Black Friday Starts Early

This is an exciting weekend for Frugalisters.  You’ll find tons of coupon matchups and great deals in the newspaper.  Our usual list of coupons in these Sunday inserts is here. Take a look at the P&G Brandsaver insert, and see if your store is offering the deal of free cookware for $25 in P&G products purchased in a single transaction.  This is a very good deal.

We’ll be linking in future blogs to expert bloggers who specialize in particular regional stores - the better to increase your matchups and give you more information.

If you think that Christmas shopping has started early, you are right.  The traditional start to the Christmas shopping season, the Friday of Thanksgiving weekend, has been moved back a month! This weekend begins the Black Friday Now promotion at Sears. You’ll be seeing different specials throughout the season, so be sure to check back every day.

Walmart is announcing “tis the season for unbeatable prices”.  Their local flyers are full of great deals on electronics.  Remember those $800 wide screen tvs people waited outside the store all night for?  Well, those tvs are a lot cheaper now.  Look to see great deals on electronics this year, and shop wisely.  Walmart also announces that they will match the price of any local competitor’s printed ad for an identical product.

Walmart has also announced that any websites that get a copy of their official Black Friday ad cannot publish it before November 23.  So, we may not have so much Walmart info on the web as Black Friday approaches.  That just builds the anticipation - if the deals are this good now, what will they be during the traditional season?

CVS has a new booklet out Sunday called “Season to Save”.  There are $35 in ECBs (Extra Care Bucks) included.  It lasts until November 25.  It will be interesting to see what CVS rolls out for the traditional season after November 25.

This two tiered approach to introducing savings may turn out to be profitable for retailers, sensible for consumers, and spread the savings among those who simply are not going to go shopping at 4 am on a Friday morning.

Halloween and Fall Freebie Fun

Whether you celebrate Halloween or just the season of fall, there are plenty of freebies and fun Internet activities out there to keep you occupied at zero cost. Here are some of my favorites.

The Toy Maker Halloween Town

The Toy Maker is a little known web site that is really one of those gems on the Internet. The artist created all sorts of paper toys that can be printed out and put together. These toys are ingenious in their design and just lovely with their colors. Last year I printed out the Ghost Show for the kids in my son’s class. There are cards, treat bags, a candy corn box, a dancing skeleton and more.

Pumpkin Carving Templates

Getting a great looking carved pumpkin isn’t as hard as it looks when you follow a pre-made template. Templates are wonderful for someone like me who always creates jack o lanterns that always look like the sphinx, since inevitably a nose or something accidentally gets carved off.

Family Fun is offering a bunch of free pumpkin carving patterns, as well as some unique carving ideas such as the Marshmallow man Jack-o-Lantern. Check out the Tiki pumpkin carving pattern.

DLTK offers plenty of whimsical and non-scary patterns to carve. They even have a pumpkin carving pattern for Scooby-Do and one for Blue from Blue’s Clues!

Ben & Jerry’s Halloween

The scrolling Halloween scene offers plenty of fun. You can visit the flavor graveyard, do some virtual pumpkin carving, look up recipes, print out games, and play virtual games such as the Undead Smackdown (It is all about the zombies, isn’t it?).

Halloween Coloring Pages

There are so many Halloween coloring pages out there, that you are sure to find something to keep the kids occupied, no matter what their ages. We usually go trick-or-treating with other friends in a group. I like to keep some of these around for when kids are getting into costumes before going out. It keeps the ones that already have their costumes on busy so we can get the rest of them dressed.

http://www.raisingourkids.com/hol/halloween/freehalloweencoloringpages.shtml
http://www.coloring.ws/halloween.html
http://www.landolakes.com/halloween2008/Free-Halloween-Coloring-Pages.cfm
(Pick up coupons while you are at Land O Lakes under the promotions tab! http://www.landolakes.com/promotions/)
http://www.hersheys.com/trickortreats/activities/coloring.asp
http://holidays.kaboose.com/halloween-color.html

If you need a last minute costume, check out the Disney store. They have a deal going on for 50% off costumes!

