Publix Weekly Ad

Are you a Publix shopper?  I love to shop at Publix but unfortunately I don't get a copy of their weekly ad.  A friend told me she called and asked them to send her the weekly ad in the mail.  She said she receives the ad in her mail every week just as promised (Thanks Tracy C).  Wow!!  So I called them up this morning and sure enough they said they'd start mailing me a weekly ad.  If you'd like the ad mailed to you instead of having to view it online then give them a call at 800-242-1227.  Just goes to show that it never hurts to ask!!!

Homemade Fabric Softener

Below is the recipe I use for making my own Fabric Softener.  I'm able to fill two old fabric softener bottles full with this recipe and it only cost me about 75cents for the two bottles.  I made the first batch around Christmas time and just ran out today.  I really really love this and will never buy fabric softener from the store again.  I'm also going to try homemade clothes detergent but I'm using up the store bought stuff I have first.  I'll post the results of that when I try it.

What You’ll Need:

• 6 cups HOT water
• 3 cups white vinegar
• 2 cups Suave Conditioner (whatever fragrance you prefer)

What You'll Do:

• Mix conditioner & hot water well, until conditioner is dissolved completely.
• Add the vinegar, and mix well.
• Store in a large container {empty fabric softener container, empty large vinegar bottle, etc}
• Pour into a downy ball… or the fabric softener spot in your laundry machine… then wash!

House Party.com - Host a party to try a new product for free.

Several of my friends have asked me about the free product parties that I host on occassion.  I promised to share the info so here it is.

Have you ever heard of HouseParty.com?  I've hosted several parties through this site.  You sign up for a party and if selected you host the party on a preset date.  HouseParty.com will send you a party kit full of products, samples and freebies.  I've hosted a Febreze party in the past, today I'm hosting a Coffee-Mate party and next month I'm hosting a Philly Cooking Creme party.  I love all the freebies I get for hosting and my guest love all the freebies they get for attending the party, not to mention all the yummy food.  Just look at what I'm getting for my Philly Cooking Creme Party:

What will be in my PHILLY Dinnertime Dilemma House Party™ Host Package?

Your PHILLY Dinnertime Dilemma House Party will include:

For Hosts:

• 4 gratuity coupons for New PHILADELPHIA Cooking Creme
• 1 GreenPan™ Signature Stainless Steel skillet
• 1 GreenPan™ Signature Stainless Steel skillet pamphlet
• 1 PHILLY Cooking Creme Oven Mitt

For Hosts and Guests:

• 16 PHILLY Cooking Creme coupons
• 16 PHILLY Cooking Creme recipe booklets
• 16 PHILLY Cooking Creme notepads
• 16 PHILLY Cooking Creme magnets
• 16 PHILLY Cooking Creme cooking spoons
• 16 Home Shopping Network coupons

If you are interested in hosting a party check it out at http://www.houseparty.com/  Just sign up, apply for parties, confirm your application via e-mail and then watch for notification that you've been selected.  Remember to check your e-mail daily because you only have a short time to confirm your party.  I've missed out on several parties because I didn't confirm in time. 

The Basics Part 1

Types of coupons:

1.)    Manufacturer coupon – Have “Manufacturer coupon” or “MFG" on top, manufacturer’s address in fine print and the barcode usually begins with 5 or 9

Where to locate these coupons:
Newspaper inserts – SmartSource and RedPlum.  Occasionally Procter and Gamble will include an insert.  Checkout this website for a listing of each Sunday’s inserts. 
http://www.grocerycouponguide.com/articles/2011-coupon-insert-schedule/
Online – The following websites update coupons on a monthly basis, sometimes more frequently.  Most coupons can be printed twice per computer.  If you have more than one computer then you can print multiple sets.  If not, find a friend that may be willing to swap coupons.  For example:  Let’s say you need lots of diaper coupons.  Maybe you could print and trade pet food coupons to a friend that doesn’t have a child in diapers but has a pet.
RedPlum - http://www.redplum.com/
SmartSource - www.smartsource.com
Coupons.com - www.coupons.com

2.)    Store coupon – Coupons that are specific to the store and do not say “Manufacturer coupon” on the top. 



Where to locate these coupons:
www.target.com
www.cvs.com
Also sign up for store discount cards: Winn-Dixie, Rite Aid, and CVS.  You will occasionally receive coupons in the mail or e-mail from these stores once you are enrolled.
Scan your CVS Extra Care card at the kiosk for additional coupons
Watch for Catalinas (coupons that print at the register) when shopping at Winn Dixie and Target.



Stacking
Some stores allow “stacking”.  This simply means using a store coupon and a manufacturer coupon for the same item.  Target and Walgreens both allow stacking.  However Walgreens is a little tricky.  They require that the number of coupons used does not exceed the number of items purchased.  So if you have one item and wish to stack coupons this will not work because you have 1 item but 2 coupons.  This is where fillers come in.  Items like seasonal pencils, cups, and treat bags make great fillers to get your item count equal to your coupon count.  Cups are often on sale for 8/$1.00, pencils and treat bags are usually 4/$1.00.  Target does not have this same requirement.  I love to “stack” at Target but I rarely do any stacking at Walgreens unless I have high value coupons and I need the filler items for an upcoming holiday.

