Still Plinking Away...

So, here it is just a few short weeks away from Christmas...have you finished your shopping??
I'm almost done. I have a few quick gifts that I need to get...and then I will be done. So far, I am under my budget. Also, I have found some great resources to help me in getting good deals, or at least benefit me in the future.
One site, an all-time favorite, is www.mypoints.com. You simply sign up, and shop online through their site. When you have completed a purchase, you will get points back, which in turn can be used to earn gift cards to various stores. You can also increase your earnings by participating in short surveys, clicking on e-mails, and using their printable coupons.
Another site that I just recently found, www.shopathome.com. You sign up, shop through their site, which offers coupon codes for discounts and free shipping, and when you have completed your transaction, a percentage goes back to you!! You can easily cash out at $20.00, AND, you can earn $5.00 for referring someone once they register and make a purchase. I've already earned a rebate back!
www.ebates.com is similar to shopathome, however, I have found that shopathome gives you a higher percentage back at the stores that I prefer.
Granted, the point of these sites are to shop. Which means, you have to have money. I have budgeted my spending per person for Christmas. I made lists and have looked for great deals. The point is to save as much money as possible so I can throw that back at my debt...which I am struggling to not increase. So, any little bit that comes back to me, is great. Gift cards? Can easily be used at my favorite retailers to buy toiletries, printer ink, dog food, etc. Cash back? Can be thrown into my snowball.
Will be back later with pictures of some cards and projects that I have been working on - see you soon!

Rite Aid Deals!

Remember...I'm on a budget. Pretty tight to my budget from a month ago...now we are a single income family and, that income? It's mine. The little paycheck. The one that used to be used for "fun" stuff. We are managing. We are enjoying eachother. We are eating a ton of Otter Pops (Hey! It's been over 100 degrees here for two weeks!!) and drinking lots of Kool-Aid. We are "going back to basics", which, honestly, this little family really needed.

Really, I came to show you the deal I got at Rite Aid yesterday! Not one of those perfect deals that you see on Money Saving Mom or Deal Seeking Mom, but still, a good deal.

You see?

Out of Pocket I paid $10.36 for all this stuff! Can you believe it? I love Rite-Aid. They are a little bit pricier than some of the other stores out there...but, if you find some great coupons, you can really take advantage of the deals they are offering. The 2 deodorants? I had 2 coupons for $2.00 off for them (regular $9.49). (Hey, remember I said it's been over 100 degrees here, I need some heavy duty protection!!) And the razor? $9.99, minus $2.00 with another coupon I got from the paper. But, here's the kicker: Rite Aid offers REBATES! Yup, every month they put out a little catalog with deals for rebates. Some of them last all month, some only last a week. But, if you get the catalog and match up their rebates and sales with your coupons, *magic* can happen. This week they are offering a $5.00 rebate for the Venus razor (limit 1), and a $5.00 rebate for Dove Clinical deodorant (limit 2). So, in two weeks I will get a check for $15.00!

Not too bad, huh.

Rebates

So, I've been pretty busy with life in general these past few weeks. But I have also been trying to figure out how my rebates work.

I obviously figured out Walgreens. It takes a few weeks, but you eventually get your gift card in the mail and you can always put that back to good use. This past month, I submitted for an $18.00 rebate from Walgreens. I bought the Pledge, that came with a duster, plus I used my BOGO coupon and got free Pledge Multi-purpose wipes (a $4.99 value), and I purchased Windex (and used my $.75 coupon) so that is a $2.00 rebate right there. And of course I bought the AirWick Ultra and Mini, which were on sale at $9.99 each. I used my $4.00 printable coupons which brought the price down to $5.99 each. And then I claimed my $3.00 rebate, each, and so I ended up getting them both at $2.99. Not too bad. I also bought DH the Dr. Scholl's inserts (x2) and $14.99 each, and of course I claimed my $10.00 rebate. I know, still expensive. But he wanted them for his work boots and when are you going to find a deal like that? Oh, I also bought my last Zyrtec (45 count) at $26.99, so now I can mail off that $10.00 rebate. (Which reminds me, I'm still waiting for my Clear Eyes rebate...that was $9.99. I will let you know when I get it.)

This month I also tried out the Rite-Aid Rebates. I bought the Venus Embrace Razor (-$2.00 coupon - $5.00 rebate = $4.99), the refills at $13.99 (-$2.00 coupon = 11.99), Crest Premium white Strips at $27.99 (already on sale from $34.99 - $5.00 coupon - $10.00 rebate = $12.99), and two Oral B Cross Action Power toothbrushes on sale at $5.99 each (- BOGO coupon -$4.00 rebate = $1.99), for a total of a $19.00 rebate. I basically went in, picked up $73.55 (with tax) worth of stuff, used my coupons and paid $57.89, and will still get back $19.00. Not too bad. Oh, Rite Aid Rebates come as a check, they don't offer gift cards, and they don't deduct for mailing. Plus, their site says you will get a check within two to three weeks.

I don't think I did too bad. Still working out some of my flaws but I'm getting better! How are YOU doing?

Zyrtec Deal!!

My whole family suffers from allergies. DD not so much but she does have her days where she will sneeze and suffers from a runny nose. DH is the worst, then DS, who also suffers from asthma (although it has been completely controlled lately - fingers crossed!!).

Anyway, we should buy stock in allergy medication and tissues. We go through it a lot. So, during my evening touring of a few of my favorite sites, I found a link to a $2.00 coupon, which allowed me to print out two coupons ($4.00 in savings!!) plus this link for a $10.00 rebate when you buy two 45 count packages of Zyrtec. So now that's $14.00 in savings. I checked around a couple of different stores and have found that Target offers the 45 count bottle at $25.79. It's one of the better deals out there.

Hopefully this helps out with the runny noses and sneezing fits out there!!