Tally

As I was doing thinking and prepping for this post, I watched a vid worth 2 Swag Bucks on Fiji tourism. I think that's a hint, no? :p

It's the end of the month, so it's time to tally up my savings for the month. I really didn't think I spent a whole lot this month, at least it didn't feel like it. I was much more on the ball about saving, and keeping track of every penny saved. I know I did a lot more couponing than usual this month though. I made the last vacation deposit of the month to the tune of $52 for the week to date. That's not what I actually saved this week though. My total saved was $57. $5 of my savings this week was in the form of coins, so rather than going through the extra effort to either convert them to bills or deposit them, I donated them. One of my kids is doing a thing at church where they continue to collect donations for post earthquake relief efforts in Haiti so I'm having my kiddo bring all the loose change to church to give to the cause. It just seems more worthwhile than dragging my kids to the bank, plus Haiti needs it much more than we do.

My total savings for the month of June, 2010 is........




$272

That's the most I've saved in a month since I started keeping track and being more conscious about my spending. I started this journey just wanting to be able to afford one person's airfare. Now that I've achieved that, I'd like to shoot for a bigger goal: to have all of our vacation meals covered. Then to have the meals covered, AND all of our airfares paid for. Then all that plus our hotel rooms. Eventually I'd like to have our entire trip paid for. Here, I even slaved to procure a chart for you because I'm just nerdy and masochistic like that. (And to the former supervisor of mine who claimed I can't do charts...suck on a coupon! I can do it in Excel AND Google Docs, then watermark it in Photoshop. Pffffft! :p)



If you'd like more details of what went into the total, feel free to leave me a comment and let me know. I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. (Yes, I do read each and every comment. :) )

Because I made a month end deposit this week (even though it's the middle of the week) I will not post a savings update until the end of next week. Wish me luck in July! And to those who are saving along with me, I wish you luck as well! I would be thrilled to know what you're doing and how you're doing on your goals!

Girlie samples

Here are a couple of samples for you ladies to snag:

Stayfree Ultra Thin Overnight pad

o.b. tampon sample

$1 off coupon on any o.b. product - this is a Bricks coupon which also allows you to request to have a coupon sent to you if you don't want to install the coupon printer or have troubles with using the printer. (Click here to find out how to request a Bricks coupon to be sent to you.)
If you do print it out yourself, you can print 2 unique copies by simply clicking on the back button of your browser.

Source: Freebies 4 Mom

Coupons tips: Bricks - a quick tutorial

I previously mentioned in this post that in many cases, if an online printable coupon is issued through Bricks, you can request to have them mail you a coupon via snail mail instead of printing it online. This comes in very handy for a number of reasons including if you don't want to install the printing software or have printer issues. The coupon arrives pretty quickly, usually within a week or two in my experience. It's really simple to request a mailed coupon, but here are some instructions and screen shots anyway, just because it looks purdy. :p

When you get to a Bricks coupon site, it'll look like this. To request a coupon, simply click on the "Help" link on the lower right hand corner of the screen.

(Click to enlarge)

Once you've clicked on the "Help" link, you'll land at a screen that looks like this, or it may generate a new browser window, depending on your browser and settings.

(Click to enlarge)

Fill out the form and voila! They will mail you one copy of the coupon, regardless of how many you could've print at home had you printed it. Once you've requested a coupon to be mailed it will not allow you to go back to attempt to print it.

Keep in mind that while Bricks is the only one that allows this option (though they all share the same coupon software) you can only request a coupon if the vendor/merchant allows this feature. Usually they do, but I've ran across at least one that doesn't. If it doesn't you'll get a message informing you.

Mailbox Love

In the mail today:

1. The Zhu Zhu Pets have arrived
2. Coupon for a free bottle of Suave Professionals shampoo or conditioner
3. Sample of Starbucks VIA Ready Brew coffee plus 50 cents off coupon from Walmart
4. Nivea Happy Sensation lotion sample plus $1 off coupon from Walmart
5. Dove damage therapy shampoo & conditioner samples plus $1 off coupon
6. Misc coupons to Safeway

What goodies did you get in the mail today?

Boing!

I'm so thrilled that my husband isn't afraid to use coupons because I send him to the store quite often. He's so much better at sticking to the list and not impulse shopping. (I don't think it's news that companies target women to market to because women are much more likely to impulse shop.) It's the end of the month and that's usually when a lot of coupons expire so I sent my husband to the store to use up some coupons for me, many of which were for free stuff (including the coupon for a free thing of Smart Ones from Monday's round 2 of Mailbox Love.) I'm sitting down with the receipt and I noticed something awesome:

With the coupons and grocery club card, he scored us $30 worth of groceries for $14.92. That's a 50% saving!

Yeah, I know coupons can be a lot of work sometimes but the savings are so worth it, especially when you pair them up with a sale...which reminds me: popchips are on sale at King Soopers/Kroger this week. Now would be a great time to use those free coupons they sent me. :D If you've never tried popchips before and you have a King Soopers near you, now would be a good time to try them since you can try flavors for the price of one. :)

Mailbox Love

Hoooooray!  My popcorn popper is FINALLY here!  I haven't opened it yet, let's hope it's what I ordered and in one working piece.

The rest is icing on top:

1. Samples of Nexcare Comfort bandages & $1 off coupon
2. Tons of coupons from Home Depot Garden Club - it's free to join! I joined about a month ago and I've gotten at least two coupon mailings already
3. Samples of Lysine, Canker Cover & OraMoist canker sore & dry mouth remedies

So uh, popchips?

Remember this?

This is what I got in the mail yesterday:



Not only did they get my name right, but popchips sent me coupons for two free bags AND a hand written note. I can't recall the last time any company's CSRs took the time to hand write a note to me. It's rare that people even have semi-decent penmanship these days. I am in shock, I am amazed, and I am impressed.

popchips gets 2 thumbs and 2 big toes up from me. Their awesome customer service has left me speechless.

And that's a near impossible feat. WTG, popchips!

Mailbox Love Round 2

Ya know, I have the strangest mail system.  My mailman came earlier today, dropped off the mail from Saturday (no note on it as to why it wasn't delivered on Saturday to begin with) and then came back a few hours later with more mail!  Presumably today's mail.

Anyway, here's what's in the mail:

1. Free popchips coupon as promised
2. A pack of 6 coupons for Smart Ones.
3. Lick 'n Crunch carob & peanut butter dog cookies from Three Dog Bakery & Walmart (free sample still available)
4. Eucerin Daily Skin Balance skin-fortifying body lotion sample & $1 off coupon
5. Caress Whipped Souffle white peach cream body wash sample
6. Coupon for $1 off 2 Suave Professionals product

PF Changs - Free lettuce wraps

Click here, then scroll down to enter your email to score yourself some free lettuce wraps w/entree purchase @ PF Changs.

Source: Hip2Save

Loads o samples!

Heads up P&G Brand Sampler members! New samples are available!

Samples include:
Head & Shoulders Hair Endurance for Men
Prilosec
Pantene
Bounty Paper Towels

Also, new coupons by mail available:
$2 off Gillette Fusion ProGlide
$0.50 off Bounty Quilted Napkins
$1 or $3 off Tide Stain Release (your choice...$1 off any size or $3 med or larger size)
$1 off Cheer
$0.75 off Zest bar or body

If you're not a member, you can still join and take advantage of their samples. They have new samples and coupons on a quarterly basis.

