Free Magazines

Here are some great free magazines that you can sign up for. These really do come; just ask my mailman!

Martha Stewart Living- one year subscription
Forbes- one year subscription
Working Mother- two year subscription
Garden Design- one year subscription
Bridal Guide- one free issue
body + soul- one year subscription

What a month!

I am so happy to be writing this post. After a less than thrilling past month and a half, I am happy to say that I am back and ready to continue my mission of helping my readers find ways to make living in a not-so-frugal world a lot easier.

I am so thankful and appreciative for all of the wonderful emails I have gotten over the past 6 weeks. I was blown away by the show of concern during my absence and want to thank everyone for bringing some sunshine into my life each day. As some of you know, I became very sick the end of November and was pretty much useless to everyone around here. I finally had enough and ended up at the hospital with a whopping case of pneumonia. That pretty much sucked the life out of me for weeks where I was lucky if I got off the couch, let alone do anything else. I started feeling a little better, but overdid it and had a bit of a relapse. It wasn't until after New Years until I started feeling human again. Then my daughter had to be hospitalized for 4 days, but is home now and doing well. Now that I have gotten caught up on things around here, I am finally able to resume my work here.

I am working on getting everything together and will have a new post for everyone on Friday with some great freebies. I am also planning a few giveaways to be rolled out very soon, as well as another feature to my blog. Stay tuned for more!

Here are a few freebies to get you ready for Friday...

Parents Magazine- 24 FREE issues

Cruising World Magazine- 18 FREE issues

Body Eclipse Aromatherapy Shampoo- Free sample from Meditasto

Cream of Wheat- FREE sample


Thank you again to all of my fantastic readers for your kindness and support. I hope that I can continue to help find ways to stretch your budget and have fun too!

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!