The Thrifty Couple » All Things Christmas and Black Friday Deals

Roundup of Amazing Deals Including FREE Tax Return Preparation Offers

thriftyal — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:08:11 +0000

This has definitely been the week for FREE tax preparation offers – probably because the end of January has come and gone and now you should have all the paperwork you need to file your taxes! Are you done yet? If not, then you might want to check out the offers from both H&R Block and Turbo Tax. As we mentioned before, this might be a good time to create your FREE account and lock in the deal for your FREE taxes.

Plus, don’t miss this week’s share on making your own laundry detergent – this time the scented version. Thank you for your kind comments regarding our sensitive skin laundry detergent and mentions how it has worked for you! We’re glad you love it and love the scented version just as well!

We have gone through each of the following deals with a fine-toothed comb so you can know these deals are still available (some prices may have changed a bit but are still close to the original posting price)! Make sure to check the list twice so you don’t miss anything this weekend!

Baby

Grocery/Drugstore Deals

Natural/Organic Deals

Retail/Office Store Deals

Freebies/Samples

Restaurant/Entertainment

Household

Price Drop on Black and Decker Food Processor For Only $28.98 Right Now and Shipped FREE

Photo Deals

Apparel/Accessories

Amazon: Designer Inspired Gold (Silver too) Heart Charm Toggle Bracelet Only $2.17 Shipped (Perfect Affordable Valentine’s Gift)

Tax Preparation

Money-Saving Tips and Articles

Make Your Own Laundry Detergent with Scent Like Tide and All Surf

Roundup of Amazing Deals Including a Meringue You Won’t Want to Eat

thriftyal — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 07:05:31 +0000

Plus, don’t miss the homemade laundry detergent recipe we mentioned this week! We know that many of you were excited and have been making the detergent! Don’t forget that one of the steps is a great science experiment for the kids – but no matter what it looks like, don’t eat the meringue-looking ingredient. You better check it out to see what we mean.

Have you been noticing that we reference ALL YOU coupons for many of our store matchups but at the same time knew the $19.95 annual subscription price was a bit high to “try a magazine”? The good news is ALL YOU is offering their magazine for a 6-month subscription at $1 per magazine for just a few days longer!

Baby

Grocery/Drugstore Deals

Natural/Organic Deals

Retail/Office Store Deals

Freebies/Samples

Restaurant/Entertainment

Thrifty Date Deals For The 1/27/12 Weekend: Restaurant and Entertainment Coupons and Deals
Red Lobster Printable Coupons for $4 off Dinner and $3 of Lunch
Panda Express Coupon: FREE Firecracker Chicken Entree Today, 1/23/12 ONLY – FREE entree coupon still good

Household

Toys/Kids Books

Photo Deals

25 Super Cute Personalized 4×8 Valentine’s Day Photo Cards (Just Pay $3.19 Shipping)

Apparel/Accessories

2-Pairs Waterproof Kids Ski/Snow Gloves with Thinsulate Lining Only $4.99 Each Shipped

Money-Saving Tips and Articles

Roundup of Amazing Deals Includes Natural and Organic Deals and Online Diapers

thriftyal — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:23:57 +0000

We are pleased to introduce a new category on our weekly roundup – natural and organic deals! Although these deals have been present within our grocery and other categories in the past, its only this week that we are breaking them out as a separate category to make it easier for you to find them! So make sure to check them out below to see if there were any you missed this week!

Plus, we don’t want you to forget the changes upcoming to Amazon Mom this upcoming January 24, 2012. We’ll be updating the list later today, but in the meantime we encourage you to check out the cheap online diaper and wipes deals and consider placing some orders on cheap alternative brands and products (compared to your normal orders).

Baby

Grocery/Drugstore Deals

Natural/Organic Deals

Retail/Office Store Deals

Freebies/Samples

StayFree Ultra Thin with Wings FREE Sample

Restaurant/Entertainment

Electronics

Household

Toys/Kids Books

Books

Apparel/Accessories

Finance

Roundup of Amazing Deals Including Bob’s Red Mill

thriftyal — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:33:28 +0000

We have been asked a few questions lately on whether you can save on natural and organic products. We have been responding with a resounding yes! Here’s one of our family’s favorites – Bob’s Red Mill Cornbread Mix. We love pretty much every Bob’s Red Mill product we try and thought we would highlight this one today. Its from a few weeks ago, but after checking it we noticed it was still at the same price! We try to post a number of natural and organic deals throughout the week (we just let you know about the BabyGanics 400 ct wipes for only $5 shipped) so be watching as many of them are extremely popular and go fast!

Household

Baby

Grocery/Drugstore Deals

Retail/Office Store Deals

Retail Coupon Round-up For Shopping Deals 1/13/12 Weekend For Retail Stores Like JCPenney, Old Navy, Children’s Place and Lots More

Online Deals

Freebies/Samples

Restaurant/Entertainment

Electronics

Toys/Books

Apparel/Accessories

Miscellaneous

Vision Forum: Homeschool and New Years Clearance Sale and FREE Shipping on Nearly Everything

thriftyal — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:20:35 +0000

We truly love Vision Forum’s products from their homeschooling materials to books, videos and other resources that our family loves! You can imagine how excited we were when we found out about their Homeschool Resources sale (marked from 25-50% off sale) available through January 13, 2012! And then we found out about their New Years clearance sale to clear out their inventory (everything marked from 25-50% off sale) available until the end of the month! But when we found out they are also offering FREE shipping on nearly everything in the store* when you spend $50 or more then you’ll know we just couldn’t contain our excitement! When we have a very specific list of educational materials we are looking for, its great to find them at such a great discount and with FREE shipping too!

