Incoming mail

RA Jan - 16.98
Chevron $5 gas card
G - $50 unclaimed assets from MO
free kidvantage (boost for kids) coupon
3 coupons from kraft (free Planters nuts, free cheese and free Nabisco crackers)
2 coupon books
sample soyjoy apple bar (and coupon)
sample quaker natural granola bar
sample bare naked granola
Touch of Gray $8
Amazon/Coinstar $10
Baby Orajel - $1.5
Sucrets - $2

Do you use Bank of America?

I, personally, don't have Bank of America because I've heard too many of my friends complain about how bad they suck. However, if you do, keep reading... I saw this on Live Journal, today.

Bank of America has settled a class action lawsuit over its dirty overdraft tricks—things like approving transactions that generate overdraft fees, for example, or clearing transactions in high-to-low order to increase the number of overdrafts. If you're a former customer of BoA, Fleet, La Salle Bank or United Trust Company, you can claim your part of the settlement fund.

Qualifying peeps are entitled to a settlement of "up to $78". i was young and irresponsible during the time i was banking there so i, personally, have accumulated way more than my fair share of fees.

here's a link to the article on the consumerist

and here's a link directly to the lawsuit website where you can register

1/13
Safeway: Store Sale $2.47

Target: Store Sale (clearance and repackage) $8.45

Winco: Coupons $4.84
Bag Discount $.09

1/14
Perfect Look: Coupon $1.50

Grocery Outlet: Store Sale $7.00

1/16
Safeway: Bottle Deposit Return $4.25
Coupon $2.85 *free tall Starbucks tea beverage coupons - in store ad through 1/20!

Joann: Store Sale $5.10
Coupons $8.00

Rite Aid: Store Sale $6.00
Coupons $29.00 (!!!)

(Rite Aid has a sale on Huggies diapers right now. Coupled with wipes, coupons from Sunday and additional rebates and coupons, you end up with 2 packs of diaper and 2 tubs of wipes for $3.96! More details HERE - but my wipes were $3.49, not $3.69)

In today's (e)mail

Incoming:
*Hunts Money Back Offer $2.85
*Lipton To Go Rebate $5.00
*Lipton To Go Rebate $5.00
*Lipton To Go Rebate $5.00+

+ These are the super secret rebates I posted about awhile back - not sure if I should even mention it online per their rules. It was buy 3 Lipton To Go packs, get $5 back. Target had a bunch on clearance for $1.85 each, plus they had $1.00 off any Lipton product coupons. So I spent about $8.00 and got $15.00 back (limit 3 rebates). Plus the little packets really are pretty tasty!

Giveaway for a crafty girlie

Money Saving Mom is at it again! This time, she's giving away 5 craft kits from My Handwork Studio. These kits are really neat. This is only a 24 hour giveaway, so quickly go here and enter for your chance to win.

Wal-Mart (1/8): Coupons $1.50

Fred Meyer (1/8):Bag Credit $.05
Store Sale: (2 $1 lettuce bags - find receipt for regular price)

Rite Aid (1/9): Store Sale $8.90
Coupons $3.00
(OOP $2 with $5 ECR!)

Safeway (1/10): Bag credit $.03

Target (1/10): Store Sale $22.19
Coupons: $7.50

Wal-Mart (1/10): Store Sale $1.20

Walgreens (1/10): Store Sale $3.00

Safeway (1/11) Store Sale: $8.72
Bag Credit $.03
Coupons $2.00

Walgreens (1/11)
(Check regular price on Mt. Dew 12 pk - sale 7x$3.00=$21 plus $4.20 deposit)
[received $10 RR exp 1/23]

In today's (e)mail

Incoming:
*Set of straps for my daughter's booster seat. Her's were accidentally buried in the bottom of the hamper and got mold spotty, so I emailed them and they sent a new set free of charge! I was so thankful - way to go Learning Curve!

Outgoing:
*Single Check Rebate submission to Rite Aid for December (I thought I had already submitted it?) for $16.98
*Wall-E/Minute Maid rebate for $5.00
*Zantac Guarantee $5.00 rebate
*Orajel Overnight Cold Sore Patch rebate for $8.00 (see note)
*Circuit City digital photo caribeaner for $10.00... I paid $9.99.

Note - the Orajel rebate is a great money maker this month. Both the 8 ct overnight patches and the cold sore brush are FAR at Walgreens this month. Add to it the $8.00 Orajel mail in rebate (and the $1.00 off coupon that was next to it - but I used it for my kids' toothpaste), and you've got a GREAT deal!
$8.49
-$1.00 coupon
$7.49 out of pocket
-$8.49 ESR
-$.85 10% gift card bonus
-$8.00 MIR

$9.85 PROFIT! ($8.85 in my case, but I'm still happy with it!)

If you're interested in the MIR details:

To receive up to an $8.00 cash refund, send:
1. Your name, address, city, state, and zip code
2. The UPC code proof of purchase from the Orajel Overnight Cold Sore Patch, or Orajel Cold Sore Brush [the following are good for this rebate, but NOT Walgreens, or Orajel Plaque Revealing Rinse, or Orajel Plaque Revealing Pre-Brush Gel].
3. Dated cash register receipt with the Orajel product's item price circled. The refund will not exceed the purchase price. Receipt must be dated after 10/26/08. Postmark must be before 1/31/09.

