Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Christmas / Holiday Cards! It's that time!

I love Christmas cards! I remember as a child wanting to open all the cards that came in to our family. We had a business, and it was the 1970s and people still sent plenty of cards. It didn't matter I didn't know who the people were who sent the card, I wanted to see what neat cards everyone was sending that year. Then I'd watch as Mom taped them to the bookshelves to show off our plethora of cards. That was 30 years ago. It doesn't seem that people send as many cards these days, but I still love cards, and especially personalized ones! I love seeing how children have grown or some special adventure on everyone's cards.

Last year I made Christmas cards with me in front of “The Church of the Saviour on The Spilled Blood” in St. Petersburg, Russia. One year I sent Christmas cards with a photo of me with school representatives when we got a $5,000 grant from a video I made. Of course, the check was in the photo, and I must say I look good with big checks going to the school! LOL!

This year, I'm planning on sending Shuttefly Christmas cards. I thought of adding a photo of myself with Wolfgang Puck to the card.  I even started making it with the Shutterfly design of "Family Frame", but decided to do something a bit different. I went to a Shutterfly House Party last week and already have decided on our Christmas cards.

In February, we had a snow hurricane. We couldn't have our driveway plowed, we had to hire a back-hoe. Then the next day there was another eight feet of snow in our driveway. It was insane. The post office closed, Wal-Mart closed. If you were on the roads, and it wasn't an emergency, you would get a ticket. There was snow everywhere. We got snowed in to the point we couldn't open ANY door to our home. We were literally trapped.

So, I decided to make cards using the Sweet Cinnamon Collage Christmas design  from Shutterfly. I can add seven of the photos from our big snowstorm. I'm putting our names on it, and underneath it I'm writing, “Don't you DARE dream of a White Christmas.” I think it will give everyone a laugh, and since I live in a small town, I expect that people will be talking about the creative card I am sending this year.
 
Another nice thing about Shutterfly is that I have a few Jewish friends, and I can make a few Hanukkah cards as needed.  This card isn't religious, but is in Hanukkah colors, perfect for sending to my Jewish friends. Classic Border Navy Holiday Card.  Shutterfly has a lot of great cards from Christmas Cards, Holiday Cards, and even New Year's Cards.
 
Another card I paticularly like is this one:  Top Ten Moments Christmas Card.  Of course, I usually write a newsletter, but this would be great if you don't.
 
And here's an added bonus if you blog!  If you are willing to do a write up about Shutterfly cards, you can get 50 Free Shutterfly cards for Bloggers!  I've been a Shutterfly customer for years, and trust me, you won't be disappointed in these cards.
 
Once my cards arrive, I'll be sure and do a follow up post with a picture of my cards!

Pound Wise, Penny Foolish

It seems it's that time of year again where my pet peeve is really being peeved.  Yes, I can save a ton of money by combining deals at the store, or entering sweepstakes and contests CONSISTANTLY (like 400 or more  a day)  all year long.  (To put that in perspective, that 400 equals 146,000 giveaways entered each year.)  Yes, I won a Wii a few years ago, but that doesn't mean that 4 weeks before Christmas you can tell me you want to win a Wii before Christmas to give to someone.  (I've won one since they came out.  Yes, I still enter for them because I have someone I had wanted to give one to.)

Just because I refuse to pay more than 25 cents for a tube of toothpaste doesn't mean I can get you your dream vacation free.  Although, my mother and I did a get away in March and spent a total of $20 for an overnight trip.  I had a gas card I had won to pay for the gas used.  Then we used gift cards to eat out, hotel reward points we earned from a credit card for the motel.  In March 2009 we went to Williamsburg for a few days and got a hotel room for $60 for four nights -- or $15 a night.  Notice this is the off season for Williamsburg.  (It was miserable, too, by the way.  Cold and rainy!)

I called this post "Pound Wise, Penny Foolish".  The saying "Penny Wise, Pound Foolish" basically means you pinch pennies in small things, but don't care in the big picture.  For instance, say you decide to "save" money by deciding to cut out buying toothbrushes and toothpaste.  That might save a little now (if you don't shop like I do and get these free anyway) but in the long run you'll be spending MUCH more on dental bills.  (Not to mention having bad breath all the time!)

