Taking Stock blog

Another Walgreens photo deal...

suestock — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 13:00:00 -0400

Well, Walgreens continues to heavily promote its photo processing services. But that's OK with me.

The latest deal is a $5 off your order of $15 or more deal, good through July 26. Use code SAVE5PHOTO when you do the online checkout process...

Today's coupons are up...

suestock — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 11:09:29 -0400

Good morning, everyone!

Today's coupons have been added to the database. There was only one Smart Source insert this week. As always, if you prefer the database in an Excel format, you can download it below.

Happy clipping!

Document(s):
Find a Coupon 0720.xls

Web site for retail workers...

suestock — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0400

For those of you who work in retail, CareerBuilder has launched a new site specifically for retail jobs. You can find it at WorkInRetail.com...

$200 a barrel?

suestock — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:30:00 -0400

This week's edition of Newsweek magazine had an interesting feature that estimated what would happen if oil hits $200 a barrel. Among the predictions:

*The cost of gas would go up 53 percent. (Diesel would go up to $5.55 a gallon.)

*Energy stocks would rise in value 12 percent.

*Hummer sales would go down 13 percent.

*Corn prices would go up 25 percent.

*Sales of hybrids would skyrocket by 40 percent.

*Pregnancies would rise by 1.2 percent.

*And, quite correctly, the story predicted that voter anger would go through the roof.

Biggest cities for ExtraBucks...

suestock — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 13:00:00 -0400

CVS put out a really interesting press release this week listing the cities where shoppers have redeemd the most ExtraBucks rewards. (If you are unfamiliar, ExtraBucks are CVS' instant rebate program. You can read my post about how the program works here.) I have to say I was kind of surprised that Raleigh-Durham wasn't on the list, but I suppose it probably has to do with the number of people in the cities. All of the top five were major metropolitan areas. But the folks at CVS tell me we were close. In 2007, shoppers in 63 CVS stores in Raleigh received just under $2 million dollars in Extra Bucks rewards. That's not a bad showing at all!

Here's how the top five cities fared:

1) Boston – shoppers saved nearly $3.4 million in ExtraCare savings and rewards

2) Los Angeles – shoppers saved more than $2.7 million in ExtraCare savings and rewards

3) Detroit – shoppers saved approximately $2.5 million in ExtraCare savings and rewards

4) Washington – shoppers saved more than $2.3 million in ExtraCare savings and rewards

5) Philadelphia – shoppers saved just over $2 million in ExtraCare savings and rewards

Where do you buy tickets?

suestock — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 10:00:00 -0400

I was trying to remember the last time I stood in line to buy tickets for something. I think it may have been my last Mudcats game because we went at the last minute. But by and large, when we want to go to a concert, theater show or sporting event, we buy our tickets online. It seems most other people do, too. I thought this story from the Houston Chronicle was fascinating. It's about how online ticket sales have changed the way the ticket universe works. So how about you? Where do you buy your tickets?

Popular dollar stores...

suestock — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0400

It's no secret that more shoppers are turning to discounters to make ends meet, and some of the stores that are benefitting the most are dollar stores. Stores magazine wrote a story this week about that exact trend, focusing on Matthews-based Family Dollar and its efforts to boost its food offerings. It reminded me a lot of our dollar gourmet recipe challenge earlier this year, where the N&O challenged Triangle residents to make a gourmet recipe using ingredients from the dollar store. If you missed it, here's the original challenge. And, of course, here's the follow-up, complete with the recipe for the winning heart-healthy meatloaf plus some of the other finalists' dishes.

Friday freebies...

suestock — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:18:00 -0400

Sorry, sorry everyone... a little late today. But here are Friday freebies!

*You can get a free "Love Your Heart" cookbook from the American Heart Association here.

*Wal-Mart has a sample of Benefiber single serving sticks here.

*There's a great Fiber One cereal freebie here, which reportedly contains several samples and a coupon booklet.

*There's a sample of Member's Mark formula here.

*And there's a sample of Almond Accents here.

We'll lose just one Starbucks...

suestock — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:50:14 -0400

Don't fear, Starbucks lovers. It appears we've survived the coffee giant's 600-store downsizing pretty much in tact. North Carolina is only losing 10 stores, and there's only one in the Triangle: the one in Chapel Hill's Chatham Downs. Our friends in Charlotte were not as lucky, losing five of their stores. If you want to see the whole nationwide list, you can download the PDF below...

Document(s):
Sbux-closing.pdf

More back-to-school deals...

suestock — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:40:05 -0400

If you missed Staples' penny sale a few weeks back, you can check out the 5-cent sale starting Sunday. Pencil cap erasers, two-pocket folders and protractors will all be a nickel each. Poly notebooks are 25 cents each, and Pentel RSVP pens are 99 cents a pack, which I think is a good price! Remember that there are usually per-customer limits on the super cheap sale items. The nickel deals are only good Sunday through Wednesday.

Cotton Company sale...

suestock — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:30:00 -0400

In Wake Forest, The Cotton Company's summer sale begins today, with some of the merchants offering discounts of 50 percent or more... The Cotton Company is at 306 S. White St.

Triples rumblings...

suestock — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 09:00:00 -0400

OK, OK, YES!

In response to the many e-mail questions you all have sent to me, YES, it does appear that Harris Teeter will be holding triple coupons next week, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Now as always, that's not 100 percent definite until someone sees next week's sales flier announcing the promotion. But I would say it looks pretty sure. Stay tuned here for confirmation and of course, a list of good deals... If you are planning to place an order with thecouponclippers.com or any other clipping service, Saturday will probably be the last day you can do so and still get your coupons in time for the start of triples. Even if you're not ordering from a service, you should get your coupons in order over the weekend.

Life takes Visa...

suestock — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0400

If you have home improvements to do this weekend, check out this promotion from Lowe's Home Improvement and Visa. Fill out the form and you'll receive a coupon via e-mail for $10 off your $25 purchase when you use your Visa card to pay. The offer is only good through July 30, and I believe you have to actually visit the store before the 30th, so don't dally if you want to use this one. $10 off a $25 purchase? That's like 40 percent off!

BOGO movie tickets with Discover...

suestock — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:51:53 -0400

Fandango, the online movie ticket buying site, and Discover card have teamed up on this offer: Buy one ticket using your Discover card and get one free through Sept. 30. The fine print says while supplies last and also says that the value of the free ticket that will be deducted automatically is up to $12.50, including the online service charge. Limit one per customer. Still, BOGO movie tickets sound good to me...

From my inbox...

suestock — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:13:28 -0400

Shutterfly is giving away 15 free 4x6 prints for each picture you upload and post on its "travel map." Basically, if you've got a picture of a place you've visited, you upload it to the big map and then get your free prints. Max of 75 prints per household. Each photo you upload also gets you into a contest to winn bigger prizes.

And TrueValue is asking for 250-word essays nominating either yourself or someone you know as a DIY (do it yourself) All-Star. You also need to submit a video about the DIY projects this person has completed. The winner gets $5,000...