"Real Simple" savings!

I'm addicted to the magazine "Real Simple". (Ugh. Does it bother anyone else that I can't underline the title and therefore can't properly cite the mag? Just me then?)

I should have participated in the $5 subscription sale (via Amazon.com) that all the major savings/coupon bloggers posted back around the holidays, but I didn't.

For those of us who weren't that cool, and for those who did subscribe but haven't received their first issue yet because it takes 6-8 weeks for everything to kick in (A!), *here is a $2 coupon towards the purchase price of ONE individual magazine. (Sorry, I just felt like I needed to preface that the coupon is not valid for a subscription.)

*the information in the survey is in response to a recent purchase of a "Real Simple" office or cleaning item; Target carries the whole wonderful line of varied office supplies and solutions, as well as cleaning utensils, so just select whatever floats your boat and then you're ready to submit!

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Oh, but that's not all!!!

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Are you - or anyone you know - getting (or planning on getting) married anytime in the foreseeable future? You can get a free one-year subscription to Real Simple when you buy a copy of Real Simple Weddings: 2010! (Current Copy Pictured Below)

Unlike Martha Stewart, The Knot, InStyle and all of the other weddings glossies, Real Simple Weddings is produced annually, so no need to buy a new (or twelve) $10 magazine(s) as the seasons change, which they do four times a year.

I've also found that RSW is mostly comprised of actual tips, time lines, real wedding photos and ideas - it's one mag that takes you from "Hell yes I'll marry you!" all the way to the "I dos", which is completely unlike the other "bridal guides" which devote 475 of their 500 pages to ads of dresses, venues halfway across the country, tent rental-ists, "balloon designers", pictures of $10,000 cakes that are too-pretty-to-eat yet taste-like-Styrofoam-when-you-do and engagement rings. (Which I think is a bit odd - the majority of the people who purchase a wedding magazine are already engaged, so why devote so much attention to engagement rings?)

(Anyway.)

Real Simple Weddings is hands down my favorite in the wedding section of the news stand. Yes, it's pricey compared to the others ($13.95 vs. $9.99) BUT if you purchase the current 2010 issue, there is a tear-out post card (between pages 128 and 129) good for a FREE YEAR of Real Simple! (Make sure that the card is there before you leave the magazine stand.) I'm not sure if every issue has the card, so for-sure check it out before you buy it. (There should be a sticker on the front cover - I'm thinking that only the issues sold at Target contain the card, because I don't recall seeing the sticker-ed copies at BN, and because Real Simple and Target are partners in crime, BUT I could be 100% making stuff up right now and all the issues could in fact contain the card. I don't know.)

The fine print of it all: the offer is valid now through the end of January 2011 and is a one-per-household thing. If you already have a subscription: they will tack the free year onto your already existing account. How great is that?

If $13.95 is just too pricey, use the above $2 coupon - it will for sure work at Target, not sure about news stands and bookstores. Or if the copies at BN (Barnes & Noble) and Borders DO in fact offer the freebie, wait for one of the awesome 20% or 30% off coupons to come around again, because you have until NEXT January to redeem.

If you want to buy the mag but can't justify it because the engagement is still a ways off, don't worry - all of the information is completely relevant, despite the minor changes in current pallet trends; all of the check lists, spread sheets, tips on whom to invite and how to politely tell your in-laws that they can't invite every member of their garden club ... *breaths* ... haven't changed that much in the three years that this special issue has been around.

(I feel like some of you are pondering my knowledge of this topic; no, I'm not getting paid by Time Inc - I wish! - I've just been dating the bf for what will be 7 years this weekend and I've been planning this wedding for the past 3. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm getting engaged this weekend, but whatever happens I've decided that we will be getting married this fall whether he likes it or not :-P I was just soooo excited to have found this free magazine offer that I HAD to share it with all of you!)

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And with all of that, I am going to bed. I hope you have a GREAT day!

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~K

Free Sample of Spark

There is a company called Advocare which operates like Mary Kay, Avon or any other "home-biased", "pyramid" independent distributor company, where one person sells the products directly to others via catalogues, home parties and the Internet.

