Free $25 from Revolution MoneyExchange

Here's something else I'm the last to do. Revolution Money Exchange is similar to PayPal, BUT without the fees!! You can exchange money online for free. Yes, it's FDIC insured.

Okay, did I mention the FREE $25 for signing up. No catch!! It shows up immediately. I just finished signing up and $25 is already there. :)

Check it out. The free $25 offer expires April 15th. Better hurry!!

Free Movie Rental

The kids and I had quite the productive morning. We ran into CVS (of course) and got some Pampers, 2 of the Softsoaps (with the ECB), contact solution and a Bath Buddy for $5. Then I went to Albertson's and left with groceries for the week (1 gal. milk, 2 Trix yogurts packs, 4 lbs chicken, 1 lb beef, butter, bananas, apples, grapes, frozen biscuits, 4 frozen juices) and a bunch of "stock up" stuff that I didn't need but was dirt cheap (3 Chicken Helpers, 2 fruit snacks, 2 frozen veggies, 3 Grands biscuits). My total was only $39!!!!!! I was pretty pleased with my self. I'm hoping to get that number well below $25-30 a week once I work the deals and get the pantry stocked. Basically today I just got items that were on sale and used lots of coupons. Albertson's always has stuff 10 for $10, so "stock up" on those things and use coupons (they also triple up to $.39 and double up to $.50). I'm really trying not to shop when I need things but stock up when they are on sale.

Anyway, so on the way out of Albertson's I saw the Redbox movie machine. I happened to remember my promo code "breakroom" and got the kids a movie to watch today. Perfect since it's wet and rainy out. Plus it was a surprise for them. Looks like there are tons of Redbox promo codes out there. Check them out here. It's only a one day rental but I can do the return tomorrow while I'm running my daughter to pre-school. You'll also get your first "official" code when you register at Redbox.

Bath and Body Works & more!

I'm sure I'm the last person on earth to take advantage of this deal! Bath and Body Works has a coupon for a free item (up to $11) with any purchase.

My mom offered to watch my son so my daughter and I got to run in alone!! Well, actaully we ran 4 errands. It was amazing how fast we went with just the 2 of us! She really enjoyed tagging along and having Mommy all to her self. You can squeeze in "family time" anywhere.

Here's what we got-The bag was $1.00 and sales tax was $.08. My daughter walked all over the store smelling everything. She had so much fun and my mother-in-law's birthday is next week. Perfect!! Paired with some Hershey's Pot-of-Gold (free from CVS 2 weeks ago) and I have a nice little gift ready to go!

As far as the coupon goes, I printed a few extras and have them in my "coupon bag" in my purse. It doesn't expire until the 12th of April. So if I happen to pass Bath and Body Works again, I might pop in real quick. The key is not to make a "special trip", gas prices are too high!!

Another one of our errends was to Once Upon A Child, a children's resale shop. Click the link to find one near you. I love these places!! I'm super picky about wash wear when buying used items but did come away with 4 shirts for my son (Polo, Gap, Old Navy) and a Tommy dress for my daughter for $22. I had a coupon for $5 off $25. Another one of my favorite resale shops in my area is Kid To Kid. They have better prices. Both (and many more) offer frequent shopper cards, so remember to ask for one. I'm one punch away from 20% off on one of mine. Kid to Kid also has a FREE book club. You get one free book a month (up to like $1.99 or something).

Okay, I'm off to my "busy" morning. My husband is out of town, we need groceries and I have coupons and sale ads to look through. First glance through CVS didn't really excite me, but I did notice Pampers and Iams on sale. Both have a coupon that expire on the 31st and I could always use both. I'm sure I'll make a run for those things today or tomorrow and then ponder the next trip. :)

Yippee!

Lori over a Bargain Shopper Lady invited me to post on her "Frugal Friday". Check out the Frugal Friday tips here. Yippee!! I was so excited. I really love her blog and I was also excited that someone other than my family is reading this. So.....Hello all non-family readers!!!!

