Speaking of Cake...

Remember this amazing creation of delicious baked goodness? Well, my sister strikes again! Isn't this cake awesome? And yes, that's right...its a Converse sneaker...complete with shoelaces, Converse logo and even a rubber sole!

And this is what happens when I bake. Hmm...guess I'm not the one taking orders for designer cakes anytime soon...

Cheese, Glorious Cheese!

Acme - should have paid attention to the Acme deals earlier in the week! This deal is only good through today

• 6 bags Kraft 2% shredded cheese $2 each, got back $10 catalina for spending $25 (based on regular prices) and $3 catalina for buying Kraft = $1 profit

Second transaction - self-checkout cashier was cool and didn't care that I did this back-to-back

• 6 bags Kraft 2% shredded cheese $2 each, got back $10 catalina for spending $25 (based on regular prices) and $3 catalina for buying Kraft = $1 profit - gave these to my parents so they're not in the pic
• Bananas $0.60 - $0.25 a pound! Wowsers!
• Acme cream cheese $1.50
• Used $10 cat and $3 cat from transaction one, total was $1.10

Third transaction

• 3 Acme cream cheese $1.50 each, $4.50
• 4 Daisy sour creams $1.69 each, $6.76
• Grapes $1.56, $0.99 a pound
• Tic tacs $0.50
• Used $10 cat and $3 cat from transaction two, total was $0.36

Walgreens - did first transaction yesterday when the Irish Spring RR was still rolling, its not anymore :(

• 2 Garnier Fructis conditioners $2.99 each, used two $1 coupons (1/4 or 3/8 RP) and $2 WAG coupon (give second, in Easy Saver book, scans 2x automatically) = $0.02 profit
• Irish Spring body wash $4.49, used RR for free one from yesterday and got another RR for free one = FREE
• 3 rolls Scotch mailing paper $5.98
• Used $3 RR and $3 RR, total was $1.11

Bought today

• 4 cases Diet Coke $13 or $3.25 each, got back $3 RR for buying four = $2.50 each
• Irish Spring body wash $4.49, used RR for free one from yesterday (no new RR) = FREE
• Used $8 RR and $3.50 RR, total was $2.11

Different store

• 4 cases Diet Coke $13 or $3.25 each, got back $3 RR for buying four = $2.50 each
• 2 Garnier Fructis conditioners $2.99 each, used two $1 coupons (1/4 or 3/8 RP) and $2 WAG coupon (give second, in Easy Saver book, scans 2x automatically) = $0.02 profit
• 4 Glucerna cereals (in aisle w/diabetes monitors, not nutritional shakes) $4.99 each, used three $5 coupons and got back $7 RR (WYB 4) and will submit for $1 rebate on each box = $6.04 profit
• Used $8 RR and $8 RR, total was $3.27

*If you use four Glucerna coupons, the last one will probably beep. If you get a nice cashier who'll adjust it down, go for it! I knew this store wouldn't so I didn't even bother trying. I also got back a $3 off 3 Glucerna coupon that I might use on another transaction.

The Glucerna RR deal is good until the end of the month and the $4.99 is the regular price, so no need to rush.

Jaws - The Canine Sequel 3/15 - 3/21

Photo courtesy of loldogs. As always, my deals all come from the wonderful folks at HCW, Slick Deals and Erica at iheartcvs.com, iheartriteaid.com and iheartwags.com. Here we go...

