Skin MD review & giveaway!

I recently had the opportunity to try Skin MD Natural's Shielding Lotion & Sunscreen SPF 15. This product retails for $25 on the Skin MD Natural website and claims to be a very effective tool against dry skin.

This product serves as both shielding lotion as well as sunscreen. According to Skin MD Natural, a shielding lotion binds to the skin forming a protective barrier like an invisible glove keeping the moisture inside your skin. The Skin MD Natural people claim that Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion has a special ingredient that is 6 times as moisturizing as glycerin which is the usual moisturizing ingredient in skincare products.

I have been using this product for a couple of weeks now and am impressed that it doesn't leave a greasy feeling and keeps my skin very soft. The fragrance is very light and I don't notice it. This is skincare product I will use again.

I used the store locator on their website and was happy to find that my local Walgreens carries this product. This would be a great use for the giftcards I receive from the monthly Easy Saver rebates! Although it is on the pricier side, a little goes a very long way and my frugal philosophy is not to skimp in the areas that are important to you. My skin is one of those areas.

The folks at Skin MD Natural have graciously decided to give one (1) of my lucky readers their own bottle of Shielding Lotion + Sunscreen SPF 15. To enter, you MUST visit the Skin MD Natural website here and read about their products. Then come back to my blog and leave a comment in this post letting me know why you'd love to win this great giveaway! Make sure to leave your email address so I can contact the winners.

There are six (6) "extra" ways to enter (each one below gets you one additional entry):

1. subscribe to my blog (either via email using the box in the left sidebar or RSS feed). If you already subscribe leave a comment saying you do. If you subscribe by email you MUST confirm your email and activate the subscription.

2. follow me on Twitter (http://twitter.com/NicolesNickels) and tweet about this giveaway. If you already follow me that's fine, just comment with a link back to the tweet about this giveaway.

3. blog about this giveaway (leave the link in the comment)

4. email 5 people about this giveaway (please cc me on this email - nicolesnickels at gmail dot com and leave a comment saying you sent the email)

5. grab my button for your site (leave the link to where the button is in the comment)

6. add the link to this giveaway on a Mr. Linky about giveaways or on a blog giveaway site, blog carnival or forum or yahoo group (leave link to where you did this in the comment)

You MUST leave a comment answering the question above as your first entry and then additional entries are governed by the terms above. You MUST leave a separate comment for each entry you are able to make. Feed and email subscribers will need to click on to my actual blog to leave a comment. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only, 18 years old or over, and the winners will be chosen by random.org. This giveaway will be good until April 28 at 9:00 pm Eastern time and a winner will be announced soon thereafter. If the winner does not respond to my email within 48 hours then I will pick a new winner. Good luck!

Nicole's Nickels on the radio 4/16

Here is my weekly radio segment from the Jennifer & Danny Show on 97.9 WRMF. If you're local to the West Palm Beach, Florida area you can catch me live every Thursday morning between 7:00 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. If you're not local you can listen live online here or just wait for me to post the podcast!

Nicole's Saving Advantage - $25 Target giftcard

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS OFFER IS NOW FOR A $25 TARGET GIFTCARD AND A $25 STARBUCKS GIFTCARD BUT YOU MUST REMAIN A MEMBER PAST THE TRIAL PERIOD IN ORDER TO QUALIFY FOR THE GIFTCARDS

I found a new offer for a $25 Target giftcard that seems pretty straightforward to do. It is called Nicole's Saving Advantage and says it will save you up to 90% on things you buy everyday.



It costs $1.95 to join (use prepaid card or virtual credit card number if you are worried about giving your credit card info.) and they will MAIL you the form to fill out to get the $25 Target giftcard. You fill it out and then MAIL it back. The trial is 30 days after which you will pay $9.95 per month.

I would advise to complete the paperwork for the giftcard right away since you have to rely on the mail for this one. If you are not a member at the time they go to process your giftcard they won't send it to you so you have to stay a member to receive the $25 giftcard.

If you get the giftcard within the 30 day trial and then decide to cancel, you've only paid $1.95 and received a $25 giftcard. If you stay for the second month and decide to cancel, you've paid $11.90 and received a $25 giftcard. A third month and you've paid $21.85 but received a $25 giftcard. Remember, though, sometimes you can call a company and ask to have your trial extended to try out the service a little more before committing to full payment of a month.

I have heard of people receiving their giftcard within the first 30 days but many not until after the trial has expired and they have paid for their first month. This offer is not as quick as the previous giftcard offers I posted about here and you may have to stay a member to get your giftcard on this one, just a heads up.

As with all online offers, copy and paste the terms and conditions for your records, keep detailed receipts and records, and calendar the your trial expiration a few days prior to the actual expiration to give yourself a little time to decide if you want to cancel or keep the service.

WINNER - Dole Frozen Fruit Giveaway

The following comment was selected by random.org as the winner of the Dole Frozen Fruit Giveaway! I have emailed the winner and if I do not hear back from them within forty-eight (48) hours then I will post a new winner. And the winner is...

The Dreamer who said... "organic raspberries! YUM! I love reaspberries" at Thursday, April 09, 2009 10:39:00 AM

Clinical Trials and Focus Groups

Signing up for clinical trials and focus groups can be a great way to earn some good money. Clinical trials involve taking a certain medication or following a certain prescribed routine (or a placebo) and the evaluation of results. A focus group can be online or in person and is like an extended survey. There are focus groups available for just about anything from new menu items at restaurants to reactions to various products.

Focus Groups

There are several focus group companies that I am signed up with. I receive periodic emails from them and if I am interested, respond to see if I qualify. They often involve 5 hours or so on the computer with compensation of over $100! Many offer in person focus groups as well as online focus groups.

I am signed up with:

20/20 Research

Schlesinger Associates

Focus Forward

Clinical Trials

Pharmaceutical companies are looking for individuals with the conditions below for FREE evaluation, medication, travel and additional compensation for participating in clinical trials. If you or someone you know has one of these conditions, consider seeing if you qualify for these clinical trials.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Symptoms associated with Menopause

Osteoporosis/bone density issues

A Flash in the Pan - review and annual subscription giveaway!

After I posted about A Flash In The Pan here, I got many emails from readers telling me how excited they were about the upcoming giveaway. Well, here it is!

A Flash In The Pan is a wonderful business run by a husband and wife chef team in California whose goal is for you to cook fresh and healthy meals in a short period of time from your home with their assistance! I was given a subscription and have been cooking delicious and gourmet meals for myself ever since. Each week I log on to the site and have the option to use the weekly menu already designed for me or to create my own menu based on the database of recipes on the site. You can mix and match main dishes, starches and vegetables to your liking and choose recipes based on the season so that the fruits and vegetables are fresh and less expensive.

