Frugal Resolutions

Dear Diary,
Hope you had a great Christmas and here's to wishing you a most wonderful & frugal New Year. Looking back I can honestly say it's been a frugal year for the most part. Just this year alone I've used $1000 plus in coupons (on stuff we need and use I must add) and I've won prizes from contests probably well over the $2000 mark. Not quite sure cause I haven't added it all up yet. And that doesn't even account for all the free stuff I've received in the mail. That list is a lengthy one.
But on the other hand I haven't been in the work force so this coupon use & winnings make up for some for some of my previous earnings.
On another note, I just started doing some housekeeping. Perhaps there is a future in house cleaning for frugaldebb. I like cleaning but prefer cleaning other peoples houses rather than my own lol! If someone paid me to clean my own I would probably enjoy it so much more!
This coming year I resolve to be even more frugal if that's even possible lol! And I resolve to blog more and I know that's possible.
Hey Dear Diary did you get any great boxing day deals. Well if you didn't I sure did. I used this boxing day week to use up some gift cards from contest wins and got some great deals so I'm set for plenty of bd gifts this coming year. Can't tell you what I bought cause who knows who might be reading this. Also got a new printer which is helpful when dealing with contest release forms. And I'm planning on winning a lot. Also been sortin through my coupons and happened to find a bunch of glade sense & spray and sense and spray refills. Got a bunch of free ones yesterday at Walmart cause some of them were $5 off and the sale price at WalMart is $5 so FREE. Just paid the taxes and oh found another one I have to redeem before the New Year.
frugaldebb

Merry Christmas and a free book too!

Dear Diary,
Pardon my absence once again. We have lots of catching up to do. But I just wanted to take this moment to wish you a very Merry Christmas and share with you an offer I just discovered thanks to my frugal friends. So I'm sharing this with you.
I just ordered my free book and if you would like one too here you go. Consider it my Christmas gift to you.

Happy Reading
frugaldebb

P.S. I ordered all 3 books; let's hope they all come!

Free Vaseline Sheer Infusion

Dear Diary,
Not gonna sit and chat about this too long. In fact it may already be gone. But hey it's worth a shot. Free Vaseline Sheer Infusion full size bottle. Hurry!
frugaldebb

Free Tylenol from Living Well

Dear Diary,
Just in time for the holiday party season is a free offer you just may have a need for. It's for Tylenol Rapid Release Gelcaps and you can get a trial sample now from livingwell.ca
I'm anticipating a big demand for this one, so hurry and get yours before they're gone.

Also had to tell you about my Christmas tree from Ikea. It's everything I expected it to be and more! It looks awesome and the price was definitely right!

Oh and I won a prize from a Planet 51 contest; not exactly sure what I won at this point but I'll keep you informed. And ds won a $100 gift card to Athlete's World; and he doesn't know it yet cause he's at school.
frugaldebb

Frugal Christmas Tree

Dear Diary,
Now that it's December, Christmas is really just around the corner. It seems like every year, I have plenty of time to prepare for Christmas and then December comes and it's like a roller coaster ride from there on... wee hang on for the ride.
I don't know where you get your tree, my dear diary, but we have picked up ours from our local Ikea for the past I don't know how many years. And to be honest we haven't had a bad one yet! Trees can be pricey but not at Ikea; they are just $20 no matter what size you get. The trees at Ikea are Balsam Fir; the only downside to them is that they are pre-wrapped with twine so you don't get the best view of your tree. However you can still tell if it's bushy or slender, tall or short. Oh and another good thing about these trees is that when you buy one you get a coupon for $20 off a $75 purchase the following year. (Coupon is redeemable from January 2 to February 28). And Ikea will also donate a portion of tree sales to Tree Canada.
Don't have an Ikea in your area, well that's tough luck I guess.
frugaldebb

Free Personalized Luggage Tags, Clorox Green Works & More

Dear Diary,
Sorry to say, I'm still preoccupied. Life has been like a roller coaster lately. Anyhow wanted to let you know about these free personalized luggage tags KLM is offering. You can pick from their pics or use one of your own. I thought this was kind of cool.
Also Matchstick this promo agency provide me with a chance to try Clorox Green Works natural laundry detergent for free. I've been using this for the past week and I love it. It's a very concentrated laundry detergent so a 30 load size bottle is quite small. Love the scent of it; love the packaging and love the fact that it gets the job done. By the way Clorox Green Works is 95% natural and is not tested on animals. And you can use it in all types of washing machines; even the high efficiency ones. Gotta Love it!
I know I told you about Mark's Work Warehouse before. Well I had one more of those great $10 cash cards. Went back and used it to buy a quilted vest and a long-sleeved waffle shirt for myself. By using the gift card and buying from clearance I got these two items for around $11 including taxes. Woo Hoo!
Freebies lately have included: Neutrogena Healthy Skin anti-wrinkle cream, Clive perfume samples and last but not least, a bottle of Sunlight Green Clean Wild Lavender Cold Water Power laundry detergent that greeted me at my door. This arrived courtesy of UrbanMoms. When I get a chance to try this one, I'll get back to you to let you know what I think about it.
Winnings that have arrived are a coupon for a free bag of Purina Pro Plan dog food and 2 Mott's Clamato Caesar bartending kits plus tickets to the Metro Food & Wine Show.
Cheers for now,
frugaldebb

Alberto Styling Product free & Mark's Work Warehouse

Dear Diary,
I've been preoccupied lately, so my apologies for not sharing with you. But I'll try and make it up to you I promise.

First of all if you would like a coupon for a free Alberto European styling product, become one of their first 20,000 fans.
I don't know if this was available to you, but it was for me so I'm gonna tell you about. Well last week my Mark's Work Warehouse flyer had a great coupon attached to the front of it. It wasn't just their regular coupon for $10 off when you spend $50. Oh no it was much better than that. It was a $10 cash card that you could use when you spend $10. The only restrictions were that it couldn't be used to purchase socks, gloves, underwear, headwear and gift cards, but no worries Mark's has plenty of other little items you can use the cash card and basically get em free. Stocking stuffers galore! Anyhow I just happened to acquire 3 of these cash cards, thanks to neighbours who aren't into flyers. So dh and I headed to MWW and we each got a shirt on clearance that was regular priced at $30 for under $6 including taxes. And I've still got 1 cash card left; gonna head back before Nov 22 cause that's when it expires. I sure hope you didn't toss out such a valuable coupon; check your blue bins before it's too late.
frugaldebb

Free Book Reminder & winnings

Dear Diary,
Hope you got in on the free book offer that I posted just the other day. I did.
Just wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed the Rockettes that I attended the other day; awesome event plus the fact that the tickets were free was a bonus. Since then I'm happy to tell you that I won again and again and again and again. Firstly 100,000 aeroplan miles, next a $25 visa gift card from Energizer, then a $10 gift card for Starbucks and today tickets to the wine & food expo in To and a Mott's Clamato bartending gift pack. Oh what a winning week it's been!

Oh and I also received a free product coupon from Matchstick to try a new product from Green Works. It's for a natural laundry product and I can't wait to try it out. I really like some of the other Green Works products that I've tried so far: the window/glass cleaner and the all purpose cleaner, so I'm guessing I'll be happy with the laundry product. I'll let you know.
frugaldebb

Free Book & My Winnings

Dear Diary,
Word has it that Chatelaine has another free book offer. Oh how I love free books! In the past I've received a couple of free books from them; a Shopaholic book and The Girls. Really liked The Girls even though it wasn't a book I would have considered reading. Never got a chance to read the Shopaholic one cause I left it at my dd's house in Europe. Ah well, guess I'll have to reserve that one from the library. Anyhow this offer for this free book opens on Thursday November 12, 2009 at 12:01 p.m., so if you want it, you might want to be there or you might as well forget about it. Have no clue what book it is though lol!

On another note, my winnings of late include an Incredible Hulk DVD, a $10 Gift Card to Beyond The Rack, Biore samples from Flare, tickets to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and some kids adventure prize pack from Fruitloops.

frugaldebb

Free Calendars & Old Navy Coupons

Dear Diary,
Yes it's that time of year again when there are all kinds of free calendars to be had. I should know, I ended up with all kinds of them last year. Telus has a really cute one, at least I think so. I got it last year and signed up for it again. You don't even have to be a Telus customer to get one. Hey who in their right mind would pay for a calendar when you can get them free. Mind you, I would consider buying one for a gift and I certainly would accept one if someone bought me one. But I think you get the picture. When I discover more free calendar offers, I'll let you know.

If your a fan of Old Navy another way to get some great coupons, is by clicking on various items in their weekly flyer. These coupons are in addition to the ones you can get when you sign up for their email. This flyer apparently is up on Thursday evenings and the timing of it varies. But by clicking on some of items and mannequins, you can get some really great coupons which can be used for shopping at Old Navy that week. It's kind of like a treasure hunt. Some of the high value coupons are available in limited quantities and disappear rather quickly. So why not check it out. Can't believe that I just discovered this! Ah well guess I learned something new today, so it must be a good day.
frugaldebb

Living Well Free Zantac Trial Offer

Dear Diary,
LivingWell is doing it again, giving away free samples that is. This one is for Zantac but it's not up and running yet. But when it is rest assured the 2000 samples they have to give away will be scooped up in no time. So I don't want to hear about it if you missed out on this one.