CVS

• Sunday, Monday and Tuesday (3/15 - 3/17) only: Irish Spring Body Wash (15 - 18 oz.) $4.99, use $1 coupon (P&G coupon mailer rebate) or $0.50 coupon (3/15 SS) and get back $4.99 EB (Limit 1) = $1 profit, $0.50 profit or FREE without coupon
• NEW - thanks Lisa for these two deals! Tropicana Juice $3 each, buy five and use two $1 off 2 coupons (1/4 RP) and get back $5 EB (WYB $15 worth, part of deal listed below, Limit 1) = $8 for 5 or $1.60 each
• NEW - Hershey Extra Dark Chocolate large bars $1.50 each, buy ten and use ten $1 coupons (1/25 SS) and get back $5 EB (WYB $15 worth, Limit 1) = FREE
• Dry Idea deodorant $2.99, use $2 coupon and get back $2 EB (Limit 3) = $1.01 profit
• Colgate Max White Toothpaste (4.6-6 oz) or Max White Toothbrush $2.99, use $0.75 coupon (2/22 or 3/15 SS) and get back $2.99 EB (Limit 1) = $0.75 profit or FREE without coupon
• Wheat Thins or Ritz (4-5.25 oz) $1, buy two and use $2 off 2 coupon (1/25 SS) = FREE
• Spend $15, get back $5 EB (Limit 1) Includes Sunchips $3 ($1 coupon April All You magazine), Baked Lays (9-10.5 oz) $3 ($1 coupon 3/8 RP), True North Nuts (4.5-7 oz) $3 ($1 coupon 2/8 SS), Stacy's Pita Chips (6 oz) $3 ($1 coupon April All You magazine), Tropicana OJ (64 oz) $3 ($1 off 2 coupon 1/4 RP), Aquafina Pure Water (12 pk) $3, Quaker Instant Oatmeal $2.50 ($1 or $0.70 coupon 1/4 RP, $1 off 2 coupon 2/8 RP), Quaker Granola Bars (10 ct) $2.50 ($1 coupon 2/8 RP)
• Progresso Soup $1.25 - great price if you still have any $1.10 coupons (printable no longer available)

CVS March Monthly Deals

• CVS Vitamin D 400 (100 count) $2.99, get back $2.99 EB (Limit 1) = FREE

RiteAid - $5 off $25 coupon here Exp. 4/30/09

• Sunday, Monday and Tuesday (3/15 - 3/17) only: Samy i Style Spray, Mousse, Wax or Glue $4.99, get back $4.99 (SCR #56) = FREE
• NEW - thanks Sheri! Secret Flawless, Secret Scent Expressions or Secret Clear Gel $3.99, use $2 coupon (2/22 RP) and get back $2 (SCR #57) = FREE

Walgreens

• Listerine or Reach products $3 each, $6 RR WYB 3. Includes Listerine Original Mouthwash (500 ml), Reach Ultra Clean Toothbrush or Floss (30 yards) and 2 PK Advanced Design Toothbrushes. Buy three and use $3 off 3 coupon (3/15 SS) or three $1 Reach Toothbrush or Ultraclean Dental Floss coupons (2/8 RP) = FREE

Keep an eye out for a "diabetes magazine (free) at WAGs that has Listerine/Reach coupons in it. One of them is $3/3 items" - thanks Sarah!

• Dove products are 25% off and there's the monthly promo of buy 4 get $2 RR, buy 6 get $6 RR or buy 8, get $10 RR. Coupons include $1 for 6+ pack of soap (1/18 RP), $1 10 oz+ body wash (1/18 RP), $1.50 Cream Oil hand or body lotion (1/18 RP), $1.50 off 2 deodorant and/or body mist (1/18 RP) and $1.50 off 2 hair care products (1/18 RP). If you bought the trial size Doves last week, don't forget about the $1.50 off 2 deodorant coupons that printed from the catalina printer.

Dove - the individual bars of soap are around $1.19 - $1.29. If they're included in the 25% off sale (or even if they're not), this is still a great deal if you buy 8.

Walgreens Month Long RR Deals (until 3/28)

• Acne Free Terminator 10 or face washes - clearanced to $3.19 - $4.19 each, buy three, use three $1 coupons (3/8 RP) and get back $8 RR for buying three (or $5 RR for buying two) = FREE or profit

Walgreens March Easy Saver Rebates 3/1 - 3/28 - 10% bonus on each item when you get your rebate back on a gift card.