The entire site is customizable, from choosing the recipes themselves to changing the quantity of diners. You can even create a shopping list based on the recipes you choose. Everything on there is so well thought out and designed to make it easier for you to cook healthy and fresh meals for your family.

I've tried some dishes I may have otherwise been scared to try, and have found the dishes to be full of flavor and nutritious ingredients. My favorites so far have been sauteed chicken with coconut-ginger sauce, roast salmon with red curry sauce, lemon-basil rice, and roasted peppers with onions and herbs. The recipes are well-written and there is even a timetable so that all dishes will be finished at the same time, telling you at what time you need to do each step of each recipe.

There are several options available to suit everyone's tastes from "anything goes" to gluten-free, to healthy kids, to "no red meat". There truly is something for everyone here. This site has stopped me several times from picking up my dinner on the way home from work - when I do that I tend to eat food that isn't healthy or meals that aren't balanced. Let A Flash In The Pan do all the work for you!

The chefs over at A Flash In The Pan have been generous enough to give my readers their own coupon code to enter at checkout (blogspring) discounting subscriptions by 25%-35% depending on the length of subscription desired. In addition, two (2) of my lucky readers will win a FREE year long subscription to A Flash In The Pan!

To enter, you MUST visit the A Flash In The Pan website here and read about all that they have to offer. Then come back to my blog and leave a comment in this post letting me know why you'd love to win a FREE year long subscription to A Flash In The Pan! Make sure to leave your email address so I can contact the winners.

There are six (6) "extra" ways to enter (each one below gets you one additional entry):

1. subscribe to my blog (either via email using the box in the left sidebar or RSS feed). If you already subscribe leave a comment saying you do. If you subscribe by email you MUST confirm your email and activate the subscription.

2. follow me on Twitter (http://twitter.com/NicolesNickels) and tweet about this giveaway. If you already follow me that's fine, just comment with a link back to the tweet about this giveaway.

3. blog about this giveaway (leave the link in the comment)

4. email 5 people about this giveaway (please cc me on this email - nicolesnickels at gmail dot com and leave a comment saying you sent the email)

5. grab my button for your site (leave the link to where the button is in the comment)

6. add the link to this giveaway on a Mr. Linky about giveaways or on a blog giveaway site, blog carnival or forum or yahoo group (leave link to where you did this in the comment)

You MUST leave a comment answering the question above as your first entry and then additional entries are governed by the terms above. You MUST leave a separate comment for each entry you are able to make. Feed and email subscribers will need to click on to my actual blog to leave a comment. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only, 18 years old or over, and the winners will be chosen by random.org. This giveaway will be good until April 28 at 9:00 pm Eastern time and a winner will be announced soon thereafter. If the winner does not respond to my email within 48 hours then I will pick a new winner. Good luck!

Publix 4/13-4/22

Sheri at Swaggrabber has the full list of match-ups for you to read here. Please check out her full post for more information on the abbreviations she uses in her match-ups. If you don't live in Florida or don't shop at Publix, please head over to The Grocery Gathering where you can find match-ups for all grocery stores!

Here are some of the best Publix highlights for the week:

Yoplait Yogurt BOGO $2.87-
Use two $1.50/1 PRINTABLE coupons - hit back to print two
FREE plus overage after coupons

Muellers Pasta BOGO $1.39-
Use the $1/3 PRINTABLE coupon - NO PRINT LIMIT!!!
Buy 2 (or as many as you want in multiples of 2) and use two coupons
$.36 each with coupons

Ken's Steakhouse Marinade BOGO $2.79-
Use two $1/1 coupons found in the 03-08-09 SS insert
$.39 each after coupons

Fresh Express Salad 2/$5-
Use two $1/1 coupons found in the Publix Yellow Advantage flyer
$1.50 each after coupons

ANOTHER great coffee deal!

For someone who doesn't really drink a lot of coffee, I sure am finding lots of coffee deals. Here is another great Gevalia deal.

You can get all of the following for just $29.95 plus $5.95 shipping:
-2 pounds of Gevalia Coffee
-Stainless Steel coffee scoop
-Stainless steel travel mug
-Stainless steel coffee maker



You will be enrolled in their auto-ship program but can cancel VERY easily by calling 1-800-438-2542. The coffee maker alone is a deal at that price!

The other Gevlia offer for 3 boxes of coffee plus the travel mug for $3 (including shipping) is still valid as is the Boca Java offer for 4 bags of coffee for just $4.95 (including shipping). You can read more about these 2 great offers here.

Pinecone Research - My FAVE!

Pinecone Research is my favorite survey company for many reasons. The first is that I receive short screener surveys that take no more than 5 minutes approximately 2-4 times per month. If I qualify based on the screener survey then I am sent the survey within a week or so. Once you receive the survey there is NO disqualification. You know you've qualified and you'll be paid.

Another reason is that Pinecone pays $3 per survey and automatically mails you the check (or sends the money via paypal, your choice) within days after you complete the survey. They also send many product tests and answer questions via email promptly. Pinecone Research is an "invite only" survey company and I am excited to report that I received a referral link in my email to share with you all. You can't just go to their site and sign up, you need to have received a referral. It's FREE to sign up and start giving your opinion!

UPDATE: My referral link is dead. To find a banner, check out this site and if it says "USA Pinecone is open" click there to sign up.

GREAT Mother's Day gift idea!

I have a fabulous Mother's Day gift idea for you to give to someone special in your life like a mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, etc. I received this beautiful personalized toggle bar necklace from HipFusion Designs and wanted to share this great website and talented designer with you!

HipFusion Designs has many personalized items such as necklaces, bracelets and earrings in ready-made and customized designs. HipFusion Designs uses dichroic glass, precious metal clay and bronze clay for fusing the products. I chose the top-seller, the necklace pictured above, and have worn it every day since I received it. It arrived in a gorgeous gift box with bow - it was a great first impression! I opened the box and was so pleased with my necklace. The toggle front is so unique and the silver and gold beads I ordered make my necklace coordinate with all my jewelry!

Please check out the HipFusion Designs website for some great Mother's Day gift ideas. There really is something for every style and owning such a unique and customized piece of jewelry is a great feeling. They offer lifetime FREE repair and maintenance of all of their items.

Hip2Fusion has generously offered my readers a 20% discount when they order from the website using the code NICOLE any time before May 1, 2009. When you order from them, please tell them that you heard about their wonderful jewelry from Nicole's Nickels and tell them I said hello!

FREEBIES on Tax Day!

There are some companies sympathetic to those of you having to write a check to Uncle Sam this week for your taxes. For those of you who got refunds, think of this as a celebration!

