Couponing - lucky lady style...Consider this your Coupon/ Free GiftCards Bible

Capt. Kurt is ready to coupon and get free $ through Stop n Shop!

****Bookmark this page now, I even book marked it myself AND you might want to read it on your smartphone so you can download the apps right away with the links I give you!

Good Morning people! It's Sunday morning so grab your Sunday paper,smartphones, scissors and laptops...lucky lady lafrance is going to change the way you shop and it's going to blow your mind how easy it is getting free gift cards and items like shampoo for $1.00 or free with very little time preparing!

I started to extreme coupon in 2009.  I watched "Extreme Couponing" on TV one night and I thought " I can do this, hard hard can it be?"  For the next 2 years I followed the crazy ass coupon ladies on Facebook and online and I was stockpiling body wash and laundry detergent with the best of them.  I learned how to stack coupons, use extra bucks at CVS, do multiple transactions, use Target coupons with Manufacturer coupons and Target Cartwheel all together to get massive savings.  I was rolling in shampoo, smart water, vitamin water and razors up the wazoo.  I even had the shelves in the basement full of product all lined up OCD style.  I was giving family and friends bags full of products because it would take me 20 years to use 300 razors.  When Kurt was born in 2011 I slowed down but still used my skills to get formula for $8.00 a can and diapers dirt cheap.

 These days, I stock up on only a few items.

This is my bathroom stock pile today.  Small these days.  Did you know Toms Toothpaste has a .75 cent coupon inside the packaging and Stop & Shop will double that to $1.00 or $1.50! 

Pantene Shampoo and Conditioner Only .84 cents each at Stop & Shop.  These are the only products in our house that is not chemical free or natural.  They were on clearance for $2.14 each so I used the following coupons, remember 10 items so the amount on the coupons add up to 10 items. :  I had a $5.00/3 coupon, a $2.00/1 coupon and 6 $1.00/ 1 coupons. So that was 8 coupons.  I always hold onto and collect shampoo coupons for when I see clearance items like this!

Are you ready to get free gift cards to target, old navy and many more stores?  Are you ready to get a check in the mail just because you shopped online?  Are you ready to save money?  Let's get this party started!!!

Free Gift Cards I have used!

Here we go.................

Coupons:
I use two main sources to get my coupons, the Sunday paper or I print them online at Coupons.com  .
Coupons are all over the internet and sometimes simply emailing a company asking for them works too. My father gives me the Sunday paper coupons and I print coupons for products I know I am buying.  Coupons.com will let you print 2 coupons per computer. ( if you can print from your iphone, props to you, then you can print 4) In my extreme days, I would print from all my co-workers computers to get 10 coupons on a item I needed. You can also buy coupons on Ebay such as B1G1 Free Bic Razors   I would buy these 20 coupons for 99 cents and I would go to CVS or some store and use 10 of them and have enough razors for a year and give the rest away!  It's worth spending .99 cents for 20 coupons, getting 1 coupon in the Sunday Paper cost $2.00 or $2.50!  There is also My Coupon Hunter, her website has tons of coupons to buy cheap.  I subscribe to Sunday Coupon Preview.  Every week they send out what coupons will be in the paper on Sunday, this way I can order some online if I want a specific coupon.  Like I said, these days I don't stockpile but I will buy specific items in bulk when I can get them next to nothing or free:)


Weekly Ads / Weekly Deals
When I sit in bed on Sunday or Monday night cutting my coupons, I also read the store flyers that show their weekly deals. I usually just check CVS, Target, Stop & Shop and Market Basket ( aka " The Basket").  I follow some die hard couponers on Instagram as well.  I only follow the ones I posted below, too many and it clogs up your feed. All day long they post deals, where to get them and step by step detailed instructions on how to get it.  Win -Win right there folks.  Let them find the deals and tell you how to get them! 

CVS:
I love CVS.  The staff in Kingston knows me since I have been in 4 times a week for god only knows how many years!  CVS is the easiest place to get a good deal. Simply paying attention to coupons and deals each week has saved me a ton of money!

