Green Inspired Freebies

Going green is big news these days. Fortunately, you can get a few samples to help you do your part to sustain the planet!

Take an Earth Day Pledge from Earthbound Farm Organic. If you are one of the first 10,000 people to do so, you’ll win a nifty reusable tote! It comes in four to six weeks. You can also sign up for coupons, after you take the pledge.

Sign up here: Earth Day Pledge

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Origins is offering free skin care samples when you drop off empty containers for your lotions, potions and other cosmetics at an Origins store. The containers can be from any brand of beauty products. Don’t want to go all the way to the store? Get four free samples with any purchase online. Click here.

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Purex Natural Elements is offering two promotions right now. You can create a design for a tote (and view celebrity totes.) Send it to a friend, and you’ll get a free coupon. You can also enter the sweepstakes to win a car. Click here.

Getting the Most Value from Restaurant.com Gift Certificates

Recently, Restaurant.com gift certificates have been getting some mixed press. While some people love getting the huge value off of a restaurant meal, others wonder if the certificates are worth the purchase. Like any coupon or discount, knowing how to use it to your advantage can mean the difference between getting a good deal and getting an absolutely amazing deal.

Here are some things to know in order to get the most value from Restaurant.com gift certificates.

Use a Coupon Code

I post coupon codes for Restaurant.com all of the time. Using a code and the right link can make all of the difference when it comes to getting a great deal.

Know the Restrictions

Some restaurants have certain restrictions when it comes to redeeming the gift certificates, such as a minimum purchase. Usually the minimum purchase is lower than what we would normally pay for a meal. If it isn’t in your case, try one of the following strategies:

• Choose a different restaurant without the restrictions
• Buy a larger gift certificate to cover the cost of the minimum
• Dine with a friend and split the cost of the certificate

Also be aware of time restrictions for some restaurants.

Try a New Restaurant

Use the Restaurant.com certificates whenever you want to try a new restaurant. This way, if it turns out that the new restaurant isn’t the place for you, you won’t feel as though you wasted your money, since you only paid $2-$10 for the meal. Experimenting is fun when you are dining on the cheap.

Coupons in the Mail!

I love opening up the mail.  And lately, there are some great deals just waiting for me every day.

Smart Source has sent some additional coupons in their mailers.  This week, I got a flyer that contained $1 off 8.5 oz Softsoap, 50 cents off any Palmolive Dishwashing liquid, and a buy one get one free for Speed Stick Pro or Speed Stick 24/7 (value up to $3.99)  The next day I received my Home Made Simple coupon booklet from Proctor & Gamble.  It is well worth signing up for here.

The high value coupons in Home Made simple on dishwashing alone are really a great bonus. FREE 8.45 oz Cascade Crystal Clear Rinse Agent;   $1 on Dawn Simple Pleasures; $1.50 on Dawn Direct Foam Pump ; $2 on a Dawn Direct Foam Refill; 50 cents on any size Dawn; and $1 on any size Dawn Plus Hand Renewal.  And there are also other high value coupons for Mr Clean, Swiffer products, Cascade, and Febreze.  Combine these with sales and double coupons, and you could wind up being paid to take the product away!

Look to see more Easter promotions in stores.  This week, for Sunday and Monday only, CVS has these specials on Easter items:
Paas Easter Egg coloring kit - $1.99 - 1.99 ECB (Extra Care Buck)
Confectionery Lane Jelly Beans 2 for $1, and M&Ms 2 for $3.

Our insert preview for this week is here.  You may not see all these coupons in your paper, since not all coupons appear in all areas.

Printable and Mailed Restaurant Coupons

Eating out can be fun, but who wants to pay so much money? Here are some current printable restaurant coupons.
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Free Grilled Chicken Tortilla Roll

Buy one get one free with this printable coupon. The coupon expires April 30th.

http://www.elpolloloco.com/coupon1/

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Free Chick-fil-a

Leave a comment for Chick-fil-a, and you will generally receive a coupon for a free product. This works. The actual coupon seems to vary according to your comment.

http://www.chick-fil-a.com

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Free Sundae

Sign up at Friendly’s to be a member of their club, and you’ll get a coupon for a free three-scoop sundae!

https://secure.friendlys.com/bff/

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Free Country Crispy Chicken

Here is a printable for a buy one, get one, Country Crispy Chicken item from Boston Market.

http://www.fishbowl.com/clt/bstnmkt/pc/200903/3/crispy.htm

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That is all for now. Be sure to check out our new printable grocery coupons list. It has links to all of the great printable manufacturer coupons and is updated every week!

