Kellogg's Gas Rewards arrived

Remember this? On April 4 I told you about buying 90 boxes of cereal and getting 30 gallons of milk for free AND submitting for the Kellogg's Gas Rewards Card Rebate. My rebates arrived! They come in the form of prepaid MasterCards and are good on more than just gas. There's still time to get the Rewards Card. If another great Kellogg's cereal deal comes up, I will let you know. Keep in mind, you do not need receipts, just UPCs from select Kellogg's cereals.

Still time for 2 FREE collage prints

Walgreens has two codes for free 8x10 collage prints.You can use both codes per account, just not in the same order.
FORMOM
FREECOLLAGE
Hurry--you have until 11:59am Central Time!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter! We hunted eggs yesterday and this morning my kids enjoyed hard boiled eggs for breakfast.

No coupon inserts in the newspaper today!

Easy Hard Boiled Eggs

My kids love hard boiled eggs and I boil up a dozen or so per week. It doesn't matter what color the yolk is, my kids throw it out, but for those who care, this is the easiest way I have found that does not produce green/gray yolks.

Place eggs in a pot and cover the eggs with water






Cover pot
Cook on high until a rolling boil
Once rolling boil is achieved, leave covered, turn off burner and set timer to 14 minutes (I do not remove from burner)




Shock eggs by taking them out of the pot with a slotted spoon and placing in cold water








Enjoy!






Fred Meyer: 18 count eggs 3/$5 with in-ad coupon, limit 3
WinCo: 12 count eggs $1.08, limit 4
Safeway: 18 count eggs $1.99 with in-ad coupon (must buy $10 worth of groceries), limit 2
Chuck's Produce: 12 count eggs $0.99 , no limit stated

20 gallons of milk...easy come, easy go

Last week I mentioned getting 90 boxes of Kellogg's cereals and 30 catalinas good for free milk. I'm happy to report that Portland Police Sunshine Division picked up the cereal last Wednesday and yesterday the kids and I took care of the milk.
I made sure to bring my camera to photograph 20 gallons of milk in the trunk of the Honda Civic, but no photos were taken during our fastest trip to Albies--ever. When I purchased the cereal, I ordered 20 gallons of milk, since I was not going to buy out all the 2% milk at Albies and leave them with a big hole in their milk section. The guys at the 4th Plain Albies have made ordering easy--thank you Nate and Johnny! When I arrived at Albies yesterday I saw Johnny right away and he went and got the milk for me, checked me out, and put all the milk in the trunk--incredible service. Thank goodness, because I had two little monkeys that were not in the mood for another of mommy's couponing adventures. After Albies, we made the short drive over to Share House to drop off the milk. Off loading the milk went smoothly and my kids like making deliveries to Share House.

I'm disappointed about missing a great picture opportunity--I may never have 20 gallons of milk in the Civic again! In honor of our great milk donation, here is my little guy enjoying a tasty beverage.

Dinners

Since our financial month started I have not gone to the grocery store.
Monday we were treated to dinner at a friend's and yesterday we pulled out frozen breakfast burritos I made up a few weeks ago. Tonight it was simple baked chicken thighs, leftover potatoes, and canned green beans. Nothing exciting in the Rain household--except for the crazy amount of hail we had earlier!

$75 for a survey--my biggest yet!

Yippee! This $75 check was from a survey in which I participated in an on-line bulletin board. This is in addition to the 24 Opinion Points ($2.40) I earned for the 5 minute screening survey through Opinion Outpost.

The requirements were to answer questions on three specific days for 45 minutes each to earn $75. When I received the actual survey, the instructions indicated you only needed to answer the questions on two days to complete the survey! For me to give informed answers, I logged in three times over two days and spent at least 3 hours reading, listening, watching the information, and providing my answers.

This was the first time I had been selected to participate in an on-line bulletin board survey/discussion. It was interesting, sometimes dull, and in the end completely worth my time. The best part was getting the payment within two weeks!