We’ll be sharing some of our favorites a little later throughout the week, but they break everything down by age and subject to help you sort through their massive inventory.

To get this deal:

Click HERE for the Vision Forum site.
Check out the deals on many of their popular categories – many of their items are available for 25-50% off!
Enter coupon code HOMESCHOOL when you check out (not valid on some select items)

Please note the FREE shipping offer ends Friday, January 13, 2012 so make sure to check their daily deals as well to get an even better savings this week!

See more Online Deals

Roundup of Amazing Deals with FREE Money at Your Door and More

thriftyal — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 19:40:09 +0000

We were trying to figure out which deal was best to highlight this week and the answer showed up in our mailbox – who wouldn’t highlight FREE money?! What we’re talking about is the $50 we received in the mail because we receive 2% back on our everyday purchases! Think about it just for a second. We all love to print off the coupons and maximize the deals, but if you spent $100 on your last shopping trip you could have earned another $2 – just by pulling out your Perkstreet debit card! This isn’t even considering your bills, your date nights out and nearly everywhere else. Check out how you can easily sign up for FREE and start earning those perks and getting your FREE money in the mail too!

Electronics

Household

Toys/Books

Play-Doh Only .50 Each Tub In-Store with New Coupon and Fun Size Only .38 Shipped FREE

Apparel/Accessories

Baby

Grocery/Drugstore Deals

Retail/Office Store Deals

Retail Coupon Round-up For Shopping Deals 1/6/12 Weekend For Retail Stores Like Sears, Bath Body Works, Fashion Bug and Lots More

Online Deals

Freebies/Samples

Restaurant/Entertainment

Miscellaneous

Women’s Chenille Gloves Only $1.68

thriftycas — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 19:05:20 +0000

Here’s another great Kohl’s deal online where you can get women’s Chenille Gloves for only $1.68 each! They are on sale for $2.10 (down from $6) then use coupon code: SMS6087 for an additional 20% off = $1.68

In addition, shipping is FREE with a $75 or more order or only .99 each item. Even with the .99 each item shipping, it is more than worth shopping through Kohls as the prices will be much better still! With the shipping if you did not get FREE shipping with a $75 or more order, then each pair would be $2.67 each (which is still great – and they arrive at your door!).

With that in mind, there are two different styles, just click on the links below to be taken right to them:

See more Hot Deals

End of the Year/ After Christmas Clearance Store Markdown Schedule and Tips

thriftycas — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 19:56:32 +0000

It is that time of year – when the end-of-the-year and After Christmas Clearances start! This is a great time of year to maximize your budget to grab some great deals!

First, each store will be a little different, but as a general rule for stores across the board, here’s the schedule of markdowns that will occur nationwide from national to local stores.

December 26th – December 31st: Most national (and some local) stores will offer a 50% off Christmas clearance. This will be mostly on seasonal items, but sometimes everyday/gift ideas as well!
January 1st, 2012 – January 7th, 2012: Most national stores will start markdowns at 75% off.
Starting January 8th, 2012 and until gone: Most national stores will start markdowns at 90% off.

Now obviously – the earlier in the markdowns that you shop, the better selection you will get! Personally, we find that the second week after Christmas where items are 75% off is a perfect time for us as it is a nice discount and the selection is still decent!

We also wanted to note that most local and small businesses and stores in your area will start with a smaller markdown and slowly move up each week. We often see them start at 25% off and move by 5% or 10% increments from there.

Here are a few tips for after-Christmas shopping:

This is the BEST time to get your Christmas decorations, lights and more. We generally don’t buy any Christmas decorations before, but wait until these time periods! Then next year it is like Christmas twice when we also pull out the new stuff at the beginning of the season!
Most of the deals are also offered online at each store’s websites for non-food items.
This is also a great time for cold-weather accessories and wear as you are still in the heart of the winter season – but we often find this a great time to grab winter wear for our family!
This is also a FANTASTIC time to buy the gift sets that range for foodie options to personal care. Even if you do not still have some on your list this year, most of it will last until next year. This is also even a good way to buy personal care for yourself as it is the same products sold on the shelf individually, but you can get them for much cheaper.
Also, note the return policy because you might find the same items at another store even cheaper during this time, or you may get the item home and realize that you do not want/need that item. So to avoid buyer’s remorse, then know the return policy as they are varied for different retailers when it comes to their end of the year/after Christmas markdowns.
KEEP all receipts somewhere together (tape them to the box where you store it) to easily locate them in case you do decide to return the items. In most cases, you will be able to return your markdown items, but if you do not have a receipt, they will only honor the Lowest marked price that this item has been. If you do not have the receipt this is a big hit to your budget when you return something. Also, without a receipt, not only will you get the lowest price it has been, but you will most likely only receive store credit, which may also put a damper on your budget and shopping.
If you are retail shopping, use your gift cards and maximize them with retail coupons. To help you find coupons, here’s a round-up of retail coupons that you can take with you to maximize your markdown savings:

