More Than a Little

Wizards of the Coast is giving away free Magic: The Gathering decks.

Get your free deck

I used to play this in high school. I still have my cards somewhere… maybe I’ll get them all out and relearn how to play once my free deck arrives. :) It was fun. Also, geeky.

The FedEx guy brought me a happy little surprise yesterday–$500 in Shell gas gift cards!

These came as a result of signing up at an online offer website.  You know those sites that promise to send you money or a laptop or gift cards?  I had never even considered clicking on one of those links because it was obviously just a scam anyway.  Thanks to Carrie at Money Saving Methods and her posts about online offers, I finally got up the courage back in January to start one of my own.  Basically, you sign up for a certain number of products/services through certain sites, and once those sites are approved and you send in your approval paperwork, they send you the gift they mentioned.  There are a number of rules and restrictions and guidelines to follow, but as long as you’re organized, it actually works.  It took just over two months, start to finish.

I spent a total of $51.34 up front to receive these cards, but I would have only spent $26.35 if you don’t count the $24.99 mistake* I made. That’s a profit of $448.66/$473.65!  I spent somewhere from three to five hours on this all together.  I spent two hours signing up for offers on the first night, and probably a couple since then doing one replacement offer for one that didn’t credit and canceling things. AWESOME. Plus, I got 250 business cards, two credit reports, one trial of GameFly, a bunch of mp3 downloads, and two or three pairs of panty hose.

If you’re interested in doing online offers, I really recommend that you read through all the posts, especially this one, and the ones about the company you decide to try for.  Create a spreadsheet to enter every piece of information that you receive and make sure you put cancelation dates into your calendar so you don’t forget about something and then pay much more than you mean to.  Many of these trial subscriptions are for services/products that cost a lot of money every month.  Just call in before your trial is up, though, and you’ll be fine. Also, don’t sign up for one until you’re ready to begin doing offers, and use a separate email address that you create for this purpose because you will get spam, and lots of it.

I didn’t want to post about this until I saw for myself that I would actually get the money.  I have a $500 Visa gift card in progress that has been approved, so hopefully that one will also arrive as expected in the next few weeks.  I am SO excited.  I mean, seriously. I get excited about coupon overages of 30 cents. This is fantastic. :)

*I accidentally clicked “download album” instead of “download song” on a music free trial, which bumped up my trial subscription to a paid subscription, otherwise it wouldn’t have cost anything. However, the husband was pretty excited about it in the long run, because he got several CDs out of it that he has been wanting, so we made it part of his Valentine’s Day present.

I’m pretty sure that this week’s meal plan will be changed mid-week. I think my parents are planning on coming over to spend the night with their grandbaby, and I will probably decide to cook something else. My mom is a diabetic and they commited to a low-carb lifestyle recently and are doing really well with it. I think that fixing them a pot of macaroni and cheese would be a bad way to show my support!  I’m just not sure if they’re coming, or what day(s) they’ll be here for dinner, so I decided not to worry about it yet.

Monday: man pleasing casserole
Tuesday: chicken.  possibly chicken with pasta, or as a sandwich
Wednesday: crockpot macaroni and cheese, steamed vegetables
Thursday: separate meals – my husband wants to have this nasty fish thing. I’ll just see what I’m in the mood for that day for myself.
Friday: burgers

In the world of personal finance online, I have occasionally saw a few tips for saving money that just seem to be above and beyond the call of duty. I don’t care how much money I save, I will not stop bathing. I will not stop using deodorant.  I will not stop using my air conditioner or heater.  Although I like the idea of it, I probably will never manage to stop using my dryer, either.

So it is with some embarrassment that I tell you that three of the six lights over my bathroom counter are out, and I’m not changing them on purpose, and in large part because it is cheaper not to. Oh, we could certainly afford to change the light bulbs. We even have light bulbs to fit it.  When they first went out, at almost the same time last fall, we just didn’t get around to buying new bulbs for a few days.  After a while, I started thinking that we might as well use the clear glass ones we already have instead of the frosted glass ones.  Sure, it would look weird until the others started going out, but if you’ve ever seen our bathroom, you’d know that beauty is not its strong point.  After that, I started realizing that the light in there was enough even for me, who likes brightly lit rooms, and Evelyn was much happier about them being out.  (We change her diaper on the bathroom counter, directly under those lights.)  So I weighed the situation.  On one hand, broken light bulbs doesn’t look that good, and the brighter the better, as far as I’m concerned.  On the other hand, if we didn’t change them, we didn’t have to actually put forth effort, PLUS it made our baby more content, my husband doesn’t like it that bright either, and well, we are no longer paying for the electricity those bulbs would require.    It’s win-win!

