Coupon Policies, E-coupons and Shopping with your Smart Phone!

Coupon Policies

It is important that before you pack up your shopping list, coupons, calculator and hit the stored, you need to understand the coupon acceptance policy of each store that you will be shopping at.

Most grocery stores and mass merchandisers (Wal*mart and Target, specifically), post their coupon policies on their website.  I print the policies out and keep them with my coupons in page protectors, back to back in alphabetical order.  Some couponers have them saved on their Smart Phones, instead of carrying paper copies with them.

It is important to keep up to date, since policies can change at any time without warning.  In February 2011, Vons/Safeway changed their coupon policy, and they no longer accept Internet Printable coupons for free items, including BOGO coupons.  Please refer to each individual stores website for their company 's coupon policy.  If they are not available, ask the store manager for a copy or contact the corporate HQ directly.

 

E- Coupons

There are sites that you can "load" coupons onto your grocery store club card. Leave your coupon wallet at home! Just swipe and save.  Cellfire.com, Coupons.com, and shortcuts.com all offer Electronic coupons(sometimes called “E-coupons”).

 

Cellfire

Cellfire registry requires a valid cell phone number and appropriate store card. Card must be used at least once-this activates the card, in order to load e-coupons onto it.

The only down side is that if you have more than one type of store card on your account, you must choose only one card to add each e-coupon to. Electronic coupons can only be used once.

Coupons refresh every two weeks.

There is no maximum number of coupons that can be selected, however, in most markets there are not more than usually more than fifteen coupons available to be added to the card.  Cellfire in newer, so it’s offerings tend to be smaller.

Coupons are automatically removed when they expire.

Cellfire is currently available for these grocery stores:

Baker’s, City Market, Dillons, Gerbes, Fry’s, Hilander, Jay C Food Stores, King Soopers, Kroger, Owen’s, Pay Less Markets, QFC, Ralphs, Randalls, Safeway, Scott’s Food & Pharmacy, ShopRite, Smith’s Food & Drug Stores, Tom Thumb, & Vons.

 

Coupons.com



Coupons.com registry requires a valid email address and appropriate store card.  Card must be used at least once-this activates the card, in order to load e-coupons onto it.  You can add as many cards as you possess, however, currently coupons.com only loads coupons to Safeway Brand store cards (see list below). When you select a coupon, it adds the coupon to all of the cards, however coupons can only be used once per card.

Coupons refresh every two weeks.

There is no maximum number of coupons that can be selected.

Coupons are automatically removed when they expire.

Coupons.com is currently available for these grocery stores:

Randalls, Safeway, Pavilions, Carrs, Dominicks, Genuardi’s, Tom Thumb, & Vons.

 

Shortcuts



Shortcuts.com registry requires a valid email address and appropriate store card. Card must be used at least once -this activates the card, in order to load e-coupons onto it.  Coupons refresh every two weeks. The only down side is if you have more than one type of store card on your account, you must choose only one card to add each e-coupon to.  Electronic coupons can only be used once.

A maximum of 75 coupons may be added to your account at any time.

The only way to remove coupons from your account is to either allow them to expire or to use them.

Shortcuts.com is currently available for these grocery stores: Baker’s, City Market, Dillons, Gerbes, Fry’s, Hilander, Jay C Food Stores, King Soopers, Kroger, Owen’s, Pay Less Markets, QFC, Ralphs, Randalls, Safeway, Scott’s Food & Pharmacy, ShopRite, Smith’s Food & Drug Stores, Tom Thumb, & Vons.

 

With all three, you will have to register you club cards. All three have the option of emailing you when new coupons are available, usually about once a month.

 

All three options also give you the chance to print out a list of the coupons that are loaded onto your card.  This can be very helpful in planning your trips to the store.

 

Shopping with your Smart Phone

For those of use with a smart phone and a plethora of store cards, check out apps for your iPhone, such as CardStar.  Enter your membership numbers for more than 350 stores like CVS, Ralphs and Petco.  Instead of carrying you card, the checker scans your iPhone and you reap the benefits!  Much easier than carrying a separate wallet of club cards!

Another cool app that can help with shopping is Red Laser (for iPhone).  Photograph the UPC (bar code) and Red Laser searches the Internet for the best price!  If you have a Droid, try is a similar app called Shop Savvy.

And finally, iPhone users, Check out this great app: Shopper.  You make your grocery list and as you check the items off your list, you input the prices to keep a running total.  Stick to your budget, easy peasy! Blackberry users can buy SmartShopper, a similar app.

iPhone users- check the app store, and other smart phone users, check your application shopping outlets and you’ll be surprised at all the free or $1.00 programs that are available to help you save money!