Opinion Outpost is one of my favorite survey sites. I have earned $124.20 so far. Technically, I have had $95 worth of checks arrive in my mailbox over the past year and I have $29.20 to cash out at any time. Minimum earnings for rewards is 50 Opinion Points, $5 in the form of an Amazon.com gift card, 150 Opinion Points, $15 in the form of a Citi Gift Card. If you like money you can take to the bank, you need a minimum of 200 Opinion Points, $20 to request a check. My first $20 check arrived last May.

Go to Opinion Outpost to sign up.

Disclosure: My referral link is included in this post.

All You Magazine: Playboy for couponers

Admit it, you don’t read All You for the articles; you want to see what coupons are included! 

Ebates is offering a great deal today: 51% cash back from Magazines.com. You must go through Ebates to get this deal. In December, Ebates offered the same cash back deal and I took advantage of it. I have already received my check (Ebates pays quarterly) and am confident in sharing this deal with you. 

Go to Ebates

Type in "magazines.com" in the search bar and search
Magazines.com page will look like this

Click "Shop Now" and find your favorite magazine on magazines.com--it doesn't have to be All You


1 year All You subscription is $19.97 - 51% cash back = $9.79
2 year All You subscription is $34.00 - 51% cash back = $16.66

New Ebates users can choose their bonus:
$5 Ebates cash, which will arrive with your first check (put that sucker in the bank!)
Barnes & Noble $10 Gift Card
Home Depot $10 Gift Card
Target $10 Gift Card
Magazine.com $10 Gift Card

I am ordering 2 years of All You in my husbands name to get another subscription sent to the house. If you already have a subscription to All You, the subscription will be extended.


Disclosure: of course this post has my Ebates refferal link!

TLC's Extreme Couponing

This will be my only post on the show regarding extreme couponers. I will never see the show since we cut out cable years ago when we were serious about getting out of debt. However, I cannot avoid the damn thing! Well intentioned folks say, "Meghan, that's your show." "You should be on that!" "When are we going to see you on there?" Never. This show is bad news for couponers.
Last week Coupons, Deals, and More brought up an excellent point about Kroger (Fred Meyer and QFC are affiliated) stopping double couponing in the Houston area after an episode aired. Jill Cataldo wrote an interesting article on 4.6. The follow up article from 4.8 is pretty powerful regarding one extreme couponer's use of coupons. Instead of matching items, the couponer is matching family codes and the computer/cash register excepts them. I'm not sure after 60-some coupons why the cashier never read them to see if the correct product was being purchased or if there was a limit to the coupon. Coupon fraud is serious. What the manufacturer writes on the coupon is what the coupon is to be used for--not the coupon code, if you know how to read those.
As I teach in class, coupon fraud hurts everyone. The stores will not be reimbursed, the managers will come down on cashiers, and then cashiers will scrutinize every little coupon making saving less enjoyable and sometimes down right impossible. I have never had applause for my savings, but it is nice to run into friendly cashiers who understand and appreciate savings.
New coupon coding standards have been in the works for years and coupon changes are coming. More information will be stored on the coupon itself. Aside from being more product specific, coupon codes could become area specific and there goes trading for better coupon values! Although the show may hasten some changes, know that other changes have been on the way for a long time.

Update on JCPenney coupon policy

February 2, I discussed 15% survey codes being stackable with dollar off coupons. That is no longer the case! Stacking is gone, and I have not been to Penneys in a long while....

New month

Our financial month starts on the 10th. Today the envelopes get filled (well, tomorrow if I get to the bank). The grocery envelope will get $100 to last until the 24th and the charity envelope gets $40 to last all month. During tonight's Effective Couponing Class, I pulled out my grocery envelope and showed that there was $10 left from last month. Sweet! The extra $10 will be set aside to be used for a future Zaycon food order.
I'm challenging myself to keep track of exactly what is spent and how my family eats and hopefully this will not horrify me and give others helpful advice.
Dinner tonight was left-overs from last night. Ham, potatoes, and I'm not sure since I was teaching class...probably canned veggies. 
After class, I headed to Rite Aid to pick up some Gillette body wash. Gillette and Old Spice is on sale for $2.99 with a $2 +UP, limit 2 per household. Buy 2 and use a BOGO coupon from 4.3 P&G insert. Pay $3.48, including tax, and get 2 $2+UPs. Little money maker. I used +UPs from previous deals to pay and just paid tax with change I had.
The Rite Aid on 136th and Mill Plain has some Gillette and Old Spice body washes in a bin up front! Apparently Wasougal has, at least started the day with, an entire end cap of product. 162nd and 28th is out.
That's it for 4.10!

