Up To 227 Item in the $25 CVS Challenge!

I'm way behind on updating my $25 CVS Challenge - having a baby has cramped my shopping & blogging style :) I had/have $1.54 left, but that was a little deceiving because when I did transaction #39 on Nov. 26, they gave me $5 cash because I initially forgot to use the coupon. So I really had $5 & $1.54 on a gift card before I did the following transactions.

Transaction #42 (Jan. 17)
$1.76: 1 each VO5 shampoo & conditioner
$6.00: 1 6-pack Soyjoy Bars
$.99: 1 CVS Green Bag Tag (I hope you have this easy way to earn ECB's!)

Used $2.00 ECB
Used $4.98 ECB

Paid $1.80 cash

Transaction #43 (Jan. 17)
$12.00: 2 6-pack Soyjoy Bars

Used $2.00 ECB
Used $3.00 ECB
Used $6.00 ECB

Paid $1.00 cash

Transaction #44 (Feb. 5)
$1.25: 1 LaraBar
$2.99: 1 Colgate Maxfresh Toothpaste
$.75: 1 Reese's Peanut Butter Egg

Put $.49 on gift card

Transaction #45 (Feb. 15)
$.38: 1 Snickers Heart
$2.31: 2 VO5 shampoo & 1 VO5 conditioner
$2.99: 1 Aussie conditioner
$2.99: 1 Colgate Total Advance toothpaste
$3.50: 1 Crest ProHealth Mouthwash
$3.50: 1 Crest ProHealth Toothpaste

Used $2.00 off Crest Mouthwash coupon
Used $1.50 off Colgate toothpaste coupon
Used $1.00 off Aussie conditioner coupon
Used $10.98 ECB

Put $.20 on gift card

Transaction #46 (Feb. 28)
$4.50: 3 Kind Bars
$5.00: 2 Colgate Total Advance toothpastes
$4.99: 1 Softsoap Serums bodywash
$1.50: 1 Powerbar Gel

Used 2 $1.50 off Colgate total toothpaste
Used $1.00 off Powerbar gels coupon
Used $6.99 ECB
Used $2.00 ECB
Used $2.00 ECB
Used $1.00 ECB

Put $.03 on gift card

Transaction #47 (Feb. 28)
$14.99: 1 Accu-check Aviva blood glucose monitor

Used $5.00 off coupon
Used $9.99 ECB

Broke even - no OOP

Transaction #48 (Mar. 19)
$9.99: 1 24-pack CVS Premium bath tissue

Used $2.00 ECB
Used $3.00 ECB
Used $4.99 ECB

Broke even - no OOP

Total spent so far: $21.61 (transactions 1-10) + $15.91 (transactions 11-20) + $3.35 (transactions 21-30) + $.09 (transactions 31-40) + $.49 + used cash + used cash + $.49 + $.20 + $.03 + $.00 + $.00 - $10 rebate - $7.99 rebate = $24.18

ECB's earned: $9.50 + $2.20 cash (This does not include the ones I cashed in)

