New Free Kindle Books for Christmas

Well, Cyber Monday is over, so I guess Amazon is officially gearing up for the Christmas season.  At least their Kindle store is.  There are some new free Holiday book titles available for download through Amazon Kindle right now.

*Note:  Prices on these can change without warning, so make sure it is still free before you "purchase" it.   I had an issue with this just about a week ago, but their customer service is phenomenal, and the order was cancelled and my account credited in under 5 minutes.

The Judge Who Stole Christmas

The Case For Christmas by Lee Strobel

Stories Behind The Best Loved Songs Of Christmas

25 Days, 26 Ways To Make This Your Best Christmas Ever

And, let's not forget,

A Christmas Carol

You can check out all of the FREE bestselling Kindle titles here.  You do not need to own a Kindle to read these books.  You can download an appropriate app for your computer or cellphone here.  

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Coupon Preview for 11/28

There will only be a Proctor and Gamble insert in tomorrow morning's paper.  If you want to check out the coupons that are going to be in it, head on over to sundaycouponpreview.com.

One coupon insert may not seem worth buying a paper, but the P&G inserts only come out once a month, and always have some pretty useful coupons in them.  They are especially valuable if you shop at drug stores.  I have also heard rumors that there may be a rebate form inside.  We shall have to see.

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New Swagbucks Feature: Printable Coupons!!

Swagbucks has added a very nice new feature to their site--printable coupons, powered by coupons.com.  This means that any coupon available through coupons.com will show up under the printable coupons tab on swagbucks.com, and you will be able to print them there.

The cool thing about it is that when you print them from swagbucks.com, and redeem them at a grocery store, your swagbucks account will be credited 10 swagbucks for each coupon used in 8-12 weeks after it is redeemed.

I know that in 8-12 weeks I'm not going to have any recollection of what coupons I have used, so this will be a nice little surprise when they show up in my swagbucks account.

If you still have not signed up with swagbucks.com, what are you waiting for?  You could be earning free gifts or gift certificates every time you search.  I have redeemed by swagbucks for Amazon certificates which I saved up, and I have already "bought" my kids' Christmas presents.  Now I am already earning for next Christmas.  You can register here, if you would like to do the same.

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New Country Crock Coupon

There is a new $1/1 Country Crock product coupon available.

The print on the coupon reads *(Available at Tom Thumb Stores)*.  If you have a Tom Thumb near you, this is a great coupon to print.  If you don't, your luck may vary.

It is a manufacturer coupon, so it may still work elsewhere, but no promises.  If you are brave enough to try it at another store, let us know what happens.

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CVS Trip: Black Friday

I made my trip to CVS today.  Actually, it was the only shopping I did today.  I had a nice trip.  The store was nearly empty, and the shelves were not.  I only bought things that were free after Extra Bucks, and I had $9.50 in Extra Bucks to start off with, along with the $5/$25 coupon, and a coupon for a free CVS brand toothbrush.

Here is everything I came home with (minus one Reese's that did not make it home and I also gave a $1 donation for St. Judes):

Shelf Price:   $34.18
Sale Price:    $27.49
Total Paid After Coupons and ECBs:  $8.79 including tax and my $1 donation.
PLUS I received $25.59 back in ECBs.  I think that is the most I have ever had at one time.

A few things to note:
-I was able to get a 50% larger bonus size of the LA Looks gel.  it was sitting right beside a normal sized one on the shelf for the same sale price.
-The Renpure Organics shampoo that I bought did not have this attached, but I have heard reports that some have rebate hangtags on them to receive the full retail price back by mail.  Maybe you will be lucky enough to find one of those.
-I really need to stop buying toothpaste and deodorant.  My bathroom cabinets now contain 8 toothpaste tubes and 7 unopened mens deodorant.  I may be making up some toiletry baskets for Christmas. ;)

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Check Your Email: CVS Coupon Starts Thanksgiving Day

In my email, I found a coupon for $5/$25 purchase at CVS valid Thursday-Saturday 11/25-11/27.  The email also included a preview of the Black Friday Ad, which begins on Thursday, and it had a whole page full of things that were free after extra bucks.  You can have a look here.  You may need to change the zip code at the top.  If you click on view in full screen, the words are easier to read, and you can read the limits.

