$25 in free groceries...

For those of you who live in DC, MD, OH, NC, TN, VA, and KY there is a rebate out there for $25 in free groceries. It is from the Miller Draft Company, but there is no beer purchase necessary. It's as if they are giving away $25 dollars. Although I know where to get the rebate forms here in VA, at Farm Fresh, I am not sure where you can get the forms where you live. I would check at the customer service desks at the grocery stores that you go to. All you must do is buy $50 in groceries and have the receipt dated in between 8/10 and 9/6. It can be from any grocery store. The original receipt and rebate form must be postmarked by 9/16.

I hope you can find the form.

Happy Savings!

Free Chic-fil-a (LABOR DAY ONLY!)

Check out Chic-fil-a for details to get your free food today!

Happy Savings!

A 7MP camera for 11.99 (TODAY ONLY)

Too good to be true? NO! I just bought it! It's a Polaroid i737, and I got it from Walgreens. You may also want to check and see if they have the Polaroid i534. It is a 5MP camera that qualifies for the same deal as well. AND, if you are wanting two, it is eligible for 2 rebates. Keep reading below! OH, AND ALL OF THESE STEPS MUST BE COMPLETED BEFORE MIDNIGHT OR YOU WILL FORFEIT THE $40 REBATE!

EDIT: I have not directly spoken with customer service but read a response on the forums on HOT COUPON WORLD, and she called and said that even though the i733 was not originally listed for the rebate, it IS pictured in the rebate book. They will give the rebate for the i733 as well.

First, let me say I found out about this at HOT COUPON WORLD.

Here are the steps on how you can have one too! Or two, as I mentioned before! KEEP READING!

1. Call Walgreens to see if they have the POLAROID i737, i733, or i534 in stock, AND ASK THEM TO SCAN IT FOR YOU. At the Walgreens closest to my house, it scanned at it's normal price of 129.99. I went to another Walgreens a little further away and it scanned at the clearance price of 65.99. If they have it, ask them to put it on hold.

2. Go to this link. WALGREENS COUPON
Print the coupon. It is for $10 off of a $40 purchase.

3. While you are online, go to this link WALGREENS REGISTRATION
Set up an account so that you can claim a Walgreens rebate. NOW WAIT A MINUTE LORI, a rebate system. I know I know! But Walgreens is the best. You don't have to send it in with a stamp. You can enter your receipt online and request the rebate in the form of a Walgreens gift card. If you do that, they will add 10% of your rebate onto your amount. So, with the purchase of the camera, you will request a $40 rebate, but you will receive a $44 gift card. I have always had my rebates in less than 2 weeks. SO JUST TRUST ME AND REGISTER!

4. GO BUY YOUR CAMERA! AND DON'T FORGET TO USE YOUR COUPON!

5. Come home and go straight to the computer to this link EASY SAVER CATALOG
Once you're there, click the button that says, "CLAIM REBATES". It will require you to enter your login information that you just happened to set up just before you left! So enter that and login.

6. Here you will see a place to choose your rebate month. Look for EASY SAVER AUGUST 2008. There will be the option of September, but DON'T DO THAT ONE!!! You will click the link next to the Easy Saver August 2008 that says, "Start/Add receipt"

7. Next, you will see a LONG list of items that you can request for rebates. You will want to scroll all the way to very bottom, rebate 51, for "$40 for Polaroid Dig Camera". Put a check in the box to the right, and then click continue. If you decided to buy two, the process is the same. You'll click the box for the rebate, and the computer knows send you the rebate of $80 instead of $40.

8. Here, you will see a place to enter your receipt number. It is the RFN# located at the top of your receipt. It is a 20 digit number. You will not have to enter the dashes and cursor will move from box to box for you. Double check your receipt number and click continue.

9. Here you will Choose Rebate Payment. You will essentially have 2 options. You can choose to get it in the form of an Easy Saver Rebate Gift Card. If you choose this option, they will automatically add the extra 10% ($4) to the rebate. If you want the option to cash a check and spend your $40 dollars anywhere, choose the check option. You will not get the extra $4, but will can spend it anywhere. And, $15.99 for a $130 camera is still not a bad deal! Make your choice and click continue. It will ask for a mailing address...and then finish the process.