So for CVS, check the weekly ad.  They always offer some kind of Vitamin , Shampoo amd Laundry Detergent deal and typically all have a coupon in the Sunday paper ( CVS even tells you if there is a coupon to use)! Those are the three things I will never pay full price for, EVER.  2 Weeks ago they had Buy 1 get 1 Fee of a new Tide Detergent.  I had 2 coupons that were $2.00 off 1 bottle.  I was able to use both coupons since it was 2 bottles.  Hint:  you can use 1 coupon per item, even if it is b1g1 free. The Tide was around $6.75 each, so I used (2) $ 2.00/1   and it was b1g1 free so I paid around $ 2.75 for 2 bottles.  I did this deal two times.  CVS will limit these deals so one person does not buy all the product on the shelf.  I think the limit on this was 4 per person.
Vitamins is another product I buy only with coupons and extrabucks and I buy TONS!

Here is Purchase #1 above.   I had 3 coupons to use.  1 coupon was a $10.50 extrabucks coupon, and I had (2) $2.00/1 Nauture Made Gummy Vitamins( just cut from Sunday coupons).  I saved $14.50 and I got back (2) $5.00 extrabucks coupons for each bottle of gummy vitamins bought.( deal was buy 1 bottle get $5.00 in extrabucks)  Extrabucks can be used anytime. They are not "coupons"  They are $ off your entire purchase.

I then tore off those 2 extrabucks coupons for my 2nd transaction.

I used 3 coupons and the 2 $5.00 extrabucks coupons. One coupon per bottle of Sundown and the CVS brand was b1g1 free.  So I saved a total of $31.96 and I got back another $3.00 in extrabucks.  So for both transactions I saved $ 46.46 plus my $3.00 extrabucks that kicked out after purchase #2.   I know this might look crazy, but it only took me 45 seconds to cut the coupons and about 2 minutes in the Vitamin isle deciding which ones I needed.  The peeps at CVS are used to people doing 2 transactions to use extrabucks that same day, so it's not a big deal.  There is a great coupon based website for CVS. I will check this out as well to make sure I don't miss a great deal. Head on over to I heart CVS, she is the best CVS website, she breaks down every deal and tells you where the coupon is located ( sunday paper on online). No brainer.

Target:
Where do I begin? Seriously, I freakin love Target. The One Spot is my favorite part of the store.  You know, the bins on the right hand side when you walk in the store or left side, depending on what store you are in.  Everything is either $1.00 or $3.00 and if you go right after a holiday it is marked down 70-90% ( I hit it just right after Halloween and bought jars for my bath soak for 20 cents)!  I am Obsessed. I posted some DIY crafts last night on the lucky lady facebook page, we made a fun valentines banner for only $2.00 and my popular bath soak in bottles that were only $1.00 and $1.50 ! Ok here we go....

Get the Target red card.  The red card program can either be attached to your credit card or debit card and you will get 5% off every purchase when used. You will also get free shipping online and 30 extra days for returns! You can apply online or simply go to customer service in the store and sign up ( you will get a print out to use until your card comes in the mail) I have mine attached to my debit card, this way I don't go bananas when I am in Target.  The next thing to do is download the Cartwheel App.  The cartwheel app has deals that are not in the weekly flyer.These deals range from 5-60% off items.  Open the app before you shop and see if there is anything you might want, then at checkout, open the cartwheel app and the cashier will scan the bar code.  Boom done. Cartwheel deals can be used with coupons AND Target coupons. So you can use 3 different coupons on 1 item.  See, Target rules.  It's one of the only store that has 3 ways to save on one item!

PS.  Remember I showed you the Bic B1G1 Free coupons you can buy right now on ebay....Go to Target and use that coupon and also use the cartwheel deal.  So you will get B1G1 free AND 30% off!  Win Win!

I posted above that I follow " targetfanatic" on Instagram.  She also has a great website that I also check out from time to time to refresh my memory about using multiple coupons, etc.  Here is the link to her "Target 101" page, it's a Target bible, bookmark it on your smartphone.
Click here..Target 101- Bible

My $190.00 Target haul for only $23.50!

I am super happy about these lights, $2 bucks a box!!!  Using them on my deck this spring/summer in pots!

