A few hot deals

Updated with some Ralphs and Vons/Pavilions finds

I just got home from shopping, and I got quite a few hot deals that I wanted to share before I run over to Ralphs (if I find any super hot deals there, I'll add them to this post). Unfortunately, many of the printable coupons are no longer available, but I noted most of them when they were available so chances are you might be holding onto them too, hoping for a good deal like the ones below. Note that some of these end today because of expiring coupons:

TARGET
Finish Quantum Tabs 10-ct $2.50
- $1.50/1 Finish Quantum Target printable (no longer available?)
- $1/1 Finish Quantum Detergent 1/23/2011 SS Insert (exp 2/28/2011)
FREE
Note: The shelf had two tags - one for the $2.50 price and one for $2.69. I was happy to see it ring up for $2.50 at the register.

Clorox Wipes $2.28
- $0.75/1 Clorox Target printable
- $1/1 Clorox Facebook printable (no longer available)
$0.53
Note: I just spotted a $1/2 selected Clorox products printable, so if your Target lets you use 2 Target coupons per transaction, you'll pay $2.06 for two.

Seventh Generation Wipes $2.99
- $1/1 selected Seventh Generation products Target printable
- $1/1 Seventh Generation Product 1/23 RP
$0.99

Earth's Best Sesame Street Organic Honey Sticks $1.72
- $1/2 Earth's Best Sesame Street products printable
$1.22 each WYB 2
Note: This isn't the greatest deal ever, but I think this is something the boys will like, it's organic and low sugar, and it'll make a nice "dessert" in their lunchboxes or for a snack. There's a peelie on the front of the boxes for a free DVD when you buy 3 Earth's Best products.


WHOLE FOODS
Pacific Foods Kosher Chicken Broth $1.25
- $1/1 Pacific Foods printable (no longer available)
$0.25


VONS/PAVILIONS (possibly all Safeway stores)
3 California Pizza Kitchen pizzas $5 (today is the last day for this price)
- $5 off $15 frozen food purchase from Sunday's newspaper insert
- 3 x $1.25 CPK product Facebook printable (no longer available)
Received 3 Catalinas for $1.25 off my next order
$0.83 each after coupons & Catalinas
(Via For the Mommas - worked beautifully for me today, but they were very low on stock!)


RALPHS
Eggo Waffles $0.89 WYB 10 participating Daytona items (includes $3 Catalina discount off your next order)
- $0.55/1 Eggo Waffles 2/27 SS
FREE + possible overage

Pam Cooking Spray (selected varieties) $1.89 WYB 10 participating Daytona items (includes $3 Catalina discount off your next order)
- $0.35/1 Pam Cooking Spray 1/23 SS (exp 3/13)
$1.19
Note: This is a great price for cooking spray, and I am really excited about it because I'd just opened my last can and was dreading paying full price for cooking spray in the near future.

Purex Laundry Detergent $2.39 WYB 10 participating Daytona items (includes $3 Catalina discount off your next order)
- $1/1 Purex detergent from Ralphs home mailer (exp 4/17)
$1.39

Hefty Zip Top Bags $0.99 WYB 10 participating Daytona items (includes $3 Catalina discount off your next order)
- $1/1 Hefty item from Ralphs home mailer (exp 4/17)
FREE

Vitaminwater Zero $1
- $0.50/1 Vitaminwater Zero from Diet Coke booklet (found at Vons/Pavilions; also reportedly at CVS and Rite Aid)
FREE

Hot Groupon Deal: 3 Redbox Movie Rentals for $1

Right now, you can get three Redbox Movie Rentals for just $1 through Groupon. You'll get three one-night rentals, valid through March 10, 2011 (limit 1 Groupon per person). Valid only at physical kiosk locations in the U.S. for first night rental only (not valid for video game or Blu-ray rentals). Find a Redbox location near you. (Via Budget Savvy Diva.)

Learn more about Groupon here. You can also get a $10 credit when someone signs up using your referral link and makes their first purchase (thank you if you join(ed) using my referral link!). Don't forget to shop through Ebates to get back 3% of your purchase.

Also, earlier today, I picked up a $50 voucher to Touched by Flowers for $30 (it's a deal nearby in Dallas). The Groupon includes the $10 service & transmission fee, so the total value is $60. I need to send flowers to my friend's father's funeral, so the timing of this Groupon was perfect for me.