• Axe Shampoo, Conditioner or Stylers $6.99 (ESR #1) = FREE
• Memory Formula (45 softgels) $19.99 (ESR #2) = FREE
• Walgreens Headache Relief Extra Strength Quickgels (20 pack) $2.99 (ESR #3) = FREE
• Wal-Zyr $3.99 - mega saver price until 3/28, $3.99 (ESR #14) = FREE

General Printable Rebate Offers

• NEW - All Bran cereal, bars, drink mix or fiber wafers, up to $4.99 Exp. 4/30/09
• Caregiver's Marketplace - many rebates for a variety of items
• The Chronicles of Narnia on DVD or Blu-Ray Hi-Def $3 rebate WYB Scotch products Exp. 3/31/09
• Ensure 6 pack use $3 coupon and Try Me Free rebate
• Febreze Noticeables Satisfaction Guarantee Exp. 6/30/09
• Herbal Essences - free haircut when you buy 2 specially marked bottles Exp. 6/31/09
• Kellogg's Smart Start Strawberry Oat Bites Cereal Exp. 7/31/09
• Kraft Mac n Cheese Crackers TMF Exp. 12/31/09
• Peter Pan satisfaction guarantee Exp. 5/31/09
• Physician's Formula - three separate rebates *have to find products with TMF peelies on them Exp. 12/31/09
• Progresso Soup satisfaction guarantee Exp. 3/31/09
• Precious Kitty Litter - One request per lifetime
• Starkist SeaSations Money Back Guarantee Exp. 12/31/09
• Sure Max deodorant TMF Exp. 3/31/09

Sir Piggy Apologizes

Sir Piggy looked at me with these beautiful little eyes and got me all befuddled when I posted the other day about shipping. Shame on you Sir Piggy!

Here's what I had written:

Flat rate Priority boxes - you'll be charged a flat fee no matter how heavy the box is or where its going.

• Envelope $4.95
• Small box $4.95 8-5/8" x 5-3/8" x 1-5/8"

Sir Piggy was kind enough to model the small and large boxes for us.

• Large boxes $10.35 11" x 8-1/2" x 5-1/2" or 13-5/8" x 11-7/8" x 3-3/8"

• Larger box (domestic addresses only) $13.95 12-1/4" x 12-1/4" x 6" (sorry no pics, I don't have any of these)

The first picture is actually of the large box that costs $10.35 to ship. The second picture is the $13.95 box. I keep getting these confused! The box that is $4.95 is about the size of a VHS. Sorry about that! (Sir Piggy says he's sorry too)

I was here first, this is my piece of dirt...

...your rambling don't rattle me...Song of the Day - Montgomery Gentry - What Do Ya Think About That

UPDATE - the Irish Spring RR is no longer rolling. :( It was good while it lasted!
I bought all of these goodies over the past two days...
CVS

• 2 Garnier Nutritioniste face lotions $12 each, used two $1 coupons (3/8 RP) and got back $10 EB ($5 EB WYB $10 worth, limit 2) = $5 each
• Used $2.99 EB, $2.99 EB, $15.98 EB, total was $0.18

Rinse and repeat on DBF's card (different store) - one package of Garnier I picked up was empty! Sneaky, sneaky shoplifters

• 2 Garnier Nutritioniste face lotions $12 each, used two $1 coupons (3/8 RP) and got back $10 EB ($5 EB WYB $10 worth, limit 2) = $5 each
• Used $10 EB, $4.99 EB, $4.99 EB, $1 EB and $1 EB, total was $0.16

I don't know how it happened, but all of a sudden I am super low on EB's on both cards! Ugh, I hate building them back up.

Walgreens

• 4 cases Diet Coke $13 or $3.25 each, used three $1 coupons and got back $3 RR for buying four = $1.75 each
• Used $10 RR, total was $0.91

Store 2 - such problems here!

• 4 cases Diet Coke $13 or $3.25 each, got back $3 RR for buying four = $2.50 each *RR didn't print. Manager gave me $3 cash instead. Realized now I used a $3 Coke RR from first store, which is why the new RR didn't print. Duh!
• 2 Glade Sense and Spray $7.99 each, used BOGO coupons or here and $4 coupon (or 2/8 SS) and $4 WAG coupon (give last, in Easy Saver book, scans 2x automatically) = $4.01 profit
• 2 Garnier 100% Color Hair Color clearanced to $3.29 each, used two $2 coupons (3/8 RP) and tried to use $2 WAG coupon (Easy Saver book). Long story short, it would not scan and manager marked the hair colors down to $0.29 each (not sure why!) but still let me use the $2 coupons (she scanned them first, then did the price change) = $1.71 profit
• 2 Clairol Perfect 10 Hair Colors clearanced to $3.59 each, used $5 coupon (3/1 P&G) = $2.18 for both
• 2 Garnier Fructis conditioners $2.99 each, used two $1 coupons (1/4 or 3/8 RP) and $2 WAG coupon (give second, in Easy Saver book, scans 2x automatically) = $0.02 profit
• Used $3 RR, total was $7.72