Here are some samples I got this morning, from reading Freebies 4 Mom.

Gold Bond Lotion

Gold Bond Powder

Also I noticed this Vaseline Lotion sample on the Wal-Mart free samples page, I think I've already requested mine.

I'm off to have a cup of coffee!

A Great Spring Day!

This was my last trip to CVS this week I promise..... I've only been twice. Not bad for $2.22, huh? I was down to my last roll of paper towels at home too, so perfect timing. :) And I got $8.98 in ECB back.

Once the kids played outside, were fed and down for their nap, I started listing on eBay. Well, I was scheduling my auctions with Auctiva to be more exact. Anyway, they both only slept for an hour. Grr!!!! Not like my kids at all, they love 2 hour naps. So back outside we went. What a perfect (free) afternoon activity. I have always "worked" and never had so much fun enjoying the weather. This would have been one of those days where I would have drooled on the window all day. The kids and I have been out back, 2 even 3 times a day for the past couple of weeks. Since we have so many outside toys to play with here, why spend money getting out? Take a walk, head to a park, have a picnic, take your crayons or a book outside, the list goes on.....

Before dinner, I worked on both of their closets. I always hate this job. It seems the seasons pass so quickly and they grow so fast! I was quick this time and didn't cry!! Anyway, my daughter is in really good shape for the summer. Between what still fits and what we've already bought. My son is another story. But, most of the fall and winter is packed up in tubs, yay!!

After the kids were in bed, I finally got to finish my eBay auctions. Ahhh, the beauty of eBay. :)

P.S. Here's how my CVS trip went:

Tide $7.99
Bounty $4.99
3 Colgates $8.97 ($2.99 each with $2.99 ECB each)

I used a $4 off $20 coupon from here
$.25 off Bounty from the paper
$.50 off Tide from the paper
$1.00 off Colgate, click here, I used 3 of these!!!
$11.98 ECB ($9.98 from Tuesday and I had $3.00 left from last week)

=$2.22 OOP

More Coffee

For those of you who missed out on yesterday's Starbucks sample. Here's a sample of Seattle's Best Coffee. There is a choice of 3 flavors. I chose Vanilla Bean. :)

Starbucks Sample and more

Thanks to Freebies 4 Mom for this Starbucks Coffee Sample link. Hurry before supplies are gone.

Here are some more samples.....

Kiehl's Facial Cleanser

Fiber One Carmel Delight

Don't forget your $5 off $5 for Kohl's, just sign up for e-mail alerts.

Have a great morning!!

FamilyFun Magazine

My first FamilyFun magazine came today! Get your free 1 year subscription here. You'll also get a $5.00 off coupon for Party City. :)

I only spent $2.81

Right after dropping of my daughter at pre-school, I ran into the CVS next door.

Here's how it went down:

4-12 Pack of Pepsi $12.00
1-3 pk Irish Spring $ .97
2-Colgate Total $5.98
2-Bath Buddies $1.98

- $4.00 on $20, get yours here
- $1.50 Colagte Total, get yours here
- $1.00 Cogate Total, get yours here
- $1.98 Bath Buddies, get yours here or here

- $.30 Irish Spring, newspaper coupon

- $9.98 ECB

+ .64 Sales Tax

= $2.81 Out of Pocket!!!

And I recieved $8.98 in ECB , $3.00 from the Pepsi and $5.98 from the Colgate. That's a $6.17 profit!! I have one more trip to take advantage of the Bounty and Tide sale. :)

$5 off Iams coupon, a sample and more!

Thanks Allie for the following P&G deals!!

$5 Off Iams ProActive Health Wow!

Free sample of Always pantyliners

The new P&GbrandSaver "book" of coupons will be out April 6th. Click here to check which local newspaper includes it for you.

