Free Razor after rebate (and make some money!)

Currently Schick Hydro Razor has a "Try Me Free Rebate"  That means you can buy it, then fill out the attached form with your receipt and get the purchase price back.  (You must purchase by Aug 18)

Here is the link

http://www.schickhydro.com/freehydro/america-default.asp

This is also a MONEY making deal.  This week you can buy the razor for $7.99 at Walgreen's and get $2 Register Rewards AND if you get the paper, you can use the coupon from today's Smart Source to save an additional $5!

This means you would pay 0.99 out of pocket, get $2 back in RR AND $7.99 from the rebate! --you make $8 and get a razor!  (If you have not done rebate's before most all rebates are for the store price before coupons.  Therefore, if you have a coupon you can get back additional money.)  I have not paid any money for razors since I started my coupon journey back in February.  There are many razor coupons out there (usually from the paper).  Keep an eye out for the Schick Razor coupons for $3 off any razor.  You can also use these coupons at Walmart to get a 12 pack of disposable razors for free. 

Rebates: Getting your money back (and making money!)

I always do rebates at Menard's...it is a part of the cycle of getting us home improvement items--and it saves us LOTS of money. I recently discovered there is an array of rebates out there--in particular for groceries. 

In fact, I have to credit the last four bottles of lotions I purchased for FREE (actually I made $2.50) to rebates...and nice bottles--Olay! In fact, many rebates you may be able to make money off of! The rebates will ask you to purchase $xx in products and they will reimburse you--this means BEFORE coupons! Just to break this down for you. Olay has had NUMEROUS rebates for buying their lotion and to top that--they have had lots of coupons.

The first rebate I did with them, I did not have any coupons (My precouponing days.). The rebate simply said, buy 3 of their products and they will give you $15 rebate. I purchased 3 lotions for $13.50 + tax and sure enough I received back $15. Take tax and stamp into account--I got 3 bottles of lotion for free and made $1! Their next rebate was to simply buy a bottle of lotion and receive a rebate for the bottle. I bought another lotion for $4.50 and used a $1 coupon which I doubled (spent $2.50 + stamp for rebate) and I received a rebate for $4.50. (I made $1.50 again!). So do you see how this works???

So there are many items for free or close to free with rebates--How do companies do it?

Well, they rely on you, the consumer, to be inspired to buy the product via the rebate and then count on you to FAIL in sending in the rebate. You can fail two different ways in sending a rebate in 1.) You forget to send it in or 2.) You don't fill out the rebate correctly. Here is what I do to succeed.

When unloading my purchases I either immediately fill out the rebate OR I put it on the counter where I won't miss it. I then give the completed rebate to Rob to "proofread" & mail. Remember failure 2 is not filling it out correctly.  If it is a larger rebate, I will scan the receipt and form. I will then also put on my calendar when I expect to receive my rebate. (For example, if it is 6 weeks from now I will mark "Olay Rebate" 6 weeks out.) If I don't receive it, then I can look at my scan and give a call. (So far I have NEVER had to do this.)

Finally, you can also receive money from class action suits. (These suits usually come from false advertising.) These lawsuits basically state if you bought such and such, fill out this form and you will receive money. (Many forms are online, YEAH!) Don't expect to see your money for a long time...remember this is a lawsuit settlement. However, if you fill them out periodically as you discover them, you will eventually see some returns. Some you don't even have to have proof for--but be sure to be honest. I don't file a claim for products I know I don't buy.

So let's get you started on some good rebates that are currently out there....Here are the forms. (Actually there is only one online currently that I am aware of. Boo-hoo--I will start hooking you up with other rebates soon!)

Rebates

Buy any Schick Razor and get your money back!
http://www.schickhydro.com/freehydro/america-default.asp

Try any of the following Kellogg's cereal and get your money back.  (The box must say "Try Me Free")

Kellogg's Cinnabon

Kellogg's Simply Cinnamon Corn Flakes

Kellogg’s FiberPlus Berry Yogurt Crunch Cereal

Kellogg’s FiberPlus Cinnamon Oat Crunch Cereal

(use a coupon to "make money off the deal".   Also purchase in separate transactions so you can send in your original receipt with each one. )

Class Action Suits


Did you purchase DanActive yogurt or Activia before April 23, 2010? Receive $30 to $100. No proof needed.


http://www.pocketyourdollars.com/2010/05/dannon-settlement-receive-a-cash-refund/

Did you purchase a lawnmower between 1994 - 2010? You could get an extended warranty or up to $75 back. See this link for details...

http://www.pocketyourdollars.com/2010/05/lawn-mower-settlement-receive-cash-andor-an-extended-warranty/


So in the future, I will let you know about cool rebates/class action suits as I come across them. As you can see PYD lady does a lot of the work for me, but I sometimes find other ones. (Not to mention your grocery store will often have ones.)