My favorites are:
Colgate Sensitive  $3.99, get $3.99 ECBs.  Limit 2. There was a $0.75 coupon on 11/14.
LA Looks Gel $2.99, get $2.99 ECBs.  Limit 1.  Anybody know of a coupon for this one?
Gillette or Old Spice deoderant $4, get $4 ECBs.  Limit 1.  There was a $2/1 in the 10/31 PG.
Reese's  $0.79, get $0.79 ECBs.  Limit 5.  These make a great filler item to get to that $25 limit to use the coupon!
Carmex $0.99, get $0.99 ECBs.  Limit 1.  Also a good filler item.
There are also trial size packets of Advil and Excedrin for $0.99, get $0.99 ECBs.

If you have not yet begun shopping at CVS, or if you just do not currently have any extra bucks to spend, this is a good sale to get (re)started.  I have found the options for obtaining ECBs in the recent weeks have been pretty sparse, so this is a great opportunity to earn some easily.

Last year, I went to CVS with my daughter while our turkey was in the oven.  It was a very pleasant trip, as it was not crowded, and the employees were very friendly.  So, if you have plans of doing some Black Friday shopping, you may consider hitting the drug stores on Thursday.

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Sunday Coupon Preview

Ah, the holidays are upon us.  They are a great time for sales, but a slow time for coupons.  I thought I would give you a look ahead at what you can expect for what is left of 2010.

November

11/21: Smart Source

11/28: P&G

December

12/5: Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble

12/12: Smart Source & Red Plum

12/19: No Inserts

12/26: No Inserts

You can have a look at what to expect week by week at sundaycouponpreview.com.  I would not be surprised to find a surprise General Mills insert.  I have even been surprised by inserts full of Target store coupons.  We will just have to wait and see ;)

If you are in the Dallas area and receive the Dallas Morning News, there was a notice in last Sunday's paper saying that we would be getting free samples wrapped up with our papers for the next 3 Sundays!  Sometimes these come with coupons, so I cannot wait to see what we get!

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My New Favorite Cookbook: On Sale Now!

I recently came across this cookbook at Half Price Books.  I was looking for another freezer cookbook that I had heard good things about, but I came across this one instead.  I bought it, for half off the normal price of $14.99, paying just $7.50 for it.

I usually hate cookbooks.  Maybe I am weird, but the food in most cookbooks just does not sound appetizing to me.  And it looks too pretty to eat.  And it uses ingredients that, even if I have heard of them, I have never actually seen them at a normal store where I might shop.

This cookbook is not like that at all.  The recipes all look and sound delicious.  It is divided into sections where you can cook ahead of time, where you can cook a double batch and have an extra meal, or where you can do something different with leftovers the next day.  There are also desserts included, and lots of them I cannot wait to try. =P  This weekend I made a few of the recipes out of this cookbook, and I had just about everything I needed in my pantry or freezer.  Plus, they were delicious!

If you want to have your very own copy of this cookbook, Taste of Home is having a sale right now, and this book and many others are only $5.  This would make a great gift for yourself or someone you love.  I do not know how long this sale will last.  It looks like shipping is $5.99.

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New E-Coupons and a Chance to Win at Cellfire

Right now for just a few more hours at cellfire.com, when you log in to your account, it will let you know if you have won!  I was not a winner, but you could be, so hurry over there now!  What can you win?  A coupon for $1, $2, or perhaps $5 off your next purchase at a Kroger affiliate store.

They also have several new e-coupons that can be added to your shopper card.  Remember that if more than one store in your area participates in the cellfire program, that you must choose carefully which card you load the coupons to.  If I load a coupon to my Tom Thumb card, it disappears as an option to load to my Kroger card, and vice versa.  So check out that ads before you decide where to load them.

There are also some new e-coupons available at shortcuts.com, too.  Those are much easier.  You load them up and can use them at any store that participates, but only once.

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Reminder: Friday is Mega Swagbucks Day!

I just wanted to remind everyone that tomorrow is Friday, and every Friday is Mega Swagbucks day.  You have a chance to win, if not more frequently, at least in larger amounts in a single search.  I have heard up to 200 in a one search, but i have never been so lucky....ah, maybe tomorrow ;)

If you have not signed up for swagbucks yet, you can go here to get started!  If you want to read about how I paid for all my kids Christmas presents this year using my Swagbucks, you can do that here.

What have you redeemed your swagbucks for?  Or is there something special in the swagstore that you are saving up for?  Let us know!

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New Hamburger Helper Coupon=Free At Many Stores!