Deals -

A couple of deals to share with you today:

Aaron Brothers - 1 cent sale is back! Buy any frame get the second one of equal or lesser value for 1 cent. (thanks, Robin!)

Crabtree & Evelyn - get a 50ml tube of Hand Therapy lotion for free! Plus a coupon for 15% off your entire purchase good through August 5, 2010. Coupon here.

Mailbox Love

I think the USPS hates me. I barely got anything today, just a Costco Connections magazine. I still don't have my popcorn popper. I want it already, darn it!

BzzAgent Review: got2b smooth operator lustre lotion

I've been a BzzAgent for a few years now and when I first signed up, I got frustrated with them because each time I'd get notification that I qualify for a campaign, I go to sign up for it and it's already all gone. I try to be fast about it, but the truth is, I have a life outside of the Internet, but there were many times when I'd log on as soon as I got the email, the campaign was already full. So I got frustrated and quit until recently. I signed up for the got2b smooth operator hair care product campaign and qualified. Soon they sent me samples of the lustre lotion to try, and bzz about which I actually liked quite a bit. It was fragrant but not so much that it singed my nose hairs. The fragrance lasted too. The coolest thing though was that it actually made my coarse hair silky soft. Overall, I enjoyed the product.

Here's a bit of a moral puzzle/dilemma for you:

Part of my Bzz Kit contained a bunch of coupons, one of which was for a free bottle of lustre lotion or mousse. Upon reading the fine print, it said the coupon was BOGO and not totally free so I decided to not use it since I had no need for it and didn't feel the desire to spend the money to buy one bottle just to get one free. A few weeks later I got an email from BzzAgent saying that the coupon was misprinted, that it should be for a free bottle, not BOGO and the bar code on the coupon should ring up properly. If it didn't I could fill out a survey to let them know. Based on that, I used the coupon at a national chain drugstore. Behold, it wouldn't ring up at the register. The cashier looked at the product, the coupon and verified that I got the right thing but she didn't read the fine print that said BOGO. She called the manager over and the manager did the same thing so the manager told the cashier to just ring it up as zero dollars. While I'm grateful that both the cashier and manager went the extra mile to give me the product for free, part of me feels bad and feels like I took advantage. I tried to fill out the survey to report my experience using the coupon but I never got the opportunity to tell them my exact experience in that I only got the product for free because the store employees were generous enough to just override their system without reading the fine print. I'll never know if the barcode was really programmed properly or not. (I ended up writing an email to BzzAgent's campaign manager explaining my coupon experience in hopes it can be avoided next time.)

Would you feel bad about the coupon situation?

Review: Lowe's Build and Grow Clinic

My kids love helping daddy fix things around the house. They have their own little set of play tools, and they've staked claims on some of daddy's real tools like screwdrivers. In fact, one of my husband's screwdrivers now lives in the belly of my kids' Rocking Horse because one of them was "fixing" it and stuck it in the horse. Hmm...maybe I can use that as a marketing ploy when I go to sell it. "Buy the horse get a screwdriver free!"

I'd learned about Lowe's Build and Grow Clinic a while ago but for some reason couldn't drag my lazy butt out of bed in time to get to one on a Saturday morning. I recently looked into again and when I realized that they were building Monster Trucks this weekend, I made the effort to drag myself and my husband out of bed for it...and boy was it well worth it!

If you have a kid that loves to help fix things or build things then I HIGHLY recommend Lowe's Build & Grow Clinics. If you've never done it before, here's the skinny. First of all, it's free! It's on Saturdays @ 10am - 11am, though it doesn't look like it's every Saturday, more like every other Saturday. You register on their website, print out & sign the waiver and bring it with you. When you show up, they hand your kiddo a Lowe's apron and a building kit for whatever the theme is that day. They have several work areas set up with safety goggles and hammers. (Some may let the kids keep the goggles too I think but I would ask to be sure. The aprons we did get to keep.)

The kits have everything they need to build whatever the theme is for the day...nails, wood, stickers to decorate it, instructions, etc. Since today's theme was Monster Truck, when they were done with it, they each got to take home a wooden, rolling Monster Truck that was about 8" long so it was a good size toy with tiny cardboard cars for them to crush. At the end, when you're done, you take what you built up to the Lowe's employee who gave you the kit and they'll give the kiddo a certificate of completion and a patch for you to sew onto their apron that says they participated in that day's project. We thought it was just a generic patch but it was so cool! It had a picture of a monster truck plowing through mud embroidered on it and it also said, "Lowe's Build and Grow Monster Truck." It reminded me of scout badges lol. They each also got a coupon for a free Jr. Frosty @ Wendy's.




The next one will be this coming Saturday, July 3, 2010 from 10 am - 11 am. If don't already have plans...setting the dog on fire with fireworks, burning your brows off with the grill, etc, check out Lowe's Build and Grow Clinic with the kiddos. This one will be a Ball and Cup Game.

P.S. those of you with young children will get the humor in this.

So we took the kids to Lowe's for the Clinic. We get home, turned on the TV (yeah we're those type of parents) and behold, Handy Manny is on. But wait! There's more! The employee at Lowe's who helped us out? Oh, her name was Kelli. :p

Nope, so not makin' that stuff up.

And if you didn't get that at all, here, this might help.

Mailbox Love

No love today. *pout*

My mailman (not the ghetto fab one) ditched me. Not sure why. Maybe he took it upon himself to stop delivering on Saturdays?

Pay it forward

I was at Walmart picking up some stuff this evening when I walked down the aisle of hair care products. I happened to glance down at one of the shelves where the leave in conditioner I use is and noticed 2 coupons sitting on the shelf. Out of curiosity, I picked them up and behold, they were high value coupons! $3 off each! Someone had left them there, probably because they didn't need it. I hadn't planned on getting the conditioner, but with the coupons, it pretty much made them 50% off each so I snagged 2 bottles. (The coupons were going to expire in a few days and I wasn't going to go back there before they expired.) Whoever left those coupons there totally made my day. I'm just so giddy and thankful that I'd write a thank you note if I could. I've left coupons I don't want on shelves before, but I didn't bring the ones I didn't want with me tonight. I felt so bad especially considering they too were high value and are going to expire tomorrow (they were the bogo Off! Clip On coupons.) It's such a nice thing to pay it forward and save someone else the money if you can't use it. I'm not sure how store stockers feel about it, they may see it as trash they have to throw out, but I just feel like I should take that chance to help someone else save a bit of money. From now on, I'm bringing unwanted coupons with me when I go to the store and passing them on. I mean I've already clipped them or printed them out so the work put into them is already done, why not give it to someone who can use it? With coupons and sales, my shopping trip bill ended up essentially being 1/3 off...which is a pretty significant amount.

Ooops! Pinkberry did it again

Today's ear worm is brought to you by the syllables "yo" and "gurt."

The next time you go to Pinkberry save your receipts! If you bring the receipt back the next day, you get 1/2 off any single Pinkberry item.

A couple of fine prints: limit 1 coupon per paying customer. Only original receipts will be accepted. More details and fine prints can be found here.

