Packing!

Sorry for the silence, the baby and I have been packing (as much help as he can be at 5 months!) for the move.

 

Once we get moved and settled in, I've got tons of great posts that will inspire you, fill you with ideas, and help you on your path to savings!

 

 

A Review: What's up with Restaurant.com?

From those who have never used Restaurant.com, but hear me extol it's virtues, hear is how it works.

You purchase a discounted gift certificate (make sure to check the cert for restrictions, such as a minimum purchase amount or mandatory gratuity ) for a local restaurant.  You have a year from the date of purchase to use it.

Here is an example of how to use the certs to your advantage.

Cafe XYZ- Certificate for $50.00.  Terms of cert: $50 off  the purchase of $100 or more.  Mandatory 18% gratuity.

• The check comes to $100.00


• Mandatory grat. 18% $18.00


• Minus Cert amt. -$50.00


• Total New Bill: $68.00


• Cost of Certificate was $40.00, however with the code TASTY, you save 80% making the total $8.00 for the certificate.

The price for this complete meal is $76.00 (that includes the cost of the certificate).  The total amount saved $42.00.

They offer discounted certs in smaller amounts too.

ABC Cafe- Certificate for $25.00.   Terms of the cert: $25.00 off the purchase of $35.00 or more.  Mandatory 18% gratuity.

• The check comes to $35.00


• Mandatory grat. 18% $6.30


• Minus Cert amt. -$25.00


• Total New Bill: $16.30


• Cost of Certificate was $15.00, however with the code TASTY, you save 80% making the total $3.00 for the certificate.

The price for this complete meal is $19.30 (that includes the cost of the certificate).  The total amount saved $15.70.

Right now Use online coupon code TASTY at check out to save 80%!  This offer is valid through 8/31/11.

Where are all those stores?

If you are like me, you read coupon forums and other blogs and sometimes you wonder... "Where are those bloggers getting such great deals?"

There is a great article on Wikipedia that lists a large number of grocery stores and their subsidiaries, which can be found here.

Time for some freebies!

The internet is smoking with some great freebies right now!!

P&G has some new samples available!!

A free greeting card from Tiny Prints- use promo code: Santa11. You can choose between two cards:  Santa’s Scroll OR Checking it Twice.

Free Tampons from Playtex Sport!

Free sample of a Kashi Bar (we got ours yesterday- it's soooo yummy!)

Sign up for a new account at SaveMore (a Daily deal site) and you can get two collapsible vases for free!

And Courtesy of our friends over at DrugStore Divas, check out this great freebie: Great Veet Wax Strips!

 

[caption id="attachment_1208" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Photo courtesy of Drugstore Divas!"][/caption]

Through August 27, 2011 you can get a free package of Veet ready to use wax strips at Walgreens.

They are priced $2.99 and there is a $3.00 off printable [[here]]

If you printed the $3 coupon, you can print a $2 coupon on Veet's site.

There is a $2 Walgreens coupon on the August booklet found in store but for 40ct.

Due to Word Presses TOS, I can't link to Drug Store Diva's website, but here is a link to their twitter feed!

A learning opportunity for San Diego Area residents

I've been offered the opportunity to teach couponing classes in San Diego... for free.  In the past few months I had shied away from that, because of the no-shows, however, this is a completely different method of teaching and learning, and best of all, it's free to the participants.

It's done as a home (or church group or HOA, or whatever your social group is) party.  You set up a time and date, invite your friends, and I show up and teach you, offer you tips and tricks, and it's just that easy.

 

If you would be interested, please drop me an email at cacoupondiva@gmail.com.  I'll start at the end of September, after we are settled into our new home.

Woo hoo! changes!

Changes are coming our way!

We're moving house in just about 3 weeks, so the deal posting may be sporadic as I get my house all packed.  We've lived here for 5 years, so there is a lot of things to go through.

Because our complex doesn't allow garage sales, we'll be posting most of the stuff we want to get rid of on our local  Freecycle (when we just want it gone) or on craigslist if we are selling it.

So if you don't see a lot of my posts here or on twitter, I'm knee deep in boxes!!

Mail Call!

This past week was a banner week for freebies in our house!

Free product coupons for Pantene, Fiber One Brownies, Garnier Hair Color.  $10.00 off meat.

Free samples of:

Mints

Clinque cream

Diapers (2 kinds!)

