Saturday, November 9, 2013

Super-Easy Free Samples

Hello all!

Today I have a few free sample offers for a few of my favorite products for the coming winter months. It gets cold here in the Midwest, and these are items I love to have on hand for a dose of extra comfy-coziness. :)

First of all, go to the Eucerin Facebook page for a sample of their ultra-moisturizing lotion. These always come in the mail quickly in little packets that are the perfect size for your purse.

Then visit the Emergen-C website for free packets of their fizzy feel-good vitamins. I love to have these on hand when my family or I feel like we're getting a cold.

Also try Centrum Flavor Bursts to build up your immune system for cold and flu season. In any case, they taste good, and isn't it fun getting mail that isn't a bill?





Monday, September 16, 2013

Couponing -- Work, but Worth It!

Hello readers! What I have for you today is a few tips on couponing. I find there's a big learning curve involved, and I'm still perfecting it -- so feel free to share your own advice with us in the comments section!

First of all, resist the temptation to run out to the stores with your freshly-clipped coupons. Instead, spend more time planning the trip -- this means organizing your coupons, watching the circulars for sales, and finding manufacture coupons you can pair with store coupons, called "stacking." (Good stores for opportunities to stack coupons include Target, Walgreens, and Hy-Vee.) This will help you avoid buyer's regret when you see that spaghetti sauce on sale two weeks later and think "Aw man, I should have waited!" Last month I spent a good part of two weeks planning a trip to Target and felt downright giddy when my bill shrank from $130 to $42! Even the family in line behind me commented, "We need to start couponing." :)

Secondly, if you have a coupon, getting the smallest-sized product the coupon allows will give you the best deal. A dollar off the $6 bottle of lotion is a less than 17% savings, but find a smaller $2 bottle and you're getting half off! Print multiple online coupons to get multiple products (most sites let you print two). Smaller containers of products like shampoo are easier to handle in the shower and can be placed in multiple bathrooms, sent with your kids to the pool, or kept in your gym or travel bag.

And lastly, I used to be that woman frantically digging through my coupon wallet with little pieces of paper flying everywhere, saying "I know I have a coupon for that!" It was frustrating and I was ready to quit the whole thing... until I realized I'd outgrown the wallet. I bought a cheap three-ring binder and some baseball card holder sheets at Wal-Mart. (Staples also sells coupon sheet protectors for this purpose). Now I clip all my coupons and organize them alphabetically, routinely going through to throw out expired ones. Now if I see a sale on Huggies, I can flip right to the H's and find out if I really do "have a coupon for that!"