Purchase $50 in PG products (BEFORE coupons and discounts) between 8/20 and 12/31 and mail in this form along with your receipt(s) to get a coupon booklet with $110 in coupons. 

These coupon books are usually awesome!

If you’re in need of a last minute trip this weekend, I’ve found an amazing deal in St. Louis. 

We like to stay at the Drury Hotels chain because of the price and amenities offered.  There is a free breakfast buffet each morning and a free cocktail hour in the evenings.  There is also free soda and popcorn in the lobby until 10:00 p.m.  These amenities alone drastically offset the cost of the room!

Normally, I would rather use a promotional code instead of an available ‘entertainment package’ because the packages don’t offer as many savings as the promotional code, but there is a hot one for the St. Louis Science Center available this weekend only.

With your room, you’ll get 4 admission tickets to the ‘Real Pirates’ exhibit at the Science Center (a $48 value), along with 4 tickets to an Omnimax show (a $36 value).  The room rate at Forrest Park is $99 per night.  Because we were going to visit both exhibits anyways, that leaves the cost of our room, sodas, cocktails, and breakfast at just $15!

This deal is only valid this weekend, because the ‘Real Pirates’ exhibit closes on Monday.  To take advantage of this offer, visit the Drury Hotels website and enter the promotion code: SLSC

I want to update everyone on what’s going on with the Dillons mishap.  I want to start by saying that this was an innocent mistake.  There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to be angry with Dillons over this, as it could happen to anyone.  This is not like one of the K-Mart, where they have repeatedly intentionally misled tens of thousands of customers. 

I’ve had a lot of negative comments and emails, and I want to take some time to clear them up.  I have been couponing for years, and I’ve had 2 negative experiences, both of which were quickly resolved by the store manager.  Those are pretty good odds, considering some of the other stores offer a 99% negativity rate (my best estimate). 

Dillons has been a major contributor to my success as a couponer, and I can honestly say that I probably would not coupon if it weren’t for that store, due to the limited variety of stores in our area.

Yes, HyVee is moving to the area, and I do love HyVee.  They run some occasionally great sales, but they are not as consistent as Dillons.  I’ve found that many of my big stockups there are cereal and cheese.  They also only put out an ad every 2 weeks (which can be good or bad, depending on the ad), and do not double coupons.  Deals will be more difficult to find, as there will only be one location.  For those of you who are already voicing a potential switch from Dillons to HyVee, I have a feeling you will reconsider the decision.  I think you’ll find that you can make the best of both worlds, while continuing your normal Dillons shopping and supplementing with HyVee deals. 

Please do not take any anger that you have out on your store manager or cashier.  They received the erroneous policy as an email from corporate.  They assumed that it was legitimate and implemented the program as instructed.  I’ve heard from many of you who went in on Monday that they still accepted your coupons in the same manner as they did before.

Yesterday, I received an email from the Communications Coordinator of Dillons.  Sheila sought me out and asked for my assistance in helping my readers fully understand the new policies.  I have a copy of the policy, but I do not yet have permission to post it online.  However, I can use it to answer any questions that you may have regarding the Dillons policies.

Here are the main points:

• Doubling will continue as normal.  A 50¢ coupon will be worth $1, and a 75¢ coupon will be worth $1.  Any coupon with a value of $1 or higher will be redeemed at face value.
• E-coupons will stack with manufacturer coupons
• Dillons will continue to accept expired coupons (although it is discouraged)
• BOGO printable coupons will be accepted
• Black & white printable coupons will be accepted
• There are no limits on the amount of printable coupons that will be accepted
• The manager reserves the right to deny any coupon.

Sheila has also extended a professional courtesy that will allow me to voice any complaints I hear about coupon redemption directly to the Communications Department.  If you have any questions or issues (and I’m sure she would love compliments, too!), please send them to me, in email format, so I can pass them onto her.

Do you guys have any questions for me?  Leave them in the comments section below!