Also don't know if you've ever thought about this but I've found it's a great idea to sign up for your favourite shop's newsletters. Mind you, you will get email from them regularly some will give you more than others. But it is definitely worth it as often they will email you coupons or offers and let you know first about special sales. Just last weekend, I received a 25% coupon for Old Navy and best part was it was valid even on clearance merchandise. By the way, my sister and I shared this one and got some great deals. Please note something that I have done is set up a different email to receive these offers so that way your personal stuff isn't cluttered with a lot of other email. I also use this email to enter contests, do surveys etc etc.
Oh by the way, I won a DVD the other day.
frugaldebb

Do you Price-Match?

Dear Diary,
I'm almost embarrassed to say this but just this past weekend I became a fan of price-matching. Believe it or not, as frugal as I am, I never ever price-matched before. Well I put my mind to it and did it and in the long run, saved us some time and gas money by shopping somewhere closer. Let me explain; Food Basics had Catelli Healthy Harvest Pasta on sale for 88 cents which is an awesome price, but when I looked through their flyer all I really wanted there was the pasta. And Food Basics is out of our way, but WalMart sure isn't and they price-match. So off I went to WalMart, flyer in hand, and oh by the way I also had coupons for the stuff. So yes I price-matched and used coupons for the pasta and for a free can of tuna. So in the end got 6 packages of pasta and 1 can of tuna for $1.78. Without price-matching and without the coupons, I would have paid $9.99 for my loot. Needless to say now I'm hooked! Got another pasta coupon in the mail today and 1 for toilet paper which is on sale at Metro; so gonna do some more price-matching tomorrow.
Oh and by the way my mail box has been overflowing this past week; 2 crayola prize packs, 1 envelope from Go Coupons, 1 I Love You Man prize pack and Biore Samples win.
frugaldebb

Brandsaver samples for Men/Et Tu salad coupon

Dear Diary,
Do you want to know a secret? Do you promise not to tell? Sounds like an old song doesn't it? Well found this one out from some of my frugal buddies. Apparently Brandsaver now has samples out for men but you have to be a guy to get them. So what are you waiting for? you know these won't last.
Oh and before I forget, here's where you can get a great coupon for et tu salad kits.

frugaldebb

Free Sunlight/Affresh samples & smelling like a guy

Dear Diary,
Seems like there are a lot of free samples up for grabs lately. Right now there are a couple of samples for sunlight and affresh at urbanmoms. But ya better hurry if you want them.

Speaking of free samples I received a bunch of them yesterday. My P&G sample pack came in and included the following: Gain laundry detergent and fabric softener, Downy fabric softener, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, Tide stain release tablet and Olay Total Effects Body Wash. Also received a 2010 Olympic T-shirt from a contest win. Today I received a Melt magazine with coupons and a $5 voucher for Romano's Macaroni Grill in Niagara Falls also from a contest win.

Remember the other day, I told you about receiving some fragrance samples of Calvin Klein CKfree for Men from a Matchstick word of mouth promo. Well today I thought I'd spray some on me, not that I'm a guy mind you. But I was curious what it smelled like and since I live with a couple of males, I wanted to make sure it was up to my female scent standards if that makes any sense. After all I would be the one smelling it. Anyway I do quite like it; problem is I think I sprayed on a little too much and now I'm sitting here smelling like a guy.
frugaldebb

Carleton H1N1 study for Gift Card

Dear Diary,
While drinking my morning decaf I came across this study from Carleton on one of my frugal boards. I've done studies for them before and they usually reward you with a gift card of sorts; this time the reward was either a $5 Tim Horton's or Starbucks GC. (Make sure you put some thought into your answers cuz you might not get the GC otherwise).
frugaldebb

Oops I did it again, Matchstick Promo & more

Dear Diary,
I know, I know, I've been an absentee blogger again. Please forgive me! You see I went away for a week's holidays and between getting ready to go away and actually going away, I've been well missing. My apologies but now I'm back and I've got lots to say.
One thing about going away is that while I'm away mail tends to add up and I often come home to a pile of stuff and it feels almost like Christmas. Not quite but almost. When I came home in the early hours this morning, I just had to go through my mail. There wasn't a whole lot waiting for me this time, but I'm pleased non the less. A Canadian Living and Glow magazine greeted my and a few other treats. Have I told you how much I love the Glow mag; it often has coupons and samples and bonus point offers when you buy certain items at Shopper's Drug Mart.
Oh and one of the things that made my morning was the bunch of CKfree (Calvin Klein) fragrance for men samples that came from a Matchstick promo thing. I know I'm not a guy but this excited me anyhow. (by the way the idea with Matchstick promo's is to share the samples with family & friends and spread the word about the product). To be honest I haven't sniffed the fragrance yet, but I will in due time and if you're one of my guy family or friends or even a girl family or friend who knows a guy, I'll gladly give you a sample to sniff for yourself. But ya have to come and see me or invite me over cuz I won't be sending it to you anytime soon lol!
Speaking of Matchstick, just found this other promo that you can sign up for; no guarantees you'll get in though. But hey it's worth a shot.
Also have to tell you about a couple of wins in the past week or so: 1 Yoplait win of a backpack, lunch bag, ice pack and Yoplait yogurt coupon, and 1 2010 Vancouver Olympic T-shirt from Wrigley's. Also won some movie tickets but I couldn't go cuz I was away so you win some, you lose some.
thats' all for now
frugaldebb

Fall Brandsaver Samples

Dear Diary,
Just a quick note to tell you about the new fall brandsaver samples that just became available. If you want them better act fast. These samples do come and I have been quite impressed with them in the past.
frugaldebb

Free Bandaid sample

Dear Diary,
Just want to tell you about a site that I visit regularly called livingwell.ca Well right now this site has a perfect fit band-aid sample up for free. But you gotta act fast. Livingwell samples disappear very quickly.
Ah now I've got that song stuck in my head; I'm stuck on Band-Aid Brand cause Band-Aid's stuck on me...
frugaldebb

O.B. Tampon sample

Dear Diary,
Here's another free sample for ya. o.b. tampon
enough said
frugaldebb

CK for Men for free & h1n1 study

Dear Diary,
Did you know that Matchstick often sends out products/product samples to try for free? Well right now they have a promotion on that you can try CK for men for free. They will send you samples and the idea is to share them with family & friends and spread the word about the products. Sometimes they ask you to fill out a short survey about the product after you have tried it and spread the word. There product samples are usually in limted supply so if you want to try CK for men for free, ya better hurry.
Also discovered there is h1n1 study going on and if you qualify you could earn yourself a $5 GC for Shopper's Drug Mart. I did qualify but they had enough people in my area like me already so I'm out of luck on this one. But you still have a chance. Be sure to read the requirements of this study and understand what type of commitment and involvement is required on your part before you agree to participate.
frugaldebb

P&G Brandsaver coupons &Try Me Free Offer

Dear Diary,
You must know by now how much I love coupons. Well P&G Brandsaver is offering a bunch of them right now. Sometimes you can get these coupons in your local paper but if you didn't get them or would like a few more, here's your chance to get them now. But don't wait cuz these coupons won't be there forever.
Oh before I forget, wanted to tell you about how I often take advantage of try me free or mail in to get a complete refund deals. Companies trying to promote a new product will often have coupons that let you get the product for free or mail in to get a refund upon a purchase of the product. The rebate forms are often available where the product is displayed in the store. Just the other day, I found a 'Try it on us' rebate form for the new S.C. Johnson Fragrance Collection by Glade. You can choose from a scented reed diffuser or a couple of soy based candles. I purchased the multi-wick soy based candle. Now all I have to do is send in my original sales receipt with the form to get my money back. Well I may not get the taxes back and a stamp is needed as well, but the candle is pretty much free. Hey these would make a great Christmas gift for a teacher, crossing guard etc etc you know what I mean, or you could add them to a stocking. Oh and speaking of soy candles, apparently that's the way to go these days if you like to burn candles. Soy and Beeswax candles are much better than regular ones for health reasons.
By the way, this offer is limited to 1 per household.
frugaldebb

Early Bird Gets Free Dozen Roses

Dear Diary,
They say the Early Bird Gets The Worm, well in this case this early bird got a free dozen roses. Yes you read it right! But I wasn't the only Early Bird getting free roses this morning so if you want some better get there quick. My local florist opened at 7 a.m. this morning and I was there. FTD Good Neighbour Day; check it out for participating florists in your area. (my local florist was collecting donations for the food bank)
Oh and by the way the idea is to keep 1 rose for yourself and share the rest with family, friends & especially neighbours.
Can't remember the last time I had roses in the house cuz buying roses isn't frugal you know. Well gonna enjoys these and share a few with some good neighbours. I guess that packet of flower food I found yesterday, will come in handy.
Have a Good Neighbour Day
frugaldebb

Frugal socks & clothing store coupons

Dear Diary,
Yesterday I decided to go through my clothes and toss out a few things I wasn't wearing. I like to do this in September cause for me September is a new beginning of sorts. While I was sorting through stuff, I realized I have a lot of identical socks. And you may wonder why I have lots of the same socks?? Well it's because of my frugal sock habits. You see for quite some time now, I've been in the habit of buying packages of socks or several pair of the same kind of socks. That way if one of the pair of socks gets holey, you only have to toss out the 1 sock instead of both because you will have several matches for it. Now if you really want to be frugal you could darn the sock but I'm not a big fan of socks Darned socks. My dm use to do this to all my holey socks when I was growing up but enough is enough.
Anyway now that I've purged a few items from my closet, it might be time to do some re-stocking lol. It just happens that while I was browsing the Internet this morning I found some great coupons that you can get if you sign up for their deals and offers; what a coincidence. ( Old Navy $10 off $50 purchase, GAP 10% any purchase, Banana Republic 20% off $125 purchase) And by the way Old Navy has some great deals on maternity, baby and toddler gear at the moment so if you're thinking what I'm thinking you might want to head to Old Navy and combine this coupon with the great sales. Not that I'm in the market for maternity wear just so you know.
Oh and here's the link to sign up for these coupons
cheers frugaldebb