Facebook - Fun and Frugal

Facebook isn’t just for connecting with friends and playing games anymore.  It’s becoming more and more a place to become a “fan” of certain products and companies - and for them to test their online market.  Have you noticed lately that more restaurants, and couponed products want you to become a fan?  They want to see how many people they can get to sign up as fans in a limited amount of time, how many people register for a freebie, a giveaway, or a coupon.

It’s frugal fun!

And it’s relatively cheap for companies who sponsor the promotions.  What better way to gain online visibility for an ad campaign and collect email data about the people who use the product - all while those very people are “sharing” the promo with others?

A few months ago, Starbucks had a promotion for a free pint of ice cream.  You signed up on facebook to send the coupon for ice cream to someone else!  What a neat way to get friends who don’t understand what you are doing with all those coupons to see a sweet value.

Recently I got a free coupon in my email for free Edible Arrangements chocolate dipped fruit.  This is a $15 value, a six pack of chocolate dipped fruit - promoted on Facebook.  The promotion is over, but a $5 coupon is now offered at the link.

Get a free Nature Valley Nut Clusters Sample clicking the link on this page. You can also enter for a chance to win a trip to the 2009 Birds of Prey ski race.

Muir Glen Organic tomatoes have a $1 coupon on this Facebook page.  Print the coupon, and they will donate to the Chefs Collaborative which promotes sustainable farming.

You can connect with promotions for Little Debbie here.  They had a giveaway of their chocolate cakes which is ended now, but by signing up on Facebook, you will hear of more promotions.

TGI Fridays Facebook page has a link for their Give Me More Stripes Program, where you can earn incentives for free food and drink.  You can also find out more about what is happening at this popular restaurant chain.

Facebook is becoming more and more a way for people to connect - and you will connect with the savings and opportunities.

Coupon Matchups - Anyone with a Deal to Share?

There are two Sunday coupon inserts this weekend, a SmartSource and a RedPlum.  They are chock full of good deals.  I like having $1 coupons for Wholly Guacamole products, Progresso, and Colgate.  There’s a 50 cent Betty Crocker frosting coupon which will add up to big savings on double coupon days.  And cat lovers, there are coupons for Science Diet from PETSMART and there are also 9 lives coupons.  See the whole list here.

There have been some great matchups lately at Walgreens and CVS for sale items.  I’ve enjoyed the deals for Glade candles - at CVS there was a 6.99 ECB this week for the Fragrance Diffuser or Soy candle - with the coupon that came to half price (All you or Printable) and then there is a $5 SC Johnson rebate for buying three products which include the Glade candles.  It’s a super deal.

Walgreens will have a great opportunity for you to stock up on Dove Conditioner next week.  It is B1G1F at 2/$ 4.99.  Buy 8 and get a $10 register reward.  Now this is why you want extra inserts and to clip everything usable.  On Oct 4, there was a $ 1.50 coupon in RedPlum.  If you clipped multiples of that you could buy 8 of these with 8 coupons.  You would buy eight for $20, use eight coupons for a total of $12, and you would spend $8 out of pocket and get a $10 register reward.  YOU GET BACK MORE THAN YOU PAID, and you also get 8 bottles of conditioner.

Do you have a matchup story that you would like to share?  Let me know.  We have a forum section where you can post your great shopping story!

Holiday Shopping and Printable Store Coupons!

While I love having all of those printable grocery coupons so I can save money at the grocery store, I am so excited to be finding printable coupons for some of my favorite retail stores.

I am already doing some of my holiday shopping. Last night, after we dropped my eldest off at a church activity, we headed to TARGET. I was excited to find some things on sale, and I picked them up to put away for holiday gifts.