There is a $0.35/1 Hamburger Helper coupon available.  It can be used on the chicken and tuna varieties as well.  I don't serve these a lot for dinner, but I do try to keep a few of the tuna variety on hand for a quick and different lunch option.

These often go on sale for $1.  If your store doubles, or even triples, this coupon value this will make them very cheap, if not free.  Hit the back button and print this one twice.

In the Dallas area, Kroger, Albertson's and Tom Thumb will all triple coupons under $0.40, and double $0.40-$0.50.  Tom thumb will only multiply one like coupon per transaction.  All others will be redeemed at face value.

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Kroger Trip 11/16

I *really, really* must stop waiting until the last minute to do my shopping when Kroger has these big Mega sales.  My husband will not be home until about 10pm tonight, so I had to bring both girls along with me, and they were out of several things included on the sale, if not completely, at least the variety I was looking for was gone.

Even so, I still had a pretty good trip.  I purchased 4 sets of the 10 items on the sale, and a few other things.  Here is what I came home with (including that Jennie-O turkey sitting back there that was on sale for $0.29/lb--$4.81 for a 16+lb turkey):

Shelf Price:  $131.15
Sale Price:   $66.99
Price Paid after Coupons:  $25.63
Savings:  80%

I am still perturbed though, because it has been a full two weeks since my husband picked up his medicine and got a $25 prescription credit, and it has not been available to me yet.  Has anyone else had this problem? If so, what did you do about it?  He threw away the receipt where they supposedly loaded it, so I have no way to prove it was done.

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In The Mail

My mail from the past two days has included:
Random coupons by mail from both CVS and Target.
Coupon for a FREE bag of chips from Food Should Taste Good that I told you about on facebook
Deodorant samples from Sam's and Costco


Did you guys get anything nice?

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New Free Kindle Books

House of Dark Shadows
Book 1 of Dreamhouse Kings Series

Danger in the Shadows










I've noticed that there have been many many Kindle books offered for free lately that have been the first book in a series.  I think this is smart marketing on the part of the author, because if you like the first one, you will want to read the rest.  That is when I have turned to the library. ;)

You can see the top 100 free Kindle titles here.  They are in the right hand column.  You can also sort by what type of book you are wanting to read (a new feature) and see if there are any free in that category, so take a look around.

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CVS Trip 11/14

After having to return to my house when I pulled up at CVS the first time and realized that I did not have my coupons with me, I went back and successfully made two transactions.  I split my transactions up because I had the $5/$25 coupon that I told you about here.  I also received a $5/$15 on the bottom of my receipt when I paid for my daughter's antibiotics on Thursday.  Both expired today.

Here is what I got:

First Transaction:

--8 Mentos on sale for $0.99 --Used 8 $1/1 Mentos from 10/3 SS (realized that only 7 were scanned once I got home)
--2 Kellogg's Cereal on sale 2 for $4, produces $1 ECB wyb 2 (brought the rice krispies coupon from the 10/17 RP, but the one on sale did not meet the size specifications-it is a 9oz box, not a 12oz)
--Blistex On sale $2.49, produces $1.50 ECB.  Used the $0.55/1 from today's paper.
--Dove Shampoo and Conditioner on sale 2 for $6, produces $2 ECB wyb 2.  I had a $1/1 coupon from a sample that came in the mail, but I could not find any more.
--Aussie Sculpting Gel on sale $2.99 produces $2 ECB.  Used $0.50/1 coupon from this morning's paper.
--Fiber One on sale $3.99, produces $3 ECB.  Used a $0.50/1 coupon.

Shelf Price:  $44.35
Sale Price:   $27.39 (used the $5/$25 for this order)
Price After coupons and $8 ECBs from last week:  $4.09 OOP  and received $9.50 in ECBs

Second Transaction:

--Huggies Diapers on sale $9.49  used $2.50/1 from coupons.com
--Huggies Wipes  216 ct. on sale $6.49 used $0.50/1 from  this mornings paper.

I also used the store coupons that I had received in the mail for $3/1 diaper and $1.50/1 wipes.

Shelf Price:  $19.98
Sale Price:  $15.98 (used the $5/$15 on this order)
Price Paid After Store and Manufacturer Coupons:  $3.77

Total Value:  $64.33
Total Paid:    $7.86   with $9.50 in ECBs remaining
Total Savings:  88%

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Sunday Coupon Preview 11/14

Tomorrow you should get 3 coupon inserts:  1 Smartsource and 2 RedPlum.  If you do not get the paper delivered, tomorrow would be a good day to be sure and pick one up.

