xmas2010

With Love Chartreuse Christmas Card

Make a statement with custom Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

50 Free Holiday Cards for Bloggers - and affordable ones for non-bloggers too!

It's getting to be that time of year again. Time to prepare for Thanksgiving and the amazing shopping day after, time to stock your closet with wonderful gifts for your family and time to get those holiday cards ready. It's been several years since we had a formal portrait done with cards. Way too pricey and way too unpredictable results. Instead we take our own photos in a relaxed family session, pick the creme de la creme for our Christmas photo and and order a set of cards from Shutterfly.

Shutterfly, has hundreds of beautiful Christmas photo cards for us to choose from.

The Christmas cards offered by Shutterfly are remarkably affordable.

Shutterfly has so many options that I am ALWAYS able to choose something that is just perfect in theme.

My personal favorite this year is Make the Mantel - one of their pricier options at $1.34 per card when you buy a minimum of 46 but it is a fold-over card option. The design is festive, simple and classy. Their flat photo cards are gorgeous too and start out at a mere .30 per card.

You can also find very reasonably priced holiday address labels to use for mailing these beautiful cards!

What are your favorites

Thrifty Thursday!

I'm one happy camper on this Thursday thanks to Target's annual toy clearance (or as some folks put it, Christmas in July). My closest store has its toys already very picked over- people started buying them at a measly 30% off and there's not much left over. So I headed over to the Southpoint location in Durham and made some great finds. They were running behind on the markdowns. Myself and another savvy shopper had inquired on when they would be marking stuff down to 75%. The associate told us tomorrow and to come back in the afternoon...and then kindly offered to markdown the items in our carts. It was a pleasant and unexpected act of kindness!

I found a Little People toy set for a little under $6 and some other great little presents for the kiddos. I think we'll give the Little People set to Stella for her upcoming birthday. I wound up spending about $40 or so for three big bags of toys...and I picked up 10 bags of Chex Mix for .40 each after some $1.10/1 tearpad q's I recently traded for.

I also stopped by Cheesecake Factory to pick up my $1.50 slice of cheesecake thanks to a Facebook promotion and got another unexpected surprise- the receipt included a phone number to call to take a short survey and get a $10 giftcard! Score!

Kroger brag & HT & Target News!

First to the HT news- they will be having triples or super doubles this coming week (7/28) so get those high value q's ready!

Kroger is having the second and last week of a Mega event this week and there are a lot of great deals to be had. Click here for SouthernSavers' match-ups. I fared very well yesterday night and bought all of the following for $1.71. Not too shabby if I do say so myself...

20 VitaminWater Zero bottles (used .50/1 tearpad q's I won in an auction on hcw)
2 two liter bottles of Sunkist
3 cartons of Breyers Ice Cream (used .50/1 tearpad q's)
5 Kraft Easy Mac single serve containers

That's $48.07 worth of stuff for less than two bucks. How did I do that without using any q's for the Sunkist and the Easy Mac? Because I earned overage on the VitaminWater zero q's. They ring in at $1.25 (allowing the q's to fully double) but after the $5 deduction per 10 items and coupons, it's as if I made a quarter on each bottle.

There's a Kraft catalina deal going on right now that makes the Mega Event an even better deal- read all about here.

Target has its annual July toy clearance going on right now. I'm going to check it out today but last I checked last week my nearby store had items at 50% off. I hold out for the 75% and 90% clearance items to stockpile as birthday and Christmas gifts.

$2 Tank Tops at Old Navy - this Sat 6/12

Check with your local store to verify they are participating in this great deal! Despite my somewhat matronly arms, I love me some tank tops in the hot Carolina summer so you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be there bright and early to get some tank tops. These run out quickly so get there when your store opens!

Dinner on the Cheap

Here's another quick, easy & inexpensive meal we had last night- one of my hubby's favorites...

Baked Chicken with a spinach & blueberry salad, sweet peas and wild rice. Here's the breakdown on cost:

Pack of 3 split chicken breasts: $2.02 (on sale for 88 cents/lb at Harris Teeter this week)
Uncle Ben's Wild Rice: FREE thanks to mega sale paired with q at Kroger during a past mega deal
Fresh Spinach: FREE thanks to a free Kroger q won in an auction on www.hcw.com
Fresh Blueberries: about a $1 (used about a 1/3 of a container purchased for $2.50 on sale)
Sweet Peas: about 40 cents after sale price and q at Harris Teeter a week or so (Birds Eye frozen Steamers)

This made for a dinner for 4 for $3.42.

The chicken is super easy to make. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a pan with cooking spray, place the chicken breasts in the pan, season with salt, pepper (we use white pepper), onion powder, garlic powder, lemon pepper seasoning and parsley flakes. We then spray these with a low fat butter spray, but you can also put slices of real butter on top if you're not counting calories.

