Free Spice Samples

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$10 Free Still Available

Vitacost

The offer to get $10 off of a $10 or more purchase from Vitacost is still available!  I love this site and have found myself ordering there more and more lately.  They also offer free shipping on all orders over $49.  And have so many great deals.

So don't hesitate to sign up for free if you have not already.  Free is free and they are offering you $10 for free.  Hello awesome!

Vitacost

Dollar Double Coupons At Price Chopper

I think having all the new grocery stores in our area is doing awesome things for our couponing efforts at Price Chopper!  They are offering these dollar doubler coupons so much more frequently now.  I LOVE it!

St. Ives Scrub Coupon

There is a $1/1 ANY St. Ives Scrub coupon available on their Facebook page.  I love St. Ives so I'm hoping I can find a store sale to pair with the coupon soon.

Free Baby Formula

Another free baby formula sample!  Love love these!

FREE Organic Foods

I'm not sure if any of y'all use Vitacost.  It's like Ruelala and the like but for health products, such as organic or gluten free food products.  I've shopped there a few times and have really liked it so far.

Right now they have a great deal running that's worth me sharing.  If you sign up using this link, you automatically get a $10 credit.  It only takes a few minutes for it to show up too.  Then you can purchase a few items that are currently part of the special deal shipping for free right now.  If your items total around $10, you will get all of those items shipped to you for free or nearly free, depending on the price of items you choose.

Vitacost

Oh and with every order, you are able to add two free samples to your cart.  Just scroll to the very bottom of the page and click on "free samples" and add two to your cart.  Yay for more freebies!

In all fairness, I also get a $10 credit if you sign up and make a purchase.  But you can then post it on your blog to get a credit or two, too.  Honestly though, I've been shopping on this site for about a year now and just wanted to share the $10 instant credit with you.  It's a great way to stop up on a few staples for next to nothing, without leaving your living room.

Shop here

I'm using this sale to stock up on a few favorites like Gluten Free crackers, coconut oil, and organic pumpkin.  I love having these on hand this time of year!

I love free ORGANIC food!

OK tomorrow I promise I will be back with a normal post.  But free food and vitamins just seemed worth sharing. 

Vitacost

It's Bananas

Thursday and Friday only at Price Chopper, you can get 3lbs of bananas for just $0.99! That's a great deal that I will definitely take advantage of a few times over.  Bananas freeze great so this is a great time to stock up!

FREE Sample : Bear Naked Cereal

I LOVE Bear Naked products.  Soooo yummy!  Hurry to snag your free sample today.

Three Free Magazine Subscriptions

These tend to end quickly but right now you should be able to snag a free year-long subscription to Martha Stewart Living, US Weekly and Whole Living. 

I get almost all of my magazines from this website.  No credit card info is required.  Totally free.  The only catch is that you have to take a little survey- always asking some silly question about breakfast foods or yogurt or soap or exercising.  Start to finish filling out your information, it takes less than five minutes.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

And FREE!

Hostess Gift Idea

Do you bring hostess gifts?

I'm a big fan of bringing a little something when invited into a home.  If I am bringing part of the meal, I don't typically bring a gift (though do sometimes).  But if invited over, I like to take along a little sursey to let the hostess know I appreciate the hospitality.

Candy is not one I usually bring.  However, after scoring four free bags of chocolate at Target on Saturday, I decided that I could make them work as a little happy hostess gift.

These bags are pretty small.  So just handing them over as is would be rather skimpy.  But add cellophane and a bow and you are back in business.

It amazes me how much of a difference a little packaging can make.

All you need is a bag of candy, a clear cellophane bag (available online or at any craft store in the gift wrap section- don't forget your 40% off coupons!), and a length of ribbon.

Candy goes into the bag.  I had to fold over the top to get it to fit into this size bag.  Then simply tie up with some ribbon.


So crazy simple but doesn't it just make a HUGE difference?!  It goes from whatever to something special in a skinny minute.

The difference is in the details!

Target Trip. Cashier Fail, Rude Lady Behind Me, But I Still Got Deals!

I had a less than positive experience checking out at Target yesterday.

First, the cashier moved.  Like.  A.  Turtle.  Oh it was just painful.  Epic fail on my part in choosing a cashier.

Second, the cashier was beside herself thrown off when I cheerfully said I had coupons.  Like...she didn't know where to turn.  So I hand her coupons one by one.  I don't care what cashiers think they have the right to do.  Coupons are cash and I am going to hand it over in a way that makes me comfortable.  So when we get to our third coupon she decides to read the coupon like 17 times because there is just no way I should be able to use this many coupons.  Never mind that I have a pile still in my hand.

She asks if she can call a manager over.

Knock yourself out sister.  I know the coupon policy like the back of my hand.  And if stores would wise up and just train cashiers, things like this would move much faster.

Manager was like, did the system beep.  No.  Then what's the problem. 

So nervous nelly begrudgingly scans that third coupon and tells me my total.  As I am saying over and over that I have more coupons.

