Category Archives: Shopaholic Savers Deals

Free Birthday Gift Items from Sephora and Ulta

My birthday as this past weekend so I decided to pick up my yearly freebies from Sephora and Ulta. If you are a member of both of their free rewards program you are eligible for a free gift for your birthday. These gifts are typically sample sizes of higher end brands. It is a nice way to try out an expensive product without spending any money. image2-22

This year Sephora is offering a mini Marc Jacobs lipstick and eyeliner or a facial cleanser with a face mask. I chose the Marc Jacobs mini gift.

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Ulta’s birthday gifts change every 3 months. If your birthday is in January, February, or March you will receive a sample size of Benefits Roller Lash mascara.

Remember to get your freebies this year!

 

Whoa! So much free Victoria’s Secret stuff!!!!

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I have been receiving so much FREE Victoria’s Secret stuff lately I’m not even going to be able to use all of it!

I received my new Victoria’s Secret card in the mail (top left) and it came with a FREE $10 Angel Reward Card. I also received a FREE $10 Happy Birthday Angel reward card. These two cards were free because I have their credit card (with a zero balance of course!) but I receive a lot of other stuff that is free that doesn’t require a credit card.

I also received 2 Free Panty Coupons and a FREE travel size item at Bath & BodyWorks their sister company. Yay!

I am probably going to use the gift cards to buy some Christmas presents/stocking stuffers. I love free shopping!

If you want to find out how you can receive free stuff from Victoria’s Secret too please click HERE.

R2D2 Dress Costume for only $6.15 Shipped

In honor of the new Star Wars movie, I’m posting about thisR2D2 2.0 Dress  available on amazon for just $6.15 shipped. Click the picture above to see the listing. I think this would be great for a Halloween costume or going to see the new movie when it comes out!

*Affiliate Link Included

8-2-15 Sunday Frugal Summary- A Month of Summaries

Photo_2015-08-02_06-17-48_PMOverall, this has been a fairly frugal month. While I actually wrote about the frugal things I have been doing this month I haven’t been doing well with posting them on Sundays. So here they are all together for most of July and the first couple days of August.

8-2-15 Sunday Frugal Summary

– My sister Candy who also writes for this blog is moving and getting rid of most of her stuff. I’ll be doing a post about our successful yard sale soon.

– While getting stuff together for the yard sale I have also been getting rid of stuff that I didn’t need around my own house.

– I stayed at Candy’s house for two days to help hold the sale and she paid for all food and drinks while I was there which was nice of her. We also carpooled so that we weren’t driving two cars back and forth from Orlando and paying for gas and tolls. She also gave me $30 for gas etc.

– Candy gave me some household items that she was getting rid of including printer paper, construction paper, notebook paper, an almost new microwave, a comforter, throw pillows, boots and some household decorations. I do question the wisdom of bringing items that she was getting rid of to our house but we won’t be moving for at least a year and I tried to only take things that we needed or had plan to use.

– She also gave me a ton of food that she couldn’t take with her. See post soon.

– My mother had a gallon of the paint we needed to touch up the ceiling at her rental house where some other paint needs to be covered. We will also use my carpet cleaner to clean the carpets.

– My mother and I went to the bank and used their free coin counter machine (the ones in the grocery store charge you) for my sister and her husband and my brother. All together they had about $170 in coins. It makes me think I need to start saving my change.

– My very good friend happens to be a fabulous decorator. She happened to be in the area and came by the house and helped me come up with a plan for our master bedroom that I have never really decorated since we moved in. The best part is that we used only items that I already had in the house to do it with. I may eventually buy a new comforter and sheets but until then I feel a lot better about the room.

– I received some coupons for free/cheap items in the mail and newspaper.

– I’m excited to be receiving the El Sentinel again with free Sunday paper coupon inserts in it

– I received my free $50 gift card from my rewards card company and I will use it on Vacation

– Washed a comforter and hung it to dry. I will do the same with some throw pillows. I was given these by my sister.

– I believe a check is on the way for the coupons I have available to print on this site which I am excited about.

– I had a meeting at the university I work at and they were nice enough to give me a brand new professor bag with the school logo on it! I want to start taking advantage of more of the really interesting and fun free events at both of the local colleges I work at.

– Overall this week I haven’t paid for much besides for gas for the car and some medical expenses. Overall, a good week!

