You know that moment when you are like...I LOVE THIS!

So I am really late to the game when it comes to ebates! Okay, I do swagbucks, mypoints and inbox dollars. I really didn't think I could add one more deal site to my resume. But...TA DA! This site pays cash. I usually spent $100 or more every 2 weeks at diapers.com

And with every season change I am constantly ordering the kiddos clothes online. Not to mention the holiday season is just around the corner and I do most of my shopping online. So why not earn a little cash back from it??

Most everyone has heard of ebates. I had - seen the commercial enough times to know it by heart ;)
But I finally did a little research. It turns out - this site is pretty legit. People do make decent extra money. Even stuff like groceries from peapod - or itunes orders. Almost anything you can think of - you can order through ebates and make cash back on it. That money adds up! They pay out via check by mail or your paypal account.

So I signed up - and I have already earned $14 dollars in less than a week just ordering the normal things I already order online.

Which brings me to a suggestion - don't go order crazy just because of ebates. Order items you normally would. Don't start ordering items online that have high shipping cost just to get your ebates cash back - because then you may actually be paying more than you are earning.

AND ALWAYS SEARCH FOR COUPON AND PROMO CODES! I never checkout before I do a swagbucks search. A lot of stores have free shipping codes. And with the holidays coming up you can bet there will be a lot of sales and discounts just waiting for us!! As hectic as it is - this is my favorite time of year! Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's! I am in Holiday Heaven! :)

Ok - check out ebates. Its free to join! You can tailor it to your favorite stores. Just head to the site before you start shopping online at any time. Click the store link from ebates - and shop as you normally would. Your cash back is calculated on the ebates site regularly.

This is basically FREE MONEY! And it doesn't take decades to earn anything like some other sites. Nor do I have to trade in points for gift cards I forget to use half the time. This is cold hard CASH! Can't beat that.
 Basically, I have found a new love and it's EBATES!

Restoring Our Faith in Humanity...One Slice at a Time??

So I was driving into work the other day, and my favorite station was talking about "Random Acts of Pizza" and I am thinking...what the heck is that??! So I got online when I got to work, and swagged searched it ;). Turns out this is part of the site http://www.reddit.com/. Which is already a pretty cool site as it is. But now one of their sections is called "Random Acts of Pizza." It is basically where people post who could use a free meal, or who want to buy a free meal for someone. People pay to have pizza sent to one another, or give pizza egift certificates. Its actually a pretty awesome idea. People selflessly giving away food to someone who is hungry. It turns out, many people do it every day. And most people pay it forward.

While exploring reddit a bit more, I saw there was also a section to get assistance. Resources and information, as well as people willing to help one another out. Donating items no longer needed. Helping people with electric bills. And so much more.

The site is definitely worth exploring. We all fall on hard times. I know there have been days when I wondered what my family was going to eat for dinner. There is no shame, there really just seems to be a sense of acceptance and understanding.

Of course I am sure there are some people who take advantage of these kinds of things. But I truly believe it is a community, and if you have real needs...this may be a place to find help, advice or just an ear to listen.

http://www.reddit.com/r/Random_Acts_Of_Pizza/

http://www.reddit.com/r/Assistance/




Thanks BrothersPizzaCompany for image

Swag Bucks

So I finally jumped on board this Swag Bucks train. The truth is I am a Google gal. But if simply using a different search engine can get me free stuff...I finally went for it...and signed up for free.

You get points aka Swag Bucks for all kinds of simple things. Earn then for referring friends, for uploading a photo, for watching videos and taking the daily toll. But the best part is, you can be rewarded Swag Bucks when you do a search online. I won 20 with my first search. And Friday is apparently the big day. Swag Buck rewards are higher...so TGIF.

You can download the toolbar free, and get more bucks. Its pretty simple stuff, and an easy way to earn rewards. I love anything that pays me for doing things I normally do anyway; like searching the web.

I will keep you updated on how Swag Bucks goes, and if I happen upon any Swag Bucks codes...I will share. But for now, I recommend you Sign Up and see what it's all about. Its actually a pleasant change, even for all of us Google guys and gals :)!