Stuff I've Gotten So Far:
1 bottle CVS Chewable Aspirin, 36 count
1 bottle Excedrin, 10 count
3 bottles Mylanta Ultimate Strength Mint
2 Neutrogena facial soaps
2 Stayfree Pads, 16 ct
2 bottles Natural Dentist Mouthwash
1 Extreme Energy Shots
1 Renuzit TriScents Air Freshener Starter Kit
1 Maybelline Dream foundation
1 Irish Spring Body Wash 15-18 oz.
4 Dry Idea roll-on deodorant
1 Colgate Maxwhite toothpaste
1 CVS Vitamin D 400 iu, 100 ct
1 Schick Intuition Plus razor
1 Bayer Contour blood sugar meter
5 Crest ProHealth toothpastes
4 boxes Post Trail Mix cereal
1 Ensure 6 pack
3 packs gum
1 Paas Egg Dyeing Kit
2 bags Easter Grass
2 Easter baskets
1 Skintimate Shaving Cream
1 Edge Infused Shaving Cream
6 3M Hooks
1 Garnier Fructis Conditioner
2 boxes Frosted Mini-wheats
1 box Frosted Flakes
1 Adidas A3 Deodorant
2 Speed Stick Pro deodorants
9 Colgate Total Advanced toothpaste
2 Mennon Speed Stick Pro deodorants
1 Pampers Cruisers packages
34 SoyJoy Bars
4 Thermacare Heat Wraps, 1 ct boxes
2 Always Infinity 32 & 36 ct maxipads
2 Caliber 1-Subject Notebooks
2 12″ Wood Rulers
2 School Glue
2 5″ Pointed Tip Scissors
3 Paper Mate Grip Pens (8-ct.)
2 CVS 5-Subject Notebook
2 Tylenol Arthritis
2 Papermate Pen, 10-ct
2 Pencil packs, 24-count
2 Filler Paper packs, 150 sheets
1 CVS Tampons, 10-ct
2 Composition Books, 100 sheets
1 Pencil Case
1 Cow tale candy
2 Pilot Easytouch Pen, 2 Pk
2 Caliber 100-Page Composition Books
1 Caliber Index Card Case
1 Caliber Sticky Notes
1 Blink Tears eye drops
2 Stayfree Pads (28-48 ct.)
2 Caliber Brand Pens (20-ct.)
2 Caliber pharmacy 1-Subject Notebooks
2 Caliber Compass/Protractors
2 Caliber Flexi Rulers
2 Caliber Glue Stick (3-pk.)
1 CVS Mouthwash, 250 mL
1 Revlon ColorStay Mineral Mouse Makeup
2 Paper Mate Pens, 10 pk
2 Caliber Filler Paper (150-sheets)
2 Caliber Mini Composition Notebook
2 Caliber Recycled School Box
1 Philips Earhook Headphones
2 Caliber Composition Books
1 Carefree Ultra Protection pads
1 Tot Stapler
4 Larabars
1 Glade Scented Reed Diffuser
1 pack Schick Slim Triple ST3 Disposable Razors
1 Crest with Scope Outlast Toothpaste
1 Crest with Scope Outlast Mouthwash
1 Dyna Pep Energy Micro-Shot (2-pk.)
1 Duracell AA (16-pk.)
1 Bounty Basic 6 Big Rolls
1 Dawn (10.3-oz.)
2 Bounce Dryer Bar (1-ct.)
1 32 ounce bottle CVS Brand Apple Juice
1 2-liter bottle Sprite
1 Revlon Nail Polish
2 4-in-1 Pumpkin Carving Tool
1 Halloween Nylon Treat Bag
1 bag Brach’s Candy Corn
1 Boston Globe
1 Boston Herald
1 Nova Max Glucose Meter
1 Gillette Fusion Razor
2 Vaseline Sheer Infusion Body Lotion
1 Degree Ultra Clear for Women deodorant
1 St. Ives Body Wash
1 Bic Soleil Razor
1 Colgate 360 Toothbrush
1 small pack Reese’s PB cups
1 Snickers King-size Bar
1 Schick Quattro Razor
1 Nivea Body Wash
1 Crest Pro-health mouthwash
1 Oral-B Single Manual Toothbrush
2 Hot Wheels Cars
1 Johnson & Johnson Baby Wash pack
1 Nature Valley granola bars 2-pack
3 VO5 shampoos
1 CVS Green Bag Tag
1 Colgate Maxfresh Toothpaste
1 Snickers Heart
2 VO5 conditioner
1 Aussie conditioner
1 Crest ProHealth Mouthwash
3 Kind Bars
1 Softsoap Serums bodywash
1 Powerbar Gel
1 Accu-check Aviva blood glucose monitor
1 24-pack CVS Premium bath tissue

CVS Challenge: $1.54 left!