My point here really is that you don’t always have to make huge  sacrifices to save a penny.  This tiny little thing has saved us a little bit of money over the last few months. It’s not enough to fund Evie’s college education, but every time you make a choice like that, you’re closer to your financial goals without even giving up something you care about.  Use a little less laundry detergent or stop buying fabric softener, let your hair air dry instead of blow drying it now and then, make a meal in the crockpot instead of the oven, use one square less toilet paper. You know what they say–a penny saved is a penny earned. (To be honest, a penny saved is better than a penny earned, but that’s another post!)

We don’t have a Giant Eagle here, but I know some of you shop there. Might as well pick up some free pictures next time you go!

Get 25 FREE 4×6 photo prints at the Giant Eagle photo center when you use the code MARCH25 at checkout. This deal is going on until April 15, so you have plenty of time to take advantage of it!

Pick your pictures up in-store to save on shipping charges! Thanks to Coupon Cravings for this link!

I couldn’t leave the diaper situation well enough alone, so we headed out again today. We ended up spending two hours at Walgreens. I did two transactions, loaded them in the car, consulted my coupons and decided it would be worth doing it again with one $5 coupon and two $3 coupons–not AS good, but still pretty hot stuff.  So, I went back inside and while I was standing in line, I had a lovely conversation with a new mom in line in front of me who got her first taste of coupon shopping with the help of the cashier.  I gave her a few links and am kicking myself that I didn’t give her my email address or something. She seemed nice, and super-interested in figuring out how to shop like me.  Anyway, while I was paying for my stuff, another lady walked in, saw me standing there with Huggies, and stopped to ask if I wanted her $5 coupons.  She gave me them and a $3, which was so super nice.  I headed back right then and did one more transaction, for a total of four.

I had this all spread out on the dining room table when I got home, but then I had to remove it before I even thought of taking a picture, so we’ll have to do this without a pic this time.

8 packages of Huggies, 10.00 ($5 after coupon)
4 refill packages of Huggies wipes, 6.00 ($1 after coupon)
9 packages of Orbit gum, .66 (.33/ea after coupon)
8 Dove trial-size soaps, .99/ea ($2.08 profit after RR)
1 memory enhancing thing, 19.99 (free after ESR)
2 Walgreens headache pills, 2.99 (free after ESR)
2 Sambucol, 11.99 ($2 profit each after coupons)
4 Butterball chicken broth, .69 (to complete the rebate I messed up yesterday)
1 box of dried pineapple, 1.00 (Evie loves them)
3 Zone blueberry bars, .40 (.03/ea after using two .55 coupons)
4 Nice and Easy Perfect 10 hair dye, 3.59/ea (slight overage from 3 $5 coupons)
1 Walgreens Metamucil (for my aunt), 2.59 clearance

Total Out of Pocket Expenses: $94.30 (including RR spent)
Register Rewards Received: $50
Easy Saver Rebates: $25.97
Easy Saver Rebate Bonus: $2.60
Prescription Savings Club Bonus: $0.86
Caregivers Marketplace Rebate: $6

Total Cost of Everything Listed: $2.79

The third transaction had a small error–instead of subtracting $1 for the Walgreens activity book coupon, the register accidentally added it. The coupon didn’t scan, so she put it through manually. I didn’t point out until the last transaction that it really should take off $2 for every pack of diapers. She was upset that I hadn’t mentioned it sooner.  So.. it pretty much equals out, I guess. I am not going to bother taking it back to the store to try to explain what happened, especially since she actually gave me a $2 RR that was laying around, as well as an extra $.50 coupon.

Lots of people have grumpy Walgreens cashiers but I have several good ones and a couple of great ones. The one today is my favorite. She calls Evie by name when she sees us. :)  The first transaction she did, she frowned at the wipes I had picked out and then told me that the even larger package would work as well, and then went back and picked out the bigger package for me. (I didn’t think it was on sale.)  She went and replaced it for the second transaction as well. I thought it was sweet.