Absentee Blogger & The Little Red Hen

Dear Diary,
Please excuse me for being an absentee blogger. It's not that I had nothing to tell you. I almost always have something to tell you just as much as I'm almost always frugal. If that makes any sense. I was away at a cottage way up North trying to get some R&R and being frugal of course. Hard not to be frugal when there is no place to spend money.
Anyway when I returned I had some nice surprises waiting for me such as P&G samples (oh how I love these), Olay Regenerist samples and in the past few days I received my Veet Prize pack from a win. This prize pack contained 4 boxes of Veet Hair Removal Gel Cream and Wax Strips, 1 box of Crunch & Munch, 1 baggie of M&M's, 1 Veet tote bag, 4 pairs of spa slippers, 1 $15 I-Tunes GC and 1 $10 Blockbuster GC.
Of course ds ran off with the gift cards. He always pokes fun at my contesting, but when I win something that he likes or wants, he's first in line to collect the prizes. Almost reminds me of the story of the little red hen who makes bread. And no one wants to help her to make it, but everyone is there to help her eat it lol!
frugaldebb

Another FREE READ & more wins

Dear Diary,
I spotted this a few days ago on the forums that I go to pretty much on a daily basis. So of course I had to share it with you, but please don't tell anyone else.
There is an extremely good chance for you to acquire a book 'The Girls' by Lori Lansens if you visit Chatelaine magazine on August 24th at 10 a.m. Apparently they are giving away 10,000 of these books but like anything else that's free, they'll be gone in no time. So be there or forget about it...

Also a few more wins to tell you about; ds aka darling son won a gift card loaded with $50 bucks (that should help with his back to school needs) and I won an Olympic toque and pack of tattoos and a subscription to Dogs in Canada magazine. Woo Hoo! And on an even better note I won $100 worth of Lindt chocolate! I'll bet you want to be my frugal friend now!
frugaldebb

Nielsen Homescan

Dear Diary,
There's something I wanted to share with you; another something that I do that's part of my whole frugal scheme. And I'm not saying that it's something you should do; that's entirely up to you my friend. I will not in any way, shape or form be responsible for your cursing if indeed you do decide to do what I do.
You may ask well what is it that you do? Well Dear Diary, I'm a Neilsen Homescanner
As part of this panel, I scan my groceries and pretty much everything I buy (with a scanner sent to me from the company) and once a week I transmit my data to them. And in return for my work, I receive points that can be redeemed for rewards from a catalogue. I also get points for surveys that I complete for them online.
And that is basically what I do Dear Diary.
I've been doing this now for almost a year and to be honest Dear Diary, sometimes this scanner drives me crazy. Just so you know.
And I do often wonder how long it will take me to earn enough points for something that I really want; maybe I'll be old and grey and no longer have a need for what I wanted in the first place. Sometimes I wish they would reward you with gift cards of your choice instead.
Anyhow for now I'm sticking with the program and I'll keep you posted on my eventual rewards.
Oh and by the way, you do get more points after you've been with the panel for awhile and there is always a chance of winning cash prizes when you do your weekly transmission.
Dear Diary, surely if you know me well enough, you must realize that the carrot that dangles before me is what keeps me going.
frugaldebb

My Winnings & Free Product Offer

Dear Diary,
Have a few things to tell you about today.
First of all, received a Beauty Prize pack that I won awhile back. The prize included a book on how to make green beauty products as well as a couple of products from Petite Marie Organics (a cleanser made with aloe, fennel, rose, calendula and olives and a skin cream made with aloe, wheatgrass, calendula and oats). Can't wait to try them out!
Also won a bunch of Scott's Lawn Care products but haven't received as of yet. And a couple of days ago I had a winning day cause I won a gift card for McD's as well as a “Girls’ Night In Party Prize Pack" which contains the following:
(1) $15 iTunes Gift Card
(1) $10 Blockbuster Gift Card
(2) packages of Veet® “My First Time” Wax Strips ( guess I have no excuse to be hairy anymore)
(2) packages of Veet® “My First Time” Cream
(1) Tote Bag
(4) Slippers
(1) box of Crunch & Munch
(1) bag of M&Ms
Oh and I also received a free Purex sample in the mail.
Now that I've told you about my winnings how bout a free sample?? I heard it elsewhere but I'm sharing this with just you. Receive a fpc ( free product coupon) for Clover Leaf when you register with them and do a very brief survey.
frugaldebb

L'Oreal Paris

Dear Diary,
Just so you know sometimes L'Oreal has free samples that you can sign up for. And right now is one of those times; I believe there are a couple of samples to be had.
So what are you waiting for?
frugaldebb

Call me Lulu!

Dear Diary,
You can now officially call me crazy or better yet Lulu! Why you ask? Well cause I decided on a whim to go to the Lululemon Athletica Warehouse Sale in Hamilton this past weekend. And believe it or not I waited 2 hours plus some to get into the sale. So therefore I believe you can call me Lulu!
If you're not aware of Lululemon; it's a high end Vancouver based Canadian company that sells athletic/yoga type clothing. You may wonder what a frugal lass like me was doing at this type of high end clothing sale. Well you can call me frugal but I do appreciate quality when I see it and I do sometimes splurge on quality items especially if they can be had at a reasonable price. While I found the prices to be reasonable, I didn't go crazy or Lulu with my spending. In fact I just bought 2 items.
Would I go again? I doubt it cause that frenzy kind of shopping doesn't really suit me even if there are great deals. That type of frenzy in fact sends me in a tailspin and I can't focus on why I was there in the first place. It was amazing that I was even able to make a purchase!
But dear diary I'm glad I went cause it was an experience of sorts. You just had to be there cause I can't really explain what it was like. And I am really happy with my purchases; the shorts I bought are the most comfy workout shorts I've ever had and I'm sure the capris will be the same.
All Lulued out
frugaldebb

Lululemon & My Revlon Pedi Kit

Dear Diary,
I've been hearing about this event that I want to tell you about it. It's the Lululemon Athletica Warehouse sale and it's happening in Hamilton, Ontario at the Convention Centre. WooHoo! I've seen their stuff and quite like it but it's never been in this frugal budget of mine. Here's hoping! Well gonna check it out anyway!
frugaldebb
P.S. Here's a photo of the Revlon Pedi-Kit I won the other day.

Hours are as follows
Thursday, July 23, 2009 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Friday July 24, 2009 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Saturday July 25, 2009 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Sunday July 26, 2009 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Cash, visa MC and Amex
Check it out here or on twitter
http://www.twitter.com/lululemonWHS

Free Mens Mini Degree Deodorant

Dear Diary,
Just came back from the Beer Store cause we had a bunch of empties to return. Not that I drink that much beer. But I do have this tendency to pick up empties on daily jaunts here and there! Would you not pick up a nickel or a dime if you saw one on the road or sidewalk?? Well in my books picking up empties is pretty much the same thing. I just can't walk by them and not pick them up. We're not talking pennies here you know but for the record I pick pennies up as well. Every time I see a penny this rhyme goes through my head; "Find a penny pick it up, throughout the day you'll have Good Luck". And I'm not one to go messing with luck let me tell you.
Have to tell you a story about picking up empties. Once last winter on my walk home from getting a haircut, I picked up a bottle with a bit of frozen beer in it and stashed it in a bag that I carry with me just for this purpose. And it remained frozen throughout my walk home. But closer to home I remembered I needed to got to WalMart to pick up a few great sales. Got my items pretty quick, tossed them into my shopping basket with my beer bottle discreetly placed in the shopping basket in a platic baggie and waited in line to pay for my purchases.While waiting in line I suddenly became aware of a strong beer odour and to my horror noticed this pale brownish liquid dripping from my shopping basket. Yikes my frozen beer was no longer frozen! Was anyone else aware of my predicament? Just kept my head low, paid for my stuff and got the heck out of there as quickly as I could.
But anyhow I digress! Just wanted to tell you that today I picked up some free mini mens Degree Deodorants at the Beer Store today. They are a great size for travel. Get them while they
last. Oh and they had coupons for the products as well.
frugaldebb

Free Read

Dear Diary,
This was posted on one the forums I go to almost daily and I just had to share it with you and my loyal blog followers. If you want a free book to read here's where you need to go, but hurry cause these things tend to go quickly. You can choose 1 of 3 books and oh by the way I chose Where The River Ends.
Happy Reading
frugaldebb

A few wins

Dear Diary,
I've just got to tell you about my June & July wins so far. I know they're not big ones but they're wins in my books. Here's the list: 2 bags of Jelly Belly Gourmet Jelly Beans, 1 165g bag of Hershey Bliss, 1 Cadbury Roots T-shirt, 1 New Balance backpack, hat, socks and pedometer, 1 Revlon Pedi-Kit and 1 Beauty Prize Pack (not sure yet what this is as I haven't received it yet).
And here's to a few more wins this month!
frugaldebb