Advocare sells "healthy supplements" and things of that nature; go here and get a free sample of "spark", which (I'd say) is a combination of energy drink + crystal light.

Now, I can't be 100% on this, but, I would assume that a distributor in your area will receive your information from this sample request and contact you in the future. (IE - make up a fake phone number and send them your junk email address.)

Have a great day!

~K

(Ps - Advocare is biased in Dallas! Yay for hometown love!)

HOT Bath and Body Works Professional Skin Care Deal

Wow, could that title have been any longer?

While flippin' through the latest issue of Marie Claire (of which I have a free subscription; those who are skeptical of those "free magazine" offers should really reconsider) I found an ad and coupon for $10 off ANY Patricia Wexler Dermatology Purchase at *Bath and Body Works. (*in-store only.)

I don't know who Dr. Wexler is, but I've take up skin care as a new years resolution after seeing A's mom post-chemical peel. So if Wexlers "stuff" is cheap enough I'll try her fancy skin creams with no problem.

Here is the link to her page-of-products over at Bath and Body Works.com; The best part? There are 9 items that come out to $10 OR UNDER after the coupon, 4 of which come out to under $6!!!

Again, the coupon cannot be used online, and was found in the Feb issue of Marie Claire - but I'm sure will appear in other glossies shortly.

Oh, wait. There is still more. In case you don't want to buy a mag to save some cash, you can **text the word "Marie" to LUVBBW (588229) to get the offer sent to your mobile phone.

Offer valid now through feb. 28th.

Happy Shopping!

~K

Important! If you decide to go the text coupon route, make sure not to delete the text; there should be a way on older, non-smart phones where you can go in and "lock" or "save" the message in your inbox permanently until you're ready to delete it. Since the cashiers don't need a tangible card or print-out to scan in order for you to save, you can literally use this offer OVER AND OVER again until it expires at the end of Feb, so if you find a product that you like you should have no problem being able to stock up on the cheap.

((**standard text message fees occur; check your current plan people. At AT&T a single text for those without plans is $.20 cents, whereas the cheapest plan is $5 a month and gets you 200 texts. If you still don't have text messaging - ahem, MOM - I HIGHLY recommend it as you will start to see more and more companies going in this tech-savvy savings direction.))

ORANGE JUICE and FRUIT ALERT

(Because I like to write (type?) and am long winded, here is a favor to keep you from having to read the full version of this post, in a one-sentence summary: Buy a few extra weeks worth of your favorite "fruity things" now and freeze them as to not have to pay more for them later.)

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So by now we've all heard about the nationwide cold front that is producing terrible growing conditions and devastating crops in Florida and other normally sunny and semi-warm places.

Ok, yes, we've all heard about it; other than the fact that we can tell it's cold(er) outside, the media has done more than enough to let every single person and animal-left-at-home-with-the-tv-on-in-the-background-as-comfort-noise know that it is cold and that these are some freaky weather conditions. (I rearranged my morning schedule on Thursday specifically to watch a segment on Good Morning America - the "investigation" on just how "dirty" new clothes are - and the damn Dallas ABC affiliate decided to continue coverage of the non-event, which was literally them bouncing "life coverage" cams from the 9 ((seriously bundled up)) reporters who were all standing at different intersections in random locations of the metroplex, just because it was misting and 17 degrees outside. Yes, that is unusually cold for Dallas. But they could have just scrolled the school closings at the bottom of the GMA broadcast and given the blue-faced reporters some Starbucks and a chance to sit in the warm van.) ... Anyway.

You're probably thinking "Why are you blogging about this?"

(Good Question!) Because, said cold front is going to mean increased prices in everything that we eat - from the obvious (like orange juice and "real" fruit and veggies) to things that are processed & easy (frozen dinners, jarred baby food, canned veggies) and most of that stuff that is not good for us but that we still love to eat (toaster pastries, high-fructose corn syrup "fruit" wraps and gummies).

I'm not trying to cause a fear and pandemonium like one would see if a hurricane were coming and the stores were completely sold out of everything, but I do think that its smart to plan a little bit ahead.