I have purchased almost a thousand wipes in the past two days. I am almost positive that this will carry us through potty training with some left over, especially since we still are using cloth wipes part of the time.

And… I realized today that I could print more coupons from  Red Plum. Guess I’ll be going back again this week!  I am so going to be in trouble next week with all these RR to burn.

What are you going to do with all this stuff? The diapers and wipes will be used. If by some miracle, she potty-trains before we make it through this stash, I guess I’ll sell or give them away. The soap, hair dye, Sambucol and memory enhancing thing will be put in the yard sale or given away, the Metamucil is for my aunt and the gum is for my mom (those numbers came out of the above total as well, though I didn’t list it separately). Chicken broth and pineapple are for the pantry.

I had a pretty good time shopping yesterday, except my kid is in a somewhat challenging mood of late, and has decided that car seats are evil.  I had to stop the car and put her back in it once–she’s figured out how to slide the upper tether down the straps and then wiggle her arms out.  We turned her around to be front-facing on Sunday, thinking she would like it better.  She doesn’t seem to care but either by coincidence or consequentially, she has been fighting like a little banshee when it’s time to get in the seat now.  Kids are dopey.

First, we went to CVS. I did two transactions, one of which was with my mom’s card.  She doesn’t have a CVS in her hometown, so she left her card and ECBs from the last trip with me to spend.

6 boxes of General Mills cereal,  $0.83 after coupons (4 $1 coupons, 1 $1/2 coupon)
2 Crest Pro-Health toothpastes, free after coupon
2 Aquafresh Advanced…I got a $2 CRT from the magic scanner, and these were both supposed to be $0.92 on clearance. One rang up full price so I’ll take it back.
4 Palmolive, $0.49 each
1 Absolutely Divine chocolate, $0.33. This was a filler that turned out to be unnecessary

I spent almost thirteen dollars out of pocket because my mom only had $5 of ECBs built up, and also because I just do not have the time, energy or social skills to do endless transactions with a two-year-old with me.  Oh, well.

And then we went to Walgreens.

5 Garnier Fructis products, $2.99, free after $1 manufacturer’s coupon and $2 EasySaver coupon
2 packages Huggies diapers,$10, $5 each after coupon
1 package Huggies wipes, $6, $1 after coupon
2 CoffeeMate creamers, $2.49, B1G1, but $0.50 overage after coupons
9 cans of Butterball chicken stock, $0.79, but $0.69 after in-ad coupon
1 Sambucol, $11.99, but  $2.01 overage after $4 printable coupon and $10 EasySaver coupon

I didn’t notice that the regular price for the chicken broth for me is $.79, not $1.19, as reported in the deal I read online.  I’m going to need to buy four more cans to qualify for the $5 ESR on $10 worth of ConAgra products, which will mean that each can is 40 cents per can, if I’ve done the math right.  That’s a pretty good price but I probably wouldn’t have bothered if I’d realized it before I bought those nine cans.  Isn’t it strange how deals can be messed up by something being cheaper than expected?

My total came to $18.12 before RRs that I received last week ($4.62 after) and  I received $10 for the Huggies.  I’ll submit this receipt to Caregivers Marketplace for a $0.75 rebate per package of diapers, which will make my diaper products a moneymaker of fifty cents. ($10 + $10 + $6 = $26 – $15 coupons = $11 -$10 RR received = $1 – $1.50 rebate = -.50.) Awesome!

I’m planning on going again this afternoon to pick up more diapers (hoping they’re in stock) and possibly Glade, if they have any. I’m not holding by breath on that one, though.  Well, to be honest, I’m not holding my breath about anything.  Such a strange expression that is… ;)

It’s now past time to wake up the baby from her nap. Gotta run!

Edited to add:

What are you going to do with all this stuff? The diapers and wipes we’ll use. The CoffeeMate I want to send to work with my husband, but it has a sell-by date of today, so I don’t know how much use they’ll get out of it.  The Garnier… the gel is for M, who has been nagging me lately to buy him some but I just couldn’t manage to pay full price for hair products.  I’ll either use the rest or put it in the yard sale.  Sambucol is yard sale material. We have tons of it and will be getting more this month. :)  And, the chicken broth we’ll use. We use lots of broth.