Pop the chicken in the oven and let cook for 45 - 50 minutes. Comes out very juicy and tasty!

On Hiatus

As you can probably tell, I've been on a bit of a hiatus when it comes to posting deals and match-ups. I'll get back to it when I can but life is pretty busy right now.

I missed out on the majority of HT's Super Doubles week this week, but did manage to snag some great deals on the tail end- including free Hershey's Extra Dark chocolate bars (a sweet and healthy treat, in moderation of course).

Hope everyone is having a great start to their summer!

Free Ice Cream for Mother's Day at Coldstone Creamery

Certain Triangle area stores will be having free "like it" sizes of their Signature Creation Strawberry Cheesecake for all Moms on Mothers Day. All Coldstone Creamery's should be hosting some type of Mothers Day event- check your nearby store to see if they're participating in the free ice cream for Moms deal.

Personally, I think Dads will get the better deal in June. They'll get a free "like it" size of Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter. Yum!

An Open Letter to Manufacturers...& Triples News!

Dear food and household item manufacturers:

Yes, you've discovered coupons as a marketing tool. And for that, us savvy shoppers thank you wholeheartedly. But, please please please enough with the coupons that require a purchase of multiple items. We've become quite good at math and those of us fortunate enough to live in areas with stores that double (and sometimes even triple!) coupons, well these types of coupons don't make for much of a bargain at all.

I'm talking to you Kellogg's with your new penchant for $1.25 off 3 of your popular cereal items! These coupons sit in my filing cabinet gathering dust- no one wants to trade for these and seldom smart shoppers actually use these coupons. Where I once would buy dozens of boxes of PopTarts to stockpile over the course of a month or so, I now only only buy one or two during that same time frame. Why oh why did you decide to switch from your 55 cents off one to these and why do you think I would buy three at a time to save roughly 41 cents on each when I used to be able to save $1.10 off each thanks to coupon doubling ($1.65 during a triples event)???

On to a brighter topic, and since we've mentioned triples in this last sentence...Harris Teeter will be having triples again this coming week! Break out those binders and get ready! I'll post a link to match-ups as we get closer.

April Showers

Finally, we got some rain to wash away all the pollen that has had our eyes itching and noses sneezing for the past week!

I haven't posted in a bit because (a) there really haven't been too many rave-worthy deals thus far in April and (b) I've been busy bonding with and training our new Boxer puppy, Lily. She's so sweet- I just have to share a pic...

She weighs a little over 7 pounds now and is so cute and tiny. It's hard to believe she'll likely weigh over 60 when she's all grown up. We think she's going to be a big girl judging by the size of her paws. The kids are smitten!

I've been out and about gathering up free Mighty Dog cans thanks to well-timed sales and the recent $3/5 insert q's that are out. Food Lion, Harris Teeter and Lowe's Foods currently have these on sale for 10 for $6- making these free after coupon! The Harris Teeter sale is a long term VIC special that should last through June. I haven't even had to start using the FREE coupons that were in the same insert yet!

We're feeding her primarily Puppy Chow and mixing it up with wet Mighty Dog cans once a day as a treat. She really likes the Mighty Dog and seems to tolerate it well, so that's been a relief.

What good sale finds have you lucked upon in April?

March Stockpile Challenge

Now that March is finally winding down, I can report the end results of the stockpile challenge I joined. I am quite pleased with the results! Here is a breakdown of this month's spending...

Stamps & purchased coupons
Total spent: $17.71

Extra papers purchased through N&O delivery
Total spent: $27.00

CVS & Miscellaneous Store Spending (EarthFare, Kohl's)
Total spent: $25.36
Total saved: $141.03

Rite Aid Spending
Total spent: $10.44
Total saved: $22.00

Walgreen's Spending
Total spent: $20.86
Total saved: $35.94

Harris Teeter Spending
Total spent: $72.14
Total saved: $658.33 (thank you triples!)

Food Lion Spending
Total spent: $42.66
Total saved: $91.26

Kroger Spending
Total spent: $75.20
Total saved: $485.92 (thanks to mega event!)

Lowe's Foods Spending
Total spent: $63.39
Total saved: $151.57

Target Spending
Total spent: $70.35
Total saved: $51.33

All totaled, our grocery & household expenses were $380.40 for over $2000 worth of groceries and household items. We spent an additional $44.71 in newspapers, stamps and coupon clipping services fees bringing total month expenses to $425.11.

We received $135 in rebates throughout the month and another $40 in a cash gift. Deducting these amounts from total spend, our actual out-of-pocket expenses turned out to be $250.11!

$250.11 is nearly $100 less than what I originally planned on spending this month so I am one happy camper.

Spicy Savings!

