And the winner of the Silver Hills Bread giveaway is…
Comment number 43, edmontonjb, who said: “I would like to try the Steady Eddie bread”. Congratulations!
Silver Hills Bread Winner
December 6th, 2010Free Excedrin Extra Strength & Migraine
December 6th, 2010
Here’s a great freebie to start the week off with: Excedrin is offering coupons for one free bottle each of Excedrin Extra Strength and Excedrin Migraine. To sign up, click here and here, or simply visit Excedrin.com and click on the “Free offer” buttons on the home page to register for each coupon. Thanks to Hey, It’s Free! for the tip!
My Black Friday Deals
December 3rd, 2010This year was probably the best Black Friday I’ve had so far in terms of good deals. I didn’t do any brick-and-mortar shopping, but I did score some fun online deals:
Here are my custom photo stamps from Zazzle. I love how they turned out and can’t wait to put them on my Christmas cards!
This is my free-after-rebate Bluetooth Audio Transport. Jai loves electronic gadgets, so this will be a fun little holiday gift for him!
My final Black Friday deal utilized a Walmart gift card which I had won. I make a point of entering gift card giveaways whenever I can, and I’ve won all kinds of gift certificates since I became a “Sweeper” – which is a nice little supplement to my budget! Whenever I win a gift card, I set it aside until I have a major purchase or specific need. Last year, I won a $100 Walmart gift card on Blessings Abound, and I had been saving it until just the right thing came along. I ended up using it on Black Friday to buy a Garmin nuvi 295W 3.5″ Portable GPS:
Jai is making some changes to his business cell phone plan, and one of the things he has considered dropping is the data plan. However, our hesitation with that was the fact that his phone uses the data plan to power a GPS, which has been invaluable to us in our travels. Getting a separate GPS to use in the car is not only easier to use and more convenient, but also gives Jai the option to drop the data plan on his phone. The Garmin nuvi was on sale for $99 on Black Friday, so I went ahead and purchased it with my gift card and got free shipping, as well as $2.97 cashback through ShopAtHome – although I see the price has dropped to $89 today, so it doesn’t seem like Black Friday is necessarily the cheapest day of the year to buy electronics!
Here’s the GPS in our car (And Jai pulling a silly face in the rear view mirror!)
The GPS arrived yesterday and we’re really happy with it. It’s got an impressive array of features and is even better than the one we used previously on Jai’s cell phone. And for free, how can you go wrong?
Frugal Holidays: Stockpile Gift Baskets
December 1st, 2010I read a great article on For The Mommas this morning about using stockpile items to make holiday gift baskets. I think this is a wonderful idea – Shannon has some great ideas and photos posted, so you should click here to check it out.
Personally, I’ve been using stockpile items to create gifts for years, so I wanted to add to the discussion with some photos of gift baskets that I have made and given personally. I’ve always been a huge fan of gift baskets, and I made my own long before I used coupons or had a stockpile. Once I began accumulating useful items, it became a natural next step to start incorporating these in goodie bags. For the last three or four weddings that I have been invited to, I made special gift baskets for the couple to use in their new home. Here is an example of one I made last year:
Click on the images to see them full-size
The happy couple’s names are blurred out for privacy! 🙂
To make this gift, I bought a pretty laundry basket and filled it with all the necessities for a new home. Each item had a theme that tied into married life – down to the “His & hers” blue and pink toothbrushes! I made special gift tags for each item, labeling their uses: “For the bath”, “For cleaning your new home”, and “For your first dinner party”. All of the cleaning and home products came straight from my stockpile. For the “Dinner party” theme, I tucked in a place mat set with chopsticks which I had picked up at Poundland (The UK equivalent of Dollar Tree!), rice and green tea from the stockpile, and a printout of a yummy recipe for Cashew Fried Rice.
I had great fun making this gift basket and put a lot of time and love into it. And it was well-received – when I carried it over to the gift table at the wedding, one of the other guests noticed it and exclaimed what a great idea it was! Since then, I’ve made several other stockpile gift baskets for weddings. In one variation, I bought a plastic utility basket and lined it with washcloths that I had bought off the couple’s registry (shopping through Ebates, of course!), and then filled it with similar items.