SWAG BUCKS

Oxi Clean Stain Fighter $1.49 @ Walgreens & More

Let me first say that Walgreens is my absolute fav! My local one has discount shelves at the end of half the aisles. I often can get a great deal on makeup or hair color when it's on the discount shelf. I just use one of my manufacturer's coupons, and often get the item for pennies.

This week I love the deal going on for Oxi Clean, so I had to go check it out. Oxi Clean Stain Gel Stick, Sprays, Gelpacks and Powder are all on sale for $2.99 each. You are saving at least $2 bucks right there, since usual retail price is $4.99+. Now, I have a stack of Oxi Clean coupons I have been saving...just waiting for an awesome deal. The coupons are $3.00 off any 2 Oxi Clean products. So I pay $5.98 before coupons. Take of $3 bucks and I am paying $2.98 total for 2 Oxi Clean products. That's $1.49 each. I love Oxi Clean. Its fresh, works great and helps remove the variety of stains my kids get on their clothes. So I stocked up!

I also stocked up on Illy coffee drinks. They are free this week. On sale for $2, and then you get $2 back in Register Rewards. (Walgreens offers deals with Register Rewards. These rewards print out as a coupon after your purchase. Then they can be used just like cash towards almost any item in the store.)

I bought 8 Illy drinks (you must do 8 separate transactions.) I got $16 in Register Rewards and then used the rewards to get 12 Oxi Cleans. And the drinks are awesome. It will save me money on my Starbucks budget ;)!

Lets talk a little more about Register Rewards. Each week Walgreens puts out a weekly sales ad. Almost always there is one item on sale you can get for free with Register Rewards. Meaning you pay the sale price, but get that amount back in Register Rewards. Usually its a limit of 1 per transaction. So if I had done all my Illy drinks in 1 transaction, I would have only received $2 in Register Rewards. So always read the fine print. Most cashiers are nice about doing multiple transactions. Try to go during off peak hours, like in the evening or during the work day.

Now you cannot use Register Rewards on the same deal and get more Register Rewards back. So if I bought 1 Illy drink and got $2 Register Rewards, then bought a second drink and paid with those Register Rewards...then I would not get $2 more in rewards. However, you can use Register Rewards towards separate deals and still get more Register Rewards. Lets say I took my $2 Register Rewards from my Illy drink I bought, and I used it towards Pantene that is on sale. Lets say Pantene is on sale for $4 and you get $1 in Register Rewards back. I can use my Illy Register Rewards towards my Pantene and I will still get my Pantene Register Rewards.

When dealing with Register Rewards, sale prices, coupons and more...I know it can get complicated. It takes a few weeks and a few shopping trips to really master Walgreens. But if you can do it, you will be astonished at your savings.

Simplified

• Walgreens accepts manufacturer's coupons
• Walgreens usually puts out a monthly booklet full of store coupons
• Walgreens allows you to combine a store coupon and a manufacturer coupon on any item
• Walgreens offers great sale specials that give you low prices and often Register Rewards (money back to spend at Walgreens)
• Walgreens almost always has discounted items - check throughout the store to find even greater deals

Here are just a few more awesome deals going on at Walgreens this week:

Hawaiian Tropic Suncare - Buy 1 Get 1 Free (Plus $1 off coupons from Sunday paper last month)
Kellogg's Poptarts - $1.99 - Use $1.00 off 3 coupon - Pay $4.97 for 3 boxes
Kellogg's Raisin Bran - $1.99 - Use 1.00 off 2 coupon - Pay $2.98 for 2 boxes
Orbit Gum - .69 cents w/Walgreens In Ad Coupon - Use $1.00 off 2 coupon - Pay 0.38 cents for 2 packs
Off Repellent - $3.99 w/Walgreens In Ad Coupon - Use 1 .75 cents off coupon - Pay $3.24
Folgers Coffee - $2.79 - use $1.00 off 2 coupon - Pay $4.58 for 2 canisters

And they have these adorable fashion tote bags on sale for $2.99. So check them out if you can...they are great for summer.

Rimmel & L'Oreal Makeup - $0.12 Cents!!!

