I found new tear pad coupons!

Since I had more YoCrunch yogurt coupons and my kids eat it like it's going out of style, I stopped by Tops yesterday to grab some more.  Because I wasn't in any hurry, I took my time walking around the store and found several tearpads I hadn't seen on my prior trip.  At the Mt. Read Tops in Greece, I found:

• $1.00 off any 2 Red Baron, Tony's, or Freschetta pizzas (11 oz. or larger), expires 2/12/12.
• $1.00 off any 2 bags of Rold Gold pretzels (7 oz. or larger), expires 2/12/12.  This coupon specifically states "Limit one coupon per customer."
• $1.00 off any 2 bags of Doritos (11 oz. or larger), expires 2/5/12.  This coupon also specifically states "Limit one coupon per customer."

If these are products you use, you might want to scope out your local store to see if you can locate them.  Also, since they are manufacturer coupons, they can be used at any store not just the one you find them in.

Money Saving Challenge - weeks 2 & 3 in review

Since I missed updating last week's activities, today's post will consists of the things I did in the past 2 weeks to save some money as part of the Money Saving Challenge hosted by Precious at Frugal Makes Sense:

• I matched sales and coupons at Tops and Wegmans to lower my grocery bill.
• I consolidated my errands on outings to help conserve gas.
• I used homemade toilet bowl cleaner to clean my toilet instead of running out to the store to buy more. (If anyone is interested in how to do it, you can check out my blog post here)
• I asked for rain checks for out-of-stock sale items so I can purchase them at the lower price in the future.
• I packed leftovers in my husband's work lunches on several days.
• I cashed in Swag Bucks for a $5 Amazon gift card that I will use to defray the cost of Christmas presents in 2012.
• I stayed home 2 days in order to save on gas.
• I repaired a plastic laundry basket with a few pieces of duct tape instead of throwing it out and buying a new one.
• I hung a load of laundry to dry in my laundry room instead of running the dryer.
• I baked on a cold day then opened the oven door while the oven was cooling after I was done baking, in order to help heat the kitchen.
• I deposited a portion of the money I saved from grocery shopping into our savings account.
• I downloaded some free ebooks onto my Nook.

I keep a running list throughout the week in order to keep track of my money saving actions.  I have to admit, my list looked pretty skimpy on paper and I was a bit disappointed, but now that I've typed it out I am much happier with what I accomplished the past 2 weeks.

I f you have a great frugal tip or are doing things to save money this year, I'd love to read about it in the comments!

It's Mega Swag Bucks Day!

Today is Friday, so you know what that means, right? Every Friday is Mega Swag Bucks Day, where the chances of being rewarded large denominations of Swag Bucks is increased. 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 cashed in for $45 in Amazon gift cards which really helped with my Christmas shopping. I figure this year I'll be consistent enough about it that I will have quite a bit of free money to play with!

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

2011 Amazon gift cards earned: $45
2012 Amazon dift cards earned: $5

1/15 - 1/21 Tops deals

It took me until yesterday to hit the grocery store and until today to post my finds, so I'm sorry for the delay.  I was getting low on yogurt, coffee, and frozen meals for my husband's work lunches so this was a great week for me.  Here's what I brought home from Tops (sorry for the crummy picture!)...

2 bags 8 o'clock coffee - $2.99 each
On sale for $3.99 each, used $2 off 2 coupon printed from here (click on the $2 coupon link in the upper right corner)

2 bags Fresh Express salad - 1 @ $1.50, 1 @ $0.40
On sale 2/$5, both bags were marked down an additional $1 due to a near sell-by date, plus used a $0.55 coupon (doubles to $1.10) I received via snail mail.

1 bottle Top50 orange juice - $1.50, see note below
On sale 2/$5, used $1 coupon printed from their Facebook "True Resolution" offer
Note: Activate the $0.50 eCoupon at SavingStar for a final net price of $1.00

3 boxes Green Giant frozen veggies - $0.67 each
On sale 10/$10, used $1 off 3 coupon from the 1/8 General Mills coupon insert

10 Michelina's lean gourmet frozen entrees - $0.80 each
On sale 10/$10, used 2 $1 off 5 coupons printed from here (there is also a $1/5 coupon available here)

12 cartons Voskos Greek yogurt - $0.67 each
On sale 10/$10. used 4 $1 off 3 coupons from here

3 Nabisco Teddy Grahams Go-packs - FREE
On sale 10/$10, used the $3 off 3 coupon from the 1/8 SmartSource coupon insert

1 bag Mariani banana chips - FREE
On sale 10/$10, used the $0.50 coupon from the 1/8 SmartSource coupon insert (the coupon states "Do not double" but it doubled automatically to $1)