Gillette Razor

Not pictured, but we also received Entertainment Magazine, Maxim, Opera News, and All You.  All these magazines were free by taking surveys.

How do I get all these freebies?  I find freebies on Twitter and re-tweet them. I also find freebies on the AllYou website.  They feature a new freebie each day, and you can check out the previous days freebies too!

 

What awesome freebies have you received lately?

Beer Bread: Yummy and inexpensive!

Beer bread is an amazing, easy to make, versatile food. It can be made to go with any meal, or it can be a meal itself!

The basic recipe is as follows:

• 3 cups self rising flour (sifted) (Or if you don’t have self rising flour, mix together: 3 cups flour (sifted), 3 teaspoons baking powder,1 teaspoon salt)


• 1/4 cup sugar


• 1 (12 ounce) can beer or other carbonated beverage- See below*


• ½ stick melted butter

 

1. Sift the flour and sugar together.


2. Slowly pour the liquid over the dry mixture and mix until combined.


3. Pour dough into a greased Dutch oven or a greased bread pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes-1 hour or until when inserted, a knife comes out clean.

 

You can add any one of the following before your mix it together:

½ cup dried fruit, nuts, chocolate or any other kind of chips, cheese, chopped onions (raw or carmelized), shallots, green onions, chives.

Any of the following spices are delicious (add to your taste):

Cinnamon, Poudre forte, Poudre douce, Pumpkin pie spice, Italian seasoning, Mural of Flavor.

If you want to make a sweet dessert bread, make a crumble to top the bread with prior to baking:

 

• ½ C. flour


• ½ c. brown sugar


• ½ c. softenened butter


• Spices (I like Poudre forte, Poudre douce, or Pumpkin pie spice)

 

1. Combine all of these together, and top the uncooked bread with this mixture.

 

*For a different texture, try different varieties of soda (fruit or cream sodas are great), soda water, light beer, Guinness or other dark beer. Match the type of beer with the other added items.  When using soda, add 2 teaspoons of yeast so you get the correct rise. (beer contains yeast!)

I don’t recommend using Root Beer- it makes the bread bitter.  Don’t use diet soda!  Baking with artificial sweeteners other than Splenda can make the bread bitter.

 

Yummy combos:

Orange soda goes great with chocolate chips and orange zest.

Light beer, sharp cheddar cheese and caramelized onions are great together.

Freebie Friday!!

Oh Friday!  Sweet, Sweet Friday.

Here are some great freebies and GWP (Gifts with purchase):

Free Sample of FiberChoice (these usually come with a high value coupon!)

This is a hot one, so I'm not sure if it will be valid for long! Head over to the Garnier HerbaShine Facebook page, “like” them, then click on the “Great HerbaShine Giveaway” tab to receive a FREE box of HerbaShine Hair Color.

Saturday 8/14/11 WYB anything in the store, you'll receive a free gift- a full sized lotion and cosmetic bag.  If you are already shopping for the holidays, this would make a great gift for someone on your list!

Arm and Hammer Toothpaste sample when you sign up for the Arm & Hammer Challenge (as seen in Shape magazine)

Sample of Just6 Doggy Food (it's made by Rachel Ray)

A free sample of Eco Life Spray Cleaner- Our all purpose cleaner is non-toxic AND non- hazardous. Its an excellent spray and wipe cleaner/ degreaser. It Reduces the quantity of cleaning products by consolidating cleaner use, Never needs rinsing, is safe to use around people, pets, family and food. Adjust dilution from light spray and wipe cleaner to heavy duty degreaser. Send sample request and mailing address to ecolife2011@yahoo.com.

 

 

250 Business cards!!

Oh, Vistaprint, how I love you!

Great for bloggers, crafters, small business owners, or use them as calling cards!

Follow the steps below to get your cards!

1. Visit VistaPrints to get started


2. Browse the TONS of different templates, chose your favorite and create a fabu card that represents *you* or your business


3. Choose "250 for Free"


4. Skip the offers (just hit "next")


5. During checkout, select the slowest method of shipping to save the most money.  If you need the cards sooner than 21 days (it usually doesn't take that long), select a different shipping timeframe.

 

To sweeten the deal, you can pay with your paypal account!  So if you are a member of Pincone Research, you can use your survey rewards to pay for your cards and there will be no OOP!!

 

 

 

Thanks to Frugal Girls for the heads up!!

