*UPDATED* Hilander/Kroger Deals for 12/30 thru 1/5

Tara, our Hilander expert, is out of town for the holidays so my frugal pal Nicole sent me a great list of some deals you can snatch up at Hilander this week.

Nicole writes:

There is a BIG Proctor & Gamble Sale running at Hilander this week. As long as you purchase any P&G items in multiples of 4 you get the discounted price of $1 off each item.  (Listed are products that Nicole purchased, but there are other P&G products participating in this sale)  You will need to head over here to load the electronic coupons to your Hilander Plus card before you head out to the store.

Prices listed are at the $1 discount for purchasing 4:

* Charmin 12 double rolls are $5.99 use the e-coupon for $3.00 off plus .25 off from the 11/28 or 12/26 PG which doubles to .50 = $2.49 (if you still have the P&G booklet from last year there's also a $1 off coupon in there making this an even better deal)

* Tide is $9.99 use the e-coupon for $1.00 off plus $1.00 off from 11/28 or 12/26 PG = $7.99

* Bounty is $5.99 use the e-coupon for $1.00 plus .25 from the 11/28 or 12/26 PG which doubles to .50 = $4.49

* Cascade is $4.99 use the e-coupon for .50 off plus .25 off from 11/28 or 12/26 PG which doubles to .50 = $3.99

* Duracell 10 pk  batteries are $4.99 use the e-coupon for $1.00 off plus $1.50 off from  11/14 RP or 12/12 RP = $2.49

* Febreze Air Effects are $1.79 use the e-coupon for $1.00 and the $1.00 coupon from 11/28 PG (exp. 12/31) = FREE with overage

* Crest w/Scope is $1.50 use the .50 coupon from 12/26 PG which doubles = .50

* Oral B toothbrushes are $1.50 use e-coupon for .75 plus .75 coupon from 11/28 or 12/26 PG = FREE

* Dawn Dish Detergent is $1.79 use the e-coupon for .50 plus .25 coupon from  11/28 or 12/26 PG which doubles = .79

* Purchase one Old Spice Deodorant for $1.29 and get body wash FREE with coupon from 12/26 PG

* Secret deodorant is $1.29 use coupon for .50 cents from 11/28 or 12/26 PG which doubles = .29

Remember if you purchase $50 of P&G products by 12/31/10 you can send in your receipt for this rebate and get more coupons :)  This sale stacks, which means you can do many multiples of 4 in a transaction - Nicole purchased 16 items in one transaction and received all the discounts. 

One other mentionable...Keebler crackers are on sale for $3 off if you buy 3. Pick up 5 boxes and use TWO of the the $1.00 off 2 coupon from the 11/14 or 12/12 RP inserts,  combine this with the e-coupon for $5 off 5 and you've got FREE crackers.  At $1.99 a box with the $5 e-coupon, $3 off sale for buying 3 and the TWO $1.00 off coupons you are actually making .05 on this one.  The pricing on this is incorrect, the $1.99 price already reflects the $3 discount for buying 3.  Thanks to Tara for pointing this out, glad to have you back Tara! 

Remember that the 11/28 PG coupons expire on 12/31 so if you intend on using those you will have to make a stop at Hilander/Kroger today or tomorrow.  This sale runs thru 1/5/11 and you can check out the entire sale ad here.

Reminder: TLC Extreme Couponing

Don't forget to watch Extreme Couponing tonight on TLC.  Here's my original post with a link to the show for time and details. 

Super-Couponing's Jill Cataldo has a good article here that points out that this show has been made to sensationalize and draw in the audience with it's content.  I have a lot of friends that are couponers and I don't know any that are as extreme as these folks.  I think these extreme deal seekers are few and far between - most of us are doing this to save a few bucks and feed our families without the craziness of it all.   I am planning to watch this evening, even just for the entertainment factor. 

Holiday Overload & Best Wishes for 2011

Whew...I am exhausted!  I hope your family enjoyed the holidays as much as ours has.  At our house, we are just shy of two full weeks of celebrating and  we have more to go.  We started off when our Christmas officially began the weekend of the 18th/19th with out-of-town family and it won't end until January 4th when our son goes back to school.  We have done some traveling to visit family in another state and are enjoying time together with various activities while our son is on winter break from school.  In addition to Christmas and the New Year we also have a special birthday celebration in our family on December 31st - MINE!!!  And this isn't just any birthday, it's the BIG 4-0 milestone.  :) 

With all this excitement going on in our house, I just haven't had a chance to get out and do any shopping or deal seeking.  Luckily we have a healthy stockpile to live off of!  I don't foresee heading out this week except for tomorrow for some of the necessities like milk, fresh fruit and veggies, bread and some snacks for New Year's Eve.  To tell you the truth, when I browsed through the sale ads there really wasn't much that impressed me anyway.  If you do need any holiday items, go out and stock up while they are on clearance so you don't have to pay full price next season. 

I have also been busy playing with a new gadget that I think will be very helpful to me and to you.  We received an iPad for a Christmas gift from my Mom and Dad and I am having fun getting used to it so that I can really put it to good use out at the stores.  Once I get an Internet plan (or figure out how to get FREE Internet on the go) that I can access out and about I should be able to check out deals on the go and post here from anywhere that I may be - that means that I can potentially get the deals that I find to you quicker!  I am looking forward to having some fun with this!

I am anticipating 2011 to be a great year for our family with many positive things on the horizon.  My wish is that you have a prosperous, wonderful year as well.  We have lots of things to be thankful for and our family and friends are high up on that list.  Stay tuned for great things ahead!  Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!  I hope you get to enjoy the company of family and friends, have peace in your heart and celebrate the reason for the season.  :) 

May your holidays be blessed!