Different store, different day

• 2 Glade Sense and Spray $7.99 each, used BOGO coupons or here and $4 coupon (or 2/8 SS) and $4 WAG coupon (give last, in Easy Saver book, scans 2x automatically) = $4.01 profit
• 4 cases Diet Coke $13 or $3.25 each, got back $3 RR for buying four = $2.50 each
• Irish Spring body wash $4.49, got RR back for another free bottle - this RR rolls!
• Garnier Fructis shampoo $2.99, used $1 coupon (1/4 or 3/8 RP) and $2 WAG coupon (give second, in Easy Saver book) = $0.01 profit
• Used $10 RR and $2 RR, total was $2.75

Back again

• 4 cases Diet Coke $13 or $3.25 each, got back $3 RR for buying four = $2.50 each
• Irish Spring body wash $4.49, used RR from previous transaction and still got RR back for another free bottle = FREE *RR's don't normally roll like this. Normally if I'd used the first RR to buy more of the same item, the new RR wouldn't print.
• Garnier Fructis shampoo $2.99, used $1 coupon (1/4 or 3/8 RP) and $2 WAG coupon (give second, in Easy Saver book) = $0.01 profit
• Used $10 RR and $2 RR, total was $1.71

Everyone's Fav...Stockpile Shots!

Don't you just love looking at other people's stuff? I do! So to return the favor, here's my ever-growing stockpile...

Sponges, lint rollers, dusters, spoons, toilet bowl cleaners and back wraps. And no, I have no idea how that all fits together!

Kotex, Kotex and more Kotex! Oh and yeah, some Dove too

Razors, vitamins, soap and lotion Face washes and scrubs, loose razors and tooth cleaning stuff

The basket is full of mini-Doves. The bottled water is stacked three cases deep, three to four cases high. More here:
And some juice
Some more bottled water and of course, my mega soda collection. There are 12 cases on the shelf in the back and 20 cases on the floor.

TP and some of my donation table that got in the way of the shot
Light stuff on the top shelf

Air fresheners and candles

Free hair dryer from a WAG's sale, foil, ziploc bags, WAG/Brita filters, dish soap and carpet powders
Moving on to shelf #2, peanut butter, pasta sauce, Target brand Crystal Lite and salad dressing

Shampoo, plastic cups and some cat food
Shaving cream, lotion and conditioner

Cat litter, garbage bags and cleansers

Ahhh, back upstairs where its nice and warm...and harder to find places to store things. These are on top of my fridge

My drugs
Cold meds
Make-me-pretties
Some grub - grated cheese, frosting, baking mixes (hidden behind cheese) and granola bars

And some more grub - pasta, potatoes and snacks

Well that's it houndfriends. Thank you for visiting and y'all come back real soon!

Selling Your Junk

UPDATE - pubbler was kind enough to comment about printing my own shipping labels at home - great idea! Here's the link. It seems easy enough and I can't wait to try this out! This should save me some time waiting in line at the Post Office. And if you ship at least one of your items Priority, you can arrange to have your packages picked up right at your house! And...you get free delivery confirmation when you do this. Sounds good to me! Thanks again pubbler!

A couple folks have asked some questions about how I sell stuff online, so here goes...selling online, the frugalsuz way. ;) I've sold tons of stuff online for years - books, CD's, DVD's, clothes and other random items around the house. The two main sites I use are amazon.com and ebay.com, although there are other places too.

Amazon.com
Amazon is great for entertainment stuff (books, movies, CD's, electronic stuff) and your listing will stay active for 90 days. If your item doesn't sell after that time, there's no fee. If it does sell, amazon will send you an email saying it sold and you'd then just ship out the item. Amazon handles the payments so you'll only be notified when the payment has cleared. You can have your earnings sent to your bank account or you can use the money to buy things on amazon. I think amazon's fees are higher than ebay, but its very easy to use and low maintenance.