10. Enjoy your new camera. OH! AND BE SURE TO KEEP YOUR RECEIPT! If there is a problem with your rebate, you'll have the RFN#, and the Customer Service reps at 888-324-3028 are incredibly helpful. I have never heard of a problem not being resolved quickly!

Happy savings! And be sure read the post below so you can pray for the BIG SERVE!

The Circus Mom

Spiritual Warfare in the US

I used to think that I knew what spiritual warfare was. And then I moved to Mexico. When we lived in Mexico, we experienced spiritual warfare on a daily basis. You see, where we lived, and in many places around the world, there are very few Christians (like less than 1% of the population). Satan likes it that way. If he can keep them from knowing Christ, then that's one less Christian he has to deal with. What did it look like? Well, spiritual warfare came with many faces. We never faced death for our belief in Christ. No one ever threatened to put us in jail or kill us because of our faith, which happens in many places around the world. But, it appeared for us in tearing families apart when they began a bible study in their home. Or, a local religious leader would tell the people in our bible study that we were leading them to hell. Or, plans would fall through for a major event that had been set for months. And finally, one of the most frustrating for us was to be put on the sidelines.

What do you mean, "to be put on the sidelines?" Well, for us, one of those things was the attempted kidnapping of our children. They were fine, and as you know, we still have them, but it was a personal attack that made us want to give up serving. Believe it or not, there was one more thing that was more taxing than the attempted kidnapping...illness. "Illness," you say, Lori?????? How in the world is illness more taxing than an attempted kidnapping? I am glad you asked!

The attempted kidnapping was one moment, a split second in time when our lives were changed forever. Not like they could have been because it was only an attempt. We were able to put that moment on the altar and move on. But illness? Illness is a day after day after day event that can happen at any moment, and it can be exhausting. I would venture to say that you could flip through the calendar of the 3 years that we were in Mexico and put your finger on a date, and one of the 5 of us would have been sick. Part of that is having young children, but it was more than that.

I firmly believe that our illness was a form of spiritual attack on our family. If one of us was sick, it almost always took most or all of us out of the game and put us on the sidelines. If a kid was sick, Craig could go do ministry, but I was at home with the kids. If Craig was sick, majority of the time, I could not go because I had to care for Craig and the kids. Also, as many of you know, illness is exhausting. Night after night of little sleep can wear on you.

Well, did you know that spiritual warfare exists in the US, too? This weekend is a HUGE ministry opportunity in the life of our church. It is the BIG SERVE. Saturday night and Sunday morning services are canceled. Almost all of the Sunday school classes have taken on projects and will be out in the community ministering to those who don't typically attend church. The church will then gather on Sunday night at 6pm for a celebration time sharing about what God has done. There will be between 1500-2000 people doing local missions Saturday and Sunday in an effort to share the love of Jesus with the people of Hampton Roads!!! Isn't that awesome????

Well, guess what? The girls are sick. I, once again, find myself on the sidelines. The Artist, who has been dying to participate, finds herself on the sidelines. We will be UNABLE to physically participate in the BIG SERVE! But, I've determined that although we will be on the sidelines that we will not be rendered useless. You see, Satan will be out there this weekend trying to destroy EVERY project that our church is a part of. We will be fighting Him in prayer!

Join me in praying this week for the thousands of people that will be touched by the members of First Baptist Church, Norfolk, VA who have never seen a church BE the church outside the four walls! Pray for every obstacle that Satan will try to put in the way of each project.

Oh...and pray for the girls (and their very tired mama.) And pray that Craig and the Jedi will stay well.

Thanks so much!

A deal for you....

