Where do all the FREEbies come from???

I don't know if you've noticed, but I LOVE free stuff. I mean, really - if I can get it for FREE why pay for it?

Plus getting free things in the mail is like my birthday every day!

So what's the secret?

Time. Seriously.

You need a facebook account and time to look through e-mails a lot.

Here are several ways to get some sweet free stuff:

1) Go to the product website and write to the company in their Contact Us feature. Either politely ask for a coupon or tell them how much you love their product. The FREE Michelina coupons below were sent to me because I very honestly told them that I want to try their snackers and would like to know if they had any coupons.

2) Join product insider groups. I follow The Krazy Coupon Lady, Deal Seeking Mom, and Money Saving Mom on facebook and they usually alert me to insider groups accepting applicants. All you have to do is tell your friends about their new products and they send you FULL size products. As a Coffee-Mate insider, I got to host a Coffee-Mate party and below is my Frito Lay welcome package!

3) Those facebook updates again - the same ones above let me know when products will be giving away free samples on their facebook page or their own website. These are usually limited time offers so you have to act fast!

4) Join BzzAgent - you get to try out free full-size products and all you have to do is tell your friends about them. It's really that easy.

5) Join House Party. You get HUGE boxes full of goodies and you get to have get-togethers with your friends and share the wealth. Again... really that easy. I'm getting ready to host a Velveeta Cheesy Skillets party right now.

6) Get e-mail updates from freebie blogs like Shop4Freebies and Woman Freebies. These are normally samples and not full products, though.

Hope this helps - enjoy your freebies!

Couponing 101: Part 4

This one is so easy it's going to knock your socks off. Or your flip flops if you're not a sock wearer. I'm not. A sock wearer, that is. Spring rolls around and Old Navy supplies me with an endless assortment of colors in flip flop style. Putting them away in fall may be one of the hardest things I do...

Did I mention I tend to ramble? : )

Numero Quatro:

BE IN THE KNOW. The Dish. The 411. 

I subscribe to several blogs via e-mail so that I can peruse the deals at leisure. The sign up link is usually on the right side of the page at the top. And it's free. Just sayin'. There are tons more out there - these just happen to be the ones I follow. They usually have the same deals posted and vary only slightly (but it's that slightly that sometimes brings in the great deals).

The Krazy Coupon Lady

Money Saving Mom Food Lion (and other regional stores) deals HERE.

Deal Seeking Mom

Coupon Connections

This Frugal Life

For limited-time coupons or when I'm on-the-go/homeschooling, I've 'liked' couponing pages on facebook. Then I discreetly check my phone when it buzzes during school and not-so-discreetly give a huge WHOOP!! and run to the computer to get a free full-size product. I really wish I was kidding... And I hate to admit it, but I've liked so many manufacturer pages on fb to get coupons that I now receive most deals ahead of the couponing blogs. Here are the facebook pages I follow (you'll need to already have a facebook account to like these):

I Heart Kroger

A Frugal Chick

"Cents"able Mom

Coupon Beat

Stockpiling Moms

Coupon Pro

You can also go like the fb pages of the blogs I mentioned earlier - blogs usually have an 'f' link at the top right for their fb page.

Couponing 101: Part 1

New to couponing?

Not sure where to start?

Want to see hundreds of dollars melt off of your grocery bill?!?!?

 Image Credit

I regularly see around $250 in savings and I have a growing stockpile and a full pantry.

Yep, I'm amazed too.

It's possible and it's nothing like the Extreme Couponing show on TLC.

Start here at The Krazy Couponing Lady with her Beginners section. She's Joanie from that same tv show but she's real, helpful and quick to admit it if she's wrong.

Come back tomorrow for more tips!

Loving the Freebies

I'm becoming addicted to freebies. My name is Susan and I love freebies.

It started with blog giveaways... I just kept winning them!

And then I discovered House Party. At www.houseparty.com you sign up for parties - if they choose you, you only have so long to register for that party to lock it in, then they send you a lot of free stuff to keep and hand out to your friends.

Which led me to Coffee-Mate. I was signed up for their newsletter and I received an e-mail asking if I wanted to sign up for a themed party night. They're doing a promotion for Free Flavor Friday. Awesome.

So they sent me a Game Night Kit, with a poker set and Cranium and tons of coupons for free Coffee-Mate creamer. I invited friends over and we got to drink coffee, play games, eat snacks and one lucky person walked away with a brand new poker set. And it was all FREE.

In this economy they're doing that? Coffee-Mate is my new best friend. Not that I wasn't already loving their Coconut creamer.

Coffee-mate Special Edition Coconut Creme, 15-Ounce Units (Pack Of 6)

The moral of this story? Sign up for e-mail newsletters of  your favorite products.