Earn Cash Back While Shopping Online

With the holiday shopping season kicking off on Black Friday and the economy on everyone's mind, we really need to get the most for our money. There is an awesome site, Ebates, where you can earn up to 25% Cash Back when shopping your favorite stores online. Not only can you earn cash back when shopping through Ebates, you also have access to coupon codes and special offers that you can use to save even more. You can even purchase gift cards. Check out the list of over 1000 stores and just think of the money you can save!

Ebates has plenty of great offers to choose from, but one of the easiest is the Sign-Up Bonus. Sign up with Ebates now and we'll each get a $5 bonus when you make your first purchase! Easy money you make shopping for the items you need.

With all of the craziness of Black Friday and the holiday shopping season, many people like to do their shopping online to avoid the crowds and save on gas money. With cash back through Ebates, now you have one more reason to stay home and shop in your pajamas.

More Black Friday Ads

As we get closer to Black Friday, the ads and secret deals just keep rolling in. Black Friday Ads is a great source of up-to-date information about all of the sales and secret, unadvertised items. Be sure to visit Black Friday Ads for complete listings.

Here are some of the recent updates:

Best Buy listing has 2 sections; one for online and in-store items and one for in-store specials only.

Amazon is running their sales all week, calling it Black Fri-DAILY.

One of my favorite gifts I have ever received, my KitchenAid Artisan Mixer, is at a great price and rebate at Amazon. Check out info about the rebate and sale here.

If you are one of the many who is hoping to score a laptop on sale, check out Black Friday Ads' Laptop Buying Guide. They also have guides available for HDTVs, GPS, Game Consoles, and Top 10 Video Games.

The One Dollar Give

I am so excited to share with you this fantastic campaign that I am participating in this holiday season, The One Dollar Give. Tara from DealSeekingMom and Mandi from Doodles Place have teamed up and launched the site and campaign, One Dollar Give.

Each day in December, a new charity will be featured and a link posted to their donation page. The idea is for you to set aside $1 each day to donate to the featured charity. It may not seem like one dollar could make a difference, but strength in numbers is a powerful thing. When we work together toward a common goal, there is no limit to what we can achieve.

For more information on The One Dollar Give, check out What is The $1 Give? and What Can $1 Do?.

To help spread the word, there is a giveaway with some great prizes. This giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. EDT on Sunday, November 30th so make sure to enter.

Prizes:
$25 Starbucks Gift Card
Elmo Live Doll
Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker
EyeClops Night Vision Infrared Stealth Goggles

I hope you can join me in The One Dollar Give and see how with $1 a day, you can make a difference.

Monday Mail Call....

It's that time of the week again... Monday Mail Call. It was a very good mail week; lots of fun stuff and almost no bills! The mailman must have loved me. Here are the goodies that I received in the mail the past week.

• Playtex Drop-Ins Original Nurser System (shared with you here
• Juicy Juice Sippy Cup
• Berry Burst Metamucil
• Dunkin' Donuts New Dunkin' Dark Coffee
• Enfamil Formula and $10 checks
• Sun Crystals Natural Sweetener
• Carefree and Stayfree (shared with you here)
• Beyond BodiHeat Heat Pad enter emailaddress and they email you the link
• Ocean Spray 12 Months of Cranberry Recipe Booklet
• Garnier Nutritioniste Ultra Lift Sample and $1 coupon
• Febreeze Laundry Odor Eliminator $2 Coupon
• Nestle Tollhouse coupon and recipes- called in and asked for coupon
• TV Guide (shared here)

Offers no longer available

• Orville Redenbacher's pack from WalMart- 100 Calorie Mini Smart Cakes, Mini Bag Natural Lime and Salt Popcorn and $6 coupon book
• Secret Clinical Strength Sport
• Prevention Magazine

Walmart Black Friday Ads Revealed

The always anticipated Walmart Black Friday Ads were posted by Black Friday Ads. You can check out both the sale listings and the ad Scan at the website.

Some of the highlights of the Black Friday 2008 Walmart Ads...

Magnavox Blu-ray Disc Player (NB500MG9) - $128

Xbox 360 Arcade Console w/ Guitar Hero III and Wireless Guitar - $199


Polaroid 42" LCD 1080p HDTV - $598


Samsung 50" 720p Plasma HDTV - $798


Garmin Nuvi 200 GPS - $97


Samsung L200 10.2MP Digital Camera - $69

TerraCycle- Great Update

After my two posts about TerraCycle and their efforts here and here, I have been in contact with two great people from the company. They were kind enough to send me information on a few of their products, perfect for this time of year.