Mailbox Love

In the mail today:

1. Aveeno Active Naturals Nourish + Revitalize Shampoo & Conditioner samples with $1 off coupon
2. June/July 2010 issue of After Capture magazine - I love getting photography mags especially during warmer weather because it inspires me to get out and shoot!
3. A thank you note from one of my kids' friends for their bday present

Darn it, I was hoping my popcorn popper would arrive today. I want some popcorn, darn it!

Vacay fund

Ha! Because private jets are how I roll. :p I penny pinch with this blog just so I can afford that private jet...uh huh... :p

Anyway..

It's Friday so that means it's time to make a deposit to the vacay fund. In general, I didn't shop a whole lot this week so there wasn't much in terms of savings. The one place I did shop was at the grand opening of a grocery store and the savings were massive! My deposit today amounted to $80 with over $70 of that from the grand opening grocery trip.

Now is the time to Swag!

Are you on Swag Bucks yet? If not, now is the time! Until 11:59 PDT tonight, all new Swaggers can start off with 50 Swag Bucks if you enter the code SweetTweeting (case sensitive so it's best to copy and paste) upon sign up. C'mon, get a move on it! :)

One of the most popular prizes is the $5 Amazon gift card which goes for 450 Swag Bucks. They're issued out on the 1st and 17th of each month so the 50 SB you'd get by signing up is pretty timely.

Happy Swaggin'!

Zhu Zhus Tar-jay

I got an email confirmation from Target informing me that my Zhu Zhu Pets have shipped. I must admit, after the clusterfarkas with Medco earlier, and reading Target's little disclaimer about how the prices you see on their site isn't necessarily what you'll be charged depending on the price of the item during shipping, that's a relief.  Target has had a history of mispricing things on their site, leading people to think they're getting a great deal, then canceling people's orders.  (Sound familiar?)  The 2 big one that comes to mind is the Britax Marathon misprice fiasco of 2008 and a more recent one involving their store brand of diapers which happened around the 2009 holiday season.  Although considering the Zhu Zhus were Target's Deal of the Day, technically I shouldn't have been worried, but once bitten twice shy, ya know?  I took a screen shot of the Zhu Zhu deal, prepared to plea my case if necessary...not that it would've done much good I'm sure. They'll just argue that it was a misprint of some sort.

Here's Target's policy on pricing, copied and pasted from my order confirmation:

When will I be charged?
We cannot confirm the price of an item until your order enters the shipping process nor will we charge your credit card until your order enters the shipping process.

When will my order be confirmed?
Please note that your Order Acknowledgment email means that your order request has been received. It does not mean that your order has been shipped or that the price of an item has been confirmed. Despite our best efforts, a small number of the items on our Web site may be mis-priced. As part of our shipping procedures, we verify price before an item is shipped out. If an item's correct price is lower than our stated price, we charge you the lower amount and ship you the item. If the item's correct price is higher than our stated price, we will cancel your order
and notify you of such cancellation via email.

I really really do not like this kind of price guessing game policy.  Consumers very often base their decision to purchase something on the price of that item displayed.  They get excited over it. Some people tell their kids about it. Kids get excited over it. Kids don't understand such Fizzbin-esque pricing that leads to the cancellation of their goodies, and really, adults shouldn't have to deal with this kind of guessing game and lack of control over their purchases either.  I guess it's kind of similar to going to a physical store and an item ringing up the wrong price, but the difference with that is, if the merchant cares about their customers' loyalty, more often than not they will give it to the customer at the price they expected to pay based on what was marked on the shelves.  You don't really get a chance to dispute it with an online order because the CSR will simply tell you, "sorry, can't help you. The order has already been canceled and there is nothing I can do about it" because there is no face to face interaction with the customer. It's easier to tell someone "you're shit out of luck, sucks to be you" when you're not in front of them.

One little nice surprise though was the total came out to be a little less than I'd expected and told when I placed the order. Apparently, Target's website miscalculated the sales tax by a few cents. Not a big whoop, but still, paying less is always a nice treat, even if it's just a few cents.

Now let's hope I catch UPS before my kids do, unlike earlier when the UPS guy handed my kids the box of costumes that arrived today, which they promptly ripped open. Good thing it wasn't a surprise!  The Zhu Zhu Pets, however, are supposed to be a surprise for their birthdays.

Reminder: Happy Hour @ Pinkberry

Don't forget!  Half Price Happy Hour at Pinkberry starts today!

Samples: Aveda

Score yourself a 3 piece sample pack Aveda's Damage Remedy Shampoo, Conditioner, and Intensive Restructuring Treatment.  Coupon and offer expires August 31, 2010.

Also, if you join their birthday program, you'll get a coupon for a sample of Caribbean Therapy Body Cream.  Coupon expires June 30, 2010.

Update: Medco Health Store

Remember I was a bit skeptical about Medco Health Store and their awesome deals? Well, the old adage of "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" rang true.

I checked on my order this afternoon, it was listed as processing and I was optimistic. Then my source made a post about how many people's orders were being canceled so I checked on mine just now. Behold, the order was canceled. I was annoyed, but no where near as annoyed and pissed as I was when I got off the phone with their customer service to see what was going on.

(Click to enlarge)

I was informed that they canceled orders because too many people were taking advantage of their deals so they canceled them. (Reminds me of Target's Fizzbin method, who have been known to change the rules of their sales, coupons, and deals on the spot if they feel too many people are taking advantage of them and customers are making out like bandits.) I even specifically asked “so you’re basically canceling orders of people who were giving you their business and getting too good of a deal?”

"Too many people were taking advantage of the deals and making too many of our items to go out of stock," she replied, trying to dodge the question.

"All but ONE item was clearly marked as in stock when I placed my order, why shouldn't my order be filled as promised when I provided you with my credit card info, which you now possess?" I argued. "I even received an email confirmation stating the items were in stock."

I got no where. I got no better answer. Personally, I don't think that is any way to run a business. Some people got their orders shipped, some didn't. How they decided whose order to cancel, I don't know, but needless to say, I'm annoyed and miffed. I'm not so much miffed that I didn't get some stellar deals, though I would've loved to and would've not only given them my continued repeat business, but I would've raved about them to everyone I know...or don't know. I am mostly miffed that they now possess my credit card info and considering the experience I've had with them (this was my first ever experience with them) they are on my "I do not trust" list. Do I doubt their legitimacy? I don't know...probably not, but I can't personally vouch for it either considering my one and only experience with them turned out to be a dud that never came through. I can't exactly tell you folks, my readers, "hey, Medco is great, they had great deals, and I got my order, look!" like I had wanted to and intended to.

It was a good thing I used a temporary credit card number provided by my bank, (I love those things!) so I've went in and closed out that card number so that it can't be used anymore, but still, it's a pain. As bummed as I am about not getting my order and not scoring some awesome deals, I have no doubt I will get over it and I'm not going to miss my order. It's a'ight. I don't really think I'm the one missing out here.

I apologized to the customer service rep I spoke with for being really annoyed, even though I did my absolute best to keep my cool. I fully understand that she's caught in the middle and put in a tough position where she's dealing with all sorts of angry customers...or in my case, potential and former customer, yelling at her. I don't think she needs it from me. However, I made it very clear to her that I hope she'll consider showing my distaste and distrust of Medco to her management especially considering this was my first experience with them. You know what they say, first impressions are lasting ones. I made it clear to her that I do not trust her company with my personal information including my address and credit card info. I hope she will pass it onto management. I hope they'll care. I'm not optimistic though.

