Archive for May, 2009

Bargain Shopping In England

Saturday, May 30th, 2009

Anyone who knows me is aware of how much tea I drink. And tea in the US just isn’t the same as the tea back home, so every time I go back to England I stuff my suitcase full of it. This time was no exception:

Total spent: £9.39 (equivalant to $15.19 in USD)

Got:

30 boxes of tea – each box contains 80 teabags! Price: 28p per box (equivalant to .45 cents in USD – not bad at all for 80 teabags)
A six-pack of crisps (aka potato chips) – not pictured, because I ate them! Price: 99p (equivalant to $1.60 in USD) It’s always fun to eat my favorite British foods that I can’t buy stateside!

Free Cheese After Rebate

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009

Click here to find out how you can try a wedge of Alouette Baby brie cheese for free after rebate! Brie is definitely not the cheapest cheese, so for the cost of a stamp this is a fine deal. Thanks go out to Mummy Deals for this find!

Shopping Trip – May 20th

Monday, May 25th, 2009


Total: .80 cents
Total before coupons: $17.37

Well, I did pull myself out of my Sudafed haze once last week, to use up a few coupons that were on  the verge of expiration. These were coupons that I was sent by the company for a review I wrote on Contest Corner. 

Got:
3 Macaroni Grill Dinner kits – on sale for $5.79, used three “free product” coupons. Total: .80 cents?! OK, this was weird. These coupons were free – up to $4.99. So when the cashier was ringing me up, the first coupon prompted him for a price. I said that although the product was $5.79, the coupons were only good up to $4.99. So he input the amount as $4.99. But when he scanned the next two, they automatically took off $5.79! I pointed this out, and the cashier agreed that it was strange, but said that he was going to go with what the register was telling him.

Free Ice Cream After Rebate – This Weekend Only

Sunday, May 24th, 2009

Yum! Blue Bunny Ice Cream is offering a free rebate on select products this weekend. If you purchase Blue Bunny Sedona or Aspen Frozen Yogurt Granola Novelty between 5/23 and 5/25, you can claim a full rebate – click here for the form and further details. Ice cream for the cost of a stamp? Not too shabby!

Thanks to Common Sense With Money for the link. She has a list of other Memorial Day sales, coupons and discounts here, so you might want to check that out too.
I hope my US readers are enjoying the holiday weekend! Do you have any special plans? I’ve still got the flu, so I’m trying to take it easy. I haven’t had much to report in terms of coupons and sales – I haven’t had much of an appetite or felt like cooking, so I’m looking forward to doing a proper shopping trip once I feel a little more lively!

Free Chocolate Friday!

Friday, May 22nd, 2009
Now this is a day I can get behind! Now through September 25th (my birthday!), Mars will be giving away coupons for free candy bars every Friday to the first 250,000 people to register. And you can register for up to four coupons per household during the promotion! If you haven’t already registered, then click here to sign up. And if you’re not among the first 250,000, check back next Friday!
Thanks to Money Saving Mom for the heads-up.

Free Hot Dogs – Today Only (5/20)

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

Click here to sign up for a coupon good for one free package of Oscar Mayer hot dogs – but hurry, this coupon is only available today, May 20th, while supplies last!

Thank you Common Sense With Money for the tip!

Baby Oil Giveaway Winner

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

We have a winner in Baby Oil giveaway that ran while I was on vacation!

The winner was comment number 23, Brea’s Mommy, who said: “I would love to win this for my dad and his new baby”.
Congratulations! I have sent an email notifying you. Thanks again to Sun for her great post and giveaway!

Free Coupon Round-Up

Monday, May 18th, 2009

One of our travel snapshots

Happy Monday everyone! I’ve been adjusting to the time difference and recovering from the flu as I slowly sift through my thousands of unread emails, stacks of snail mail, and unpack. We had such a nice trip, and it was so good to see my family! I’ve been told I ought to share some photos from my trip, so if you’d like to see some of my favorite snaps, then click here to check out my travel album!

I had a look through some of my favorite coupon websites this morning so that I could start catching up on this month’s deals. I found oodles of free coupon offers, so check out all these fun offers – thanks to The Freebie Blogger and Money Saving Mom as always for the tips.

  • If you live in Portland, OR or Columbus, OH, then click here to sign up for a coupon good for a free 5 to 6.6 lb. bag of Natura Pet Products dog or cat food.
  • On June 19th, Orange Julius will be offering free light smoothies when you bring in this coupon.
  • Share a free cup of coffee with a friend! Click here to send your friends a coupon for a complimentary cup of Peet’s coffee.
  • On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina is offering a coupon for a free bowl of Queso or free Empanadas when you register for their email list here.
  • If you shop at a military commissary, you can click here to sign up for a coupon good for one free Hormel Compleats microwave meal.
  • On May 20th, Kérastase are offering free hair treatments at salons across the US. Click here to print out a coupon and get more info.

Guest Post: 5 Ways to Save on Clothing

Saturday, May 16th, 2009

Today’s article is courtesy of Faylee, who shares her tips for saving money on clothes!

Faylee can be found blogging at Hassie’s Kitchen Table, a website lovingly dedicated to preserving her mother’s recipes. Don’t miss her delicious meal ideas!

5 Ways to Save on Clothing

[1] Resale stores and consignment shops are a great way to stretch your clothing budget.
If you have children you know they rarely ware something out before they out grow it. Shopping this kind of store helps not only you but the ones wanting to pass the clothing on. Most resale stores are run by non profit organization. So pull out your phone book or computer and check for the locations near you.

Go early in the week as the busiest drop off day is Saturday but most do not take the time to put out new merchandise until Monday or Tuesday.

[2] Taking care of the clothing you already have is helpful too. Never leave you clothing in plastic bags you get at the dry cleaners. They can get a musky order or mildew.

[3] Instead of using bleach in your wash load to whiten, use 1/2 cup of baking soda instead. It is much kinder to your fabrics, so they will last longer.

[4] If you have a favorite blouse but you have worn it so often people are beginning to take bets on when you will wear it again, change the buttons and you will have a whole new item. Use something opposite as to what was on it so everyone will notice the buttons and not that it’s last years blouse.

[5] When washing something with a zipper on it, make sure the zipper has been zipped up. Leaving them open will only encourage them to snag other clothing items in the laundry, thus making them wear out sooner.

These may sound like little things that no one would notice but these same little things will save you lots of money. Right now, we all need to save as much as possible. Not only for our future but our children and grandchildren also.

Back In Oregon

Friday, May 15th, 2009


The view out of our plane’s window yesterday, as we flew over Greenland

Hello everyone!! Jai and I got back from our trip yesterday afternoon. We had a wonderful time! I’m currently recovering from major jet lag combined with an icky flu that I caught right before we left, so I just wanted to pop in quickly and say “Hi”. I’m going to rest up this weekend, and then I’ll share pictures of the bargain shopping that I did in England!

I’d like to thank all my fabulous guest writers again for sharing their frugal thoughts with us while I was away. I have one last guest post coming up tomorrow, so you can enjoy that while I re-adjust to the time zone! Also, the baby oil giveaway ends on Monday, so be sure to get your entries in – big thanks to guest poster Sun for hosting it.

I’ll have lots to catch up with in the coupon world next week. What deals have you guys snagged this month?