Harris Teeter 4/29 Adventure

I apologize for my friends out there who don't live near a Harris Teeter.  Considering moving here so we can hang out and shop together?

Wow.  Just take it in.  I got all of the stuff in the picture ABSOLUTELY FREEEEEEEEEEEE!  Thank you Harris Teeter Super Double Coupon Event!

2 jugs of syrup, 2 rolls of paper towels, 4 pre-made pasta noodles, 4 half gallons of milk, 6 jars of pasta sauce, 1 salad toppings kit, 1 spool of floss, 1 bag of cat treats and 1 can of cat food!

I had the HUGE help of my BFF...and her VIC Card.  You can only use 20 coupons a day per card, and we had more than that!  Keep in mind, we bought regular groceries too (we aren't psychos who only eat pasta, cat food and syrup - ha).  These are just the ones that I separated out, masterfully arranged, and took a picture of like a crazy person.  Unlike some of the trips I make, we will actually use ALL of this stuff.  No, we probably can't drink all that milk by ourselves, so I am going to bring one to work to share with coworkers, my BFF is going to give one to her fiancee - see - pay it forward and don't be a hoarder! (I might have to trademark that phrase!)

You can find most of the deals and coupons I used here from these amazing women that do all the work for me:

The Deal Scoop

Coupon Teacher

The Coupon Challenge

And if you are following along with my Couponing 101 - you can see why it's a must to have the Coupon Printer and to save your Sunday papers for events just like this.

I would love to hear about your success stories!  Leave a comment and make my day!

Minute to Win It - Championship Details!

I'm sure many of you have been waiting with bated breath to hear about the epic, FIRST ANNUAL, Minute to Win It tournament.  All you really need to know is that it was awesome, and I HIGHLY recommend organizing your own.  It was very easy to set up, with a small amount of supplies, and it gave us a day of fun!

If you are interested, you can find out pretty much all you need to know here: http://www.nbc.com/minute-to-win-it/how-to/

The contestants were: me, my brother (@Grennes_III), Carly (future sis-in-law), my dad, and my brother's best friend, Scotty.  The champion: SCOTTY.  When asked if the 10:00am start time would be ok, his response was "I may or may not be drunk/hungover, but I'm a beast at parlor games when I'm on the sauce".

Game: Go the Distance

Game: Stack Attack

THE CHAMPION (playing Bucket Head).

In Bucket Head, we had to get a bucket on our head, to catch bouncing ping pong balls.  While trying to figure out what we were going to use, one of my brother's suggestions was "duct tape a bucket to your face." Though, I have to give him credit.  Bobby did ALL the set up, and he was the brains behind the whole operation (rules, tie breakers, supplies, you name it).  Big ups.

And HOW does this have to do with saving money?  Well, this is a great, CHEAP, way to spend some time with family and friends and have a blast.  Good wholesome fun.  

And to wrap it up, a final thought from the Champion. 

When asked if Scotty was pumped up..."Real excited. I've been dreaming about this moment all my life."

Harris Teeter - SUPER DOUBLE COUPONS - 4.27 -5.3

 It's HARRIS TEETER SUPER DOUBLE COUPONS time again!!!!  Can you feel my excitement?

Let me give you the play by play of a text conversation between me and my mom two nights ago.

Mom: "Harris teeter!  Super double!"
Me: "What when how why? Where?!?!"
Mom: "Tomorrow for a week I think."
Me: "Hell yes! Look out cat treats!"  (reminder, I don't have a cat - haha)

In case you forgot what that means, you can read my previous post here. So head out and use those $1 coupons this week for MEGA savings!  http://www.harristeeter.com/

And to get a feel for some of the free things you might score, you can see my trip from last time here.

So it looks like maybe this promotion is now running every month, which is incredible and amazing and life changing.  Dramatic?  Yes.  Now I will be on the hunt and always collecting perfect SUPER DOUBLE coupons.  I only wish I would have known about this a day ago when I was home in Indiana.  This is a picture of our counter-top, covered with the coupons my uncle brought us at Easter.  He and my mom trade coupon inserts.  Hilarious and awesome.

