Freebie Day...Yeah

January 4, 2014 Freebie Day....Yeah! As promised, today I ventured into Publix to grab a few things in the unlikely event we get snow this week. My shopping trip was a worthwhile effort as I scored two free 12 packs of Coke and Mellow Yellow thanks to the www.mycokerewwards.com program which I just love. (We will blog about them in a separate post.) This was a savings of $10.98 since I also picked a free package of bacon thanks to an in-store promotion of buy 2 packs get one free, a savings of $5.99. Yes, we eat a lot of bacon in my house. Last but not least, I ended the trip with a free pack of Peanut M&Ms, a savings of .99. Altogether my savings totaled $31.42 off a bill that would have been $102.79. I paid $71.37 thanks to the freebies and other coupons and sales. 30% is not bad for this small trip but I know I can do better. Day 1 Savings: $31.42.

A YEAR OF SAVING WITH COUPONS-MY 2014 GOAL New year, new goals, and now a challenge to myself....a year of tracking my freebies, savings, and coupons. Yes, friends, we are going to track all of our savings this year hopefully day by day or at least weekly. I scored some neat deals this past year like the all the free water bottles from LL Bean just for redeeming the coupon code off their catalog which gave me $10 in free merchandise up to $10 and THEY SHIP IT TO YOU FREE! Quality stuff in that catalog and who can beat free shipping. I did score a free FTD Christmas floral arrangement and an FTD Sweet and Savory Tower gift for family by redeeming my United Airline Miles. I don't travel much so I save the points for Christmas Shopping. Thanks United Airlines. I scored an excellent deal at Bath and Body on their after Christmas sale with a $10 off coupon. My mother is still wondering what I will do with $125.00 worth of lotion...I told her I was restocking my closet. My dad benefited from my freebies this year with gift certificates to Longhorns and Steak and Shake thanks again to redeeming points from my card usage. My son even received a free ITunes gift card again. I saved almost $1,300 this past year in groceries with my Bi-Lo's fuelperks card and my own coupon usage. That averaged out to about $100 in monthly savings from our ever increasing food bill. My sister's dog even got a piece of the action with free lamb and apricot dog treats. I can't begin to tell you how excited my mom gets when I score free K-cups or coffee samples and tonight I just redeemed a $5.00 gift card from Domino's Pizza for their facebook friends. So here goes, January 1 starts the clock ticking on a year of savings, coupons and freebies. Wish me luck and for the record, I still pick up loose or lost change in parking lots.

Free Itunes Card Compliments of SunTrust Bank

While driving home from my mom's house today, my son asked me to stop at the store so he could purchase a $15.00 itunes card to get some crazy baseball application for his ipod. I remembered I just checked my SunTrust rewards points and had enough to cash them in for the card. I was excited...a freebie we can use. Unfortunately, my son doesn't share my enthusiam when I told him it would take about 7-14 business days to get the card in the mail. But mom, it's faster if we get it today. But son, I can get it for free with my SunTrust rewards that I have earned. Yes, we are waiting the 7-14 days because I earned it! Check with your bank's website to see how you can earn some freebies. I earned the SunTrust rewards by using my debit card as a credit transaction. One day when he pays the bills, he will appreciate the lessons I am teaching him on saving money.

Free Address Labels in the Mailbox Today

Thanks Pear Tree, I just received 24 of the cutest address labels personalized with my info in the mail today. I found this freebie on one of my favorite websites: HIP2SAVE.COM. A $6.00 value for free and something useful I can use! Yeah!

Freebies in the Mailbox

I love checking the mailbox. Yesterday, my freebies started to arrive. In the mailbox were a sample of Pantene shampoo and conditioner, the two scarves I ordered at greatly reduced price from Coldwater Creek, a free $10 Target gift card from E-poll.com (see previous blog posts) and a $5.50 check from OpinionOutpost.com.

More freebies are on their way and my son and I fight to get to the mailbox every afternoon to see what treasures await. I am expecting something from Old Spice, a sample of bacon salt, a Neti Pot for people with sinus problems, some glassware from Jose Cuervo, a sample of a Smore bar from SouthBeach Diets, and the list goes on.

The postman is probably going to get tired very soon of stuffing my box with all these samples and trial sizes but I am having a ball and getting to try a lot of new things without having to pay for them.

I have fallen for the freebies. I can't wait to share with you what I picked up for Father's Day....talk about a savings...$55.00 worth! I'll keep you posted and tell you about that freebie after Dad's Day has passed.

FREE UNDERWEAR!

Okay everyone, you can quit laughing but I did score a free pair of Cacique panties from Lane Bryant on Friday with no purchase necessary. The panties usually cost between $12.50 to $14.50 so that is a savings I could not pass up. In addition, I had a $15.00 off coupon for a $15.00 or more purchase and I redeemed that for an additional 5 pairs of underwear. Not bad considering all these items usually run $12.50 to $14.50....a savings of over $61. I paid $18.00 for everything.

I missed out on the Cacique cami they were running last week. See what a little humiliation can do for you...I missed a great deal last week because I was feeling a little stupid for even considering going to the store.

I did share the promo with a nice lady that was also shopping for underwear that day and she was happy to get a pair for FREE.

Thanks Lane Bryant! I will be checking for your unadvertised freebies more often.

The Coupon Queen Rides

Well it is Saturday morning and I am off to shop with coupons in hand. Our first stop today is Staples where I purchase a composition notebook, a pack of #10 envelopes and a package of mechnical pencils from Bic. My total was $9.06 until I whipped out the coupons: $1.00 coupon for the envelopes, $1.00 store coupon for the pencils plus a $1.00 manufacturer's coupon and another $1.00 coupon for the notebook...I walked away only paying $3.21. Yeah! The notebook and pencils will be put up for fall for school.

Next stop on our list is CVS. I love CVS. I have a $5.00 Extra Care Bucks in hand. I need a baby shower gift. CVS is advertising Pampers Swaddlers the 92 count box for $19.99 plus $5.00 in Extra Care Bucks. The light bulb in my head goes off. I run to the register and buy the diapers with my $5.00 ECBs making the diapers $14.99. I get another $5.00 ECBs back which I in turn purchase a package of baby wipes and a baby shower card for FREE!

Next stop, Bath and Body. I have a coupon for a free 2 ounce Men's body wash. No purchase required. I got the Ocean scent for free! I also had a coupon from a previous purchase for $10 off a $30 purchase. I purchased 3 True Blue Spa items (if you buy three items, you get one free). Instead of paying $45.00 less the $10 off, I bought all three items for $21 and some change. Each product at regular price would have been $15.00 each without the benefit of a coupon.

When I arrived home, I ordered 24 personalized mailing labels from a cool company called PearTree. All I had to do was make a selection, customize the info, enter the special code: MOMSDAY10 and now I wait to get another freebie in the mail. I learned about that goodie on Hip2Save.com.

I'm wore out today. Chasing bargains can take it's toll on a girl. Stay tuned for more savings.

Next stop Target, I love Target also. They never hassle me on the coupons. I had to stock the fridge for Mother's Day so I won't itemize but I will share that I saved $23 using coupons for all my grocery items.