It's Mega Swag Bucks Day -- Have you done your search yet?

 

I've done one search already on Swagbucks today. Have you? Every Friday is Mega Swag Bucks Day, where the chances of being rewarded large denominations of Swag Bucks is increased. What are you waiting for? Go do your searches now!

Not familiar with Swagbucks? Here's the deal:

Swagbucks is a search engine (like Google or Yahoo). You are awarded points randomly (called Swag Bucks) when you search the Internet, answer surveys, watch videos, play games, etc. Once you sign up (it's free!), you can also refer friends and family and earn points from their referrals.

I normally earn my points through doing the web searches only (and really, who doesn't already do that? Why not get rewarded for what you're already doing?). I seem to get points after my third or fourth search and I try to do it once in the morning and again in the evening. When I earn points for a search, they are generally in the 7 - 10 point range. I've also done some surveys and earned a bunch of points very quickly. And every Friday is Mega Swag Bucks Day, where the odds of winning high-value Swag Bucks are increased.

Swag Bucks are redeemed in the Swagstore. While there are a lot of things to choose from, my favorite item hands down is the $5 Amazon gift card for 450 points. I know, that sounds like a lot of points, right? Trust me, if you commit to doing 2 searches per day, the points can add up quickly. I started using Swagbucks in June 2011 and and have happily cashed in for Amazon gift cards which really help with my Christmas shopping. Who doesn't like saving money on gifts?!

Interested? Sign up at Swagbucks (remember, it's free) and start earning free stuff!

Amazon gift cards earned in 2011: $45
Amazon gift cards earned in 2012: $65

Amazon gift cards earned in 2013: $5

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More 2/3 - 2/9 Tops shopping: tuna + more cereal = free gas

I stopped into Tops again today for (surprise surprise) more cheap cereal! Here is a look at today's purchases:

2 boxes Corn Chex - $1.50 each, see notes
On sale 4/$10, used 2 $0.50 coupons (double to $1) printed from here
Notes: These are part of a current gas promo, where you earn 200 bonus gas points for every 4 select boxes you buy (that's $0.20 off per gallon!). Also, activate the $0.50 eCoupon at SavingStar before shopping so you can get some money back.
2 boxes Rice Chex - $1.50 each, see notes
On sale 4/$10, used 2 $0.50 coupons (double to $1) printed from here
Notes: These are part of the above gas promo. Alternatively, the above $0.50 eCoupon at SavingStar can be used on these instead.

2 boxes Cheerios - $1.50 each, see notes
On sale 4/$10, used 4 $0.50 coupons (double to $1) printed from here
Notes: These are part of the above gas promo. Activate the $0.50 eCoupon at SavingStar before shopping so you can get some money back.
2 boxes Cinnamon Jacks - $1.50 each, see notes
On sale 4/$10, used 2 $0.50 coupons (double to $1) found on the back of boxes previously purchased
Notes: These are part of the above gas promo. Also, check the backs of any boxes you buy.  The ones I purchased today had $0.50 coupons on the back (exp. 11/30/13) just like the ones I bought a few weeks ago.

4 pouches StarKist tuna - $0.70 each
On sale 4/$5, used 2 $0.55 off 2 coupons (double to $1.10) printed from their Facebook page
Note: I can get cans of tuna cheaper at Aldi (which I'd prefer) but my husband really likes the convenience of these pouches.  If you're looking for the cheapest way to get tuna, you might want to skip this purchase. :-)

Today's shopping trip had a retail cost of $40.68 and I paid $14.80 after coupons and discounts, for a savings of about 64%.  My gas discount is now $4.10 per gallon -- which means FREE gas for me.  I love free gas!!!

I'll be stopping in for probably one more round of cereal (if the kind I want is in stock), more tuna, and a few other items.  Until tomorrow, happy shopping!

2/3 - 2/9 Tops shopping: cereal stock-up galore & more!

If you've read my blog for a while, you've probably seen me mention that I try to stick to a grocery budget of $75 or less per week.  I'm pretty sure I'll be within my budget this week, and the biggest portion of it will be dedicated to stocking up on cereal.  We always need cereal (how do kids manage to eat so much of it???) and there is a *great* gas points deal at Tops this week in conjunction with great coupon match-ups to go with the sales prices.  I made 3 transactions today:

Transaction 1

4 boxes Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch - $1.00 each, see note
On sale 4/$10, used 4 $0.75 coupons (double to $1.50) printed from here
Note:  These are part of a gas promo -- earn 200 extra gas points for every 4 select boxes of cereal you buy.