Etsy - Where to go for gifts!

Now this post isn't exactly about saving money, it's just about a great website - Etsy.com. If you haven't heard of it, then you are in for a treat. Etsy is a social commerce website focused on handmade or vintage items as well as art and craft supplies. Every experience I've had with Etsy has just been fabulous. Each separate seller has been extremely responsive, helpful and full of creative ideas!

Often, when I'm in need for a gift, I just go on Etsy and type a word in...like "Indiana" and see what I find that matches that theme. It's fun and dangerous, because you will be sucked into a vortex and lose hours of times thinking of all the things you want to buy for yourself, and others!

Here are just a few things I have purchased (all custom orders) and would HIGHLY recommend.

These are amazing old maps that have a heart stitched around any city you want.  I got these as gifts for 3 people...and one for myself because it was too cute not to have!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/refashioned

This is a bridsemaid dress that was custom ordered to our measurements (we didn't get the petticoat).  It fits me like a glove, Diane was amazingly helpful and the price is great!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/missbrache?ref=pr_shop

I had to wait to add this - as it was for a gift for my bff - to accompany Wicked Tickets.  Very cool, and they sent me two corresponding envelopes to match - black and green.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/dollfacedesign79?ref=seller_info

Carri was also amazing helping me create a custom picture frame for my boss and his family for Christmas.  She came up with all of the ideas (as I am not at all artsy) and made it look beautiful.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/PaintItPinkbyCarri?ref=seller_info

You are welcome for just ruining your work day productivity.  

Shopping Online - How to save money AND get CASH BACK

Now this is one of my absolute TOP recommendations for saving money.  When shopping online, I almost ALWAYS use a coupon code and/or get CASH back.  How do I do that?  I'm so glad you asked.

Now it seems complicated at first, but it's actually quite simple, and TRUST me, it's well worth the effort. Using these methods I have saved hundreds of dollars and gotten hundreds of dollars BACK.  I literally get sent a check, or money through Paypal from these websites.

First, you must sign up for Ebates and BigCrumbs.  They are my main 2 (there are others, but like I've said before, I don't want to overwhelm you!) sites for getting cash back.

Sign up for Ebates HERE

Sign up for BigCrumbs HERE

So now when you know where you want to shop, say Target, you go here: http://evreward.com/.  Then you type in Target, and you see lots of things pop up.  You can see Coupon Codes at the top that you can use when checking out to save you money, and then you see at the bottom which cash back website gives you the biggest percentage of cash back.  

Then you simply go to Ebates or Big Crumbs, log in, again type in Target, and click through their site to Target.  That's all.  They will automatically track your purchases, and then give you CASH back.  You can usually sign up to get a check, or receive it directly through Paypal.

So yes, it is a few more clicks, but ultimately WAY worth it.  It's amazing.  Give it a try, and come back and tell me how much money you are getting!  Hoot!


And in case you are really interested, here is another GREAT cash back site:

Sign up for Mr. Rebates

Easter Weekend - Home again home again...

I'm heading back to Indiana tonight and I can't WAIT.  I think this calls for a list of the reasons I'm excited.

1. Family Quality Time (obviously) and seeing my friends.

2. Tonight AND Saturday the Indiana Pacers have a playoff game that I will get to watch with my family and eat tons of chips and various dips.

3. Minute to Win It - FIRST Annual Championship.

Ok, if you haven't watched this show, um YOU'RE WELCOME for me introducing you to it.  It's amazing.  You need to find the episode called "Kids Rule Part 1 &2" - it's 2 hours, and it will induce sobbing in happy hysterics.  It was the first episode I watched, and I've been hooked ever since.  So clearly me, my brother, his fiancee', and his best friend have come up with an epic tournament that will take place Saturday morning.  I'll report back, hopefully, with a trophy.