I'm Back

Dear Diary,
You may have noticed my lack of blogging lately. My apologies! I was away but now I'm back and eager and excited about finding some great new deals and offers!
Although it's wonderful to go away it's always nice to come back home. And when I returned just yesterday there were many surprises awaiting me.
Here's a list of what I found in my mail:
1 Roots T-shirt from a Cadbury contest win
1 free Hamilton magazine
Save.ca coupons including a fpc ( free product coupon) for herbal essences ( really needed this lol)
1 free Gillette Venus Embrace razor (and this too lol)
2 Nutella samples
1 3 pack sample of Reactine
1 KY gel sample
1 50g pack of Tangy Zangy sour sticks
1 165g pack of Hershey's Bliss milk chocolates with meltaway truffle centres
1 noodle package to try from a survey.
Gee sometimes coming home is not so bad!
frugaldebb

P&G Free Samples Gotta Love Them

Dear Diary,
They're back and I just love them when they come back. You're wondering what I'm talking about right? P&G samples of course. I've ordered these before and if the samples are anything like in the past, you'll love them. Enough said. What are you waiting for???
So hurry and get yours before they're gone!
frugaldebb

Free Herbal Essences & more

Dear Diary,
Even though I am away from home, I just couldn't resist telling you about this great deal from save.ca
And I couldn't resist signing up for this offer even though I probably almost have enough shampoo and hair conditioner to last a lifetime lol! You see I won a whole box of the stuff last year and also I have this tendency to stock up on the stuff when I'm able to combine coupons with a great sale. Afterall you never know when a war will break out and the stuff will be scarce. Maybe I'll be able to sell the stuff on the black market. Well at least I'll have the cleanest and shiniest hair in town.
frugaldebb

Deals This Weekend

Dear Diary,
Here's a couple of deals you won't want to miss; at Black's you can get a Free 8x10 photo by printing off this coupon. This offer is available only until tomorrow but would make a great frugal Father's Day gift.
And Old Navy is having a sale TODAY ONLY and just for gals big and little; get rib knit tanks for only $2 with a limit of 5 per customer.
But if you want some summer tanks I'd get there early for better selection and to avoid long line-ups.
frugaldebb

Free Air Miles

Dear Diary,
Do you participate in the Air Miles program, do yah? Well if you do, I have an offer for you. Just sign up for a Rexall e-newsletter and get 25 Air Miles, but hurry cause this offer ends on July 31.
I know, I know you will get newsletters from them but I would suggest you set up an e-mail just for this kind of stuff. That's what I have done. And ultimately you can click and delete right? So what are you waiting for; sign up and get your free Air Miles!
frugaldebb

Shopping Deals

Dear Diary,
Just came back from shopping and must tell you about all the great deals I found! At Shoppers purchased aluminum foil on sale for 59 cents (sunday, monday only) and bought 2 Gillette Fusion Bonus packs which had 2 shaving gels and 1 fusion razor. Great thing about those is that they were selling for $6.99 but of course I had 2 $5 coupons off any Fusion razor. Coupons came from Save.ca and P&G Brandsaver. So for roughly $4 I got 4 shaving gels and 2 razors. Also at Shoppers bought 6 Cote D'or Chocolate Bars; 2 for $5 and used $5 in coupons.
No Frills had tide on sale for $7.97; bought 2 48 use Tides and used $2 in coupons. Also at NF Catelli Healthy Harvest Pasta 99 cents each; bought 4 and used $2 coupons so pasta for 49 cents, woo hoo!
Costco bought Soy Milk, mens underwear and Vector with coupons and bought dh shorts for $9.97; reduced from $17.99.
Just today alone I used $28 in coupons and it's all on stuff we use!
frugaldebb

SDM Bonus Points with Gift Card Purchase

Dear Diary,
I've been busy being frugal so that's where I've been.
But just had to tell you about an awesome offer at Shoppers Drug Mart; buy $50 of selected gift cards Cineplex Entertainment, Vanilla Prepaid MasterCard, Cara Dining Card (Harvey’s, Montanas, Kelsey’s, Milestones & Swiss Chalet) and Chapters, Indigo, Coles Card and get 5000 Optimum points. Sad part is the offer ends today. ( Oh and by the way there is a charge on the prepaid MasterCard so you may want to avoid getting that one). I bought the Cara Dining Card for myself cause I know we will be using it in the near future. No one says you have to give these cards away as a gift. Hey if you know you're gonna use these cards that's an awesome deal so head on over to SDM before it's too late.
frugaldebb

Going to the Dentist & Free Calcium

Dear Diary,
Just the other day I went to the dentist for a regular check-up and cleaning. Believe me this is not one of my favourite things, but it's nothing personal against my dentist. My dentist and his team do an excellent job and get you in and out pretty quick just the way I like it. Thankfully we have a dental plan so most procedures are covered. So overall it's a pretty frugal way to spend a half hour or so not that I enjoy it any better. But what I'm getting at is that at least with my dentist, I usually don't leave empty-handed. In fact just the other day I came home with a new toothbrush, a small tube of premium toothpaste and some dental floss thingys. And in the past I have picked up some coupons for premium toothpaste from his office, so be sure to check yours out for some great coupons. Oh and another thing, not sure if this applies to your dentist but mine has great up to date magazines to read which is another bonus. So all in all going to the dentist can be a good thing lol!
Oh and just found this on another frugal site; free trial of calcium supplements and if you're my age this might be a good thing! But ya better hurry; for all I know this could be gone as we speak.
frugaldebb

I'm Almost Always Frugal

Dear Diary,
When I began this blog just a few months ago, I called myself 'Always Frugal' but when I thought about it hard enough I realized I was setting myself up for failure by using the word 'Always' on it's own.
And that's how 'Almost Always Frugal' was born. Let's face it you can't always be frugal. Sometimes life throws curve balls at you and you don't have the time nor energy to search hi and low for coupons or go to every grocery store in town for the best deals. And sometimes there are days when tossing the laundry in the dryer instead of hanging it on a clothesline is the only way that laundry is going to happen! I know all about those days and it's really okay to have those kinds of days. (Now today on the other hand was a good day cause two loads of laundry made it out to the clothes line and it feels great to be frugal today).
But some days I don't feel like being frugal cause I'm too tired or too sick or just plain don't want to be fff... frugal! And on those days I might buy something that I really don't need but I WANT IT! And I give in to temptation. But I've come to believe that's okay cause sometimes we need to reward ourselves for all our hard work just as long as we don't blow it all in one shot. And if you're frugal most of the time hey what the heck, enjoy! And for me Dear Diary, being 'Almost Always Frugal', is what it's all about.
Thanks for listening
frugaldebb

Brandsaver Coupons

Dear Diary,
I love coupons ya know that right? Well here's some coupons I thought I'd share with you. But don't thank me thank Brandsaver .
frugaldebb

PowerBar Anyone?

Dear Diary,
Just got an email offer I thought I would share with you. And this is something I have received in the past so that's why I'm passing it on. So if you want a free PowerBar here you go.
Enjoy!
frugaldebb

Free Reactine Sample

Dear Diary,
I missed out on this one last time cause I wasn't quick enough but luckily they extended their offer. So if you are an allergy sufferer or are related/know someone who is, get your free Reactine sample here. And while you're there, you might want to register for Living Well as they regularly send you offers for other free stuff and coupons.
But if you want some free Reactine, ya better be quick and act now.
I don't want to be the one who said I told you so!
frugaldebb

Recycling Garden Pots & Flats & Things

Dear Diary,
I don't know about you but every year after gardening season, we end up with a bunch of plant pots, flats and other gardening pots that we keep and store because we have no idea what to do with them. Our recycling program doesn't take them and I just don't feel right about tossing them in the trash. So needless to say, plant pots and flats and other gardening pots have been sitting around collecting dust and creating clutter.
Thankfully, I just happened to learn that there is a store that takes back your empty plant containers and flats etc and grinds them up and recycles them. And if you return a minimum of 25 of them they will give you a $5 coupon towards a garden centre purchase. I imagine you can only return them as long as the garden centre remains open, so I would get there before the garden centre closes for the season.
So I bet you can guess where we headed with our garden pots! Oh and by the way, they even took stuff that we didn't purchase there.
Gotta Love it when you can combine frugality with being good to the environment!
frugaldebb

Peak Saver Program Just Think about it !

Dear Diary,
A few years ago (dh and I are discussing how many years) we enrolled in the Peak Saver program. And basically, what this program does is lowers your central air conditioner by a few degrees when needed during high electric power demands in the summer months. When you sign up you get a brand new thermostat that can be controlled by your hydro company if and when required due to high energy demands. When you sign up with them you will also get a $25 rebate on your hydro and a chance to win prizes. We did it and haven't noticed a thing and chances are they might not even have to lower your air conditioning at all! And even if you don't have central air you can still enter the contest to win prizes. Not sure if it's available everywhere but hey why not check it out! Good for the budget and good for the environment!
Now that's something to think about
frugaldebb

Did ya Know?

Dear Diary,
Have you heard that Old Navy is selling their Adult Graphic T's for just Three Bucks this Saturday only (May 30)?
Well if you want to get graphic, you heard it here!
frugaldebb

It's Not Delivery It's Delissio

Dear Diary,
Just came back from No Frills and stocked up on Delissio Ultimate Med Chicken Pizzas. Not sure if this is at all No Frills but at my store they had a large freezer full of these pizzas on sale for $3.99. Not a bad deal considering these usually sell for over $8 a piece. And to top it off, I had some $2 coupons kicking around. So I bought 7 of these babies for $1.99 a piece. Needless to say it won't be delivery at my house for quite some time!
frugaldebb

I've Got Something To BZZ about!

