Save on Prescriptions

Who knew you could save on prescriptions at Costco and you don't need a membership to use their pharmacy! Thanks BargainBabe.com for sharing this information.

Free coupons & Samples

Check out this website and sign up for the p&g newsletter. You will then get a page where you can sign up for several free samples and free coupons on some common products such as shampoo, Tide, feminine products, and mouthwash. I love my freebies!!!

Point Programs

There are many point or reward programs out there and one that I frequent is the My Coke reward points. I just found out from Home Depot that if you attend a do it herself workshop you will get 20 My Coke Reward Bonus Points!

New Years

Well there are alot of new year's deals out there! If you are looking for a dinner out check out Houlihan's where today they sent me an email which offers the following:

Thursday, December 31st
Featuring a special menu for the evening, for just $27.95 per person.
- Your choice of any of our steaks (including Filet mignon, Prime top sirloin and New York strip)
- Cold-water lobster tail
- Choice of soup or salad
- Any dessert
- Any non-alcohol beverage

Not too bad a price in my opinion. Of course, catering the same meal at home is much cheaper! I just purchased lobster tails at the Acme for only $5.99 per tail. Be creative if you are dining in and want to make it special.

I got my $5.00 certificate via email today!

If you sign up for their email alerts, you will get a "Thank You" for signing up in your inbox! You only need a minimum purchase of $5.00 to use the $5.00 so it's basically free! Treat yourself to a new pair of socks, or perhaps some new earrings, or maybe you are going anyway and can use it towards a holiday gift!

PS - I also received a coupon to use online which is 10% off my purchase!

It's a busy and crazy world in my house!

Do you ever have days where your "to-do" list is just too long and you know there is no way in the world you can even touch it, and on top of that there are at least ten more items that I should add to the list, but that is just too discouraging to even think about it! Huh? You mean that doesn't just happen in my house? LOL!

Well, today is certainly proving to be one of those days for me!

Two quick tips for those gals out there who are having one of those days!

Coffee and Wine! Just kidding, that's not the 2 tips but, thought you might need a little anyway.

Since it's just too busy for me to think my house could get all cleaned up by one person cleaning up after three....I put a large basket near the bottom of the stairs. This basket serves a purpose other than decorative. I put all the little items that are dragged downstairs, but need to be put back upstairs in it. Each time I go upstairs, I just grab 1 of those items and put it away. By the end of the week, the basket is usually empty and if I'm lucky hubby will chip in too!

My 2nd tip is that you should take advantage of online shopping. It saves me time and money. Check out Circuit City's on line website. They will email you when they have special deals ahead of time and they do have good prices as I comparably shop the web.

Healthy Lifestyles

During my endeavor to live more affordably, I encountered a nifty website called Calorie Count. It's not JUST about counting calories so don't close out my blog just yet :> Check out their blog as well as their site! You can get great healthy recipes even your children will love. Recently, I found two for the holidays. I think the kids will love the cranberry pancakes and I found a potluck meatball recipe which will be cheap and tasty for entertaining! Anything with the Crockpot is a big hit because it's easy, saves me time, and is much cheaper to run than my oven!

You can even subscribe to a variety of free newsletters if you want them forwarded to your inbox daily, weekly, or monthly.

Another side benefit for those of you wishing to loose weight is they offer a support group online. I have been successful at loosing weight over the past year and have enjoyed using this feature. It's cheaper than weight watchers and doesn't cost me a dime! You can even meet "Friends" who share similar struggles in your healthy lifestyle and a new friend is always welcome.

Daily Deals

Many websites or retailers that you know publish "daily deals, or deals of the day". There are several websites designed to show you all of them at a glance. Here is one that seems popular or perhaps they post only a limited quantity. Today the item was sold out by lunchtime which was a Dora the Explorer Pillow with Storage Pocket and Bonus 3 Story Books
Retail Price: $19.99
Savings: (86 %) $17.00
Our Price: $2.99
http://family.1saleaday.com/

I noticed they have a counter which means another deal will post soon! So keep your eyes open if you are still doing some holiday shopping!