These deals are only good on Wednesday, April 15:

FREE Classic Bites at participating mall-based Cinnabons from 5-8 pm

At TGI Fridays, get a $5 bonus bites card when you spend $15-$25 and a $10 bonus bites card when you spend more than $25

McDonalds customers can get a Big Mac or a Quarter Pounder for 1 penny when they purchase one at the regular price at participating stores

Get a FREE taco at Taco Del Mar

PF Chang's is offering 15% off the total bill

Maggie Moo's Ice Cream & Treatery will give each customer a free single scoop of ice cream

At McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants there will be a special menu of items for $10.40 and every customer will leave with a giftcard for $10.40 to use on their next visit.

2 month anniversary!

Today is the 2 month anniversary of Nicole's Nickels. In some ways, it feels like I have been blogging forever but in other ways, I'm still a newbie!

I wanted to take this time to thank my readers for reading, following, tweeting, posting, emailing and commenting on/about my blog.

For new readers, I wanted to give you a synopsis and recap of my blog and what you can expect from me.

1. First of all, please take my reader survey if you haven't already. The data I get from this survey will assist me in making my blog more tailored to my readers' wants and needs.

2. If you don't already, please subscribe to my blog. This way, you won't have to remember to check my site everyday. Instead, an email will come right to your inbox. You can subscribe via email by entering your email in the box on my left sidebar and clicking "subscribe". You can also, of course, subscribe via the RSS reader of your choice.

3. Please continue to spread the word about Nicole's Nickels. If I've saved you money or made you money, tell your friends, family, and everyone you meet about it!

4. Sign up for a FREE web-based email (I use gmail) and use this email address for your online offers and freebies and samples.

5. My blog is broken down into categories that you can find buttons for on the top sidebar. These categories will all help you to earn money and save money in your daily lives.

Surveys
Doing surveys is a great way to earn extra money. I often get new products to test as a result of surveys and also earn money and prizes from the surveys I do. Some of the survey companies I have worked with and enjoyed are: Lightspeed, Greenfield, Global Test Market, Survey Savvy, SayNation, Valued Opinions, American Consumer Opinion, Opinion Outpost , Zoompanel, Ipsos I-Say, HCD Surveys, and university-sponsored sites. Have you signed up for all of them?

Mystery Shopping
Mystery shopping earns me approximately $300 per month. I enjoy serving as an establishment's eyes and ears and reporting back on service. For more information on mystery shopping, please read my guest post called Mystery Shopping 101 here.

Deals
I post deals as I find them but you can count on weekly flyer match-ups for CVS and Walgreens (Sundays) and Publix and Winn-Dixie (Thursday and Friday, usually).

Freebies & Samples
I post a Friday FREEBIES and samples post but you'll find posts about other FREEBIES and samples as I find them if they are likely to run out.

Online Offers
Have you read about how I got a Wii and a Wii Fit for $38.34? Or how I got $100 in giftcards for $4? These are what I call online offers and if you haven't read these posts (and the comments) yet, please do. They are great ways to make some extra money!

Giveaways & Reviews
I am currently hosting the Dole Frozen Fruit giveaway. You can enter here if you haven't already. Be on the lookout for more great giveaways coming soon!

THANK you for reading Nicole's Nickels. Please feel free to send me an email or leave a comment if you have any questions or just something you want to say.

4 FREE bags of Hershey's Kisses at Walgreens

Easter candy is now 50% off at Walgreens. Buy 4 bags of Hershey's Kisses at $1.25 each and submit the Easy Saver Rebate for $5. You'll get the 4 bags for FREE.

It's so easy to submit Walgreens EasySaver Rebates. I created an account online at Walgreens and then go to "claim my rebates". All you do is enter your receipt number and that's it! You have the option of receiving a check or a Walgreens gift card where you will get the $5 plus 10% for choosing the giftcard option. If you already have a Walgreens giftcard you can just give them the number and the $5.50 will be deposited onto it. This is a great deal for some FREE candy.

WINNER - Kellie Sutton Jewelry Giveaway

The following comment was selected by random.org as the winner of the Kellie Sutton Jewelry Earrings Giveaway! I have emailed the winner and if I do not hear back from them within forty-eight (48) hours then I will post a new winner. And the winner is...

Anonymous who said... "I loved the Cassandra and Karra 2 earrings. I sure would love to win this pair also." Thanks mimis_6310@yahoo.com at Saturday, April 04, 2009 2:14:00 PM

FREE light bulbs at Home Depot on 4/19

Home Depot will be giving away 1 million Ecosmart 14w CFL bulbs on April 19, 2009 in honor of Earth Day. There are not many restrictions on this giveaway and no purchase is required. For more details, read the information here.

If you haven't used them before, a CFL bulb is compact fluorescent lamp, a type of bulb that uses less power and has a longer life than a regular light bulb. I have replaced my outside lights with these kind of bulbs about a year ago and they haven't gone out yet! I'm all for greener solutions that have better results than their non-green counterparts.

Don't just throw away a CFL bulb, though. Please read the EPA's article here on proper disposal of a CFL bulb.

GREAT Coffee deals!

Are you or someone in your family a coffee lover? If so, here are 2 great coffee deals for you!

4 bags of Boca Java Gourmet Coffee for just $4.95 with FREE shipping! You'll be enrolled in an auto-ship program but can cancel at any time (online or by phone) if you don't want to keep it. They have delicious sounding flavored coffee such as Caramel Kiss Island and Mint Chocolate Memories as well as many varities of plain coffee.



You can also get 3 boxes of Gevalia coffee plus a mug for just $3 with FREE shipping. You'll also be enrolled in an auto-ship program but can cancel at any time (online or by phone) if you don't want to keep it.

Walgreens 4/12-4/18

As usual, Karen over at Frugal RI Mama has all the Walgreens deals for you. I'll put some highlights below but to read the full list check out her post here.

Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner, On Sale 2/$2.99
Use $1.00 cpn in 3/15 insert
Final Cost: $1.49 for 2

Skippy Peanut Butter 2/$2.29
Use $1/2 cpn in 4/5 RP insert
Final Cost: $1.29 for 2

Coffee Mate 16oz liquid, On Sale 2/$3.00
se $1.00 printable coupon
Final Cost" $0.50 each

There are also 4 "FREE after RR" items this week and I went this morning and got them all! I did 2 transactions because I wanted to use the Skintimate RR I got this month and also wanted to buy the Edge shave gel - because these 2 are the same RR deals, you can't use the RR from Skintimate or Edge to buy another one.