But think about how you shop.  For instance, let's say you regularly buy toothbrushes that, say,cost $5.29 each.  (See yesterday's post.)  Toothbrushes can often be "bought" free with no combining of coupons, just watching for deals where you receive dollars back at the register good at that store.  If you change your toothbrush when recommened (every 3 months), and if you have a family of four, that's almost $85 a year saved on toothbrushes.  It doesn't seem like a toothbrush can add up to almost $100 a year, but you can see where it can, and that's one reason I do shop like I do. 

We haven't bought coffee since 2008.  Granted, we're not huge coffee drinkers, but I've gotten a lot free over the years, and we almost never buy coffee out.  A $5 cup of coffeee will cost you $100 a month if you stop 20 times (every weekday) to buy one.  That's $1200 a year, and if you have done this since Jan 1, 2008, you have spent almost $3600 on coffee.

One big splurge I had last year was a trip to Russia.  I have friends who work with a church there, and as soon as they got the assignment to Russia, I planned on visiting them.  I had 4 years to save for this trip, and it took me all four years to save $1300.  (See, I don't have extra expenses that I can easily cut out like a $5 daily cup of coffee.)  Even at needing to save $325 a year for this trip, it was hard for me to save that much because I am "penny wise".  In the end, it was worth it.  I spent 2 weeks in St. Petersburg, Russia.  I stayed with my friends, and we ate at home as well as occassionally eatting out.  I had to very much plan ahead for this trip, and it wasn't something I could start thinking about a few months before I wanted to leave.

Bottom line is, save on the small things.  If you've been spending money on the small things, try to put it away for the 'big ticket' items.  Don't think you should look for bargains ONLY on cars, vacations, electronics, etc.  Savings begins with the small things, even if it's turning out lights when you leave a room.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

4 for the win. . .and a little Rite Aid

I decided it was time I learned Rite Aid.  After asking a friend a bunch of questions last night, I then started figuring out the Video Values.  (Basically if you watch videos online you can earn coupons.)

So this morning I went to Rite Aid.  Had to ask for help finding the Sundown vitamins.  They didn't sell the Nivea Men's body wash at my store, and were down to 1 box of Cheez-its.  Then I picked up a wrong tooth brush (which I am going to return.  I can't imagine paying $5.29 for a manual toothbrush, but that's what it rang up as.)  I knew something was off but couldn't figure it out until I was out of town.  I wanted one that was $2.99 and got UP rewards back. 


So, the rest of my shopping trip went okay.  I got four bottles of Sundown vitamins and a tube of toothpaste.  Subtracting the $5.29 toothbrush since I plan on returning it, my total bill came to $6.33.  (Or 4 bottles of vitamins and a tube of toothpaste is only $1 more than a toothbrush!  LOL)  I got $6.99 back in Up rewards.

After an appointment, I went to a CVS I usually don't go to.  I was told they don't take coupons.  *sigh*.  I know the cashiers were complaining to each other when I left without buying anything since they "don't take coupons".  I try to keep copies of stores' coupon policies in my purse, and wouldn't you know, I didn't have CVS' policy with me.  I'll go to my regular one either tomorrow or later this week.

When I got home, I had four sweepstakes prizes waiting on me.





A coupon for a free SoBe
an Ashtray
a blog prize from General Mills' monster cereals.  A box each of Boo-Berry, Franken Berry, and Count Chocula, a trick-or-treat bag, and a $10 Target card.  (for those who are counting, I'm up to 103 boxes of cereal in the last week!)

Monday, November 8, 2010

CVS. Today. Okay.

This wasn't a fantastic week for CVS.  Of course I don't really have coupon inserts to help along the savings, a lot of what I do is with printable coupons and just items that are free with the rewards dollars from different stores.

It's a pet peeve of mine that places don't keep enough caffiene free diet pop in stock.  Today was no exception.  My mother can't have caffiene and she can't have sugar.  So, it's hard to find what she can drink in stock.

At CVS I got:

3 Caffiene Free Diet Coke
1 Diet Coke with Lime
1 Noxema
1 can cashews

The is a local school saving Coke reward points.  You can read about that right here.

The total I paid after $18.98 in Extra Care bucks was $2.59.  I received $6 back in Extra Care Bucks.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Thanks GIVING!

I mentioned in a previous post that I'm participating in the 30 day giving challenge. 



Over the years I've heard people say things like "I don't have the money to give anything to anyone."  Money isn't always needed.  I get tons of stuff free at stores.  You have talents.  I'm sure there's a couple who would love for you to watch their child for a couple hours.  You can pray for someone.  There's lots of ways to give that don't cost anything.  A hug to a friend going through a tough time.  Listening when someone needs a friend.  Saving Boxtops for Education for a local school.  Saving Coke reward points for a local school.  (If you don't have a school you are giving these to, let me know and I can give you the address of a school who could really use them.)