My child woke up at 4:49 this morning. Personally, I am still not adjusted to the time change so to me, this is the equivalent of being awake at 3:49.  I think this will be a very long day indeed, especially considering that she was tossing and turning all night, and woke up once crying (just as I was falling asleep).  It was 1:00 the last time I looked at the clock.  Oh well. No one ever said parenthood would be fun all the time!

Meal Plan

Monday: cereal. I am a super great housewife!
Tuesday: something with chicken, to be made up as I go along (or possibly sandwiches), vegetables–frozen and free, of course!
Wednesday: homemade pizza
Thursday: Mexican rice
Friday: burgers

If these seem to be repeats, it is both because I am unimaginative, and I veered from the plan a few times recently. :)

I accidentally saved this post as a draft instead of posting it. Ooops!  Amazingly enough, I believe these coupons are still available. You can print two of each per computer.

$5 off Huggies Gentle Care diapers
$3 off Huggies Natural Fit diapers

You’ll have to find them at the coupons.com site, and they may not be located right together.  I couldn’t find a direct link.

I have not personally used these coupons yet, because I am waiting for next week at Walgreens, where you will get back $10 in Register Rewards for every $25 spent. Soo.. $10 x 3 = $30 total – $5 – $5 – $5 coupons = $15 – $10 RR = $5 for THREE packs of Huggies.  (Please don’t buy more than three per transaction, or use the $10 RR to pay for a second transaction like this, though, because it won’t print another that way… but otherwise you can do separate transactions.) If you don’t have a Walgreens, you might also consider using them at Kroger, with Huggies e-coupons loaded onto your Kroger Plus card from shortcuts.com or cellfire.com. (Only one will be taken off per product purchased, but if you buy two packages, you can use two coupons and two e-coupons.)

Rumor has it that the coupons will work on any type of Huggies diaper, if your cashier doesn’t notice or mind, that is.  I don’t know if Although it does say any product, it will reportedly “beep” on a non-diaper Gentle Care  purchase.  To my mind, a cashier should push it through because that is what it says, but your mileage may vary on that usage.

Don’t have a kind in diapers? Might I suggest that these would make good additions to a baby shower or new baby gift?  If nothing else, I am pretty sure you’ll find someone willing to take them off your hands. The average diaper coupon is $1 or $1.50 so these are significantly better than usual.

I have been to Walgreens twice this week. Goodness gracious overage week!  I made enough in overage to pay for four packages of diapers overall.  (One of my favorite Walgreens cashiers once told me that you can’t make money by shopping “no matter what Oprah says”. She told me this while checking me out on an order I made money on.)  I have a bundle of money in register rewards, though. I hope that next week is a good one, too, or I’ll be in trouble.

I meant to take a picture of my stuff tonight, but we stayed so long at Walgreens that when my husband got off work, we met him for dinner and by the time we got home, the baby was going absolutely wild in that way she sometimes does when she knows its almost bedtime.   She filled the laundry basket with everything from the bags, and then started trying to jump in too.  It didn’t work all that well but she completely squashed one tube of toothpaste and two of her mother’s fingers before I managed to get everything away from her.

Free/overage: 6 tubes of Colgate, 3 bottles of Vaseline lotion, 2 Sambucol, 1 Blink eye drops, 1 BenGay (clearance + catalina coupon), 5 Mylanta (clearance + $2 easy saver coupon), 3 blueberry Zone bars, Axe shampoo, Iceland Health Memory Formula.

Not free, but cheap: Walgreens brand Pepcid and Tagament, $3.19 and $1.89 on clearance for my mom, three jars of Miralax for $12.99 after coupons and register rewards for my grandfather and two packages of diapers.

I spent $167.63 out of pocket.  After rebates, 10% rebate bonus, register rewards, the prescription savings discount of 10% on Walgreens items, and the money my mom and grandfather owe me, I’ll get back $167.28.  I think that a cost of fifty cents for all of the above items is not unreasonable, what do you think?

What do you do with all of this stuff? As I mentioned, the stomach medicine was for my mom and the Miralax for my grandfather.   The diapers are for Evie. The blueberry Zone bars are for M. The toothpaste and Mylanta is for the yard sale, and the rest of it will probably either end up in the yard sale or we’ll use it if a need comes along first.