4 boxes Peanut Butter Toast Crunch - $1.00 each, see note
On sale 4/$10, used 4 $0.75 coupons (double to $1.50) printed from here
Note: These are part of the above gas promo.

2 Freschetta pizzas - $3.00 each
On sale 2/$8 (must buy multiples of 2 for the sale price), used 2 $1.00 coupons printed from their Facebook page

The retail cost the this transaction was $44.10 and I paid $14.00 after discounts and coupons, for a savings of 68%.

Transaction 2

4 boxes Cheerios - $1.50 each, see notes
On sale 4/$10, used 4 $0.50 coupons (double to $1.00) printed from here
Note: These are part of the above gas promo.  Activate the $0.50 eCoupon at SavingStar before shopping so you can get some money back.

4 boxes Fiber One 80 Calories Chocolate cereal - $1.00 each, see note
On sale 4/$10, used 4 $0.75 coupons (double to $1.50) printed from here
Note: These are part of the above gas promo.

2 packages Jello Mix-ins - $0.34 each
On sale 3/$4, used 2 $1.00 coupons from the 1/13 SmartSource coupon insert

The retail cost of this transaction was $39.10 and I paid $10.67 after coupons and discounts, for a savings of about 73%.

Transaction 3

2 boxes Rice Chex - $1.50 each, see notes
On sale 4/$10, used 2 $0.50 coupons (double to $1.00) printed from here
Note: These are part of the above gas promo.  Activate the $0.50 eCoupon at SavingStar before shopping so you can get some money back.

2 boxes Peanut Butter Toast Crunch - $1.00 each, see note
On sale 4/$10, used 2 $0.75 coupons (double to $1.50) printed from here
Note: These are part of the above gas promo.

2 boxes Honey Nut Cheerions Crunch - $1.00 each, see note
On sale 4/$10, used 2 $0.75 coupons (double to $1.50) printed from here
Note: These are part of the above gas promo.

2 boxes Fiber One 80 Calories Chocolate cereal - $1.00 each
On sale 4/$10, used 2 $0.75 coupons (double to $1.50) printed from here
Note: These are part of the above gas promo.

2 bottles Simply Grapefruit juice - $0.50 each
On sale 2/$5, used 2 $2.00 coupons printed from here a couple of days ago but I don't see it now :-(

1 dozen Tops large eggs - FREE
Priced at $2.09, used a free product Catalina coupon I found in the parking lot. :-)

The retail cost of the third transaction was $44.59 and I paid $10.00 after discounts and coupons, for a savings of over 77%.

Overall, today I spent $34.67 on $127.79 worth of groceries.  That's a savings of approximately 73%, plus I'm at a gas discount of $3.60 per gallon (that's almost free gas and this is only the start of the 2nd week of the current earning period!).

Believe it or not, I'm planning on buying some more boxes of cereal and a few other deals throughout the week.  Stay tuned for more Tops deals.  Until then, happy shopping!

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Bar-S Coupon + Super Bowl Snack Recipe

ChefsBest has the perfect snack recipe for the "big game" and here's $1.00 off to try it:

-$1.00 off printable coupon - Any 2.5lb package Bar-S Smoked Sausage
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Plus, you'll find a great recipe for a warm cheddar and beer dipping sauce!

Click here for your recipe and coupon.

Additional 1/27 - 2/2 Tops shopping: paper product stock up

I've made 2 more trips to Tops since my last blog post.  At the end of the post I'll mention a couple deals I had planned on getting but had no luck when I got to the store.  On a positive note, I was able to stock up on paper goods and earn tons of gas points in the process! 

Here is a look at yesterday's shopping trip:

1 roll Reynold's Heavy Duty foil - $1.50, see note
On sale 2/$6, used a $0.75 coupon (doubles to $1.50) printed from their website
Note: These are part of a gas points promo -- earn an extra 200 gas points when you buy 5 select items.

4 packages Hefty foam plates/bowls - $1.17 each, see note
On sale 3/$5, used 2 $1 off 2 coupons printed from here (I'm not seeing them now, but I'm not sure if it's because they are no longer available or because I already printed them) -- there is also a $1/2 coupon in the 1/27 Red Plum coupon insert
Note: These are also part of the above 200 bonus gas points deal.

