I hear lots of people say they don’t have time to use coupons. Here’s a deal that took me about two minutes to line up. Just head to SoftScrub.com to sign up for their email list. You’ll get an email containing a link to confirm your registration. Then go back to the website and click on “Special Offers.” You’ll see a Buy One Get one Free Scrubbing Bubbles coupon. Print this twice! Then head to Walgreens where Scrubbing Bubbles is on sale, buy one get one free this week. With very little work you will get four free bottles of Soft Scrub. That’s $15.96 worth of cleaning supplies for FREE. While I was at Walgreens I also picked up a can of EOS moisturizing shave cream for @2.99 and got $2.99 back in Register Rewards, making it free as well. Not bad for a few minutes of work!

Posted under Freebies, Home

A few weeks ago I signed up for an account at HouseParty.com. I applied to host a Di’Giorno Pizza Party and I was selected! They sent me lots of great freebies and coupons to give to my party guests, plus six coupons for free pizza!

It was so fun to go to the grocery store and walk out with $48 worth of food without paying anything! About 20 people ended up coming to the bash.

They all got to try Di’Giorno’s new Pizza and Breadsticks combo packs and everyone seemed to enjoy the free food! I’ll gladly host more parties if it means I don’t have to cook!

Posted under Celebrations, Freebies, Home

Free and Cute Magazine Storage

Since I’m a freelance writer I subscribe to a lot of magazines. And I buy quite a few, too. The two magazine holders I had in my office were stuffed to capacity and magazines were starting to pile up. I needed additional storage because I like to have a variety of issues on hand for inspiration or to reference.

I had a large flat rate box from the Post Office sitting around because I had written the wrong address on it. I used a box cutter to cut one end off so that it was a great size for holding magazines upright. Then I painted it with a few coats of chalkboard paint and soon I had a new, free way to store issues of Redbook, one of my faves! Don’t you just love chalkboard paint?

Posted under Freebies, Home

Total Cost: $0!

My husband and I are a little over halfway complete with our Two-Week No Spending Challenge. Although we spent $10.12 this morning (I needed some cough medicine bad!) that is the only thing we’ve purchased in ten days! On Friday we went on a freebie hunt. It made for a really fun date of seeing what all we could score for free. Here’s a list of what we got:

* 2 Free 2-liters from Bi-Lo using a coupon I got when I completed this survey about my recent visit to Bi-Lo.

* Free movie from Redbox using code “BREAKROOM”

* Free movie from Blockbuster Express using code “GV9TA4″

* Two free Fresco tacos from Taco Bell using printable coupons.

We will finish our challenge as of midnight on Friday night, but we both agree the Two-Week No Spending Challenge has been a great experience!

Posted under Freebies, Home, coupons

A couple of weeks ago we adopted Milo. He’s a six-year-old Corgi/Jack Russell/Pembroke mix. He’s a bit crazy and likes running laps around the house in the afternoon. He plays hard and sleeps in weird positions. But he’s already become a beloved member of our family.

Milo Snoozing in My Office

I just discovered that if you adopted a dog in 2009 you are eligible to receive a month’s worth of free Pedigree dog food. Print out this free dog food form, fill it out and send it in to Pedigree, along with proof of your adoption. We adopted Milo in January of 2010 so I’m not sure if we’re eligible, but I think it’s definitely worth a shot. You must submit your requests for free dog food by February 2010.

Posted under Freebies, Good Deals, Home, coupons

To start 2010 off on a great financial foot my husband and I have instituted a two-week moratorium on spending. That’s right, starting this Saturday and going through January 30 we won’t be spending a dime. At least that’s the plan. I’m excited to embark on this test we’re calling the No-Spending Challenge. This Friday we’ll fill our cars up with gas, pay our online bills and give our wallets a 14 day break. I wrote a little more about this challenge at OutofDebtChristian.com. I’ll be posting an update or two there along the way. Feel free to join me… or pray for me!

Posted under Home, News

We’re about halfway through converting our attic into a master suite, so trips to Home Depot are a regular occurrence. Plus, I’m sure many of you are making home improvement-based New Year’s resolutions. Perhaps you want to get organized, revamp your 1970’s powder room or just replace your bedroom light fixture. Well whatever you are planning you’ll be able to save at least 10% on your project. I found some printable Lowe’s coupons at SlickDeals.net. These coupons won’t work at Lowe’s but because Home Depot accepts competitor coupons they will work there. This coupon will save you 10% on your entire purchase through February 4, 2010. Because it’s a PDF, print out a few and use one on every transaction at Home Depot. This coupon will save you $10 off any $50 purchase, but it expires on January 14, 2010. I also picked up a 2010 calendar at Ace Hardware that is full of coupons. These can also be redeemed at Home Depot or Lowe’s.

Posted under Good Deals, Home, coupons

We’re beginning an attic renovation that will turn our dirty, dusty space into a lovely, spacious master suite complete with a big walk-in closet and a fresh full bath. We’ve hired a crew to come in and suck out the old insulation, but we had to get rid of some garbage before their arrival. Last night we tackled this undesirable project and started pulling old wood, junk and debris from our rafters.

My husband handed me what I thought was ancient linoleum flooring but when I looked closer I realized it was an old newspaper printing block. As far as I can tell, back in the day they would have put ink on this, rolling it across newsprint to create the paper. This issue of the Greenville News dated back to November 24, 1939.

I was particularly interested in the grocery ads where you could buy two loaves of bread for $.15, three pounds of coffee for $.39 and a bar of soap for a nickel. In just a couple of weeks this will be 70-years-old. We found a couple dozen of these newspaper printing blocks. If you know anything about them please let me know! I’d love to know more about this piece of history we uncovered in our attic.

Posted under Home

Two of the magazines I subscribe to, Better Homes and Gardens and This Old House, both had valuable coupons tucked inside this month. It’s a $5 off a $25 purchase at True Value hardware store. Even if you don’t shop at True Value you can use this coupon at Home Depot or Lowes because they both accept competitor coupons. I have done this several times without a problem. Even if you don’t subscribe to these magazines you could still pick up an issue for less than $5 and you’ll have a valuable coupon plus some fresh reading material!

Posted under Good Deals, Home, coupons

Competitor coupons can be a great way to save big bucks on just about anything. Did you know that Lowe’s and Home Depot accept competitor coupons? You can use Lowe’s coupons at Home Depot and Home Depot coupons at Lowe’s. But it gets even better. You can also use True Value coupons at either store. I’ve used this True Value coupon twice already and plan to keep using it until it expires at the end of July. It takes $5 off a $25 purchase. My husband and I are always running to the hardware store for something, so these will get used.

Another coupon to print off is from Save a Lot. I’m so happy that I came across IHeartPublix.com where this deal was mentioned. Starting July 1, Save a Lot is giving members of their Smart Shopper Club a printable coupon that will take $5 off a purchase of $20 or more. I checked and there is a Save a Lot in my community which means I can take this coupon to Publix since they accept competitor coupons. The one I printed off is good until July 13. Happy shopping!

Posted under Good Deals, Home, coupons