Thursday, February 14, 2013

Hey everyone, sorry I do not post very often! Life is crazy, as you all know, and I am super busy! I have decided to start back up again though and try to offer some more couponing and other money saving advice! If you are looking to get started please check out my post "Couponing 101". It will help you get off the ground running!

So, since it's been a while, here is an update on some of the things you can do to save yourself some money!

1.) Review your bills. You might be with Company A for electricity but Company B would give you 2 cents/kilowatt hour difference on your base rate. This could be a significant savings especially for a family! I was with one company where I could never expect a regular bill, and when I switched it was only a 3 cent difference in my base rate but I saved nearly $1000 in one year alone. Car insurance, make sure you have all the right discounts and coverages. ALWAYS review your policy declaration pages to ensure everything is correct! There are many things you can do on your bills to save some money! Call the companies and ask for promotional deals!

2.) When you coupon, only get the things you need. You will see these shows where people go and get 100 boxes of pasta for $1. This is not realistic, unless you have a large family or will be donating this food. You also have to consider that you will be storing the food, spending countless hours clipping those coupons, and spending half your day at the grocery store. Plus, when you clear the shelves you make it really difficult for someone who comes in and desperately needs one of that item.

3.) DIY! Pizza, your nails, your lawn, etc. My family loves my homemade pizzas and they would prefer them over a pizza chain any day! Find your favorite recipe and perfect it! Manis and Pedis on your own time, in the comfort of your own home with your glass of wine and a good movie on! Saves you $50+ and you get to stay in your comfy clothes!

4.) Contact your favorite companies, sign up for e-newsletters, this is how you get extra coupons! Even if you are planning a date night, go sign up for coupons! My husband and I plan our date nights usually a week in advance, and if we decide to try a new restaurant I'm immediately on their website signing up. Most recently I got a 10% off my entire bill coupon for a VERY expensive restaurant! Plus, this will get you tons of birthday freebies!

Just remember, there are many ways you can easily save money other than being an "extreme" couponer!

I'll keep some more stuff coming your way, and look for a fun feature all about new mommies toward the spring/summer! I have lots of friends who are pregnant so this will be a special for all the expecting mommies!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Free Chickfila spicy chicken biscuit!!!!

There's still time to sign up at chick fila's website for the free chicken biscuits this week! Just go here to reserve your spot: www.chickfila.com

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Free goodies on your bday!

Here's a list of some of the great things you can get for free on your bday (without strings attached or purchase required)
Red Robin email club (free entree on your birthday)

Sonic (free drink or tots on your bday)

Ihop (free rooty tooty meal or substitute of equal value)

There are many many more, I would suggest going to your favorite restaurant or place of business's website and see if they have an e-club, then if you are worried about spam, set up a free account somewhere like yahoo so you can save that for your bday emails!

Free Aveda on your bday!!

My birthday is coming up in a few weeks and I am looking forward with great anticipation to the plethora of freebies I am expecting in my mailbox and email! One of my favorite places is Aveda, and they have a birthday program where you can get a free gift on your bday! Here is the link to sign up, it's a $24 value so it's great! If you aren't a fan of Aveda you may know someone who is and can use this product as a gift!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

How to save on your monthly bills!

I recently started going through all of our bills and looking for ways to save on them, or things we have that are excess, and I ended up saving us a lot of money! Here are a few of the things I did and a few things I've heard from other people!

Car/Renter's Insurance -- I called around to a few companies and found the lowest price, switched over to them and I'm saving over $500/year and I was able to get Renter's insurance cheaper too, that saved me $30/year!

Cable/Internet -- We are stuck with a not so great cable company because of the contract our apartments signed a long time ago, so we have been overpaying by a lot for a few years now. We found out we could get different internet, just not cable, so we called another company, and saved $15/month on that and we have better service!

Rent -- we live in a place that we absolutely love but we are overpaying by a lot to live here. We decided this year to find a cheaper place to live, and we just signed a lease on a rent house that is $300/month cheaper than where we are now and it's bigger!

Electric -- I've heard from lots of people although I haven't tried this because I am entirely too forgetful :). I have heard that you can set up all of your major electronics on either a power strip that turns off or you can unplug them (except the fridge of course) before you leave for the day! I have 2 friends who have done this for a long period of time, both live alone and have bills around $30/month. This could be a huge savings opportunity if you can remember to do it! At least remember to turn off your lights, TVs, radios, etc when you leave for the day, and during the winter time put blankets or towels at your doors to keep the cold out.
Also, call your electric company to see what you are paying per killowatt hour (my current rate is 12 cents) and see if they have any plans that will lower your monthly rate!

