Today reminded me why I love using coupons and rebates — I get to enjoy the thrill of buying without the guilt of paying for it! In fact, I will get paid $1 to buy everything in this photo.

I snagged the free 8X10 photo deal at Walgreens I mentioned yesterday on Facebook (a $2.99 value), so I am all set for a lovely gift for my friend Jayne. But before I headed out, I checked other blogs who enjoy saving as much as I do and found that I could pick up four of the expensive soy-based Glade Fragrance Collection candles at 2 for $5 at WAGS. But they also recently had a high-value coupon for $3 off 2, so now they were $1 apiece. (If you keep your coupon flyers — as you should — you can also find the same coupon in the February 2 SmartSource circular.)

But it gets better!

The same blog noted that S.C. Johnson still has this great rebate offer going that when you buy 3 participating products, you get $5 back on a rebate. So, yes, I will get paid $1 to buy everything — $13 in merchandise!

I know it is sometimes hard to believe, but these scenarios occur on a regular basis. Just this week I got a check for $12 in the mail for the two Olay lotions I bought with this rebate offer, in which I also used a $2 Ecoupon coupon (learn about them here). So not only did I get free lotion, but I got paid to buy them! I also just sent off for the great $15 Olay rebate to net two body washes and another lotion. This deal is still available! Last night, I sent off for the “try me free” rebate for Sure deodorant for men. Of course, I used a $1.50 coupon, so I will not only get the purchase price back ($1.99), But I will also get paid $1.50 to buy it. The rebate programs don’t care about coupons. They only look at the purchase price — a big secret. That means you often make money buying luxuries and necessities. Gotta love that!

This is one of my favorite aspects of couponing and using rebates — you get to enjoy items you normally would not buy when on a tight budget. I call them my little luxuries.

The Material Boy in me is happy, and you can still do this candle at Walgreens through today!

Man, this is a hot deal! First 25,000 people to sign up will get a $5 rebate off any Jennie-O turkey product. Routinely, they have these as “buy one get one free,” which can make for an excellent deal — and free! Hold onto the form and wait for the sale to come — the rebate is good through the end of May!

This is one of those high-value coupons/rebates that make for mega-good grocery deals.

Thanks to these wonderful blogs for tipping me off — For the Mommas and Making Cents with Sense.

Click here to sign up. Just do it fast!

I just finished scanning the grocery store ads for this week and realized the specials stink this week! But I’ve got to make dinners for the next seven days — what to do? Time to call on the pantry, freezer and what is well-priced this week, that’s what!

This is when the tactic of stockpiling comes into play. With a well-stocked freezer and pantry, you don’t need to be held captive by fluctuating food prices. But it takes a little planning, being creative, open to new recipes and using what you have.

This week, the only good specials I can find are on produce (mainly salad items) and eggs for 99 cents. That’s it! So I started planning tonight. I found two great egg recipes (for dinner) via my email subscription to General Mill’s “Dinner Made Easy” web site. And lo and behold, this week they sent me ideas for suppers made with eggs!

Two looked great to me — the Bacon and Tomato Frittata and the Chile Rellenos Egg Souffle.

These recipes appealed to me ’cause they used the ingredient du week — eggs — and also called for items I have stocked: cheese, chilies (albeit diced), tomatoes (the salad deals this week) and bacon (in the meat drawer when I got it for $1.50). Add in a vegetable, salad, biscuits (stocked ’cause they were on sale for 99 cents) or tortillas (also stocked), and I have two dinners down!

A lot of ethnic dishes call for inexpensive ingredients, so next I went Italian. I snagged Italian sausages with a raincheck and coupons last week for $1.49, so I am going to fry them in large chunks and make penne pasta (50 cents)with Neuman’s Cabernet Marinara ($1) and frozen garlic bread (all purchased when they hit their lowest price). Dinner will end up costing no more than $4 tops. Dinner number 3 done (and I will have enough leftover sausage for a “cook once, eat twice dinner”).

Dinner number 4 will most likely be a fixed up frozen pizza (another ethnic dish) that I snagged for free with a raincheck. I will add fresh veggies and cheese to fix it up. This will be the plan this week when I am running short on time for dinner. Add a quick (sale) salad, and I am done.

I’ve got a lot of tuna in the pantry (44 cents), so I will either make tuna melts, tuna noodle casserole or just tuna sandwiches with a salad to cover dinner number 5. That cheese in the fridge is going to come in handy (and was also on special this week).

I’ll probably pull out half of the London Broil I got this past week for $1.44 a pound and team with some of the 99 cents 10 pound bag of potatoes I picked up also this past week for dinner number 6 and to make a change of pace.

Dinner number 7 will probably be a wild card — either a soup and salad (with the cheap Chunky soup I bought two weeks ago for 49 cents each) or a replay of one of my “cook once, eat twice dinners” (I’m thinking this bratwurst casserole I made this past week with the brats I got on special for $1.49.)

And with that, I’m done. I will probably spend about $15 or less using the egg, cheese and produce specials, and I was not victim to the hike in grocery prices this week. A little planning and being creative can net you so much in the end! Sounds like a dang good menu plan to me!