4. Indiana Garage Sale Prep.  Due to a scheduling conflict, I won't be able to attend this two day extravaganza, and it's pretty devastating.  BUT, I am going to help organize and price and prepare for this gala.  This will call for another stop at CVS to get more free stuff to sell, and then working with my mom, organizing her MANY FREE toiletries and counting all the things we will be SELLING!

So have a very happy Easter weekend, and maybe you will be motivated to clean out your house and organize and find some things to sell or donate!

CVS Adventures 4.17.11

I headed off to CVS Sunday knowing I was going to pack a punch.  I don't usually get a TON of stuff at CVS, but the coupon gods were with me yesterday, and there were lots of things happening.

You can check out http://www.simplycvsshopping.com/ for some of the amazing deals you can get, and weekly coupon matchups!  

So I had some ExtraBucks to spend, so I figured I would pay for my items, using those, and get some ECBs back.  With all of my coupons and all of the sales...my total only came to $1.39!  And I got $6 ExtraBucks BACK!

I also got 6 packs of Adult Depends (clearanced at $1.82 - had a $2.00 off coupon!)...but that is a whole other story!

So I had a coupon for pretty much everyone of these items.  Aka...like 20 coupons.  At the counter, everything was going very smoothly and we got down to my last few coupons, and instead of taking $2 off, it ADDED $2.  Obviously, not ok with that, the manager came over, tried to fix it, failed and then announced that we had to VOID the whole transaction and start over.  At this point, there was a line of about 20 people behind me, but I didn't dare look back to see their glares of hate.  Also, mind you, this meant I had to RE-take out my 6 packs of adult diapers (I promise, they aren't for me!) in front of a large CVS mob.  Ahh the plight of a couponer.  My cashier was extremely helpful and had a great attitude and just started over.  And it went off without a hitch!

It was amazing, and one of the better CVS trips I've had in recent weeks.

Again, if you want to get in on the action and see EXACTLY what you can get with coupons, go to http://www.simplycvsshopping.com/ or IHeartCVS.

RueLaLa - Yes, it's ok to spend money...sometimes!

Ok, so I don't usually post about ways to spend money...but if you are going to do it, this is the way.

Now is THE time to sign up for RueLaLa.  If you sign up now, you get a $20 credit to start with.  That's incredible, and I'm jealous that I didn't have that when I first signed up!  It's a designer/discount website that has daily deals.  You have to be a "member" to buy from them.  So they have boutiques open daily with crazy good deals on things, that only last for 24 hours.

Now generally, I don't buy "fancy" things, but that doesn't mean I don't WANT to buy fancy things. So this is how I use Rue La La.  I see things that I really want (but am not willing to pay full price for), and I watch for them to come up on RueLaLa, and then I snag them and feel good about getting them for a great discount.

I've gotten three things on RueLaLa and I'm obsessed with each one of them.

This Hobo Wallet:

My new Raybans that I posted about before:

And the purse they all go in:

So don't waste anymore time.  It doesn't hurt to just look (right?!) ...and wait for a sweet, sweet deal and SNAG!

Sign up for RueLaLa HERE! and get a $20 CREDIT!

Target Adventure 4.16.11

I love ending a shopping trip with the cashier saying "THIS is how you shop and use coupons!" Oh I couldn't agree more.  I went to see a movie on Saturday night, and that theatre happened to be next to Target.  When picking up my friend, this is how my text went "What time should I pick you up...leaving time for dinner...and obv Target?"  This is pretty much how my life rolls, revolving around when I can stop for FREEBIES! :)

Here is my loot.  Ok, actually there were 2 more boxes of Skittles...that I ate at the movies.

And here is what my receipt looked like - I ONLY payed for tax - $.27!  Hooooot!

My cashier was pretty much ideal, and proud of me.  Sometime cashiers are trouble and surly (I'll post about how to deal with them soon)!  Everything I bought, I had coupons for to make them free, so I only paid for the tax.  I will eat the Skittles, my BFF will eat the Kashi cereal and I will SELL the Airwicks at our Yard Sale (more about that soon too!).    Yippee!