Do it yourself! -- You can do things like I've mentioned before, make your own pizzas, do your own mani/pedis, etc, but you can also do things around the house to save some money! Do your own lawn, pool, and house cleaning if you are currently paying a service to do it. It's a great way to learn new skills and it will save you a lot of money each month! Just think, if you are paying $30 every 2 weeks to have someone mow your lawn, you are paying $720/year which is almost $2/day!

Just take a look at your bills, see what you can cut back a little, and always be looking for a better deal!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

FREE Sample of Bacon Salt!

Go here to get a FREE sample of Bacon Salt!! I have heard from some people that it's charging $1 I'm guessing for shipping, but in our area you shouldn't have a problem! It didn't charge me :).

Thanks again Collin!

FREE DaVinci Pasta & Recipe Cards!

Simply go here and “Like” DaVinci on Facebook to score a FREE package of DaVinci Pasta and complimentary recipe cards! After “Liking” them, send an e-mail to promotions@worldfiner.com with your shipping address, year of birth, and Facebook ID (so they know who you are) and they'll send you the free pasta and recipe cards! I also looked them up without the link so this is their actual page.

Thanks Collin!

Sunday, May 16, 2010

FREE Custom Fabric Sunglasses Cloth!

MarineLayer.com (t-shirt company) is offering up a FREE sunglasses cloth, probably in hopes that you'll fall in love with their product, but hey, it's a great freebie!! Just head over here to get yours!

Thanks Collin!

Honey Nut Cheerios Instant Win Game!!

Go here to play the Honey Nut Cheerios Instant Win Game, it's pretty fun! Good luck, let me know if you win!

For all the mommies and soon to be mommies out there...

There are so many awesome resources to get free samples and even full sized products for those expectant moms! I wasn't even a couponer back when I was pregnant, yet my mailbox was constantly overflowing with tons of freebies!! Here are a few of them:

Enfamil -- when I registered they sent me 2 free cans of formula (full sized cans, not samples), a diaper bag, some freezer packs for the diaper bag, and each week they would send me a check good for purchase of more formula!

Similac -- They sent me lots of free formula too which I shared with friends because I chose to feed David enfamil, but I remember getting a lot of free products from them as well

Juicy Juice -- They sent me a free water bottle for David (just his size) but sometimes they'll send out sippy cups too. Plus I've gotten some coupons!

Gerber -- I think they sent me some sort of product, but I know for sure I got TONS of coupons on everything from onesies to bibs, anything and everything you could imagine coupons for!

Seventh Generation -- You'll notice I talk a lot about Seventh Gen, it's because they make such great products! If you're considering the all organic path when raising your child, they make great baby products!

Pampers -- They'll send you coupons, plus you can join the Gifts to Grow program and earn points to redeem for free products!

Huggies -- They'll also send you lots of coupons, even some free samples, then they have the Enjoy the Ride rewards program (I've already been able to redeem points for a $25 kohls gift card)

Toys R Us -- They have Geoffrey's bday club, they will send you a free gift and card for your child's birthday, and then you can take your child into the store the week of the birthday and they'll give him/her a crown, balloon, and announce his/her bday over the p.a.system!

Babies R Us -- When you're looking for a good place to register, this is definitely it! They'll provide you with some free items when you register (it varies year to year on what they give) and you'll get coupons throughout your pregnancy!

Poptarts Sprinklings -- This is a club for your kiddos for their birthday as well, they'll get a free poptart, card, banner to hang up, and they'll send some cute bday ideas for you as well. They also send a kit on the half bday!

Sonic -- They have a kids club that will get your kiddo a free kids meal on their birthday, and then a discounted meal on their half bday. (there's also a club for grownups where you can get a free drink/milkshake/tots on your bday!)

California Pizza Kitchen -- They sent me an email inviting David last year but unfortunately he was sick, but the invite said if I brought him in sometime in the 2 weeks around his bday, he would get a free dinner, dessert, and drink, and they would do something really cool, but we didn't get to find out what all it entails. It also didn't require us to purchase any other meals or anything, which is nice.

If you know of any others or if I have left any off, please let me know!

Also...

For those of you who were at the coupon class and gave me your email address, I haven't forgotten to send you an email with notes from the class, just haven't had time! I will get them to you as quickly as I can! For those who weren't at the class, if you want a copy of the notes please email me at couponmommy85@yahoo.com with CLASS NOTES as the subject line and I will reply with a copy of the notes. Please note I will NEVER use your email address again unless you specifically ask me to email you with something else, nor will I ever sell your information. I hate spam, so I'm not going to pass any along to you.