So I really need to be chopping more elephants in this very moment, but I wanted to take just a second to share with you a deal you MUST take advantage of. Have you seen the All You magazines at Walmart? It is only sold at Wally's, it only costs $1.77, but it has GREAT coupons in it. I think this month alone it has over $35 worth. It is the August 29, 2008, Issue 8. It is purple on the front cover with pink accents and pink plaid boxes on the front.

Ok, so what's the great deal. On page 159, there are 5 coupons for free Kraft, Nabisco, or Oscar Mayer products. You must buy 3 products made by those companies, and you will get that item for free. Well, did you know that Kool-Aid is made by Kraft? You can buy three packets of Kool-aid at 20 cents each, and receive any variety of Wheat Thins for free. You can buy three more packets and receive any package of Oscar Mayer hotdogs, or a bottle of Kraft Salad dressing, or Crystal Light, or a pack of Kraft Singles.

If you don't want to have 15 packets of Kool-aid on hand, look for other cheap items like, Kraft Mac and Cheese, which is one sale for 50 cents a box right now at Walmart. For $1.50 you can have 3 boxes of mac-n-cheese and one of the 5 free products. Also, Jell-O is a Kraft brand. Also think about getting Taco Bell Brand taco seasoning. Post cereals, Velveeta, Capri Sun, Maxwell House, and Minute Rice are also eligible. Those were just some examples to get your brain going. Most of the time, I will have bought at least 3 products from the these company anyway.

So here's the break down:

1 Kraft Single 3.48
1 Kraft Salad Dressing 3.20
1 Oscar Mayer Hot dogs 1.50
1 canister of Crysta Light 2.98
1 box of Family Size Wheat Thins 3.48

That's 14.92 worth of products.

I bought 13 packs of Kool-aid (20 cents each) and 2 other Kraft products ($2 each) for $6.60. But because of the coupons I paid only $6.60 for $21.52 worth of products. I was really only supposed to pay 2.60 for it, but my Walmart is having a hard time accepting Internet printed coupons. So, I paid four dollars for two things that should have been free.

One of the other coupons in the magazine is $1 off of a can of Glade Air Freshener. Well, at my Walmart, they only cost 86 cents. That means they pay me 14 cents to walk out of the store with it! Do I need a bunch of cans of Air Freshener right now? No, but if you're making a profit, why not? We've always heard that a penny saved is a penny earned, but a penny earned is always a penny earned...and I got to go shopping to earn it!

It also has a $1 off coupon for Peter Pan peanut butter. I learned on one of my favorite websites, Hot Coupon World that Walgreens will be having a sale next week on Peter Pan peanut butter. It was be 3 for $5. That is 1.67 a jar, and with the coupon, you will get it for only 67 cents. Only paying 67 cents for peanut butter is a steal!

So, in total, I have bought 5 magazines. I will make 70 cents just on the Glade Air Freshener, and save so much on the Kraft deal that it was worth it for me to do it! And that doesn't even take into account all of the other coupons in the magazine!

Hope this helps provide some great ideas for saving!

Happy Elephant Chopping...I am off to do some more!

An elephant chopper

Today, I feel pressure. My house is messy, I have coupons that need to be clipped and filed, I have a grocery trip that a list needs to be made for...a party to plan, closets that need organizing, oh...and let's not forget school to teach (which is going very well!), oh and laundry. Why can't laundry do itself? One day, I am sure it will be able to!

This is all just stuff. It all always needs to be done. For some reason, I was feeling horribly overwhelmed yesterday, and today. So, today I am chopping elephants. What in the world does that mean? This is a picture of an elephant chopper. You see, it was one of my mom's favorite kitchen tools (and one of mine, it has gone with me to live in two other countries!). My mom loved it because it could chop anything. One day she said to me that it would chop an elephant into a million little pieces if she could put it in there one piece at a time. So, from that day forward, it was called an elephant chopper.

So, today I am chopping elephants. My room is clean and straightened. Bella's room is cleaned and straightened. Today before I go to bed, I will have a menu made, a grocery list written with matching coupons, and more of the laundry will be done. Tomorrow, we will focus on Graham's room, Lydia's room, and the school room. On Wednesday, we will clean bathrooms, the living room and the kitchen. And we will vacuum everything. Closets will wait for now. And we will also do school as well. We are getting ready for a great field trip on Friday with grandparents here!