Check out this Give-Away

I reviewed the website as suggested by the blog owner and was surprised to see the sneakers were cute as a button and what kid wouldn't like to have some unique sneakers that their friends probably don't have?

U*neaks children shoe giveaway!

http://singlemama-reviewcorner.blogspot.com/

Cleaning Products and Coupons

http://homemadesimple.com/en_US/refreshforless.do

Great ideas on anything you need regarding your home such as organizing, cleaning, etc.

Check out this great newsletter for a coupon booklet on cleaning products!

Shop Online Much?

I love to shop online, but only when I get a good deal on S&H. Since it's the holiday season, most places are offering FREE s&h. This works out fantastic for the Mom's with small children and Mom's on the go! Recently, I found out that Kohl's offers some great deals on line. Now through Christmas, you can check out their deal of the day.

http://www.kohls.com/upgrade/webstore/home

You can even shop for toys online at Kohls.

BONUS ALERT: Sign up for their "Sales Alert" by email and you will get
- A $5 coupon to use in our stores
- A 10% off Promo Code to use online
Whoo-Hoo!!

Step 2 - Made in the USA

I personally love to buy toys made in the USA for my children. I have a much better chance of it not being recalled for toxic paint, etc.
https://secure.step2.com/made-in-usa/

Sign up now on the Step2 web site for a special deal. Sign up to receive an incredible, one-day-only coupon code via email each day from Step2 between December 2and December 13, 2009.

https://secure.step2.com/subscriptions/12days.cfm

Sign Up and Receive a Sample of Nature Valley Nut Clusters!

Sign Up and Receive a Sample of Nature Valley Nut Clusters!

I love FREE Stuff!

If you have a facebook account check out your "friends list" for possible products or stores you enjoy. You never know what you are going to find like this one:

Clorox Clean Up - Coupon for a FREE Bottle on December 7th

The public will have the chance to vote on Facebook between December 7th and January 17th, 2010 with everyone receiving a Clorox Clean-Up coupon as a thank-you for voting from Clorox. Remember the voting starts December 7th!
http://www.facebook.com/cloroxcleanup?v=wall&ref=search#/cloroxcleanup?v=wall&ref=search

They have two promotions, one is expiring tomorrow so act fast on this one. Chance to win $10,000 for a Local Kids Program. Click on "Bright Future" once you get to the fan page.

The second one is a chance for all of us to vote for the winner and as a thank you we get a coupon for a free bottle of clean up!

My new Rewards Program

Today I went to Barnes & Nobles for the first time. I had visited their website before, so a coupon for 20% off a new release DVD was already clipped and ready to go for a Christmas gift purchase.

When I arrived, there were an abundance of great gift ideas for both the men and women on my Christmas list, as well as lil ones! Being the bargain shopper that I am striving to be....I asked an employee if they had a rewards program (similar to Borders, I was hoping). Alas, they did!

"Bummer", I thought as the employee explained the annual fee of $25. However, after reviewing the terms and conditions, it wasn't such a bad deal. (Free would have been better, but let me explain).

Here is a summary of my purchases.
Rewards card - $25.00

Rewards savings summary:
$6.00 savings on book #1
$1.44 savings on book #2
$2.30 savings on DVD
$.62 savings on coffee at the cafe (yes, you even get 10% off coffee & cheesecake!)

$10.36 savings on my first day with the rewards program.

Another great perk is that you can have them pull up the rewards card # by the phone # you listed, when you applied. So, I gave my Mom that info and she has also used the discount on a new release book which saved her an extra 20%.

One more thing I liked, is that they sell Vera Bradley, which I love. I was told (although I haven't tried it yet) that I will get 10% those items too!

I only need 1.5 more trips similar today to earn back my rewards cost and I intend to make the best of over the next 364 days of my rewards card!

PS - You also get $50 in welcome bonus savings via email.

Free Fun & Education Games for Kids

If your kids are anything like mine, they already know how to use the computer. One of my favorite kid sites is JumpStart.

