Free $$$ from Sears

You can visit http://www.moneysavingmom.com/money_saving_mom/2008/07/sears-free-5-gi.html to read the whole deal. Basically Adperks is giving away $5 Sears Gift Cards for watching some commercials. I've done this before, it works. I scored a subscription to Redbook Magazine for watching about 5 minutes of short little commercials. Check it out

Mail Call

In the last week, mail has been pretty decent. I received a GIANT box w/ 4 varieties of Kettle Corn!!! I also received my free 12 pack of coke coupon from Coke Rewards. I got a stack of $1 coupons for Coke Zero from Vocal Point. Got a full size Uncle Ben's Cajun Rice microwave pouch & coupons. I got a sample of Pledge Multi Surface Wipes & coupon. Tampax Pearl samples, a Dove sample that I can't remember what it was, with a few coupons. Not huge quantities, but good, useful samples.

Free $$$ from Amazon

http://www.moneysavingmom.com/money_saving_mom/2008/07/amazoncom-get-a.html#comments

Check out the above link for a description on how to get $10 free at Amazon.com - It's by signing up for Amazon Prime, cool thing is, as soon as you sign up, you can automatically go to your account and change your preference so that it will NOT automatically renew. You still get the $10 - and, because you have Amazon Prime, you get free 2 day shipping!

I just ordered a book & a bunch of dog treats, total was $9.82 - and was charged $0 at checkout. I'll post pics after my order comes in!

~MJ~

Update from the weekend

I wasn't actually online much over the weekend. Let's see, Friday after working, I ended up stopping at a friend's house for a small get together. It was originally a cook out, but I didn't make it there in time for that (decided I really needed some down time of my own) but did hang out for a little while. Somehow the conversation got steered to me being a bargain hunter & very lucky person ( I have been fortunate, locally I have won several radio contests that have awarded me everything from a free trip to $20 to Taco Bell, and just about everything in between)

Saturday, I got up, and ran to get some last minute CVS'ing in, I had several BOGO L'oreal coupons I wanted to use, I'll try to post some pics later, but let's just say, I've got enough shampoo to last until the apocolypse and beyond. Saturday evening, went to the movies and saw "Baby Mama" very funny!

Sunday, got up, and of course hit CVS right away (i'm fortunate that CVS is practically next door to me, so i can stop by frequently without going out of my way) to pick up some great deals to start my week out with. After watching one of my prairie movies (there was a MARATHON on Saturday, I recorded some of the Love Comes Softly series that I hadn't seen) I did a few other things, and then headed to the Movie Tavern w/ the roomie to catch "Mama Mia" - Great movie, I've been singing it in my head ever since! Then off to Wal-Mart to pick up supplies for the fur babies and a few groceries for the week. Finally remembered to do my shot (only 4 days late but who's counting!) I need a better system to keep up with these, every two weeks makes it so easy to forget.

Now it's a dreary Monday, with rain pouring down intermittently. Tonight is movie night though. Free Movie rental from RedBox Rental (the one's by McD's) just use this code for your purchase: JH4KB6

Is it Friday yet?

~MJ~

Why pay more?

I'm not certain how I got into bargain shopping, but I've been doing it my entire adult life. Sometimes I've been more dilligent about it than others. Over the years I have honed my "skills" and now, with the resources available online... it makes it so much easier.

Some people think it's pointless, they don't want to deal with coupons. Taking a look at it practically, I go into a store, and with a handful of paper scraps, I walk out with the same amount of items as the next person, or more in some cases, and my costs are significantly less. I read a blog from Crystal on Moneysavingmom awhile back, and it summarized it best. She said sometimes people, seeing her, with her stack of coupons, comment that she must really love coupons, and she always responds that actually, she really loves her money. This is true for me too. I can easily make my money go much further, just by being an informed consumer.

So, if you are interested in this sorta thing, and want to know where to start (because it can seem overwhelming to a newbie) - these are a few places I recommend getting started:

www.moneysavingmom.com - This is like Bargain Shopping 101
www.wisebread.com - Various articles about getting the most out of life
www.startsampling.com - Lots of free sample & coupon offers

I could go on and on, I'll add items regularly, but this is a good start

And so it begins...

When I decided to start this blog, I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to do a few different blogs, pertaining to different themes or categories, that might appeal to different people. For now, I've decided to let it all roll into one. Like the header says I'm just a girl, and all the random topics are things I relate to, have a passion for, or am involved with. Like the site, having just recently left my 20's behind me, I can confidently say that it's not over after 30. So want to know a little more about me?

As I just mentioned, I am a recent joiner of the 30 and over crowd. I currently call Lexington Ky home and have for almost 11 years. I don't have any children, well... not of the human variety. My pets are my children, and they will do just fine until I'm ready to put a small wiggly human in my house. I work, sometimes alot. Currently I am working in a financial administration role. I also have a part time job that supports my full time spending habit. My part time gig is my home based business, as an Avon rep and I love it. Outside of that, I think I lead a pretty normal existence. As time goes on, you'll be introduced into some of my best and worst habits