7-26-15 Sunday Frugal Summary

– I finally booked out rental car for our CA trip next month for a wedding. Hotwire had the cheapest rates at just under $30 a day for an SUV with unlimited miles. And I clicked through Swagbucks to Hotwire so I will also be receiving about the equivalent of 1% cash back in points called SB. Saved- $100

– My Visa Rewards Credit Card perks include free rental car insurance so that also saved us a lot of money since I would NEVER drive a rental car without insurance. Saved- $150

– California is the only state that doesn’t allow rental car companies to charge people fees to add additional drivers to their rental contracts so that is also FREE! Saved- $150

– Dresses for the wedding- We found gorgeous looking dresses at Ross for $30 each that look like we paid a lot more for them and we definitely could have spent a lot more since we are going to a very expensive wedding but we love our dresses and won’t feel out of place

– Shoes for the wedding- I already owned shoes for the wedding and Candice bought Nine West shoes at goodwill for $5.99.

– We also saved money because our dresses don’t need to be hemmed and we started out shopping close to home and we got lucky to find our dresses at the second store we went to so we didn’t have to pay much in gas or tolls either.

– Found a Visions Cookware stovetop pot and lid at Goodwill for $4.99, slowly buying Chemical free cookware saves a lot of money

– We have had fruit flies so we made vinegar Fruit fly traps that are also Chemical Free and they work.

– Earning lots of Swagbucks lately and will have enough for $25 in PayPal as soon as I am credited for doing this $15 worth of points called SB for doing this deal

I'm a Swagbucks Influencer - Start Earning Now

– Went to ALDI and did a huge grocery shopping trip, I bought so much food it almost didn’t fit in one cart, and it was healthy food too, like fruits, veggies, fish etc. and it was still only $130 and WAY, WAY cheaper than any other grocery store around us. This should last us until we go to CA next month.

– We canceled cable when we moved 6 months ago and I would be lying if I said I didn’t miss it but I have really been enjoying watching shows online and on Netflix and that has saved us a ton of money. I have especially been enjoying watching Teen Mom 2 and Married at First Sight online for free.

– We used to go to free movie screenings all the time since there are 4 theatres that hold screenings right in/around the Orlando area but we got away from it when I went back for my Master’s degree and we got too busy. I’m trying to get back into it by looking at gofobo.com and advancescreenings.com.

– I sold some more books on eBay and bought some more of the books that sell really well for .99 cents each

– Redeemed points on my credit card for a $50 Visa Gift Card to use as spending money while we are on vacation in CA

– I got some free samples in the mail but I will do a post about that when I get a few more

7-12-15 Sunday Frugal Summary

– I received $100 for winning a teacher of the year award!

– I went grocery/household item shopping at dollar tree, I saved $8 by exchanging a few items I bought that I realized we were not going to use, our local Dollar Tree is really great about exchanges

– Dollar Tree now carries 6 packs of 100% recycled toilet paper which is great because toilet paper is the only paper product we buy and I try to always buy recycled to be more eco-friendly. The rolls are a little smaller than standard but not that small so I bought 4 6 packs and we will see how long it lasts. (Note- It wasn’t my favorite TP by far but it did last a long time. Two weeks later and we still aren’t out)

– My dad treated me to lunch near my new job.

– I sold some books on eBay and I’m working on listing more items.

– When we moved I gave all of my eBay packing/shipping material to another eBayer. I am glad I did because he used it and I didn’t have to store it for 6 months. However, that meant that I needed boxes to start shipping again. Instead of buying packing material I was able to pick up a bunch of boxes for free at Dollar Tree.

– Bank of America charged my checking account $12 because my direct deposit stopped for the summer (I am a college instructor). I honestly believe that Bank of America HATES teachers and I have this problem every summer! I need to switch bank accounts! But I did contact them through chat support and get them to refund the $12.

– We are saving money on our Hotel for our California trip later this summer by using an AARP discount since a relative can become a member for $16 a year. We intentionally picked a hotel with Free Breakfast, Free Wifi, and Free parking. We also decided that all 5 of us will stay in one hotel room to save money since we will only be at the hotel for 2 days before joining our family at a rental house for the rest of the trip. The hotel is also in a central location and we will be able to walk to several of the places we intend to visit.

– I earned enough points on my reward credit card for a $50 gift card, I choose a Visa gift card and use it for vacation.

– I finally found a 1 pack filter for our Zero Water Pitcher. It was still $15, which is expensive, but a Zero Water pitcher filter is the best on the market and filters over 99% of particulates from the water. Unfortunately, our last filter ended up having an odd taste to it (that may have been a problem with our water not the filter) and we didn’t want to spend $30 on a two pack of filters that we weren’t sure were going to work. Now that we bought the new filter and it has been great I’m wishing we had just bought it sooner because it would have saved a lot of money, time and energy instead of buying water for the past few months (not to mention more eco-friendly).

Get FREE $2 from BankAmeriDeals® until 7/31/15

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This is a neat little offer for Bank of America customers. If you are a Bank of America customer then you probably already know about their free BankAmeriDeals® aka free cash back if you use your debit card at certain stores/retailers. I personally have gotten cash back a few times as a surprise since I forget which deals are ongoing which is always nice if happen to end up shopping at one of the places anyways.