4 boxes Quaker chewy granola bars - $1.50 each
On sale 4/$10 plus part of a "save $2 automatically when you buy any 4 select items" promo, used 2 $1 off 2 coupons printed from their Facebook page

2 packages of Land O'Frost lunchmeat - $2.99 each
On sale for $3.99 each, used 2 $1 coupons printed from here

12 Banquet pot pies - $0.80 each
On sale 10/$10, used 2 $0.60 off 6 coupons (double to $1.20) found inside select boxes of frozen Banquet meals
Note: I feel like I should probably mention that you can get pot pies cheaper than this.  At my local Aldi, they sell them for $0.59 each.  However, my Aldi only sells chicken pot pies and my husband greatly prefers beef.  Since $0.80 is the cheapest I have been able to find beef pot pies, these are a stock-up item for me.

4 Banquet fruit pies - $0.60 each
On sale 10/$10, used 2 $0.40 off 2 coupons (double to $.80) found inside select frozen Banquet meals boxes

2 bottles Sunny D - $0.95 each
On sale 2/$3, used the $0.55 (doubles to $1.10) off 2 coupon from the 1/8 SmartSource coupon insert

4 bottles of International Delight coffee creamer - $0.57 each
On sale 3/$5, used 4 $0.55 coupons (double to $1.10) printed from their website (must register, will need multiple addresses to get more than 2 coupons)

1 4-pack Dannon Activia yogurt - $1.00
On sale 5/$10, used $1 coupon from the 1/15 SmartSource coupon insert

16 YoCrunch yogurts - $0.28 each
On sale 10/$6, used 4 $0.65 off 4 coupons (double to $1.30) from here

2 boxes Barilla whole grain pasta - $0.75 each
On sale 4/$5, used $1 off 2 coupon from the 1/8 SmartSource coupon insert (there are other varieties of Barilla pasta on sale, but the coupon I used is good only on the whole grain type)

4 boxes Nabisco Cheese Nips - $1.17 each
On sale 3/$5, used 2 $1 off 2 coupons printed from the Ritz Facebook page (even though it's Ritz, the coupon is good on any Nabisco crackers)

2 bottles of Kikkoman teriyaki sauce - $0.69 each
On sale for $1.69 each, used 2 $1 coupons printed from here (and more coupons are here), plus this triggered a $1.50 Catalina coupon to print at the register for me to use on my next shopping trip

3 Kikkoman seasoning packets - FREE
On sale 10/$10, used 3 $1 coupons printed from here and here

2 cartons of Land O Lakes Fresh Buttery Taste spread - $1.50, see note
On sale 2/$4, used the $1 off 2 coupon from the 1/8 SmartSource coupon insert
Note: there is a mail-in rebate here to get a coupon for a free package of Land O Lakes Fresh Buttery Taste with Olive Oil

The retail total for this trip was $168.68 and I paid $70.75 after discounts and coupons, for a savings of approximately 58%.  I also have a $1.50 Catalina coupon to use on my next shopping trip and will be getting a coupon good for a free Land O Lakes spread.

Get $46.50 in Johnson & Johnson coupons

If you're looking for some health and beauty coupons, head over here to check out a deal from Johnson & Johnson.  Buy $50 worth of J & J products (includes a ton of brands, see the offer for the complete list) between 1/8/12 and 3/8/12, mail in the receipt(s) and the certificate from the above link, and receive up to $46.50 in coupons via snail mail. 

Hitting the $50 mark may sound like a lot, but there are a lot of insert and printable coupons available right now making many of the qualifying products free or cheap (and the $50 threshold is pre-coupons!).

I'm baaack!

Between being busy and having some computer issues over the past week, I haven't had a chance to  keep up with the blog as much as I would've liked so I apologize for the lack of recent posts.  I'm back, however, and will be posting up a storm now. :-)

Target: good news & bad news

If you regularly shop at the Greece Target like I do, I'm sure you've seen the remodeling that is currently happening in the store.

Last week I picked up a free box of Market Pantry macaroni and cheese and stopped by today to grab another (coupon is here) but the shelf was empty.  I also wanted to grab the Smart Ones frozen entrees deal: get a $5 Target gift card when you buy 10 ($1.89) using the $3.00 off 10 manufacturer coupon here and the $3.00 off 10 Target coupon here.  Unfortunately, the freezer case was clear and there are no rain checks available for this promo. I found an employee in the grocery department and asked when/if they'd get more in. 

The bad news: due to the remodeling, they are not restocking frozen foods and will wait until the new freezer cases are installed in a few weeks. :-(

The good news: he showed me how large the new grocery department will be, and it looks like it will be substantially larger.  When searching for good Target deals, I often see them for grocery items that the Greece store doesn't carry.  A new grocery department should net a lot more cheap groceries for us! :-)