Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Neiman Marcus Ralph Lauren 50% off Towels

Neiman Marcus has Ralph Lauren Bath Towels at 50% off and free monogramming!
Free Shipping with code: PINKSALE or
Free Gift Wrap with code: WRAP8
Click this link
The bath towels are really high quality and end up being $9.99
For some reason if you go straight to their website the prices are higher, but if you use the link it works. I don't know how long it is good for. These are great for weddings, anniversaries, new babies. You can get creative with the monogramming for Christmas, birthdays, sports teams, spa baskets. NM has really nice gift wrapping.
Here is a thread discussing the deal.

Free Grapes at Target!

If you are swinging by Target this week, take advantage of this deal! Target has their red, black and green seedless grapes on sale for $1 lb. On top of that they just released a printable coupon for $1 off a pound or more of grapes. My suggestion is get a pound of each variety, in 3 different bags, use 3 coupons and bring home 3lbs of very pretty FREE grapes. You know you can take them out of those humongous bags and put the amount you want in the regular produce bags.

Find Target printables here.
(You will need to register with HCW which is free and awesome! It is more user friendly than Target's website.)

They are also currently on Target's website under grocery. FYI, you can combine target coupons with manufacturers coupons to get great buys.

Leave me a comment if you have questions.

Fraudulent Coupon Alert

Goodmorning!
There are some very high value coupons circulating the internet and through email. They are from a marketing company called vyrl marketing. I would advise you to not use these fraudulent coupons. Please read the following articles:
http://www.lairdgarner.com/blog/2008/8/27/vyrlmkt-unleashes-real-coupon-virus.html
http://supermarketnews.com/news/internet_coupons_0904/

I have read about these coupons, but had not seen them until today. They are very tempting to use, but I would not.

Here are some ways to spot that they are questionable:
First of all, since they are being circulated in a pdf format they are out of the manufacturers control as to how many are being circulated. Which means they are basically copies, way more than they originally intended. Copying coupons is against the law. So, I never use coupons that come to me in a PDF format, unless I have downloaded it directly from the manuf. website myself.
But, secondly, these coupons are being talked about alot because they were originally part of a Facebook coupon application test that was a huge booboo. They aren't even backed by the manufacturers. Most coupons, for example Pillsbury dinner roles, will say on the coupon that the manufacturer, Pillsbury, will reimburse the value of the coupon to the retailer. Well, these coupons have the marketing company backing them, which is a red flag.

The average person wouldn't know this. But, there are many people who do know better that are using these. Also, if we can put a stop to fraudulent coupon use, then couponing will be a much better experience for everyone. Things like this tend to make people suspicious of couponers. Even those with integrity. ;-)

I am all about Integrity!
Alisa

Monday, September 29, 2008

Couponing: How do I get started?

Many people have asked me for the very basic, "How do I get started with this coupon thing." If you came to my class, you found there is soo much info out there that it can be overwhelming. If you will hang with me for a few weeks, I'll give you a few things at a time to help you get started.

  1. Get at least 1 Sunday paper every week and pull out the coupon inserts. They will be SmartSource, RedPlum and P&G. The best papers in my area are the Dallas Morning News and then the Fort Worth Star Telegram. Ask your family and friends for their coupons if they don't use them. This step will help you start a good stash of coupons.

  2. Match your coupons with sale prices. Check out some of the websites I have linked on the side. Hotcouponworld is a free forum that can help you find deals at your store.

  3. Stockpile. If you find a great buy on a product, buy more than you need for just that week. Buy enough to last say 12 weeks. Likely the sale will come back around by then. A stockpile keeps you from running out to pay a premium price for an item because your desperate for it.

That's it for now! Babysteps...

Are You Ebating?

Well if you aren't, you should be. ;-) And this month is the perfect time to do it! I wrote earlier about ebates.com, but I just got an email from them. Here is what it says:

Dear Alisa, Get a $10 Bonus! Refer a friend to Ebates and we'll give you $10*! It's fast, it's easy and there's no limit to how much you can get. Plus for a limited time, we'll also give your friend $10 when they sign up! But hurry, this bonus offer ends on October 31, 2008. $10 is credited to both when a purchase is made.