Banana Republic Factory Outlet – 15% off $100+ purchase Exp 2/29/12
Bebe – $25 off $125 Exp 1/2/12
Build-a-Bear – $5 off $25 Exp 12/31
Carter’s – 20% off $40 Exp 12/31
Children’s Place – 20% off purchase Exp 1/2/12
ESPRIT - 20% off purchase
ESPRIT – 25% off 1 Top / 40% off 2 Tops
Gap Outlet – 15% off $75+ purchase Exp 2/29/12
Goody’s – Various Coupons
J. Jill – Teachers receive a 15% off full price purchase Exp 12/31
JC Penney – $10 off $50 Valid 12/28 – 1/1
Kohl’s – 15% – 20% off purchase Exp 1/2
Office Depot – $10 off $50 Exp 12/26
Office Depot – $20 off 100 Exp 12/31
Old Navy – Facebook Exclusive $15 off $75
Sears – $10 of $40+ shoe purchase Exp 1/16/12
Sports Authority – $10 off $50 Exp 2/29/2012
Tanger – Get Coupons for your Tanger Outlet Mall
Target – Various Coupons

Also, you can use our online coupon database HERE to find coupon codes to combine with the online store sales!

Finally, go in with a plan so that you do not overspend. Please do not go into debt to grab the deals as ultimately this is not a deal if you end up doing this. Between the interest you pay, the affect on your credit and the emotional taxing down the road that you will experience is not worth the discount!

Have fun out there!

Walmart – Over 2,000 Items on Clearance In-Store and Online with FREE Shipping

thriftycas — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 19:12:25 +0000

Walmart.com is offering an end of the year clearance on over 2,000 items from apparel, toys, household, electronics and more. Many of these deals are offered in-store and all are offered online at the Walmart site.

If you shop the clearance online – most all of the items can be shipped to the store for FREE or to your door for as low as .97 each item and some things will ship FREE to your door with a qualified purchase of $45 or more.

See our Walmart deals category for other hot deals they are having right now in case there is anything else that you can bundle into your order to get your FREE shipping on as well since you are spending over $45.

Head to the Walmart site HERE for the end of the year Clearance on over 2,000 items

See more Online Deals

Our Personal Gift-Giving Plan and a Merry Christmas to Your Family

thriftycas — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 19:56:59 +0000

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Just like last year, we wanted to share what we are personally doing and giving this year. We share this for a few reasons:

To get to know us even more (we don’t like being just known as a computer screen
To see the progression that our family is making in our own financial lives to become more and more financially disciplined and challenged in being better than before, and
To inspire, encourage and generate more ideas in your own families finances both in the present and in the future.

First, we have been sharing with you our story of how we got so deeply in debt and in the new year we will start sharing how we got out (which includes our successes, failures, struggles, savviness, weaknesses, strengths, ideas and hard work). But with what we have told you so far and what we plan to tell you about in the future, one thing remains ever true in our lives…… our weakness and temptation with attempting to justify expenses, make more purchases than necessary or making non-budgeted purchases, etc. The Christmas season is no exception to testing this temptation that grew out of our past financial woes and burdens.

Because of these temptations and our past, we require ourselves to have a strict financial plan at the beginning of each New Year to start planning for a budgeted and sane Christmas. We will be talking about this more in depth when the new year begins so that your family can join us and start off with a healthier financial year. But in brief, we determine a budget and contribute to our Christmas/complete holiday season (i.e. Thanksgiving to New Year) and set a little money aside each month.

This allows two main things to take place:

Keeps us out of debt and prevents us from overspending and
Allows us to have the designated funds available even early on in the year to catch deals that will allow us to “spread” more of those designated holiday funds!

But one thing that we have learned the last few years of sticking with this budget plan is that even with a small budgeted amount of money…you can go overboard with STUFF! Especially when we are hunting for deals like crazy!

So we still have the same budget we’ve had for the last few years for the holiday season, but we had decided early in the year that we want to cut back on “stuff,” buy less items for our children and make them better quality. We came to this realization on Christmas 2009 when it was the first full-year we stuck to our budget (remember that although we have been The Thrifty Couple for over 7 years, it has been (and still is) a learning and growing process and many different stages to grow into) and ended up with soooo much stuff!

Sure, we didn’t overspend, we didn’t go deeper into debt (it was in 2010 we paid off our debt), BUT WE OVERBOUGHT! We realized that we were not teaching our children true financial responsibility, contentment or even the true meaning of Christmas if we only focused on “look how much stuff we got for this small budget.” They were spoiled – we had done it in previous years and we had done it again. They didn’t learn anything from our “smart buying and budget stretching” if it ALL ended up under the tree and in their arms. We also thought about this from the perspective of our own struggles of wanting “stuff” earlier on in our marriage and how this could possibly be setting them up for the same attitude when they are adults and preparing them to experience many of the same financial woes that we experienced because of their desire for stuff. We wanted to change those thoughts now.

With those thoughts then, over the last couple of years we’ve had the same Christmas budget (even though we have an extra child this year ) and a different plan and goal. We will only be buying them a few items and 1-2 toys each. We wanted to get them higher quality for a great deal and the rest of the money would be used to bless others – not for more “stuff!”