Don't forget to check the beer displays for great coupons.

While shopping in Winn-Dixie yesterday both of my children decided they needed to use the restroom.  In this particular location the restroom happens to be located smack dab next to the beer cooler/aisle.  After visiting the restroom I stood in the beer aisle for a moment reviewing the rest of my list and my game plan.  As I looked up to answer one of my children my coupon scanning eyes noticed a tear pad on a display of Miller Lite (well I think it was Miller Lite, I was focused on those beautiful coupons, lol)  I couldn't believe that I hadn't been checking the beer displays for coupons.  I'd learned over 1 1/2 years ago that you could find great coupons for snack items on these displays.  But somehow this had slipped my mind.  Guess what aisle I'll be scanning through next time I go to the grocery, lol.

The tearpad was for $2.00 off of one Nabisco cracker product and one planters nut product.  Both items happened to be BOGO this week.  I had a coupon for the Wheat Thins but it was a $1.00/2 coupon and I wanted the Planters but didn't have a coupon in my stash.  So I was feeling pretty lucky right now.  I switched out my coupons for the Wheat Thins and picked up the Planters nuts that I had wanted but wouldn't buy since I didn't have a coupon.  I decided to go back the next day and work this deal again.  I pulled 8 coupons from the tear pad, purchased 8 boxes of Wheat Thins BOGO for 3.59 (14.36 Total) and 8 cans of Planters nuts BOGO for 4.49 (17.96 Total).   I had a "$5.00 off $30.00 order" coupon from the weekly Winn-Dixie ad and I used 7-$2.00 off coupons (the cashier kicked back the 8th coupon stating that Winn Dixie had a corporate limit, I doubt this but didn't argue since I was still getting a fab deal).  So I walked out paying a total of $15.91/tax included.  Not too shabby. 

Where do you find tearpads in your local grocery?  Leave a comment on this post to let us know.

DealPulp 90% Off

Check out this great deal from DealPulp.  You can purchase a $10.00 credit for just $1.00, that's 90% off.  The $10.00 credit will automatically be added to your account once the deal closes.  Then you can save the credit until you see a great daily deal that you are interested in.  I'm grabbing mine now. Go here to get yours:
 http://dealpulp.com/?r=jjandethan

Contacting Manufacturers for coupons

I've read many blogs where the author suggest 5-A-Day or 3-A-Day.  On the blogs they recommend contacting at least 5 or 3 manufacturers per day to request coupons.  As a single parent I don't always have this much time to set aside each day and after working at a computer all day I honestly don't feel like logging on after work also.  I've tried this in the past and had good results but it was too time consuming on a daily basis.  I still think it's a great idea and I know it is an effective way to get great high value and sometimes coupons for free items.  So I tried to streamline the process to fit into my schedule.  I do have time on the weekends when I can set aside a segment of time for contacting these manufacturers.  But who wants to write all those e-mails???  So I decided I would target an item and contact as many manufacturers of that product as possible.  I typed up a request that was generic enough so that I could just change the Brand Name without rewriting it each time.  Most manufacturers have a "contact us" button that ask you to fill in certain information and allows you to enter free form comments.  This is where I pasted in the request portion.  I didn't simply ask them to send me coupons, I created a scenario as to why I was asking for the coupons.  And then simply asked if coupons were available either through the paper or another avenue.  For this week I decided to target Coffee and Creamer manufacturers.  It was on my mind because I'm hosting a free Coffee-Mate party from http://www.coffee-mate.com/ soon.  Below you'll see the manufacturers that I contacted and the request I sent.  I'll update this post as the coupons and responses start to arrive.  Feel free to use these request below, obviously the coffee request will need to be revised if you don't have a heart condition.  Give it a try and post your results as a comment, let us know what worked best for you.

Maxwell House - I received an e-mail saying no coupons were available.  But yesterday there was a coupon in the paper.
Folgers - Today 02/06 I received (2) coupons for $1.00 Off of any Folgers product and a very nice letter.
Dunkin Donuts - Today 02/10 I received (2) coupons for $1.00 Off any Dunkin Donuts 11oz or larger and a nice letter.  When I got the envelope out of the mailbox it was the same as the Folgers envelope and I was expecting it to be a duplicate of my Folgers request.  But it turns out Smuckers Company makes both Folgers and Dunkin Donuts coffee. 
Seattles Best
Leroy Hill

 I have a heart condition that requires me to avoid caffeine. I had to switch to decaf coffee and was shocked at how much more expensive decaf is than regular coffee. I love BRAND NAME but have to buy the store brands now to stay on budget. Are there any coupons available that could help with the cost so I can enjoy the great flavor of BRAND NAME once again? 　
　　
Equal - Received 2 coupons for $1.00 off, recipe cards and a recipe booklet
Sweet N Low - Received 3 coupons for 35cents off and 6 packs of Sweet N Low
　
　I love BRAND NAME but find that competitors products are often priced slightly lower and I often have a coupon that makes them even cheaper. I don't normally see coupons for BRAND NAME. Are coupons available in the Sunday paper inserts or is there another source where I can get coupons for your product?