2 Helpful Hints For Freebie Freaks:

If you sign up for many freebies, you might want to think about starting up a separate email address for just these kind of signups, it helps keep things a little more organized and your inbox a little less congested. Also, there is a Firefox Add-on that will automatically fill in your forms for you at https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4775/

Have fun!

Free Perricone Product Samples – just fill out the form. (6/2010)

Free sample of Tropical Breeze fragrance (6/2010)

Free Pantene ProV Samples (6/2010)

Free Joico Shampoo Sample (6/2010)

Free sample of Dove Hair Conditioner (6/2010)

Try a Free Sample of  Baby Body and Hair Wash and Soft Skin Baby Lotion from Baby Barn: (6/2010)

http://baby-barn.com/washlotioncombosample.php (don’t forget to confirm your email so you receive your sample) (6/2010)

Get a free sample of gourmet coffee in the mail:

http://www.carriejogibbs.com/shipping.html Choose from Gourmet Black, Gourmet Latte or Gourmet Mocha. (6/2010)

Receive 2 free packets of SUSTA nutritional sweetner:

http://sustastore.com/offer/index2.html (6/2010)

Aveeno Hair Care - I ordered the super shine:

https://secure.startsampling.com/sm/101063/quickQuestion.iphtml?item=101063&source= (6/2010)

Free sample of Playtex Glide Tampons:

http://playtexgentleglide.samplingnow.com/ (6/2010)

Receive a free sample of Lanacane anti-chafing cream by filling out a very brief survey:

http://www.lanacane.com/survey.asp(6/2010)

Free sample of Goodnites Underwear:

http://www.goodnites.com/na/Bedwetting-Products/Offers/Free-Samples.aspx (6/2010)

Going to JC Penneys? Take these printable coupons in for some fantastic freebies!

Free deluxe sample of Sephora’s Too Faced Lash Injection Pinpoint Mascara:  http://f.chtah.com/i/2/95827765/030910_SiJCP_Email_store_coupon.jpg

10 Day Supply of Sephora Bare Escentuals Make up: http://www.sephora.com/promo/besample/storeoffer.pdf;jsessionid=KOPIYNK2MUV5UCV0KRRQ5UQ?site=jcp&om_mmc=jcp-email-20090625-xpress-bematteprint&_requestid=33224

One more printable coupon to take into any store that carries it: (hurry, it while supplies last, is in June 2010 Seventeen Magazine)

Free Nicole OPI Nail Polish: http://www.seventeen.com/cm/seventeen/images/ya/sev-NicoleOPI-coupon.jpg

Lately it seems there has been a revival on using coupons – in a BIG way. This isn’t your ordinary using a coupon when your store is running a sale, this is crazy couponing that can cut your grocery bill by over 90%. You read that right. If you watch any of the coupon videos we have posted here, then you will see women save even more than 90%. How do they do it? Now, that part is not so simple – but it can be done. Just ask the Coupon Queen (watch the video at the bottom of this post)

How it’s done – Basically

Saving money with coupons is work, but work that can pay fairly well if you figure it by the hour. The more you do it, the less time it will take you, but figure on spending at least 3-5 hours every week putting it all together at the beginning. Collecting coupons will also take some time, because it goes without saying – the more coupons you have the more you will save. Having the right coupons on hand when the right store is offering the sale is key.

I’m not a coupon-guru, but have been matching coupons and store sales for over 30 years.After researching this coupon phenomenon, I’ve decided it’s just taking it to a deeper level. Spend the time, you’ll save the cash – along with experience.

Basically start with these steps:

• Find local stores that will double coupons and take more than one coupon for an item. Using a columnar pad sheet or Excel on your computer, start your list.
• Once you have your list of stores written down along with their coupon policies, then you will want to find the best way to get their weekly sales flyer. Note the dates the flyer typical comes out.
• Start accumulating truckloads of coupons.  A few ways to do this would be to ask your neighbors and friends to pass along their stray coupons, buy the Sunday paper, and if all else fails, buy them off of Ebay. There are many websites that will list best coupon finds, but this is a bottomless pit you have to decide how much time you will spend searching for coupons. We listed a few websites at the bottom of this post that offer printable coupons.
• Organize your coupons. Here is a video that shows an efficient way to organize your coupons with a binder you create yourself:

Now, there are two stores that are mentioned frequently that seem to be where many of these amazing stories are really from. CVS Pharmacy and Walgreens both have in store programs that compound ways you can save. Watch this video from Coupon Mom and you’ll see what I mean:

Don’t have time to do all this work?

I hear you. Over the years, it seems there are seasons of life that you have more time than money, and other seasons you have more money than time. Regardless,  most of us still want to save money anyway we can. The best way that I’ve found to make the most of your grocery dollar is with Walmart’s Comp program – especially if you live in a more rural area that driving from store to store isn’t practical. That may not be the official name of Walmart’s program, but it’s where Walmart will ‘comp’ any sale price that you can offer proof of the price. This way, I sit down with all the local ads (I pull Kroger’s off the internet and print them out-just make sure the date is somewhere on the print out) and write down the best price for every item that I need for that week. Often, I will even use whatever meat is on sale to plan that week’s menu. Then, I’ll match whatever coupons to the sales, and I’m off to the store. Just don’t forget your sale ads, most Walmarts won’t give you the sale price without it.

For items available at CVS and Walgreens, if you have one close by, I would look into that, too. We don’t have one by us, so it’s not something I’ve tried….yet. (plan to, though!)