Transaction 1
Colgate Max Fresh Toothbrush, On Sale $3.49, Get a $3.49 RR
I used a $.75 off coupon on any Colgate toothbrush
Final Cost" FREE + $.75 overage after RR

Fiber Choice 10 ct Tablets, On Sale $2.49, Get a $2.49 RR
Final Cost: FREE after RR

Used the $3 Skintimate RR from previous week, and paid for the $2.25 balance with my Walgreens giftcard from my February Easy Saver Rebates
Paid 0 OOP and got $6 in RR (they always round these up for some reason)

Transction 2
Skintimate or Edge Shave Gel, On Sale $2.99, Get $2.99 RR
Final Cost: FREE after RR

Scunci Elastics 18 pk, On Sale $2.00 Get a $2 RR
Final Cost: FREE after RR

Chex Mix, On sale for $.98
Used $.50 off coupon from newspaper
Final Cost: $.48 per bag, bought 2 bags and used 2 coupons

Used $3.50 RR from previous week and paid for the $2.80 balance with my Walgreens giftcard from my February Easy Saver Rebates
Paid 0 OOP and got $5 in RR (they always round these up for some reason)

In the end, I walked out with 6 items, paid nothing out of pocket and have $11 in RR to spend!

TIP: You could have split this into more transactions to use the RR's you received in the very next transaction (i.e. buy the Fiber Choice and then use the RR's received to buy the toothbrush, etc.). There was a long line behind me and I have the Walgreens giftcard from February's rebates still so I decided to use that instead of separating my items into 5 transactions which would have caused me to use less money from the giftcard.

CVS 4/12-4/18

CVS has some pretty good deals this week and Karen at Frugal RI Mama has them all for you! I've included some highlights here, but to check out the full list, visit Frugal RI Mama here.

Schick Quattro Titanium razor or trimmer 1ct, On Sale $8.99, Get $4.00 ECB (Limit 1)
Use $4.00 cpn in 3-22-09 SS insert
Final Cost: $.99 after ECB's

Pert 2 in 1 or Sure solid or spray, On Sale $2.50, Get $2.00 ECB's wyb 2 (Limit 1)
Use $1.00 cpn in 3-1-09 SS insert
Buy 2, Final Cost: $1.00 for 2 after ECB's

Kellogg’s Cereal, On Sale $2.00
(Raisin Bran, Corn Flakes, Corn Pops, Rice Krispes, Apple Jacks, or Froot Loops)
Use $1.00 cpn in 4-5-09 RP insert
Final Cost: $1.00

I went to CVS this morning and ended up spending $.59 OOP for 2 items and got back $8.98 in ECB's to "roll" for next week on the following items:

Softsoap Body Wash, On Sale $4.99 Get $4.99 ECB (Limit 1)
Used the $1.00 cpn in 3-29-09 SS insert
Final Cost: FREE after ECB's + $1.00 overage

Colgate Enamel Protect Sensitive Toothpaste , On Sale $3.99, Get $3.99 ECB's (Limit 2)
Final Cost: Free after ECB's

My total was $8.98 then I used the $1.00 Softsoap coupon
$2.00 in ECB's from previous week
another $2.00 in ECB's from previous week
$3.49 in ECB's from previous week
Paid $.59 for both items and got $8.98 in ECB's to use in the future

Coupons in May Magazines

One of the great places to find coupons other than in the Sunday coupon inserts is in magazines. I've told you all before about how great All You Magazine is because it is full of coupons. There are many other magazines these days that are full of coupons, some of which are available for FREE to you and you may even already get.

The May issues of Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, and Elle all have great coupons ($31.00 worth) for you!

May 2009 Cosmopolitan
Page 219 - $1 off Always Infinity
Page 238 - $1 off Dentek floss pick
$5 off Dentek Complete White

May 2009 Good Housekeeping
Page 7 - $1.00 off Always Infinity
Page 89- $5 any animal priced $10 or more at Build-A-Bear (cardboard insert)
Page 105 - $5 off any $25 purchase at True Value (cardboard insert)
Page 189 - $3 off any Simple Green product

May 2009 Elle
Page 221 - $5 off when you spend $10 at Ulta, good in store and online (cardboard insert) (for those of you who have never been to Ulta, it is like Sephora on steroids with some of the cheaper product lines you would find at a drugstore in addition to the high-end items)
Page 239 - instructions on how to print out a coupon for $5 when you spend $25 at Payless, good in store and online

List2Shop - organize your grocery list!

List2Shop is a great website that allows you to save and print personalized shopping lists to save you time at the grocery store. The site is completely FREE and you can either search by exact item or by general category. The program automatically organizes your shopping list by store, making it easier for you to shop without getting distracted and forgetting something important!

You don't have to log in each time you visit but if you do the program saves your information so you don't have to start from the beginning each time. You can update your list from anywhere, from your Blackberry or from your office computer, where ever you are when you remember you need a grocery item!

You can even type in the quantity of products you want, the price of the product and a comment. This is great for us couponers, as you can type in the sale price and put information about your coupon or special deal in the comment field. Check out List2Shop for more information and to start this week's grocery list!

Organization and Office Max

Last week I was excited to have the opportunity to participate in a webcast by Office Max and Peter Walsh who have partnered to bring Peter's new In Place System to Office Max stores starting this week! I was also lucky enough to receive many of the products from Office Max to try out and have been using them for 2 weeks now. The In Place System is really helping me to become more organized.

The components are mostly clear and go with every decor but are also made of a strong material that I think will last a long time. The tabs are multi-colored and there is an erasable pen so that you can change the uses for the products as your needs change. I particularly liked the file tote (pictured in the back of the photo above) as it makes carrying files stylish and easy. The document wallet could also be used to bring coupons to the store.

During the webcase, Peter gave us some great tips about organization. Here are a few highlights:

*combine home and work calendars and use a color-coded system so you can easily identify if an event is home-related or work-related

*80% of documents filed away will never again see the light of day! Go through files every 6 months to evaluate the necessity of keeping the document

*Use a destop sorter to regain control over those loose papers on your desk!

To check out the line of products click here or visit your local OfficeMax stores which started carrying Peter Walsh's In Place System this week!

Top 10 giveaways of the week!

Don't forget to enter my 2 giveaways:

1. Kellie Sutton Jewelry - silver, brass and green pearl earrings, ends April 12
2. Dole Frozen Fruit - 5 bags of FREE frozen fruit and a fleece, ends April 15

Here are this week's top 10 giveaways! Remember to read each blogger's giveaway post as entry requirements vary by blogger. Good luck and please let me know if you win!