I’ve never been one to go out to eat — to me, it’s a treat or time to socialize with friends, but not just a means of getting nourishment. And let me tell you, we save a lot of money this way.

If I do go out, I try to enjoy something I would not make myself, because I can’t get over how simple a good dinner is to make — and so much cheaper. Tonight we had London Broil, steamed broccoli and smashed red potatoes. The total cost for two people? $3! That’s $1.50 per person! Try to get that dinner at a restaurant for less than $5 for two people!

There was no huge preparation time. One hour max. But what it illustrates is how you can eat so well at home as long as you match what’s on sale with what you eat that week (or beyond).

The “beyond” means often you can stock up and freeze meats, veggies and other items when they are at their lowest price and enjoy later. Ground beef, for instance, has not been on special for a couple weeks. Consequently, my menu plans have eliminated it for awhile. This week, London Broil was an incredible deal, so we had steak tonight, and I plan on making beef stew with another part. The remainder will go in the freezer to enjoy when it’s two times as much. (I paid $1.44 a pound with a store special and store Ecoupon.)

I got the broccoli for 50 cents a pound today and the red potatoes for 33 cents a pound last week. Today, I picked up a 10 pound bag of russet potatoes for 99 cents, so those will be the carb du jour for the next week or so.

But by matching specials and menu plans, I was able to make the dinner pictured for less than $3, and it was dang good.

One of the fastest ways in which to save money is to avoid eating out as much as possible. I have even massaged this savings strategy even more so by stocking up on fast convenience items so as to avoid the $1 fast-food value menu runs when I am absolutely starving. Instead, I save at least 50 percent by having Hot Pockets, frozen taquitos, and individual pizzas at home that I can have ready to eat in 3 minutes or less. These are not everyday foods, but ones I have in emergencies when I can’t wait any longer to eat, and, of course, I only buy when I can net a great deal at the grocery store. For instance, the Red Baron individual pizzas I got for 50 cents apiece on Friday with a store special, store coupon and Internet coupon. Those went right in the freezer for such emergencies.

Saving money is not about netting the one big deal; it’s a conglomeration of planning, looking ahead and building small amount of savings into something substantial — like tonight’s dinner and what was left in our bank account.

Geez louise, I thought I lucked out in December when Olay offered to reimburse the total price of two body lotions, but a new offer just came out that’s just as sweet! Receive a $15 rebate when you purchase three Olay products before March 12. I did the deal today, and actually made money!

I got two big bottles of body wash and another bottle of body lotion today at Rite Aid for a total cost of $19.49. I then used two manufacturer coupons from the January 17 Proctor and Gamble coupon insert to net $2 off the lotion and $1 off the body wash, bringing the cost down to $16.49. With the rebate, I am now paying $1.49 for three items. Woo-hoo! But then I added in a $5 off $25 Rite Aid purchase, and when all was said and done, I got paid 2 cents to buy everything in the photo, when I used one rebate, one more manufacturer coupon an and Internet coupon for the soup available at Campbellskitchen.com! $25.45 in merchandise for free! Sweet!

Even if you used no coupons, but just looked for a good sale, you still should be able to get three Olay products for only $1 apiece. Still dang good. I also just saw that if you do some good shopping at Walmart, you can make even more money on this deal! This one is a sweet deal!

Eligible products are Olay facial moisturizers, facial treatments, facial cleansers, hand and body lotions, body washes or 6+ bar soap packs. Just fill out this form with the UPC codes for all products and include the original receipt (with the items and prices circled) and you’re on your way to making a great deal! The purchases may be made separately but prior to March 12. The form and receipt(s) must be postmarked by March 26. Only one offer per household.

Special thanks goes out to For the Mommas blog for tipping me off on this great deal.

I love the title of this post, ’cause that’s what I call it “Commando Grocery Shopping.” Not to say I wasn’t wearing any underwear — it means I went into the store to hit the specials, check out and leave.

The result? 75 percent off! Or, $48 in groceries for only $12! Just look at this haul! I got a chicken, a pound of bratwurst, a pound of sausage, two dozen eggs, tortillas, a pizza, two yogurts, two salad dressings, two cans of tuna, rice, dishwasher detergent, a box of bath tissue, and a packet of Nestle morsels. And the deals stunk this week at the grocery store!

That’s when I bring in my commando moves. When there are not a lot of items with great prices, I hunker down and use our pantry and freezer to fill in, and just shop for the loss-leader deals at the store and leave. And I still walk away with some great deals.

Because I stock up when they hit their lowest price, I am not victim to the weekly range of grocery prices. If it’s not a good price this week, I can hang on till it is.

Instead I use the store’s tactics against them. I buy the loss leaders, match them up with Internet, newspaper and Ecoupons, and then get out without buying much of anything else. To illustrate, of the 16 items I bought tonight, only four were not purchased with either a coupon or raincheck. And three of those items were loss leaders (the tuna at 44 cents a can and the chicken) and frankly, I just needed the Kleenex after a cold hit this week and I was running low.