There are 3 main themes to our Christmas buying this year:

Quality over Quantity,
Kohls Deals and
Daily Deal Sites galore!

Here’s what we ended up with for each of our Children:

We have a 6-month old boy, 3 year old girl, 5 year old boy, 7 year old girl and 8 year old girl. They all received a spinbrush and PJs on our Christmas Eve to kick off the festivities.

First, our 7 and 8 year old girl – they are practically twins, so we usually buy similar things for them!

The Chronicles of Narnia from Christian Book Distributors for our 8 year old – (awesome story, she started reading these books this November from the library and then we saw this deal on CBD.com and knowing that she was enjoying them and there were 4 other kids so far behind her that probably will too, we decided to get this deal. A few days later when she had her nose stuck in one of the borrowed books, she came up to us and said “I don’t care if I only get these books for my own for Christmas so I can read them over and over again. I would be perfectly happy and thankful! We both looked at each other and we’re so thankful we had that insight because she got them for Christmas!
The Little House on the Prairie Book Set for our 7-year old from CBD on the same order and similar sale as The Chronicles of Narnia (we received FREE shipping because the order was then over $35).
Personalized Shirts for our 7 and 8 year old made to order to match personalized skirts that they made earlier in the year from Fashion Playtes. THIS IS A REALLY COOL AND FUN ONE! Earlier this year, we picked up a couple of Fashion Playtes.com vouchers for 50% off through the daily deal site called FamilyFinds.com. We then went on and our two eldest daughters were able to customize and design their very own long skirts (we LOVE the Amanda Style as it is very comfortable, long, modest, and feminine – things our girls and us love!). They are great quality and so we were excited to get these vouchers and they had fun with it. Here’s a couple of the skirts they made:

The top skirt is really beautiful, but it is an odd color – Geranium. We were able to get plain shirts for cheap at stores around here to match all of their other skirts in many different colors, but the top one, we could only find black that would work. So – through the daily deal site Mamapedia, we were able to get another voucher at 50% off. I then went into the FashionPlaytes site and designed two of these shirts that they are getting to match their beautiful skirt!

Learn to Crochet Kits from Klutz activity books for our 7 and 8 year old girls. We bought a voucher from Mamapedia daily deal site for 50% off for use at the Klutz site (great quality teaching books) and we combined that with free shipping and sales they had to maximize this!
American Girl Doll stickers for our 7 and 8 year old.
Birthstone earrings for each of them from No More Rack daily deal for just a couple of bucks each.
They each got a sweater from Target. These were the women’s ones we mentioned, but we just bought XS and S and it should fit them fine (thinking outside of the box )
A beading kit for them to share from Toys R Us on their 50% off sale.
Paper Doll Sets from Vision Forum sale.

Second, for our 5-year old son

1 LEGO set to add to his current collection from Toys Camp. We purchased a voucher at 50% off with our $10 sign-up credit from Plum District Daily deal site and we were able to get this $40 set for $10.
Three books for our 5-year old son including Dragons: Legends & Lore of Dinosaurs! Alex and I had fun reading this book before wrapping it and we LOVED it. The design and layout is beautiful and it has a lot of fascinating information – our “self proclaimed in-house Dinosaur expert” will be very intrigued by all the great information. We bought it from a small family business called Light of Faith, but Amazon also has a great price (and worth every penny). Amazon also has some sneak peeks inside of this book (while we are on the subject of 5-year old boys and dinosaurs – for Christmas last year, we gave him THIS Dinosaurs For Kids book and he still can sit for a long time reading/looking at it!)
Loaded Workbench and tools (that he will have to share with his brother when he is old enough ) We bought this workbench from HomeSav daily deal site. First, we had a $10 credit for joining, and then we bought a 50% off HomeSav voucher (which already sells items for around 50% off) from Mamapedia, so we ended up getting this workbench for 90% off!

Third, for our 3-year old daughter

3 Melissa and Doug Wooden Food sets for our 3-year old – 2 purchased using 50% off vouchers from Totsy and one from the awesome Bloomingdales sale.
Hand Art Kits from Klutz activity books for our 3-year old girl along with a set of twistable crayons. We bought a voucher from Mamapedia daily deal site for 50% off for use at the Klutz site (great quality teaching books) and we combined that with free shipping and sales they had to maximize this!
Curious George Books that we bought at Barnes and Noble for $1 each with FREE shipping!

Fourth – the adorable, smiley and just-so-cute 6-month old boy!

$5 Stuffed Teddy Bear from Toys R Us (which is about 40% larger than him still – so hopefully doesn’t scare him -LOL!)
Baby Einstein toy
Dinosaur Pack and Stack (Nesting Blocks with Dino pictures and set of 4-dino board books. He needs to get up to speed to his brother!).
Lamaze Elephant Car Seat Hanging toy

Fifth – We also got these family gifts:

Apples To Apples Bible Edition from Christian Liberty Press Sale
Rory’s Story Cubes

So in the end, we feel like we bought simpler items as well compared to past years (we still know we can become even better about both of these still!), purchased higher quality and got all of it for a steal-of-a-deal by starting in January!