Reminder: Last day for 40 free photo cards at Snapfish

Today is the last day to get free 4x8 photo cards at Snapfish - each set of 20 is $14.99, and you can get one set each using codes BABIES and BABYMAIL. Shipping for each set will cost $5.99.

I used my $10 credit from buying a greeting card from the fall catalog, which was automatically applied to each order, so I paid less than $4 out of pocket for two sets of photo cards. I'm not quite ready to make our holiday cards yet (waiting on someone to send me the photo that I think we're going to use), so I made thank you cards instead. Between birthdays and the holidays, they'll come in very handy in the next six months.

Since you're only paying shipping, you won't get cash back even if you go through a shopping portal like Ebates. At times like these, I like to make a point of shopping through my favorite sites' affiliate links to help support them. I'm not a Snapfish affiliate but most of your favorite mom bloggers probably are, so head over to their sites and take a quick look around for an affiliate link (you can tell it's an affiliate link because it will direct to something other than "snapfish.com" before going to Snapfish).

Happy shopping!

Deal Alert: Buy this DS game for $10.99, Get $10 + $5 Amazon credits

I don't usually post individual deals but since Amazon has a tendency to changes prices while you blink, I figured I'd get this out there immediately:

Buy the Nintendo DS game Glory of Heracles,which gets 4 out of 5 stars in five reviews, for $10.99. With your purchase, you'll receive a promotional code for $10 off a future video game purchase, and a promotional code for $5 worth of Amazon mp3 downloads (one $5 code per customer during qualifying period). Assuming you make the most of the promotional codes and get free shipping (via Amazon Prime or Free Super Saver Shipping), the deal is a $4.01 moneymaker! I don't think I've ever seen that for a video game.

Disclosure: I'm an Amazon affiliate, so any purchase you make after entering Amazon through a link on Chief Family Officer supports this site at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

Get a 4GB flash drive for $2.75 at Staples (through tomorrow 3/23)

There's an amazing deal on a 4GB Sandisk flash drive at Staples through tomorrow. The flash drive is on sale for $14.99 this week, and it's eligible for a $10 Staples gift card rebate. But if you use this 15% off coupon that expires tomorrow, then you pay only $12.74 + tax, and still get the $10 gift card.

I just submitted my rebate information, and the gift card appears to be a true store gift card with no expiration date. That means the gift card will be perfect for the back to school deals that are only a few months away.

(Hat tip: Common Sense with Money)

Start Thinking About After-Christmas Sales Now

I love checking out any kind of sale, but after-Christmas sales have a special place in my heart because you can do some serious stocking up. I've found that you can get some amazing deals on wrapping paraphernalia, like paper, ribbons, tissue, and gift bags. I buy some of these items when they get marked down to 90% off at Target, usually during the first week of January. I'll pick up one or two holiday-themed rolls, but I also grab a roll or two of paper that's not obviously for the holidays to use year-round. In fact, after Christmas is the only time of year that I buy wrapping items. It's also a good time to buy holiday-themed decorations for the next year, if there's something you really like that's not marked with the year.

Other items will be more hit and miss, but with a little luck, you can scoop up good deals on toys and gift sets. I like to buy things that will make good birthday gifts throughout the year. I'm curious to see if retailers will be desperate enough to go for steep markdowns, or if they had ordered so little before the holidays that there isn't anything left to mark down after Christmas. (Obviously, I hope not!)

After Christmas is also the time to start looking for clearance sales on clothing. Baby Cheapskate has a list of dates for when children's clothing stores will start their markdowns.

Kmart Super Doubles: I'm less than impressed but that doesn't mean you shouldn't go

I went to Kmart for their double coupon event for the first time ever and I doubt I'll ever go back. This is probably largely due to the fact that the Kmart I went to was, well, not particularly nice. Which is strange, because it's in a good area. But it's dark and not well-stocked. I couldn't find a lot of the items I went to buy.

That said, it's always a rush to get things for free - especially when it's things you really use, like wipes. I just wish they'd had the other things I'd planned to get for free too.

To figure out if your local store is doubling, you can check the weekly ad for your area at the Kmart web site. If one of the circulars has a red square that says "Super Double $2" in the bottom left corner, then your store is probably doubling. To be certain, you could call the store or Kmart's corporate offices. I just went in and, before I started shopping, asked the woman at the customer service desk if they were doubling.

You can find a list of the rules and coupon match-ups for free or cheap items at Common Sense with Money.