There were those magic stretch gloves on sale: two pairs for only $1. They also had hats for $1 as well. A friend of mine got a bunch to give away as a charity project she is doing at work. What a great idea! I also saw a bunch of holiday DVDs on sale.

There was the “Polar Express” (with an additional 3D disk), “Miracle on 34th Street” and “The Tale of Desperaeux,” along with some others. Girls underwear, boys PJs and socks were also good deals.

But enough about this one store. Let us get to those printable store coupons. I plan on printing every one and keeping them with me in my purse as I am out and about. You never know when you might be near a store anyway for something or other.

My friend, Laura just sent me this great SEARS coupon that she got in her email box. You can print it out for $5 off of a $20 toy purchase. This is a great way to get a jump start on the holidays. Here is an extra tip, some stores might still have some summer stuff on clearance, so check well, and you might really clean up with this coupon.

For me, I think it really sets the atmosphere to have a teddy bear under the Christmas tree as a gift or on the fireplace mantle for decoration. Here is an amazing printable coupon for Build-A-Bear. You can get $5 off of a $10 animal! Part of the fun is actually building the bear. I can see printing a bunch of these coupons for all of the little ones in the neighborhood.

I spotted this one over at Common Sense with Money.

Another friend, Carol, sent me this coupon for 15% off at Kohls! The coupon says that it is good on everything, and you can use it multiple times during the shopping period that started yesterday and ends after the 27th. Scoop up all of those holiday linens that are already on clearance, the small appliances, the kids clothes and other great bargains that they have in the store right now.

Happy (Holiday) Shopping!

Printable Coupon Roundup for 10/21

Here are some of my favorite printable coupons out there and available right now.

All that you need to do is to print them and cut them. Don’t forget to combine these printable coupons with store coupons, such as the ones available from Target, and apply them to items that are on sale.

Cinnabon Cereal
Get a coupon for $.55 off

Nestle
Get a coupon for $1 off a bag of Nestle candy

Children’s Place
Get a coupon for 20% off all of your purchases

Zantac
Get a $5 off coupon when you register for more information about the product.

Malt-O-Meal
Get three $.75 off coupons when you register.

Coke
Get a coupon for a free Vanilla Coke or Vanilla Coke Zero when you buy one.

Various Eat Better America
Get 18 different coupons for products such as Progresso, Nature Value, Honey Nut Cherrios, Green Giant, Bisquick and more.

October Free Magazine Subscriptions

Here are the latest free full magazine subscriptions that are still available. Hurry though, if you see something you like. Free magazines subscriptions go quickly.

Thanks to all of the free magazine subscriptions that are available, there really is no need to ever buy any. There are exceptions, of course, since some magazines are never offered for free, but chances are pretty good that the one you want will be offered at some point in time for free. Just keep your eyes open, act quickly, and of course check back to the editor’s blog for new offers.

Get a one-year subscription to Business Week Magazine

Get a three-year (three years!) subscription to Town and Country Magazine

Get a two-year subscription to Bridal Guide Magazine

Get a one-year subscription to Ebony Magazine

Get a two-year subscription to Tennis Magazine

Get a one-year subscription to Baseball Digest Magazine

Get a three-year subscription to Living the Country Life Magazine

Choose one of four free magazines. Specially marked packages of Always Infinity or Tampax Pearl include codes that are good for a one-year free subscription to your choice of Allure, Glamour, Lucky or Teen Vogue. Here is the link where you need to enter your code.

Here are some additional offers for magazines and other entertainment. Magazineline has some good deals:

Albertsons $10/$25 Catalina - Save More With Coupons

There is an amazing deal at Albertsons this week.  Use the coupons you found in the 9/23 and 10/4 Sunday inserts for additional savings.  If you buy $25 of General Mills products at Albertsons western stores, you will get a $10 catalina on your next order.  There is a long list of products, including cereal, Betty Crocker, and Pillsbury products.  And you can double up your purchases of Pillsbury and Betty Crocker to qualify for the $3 catalina on those as well.