I have been waiting for an awesome deal on cosmetics; and I found one over the weekend. I went to my local CVS and saw that a ton of Rimmel and L'Oreal Cosmetics where marked down 50%-75% off. I snagged 3 mascaras, 1 lipstick, 1 eyebrow pencil, 1 foundation and 1 eyeshadow and my total was $2.96!

Here's how I worked it. I had a ton of L'Oreal and Rimmel London makeup coupons. The Rimmel were the best, $1.00 off any item. I had a $2.00 of L'Oreal foundation coupon as well I used. So with the discount, most items where $1.24 to $1.24. Add $1.00 off manufacturer coupon, and that's paying $.12 cents for awesome name brand makeup.

The deal will last only as long as the makeup lasts. So check out the CVS's in your area to load up on your favorite cosmetics!

Free Pack of Oscar Meyer Hotdogs @ Safeway Today!!

ACT NOW! Sale ends today!

Ok, So I had a ton of coupons for $1.00 off Oscar Meyer hot dogs. Safeway has them on sale right now for $1.99. Also, they have an in-ad coupon that will take the price down to .99 cents. Add in my $1.00 off coupon, and we are walking out the door with free hot dogs. Which is great, because summer is grilling season. You can freeze hot dogs, and have a good supply all summer long.

Here's how to do it. I had manufacturer's coupons. You guys know I stock up on coupons by visiting the many lovely recycle bins throughout my neighborhood. So I went into Safeway, I got 5 packs of Oscar Meyer hot dogs. I also grabbed a copy of the store ad. You only need one coupon. Once the in-store coupon is scanned, it will work on each item you have. So I may have 5 packs of hot dogs, but I also have to scan one in-store coupon to get the savings on all 5.

My Safeway has self-checkout (which I love.) It allows me to take my time, and make sure everything is ringing up properly. Cashiers are wonderful, but they go so fast. I don't want to miss something. Machines are not perfect, and they do make mistakes.

First I went ahead and scanned all my hot dogs. Then I scanned my 5 manufacturer's coupons. This took the hot dogs down to .99 cents each. Then I scanned one in store, and it took my total down to .12 cents (the tax.) It was important to scan my manufacturer coupons first. If I had done it the opposite way, I would have a .5 cent credit. Often the coupons won't go through, or the manager says they cannot do that no matter what the store coupon policy says. So I learn to pick my battles. Getting the hot dogs for free was good enough for me.

So if you have any of the $1.00 off coupons, hurry in to Safeway today.

A side note. Many of us also have the $1.00 off 2 Oscar Meyer hot dogs. These work great too. You can take the price of each pack of hot dog down to .99 cents each. Use 1 manufacturer coupon on 2, taking $1.00 off. You can 2 packs for .98 cents. That .49 cents a pack. Still an awesome deal!

Couponing Pt 2 - How Microsoft Excel Makes It Easy

So I have my coupon binder. I also have master coupon list in an Excel document. And each week, I make an Excel worksheet for each individual store I shop. Below is an example of my Safeway list this week.

ITEM	SALE PRICE	COUPON	TOTAL	NOTES
Pepsi 2lt	$0.69		$.69 x 4	$2.76 total
Capri Sun	$1.79		1.79 x 2	$3.58 for 2
Corn	$1.98		$1.98	for 12 ears
Lucerne Shredded Cheese	$2.00		$2.00	spend $4.00
Safeway Drumsticks or Thighs	1.99lb		$9.95
Barilla Pasta	$0.99		0.99 x 2	$1.98 for 2
Wishbone Salad Dressing	1.19 w/sf coup	1.25 off 2	$1.13	for 2
Welch's Grape Squeeze	1.69 w/ SF coup	.55 cents off 1	$1.14	limit 6
Totinos Pizza Rolls	$1.00	.35 cents off 1	.65 cents x 4	$2.60 for 4
Totinos Party Pizza	$1.00	.50 cents off 3	$2.50	for 3
Sunny D	$1.00		$1.00
Safeway Fries	1.99 w/SF coup		$1.99	limit 4
Oscar Meyer Hot Dogs	.99 w/SF coup	1.00 off 1	$0.00	limit 5
Heinz Ketchup	1.69 w/SF coup	.25 cents off 1	$1.44	limit 2
Jack Daniels' Bbq sauce	$0.99	.55 cents off 1	0.44 x 2	.88 cents for 2
Safeway Buns/Rolls	.99 w/SF coup		.99 x2	$1.98 for 2
Vlasic Pickels	BOGO		$2.99	for 2
formula	$5.00		$5.00