Five Appliances that Can Save You Money on Your Food Bill

Sometimes a little investment can go a long way to save you money. This is especially true when it comes to food. Groceries can take a big chunk of the budget each month. I have found the following small appliances very helpful when it comes to cutting down our food bill.

Computer

From printable coupons to online grocery deals, having a computer with Internet access has really helped me get more food for less money.

Slow Cooker (Crockpot)

I own two different sized slow cookers, and I find that they are invaluable for saving money on groceries. Throwing a bunch of easy ingredients in the slow cooker in the morning, means that a hot dinner is waiting. No more take out or expensive prepared meals to buy.

Bread Machine

Sure, you can make your own bread without one, but a bread machine makes it a lot easier, which means that I am much more likely to make bread from scratch. Compare the cost of ingredients at less than $1 a loaf, compared to $3 or more. Nice breadmakers can also make quick breads, cakes and jam.

Coffee Maker

Making coffee at home and bringing it with you can save just a ton each month. Shave $3, $4 or $5 off of your coffee expense daily when you tote your coffee rather than stopping at the cafe.

Freezer

Make ahead meals, deals on frozen foods and bulk purchases can all save your money when you have the ability to keep them all well in a freezer. Single people or couples can take advantage of less expensive “family” packages of foods, and families can cook ahead to avoid eating out.

What do you think? Is there anything in your kitchen that really helps you save money on your food bill?

Diabetic Discounts

You’ve seen the diabetes meter promotions over and over on TV and in magazines. Good old (really old) Wilford Brimley is always telling you how you can get FREE testing supplies - IF YOU ARE ON MEDICARE. Well, for those of us who are not ready for medicare, and have quite a few years left before we are, we have to find the deals where we can. And thank goodness for Patti LaBelle - FINALLY a really attractive image for people who live with diabetes.

I never really paid attention to coupons for free meters, since my doctor gave me a freestyle lite meter, and my previous health plan offered a $25 copay for the strips. That comes to 50 cents a strip, and it is still way too much, I feel. Then, I changed insurers and the copay shot up to $50 for 100 freestyle strips. The “preferred brand” was one touch - and the co pay is $25. Still not great, but much better.

So I used the coupon that was in Smart Source a few weeks ago for $15 off a One Touch meter and went to CVS where it was on sale for $14.99. Strips are not included with these meters, but I already had some strips on hand that had mistakenly been given to me by another doctor, so I used those. It works fine for me.

Then I learned that Freestyle had a promotion in a diabetes magazine for free meters. I sent away for the style I don’t have - which comes with a starter kit of free strips.

Now, Bayer Breeze II and Contour meters are being promoted. There are coupons in this weekend’s smart source for up to $30 off the meter, and up to $20 off test strips. I believe a prescription is required for these, so I will let you know how I make out with combining the coupons, pharmacy promotions, and insurance co pay.

Meantime, I now have several meters - and can switch brands if my insurance changes or if the list of preferred brands changes. The competition is now heating up for insulin pens and pumps.  Fortunately, I don’t need those, but for those who do, it means a slight break in the cost of a really expensive condition.

I’ve also come to really like the Glucerna brand cereals and shakes - and the related Zone bars. There have been lots of coupons and CVS ECB deals for those recently, and I find they are really good for not only controlling sugar spikes but as part of my weight control too.

Here’s a printable coupon for $1.25 off Glucerna products

Saving Money When Eating Out

There is no reason to completely give up restaurants and eating out when you know all of the tricks to saving money when eating out!

Coupons

Coupons are not just for family restaurants anymore. Even fine dining establishments are offering coupons and discounts. Call ahead to the restaurant or go online and do a coupon search. With very little effort, you can get even get a free meal or two.

Boston Market is offering a coupon for $3 off when you sign up at the website.

Restaurant.com

Purchase restaurant gift certificates in advance, and you can save up to 80 percent off of a meal! Restaurant.com frequently offers deals on restaurant gift certificates, and you can sometimes get $25 certificates for only $2.

Here are the current Restaurant.com deals:

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Share

Split a meal plus and appetizer with your dining companion. Don’t worry. In most restaurants, you will be served enough food this way and won’t go hungry. But, you will save quite a bit on your dinner.

Skip the drinks

Choose drinks with free refills or skip them altogether. A simple water with lemon is very refreshing and can save you money off of your restaurant bill. Some folks even add a little sugar or sweetener to their water and lemon to make lemonade!

Go off peak

Lunch offerings are usually less expensive than dinner offerings, and sometimes they offer the exact same meal and portion at lunch for a reduced rate. There are also “off-peek” or “dinner special” menus available in some restaurants. These special menus offer reduced prices in order to fill tables during quiet times.