One of the ways I love to give is by getting free stuff either through sweepstakes or using coupons and being able to give them away.  I know some people won't ask for help when they can use it, so I try to give directly as well as many times through organizations who provide Christmas gifts and such to children.  A few years ago I was able to buy $1700 of games for $65.  They went to a few different organziations for raffle items to help them raise money ("Family Fun Night" baskets).  I gave some to a friend who didn't have the money to buy much for her children for Christmas.  (Se nearly cried as she left with about $200 of stuff.  My cost was about $5.)  When I see a good deal, I jump on it.  Did I need all those games?  No.  But someone could use them.  That I knew. Same with the cereal deal I did last week.  I was amazed at the number of people who asked me what I was going to do with all that!

Food banks are really hurting right now.  In fact, to encourage giving, the West Virginia lottery is doing a "Give and Win" food drive.  They do this nearly every year.  November 10, 2010 if you take a non-perishable food item into certain lottery retailers you'll receive a free instant scratch-off lottery ticket.  You can see the list of places HERE.   It think it's a cool idea to raise awareness of food banks!

The only thing I often get free I can't figure a place to donate is over the counter medicines.  I can give them to people I know, but other places won't accept them.

A few ideas for giving stuff you've gotten free:

  • Toilet paper:  churches, schools, Christian camps, homeless shelters, food banks, etc.
  • School supplies:  schools, churches
  • Food:  food banks, churches often help people who need assistance
  • Toys:  save for Christmas and give at Angel Tree, Toys for Tots, churches, schools can often use toys as prizes/rewards
  • Pet Food:  animal shelters, food banks (people often have pets even if they need assistance from a food bank)
Let's see how you can GIVE this week!  Like I said, it doesn't need to be something that costs money!

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Saturday, November 6, 2010

Cereal Savings

This week I'm drowning in Cereal Savings!  I went into Giant Eagle and found Monster Cereals on clearance at 75% off after Halloween.  Now they don't expire until August, so plenty of time to eat them.  I often donate extras or give them to people who can use them so I try to stock up on good deals.

Then I had 12 coupons for free Honey Nut Cheerios I won from an instant win game.  They were on sale at Giant Eagle 2/$10 AND you got a free box when you bought 2.  So I was able to get 18 boxes of cereal for free.

In total I ended up with exactly 100 boxes of cereal.   $328 retail value for the Monster Cereals, and at sale price for the Honey Nut Cheerios and Cinnamon Toast Crunch was $90.  So that's $418 of cereal.  My cost?  $82.  And with bonus boxtops for education on there, it's over $13 of Boxtops, which I save for a school where over most of the kids live below the poverty line.


Friday, November 5, 2010

The Psychic Cash Register

I just returned from Walgreens.  I need to make sure I am not charged twice for the things I bought today.  I was expecting my bill to come to about $1.50 and it was over $6.  Upon investigation, the pretzel M&Ms rang in at $3.49 instead of $2.49.  Also, I didn't get the Register Rewards for buying 4.  (Buy 4 bags of 9.9 oz. M&Ms and get $5 back in Register Rewards.)

I pointed this out to the cashier,who by the way is my FAVORITE cashier there, she never complains about coupons and is so good about them and actually enjoys seeing how much I can save.  She then turned this problem over to the front end manager who insisted the cash register knew in advance I was going to use a $1 coupon and since I "can't use a coupon on a sale item" the cash register added the coupon to the price of the item.  I pointed out the cash register had no way of knowing this, and that yes, I could use a coupon on a sale item.  She said I wouldn't get a Register Reward back if I used one.  I said that yes, I could receive one even though I used one as long as they were issued by different companies.  She shrugged her shoulders and refused to do anything else for me.  I asked to call corporate (I left my cell phone at home.)  She asked if I would like to talk to the general manager.  Same song and dance about the register adding the coupons onto the price and the same Register Reward story.  I KNEW I was right.  (My grandpa used to love a poem that said "He who knows and knows he knows is wise, follow him."  In this instance I knew what I was doing and knew I knew.)  The manger finally said he did think it was ringing up at $3.49 instead of $2.49 because the holiday packaging was not included in the sale.

So we go to the shelves, get four non-holiday packages of M&Ms.  He still said I couldn't use coupons and a Register Reward, the register wouldn't let me. I was trying to explain I could.