Free stuff from...TWITTER? (And my love of The Hunger Games)

Yesterday I spent 7 glorious (?) hours doing nothing/sitting at Jury Duty.  I had such high hopes for yesterday.  I thought, I will either get let out and spend the day sitting on my couch watching 8 episodes of Friday Night Lights  being productive, or I will get to finally experience being on a jury and in courtroom.  I'm 28, and have NEVER been called for Jury Duty before.  Are they anti-gingers?

But 'twas not to be.  So I sat there for 7 hours, with my beloved Kindle and finished my book club book and then started AND finished a whole other book.

As a HUGE fan of The Hunger Games, a friend of mine recommended The Long Walk.  It was really good, and made me cheesily/embarrassingly type in an email to this friend "this book made me happy to be alive."  So if you like The Hunger Games, I would definitely recommend it.  And if you don't know what The Hunger Games is...tsk tsk.

And here is where I tell you about the awesome power of Twitter.  I resisted for a long time, but then I fell in love with it and am never looking back.  Follow me on Twitter HERE! 

So here is just a SMALL example of how even Twitter can save you money and get you FREE things.  One of my favorite tweeters, Down With the Capitol,  was running a contest to win a Box Set of The Hunger Games Trilogy, and all you had to do was "re-tweet." (for any Twitter newbies, basically that just means copy and pasting).  Long story short, I did it and I WON.  And I have already lent this to 3 different people who have all loved the books!  

But just that simple thing on Twitter was an awesome, EASY, way to get something (that I wanted!) for FREE.  So if you haven't already, you should join Twitter (it's also FREE and Easy - HOOT!).  I will post soon about different people I recommend to follow that will give you awesome tips for saving money, coupons, free stuff etc!

Also, for any of you out there (who know me and see me), just ask and you can borrow this whole set, and fall in love with the books like I did.  

And if I don't know you yet (sad), never fear, you can buy them here: Hunger Games Trilogy Boxset.  And remember, you can always use some of that Amazon $$ you have collected through Swagbucks to buy them!

Hoot hoot - Happy Friday!

Daily Deal Sites - Sorting through the Madness

Nowadays, there are just SO many Daily Deals sites, which is EXCELLENT, yet overwhelming.  As I've mentioned before, I don't love tons of emails cluttering my inbox.  But I DO love tons of daily deals.  So what's a girl to do?  Well, my BFF Lina introduced me to YIPIT.

What is Yipit?

Yipit aggregates and recommends the best daily deals in your city.

So instead of getting separate emails for each one of the Daily Deal Sites like Groupon, Living Social, etc., you only get one email that aggregates them all - voila!

Now I would say, be careful with all of these sites, as sometimes you are sucked in to a great deal, for a place you really wouldn't go.  So you might end up going somewhere, and spending even more money that you wanted.  I've bought a few that, while great deals, still haven't been used.  

So that's where ANOTHER great site comes in.  My future sis-in-law showed me CoupRecoup.  This is a site where you can sell back unused deals you have purchased, or find ones that you have missed.  I've listed a few on here (just this week) and have yet to sell them, but still worth a shot.  I'd love to hear if anyone had success doing this!

Swagbucks - Get $$ for searching the internet!

Swagbucks has changed my life. Now, I tend to be a tad dramatic...but I'm serious. I originally found Swagbucks about 2 years ago, and I've never looked back. I get excited a few times a day when I see that little icon pop up and it tells me "Congratulations, you've won Swabucks!"

"What is Swagbucks?" you ask...well Swagbucks.com is a search engine, just like Google. But with Swagbucks, you are rewarded every so often for searching with "swagbucks." It is random, does not matter at all what you search, or how often. Once you sign up, you just stay logged on, and search through Swagbucks.com daily.

Now, it's not as good as Google. I'll be honest with you. As of course, they someway have to make money or pay for all of the awesome gifts you can get in the SwagStore. BUT, it's a pretty good search engine, made even BETTER considering they are basically paying you!