1. Saving with Mama Nordy - Diamond earrings (ends April 15)
2. Thrifty Coupon Deals - NASCAR & Libby's (grilling package and 10 cans of Libby's veggies, ends April 16)
3. All Hail Queen Mommy - 3 jars of PB Loco flavored peanut butters (ends April 19)
4. Mommy Daddy Blog - 16X20 poster print (ends April 20)
5. Free Sample Freak - Finish Quantum & Jet Dry Turbo (ends April 20)
6. Frugal RI Mama - Tiffany Giardina CD, T-shirt and poster (ends April 28)
7. Freebies4Mom - $200 Home Depot giftcard (ends April 19)
8. Mommy23Monkeys - Bissell's little green machine (ends April 22)
9. AnnOnandOn - The Monogram Divas monogrammed bag (ends April 15)
10. Life Starring Ellie and Eve - Personalized Photo Charm

Nicole's Nickels on the Radio 4/9

Have you caught my weekly radio segment yet? You can listen live every Thursday morning between 7:00 am and 7:30 a.m. on 97.9 WRMF's Jennifer & Danny Show if you're local to the West Palm Beach, Florida area or online at the station's website.



You could also wait for me to post the podcast here soon after the broadcast like I do every week!

Hotspex and Points.com

No, the title isn't a typo! Hotspex is the name of a very cool and different survey company that I have been a member of for 6 months. Hotspex's surveys are unlike the rest in their approach, graphics, and perspective. With Hotspex you earn "bux" for doing surveys (and spinning the bonus wheel during surveys) and bux can be converted to points on points.com. Despite the title, these are not "adult-only" surveys....

You can click here to sign up FREE for Hotspex and here to sign up FREE for Points.com



With Points.com you can link your Hotspex account with other rewards account such as hotel and airline programs and use your points from these programs to add to other program's accounts and/or redeem for gift cards and/or merchandise. I used my Hotspex points on points.com to get Amazon e-certificates. With over 50 program partners (airlines, hotels, retail, financial), points.com is the place to consolidate your balances from all these programs and redeem for something great!

Friday FREEBIES, samples, and great deals!

Here are this week's Friday FREEBIES, samples, and great deals!

FREE sample of Quaker Rice Snacks

FREE sample of Huggies Pure & Natural Diapers (through Huggies)

FREE sample of Huggies Pure & Natural Diapers (through WalMart, sign up for both!)

FREE Simple & Delicious Coupon Booklet

FREE sample of Crest Pro-Health Enamel Shield Toothpaste

FREE sample of Gillette Shampoo

FREE VistaPrint business cards, magnets, rubber stamps, return address labels (you only pay shipping)

FREE year subscription to Prevention magazine (no credit card needed, no bills received)

FREE year subscription to Maxim magazine (no credit card needed, no bills received)

FREE Precious Places by Mattel DVD

If you didn't complete my reader survey earlier this week, please see my post and click here to do me a favor and take my survey!

Sign up for the Edge Shave Gel club to receive special offers and freebies

Sign up for the Overstock.com newsletter and receive a discount off your next order!

Did you know you can do the $1 burnless bakeware deal up to 3 times per month? I just did it again and can't wait for my product to arrive! Click here to read my earlier post about it. This is very high quality silicone bakeware and you only pay $1!

Want to be the first to know about big sales and deep discounts? Click here to sign up with Shop it to Me (read my earlier post about it here)

Are you expecting a YouData payment in your paypal account today? I am and you can, too because every Friday is payday with YouData! Read my post here or sign into the YouData Widget on my right sidebar.

Don't forget to enter my 2 giveaways:
1. Kellie Sutton Jewelry - silver, brass and green pearl earrings, ends April 12
2. Dole Frozen Fruit - 5 bags of FREE frozen fruit and a fleece, ends April 15

Make sure you've signed up for Freeflys, MySavings, Cool Savings, and Startsampling for many more FREE samples!

Earn money for normal everyday online searching - Swagbucks is powered by google and is FREE to use! Earn Amazon giftcards as you search! Sign up here.

Winn-Dixie Match-Ups 4/8-4/14

Just like she does each week, Sheri at Swaggrabber has all of your Winn-Dixie match-ups. I am highlighting a few here but for the whole list (and an explanation of the abbreviations she uses), please check out her full post here. If you don't have a Winn-Dixie in your area, check out The Grocery Gathering at Be Centsable to find match-ups on almost every grocery store in the country!

Hillshire Farms Smoked Sausage 2/$5.00-
Use the $.65/2 coupon found in the 03-08-09 RP insert
$2.17 each after coupon

Dole Pineapple $1.00 each-
Use the $1/3 coupon found in the 03-29-09 SS insert
$.66 each after coupon wyb 3

Wheat Thins or Triscuit Crackers BOGO $3.99 -
Use the $1/2 coupons found in the 03-15-09 SS insert
$1.49 each

BARE International Mystery Shopping

BARE International is another mystery shopping company that I wanted to highlight. BARE International is FREE to join (as all legit mystery shopping companies are!) and they have shops all over the country, ranging from casual dining to financial (bank, mortgage) shops. The editors and schedulers at BARE are great to work with and provide quick and valuable feedback on your shop reports.

BARE also has many airport shops which are so much fun! You fill out a special form to let them know of your travel plans and depending on your timing and their need they schedule you 4-5 shops in each airport you are traveling through. This is a great way to get a free meal and magazine/candy while waiting for your flight at the airport!

If you're interested in learning more about mystery shopping, please read my guest post, titled "Mystery Shopping 101" that you can read here at Never Pay Retail Again.

Remember, it's FREE to sign up and you don't know what great shops there may be in your area until you do!

Magazine Communities

I wasn't sure what I should title this post and I still don't think what I ended up with accurately conveys the topic!

Anyway, lots of magazines have their own reader communities where you join for FREE and are sometimes asked to try new products, complete surveys for gifts (or the chance at a gift) or even get access to special offers and discounts. I am a member of all of these and do enjoy being an insider!

Redbook X-Pert Panel

Marie Claire Velvet Rope Club

Cosmopolitan Buzz Club

Glamour Glamspotters

All You Reality Checker

Allure Experts

Prevention Cook! Recipe Test Panel

Better Homes & Gardens Neighbor Network

Elle Inner Circle

Oprah DevOtee

Recently members have been offered everything from free make-up samples to a free bra! Remember to use your "deals" email account for these sign-ups.

Coupon Organization!

I have received several emails inquiring as to how I organize my coupons. When I first started couponing I would just keep the inserts and write the date on the front of them. I kept the inserts together and every week would just look through them and clip the coupons I wanted.

I quickly figured out that this wasn't the ideal way for me to keep my coupons. I am a very visual person and I need to be able to see all my coupons without shuffling through the inserts. I did some research online and found many other bloggers who keep a coupon binder.