They have a program running with Home Depot where you can purchase stockings (2-pk) and tree shirts made from recycled wrappers and juice pouches- perfect for the holiday season. This takes "Cookies for Santa" to a whole new level! Check out the cool TerraCycle holiday items at Home Depot.


They also have an Eco-friendly Fire Log, which comes in a 4 pack and is available at Target. Check out this great info from TerraCycle...

In keeping with TerraCycle tradition, the Fire Starters and Logs are made from post-consumer waste that would otherwise end up in a landfill. Because wax-coated cardboard is unsuitable for traditional recycling, it is typically destined for landfills after just one use. TerraCycle’s new Eco-Friendly Fire Log and Fire Starter combat this terrible loss of resources and give these materials new life. TerraCycle uses discarded wax cardboard from old milk and juice cartons, as well as shipping boxes of all kinds, to make the all-natural Fire Log. With it’s recycled paper package, the log can be lit with one match, burns for around three hours, and produces very little ash and smoke! Not only does Fire Log provide a more eco-friendly alternative but provides a higher quality product as well!

Here is TerraCycle’s new Eco-Friendly Fire Log in action


Also, I am working on something special with my contacts at TerraCycle and hope to have some exciting news in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

Freebies for All

I am taking part in Freebie Friday, which is hosted by Bargain Briana. Each Friday, participating bloggers post freebies that they have found through the week. Now our readers can access all kinds of goodies without spending hours looking for them. Here is a summary of the freebies I have this week...

Freebies
Gas-X Thin Strips
Quaker Simple Harvert Granola Bar
Splenda Choice of Flavor for Coffee in French Vanilla or Splenda with Fiber.
FANCY by Jessica Simpson
Inspire by Christina Aguilera
Prenatal DHA Taste of Life Product Review Panel
Playtex Gentle Glide
Playtex Sport
Tampex Pearl
Carefree and Stayfree
Stayfree #2
Always Infinity #1
Always Infinity #2
Always Infinity #3
Always Infinity #4
Kotex Pantiliners do not need member# to request sample

Free Magazines
Self
ELLE Accessories
Wondertime
Kraft Food & Family
All You Free trial issue

Coupons
$10 Pillsbury Coupon Booklet mail
Free Dr. Pepper mail
$1 off Downy mail
$2 off Pull-Ups printable
off any Children's Tylenol product printable (Internet Explorer)
JCPenny $10 off $25Online or In-Store
Yankee Candle $10 off $25 store # not needed
Some coupons may not print in Firefox- if not, print them in Internet Explorer

Giveaways
PeaceLoveMom Tee Giveaway
$50 BP or Target Gift Card Giveaway


Other Goodies
Celtic Sea Salt Catalog and 3 Free Samples
Republic of Tea Catalog and Sample
FlushEze Flushable Pet Waste bags
$10 Kipling online gift certificate
Rebate on Huggies and other products
Sun Maid Recipe Books
Stouffer's Grocery Tote
Target Retote from TerraCycle

Visit Bargain Briana's Freebie Friday to find even more great freebies from her and other bloggers.

Free Dr. Pepper on Sunday

On Sunday only, Dr. Pepper will be offering coupons for a FREE 20 oz. bottle on their website. Turns out we have the band Guns N' Roses to thank for the freebie. Back in March, the makers of Dr. Pepper made the promise of free pop for America if the album Chinese Democracy was released in 2008. The band had first started recording the album back in 1994 and kept getting delayed but will finally go on sale this Sunday.

Beginning Sunday at 12:01 a.m., coupons for a free 20-ounce soda will be available for 24 hours on Dr Pepper's Web site. They'll be honored until Feb. 28.

Thank you Nessa for the heads-up!

December Surprises for Sam's Club Members

It looks like Sam's Club is trying to get the holiday shopping season offer to a good start. Starting December 1, they will reveal a special hot items for sale that day only while supplies last, and will continue the daily reveals for 22 days. This special is only good for Sam's Club members. You can visit here to sign up for the Sam's Club Insider that will notify you of each day's special item.

Please help Toni-Lynn!

Yesterday I told you about the $50 Target or BP Gift Card Giveaway that Toni-Lynn was having on her site. If you have not had the chance to vote for her in the "Popularity Contest" for a Nintendo Wii for her son, please take a minute to vote now. Be sure to click the green check to vote for her, Toni-Lynn Barber. The contest end on 11/30, so there is still some time left.

Thank you so much for your help!