Over the course of the past 2 years, I've gotten over $250 worth of Amazon Gift Cards. I've gotten SO many things on Amazon for FREE. Most of my book club books, Christmas presents, really anything. Me and my BFF have worked the numbers, and the $5 Amazon Gift Card for 450 swagbucks is definitely the best bang for your buck. It takes a while to accumulate, but it doesn't hurt to just keep plugging away, and then be pleasantly surprised when you have enough to "cash out" for your $5 gift card (sent as a code - so you can do it all online).

Now there are many, many more ways to earn Swagbucks (like doing surveys, signing up for Special Offers, etc), BUT my goal in this blog is to make saving (and earning!) money SIMPLE. So just get started by searching (and signing up below) and that is simple and easy :) SEARCH away!

Sign up for Swagbucks HERE!

And as always, I'm happy to answer ANY questions about any of my posts!

Stylish Blogger Award?!

What you ask?! Yeah, so did I. So I just heard that KY Kips gave me one of her designated "Stylish Blogger Awards." I am so honored. You should definitely check out her blog. She is a fellow Midwesterner, and generally seems awesome.

To accept the award, you are asked to do a few things. Link back to the blogger who awarded you, share 7 things about yourself, pay it forward and award other blogs with the award, and let those bloggers know that you gave them the award.

Here are other blogs that you should definitely check out and would receive my "Stylish Blogger Awards!"

The Scribble Pad (my dear friend and new mom, who helped me/designed my whole blog)
das ist Gemutlichkeit
Calligraphy by Shannon
Taming the Bicycle
two twenty one
Centsational Girl

So... 7 things about myself...hmm.

1.   I blindly, immediately like all red heads, and Hoosiers. I think they understand my issues. (unlikely)

2.   My favorite emails to get are Glee recaps (or really anything) from my younger brother. Basically because he says exactly what I am thinking, just WAY funnier. (follow him on Twitter!)

3.   I named my blog based on my love of the Hootsuite Owl Logo.

4.   My favorite tv shows of all time are: Seinfeld, Arrested Development and Veronica Mars. I own them all, and have watched the full series (of all of them) more times than I care to count. And every time I watch Veronica Mars (currently on Season 1) I convince myself, and anyone who wants to listen that I think I would be a good private detective.

5.   While listening to a song, I try to make people shut up so I can listen to my favorite part, which I announce to everyone, and then I'm reminded that no one cares what my favorite part is.

6.   I hate butterflies. I'm scared of them, and no, I never think they are beautiful or cute in any capacity.

7.   All of my favorite books are in the "young adult" category. As a 28 year old, I am convinced I'm still a young adult. (just had a panic attack when I had to count and make sure I was only 28)

...

8.   Holy crap, I love listing things and could have written way more (self-involved? yes).  This may be a dangerous realization for this blog.

CVS Coupon Center

As a (self proclaimed) CVS expert, I was shocked to find out that some of my friends don't know about this little gem known as the CVS Coupon Center!

Each CVS should have one of these beauties at the front of their store.  When you walk in, the first thing you should do is scan your CVS ExtraCare Card at this machine - TWICE.  You will get anywhere from 2-8 -  what they call "CRTs." These are CVS coupons, so you can actually STACK them with other coupons.  So say it prints out a $1 off Dove product, and you already have another Dove coupon, you can use BOTH.  Double the savings - Wahoooo!

Couponing 101: Internet Coupons and The Coupon Printer

Now a lot of people don't know this, but you can print TONS of coupons off the internet.  It's true!  But before you start printing off your coupons, most sites require you to have the Coupon Printer.  You will see a window like the one below when it asks you to install it, just follow the easy instructions and you will be all set to go.

Now my work blocks adding new programs.  Did I call the Help Desk to have them come up and install this on my computer?  Why yes I did.  I've had it for years, and it's awesome.