In comparison, I got the yogurts, morsels and pizza for free. The two salad dressings were a quarter apiece and I got one carton of eggs for 50 cents. Rainchecks from last week (when they were out of the loss leaders then) got me the $5.99 sausages for $2.49 and then I matched with newspaper coupons to get them for $1.49 apiece. A great price for meat! Got the free pizza with a raincheck, as well as the low-cost tortillas at 99 cents (half off).

Normally when I need to do commando shopping, I usually have to do more than one shop, meaning I need to hit another store’s specials, which I did Friday. There I got six cans of Chunky soup for 49 cents each, laundry detergent for $1.49, a frozen dinner, a loaf of bread, sour cream, a packet of cheese slices and a fresh gallon of milk. Of these, only three did not have coupon matchups.

In total, for two people this week, I spent a grand total of $36.75 for groceries. That’s it, and we are still stocked to the gills!

If you want to learn more, check out the posts under “Grocery Store Tactics” and “Coupon Shopping,” and you’ll learn how easy it is do the same and save a lot of money. But more than anything, you can see how important it is to stockpile when items hit their lowest price (learn more here). This gives the power back to you in the grocery store.

These are one of those high-value coupons I love. This one is for a free bottle of any kind of Excedrin up to $5.99.

Just go to this link and answer one question, and the good folks at Excedrin will send you a coupon in the mail.

I love these kind of offers. Just last week I got a free package of Oreos (a $3.29 value) and a bottle of International Delight creamer (a $2.49 value). Gotta love free.

Thanks to Melissa at Savings Cents with Sense blog for tipping me off on this one.

Who doesn’t love getting stuff for free? I do, and that’s why I love doing my drugstore deals nearly every week. Believe it or not, I got paid to buy all these products in the past two weeks! And it is so easy — you can do it, too.

I normally shop at Rite Aid, because I love its Single Check Rebate program, where I enter my receipt number online, and at the end of the month, I request my check for all rebates. CVS and Walgreens offer similar programs, but theirs involve getting credits on your receipt that you may use for future purchases. My pal Traci at Southern CouponBelle blog loves CVS, and she has it down to a science. Personally, I would rather get the cash back and spend it where I will, but if all you have is CVS and its Extra Care Bucks program or Walgreen’s Register Rewards, you’re still gonna walk away with a lot of free products.

But what makes these programs sweeter is that you can combine with store and manufacturer coupons, and that’s how you turn ‘em into money-makers. These are the Holy Grail for couponers, where you are actually paid to buy the items! And Couponmom.com makes it easy every Sunday, when she posts all the deals and the coupon matchups. Just check what you want, cut out the coupons and you are on your way to saving.

Look at the Gillette shave gel above. It was on special for $2.99, with a $1 Single Check Rebate. Now it’s $1.99. But I also had a manufacturer coupon for $1 off, so that brought it down to 99 cents. Then I had a coupon from the bottom of my receipt for last week for $1 off any shave product $1.99 or more, so I actually got paid 1 cent to buy it. I combined the rebate, the store coupon and the manufacturer one to make it a steal.

Want to guess how much all the above items cost me? $1.47. But I had a $5 off $25 coupon (often available online and currently with this link), so I actually paid nothing for ‘em. (I bought a bottle of gin, which threw me up to $25 — and was a deal at $12.99 — so I figure I got $3.50 off it, and $1.50 off these items … and I wanted the gin.)

(In this case, the gin was what is referred to as a “filler item” — something you buy to make sure you can maximize your coupon savings. I did it at right with the shoe cushion inserts. Great to have, but I normally would not buy, but they allowed me to use the $5 off $25 coupon, and I had manufacturer coupons and the Single Check Rebates on ‘em, so they were free, and they got me to $25 so I could use the $5 coupon. It’s important to remember — the stores count your total purchase before coupons and rebates, so I hit $25 on their books but still paid much less than that at the store.)

Want to see how it all works? In the photo directly above, I was actually paid 60 cents to buy everything!

You’ll notice on the drugstore shops that there are not a lot items. But that’s the secret with doing the Rite Aid, CVS and Walgreens deals — you go in and hit the hot, hot specials and leave. You’re there to buy, not to shop — meaning you go in with a list of the deals with coupons in hand, throw ‘em in your basket and leave.

How much of a difference does it make? If I had paid the sale prices on all these items, my total would have been $48.92. But instead, I got paid $2.10 to buy ‘em all! A $50 savings — now that will pay the phone bill and I got a lot of great items, too.

I think a lot of people think these kind of deals are a secret and require a lot of work, but with the Internet, you can make them easy as pie. Now, you’ll excuse me, but I am going to enjoy a Nyquil sleep — for free.

I think people set them up for failure in hoping, wishing or even praying for a clean home. That’s because they believe it’s all or nothing. “I either spend all afternoon cleaning, or it’s a mess.” Not true!

And here is my confession — I have no “cleaning day.” I never spend hours scrubbing, dusting, etc., but I perpetually get compliments on how neat and clean our home appears.

Now I am not talking that you can eat off the floor or won’t find a speck of dust on my blinds, but I never feel like I need to apologize how the house appears when someone stops by (or to myself when I wake up).

My secrets? Glad you asked.

Hope these suggestions help. You can do it. Just remember a little every day adds up to a lot in a week and beyond!