Great freebies on Twitter!

There are some really great freebies that I have tweeted and re-tweeted on our twitter feed.

Deodorant, cat food, body wash, shampoo, as well as coupons, rebates and try me free offers.

 

Check it out and start scoring freebies today!

we're home!

We're home from the hospital, our little boy is doing well, and he's very excited to help mommy save money!!

Comfort food- Apple Crisp

I was at Ralph's the other day and in the produce section.. there was a kit for apple crisp.

A KIT!?!?!? It said, " just add apples and butter."  Huh.  Really?  So I could pay $2.99 for a scant 3/4 cup of a mixture of spices, brown sugar, rolled oats and flour? INSANE!

When I was a kid, my mom made apple crisp probably once a week, it's a huge comfort food for me (and probably my brother too).  It's yummy, cheap to make, and very filling.  And as far as desserts go, it's not really too unhealthy.

As far as I know, there has never been a written down recipe for apple crisp.  It's one of those things that you make with whatever is in the kitchen and bake it, and it's yummy.  Here is a pretty close approximation:

I am making a 9x13 pan full- I plan on freezing some of it for after the baby comes to eat as breakfast or really whenever.  Halve the recipe to make regular sized batch.

8-10 green apples, peeled, cored and chopped (green apples work best- Granny Smith's are nice) Sometimes I leave the peel on- that's where all the fiber is!

1/2 stick of butter softened (don't use oleo/spread- it makes the crumble topping watery)

1/2 c. packed brown sugar (light or dark, whatever you got!)

1T. cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice (whichever you prefer)

1 c. quick cook oats (raw!) (if you have a gluten intolerance, you can use gluten free oats)

1/4 c flour ( if you have a gluten intolerance, you can use nut meal- I like almond meal.  Sometimes when I make this GF, I omit the oats and increase the amount of nut meal to 3/4 c)

In the bottom of a greased baking dish, pour the apples in a even layer.  In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients with a pastry blender (Or a fork, if you don't have a pastry blender), until ingredients are all combined and crumbly.  Pour crumbles over apples in an even layer.

Bake at 350 degrees until apples are all soft and mushy, usually 30 -45 minutes.  Serve hot with whipped cream, ice cream.  Also great cold, lukewarm, or any temp in between.

It's so freaking good!

Moving on up (Due date that is!)...

My due date has been moved up to Monday, so we'll be dark over here at the CAcoupondiva homestead for the next week or so, starting Monday night.

I doubt I'll be posting while in the hospital, but I'll see about keeping my twitter feed up.

I've re-tweeted a bunch of freebies, deals and offers today, since Friday is officially Freebie Day around these parts.  Check out our twitter feed.

I'm spending the afternoon interviewing the pediatrician, then a quick trip up to babies r' us for a snuzzler, then onto some other pressing errands before going to a houseparty for Johnsonville sausage!  If you have not hooked up with Houseparty yet, you have got to!  I've got a Philly cooking creme houseparty on Sunday, and I can't wait!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Live in San Diego- Want some free food?

This arrived in my email box this morning!

 

Thank you for being a part of the Jack in the Box taste test panel.

We have a favor to ask.  Due to the volume of testers needed, Jack in the Box is also interested in the opinion of your friends, family, classmates and colleagues in the San Diego area.  Please forward this sign up information to anyone you know who may be interested in participating in future taste tests!

 

If a friend signs up (the must complete the registration survey) and cites you as who referred them, your name will be put in a drawing for $500 cash as a thank you!

 

Tell your friends to sign up by logging-on to: http://www.stratasurveys.com/jibtastetest/

 

We are very interested in gaining more testers between the ages 16 to 34 years old.  So please forward this along to any students, classmates, friends or family of all ages, and particularly those 16 to 34.

 

Enjoy!!

Spring Cleaning!

I am a bzzagent, and I was recently selected to particiapte in the SC Johnson Smart Easy Spring Cleaning Campaign.  My kit arrived yesterday afternoon and I was off like a housecleaning shot!

My Kit contained:

Pledge

Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-a-clean Mega Shower Foamer

Scrubbing Bubbles Continuous Clean Toilet Cleaning Gel

Glade Candle Sparkle of Spring Scent

Glade Plug in Crisp Waters Scent

A coupon book with coupons to share!