Stockpile the best sales

Our final tip is to begin your grocery back stock if you haven’t already. I know that most budgets don’t have much wiggle room, but if you are saving anything at all with your coupon efforts, take that extra money and buy extra of items that are the best deals. Many of the videos I’ve listed here show outrageously stocked pantries, and that is where much of the saving takes place. It’s those emergency trips to the store for a forgotten item at full price that can burst your savings bubble! I really hate paying full price for anything.

Websites to find coupons and savings:

Kroger – you can view current sales, click on the items you want and print a list in only a few minutes. There are also coupons you can download to your Kroger Card if you tend to forget them.

Coupons.com – THE coupon site, you can scroll through hundreds of available coupons easily and print the ones you want.

The Parent Rewards Card - An amazing way to save on non-food items and activities

Coupon Mom – Check out her entire system and database of deals and coupons. You will probably find the most information here. She also has a book that has made the NY Times Bestseller List -  The Coupon Mom’s Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half: The Strategic Shopping Method Proven to Slash Food and Drugstore Costs.

Cool Savings – One of the top coupon sites online, a little too much advertising, but a concentrated source of coupons!

Pinching Your Pennies.com – a great blog with useful advice and the latest coupons

Here’s the Coupon Queen:

Want To Make Money From Home?

Doesn’t everyone? Entrepreneur Magazine cited one of the biggest trends predicted in 2009 will be a HUGE surge in the number of home entrepreneurs! They were right, and it’s a trend that is here to stay.  High speed internet has enabled a multitude of home business possibilities that wouldn’t have been possible 5 years ago.

We want to list as many genuine ideas and resources for the WAHM as we can find, and report back to you what we find in the forums as to what’s a scam, what’s not, and what’s just plain a waste of time.

Jobs At Home:

Be an answer guide for ChaCha:  http://becomeaguide.chacha.com/

Taking surveys: (read our post “Taking Surveys-Can You Really Make Money At It?” )

A real live list of work at home jobs…and it’s FREE!  http://www.genuinejobs.com

Sell your wares online:

Sell your homemade crafts for FREE: http://www.shophandmade.com/Sell

Start your own business:

Learn Blogging! (See our section on blogging and affiliate marketing)

Have you ever thought of Avon? More and more women are doing really well with it. Earn from home, earn online. Be your own boss! Learn more about the earnings opportunity of becoming an AVON representative and join today! Click Here

Start an Ebay Store – Ebay offers a wealth of free tutorials and they have made it so simple and inexpensive to get started, all you need is an idea of what you want to sell. They even have current trend charts to cue you in on what sells best right now. Click here to get one month Pro Store free trial to see if it’s for you.

There’s a start, we hope to expand this soon. Anyone have any ideas that have worked for them? Please share!

How often should you drink green tea?

The more the better (within reason, remember, there is caffeine in it), but if you are drinking it to help your diet along, then a cup every few hours is recommended because:

Green tea is another excellent choice when you’re looking for a little caffeine. Not only is it calorie-free, some research suggests green tea extract may stimulate weight loss through the action of phytochemicals. These are plant-based compounds that may temporarily cause the body to burn more calories and melt fat. The benefit appears to last only a few hours, so it may help to drink green tea at least twice a day. *(WebMD-see below)

What is the difference between green, black, white and oolong tea?

The Tea Man has a chart that shows how each tea is processed. Basically, they all come from the same tea leaf, but differ in the following ways:

White tea: simply steamed and dried

Green tea: withered, steamed, rolled and dried (some variations)

Oolong tea: withered, bruised, fermented briefly, pan fried and dried

Black tea: withered, rolled or cut, fully fermented, dried

Since green tea goes through much less processing the concentration of catechins and other healthful ingredients are higher. The ‘bioavailability’ of the healthy components  in teas are limited to begin with, so the less they have to go through to start working in your body, the better. Quality does make a difference in how healthful that cup of tea is for you. So if you are buying it for health reasons, then look for the good stuff. Research using extract (pill form)  is coming back very positive, also. (I buy the Green Tea Extract at Swanson for just $3.59/100 caps)

Read more here at Web MD about the health benefits of green tea and find TONS of great health information, videos,  BMI charts, a food and fitness planner, and a diet evaluator.  Worth the trip!

*the quote above was found on Web MD’s website in an article called ‘Skinny Sipping Slideshow’. Check it out and read what drinks will help you lose weight  and which ones will NOT!

Here is the list of the 5 worst diets ever (from WebMD):

1. Diets that focus on only a few foods or food groups

2. “Detox” diets (like Master Cleanse, the Hallelujah Diet, and The Martha’s Vineyard Diet Detox).

3. Diets with ‘miracle’ foods or ingredients (like supplements, fructose water, bitter orange, green tea, apple cider vinegar).

4. Fasting and very low-calorie diets (like the “Skinny” vegan diet, Hollywood Diet, and Master Cleanse).

5. Diets that sound too good to be true (like The Weight Loss Cure ‘They’ Don’t Want You to Know About.)

So, where does that leave you if you want to lose weight? Well, if you do the math, with 3500 calories making up one pound:

Shave off 100 calories a day = 10 pounds of weight loss/year! Almost exactly! To lose 2 pounds per week, you need to burn 1000 more calories per day than your body needs. So if your normal intake is 2500/day, cut it back to 1500. Some good websites to calculate what your body needs and the calories in most foods are:

http://www.sparkpeople.com (one of my favorites!)

http://www.my-calorie-counter.com/calorie_counter.asp

http://caloriecount.about.com/