I love the paper!! We get it Thursday through Sunday. We asked for Friday to Monday...but that's another story. It lets me know about garage sales (eBay), Dillard's sales ( my favorite store and best place for kids clothes!!), COUPONS!!!!, Target, CVS, Walgreens. etc ads, hubby (sometimes me) reads it, I use it for eBay packing, and finally it's recycleable. It doesn't make it to the bin often.

To add to my new coupon addiction, I joined a local coupon club. I "met up" with them on a local mommy board. We just clip out the coupons in our paper and mail our unwanted coupons to next person on the list. I get a lot of fun coupons and end up with multipes of my favorites. Oh, the things that give me joy!! :)

Samples!!!!!!

Jump start the week with freebies!

Here are some free samples I signed up for Saturday night after my Easter Bunny duties. All thanks to Money Saving Mom, just click on her freebies label for tons more! Take 10 mintues now and start watching the mailbox!

Quaker Simple Harvest
YoBaby, This is being tracked for each employee, so if you could please put "Robert Levesque" in the first field and "Stonyfield Farm" in the 2nd field.
Maybelline Mineral Power
Coffee Mate
Redkin Haircare
Sticky Tabs
Colgate Advanced Whitening
Glad Trash Bags
Neutrogena Acne Stress Control
Curel Life Stages Lotion

Hope that gives you a good start......keep searching online for more and tell your friends (and me too)!!

Happy Easter!!

I hope everyone is having a terrific and relaxing day with the family. We sure are! The weather even was beautiful, despite the forcast. My kids had SO much fun today!!

No coupons in today's paper because of Easter....bummer! CVS deals are pretty slim too. But, I've still got two tranasctions ready for the week. I still have some $4 off $20 coupons that expire the 31st. I guess I might as well go tomorrow. I can make it to another thrift store while I'm out using gas. I'm always looking for some "new stuff" to add into my eBay "ready to launch bin". Although, I'm still finding things around the house daily as well. I love it!

Have a great night and enjoy the family time. :)

I love thrift stores!

Yesterday I headed to Texas Thrift with mom and kids in tow. What a fun day!!

I ended up with 9 items for eBay auctions and a small item for each kid. My daughter got a new Hello Kitty washcloth and my son got a Spiderman plate. Total spent on kids $1.37! Anyway, my overall total was $17, or $1.89 for each eBay item. I just rolled the kid's items in.

My mom spent less than $5, and got a hat and 2 pairs shorts for my son and a skirt and book for my daughter. Needless to say they were so excited about the trip. Kids have no clue if you spent $100 or $.50, so why spend $100?

Once I got home I quickly looked up some of my items. I used an "advanced search" to look at similar completed auctions. Looks like I'll turn that $17 into about $125. Not bad for a nice afternoon with family!

Mom even treated us to lunch at Chick-fil-A, yum!!

Last but not least, Mom and I each got our Hershey's chocolates at CVS with our rain checks. We're ready for next week. Speaking of CVS, I realized yesterday there is one conveniently located next to my daughters pre-school. She only goes twice a week, so damage should be minimal. Funny I never noticed the CVS before...

Anyway, since I took my eBay pictures and washed the items yesterday, I'm ready to post the items today....that is when I find a chance.

P.S. The chocolate cluster Post cereal was indeed good!

It's Friday!!

Where did Thursday go? Since my husband was off work, yesterday was a family day. I really didn't get much accomplished. To comfirm this fact, I missed LOST!!!! Thank goodness for DVR's.

We did make it to Wal-Mart and finish up the Easter shopping. I decided to scale it back a bit this year, since I'm staying home. But, on the other hand I did splurge a bit on small toys for the eggs instead of cheap candy for stuffers. I figured in the long run it was better!! My kids are having two eggs hunts at the house Sunday and who needs that much candy? With a set of grandparents at each hunt, I'm sure they will have some candy to get them by. And I did get a little....remember my CVS trips.