I have the perfect way for you to make $$ on this deal. I wrote earlier about the 60%off promotion at restaraunt.com ( Go back and read it carefully.) Today and Tomorrow ONLY you can buy a $25 gift certificate for $4 with the code: FALL ! I bought a Cozymels gc. Go through ebates and you'll get 15% of your purchase back PLUS $10 when you sign up through me. You'll make over $6 on the deal. Then refer your friends through Ebates and get $10 for each one of them that does the same. Wow!

If you have previously signed up with ebates, then you don't qualify for the "signing bonus," but you CAN refer your friends and tell them about this deal and get the $10 that way.

If you are new to ebates and want the referal bonus, you can click on any of my ebates links to get the deal. Also, there are hundreds of stores to shop at, this is just a great deal with very little out of pocket.

Now, I hate to sound like an infomercial, but if you want to tell people about the restaurant.com deal, then you need to act quick. You get $10 for every person you refer and makes a purchase, and the last day for $4 gc is tomorrow. And Ebates actually sends you a check. This is what I call free money! Leave me a comment if you have any questions or email me.

Blessings!

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Sunday's Frugal Find

Albertson's Mega Sale:
Until October 7th Albertson's is running a deal where you buy 10 participating items and get $5 off your total instantly. So their Deja Blue 6pk of water is 10/$10. With this deal they become $.50 a six pack, or $5 for 60 bottles of water! The same price is on for the Bird's Eye Steamfresh Frozen Vegetables. And you can mix and match. There are many other products that qualify, but these stand out as great buys. And even if you don't have a stash of coupons you can get in on this one!!

Side note: I know it seems like a frugal person would not spend money on water. But, I find that we will drink water if I have the bottles and we will drink junk if I don't. So, I think it's worth it.

Kroger:
Did you know that you can load coupon's from the internet onto your Kroger card? Their are 2 websites that do this and the coupons are good on top of your regular coupons. From my experience, even if I am already getting an item for free with paper coupons, the "virtual" coupon amount will still come off, creating overage!!
http://www.pgesaver.com/
shortcuts.com

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Today's Walgreens Trip


First Transaction:
4 bottles Pert Plus @ $3.49 = $13.96
1 Mouthwash @ $4.49
Total before coupons = $18.45

-$2.50 WG Easy Saver coupon (took that off of each bottle) x 4 = -$10
-$2.00 Pert mq
-$1.50 Pert mq x 3 = -$4.50
Somehow I had -.21 for tax

Total Out of Pocket= $1.74

Earn $4.50 in Register Rewards for mouthwash

Second Transaction:
Milk @ $3.99
2 bags sf candy $1.08
1 mini calendar $.50

= $5.57 - $4.50 RR earned above = $1.07

Total oop for both transactions $2.81
That is a good price just for the milk!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

A Frugal Find: Save on eating out!


This is for all my coupon buddies! This is my first attempt at blogging. I have been regularly sharing deals with many of my frugal friends via email. I'm hoping this format will make it more accessible to everyone who might be interested. So please share with your friends.

So, here is my first frugal find for you to enjoy!

Restaurant.com is a website that lets you purchase gift certificates for restaurants at a discount. For instance you can buy a $25 gc to Cozymel's for $10. Well, until 9/30 you can get 60%off your purchase by entering the code FALL. This means I pay $4 for the $25 gc. In the Ft. Worth area there are not many restaurants, but there are many in Dallas. I was looking for my family in Oklahoma City and they have a ton of choices. Every restaurant has its own stipulations on how you can use the gift certificate, so be sure to read that. I think this is a great deal, especially for gift giving. I am planning on doing the Dinner of the Month club for my family for Christmas with this 60% off promo. $12 for 3months of Dinner of the Month Club! But it is also a good deal just to save your family on eating out. Just be sure and to click "No thanks" to all of the special offers after checkout.

Okay, so to make the deal sweeter, you can make your purchase through ebates.com and get 15% of your restaurant.com purchase back. Ebates is awesome if you do any online shopping. Basically, you start on ebates website and click the store you want to shop at and a percentage of what you spend is paid back to you through ebates. And the good news is when you make your first purchase through ebates you get an automatic $5 posted to your accout. It is a win, win situation. They send you the money in the form of a check. I call that free money! Whoo hoo.

Last year, about this time I followed the Hot Tips on the Grocerygame message board and did most of my Christmas shopping online. If it was available I went to the online store (like buy.com) through ebates and got a little bit back on my already awesome deals. This year I will be checking Hotcouponworld for deals as well.

Okay, well that's it for today!
Be blessed and happy saving!