Thursday, December 30, 2010

Free Jr. Arby's Shake!


Print this Coupon and get your Free Jr. Arby's Shake! It's good through January 2,2011!

Happy New Year!

Extreme Couponing Part 4: Nathan & Closing Thoughts

Who knew that I would have so much to say about a 60 minute special on TLC!

Nathan was the fourth Coupon Master that was highlighted on the show. TLC called him the most extreme. I tend to agree, but there were quite a few great lessons in this segment!

Here are a few:

* Be sure when you a shopping to keep your eyes "peeled" (again no pun intended) for "peelies" or coupons directly on the products themselves. Those are extra fun, and can feel like you're on a treasure hunt!

* Go Prepared! Have a battle plan and a list!

* Use a paper cutter to cut multiple circulars at one time- save time and your fingers!

* Watch the circulars and compare prices online. You can use services like Ajaxo.com that will show you price comparisons on the products you search.

* You need "razor sharp" calculating skills to really find the awesome deals! Sometimes, my mind is too overloaded to calculate and figure out how much an individual product should cost me after store deals and coupons. I rely on fellow bloggers with better math skills than myself, to help me in this arena! I love to follow couponers on Twitter, and I will often retweet their finds on my own account! (Follow me at @mydealbasement).

* Double your Savings! Doubling coupons works best if you store(s) will do it. Like I mentioned before, there are no stores that double near me in N. California, so I get excited when I can get something for less than $1!

* Give Back! If you can get a great deal in excess, do consider, doing like Nathan did and donating some of the excess to a local food closet or homeless shelter. I thought this was the most admirable notion in the entire show!

* Keep an eye out: Make sure no coupon is missed! For each coupon missed, that's money out of your pocket!


My Closing thoughts on Extreme Couponing:

I love couponing! It has helped me through some of the most tumultuous times over the last year. While I am still learning from people like Nathan, and the other extreme couponers, I think it is ultimately important to maintain balance in your life and your shopping habits.

To me, it doesn't make much since to spend $18 on hand soap, or buy 165 candy bars. I don't plan on hoggin' up the check out lanes, or stressing a clerk out by my excess of coupons. I DO, however, plan on continuing to learn and expand, using coupons to save me money on the things I don't really want to spend money on (day to day things) so that I can find balance and spend money on the people in my life and time enjoying them!

Extreme Couponing Part 3: Joyce

The 3rd Coupon Master highlighted in TLC's Extreme Couponing Special was a woman named Joyce.

I felt that Joyce's shopping habits made the most sense to me. She didn't seem to buy, just to buy, or stockpile on unnecessary items. I thought she was "down to earth" and practical!

Here is what I learned from Joyce:

* Reach out to your community! Joyce utilized her community to save and gather coupons for her! If they weren't already her friend, she found a way to make them a friend and was able to collect hundreds of dollars per day in coupons, just by making her "rounds" and collecting them.

* Only buy what you truly need! What a concept!

* Call the companies of your favorite products and ask them to send you coupons! You can also find great coupons online to complement the manufacturer coupons.

* A lot of people feel that coupons are only for "junk food" and that there are few healthy bargains out there. Joyce doesn't believe this and neither do I! Recently, I shopped a local sale and spent $2.99 - I left with 6 large green bell peppers (which I cut up and froze), 6 large cucumbers (which hubby LOVES) and a 1 pound bag of high quality fiber cereal. That would normally cost me about $11 or so!
The key, is looking at the circulars each week and hitting the sales, freezing what you can, and meal planning around what's on sale!

* Be Patient and Pay Attention! I couldn't have said it better myself!

Finally, one of my favorite lines from the entire show came from Joyce: "If it's Free, It's for me!" I LOVE IT! Although, in California it's a little tougher to find those Freebie items because most stores (at least in my area) do not double coupons- so at best I get things for .99 or less (which I'll take any day!).


Stay tuned for part 4 and my Extreme Couponing Wrap Up Thoughts!

Extreme Couponing Part 2: Joanie

So I decided that I had so much to say about each of the Coupon Masters on TLC's Extreme Couponing Special that I broke it down by each person highlighted on the show.

My focus not turns to Joanie, otherwise known as "The Krazy Coupon Lady"!

Joanie is a blogger that I frequently follow, so it was fun to see her "in person" on the show! She always had great tips, and I felt that I learned the most watching her segment.

There were only a few things that I would not do myself,and several things I will be considering adding to my own couponing system.

The two things I would not do myself:

* Dumpster Dive! There are lots of other ways I can think of to retrieve extra coupons, besides climbing into a dumpster!

* Stockpiling to extreme: While her stockpile wasn't as extreme as some, it does seem to me to be a little excessive. Seriously, talking about "willing" your stockpile to your favorite child? I had to laugh!

However, that being said, I definitely appreciate her enthusiasm for a deal and envy her organizational skills!!

Great Couponing Lessons:

* Be Resourceful! Finding coupons that can otherwise be thrown out, it as great! But consider asking friends and family to save coupons for you, or talk to your local grocery store and ask them what happens to the extra Sunday papers once the weekend is gone!