While at Wal-Mart I did take advantage of some "free" coupons. I got some Clorex "green" cleaner and cat treats free. Plus I used 3 of these Post coupons for their new chocolate cluster cereal, and got them for $.24 each. My husband asked it was good since I got 3 boxes. Beats me, it was $.24 each, so yes I guess it is good and you WILL enjoy it! I only got 3, beacause I had printer issues after 3 coupons and gave up.

Today, since hubby is back at work, I need to get moving. I think I'll hit a thrift store or 2. I'll be looking for eBay mostly, but the kids really need some spring clothes too. I usually find them at least one piece that's new or like new while shopping. The best part is I'm not really looking for them and somehow they always have a TON of clothes. Last time my son got some new Gap tennis shoes and my daughter got a "no wash wear" red Old Navy dress. They are always so good when I thrift shop. I think they might like it as much as me........okay not as much.

A good day in my book!

I had 16 auctions launch tonight on eBay. That's pretty good in my book, with 2 small kids around me at all times!!

Since this part of my "job" takes some concentration I wait until nap time. I launch the auctions from the previous day's pictures. Usually just 6 or 7 things a day. Once the auctions are scheduled, I pick out new items for the next day, take pictures, and the cycle repeats. I try to launch everyday, but sometimes life happens and I don't make it. On the off days I still continue to do something for eBay. Yesterday afternoon I polished a huge set of silverplate flatware while the kids played. After that I re-did my bins and made room for 15 new store items. Sometimes I have a hard time thinking it's "work", but it is making me money. And.........I'm having fun!!

Off to CVS sometime tomorrow. My husband is off and wants to witness the fun. I need to use my chocolate rain check before it burns a hole in my pocket. :)

I think I've got it!

I know my latest trip went a lot better at CVS. I hit 2 stores and was rung up 3 times. My total out of pocket (OOP) yesterday.....$.97. Here's what I got. 2 Pert's, 1 each, Dove shampoo and conditioner, 1 Dove body wash, 2 bags of jelly beans, 1 Bic Soleil Razor, 2 Listerine Smart Rinse for kids. Much better, huh?

But, I have to go back!!! Ugh! I have a rain check for the Hershey's Pot-of-Gold's. But learning that lesson early on will make it worth it. Ask for a rain check!! I will still get the sale price and my ECB. So last night, I planned my new trip. This is becoming an addiction. Is there help out there?

I also took my mom along and got her signed up for an ECB card. Once we got home, we registered her card online with CVS and got her a $4 off $20 coupon. I used one of mine yesterday...I printed several for myself when I registered, so I'll use another today.

Okay, so here's the best part. My $4 in ECB I had Sunday grew into $11 yesterday! Hense my feeling of success! Now to keep me away from CVS. :)

Free Samples

Who doesn't like free samples?? I just signed up for a free Dove deodorant sample. I even got to pick my scent. Be sure to check the box for a free shampoo and conditioner sample.

Dove Ultimate Clear Deodorant sample

But wait there's more......Here's another Dove sample link!

Dove Cream Intensive Body Lotion sample

Be sure to visit the Freebies 4 Mom blog for even more Dove sample links!!!

My CVS Maiden Voyage!

This really didn't go as planned. But, for my first time in a new store, with my brand new CVS Rewards Card, I'd say it went okay overall. I had a little confusion with the Dove, spend $15/$5 ECB, deal. I plan to be fixing that tomorrow!

So, $20 later this is what I came home with. Hey now, that's a 12 pack of TP!! And, I did get some Easter stuff out of the way. :)

In addition to the whole Dove situation, the Airwick thing didn't really go as planned either. Oh well! Live and learn, right?? The good news is, I walked away with my first $3.98 in CVS Extra Care Bucks!! Yippee!! Also, according to my receipt I saved $32.41. Wow! No really, I have always been cheap, so I usually take that figure with a grain of salt. I still think I got robbed at $20 for it all.

I have a trip or two planned for tomorrow. This time I wrote out a better list and paper clipped coupons with each seperate tranaction. Wish me luck!