Half Off Depot - 50% off Giftcards

Found this in "The City Paper" (Nashville). Half Off Depot offers gift cards from local merchants at 50% off face value. Which is a beautiful thing.

Here's their "about us" info:

How does it work?

Here's how Half Off Depot works, in two easy steps:

1. You go to HalfOffDepot.com, select your city, and pick out gift certificates to your favorite businesses. You then purchase these gift certificates from us for half their face value.

2. Once your certificates arrive in the mail, you take each gift certificate to the business that issued it, and use the full value of your gift certificate (twice what you paid for it) toward your purchase there.

Seriously, that's all there is to it. Whatever you spent at HalfOffDepot.com, you will redeem twofold at the businesses you've selected. And you can expect to be treated as a first-class citizen, because the businesses aren't giving you anything for free — the other half of your gift certificate has already been paid for by our publishing partners. All that makes you is a smart shopper!

Ok, so at this point there's only a few cities offered but I remain optimistic for the rest of you. Click the image above for link. Check it out!

Gofobo.com - More Free Movie Screening!

While reading through the Film Metro (see previous post) website, I came across user comments for gofobo.com. Here is their "about us" info:

Gofobo is a new and exciting online experience designed to help you see movies first and win prizes fast. It also will allow you to build new relationships with other people who love movies, celebrities and fun. Based on the concept of fun or boring, gofobo will allow you not only to experience movies, contests and live events, but also to share your comments…whether your experiences are fun or boring…and a whole lot more. Keep coming back to gofobo as we continue to grow, offering more movies and contests – and more experiences – for our gofobo members.


Sounds like this one has more frequent offerings (in the Nashville area). Click on the above photo for link.

Hint: Some of the users on Film Metro posted gofobo.com codes to use for free movie passes. Take a look!

** The RSVP code for "17 Again" is FMT8251

Film Metro -- Pre-screen Movies FREE

My kids have been bugging me ALL day to get them tickets for the Hannah Montana movie opening today. In my search for FREE tickets, I ran across a website called Film Metro.

Here's their "About Us" info:

"Before a movie is released to the
general public, many times the movie
studio will offer advance screenings
for research and promotional purposes.
Film Metro is dedicated to providing
information and free movie tickets to
these advance screenings."

Looks like a great opportunity -- I think I'll sign up. Not gonna work for my Hannah Montana fans, though. Maybe next time : )

My Story

After reworking our budget for the millionth time, I became frustrated with our grocery and household expenses. It felt like we were CONSTANTLY running out of things and waiting until the next week to stock up again. Or worse -- we would run out to the corner drugstore and spend more than anticipated for milk or catfood or whatever.

I had tried clipping coupons, but gave up in a few months. As with most things, I knew that SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE knew more than me and I determined to search the internet under the tags of frugal living, coupons, and strategic shopping.

Lo and behold, I was right! In fact, there were lots of people that knew more than me. They rarely ran out of stuff and almost never paid full price for anything. I had found my tribe!

After reading up on all the cool strategies, I determined to make small changes. Baby steps, right? For me, here's how it all transpired:

1. Wrote out our basic weekly menu. Listed ALL ingredients needed.

2. Determined how much of a stockpile I wanted to build.

3. Organized pantry to accommodate growing stockpile.

4. Began by shopping at Aldi (here's the link to my 4-week shopping plan)

5. Subscribed HERE for 70% off the Sunday paper.

6. Filed coupon inserts by date -- did not clip anything until needed.

7. Joined CVS Extra Care program.

8. Looked for SALE and COUPON match-ups on my favorite frugal blogs (see side bar for list)

9. Began to shop the sales and "cherry-pick" the deals. Budget started to loosen!! Aldi list became smaller as I started to get several items each week for pennies on the dollar by using the sale/coupon match-ups.

10. Checked frugal websites daily for online deals and printable coupons.

11. STOPPED BUYING shampoo, body wash, toothpaste, etc. because I knew that I could get it FREE with CVS weekly or monthly deals and with grocery sales/coupon match-ups. (Crazy, isn't it?)

12. Started giving stuff away weekly because we have more than we could ever use. (unless I find another use for toothpaste)

13. Friends started asking how I did it. When I tried to explain all the little steps, I became overwhelmed at the many details. Decided to blog about it instead, so friends could digest a little at a time.

14. And here I am!

Hope that helps any of you who are looking to get started with all this. Let me know if you have any other questions. I'm always glad to help!

True Value $5 off $25 Printable Coupon

Click on this link to print your $5 off $25 coupon. Good through July 31, 2009.

Kmart Shoes - Buy One Get One 50% Off

Buy one pair of shoes, get another pair 50% off now through 4/11/09 at Kmart. I looked through it and they had some really cute styles. Check it out!

Good Housekeeping Contests

I was reading my FREE April issue of Good Housekeeping magazine and came across all these sweepstakes. Bosch, Pier 1, Physicians Formula, Olay, Crest, Spa package, etc. etc. I'm probably going to give all these a shot -- just thought I'd pass it along. SOMEONE has to win: why not you?

** once a new sweepstakes page opens, make sure you click on the link for sweepstakes entry without a trial subscription -- unless you really want one : )

Swagbucks Reward Program

Just wanted to update you on my Swagbucks progress. I've only been signed up for a few days and already I have 20 swagbucks. For a $5 Amazon giftcard, I need only 25 more points. There are many other prizes to choose from.

To sign up, just click the Swagbucks link on my sidebar. If you're going to surf the internet, you may as well get "paid" to do so. : )

Dunkin' Donuts Iced Coffee 50 Cents!

Enjoy great tasting Dunkin' Donuts Iced Coffee. Get a small 16oz Iced Coffee for only $.50 plus tax on April 21, 2009. Your purchase will support Homes For Our Troops - a non-profit organization that provides specially adopted homes for our severely injured veterans at no cost to them.

For each small Iced Coffee you buy on Iced Coffee Day, 10% of the purchase price will go to the Dunkin' Brands Community Foundation to support Homes For Our Troops. Guaranteed minimum donation $100,000.

Visit www.DunkinDonuts.com for more information. Offer valid all day.

Recipe For Homemade Laundry Detergent

Yes, I make my own detergent. I've also got a great tip for fabric softener that's chemical free.

For the detergent you will need:

1 large, deep pot
Borax Washing Powder
Baking Soda
Bar Soap -- I use all the remaining slivers of soap from the shower : ) Should equal a full bar.

First, shred your bar soap in the food processor (or just use the slivers whole.) Boil about a quart of water and dissolve the soap in the water. Lower heat to medium. Slowly add 1 cup of Borax washing powder. Stir until dissolved. Watch the heat as it tends to bubble over very quickly.

After this is dissolved, remove from heat. Add 3 TBSP of baking soda to this mixture -- one at a time. Stir quickly to dissolve.

After all soap and powders are dissolved, you can add fragrance, if you like. Essential oils are nice, but I actually add a sample packet of shampoo or detergent. These are always freebies that I get in the mail. Just makes it smell more "commercial."

I let it cool slightly, then pour the mixture into a 10 Quart bucket and fill with water. Stir. Allow this to stand overnight and firm up. ** It's not going to be as thick as commercial detergent.

After it sets, stir and dispense through funnel into clean, empty containers. This should be enough for 200 loads. Shake before each use.

To save money, I wash everything in cold water. To soften in the dryer, wad up a hand-sized ball of aluminum foil and toss in with the wet clothing. Works amazingly well and is reusable.