Here's a little information from their website:

"JumpStart®, an award-winning brand from Knowledge Adventure®, has set the standard in kid’s educational software for over 15 years. Today, the JumpStart experience is more engaging, interactive and fun than ever! In 2009, we introduced JumpStart.com, an online adventure where 3-10 year old kids master the skills needed to succeed in school and in life through exploration, discovery and learning. By blending interactive adventures and award-winning learning games into a safe, customizable online world, JumpStart inspires minds and JumpStarts self-confidence… the fun way."

Another great little tip is you can even purchase gift cards in your local stores (usually I find them in the gift card kiosk) for only $6.95. It gives them a 1 month membership and makes for a very affordable gift for Christmas, Birthday's, Rewards, etc. The gift card allows the kids to enter parts of the games you can't access without a paid membership.

The site also provides other tips and information for parents. They have a great receipe right now for Pumpkin Pie Play Dough.

Check it out! http://blog.jumpstart.com/

Free Books! (with a small s&h fee)

Today, as I was doing my normal household cleaning and getting the family ready for picture day, it occurred to me that perhaps I should finish up my shopping for the holidays early. This year, my budget for presents is the smallest it has ever been! Of course, when you are running your household with one income, that is to be expected. So, I am looking for some good online deals as shopping via the "net" makes Mama's life much easier and efficient.

Many of my family and friends love getting books as gifts. I looked at a variety of books and it occurred to me that used books may be a better bargain.

1. You can buy more of them.
2. You may be able to afford one your normal budget wouldn't allow you to purchase as New.

Check out this great website I stumbled upon.
http://www.paperbackswap.com

You basically swap books with other members, so the only price you pay is the price to ship the book to that person's home. On the "help" portion of this site, it mentions the average price to ship is a little more than $2.00. They even provide a template you simply print from your computer, wrap the two sheets of paper around the book, and mail it out!

Easy Peasy and Cheap!

Let's get organized

Check out http://www.cozi.com for keeping your family matters organized & it's free! I love the shopping lists because can download them to your phone, which is much more green than printing them. There are free receipes, calendars, lists, samples, etc. You can even share the calendar with family members of your choice. Around this time of year, it's a great idea for the hectic holidays!

Free Photo Prints

Check out this website, which is a favorite of mine.

http://www.shutterfly.com/index.jsp

They are currently offering some great deals. One thing I like about getting my photo's online is I don't have to drag the kids out of the house, put them in the car, get everybody belted in their seats, drive to the drug store, get everybody out of the cars, and go in and purchase my photo's while watching lil ones. They show up in my mailbox! Much easier and less time consuming. So, I save money and time with this tip!

Promo code: PRINTS4YOU
Offer ends
November 23, 2009.

Free yummies, anyone?

If you happen to have a California Tortilla in your town sign up for their rewards program because once you do, you earn money towards future purchases. You also will get occasional emails with freebies!

Thursday, November 19th, if you make a purchase you get a 4 oz. sample of some of their turkey chili. They will also give you a coupon for a FREE 8 oz. cup of chili that's good for 2 weeks.

http://californiatortilla.com/

Tag, I'm it!
It's play date day for my oldest daughter. A great idea that another SAHM (stay at home mom) and myself had was to give each other a day off every other week. One week, I pick up her child along with mine from school and take her home with me. Mom gets time to run errands, get a pedi mani, sleep, clean, have a Mom Date, etc. It's MOMMY Time without having to worry about getting the kids from school and what from my "mommy do list" can I possibly can accomplished in a few hours!

Since it's my turn to be "It", a creative idea is find a fun arts or crafts project for the kids to do. Being on one income dictates that I be thrifty on these days so today's activity costs me only $4. I bought a Melissa & Doug Necklace making kit. It made 8 necklaces so each girl (3 in total) got to make 2 each. It was fun and wasn't a messy event either!

I got the kit at Goodwill and it was still brand new in the plastic a few months back! Whenever I get a chance to stop in, if I see something in new condition for a good price I just put it away in a Rubbermaid tub. This tub is a "go-to" place for me gifts or sometimes eBay.