Oh, you know it! It's Friday, so let's do freebies!
*Wal-Mart has a sample of Soy Joy bars here (these are free after rebate at Rite Aid through Saturday as well...)
*Juicy Juice will give you a free sippy cup for joining its online club here.
*Right at Home has its January gift pack up... some Ziploc items... But it's only the first 5,000 people. I'm not sure if it's gone yet. Click here.
*There's a Cream of Wheat sample here...
Well, I wouldn't go spending $100 just to get a free backpack, but if you were planning to make a purchase from Barnes & Noble, you should know that the retailer is giving away a free backpack with any $100 purchase on bn.com. The offer ends Jan. 30, or when they run out of backpacks... Check out the details here.
Online photo printing Web site Shutterfly is trying to promote its new Share program, where you can create your own Shutterfly Web site and share your photos with friends and family. So, now through Feb. 2, Shutterfly will give you 30 free prints for creating a Share page and then 10 free prints each week that you upload new photos to share. You will have until Feb. 13 to use them.
I am fairly sure you will still have to pay shipping, but it's usually just a few bucks and would still be a good deal. View the details here...
Many retailers are releasing their sales figures for December this week, and as predicted, many of them are just dismal. Even Wal-Mart, which was clearly a "winner" this holiday season, only saw a 1.7 percent increase in same-store sales (sales at stores open more than a year) and missed analysts' estimates.
What does that mean for you? Well, it probably means more deals. Wal-Mart said yesterday that it would continue the price-cutting initiative it began before Christmas, this time slashing prices on a number of health-related items. For instance, Wal-Mart dropped the price on an Weslo Cadence G40 treadmill from $297 to $277 and Kellogg's Special K waffles from $2.45 to $2.
But I'm still not sure how much those new price cuts will motivate people to buy...
Financial guru Suze Orman will apparently be appearing on the Oprah Show today, and Oprah is offering a FREE download of Suze's new 2009 Action Plan book.
It's a limited time offer, available in PDF format only through Jan. 15. The show will air in a few hours, but the download is already available. You can choose English or Spanish. Click here.
I know we've all moved on from the holidays, but don't forget the clearance sales are still going!
I hear Target is up to 90 percent now, if there's anything left, and there are other deals to be had. Take for instance, this deal found by Taking Stock reader Cathie:
I just got back from CVS and my local store still has some Christmas candy left, on sale for 75% off. I got a 12 oz. Santa tin of Assorted Chocolates for $1.25 plus tax. (Original price was $8.99; sale price was $2.25 and I used a $1 coupon from a recent newspaper insert. Coupon expiration date is 2/14/09)
A big nod to our outdoor and fitness guru, Joe Miller, for the heads up on this one...
REI has a special sale just a few times a year when all prices ending in .83 is reduced by half. That's a pretty good discount at REI! Anyway, according to Joe, the sale starts tomorrow. You can read Joe's post here.
After Wal-Mart introduced its $4 prescriptions in 2006, it was not surprising that other retailers followed suit. But now some are upping the ante even more and offering FREE prescriptions for certain medications. According to this story, New York-based Wegman's will begin offering free generic oral antibiotics. That's similar to a program being offered by the Giant food store chain.
The reason, of course, is the same reason you'd discount anything: to get folks into your store. But still, using drugs as a loss-leader seems like something really odd to see at a grocery store. What do you think?
IHOP has brought back its all-you-can-eat pancake promotion.
The company is calling it the 2009 Hungry Consumer Relief Plan, though I have a feeling the reintroduction of this popular promotion may have something to do with IHOP wanting some financial relief as well. At any rate, from now through Feb. 22, you can have all-you-can-eat pancakes served to you three at a time at most IHOP stores. The offer starts at $4.99, though prices may vary at some locations.
Of course, I hate to pay full price for anything. But it seems retailers are questioning whether anyone will ever pay full price again following this year's record discounts. Check out this Washington Post story and share your thoughts. How much of a discount do you need to approve a purchase?
I heard today from reader Jane, who was lamenting the loss of the If It's Paper store in Raleigh recently.
Jane is now looking for a new place to buy paper products, ranging from deli trays, table cloths, napkins and utensils to cake boxes and wedding supplies. I had a few ideas but I thought I'd offer the question here to see if you all have any suggestions for Jane.
Fire away.
Betty Crocker has issued new printable coupons on its Web site here for everything from Betty Crocker potatoes to Hamburger Helper to Yoplait kids' yogurt. If you have not signed up for the site, you will probably have to register before you can print them.
Also, Betty Crocker is running a recipe contest asking folks to create a recipe using Betty Crocker cookie mix. You could win $5,000. Check it out here.
Well the first week of 2009 is a totally decent deals week! There are plenty of items that are free after coupons and mail-in rebates. Not surprisingly, weight-loss type items are on sale this week, but if you are a fan of Special K cereal, Slim Fast or a particular multivitamin, this is the week to stock up.
Lowes Foods has issued a special set of store coupons with this morning’s flier that you want to be sure to grab, and there are STILL deals to be had on Procter & Gamble products if you are trying to qualify for that $120 coupon booklet before the offer ends at the end of this month.
DEAL OF THE WEEK: In honor of all of you who are trying to lose weight, let’s go to Walgreens this week, where there’s a great deal on Special K cereal. Buy four boxes for $10 and get $3 back in an instant Register Rewards rebate. Then if you have four of the $1 coupons from Dec. 14 or two of the $1 off two coupons from Sunday, that would be a pretty spectacular deal. It will work out to a final cost of four boxes for $3 or $5, depending on which coupons you use.
Click “Read more” to see the list! And remember, if the store has a loyalty card, you’ll need it to get the sale price.
I was at CVS waiting to check out this weekend, and the man in front of me told the cashier he didn't want his receipt. When the cashier pointed out that he had two Extra Bucks printed on the bottom of his receipt, he again declined and left the store. I wanted to yell after him, "Hey! It's like you just threw $2 in the trash! Buy some gum or something!!" Fortunately, I restrained myself. But I would encourage you all to check your receipts at CVS.
The chain has a rewards program that gives you "Extra Bucks" that print at the bottom of your receipt. There are special deals each week that qualify for Extra Bucks, but there are also Exta Bucks that are handed out quarterly. You get 2 percent back on all your purchases and $1 for every two prescriptions filled. I am told by CVS that last quarter, shoppers earned a whopping $69 million in Extra Bucks! Those bucks are being distribuetd now, so make sure you check your receipts for them! And if you would like to read my little explanation of the Extra Bucks program and how it works, click here.
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