Now the main places to print coupons on the internet are: 

Smartsource

and

Redplum

and

Coupons.com

I would recommend scanning these sites every so often, and definitely before your trip to the grocery store, to print off the coupons that you want to use.  

Here is my routine before I go to the grocery store:

1. Check the ads while making a list.

2. Check Smartsource.com and print any relevant coupons.

3. For any other brand named items, google for coupons.  You would be surprised how often a google search of "Jimmy Dean coupon" will send you to their website with a coupon on it.

4. Go through my coupon holder to pull out any other coupons I've cut out from my Sunday paper that I want to use on this trip.

5. Lastly I mark all items with a *star* that I have coupons for on my list.  I have forgotten to use one way to many times!

Beware - sometimes cashiers will be surly (don't worry, I have a post on dealing with them coming up) and say that you "can't used photocopied coupons."  Just assure them that you printed it off your computer today, and that it is not copied.  Just starting to print coupons off your computer will begin to save you tons of money.

And try and be green, use scrap paper to print all of your money saving coupons!

CVS Adventure - 4/3

Following up on my post yesterday I headed straight out to CVS.

Here's what I got:

• complete multi-purpose solution $8.99 (used -$1 complete solution COUPON - 4/3/11 ss)
• get $8.99 back in extrabucks - ($1.00 $ MONEY MAKER $)
• 2 oral-b manual toothbrush - $2.99 each (used $2 Oral b toothbrush COUPON - 4/3/11 p&g)
• get $.99 back in extrabucks (each) (FREE)
• crest pro-health complete rinse - $3.49 (USED $1 CREST RINSE COUPON - 4/3/11 P&G)
• GET $2.50 BACK IN EXTRABUCKS (FREE)

I used ExtraBucks I had from last week, to pay for the majority of these goods - which I will do next week too.  This is the beauty of the system...it just keeps rolling!

Unsurprisingly, I forgot a few coupons (as I mentioned before, I can be a bit scatterbrained/my purse is a hot mess!), so I will be heading back this week to snag these as they are FREE:

And right now, if you "Like" CVS on Facebook, you can print a $5 off $40 coupon to use! (Though I rarely spend that much...you might need some goods!)  Find that coupon here: CVS Facebook Coupon Offer.  

Actually, a great way to use that $5 off $40 would be to buy (only if you want or need them!) Crest WhiteStrips.  This week, they are on sale for $34.99 AND you get $10 ExtraBucks back AND there is a coupon in this week's Sunday paper/coupon inserts for $10 off Crest WhiteStrips.  So you would pay out of pocket $24.99 - but ALSO get $10 back.  So it's like getting them for $14.99 - which is an excellent deal.

And don't forget to ALWAYS scan your CVS card at checkout!

Como se dice - Spring?!

It is 80 degrees right now in DC. It's supposed to be 50 tomorrow.  DC what are you doing to us?!

This is a picture of the tree that is in our front yard.  Our downstairs neighbor cuts this tree off every year, because it gets huge and out of control.  This is what it looks like bare bones.  Just WAIT to see it in a few months.  I'll document it's growth here.  It's insane.  In the winter you wouldn't believe how much snow hangs on this beast.

A few doors down, our neighbors have planted a whole yard of beautiful tulips.  I took this picture only one week ago.

And BAM - this is what they look like today!  Even the tulips love the 80 degree weather!

CVS Deals - This Week - Get Movin'!

This week is a GREAT week to go to CVS for FREEBIES!  And it's also a great week to prove just how valuable the Sunday paper is.  So if you haven't already signed up at my urging then you should buy a copy this week when you go to CVS.

This week, with JUST the coupons you can get from this week's Sunday paper you can get the following for FREE or they are even "money makers."  Which means you might pay less than you get back in ExtraBucks!

• complete multi-purpose solution
• oral-b manual toothbrush
• crest or oral-b pro-health complete rinse 16.9 oz, or clinical gum toothpaste 4 oz, or glide clinical protection floss 38.2 yd
• gum eez-thru flossers 75-150 ct

You can see exactly what coupons to use here

Now originally, you will have to pay out some cash to get these items.  BUT you will get tons of ExtraBucks back, and next week you can use those to get MORE stuff for free.  Or you can always just use them to get stuff you need (with the added benefit of having gotten all of the stuff above free!).