So, chop some elephants. Think about that one big task, or if you're like me, all of the big tasks, you have in front of you. And face them with an elephant chopper!

Hope you have a productive day, I am off to chop more elephants!

Savings, Weekly Free Movie Rental, and a funny from the Princess

I am back in VA and had get back into the savings swing of things! I headed to Walgreens on Saturday to get last weeks deals.




The total worth of these products is a little over $67. Once the rebates come back, I will have paid only $1.92.

And the new deals came out on Sunday. I headed back today. This is over $80 worth of stuff and I paid $8 for it all. You might ask why I need 12 packs of pens. Well, in this very moment, I don't, but they were FREE! They were on sale 2/$1.00. I had 6 coupons for $1.00 off of 2. They were FREE! That is part of the beauty of using coupons. When something is on sale for a fraction of the normal cost (or FREE, or they PAY YOU TO BUY IT), get a bunch. Then, a month later, or 2 months later, or 6 months later when you need it and it's not on sale, then you already have it. It is essentially stockpiling. Oh, and you can give it away! There are lots of people who can't afford ANY of this!



FREE WEEKLY MOVIE RENTAL! Yes, you can get a free movie rental a week. Have you seen those big red boxes outside of McDonald's or in Walmart or Kmart? They actually rent movies. You can rent new releases and some old favorites from these boxes for $1 a night. I sure wish I had thought of it!!! Well, I got a tip that you can get a code for a Free Rental every Monday. You just need to visit Red Box and join the SMS Network. Every Monday, you will receive a text message to your cell phone that has a code for a free rental every Monday. This past week, I also got one on Wednesday as well. Now, when you go to the Red Box, don't be a dork like me and pay for your rental thinking that you will get to enter the coupon code at the end of the transaction! On the bottom left-hand corner of the touch screen, you will see a button that says something like "Rent with a promo coupon." Touch that button FIRST! Fortunately, I only paid a dollar for the rental, and after I saved so much a Walgreens on the way, it shouldn't really matter, but it still HURTS!!! Oh the pains of being a coupon NEWBIE!

Now for the funny from the Princess. Last week when we were at my dad's house, she called to me from upstairs in her bed. I went up and she said, "Mom, I can't handle this lamp. Would you please cut it off? The light is so bright it makes me blond." I giggled and giggled, or should I say laughed and laughed!

Happy Savings!

We are home....

Well, we made it! After 1000 miles, many bathroom breaks, a night at Ridgecrest, and lots of crumbs all over the van, WE MADE IT!!! I must honestly say that I am proud of myself, but mostly proud of my kids! They did so well on the trip home! They were cordial to all, and civil with each other! They did not complain too much.

On Wednesday, we made such good time, we stopped in Pigeon Forge. We ate at Cracker Barrel (a really nice break from fast food) and then went to The Wonder Works. It is essentially a children's science museum. The kids and I were so impressed with it. We spent about 3 hours and still didn't do it all. We got to Ridgecrest at about 8pm and headed straight for the Nibble Nook. It's like an old fashioned ice cream parlor. It's a great place where thousands of camp and conference attendees have made lots of memories. I couldn't pass that up with the Circus!

Thursday did not have as many fun stops, but they did great, nonetheless. We got home at about 6pm, only to discover that the Jedi was sick. He's got some kind of virus, so please be praying for him.

Thanks for all your prayers in our journey! I am excited about being back and getting into the routine of school and bargain hunting!

Blessings and Happy Savings!

Pray for the trip....

I will be traveling on Wednesday and Thursday back to Virginia. It is about 1000 miles and about 16 hours in the car with the kiddos, all by myself. We will stay at the Baptist Conference Center, Ridgecrest. That gives me a safe place to stay where we can play and eat. Hopefully, we will arrive home Thursday afternoon. Thanks for lifting us up. I am ready to get back to bargain hunting and couponing!!! AND, I will start homeschooling again on Monday, August 11. Lots of fun times ahead, and I can't wait to share them!