* Being Hyper Organized can help you friend your coupons easily! I LOVED her binder and her list of 36 categories! I recently updated my binder, but it is NOWHERE near as organized as hers!

* If you do have a stockpile, make sure it's organized by product and expiration and ensure your family eats the food that is closest to the expiration date before the rest so that it doesn't go to waste!

* Products usually fall on a 12 week sales cyle. If it's on sale now, you can almost bet it will be on sale again in about 12 weeks! Stock up, but know you can get that deal or one similar to it within the next quarter!

* Be sure to plan on stacking your store discounts and coupons with the manufacturer coupons for maximum savings.

* Profile your cashier! Joanie recommends finding the younger, male cashiers that seem competent to handle your many coupons!

* Take your family and make it a game! The little ones can count, and practice their matching skills, and the older ones can help push carts, and practice their math and bargain hunting skills!


I enjoyed watching Joanie out of all of the Couponers because she seemed to be very real. She made me laugh and I admired that even when tough times hit her family, that she was able to sustain them because of her diligent planning and shopping!!

Lessons Learned From TLC's Extreme Couponing Part 1: Amanda

Being a newbie in the Couponing World, I had no idea, when I decided to record TLC's "Extreme Couponing" Special that it would be such a hot topic!

I was so overwhelmed when I watched it the first time, that I jumped on Twitter and started to see all of the "chatter" and mixed opinions about the highlighted 4 "Coupon Masters".

Trying to contain my own thoughts, I decided to watch it again- and this time I took notes!

There are lots of lessons learned in 60 minutes! I am writing my thoughts in a 4 part blog post, starting with Amanda!


Amanda:
To me, she was the most extreme of the couponers- the most emotionally involved with her shopping.

While I can appreciate her efforts, I felt the least connected with her. My list of lessons from Amanda are more of what NOT to do:

* Don't sacrifice time with family and friends, for shopping! Expensing human connection for the sake of a bargain does not make any sense to me. (It was apparent that her husband finds this as disturbing as I do from his remarks at the end of her segment)

* Stockpiling for the next 40 years is not realistic! Who says we're going to be using toilet paper in the same way 40 years from now? If in 20 years we are using some new "cleaning system" for our personal needs, that would mean she'd be stuck with a pile of unused TP for the following 20!

* Spending $70 in coupons, almost seems counter productive to me, in terms of trying to "save money". While I realize we have to spend money to "make" (or save) money, I have a hard time wrapping my head around spending $70 to get "free" product!

* I don't know anyone who has time to spend 6 hours walking through the store "preparing" for their shopping trip.

* Obviously, we are seeing only a "snip-it" (no pun intended) of how she shops, but from what I saw in her cart, they might have been great deals, but were not realistic, healthy choices for a typical family. I mean really, who needs 150 candy bars?

While I can appreciate her dedication, it just seems to me, that Amanda has more of an addiction, than a money-saving strategy!

Monday, December 27, 2010

Free Birthday Burger at Johnny Rocket's!

Join the Rocket e-club at Johnny Rockets, and you'll receive a FREE burger for your birthday!

I love Free Birthday Stuff!!

Free Chick-fil-a Spicy Chicken Biscuit! Make Your Reservation Now!

Click here Chick Fil A Website and reserve your FREE Spicy Chicken Biscuit. Make your reservation for an EXCLUSIVE premiere tasting of the Spicy Chicken Biscuit. From January 3 to 8, 2011, Chick-fil-A is giving a limited number of FREE Spicy Chicken Biscuits to customers who make a reservation. It will not be added to the menu until January 10, 2011.

Limited number of Freebies available so head on over now and reserve yours. Once you reserve the time and place you want to get your freebie, you’ll be sent an email with the coupon information.

BOGO Little Ceasars Pizza

Sign up for Little Ceasers Email, and get a coupon for Buy One Get One Hot and Ready! Coupon good for through 12/28.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Buy One Get one 60% Off At Gap

12/9-12-14 Mix and Match on the entire store: Buy One Get One 60% Off!

Offer Valid in the US only!

Redbox Groupon Deal! 3 Rentals for $1.00

This is an awesome Groupon Deal: You can get 3 Red Box Rentals for just $1.00. Click Here to get yours!
This can be used at any RedBox location – but you are limited to purchasing only one per account.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

BOGO Old Navy Sweater Sale (Online only)

Old Navy is having a Buy One, Get One Free Sweater sale online only from tomorrow 12/5 at 12:01 am through 12/11/10. Just use coupon code ONSWEATER at checkout.
Limited to 10 per order and not valid at Old Navy stores.

Kmart Doubles Coupons 12/5-12/7

Kmart will double any coupon, up to $2.00. This means a $2.00 off coupon becomes a $4.00 coupon. Kmart is requiring a $25 minimum purchase to qualify and a limit of 5 coupons will be doubled per day. Only 4 of the same coupon can be doubled in one transaction.

I scored at SaveMart today!

Got a great deal at Savemart today! 6 cucumbers for .99, 6 green bell peppers for .99 and Malt-o-meal shredded wheat (1 lb. bag) for .99.... total= $2.99! Today Only!

SWEET Savings!