Oh yeah, and remember my request to have the backorder shipping cost waived? I received an email this morning informing me that my order was past the editing phase (as in they were processing it) so they couldn't waive the fee, but they put a $1.99 credit on my account...I guess they decided to pull out the Fizzbin card and mass cancel people's orders? I find the credit comical now because I see it sitting on my account....one that I do not have intentions of using in the future because my confidence and trust in them is non existent. Thanks, I guess?

So to my readers, if you tried to take advantage of the deal, I hope it works out for you. If not, I apologize for getting you excited about it.

But on the bright side: Costumes!

Ok, enough about the negative side of online deals. As I mentioned in my Mailbox Love post today, the costumes I snagged in the BuyCostumes.com clearance sale came today! For that, I'm happy...I'm happy that at least one day came through for me. :) The costumes had me crackin' up all day. My kids have been running around in their Iron Man and surgeon costumes all afternoon and loving it. I got my husband the Flash costume and it is absolutely hilarious seeing them in their costumes. I can't wait till Halloween. I wish I could've scored myself a costume, but none seem to fit what I wanted or had in mind for the price I wanted to pay. Oh well. C'est la vie.

Mailbox Love

In the mail today were:

1. The costumes I ordered during the BuyCostumes.com clearance sale - My kids are planning on attending dinner as a surgeon and Iron Man.
   
2. Sample of Underjams with a $1.50 off coupon
   
3. Sample of the new Pampers Cruisers from Vocalpoint with a $1.50 AND $3 off coupon
4. Thank you note from my husband's niece for her birthday present
   

Deals be runnin' with the devil: Zhu Zhu pets

I've held off on these for as long as I possibly could, but after much debate with my husband over IM, we caved and bought a pack of these rodents for our kids for their upcoming birthdays.

Target's deal of the day is a 3 pack of Zhu Zhu Pets for $15.99.

Use the code MT9ZC7RW at check out for an additional 10% off. Shipping is free. By the time it was all said and done, after tax 3 Zhu Zhus for around $15. My last check on Amazon, just one of them goes for $11, so that's a pretty good savings...even if you do think it's Tickle Me Elmo fad redux. :p

Source: Couponing to Disney

P.S. Don't forget to shop through sites like Upromise or Ebates. Shopping at Target.com through Upromise will give you 2% back for college. Ebates will give you 3% cash back.

Assertive

I haven't had much luck with Swag Bucks lately. Last week, I was winning pretty consistently. I've always been able to count on "Midnight Madness" to score at least 5 SBs, but tonight, nada. I'd been trying for over 4 hours to no avail, not even 1 measly SB. Then, in one last frustrated gasp before going to bed, I let it all hang out and voila!

I guess sometimes TSG just needs to be smacked around a bit. :p

Bookstores' Summer Reading Programs

My kids LOVE books. They love being read to and trying to read even though they are still young. A trip to the library is a treat for them. Being told they will not get to read books before bed is the worst punishment they can fathom. We look forward to our local libraries' summer reading programs every year. I've learned that a couple of bookstore chains have hopped on the summer reading program as well.

Borders has their Double Dog Dare program that for reading 10 books, kids under 12 gets to pick a free book from a list of qualifying titles.

Barnes and Noble has their Passport to Summer Reading program, that for reading 8 books, kids get to pick a free book from a list of qualifying titles categorized by age groups.

I think both are great in helping promote reading during the summer when kids' brains often slack and go metaphorically flaccid. However, what these two programs fail to realize is that there are great benefits to reading to very young children...as young as infants. We'll take Border's Double Dog Dare program, for example. Its tagline is: "If you're under 12, you're in!" Well, that's great, right? Let's take a look at the title of the reward books, shall we? (Titles are listed in their summer reading coupon/form.)

1. Ramona the Brave by Beverly Cleary ISBN 0380709597
2. Miss Daisy is Crazy! by Dan Gutman ISBN 0060507004
3. Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown ISBN 0060097914
4. Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary ISBN 0380709589
5. The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan ISBN 0142417440
6. Hoot by Carl Hiaasen ISBN 0440419395
7. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare ISBN 0440495962
8. Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes ISBN 0440442508
9. The River by Gary Paulsen ISBN 0440407532
10. Kristy’s Great Idea by Ann M. Martin ISBN 0545174759

Now let's say you have a preschooler, say 3-4 years old. Which of these titles and authors sound like it would be appropriate for a child of that age? I'll give you a minute.

A few sound promising, but in reality, after researching each title on Amazon, there was only one that was appropriate for a preschooler: Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown, for children ages 4-5. Every other one is for children 8-12. Just ONE title is appropriate for a kindergartener? What about the younger kids who really enjoy books and being read to? What about the 5-8 year olds who also enjoy books? What if you have two preschoolers? Do they each get the same book since there's only one title that's appropriate for them? They all fit in the under 12 age group. (Mind you, the fine print does not state a minimum age to participate in the program.)

Now let's take a look at Barnes and Noble's Passport to Summer Reading.

Barnes and Noble offer a much larger selection of books, in different age groups ranging from grade 1st through 6th. The difference is, they actually say it's for school-aged kids in their fine print:

*Eligible books will be listed on the coupon. Choices must be made from available stock. No special orders. Limit of one (1) form per school-age child (grades 1-6), please. Incomplete form will be ineligible for free books.

An improvement, yes, but still, what about the younger kids? Shouldn't they read or be read to too?

I'm pretty bummed about these 2 reading programs. As I said, my kids love books. They beg to have a minimum of 3 books read to them each night. They will negotiate the amount of books like they negotiate the amount of time they're permitted to stay up and play. I wish their passion and efforts qualified as reading in the eyes of chained booksellers. Though I guess it would be a good and much more economical choice to take them to the library where the world of reading is always free. :)

Except when the book disappears into the Bermuda Triangle that is the bottom of their beds...

Sample: Sauce

Why, howdy, Bob!

Wanna try a sample of Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce? Well partn'r here's your chance. They'll send you a coupon for a free bottle of their All Purpose Sauce.

This seems a bit like a new, up and coming product that may be hard to find. I can't recall seeing any where I usually shop, but the store locator says that the Super Walmarts in my area have them. (See, Pirate Booty? I DO know how to use one of dem dar things!)

Source: Freebies 4 Mom

Heads up, coupon buffs!

The folks over at FatWallet has a master list of current, up to the minute coupon codes! Apparently, the members there are really good about keeping them current, and removing any outdated/expired codes.

Source: Consumerist

Sale & Coupons: BRU/TRU

At the risk of sounding like a late night infomercial:

Act now!

R u a Babies R Us/Toys R Us Rewards Member? If you are, then you have a Member's Sale going on on June 24, 2010. This is a one day, member's only (not the 80's jacket) event with tons of coupons. There are deals like 20% off baby gear, BOGO 50% batteries! Hello! What parent or caretaker of a child doesn't need batteries? Even the remote to turn on that brain rotting TV needs batteries. (And believe me, those kiddos are smart nowadays. They instantly catch on if you try to have them walk over to the TV to turn it on.)

Sorry for the short notice, I just got an email notification about this like, today. Nothing like a bit of a last minute deal, eh?