I’ve used stockpile items in all sorts of gifts, from wedding baskets to care packages to gift bags for holidays and special occasions. It’s a thoughtful gift because of the time and care put into it – these are useful items that you know the recipient needs and will use.
So tell me, readers: Have you ever made a gift basket using stockpile items?
$50 Worth of Groceries From Dormzy For $25 + Free Shipping & Cashback – Today, 11/30 Only
November 30th, 2010
Here’s an effortless way to save money on groceries: Groupon is offering a deal today only where you can purchase a voucher good for $50 worth of groceries from Dormzy for $25. To get this deal, go to Groupon and login or register, and select Lexington, Kentucky – since the deal they are offering is online, residents of any state may purchase the Groupon. Groupon will become available on December 2nd and is valid until September 2nd, 2011. Shipping is included to continental US. You can also shop through Ebates to receive 3% back on your Groupon purchase – which I completely forgot when I placed my order, d’oh! Never heard of Ebates? Click here to read my article “How I Save Money With Online Rebates” for more info.
Dormzy carries a wide selection of groceries, from food to household and beauty items. The prices appear to be reasonable, so this is a quick and easy way to save $25 on your weekly groceries – without even leaving the house!
Deal scenario: I just read a great deal scenario over at Bargain Briana, where you can use this Dormzy credit to purchase $50 worth of P&G products, and then submit it for a $20 rebate – making your total out of pocket after rebate and cashback less than $5! Click here for more info.
Thanks, JANE4Girls!
Video: Planning a Frugal Wedding, Part Two
November 30th, 2010
As I mentioned previously, Jai and I are participating in “The Love Story” online reality show. A few weeks back, I posted a link to part one of my “Planning a Frugal Wedding” video series, where I discussed some of my hints and tricks for saving money on wedding supplies. The second half is now up, and in this episode I discuss how product reviews and garage sale items are helping me cut costs as I plan our big day. Click here to watch part two of “Planning a Frugal Wedding”!
My Latest Amazon Order: Dress & Lip Gloss for $2.94
November 29th, 2010This Sunday, Jai and I are going to have engagement photos taken in Portland for a review on Contest Corner, which will also be filmed for The Love Story. We’re very excited! This week, I made a list of things that I needed to buy before the photoshoot – I wanted to get a new dress for the pictures, and re-stock on some cosmetic items. Beauty and apparel purchases can really add up, so I started brainstorming ways to save. I ended up utilizing two Amazon gift cards to greatly reduce the cost of two items. I had a $20 Amazon gift card which I was sent as payment for a review that I wrote (This is as good as cash to me, so it’s well worth my time to write a quick blurb in exchange for a gift card!), and a $5 gift card which I earned via Swagbucks. I’ve mentioned Swagbucks before – they are a search engine that I have used for years (pre-coupon days, even!), and they reward you for using them by randomly awarding you “Swagbucks” that you can redeem for prizes, such as gift cards. With these two gift cards in tow, I headed over to Amazon to see what I could pick up.
It never occurred to me to look for clothes on Amazon, but they actually have quite a large selection! I wanted a cute, flirty dress to wear in the pictures, and this dress by Alki’i 
I used the remainder of my balance to pick up this Plump Lips lip gloss
I still have a free trial of Amazon Prime thanks to the “Amazon Mom” program, so I received free two-day shipping on these items – so they will arrive just in time for the photoshoot!
Click the thumbnail above to see a screenshot of my receipt
$45 CSN Gift Certificate Giveaway – Ends 12/14
November 28th, 2010
As promised, I have another great CSN giveaway for you! CSN Stores are offering one lucky Super Coupon Girl reader a $45 gift certificate to use on their site. If you’re not familiar with CSN, they are a network of over 200 online stores. With so many specialty stores to choose from, you can find almost anything, from counter height stools and furniture for the home to fitness equipment to toys and games.
I’ve worked with CSN on many different reviews, and I’ve gotten some great things with the gift cards they have provided me with. My last purchase from them was a brand new crock pot, a tea kettle, and a digital meat thermometer, for which I spent $5.48 out of pocket after applying my gift code. They have all manner of cookware and kitchen appliances, so it’s a great place to buy all sorts of practical home necessities – and now that we’re in the thick of the holiday season, a gift certificate from CSN could be a great way to cut costs on your Christmas shopping. That’s why I’m so excited to give a $45 gift code away to one of you!
