Monday, July 23, 2012

$mart Suzy: Hit the week refreshed, go green, free e-books, savings success, hints, coupons

Good Monday, Suzy friends. Starting the last full week of July, seeing end of summer break from here, but looking at the bright side. Great, relaxing weekend – which Suzy hopes you had too – and ready and refreshed to face a brand new week. Must confess that family and friends took precedence over some household chores (but they aren’t going anywhere). Probably accounts for Suzy’s good cheer. Let’s see if you can be cheered up by what Suzy has in store for you today.

Go green tip: Recycle electronics

Did you know that Goodwill offers FREE Recycling of your outdated computer and electronic equipment? It’s true! You can drop off your old computer at any Goowill location in Kentucky or across the United States. To find you local Goodwill locations visit GoodwillKy.org

Sign up for Freebie Kindle books

There are FREE Kindle books available all the time. Sign up at Jungle Deals & Steals for the daily email and to access lists of books still available:

Helpful hint: spider unfriendly

Suzy is in favor of anything spiders don’t like. But, really, she always liked peppermint anyway. Never liked spiders.

Spiders hate peppermint! Put some peppermint oil in a squirt bottle with a little water and spray your garage and all door frames.

Setting a goal and saving for it

Kayse shares a “how we did it” story that illustrates what you can do if you focus on a goal and have a plan to reach it. She and her husband had a stressful year – his grad school and three jobs, her full-time work and caring for their daughter. They needed a break and some time together. Already on a tight budget, how could they afford a three-day trip?

Here’s what they did:

• They put a cookie jar on the dresser in their bedroom, and collected all of their change for about six months.

• He put aside all of the tip money he received from one of his jobs, adding it to the cookie jar, all year long.

• He also picked up a few extra gigs throughout the year (he is a professional musician) that we hadn’t expected or added into our budget, so all of that money went in the cookie jar!

• She cut the grocery budget and didn’t buy any extras in any category during the last three weeks before the trip.

• He did all the planning for the trip, scouring the internet for best deals, and he planned a mid-week trip for the best hotel prices.

Here’s what they got to enjoy:

• Three glorious days at a lake, only an hour and a half away from their home, saving on gas to get there.

• A toddler-free trip! His parents came to stay with their daughter… for free!

• A car rental — just for fun, they rented a convertible for the trip! He got the car for less than $50 a day.

• Two nights in an inn with an in-room spa tub — for $150 total!

• Freedom! Because they had more than enough cash on hand for the three days, they were able to go out for nice dinners, take a boat ride, and get a couples’ massage.

• The best part – they had a worry-free trip, the freedom of pay in cash and could focus on time together. They’ll never do it another way again.

Great lesson learned. Try it.

Featured deals: CVS

Thanks to Cha-Ching on a Shoestring, here are some CVS deals this week. Check out the full list at Cha-ChingonaShoestring.com:

Week-Long Extra Buck Deals

• Buy 2 Amp Energy or Starbucks Refreshers Energy Drinks for 2/$3, Get $3 Extra Bucks (Limit 1) Both free after Extra Bucks!

• Buy 1 Crest 3D White, Pro-Health, with Scope or Pro-Health Toothpaste or Rinse for $2.99

• Get $2 Extra Bucks (Limit 2), Use $0.75/1 Crest Toothpaste, $0.75/1 Crest Pro-Health For Me Toothpaste or $0.75/1 Crest Rinse from 7/1 P&G insert, $0.24 after coupon and Extra Bucks!

• Buy 2 Hershey’s Pouches for 2/$6, Get $3 Extra Bucks (Limit 1), Use two $1/1 Hershey’s Simple Pleasures 5.6 oz. printable, $0.50 each after coupons and Extra Bucks!

• Spend $15+ on Participating Garnier Products, Get $5 Extra Bucks (Limit 1)

Week-Long Deals (non-Extra Buck)

Grocery Deals

• Bumble Bee Tuna in Water (6 oz.) $0.88, Buy 2 and use $1/2 Bumble Bee Product printable available through Recyclebank currently discounted for only 40 points, $0.38 each after coupon!

• Cadbury Chocolate Bars $2.19 (based on online price) – Buy 2, Get 1 Free, Buy 3 and use Buy 1, Get 1 Free CVS coupon printing for some at the CVS coupon machine, $0.73 each after coupon!

• Hunt’s Snack Pack Pudding (4 pk.) $0.83

• Gatorade (32 oz.) or SoBe Lifewater (20 oz.) $0.88 (Limit 5)

• Pepsi Bottle (2 liter) $0.99 (Limit 5)

• Post Honey Bunches of Oats, Cocoa or Fruity Pebbles Cereal $1.99 (Limit 4) Buy 1 and use $1/1 Post Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal printable (Facebook offer) or Buy 2 and use $1/2 Post Cocoa Pebbles Cereals printable or $1/2 Post Kids Cereals 11 oz.+ printable As low as $0.99 after coupon!

• Altoids Mints – Buy 1, Get 1 Free

Household Deals

• Kleenex Regular Tissues (100 ct.) or Plus Lotion (70 ct.) $0.88 (Limit 7) Buy 3 and use $0.50/3 from 7/8 Smart Source insert, $0.71 each after coupon (this is a great price for this brand)!

• Palmolive Dish Liquid (10 oz.) $0.88 (Limit 6)

• Xtra Liquid Detergent (30 loads) $1.49 (Limit 6)

• GE Reveal Light Bulbs (4 pk.) – Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off

School Supply Deals

• Scotch Mailing Tape – Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off

• Buy 2 and use two $0.50/1 Scotch Heavy Duty Shipping Packaging Tape printable Final price varies after coupons!

• Bic Pens, Pencils, Markers or Wite-Out – Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off

• Caliber 100% Tree-Free Multipurpose Paper (400 ct.) – Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off

• Crayola Markers (10 ct.), Colored Pencils (12 ct.) or Sidewalk Chalk (15 ct.) – Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off

• Spend $30+ on Specially Marked Items, Get $10 Gas Gift Card (Limit 5)

Happy start of the week, Suzy friends. It’s going to be a great one. See you tomorrow.

$mart Suzy: Hit the week refreshed, go green, free e-books, savings success, hints, coupons

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