Walgreens 12/19 thru 12/25

In addition to the Dunkin Donuts coffee that my frugal friend Renea mentioned here, there's only a couple other items this week at Wags that were on my list. 

Colgate Advanced toothpaste is on sale for $2.49 a tube, with a $1.50 Jingle Ca$h RR in return.  Use the $1.00 off Wags store coupon from the Winter Diabetes & You Magazine (usually found back by the pharmacy) to get this FREE and make .01 on this one.  You can also stack the manufacturer coupon for this same toothpaste which is also in the Winter Diabetes & You magazine to turn this into a $1.01 MM after coupons and JC RR. 

Kellogg's Rice Krispies are on sale for $1.99 a box.  Use the $2.00 off TWO manufacturer coupon here and grab two boxes for $1.98 or .99 a box.  This is a little more than what I like to pay for cereal, but there hasn't been many cereal deals in awhile and I wanted to add some variety to our stockpile - I have also been craving Rice Krispie Treats! 

Since I also had two $5 Super Jingle Ca$h store coupons from last week to spend this week I also picked up some Angel Soft toilet paper, 9 double rolls are $4.00 and then I used the .50 off coupon from the 11/14 RP.  I also grabbed some Kellogg's Pop Tarts on sale for $1.99 a box (no current coupons).  Neither were great deals on their own, but the Super Jingle Ca$h store coupons made them worth it, especially since we needed them.

There's a mid-week 4 day sale starting tomorrow and you can see the ad preview here.   There's nothing that is jumping out at me on this ad so I probably won't be heading back to Wags again this week.

Coffee deal at Hilander and Walgreens

If you happened to have found any of the $4 off coffee/ice wine tags, mentioned here, there is a good deal at Hilander and Walgreen's for cheap coffee.

Walgreens is currently selling Dunkin Donuts coffee for $5.99, with a $1 RR, making it $4.99. Use your wine tag and it's now 99cents.
Note---some cashiers will not accept your coupon. I did have luck using it in Cherry Valley today, but the manager was hesitant.

If you prefer not to go through the hassle of trying to use your wine tag at Walgreens, Hilander has Copper Moon coffee on sale for $4.99. Again, use your tag and pay 99cents. I used 4 of these today (all in the same transaction) with no issues.

Frugal Holiday Wrapping Tip

If you have been reading this blog for any length of time you know two things about me.  The obvious one is that I love to save money, the other is that I really encourage re-purposing, re-using and recycling.  If something has reached the end of it's usefulness for it's original purpose, I try to find an alternative use for it to keep it out of the landfill or recycle bin. 

I just can't stand spending money on things like wrapping paper, gift bags and gift tags - after all, they just end up in the trash or recycling after a very short life of making a gift look pretty.  I would much rather get these things for FREE and spend the extra money on the gift itself.  There are usually plenty of deals for things like wrapping paper, tissue and bags - we've seen that recently at Wags, but I have yet to find a deal on gift tags, so I always make my own. 

Each year I keep all the Christmas cards that are sent to us, I only save the front of the card and recycle the rest.  My husband also brings home the cards that they get at the police department.  I keep these for the next Christmas season and make gift tags out of them.  You can take fancy scrapbooking scissors to cut holiday shapes and add some colored card stock paper to the backside if you need a fresh area to write your message.  If you have a Cricut or other die cutting apparatus you can make holiday shapes in a jiffy.  Once they are done, use a hole punch to make a hole for a ribbon to tie the tag to a  gift bag, or just attach it to a wrapped gift - it doesn't get much easier than that!  :)

So, as you are wrapping these last few days before Christmas keep this tip in mind, and as you are cleaning up after the holidays remember to put your cards in a safe place so that next year you have plenty of stock and designs to choose from. 

Kohl's Shopper Talk

Kohl's has a "Shopper Talk" panel that is a group of customers that Kohl's looks to for candid feedback.  Members have the opportunity to share opinions through surveys and play a key role in helping Kohl’s better meet your needs. 

I have been a member of this panel for quite awhile now and have taken several of the surveys.  They are usually short and easy to follow.  You just follow an e-mail link and you go right to the survey. 

I have also been invited to participate in two online forums through Kohl's Shopper Talk.  Both times I was compensated $75 for my time.  For the first forum I was paid $75 by check, the second one was a $75 Kohl's gift card.  These are also fairly easy, but a little more time consuming.  Kohl's sends an e-mail inviting you to participate and then once you are accepted, you get a login with a link to go to.  They are usually two or three days in length.  You are just required to login each day and answer the questions, which takes anywhere between 30-60 minutes each day.  You can do this at your leisure, within the days and times allotted.  You are also encouraged to comment on the other participant's entries.  Very easy to do! 

If you are interested in becoming a Kohl's Shopper Talk member go here to sign up!

Cellfire Santa Savings

From now (12 noon) until 4PM Central Time today, all Cellfire users who sign into their account will win a .50, $1, $2, or $5 coupon. You should see it immediately and be able to load it to your Hilander card. Everyone will be a winner, so come back and let us know if you hit it big!

Walgreens MIR's

Did you send in for any of the Wags MIR's that they started offering recently?  The first ones I sent in for were the Neuragen and the Similasan MIR's and I am happy to report that both of those came in the mail this week.  You can see my original post on these two here.  I was very happy to receive these since both of them were MM's!  The Neuragen was a $10 MM and the Similasan was a $1 MM - a little extra cash just in time for the holidays!  Neuragen even sent me a $10 coupon with the rebate check!  Keep watch on your mailbox if you sent these in, you should be getting them any day. 

NOTE: the rebate amounts on both of these were NOT reduced by the $ amount of the manufacturer coupons - I received the full rebate amount even though I used the coupons.