One Super Coupon Girl reader will win a $45 one-time use gift code to CSN Stores! This gift code can be redeemed at any of their 200+ stores. Entire promotional amount must be used on first purchase. Please note, the gift code may not be applied to shipping, but CSN’s shipping rates are reasonable (Click here for detailed information), and they also offer free shipping on a great deal of products.
Here’s how to enter:
1. For your first entry, just leave a comment on this post! Anything goes – tell me your weekend plans, daydream about what you might buy if you’re the lucky winner, or just say hello!
Want extra entries? Do any of the following, and leave a separate comment for each one:
2. Link to this post on your blog, then come back here and leave me the link!
3. Write about this on Twitter, then come back and leave me the link to your tweet! One Twitter entry per person. You can use the button at the bottom of this post to tweet with one click!
4. Post my button on your website – just copy and paste the following code, and let me know where you put it:
Rules, regulations, and other important stuff: Giveaway ends on December 14th at 11:59 PM, PST. Winner will be chosen the following day via Random.org. Winner has 48 hours to respond to my notification email, or a new winner will be chosen in their place. Giveaway is open to US residents. CSN Stores are providing the $45 gift code for one lucky winner in exchange for this coverage on my site. I am also being provided with a separate gift code so that I may choose a review item for Contest-Corner.com.
Coupon Funded Menu Corner: Cooking With Ground Beef
November 27th, 2010
Thanks to the deals I got at Safeway last week, I had lots of versatile ingredients on hand which I’ve been able to use in many meals. The day after my shopping trip, I split my big package of ground beef in half and used it to make both taco meat and hamburgers.
First, I combined half the meat with chopped red onion, seasonings, and an egg. I then formed the meat into 8 balls (since we had 8 buns!) and flattened them with a plate to make patties. I cooked these on my George Foreman Grill and had a delicious batch of burgers in minutes!
I topped the burgers with ketchup, mustard, swiss cheese slices, and lettuce from the boxes of free salad I got in the mail. We enjoyed a couple of burgers for lunch, and then refrigerated the rest of the patties for later meals.
For the taco meat, I browned the other second half of the ground beef in a frying pan and then placed it in my brand-new slow cooker! I’ve been wanting a crock pot for some time, and I had a gift card for CSN Stores because of a review I’m working on for Contest Corner, so I was able to get a brand new slow cooker, a tea kettle, and a digital meat thermometer for $5.48 out of pocket after applying my gift code. I’ve mentioned previously how much I enjoy working with CSN, since I’ve gotten so many useful things for cheap or free – so I think you’ll be excited to know that there is another gift card giveaway in the works for my loyal readers, so you can snag some bargains too. Stay tuned this weekend for your chance to win!
I’m new to cooking with crock pots, but I love it so far. Normally, you can cook the raw meat right in the slow cooker, but the general consensus seems to be that ground beef is better browned in a pan first, to keep grease out of your meal. I was also getting a late start, so I didn’t want the meat to be undercooked!
I didn’t have any packets of taco seasoning on hand, so I took some inspiration from this recipe and added a ton of spices to the meat to make my own. I threw in garlic salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, turmeric, taco sauce, and even a little curry powder. I also found a packet of red pepper flakes from Pizza Hut in my fridge – I keep Ziploc baggies filled with leftover fast food condiments! – so I added that as well. I threw in chopped red onion and the last lone baby tomato from our garden, 1/2 a cup of water, and left it to cook on low for a few hours.
When it was time to dish it out, I pulled out my handy taco holder – isn’t it cute? It fits the taco shells and condiments all in one! For toppings, I set out shredded cheese, more lettuce from the salad mix, and – you guessed it! – taco sauce packets from the fast food condiment bag!
The tacos were delicious, and made several meals – there’s a lid that fits on top of my taco holder, so it was super easy to store and serve the leftovers. Yum yum!
I also made some sweets last weekend. I had some cake glazes that I was reviewing for Contest Corner, so I made a pan of tasty brownies using this Paula Deen recipe. I adapted it by using margarine instead of butter and omitting the mint chips and frosting.