However, the free $2 back for redeeming any deal is great if you are going to be shopping at one of the places offering free 10% back anyways. Right now the deals showing up on my online banking include Jo-Ann Fabrics, Starbucks, Panera, Wawa and more. I personally may go to Jo-Ann Fabrics with a 40% off coupon to look for something that will cost less than $2 (they have a dollar section) and then know I will be getting it back for FREE! Even if I end up getting two $1 stocking stuffers for Christmas I’ll be happy.

Free $10 Coupons in the Mail for Academy Sports + Outdoors

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When I flip through our junk mail I always keep my eyes open for $10 off Coupons that don’t require a minimum purchase because it’s like getting a FREE $10 gift card. Recently we have received 2 FREE $10 off Coupons from the new Academy Sports + Outdoors store (see above) that opened around the corner from where we live. I almost didn’t stop by the first time because I wasn’t familiar with the store but I’m so glad that I did.

We were able to score 2 beach chairs and 2 beach chair clip on umbrellas (see below) for $1 each after the 2 free $10 coupons! We have already taken the chairs to the beach a few times and I’m excited to now have the umbrellas to go with them because it’s very hot here in Florida! The chairs and umbrellas usually sell for $6 each! I love getting things we will use for so cheap!

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Shopaholic Savers Deal- FREE CVS Multi-pack Toothbrushes

imageI did fantastic at the CVS Thanksgiving / Blackfriday sale HERE AND this required very, very few coupons. We only used about 2 newspaper coupons and 2 CVS printer coupons per transaction so most of these deals don’t require coupons!

Here is one additional deal I didn’t see elsewhere-

CVS Multi-pack Toothbrushes $2.99
– Use $1 off CVS Toothbrushes coupon from the CVS coupon printer
– Receive $2 ECBs
Price after coupon and ECBs- FREE!

If you want to see these deal match ups you can view the CVS Ad at CVS.com here or the coupon match ups at SouthernSavers.com here.

Pür Minerals B1G1 Free This Week Only at ULTA

imageI was almost entirely out of face makeup and not going to be near my closest Ulta store this week. I really didn’t want to go out of my way but B was nice enough to volunteer to drive me. When I got there I was excited to find that Pür Minerals was B1G1 Free this week only at ULTA. That was very lucky! Last year I bought 4 but this year I bought six which hopefully will be enough for the whole year. Keep in mind there are no coupons for this makeup and it only goes on this one sale the entire year. When not on sale the makeup is $27 for one compact. If you have read anything on this blog you know that I am very careful with my money but I LOVE, LOVE this makeup. It’s 4 in 1: foundation, powder, SPF 15 and concealer. It also saves me a lot of time because I only have to apply one product instead of 4. So today I bought enough for the rest of the year saving myself $84 and several trips to the store.

Free Fresh Bakery Item from Racetrac

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If you get gas at a Racetrac Gas station you might want to keep your receipt. I never would have noticed this but my sister noticed that at the bottom of their gas receipts you can get a free “Fresh Bakery Item” for telling them how they are doing.

Natural, Organic, and Chemical Free Living Successes and Failures

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At the beginning of 2012 I became more interested than ever in eliminating and removing chemicals from my home. You can read about that decision HERE. Since we are now well into 2013 I thought I should post an update.

Towards the end of 2012 I really slacked off on this but I now have a couple of friends and my sister who are all excited about going chemical free and it has made me want to recommit myself to this lifestyle. It’s a lot more fun to have people to talk to about the stuff we make/buy and compare results. The picture above is actually some of the chemical free items a friend of mine recently bought for her home.

Chemical Free Successes

– I replaced my deodorant that contained aluminum with baking soda and then eventually with Tom’s of Maine Apricot deodorant. The baking soda worked really well but it wasn’t as convenient to apply a powder as it was to use a deodorant stick.

– I replaced my toothpaste with Tom’s of Maine toothpaste and it actually helped me with the chronic canker sores I have gotten since I was a child.

– I switched to a green cleaning spray and now switched to a spray bottle of vinegar that I use when cleaning around the house instead of Lysol or other chemicals.

– I received a cast iron skillet from my brother for Christmas and I LOVE it! We use it all the time for cooking instead of Teflon.

– We used vinegar to scrub the mold/mildew off of the walls and ceiling in our bathroom instead of something stronger and so far it has worked well.

– We have stopped heating up anything in plastic in the microwave.

– I made my own homemade weed killer out of vinegar and salt and it did work!

– I also recently found The Environmental Working Group’s Cleaning Products search engine which allows you to search for your cleaning products and see how harmful they are on people and the environment. This just makes me want to throw away all of the non-chemical free products in our house, which I am slowly doing as I replace them with chemical free options.