With that all in mind, we had quite a bit of our small budget left to use to “bless” others. In the past years, we usually grab 3-4 Angel Tree kids requests for Christmas. This year, we were able to grab seven kids. In addition, we also know two single moms – one with two kids and one with one child, that we decided to also surprise them with Christmas.

This is a picture of the items we donated this year.

First, the Angel Tree items were mostly all bought for a great deal – but Angel Tree can be a bit of a challenge in the sense that you only have less than a week normally to buy gifts for the kids. They are also specific, so if they are not sale that week, then you have to make due!

So here’s how we fared for the 7 kids from the Angel Tree:

Child #1 Boy requested a Pillow Pet. JCPenney had the regular large ones on sale for $19.99. We had a $10 off $10 coupon from the mail = final is $9.99
Child #2 – Ninjago Lego sets. Toys R Us had these for buy one get one 50% off. This was the best deal we could find in the time restraint that we had, in the end, this was a $25 purchase for two sets after the sale.
Child #3 – 2 year old girl that wanted anything Elmo. Kohls came to the rescue on this one as they had an electronic interactive Ride-On Elmo Car normally $40 on sale for $16.99 and an Elmo Interactive flip phone for $14.99 regular price on sale for $10.49. We then also had a 20% off coupon plus we combined (with other toys we bought to get our total over $30) and also used a $1o off $30. Finally, we had $40 in Kohls cash to spend that we used on this and on other toys for the Angel Tree.
Child #4 – Rubix Cube. We checked locally and they sold for around $10. At the time that we picked up these requests, we checked Amazon and they were having a $4.76 sale on both the original and the Rubix Twist – so we were able to get two different types for the same amount of money.
Child #5 – 1-year old boy any age appropriate toys. We bought this Playschool Gears set normally $25 on sale for $12.49 at Kohls at the time as well as a rumble truck normally $11.99 on sale for $5.99 at the time. We then also had a 20% off coupon plus we combined (with other toys we bought to get our total over $30) and also used a $1o off $30. Finally, we had $40 in Kohls cash to spend that we used on this and on other toys for the Angel Tree.
Child #6 – Snow Pants. In our time crunch, we could not find a great deal on these at the time – so we ended up just getting the snow pants with suspenders and bib at Walmart for the regular price of $13.97.
Child #7 – Two pairs of Airwalk shoes that we paid $4.50 for ($30 before) after sales, coupons and bogo sale at Payless!

In addition, here what we got for the Single Mom and two kids and the third child of the other single mom. Since this was just something we were doing by surprise and specific requests were not needed, we were able to scour our gift bins that we talk about all throughout the year to be able to provide most of the gifts. We have talked about the value of a gift bin many times when you find a super rock bottom deal on anything from apparel, toys, household and more – we encourage you to grab it so that you have a nice gift that doesn’t wreak havoc on your budget.

For the mom

2 pairs of Chaps pants (these are normally around $55 and $75 each, but…. believe or not, we were able to get them for only $1 a pair a couple of years ago! Kohls was majorly clearing inventory and they had a bunch of racks with clothing priced at only $1 each item. We grabbed a ton of this clothing for an Ebay business we were running at the time to sell in lots. We have since set aside our Ebay business and now giving those items to those in need. We plan to take the rest of the clothing to church for our friends to go through and the remains will be given to the homeless and women’s shelters.
A pair of designer sunglasses from a Graveyard mall deal a while back. This was a set of 12 that we have been able to use as gifts!
A designer watch sold at a rock bottom price from No More Rack (I think we paid around $5 for it).
A bracelet from ShopLately site that we were able to get for FREE on a past promotion.
Slippers from an online group buying site that was also FREE.
A nice hand bag from The Limited that was pennies on the dollar.

For the 7 year old daughter

One of the $5 Toys R Us Teddy Bears
A Barbie doll that we paid $5 for from No More Rack (and we saw it in-store for $30 later)
Dress-up clothes and accessories (can’t remember where – it was in our gift bin too!)
Pictureka Card game that we got for FREE last year around Christmas (we stocked up on these and have quite a few in the gift bin )

For the 1-year old boy

We actually bought duplicates of the toys we bought for the 1-year old boy on the Angel Tree from Kohls of Playschool Gears set normally $25 on sale for $12.49 at the time as well as a rumble truck normally $11.99 on sale for $5.99 at the time. We then also had a 20% off coupon plus we combined (with other toys we bought to get our total over $30) and also used a $1o off $30. Finally, we had $40 in Kohls cash to spend that we used on this and on other toys for the Angel Tree.
A Barney Sounds Book

For the 3-year daughter of the other single mom

The same Barbie Doll as the one mentioned above from No More Rack for $5 (normally $30) (we bought two of these for our gift bin)
A new pair of jeans from Shopko on sale for $8
A Barney Sounds book similar to the one for the boy above, but it was a larger one.

As far as gifts for our extended family, we did utilize the Daily Deal sites and Amazon quite a bit and also took advantage of photo deals we could find as these are the most beloved gifts!

So that is what we did this Christmas with our designated budget. As we are celebrating our Christmas today (kids were happy it was 1 day earlier , we are enjoying our family time together today and we pray that you and your family have a very Merry Christmas!

We hope you will join us in this upcoming New Year to save even more, give even more and to reform your finances to help you meet your goals for you and your family!

