The Coupon Project

Cereal anyone?

2010-03-19T09:57:07-07:00

In progress through tomorrow: Fred Meyer 3-day sale

2010-03-19T09:34:42-07:00

Coupon Connections NW let me know that Fred Meyer is having a 3-day sale that runs through tomorrow.

They are having many basic household items on sale for $1-2 each (and don't forget that 10% Extra Bonus coupon!)

A gallon of flat paint is also on sale for $10!

Go HERE for more details.

Thanks, Coupon Connections NW!

ANOTHER $3/1 Huggies printable coupon for Facebook fans!

2010-03-19T09:30:48-07:00

Become a Facebook fan of Huggies and then go to their wall for a link to print your $3 off coupon!

Thanks, The Frugal Find!

$3/1 Huggies printable coupon - hurry!

2010-03-18T19:53:36-07:00

A $3 Huggies printable coupon is rare! So if you have a wee one in diapers, I recommend you head to Coupons.com and print yours now! To find it quickly, click on the "household" section of the site.

Incidentally, I noticed there was a new $3/15 Rite Aid purchase printable coupon there!

Remember, you can use your browser's back to print these coupons twice each.

Thanks, Frugal Living NW!

Starting a bargain blog: Q and A

2010-03-18T18:00:00-07:00

A couple weeks ago now, I wrapped up my short series on starting a bargain blog. (To read those posts, head to the Blogging Category of my blog.) I promised I would answer some of the questions I received - and there were some good ones!

Q: You mention a lot of bloggers using Wordpress. However when I go to their site, it's clear these blogs aren't for commercial use and discourage the use of ads. What am I missing?

A. Great question! There is an important difference to note. Wordpress.com is a free service, and the one you're referring to. Wordpress.org on the other hand, is the service most of the bloggers have moved to. Wordpress.org requires you to find a host for your blog (unlike Wordpress.com). Wordpress.org gives you the opportunity to fully customize and control your site - make it yours. For more information on the differences between the two, go HERE.

Q. Do I have to open an LLC for my blog? In my state, that could run me several hundred dollars.

A. I should probably say you don't HAVE to do this. I do recommend at least opening a business license, which should run you about $20, give or take. As mentioned before, I formed an LLC for the added legal protections. Posting information on the Internet - well, I just had no idea what sort of potential risk I was exposing myself to and wanted my personal assets to have some form of protection. To my understanding, it also provides some additional protection of my name. Of course, this is a step you could decide on taking later. There are additional business steps I'm planning on taking, but simply can't do to cost. I understand that! While I'm not a business consultant, know that I've heard that sometimes you can register an LLC in another state - it doesn't necessarily have to be your own. Many businesses register their LLC in Delaware, Nevada, and Wyoming. For more information on this, please speak with your local business licensing office.

Q. Why do you have two blogs?

A. Once you get blogging, you might find it's for you. And you might think of additional topics for blogs. As far as I see it, couponing and marathoning are two completely different topics and I wanted to keep the blogs separate. Folks wanting to read about training for a race are not necessarily going to want to read about a coupon for shampoo and vice versa. I try to keep the topics separate. (Incidentally I have a topic in mind for a third blog and have for some time...but don't have the time to tackle it in my life!!)

Q. How do you manage all this? It seems overwhelming.

A. It's a lot of juggling. It's nicest when I can work in chunks of time on my posts. Sometimes late at night, I'll write a number of posts to publish throughout the next day or so. This helps with my time in the morning. The key is to finding balance. I don't post 20 posts per day. I can't sustain that, plus it's not my style.

Q. What are some of the bigger blogs to watch?

A. Some of them include: Money Saving Mom, Deal Seeking Mom, Hip2Save, Common Sense with Money, Southern Savers, and Freebies4Mom. How do you know if a blog is highly trafficked? Check out their Facebook fan #, Twitter followers, their Sitemeter stats (if they have one). Also, note the sort of sponsors they're attracting. Some of these bloggers have simply been at it longer - they were at the front-end of the "bargain blog" craze and attracted a huge number of readers and followers. They got the timing completely right. Others have just done an excellent job of finding a niche and doing it well. To be a writer of a blog, you MUST be a reader of blogs! Subscribe to LOTS of bargain blogs - big and small. Some of my favorite bloggers are way under-read! See what they're up to. Offer to do a guest post, or ask one of them to do a post for your blog. Send them some of your best deals via email in hopes of having them link to you.

Running a bargain blog is hard work, but it can also be rewarding work! If you have additional questions or comments, please feel free to email me at thecouponproject at hotmail dot com.

Photo credit Alicja Stolarczyk

March 23rd is free pastry day at Starbucks!

2010-03-18T09:23:58-07:00

On March 23rd, until 10:30 a.m., you can get a FREE pastry with any handcrafted beverage at Starbucks (I'm thinking that means a drink you order from the barista vs. pulling out a bottled water from the refreshment case).

You'll want to make sure to print this coupon or have it loaded to your mobile device to claim your free pastry.

Don't forget, this is also free cone day at Ben & Jerry's! Why not just plan on a sugar high?

Free sample Pantene for Facebook fans: limited quantity!

2010-03-18T09:18:31-07:00

Another fun Facebook freebie for you!

This one requires a couple steps, but I just completed it and it was easy enough.

First, you'll want to become a Facebook fan of Pantene. Then, you'll want to click on the wall and look for the post with the instructions about getting a free sample. There is a link that you'll want to click in that post. Once you do that, it will take you back to your Facebook home page.

Finally, look for the Pantene ad in the bottom right-hand corner of your Facebook home page. Click on it and fill out your address to get your free sample!