I bought a zippered binder (a.k.a. Trapper Keeper) and sleeve protectors in 2 sizes (baseball card size and photo size). I had some write-on divider pages in the house and used those to create categories. I have approximately 15 categories (i.e. baking, dairy, frozen foods, etc.) and clip each coupon I come across. I put them in the sleeves according to category. You can put coupons on both sides of the sleeves. Here is what a page of my coupon binder looks like:




Yes, it does take time to clip each coupon, sort into the appropriate categories and then file in the binder, but this saves time when I'm at the store. The binder fits easily in the front of the cart for those trips when I decide to bring it with me.

Don't want to get the Sunday paper and clip coupons? You can order coupons from CentsOff or Coupon Clippers. Both charge a small fee but will send you as many copies as you specify of only the coupons you ask for!

Greenfield Online

Greenfield Online is a large survey company with lots of surveys for you to take. Many Greenfield surveys get you only an entry into their sweepstakes while others earn you cash. You need a minimum of $5 to cash out and they will mail you a check within a few weeks.



I have been signed up with Greenfield for 6 months now and have cashed out several times. I have also been invited (and qualified) to participate in several online bulletin board/forums that earned me $25! Greenfield will send daily invites but I ignore the ones that aren't for money unless I have some time to take them. Sign up for FREE with Greenfield online here.

If you consider yourself Hispanic, Greenfield has a special panel for Hispanics that you can also sign up for FREE at right here.

Some of the other surveys companies already reviewed on this blog are Global Test Market, Survey Savvy, SayNation, Valued Opinions, American Consumer Opinion, Opinion Outpost , Zoompanel, Ipsos I-Say, HCD Surveys, and university-sponsored sites. Have you signed up for all of them?

Healthy FREEBIES

Here are a few healthy FREEBIES I saw and wanted to share with you before Friday's FREEBIES post.

FREE Diabetes Value Pack (monitors, offers, meal plans, etc.)


FREE Slim-Fast weight-loss program

FREE 7 day pass to Bally Total Fitness

FREE spring samples from Quality Health

What's for dinner?

I wanted to give you all a sneak peek of an upcoming review and giveaway that I am thrilled to be a part of.

A Flash in the Pan is a website run by 2 chefs dedicated to bringing you customized meals to fit your dietary needs. There are gluten-free menus, quick and healthy menus and kid-friendly menus, among others. The service is subscription-based (and very affordable!). Weekly menus for complete meals are included as well as the ability to customize the recipes for the amount of people to be served. You can also print out a shopping list and a detailed instruction sheet.

The aim of a Flash in the Pain is "to help the home cook save time, money and effort while providing delicious recipes and unique, time-saving tools".

A Flash in the Pan has just relaunched their website and has graciously asked me to review their service for you all. I plan to spend some time using their site and recipes and report back to you soon. They have also provided subscriptions for a giveaway so BOLO (be on the lookout!).

Join and get coupons from Aveeno!

I love Aveeno products (if you read regularly, you'll know I sung the praises of the new Aveeno shampoo and conditioner here) and really love Aveeno coupons!



As always, it's FREE to sign up and easy to print the coupons from the site. Hint: Hit the back button after you print and you'll usually be allowed to print 1 more time!

Dole Frozen Fruit Review & Giveaway!

In today's tough economy, Dole has a way for you to keep your family eating healthy while staying on a budget. We all know how great fruit is for your body and mind but fresh fruit is expensive out of season and often spoils quickly. I kick myself every time, but find myself throwing away fresh fruit on occasion - maybe you're like me?

On average, 1/3 of the food we buy is thrown away. The average American family throws out almost 1/4 of the fresh fruit and veggies that they buy per year. That's $500 per year for a family of 4!

In this recent article from the New York Times the myth that fruits and vegetables must be fresh to be nutritious is dispelled. The article states that "not only do canned and frozen versions usually cost less and require less preparation, but nutrient value is as good or better and less food is wasted. Fresh produce is often harvested before it is fully ripe and so comes to the consumer with fewer than optimal nutrients. But fruits and vegetables that are canned or frozen are picked at the peak of ripeness. There is more vitamin C in a glass of orange juice made from frozen concentrate than in freshly squeezed juice."

I wanted to tell you all how Dole can help you save money. The FDA has predicted that food prices will rise 6% this year. With frozen fruit just as nutritious as fresh fruit, check out Dole's Frozen Fruit. They have at least 15 varieties that come in resealable bags. You use what you want/need and then put it back in the freezer. No more worrying about when the fruit will spoil or that you paid an exorbitant amount for fresh fruit because it wasn't in season.


For example, Dole Frozen Wildly Nutritious Blend of Mixed Berries has a mix of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, where during the winter in some parts of the country could cost upwards of $10 if bought fresh. But Dole's Frozen Wildly Nutritious Blend costs on average of $3 and is harvested at the peak of the season to ensure taste and nutrition.

The fruit tastes delicious, too. I was able to try the dark sweet cherries, blueberries, whole strawberries, sliced strawberries, mango and pineapple chunks. I made a delicious blueberry smoothie for breakfast one morning and thawed the pineapple and mango to make tropical fruit skewers with a delicious yogurt dipping sauce. The strawberries make an excellent strawberry shortcake - the possibilities are endless!

Dole is excited for you to try their frozen fruit and is offering 1 lucky reader the opportunity to win 5 coupons for FREE Dole frozen fruit as well as a sage color fleece pullover!

To enter, you MUST visit the Dole frozen fruit website here and leave a comment letting me know which frozen variety you like the best or which you'd like to try soon!

Make sure to leave your email address so I can contact the winners.

There are six (6) "extra" ways to enter (each one below gets you one additioanl entry):

1. subscribe to my blog (either via email using the box in the left sidebar or RSS feed). If you already subscribe leave a coment saying you do. If you subscribe by email you MUST confirm your email and activate the subscription.

2. follow me on Twitter (http://twitter.com/NicolesNickels) and tweet about this giveaway. If you already follow me that's fine, just comment with a link back to the tweet about this giveaway.

3. blog about this giveaway (leave the link in the comment)

4. email 5 people about this giveaway (please cc me on this email - nicolesnickels at gmail dot com and leave a comment saying you sent the email)

5. grab my button for your site (leave the link to where the button is in the comment)

6. add the link to this giveaway on a Mr. Linky about giveaways or on a blog giveaway site, blog carnival or forum or yahoo group (leave link to where you did this in the comment)

You MUST leave a comment answering the question above as your first entry and then additional entries are governed by the terms above. You MUST leave a separate comment for each entry you are able to make. Feed and email subscribers will need to click on to my actual blog to leave a comment. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only, 18 years old or over, and the winners will be chosen by random.org. This giveaway will be good until April 15 at 9:00 pm Eastern time and a winner will be announced soon thereafter. If the winner does not respond to my email within 48 hours then I will pick a new winner. Good luck!