6 boxes of cereal 2 gallons of milk for $4

Until Tuesday, Albertsons has select Kellogg's cereal on sale 3 for $5.
Kellogg's Milk Catalina
Buy 3 boxes of Kellogg's cereal (12 ounces or larger) & Get 1 gallon of milk (up to $3.99) on your next purchase
Buy 6 boxes of Kellogg's cereal & Get 2 gallons of milk
Buy 9 boxes of Kellogg's cereal & Get 3 gallons of milk

The best bang for your buck is to buy 6 boxes of cereal, use $1/2 any Kellogg's cereal coupon Red Plum 3.6.11
Use 3 doublers
Pay $4
Get two catalinas each good for 1 gallon of milk

Every blog has mentioned the Kellogg's Gas Rewards Card Rebate. Keep in mind only Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes, and Crispix that are part of the 3 for $5 sale also count towards the rebate. Albertsons on 4th Plain and Stapleton had tons of the sugary cereals, but no Corn Flakes, and few Rice Krispies, and Crispix.

***No Shelves Were Cleared***

***No Shelves Were Cleared***

I ordered 150 boxes of Crispix, Rice Krispies, and Corn Flakes last Wednesday. If you know a great deal is coming and you want a lot of the item, call the store and order! Notice there are no Corn Flakes--someone was not told about the order and the Corn Flakes were put out on the shelf. Oh well. This picture shows 90 boxes of cereal, a friend met me at Albertsons and bought what she needed from the order and this is what I brought home. 

Out of pocket: $60

What I came home with: 90 boxes of cereal and 30 calatinas good for 1 gallon of milk each

What I look forward to getting back: $50 in Gas Rewards Cards and blessing someone with $40 in Gas Rewards Cards

WTH am I going to do with this cereal and milk: I will keep about 7 boxes of cereal and the rest will be picked up by the Portland Police Sunshine division and 15 gallons of milk will go to Share House

Time invested: forget gathering all the coupons and calling the store to make the order; 2 1/2 hours in the store

Money Maker at Safeway

If you haven't done the McCormick Grinder money maker at Safeway, there's still time. The cat expires 4.10.11, but I cannot recall when the Grinders go off sale.
McCormick Catalina
Buy 2 Get $1.50
Buy 3 or more Get $2.50
the details can be seen in the picture (ETA: sorry--my pic is too small to read)
Every blog has mentioned this cat mid-March. I finally pulled my head out of my...well nevermind...and made it to Safeway. The deal is buy 3 McCormick grinders on sale for $2 each, use $1/1 from Red Plum 3.13.11, doublers, pay $1.50, and get back a $2.50 cat.
I like my deal better: pay 27 cents and get back $2.50.

Steakhouse Seasoning Grinders are reduced for quick sale to $1.59 until 6.30.11. The deal only works if you like this kind (my husband loves it) and you have to be able to find it. The Safeway on Mill Plain and 136th, does not have any more. If you find any other flavors reduced for quick sale, snatch them up!

Breakfast at Safeway and other deals

I was in Safeway the other day for something minor and the clerk said she hadn't seen me in awhile. I replied that there were no good deals lately. That has changed!

Quaker Oatmeal Squares $1.49 when you buy 4
Use $1/1 Quaker Oatmeal Squares Cereal Red Plum #2 1/30/11
Use a doubler for free cereal

Quaker Instant Oatmeal $1.77 with in-ad coupon; limit 4 and you must buy a minimum of $10
Use $1/1 Quaker Instant Oatmeal, Quick or Old Fashioned Oats Red Plum #1 1/2/11
~Instant oatmeal is 2/$5 this week and 4 boxes will get you to $10 after SW club card and before applying coupons. You can use doublers to get each box for 27¢.