Dear Diary,
Just realized I forgot to tell you about last weeks mail. Last week I received Hamilton magazine(this has been coming for free for the past few years but I don't know why and I don't ask questions), free sample pack of Ocean Spray Craisins, red dress pin and coupon for Ocean Spray product and BZZ Agent pack.
I told you before and I'll tell you again that I'm a BZZ Agent. What's great about being an agent is that I get to try out new products/services for free. Often I'm sent products to try and share with family and friends and also really great value coupons. BZZ campaigns I've done in the past include Crest Whitestrips, Nabob Coffee, Nordica Cottage Cheese, Oreo Cakesters, Eggs and now currently Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew. With this campaign I received 1 75 ml bottle of daily moisture lotion, 1 15 ml bottle of daily eye cream and 1 compact purse size mirror plus lots of coupons. Only catch with BZZ and it's not even a catch, is that you have to talk to others about the products and write up a few reports. And it's really not that difficult. Plus you also get points for submitting your reports which you can eventually exchange for gift cards.
Perhaps you should have something to BZZ about.
frugaldebb

Birthdays can be frugal

Dear Diary,
Today I attended a birthday party for a three year old nephew. So yes a birthday gift was in order cause you can't attend a birthday party empty handed.
I know I'm frugal but you can't call me cheap!
So anyhow ds who just got his driver's license agreed to take me to the mall to search for something to add to my birthday gift. Only condition was that he went his way and I went my way. No problemo!
Searched my favourite haunts for kids wear; Children's Place, Old Navy and finally Please Mum; but nothing suited my taste or budget. Finally as a last resort thought I would check out Gymboree; mind you I have never bought anything there before and really wasn't expecting to find something there this time around. Don't get me wrong; I don't have a problem with this place. The outfits are absolutely adorable and if I had little kiddies right now I would dream of dressing them up in the latest Gymboree fashions. But like I said that would be in my dreams. Anyhow entering the store with high expectations of coming out empty handed, my eye caught sight of a huge clearance rack of clothing with a sign above it stating an additional 20 per cent off of any clearance item. After checking the prices of a few items on the rack and doing the math and confirming with a store employee that the 20 per cent off was indeed on top of the already reduced prices, I was ready to make a kill. And I did but I can't tell you what I spent cause you just can't disclose the price of a gift now can you? Anyway I bought this adorable blue and white checked long-sleeved shirt which was regularly priced at $33.
Lesson learned is that sometimes you just have to think outside of the box! And I just love it when I get quality stuff for less.
And that's not cheap but just plain frugal
frugaldebb

Free Harvey's tomorrow

Dear Diary,
Just a reminder about the free original burger day at Harvey's tomorrow available at participating Harvey's locations.
And I would get there earlier rather than later if I were you.
Have a Good Day!
frugaldebb

Timmies Free Iced Coffee

Dear Diary,
Just wanted to remind you of this deal at Timmies today! Like I said before, I'll pass on this one cause I'm wired enough as it is. Definitely don't need caffeine to get me going. But you may want to take them up on their offer.
Anyhow that's why I'm reminding you.
Enjoy your free coffee
frugaldebb

Old Navy flip flops a buck a pair

Dear Diary,
Just heard from Supermodelquin (Old Navy mannequin) on Twitter, that Old Navy is having a sale on flip flops, this Saturday May 23/09. Basic flip flops will be selling for just a buck a pair; limit of 5 pair per customer at all Canadian Old Navy locations.
So if you're in need of a new pair of flip flops, you know where to head this Saturday, right??
Happy Flip Flopping Day
frugaldebb

FREE

Dear Diary,
If you want a Venus Embrace ( just update...hope this works ...unless they ran out of offers )razor for free, you gotta act fast cause these offers run out quickly. Thanks to my frugal friends at FS for this posting.
frugaldebb

Awesome Mail Day & Ontario Place

Dear Diary,
I forgot to tell you about my awesome mail day last Friday. First of all a courier brought my Ontario Place win which include the tickets and vouchers but to my surprise fleece hoodies for the 4 of us as well as baseball caps. And then a little later Canada Post delivered a $10 WalMart gift card for doing a follow-up study for Carleton University. Oh and I really love gift cards.

On another note, have to tell you about our trip to Ontario Place. The weather was cool but there was hardly a cloud in the sky. The teenage kids found it a little boring cause there was not all that much for them to do there. Had it been warmer, they would have spent a lot of time on the water slides, bumper boats and pedal boats, but it was a bit cool for all of that. We did end up playing both mini golf courses, went to the Dino simulator, saw a couple of movies and the kids went on the Wilderness Adventure ride. Oh and by the way the movie ' Hurricane on the Bayou' was excellent and I highly recommend it. The Dinosaur movie was o.k. but definitely not for little kids or young ones who easily get frightened by loud noises or dinosaurs roaring in their faces.
We spent a fair amount of time eating at the Marina Grill ( a sit down restaurant in the park) cause we had vouchers for both lunch and supper so today I won't be eating as much. Good thing I went to the gym before our trip yesterday. All in all, a pretty frugal day since our only cost was parking, gratuities and alchohol.
frugaldebb

Frugal Painting and Gardening

Dear Diary,
We just came back from Home Depot cause we needed some paint for a basement bedroom and bathroom. Up and including Holiday Monday they have a deal on their interior paints ( CIL, CIL Smart , Behr and Ralph Lauren); buy 3 cans or gallons and get the 4th for free by mail-in rebate. We have used Behr paint in the past and we quite like it. They also had a good deal on 25L bags of top soil; .99 a bag but the sale for that is today (Saturday) only while quantities last and a limit of 10 bags per customer.
If you are planning on doing some gardening, HD has 5 inch optimum annuals or geraniums on for buy 3 get the 4th free instantly with in-store coupon and this sale is also on until Holiday Monday.

Happy Victoria Day Weekend!
frugaldebb

Mail and free stuff

Dear Diary,
Just checked my mailbox and lo and behold, a win from a February contest had finally arrived. It was a can of Schwarzkopf professional Osis+ hairspray. I guess my dd will enjoy that one, since I have very little need for hairspray.
Here's a couple of things that you may enjoy: Tim Hortons free iced coffee day May 21, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and a free Purex sample.
I think I'll pass on the coffee as I'm wired enough as it is but I've already ordered my free Purex sample.
Cheers to free coffee and free laundry!
frugaldebb

Burt's Bees Plus a Win

Dear Diary,
My mail just came and I received my Burt's Bees sample kit ( free with the purchase of 3 Green Works cleaning products). And I have to tell you it is awesome even thought it wasn't completely free. ( you can find the mail in form attached by a stringy to these products and the receipt is what is required to get the free kit)
I love Burt's Bees but their products don't come cheap. My sample kit contains 1 Honey Lip Balm, 1 Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream, 1 Peppermint Foot Lotion, 1 Banana Hand Creme, 1 Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Creme, 1 Hand Salve, 1 Milk and Honey Body Lotion and 1 Aloe and Buttermilk Body Lotion.
I am so excited but it doesn't take much to get me excited!
Oh on another note I just found out that I won a family pass to Ontario Place this weekend which includes 4 play all day tickets, 4 v.i.p. seating at the new movie 'Hurricane on the Bayou', both dinner and supper for 4 at The Marina Grill, and also Ontario Place T-shirts and ball caps.
WOO HOO!
frugaldebb

Free Stuff

Dear Diary,
You probably are well aware of how much I really love free stuff. And just this past weekend on Mother's Day, I received a free potted geranium from a local garden centre.
Well here's something for free that I want to share with you (many thanks to other frugal friends). On Sunday May 24th, Harvey's is offering a free burger day at selected Canadian locations. So head out with the kids and get your free burgers. I believe they do this every year, but I have never taken them up on their offer. I imagine that Harvey's could get pretty busy so I would go earlier rather than later.
Enjoy!
frugaldebb

Deals & More

Dear Diary,
Scooped some Oasis Premium OJ for a great price this morning. No Frills has it on sale this week for $1.69 for 1.75L and I just happened to have some $1 coupons kicking around. So paid 69 cents for this juice. Woo Hoo! If you're into the Yoplait Minigo Yogurts they're selling for $1.33 at NF as well and I know there are 5o cents coupons out there for this product so if you manage to locate some of these coupons, that's a really great deal.

If you like Nutella, here's a link for a free sample. But with anything free, you gotta act fast cause usually there are limited supplies.