Sample: Biore Makeup Removing Towelettes or Cleanser

Click here get hooked up with a free sample of Biore's Makeup Removing Towelettes or Steam Activated Cleanser. Allow 8-10 weeks for delivery.

Source: Hip2Save

Mailbox Love

Today we have:

1. A $30 coupon book from Home Made Simple
2. Crest 3D Whitestrips plus coupons from Walmart

And somewhat related, I also got the Razor scooter I ordered for my kids last week. That came today...and I promptly chipped a nail adjusting it...yup, the same nails I just manicured myself, while watching the love fest that is the Bachelorette. Better than breaking my ass tryin' to be the cool mom demonstrating the scooter to her kid, eh?

Campbell. It haunts me, master

I finally got a notification from Amazon telling me that my free popcorn popper and cake decorating kit have shipped. What do I notice? You tell me:

(Click to enlarge)

It haunts me, master. Campbell haunts me.

Steals! - Medco Health Store

I really debated on whether or not to share this with you guys because it was a bit of a frustrating pain in the ass to do. One minute things worked as described, the next it didn't, then it worked again, then I had to cancel my order and reorder making one item I really wanted backordered, and I had to pay extra shipping for. (Shipping costs are a huge pet peeve with me since they are rarely refundable if you return something.)

My hope in the end is that my order goes through and I get what I ordered. If that's the case, I'll share my success with you. Till then, I'll let you decide if you want to go through the trouble of scoring some potentially AMAZING deals.

So there's Medco Health Store. They're an online pharmacy if you will, that's in conjunction with drugstore.com. (I know this because when I went to reorder something, they told me I couldn't do it because the deal was only good one per household, including same household with drugstore.com accounts.) Right now (and I don't know for how long) they have some steals going on:

Aim Toothpaste, Whitening, Mint Gel or Aim Ultra Mint $0.99 ea
Buy 4 Aim items, save $4 = 4 FREE Tubes of toothpaste
Pepsodent Toothpaste $0.89 ea
Buy 4 Pepsodent items, save $4 = 4 FREE Tubes of toothpaste
Butler Dental Floss, Fresh Mint, 140 yards $1.19 ea
Buy 5 Butler select products, save $5 - $0.19/ea or $.95/5
Carmex Cold Sore Reliever and Lip Moisturizer, Jar $1.49 ea
Buy 3, Save $3
Final cost– $0.49/ea
Band-Aid Butterfly Closures, Medium (10 ct) $1.79 ea
$2/1 instant coupon– FREE

Chapstick Lip Balm $0.99 ea
Buy 4 and save $2 with the instant coupon - $0.49/ea

K-Y Jelly, Personal Lubricant 4 oz $3.69 ea
$5/1 instant coupon– FREE ****

OR (you may not get both, it's either or for the deal)

K-Y Warming Jelly Personal Lubricant $5.29 ea
$5/1 instant coupon – $0.29 ****

Just to name a few. There are more stuff on sale, but frankly, after the trouble I had with the order, I feared that my sale items would disappear on me while I shopped, so I only snagged what I absolutely wanted and didn't bother to shop around. Rumor has it there are some Gillette shave gel (for men) and Nivea for Men body wash that's for a steal too, but I didn't look at those. I looked at some rumored Pampers baby wipes, and the price had increased from what was mentioned in my source.
**** Apparently between the time I started this post to the time I finished it, the deal for K-Y Jellies has changed. They are now buy 2 get $2 off so the deal is not as sweet as it was.

Here's what you need to do:

Find the product either by searching their site or by clicking the links above. (You may have to clear your browser history, cache, etc...I did, not sure if it helped or not.) If all works well, it'll take you to a list of items that qualifies for the instant coupons and you can add it to your cart from the list. Otherwise, there should be a link next to the picture of the product mentioning the promo. Click on that and it will take you to a list of qualifying products that you can add to your cart.

I've read that some people had the price change on them while the items were in their carts (or disappeared.) I didn't experience that, but what I did experience was either the items not showing up on search at all, or the link appears to be broken so it shows an error message of sorts. I wanted to score some Pampers wipes. My source (which I'll link at the end of this post) said it was on sale for $3.49. I clicked on the link and it's not on sale at all. I also wanted the Aim toothpaste...that didn't show up at all. Neither did the dental floss, so I placed my order with just Chapstick, Band-Aids (which were in stock), and Carmex. An hour later, on a whim, I went to check and behold, all of the other items I wanted...all the toothpaste were available! So I went to add it to my order. I couldn't. I had to cancel my order first, then place it again with the new items, only now the Band-Aids were out of stock and I now have to pay an extra $1.99 backorder shipping! Not that it's a huge deal, but it's an extra $2 I shouldn't have had to pay so I've emailed them to see if they're willing to waive the fee. I doubt it, but it never hurts to try.
I'm finding that their system is REALLY fickle. Just take a look at my savings for example. Again, not a huge deal but it is confusing and shows just how weird their pricing is and how much it fluctuates in a matter of just a couple of hours. (The screen shots were taken about 2 hours apart.) The first screen shot is of my email confirmation. It shows I have a savings of $36.11:

(Click to enlarge)

The second screen shot is one I took when deciding to make this post, not knowing my savings would fluctuate after I've placed my order:

(Click to enlarge)

Thankfully, my order total did not change. I'm not sure what to make of it, and at this point, I'm not even sure if they'll fulfill my order. I hope they will. My source has ordered from them before with similar stellar deals and it was fulfilled. My hope is that they won't look at my request to have my backorder shipping waived, laugh at it, look at my order and say, "screw you, I'm canceling your whole order because that's just too good of a deal you're getting."

So there you have it. It's up to you if you want to give it a shot and see what kind of deals you can snag. Like I said, Medco seems to be affiliated or powered by drugstore.com, whom I have shopped with on several occasions in the past and trust. A lot of their site even reminds me of drugstore.com from their design, prices (I compared the Band-Aid to drugstore.com and their prices were identical. The deal was nearly identical as well) to check out process and account review. They also give you reward points just like drugstore.com. They are also VeriSign Secured. I'm not so sure they're a bad deal, or even fickle, it's just you have to act fast and smart to get their deals. A little persistence, give and take doesn't hurt either. They certainly aren't what I'm used to in terms of shopping experience, but it could also be that they're a different type of merchant as well. I'm not ready to fully pass judgment yet, but I am alert. If you do decide to go for this deal, please do keep me posted. I'd love to know what you scored and how great of a deal you got. I will definitely keep you posted if and when I get my order fulfilled along with the details. :)


Source: Hip2Save


Update: I received a response from Medco customer service apologizing for the tech glitches, but unfortunately my order is past the edit stage so they couldn't waive the $1.99 backorder charge. They did, however, issue a $1.99 credit on my account for me to use on my next order. I will further update when my order arrives.
June 24, 2010 1:22pm CDT

There's no such thing as a free lunch

But there is such a thing as free dinner...sort of. ;)

From now until July 11, 2010, score a free single entree serving of Orange Chicken at Panda Express with any purchase after 9pm.

Click here for ad/coupon.

Night owls rejoice! :)

Sample: Murad Eye Lift Illuminator

Go here to get a sample of Murad Eye Lift Illuminator.  Sign up/login required.