I did my first transaction of 2010 this past week, and plan on heading out today to get the newspaper, as well as the SoyJoy bars that are free after ECB's. You can find out more about this week's deals here. CVS is also doing a deal until 2/14 where you can get ECB's on multipacks of items (which is what I did in the following transaction); find the details here. There was a display in the front of my store; the sale items were not in the aisles that I expected them to be, so ask an employee if you can't find what you are looking for.

Transaction #41 (Jan. 12)
$4.49: Johnson & Johnson Baby Wash pack
$6.99: Nature Valley granola bars 2-pack

Used $2 ECB, bonus on last quarter's purchases
Used $2 ECB
Used $2 ECB
Used $5 ECB

Put $.49 on a gift card

Total spent so far: $21.61 (transactions 1-10) + $15.91 (transactions 11-20) + $3.35 (transactions 21-30) + $.09 (transactions 31-40) + $.49 - $10 rebate - $7.99 rebate = $23.46

ECB's earned: $9.98 + $5 cash (This does not include the ones I cashed in)

Stuff I've Gotten So Far:
1 bottle CVS Chewable Aspirin, 36 count
1 bottle Excedrin, 10 count
3 bottles Mylanta Ultimate Strength Mint
2 Neutrogena facial soaps
2 Stayfree Pads, 16 ct
2 bottles Natural Dentist Mouthwash
1 Extreme Energy Shots
1 Renuzit TriScents Air Freshener Starter Kit
1 Maybelline Dream foundation
1 Irish Spring Body Wash 15-18 oz.
4 Dry Idea roll-on deodorant
1 Colgate Maxwhite toothpaste
1 CVS Vitamin D 400 iu, 100 ct
1 Schick Intuition Plus razor
1 Bayer Contour blood sugar meter
4 Crest ProHealth toothpastes
4 boxes Post Trail Mix cereal
1 Ensure 6 pack
3 packs gum
1 Paas Egg Dyeing Kit
2 bags Easter Grass
2 Easter baskets
1 Skintimate Shaving Cream
1 Edge Infused Shaving Cream
6 3M Hooks
1 Garnier Fructis Conditioner
2 boxes Frosted Mini-wheats
1 box Frosted Flakes
1 Adidas A3 Deodorant
2 Speed Stick Pro deodorants
6 Colgate Total Advanced toothpaste
2 Mennon Speed Stick Pro deodorants
1 Pampers Cruisers packages
16 SoyJoy Bars
4 Thermacare Heat Wraps, 1 ct boxes
2 Always Infinity 32 & 36 ct maxipads
2 Caliber 1-Subject Notebooks
2 12″ Wood Rulers
2 School Glue
2 5″ Pointed Tip Scissors
3 Paper Mate Grip Pens (8-ct.)
2 CVS 5-Subject Notebook
2 Tylenol Arthritis
2 Papermate Pen, 10-ct
2 Pencil packs, 24-count
2 Filler Paper packs, 150 sheets
1 CVS Tampons, 10-ct
2 Composition Books, 100 sheets
1 Pencil Case
1 Cow tale candy
2 Pilot Easytouch Pen, 2 Pk
2 Caliber 100-Page Composition Books
1 Caliber Index Card Case
1 Caliber Sticky Notes
1 Blink Tears eye drops
2 Stayfree Pads (28-48 ct.)
2 Caliber Brand Pens (20-ct.)
2 Caliber pharmacy 1-Subject Notebooks
2 Caliber Compass/Protractors
2 Caliber Flexi Rulers
2 Caliber Glue Stick (3-pk.)
1 CVS Mouthwash, 250 mL
1 Revlon ColorStay Mineral Mouse Makeup
2 Paper Mate Pens, 10 pk
2 Caliber Filler Paper (150-sheets)
2 Caliber Mini Composition Notebook
2 Caliber Recycled School Box
1 Philips Earhook Headphones
2 Caliber Composition Books
1 Carefree Ultra Protection pads
1 Tot Stapler
3 Larabars
1 Glade Scented Reed Diffuser
1 pack Schick Slim Triple ST3 Disposable Razors
1 Crest with Scope Outlast Toothpaste
1 Crest with Scope Outlast Mouthwash
1 Dyna Pep Energy Micro-Shot (2-pk.)
1 Duracell AA (16-pk.)
1 Bounty Basic 6 Big Rolls
1 Dawn (10.3-oz.)
2 Bounce Dryer Bar (1-ct.)
1 32 ounce bottle CVS Brand Apple Juice
1 2-liter bottle Sprite
1 Revlon Nail Polish
2 4-in-1 Pumpkin Carving Tool
1 Halloween Nylon Treat Bag
1 bag Brach’s Candy Corn
1 Boston Globe
1 Boston Herald
1 Nova Max Glucose Meter
1 Gillette Fusion Razor
2 Vaseline Sheer Infusion Body Lotion
1 Degree Ultra Clear for Women deodorant
1 St. Ives Body Wash
1 Bic Soleil Razor
1 Colgate 360 Toothbrush
1 small pack Reese’s PB cups
1 Snickers King-size Bar
1 Schick Quattro Razor
1 Nivea Body Wash
1 Crest Pro-health mouthwash
1 Oral-B Single Manual Toothbrush
2 Hot Wheels Cars
1 Johnson & Johnson Baby Wash pack
1 Nature Valley granola bars 2-pack