Retail Coupon Round-up For Shopping Deals 12/23/11 Weekend – Perfect for Last Minute Shopping

thriftycas — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 22:52:24 +0000

Here’s a round-up of retail store coupons for you to combine with the retail in-store sales this weekend!

Top Retail Store Coupons for the 12/23/11 Weekend:

Full List

Aeropostale – $10 off $50 or $25 off $100 Exp 12/24
Banana Republic Factory Outlet – 15% off $100+ purchase Exp 2/29/12
Barnes & Noble – 30% off one item Exp 12/24
Bath & Body Works – Free item w/$10 purchase Exp 12/24
Bebe – $25 off $125 Exp 1/2/12
Build-a-Bear – $5 off $25 Exp 12/31
Carter’s – 20% off $40 Exp 12/31
Charming Charlie – Facebook Exclusive $10 off $50 Exp 12/23
Children’s Place – 20% off purchase Exp 1/2/12
Coach – 30% off purchase Exp 12/24
Dressbarn – 15% off regular priced purchase Exp 12/24
Eddie Bauer – 20% off $75+ purchase Exp 12/24
ESPRIT - 20% off purchase
ESPRIT – 25% off 1 Top / 40% off 2 Tops
Family Christian – 30% off purchase of regular priced items Exp 12/24
Famous Footwear – 20% off purchase Exp 12/25
Gap Outlet – 15% off $75+ purchase Exp 2/29/12
Goody’s – Various Coupons
Gordman’s – 20% off single item Exp 12/24
Hallmark – $10 off a Holiday Recordable Storybook Exp 12/24
Hobby Lobby – 40% off regular priced item Exp 12/24
J. Jill – Teachers receive a 15% off full price purchase Exp 12/31
JC Penney – $10 off $50 Valid 12/28 – 1/1
Kirkland’s – 15% off purchase Exp 12/24
Kohl’s – 15% off purchase Exp 12/24
Office Depot – $10 off $50 Exp 12/26
Office Depot – $20 off 100 Exp 12/31
Old Navy – Facebook Exclusive $15 off $75
Party City – 20% off $60+ purchase Exp 12/22
Party City – $10 off $34.99+ Christmas Costume Exp 12/24
Sears – $10 of $40+ shoe purchase Exp 1/16/12
Sears – Facebook Exclusive $5 off $20 Valid 12/23 & 12/24
Sports Authority – $10 off $50 Exp 2/29/2012
Tanger – Get Coupons for your Tanger Outlet Mall
Target – Various Coupons
Ulta – 20% off purchase Exp 12/24
Walgreens – Various Coupons in the December Coupon Book (found in-store)
Yankee Candle – BOGO Free Reed Diffuser Exp 12/24
Yankee Candle – 2 Small Tumblers for $20 Exp 12/24
Yankee Candle – $15 off $45 Exp 12/24
Yankee Candle – BOGO Free Novelty Electric Home Fragrancer Exp 12/24

Sign Up & Save

Bath & Body Works – Sign up for email newsletter & get Free Signature Collection Travel Size Item
Bed Bath & Beyond – Sign up for email newsletter and get 20% off coupon
Burlington / Baby Depot – Sign up for email newsletter and get 20% off coupon
Carter’s – Sign up for Carter’s Celebration Station and get a $10 off $50 coupon
The Container Store – Organized Teacher’s Program 15% off each purchase
Express – Sign up for their Email Newsletter and get 15% off your next purchase
Fashion Bug – Sign up for their Email Newsletter and get 15% off your next purchase
Footlocker – Join their VIP Club and get a $10 off $50 coupon
Gap Outlet - 15% off first purchase when you sign up for their email newsletter
Goody’s – 25% off single purchase when you sign up for their email newsletter
Kohl’s – $5 off any purchase
Naturalizer – $10 off any purchase
New York & Co - Get Offers for signing up for their Email Newsletter
Payless Shoe Source – 15% off next purchase for signing up for their Email Newsletter
Shoe Carnival – $5 off when you sign up for their Email Newsletter
Things Remembered – $5 off purchase when you sign up for their Email Newsletter

See more HOT Deals and Online Sales too!

Finally, be sure to visit our Online Retail Coupon Codes Database HERE for hundreds of online retailers to save even more online!

Thanks to Your Retail Helper and My SLC Mommy for the above list!

Last Minute Gift Ideas for Much Less – All From the Comfort of Your Own Home

thriftyal — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 19:07:40 +0000

Are you in crunch time and realized you forgot someone on your list! Worse, are you dreading going out knowing that a simple trip into the store means hours of standing in lines? No worries, here is a list of ideas to help you find some great gifts for less and without all the chaos and hair-pulling that a trip to the store can bring this time of year!

One great idea that you might want to consider is “Print Your Own” gift cards for Amazon.com! We have done this before and love it as you have a full card (see how it prints so you can fold it) with a personalized greeting and gift card for your recipient. Plus, your recipient is able to choose just the perfect gift! To get started making your own gift card, CLICK HERE to go to the Amazon gift card center! Don’t forget they also offer mp3 downloads, Kindle books, and many other great options as well. Plus, although you aren’t getting a discount on the purchase of the gift card, your recipient will get some of the best deals out there for whatever they are looking for!