 Above is my target haul from Thursday. I am very proud of this grab:)  I went in looking for glass ornaments on clearance for my uncle ( he makes amazing ornament wreaths) and I managed to get everything in the picture for $23.50!  Oh ya, you read that right, $23.50 is what I handed the cashier!  I hit it just right. Christmas Clearance was up to 90% off.  The Philips Branch lights were only $2.19 per box originally $21.00 each and all the ornaments shown cost $8.40 originally $81.00!  I got 2 iphone cases for .50 cents each, candles for $1.48, Hersey Kisses for .50 cents! Stickers, jars, cards, lights, paper lanterns that light up, socks for Kurt, small gift bags, tissue paper, pens, 'L" ornaments, bows for next xmas wrapping and Mrs. Meyers soap!!! This was a great haul!  I also used a $25.00 gift card that I earned for free from my favorite app....
I saved $145.90!!!!

Best haul to date I got at Target!

Walmart:
Walmart has low prices regardless on most items.  We only grab a few items there but they do have really low prices online that you can choose to " pick up in store"  I was able to grab a Wireless Color Canon Printer for $25.00 online and pick it up in the store!  Walmart has a app and in it is the " Savings Catcher" option.  After you make a purchase at Walmart, open the app and scan your receipt.  It will scan all the local stores and if a item is priced lower it will give you the difference.  So far after scanning 5 receipts I have saved $1.81   Let this add up then choose a gift card.  It's just another way to save $ and get a free gift card!

Stop & Shop
I love my Hannaford but when it comes to coupons and gas points, Stop & Shop is the way to go.
Stop & Shop will double manufacturer coupons up to 99 cents and typically there is no limit on how many you use.  That does vary per store, but my local store has never had any limits.  If you don't use a Stop & Shop card, get one.  Simply head over to the customer service desk and get one.  It's free.  Save money and get free gas points to save $ per gallon at  local gas station that offers your points.  Today I did not scan my Stop & Shop card when I was checking out.  I realized it when I paid so I walked over to customer service, handed them my receipt and my Stop & Shop card and they gave me the difference back in cash ( I paid cash).  I was given back almost $8.00.  The gas points are fantastic.  I used 800 points the other day and filled up for $ 1.81 per gallon!  Stop & Shop also works with Ibotta ( I will show you that next). 

I forgot to scan my card, went to customer service and got cash back on savings and they added my gas points on as well:)

Market Basket:  The place rules.  They have crazy low prices, a fantastic bakery and good pizza!  In the summer they usually have the best prices on Lobsters and cook them for no charge.  Last summer I went in with a cooler, had 10 cooked, loaded them in my cooler and brought home a cooked meal!  They will take coupons too.  I don't have one right down the street from me but the hubs works next door to one ( Sagamore) so he stops in a few days a week and picks up items on sale we need.

Soooo, are you as excited as I am about how easy it is to save money using coupons?  Wait, it get's better.  I will now tell you about my 2 favorite money saving sites/apps that I use everyday and get free gift cards and cash for using.  Yuppers.  Free gift cards and cash.  Cold hard moolah. 

FREE Gift cards I have got and used. FREE. 

Ebates!!!!!!!!!!! 
If you are friends with me on my personal facebook page, then you have seen me post about the website Ebates   This is my all time favorite website to use.  Not only does it give you cash back for simply shopping online at over 100 top online retailers, but it also will list all deals and coupon codes for that store online. Right now if you were to go online and shop Old Navy, you would log into Ebates search Old Navy, click shop now and Old Navy would open up and you would get 7% cash back from Ebates   All the online stores will differ in cash back amounts and coupon codes every day so sign in just like you would to email and keep that tab open.  My BFF bought her new TV at Sears.com and went through Ebates and got 10% cash back.  She is getting $300.00 bucks!!  When you shop through Ebates, it keeps a log of your trip and every three months will send you a check. Checks are sent out on these dates:  Feb 15th, May 15th, Aug 15th and Nov 15th.  As of today, I have $45.00 waiting to be sent to me!