Grocery Couponing for Lazy People

OK, so maybe that's not the best title. I've gone back & forth and called this post "The Simplest Ways to Save Money Using Coupons" or "Couponing Made Easy". Here's how this post came about.

As I've been talking to people lately about couponing and saving money on groceries and household products, I find that many people are overwhelmed at where to start. They know to buy newspapers to get coupons, and look at circulars for good deals - but what then? Do you clip all your coupons? Go to multiple stores? How do you keep organized? How do you make it work without too much work and how do you make sense of it all?

A good place to start is reading this post I wrote a while ago on the basics of couponing. This was written about couponing in general and is a little bit more high maintenance than what I do now. Now I'm going to tell you how I save money on my groceries, specifically, recognizing that the way I go about things may not work for everyone.

I do not spend a lot of time couponing and grocery shopping. I already spend more time than some because my older son eats dairy, soy & wheat free, so buying groceries for him requires visiting at least 3 different stores on a regular basis. Also, having an almost 2.5 year old and an almost 2 month old, I don't have a ton of time to read blogs, and find out all the deals, etc.

So here's what I do on a weekly or biweekly basis:

1. Get the weekly circulars to the stores you frequent. They come in the mail here Thursday, Friday or Saturday, but since most grocery sales start on Friday and many stores do weekend sales or 3-day sales, I sign up to get them e-mailed to me. They usually come on Thursday. I also have one that is snail-mailed to me. I did this by commenting in their contact form on their web page.

2. Buy at least 1 Sunday newspaper a week. The Sunday paper is generally the one that contains the coupons, but this can vary by region, so double-check. The Sunday papers here cost between $2.00-$3.50, so if it's a lean week, I may just buy one, but you can read here about why I sometimes buy multiple copies. You can find out here what the inserts for the week are scheduled to be, so you can plan ahead.

3. Browse the circulars to see what's on sale that you can use. I look not only for frequently-used products, but also any sales that boast a coupon off your next purchase (called a catalina). For example, Shaw's, a local chain, often does a sale on certain lines of products that if you buy $20-$25 in product, you get a $5-$10 coupon off your next visit. That's $20-$25 before coupons, and the products are on sale, so you can often get really good deals. You can see here how much free or almost free stuff I've gotten!

4. Find out if those sale products have coupons. You can find regional coupon lists at Coupon Mom or national lists at Hot Coupon World where you can do a search for a product and see if there an any coupons to match.