Quaker Oatmeal Catalina 1/21/11 – 3/6/11
Buy 3 & Get $1
Buy 4 & Get $2
Buy 5 & Get $3
coupon off your next shopping order

**The best deal would be to buy 4 instant oatmeal, use the in-ad coupon and spend $1.08 and receive a $2 cat.**

Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks, including Simply Fruit roll-ups 99¢ when you buy 4 or more
Use
~50¢/2 Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks General Mills 2/13/2011
~50¢/2 Betty Crocker Fruit Shapes, Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Gushers or Fruit Roll-Ups Smart Source 3/6/11 coming this weekend
~50¢/2 are also available on bettycrocker.com
Use a doubler for a total of $2/4 or $3/6 and you pay the same when factoring the catalina (hint: free!)

Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks Catalina 2/21-3/20
Buy 3 & Get $1
Buy 4 & Get $2
Buy 5 & Get $3
coupon off your next shopping order


My trip tonight included two orders of 4 boxes of Quaker Oatmeal Squares and 4 boxes of Quaker Instant Oatmeal. After all coupons and doublers I paid $3.04 for the first order and rolled the cat into the second order and paid $1.04 and still have a $2 cat for later. I could have done 4 orders and made money in cats, but my store has gotten serious about handing over the doubler and they no longer have ads available thanks to a bunch of piglets who took all the ads by Friday of Super Bowl weekend and left the store with no ads Saturday through Tuesday.

Zaycon Foods: $1.59/lb Chicken coming to Vancouver!

Zaycon Foods is bringing their trademark event to select locations in late January and early February including Vancouver! LIMITED QUANTITIES of high-quality, boneless skinless chicken breasts are NOW AVAILABLE UNTIL SOLD OUT.

• 100% natural chicken with no added hormones, additives or artificial ingredients

• Comes fresh directly from the farm and has never been frozen

• Sold by the case — 40 lbs in each case ($63.60)

 NOTE: Each 40-lb case contains several small bags sealed in a larger bag inside the cardboard case

This is a great deal! I missed out the last time this deal came around since I could not get to Portland. They will have a drop off in Vancouver. 40 pounds of meat is a lot, but that's a screaming deal! Split a box with a friend or two! Go here for the details.

Vancouver Chicken Savings Event
Saturday, February 19, 2011
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm

Vancouver First Friends Church
2710 NE 65th Ave
South of NE Fourth Plain Road
Vancouver, WA 98661
Products Offered

* Breasts, Chicken (Fresh Boneless Skinless)
* Orders must be placed by Wednesday, February 16, 2011 (may sell out before then)

Portland Chicken Savings Event
Saturday, February 19, 2011
9:00 am - 10:30 am

Montavilla Baptist Church
9204 Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard
Portland, OR 97216
Products Offered

* Breasts, Chicken (Fresh Boneless Skinless)
* Orders must be placed by Wednesday, February 16, 2011 (may sell out before then)


disclosure: this post contains my affiliate link to Zaycon Foods, but I have NOT received a sample from Zaycon.

Free Hefty Plates and Bowls at Safeway

For those with the Joy of Football coupon book, now is a good time to use the $1/1 Hefty coupon. 50ct plates and 30ct foam bowls are on sale 2/$3 through 2/15. Bring your doubler and they are free. I am not a fan of disposable, but these are great to stock away for next years BBQ season, or, as I am hoping, a chili feed at  church.

Update on SW at Mill Plain and 136:
The ad is not available on the counter or in the bin. They are limiting them to one per family due to some greedy-greedy gumdrops last week. Apparently Pepsi products were a hot item and ad coupons were needed--and lots of them. Also, you need to hand over your doublers now. If this rule and the one ad per family stays in place, SW will cut down on multiple transactions. Oh well, RA is across the street and I turn my UPs into milk over there!

Albies Sale!

There is still time to get coupons for the upcoming Albertsons sale. Many of the coupons come from Smart Source 1/2/11--the denominations will vary by region and newspaper. The values I listed are ones I have seen available at clipping sites. The most I paid at a clipping site is 9¢ for the $1.50/2 Pam cooking spray.