Thanks Pocket Your Dollars

Double 10 Coupons at Copp's this Weds! (August 11)

My first double couponing experience.  All this for $4 and I received a coupon for free milk and eggs.  I was so shocked I had to go back and try again later that day...

$16.62 later I had bought all of this AND received 3 coupons for free gallons of milk and 3 dozen eggs.  This is when I got hooked!  (BTW--cereal makes great snack alternatives.  My kids love it!)

On Double Double Days at Copp’s you can double up to 10 coupons. This is how I stock up on a lot of my food and save lots of money. I purposely wait for these days.

If you aren’t a coupon person, no worries, let me introduce you to “Carrie” from Pocket Your Dollars. She takes the Copp’s flyer and finds coupons online (and from the paper) for you. You can then figure out great deals and simply print out her coupons. (I apologize I got this post out a little late—some of the online coupons are already gone! A lot of the companies have not reset their allotment for the month, usually there is much more!) Here is her link for this Weds deals:

http://www.pocketyourdollars.com/2010/08/rainbow-foods-copps-pick-n-save-coupon-matchups-81-8710/

This week is a really good stock up week for Kellogg’s items (includes crackers, cereals, breakfast bars, shakes) as the flyer says, “buy 10 items at $2.50 each and get $10 off your next purchase”. So technically you could buy 10 Kellogg’s products for $25 (you must have $25 of items in order to get your coupons doubled), use 10 $1 off coupons and have $20 taken off your purchase. You would pay $5 out of pocket and then receive $10 off your next grocery purchase. (See how this works  ! Now you are actually receiving free groceries AND making money off the store! )

So you probably are a little mystified by all this—or a little overwhelmed saying “I don’t have 10 $1 off coupons.” If you start noticing coupons a little more you soon will. Also if you have access to more than one computer you can print out additional coupons. The coupon limit is normally 2 – 3 prints per computer. After printing your first time, press the back button a couple of times and you should be able to print again, or just go back to the link. I often send the coupons to my husband to print out at work to get 4- 6 prints of a high value coupon. There are also other ways…

For example, magazines have TONS of them. If you get Parents, Family Fun, or Family Circle perhaps you have noticed the Ronzoni pasta coupon for $1 off? (It has been in every issue for the past year.) Ronzoni pasta is $1.69 shelf price at Copp’s. I like to wait for it to go on sale for $1/box. I then take my $1 coupon and double it. This results in FREE pasta and $1 to go towards my extra purchases. In fact, I haven’t paid for pasta in the last 9 months and I have a nice stock from these fabulous coupons.

And of course the newspaper has inserts every Sunday. Many people don’t use these inserts so you could pick them up from a friend or neighbor. I personally subscribe to the Sunday & Weds paper and have found that I save so much money that it more than pays up for my subscription (though I wouldn’t do this unless you were committed to couponing.)

So a couple extra pointers in helping you save money. If you are buying more than $50 of food, try to split your groceries up in $25 purchases (remember you must have $25 of items in order to double!). Then you can double 10 coupons with each purchase. (I will do 2 purchases back to back to do this, or I will just drop my first purchase in the car and come back and do my second. If you go at a less busy time of day, the cashiers don’t mind if I do 2 transactions. Always ask first though.) And finally, Copp’s only doubles up to $1. Unfortunately, you will not be able to double those $1.50 coupons.

Are you mystified by this and think I spend a lot of time doing this? Well, I don’t. Every week during one of my favorite shows, I take Carrie’s list and make my own and pull out/print my coupons. I am done in less than an hour and I watched my favorite tv show.