A few days ago we shared with you that Walmart is offering $50 iTunes gift cards for only $40! We’ve been shocked they have been offering them for this long as many stores usually sell our quickly or take the offer down after just a day or two! Make sure to CLICK HERE to get your iTunes egift card – which you can then print out and place in a stocking – for that music lover in your home!

Buying a gift certificate through Ebates will let you not only get cash back (click on Gift Cards category on left side of site for a full list of retailers) but if you are a new member to Ebates, you will also get you a $10 Target, Barnes and Noble or Home Depot after your first $25 purchase! This additional $10 gift card will be mailed to you a few days after purchase. Make sure to CLICK HERE to sign up for Ebates (its FREE and easy) and then go to the Gift Cards category. By shopping for your gift cards this way, you may not be getting a discount on the actual card, but when you consider the cash back and additional $10 gift card, it really comes out to be a great deal!

If you’re familiar with Groupon, you know they offer great deals at 90% off in your local area from restaurants to services and shopping. But did you know you can buy a gift card so that your recipient can take advantage of any deal they want that’s offered – which means that “hard to buy for” person on your list just might not be as hard to buy for as you originally thought! Click through THIS LINK to go directly to the Groupon gift cards!

Now through December 24th, you can grab your Restaurant.com certificates for 90% off! This is great news and comes at a great time to be gifts/stocking fillers for friends and family! This is a great way to help them save money going out (as well as yourself!).

To use this deal go to Restaurant.com, make sure you enter the Coupon Code: JOY that you can use to buy your certificates.

$10 (for a $25 certificate) – 90% OFF = $1

If you remember from yesterday, we shared the amazing ALL YOU magazine subscription offer now that allows you to buy a first gift subscription for $19.95 (33% off at only $1.67 an issue vs. $2.49 regular price) and a second gift subscription for only $5 ($0.42 per issue – that’s 83% off the cover price)! Find out how to grab this deal as well as how to print the coupon to make the stocking stuffer gift (magazine bought with a rare coupon)!

You may wonder why we are going to mention Ebates again, but since we just mentioned the great ALL YOU magazine deal we wanted to share how to save even more on other magazine subscriptions! Right now you can get 26% cash back on already discounted prices for magazine subscriptions. What this means is you can find that one magazine that matches right up with the person you are trying to buy for – and they will never know just how much you saved nor how much cash you received back on the purchase! And as we mentioned above, new members will receive a $10 Target, Barnes and Noble or Home Depot after your first $25 purchase (see the pop up when you sign up)! This additional $10 gift card will be mailed to you a few days after purchase.

Make sure to CLICK HERE to sign up for Ebates (its FREE and easy), search for Magazines.com, and then click Shop Now!

Use a website called Plastic Jungle where you can purchase gift cards for up to 30% off! You just might find a great discount on a store that someone on your list loves! Click HERE to go to Plastic Jungle to see if there are any gift cards for that special someone!

Last Minute ProFlowers Christmas Gift Deals as low as $19.99 for 100 Blooms and More

thriftycas — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 18:46:31 +0000

If you are looking for a last minute Christmas gift idea for someone special, you might want to consider ProFlowers as they are offering several Christmas flower deals for as low as $19.99 like the above 100 blooms of Christmas with 100 flower blooms.

Head to ProFlowers HERE to get the Last-Minute Christmas Deals

In addition, you can shop through Ebates HERE for a 16% cash back rebate. This makes the deals even lower for this nice last minute deals.

Walmart: Popular Christmas Candy Coupons and Deals

thriftycas — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:53:08 +0000

Last minute crunch time may be in the works for many of you and the stocking stuffers seem to be the ones that are the most popular last minute grabs. So with that in mind, we wanted to remind you of these coupons and the prices at Walmart (also to compare to other stores and local grocery store prices on these items)!

There are some great coupons for popular Christmas candy items out right now. These coupons can be used anywhere, but we are showing you the prices at Walmart on these items so you know exactly how much they will be at Walmart with these coupons!

Just click on the picture of each item to be taken right to the coupon! Each coupon can be printed twice to get even more (if you have a lot of kids like us )

LifeSavers and Starburst Sweet Story Books (I remember get these in my stocking EVERY year as a kid!) on sale for $2.50 each. Then use the $1.50/2 Sweet Storybook coupon = final is $1.75 each after coupon when you buy two.

Starburst or Skittles Candy Banks sale for $2.00 each. Then use the $1.00 off two Starburst or Skittles Candy bank coupon = final is $1.50 each after coupon. Use zip code: 33456 and under the foods category to find it quick!

Lifesavers Retro Mint tins sale for $3.00 each. Then use the $1.00 off one Lifesavers Retro Mint Tin coupon = final is $2.00 each after coupon. Use zip code: 33456 and under the foods category to find it quick! (Thanks to Dads Dish for the picture!)

In addition, we encourage you to check out our coupon database to help you find any coupons you may be looking for to use on other candy products! See the coupon database HERE!

See more Hot Coupons

Ready To Bake Pillsbury Christmas Cookie Shapes Dough Around $1.95 Each

thriftycas — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:46:34 +0000

If you are in a last minute Christmas cookie crunch (no pun intended ), then we know many people that turn to the Pillsbury Dough Boy for help and his yummy line of Christmas cookies with both Christmas shapes as well as many varieties. These come in both the ready-to-bake and the rolls of dough that you cut.