Good Luck
frugaldebb

Frugal Finds

Dear Diary,
Have I ever told you how much I Love picking things up at the curb side and turning them into treasures?? I've been doing this for quite some time now long before I was Almost Always Frugal. If I glance around my home, there are many items that were rescued and saved from their ultimate death in the dump. I love it all; the hunt, the find and the rescue! And you know what it's not only frugality that motivates me; it's the thought of saving something from going to the trash. I hate it when I see good stuff going out to the trash. What a waste! Our world would be in a much better state if we tossed out less stuff.
Anyhow moving on, I want to tell you about this old sewing cabinet thingy that I rescued from the trash when I was walking home from the Y one day. I spotted it and just had to bring it home up the Mountain stairs. It wasn't pretty but I could see beyond that. I knew somewhere, somehow I could re-purpose it and I did with dh's help. I always get him involved somehow. I wish I had taken some before photos but that was before I thought of writing about it so I didn't. Well anyhow now my ugly little sewing cabinet thingy is now my pretty coupon storage container. It did cost me a can of spray paint and some elbow grease to sand it and clean it up but hey I saved it and that's what counts!
They say one man's trash is another woman's treasure!
frugaldebb

Surprise win & good deals

Dear Diary,
Just a quick post before I'm off to bed. Found out I won a Columbia backpack today from a Canada Post contest. It was a surprise win! And also got some good deals on the weekend: No Frills 2 shaving cream for me and 2 for dh for .99 with coupons and at Food Basics 5 FREE egg creations with coupons. Yes I said free, imagine that and I don't even eat eggs lol. Guess dh is going to be eating lots of eggs in the next while. Wonder if you can freeze that stuff?
goodnight frugaldebb

Frugal Friday Rant

Dear Diary,
For the past couple of weeks I've been volunteering my time by leading a fitness class at my local gym. My last class was today as the regular leader returns next week and I'm breathing a sigh of relief. Have to admit though the stress of doing the class zapped my energy level and kept me out of the shopping malls. So all in all I've managed to be pretty frugal without even trying.
But I really didn't need to shop anyway cause I'm the kind of shopper who stocks up when items are on sale or there is a great deal to be had. You can call me crazy but there are some items I will simply not purchase unless it is on sale or unless I have a great coupon or a combination of the two.
So yes I have a stockpile and here's a few things I have plenty of: toilet paper, Q-tips, laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, dish soap, hand soap, liquid hand soap, toothpaste, pasta, bottled water for car trips, pop, juice, canned soups, packaged soup, shampoo & conditioner, shaving cream, kleenex, shavers and refill blades, tin foil, plastic wrap, cleaning supplies, hand & body lotion, travel size beauty supplies and the list goes on and on... But if you noticed, I tend to stock up on stuff that has a long shelf life; cause if your stuff spoils it defeats the whole purpose.

On another note I just have to tell you about the goodies I got in the mail this week. Received a Bluewater freezer shopping bag for sending in upc's and a Homemaker's mag for also sending in upc's plus a minimal payment. Also got a Hotel for Dogs prize pack win from Family Channel. Oh and also Dear Diary my ds won an Ipod which he is giving to me cause he just got one so I'm excited about that. This will be great for downloading audio books from the local library and listening to them while working out at the gym. Just recently found out that my local library has e-books to download. Perhaps your local library offers this as well??
frugaldebb

Frugal Renovating

Dear Diary,
We are in the midst of doing some renovating and the only really frugal thing about it is that dh is doing it diy.
Generally speaking we find many home improvement stores don't really have great deals or sales on basic building supplies. But I have to say we lucked out on the weekend. I clipped a coupon from a Lowes flyer a week or so ago ( coupon was for $20 off when you spend $200) ; not a big savings but $20 is 2o bucks. DH called Lowes and found out the Dricor subflooring that we needed was available and for the same price as Home Depot. So on Saturday with coupon in hand we headed to Lowes even though it is a bit further away than the Home Depot.
We got our flooring and a few other items and were ready to checkout when an employee approached us with a deal of 10 per cent savings on a first purchase when we got a Lowes credit card. Quickly doing the math, we realized our savings would be even greater so we abandoned our coupon idea and ended up with a savings of $32.80.
So that Dear Diary was my excitement for the day! WOO HOO once again.
frugaldebb

Frugal Clutter woes

Dear Diary,
Just the other day I talked about Frugal Clutter! Well I think it's gotten the best of me. Last year I received some free seeds ( carrot seeds from a Hellman's promo and flower seeds from a BZZ Agent Nabob promo). Well to make a long story short we stored our freebie seeds away cause it was too late to plant them when we received them. But to ensure we would remember to plant them this spring dh thought he would be smart and set up a reminder in his email about these seeds. Problem is we got the reminder but could not find where we had safely stored the seeds. We spent many a day this week searching for our precious seeds and it was driving us crazy. Had we not set up this email reminder we would have totally forgotten about these seeds. But now we were reminded and now we had to find them! Few tins and boxes were left unturned and I think we sort of gave up on the seeds; there was mention that we would probably find them when we moved out. Anyhow dh was doing something totally unrelated the other day and suddenly he dropped a box on my desk with guess what?? Yes the seeds! Hallelujah now I can sleep again and not dream about searching for seeds!
Next year when we put a reminder in an email we'll also include the location as well!
exhausted from searching for seeds
frugaldebb

Frugal Clutter

Dear Diary,
It's been quiet in this Frugal World of mine so I've been taking some time to get rid of some Frugal Clutter. Don't know if it's just me or if all Frugallers are like this, but anyhow I tend to hoard or store things in excess just in case I might need them in the future. And that even includes emails; think I had close to 2000 the other day. So I've been spending some time cleaning and organizing my email and now I'm down to under 200. Hope I can keep it this way.

On another note I did get some pretty good deals last weekend at Shopper's Drug Mart and what was really great was that I was able to snag 15 times the Optimum points by spending $50. And believe it or not the $50 I spent was pretty much stuff we needed and almost everything was on sale. Here's a rundown on what I bought: 1 eggs, 4milk, 4Life Brand spring water, 2 Dawn dish soap, 2 packages of Claritin and Life Brand Potato Crisps. Everything except the potato crisps were on sale and I used $8 in coupons on the Claritin and Dawn Dish Soap. So in the end I got the 325ml Dawn dish soaps for 38 cents WOO HOO!

And now getting back to stocking up and hoarding, I now have several case of bottled water stored in my home. And as far as bottled water goes we only use it when we travel in the car (cause I know it's not the best for this wonderful world we live in). So I think I'm good for awhile. Talk about Frugal Clutter but have to admit I can't help myself. I need to go to Frugallers Anonymous I think!
frugaldebb

Designer Shoes on a Frugal Budget

Dear Diary,
My teenage ds has been wanting and actually needing new shoes cause they are literally falling apart and they squeak and squawk when he walks. But being the frugal lass that I am, I've been trying to put him off until I find shoes that he likes, that are on sale. Trouble is he's not so easy to please these days and the Wal-Mart shoes just don't cut it anymore. Finally gave in yesterday and went to the mall with him in search of cheap new shoes that he will actually wear. And lo and behold, his store of choice was Payless and they just happened to have a BOGO sale ( buy 1 get 1 half off) on at the moment. Thought to myself, that Payless could work and my mind raced with the thought of snagging a pair of shoes for myself. Not that I really need shoes mind you, but if there's a good deal to be had who could resist.
I digress; anyhow ended up with a pair of $39.99 Air Walk sneakers for ds and a pair of casual shoes for myself for $8.50. My shoes were regular priced at $34.99, on sale for $17 and with BOGO got them for $8.50. Woo Hoo!
frugaldebb
Oh P.S. received a Tribute win the other day; a couple of Watchmen dvds. Problem is they are Blu-Ray! Guess now I have to win a Blu-Ray player to watch them!

Surprise win

Dear Diary,
I wasn't too excited about the day cause I knew the mail wasn't coming as it was Easter Monday. So if the mail isn't coming what is there to look forward to. Well even though the mail didn't come, FedEx and CanPar were up and running. And it ended up being a great day after all. FedEx delivered some movie passes I won in a previous contest ( although ds aka darling son has already claimed this prize) and CanPar delivered a surprise win that I had no clue that I had won in the first place. And guess what I won dear diary?? A fancy new blender and it can't get any better than that can it???
frugaldebb

Frugal Connecting with Family & Friends

Dear Diary,
On this beautiful Easter Sunday, I am reminded of one of my favourite frugal ways of connecting with family and friends. It's called skype
Skype is a means of having live conversations from your computer to someone else's computer for FREE! Yes I said free. With a couple of kids and other family members living at a distance, I'm loving it! ( For minimal fees, you can also use skype to connect to landlines and I believe mobile phones).
When we use skype it's like we're having a conference call and everyone is in on the conversation. It even feels like we are sitting in the same room. Sometimes the connection isn't always the greatest and sometimes you do get cut off, but when you're just shooting the breeze so to speak, who cares! (SKYPE isn't meant for emergency calls).
I just really love the fact that it's free and we can call as much for as long as we want and not worry about what it's costing us. I find it does a great job of helping to keep closer ties with family and friends. So why not give skype a try!
Oh before I go just remembered another source for finding coupons; try your dental office for toothpaste, floss coupons etc. It works for me!
frugaldebb