I am glad I decided to wait on going to do the Mega Sale that is going on at Kroger, because it looks like there will be a few more coupons tomorrow that go along with that sale.

Check out the details here.

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In The Mail

I got my Glad sample from Target today, along with a coupon for a FREE Healthy Choice meal from Facebook.

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Mega Swagbucks and What You Can Do With Them!

I just wanted to give you guys a reminder that every friday is Mega Swagbucks Day.  If you are a member of Swagbucks, start searching.  If you are not yet a member, please click here to sign up.

If you thing that Swagbucks is not worth it, check this out:

That is $90 worth of Christmas presents for my kids!  I paid completely with Amazon certificates that I earned using Swagbucks, along with a random survey payment here and there.  I was so excited to be able to save up my Amazon certificates for this purpose.  You can do the same thing.  Get started now!  Today, and every Friday, you have a greater chance of winning.

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Check Your Email: CVS Coupon

Today I received a coupon by email from CVS for $5 off a $25 purchase.  Check your email address that is linked to your CVS card.  You may have one, too!

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Aldi Deals 11/10-11/16....and Christmas Gifts?

Here are some advertised deals for this week at Aldi:

Grape Tomatoes--$0.75/pint
Ripe Avocados--$0.35 each
Texas Grapefruit--$0.33 each
Apples (all varieties sold)--$0.39/lb sold in 3lb bags for $1.17
Milk--$0.99/gallon
Eggs--$0.49/dozen

Aldi's dry good selection has recently changed to include many items for holiday baking needs, and their prices are phenomenal.  The last time I was there, they had 4lb bags of sugar for $0.69 and 5lb bags of flour for $0.59.

From their ads that have been mailed out, and others I have picked up in store, it seems that they will also be selling a wide variety of toy items for the Christmas season.  Some of these are name brand items that I have seen advertised, such as Moon Dough and Toy Story 3 figures, and their price is much cheaper that I have seen elsewhere.  The store itself is not very big, and until now they have only had a small portion of one aisle dedicated to non-food items, so I am not sure how many and which of these items each store will have in stock, but it would not hurt to stop in and have a look.

I have found some nice things sold in the non-food section of Aldi.  My favorite being a 3-piece nonstick skillet set.  I told you about the set I ordered from Amazon, but I ended up sending it back when it arrived because they were smalled than I thought they would be based on the description.  The very next week I went into Aldi and happened to notice a larger set that was $10 cheaper!  They work great!

Has anyone else found any random super great deals at Aldi?  I would love to hear about them.

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In the Mail

This is what was in my mail the past two days:
Coupon for a FREE box of Barilla Pasta that also came with 5 BOGO coupons
Sample of Sun Crystals with a $1 coupon
Sample of Tide from Target with a $1 Target Store coupon, so it can be stacked with a manufacturer's coupon.

What did you guys get?

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An Update On My Husband: Good News!

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you who have been praying for my husband and also thank you for being patient with me during this time.  I have good news to share, that strangely enough was able to happen because of some bad circumstances.

It was two weeks ago when his pain began on a Wednesday.  He had been going to the doctor for massage therapy and traction treatments every other day with no apparent improvement.  Our insurance, however, would not pay for anything else until he had tried this form of treatment for a full month.  He was *maybe* noticing a slight improvement by the following wednesday, but not definitely.

The next morning, he was rear-ended on his way to work by an elderly man in a BMW.  There has no damage to his Jeep, as the small car pushed it up and went under it, but his back was hurting mush worse.  So bad, in fact, that he had to leave school to return to the doctor to be re-examined.  The doctor confirmed that the discs were further herniated after the accident, and his office quickly contacted the other driver's insurance.

My husband took off of work on Friday and also Monday because the pain was so great, and that was really hard for him to do since he has already used up all of his sick days this school year.  When he went back in to see his doctor on yesterday (Monday) afternoon, the doctor had already heard back from the man's insurance company, who was willing to pay for his treatments, and since it was no longer our medical insurance covering the bills, the doctor went ahead and gave him a cortisone shot during his visit yesterday.

He is already feeling much better, and in a few days after the swelling around his spine has had the chance to go down, the doctor is fairly certain that another few days of traction and massage will get the discs back into place.