Rebates for Huggies and Others

There is a great program I recently read about that is the first cash back program for caregivers, which includes parents. The Caregivers Marketplace gives you cash back on a variety of items that are used by those who provide or receive care. The entire list can be found on the website but includes item such as Huggies diapers, Little Swimmers, Pull-Ups, GoodNites, NatureMade vitamins/ daily supplements, Ensure and Cottonelle Fresh moist wipes. Enrollment is free and simple to complete with the on-line form.

PeaceLoveMom Shirt Giveaway

Thrifty & Chic Mom is hosting a giveaway from PeaceLoveMom of one of their cool shirts for one lucky reader. Visit Thrifty & Chic Mom for your chance to win.

PeaceLoveMom is also offer free shipping on all orders over $20.00 when you use code CHICMOM before Dec. 5. If you order the Grateful Mom thermal tee this month, use code GRATEFUL08 for a 20% discount. They have some really cool items available and these would make great present for that Grateful Mom in your life.

Free Recipe Books

Visit Sun Maid and you can request one or all of their five recipe books. These look really cute and should have lots of great recipes.

Advisory Panels- Updated

If you are like me, you enjoy trying new products and having your opinions heard. Companies like to hear from consumers about their products, whether it be positive or negative. This is our chance to help influence the kind of products we want to see. Many companies form panels where the public can register to receive products samples and surveys. They want our opinions which helps give them an idea what kind of products would be successful. There are many different Consumer Advisory Panels out there, but here is a listing of a few. Most of these I am a part of and have really enjoyed.

Mills Advisory Panel

Pssst... General Mills

Vocalpoint Proctor & Gamble

SheSpeaks

Kashi Kashi Taste Tester Panel

UPDATE
Thank you to Bargain Briana for sending me the following panels...

Kraft First Taste

Right@Home Testing/ Discussion Panel

MomSelect

BzzAgent

HouseParty Check out Briana's Canon HouseParty. I was recently chosen for a Better Homes & Garden Cookie Exchange House Party and just received my box of goodies today. More to come on my HouseParty soon...

If you know of any other good consumer panels, please send me a message and I will give you credit for the tip.

Free Magazines

Self First 1,000 to complete survey about birth control receive free subscription. You don't have to be on birth control to take survey.

ELLE Accessories

Wondertime

Kraft Food & Family Register at Kraft website to receive the Food & Family magazine. I love this one!

All You Free trial issue to All You. Choose BILL ME LATER so you can try out the magazine and then return bill with cancel written on it if you do not like it. I just started getting this magazine and love it. There are tons of coupons in every issue; December's issue had $33.15 in grocery coupons.

$50 Target or BP Gift Card Giveaway

Toni-Lynn from Grocery Price Blog is having a giveaway for your choice of a $50 Target or BP gift card. To be eligible to win, all you need to do is vote for her in a contest for a Wii for her son. That's it... simple enough. After you vote, be sure to leave a comment on her site that you voted and you're entered in the giveaway. You can find more information and enter for your chance to win here.

Black Friday is coming

The holidays are upon us, which means time for Black Friday and all the great sales. Want to get a sneak peek at what the hot items will be this year? Check out Black Friday Ads for all the great deals. They are also having a Giveaway every weekday until Black Friday. You can enter to win here for your chance to win one of the many prizes including t-shirts, gift certificates, X-Box and Wii Consoles and a Dell Inspiron Mini. You only need to enter once to be eligible for the daily giveaway.

Good luck everyone and be sure to post back here if you are one of the lucky winners!

TerraCycle

I'm pretty excited... TerraCycle posted a link to my tip about the Target Retote promotion on their website! I know it is just one of many, but I thought it was pretty cool. For those of you unfamiliar with TerraCycle, you really should check out their website. The work that they are doing really is amazing and so ingenious. There are many different areas that they are working to help the environment, but the ones you may have already seen involve items you probably have in your home right now.

Juice pouches, snack wrappers, corks and more are collected, sent to TerraCycle and then made into some pretty cool things like tote bags, pencil pouches, backpacks, corkboards and more.



Check out these bags- talk about an awesome gift idea for kids. If you hover your cursor over the pictures on their site, you can see what goes into making each one. Amazing! Think of all of the garbage they are reducing/ recycling with their efforts...

TerraCycle earns my FLM stamp of approval. Not only are they bringing reduce, reuse, recycle to a new level, they also have programs where non-profits organization can earn money for their cause while helping collect the items used by TerraCycle in their efforts. Keep up the good work!

More Freebies

Here are some more freebies to start your week off...

Quaker Simple Harvert Request your sample of Quaker Simple Harvest Multigrain Granola Bar- I've received this one and they are good, plus it came with a coupon as well.

Splenda They will send you your choice of 2 Splenda Flavor for Coffee packets in French Vanilla or 2 Splenda with Fiber packets.