Okay, so this really isn’t a DEAL per say, but if you are an Apple fan, Amazon has the newest generation of Ipods up for preorder.  These are set to ship next week.  The new Ipod touch has a camera AND video camera! Would it be wrong to repackage my old one to give to the boy for Christmas and buy myself a new one with my Swagbucks gift cards?  I just bought it in March!

Why am I posting this?  Because these are going to be one of the hottest products of the year and might be pretty hard to get your hands on.  If someone has one of these on your list, I’d preorder it now.  Prices aren’t going to change, because Apple requires all merchants to follow MSRP.

To see all of the new Ipods, click here: Newest Generation Ipods (if you decide to order, please do so through this link to help support the blog)

umm.. yeah.  As if I really wanted to see wrinkles that I cannot see in the mirror.  BUT, if you do, Garnier is offering a free sample of their new Wrinkle Test Kit.  This one comes with a $1 off coupon in case you need more.  

I’m not a beauty fanatic, does someone care to enlighten me and explain WHY I need to find hidden wrinkles?  Are they preventable?

Right at Home is offering a free Fall Meals Gift Pack to the first 10,000 to sign up here.

This kit will include:

• One Ziploc® Brand Vacuum Freezer Starter Kit
• One 15-count box of gallon size Ziploc® Brand Freezer Bags with the Smart Zip™ Seal
• One set of large rectangle Ziploc® Brand Containers.

These will ship by November 15th.  I’ve signed up for several of these and have never been one of the first 10,000.  However, throughout September, they are giving a chance to win a new gift pack each week.  I’ll updated you as they become available.

As Hurricane Earl makes his descent on the East Coast, many are faced with unexpected expenses to prepare for his possible destruction.  From the looks of it this morning, there are three more behind him, so frugal preparations are of the essence.  In the midwest, we are fortunate enough not to bear the brunt of a hurricane, but have experienced flooding in recent years due to some of the larger storms.  Our main threats here are tornadoes and ice storms.  Both can leave quite an impact, a tornado (usually) leaves a concentrated path of destruction, and an ice storm can cripple several states. 

In 2007, we were without power for 17 days due to an ice storm. While we thought out everything and assumed we had prepared accordingly, many preparations could not be made without having experienced such a disaster.  Disaster preparation can be very costly, especially if you are stuck purchasing items at inflated prices in the aftermath.

I wanted to share some things that I personally learned in hopes that you can utilize them, regardless of what type of disaster you may face.

1.  Buy an inverter for your car. You can then charge/run small appliances off of your car batteries. Look in the camping AND automotive sections of your store (walmart sells them).  You can also find them in the computer section, near the  laptop accessories.

2.  There are some clips that attach directly to a car battery’s posts that hold a car adapter. (ours came with our electric filet knife) You can then bring your car battery inside and run fans, coffee pots, laptops, portable DVD, etc. if you use it with an inverter (mentioned in step 1.)  Just remember to stick it back in the car to charge it occasionally. 

3.  Stock up on some card games and board games. You won’t need those movies if you don’t have power! Hasbro has some really neat card games out now, and there are plenty of coupons to match. Stock up on these at when the coupons are out and hold onto for a power outage.

4.  Take a trip to the library to check out some books.  Try some audio books- they can entertain the entire family.

5.  Purchase extra charcoal/firewood if you have a charcoal grill. You can keep a running fire in a charcoal grill with firewood to sterilize water and warm things up.

6.  If you use a charcoal grill and commonly use starter fluid, look into a ‘fire starter’.  This is an aluminum cylinder that you fill with your charcoal.  Just wad up a piece of newspaper and stick it in the bottom and light it.  Your charcoal will be ready in minutes- perfect every time.  These are less than $10 at Walmart and Lowes.

7.  Clean and fill your bathtubs with water just in case you run low on drinking water

8.  Don’t forget a manual can opener.

9.  Make sure every last piece of clothing is washed and put away.  If you’re without power for long, you’ll be wishing for clean underwear!