Quick coupon match ups:

Chef Boyardee 35¢/3 SS 1/2
Healthy Choice Soup $1/2 SS 1/2
Hunts Tomatoes 45¢/3 SS 1/23
Hunt's Snack Pack* 60¢/3 SS 1/2
Ro*Tel $1/4 (from SW Joy of Football coupon booklet)
Peter Pan peanut butter 50¢/1 SS 1/2
Healthy Choice Frozen Meals B5G1 SS 1/2
Pam Cooking Spray 35¢/1 $1/2 $1.50/2 SS 1/23
Snapple $1/1 SS 1/30

*when searching on clipping sites, search "snack pack"

sites I have been using include



weclipusave.com
Dede

AND Twice the Value coupons this weekend! See you at Albies!

disclosure: this post contains an affiliate link: clicking through Manufacturers Coupons helps this site!

Gas up at Mill Plain Fred Meyer & Save 20¢ per gallon Fri-Sun

Fred Meyer is celebrating the Grand Opening of the Fuel Center by giving a 20¢ per gallon discount Friday, February 4 through Sunday, February 6. Scan your rewards card when you fuel up to save and be entered to win one of five $100 Fred Meyer Gift Cards. Also during daytime hours, there will be fun events including Fred Bear, food, giveaways and more.

The Mill Plain Fred Meyer is located at SE Mill Plain and SE Chkalov Dr. The price for a regular gallon was $3.159 when I drove by today. If the price remains the same for the weekend, prices will start at $2.959.

JCPenney Trip February 2: $34.49 (saved $429.43)

Many fantastic finds today. 

I went in today looking for something, but that item was still 60% off. So, I turned my attention to items that were 80% off or lower. I'm still in awe that a $60 purse was marked down to $2.97-95% savings! I had a 15% off survey coupon that stacked with a $10 off $50 coupon and I set off to see if I could find $50 worth of items that struck my fancy. I found 4 purses marked down to $2.97, 3 boy's tops, 1 pair of "comfy" pants for my daughter, 3 girl's winter coats, and, 2 Elmo sweatshirts. These 13 items came to $50.16. I used the $10 off $50 and 15% off survey coupons to save an additional $16.12. The total was $37.32 including tax (92% savings), or $2.87 per item.
How to stack JCPenney coupons here.

a little rant on spending vs saving

Clerks are irritating when they say, "You saved blah blah!" I know they are told to tell you what you saved and you walk away with that amount instead of what you spent as the last thing you hear before the clerk adds, "Don't forget the survey." Sometimes I even hear, "Nice job!" Really? Never would I spend retail on any item in this purchase. The purses were an absolute impulse buy. If I had not bought the purses, I would have bought a few more items for the kids, or maybe made it over to the men's section. For me, I must keep my eyes on the fact I spent $37.32 out of the clothing budget, which is $600 a year (with a little wiggle room here and there). As great sales continue this month (and they will) don't be suckered into a purchase that is out of your budget just because you will save xx dollars. If you don't have the money to spend don't spend it! It's not like I saved $429.43 and was able to put it in the bank--if I could, my husband's student loans would be paid off!

Effective Shopping: JCPenney

Did you know you can stack coupons at JCPenney? The most common stacking uses the 15% off survey coupon and a JCPca$h coupon. Survey coupons can be earned by completing a JCPenney survey. Survey access codes are found at the bottom of JCPenney receipts and are valid for 7 days; the coupon is valid for one month.
You can triple stack a survey coupon, JCPca$h, and a Rewards Certificate: 15% off survey can be stacked with $15 off $75 coupon or $10 off $50 coupon and a $10 off Rewards Certificate.
OR
15% off survey can be stacked with a $10 off Rewards Certificate and a percentage off email coupon or percentage off coupon sent to your mobile phone.

Here's what stacking will look like on your receipt (by the way--you will get some very long receipts if you buy lots of clearance items!).

My receipt contained 13 items and totaled $50.16 before coupons and tax. I used the $10 off $50 coupon and a 15% survey coupon for a savings of $16.12. The discounts do not come off at the very end; instead, the discount is applied to each item.

The item was originally $54: clearance for $2.97. Of the $10 I saved after spending $50, I saved 55¢ on this item. 15% off this item was 36¢. The total cost of this item was $2.06.

I love how JCPenney spells it all out. I know exactly how my discount was applied and if I need to return something, I know exactly how much I will get back.