Free Sample of South Beach bars!

I got this one a couple of months ago and it was DELICIOUS!!! It's available again, so hurry and get yours! Go here and fill out the questions to get your sample bar (allow 4-6 weeks for delivery).

Thanks Collin!

Check out Hip 2 Save!

Collin over at Hip 2 Save is doing a great "You in bloom" segment, talking about organization and lots of other great things! Go check it out when you have a chance, I'm learning a lot!!

Sorry for the lack of posts , computer issues!!

As in, I haven't been able to get any time on the computer! Anyway, I'm about to post lots of goodies, so keep your eyes open!

Monday, April 26, 2010

Come join me on Saturday for some food and fun!!

Just a friendly reminder, the coupon class/party is on Saturday May 1st, 1pm at Joe's Pasta and Pizza in Colleyville! Everyone is welcome and bring a friend or two if you know someone who would enjoy it!! I have SO MANY GIVEAWAYS to do!! Everyone will leave with something maybe even 2 things! I can't wait! If you have questions or need directions, email me at couponmommy@yahoo.com!! Can't wait to see you there!

Disney Movie Rewards!! So Rewarding!

I started doing Disney Movie Rewards about 2 months ago, and it took me barely any time to start getting freebies! Now, I absolutely LOVE this program! You can save up your points for really big items even blue rays, I have chosen to get re-usable bags both times I've saved up my points but it wouldn't be hard to save up for something a little bigger! You get points regularly in your email, and you get them inside Disney Dvds that you buy! They have tons of rewards to offer! Check it out here!

** Also, on a side note, if you are worried about filling up your inbox by signing up for these things, set up a "junk" account :). I have a few junk accounts on yahoo so I can keep my newsletters organized so I can find the deals easily!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Product Review: Lorina's sparkling beverages!

I have been drinking Lorina's sparkling lemonade for years now, I just love it so much! It's not heavy on the sparkling, it's a very light taste and they have lots of flavors to choose from! Mine is the French Berry Lemonade, it's so perfect for a nice relaxing meal! It's not very expensive either, the store closest to me that sells it has a pretty big bottle of it for around $5, but it's enough for 4-5 people to share! I absolutely LOVE Lorina's, if you have a location near you that sells it I highly recommend trying it!

Thank you to Lorina's for allowing me to review your delicious products!

Reusable bags!

Yes, I know, I talk about these a lot, but I also save a lot of money by finding opportunities to get these bags for free! So, naturally, you can understand my excitement when I got 5 new free ones in the past 3 days!! Here is my collection of bags:


So now, I have 11 bags which means an extra $.55 in savings on my grocery trips! I'm still waiting on 3-4 to come in the mail too, and these savings quickly add up! Plus, as you'll notice, I don't carry "plain" bags and I actually get lots of compliments on my bags in the store! I only paid for 2 of those bags, the rest were free! I got the Bebe one from that facebook promotion they did a month or two ago, the Princess and the Frog one is from Disney Movie Rewards, the two blue ones with blue and white waves on them were from Unilever, the 3 white ones are from Cafe Press (you have to pay $1.25 shipping but I had a paypal gift card), the black with writing is from Kohls and I also had a gift card for that one, the pink one and the black with white decorations are from Market Street (the only 2 I bought) and the green one I just got today from Target!! Target is running a promotion, I've heard it's all week but both of my stores ran out today, so I don't know if that's true. So, keep your eyes peeled for these deals and of course I'll tell you when I find them, and start using your reusable bags! :)

Lots of free samples from Walmart!!!

Go here to access lots of samples from Walmart, I usually receive mine in a couple of weeks, but still allow 4-6 weeks for delivery! Below are the current ones available, but I would bookmark this site because they add new ones pretty often!
Free Sample of Parents Choice Infant Formula
Free Sample of Benefiber Orange

Thanks Brandie!

Sorry (again) for the lack of posts!

I've been so busy planning the big party/class on May 1st that I just realized I haven't been posting all the great deals and freebies!! So I do apologize for that, but let me tell you for those who are coming to the class/party you'll definitely be excited to see how many FULL SIZE products I have to give away for FREE!!! I am so excited about May 1st, I can't wait for it to be here and I haven't even received all of the shipments of goodies yet! So many great things to give away, and you are welcome to invite anyone you want to bring, it's completely open to anyone who wants to come! I am goign to set up a little play area for the kiddos too, there won't be a babysitter but there will be things to (safely) distract them and keep them busy! So I look forward to seeing y'all there, it's going to be a great time!! Now on to the great deals and freebies...