Also, we love to utilize the Pillsbury website for even more ideas (whether using their dough or not!). On their site, they have many recipes and shortcuts to make some yummy dessert concoctions!

In addition to being able to make a yummy treat on shortcut time, is the ability to do it for less!

Many local grocery stores have Pillsbury Cookie Doughs on sale for $2.50 (or even less in some stores) and Walmart sells them for $2.58 everyday, so here’s how you can get each one around $2.00

Buy 2 Pillsbury Cookie Dough for $2.50 each = $5
Then use one $1.00/2 coupons from the following sources (the highlighted text is a link, just click on it to be taken to the coupon)

$1.10/2 Pillsbury Refrigerated Cookie Dough
$1/2 Pillsbury Refrigerated Cookie Dough
$1/2 Pillsbury Refrigerated Cookie Dough
$1/2 Pillsbury Refrigerated Cookie Dough
$1/2 Pillsbury Refrigerated Cookie Dough 12/11/2011 SS Insert (exp 03/03/2012)
$1/2 Pillsbury Refrigerated Cookie Dough 12/04/2011 SS Insert (exp 02/25/2012)
$1/2 Pillsbury Refrigerated Cookie Dough 11/13/2011 GM Insert (exp 02/04/2012)
$1/2 Pillsbury Refrigerated Cookie Dough 11/06/2011 SS Insert (exp 01/28/2012)

= final is as low as $3.90 for two or $1.95 each after coupon!

See our Grocery Stores section to find your local grocery store shopping lists with coupon matchups!

See more Hot Coupons

See our Holiday pages to not miss anything holiday related to save your budget!

The Everything Christmas Book for FREE

thriftycas — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:15:45 +0000

Here’s a nice FREEBIE offer and available only for a limited time! Grab a FREE The Everything Christmas Book that may come in quite handy the next couple of days as it has recipes, crafts and many other ideas. This is normally $15.95, so this FREEBIE is a nice value today! You can download to your computer or mobile device (iPad, iPhone, Android, etc.) on Kindle.

These series of Everything are popular collections and so it is nice to have a FREE option while we can!

The cost is FREE, but this could change at any time!

Grab your FREE copy HERE.

See more FREE Stuff

Thanks All You

Target Merona Men’s Clothing Coupon and Deals For Last Minute Gifts

thriftycas — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 18:54:22 +0000

Target has a coupon for 20% off Men’s Merona apparel items. In addition, Target has a number of Men’s apparel items on sale this week, so with the sale and coupon, you can grab some decent deals if you need some new things or even for those of you looking for some last minute gift ideas! You will want to print the 20% off Merona Men’s Apparel items coupon found on the Target site HERE and under the apparel category to find it quick!

First, the Merona Men’s Flannel Pants and 3-pack of Flannel boxers are on sale for $10 each = $8.00 after Target 20% off coupon.

Second, the Merona Men’s Cotton Crewneck sweaters are $10 = $8.00 after Target 20% off coupon. In addition, the Merona Men’s wallets are on sale for $12.99. Many companies consider this an “apparel” item, so if so in this case too (we haven’t confirmed it!) = $10.39 after Target 20% off coupon.

Third and final, the Merona Men’s Plus Robes are on sale for $25 each = $20.00 after Target 20% off coupon.

Here’s more helpful links for stretching your dollar at Target:

See the new Target Shopping List with Coupon Matchups
See our Target Deals Section of our site to not miss updates and additional deals found!
See this week’s in-store cheap diaper deals at Target and online cheap diaper deals at Target.com

Starburst and/or Skittles Candy Banks New Coupon Means $1.50 Each

thriftycas — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 18:00:43 +0000

Here’s a nice last minute stocking stuffer that is also a classic! There is a coupon for $1.00/2 Starburst or Skittles candy banks. This coupon is found under zip code: 33456 and under the foods category to find it quick on this site HERE.

You can use these coupons at Walmart to grab a great deal:

Buy 2 Starburst or Skittles candy banks (mix and match too…like one of each!) for $2.00 each = $4.00
Then use the $1.00/2 printable Candy Bank Coupon = final is $3.00 for two or $1.50 each

Check out these helpful links to help you save more money!

More HOT Coupons
More FREE Stuff
See our Walmart Category for More Walmart Deals
Check out the National Walmart Shopping List with Coupon Matchups
Search the Coupon Database for any specific coupons you may be looking for!

Also – see our Holiday Pages to not miss anything going on right now!

FREE Download of Christmas Cards To Color for Kids

thriftycas — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:06:40 +0000

Here’s a Christmas FREEBIE for kids! They can choose and download a Christmas card to color and decorate. This is a great idea as it is a FREEBIE, Activity, and something with special meaning for a parent/grandparent too! We love those multifaceted FREEBIES Our kids are coloring as we speak!

Download and print your FREE Christmas Cards to Color HERE.

See more FREE Stuff

Thanks All You

Send a FREE Holiday eGreeting Card

thriftycas — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:09:47 +0000

Real Simple magazine is making is “real simple” to send a virtual greeting card for FREE to someone special! Just head to the Real Simple site HERE and create your egreeting card and get it sent to your recipient all for FREE!

See more FREE Stuff

Thanks All You