$10 Pillsbury Coupon Booklet Register for the Pillsbury email newsletter and receive a free booklet filled with coupons and other goodies.

FANCY by Jessica Simpson Sample of Jessica Simpson's new fragrance from ELLE

$10 Kipling online gift certificate Receive as a gift when you sign up to receive email alerts from Kipling

There are numerous samples out there available for "feminine products" so I will just list them all here...

Playtex Gentle Glide
Playtex Sport
Tampex Pearl
Carefree and Stayfree
Stayfree #2
Always Infinity #1
Always Infinity #2
Always Infinity #3
Always Infinity #4
Kotex Pantiliners do not need member# to request sample

Layaway is Back, Baby!

Attention KMart and Sears shoppers... Layaway is back just in time for the holiday shopping season. Not only can you use layaway at KMart, but now also at Sears, Sears Hardware, Sears Grand and Sears Essential Stores. There are some limits on what can be placed on layaway, but I'm still thrilled to have the option again.

Free Custom Cover Photo Book from Snapfish

Snapfish.com is offering a free 8 x 11" custom- cover photo book (regular price $29.99) as shown on The Oprah Winfrey Show.  Get your free book and you can get answers here about completing your order.

This offer is only good for one standard 20-page 8" x 11" custom-cover photo book per household. Coupon dispersal ends at 11:59 p.m. PST Friday, November 14, 2008. Free photo book must be redeemed by 11:59 p.m. PST Sunday, November 16, 2008. Offer does not include customary shipping and handling changes or additional pages. Offer applies only to mail-order delivery to U.S. customers. Offer cannot be combined with other coupon codes. Coupon cannot be resold or otherwise transferred and is void on the earlier of redemption or the offer end date.

Special Offers from Del Monte

Del Monte is offering some special offers to subscribers of their Del Monte Dish e-Newsletter. Log in or Register

• Free Del Monte No Salt Added Diced Tomatoes (available to the first 50,000 to claim your coupon, then save 50¢
• Get Fit and save up to $15 on DVDs from 10 Minute Solution
• Get two FREE issues of Cooking Light Magazine, plus you can continue the subscription for only $9.99 for 12 more issues, for a total of 14.

$25 Amazon Gift Certificate Giveaway- last chance

Briana at Bargain Briana is giving away a $25 Gift Certificate to Amazon. Hurry and head over here to enter for your chance to win. The deadline to enter is 11PM PST on November 17.

Free Magazines

Boating Life magazine Sign up for a free 18 month subscription from Value Mags.

TV Guide Complete quick survey for free 1 year of TV Guide from RewardsGold.com. These do come- I just got my 3rd issue in the mail yesterday.

Rogue magazine Rouge is a new beauty, fashion and style resource from Proctor & Gamble.

Babytalk Magazine

Athena Magazine for Girls AMG recognizes that young women today are smart, driven, and multi-talented, and we are dedicated to providing you with
information that is interesting and relevant to their lives.Unlike other magazines that focus almost exclusively on lip gloss and Lindsey Lohan, AMG offers articles and stories that are truly important to a growing girl.(geared towards older girls/teens)

Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade magazineSandra Lee Semi-Homemakers Club is a creative community of busy, on-the-go people, just like you! Join the Sandra Lee Semi-Homemakers Club and receive Semi-Homemade Magazine issues, Access to 32 Great American Bake Sale Recipes, plus recipes shared by other Semi-Homemakers, Special promotions and limited offers, and much more!

Working Mother 2 year subscription to Working Mother- from RewardsGold.com

Making Music Free 1 year subscription to Making Music.

It's Double Time...

Double coupons are back at KMart SuperCenters

Kmart Super Centers are running their Double Manufacturer Coupon Event again, up to and including $2 value, now through Sunday, November 16..

According to the circular, there is a limit of 75 coupons per customer per day. Internet coupons are not valid and you may only purchase 4 of the same items using double coupons.

I recommend calling ahead to your Kmart Super Center to verify they are participating. You can access the Kmart weekly ad here

Target Retote Offer

Target has teamed up with TerraCycle to help recycle, with an added benefit for you.  Using the cover of the October 27 People magazine as an envelope (or any 8 1/2 x 11" or larger envelope), send 5 clean, used Target shopping bags to TerraCycle by November 30, 2008.  In exchange, they will mail you a coupon good for a free Target Retote Bag in early January 2009.  You can find more information and instructions for mailing preparations at Target: Retote Offer.

Terra Cycle
121 New York Avenue
Trenton, NJ 08638

Don't forget that the envelope must be postmarked by 11/30/2008 and the offer is limited to one per household.

