This one states, “Buy One Get One Free – Buy any 1 Stayfree 14 ct.-24 ct. and Get One free up to $3.00.” It also says, “Available at Dollar General” – but it’s not a Dollar General coupon. So, if you are using elsewhere, you may need to wait until they are on sale for $3 and under to truly get the freebie.

Or…

If you have a local store that already is having a Buy One Get One Free Stayfree sale…you can get TWO for free with this coupon. Here’s how:

• Get Two Stayfree Packages: One costs $2.49 (prices is just for explanation’s sake), the second is free, according to the store sale
• Give the cashier the coupon for the free item.
• Since there is only one charge in the register, this coupon will take off the only charge.
• Therefore, you get TWO items for FREE!

If a store is NOT having a buy one get one free sale, use this coupon ALONG with another coupon for more savings. For example:

• Get 2 Stayfree items: $2.49 + 2.49 = $4.98
• The BOGOFree coupon above will take off $2.49, equaling $2.49 for two
• Now, if you have one, give them $1.00 off mailer coupon, which will take another dollar off of the original Stayfree item – now you will only pay $1.49 for two packages.

Understand? It’s rather easy really. If you need more explanation, I would be more than OVERJOYED to help you! Matter of fact, I’ll keep explaining forever until you DO get it. Just contact me. *wink*

Don’t even tell me you had time to blog over the holidays.
(even if you did, don’t tell me)

So, to make it up to my loyal ticket holders, I am pulling THREE…yup…you heard me, THREE tickets this week. First come, first serve. Twitter or email me a picture of your winning ticket and you get to chose from:

A full size set of body mist and lotion from Bath & Body Works – in the fragrance of Sweet Pea.

A four piece set from Scotch Brite Greener Clean. Includes: natural bamboo cleaning cloth, biodegradable bamboo wipes, biodegradable absorbent sponges & biodegradable expanding soft sponges

From General Mills and Blogspark, two coupons each good for any one General Mills cereal (up to $6.00)

The Importance of a Healthy Breakfast
“Did you know that ready-to-eat cereal eaters consume less fat, less cholesterol and more fiber than non-cereal eaters? Cereals also deliver important vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients, making cereal a top source of key nutrients in children´s diets.

Other cereal benefits:

• Ready-to-eat cereals, including presweetened cereals, account for only 5% of sugar in children´s diets.




• Ready-to-eat cereal is the No. 1 source of whole grains in a child´s diet today.




• More frequent cereal eaters tend to have healthier body weights and lower Body Mass Index measures.

Studies also demonstrate the benefits of eating breakfast. A 1998 study showed that children who eat breakfast tend to perform better at school. Compared to children who skip breakfast, children who eat breakfast score higher on tests, are less likely to miss class or be tardy, have fewer reported discipline problems, and make fewer trips to the office.”

**Cheop-0-nomics Tip: Did you know that if you combine a Get One Free coupon with a store Buy One Get One Free sale – you will get both boxes for free? So, potentially, you could have FOUR free boxes of cereal with these coupons!**

Are you ready for the numbers?

Is any of them yours? You have until Thursday, January 14th at 7:00 pm CST to claim your prize.

Hurry, Hurry! Who shall be this week’s “Cheap Winner?”

cheapo[dot]mcfrugalpants[at]gmail[dot]com

Quick Rules:
1.) All Rules are Cheapo’s Rules and she has the rights to those rules.
2.) One number will be announced every Monday evening (Thursday in this case). You will have ONE week to email or twitpic me a picture of your ticket…otherwise, whah-whaah – you’re out of luck.
(unless of course, I just GAVE you a number, in that case just recognize that it’s yours. I’ll know if it’s you.)
3.) Email your address to me so I can send your prize. Also, leave your website so I can congratulate and link you up.
(your email address will ONLY be used for this purpose – rest assured)
4.) If a weekly prize goes unclaimed, it may go to another winner for another week.

What’s the secret to this coupon savings stash? Psst…hey…let me tell you…there really is no secret. Just a little time and planning is all it takes.

Step 1: Get your local grocery store flyer.

Step 2: Plan your grocery shopping according to what is on sale. Don’t just buy “whatever you normally buy.” Change it up a bit! Compromise! Don’t pay over $1.99 lb. for any meat!