Blessings!
The Circus

Savings from Afar!!!

Yesterday I had to take advantage of the great deal at Walgreens that I shared with everyone yesterday! So here are my finds!

They had a $5 off of a $20 purchase. The glucose monitor was free because of a coupon. I bought the trash bags, the shampoo and conditioner, and the travel vaccuum bag. This is valued at 22.96. Because of the coupons I paid out of pocket 17.96. I will get a rebate for all of this for 25.26. That is a $7.30 profit!

This morning, I headed to both Kroger and Walgreens. My first stop was Kroger. I will tell you that being back in Tennessee was a shock to my system because I paid almost 10% sales tax on the original total...not on the total after coupons. OUCH! If I had bought all of this in VA, I would have paid less! I still got a great deal!

All of this has a value of 111.55. I paid only 25.18. That's not bad for a store that only doubles coupons up to 50 cents. That is a 77% savings! OH...and don't miss the silly face of the princess.

My final stop was Walgreens. I love Walgreens! They pay me to shop there!

I paid out of pocket 5.47 including tax for this and they will send me a rebate of $5.50. That is a 3 cent profit, but it's all still free!

Happy Savings!
Lori

Walgreens deal today only!!!!

OK folks....Walgreens put out a coupon today that is $5 off of a $20 purchase good only today. (Click the word coupon and you will be wisked away to this great printable coupon, but read the rest of the blog first so you can get the most bang for your buck.)

Now, for today only, take your coupon. Get an Easy Saver Rebate Catalog right there at the front with the sale paper for the week. Look in the book for only the free things. Spend ONLY $20 for things that you will get the rebate for. Then you will get immediately $5 off of your $20 purchase.

Now, when you get home, sign up for the Walgreens Easy Saver program online. Enter your receipt right there online. (You don't even have to do it the old fashioned way with an envelope and stamp!) Then, toward the end of the month (check the catalog) and buy the rest of the things that you can get for free. Enter your receipts online. And when you've spent all you know you will, request your rebate in the form of a Walgreens gift card. If you do that, then they will add 10% of your rebate amount in FREE money!!!

So, let's think about this. Today you'll spend $15 dollars, and get $22 dollars back($20 in product rebate, $2 for that extra 10% they add). UM, you are profiting $7 dollars! And if you'll buy the other stuff at the end of the month, you have the possibility of making almost $10 in pure profit! (And you all are learning what I can do with $10 dollars!)

Now many of you are thinking, "Yes, but I am on a budget, and I can't live without that money for the 6-8 weeks it takes for the rebate to get to me." Well, I am in the same boat. Well, the first time I did the Walgreens rebate, I had the card in about 10 days after I submitted it. At the end of July, because I already have a gift card, I entered in my gift card number, and in 4 days, the card was credited with my money! So, you really don't have to wait long.

Happy Savings!

Afar....

OK...so I will couponing and blogging from afar. We are headed home to visit our wonderful family in Tennessee. So, we will see what I can do over the next few days. I hope to still find good deals there, and of course I will share my finds! And I know there will be pictures of the kids and their grandparents!

I ask you to pray for our travel. It's a long drive. Craig will actually be flying back on Saturday, and I will stay with the kids a few days longer. Then, I will make the drive back on my own with the kids. Thanks for lifting us up.

Blessings and Happy Savings!

More Unexpected Finds.....

So I got up early and headed back to the store in hopes to find some of the things that had been completely scooped up yesterday when I got there. One example that I've missed so far is the Viva paper towels for 14 cents a roll. I love paper towels about as much as I love Windex, so I was a little sad not to get them. I was once again disappointed not to find some things, but I found others. And although the things I bought aren't as practical as what I bought yesterday, I still saved 88.25%. I don't need Waxed Paper right now, the store payed me 16 cents to buy it. I don't need hot sauce right now, they payed me 51 cents to take it out of the store. And although we don't each potato sticks very often, they payed me a penny to walk out of the store with two cans. And it will take us a while to eat up 6 boxes of Lemon Italian Ice, they are typically $3.19 a box. Well, today I payed 53 cents a box for them. I would NEVER buy them for $3.19 a box, but it's a doable treat for our kids who LOVE lemon things at 53 cents a box.