5. Only clip the coupons you know you'll use. When time permits, I browse the coupon inserts to see if there are any coupons for products I use often. My son can only eat certain brands of snacks and cereal, for instance, so if I see a coupon for his brands, I clip them and carry them in a envelope in my purse. Otherwise, I do not clip any coupons. I file the inserts in a filing cabinet by date and clip them when I know my coupon matches for the week.

6. Buy what's on sale whenever you can, and match the sales with coupons. This may be stating the obvious to some of you, but buy your staples when they go on sale. Most things go on sale at some time, especially staples such as meat, beans, rice, frozen veggies and fruit, pasta sauce, canned goods, paper products, cereal and milk. I never, ever pay full price for meat, frozen veggies, and most cereals. Since my son is on a special diet, sometimes we do need to pay full price for some essentials. We balance that out by getting other basics on sale.

7. Pick 1 or 2 main blogs, and just check for weekly deals. For grocery shopping, I don't always check for deals. The things we buy are pretty standard. The one exception is if I see that Shaw's (mentioned above) is having a catalina deal, I will go to Hot Coupon World to find coupon match-ups with the on-sale products. I also sometimes go to Coupon Mom for grocery deals. Her site is similar to Grocery Game, but it's free. She organizes the site by region and store, so if you already know you're going to Shaw's, you can select your state, then that store, and find out if anything is free or really cheap that you want to pick up while you're there.

That's it, folks. It may seem like a lot of work, but it's really not. I also don't do it every week. Some weeks all I pick up is produce, which makes up almost 50% of our grocery budget. Otherwise, I shop the sales & keep my pantry & freezer stocked.

5 Coupon Inserts in Today's Paper!

If you haven't had a chance to get the newspaper today, go get one - or three, like I did! And I had to shovel out my car in order to get my papers. Find out here why sometimes I get multiple copies of the newspaper.

Starting Off the New Year! Cheap Books & Free Gift Cards

With the New Year upon us, people are making New Year's Resolutions, including financial ones. Many are buckling down and trying to find ways to save money, or even make money. I'm reminded of a few of my old favorites, and a new one.

Oldies But Goodies:

Couponing! Review some of my posts on successful couponing.

Swagbucks: earn Swagbucks by searching the internet, and cash them in for gifts cards or merchandise! In the year since I joined, I've cashed in my Swagbucks and gotten close to $100 in gift cards (for Starbucks, iTunes, and Amazon.com) and a book on organizing :)

InboxDollars: read e-mails, click on the links, and earn cash.

$25 CVS Challenge: See how I've gotten 180 items, and still counting, spending only $25 at CVS!

Other ways to make money on the internet, including my posts on getting a $500 Sears card & a $500 IKEA card.

And a newbie:
Paperback Swap: It's a great way to get rid of books that you don't want & find books you're interested in. Basically, you "post" books by searching for books you have that you want to get rid of. If someone else then selects one of your posted books, you print out the label Paperback Swap creates for you, put the book in a mailing envelope or for smaller books & attch the label, or use Paperback Swap's mailing wrappers (printed on regular paper). You then attach postage & mail the book. When the book is received, you get 1 credit, and the person keeps the book. That credit can be used to pick a book you'd like to get shipped to you. You also keep the books that are shipped to you; you don't mail them back. If you post 10 books upon joining, you get 2 "start-up" credits, so you can start receiving books right away.

Continuing the $25 CVS Challenge

I've been absent for a while, with very good reason; I had a successful HBAC on November 16th! So we've added another male to our family. So between the dog, my husband, and our 2 sons, there is a lot of testosterone around here :)

I was laying low for quite a while, but I did manage to sneak out to the super-convenient CVS up the street on Thanksgiving and do some money-making deals for my never-ending $25 CVS challenge.

As I was tallying up my numbers today for this post, I realized I made a mathematical error back in July. Oops! I actually have more money left than I thought! Because CVS sometimes makes mistakes on my transactions, sometimes I get refunds. They can't give you back ECB's, so they put that on a money card. If you pay out of pocket, they can give you cash(like they did on Thanksgiving when I forgot to include my $5 off coupon in my transaction - oops!). So I actually have just over $2 left! That's why it's called the never-ending CVS challenge :)

Transaction #38 (Nov. 26)
$4: 1 Degree Ultra Clear for Women deodorant
$7.99: 1 Vaseline Sheer Infusion Lotion
$3.99: 1 St. Ives Body Wash
$2.88: 1 Colgate Total toothpaste

Used $1.50 off Colgate Total coupon
Used $1 off St Ives coupon
Used $1 off Vaseline lotion coupon
Used $5 ECB
Used $9.99 ECB
Used $.37 ECB, adjusted down

Broke even - no OOP

Transaction #39 (Nov. 26)
$6.99: 1 Bic Soleil Razor
$2.99: 1 Colgate 360 Toothbrush
$0.89: 1 small pack Reese’s PB cups
$1.59: 1 Snickers King-size Bar
$9.99: 1 Schick Quattro Razor

Used $2 Bic Soleil Razor coupon
Used $1 Colgate Toothbrush coupon
Used $2 Schick Quattro Titanium Razor or Refill coupon
Used $5 off $15 CVS coupon
Used $3 ECB
Used $7.99 ECB
Used $1.46 ECB, adjusted down

Broke even - no OOP

Transaction #40 (Dec. 21)
$5.99: 1 Nivea Body Wash
$2.88: 1 Crest Pro-health Mouthwash
$4.98: 2 ThermaCare Neck to Arm Wrap (1-ct)
$2.99: 1 Oral-B Single Manual Toothbrush
$1.69: 2 Hot Wheels Cars, $1.69 (B1G1)

Used $2/1 Nivea Women’s Body Wash coupon
Used $4 ECB
Used $8 ECB
Used $2 ECB
Used $.89 ECB
Used $1.59 ECB

Put $.05 on a gift card

Total spent so far: $21.61 (transactions 1-10) + $15.91 (transactions 11-20) + $3.35 (transactions 21-30) + $.00 + $.00 + $.04 + $.00 + $.00 + $.00 + $.00 + $.00 + $.00 + $.05 - $10 rebate - $7.99 rebate = $22.97

ECB's earned: $13.98 + $5 cash (This does not include the ones I cashed in)