Mail Call...

So, this weekend was a great one for mail- no bills, just coupons and samples!  Many of these coupons I received from companies just for letting them know how much I enjoy their products.

Here's the breakdown

• 3 Free Bag of any Malt-o-Meal cereal bags (sent email about loving their cereal but that the "resealable" bag isn't so reseable)
• 2 $1.00 off any Malt-o-Meal cereal bags (I think I signed up for these on their website)
• 2 Free box Lipton Tea bags (sent compliment email)
• 2 Free box Bagel-fuls (called with comment and suggestion from kids)
• 2 coupon booklets from Unilever (one for contacting Ragu, not sure about the other)
• 2 75¢/ 2 Starkist Tuna pouches (sent compliment email)
• Bear Naked granola sample and $1.00 coupon (requested here
• Splenda liquid spray (sample on facebook- no longer available)

Also received but not in picture is the free Lego Club Magazine, requested here. The boys snagged that thing so fast, no chance of it making it into the picture!

Freebies

Here are some freebies for you...

New NutraSweet Get a free 9- packet sample of all 3 flavors of New NutraSweet.

Stride Gum Free pack of Stride gum for filling out a silly "survey" for People vs. Stride. I don't know if it really matters what you answer for the silly questions, but I choose "settle" and then completed the rest.

Dove Body Lotion FREE Sample of Dove Cream Oil Intensive Body Lotion

Playtex Drop-Ins Fill out the form for a free sample of the Playtex Drop-Ins Original Nurser System, which is BPA-free.

Salon Mystery Shampoo and ConditionerSign up to receive a sample of the mystery shampoo and conditioner that will be revealed at Walmart on November 24. Ineresting... worth checking out the site, even if just for the curious.

Dove Hair Care Sample of the Shine Therapy Shampoo and Conditioner from the new Dove Hair Therapy System.

Clinique Happy Free sample of Clinique Happy available on Facebook. You need to register/ log in to Facebook and follow the link to sign up for the sample. (I did one like this for a Splenda spray and it really did come.)

Calvin Klein Secret Obsession Sample of Calvin Klein Secret Obsession fragrance- should arrive in 4-6 weeks.

Teasta TeaYou can choose two different samples of Teasta tea, just browse the different varieties and add two of the sample size varieties to your cart. Enter the coupon code TRYME at checkout and they will send you your samples for free, no shipping charge.

Free Birthday Treats This one is not a freebie like the others, rather a great website that has listings of companies offering free birthday treats for kids, adults and even pets! Very cool!

Free grocery tote from Stouffer's

Stouffer's is giving away a reusable grocery tote to Dinner Club members when you donate your points to the Feeding America cause.  When you sign up for their free Dinner Club, you will receive 100 points which you can then donate to the cause.  Get a free reusable grocery tote when you donate your points.

Stouffer's Dinner Club

Free Apron Offer

On my bag of frozen corn last night I noticed a mail-in offer for a free red apron from Hanover Foods.  Send 5 proof of purchases from any Hanover label frozen product, including Vegetables, Soup Basics and Soft Pretzels, and your mailing address to the following address...

Hanover Foods Corporation
Free Apron Offer
PO Box 334
Hanover, PA  17331

These were on sale this week at Giant Eagle, which when paired with coupons from the paper, made for a great deal.

Bath & Body Works 20% Sale

Bath & Body Works is have a Friends and Family 20% off sale event on their website.  The sale runs now through November 16, 2008 and is only available online.  To redeem, enter promo code 20FRIENDS at checkout. Bath & Body Works

Double Coupon Event

Kmart Super Centers are currently running a Double Manufacturer Coupon Event, up to and including $2 value, ending on Saturday, October 18. According to the circular, there is a limit of 75 coupons per customer per day.  Internet coupons are not valid and you may only purchase 4 of the same items using double coupons. I recommend calling ahead to your Kmart Super Center to verify they are participating. You can access the Kmart weekly ad here

Jumping in...

I finally decided to take the plunge and start a blog. I have many friends who have been encouraging me to start one to help others in locating the great deals I have been using to save our family money. I'm sure that this blog will go through some changes in the beginning, so if there is anything you would like to see or have any comments, please let me know. Thanks for reading!

About Me

My name is Christina, wife to a great hubby and stay-at-home mom to 3 great kids who seem intent on trying to eat us out of house and home. Frugal living and bargain shopping has become a way of life now! I love to find great deals and help others save money too. I also enjoy reading, knitting, sewing, and am a big sports fan. Football is my all-time favorite sport and I am a HUGE Cleveland Browns fan!

Betty Crocker Coupon Booklet