Source: Hip2Save

The tale of two snack companies - Pt. 2 - The case of New Friends

In continuation of this post, I emailed the company who makes popchips for the same exact reason. In fact, I was totally lame-spice about it and reused the same email I used to write Pirate Booty with minor, appropriate editing:

From: [redacted]
Sent: Monday, June 21, 2010 10:04 PM
To: snackers
Subject: PopChips in bulk

Dear Sir/Madam,

I'd like to say that my family and I absolutely love PopChips. We love it so much that we can easily go through a Costco bulk pack in just a couple of days. To that end, is there any consideration for distributing bulk packs of PopChips to Costco again? I haven't seen any in the Denver, Colorado area Costcos in about a year now, and we're deeply saddened by this. When I asked a manager at Costco, he was unable to offer me any info. Please consider distributing PopChips to Costco again. It's really difficult and non economical to buy smaller packages at retail prices for my family. Thank you.

N. L.


This morning, I got a prompt response from popchips:

On Tue, Jun 22, 2010 at 8:37 AM,
snackers@popchips.com wrote:

hi there n.

we're definitely working with costco to get them back in. so thanks for asking for them - they really do listen to their members. we'll keep you posted. in the meantime, we'll send a couple coupons your way so you can enjoy a few bags . . .on us.

thanks for being a fan, and happy snacking!

your (new) friends at popchips

p.s. you might also check-out our online store. you can buy popchips by the case at a really good price :)


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That's me being shocked silent. Yeah, it doesn't happen often, but the superior service from popchips managed to do that to me. I'd read the email response from Pirate Booty first, so when I read popchip's response, I felt like a celebrity knew my name! I wanted to run in the streets shouting, "THEY KNOW MY NAME! THEY KNOW MY NAME!" Really, I was just happy they got my name right, which meant they actually read my email and paid attention to details, but to offer me coupons? That's superior service and has locked me in as a fan and friend! Not to mention they've earned my loyalty for just taking some time to care. Bravo, popchips! I'm not even gonna wait for the coupons to come, I'm sending my husband to the store to get some now, "single serving size bags" (that's what we call the normal retail bags) be damned. BBQ popchips, momma's comin' for ya! (Oh, and yes, I know how to use the store locator. :D popchips, I know where you are. *devilish grin*)

The tale of two snack companies - Pt. 1 - The case of the...who am I talking to?

We love Pirate's Booty around our house. We used to buy them in a pack of 2 massive sized bags from Costco until it disappeared from the warehouse about a year ago. I'd asked the manager at Costco about it and he did acknowledge that it's something they normally carry so he went to check his computer for more info. He informed me that there are none at all in my area, nor are there any shipping to our area any time soon. Needless to say, it was a sad day in our house. After my experience with Orajel, I decided to write to Pirate's Booty about how much we love their product and hope that they'll carry it in Costco again. (Because I don't write just to bitch and complain. ;) ) Here's my email to them:

From: Web Mail Robot
Sent: Tuesday, June 22, 2010 12:59 AM
To: Pirate Info
Subject: N. L. has a sent a request.

I'd like to say that my family and I absolutely love Pirate Booty. We love it so much that we can easily go through a Costco bulk pack in just a couple of days. To that end, is there any consideration for distributing bulk packs of Pirate Booty to Costco again? I haven't seen any in the [redacted] area Costcos in about a year now, and we're deeply saddened by this. When I asked a manager at Costco, he was unable to offer me any info. Please consider distributing Pirate Booty to Costco again. It's really difficult and non economical to buy smaller packages at retail prices for my family. Thank you.

I was happy when I got a prompt response about 12 hours later until I read the first 2 words of the email:

From: Pirate Info info@piratebrands.com
Date: Tue, Jun 22, 2010 at 9:45 AM
Subject: RE: N. L. has a sent a request.
To: "N. L."

Dear Campbell –

Thank you for contacting Pirate Brands regarding your search for the 10oz bags of Aged White Cheddar. At this time, these particular bags are only sold at Costco and a select number of Whole Foods Markets. We are currently working on becoming a permanent product at all Costcos, but if you’d like to request Pirate’s Booty as a permanent product at Costco, we would certainly appreciate your support by contacting your local Costco manager.

If you are interested in purchasing Pirate’s Booty in our other bag sizes, please refer to our website (www.piratebrands.com) where you can find our store locator, which allows you to find local Pirate’s Booty vendors just by typing in your zip code. You can also purchase our products by the case directly from our web-site.

In general, we can be found in the all-natural/organic section of the following supermarkets:
Acme
Albertson’s
Chubb
Fred Meyer’s
Fry’s
Gelson’s
Giant
Giant Eagle
Harris Teeter
HEB
Hy-Vee
Jewel
Jubilee
Kroger’s
Larsen’s
Mejer’s
Publix
Safeway
Raley’s
Ralph’s
Randalls
Ray’s
Stop and Shop
Super A
Tom Thumb
Vons
Wegmans
Whole Foods

Pirate Brands is committed to providing the highest quality snacks available and consider our customers as part of our family. Please don’t hesitate to contact us should you need additional information.

Meanwhile, happy snacking!

Emily A., MS, RD
Consumer Relations Associate

Pirate Brands
100 Roslyn Avenue
Sea Cliff, NY 11579
t 516.656-4545 x [redacted]
t 800.626.7557
f 516.759.2713
www.piratebrands.com


I couldn't help but chuckle a little when I read the salutation of the email. Dear Campbell? Who is Campbell?!?!?!? I redacted the info for this post, but my name...at least my first name, was fully included in the subject of the email that was forwarded from the web form I used to send the inquiry AND it was in the subject of the response email. My initials does not in any way shape or form elude to the name Campbell. Where the heck did the CSR pull THAT from? Clearly the response was a canned note that she was supposed to edit, but perhaps she forgot about the salutation of the email?

Second, I don't feel that she really addressed my inquiry, do you? I informed her that I cannot find any Pirate Booty in Costcos in my area, and that I hope her company will do so again soon. She tells me the size I'm looking for is only sold at Costco. Furthermore, she told me to talk to my Costco's manager...which I've already done. Thanks for the lengthy list of other stores where I may find them, but if you read my email, I noted that it is not economical to purchase them in other stores considering the amount we consume. Also, thanks for pointing me to the website where I can find a store locator because it's not like I used your website to contact you or anything, as indicated by the email notes that says "Web Mail Robot."

Third, wait a second...why is this an issue? The email wasn't even addressed to me! It's addressed to Campbell. I'm not Campbell.

Mailbox Love

My mail has finally arrived today! Here are the goodies I got:

1. Kraft Sandwich Shop Mayo samples in Garlic & Herb and Chipotle. The sample should still be available here if you haven't snagged some yet.
2. Sample of Olay Total Effects body wash from Walmart
3. $1 off coupon for 2 packages of Pop-Tarts Ice Cream Shoppe pastries
4. And my full refund check from Orajel for the Toddler Toothpaste I was displeased with. Bravo, Orajel for taking good care of your customers.
   

Airfare: Southwest $39 one way

Southwest Airlines is celebrating their 39th anniversary by having $39 (one way) sale! You must book by 11:59pm PST on June 24 for travel between Sept 8- Nov 17, 2010. Deal does not apply if you travel on Friday or Sunday.
Click here for list of qualifying cities as well as terms & conditions.

