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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.
Posted in Giveaways | 213 Comments »
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.
Posted in Coupon Menu Corner | 1 Comment »
November 26th, 2010
I 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
Posted in Safeway | No Comments »
November 25th, 2010
Are you in the market for a Bluetooth Audio Transport? This device works as a wireless headset with earbuds, and retails for around $50+ normally. Well, Mwave has a special offer where you can get it totally free after mail-in rebate with free shipping – and if you shop through Ebates, it will cover the cost of the stamp to mail the rebate in, too! Here’s the details:
1. Go to Ebates and login or register, then search for Mwave and click through for 2% cashback. New to online rebates? Click here to read my article, “How I Save Money With Online Rebates”, to learn all about it!
2. Once on the homepage, you should see the deal on the homepage – it’s for the IOGEAR GBMH221 Bluetooth Audio Transport – headset – Ear-bud, in case you have problems finding it.
3. Once you get to the page, sign up for their free “M” club to get the discounted price of $19.99. On the product page, you should see a link to click to download the mail-in rebate form, good for a $20 rebate on this item. Shipping is also free, and you will receive a $1 coupon towards your next Mwave purchase as well.
4. The 2% cashback from Ebates comes to .39 cents, so that pretty much covers the cost of the first-class stamp to mail the rebate in – especially if you bought .39 cent stamps!
Can’t go wrong with completely free! I picked one of these up as a fun stocking stuffer item. Be aware that this deal will probably go very fast, so if you do not see the same prices or the rebate form, then it is likely sold out.
Thanks to SlickDeals for the heads-up!
Posted in Online deals | No Comments »
November 25th, 2010
I just wanted to take a moment to wish all of my US readers a very happy Thanksgiving holiday today. I hope your day is filled with food and fun!
Posted in Holidays | No Comments »
November 24th, 2010
I love it when a deal comes along right when I need it! I’m almost out of stamps, and had planned to stock up at the Post Office so that I’d have plenty for all the holiday cards I’ll be sending soon. Well, tonight I caught wind of a deal where you can get custom photo stamps for only .39 cents each! Zazzle.com are running a sale through the end of tomorrow, November 25th, where you can save $8.80 per sheet of custom stamps. Pair that with 15% cashback from ShopAtHome and free shipping, and you have .39 cent stamps! Here’s how it works:
1. Go to ShopAtHome.com and login or register. New to online rebates? Click here to read my article, “How I Save Money With Online Rebates”, to learn all about it!
2. Once you are logged in to ShopAtHome, do a search for Zazzle. You will then be able to click through to receive 15% cashback.
3. After you reach Zazzle.com, select the Custom Stamps option. Then select the small 1.8″ x 1.3″ 44 cent stamps, and add your photo and text.
4. Use coupon code THANKPOSTAGE or click through (See below) to bring the price down to $9.15 per sheet. Use coupon code FREESHIPFORU to receive free shipping on orders of $50 or higher.
Update: You can also scroll down the list of special offers listed for Zazzle on ShopAtHome and click through the “$8.80 off sheets of 20 custom postage stamps!” to receive the deal without entering the coupon code. The code “THANKPOSTAGE” is listed further down the page but it says it “may or may not” be eligible for cashback – which seems silly, since it’s the same exact deal. I would click through to get the deal just to be safe.
I ordered 6 sheets, a total 120 first-class stamps, and paid $54.90. I will receive $8.23 back in rebates, which is almost enough to buy a whole other book of stamps. This makes my final cost per sheet of stamps $7.78, or .39 cents each. I usually buy Forever stamps, because we know how often postage goes up – but a deal like this is worth stocking up on. Even if the Post Office were to raise their rates tomorrow and I had to buy 1-cent makeup stamps, I would still be ahead. Plus, I got to make super cute stamps for my Christmas cards – I used a photo that we took a few years back of a snowman on the beach, and added a festive greeting. Check it out:
If you’re gearing up to send holiday cards, you’ll want to check this out! This is also a great deal for brides-to-be, since you could order special stamps for your wedding invitations. Hurry, this deal ends at midnight on November 25th!
Thanks for the heads-up, Frugal Living NW!
Posted in Online deals, Weddings | 3 Comments »
November 24th, 2010
And the winner of the BuildASign giveaway is…
Comment number 51, susanmeep, who said: “I would love this!” Congratulations!
Posted in Giveaways | No Comments »
November 24th, 2010
Simply Stacie has featured my websites in her “Blog Spotlight” today. Click here to read the Q&A and learn more about the inspiration behind this blog!
Posted in Life | No Comments »
November 23rd, 2010
With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, many of you are planning feasts and figuring out how to make the most of your holiday budget. So I thought it would be timely to mention a guest post I wrote back in 2008 for My Precious Pennies called “Entertaining on a Budget”, for those of you who may have missed it the first time around. In this article, I share my tips on how to cut your expenses when hosting holiday gatherings. Click here to read it!
Posted in Articles | 2 Comments »
November 22nd, 2010
With Black Friday and Cyber Monday right around the corner, many consumers are gearing up to shop ’til they drop. So what are your plans, readers? Are you going to be waiting in line during the wee hours to snag some bargains – or will you be sitting this one out?
Being Super Coupon Girl, it may surprise you to hear that I’ve never participated in any Black Friday shopping bonanzas. The reason for this is simply that I’ve never seen any Black Friday deals that would be of interest to me personally. Sure, if you’re already in the market for a flat screen TV, saving $100 on Black Friday is a great idea – but there don’t seem to be many deals on anything that I would be interested in, so I’ve never really bothered with it. Also, between winning contests and writing product reviews, I haven’t needed to buy Christmas or birthday presents in a long time, so that’s another reason why I don’t shop on Black Friday! (The funny part is that the presents which I get for free now are actually bigger-ticket items than I would have previously been able to give!)
Of course, I’ll be keeping an eye out for any exceptional deals that pop up over Black Friday and Cyber Monday – and if you want to scope out the deals on offer, you can check out the following resources:
So will you be braving the crowds this Friday – or just sleeping off the Turkey dinner?
Posted in Black Friday, Cyber Monday | 3 Comments »
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