We are about to be overcome by all things spice in our home thanks to a great catalina deal going on now that is perfectly synergized with Harris Teeter triples week and a Lowe's Food special on McCormick grinders! This will only work as a moneymaker if you're one of the lucky folks who live in regions that received a .75/1 coupon in your Sunday inserts- and you purchased multiple copies.

The way I've worked it is to buy 3 spices at a time priced $2.25 and under at Harris Teeter or the sale grinders ringing up at $1.50 each at Lowe's Foods. Use a .75/1 insert coupon for each spice purchased. When you do so, you'll wind up just paying tax on your items AND getting a $2.50 off your next order Catalina printed out at the register.

One helpful tip before checking out: Always make sure the Catalina machine at your register is working! Don't be embarrassed to ask the cashier and/or lean over to see if there's any blinking or red lights up- this is a clear sign that things are amiss.

Harris Teeter Triples - Day 1

Alright, braved HT first thing in the morning and here's the rundown. I split my purchase into 3 separate transactions to make the most of the McCormick Catalina deal that's going on right now.

Transaction #1:

3 McCormick parsley flakes - FREE after .75/1 insert q's
2 boxes of Barilla Piccolini pasta - FREE after .50/1 insert q's

Total spent: .07
Total saved $7.77
Received $2.50 OYNO Catalina

Transaction #2:

2 bottles of Newman's Own Organic Low Fat Asian Dressing - FREE after .75/1 tearpad q's
1 bottle of Coke Zero (20 oz) - FREE after tearpad q
3 McCormick chili powders - FREE after .75/1 insert q's
2 boxes of Barilla Piccolini pasta - FREE after .50/1 insert q's

Total spent: .14
Total saved: $18.14
Received $2.50 OYNO Catalina

Transaction #3:

2 bottles of Newman's Own Organic Low Fat Asian Dressing - FREE after .75/1 tearpad q's
3 McCormick Cinnamons - FREE after .75/1 insert q's
2 boxes of Barilla Piccolini pasta - FREE after .50/1 insert q's

Total spent: .10
Total saved: $16.65
Received $2.50 OYNO Catalina

In total, I spent 31 cents on $42.69 worth of groceries AND have $7.50 to spend during my next go rounds at Harris Teeter. Sweet!

Have you made a trip to the HT yet for triples? What were your finds?

Kroger Mega Madness!

Kroger Mega sales can be quite the godsend when it comes to stockpiling and this March Madness event has been no exception! I've lucked into some great .50/1 Coke Zero coupons which have made for moneymaking 2 liters and I made a smart trade for a bunch of B10G5 Powerade coupons so looks like our garage will be filled up with our favorite beverages!

In a trip last night, I filled my cart with the following items:

15 bottles of Powerade Zero - used B10G5 to take $4.95 off the order
9 two liter bottles of Coke Zero - used .50/1 tearpad q's to make them each 30 cent mm's!
8 bottles of Shamrock Farms Rockin Refuel protein drinks - used .50/1 to make them freebies
12 Snickers bars - used .50/2 insert q's to make them freebies

The Mega Event takes $4 off your order for every 8 qualifying event items (the powerades and cokes were qualifying items).

Total spent: 43 cents!
Total saved: $57.67

With a triples event looming on the horizon from Harris Teeter, can we get any more spoiled here???

Harris Teeter Triples week of 3/24- confirmed!

Get those binders ready folks because Harris Teeter will be having a triples event next week! Details on sales fliers aren't typically posted to couponers boards until Tuesday morning of each week but you can still get prepared. My two favorite couponers boards have already started discussion threads on your best bets for freebies and cheapies. You can check out A Full Cup's discussion here or Hot Coupon World's thread here.

So far, I'm most excited about the free Shamrock Farms Rockin Refuel milk drinks. I've kept these coupons handy in the hopes for triples.

I'm sure more helpful match-ups will be posted throughout the weekend!

1 lb of Strawberries for $1 @ Target

I'm not sure if this is nationwide or not, but at my nearby Super Target they have 1 lb of strawberries for $1- which is a ridiculously great deal! Call before making the trip. My store was out when I made a morning trip. I called in the early afternoon and they had just gotten another truck in an hour before I made the call. I ran back out and there were only about a dozen left so they are going fast!

Free Kellogg's Cereals at Harris Teeter- TODAY 3/10 ONLY

Two great deals are going on right now for Kellogg's cereals and they will only work today (one started today, the other ends today). You'll need .70/1 Kellogg's blinkies that you can find at Food Lion and Kroger (these will begin with 5 so they'll double). These blinkies are for Corn Pops, Apple Jacks and Froot Loops only. Buy 5 boxes (mix and match) of the 12.5 ounce versions of these and you'll end up with a 5 cent moneymaker!