Click on this link: Sign up for Ebates! And it will give you a free $10.00 gift card for signing up for Free! Once you shop online and spend $25.00 it will be sent to you!  My friend Danille Antoniotti got her $10.00 gift card today in the mail from signing up from the link I sent her!  It's fool proof folks. Get $ for shopping online like you already do.  Every day log into Ebates and keep that tab open:)

My friend Paul at Whole Foods, he gave me a free bowl if his soup:)

Ibotta:
Here is a App to get cash back from Grocery Shopping.  Download the app here:  Ibotta App! By clicking the link I provided you join my Ibotta team and the more people on your team the more cash you can make with bonuses!
Once downloaded on your smart phone open the app and choose the store you are shopping at and check out the items that offer cash rebates.  I was in Whole Foods and I bought Organic Vanilla Extract and got $2.00 back.

Ibotta App welcome page

Items with rebate amount, Cash back amount!

I have got $20.25 cash back! Join my team and start earning too! Ibotta!!

Before I grocery shop at Whole Foods, Stop & Shop or Hannaford, I open my Ibotta App on my phone and check out what is offered for a rebate and if it's one I am going to buy I make sure I scan my receipt after I shop!  So I bought the Vanilla Extract, clicked on the item, redeemed the rebate, scanned the bar code then receipt and submitted.  This took me 1 minute as I was putting my groceries away and now I will get $2.00 added to my tally.  Once you hit $10.00, you can have it sent to a bank account or a paypal account.  Since I started using the app in late November, I have got $ 20.25 cash back.  Listen folks, it all adds up!  I adore flowers.  I love having a vase of flowers on my kitchen table every week and I can because I coupon and spend that one minute scanning a receipt to get cash back!!

I was in Whole Foods at lunch the other day to purchase Coconuts for my post about making Fresh Organic Coconut oil for less $.  I got a lesson from Kris in Produce about Coconuts.  I'm still working on the Coconut Oil, stay tuned for that!

Did you know that a young coconut's meat is jelly like and can be eaten with a spoon, it's that soft:)

Kris in Produce gave me a Coconut lesson!

I would work at Whole Foods, my OCD would make me employee of the month!

AND FINALLY!  The BEST APP EVER!!!!

SHOPKICK!!!

Who ever created this app needs a hug. A big bear hug. So you get " kicks" by simply walking into stores, scan a few products if you wish for even more kicks and then use your kicks you have earned to get FREE GIFT CARDS...um hello, sign me up!  I started using Shopkick in mid November ( 2 months ago) and since then I have got $ 70.00 in FREE Gift Cards! I have got Old Navy and Target ones.

It works like this......Open your Shopkick App before you go shopping.  Check out what stores are giving " Walk In" kicks and Scan kicks.  So as you can see from the picture above, Marshalls is giving you 50 Kicks just to walk in the store.  I turn my Bluetooth on when I am shopping because some stores have a beacon at the front door and some do not, so it helps to have your Bluetooth on so it can find the signal.  Once you walk in the store you will hear a ding, look at your phone and you will see this...

As I walked into Target

Target was giving 30 Walk In Kicks this day

Each day and store is different, so always check before headed out shopping.  Once you Sign up for Free, you will get emails about what stores are giving Big Walk Ins!  If I have a few minutes to spare, I will scan some items in the store to get even more Kicks. 

Above are items to scan in Target.  Just by scanning 3 different packs of diapers, you would get 75 kicks.
I have noticed that the scans every week or month are the same per store, so once you scan them at say Target, when you go to Walmart you know to swing by the diapers and scan them there.  It's per store, not per item so you could scan at Target, Walmart and Stop and Shop all in one day.

Here is my $25.00 Gift Card I used on my big ass haul!

Above shows Free Gift Cards I have used from my Kicks.  On my big Target haul the other day, I used a $25.00 Gift card that I got from Shopkick!  The best part is you can be sitting in line and redeem a gift card and have the cashier scan it right there!  No waiting at all, it's instant.
So can you see why this is my favorite app for free gift cards!  I am in these stores all week anyway, so I am not wasting anytime at all to get the free gift cards.  The only time spent was downloading the app and signing up which took all of 2-3 minutes.  Dowload it here now!!!

Well folks, that is my coupon / cash back  / free gift card lesson for you:)

I hope you learned a few things and I really hope you at least download Shopkick and sign up for Ebates!  Those are my two favorite.

Have a great Sunday everyone!

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Thank you:)
xoxoxoxox
erica