10. Kerosene lamps or lanterns (in addition to flashlights).  I recommend a rechargable LED lantern, as you can recharge them in your vehicle and won’t have to worry about costly fuel and fumes.  These make great outdoor lighting for other events, so you will be able to reuse it.

11. Make sure you have a couple of small flashlights for each child. They break and get lost easily. Walmart has some for $1 that come with extra batteries.  Also, look for headlamps for your children.  These will free up their hands to read and will provide entertainment for YEARS to come. 

12. Avoid generic batteries.  Although they initially seem cheaper, you will find that they last about 1/10th the time as the more expensive ones (that only cost about 3x as much).  You’ll get more bang for your buck if you purchase name brand.

13. Buy large packages of glow sticks in the dollar section at Michael’s or your dollar store.  There are normally 20 to a package. Around Halloween, these pop up everywhere.  They will provide great entertainment for the kids and also allow you to keep your eyes on them in the dark.

14. Refill your prescriptions.  Ask your pharmacist for coupons, or keep your eye out for other promotions.  Many pharmacies accept competitor’s coupons (including CVS and Kroger).  Also, check out the medicine’s website and call your doctor to see if there are coupons available.  Many offer coupons that work in addition to your co-pay.

15. Take inventory of your kitchen gadgets.  Did you know that you can use a Pampered Chef stoneware bowl and a 9" round pan to make a dutch oven that will bake bread on your grill? 

16. Grab some paper plates and utensils.  This will help keep clutter under control and is much less expensive than running the dishwasher.

What types of preparations do you make when presented with a disaster?  Do you have any cost saving tips?

You can print several coupons from Hormel right now.  Since Dillons is still doubling 55¢ coupons, these might make a pretty good deal!

• $.50/2 Hormel Chunk Chicken
• $.55/2 Hormel Compleats
• $1/1 Hormel Refrigerated Entrees
• $.55/1 Hormel Natural Choice Deli Meats
• $.55/2 any Hormel Pepperoni
• $.75/1 Hormel Chili Master
• $2/1 Hormel Party Tray
• $1/1 Hormel Always Tender product
• $.75/1 Hormel Fully Cooked Bacon
• $.55/2 Hormel Chili Products

Kraft has a new coupon up for $5 off of 5 participating Kraft Products.  For every coupon redeemed, Kraft will donate 5 meals to Feeding America.  Print this one and hang on to it for a great cream cheese sale!

This coupon is valid on the following items (some size restriction may apply and are printed on the coupon):

• Kraft Singles
• Kraft Parmesan Cheese
• Kraft Natural Cheese
• Kraft String-ums Cheese
• Kraft Cracker Cuts Cheese
• Kraft Deli Deluxe Cheese Slices
• Philadelphia Cream Cheese
• Velveeta Cheese Product
• Cracker Barrel Cheese
• Cheez Whiz
• Breakstone’s Sour Cream
• Breakstone’s Cottage Cheese
• Knudsen Sour Cream
• Knudsen Cottage Cheese

I’m glad I chose not to let the new Dillons coupon policy bother me.  I figured that it would all work itself out in the long run, but I felt that I needed to let you know of any immediate changes (and hopefully cut down on all of the emails I was answering).

Here’s the latest on the policy change… there are NO changes!  The policy was intended for some Kroger stores, but not any of the affiliate stores.  An email with the new policy was accidentally sent to every store instead of the selected ones.  (This has been confirmed by 3 store managers and corporate.)

There is an updated policy, but nothing that will cause any changes.  It is mainly to enforce rules that have been in place but not in writing for quite some time.

**If you want to discuss the policy, please do so in the comments below or on our Facebook page.  I’ve answered hundreds of individual emails about this and it feels like I’m typing the same things over and over again.  If all questions are in one spot, then I only have to answer them once- and if I’m not around, some one else might be able to answer them.  Thanks