Stuff I've Gotten So Far:
1 bottle CVS Chewable Aspirin, 36 count
1 bottle Excedrin, 10 count
3 bottles Mylanta Ultimate Strength Mint
2 Neutrogena facial soaps
2 Stayfree Pads, 16 ct
2 bottles Natural Dentist Mouthwash
1 Extreme Energy Shots
1 Renuzit TriScents Air Freshener Starter Kit
1 Maybelline Dream foundation
1 Irish Spring Body Wash 15-18 oz.
4 Dry Idea roll-on deodorant
1 Colgate Maxwhite toothpaste
1 CVS Vitamin D 400 iu, 100 ct
1 Schick Intuition Plus razor
1 Bayer Contour blood sugar meter
4 Crest ProHealth toothpastes
4 boxes Post Trail Mix cereal
1 Ensure 6 pack
3 packs gum
1 Paas Egg Dyeing Kit
2 bags Easter Grass
2 Easter baskets
1 Skintimate Shaving Cream
1 Edge Infused Shaving Cream
6 3M Hooks
1 Garnier Fructis Conditioner
2 boxes Frosted Mini-wheats
1 box Frosted Flakes
1 Adidas A3 Deodorant
2 Speed Stick Pro deodorants
6 Colgate Total Advanced toothpaste
2 Mennon Speed Stick Pro deodorants
1 Pampers Cruisers packages
16 SoyJoy Bars
4 Thermacare Heat Wraps, 1 ct boxes
2 Always Infinity 32 & 36 ct maxipads
2 Caliber 1-Subject Notebooks
2 12″ Wood Rulers
2 School Glue
2 5″ Pointed Tip Scissors
3 Paper Mate Grip Pens (8-ct.)
2 CVS 5-Subject Notebook
2 Tylenol Arthritis
2 Papermate Pen, 10-ct
2 Pencil packs, 24-count
2 Filler Paper packs, 150 sheets
1 CVS Tampons, 10-ct
2 Composition Books, 100 sheets
1 Pencil Case
1 Cow tale candy
2 Pilot Easytouch Pen, 2 Pk
2 Caliber 100-Page Composition Books
1 Caliber Index Card Case
1 Caliber Sticky Notes
1 Blink Tears eye drops
2 Stayfree Pads (28-48 ct.)
2 Caliber Brand Pens (20-ct.)
2 Caliber pharmacy 1-Subject Notebooks
2 Caliber Compass/Protractors
2 Caliber Flexi Rulers
2 Caliber Glue Stick (3-pk.)
1 CVS Mouthwash, 250 mL
1 Revlon ColorStay Mineral Mouse Makeup
2 Paper Mate Pens, 10 pk
2 Caliber Filler Paper (150-sheets)
2 Caliber Mini Composition Notebook
2 Caliber Recycled School Box
1 Philips Earhook Headphones
2 Caliber Composition Books
1 Carefree Ultra Protection pads
1 Tot Stapler
3 Larabars
1 Glade Scented Reed Diffuser
1 pack Schick Slim Triple ST3 Disposable Razors
1 Crest with Scope Outlast Toothpaste
1 Crest with Scope Outlast Mouthwash
1 Dyna Pep Energy Micro-Shot (2-pk.)
1 Duracell AA (16-pk.)
1 Bounty Basic 6 Big Rolls
1 Dawn (10.3-oz.)
2 Bounce Dryer Bar (1-ct.)
1 32 ounce bottle CVS Brand Apple Juice
1 2-liter bottle Sprite
1 Revlon Nail Polish
2 4-in-1 Pumpkin Carving Tool
1 Halloween Nylon Treat Bag
1 bag Brach’s Candy Corn
1 Boston Globe
1 Boston Herald
1 Nova Max Glucose Meter
1 Gillette Fusion Razor
2 Vaseline Sheer Infusion Body Lotion
1 Degree Ultra Clear for Women deodorant
1 St. Ives Body Wash
1 Bic Soleil Razor
1 Colgate 360 Toothbrush
1 small pack Reese’s PB cups
1 Snickers King-size Bar
1 Schick Quattro Razor
1 Nivea Body Wash
1 Crest Pro-health mouthwash
1 Oral-B Single Manual Toothbrush
2 Hot Wheels Cars, $1.69

Getting Some Free Gift Cards

With the economy the way it is & the holidays coming quickly upon us, I've been hearing from people lately, "Who should I buy presents for & how do I afford them?"

My first suggestion is to join Swagbucks. I've got 280 something Swagbucks myself, after having recently cashed a bunch in for 2 Amazon.com gift cards, a Starbucks gift card and an iTunes gift card. If you haven't heard about Swagbucks, you need to! Basically, you log in and use their search engine (which uses Google & Ask.com) and you win Swagbucks which are redeemable for gift cards and other stuff. This is the coolest of my "free" recommendations because you are simply being rewarded for something you do anyway!

I also use Mypoints and InboxDollars. Both programs reward you for reading e-mails and then clicking on the links. The difference is that My Points pays in gift cards, whereas Inbox Dollars pays in cold, hard cash. Again, I can refer you to these programs if you'd like. You can simply click on this link for InboxDollars, but for My Points, I have to refer you via e-mail. Inbox Dollars will give you $5 just for signing up. Also, if you use credit cards, now is the time to cash in your rewards!

Also, here are some posts on how to make money on the internet, including my posts on getting a $500 Sears card & a $500 IKEA card. Believe it or not, I still have $75 on my Sears card & $375 on my IKEA card. Since I'm due to have a baby in the next few weeks, I'm not sure I'll be doing much Christmas shopping unless it's by e-card :)