While there is a certain amount of wiggle-profit-room built into prices, AND the fact that companies and retails haven't fully returned prices to what they were in 2006 before gas pushed $4 a gallon and prices for EVERYTHING had skyrocketed, you can bet that you are going to pay a least a little more for fruit and veggie included items in the next couple of months.

I don't know how much, and I don't know for how long. But I guarantee you that we will see some sort of price increase.

I know that this is why we use coupons and come together as a community - to spend as little out of pocket and to get the best deals - but now just might be the best time to buy an extra paper (the Sunday coupon-filled one) or just buy coupons of the items you need/will stock up on online.

Here is a really - no, what I think to be THE BEST - article about freezing ANYTHING food related. (We actually used this article in my "Food Safety and Standards" class that is apart of my Hospitality Management degree. I have yet to use it in my professional life but MAN has it come in handy for my home life.) http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/how-to-freeze-anything (If anything, think of the article like you just saved a grand and earned 3 free credit hours.)

So go forth and buy an extra orange juice (or 3) now and save the difference later - just be sure to open it and drink/pour out/use a good 2-4 ounces before freezing and completely thaw (in either the refrigerator or under warm water) before using.

FREE Kashi at Target

Want to score a free box of Kashi at Target? Read on -

Kashi Go Lean Crunch is on sale (again) this week for $2.75 a box. We all know about the $.75 off printable Target coupon via their coupon page, which makes it $2 a box (which is still AWESOME) but if you go into the store and start really looking at the boxes of KGLC, like, dig to the back of the shelf as apposed to the ones smiling at you from the aisle, some of the boxes have a green peelie booklet attached to them that says something like "Eat Healthy; $4 off Kashi" and has the Target logo in the bottom right corner.

(If you can find one, the inside looks like the blue and green things in the picture below.)

The peelie is actually two coupons - the blue one is for $1 off ANY Kashi item; and the green one is for $3 off ANY two Kashi items - both of which are Manufacture and can be stacked with the current Target coupon.

You can buy the one full size box of cereal with the blue $1/1 mrf + $.75 Target coupon and get $1.75 off, which means you'll only pay $1 for the box of Kashi - which is pretty sweet.

OR you can use the green $3 coupon, stack it with the $.75 Target coupon (so you now have $3.75), get the $2.75 box of Kashi and a $1 cereal cup (on the same aisle, with all the single sized cups of cereal; you should have two choices - Kashi Go Lean Crunch or Kashi Healthy Heart) for $3.75.

If your store is out of single size cereal cups, look in the "protein bar/weight loss/dietary aid" aisle near the pharmacy - there should be a basket of individually wrapped "Kashi Go Lean Crunch" protein bars priced around $1.09 - $1.40. (Each store may vary.) Pair the full box of cereal with a $1.09 - $1.40 bar and you'll only pay $.09 - $.40 for both!

BUT, that's not all!

SOME Boxes of Kashi's granola bars have the same green peelie attached to them. I'm unsure of the price but they are usually around $2.75 - $3.25 for a 6 count box; they may be on sale since regular Kashi is BUT there is also a "$.50 off one 6-count-box" Target coupon on the target coupon page as well.

So, do the same thing! Find a box with the peelie - lets say it is $3.25 - you have $3.50 in coupons, buy a $1 cup or bar and you'll pay somewhere between $.75 and $1.15 for a box of granola bars and a cup of cereal!

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!!! That blue $1 peelie that is good for ANY Kashi product that is left - is also good for ANY Kashi item - so there is ANOTHER free cup of cereal for you, or another $.09 - $.40 protein bar for you!

Important - There are NO size restrictions listed on either peelie coupon AND both A and myself have already done this and it works perfectly - no beeping!

Can't find a peelie in store? Look online - the picture in this post was actually copied from Ebay - and I hear that there are all sorts of other "coupon buying places" out there on the intertubes. (Which means that those people are stealing peelies. So maybe don't buy from them because doing so only shows them that there is a market for stealing peelies ... I don't know, it's very early.) The coupons don't expire until sometime in March so if you do go this route and you miss this promo I know for a FACT that there will be another good sale on this stuff between now and then.

I hope a lot of you are able to cash in on this and start the new year off right!

~K

(Also, I said "Kashi" 16 times in this post. Have a great Sunday!)