Keep on praying for him, since the ordeal is not yet over, but it is looking hopeful.  It's hard to be thankful for a car accident causing your loved ones to be in more pain than they already were, but it actually helped put an end to his pain two weeks earlier than would have been possible.  For that, I am certainly thankful.  You never know how when a bad circumstance is really a blessing in disguise.

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BookSneeze Update: I Got A Book

If you guys recall a few weeks back I posted about a new website called BookSneeze that sends bloggers free books to read and review.  Well, when I first told you about it, there were no books available, but a couple days later there were two to choose from.  One was actually a Bible, and the other was this one: On This Day in Christian History: 365 Amazing and Inspiring Stories about Saints, Martyrs and Heroes, which showed up at my house within a week.

Now, this book is set up to be read over the course of a year, so you may not hear about it from me for a while.  None of the stories seem to be longer than a page, and I am hoping they will be non-gruesome enough that I can share them with my 4 year old.  I read through the excerpt for today, and it was mostly just historical facts about a theologian who died on this day.  I think this will prove to be a good addition to our library.

The back cover states that it is "a goldmine of speech starters...for speakers, preachers, and teachers" so if you are, or know, one of these this might be a great gift idea.  If you want to read more about it, the link above will take you to the listing at Amazon.com.

I will try to keep you posted about my progress and opinion of the book as I go along, and share anything I find truly meaningful.

Did anyone else sign up with this program and request a book?  If so, what did you get?

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CVS Trip 11/7

Hello everyone.  It has been quite a while since I have been able to post.  My husband's back is still messed up, and I have a sink full of dirty dishes and a garage floor full of clean cloths to fold, but what better time to jump back into blogging, because I honestly don't want to do any of that stuff. =/

I had to go to CVS today because I had $12 in Extra Bucks that were about to expire, and I had a $5/$30 purchase coupon that I got by email this past week that was expiring today.  I have not been to CVS in a few weeks because I have thought that their Extra Bucks offers have been lacking.  Honestly, there still were not very many to choose from this week, but they happened to be for things I actually needed, so that's always a plus.  There were a few other great sale prices as well, and I was able to stock up on some cleaning supplies.

Here is what I came home with:

Shelf Price:  $50.42
Sale Price:   $30.43
Price Paid After Coupons and $12 ECBs:  $6.67 with tax and I received $8 in ECB's to use next time.
That's an 87% savings!

Here is the breakdown:
--The Finish and Lysol were part of a promotion where you spend $15 (before coupons) on specific products and you get $5 ECBs.  The Finish were on sale for $3, which is half off to begin with, and I used some $0.75/1 coupons from coupons.com.  The Lysol were on sale 2 for $5.  I had a $1/2 Lysol from I think it was the 10/17 SS.  I also brought the $0.35/1 Clorox coupon from this morning's paper by mistake.  Oh well...
--The Noxema was on sale for $4.49 and giving back $3 ECBs.  I did not have a coupon for it.
--The Gain dish liquid is on sale for $0.99.  There were $1/1 coupons in the 10/10 PG to make those free.
--The Xtra detergent was on sale for $1.49.  There were $1/2 coupons in the 10/17 SS, which made them $0.99 each.
--The frap was on sale for $1.50 and I threw it in because I needed a bit more to reach my $30. =)  I'm glad I wasn't planning on drinking it tonight, though, because their coolers were heating instead of cooling and all the drinks were hot.  It is safely stashed in my fridge until morning.

These sale prices began today and will remain in effect until Saturday.  What are you guys getting from CVS this week?

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Having To Take a Break From Blogging

Hey guys, I know I have not had a chance to post in a few days, and it may be yet a few more before I am able.  I apologize that I have not had the chance to let you know sooner.  The main reason for this is that my husband has been suffering from two herniated discs in his back and neck since last wednesday.  He is going to therapy every other afternoon where they are putting him in traction for a while and trying various other methods to relieve his pain.  He has always been a great help to me, and now he is not able to do many of the things that he normally does.  I am thankful that some of my family are visiting right now and are able to help me out because I have had a bad head cold for the past few days also.

I hope to be able to pick back up with posting sooner rather than later, but I know that I need to put this to the side right now in order to take care of my house and my husband.  We would appreciate your prayers for his recovery.  His father has a history of back trouble and has had multiple surgeries, so we are praying that he is not starting down that road.

I just wanted to write a quick note and let you guys know what was going on.  Hopefully he will make a full recovery soon and life an get back to normal.

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