Couponing and Freebies

My name is Melissa, and I love couponing.

I know you are now imagining me sitting around the kitchen table with my scissors and the newspaper clipping coupons. Well, yes, I do that too.
BUT IT INVOLVES SO MUCH MORE than that!

Did you know there are companies out there that will give away free samples or free products to you if you ask? Welcome to the age of the worldwide web.

The company, Natura Pet, was giving away free dog food. Not a sample, mind you, but an actual bag of food (5-6.6 lbs). Below is a picture of the bag I got and my coupon on top. (FYI, this is NICE food and would have cost me $20.00 if I had paid for it.)


These things don't necessarily have to be from companies you don't know, but can just as easily come from those you know and love. These are some of the coupons I received by sending a "thank you" email or filling out a "contact us" on the companys' websites. As you can see, you get more than just $$ off your purchase. In this case, I received two FREE bottles of Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce, as well as coupons to save some moolah off their other products. Below that is a coupon for free Chiquita Bananas. That's right, free fresh produce!

Some of the other company's I wrote to (who sent me coupons in response) included:

• Pepperidge Farm
• Hunts
• Hefty
• Campbells
• Treetop

It only takes a minute to tell them how much you love their product(s) and the reward is a discounted or free product -- definitely worth the effort when you are on a budget.

In addition to clipping coupons and writing emails to companies, I have been signing up for freebies (did you know walmart.com has a "free samples" section?), AND I have been enrolling us in BIRTHDAY CLUBS. Monico and Monica have birthdays a week apart, so I signed both of them up and got them a free burger from Red Robin. (You have up to a week before and after to use the coupon.) Here they are showing off their redemption certificates. At nearly $9 a burger per person now (darn inflation), this made for a special, but not expensive night of celebration.

(FYI - I also signed Monico up for Black Angus, which got him a free entree with purchase of equal or lesser, and for IHOP, a free Rootie Tootie, as well as with Baskin Robbins and Cold Stone Creamery, both of which gave free ice cream cones.)

One of the final ways I have recently scored freebies is by hosting a house party. I applied in May to host a "Febreze Set & Refresh" party for my friends. Essentially, if chosen (you do not always get picked to host) you receive a package with items to use and/or share with your guests. In this instance, it was to promote the company's new Set & Refresh line (no plug in needed) of scented oil products. This was all the LOOT they sent me. After totalling it up, I estimate that it was roughly $450.00 worth of products (not to mention hundreds of coupons for future purchasing); each of my attendees walked away with roughly $80 worth of stuff each!


Of course, these are just a couple of the ways I have been stretching my dollar. If you are interested in any more of my tricks, let me know and I'll help you by spreading the word!

Settling.

Daydreaming of playing outside

because I'm inside working.

But, you can't really blame me

when the day looks like this.

Mmm... another delicious summer day!

"I'll see you after 5 o'clock, Seattle."

Seattle Sunny-days

For those of you in-the-know, Seattle residents tolerate the bad weather here (overcast, rainy, cold) because the pay off is spectacular days when it is sunny.

Since the start of Spring, week after week we have had crappy weather. Last week, the temp jumped 25 degrees from one day to the next, going from high of 60 (Tuesday) to high of 85 (Wednesday).

By Thursday, Seattle hit a record high of 95 (for that day). We spent it at the Yankees vs. Mariners game at Safeco field.

My S-I-L, Monica, supporting the Yanks.

(Notice the slushie? Not a bad way to cool down.)

Monico and I.

He lent me his hat, so I could try to avoid burning my face too much.

Saturday, it was still quite warm, so we bbq'd dinner.

Everyone enjoyed being in our backyard, expecially the puppies.
(Can you see Lexi's doggie grin?)

We visited my parents a couple weeks ago, and my dad slipped us some Yakima Valley asparagus. A little spray-on olive oil, salt-n-pepper, and Mrs. Dash and we got ourselves yummy-deliciousness!

Found some yellow corn at Safeway 5/$1.

If you have never grilled corn before, I recommend it. My way, carefully peel back the husk, butter the corn, pull the husk back over and grill on medium-low heat for 25 minutes, rotating for even cooking every 5 minutes. Mmm-mmm.
After much activity over the prior hot days, Monico took the opportunity on a cooler Sunday morning to sleep in a bit longer. The doggies joined him and all enjoyed a lazy morning.

Reading Opps

Having more time to read has been one of the biggest positives to my job change a year+ ago, as I went from driving myself to riding the bus, so all my time waiting-for and while-riding-on leaves me ample opportunity to delve into the pages of a good book.


Right now I'm reading Mrs. Kimble by Jennifer Haigh (c 2003), and I can't wait to find out what happens next!



My copy is a $13.95 paperback I found at the local Goodwill for $1.99. (Goodwill is my FAV place to find books for cheap. I almost always come away with at least one, but most times I have to control myself and put some back.) Last week I was read Comfort Food by Katie Jacobs (also found at Goodwill); I had already read Friday Night Knitting Club (Goodwill find) and Knit Two (new from Target) by the same author.



If you can't tell, I like a bargain. So when I found that Random House has a program where you can get free copies of books, I was ON IT!


I just entered for a chance to win a copy of each book, but won't find out if I was chosen for a few weeks. (I could end up with all 3, only 2 or 1, or 0; it just depends upon quantities available and number of entries.) If you are interested in entering, you can go here to their website and read more about their "Read it Forward" program as well as enter for a chance to win. (Must enter between July 7-14.) The titles available right now are:

I'll let you know what, if any, I win, as well as how I like the end of Mrs. Kimble.