Works for Me: Start shopping for next year's holidays right now

I'll let you in on a little secret: I love after-Christmas sales.

Most stores will put their holiday items on 50% clearance the day after Christmas. If you have your eye on something particular that might run out, this is the time to pick it up. For example, I always try to buy my cards for the next year on the day after Christmas because I have certain criteria that my cards must satisfy, and there's too good a chance that the few cards that meet those criteria will sell out.

About a week after Christmas, the clearance price drops to 75% off and about one week after that, it's 90% off. The actual dates vary according to store, so it's worth popping in often to see what's going on. I'm not nearly as particular about wrapping materials as I am about cards, so I always wait until there's a 90% clearance for paper, ribbon and tissue paper. I try to buy a couple of wrapping paper rolls that have a neutral pattern and white tissue paper – that way, I can use them year-round and no one will know how cheap they were.

I'll also look for anything that can be given as a gift throughout the year. For example, I've picked up multi-packs of little Playdoh tubs in the past (although this year I got a whole bunch during Halloween clearance sales).

I will caution against buying the cheapest wrapping paper because it tends to tear extremely easily (yes, that was a lesson learned the hard way). But the reverse side makes for inexpensive and huge sheets of paper to draw and color on.

Another word of caution: While the prices are tempting, especially at 90% off, try not to go overboard. The very first time I shopped an after-Christmas sale, I bought half a dozen bags of bows because they were about 25 cents per bag. It's now five years later and I still have two full bags left. The lesson: There will always be another sale next year, so you only need one year's worth of supplies!

More possible Free Shipping Day deals

I took another look at the Free Shipping Day site and noticed that Teleflora is one of the participating merchants. Shipping costs are usually a huge percentage of an online flower purchase, so I think this could result in some great deals if there aren't free shipping restrictions and no price increases.

There are Christmas arrangements starting at $19.99 (like the one pictured). If you go through Ebates, you'll get 10% cash back, so your total cost is down to $17.99. But it gets better - when I went to the Teleflora site, there was a banner at the top of the homepage that said I'd automatically get $10 off on all products (or I could use code psgg10d.) Assuming that deal remains in effect, your total purchase price would be a mere $7.99 plus tax. That's spectacular for a cute bouquet with delivery. In fact, assuming I can get that price, I'll be ordering several of these on December 18!

To learn more about Ebates, read my original review. If you sign up through my referral link, you'll get a $10 bonus when you make your first purchase by December 31. (Disclosure: So will I, thanks!)

Kidco safety gate prices to go up in 2009

The Baby Bargains Book Blog reports that beginning January 1, 2009, Kidco will enforce a new minimum advertised policy (MAP), meaning that sellers must sell at a specified minimum price. The validity of MAP policies has been contested, but without much success.

Kidco is one of the major safety gate manufacturers, and in fact, we used the gate pictured here for our stairs for a while. So if you're looking to buy a Kidco safety gate, now's the time to do it. You can find them at Amazon here. and at Babies R Us/Toys R Us here, but of course, there are many other retailers out there. Do be careful of shipping charges, since gates tend to be bulky and heavy.

Disclosure: I'm an Amazon affiliate, so any purchase you make after entering Amazon through a link on this site supports this site at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

Kmart double coupon days: A reader's experience

I've known about Kmart's double coupon promotion through the coupon forums, but I didn't think much of it because there isn't one near me, and it's hard for me to share useful information beyond what you can get at any of a dozen other blogs without personal knowledge. So I'm grateful to reader Kayla, who generously shared her shopping scenario. I'll post it after the basic run down on Kmart's promotion. I can't seem to find a list of all of the rules and restrictions, so I'm going off memory - it may not be entirely accurate, so hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

The basic gist is that Kmart will double coupons with a face value of up to $2. There is a limit of 75 coupons per customer per day, and only up to 4 of the same coupon per transaction. They will not give overage, i.e., if the doubled coupon is worth more than the price of the item, the coupon value will be adjusted to match the price. I've read some conflicting forum posts about whether all stores are participating, so it's best to call your store before you head out. Additionally, you should keep a close eye on the register because there have been some reports of the computer not processing doubles correctly, although we all know that isn't easy if you're shopping with a child (or two or three).

With all that said, here's Kayla's scenario:

I used a $5 email coupon (good on $50 purchase after discounts and coupons) and then gathered up my coupons that were at least $2...to double them up to $4.