Here is the Jedi amazed at today's purchases. As I started to take the picture he said, "Wait! I'll be right back!" So he came back down with his magic wand from his magic set. He thought all this coupon stuff was magic, too! SO CUTE!!!

The other thing I encountered at the store today (which I was not expecting) was a coupon snob. Let me explain. I shared in an earlier post about how I carry my coupons around. Well, that's not changed in two weeks. I still have my kid sized shoe box with the dividers. Well, here's a picture.



This might drive some of you really organized people absolutely crazy. I was looking for a quick fix. It is made of a shoe box that was headed to the trash and dividers that are 25 years old that I pulled out of a recipe box I made my mom. So it was quick and free. Well, there are extremely sophisticated ways to organize your coupons. Just Google coupon organizer and be amazed. And if I stay serious about this and continue to do as well, I will probably need some other kind of system. Today, one of my unexpected finds was a coupon snob. I encountered a lady (and I am sure she is incredibly NICE) who had one of those REALLY cool things to organize your coupons. I so wanted to ask to see hers and get some coupon advice for this coupon rookie. Well, she walked passed me, looked at my humble shoe box, wrinkled up her nose, and kept walking. I really tried hard not to giggle out loud.

You see, I found myself surrounded by coupon rookies. They had handfuls of coupons, some which were spread out all over the bottom of their carts. They, too, were in search of cheap stuff. And just three weeks ago, that was ME! So, may all couponers unite! Vets and rookies, organized or messie! And if you work really hard, you too can have a humble shoe box just like me!

OK...so silly....

Happy Savings!

Today is worth TWO posts on the blog...

Craig had the chance to lead a guy to Christ about a month ago on a Sunday morning right after service. It's a young guys who is in the area for 6 months of schooling for his job in up state New York. Well, this last week, his girlfriend, who was not a believer, came down to meet all of his new Christian friends and see him get baptized. On Friday night, we had them over for dessert. After two hours of talking with her and sharing about truly who God was, they got in their car to leave. There was no pressure from us to accept Christ, but I had honestly hoped she would accept the Lord. They cranked the car and she immediately said, "I am ready to get saved." So, they cut off the car and come back in and she prayed to receive Christ right here in our living room! It was amazing!

Monday thru Wednesday, during the day, she hung out with the kids and me. Her boyfriend was in class all day, so she was going to be alone all those days. We had some incredible time to read God's word together and for me to share with her some of the basics of the faith. She had never really read the Bible and so we started from the beginning. As I would share stories with her, I would realize that she didn't know any of them, and one story in the Bible always leads to another. I was almost giddy telling her some of the greats. I got to be the VERY FIRST person to share some of the most exciting things in the Bible.

After she left on Wednesday, I had a very sobering thought. Why isn't God's Word as exciting for me when I read it to myself, or to my kids? Have I really allowed God's Word to become "old hat" to me? God's Word is EXCITING!!! Read the story of Moses as if you never have before. Read the book of Ruth as if you never have before. Read the conversion of Saul, the anointing of David as king, the feeding of the 5000...I COULD GO ON AND ON!!! We see God awesome things in His Word. AND HE DOES IT TODAY, TOO!

Lord, help me to be disciplined to read your Word with a fresh perspective EVERYDAY!

Check out these savings...

Today is the beginning of triple coupon day at Harris Teeter grocery store. This is the first one since I started couponing. So, I got organized and you can see the evidence. Craig and the kids were with me, and we bought everything in this picture (valued at almost $99) for a little less than $12. Can you believe it? I hope to return tomorrow and Saturday!!! Happy Savings!