2 bags Quaker Perfect Portions Oatmeal - $0.50 each
On sale 2/$3, used 2 $0.50 coupons (double to $1) from here (there is also a $1 off 2 coupon in the January issue of All You magazine, making them $1 each)

4 packages Land 'O Frost lunch meat - $1.90 each
On sale 2/$6, used 4 $0.55 coupons (double to $1.10) printed from here (be sure to scroll through all the coupons, since there are currently 2 of them available -- there is also a $1 coupon in the 1/6 and 1/27 Red Plum coupon inserts, making them $2 each)

1 package Marcal toilet paper (not pictured) - $3.99
On sale for $4.99, used a $1 coupon from their Facebook page (there is also a $1 coupon in the 1/27 Red Plum insert)
The retail cost of yesterday's transaction was $49.88 and I paid $19.93 after coupons and discounts, for a savings of  60%.

And here is a rundown of today's transaction:

1 roll Reynold's Heavy Duty foil - $1.50, see note
On sale 2/$6, used a $0.75 coupon (doubles to $1.50) printed from their website
Note: These are part of a gas points promo -- earn an extra 200 gas points when you buy 5 select items.

4 packages Hefty foam plates/bowls - $1.17 each, see note
On sale 3/$5, used 2 $1 off 2 coupons printed from here (there is also a $1/2 coupon in the 1/27 Red Plum coupon insert)
Note: These are also part of the above 200 bonus gas points deal.

4 packages Land 'O Frost lunch meat - $1.90 each
On sale 2/$6, used 4 $0.55 coupons (double to $1.10) printed from here (be sure to scroll through all the coupons, since there are currently 2 of them available -- there is also a $1 coupon in the 1/6 and 1/27 Red Plum coupon inserts, making them $2 each)

18 Yoplait yogurts - $0.37 each, see notes
On sale 20/$10, used 3 $0.40 off 6 coupons printed from here (instead of doubling to $0.80, they doubled to $0.79 for some reason??) printed from here
Notes: This triggered at $1.25 Catalina coupon good towards my next shopping trip!  Also, activate the $0.40 off 6 eCoupon at SavingStar before heading to the store and get some money rebated back to you.

I also had a random Catalina print out good for a FREE Luna bar. :-)

The retail cost of today's trip was $50.13 and I paid $21.17 after discounts and coupons, for a savings of approximately 58%.

As of now now, I have a gas discount of $1.70 per gallon, and I will go back again tomorrow for more paper goods and yogurt which should get me up to $2.00. I can't believe I've earned so many gas points already, and we're only in the first week of earning! 

I was unable to get the items below at my store, but I'm going to list them for you in case your store has them in stock because I think they're good deals:

• Hefty cups are 3/$5 and included in the '200 gas points when you buy 5 select items' deal.  There is a $0.75 off 2 coupon here, making them $0.92 each (there is also a $1 off 2 coupon in the 1/27 Red Plum, making them $1.17 each) .  Unfortunately, my store doesn't seem to carry them. :-(
• Wholly Salsa is BOGO ($2.99) and there is a $1.50 coupon here, making them 2 for $1.49 (or $0.75 each).  I saw these at my store a few weeks ago when the Wholly Guacamole was on sale and of course now that I want to buy these, I don;t even see a spot in the case for them any more. :-(

Until next time, happy shopping!

Earn Amazon gift cards for FREE!

I've done one search already on Swagbucks today. Have you? Every Friday is Mega Swag Bucks Day, where the chances of being rewarded large denominations of Swag Bucks is increased. What are you waiting for? Go do your searches now!

Not familiar with Swagbucks? Here's the deal:

Swagbucks is a search engine (like Google or Yahoo). You are awarded points randomly (called Swag Bucks) when you search the Internet, answer surveys, watch videos, play games, etc. Once you sign up (it's free!), you can also refer friends and family and earn points from their referrals.

I normally earn my points through doing the web searches only (and really, who doesn't already do that? Why not get rewarded for what you're already doing?). I seem to get points after my third or fourth search and I try to do it once in the morning and again in the evening. When I earn points for a search, they are generally in the 7 - 10 point range. I've also done some surveys and earned a bunch of points very quickly. And every Friday is Mega Swag Bucks Day, where the odds of winning high-value Swag Bucks are increased.

Swag Bucks are redeemed in the Swagstore. While there are a lot of things to choose from, my favorite item hands down is the $5 Amazon gift card for 450 points. I know, that sounds like a lot of points, right? Trust me, if you commit to doing 2 searches per day, the points can add up quickly. I started using Swagbucks in June 2011 and and have happily cashed in for Amazon gift cards which really help with my Christmas shopping. Who doesn't like saving money on gifts?!

Interested? Sign up at Swagbucks (remember, it's free) and start earning free stuff!

Amazon gift cards earned in 2011: $45
Amazon gift cards earned in 2012: $65

Amazon gift cards earned in 2013: $5