Free Tooth whitening pen with new accounts on Savemore!

When you sign up a for a new account  with Savemore.com (A Daily Deal site), you can purchase a teeth whitening pen for $8.00, with your new account credit ($10) and still have $2.00 leftover for a future purchase!!

 

Savemore has had tons of great deals in the past, and they feature four nationwide deals per day!

Freebie Frenzy!

Recently there was a couple freebies at Ruby Tuesdays on Facebook.  I know tons of ladies in my area signed up for it, only to discover... The closest Ruby Tuesdays is in Arizona.

This happens a lot. Restaurants and other businesses offer freebies and offers to entice new customers and long time clients that may have strayed due to the economy.

Before you get soooooo excited about a freebie or deal, check the companies website for their closest location.  It'll save you time.. and aper.

What's your Shopping DNA? Find out with Itemize!

Last night BzzAgent sent me to the You-Phoria party (as part of the BlogHer '11 conference) where I learned all about Itemize, a great new online shopping service- a digital shopping assistant!

How it works:

When you join Itemize, it auto-imports your receipts right from your email to your Itemize account. Itemize analyzes your purchases, and shows your Shopping DNA. Your Shopping DNA shows you how and what you spend your money on in 13 categories.

After your Shopping DNA is mapped and you select 3 or more categories of items that interest you, Itemize finds sales and deals from thousands of sites that match your unique tastes!

Check it out!  I learned that I buy a lot of babies stuff (what a surprise, I have a 4 1/2 month old!), and Itemize showed me some really great promos and sales going on! I can't wait to take advantage of some of the sales and promo codes that Itemize offers!

Now, more about the party! The cocktails were great (the Kiwi fruit, vodka and lemon juice was to die for!), the swag bags were awesome!  Here are just a few of the sponsors and what they provided!

20th Century Fox- a Glee DVD!

AG jeans- A great Denim business card holder- perfect for my blogging business cards.

Case Mate- an iPhone 4 case

Christo Hair & Curlisto Kids (by Christo)- leave in conditioner and detanglerSarah Potempa Hair-a Really nice Paddle Brush.

Finally- A Giveaway!

The Case Mate iPhone 4 Case- A $24.99 value.

The Case features:

• Playful, penguin inspired case that won't fly away


• Raised silicone pieces create an easy-to-hold grip


• Form fit feature covers corners


• Impact resistant, flexible silicone shell


• Access to all ports and functions

To enter:

1. Mandatory entry: Leave a comment.  About whatever you want!!

Optional additional entries:

1. Subscribe to the blog.


2. Follow us on Twitter @cacoupondiva.


3. Tweet about this giveaway: @cacoupondiva iPhone4 case giveaway @itemizellc @bzzagentjono

I'll choose a winner on the 15th. I'll also include a coupon potluck of 100 coupons.

A great vegetarian GF Casserole Recipe

I made this WONDERFUL casserole last night and I had to share. It's vegetarian and Gluten free.  If you wanted to add meat, you could add cooked shredded chicken.

And the best part is... It's really inexpensive! This whole dish cost only $3.75!

Pinto Bean Enchilada Casserole (serves 8)

• 12 corn tortillas, torn into pieces (.50)


• 1 large can green enchilada sauce, divided ($1.00)


• 3 cups of shredded cheese, divided ($1.50)


• 1 can S&W Chipotle Pinto Beans, divided (don't drain off the liquid!)(.75)

1. Coat the bottom of a 9x13 pan with 3 Tbs. of of green enchilada sauce.


2. Layer torn tortillas, cheese, beans, enchilada sauce. Repeat until the pan is full.


3. Top with remaining cheese.


4. Bake Casserole at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until the casserole is brown, bubbly, and delicious.

Serve with a crisp green salad ($1.00/bag).

 

So... A whole dinner for $4.75!

 

 

 

A great Shopping list resource....

Last night I went to a great couponing class sponsored by the San Diego Union Tribune.

They told us about a great resource- Grocery Smarts.  Select your state, select your store and Grocery Smarts lists all the items in the sale flier, matches up coupons, and even tells you if the sale is a good price based on a 3-5 star program.  3 stars is not an usually great price, 4 stars is a good price, and 5 stars is a rock bottom sale price (OMG Stock up NOW!!!).

Remember that purchasing multiple papers to receive inserts is one of the best ways to obtain multiple coupons quickly. Multiple inserts=more savings each week.

For example if you were to buy 5 papers each week, and it is the week that the P&G Brandsaver is in the paper, you could potentially save $500 that month on P&G products alone. Each P&G Brandsaver has approx. $100 in coupons (sometimes more)!  If you did that each month, that is a potential savings of $6000 off of the regular price of the products.  When you combine sales with coupons, the savings is much greater!

Most papers offer deals when you buy multiple Sunday papers for delivery.

Healthy food coupon links!!

Mambo Sprouts

Whole Foods

$1.00 off one Udi's Gluten Free Product!

$1.00/1 Tillamook Cheese

$1.00/1 Aura Cacia Body wash or Body Cream (PDF Coupon!)

Various Organic Valley Printable Coupons

Eating well and saving money...

Let's face it, when you skim over the weekly coupon inserts, most of the coupons are for processed food: meal kits, sugary yogurt with no actual fruit, frozen foods, juice drinks that have a small amount of actual juice....

 

How can you maintain a healthy lifestyle and save money?

A lot of Organic and health food companies have printable coupons from their websites.  When in doubt, visit the companies website, and shoot them an email through their "Contact" page and ask about coupons.  Make sure to include your mailing address in the email.

Check out Organic living blogs. One of my favs is Organic Deals.  It's got lots of great ideas and information, as well as match ups.  She's got some great info about shopping at Sprouts (aka Henry's).

There is a great community of other health minded folks.... Organic Grocery Deals.  The ladies over at HCW are the owners.

Keep your eyes open for sales and keep a price book so you know what the best price on your favorite products.

And maybe one of my best tips- Don't rule out the 99 cent or dollar stores!  99 Cents Only has a great selection of fruits and veggies. They have Dole brand bagged salads, broccoli slaw, shredded carrot, bananas that retail at grocery stores for upwards of $4.00! They also have other brands of fruits and veggies, all fresh!  Sometimes they have organic veggies from companies like Earthbound Farms!  In the canned food section, they frequently have organic canned goods, like beans by Libby or S&W.

 

Are you a Dave?

Famous Dave's is at it again!  August 14, 2011 is free food day at Famous Dave's... That is if your name is Dave!

FREE ENTRÉE (up to $15) for every Dave, David or Davy in the house on Sunday, August 14!*

And if your middle name is Dave, David or Davy you’ll get your entrée for half price (up to $7.50)!*

For all those not named Dave, David or Davy we have beer and wing specials which start the very next day! No worries, we love all our fans!

*For dine-in and TO GO orders. You must be a Dave, David or Davy and you must present a photo ID to receive your entrée. Sorry, last names don’t count. Only one offer, per Dave, per day. Participating locations only.

For a list of participating locations please go to: http://www.famousdaves.com​/promo/daves-day/partcipat​ing-locations

Some great cheap and free stuff this week....

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only couponer who doesn't play the drugstore game.  I only shop at Drugstores when items I need/use are on sale.  Then I match up my coupons and buy 6 months worth!

With a baby, I don't have time to go to three drugstores each week, juggle ECB's, RR's, and +Up's and their expiration dates, and bring home stuff that I don't use just to donate it.  Plus the initial $40 or so OOP to get the ball rolling on the rewards starting.

That being said, there are some great deals this week at Wags that I will be hitting up.

 

Wags:

Nivea Body Wash $5.99.  -$2.00 RR, -$2.00 Q from 7/30 RP Total $1.99 This is my favorite body wash! I may go back a few times, just to stock up!

CoffeeMate 2/$3. -$1.00 in store Q, - 2 .55 IP from Coffeemate.com Total .90/2

Energizer Batteries Max 8Pac AA or AAA $5.99. -$3.00 off any 1 (from the diaper genie refill box!!) Total $2.99

 

Vons:

I don't shop at Vons too often, the prices aren't too great, the cashiers at my local store don't know their own companies coupon policy.  BUT...

Splenda Essentials $3.99 -$3.00 Q in the 7/31/11 SS Total .99!!

Wishbone Salad Dressing $1.19/each, -$.50 Q (7/31/11 RP) Total .19! (Note that Vons will only double 1 like coupon per transaction.  If you want to get a lot of these, you'll have to do multiple transactions.)

Dulcinea Watermelons- I've heard that they are .77/each after coupons that are available in store (tearpads)