Mystery Shopping 101

For all of you who are interested in learning more about mystery shopping, I guest posted this weekend on Never Pay Retail Again.

I wrote: While most people have heard the term "mystery shopping" many do not fully understand what it means or automatically think it is a scam. I have been mystery shopping for a year now and can honestly tell you that it is NOT a scam. In fact, it's how I have supplemented my income with an additional $300 per month approximately.

First of all, there are some scams out there claiming to be mystery shopping companies. NEVER pay to join a mystery shopping company. The company should be completely FREE to join. There is no class to take or kit to buy. You can start mystery shopping right away. You should have access to a computer, the Internet, and a scanner to facilitate the sending of your reports

To read the rest of my post, head over to Never Pay Retail Again!

Survey for ME!

Please click here to take a short (9 questions and all are multiple choice except your age!) survey to help me better know who my readers are! The survey is private and anonymous so please be honest. It will only take 2 minutes of your time but will help me make my blog even better. Thanks for your cooperation!

FREE paper at Staples

I got this great deal at my Staples this weekend - FREE paper!

Buy 8 reams of paper (paper must be item # 554638). In my store I didn't see any where that particular paper was and when I asked, the manager just smiled and it was in a stack in front of the register marked $6.99 with a sign that there is a $5.99 rebate, making the paper $1.00 after rebate. The paper is marked down so low as they have new packaging for it and are trying to get rid of the old packages.

(FYI - this coupon has now expired. To see another option to get this paper for FREE (and make $10+ on the deal, check out my comment below). To sweeten the deal, use this Office Max coupon to get $10 off when you spend $50 (Staples accepts competitor coupons) and pay approximately $46.00 plus tax for the paper (8 reams at $6.99/ream less the $10 from the coupon) out of pocket. Submit the rebate online (or by mail if you like) and get back $47.92 making the paper FREE or very close to it! 8 reams of paper will last me a very long time!

Jewelry Giveaway open until 4/12 at 9 pm

I just realized that an old draft post of my fabulous jewelry giveaway had posted with the incorrect ending date of the giveaway. The giveaway will be open until 9:00 p.m. on April 12 with winners announced April 13. I've corrected the original post. Please check out the post here and enter to win those gorgeous earrings!

Walgreens 4/5-4/11

I sat down this morning with my Sunday paper and the laptop open to Frugal RI Mama's match-ups - she's that good! Go over there and check out all of her match-ups for Walgreens this week.
The highlights (IMO) are:

Oust, On Sale $2.99
Get $1 ESR (limit 4)
Use $2.00 cpn in 03-29-09 SS insert
Final Cost: Free after ESR

Airwick Scented oil refills, On Sale 2/$6.00
Get $1 RR
Use $.100/2 cpn in 04-05-09 SS insert
Final Cost: $4.00 for 2 after RR

Visine A.C., On Sale $3.99
Get $3 RR wyb 2 or more
Use $3.00/1 cpn in 3-15-09 SS Insert
*deal* Buy 2
Final Cost: Free + $1.02 overage after RR

I went to Walgreens this morning to use $3 in register rewards that was about to expire. I didn't see anything that I really needed or wanted besides toothpaste.

I bought:

Colgate Total, On Sale $3.49
Get $3.49 RR
Use $1.00 cpn in April All You Magazine
Final Cost: Free + $1.00 overage after RR

I added 2 Russell Stover easter egg candies for the Easter basket I am making. They were 2 for $1.00.

Subtotal was $3.49
Used the $3 Register Reward from previous week
Total was then $.79 (with tax)
Used my Walgreens gift card from the February ESR
Paid 0 out of pocket!

CVS 4/5-4/11

As usual. Karen over at Frugal RI Mama has all the match-ups for you. Head on over there for a full list. Here are a few of the best and then my scenario below:

Pringles, On Sale $ .88
Use $1.00/2 cpn in 4/5 P&G
Final Cost: $ .76 for 2

Schick Intuition Plus, On Sale BOGO Free, $9.99 each
Use $4.00 from 3/22 SS
Buy 2Final Cost: $1.99 for 2

Dawn, On Sale .99
Use $.20 cpn in 4/5 P&G
Final Cost: $.79

I went to CVS this morning and got the following:

Easter Bamboo Basket, On sale for $1.99
Paid $1.99
Got back $1.99 in ECB's

Easter Grass, On sale for $.79
Paid $.79
Got back $.79 in ECB's

Skintimate Shave Cream, On sale for $3.49
Paid $3.49
Got back $3.49 in ECB's

Colgate Max Toothpaste, On sale for $2.99
Used $.75 off coupon from February 22 newspaper
Paid $2.24
Got back $2.00 in ECB's

CVS paper towels 3 pack, On sale for $2.69
Used $1.00 off CRT coupon that printed at scanner
Paid $1.69

Hershey King Size Bar, On sale for $1.59
Used $1.00 off CRT coupon that printed at scanner
Bought 2, Paid $1.18

Subtotal was $15.13 before coupons.
Used $3 off when you spend $15 (printed at scanner a coupld weeks ago),
Then used the coupons for the candy, paper towels, and toothpaste
Subtotal after coupons was $8.38.
Used $8 in ECB's from the Natural Dentist mouthwash I bought yesterday (see post here)
Paid $.49 out of pocket for the items (some items are taxed here while others aren't).
Got back $8.27 in ECB's to use next time!

Walmart shopping!

I was running errands this weekend and decided to go to Walmart to use some coupons for some FREE (and almost free) items. I usually grocery shop every other week and I went last week so I didn't really need anything. The cashier was shocked at how much I saved. Here are some of the good deals I got:

Starkist Creations Pouch Tuna, $1.42
Used $1.00 off coupon from the March All You magazine
Paid $.42

Seapak Shrimp Poppers, $1.32
Used $.75 off coupon from the March All You magazine
Paid $.57

Wheat Thins Artisan Crackers, $2.00
used BOGO coupon from 3/15 newspaper
Paid $1.00 per box

Johnson's Buddies Soap, $.97
Use any of these coupons:
$1/1 Johnson’s Buddies (IE) or (Firefox)
$2/2 Johnson’s Buddies (IE) or (Firefox)
$2/2 Johnson’s Shampoo, Conditioner or Buddies (IE) or (Firefox)
$3/3 Johnson’s Products (IE) or (Firefox)
Item is FREE with OVERAGE (these are cute soaps for kids in neon colors!)