So, I finally said, "Would you please try it just to humor me."  I could tell he didn't want to.  I added, "And if it doesn't work, I'll believe you."  So it was a showdown as to who was right.

Needless to say, I won.  Four  9.9 bags of M&Ms.  One package of Ramen noodles.  Four  $1 off coupons.  One $5 Register Reward applied to order.  Total came to $1.95.  It often takes about 10 seconds for Register Rewards to start printing.  I could tell he was feeling smug in that it wasn't going to print, but after a moment, I was able to say, "There it is!"  :) 

So, for my Walgreens wrap-up of the week:

Four bags of 9.9 oz. Pretzel M&Ms
Three packages of Ramen Noodles
One bag Ghiradelli chocolate squares
Fives boxes of Sinex
Five boxes of Nyquil
Two bottles cough syrup
One weekly local newspaper

Total I paid after coupons and Register Rewards:   $25.61 (includes tax)   Total I have in Register Rewards to spend next week:  $31  My receipts said with sales and coupons alone I saved $55.93.  So that's over $80 of stuff I got for $25, plus $31 back in Register Rewards.

I have been sick lately so the Nyquil is a welcome addition to the house!  In fact the other day I said to the cashier, "I've been going through this stuff like crazy lately."   He asked if I meant the Nyquil or Ramen!

Photo of my stuff:


Wednesday, November 3, 2010

75% off Halloween

I don't celebrate Halloween, but that doesn't mean I won't shop bargains once Halloween is over.  :)

I was at the store today and saw a man with a cart full of candy, so I went poking around.  I first saw bags of mini Clark bars (one of Mom's favorite candies -- I actually paid $1.59 for a full sized Clark bar on Sunday night.)  Bags of the mini ones were 60 cents a bag.  Jackpot.  A little further on, I saw a lot more clearanced candies, and I thought of the "Christmas store" that my church does where everything is free.  I figured some candy in non-Halloween wrappings would be a welcomed donation for people to get to add to stockings, so I got a number of bags of candy.  The candy ranged in price from 24 cents for a bag of caramel apple candy corn (which I wanted to try) to $2 for a huge bag of Wonka candies.  Everything was 75% off.

I found mini-boxes of Russell Stovers candy for 32 cents.  Someone had unwrapped one of the "spider" wrappings from it, and underneath the outer Halloween wrapping was a normal mini-box of Russell Stover candy that would usually sell for about $1.29.  I got a few of these thinking they would make nice basket stuffers at Christmas.

And then I looked to a bottom shelf.  My gold mine!  I absolutely love General Mills' Count Chocula.  There was a huge display of it, and it, too, was 75% off.  Not only that but there were some cereal bars with bats on them for Halloween also at 75% off.

In all I spent a whopping $59!  (Originally $236!)  That's a lot just for candy and cereal.  But the cereal has a best if used by date in September of 2011 and I know we will use it up.

Also, on two bags of candy I found peelie coupons that if you bought three bags of candy you got $1 off!  I looked for more of those coupons but couldn't find any more.  The coupons didn't expire until Nov 15, so that fun to spot!

In all I bought:

28 boxes of cereal  (26 Count Chocula, 1 Boo Berry, 1 Franken Berry)
3 boxes of cereal bars (wanted more but couldn't reach them)
32 bags of candy
4 mini-boxes of Russell Stovers Candy
3 Chocolate Peeps


I went to a few other stores for regular shopping, and everywhere but this one grocery store had their Halloween stuff at 25% to 50% off depending on what it was.  I almost never stop at this store, but decided to today!

Looks like we won't be buying any cereal for a year or so!

Monday, November 1, 2010

30 Day Giving Challenge

I saw about this on a fellow blogger's website today.  I was looking at The Things We Hope For and she is participating in this challenge.

It's simple.  It's easy, and you don't need to be a blogger.  So what if I'm blogging late at night and you missed day one?  Start on Nov 2.

The 30 Day Giving Challenge has this as it's theme:


The goal is every day for the month of November is to do something for someone.  It doesn't need to be publicized, it doesn't need to be big.  Just something.

Maybe take some stuff you've gotten free or cheap after coupons and give them to a family in need.  Or buy some pencils and take them to  a school.  Save boxtops for education and give them to a school.  It doesn't need to be expensive, it doesn't need to cost money.  Just give of yourself.

I don't want to say what I did for day one, but I will say the recipient was quite grateful.

So, just give of yourself!