I purchased:

$19.16 4 Clearasil facial wash
$ 7.99 Gillette Fusion razor
$5.29 Bic Soliel razor
$5.29 Bic Comfort 3 razor
$5.99 Visine tears
$4.29 Dove heat shield protector
$7.98 2 Dove Shampoo
$7.98 2 Dove Conditioner
$6.00 2 Sunsilk Hairspray
$19.16 4 Tylenol pm (20 ct)
$4.49 Tylenol rapid release
$5.59 Advil pm (16 ct)
$5.99 Zyrtec (looking back, I think this rang up wrong...it should be higher)
$25.16 4 Bayer HeartAdvantage (30 ct)
$4.99 Pepcid Max
$21.96 4 Schick Quatro shavers
$9.98 2 Pert 2 in 1 shampoo plus conditioner
$9.00 2 Resolve spray carpet cleaners
$9.00 2 Resolve aerosol carpet cleaners
$3.29 Endust 10 oz
$10.99 Huggies Pull ups
$22.98 2 Pampers Easy Ups pull ups
$7.99 Febreeze pet eliminator starter kit
$25.96 4 Glade candles
$5.00 2 Hershey's Bliss

My total bill before coupons was $266. After coupons, my total (with the $5 email coupon) came to $78.87. I saved $187.13 on 48 items.

Razors were on sale (25% off) and so were the Hershey Bliss (2 for $5). The "smell-good products" are on sale, too. I was hoping that the Pampers/Huggies would be on sale, but was still satisfied with regular price plus $4 off with coupons.

Although not many items were on sale, by using only coupons with a $2 face value and higher, I was able to get at least $4 off of every item...which made many items (like shampoo and facial wash) free or almost free. I stocked up on razors and felt that the 25% discount combined with $4 off was the best value that I've seen in a while.

This sale allowed me to stock up for the winter on many products. I believe that even though most items were not on sale, saving $4 on every item allowed me the convenience of being able to purchase without ECBs and Register Rewards. I don't shop at K Mart often and appreciated that I will not be tempted to go back to redeem rewards. However, I did receive a coupon on my receipt tape for $5 off my next $20 purchase....tempting, but I have everything I need.

Not only did Kayla have an awesome transaction, I love what she said at the end: that she's not going to spend more money just to use a good coupon.

Today Tomorrow (thanks, Mercedes!) is the last day for the current round of double coupons at Kmart, but they've been doing it regionally for the last few weeks, so I wouldn't be surprised if they did it again soon.

It also looks like you can get two $5 coupons by signing up for email updates at Kmart.com (click here for the sign up page).

Happy shopping!

The Cupcake Courier is $24.99 at Amazon.com

For months now, maybe even a year, I've had my eye on the Cupcake Courier.It's a nifty container with three stackable trays that hold 36 cupcakes. You can even remove the trays and use it as a cake carrier.

The Cupcake Courier is $24.99 today at Amazon's Friday Sale.It's eligible for Amazon Prime or free Super Saver Shipping (just add a small filler or something you would have bought anyway). This is the best price I've ever seen on the Cupcake Courier. Amazon's usual price is $29.99, and the Cupcake Courier is priced at $32.95 plus shipping and handling at the manufacturer's web site. (Disclosure: I'm an Amazon affiliate.)

If you already have a Cupcake Courier, please leave a comment and let us know what you think of it. I really want one but am trying to decide if it's worth the space it will take up in my small kitchen.

Image credit: Amazon.com.

The Limited apparently has a washable suit

I was flipping through the May issue of Parents Magazine yesterday and found a little snippet that mentioned a new washable suit from The Limited. Parents reports it looked great after a washing, which consisted of a gentle cold cycle in the washer and a low-heat cycle in the dryer. The suit cost $188 for the jacket and $98 for the pants, for a total of $296. Pricey, but not if it holds up to repeated washing and saves trips to the dry cleaners. It's also nice that you can buy it in separates. I'm definitely going to check it out the next time I need a new suit.

I couldn't find a picture of the suit on The Limited's web site, but click over and you'll find a link to a $30 off $100 purchase coupon (it's at the bottom right - unfortunately, it expires tomorrow, May 4). If you do want to buy the full suit, print two coupons, and split your purchase up. Use one coupon on the jacket, and buy something very inexpensive so you can use the other coupon to buy the pants.

Full disclosure: I'm not an affiliate of The Limited, I just thought this was intriguing - especially since I wear suits!