Source: Consumerist

Free DiGiorno Deep Dish Pizza

DiGiorno is giving away a Deep Dish Pizza if you go to their Facebook page, click on the "Deep Dish" tab, and superimpose your pic (can even use your profile pic) into one of their photos.  They have you post it to your wall, then they'll send you a coupon for a free Deep Dish Pizza.  Limit one per family/household/email.  If you're not on Facebook, they will send you a $1 off coupon.

Coupon & Review: $2 off Off! Clip On

Right@Home has a $2 off coupon for Off! Clip On starter packs. The starters typically run about $8 each and comes with 1 cartridge which lasts approx 12 hours. (If the link doesn't allow you to get a coupon, you may have to join Right@Home.

I'll admit, I was skeptical about these at first, but after using them for almost a month now, I think they do a good job at warding off bugs. They are not designed for lots of motion though as they require you to be fairly still. They are great if you're watching a sporting event or gardening, just any activity that does not require you to move around too much, making the fan blowing the repellent around you ineffective. The clip doesn't clip on securely, it's more like it just hangs there. I usually hang it out of my shorts' pockets.

Mailbox Love

In the mailbox today were:

1. A coupon for $1 off any Philadelphia Cream Cheese
2. A payment check from Opinion Outpost
3. A thong from American Apparel, seafoam green, size 4...insert laughter...HERE. If I go missing for a while, chances are, I got drunk and was stupid enough to try on said thong, thus requiring surgical removal and lengthy hospital stay.
   

Stride Rite Outlets sale

Stride Rite Outlets is having a blowout sale! Click here to find a location near you.

Costumes sale!

BuyCostumes.com has an awesome sale going on right now...40% off clearance/blowout costumes! Click the link to go straight to the clearance items, and use code clear40 at checkout. Their shipping costs are reasonable too, just $4.99 for standard economy shipping. I bought my husband a costume and a couple for my kids for under $35 with shipping. I'm stoked!

Veggie Wash

Summer is upon us. In fact, today marks the official first day of summer. With summer comes tasty, delicious, healthy fresh fruits and veggies.  With produce comes the eternal question of organic vs regular vs who knows what else.  Suffice to say, organic produce comes at a premium, and sometimes it's hard to justify the cost when they can be twice as much as the non organic stuff.

You've probably heard of the "dirty dozen" by now, the produce that contains the most pesticide residue, but in case you haven't they are: 

1. Celery
2. Peaches
3. Strawberries
4. Apples
5. Domestic blueberries
6. Nectarines
7. Sweet bell peppers
8. Spinach, kale and collard greens
9. Cherries
10. Potatoes
11. Imported grapes
12. Lettuce

But don't freak out too much yet. Pesticide isn't always a bad thing.

Last month, I learned of a veggie wash recipe from a guest post on Couponing to Disney that is not only economical but should help rinse off a bit of those pesticides.  My initial worry was that it would make my produce smell or taste vinegary but much to my glee, it didn't, even after soaking some blueberries in it for about an hour. (I'd forgotten about it. Ooops!)  Here's the recipe:


Produce wash:

1 cup water
1 cup vinegar
2 TBS baking soda
2 TBS lemon juice

Mix all ingredients and put in a clean spray bottle. Spray your produce well and let sit for at least 5 minutes before rinsing with clean water. Note: Make sure to first mix ingredients in deep container since there will be some fizzing from the baking soda & vinegar.

Spoonful of Sugar

I’m having a bad day. I’m just all around flat out grumpy from having a crappy night. At one point, I got mad, lashed out at Swag Bucks, and this is what I got:

(click to enlarge)

I will admit. It made me laugh and cheered me up, albeit temporarily. That TSG (The Swag Guy/Gal) sure does have a sense of humor.

Oh yeah, and in case you didn’t know. I do on occasion…sometimes frequently, use profanities. That’s just how I roll. ;)

One last chance

I've been using Blogger for my blogging needs for years...well before Google acquired them. Most of it was for personal and private reasons, and I never had any problems, but now that I have a public blog that I enjoy sharing with the world, Blogger just doesn't seem to cut it for me. So many features they promise to work, especially considering it's Google's own products just aren't working right and haven't been for weeks. Needless to say, it's frustrating me.  The latest came when I tried to respond to a reader (Steph) who commented on my Swag Bucks/Amazon shopping spree post. I tried to respond several times and each time it just ate my response. I made a test response on another post and for some reason it won't allow me to delete the test. It's just frustrating to say the least. I'm going to give Blogger one last chance to make things right.  I'll give it till the end of Monday so that it has all weekend and a full working day to fix things and if it doesn't work, I'm jumping ship to Wordpress.  My hope is that my lovely and awesome readers will follow me along the crazy ride during the move. I'll try to make it as seamless as possible and will post the link here if the move ends up happening.

I'm pretty annoyed with the move because I put a lot of work and energy into this blog, in just the comments numbering coding alone.  Bah!  Oh well.  C'est la vie, non?

In the mean time, would any brave volunteers like to give Wordpress a test run for me, pretty please?  I just need you to poke around, test things out, leave me a comment...say whatever, tell me I smell and my mother dresses me funny, but please keep it clean. (Ironic since I smell, no?)  Tell me what you think!  I really appreciate your patience and help. You guys are awesome!

Here's the link for the brave people who are killing (company) time to read my blog: http://cheaponinja.wordpress.com/

xoxo
~CN

Mailbox Love

Nothing too exciting in the mail today

I got a coupon for $2.00 off Energizer Recharge battery/charger pack and just a bill...and not the ones on Capitol Hill...which is a good thing to NOT get in my mail actually.

Treat to self

You're probably aware I'm pretty addicted to Swag Bucks by now. I've been redeeming my Swag Bucks for Amazon gift cards and I had enough to treat myself to a little guilt free shopping. I've always loved the game Mouse Trap and I really wanted to treat myself to it, but it wasn't on sale at all on Amazon, and you know me...I don't like buying things that are not on sale, even if it's just 25 cents off. (In fact, when I just now researched the game, I discovered that Hasbro has it through their own online store for $2 cheaper than Amazon. WTH?) Anyway, since it wasn't on sale, I thought I'd just keep an eye on it and buy it at another time when it is on sale. (Board games tends to go on sale right around the holidays but unfortunately, I haven't seen Mouse Trap on sale the past few years.)

Instead of treating myself to something, I ended up buying stuff that benefits the whole family. (So much for getting something that's just for me, eh?) Not that I wouldn't enjoy it, they are things that I've been wanting for a while, but it's just not something that's just for me. Then again, Mouse Trap wouldn't be "just for me" either, but I'd have a hell of a lot of fun locking myself in my room just building and playing with the trap like I used to do as a kid. :p

I ended up getting a cake decorating set and a popcorn popper...both for free and I still have enough gift card money left over to treat myself to Mouse Trap...should it ever go on sale. :)

(Click to enlarge)

Half price happy hour Pinkberry

Pinkberry, purveyor of tasty frozen yogurt goodness will be having having half priced happy hour between 5pm - 7pm starting June 25, 2010 to promote their new summer flavors.  (Proof is on their website, on the front page.)