How it works:

You buy 5 boxes at $3.19 each ($15.95 total for all 5)
Use 5 .70/1 blinkies to get $7 off your order
Get $5.00 off your total order for buying 5 boxes

You'll then pay $3.95 out of pocket (not including tax) and get a $4 Off Your Next Order Catalina!

KMart Super Doubles Week of 4/04

I don't think I've shopped KMart in years but may make the trip for this...

They will doubling coupons up to $2 the week of 4/04 so mark your calendars. It's been confirmed that all North Carolina stores will be participating (if you're in another state, email customer service at Kmart.com to confirm participation and what the rules are- they vary by region).

North Carolina rules are as follows:

- They will double up to five coupons per customer per day
- No store loyalty card is required (some states require you participate in their loyalty card program and they use this also to presumably police the 5 per day rule- I've read that each member of your household can have a card assigned to them though)

I'm not sure how NC stores will enforce the 5 per day rule and I'm also not sure how worth the trip will be for a 5 coupon limit. Heck, I'm not even sure what my nearby KMart carries- I may need to check it out to see what grocery items they have.

If you have a bevy of $2 coupons, this could be worth the trip as you'll get $4 off per coupon. This should make for several potential freebies and great cheapies for pet lovers on their food of choice.

Do you plan on making a trip for this event?

March Stockpile Challenge - Week 1

I've joined a "live off your stockpile" challenge on HCW for March. The challenge is to use as much out of your stockpile and spend as little out of pocket as possible. After thinking about it more and seeing our February spending (which was a little over $400), I decided to up our goal spend from $200 to $350. I felt this was a more realistic goal.

Our first week has gone very well overall!

Total spent: $82.13
Total saved: $191.68 or 70%

Thanks to rules of the challenge allowing for deducting rebates & cash gifts in our total, our actual out-of-pocket spend was $29.28. I think that's a great start!

Here's a breakdown:

Kohl's
Total before sales and coupons: $40.00
Total spent: $0
Total saved: $40.00 or 100%

Thanks to an act of kindness by a faraway relative, we have two cute new outfits for Stellie to sport in the spring.

Walgreen's
Total before sales and coupons: $37.33
Total spent: $1.39
Total saved: $35.94 or 96%

Free Purex deal was wonderful! I'd go back out for more but it was such a hassle the first time, I think I'll just count myself lucky and leave it at this.

Harris Teeter
Total before sales and coupons: $17.27
Total spent: $2.08
Total saved $15.19 or 88%

Used lots of FREE coupons I had received in recent train envies.

Food Lion
Total before sales and coupons: $5.54
Total spent: $1.50
Total saved: 73%

Tried to score 6 free candies with B1G1 tearpads I had lucked into but it didn't work. Cashier rung these in at the half price they wound up ringing up for due to their B1G1 sale.

Kroger
Total before sales and coupons: $59.71
Total spent: $23.56
Total saved: $36.15 or 61%

Lots of produce and fresh fruit, as well as some drumsticks for tonight's dinner.

Lowe's Foods
Total before sales and coupons: $44.83
Total spent: $9.50
Total saved: $35.33 or 79%

Still stocking up on free Trident Layers after coupons.

Super Target
Total before sales and coupons: $69.13
Total spent: $44.10
Total saved: $25.03 or 36%

Maybe I need to steer clear of Target. Tried for some freebies but couldn't find lots of the corresponding items. I stuck with what we needed- Clif Bars (no coupons for these unfortunately) and various other grocery/household items.

The Kindness of Others

I believe in Karma...and likewise, I also am a firm believer in Coupon Karma. I've often come into good fortune shortly after practicing random acts of kindness- whether it be on a coupon shoppers board like HCW by offering up a RAOK envelope of coupons, passing along some goodies to others in grocery stores or dropping off food donations at a food bank.

When I have my coupon binder with me while shopping, I'll frequently hand out a coupon to another shopper who I see has one of my coupon items. Or I'll give a cashier who seems pleased by a deal I find an extra or two of the coupon that makes a good freebie or cheapie that they could use later to get the same great deal. Over the past couple of weeks, I've done this quite frequently- most recently handing out the last several of my $2 off 1 yokids coupons to other Target shoppers looking at kids yogurts.

Later that day, my mother-in-law passed along two $10 Kohl's cash certificates she had received from one of her sisters while in Colorado. I like to think coupon Karma had something to do with this...I turned the two cash certificates into this:

Two cute spring outfits for Stella! Neither cost a penny after the Kohl's certificates. We have lots of hand-me-downs for her from her big sisters but none smaller than a 3T so I knew we'd need to be spending money on spring clothes that would fit her and soon. Well, hopefully soon- I am so ready for Spring!

What a wonderful way to start the week. Be generous and you'll be surprised by the acts of generosity that will come back your way!