Edit– You can also go to The Environmental Working Groups Search Engine Skin Deep to search for all of your personal care products and makeup. I searched for all of the products I use frequently and I was in good shape except for my hand cream, which I now need to replace.

 

Chemical Free Mixed Results

– We have a couple of stoneware items to cook with which were very nice gifts. I should use these more often.

– I got a great deal on some green works cleaning spray and I used it for about half a year and I liked it a lot. Now I have switched to vinegar which is cheaper and even more chemical free.

– We tried organic coffee and rainforest certified coffee this year and we liked it a lot but I can’t say we noticed a difference from regular coffee. It is just so much more expensive that we haven’t continued buying it unless we get really great deals on it.

– I got a good deal on Method dish soap at target after coupons and I tried the cucumber melon scent and I loved it. I didn’t have as good of luck with other Method products though.  However, I have had good luck recently getting dish soap for free so I found it hard to justify buying natural dish soap. If I have to buy more then I can see buying natural/organic dish soap if I can get it for cheaper. Also apparently Method products aren’t rated very well as far as green products go.

– I was excited to get Botanical cleaning wipes for free at Winn-Dixie and they work but unfortunately they smell so strongly and strangely that it makes me not want to use them. But we do use them on occasion.

– I thought that the Physician’s Formula Organic mascara we tried worked well but when my eyes watered it burned my eyes in a way that my non-organic mascara never did.

-I tried natural motion sickness medicine. It did seem to help a little bit but just not as much as Dramamine. I did however find that ginger chews seemed to help for shorter trips.

– I used vinegar and baking soda to clean our toilet and it actually worked really well except for around the bottom flush area. So this result was mixed.

 

Chemical Free Failures

– I was able to buy Yes to Tomatoes shampoo and conditioner at Walgreens on sale for about $2 each, which is really cheap for Organic/Natural personal care products, but every time I used them they gave me a really bad headache. I ended up giving them to another family member that wasn’t bothered by them.

– I got some free Yes to Carrots hand cream after a coupon. It burned my chapped hands and turned them red. I ended up getting rid of it. I haven’t had good luck with the Yes To brand of products so far. I don’t know if I will buy any more.

– I bought some Method Laundry detergent and cleaning spray right around the time that I broke out in horrible full body hives. I can’t say for sure that either of these items contributed to the hives but I just can’t be sure so I got rid of both of them. Also. as I mentioned before. apparently Method products aren’t rated very well as far as green products go.

– We have really liked most of the Organic/Natural food products we have tried but we find them to be a lot more expensive than regular food products. We still buy them when we find good deals but it would be impossible to stick to our $200 a month grocery budget if we only bought Natural/Organic foods.

– We have bought some glass food storage containers but I wish we had more. They are just a lot more expensive than our stockpile of plastic food containers that were mostly free.

*Even though not everything we have tried has worked, I’m still glad that I have kept going and made progress*

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What I’m working on (See the above picture)

–  I purchased Dr Bronner’s castile soap and I’m hoping to use it to make  cleaning and household products.

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– I already used the Dr Bronner’s castile soap to make 2 ingredient hand soap which is supposed to be a lot less harsh on my always chapped hands. So far so good. We have had great luck with turning this into foaming hand soap that we now use all over our house. Click HERE for the recipe.

– I have also been sick and haven’t had any luck with antibiotics so I’ve decided to try some natural  medicine, saline spray, vitamin C and apple cider vinegar. I’m actually feeling a lot better, but I had already been sick for a while by the time I started it so it’s hard to say if the virus just ran its course. I actually do think that the natural medicine helped because I was still really sick when I started with it. Edit– I am now entirely better in about 4 days after almost two weeks of being sick. Next time I get sick I’m going to start this right away to see if I get healthy faster.

– I just bought some Gud (by Burt’s Bees) natural shampoo and conditioner and hopefully I will have better luck with that than I did with the Yes to Tomatoes products. So far so good and it smells excellent. Edit– I don’t think the conditioner is as good as the non-natural but it still works.

Our garden is still in the early stages but I’m hoping we will be able to get some nice veggies out of it.

– I made some baking soda body wash (mix baking soda and water until moist) this morning but I haven’t been able to try it yet. Edit– It works great so far!

– I would really like to try making my own natural hand cream but this seems to require more cooking and ingredients than some of the simple recipes I’ve tried so I’m going to keep looking until I find a recipe that I really like before I attempt it.

– I bought some essential oils to use instead of perfume (which is full of chemicals) but I’ve been so sick I haven’t tried it yet.

homemade downy wrinkle releaser

– We also figured out how to make natural/organic downy wrinkle releaser. Click HERE to see how.

 

If you are interested in seeing my Natural / Organic and Chemical Free adventures in the coming year click HERE or simply click on the Organic / Natural tab in the top navigation bar.

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