Now does this mean that it will happen at all Pinkberry?  Your guess is as good as mine.  With new Pinkberry such as the one in Denver, Colorado having lines that are an hour long just to get in and pay full price for it, I can't imagine why they would need to run a half priced promo, BUT it never hurts to inquire about it. If you are in the Denver metro area, I would definitely look them up and call before you head down there expecting to take advantage of the deal, but considering the line, I highly doubt anyone minds paying full price for the frozen goodness. :)  Or at the very least, wear your comfy shoes because I imagine the lines will be astronomically long.

Recipe: Grilled Bruschetta Chicken w/Homemade Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing

I know that recipes doesn't exactly jive with the theme of this blog, but this recipe was just too 'smack yo momma good' to not share with you...or at the very least, note for myself. :)

Grilled Bruschetta Chicken w/Homemade Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)
1/4 cup Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing, divided (recipe to follow)

Directions:
Heat grill to medium heat.

Marinade chicken with 2 Tbsp. of dressing. Refrigerate 10 min. or even better - overnight!

Place chicken on grill; cover with lid. Grill 6 min...depending on thickness of chicken.

Turn chicken over. Grill, covered, grill 8 min. or until chicken is done (165ºF).

Adapted from Kraft.

Serve over a bed of whole wheat pasta, topped with diced Roma tomatoes (on sale!), some of the remaining Sun-Dried Tomato Dress and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.


Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing
Yield: Makes about 3 1/2 cups

Ingredients:
1 small onion, chopped (1 cup)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 large garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 8-ounce jar oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil

Directions:
Toss ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.  Drizzle olive oil (eye ball it) until desired amount.  (I usually don't use more than 1/8 of a cup, I don't like my dressings oily and greasy.)  Blend again until smooth. 

Adapted from Epicurious.

Enjoy!


Tips:
I butterfly my boneless skinless chicken breasts.  That makes it cook faster, thus using less propane/energy to cook. Another side benefit of this is, it also tricks my brain into eating less. It's portion control.  It makes the meat go farther, and I spend less on buying meats, which is the costliest thing on my grocery list.  (And greener too!)

Mailbox Love

Nothing good in the mail today.  Just 2 junk mail, and a Disney Vacation planning DVD...which may or may not have a discount code in it but it doesn't really matter since we're not booking anything now anyway. :(

Price juggles

I made a lil quickie trip to Target to pick up some things and while there, I decided to get my son a Hot Wheels car to reward him for being so patient this week.  As I perused the toy aisle, I was happy to see some happy little yellow tags protruding out indicating a Temporary Price Cut.   Just in case you didn't know, I like savings. :)

I first saw a pack of 5 Hot Wheels cars for $4.49.  Not bad since they're typically $5+ a pack or .97 individually.  So I picked a pack out.  Then I saw something even better: a 10 pack for $8.99 instead of the usual $9.99.  Ok, savings of $1 instead of 50 cents.  I'll take that instead.  As I grabbed the 10 pack I noticed something else: the individually packaged ones were on sale for 79 cents each!  Ok, think quick, how much is that for 10?  Right, $7.90...um...that's an even bigger savings than $8.99.  It makes absolutely NO sense...well at least to the consumers that have been previously trained to think that buying more equals savings.  Apparently, that's just not the case anymore. Consumers practically need a degree in mathematics to figure out merchants' pricing tricks.

Needless to say, I picked out 10 of the individually wrapped ones not only for the savings, but I also got to pick specifically the ones I wanted instead of a pack of mixed in stuff that we might not want.  (Yes, I can hear my husband telling me that I didn't NEED to buy 10, but I did because now I can hide them and bring them out later as rewards. Plus they make great stocking stuffers.) The whole experience made no sense whatsoever, but it's taught me an important lesson: as a consumer, I need to be smart about the way I shop. Conventional trains of thoughts no longer applies anymore.  Merchants are coming up with new and different ways to make money off of unsuspecting shoppers.

Caveat emptor.

Vacay Fund Pay Day

It's Friday, so that means pay day to the vacation fund.  While reading a reader's comment on Couponing to Disney yesterday, I got a great idea.  The reader does a round up kind of thing to deposit money into her vacay fund with a max of $10 because they're on a budget.  For example, if the paycheck was $249.32, she'd deposit $9.32 into the vacay fund.  That sounded like a great idea to me so I decided to do the same.  Only, the "round off" part of the paycheck was a mind boggling.....42 cents. Yeah, I spat all over my laptop laughing so hard.  Oh well.

Anyway, we didn't spend much this week so the deposit is rather small...only $35.  Most of it came in the form of coupons, which hey, that's not bad!  The "big" part of the deposit came in the form of Swag Bucks rewards.  I got another $10 in Amazon gift cards from Swag Bucks last night, making my total rewards a record breaking (for me anyway) $20.  I'm excited to do some shopping. :D

Size does matter

We went grocery shopping last night and since it's been a while since I bought yogurt, I decided to get some. My kids wanted GoGurt.  I didn't mind, so we went to the dairy case and snagged a box.  There were 2 sizes on the shelf: a smaller box with the unit price of 12.9 cents, and the larger box of 13.8 cents.

Uh ok?  I thought you pay less if you buy more?

Sorry bub, that's soooooo yesterday.  Now the trend is buy more pay more.  Is it true? Have stores caught on to consumers thinking that if they buy more they pay less?

Needless to say, the cheapo in me snagged the smaller box with the cheaper unit price. Thanks to my husband, who taught me to check the unit price when price comparing, I caught on to the store's scheme to get me to spend more.  Lesson to be learned here: check the unit price.

Mailbox Love

I wonder if my mailman (mail-ghetto-fab-woman*) is sick of bringing me Tampons because I got another Playtex Gentle Glide sample w/coupon in the mail today, plus 2 copies of Parenting magazine. Why they send me 2 copies, I don't know, but at least I'll have one in each bathroom now. :p

* My ghetto fab mail woman...I freakin' love her. (Vast improvement over the lazyass who used to drive his mail truck up to each house, turn the engine off, walk up the steps...not disabled, mind you, drop the mail off, walk back to his truck, fire up the engine, drive the few yards to the next house, rinse, repeat.) I just love her spunk. And yes, she really is ghetto fab, complete with 6" acrylic nails that are awesome.  How she rocks those blue latex gloves with those nails, I'll never know, but that's part of what makes her awesome.  She makes me want to tell her to put the mail down and sit on my steps with a couple of bottles of 40s wrapped in paper bags.

$1 Smoothies @ Jamba Juice

Today, June 16, 2010 only, score a Jamba Juice Superfruit Smoothie for just $1!  Limit 2 per customer!  Details here.

Disney Movie Rewards

Do you have plans to see any Disney movies in the theaters this summer? I know we're super excited to see Toy Story 3 and we already got our (free!) tickets to see it on opening day!  If you don't have free tickets to Toy Story, fret not, there's a promo that'll still get you some goodies.

Disney Movie Rewards has partnered up with Fandango. If you buy your Toy Story 3 tickets through Fandango, you can get up to 200 DMR points plus a Toy Story 3 digital book.  Details here.  After you've seen the movie, be sure to save your ticket stubs because you can submit them (electronically) to DMR and get up to another 200 points!  The ticket stub rewards is good for most Disney movies including Alice in Wonderland, and Prince of Persia so if Toy Story 3 is not your style, if you see any other Disney movie this summer, save your stubs and check the DMR website to see if it qualifies for points.  You can redeem DMR points for Disney merchandise.  For details on ticket stub submitting/redemption, click here.