*Saving you some money in the Rock River Valley*


Welcome to our blog! While a lot of our deals may be specific to the Rockford area, you'll find many deals that are also good nationwide! We hope that our blog will be fun, informative, and that it will help you SAVE SOME MONEY!

Read here about our "Coupon Ethics"

Saturday, February 27, 2010

New $.75 off Goldfish Coupon

This deal has expired as the print limit was reached pretty quickly. Remember, if you want a coupon, print it right away! It may be gone tomorrow!

If you or your kids are a Goldfish crackers fan, go here and print 2 - $.75 off coupons for 1 bag of Goldfish! Print it now, I am sure this one will go fast!

These are on sale at Hilander this week for $1.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Coupon Usage for 2009

I thought this was a great article from Southern Savers about Coupon Usage for 2009 (read below):

2009 Coupon Usage Numbers
The numbers are out for the entire year of 2009 and coupon use. It’s staggering in many ways, but at the same way not surprising.

Coupon Trends
Coupon use rose 27% with $3.5 billion in redeemed coupons! This was the first annual increase in redemption since 1992. Companies saw this increased redemption and they stepped up to the plate with more coupons! Brands issued 367 billion coupons with an average value of $1.44 ($528.5 billion total). This was the highest number of issued coupons ever recorded.

Manufacturer Coupon Changes
Manufacturers did alter the offers they released to help compensate for the increase of coupons. The face value of coupons decreased by 1 penny on average and expiration dates were shortened by 10% over previous years .

Future of Couponing
The economic downtown in the last 18 months has drastically changed the way that people look at shopping. Many wonder if we all start using coupons, will they stop releasing them. I think this past year is proof that the companies are not looking at ending this system but instead are putting more of their resources into it!

For me it is great to see so many using coupons, but at the same time look at all the coupons that were not used. We redeemed $3.5 billion but they issued $528.5 billion, that’s only 0.7%. It’s my goal that we can at least break 1% for 2010!!

(source Coupon Info Now)

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Little Ceasar's Customer Appreciation Special

Anouk called an notified me that today, Wednesday, is Little Caesar's Customer Appreciation Day. Today only their regular pizza is $3.99 instead of the usual $5! This could make for a very frugal and quick dinner!

Walgreens Deals through 2/27

One good deal at Walgreen's this week is that all Excedrin is on sale for $2.50. There were $2 off printable coupons on coupons.com if you printed those that is a great deal but they reached their print limit. In a recent newspaper insert there was a $.75 coupon not as good as the other of course or there are several $1 off 1 of the various kinds of Excedrin here.

The Excedrin Menstrual is generating a $2 RR, so if you used the $1 off printable you would pay $1.50 and get a $2 RR. From what I hear the ingredients are all the same as the regular Excedrin but check it out if you are interested.

**Trident Gum is on sale for $.99
Use the $.75 off 1 from the 2/7 SS insert
$.24

**Walgreen's Diapers are on sale for buy one get one 50% off that is 2 jumbos for $13.48.

Check out Money Saving Mom's list of other Walgreen's deals this week.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Purex deal at Hilander

If you haven't already done the deal on Purex here (or even if you have), go to Hilander to get this great deal on Purex!

This Sunday's newspaper coupon inserts had a Purex BOGO coupon. Hilander still has theirs on sale for $2.49 a bottle (even cheaper if you do the Daytona deal mentioned in previous post). Use your BOGO and that will be $1.25 a bottle for 32 loads - less than $0.04 a load. Here's where it possibly gets better:

- If you haven't already bought Purex at Hilander and thus have not yet had the catalina coupon print out ($4.00 if you buy 2, $5.00 if you buy 3), it is very probable that it will print this time around. I can't confirm that because I had already done the deal and had my catalina print out last week.

- For some reason at my Hilander, when I went through self-checkout and gave my coupon to the attendant, it took $4.12 (retail) off my bill instead of $2.49 (sale price)! I even pointed it out to him, but he said that's what the computer automatically did. So there is a possibility that it will take $4.12 off, making your 2 bottles of Purex less than $0.80 for both!

Either way, it's a great price!

Huggies Wipes at CVS

This deal is dead now reportedly - it only ran Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.

Per Kristie: the 2/$5 Huggies wipes sale going on at CVS right now seems to also be including the Mega Packs (3 in 1 pack, reg. $7.99). People all over the US are posting about it, so it seems it's not just a "fluke" at the store Kristie was at. Some were even reporting that a Huggies coupon was printing when they scanned their card at the scanner (didn't happen for Kristie).

If you want to take advantage of this deal, do it soon! I'm sure people will be picking this great deal up quickly so the stores may sell out of the Mega Packs soon!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

JC Penney sales and coupon!

I hit the mall on Saturday and found some incredible deals on the clearance racks. Some were at JC Penney. I decided to go there because I had a $10 gift card and had found this $10 off $25 coupon (exp. 2/27). I'm so glad I went - I got such great deals! Their clearances are great, and coupled with the coupon, I made out like a bandit. Some examples:

Men's sweater: $4.97
Women's sweater: $2.97
Shoes (I've been looking for this kind forever!!!): $4.97
Button shirt (men): $4.97
Men's polo shirt: $2.97

And those are the prices before the coupon!

Bergners (I don't usually shop there much) also has some incredible clearances! Their prices are high, but when you take 80% or more off an expensive shirt, it becomes a crazy good deal! If it's in the budget, now's the time to shop for long sleeve tops and corduroy pants!

Thanks for the head's up on the coupon, Common Sense With Money!