You could wind up with $16 in catalinas good on your next order.  That is a lot of free food, since of course you will use coupons again!

Our usual list of Sunday insert coupons is here. There are two inserts, a SmartSource and a RedPlum.  You’ll find more cereal coupons, as well as great $2 coupons on L’oreal products, including Everpure Shampoo.  You’ll also find some $1 coupons on Smart Balance products.  This is a great deal.

Keep watching the register!  The stock market is going up, and your totals at the store are going down!

CVS Deals

I have to admit that I haven’t been paying too much attention to the drugstore deals this week, namely because I have been battling some sort of stomach virus, and just getting by for the week on ginger-ale and graham crackers. But as I slowly work my way back, I’m browsing the flyers and my inbox for deals. I did miss out on the free after ECB pumpkin carving tool and the cheap candy corn that was only offered through yesterday, but there are still some other deals to snag.

Here you go.

$5 off of $25

Take a flu shot quiz and get $5 off of $25! Combine this deal with the other great CVS deals, and you will do well.

Scope

Get a full size bottle of Scope Outlast Mouth Rinse for only $1.89. It is selling at CVS for $4.89. You can use the $1/1 Sunday insert coupon and then get $2 ECBs back. This is a good deal.

Green Bag

This one is an interesting deal. You buy a Green Bag Tag that you place on your reusable shopping bag. The tag gets scanned every time you use the bag at CVS. After four scans, you get a $1 ECB back. There is no mention of an expiration date, so we can assume that this promotion will be on for a while. The cost of the tag is $.99.

Free Glade

Next week, you should be able to get some free Glade. Here is how you do it.

Buy five Glade Sense and Spray. Use the $5/$25 coupon mentioned above and combine it with five of the $4.00/1 Glade Sense and Spray printable coupons, making all five units free!

New Printable Coupon Round Up

Get your printable coupons here! Printable coupons are an easy way to save money without having to remember to pick up the Sunday paper. Plus, you can usually get some great deals when you use printable coupons, including on local restaurants.

I particularly love the restaurant coupons now. Our church started offering a free two hours of baby sitting once a month. The kids get to watch a movie or experience a moon bounce, and my husband and I get to have dinner out together. Can you tell that I am excited?

Anyway, enough about my kid-free nights. Let us get to the coupons!

Organic Valley

Boy do I wish I knew about these printable coupons yesterday. I just picked up some of their chocolate milk at Trader Joe’s. Organic Valley is offering printable coupons off of milk, eggs, cheese, butter, cream, cottage cheese, cream cheese and soy milk.

Betty Crocker

Betty Crocker is offering $20.75 in printable coupons for the month. From Hamburger Helper to cake mix, there are so many products by this company, so you are sure to be able to use these particular coupons.

Rainforest Cafe

Yum, another restaurant coupon! This printable coupon one will get you $10 off a $25 purchase. That is a great deal. Of course the kids would probably enjoy going to the Rainforest Cafe, but I don’t have to tell them, do I?

Einstein Bros.

Get some free Bagel Poppers with any drink purchase. There are two different ones to try: Pumpkin Bagel Poppers or Cinnamon Sugar Bagel Poppers. The coupon expires this Wednesday, so take advantage of it right away.

Here is a printable buy one get one free printable coupon for Einstein Bros. They make some great bagel sandwiches. The coupon will get you a free Caesar Chicken or Chipotle Chicken Stuffed Saladwich with Chicken. Hurry, because it expires a week from tomorrow (10/20). I found this one via CouponCravings http://www.couponcravings.com

Rite Aid

Rite Aid offers its coupons online, so you can print them off before you go to the store. There are two offers up right now, for supplements and for cough drops. Just in time for cold and flu season, huh? And don’t forget to use your $5 off of $25 coupon.

Nestle

The Nestle coupon calendar from Walmart is still available. If you haven’t signed up for your calendar yet, now is your chance. It is packed with coupons.

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