So You've Decided To Coupon

Dear Diary,
With my great shopping deals (using coupons), I may have convinced you to start using coupons yourself. But you may ask where do I find these elusive coupons?? Well let me tell you, there are plenty of sources to get coupons; some are obvious and some are well not so obvious. And I'm going to let you in on some of my secret places where I source coupons. Dear Diary, MAYBE YOU'LL TELL ME SOME OF YOUR SECRET PLACES WHERE YOU FIND COUPONS. I'll tell you if you tell me!
Here's my List:
1Magazines (but please don't tear out coupons if they're not your own magazines ie from libraries, offices, hair salons etc unless you can tear them out so that no one notices).
2 Newspapers often include coupon flyers especially in their weekend editions.
3 Free Newspapers.
3 Grocery Stores & Department Stores.
4 Junk Mail sometimes contains coupons for local businesses and restaurants.
5 Sign up for Company emails/newsletters that are of interest to you; sometimes a company will email or mail actual coupons to you.
6 Get coupons from Coupon Sites such as Save.ca and GoCoupons.ca
7 Join Frugal websites such as FrugalShopper.ca where you can trade coupons with others and find out about coupons that you weren't aware of.
8 The Beer Store puts out a magazine called Chill which sometimes contains coupons.
9 E-mail companies; sometime if you email a company saying you liked their product, they will send you coupons for future use.
10 Internet; many companies will have coupons to print out on their site. But beware some stores will not accept Internet coupons.
11 Become a frequent shopper at your favourite stores and they will sometimes send you coupons and early notification of special sales.
12 Trade coupons with friends and family members and even neighbours.
13 Sometimes you will find someone who has no interest in coupons and will gladly hand over any coupons that come their way. Accept them gratefully!
14 Sometimes survey companies will send you coupons for products and other free stuff if you're willing to give them feedback about the product.
15 Join BZZ Agent
16 Sign up to try new products that come out, when the opportunity arises; sometimes you'll get picked sometimes you won't.
I know there are more Secret Coupon Hiding Places out there so please share!
frugaldebb

To Coupon or Not To Coupon Now That's NOT a Question

Dear Diary,
Just have to tell you about the coupons I used when shopping for groceries this week. Have to admit after using over $28 of coupons, it was a great coupon week.
Here's a summary of my coupon use and also have to tell I used these coupons in combo with sales so I got even better deals:
1 Uncle Bens Natural Select Rice $3.47 (free with coupon)
1 Nordica Cottage Cheese $2.89 (free with coupon)
1 Kashi Bars $3.99 (free with coupon)
1 Catelli Healthy Harvest Pasta $1.97 (free with coupon)
2 Delissio Ultimate Pizzas sale priced $6.94 (had $2 coupons so $4.94 and bought 2) No Frills

2 Tide and 2 Gain laundry detergents sale priced at $4.99 (had $1 coupons so $3.99; bought4) Shoppers
4 Cote D'or chocolate bars sale priced 2 for $5 ( had $1 coupons so $1.50 each;bought4 ) Shoppers
1 pack Vitality replacement heads for toothbrush sale priced $17.99 ( $3 coupon so $14.99)Shoppers
2 Dawn dish soaps sale priced at .88 (.50 coupons so .38 each; bought 2) Giant Tiger
Oh and also got a $20 Esso Gas Card for spending $50 at Shoppers Drug Mart today!
And also visited a Lindt event today and got a Lindt bag; dh got a mini Lindt Chocolate Bunny!
Can't get any better than this!
Frugaldebb

Mirror Mirror On The Wall was I Frugal After All

Dear Diary,
Spent the day shopping with family! Sometimes it's easy to spend more when others are around, have to admit. But did I spend more? And the answer is NO. Mostly bought stuff that we needed anyways.
But I digress, bought a couple things for myself this morning on my own at WalMart on clearance; a shirt for $4 and a bra for$5. WooHoo!
And a Good Mail Day too: Yoga Mat from Astro Yogurt, Free Product Coupon from Uncle Bens and coupons from a trade on Frugal Shopper.
It's been a Good Day!
Good Night
frugaldebb

What Do you Recycle or Reuse?

Dear Diary,
This whole new garbage limitation got me thinking... about all the stuff I recycle and reuse. But where do I begin to tell the story?...
I reuse and recycle:
inner milk bags just once mind you for freezer storage instead of zipper type bags
outer milk bags for dog waste
cereal bags to separate steaks & burgers and occasionally to place homemade cookies on but not too often cause I don't bake much (i never buy wax paper)
ziploc baggies; wash them and reuse them until they rip
paper grocery bags for mini green cart bin liner and to store meat cut offs in freezer until garbage day
plastic grocery bags for inside and outside garbage
large water bottles from our water cooler to collect rain water for plants in the winter and to make large ice blocks for our cooler and freezer when it is running on empty
junk mail envelopes for grocery lists and to send money for school fundraisers, lunches etc...

And here's a few things I don't buy or hardly buy and I'll tell you why:
paper towels as I use washable cloths and J-cloths instead
paper tissues; we use hankies most of the time but always have paper tissues on hand for guests
paper napkins; use washable cloth ones instead
wax paper cause as I said before I use inner cereal bags
fabric softener cause we really don't need it
many household cleaners cause I mostly use dish soap, baking soda and vinegar and believe it or not we're still all alive and kicking
dear diary I know there's more but my bed beckons me; I'm sure you can come up with a few ideas of your own???
good night
frugaldebb

Limiting Garbage can be Frugal

Dear Diary,
This week marks the beginning of a new era of Garbage Collection in my community. From this day forward, garbage collectors will pick up only 2 bags of trash per household with a 1 bag limit being strongly encouraged. (if you absolutely must put out 2 bags the 2nd must be clear so that all contents can be viewed and must not contain any recyclables or compost material of any sort)
By early in 2010 a 1 bag limit will be strictly enforced. (Large families with many young children and persons with medical issues can apply to be exempt from the 1 bag limit).
While many folks seem to have a problem with this, I don't understand why this should be a problem. Our Community has a great recycling program that accepts a lot of stuff and we are also fortunate to have a Green Cart Composting program.
I can honestly say I have no problem with the 1 bag limit cause I've been doing it for sometime now. In fact it`s all a part of my Frugal Plan.
Less garbage means you've bought less stuff and perhaps recycled and reused more. It also means you need to purchase fewer garbage bags to hold it all. I know that garbage bags aren't a major expense but if you`re counting pennies it all adds up! Honestly does anyone enjoy buying garbage bags just to throw them out?? I sure as heck don't. If there are people out there, who like spending money on trash bags, maybe there's a market for Designer ones???
I can't even remember the last time we bought garbage bags, cause we're in the habit of putting out 1 small grocery bag of garbage per week.
Although we do use reusable cloth bags at stores that charge for plastic ones, I greatly accept ones from stores that don't charge for them, simply for trash. So that for me equals free trash bags. Gotta love it!
frugaldebb

Highlights of Some of My Frugal Shopping Deals

Costco
Vector Mega Jumbo size 1.13 kg $6.55 or roughly 0.59/100g

Food Basics
Nordica Cottage Cheese 4 pack $2 (paid only 0.75 with $1.25 coupons)

Fortinos
Herbal Essences Hydralicious shampoos & conditioners $1.88 (free with coupons)
If you managed to scoop some of these free product coupons this is a great time to buy this product because you are still charged for the taxes. But even without a coupon this a great buy!

Black Diamond Cheese Blocks 520g $4.44
Philadelphia Cream Cheese $1.99
HighLiner Wild Pacific Salmon $3.77

No Frills
Delissio Ultimate Pizzas These pizzas usually sell for $8 and change but I found them for $6.94, I believe. ( paid $4.94 with $2 coupons) These are great tasting pizzas!
Astro Yogurt 12 pack $2.99 (paid $1.99 with $1 coupons)

Shoppers Drug Mart
Elastoplast Fabric Bandages on clearout 0.99

Be sure to check out one of my new coupon sites GoCoupons.ca
frugaldebb

To Survey or Not To Survey That is the Question?

Dear Diary,
This past week I have been bombarded with emails from survey companies to complete surveys. And that's okay because I have signed on with these survey companies. But this week being bombarded made me realize something. I'm doing surveys that sometimes take 20 or 25 or even 30 minutes to complete for a chance to win something. Hello what was I thinking; spending that amount on a survey for a chance to win something. Heck I could enter a whole lot of contests in that amount of time to win something and most likely something much bigger than the survey companies are offering. Makes me think I have to look at this survey business in a whole different light. I know there are good survey companies out there and I belong to some of them; but I'm really going to have to evaluate whether or not I continue to do surveys for a chance to win a low value gift card for instance. I've even come across survey companies that invite you to surveys that could take you up to 30 minutes to qualify; I don't think so! So I'm putting it out to you dear diary if you know of any good reputable survey companies I would truly appreciate it.
Good Night
frugaldebb

Shoppers Drug Mart Bonus Redemption

Dear Diary,
Have I told you how much I love it when Shoppers Drug Mart offers bonus redemption days?
Bonus redemption days are when the store offers you more money for your Optimum points than they normally do and this past weekend was a bonus redemption weekend. So of course I redeemed my points for $100 of free stuff cause on a normal redemption day I would have only received $75 of free stuff. And I always drag along my dh so he can keep track of my spending but believe me this is not on his list of favourite things.
Anyhow dear diary, my secret to making the most of these bonus redemption days is to use coupons and combine them with in store sales. On this past redemption, most of the items I bought were on sale and I ended up using $11 in coupons.
I was quite pleased with myself when I left the store with my haul. I love free stuff.
But I'm always amazed by the number of shoppers who don't have Optimum Cards or don't use them for that matter; do you??
Good Night
frugaldebb

Frugal Shopping for Teen continued

Dear Diary,
I am weary and I am tired but in the end all's well that ends well.
Day 1 of shopping for my ds was sort of a waste well not completely. We ended up getting a few small items all on sale of course but the majority of things he wanted and needed were at Aeropostale.