Oh.  She is not happy.  Like I am really just ruining her day.  I was cheerful as all get out.  Like the sun was shining over my head.  And I was having the WORST personal day.  So the fact that I was sunshine and roses to your doom and gloom should tell you something.

So I am apologizing to the woman behind me in line. 

Which is dumb because I was doing nothing wrong.  I had my coupons in order.  I was ready.  I was handing them to the cashier.  But the cashier was moving.  Like.  A.  Turtle.

This was her fault, not mine.

Well now woman in line is making faces at me.  And says...."it's like you want everything for free."

My reply was that coupons were cash.

She made a nasty face at me.

I turned my back to her and went on being sunshine to turtle nervous nelly cashier.  Then after I paid, I lingered fumbling through my purse.  I don't know why.  But I guess after the morning I just had, I wanted to halt that rude woman behind me from saying shit about me.

I eventually went to my car.  Looked at the receipt.  To find out the cashier charged me for five bags of candy.  Which of course was not the end of the world but I really do wish stores would train cashiers better.  She clearly has no clue about store policies or how to manage transactions.  I don't fault her.  I fault the management. 

Then of course on the drive home, I thought of a million snappy things I could have said to the nasty customer behind me in line.  My life is one giant You've Got Mail moment.

Joke's on her though because in the end, the candy was all free.  And the rest, well I think I did pretty well.

Total value purchased ... $22.86

Paid out of pocket ... $7.46

Percentage saved ...67%

I Rocked Rite Aid

Sorry these are late but I didn't have time to shop until Saturday afternoon.  And so...things are just being posted now.  But I like to look back to see how I did on deals from time to time so I just post them anyway.

I should note that that I have hardly shopped at drug stores this year.  As in, the entire 2012 year.  You see, I did almost too good of a job stocking up last year.  Because I still have a year's supply (or close to it) of body wash, razors, deodorant, shave gel, and several other items.  I have at least a year's supply of laundry detergent.  And dishwasher tabs. 

Because I have plenty (and this doesn't include the boxes I have donated) and have very limited storage space, I just didn't see a need to re-stock until my supply ran lower. 

So I've not shopped my drug store deals much at all this year.  Which is fine.  But I will also lose my Rite Aid silver status next year. 

Win some, lose some. 

Also, I do not like their new coupon/reward card/+up Rewards system.  Way too confusing. 

But back to my shopping trip.

Total value purchased ... $19.12

Paid out of pocket ... $1.64

Percentage saved ... 91%

Earned ... (2) $1 +up Rewards

Lobstah Mobstah

Oh me, oh my!  I had THE BEST dinner on Saturday night. 

Fresh lobster with clarified butter, corn on the cob from the farmer's market, Caresse salad and Brussels sprouts.

NOT my typical meal.  Very rare, actually.

But in the end, I spent less on this meal than I would at McDonald's.

I finally found a beer rebate, y'all!  Ahhhh!  Can you hear the choirs of angels?  No?  Well that's probably because they don't sing for beer rebates.  But still...I was excited.

Stuck right to the Blue Moon case of beer was this fine little gem.  No beer purchase required.  Simply purchase $12 or more worth of seafood and you can get a rebate for $10.

I purchased two lobsters that were just a tad over 1 lb each.  Totaling $13.78.  I will get a rebate of $10.  Do the math.  That's 2.25 lbs of fresh, live lobsters for just $3.78.  Crazy!

So most of these days are over but for the record, here's the grand total for what I purchased on Saturday at Price Chopper.

Total value purchased ... $34.27

Paid out of pocket ... $16.31

Percentage saved ... 52%

Rebate expected ... $10

Total paid after rebate ... $6.31

Go Dawgs!

Cookie Coupon Karma

What is cookie coupon karma, you ask?  Well let me explain.

Nestle Toll House break and bake cookies are on sale this week at Price Chopper.  The deal goes like this...

Nestle Toll House break and bake cookies  reg. $2.99, sale $2.50
- (1) $0.75/1 coupon
= OOP $1

These are really nice to have in the freezer at such a ridiculously low price.  I can't buy the ingredients for that price.  It's just great to have a back up plan for meetings and friends in need of a cookie.

So back to my story...

I had five coupons.  But I could only use four per transaction.  I planned to go use the last coupon on Saturday.  However, my very favorite cashier was once again completely angelic and sweet to me and my stack-o-coupons.  She is just a doll.  And I remembered that the last time I was there she told me about how busy she is as a momma to a toddler. 

Toddlers like cookies.  Tired mommas love cookies.

SO...you see where this is going, right? 

I gave her my fifth coupon. 

It was of course a tiny gesture.  But I explained the deal and she was so sweet about it.  I know she'll use that coup.

Oh and I also gave away a coupon to a woman for carrots.  You would have thought I gave her a carrot farm, y'all.  I'm guessing she was having a down week because she said "so there ARE nice people in the world- thank you SOOO much!"  Sheesh...all from a carrot coupon.

And that my friends is how you earn yourself a little coupon karma.  Or just bring a smile to two fellow shoppers when you are having a rather down week yourself.

Couponing is awesome.  Sharing is so totally awesomer, yo!!