I won't even pretend to be the CVS Deal pro.  That crown goes to Erica at http://www.iheartcvs.com/

My Laziness > My Frugality

Lest you think that I only buy things on sale, think again.  While I'm usually very frugal and go out of my way to save money, it doesn't always happen that way.  If you don't know me well, I'm also very lazy.  And if I'm hangry (hungry + angry), there's very small chance I'm getting in the car, driving to the grocery store, etc.  

Luckily, I have another option. The other night I had some guacamole (FREE from my recent Harris Teeter trip! ) that was about to expire, and no chips (a rarity in my house).  So I went to the store on our street, Adam's Market.

Now, "Adam" is smart.  They have a huge up-charge on their items, due to the fact that they are so close and convenient.  So when you are cooking and need one ingredient, they know you are going to just pop across the street.  So smart.  

I got some chips for $3.99 - which isn't a great deal at all.  Usually you can get them for $2.50 on sale.

The moral of this story is, it's OK not to get great deals all of the time. And no one is perfect, not even the coupon gurus all over the web.  90% of the time, I work really hard to save money BUT when I am lazy, or want to buy something more expensive, I feel great thinking "hey, this is why it's so great that I saved x amount of dollars last week!"  So I'm going to continue working hard to save money...as I know I'll be hitting up Adam's again soon... for more chips.

(I have been known to consume a whole bag of Lime Tostitos for dinner)

Goldstar - Local Events - Last Minute Deals

To celebrate the fact that it is Friday (TGIF), you should probably get to making some weekend plans!

For those of you who love, well any event, Goldstar is the website for you!  It's this awesome site where you can customize your location, and they will send you daily deals (usually 50% or more) for (usually) last minute tickets. I've gotten tickets to the opera at the Kennedy Center for crazy cheap, tickets to a musical (Next to Normal before it went to Broadway!), etc on here.  

They have such a huge variety from site-seeing activities, to speed dating, museum tickets, to theater events, no matter what your interest, you will find something you love. 

This site is especially great if you are new to a city, and want to try different events out. I know I love it, and look forward to it every day, hoping there is some new musical coming to town that I am unaware of.  Did I mention I'm obsessed with musicals?  :)  

Join GOLDSTAR here!

Couponing 101: The Sunday Paper

My advice: get it immediately.

This is one of the top 2 places I get coupons (the other is the internet, I'll post about that soon!).  Usually there are deals running through your local papers, to only get the Sunday editions.  Sometimes, there are even bonuses for signing up for a year, rather than just 6 months.  I think when I signed up, I got a $10 Target gift card.

Right now, you can go here to get the Sunday Washington Post for only $.59cents a week!  That is an insanely good deal, considering your return on investment.  I guarantee you will cut out at least one (if not tons) $1.00 off coupon.  So right there, cutting out only ONE measly coupon, will save you $.41cents a week.

So not only does the Sunday paper come full of ads, (and if you are lucky like me, the Washington Post Magazine and the DateLab article), it comes with usually 2-3 coupon inserts a week!

Then you will have all of the weekly ads, that will encourage you to look through them, and find the best deals for what you are looking for.  For you couponing newbies out there, I would simply recommending flipping through the inserts, and cutting out any coupons for items that you already use or plan on buying.

Lastly - SAVE your coupon inserts.  Write the date you got them in Sharpie across the front, get a shoebox, throw them in, and save them.  I'll post later about my process for sorting coupons and saving them (again, thanks to Lina - BFF).  But trust me, if you want to become more into couponing (especially matching up coupons to get freebies), save your inserts.  And if you aren't going to save them -bring them to me! :)

Next up: Internet coupons - where to find them, and how to print them!

PS, I just got this cd, and it's is amazing and the BOMB.  Adele - 21