Right away I lit the candle!  Sparkle of Spring smells like a spring afternoon with notes of lime, ginger and vanilla.  The scent filled our living room within about 15 minutes.  Very clean and fresh!  I love Glade Candles.  They are a great value, and when the candle eventually burns away, you can either re-use or recycle the glass candle holders.

Since the housekeepers had just come the day before, our bathrooms were already clean, but I stamped the toilets with the Scrubbing Bubbles Continuous Clean Toilet Cleaning Gel to keep them fresh and clean without scrubbing or fuss (which is nice since our baby will be here in 2 weeks!).  If you haven't seen this product yet, here's the skinny. The gel disc gradually dissolves with each flush, allowing a controlled release of cleaning solution and fragrance. Each disc lasts up to one week and leaves no residue behind. Your toilet bowl will remain cleaner, longer—with practically zero effort.

Each package contains:
- One disposable, easy-to-use dispenser
- One gel holder (gel holder contains six gel discs)

Pretty sweet, right?

Then I turned my attention to our desk.  It gets a lot of use.  Between my blogging time, DH works from home on weekends, and we don't have cable, so we watch a lot of Hulu and Netflix on our computer.  So, let's just say our desk wasn't looking too "fresh".  Using some elbow grease and a little Pledge, cleaned every surface of our desk.  It's looking (and smelling- yum lemons!) a lot better.

After looking on the Pledge package, I found out you can also use it on leather too.  So I'm thinking about taking it out to my car and going to town this afternoon!

I grew up in a house that used Pledge to polish all of our furniture, so the warm, yummy scent of lemons brought me back to my childhood.

I'll be sharing my coupons with my readers.  If you would like a selection of SC Johnson cleaning product coupons, leave me a comment with your email address.  I'll contact you for your address and get the coupon packet out in this weeks mail for you!

As a bzzagent, I am sent products to use and share my opinion with others, as well as share products and coupons with others.  I am not compensated financially.  I give my honest opinions in my reviews.  If you would like to learn more about being a bzzagent, or would like to check out what kinds of campaigns are currently available, please visit the bzzagent website. I love being a bzzagent, and who knows, you might love it too!

A less than $5.00 dinner!

I'm a huge fan of Erin Chase, the $5.00 dinner mom. I follow her on Facebook and Twitter.  She constantly inspires me to plan and prepare nutritious meals for my family that are inexpensive.

Last night I made a family favorite that I hadn't made in probably over a year- chicken and stuffing casserole. It's technically a less that $5.00 dinner (but only by a few cents), and since there are only 2 of us, there were lots of leftovers for lunch today for each of us, plus enough for 1 dinner in the future!

I got a few photos of the prep, but not the completed meal (We were so hungry, I forgot!).  I have labeled where everything came from for reference.  Everything except the veg we already had on the cupboard/fridge.

 

Chicken and stuffing casserole (serves 6)

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (from the HUGE Costco package), each breast cut into 2 or 3 pieces. approx. $2.50 (pictured is only 2 of the chicken breasts cut up- I added a third after deciding that 2 was just not enough!)



1 Box of stuffing .49 (Ralphs- markdown after the holidays, plus a super sweet coupon someone had left on the shelf- Thanks Coupon Fairy!!)



1 can Campbells reduced fat, reduced sodium Cream of Chicken soup .49 (from 99 Cents only!)

1 cup sour cream (free- leftover from a vendor lunch at work.  They brought us Rubio's.  What? I totally take home the luncheon leftovers and re-purpose them, esp. if no one else wants them.)

1 cup Celery .50 (Fresh and Easy)

1 cup chopped onion .50 (used 1/2 of the 2 cup package. Thanks Fresh and Easy mark down section!!)

1 carton Swanson chicken broth (used 1/2) .49  (99 cents only)



Pat of butter (Free- also from work luncheon.  We had Souplantation for my work baby shower a few weeks ago and there was leftover butter.  I brought it home and put it in a freezer safe container.)

Spray release (like Pam). I used 3 squirts- I have no clue how much that cost, maybe a few pennies(?).

Side dish- bag of frozen veggies (free after coupon and store sale at Target)

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350.

Saute the veggies in pat of butter, until the onions are clear, about 5-10 minutes.  Add stuffing and broth (You could use water instead to save money, but the broth adds more flavor), and stir to combine.  Fluff the stuffing, and remove from heat.



 

Mix soup and sour cream in a small bowl and set aside.



Spray 9x13 pan with spray release.  Pour 1/3 of the soup/sour cream mixture into the bottom of the pan and spread around to coat the bottom of the pan.