And here's a look at a Walgreens one - and how I note Register Rewards

ITEM	SALE PRICE	COUPON	TOTAL	NOTES
Hawaiian Tropic	BOGO	1.00 off 1
Arm & Hammer Detergent	BOGO	1.00 off 2
Poptarts	$1.99	1.00 off 3	$4.97	for 3
Kelloggs Raisin Bran	$1.99	1.00 off 2	$2.98	for 2 boxes
Orbit Gum	.69 w/ Wal Coup	1.00 off 2	$0.38	for 2 packs - limit 4
Folgers	$2.79	1.00 off 2	$4.58	for 2
Campbells Chunky Soup	1.50 w/wal coup		$1.50	limit 4
Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh	$2.50	1.00 off 2	$4.00	for 2
Oxi Clean Laundry Products	$2.99	3.00 off 2	$2.98	for 2 items
Palmolive	0.89 w/wal coup		$0.89
Walgreens Freezer Bags	.99 w/wal coup		$0.99
Off Repelent	3.99 w/wal coup	.75 cents off	$3.24
Fashion Tote Bags	$2.99		$2.99
Arm & Hammer Toothpaste	BOGO	1.00 off 1
Kids Aquafresh Toothpaste	.99 w/wal coup		$0.99
Illy Coffee Drinsk	$2.00		$2.00	get $2 Reg Rewards

So each week I go to the online ad for all my stores. Lets say today I am looking at Safeway. You can use the actual circular...whichever works best for you. I open my Master coupon excel list. This list is categorized just like my coupon binder. I update it regularly, so it accurately tells me what coupons I have.

Next I open last week's Safeway Excel list and delete everything but my headers. I start fresh each week. No need to have 100 old Safeway lists on your desktop.

So I have 3 things going right now. My Safeway Excel sheet, my Master Excel sheet and my online Safeway ad. So I begin to browse what is on sale. If I find an item on sale I use or would like to try, I go to my Master list and see if I have a coupon for it. If I do not, I do a Google search to make sure there are no printable coupons available. If there are no coupons to go along with the sale price, I would typically not get the item or add it to my list. However, if the sale price alone is an incredible deal...I add it.

I put the item name in column 1 of my Safeway Excel list. Column 2 is the sale price. Column 3 lists any coupon I have for that item. Then I use a calculator to total what my price paid will be with sale price, coupons, etc.

Notes are really important as well. If a sale item is limited, say I can only buy 3...I note that. If I plan on buying multiple of that item, I note that as well. As you get the hang of this system, you will realize what is important to notate.

This system is not for everyone. Some people prefer to hand write their lists. Others head to the store with their coupons and browse around for deals. Some people write lists on envelopes and place the coupons they need inside. Couponing is about what works for you...I cannot stress that enough. You are not just budgeting your money here, you are budgeting your time. So you have to find a system you can master. One you enjoy using. A system that saves you money and time.

My system works for me. When I go into a store, I have my coupon binder and my Excel list. I also take extra time to browse the aisles and the discount bins. Many stores have unadvertised sales, and you can get amazing deals.

Also, always pick up a store ad when you go inside. I use it as a reference. Sometimes sale items are not marked.

Lastly, be prepared to alter your shopping list and maybe even your budget....a little. Stores do run out of items, especially sale items. Don't ever be afraid to ask for a rain check on a sold out sale item. Most stores offer rainchecks. And if you find an incredible unadvertised deal, grab it if you have the money to do so.

Bottom line...shop smart. I always plan ahead, and plan for the unexpected. Find your own system and strategy, or use mine (it does work).

We will get even deeper into couponing in part 3 ;)