Cheap Kraft Mac & Cheese at Hilander

This week at Hilander Kraft Macaroni & Cheese is on sale 2/$1. Use this $1 off 5 printable coupon and get them for $.30 a box! (Print here if you use Safari)

Monday, February 15, 2010

Hilander Daytona Sale & One Don't Miss Deal!

Right now Hilander is having a Daytona Sale. This sale is similar to the Mega Event sale because you have to purchase 10 participating items and then you receive $3 off your order instantly!

**Pop Tarts - $2.47
Use $1 off 3 coupon from recent newspaper insert OR
Some boxes recently have coupons $1.50 off wyb Milk and 2 boxes of Pop Tarts

**Hefty Trash Bags - $4.69 (45 - 80 count)
Use .55 off coupon from a recent newspaper insert OR
Use $1 off coupon from Hilander's Daytona in home mailer
$3.59 - $3.69 depending on which coupon used! That is great deal on trash bags!!

**Ragu Pasta Sauce - $1.19
Use .75 of 2 coupon from recent newspaper insert
$.82 each after coupon

THE DEAL OF THE WEEK:

**Purex Laundry Detergent - $2.19 - This is part of the Daytona sale so you must buy 10 participating items to get the $2.19 price otherwise it is $2.49.

Use $.35 off coupon from a recent newspaper insert OR
Use $.35 off printable here (send to a friend and get a coupon up to 2 times) OR
Use $1 off printable here OR
Use $1 off coupon from Hilander's Daytona in home mailer

$1.19 - $1.49 a bottle after the above coupons and Daytona sale
$1.49 - $1.79 a bottle if you don't buy 10 participating items

EVEN BETTER:

When you buy 2 bottles you will get a Catalina for $4 off your next order OR
When you buy 3 bottles you will get a Catalina for $5 off your next order

So even without the Daytona sale price these would be FREE with coupons! If you don't have any coupons at all and purchased 3 bottles at $2.49, you would pay $.82 each after the sale and Catalina.

This is a money maker if you have any of the coupons above!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Couponing Class

We're at it again!

We'll be offering our free "Couponing 101" class this Saturday, Feb 13th from 12:00 to 1:30 pm at the East State Street Library (in the former Barnes & Noble building).

This is the same class we offered this class back in September and October, so if you need a refresher course or know people who could benefit from this class, be sure to come on down and bring your friends! We'll be having a giveaway, as always!

Hope to see you there!

Walgreens Coupon - Friday Only!

Go here to get a coupon off your purchase at Walgreens, good tomorrow only (Fri, Feb 12). The coupon will take 15% off regular items and 20% off Walgreens' brand name! Cool coupon!

If you're looking for some inexpensive Huggies, Money Saving Mom has a great scenario for you here using the coupon!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Whole Foods Coupons

If you like to shop at Whole Foods, be sure to check out the coupons on their site before you head to the store!

I wish we had one in Rockford, but the closest ones are about an hour away (Palatine or Naperville). But if you're going for a day trip to one of the cities that has a Whole Foods, be sure to print the coupons before you go!

Thanks to The Frugal Girls!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Coupons for toys

Coupons.com has all kinds of Hasbro/Playskool coupons right now! I think there are about 27 coupons on toys and board games. (Once you get to the home page, click on the "Toys and Games" tab on the left). Print them now before they're gone!

Here are what some of the coupons are for:

Strawberry Shortcake
My Little Pony
Mr. Potato Head
Monopoly
Clue
Sorry
Pictureka
Leap Frog
Multiple Playskool toddler/baby toys
Many more

It's being reported that the coupons for the board games do work on the travel editions - haven't tried it myself, but if they do work, that would make for some inexpensive stocking stuffers!

Free Valentine recipe book

Want to make some yummy desserts (mostly chocolate of course) for Valentine's Day? Click here to get a free download of "Sweets for Your Sweet" (in .pdf format). You don't even have to sign up for anything to get it! (If a pop-up to sign up pops up, just close it).

For the ones on a gluten-free diet, there is even a flourless chocolate cake recipe! Yum!

One of my favorite treats are the Black Bottom Cupcakes - you can't go wrong with chocolate, cream cheese, and chocolate chips!

Then there's Tiramisu, special Hot Chocolate, and so much more! Enjoy!

Thanks Frugal Girls!

Friday, February 5, 2010

Another way to earn a Swagbucks code!

If you aren't a member of Swagbucks yet, go here and check it out or go here and read a little bit more about it. Sign up here to become a member.

We both love Swagbucks. It is a great way to search the internet and earn Swagbucks to buy gift cards. FREE gift cards just for searching the internet! Love it!

There are many ways to earn Swagbucks but I will give you another one I just learned about. If you are already a member, log into your account and then go to the special offers page here. (To get there without this link go to the home page, click on Ways to Earn at the top left, then click on Special Offers.) Now that you are on the Special Offers page click on No Obligation Offers in the upper right big blue box. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Skip Offer - you will go through four or five offers and then you will be give a Swagbucks code. Copy and Paste into your account!

Every Thursday there is a new code. Once you have done it, it doesn't take long at all a few clicks and you will easily earn a Swagbuck!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Printable Huggies Coupon

Here is a great Huggies printable coupon! $2 off one package here in IE and here in Safari.

You can use these at CVS this week - deal posted previously here OR save them to use at Walgreens again next week.

Goldfish coupon! Print it fast!

Here is a great coupon for $.75 off Pepperidge Farm Goldfish. Even without a sale this coupon makes them about 50% off depending on where you shop.

If you use this coupon at Hilander's MEGA sale going on now, this will make them $.13 a bag when you purchase 10 items. Hilander often has them on sale for a $1 if you want to save it until then. The coupon is good through 3/19/10 but PRINT IT NOW! A coupon for Goldfish is a rare find!
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