I also have had people tell me that I am probably buying things now “just because I have a coupon.” That’s not true either. My motto is “unless I get it for free with the coupon, I am not going to buy something I would not normally get.” This is also how I am also able to keep my limits and watch my grocery bill dive from over $300 a month (yes I was a frugal shopper even before all of this) to about $200 a month for a family of 4 and still stock food!

I also think stocking is key. You need to know when food is a good price and then buy what you need until the next time it goes on sale. It took a few months to figure out how much I needed to stock and for how long, but now I am doing well. In fact, my first few months of couponing, I was spending about the same amount before I couponed, but I was stocking up on additional food and figuring out how to save! And that is where this blog comes in. I am hoping to make the ropes a little easier for others and get them into savings too!

So what do you think?  Are you going to try it out?  How have your couponing experiences been?

Olbrich Gardens: See the Butterflies for $1

I LOVE the butterfly exhibit at Olbrich gardens.  The first time I went though, I didn't like it.  We went, stood in a LONG line and then the place was crowded and the butterflies were scarce.  Afterwards, I spoke to one of the volunteers on best times to see the butterflies.  She told me, the 3-4 days after the exhibit ends.  They don't just get rid of the butterflies after the exhibit ends.  They just don't hatch anymore.  You will then just pay the $1 to get in the consevancy and have the place to yourself!

Now, every year, I put the end of the exhibit on my calendar and make sure to go in the couple days after it ends.  There are no lines and we ususally have the conservancy to ourselves.  Last year we were even lucky enough to have several butterflies land on us.

This year the last day of the exhibit is this Sunday, August 8th--so Mon - Weds would probably be the best days to go.

BTW--I am going on Monday, Aug 9th around 10:30 AM if anyone cares to join  us.  I will probably pack a picnic lunch for the kids.

What's your favorite butterfly?

Refinancing your home - 3.875% for 15 year loan!

My husband recently discovered that 15 year interest rates are at an all time low at 3.875%.  My husband, Mr. Numbers Guy, has already calculated that if we refinance from our current 30 year loan (at 4.75%) to the current 15 year rate, we will actually only need to pay $100 extra a month on our mortgage.  (This $100, I can happily say, we can do since we are now saving so much money on groceries! Yeah us!) What an awesome opportunity!


AND this also means that 65% of our payment will go to the principal now as opposed to the current 40% !  I am so excited to think that we could have our house paid for in 15 years.  We don't plan to stay her for more than 5 years, but still to walk away with that much more when we sell--how exciting!
 
If you are currently in a 30 year loan you may want to look at your options of refinancing.  My husband found that Summit Credit Union has the cheapest closing costs of $1100 and it could be less if you get the appraisal waved--they also are currently at 3.875%.

If you are interested in finding out what sort of change in payments you would have if you moved from your current loan to the 15 year loan, call Summit, or your bank.  They will be happy to crunch the numbers for you.  (After all they sell these loans for a living.) 

Along with Rob's number crunches, we also always look at how quickly would we make back the closing costs (this is important to us, since this is extra money coming out of our pockets.)  This may be something you would want to look at too.  We found out that within a year we would more than make up that $1100 closing cost!  This definitely makes it worth while.

You probably don't want to wait too long to do this, as interest rates may go back up soon (then again they could keep going down...).  

So what options did you find in refinancing your home?  Any advice?

Try Sam's Club Free, Aug 6 - 8

Sam's club is open to all and you can buy things at member prices this Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

I hear you can pick up some really great deals on meat there.

I do have to say, they sent me a flier and I was not impressed by their prices on what I saw (I do better at my local grocery store.) 

What great deals do you find at Sam's Club?  Is it worth the membership?

Free Sticky Notes

Here is an offer to get free sticky notes:

http://www3.3m.com/qfrm/ShowSurvey?surveyid=JOJNPRG4


So why should you take the time to fill out these freebies....

Well. not only do you get fun free items, but....you get coupons that often lead to free items (or very cheap items!)  (and they help you easily get to the $25 threshhold to double your coupons--If you aren't familiar with this I will put up a blog entry soon.)

**If you haven't already set up an email address on one of the free servers (hotmail, yahoo, gmail, etc...) for these offers, do so first so you don't clutter your own personal inbox with any emails (advertisements) you may get from these companies.