Shopping Trip, November 19th
November 26th, 2010I did a big stock-up on groceries last Friday in order to take advantage of some great coupons. We got a flier in the mail from Safeway that was filled with coupons for totally free Safeway-brand products, along with other nice savings, including a coupon for $10 off a purchase of $50 or more. I only needed around $20 worth of groceries, but since I had the $10 off $50 coupon, I decided that this would be a perfect time to save by stocking up on some extra supplies that we always need anyway.
Total spent: $47.33
Total before coupons: $93.74
View receipt
Got:
.40 lbs of Millstone coffee – regularly $3.84, used a coupon that was on display in the coffee aisle for $1.00 off any Millstone purchase of half a pound or more, which doubled; final price: $2.34
1 bottle of ketchup – normally $2.49, used a free product coupon from the flier which Safeway mailed to us. Final price: Free!
2-lb bag of powdered sugar – normally $1.99, used a coupon for .50 cents off from the Safeway “Big Thanksgiving Coupon Book” which I found in the store. Final price: $1.49
1 bottle of ranch dressing – price: .99 cents
1 box of jumbo taco shells – normally $1.89, used a free product coupon from the flier which Safeway mailed to us. Final price: Free!
1 jar of pasta sauce – normally $2.29, used a free product coupon from the flier which Safeway mailed to us. Final price: Free!
1 box of fettuccine – normally .99 cents, used a free product coupon from the flier which Safeway mailed to us. Final price: Free!
Two 11.3 oz canisters of Foldgers coffee – normally $5.29, I used two $1.00 off peelie coupons, found on the products; however, looking at my receipt now, it appears that only one was deducted.
1 box of Barilla pasta – regularly $2.49, used one free coupon from last month’s Vocalpoint offer. Final price: Free!
Two 24-packs of bath tissue (double rolls, equivalent to 96 regular rolls total) – regularly $10.99 each, used a store coupon from the weekly sales flier to bring the price down to $8.88 each – final total for both: $17.76
80 count box of Bounce dryer sheets – regularly $3.99, used a $2.00 off coupon, which doubled; final price: $1.49. My Grandma saved this coupon for me – she cut it out of the packaging from another product that she bought.
Two one-dozen cartons of eggs – regularly .99 cents each, used this printable coupons for .55 cents off two dozen, which doubled – final price: .93 cents for both cartons. FYI: I just found out that the fine print on the Safeway doubler coupon now excludes Internet printables – I was not aware of this at the time. Safeway has been making a lot of frequent changes to their coupon policy, so it can be hard to keep up with them sometimes!
1 package of Swiss Cheese slices – regularly $2.99, used a coupon for $1.50 off from the flier which Safeway mailed to us. Final price: $1.49.
8 oz bag of shredded cheese – regularly $2.49, used a coupon for $1.50 off from the flier which Safeway mailed to us. Final price: .99 cents
1 bottle of Coffee-Mate – regularly $2.99, used a coupon from the weekly sales flier to bring the price down to $1.99.
1 gallon of milk – price: $1.99
5 Michelina’s frozen dinners – regularly $1.00 each, used a coupon for $1.00/5 which came from another Safeway booklet that was in store last month (These are the coupon booklets that are blue and are marked “Over $70 in savings”). This coupon doubled, making the final price: .70 cents each.
1 InStyle Magazine – price: $3.99. I bought this because The Love Story is mentioned in this month’s InStyle, but as it turned out, I grabbed the wrong issue – it’s in the December edition, but the one I bought was November’s issue. Although the new issue came out last week, our local stores haven’t gotten their shipment in yet, so I am eager to see it!
1 24-count bottle of Advil – regularly $4.49, used one free coupon from last month’s free offer. Final price: Free!
1 8-count bag of hamburger buns – regularly $1.29, used a coupon for .50 cents off from the flier which Safeway mailed to us. Final price: .79 cents.
1 package of ground beef – regularly $11.52, used a coupon for $3.00 off from the flier which Safeway mailed to us. Final price: $8.52
1 bag of Fresh Express salad – regularly $1.49, used a coupon for $1.00 off from the flier which Safeway mailed to us. Final price: .49 cents