Supplies are limited, so hurry!

By the way, while you're at it - why not become a Facebook fan of The Coupon Project? It'll be fun. Trust me.

Thanks, For the Mommas!

Member of Victoria Secret PINK? Get a free tank with PINK purchase!

2010-03-18T08:45:58-07:00

Awhile ago now, I mentioned that Victoria Secret was promising a special gift for when they reached 1 million PINK Nation Members. Guess what? They did - and I hope you're one of them!

If you are, you can now log onto your account and print a coupon for a FREE tank with ANY Pink purchase! (There should be some small items if you hunt.) The coupon is only valid through March 23 or until supplies last. You'll also want to make sure to bring a valid photo ID as the coupon prints with your name on it.

Thanks, Deal Seeking Mom!

Free Planters Trail Mix at Walgreens with Facebook coupon!

2010-03-18T08:17:13-07:00

Here's a great, high-value coupon available for Facebook fans of Planters: $1.50/1 ANY Planters product!

And here's a great scenario for where to use it:

Buy (2) Planters Trail Mix @ $1.99 each
Use (2) $1.50/1 printable coupons (you should be able to print the coupon twice)
Stack with the $1/2 Walgreens coupon found in the March coupon booklet
Bottom line: both free!

Concerned about overage/and or beeping coupons? According to The Frugal Find, this item should be on sale at Walgreens next week for $1.50. Use your coupons there for an easier transaction - and still FREE!

Thanks, The Frugal Find!

Identifying store coupons: part 2 of 3

2010-03-18T05:00:00-07:00

Yesterday I spent some time discussing how to identify manufacturers' coupons. Today I want to move onto something a little less clear: store coupons.

Think of store coupons as a sale the store is offering, more or less. The store is giving you the discount. These coupons are most commonly found in weekly and monthly ads, but they can be found elsewhere, as we'll look at today.

Let's start with a simple example. This is taken from a Walgreens ad.

Here are some of the features of this coupon:

1) It has the "W" Walgreens logo and reads "Good at Walgrees" up at the top.
2) It tells us that we can use the one coupon for up to 6 candy bars.
3) There is no fine print other than the sale date.

This is clearly a store coupon, and if you had a Hershey or Reese's manufacturer coupon (say from a Sunday insert) you could use that ON TOP OF this coupon at checkout for deeper discount. (More on stacking coupons tomorrow!)

Note that many store coupons will allow you to buy multiples of an item at that discount or price. This feature is not typical at all of manufacturers coupons, which require a coupon per purchase for proper reimbursement.

Here's another Walgreens' coupon, though slightly trickier to navigate.

At first glance this might appear to be a store coupon - it has the logo and reads "Good at Walgreens" just as the in-ad coupon does above.

But why does it read "Manufacturer coupon good only at Walgreens" on the bottom? I can't tell you that, but I'm fairly certain it is NOT a manufacturer's coupon. Why? First, the barcode (though you can't see it) starts with a "0," and not a "5" or "9" as it typical of manufacturers' coupons. Second, there is no instruction for where the retailer should submit the coupon. Third, when this coupon is scanned at checkout, it deducts the amount PER the number of items purchased as is typical of their store coupons. Store employees also will often scan these directly out of the books (as opposed to ripping them out) - a further indication they are not sent in for reimbursement. Bottom line? They are store coupons and can be stacked with manufacturers' coupons.

Since we're talking about drugstores, let's move onto the master of Tricky Coupons: Rite Aid. Check out this classic example from last week's ad:

This is a fun one. It reads "manufacturer's coupon" at the top. But if you evaluate it as I did the Walgreens coupon above, it's clear it's a store coupon. The barcode starts with an "RC," it's only good at Rite Aid, and there's no instruction for where the retailer should submit the coupon.

If that isn't enough proof, check out the blue circle. It reads that there is a "$3 off manufacturer's coupon available in most Sunday papers!" Sounds like to me that they're giving you the green light on using the store coupon to discount $2, and the Sunday insert coupon to discount $3. (And yes, according to their coupon policy, they most certainly are giving you a green light.)

Using the same logic above, I fully believe the AdPerks Video Values coupons on Rite Aid's website are store coupons and can be used with manufacturer's coupons. (And I've done just that!)

I will talk about one more kind of store coupon to end this post: a DOUBLER coupon, and it's one of my favorites. The one I have to show you comes from an Albertsons' ad. Sometimes these appear in the Sunday paper, other times, as part of their weekly ad. (And you will find these types of coupons at other stores, too. Particularly in regions that don't generally just double coupons anyways.)

These little puppies are STORE coupons that you present at checkout with the manufacturer's coupon of your choice (up to $1). Which manufacturer's coupon should you choose? Well, hopefully one that coincides with a sale! I do my best to provide good matchups during any doubler coupon event so you'll have some ideas without having to thumb aimlessly through Sunday inserts.

So how do these work? Say you have a $1 off coupon for noodles. You head to checkout with your noodles, your $1 off coupon AND a doubler coupon. Your $1 off coupon is now "doubled" by the store and you get $2 off. Think these aren't worth it? Last week, I scored three bags of No Yolks egg noodles for FREE!

Most of the time, you'll find three Albertsons doubler coupons per ad, and the fine prints one set of three per shopping trip. If you wish to use more than three, just ask your store's manager or customer service what they consider to be a "shopping trip."

Incidentally, through 3/21, there are three Albertsons doubler coupons in the weekly ad! Go HERE for ideas on how to use them RIGHT NOW!

Tomorrow I will wrap up this short series talking about how to stack store and manfacturers' coupons for maximum savings!