And of course since the sale didn't start until Thursday we had to go back. But it was worth it in the end. They had promos on and combined with the 30% off we did pretty well; mind you we were the only one in the store with a coupon. What is wrong with people or do they all have money to burn??
Anyhow I digress; bottom line is we bought 2 T-shirts, 1 pair of jeans and 1 pair of cargo shorts for under $60. Without the coupon and without the promos we would have paid approximately double.
So ds is happy and so am I.
Good Night
frugaldebb

Frugal Shopping with a teenage son

Dear Diary,
I am thinking that today might not be such a frugal day. You see my teenage ds wants to go to the mall shopping for clothes and I'm am going along because I hold the credit cards.
It was so much easier when my ds used to allow me to buy clothes for him and he would find that pretty much anything from Wal-Mart to thrift store and garage sale finds was acceptable. But I'm sad to say those days are gone.
Now only expensive brand names like American Eagle, and Aeropostale are considered acceptable.
What is a mother to do??
Well I spent the morning doing some research online and was able to find a coupon for Aeropostale although the coupon offer doesn't begin until Thursday. It is a pretty good coupon though at 30 per cent off! My ds insists on shopping today so I guess we have a couple of options: find the clothes he likes and go back on Thursday to buy them with the coupon or see if they will take the coupon today. I'm also hoping we might snag a few great deals in the clearance section and since the coupon does not apply to clearance we could get all he needs today.
On a more frugal note, we are walking to the mall and saving the expense of bus money since it is such a nice day. That is if my ds will walk with me!
Well a shopping I do go; wish me luck!
frugaldebb

A Year in the Frugal Life

Dear Diary,
This past Friday was an anniversary of sorts; it was a year ago on that day that I left my job and haven't worked in a paid position since. Although you may think this anniversary is not worth celebrating, this year has been celebratory in other ways. It's been a year of learning to be even more frugal if that's even possible lol. It's been a year of using the Internet to increase my frugal capabilities and learning invaluable frugal ideas from others. And I thought I knew all there was to know on being frugal. Dear Diary, man was I ever naive!
Dear Diary, this past year I have come to celebrate more of the little things in life like visiting my favourite frugal sites on a daily basis; frugalshopper of course and getting the mail. Who thought one could get so excited about getting the mail and anticipating what the Postie might bring me today??
Well the reason I get so excited when Mr. PostMan comes, is because he brings me lots of free things which I have ordered over the Internet. In fact, just the other day he brought me a free coupon for an Uncle Burger at A&W, 2 magazines which were pretty much free; Glow and Canadian Home and Country, plus grocery coupons including a free product coupon for Pledge MultiSurface Cleaner and best of all 10 free product coupons for Herbal Essences Hydralicious from Matchstick. I can hardly wait to try this product and share some coupons with my friends & family.
Oh and I almost forgot, he also brought me some shoe/boot cleaning product from a NikWax instant win contest. And this product came just in time for me to clean up our winter boots and hopefully store them away for another year.
Mr. Postman I can hardly wait for Monday.
ta ta for now
frugaldebb

Frugal Eating

Dear Diary,
From my entry title, you're probably thinking I'm going to write about how I can help you save money on groceries.
Well you're wrong, sort of... let me explain.
Since the beginning of Lent, I've given up eating foods such as chocolate, cookies, ice cream, cake; pretty much anything sweet. And it has been going pretty well. Actually the more time that passes the less I crave these foods.
But the thing is, I've been having these dreams of eating decadent and rich sweet treats just about every night. One night it was Belgian chocolates, another night sweet sticky buns and last night Belgian Chocolate Fondue. These dreams have been so realistic that I actually feel like I have eaten these foods without really having eaten them. Upon coming out of my dream, I have a sense of guilt for having indulged and not following through with my commitment, but that moment of guilt is very brief.
So in a sense I've been having my cake and eating it too! All the pleasures of indulging without the consequences of calories and costs etc etc. Pretty frugal eating isn't it??
But I'm not suggesting you eat this way; having dreams like mine are probably pretty slim.
On another note there is a way to save on groceries and that is through the use of coupons. One of my favourite sites to get grocery coupons is save.ca It is a great source for coupons; you pick the ones you want and they send them to you in a timely manner. At this particular site you can get food coupons as well as non-food item coupons. Sometime when a new product is being introduced to the market, they offer a free product coupon. And if you combine these coupons with in store sales you can get some pretty amazing deals. Need I say more.
good night
frugaldebb

Bzz Agent

Dear Diary,
There is something about me that you don't know about. I am a secret agent of sorts but it won't be so secret once I tell you about it.
For your eyes and ears only, I'm a BZZ Agent. Well you may ask what in he double hockey sticks, is a BZZ Agent. Well a BZZ Agent is someone who gets to try new products but promises to BZZ (tell others) about them in return. Being a BZZ Agent has many benefits such as getting to try new products, getting free product coupons and discount coupons and points which you can exchange for gift cards. I have had the opportunity to BZZ about many things including: Oreo Cakesters, Crest Whitestrips, Nabob Cofffe, Eggs, Silk Soy Milk and Nordica Cottage Cheese. All you have to do is BZZ and write a few reports about your BZZ experiences.
It's a win win situation. Sometimes you learn about new products that you never thought about trying. But once you try them for free, you find you really like them. If you would like to check out BZZ Agent go to BZZ Agent.

goodnight frugaldebb

Highlights of The Week

Dear Diary,
I have been pretty frugal all week so please forgive me if I wasn't too frugal on Saturday.
What happened on Saturday you may ask???
Well I went to the Princess of Wales theater in Toronto to see The Sound of Music; so that wasn't exactly a frugal thing to do now was it?
While it was by no means a frugal thing to do it was a Christmas gift so I didn't exactly have to pay for it.
Although my dh paid for the tickets, I guess I ultimately did too but my point is... it's o.k. to do some not so frugal things.
You just have to figure out what you really want to do and splurge on those things that you want most in life. You might have to give something up along the way but if you really know what you want it's worth it in the end.
And was it worth it you bet it was! And in this gloomy economy I bet you can get your hands on some cheaper tickets to see the show. I would highly recommend it! It's a real pick-me-up!
On another note, the past couple of weeks have been good to me.
After a contesting dry spell; I managed to win 4 small contests; 1 Lou Lou Beauty Lottery Win of Hair Care products, 1 Yummy Mummy Win of fitness dvd's, 1 Viewer's Choice Win of a T-shirt and a winter hat and 1 Family Channel Win of a Kids Prize Pack.
Here's to next week; can't wait for what's in-store for me.
frugaldebb

Frugal Laundry

Dear Diary,
Okay okay, I haven't blogged in a couple of days but it's not from lack of blogging material. I've got plenty to blog about.
Today is such a lovely day; almost feels like spring is here at last. And spring's arrival brings the opportunity to hang your laundry on the line to dry. It's good for the environment, it's frugal and there's nothing like the outdoor scent of line- dried laundry.
So guess what I'm doing today; you got it right hanging my laundry outside to dry.
So see you later, my laundry awaits me.
frugaldebb

Frugal Hobbies

Dear Diary,
There are many hobbies out there but mine is contesting; not sure if contesting is a word. But I do contest; not sure if contest is a verb either. But contesting is my frugal hobby. Today I came home and found my contesting had paid off in a small way. WooHoo I won two contests today; Lou Lou Beauty Lottery, $19 of hair products and Yummy Mummy, 2 fitness dvd's cardio and pilates.
Oh by the way Canada Post also brought me a $5 rebate for buying frozen pizzas on sale with coupons of course. What a day!

Good Night
frugaldebb

Saturday Saturday

Dear Diary,
Here's one of the best kept secrets on how to frugally entertain yourself on a Saturday night.
Most libraries have a ginormous selection of dvd's you can borrow. And the best part is they're free. While you might not be able to get the newest releases right when they come out, who really cares. If it's a movie you haven't seen before then it's a NEW MOVIE, Right????
Well off to watch one of those totally free movies.
Good Night
frugaldebb

Frugal Friday

Dear Diary,
Today I went to the gym. Now you might say how can going to the gym be frugal when it costs money to go the gym. You're right it does cost money and if you're not using it then why do you have a gym membership. I can honestly say I get my money's worth at the gym since I spend so much time there so for me it is worth every penny I spend. And it's something I would not readily give up.
But to get to the point, perhaps somewhere, somehow you are spending money on something you are not using. And if that is the case then why are you spending money on something you are not using??? Just have a good look at what you are spending money on, and if you really enjoy what you are spending money on. If not spend that hard earned money elsewhere; in a place where you will truly enjoy your earnings.
On another note, while walking home from the gym today I lucked out and found a twenty dollar bill. Walking is not only good for you but sometimes you do find things while walking. While I admit I don't always find twenty dollar bills, I do regularly find coins or beer bottles/cans which ultimately = money. And walking is a very frugal way to exercise...
Good Night
frugaldebb

Beginner Blogger

Dear Diary,
I am so excited. This is new to me. I am now a blogger on this 26th day of February 2009. Always wanted to be a blogger but had no idea how to set this up until dh helped me. By the way, dh stands for darling husband.
Since my title is Always Frugal; just have to tell you about my first frugal day as a blogger but of course I've had many frugal days before.
Walked to Metro and bought (2) Oasis juice on sale for $2.99 but of course I had $1 off coupons for both; also bought MCain oven roasts for $2.29 with .50 coupon and had to buy strawberries cause they were selling for $1.77. In the end I got the Oasis juices for $1.99 each; what a great deal!
And on the walk home I picked up 3 beer cans and 1 beer bottle.
Can't get better than that.

goodnight frugaldebb