Pour the stuffing/veg mixture over the top. Place the raw chicken breast pieces on the top of the stuffing and pour the remaining soup/sour cream over the whole shebang.

Bake for 30-45 minutes at 350 degrees until the chicken is cooked (juices run clear when pierced with fork).

Serve with mixed veggies.

Total cost OOP $4.97.  Total cost per serving $.83




It was really good, better than I remember. If you want to make it at home, remember:

You can use cream of mushroom soup if you prefer.  Any "Cream of" soup works.

Only use REAL Sour Cream. No IMO. Lower fat sour creams may work, but make sure that there is only sour cream in it- no fillers.

If you like other veggies or fruit in your stuffing, add those instead.  I know some people like raisins, nuts, apples, mandarin orange slices in their stuffing.  It's your dinner- it's up to you!

If you don't have chicken breasts, try pork chops instead!  Pork Chops with stuffing is heavenly (if you use pork chops, I suggest using Cream of Mushroom Soup).

 

Enjoy!

 

2011-What will we call it?

2010 was the year of free. We signed up for tons of free samples, used tons of coupons to obtain free products, and took advantage of as many free offers as possible.  It was a good year.  We lived really well and did it on the uber-cheap!

2011 was supposed to be the year where we worked towards our savings goals, but only 14 days into the new year, we had hit our original savings goal.  (I know we are ambitious! Thanks in part to our tax refund, very frugal living, and saving every penny we could, we made it!) We've re-adjusted our savings goal for 2011 so that we can still put money away, work towards a goal and save save save.. but will 2011 be known as "The Year of Savings"?

 

2011 will for sure be known as the year of our baby, since he's due to appear on the scene in 16 days (not that we're counting or anything!!), and we are working on lots of freebies and money savings deals to keep him in everything that he needs.  Thanks to my awesome baby shower, we have enough diapers to last a few months, and so many Pampers and Huggies Points from the diapers and wipes we received at the shower, we are off to a great start!

What are you doing this year to save money that you have never done before?

 

Organic product Coupon resources

There are an increasing number of shoppers who are seeking organic products.

There is no reason that because you chose to eat and use organic products that you should pay full price!

Here are some resources for organic product coupons:

Meat (which is one of the most sought after categories in couponing!!)

Organic Prairie

Applegate Farms

Laura’s Lean Beef

Misc. Coupons:

Printable manufacturer coupons from the Mambo Sprouts website

Earth Fare Coupons (some of these coupons are redeemable only at Earth Fare markets)

WholeFoods Printable Coupons (Most of these are manufacturer coupons)

If you can’t find coupons for a product that you are looking for, try contacting the manufacturer.  The manufacturer’s website should have a “Contact Us” link, just srop them an email.  Many times, you will get high value coupons in the mail or even free products!

There are tons of great blogs that are dedicated to organic food, organic product couponing, it just takes a quick google search!

Remember, a lot of companies manufacture organic products (Hunt’s for example). This is very important for those shoppers who prefer to purchase organic or “all natural” products! When using coupons, it is important to read and understand the terms of the coupon.

Example, "Save $.50 on any TWO (2) Hunt’s Tomatoes." Then, there is a graphic of a can of Hunt’s diced Tomatoes.  This graphic doesn’t limit you to that specific item (this is true for any coupon, unless the language prohibits specific items to be purchased with a coupon).  The language or terms of the coupon state ANY TWO Hunt’s Tomatoes. For example, if you like the organic variety of the Hunt’s Tomatoes, you can use this coupon for those products.

 

Tomorrow we pick the winners!

There is still time to enter to win some pretty sweet prizes to celebrate our 200 twitter followers!

 

We've got 3 coupon wallets stuffed to the brim with coupons!

Coupons for free products (Excedrin, Philadelphia Cooking Creme, Coffee Mate  Creamer, Bird's Eye Freshlike frozen veggies, and Karo Syrup).

Gift cards (from lots of different stores in various denominations).

 

To enter, just leave a comment on this entry or the original entry about this contest.

 

You can earn an extra entry by tweeting about this contest.  Use the hashtag #cacoupondiva.  You can also share this blog entry on facebook too, just post a link to your facebook entry in the comments of this post.

 

 

For those who eat a lot of apple sauce....

This a great promo from Musselman's applesauce:

http://www.musselmans.com/news/gift_cards.aspx

The more Musselman's applesauce products you buy, the more gift cards and other stuff you can earn!

For as little as 5 upc's you can earn a $1.00 off coupon!