To get started, just go to amazon.com and type in the name of the item you're looking to sell in the Search box. When you find the item, click on its name. See on the right hand side where it says "Add to Shopping Cart"? Look under that for a box that says "Have one to sell?" You just click on that button and enter in the quality of the item (New, Used, etc) and what your price is. And that's it, you're done!

eBay
eBay involves a bit more work than amazon, but can be great for selling all kinds of weird things. Your first step is to take a clear, well-lit picture of your item. Then go to ebay.com, click on Sell in the top right-hand corner. eBay really walks you through the steps, but basically, you can choose a category to list your item in, create a title for your listing (best to be clear and concise), a description for your item(s) and upload your picture(s). The first picture is free. In the description, you want to include whether the item is new or used (and if used, what its condition is - be honest), what the item is (again be clear) and other information that may be helpful to someone interested in buying it (what's included with the item if anything, sizes, colors, etc). You also enter in your starting price (vs. amazon where you enter the price you want it to actually sell for). You can enter in a "Buy It Now" price if you want, but I think there's an extra charge for this. Basically with buy it now, a buyer agrees to buy the item right now, without waiting for the auction to end. You'll also enter in how you'll ship the item and how much it will charge (see Shipping section below).

Auctions usually last one week and most folks will wait until the end of the auction to bid. You can track your items by clicking on "My eBay". When the auction ends, you'll get an email from ebay telling you whether or not your item sold or didn't. If it didn't, you can relist the item for another week. If it sells, the next step is to wait for the bidder to pay for the item. Most folks use paypal.com as a way to get the payment from the buyer to the seller. Its free to sign up and makes selling pretty easy. Paypal will send you an email when your buyer has paid up.

Some buyers are very conscientious and will send you a payment right away. Other times you may have to send an invoice to the buyer to remind them to pay. There's a link for invoices on the email from ebay that tells you your item sold. I always click the box to send a copy to myself. Once you receive payment, off to the Post Office you go!

Spectacular Shipping Supplies:
Bubble Mailers - I often use these for very small items or very light items. I'm waiting for a three for $1 sale at Walgreens to stock up again. They usually run $1-$2 at CVS or WAG.

Boxes - thanks to splatter, I now know that you can get free Priority mailing boxes from the Post Office. I really never knew about that before and I am so psyched about this. You can pick them up in the Post Office or order them online here and have them shipped to you for FREE!

Shipping Rates:

• First Class - 1-3 days, cheapest rate, starts at $0.42 but only good for items up to one pound in weight
• Media Mail - 2-9 days, starts at $2.23, great for books, CD's, DVD's, etc. For books, I usually just wrap them a couple times in brown mailing paper and write the address right on the package. Seal really well with mailing tape.
• Parcel Post - 2-9 days, starts at $3.67, usually best option for boxes and heavy items
• Priority Mail - 1-3 days, starts at $4.95 - flat rate boxes available
• Express Mail - overnight, mucho $$$

Flat rate Priority boxes - you'll be charged a flat fee no matter how heavy the box is or where its going.

• Envelope $4.95
• Small box $4.95 8-5/8" x 5-3/8" x 1-5/8"

Sir Piggy was kind enough to model the small and large boxes for us.

• Large boxes $10.35 11" x 8-1/2" x 5-1/2" or 13-5/8" x 11-7/8" x 3-3/8"

• Larger box (domestic addresses only) $13.95 12-1/4" x 12-1/4" x 6" (sorry no pics, I don't have any of these)

Shipping Tips:

• If you don't want to ship at the Priority rate, just pick up the free Priority boxes and wrap them in brown mailing paper and ship at the Parcel Post rate. I just thought of that the other day and I'm super proud of myself! lol
• Make sure your items are packaged well. If there is loose space in the box, scrunch up newspapers or some other filler to make sure they won't shift around too much during shipping. If its a fragile item, wrap it in bubble wrap and make sure to let the Post Office know so they can stamp it as fragile. Make sure the address and your return address are written clearly. Seal the boxes up well with tape so they don't rip or open up during transit.
• And the golden rule - always be honest and courteous to your buyers.