Do you have any tips for saving money when eating out?

Sunday 3/22/2009; Smartsource and Kmart Doubles

Our weekly Sunday Coupon Insert List is up. Find it here. There is no Redplum this weekend - only Smart Source. So don’t worry when you don’t find Redplum in your newspaper - or if you are receiving Redplum mailings and didn’t see coupons this week. Redplum will be back next week.

Following up on what I wrote yesterday, there are coupons in this Sunday’s insert for Bayer Breeze2 or Contour Meter up to $30.00 off AND (I’m so delighted) Bayer Breeze2 100ct 10test Disks or Contour Test Strips up to $20.00 off. It’s unusual for a medical supply company to offer coupons for the test strips, so this is going to be a hot item for some people. They have a nice long expiration date, so get ready to start trading these. Some folks will really need them.

KMart has double coupons again this week. Here is a printable coupon for $5 off $50. Be sure to present this coupon first, since it will not ring up once your total falls below $50 - which it SHOULD with them doubling up to $2.

When you go to KMart, be sure to bring along your coupons for General Mills Cereals. They are 2 for $4, and with the recent flurry of coupons in the newspapers and in store tearpads, as well as printables, these cereals will be a very good deal.

Pharmacy Deals

I am a big CVS fan, as most of you know - I am in there several times a week, working the Extra Care Buck deals. Lately, I had a bit of a wake up call on the cost of medicines. I LOVE my local CVS pharmacy, and they accept my insurance and work well with my doctor. But times  being what they are, I do look for ways to save money.

I have type II diabetes, and I’m about a generation short of qualifying for medicare - and thankfully, we are insured and don’t qualify for medicaid. I control my diabetes with oral medications.

When you add up the co payments every month for three medications, AND the test strips for those free meters, it really packs a wallop. So I work with my doctor and insurance company to find the “preferred” drugs on my health insurance company’s list for diabetes that will require a lower co pay. Unfortunately, I can’t change all my medications, but I changed one so that now the co pay is cut in half, and another is a generic. You have to watch them.

Prescriptions are highly regulated, and so are incentives pharmacies offer to transfer them. You can’t get a coupon for medication or prescription medical supplies unless it is issued by the manufacturer. CVS will give you a $1 ECB credit for every two prescriptions filled,  no matter how expensive or how cheap. They can’t match it with special offers and a percentage rebate like they do with non prescription items.

If you are motivated to fill your prescriptions by mail, Drugstore.com will give you a $30 credit on non prescription items for a new or transferred prescription - and they will give you two additional $10 credits with your next two refills. Shipping is free if you spend $99  or more on new or renewed prescriptions.  (they have free shipping for $25 worth of non prescription purchases too)  Drugstore.com also fills pet prescriptions, and offers manufacturer rebates on prescription drugs for the cost of your co pay or their rebate amount, whichever is less. Check all our deals for them here and save big on non prescription items and selected prescription medications and supplies.

The $30 Drugstore.com offer is not good in New Jersey for people under the age of 60.

Next week I’ll tell you my adventures with all those diabetes glucose meter promotions and other health care giveaways for supplies.

Springtime Travel Deals

I’m one of those people who lives in an area served by a regional airport - not a major hub, not a prime destination, not near a major city. And that’s the way most of my family is. So a lot of travel fares and discounts really don’t apply to us, without adding in a long, long drive to a hub city. However, we’ve gotten creative at searching fares.

Check out our Travel section on Freecoupons.com and see how many options there are for you to be creative. I started researching summer travel this week, and was happy to find CheapAir.com’s $10 + 10 discount. Book your fare, and receive an instant $10 off. I especially like their “inconvenience coupon” - if your flight is over an hour late, you receive $5 off future CheapAir bookings. When it comes to airfare in local places, every little bit helps.

Another good link to keep track of is Cheaptickets Cheap of the Week. Yes, there are special deals with hotel for family vacations, and there are also some unusual airfare deals direct from the airlines, and last minute fares. Hotwire also has some good last minute deals.  I like their Trip Watcher alerts too - if you search a route, they will alert you if there are any price drops for the time you have scheduled. It pays to keep looking.

Southwest often has great deals on hotel and car rental packages. I have found that if you are near an airport they fly out of, you are able to score some great deals.

And finally, check our links for Viator’s discounts on local attractions at many destinations.

I get just as big a thrill out of scoring great travel deals as I do walking out of the supermarket paying cents on the dollar with coupons, freebies, and rebates. These days, we do what we can to stay ahead, and stay connected to our loved ones.

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