Mail to: Orajel October 2008 $8.00 Rebate Offer, c/o Best Marketing Inc., P.O. Box 189779, Casselberry, FL 32718

Limit one refund per name, family, address, group, or organization. Offer void where taxed, restricted, or prohibited by law. Offer good only in the USA, Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands. Allow 6-8 weeks for delivery. No facsimiles accepted. EXPIRES 1/31/09.

Daily report

Maybe back with details later. I think I'm going to start adding sale-savings, too.

Bi-Mart: store sale $3

Safeway: store card $18.42
Clearance meat (regular price $3.59; 6x$1.79 = $10.80 savings!)
Bag credit $.09
Coupon $1.00
Can Deposits $10.35 ($2.80 of that came from abandoned cans I've picked up)

Walgreens: store sale $19.39
Coupons $33.63

Coupons used

1/2/09 - Walgreens: $16.05

1/3/09 - Safeway: $1.00
- Jo-Ann: $9.50

2008 in review

Since I just started this new lifestyle in August, I didn't do as well as I had hoped. My goal was one rent payment... and I fell about $20 short of that. Here's the breakdown that used to be on the side:

Money Back in My Pocket in 2008

* Walgreens (110%) - $391.60
* Rite Aid - $176.15
* Staples - $232.99
* Manufacturer's Rebates - $172.72
* Gift cards (Rx, points, etc) - $91.00
* TOTAL - $1075.42

As stated in the last post, I can't promise that I'll be able to update as much as I'd like. But I'm going to try and keep a running total not only on rebates in 2009, but also on how much I've saved using coupons. I haven't figured out if I'm going to do this on some paper in the coupon box or keep a running text message draft, but we'll see what I can do - and I'll update as time allows. I know that $1075 is impressive - but I also know that I probably saved about 2-3 times that in coupons last year as well. This year, I want to see it in print - something to keep me going when it all gets a bit overwhelming.

Also, speaking of coupons, one source (that I can't recall... looking for it now, actually) said that there could be up to FIVE coupon inserts in this Sunday's paper. That's HUGE! If the coupons appear to be good ones for our family, I may end up buying an extra paper (I always purchase 2 if there are coupons inside, and a family from church gives me theirs as well). What a great way to rebuild the stash (since most expired on 12/31)!

Cheap Fleece, Wags 01/09 and blog "maintenance"

Any sew-ers (unhyphenated just looked funny) reading? As you most likely have gleaned, we're trying to really limit the amount of money leaving our hands lately. I made fleece PJs for the whole family for Christmas, and the pants pattern that I followed ended up looking a lot like sweats rather than pajamas. So while all the 50% off sales were going on an Jo-Ann, I got enough elastic to make a couple more pairs of pants for each of my kids... I was just waiting for a good deal on the fleece. Didn't get elastic at 50% off - no worries, it's pretty cheap anyway, and by the yard is a lot cheaper than a package of it.

This week at Walgreens you can get their fleece blankets for $1.99 each with the coupon on page 9 of their flier. The limit is 4, but I had a hard time deciding on some colors and went ahead and got 5 without issue - there were TONS of them in at least 3 locations in my store. It's not the same high-quality stuff from Jo-Ann's - this wouldn't cut it as outer wear in Chicago or South Dakota right now, I'm afraid. But for where we live, it will make some nice light-weight fleece pants that the kids can wear out and about. The blankets are 50"x60", so I'm almost positive that I can get 2 pairs of pants out of each blanket - if not, I'll make a crazy serged patchwork quilt out of the leftover fleece to keep in the car. And, really, if you're looking for an emergency blanket or two to keep in the car, these are great. We already have one in there that my mom gave us a few years back, and M has one as one of her 7 or 8 blankets on her bed =)

One of this month's rebates at Wags is $1 off select Glade products - up to 4 rebates. One of them is the glass scents things. The Hawaiian breeze scent is on clearance at my Wags for $1.69. I had a $1/1 manufacturer's coupon, bringing my OOP to $.69 (out of last month's rebate money). I'll be getting $1.10 back in 110% gc rebates, for a total of a $.41 cent profit!

As for blog maintenance: When I started this, I had it in mind to keep updating this at least 2-3 times a week with the deals I was finding and how you could do the same. It is my hope that eventually I will get back to that as well. But for the time being, I'm focusing more on getting my health back together, getting our family set financially for what's becoming a much longer dry-spell than anticipated, and just trying to get our house together and weed out a bunch of extra "stuff" that we held onto when we moved and accumulated when my mom died (it was supposed to be used for her when she moved out to a nursing home here - then she died right (13 days) after we moved out here. The computer in general has taken a backseat to real life... a good thing, I know.

So if you're interested in the super bargains when I find them, hand around for infrequent updates. Otherwise, thanks for your interest in the blog!