Step 3: Search through your coupons for items that are already on sale (so you can double your savings). Also, search the internet for printable coupons. Even better – find the ones that will double for items that are already on sale. See how it all stacks up nicely?

Step 4: See if your store accepts ecoupons – such as Cellfire. With those, all you have to do is sign up and load the coupons onto your shopping card. It’s simple! Though, remember, they work like regular coupons. If you sign up for $.40 off of granola bars – it will only work on one box – not on every box you buy. The good thing about Cellfire coupons is that even though you are getting the e-discount, you can also use paper coupons on the same item! For example, if I get $.40 off of granola bars through Cellfire and I ALSO give the cashier a $.40 paper coupon (which doubles at Kroger), I’m getting a total discount of $1.20 off of one box! Don’t be overwhelmed. The more you work the deals, the easier it becomes. For some of us, it becomes an addiction! *wink*

Step 5: Make a list of what you want to buy. Don’t go blindly into the store picking up whatever sounds good to eat on the ride home. You wouldn’t believe how much you add to your bill by doing that.

Step 6: Grab your reusable bags and start saving some money! Did you know that some stores, like Martin’s, will pay you $.05 back for every reusable bag you bring in? Sounds like pennies, but that is $12 – $15 (or more) per year, just for bringing your own bags. And, if you were a good environmental citizen, you would donate that savings to your favorite earth friendly cause.

See how this all works?

More Frugal Friday at “Life As Mom”

**Remember: When printing internet coupons, always hit the back button so that you can print two! (sometimes more – Lesson #349)**

• $1.00 off Cheerios
• $1.00 off Starbucks Frappucino singles
• $1.50 off Vaseline Sheer Infusion Body Lotion (money maker at CVS this week)
• 3 Old Orchard Juice coupons (I get these in the mail often)
• $1.00 off Wet Ones Wipes
• LOTS of printables from Betty Crocker. It’s worth signing up for (free)
• $.50 Carefree products (good to double and get item for free when on sale!)
• $1.00 off McCormick’s Spice (it wouldn’t print for me, maybe for you?)
• $1.00 off Pillsbury Toaster Strudel
  
• $1.00 off Pillsbury Crescent rolls or Italian bread
  

Here are a few more places you can visit for IP’s (that’s internet printables to you and me!)

Happy Couponing!

*With the special coupon clipped from The Market each week, Five Star will triple up to 10 coupons, $15.00 max., with a face value of up to $.50. They will no longer take printable coupons (IP’s). Speaking of The Market, it comes out every Wednesday (which is TOMORROW.) If you don’t get one in the mail, pick one up at any local gas station.

The Run-down:

• Barilla whole grain pasta: $1.34 – $1.50 All You coupon = FREE + $.16
• Barilla Piccolini Pasta: $1.99 – $1.50 All You coupon = $.49
• O.R. Popcorn: $2.50 – $1.20 Sunday Q = $1.30
• Sargento Sliced Cheese: $2.79 – $1.50 Sunday Q = $1.29
• Nestle Mini Chips: $2.50 – $1.50 Sunday Q = $1.00
• Gorton’s Fish Fillets: $4.99 – $1.20 Sunday Q = $3.79
• Comet Bathroom Cleaner: $1.99 – $1.05 Sunday Q = $.94

Total: $18.24
Coupons: $9.45
My Total: $8.79

Let me teach you a little lesson from the book of Cheap-o-nomics…ALWAYS watch the prices of your items as they ring up. Do not trust the system. Even if you are busy with your children or digging through your purse, ask the cashier if she can wait until you are ready. I know, it sounds…well…strange. But, it IS your dollar that you are spending. You want it spent correctly, now don’t you?

Today, the “system” had two mistakes that I caught. One was on the whole wheat pasta. It was ringing up $1.99 which would have cheated me out of $.65. The other was the Comet – ringing up $2.99 which was a WHOLE dollar over the sale price. Admittedly, $1.65 isn’t going to break the bank, but when you multiply that by 100 (the last number of customers that bought those items), how much did the community get taken for? And…today was the end of the sale! So, for the past week, are you trying to tell me that NO one caught those items ringing up higher than they should have?

Pay Attention People!!

You.must.print.

You will not believe how much you can save by popping these babies out from the comfort of your own home. It’s like printing free money for goodness sakes!

Where can you find them you ask?
All OVER the internet. Here are some of the more common sites: