll receive a coupon for a free bracelet with your first Pink purchase, as well as a coupon for $10 off your next purchase of $50 or more. Even if you are already a member, you should probably still get the $10 coupon in your email.

Benefiber Orange

Click here to get a free sample of new Benefiber Orange. Allow 4 weeks for delivery, but Walmart samples usually come faster than that.

Like Buddig Lunch Meat?

Join their Lunch Club and receive special promotions, coupons and links for freebies to your email address.

When you join you get your choice of two $1.00 off coupons, and possibly some other freebies!

Click here!

My new GPS

So those that know me, know that I can sometimes get lost when I'm driving. I've done the google maps and printing the directions out and all that. It works, most of the time, but it's distracting to drive alone and have to read a piece of paper. Plus, even with it, I've still gotten lost coming back because I don't think to do reverse directions.

So....I broke down and bought a TomTom GPS. "BUT OMG THOSE ARE EXPENSIVE!!"

Not necessarily! :)

My new GPS:
It's a TomTom One 130. I've been pricing them for awhile and balking at how expensive most of them are. This same model is about $80 on Amazon which isn't bad, either. But, I purchased mine at Staples, where they are having a sale on them. Their list price is around $130, but until the 27th of this month they are on sale for $79. Along with the sale price I also had a 20% off coupon from Staples that I got in the mail that was expiring today, so I went and snatched it up.

The final price for me was about $63+tax, and comes out to about half of the retail price. You can't beat that with a stick, dude.

REMINDER!!

Use your deals/freebies email address when signing up for most of this stuff!! While most companies won't spam you, some will, so use a separate one so nothing gets mixed in with important emails.

Gluten Allergies?

Sign up at Befreeforme.com for their email newsletters and you will receive periodic email (and maybe regular mail) coupons and samples of items that are gluten-free. They will also send emails on how to live with gluten allergies and how to make the best out of it.

Here is the link: http://www.befreeforme.com/SignUp.aspx

Starbucks fiends rejoice!!!

Present this coupon to any Starbucks barista when you go in for your morning Starbucks fix and get a free pastry.

It is good with the purchase of any drink, but it is only valid tomorrow - 03/23/10 - before 10:30am.

Borba Skin Care Sample

You can sign up here to get a free sample of Borba's Age Defying Concentrate. It looks like you also get a catalog with it, as well. Not available outside the US.

Alright guys

I didn't abandon or anything crazy like that.

I had a post that was supposed to autopost on Weds telling you all that I was going to be out of town with a couple of friends (Wed-Sun) and not to expect posts, but it didn't post.

Soooo...

A friend and I went to go and visit another friend of ours from college who now lives in West Virginia for the weekend. I had an awesome time, and got some much needed rest. But now it's back to the daily grind of school, work, and much etc.

I've got a few errands to run now, and I'll try and catch up on all my interneting when I come back.

Dove Conditioner Sample

Click on this link to get a free sample of Dove Daily Treatment Conditioner. This sample could take up to 12 weeks to receive, so be patient!

Free Bath and Body Works for Students and more!

If you are currently a student with a Student ID, you can take your ID and this coupon to Bath and Body Works and get a free lip care item (up to $7.50). No purchase is necessary. The coupon is valid through March 21st.







Plus, they still have their Anti-Bacterial Hand Soap on sale for $3, and their Signature Collection is Buy 2, Get One Free.

Also they are having a special on shipping for bathandbodyworks.com, all standard shipping is currently $5.99. But, if you spend over $50 you can get your shipping discounted to $3.00 using the code SHIP3. The fine print at the bottom, says that you can use the student lip care deal online along with the shipping deals. You would have to enter the code STUDENT at checkout, as well.

I was good today!!

So my mother wanted to go up to Towson Town Mall today to check out something at Nordstrom, and then to Kohls in Timonium to return something. Fine with me, the mall has a parking garage, and considering the monsoon weather we are currently experiencing, this is a plus. Given that my school (Loyola University MD, wewt!....anyway....) is in this part of town I also can probably drive there with my eyes closed....not that I would, or anything.....

So I stayed in the car at Kohls, since it was downpouring and I didn't want to get out. Plus she was only returning, so it took all of 5 minutes.

Then we got to the mall....and of course we go into Macy's at some point in the visit. I did get one thing, BUT I WAS STILL GOOD!! How could I pass this one up.



These boots...you see here....They are Aerosoles, so not only are the cute, but omgah so comfortable. Original price was $99, they had a sale price on the sticker of $45.99, but they were also on the 70% off rack...so I take them to one of the little in-store scanners, and they scan $22. Then I remember I have a $20 Macy's gift card from Valued Opinions (I cashed out my earnings to a Macy's gc a couple weeks ago). Given this happy thought, I snatch them and leave happily after only spending $3.34 out of pocket (tax included) on a $100 pair of shoes.

The end.

Eating Healthy on a budget

Yes, it is possible to eat very healthy, even with organic foods, and remain on budget.

Catherine at "A Spirited Mind" has a great post on how she's doing it.

Check it out here.

P&G Head and Shoulders & Tampax Samples

If you sign up to receive P&G's emails, you can also sign up to receive samples of Head and Shoulders and Tampax.

These should also be available to those that have registered previously, as well.

Free Victoria's Secret Gift Card!

Freebies 4 Mom has a great post on how to get a free gift card from VS, plus free shipping on online orders.

Check it out!

Vera Bradley Secret Deal

Ok, so maybe it's not a super secret, it's just not advertised. Vera Bradley has the "Hannah" bag on sale for $12 from $45 here. All the many Vera Bradley fans will appreciate this one, I'm not one of them, but someone is bound to like it.

Burt's Bees Tootthpaste

Burt's Bees is offering a sample of their All Natural Toothpaste - Multicare with Fluoride Formula (.5 oz). You can get it by going here. I can't say I've ever used their toothpaste, but I have used other products and loved them, so I'm willing to give it a try.

$1 tarts and votives at Yankee Candle!

Yankee Candle is having a $1 tart and votive special when you present this coupon. You can buy as many as you want, but only one coupon per customer. You can use this on-line or in stores. I think it's time to stock up on my Fresh Cut Roses obsession...

Free Panda Express

Free Panda Express Honey Walnut Shrimp. This is only valid TOMORROW 03/10, and only at participating locations, so you might want to call ahead and see if your restaurant is participating. No purchase is necessary and no coupon is necessary.

Getting ready for Spring Cleaning?

Right at Home will help you out with a gift pack of cleaning supplies. Available only to the first 10,000 that sign up.

The gift pack includes:
• One box of Ziploc Brand Storage Bags (quart size)
• One Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Cleaning Gel
• One pouch of Pledge Multi Surface Wipes

Right at Home can sometimes take up to 8 weeks to mail out, so expect a little bit of a wait on this one.

John Frieda Luxiorous Volume Sample

Get a free sample of John Frieda's Luxurious Volume Full Splendor Shampoo and Conditioner here by filling out a short form. You have to provide and email address, but you do not have to sign up for email newsletters.

:sigh:

My second mid-term will probably be my life for the next couple days, ya know kinda like the first one was.

So if I'm scarce, that would be why. I'll probably be back to posting on Tuesday...unless I feel the need to procrastinate a little before then...which could happen.

Extra 30% off Aeropostale clearance this weekend!

Online only! You can get an additional 30% off all their clearance items through 3/7/10 when you use the code AERO30 at checkout.

Don't Forget...

about the "31 Days to a Better Grocery Budget" Series over on Money Saving Mom!

Pure and Clear Facial Wash Freebie

Limited quantities! Go here to get your free sample of Nelson's Pure and Clear acne face wash. Only 5,000 available.

Chick-fil-a email alerts

You can sign-up here -look for the "Email Insiders" or "Text Insiders" tabs at the top- for coupons and upcoming specials at Chick-Fil-A restaurants.

Menu Planning

One of the ways, I lowered our grocery budget was menu planning for the house. Luckily, I have a family that will pretty much eat anything I make (as Mom hates cooking with a fiery passion...she'll clean it though, which I hate, so it balances it out), so if I can tell her outloud what it is, and it sounds good...it's a go.

I'm trying to come up with a way to menu plan on my laptop. Right now, I just kind of jot meals down in my planner, and while it works the system could be a little better. I've been tweaking around some menu templates I've found online to work a little better for me. So as I work on this, I'll give some updates and and some links to planners online that could work for some of you.

L'Oreal Freebies/Coupons

L'Oreal has a bunch of deals on their website on a regular basis, so that you can give their products a try.

Right now, they have:

• Free Sample of EverStrong Shampoo and Conditioner
• Free Sample of EverPure Shampoo and Conditioner
• $2 off any eye product
• $1 off Go 360 Clean Cleanser with Scrublet
• $1 off ANY L'Oreal Product.

I did have this post earlier in the week from Target. They had a lot of L'Oreal products on clearance, and you might be able to use these printables to score some good deals, too.

Bath and Body Works Coupon

Bath and Body Works has a coupon that can be used in-stores or online for a free travel size item with ANY purchase. The travel size item can be valued up to $5.00, but there is no minimum on your purchase.

Offer valid through March 24, 2010.

Pureology Hair Care

You can try one of two new products from Pureology's Smoothing Line for Color-Treated Hair.

You have the option of the RelaxingSerum or SmoothingCream.

I chose the cream, since it says it can add shine to your hair, and my hair could always use a little extra shine.

You can get the sample here.

31 Days to a Better Grocery Budget

Money Saving Mom's is doing a month-long series of how to improve/decrease your weekly food budget. She's going to have a different tip each day, all of which (well at least most) are relatively painless and can help you slice your grocery bills down substantially.

You can start following her series here.

Target has been so awesome to me lately...

Target currently has a lot on clearance from make-up to home items and clothing. All stores have slightly different clearance items, so it doesn't hurt to check out multiple stores if you have more than one near you.

Today was so good, it almost feels like stealing...which, really, I'm ok with.




Everything you see in that picture was on clearance and I got it all for: $13.64

1. 4-pack Crest plus Scope Outlast toothpaste originally 5.98 - clearance 2.28
2. Kotex Special Value Double Pack originally 8.98 - clearance - 3.98
3. 20 count black Sharpie markers originally 12.98 - clearance label said 6.48 but rang up 2.94 - SCORE!
4. L'Oreal True Match Blendable Blush originally 8.99 - clearance label said 6.28 but rang up 3.48
5. L'Oreal True Match Blendable Foundation originally 8.99 - clearance 3.48
6. L'Oreal Wear Infinite Eye Shadow Quad originally 5.99 - clearance 2.98
7. Pixi by Petra Must Have Kit originally 30.00 - clearance 5.00

Coupons used:
(2) L'Oreal True Match foundation/concealer/blush - 3.00/ea
(1) L'Oreal Any Cosmetic - 2.00
(1) Kotex, any - 1.50
(1) Crest - 1.00

Original Price total: 81.91. Total after clearance price/coupons: 13.64
Savings: $68.27 or 83.3%