Glucerna Cereal, $3.97
Used $5.00 off printable coupon
Item is FREE with OVERAGE

Quaker Tortillaz, 3.3 oz bag, $1.37
Used $1.00 off coupon from 3/29 newspaper
Paid $.37

A Thrifty Mom found a great deal on No-Nonsense Ultra Sheer Pantyhose. There was a $1.00 coupon in the 3/29 newspaper (in some markets, not mine) and the regular price for these pantyhose is $1.00. So you get them FREE but there is a $1.00 off coupon inside the package! You could keep doing this deal and getting FREE pantyhose until the coupon expires on 9/30/09!

For other Walmart deals, check out Deal Seeking Mom.

CVS Customer Service and another trip this week

Last weekend I went to CVS with my father to get the free Post TrailMix cereal (read post about this deal here). The cashier told me that she couldn't use the $2.00 coupon on each one since the cereal was only $1.88 on sale and she couldn't adjust the coupon. The limit for the deal was 6 and she said I could buy 6 but only use 5 coupons. I asked for the manager and the assistant manager came over. From the start she was rude and spoke to me as though I was not intelligent. I went back and forth with her a few times and did the deal as she wanted (6 boxes at $1.88 each, 5 coupons at $2 each, paid $1.28 OOP). I told her I would be calling Customer Service.

I called CVS Customer Service Monday morning and gave the scenario. The agent on the phone told me that the coupon should have been adjusted down and because cereal isn't taxable in Florida, the items should have been completely free. I told her I wanted to make a complaint against a store and gave her the information. She told me I would hear from someone in 24-48 hours. On Tuesday morning the store manager called to apologize. He told me I was correct and was sorry that the assistant manager was rude to me. I thanked him and told him that she wasn't just rude, she was WRONG! I asked what he was going to do about the money I was forced to pay and he told me to come by and he would make it right.

I went there today to see the manager. He was very nice and apologetic. He even sold me another box of the cereal for FREE and refunded my money.

I ended up making a few purchases there and wanted you all to know about them.

Stayfree Pads
On sale for $3.79
Used $2.00 off Stayfree product CVS CRT that printed when I scanned card
Paid 1.79
Got $2.00 in ECB's
Item was FREE with $.21 overage after coupons and ECB's

Natural Dentist Mouthwash
On sale for $6.99 - I bought 2 Earn 4 ECBs Limit 5
Used 2 $2/1 Printable HERE
Paid $9.98 OOP
Received $4 in ECB's for each so $8 in ECB's total
Did $10 Mail In Rebate wyb 2 HERE.
Items were FREE + $8.02 in overage after coupon, ECBs and Mail In Rebate!

Gold Emblem Mini Pretzels
On sale for $.79
Used $1.00 off 2 Gold Emblem Pretzels that printed when I scanned my card
Paid $.58 for 2 bags

Used $3 off when you spend $15
Used $4.99 and $2.00 in ECB's from previous weeks

Paid $2.68 OOP and got back $10 in ECB's and will get back $10 in rebates!

Jewelry Giveaway - Kellie Sutton: The Art of Jewelry

This is a great jewelry giveaway.! Kellie Sutton has graciously agreed to give one of my lucky readers a pair of these great earrings which she calls "Renee". I got a pair of my own and they are gorgeous! Kellie is a very talented jewelry designer and the workmanship and detail on these earrings is incredible! They are mostly silver with some brass and 2 freshwater green pearls. Very unique and beautiful!

To enter, you MUST visit Kellie's website here and leave a comment letting me know which of her designs/products you like the best!

While you're on her site, check out her great spring sale on the samples her reps have returned from the Fall line. If you shop on her site before May 1 you can get 50% off each piece that is shown with a wood grain background. To take advantage of this offer type "50" in the coupon code box during checkout. This coupon is only for items on the wood grain background and make sure to press the"apply coupon code" box to receive your discount. All sample necklaces are 16-17" and most bracelets fit a 7-7.5" wrist.

Make sure to leave your email address so I can contact the winners. FYI: it is best to leave your email address in this form "nicolesnickels at gmail dot com" so no automatic email scanners are able to read it. I've entered many giveaways doing this and have never gotten SPAM from leaving my email address in a comment. You can get six (6) additional entries by doing the following:

1. subscribe to my blog (either via email using the box in the left sidebar or RSS feed). If you already subscribe leave a coment saying you do. If you subscribe by email you MUST confirm your email and activate the subscription.

2. follow me on Twitter (http://twitter.com/NicolesNickels) and tweet about this giveaway. If you already follow me that's fine, just comment with a link back to the tweet about this giveaway.

3. blog about this giveaway (leave the link in the comment)

4. email 5 people about this giveaway (please cc me on this email - nicolesnickels at gmail dot com and leave a comment saying you sent the email)

5. grab my button for your site (leave the link to where the button is in the comment)

6. add the link to this giveaway on a Mr. Linky about giveaways or on a blog giveaway site, blog carnival or forum or yahoo group (leave link to where you did this in the comment)

You MUST leave a comment answering the question above as your first entry and then additional entries are governed by the terms above. You MUST leave a separate comment for each entry you are able to make. Feed and email subscribers will need to click on to my actual blog to leave a comment. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only and the winners will be chosen by random.org. This giveaway will be good until April 12 at 9:00 pm Eastern time and winners will be announced on Monday, April 13. If the winners do not respond to my email within 48 hours then I will pick new winners. Good luck!

Top 10 Giveaways - Week of 4/4

I have a jewelry giveaway posting today - be sure to enter to win a gorgeous pair of earrings from a very talented designer!

Remember to check out these cool Olive Juice Bags that are very cute and eco-friendly!

This week's top 10 giveaways are:

1. Frugal RI Mama - Snoopy the Easter Beagle (ends April 5)
2. Energizer Bunny's Mommy Reports - 2 books (ends April 11)
3. Good Golly Miss Blondie - Homemade wristlet (ends April 11)
4. Sweet Greens - Alina Pure Paris Mineral Eyeshadow Collection (ends April 11)
5. Goodies for Mom - Seventh Generation Spring Cleaning Giveaway (ends April 6)
6. Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls - 12 Easter Egg Cookies from The Cookie Boutique (ends April 9)
7. The Funky Monkey - 10 loaves of bread from Rudi's Organic Bakery (ends April 10)
8. Coupon Queens of Laurel Run - Jade Serpentine Necklace and Earrings (ends April 11)
9. Free Sample Freak - Yoplait Get Active Prize Pack Giveaway (ends April 13)
10. Grocery Price Blog - $40 e-certificate to Lily Gulch Soaps (ends April 10)

WINNERS - Snoopy the Easter Beagle and Burberry Watch

The following 2 comments were selected by random.org as the winners of the Snoopy the Easter Beagle prize pack! I have emailed each winner and if I do not hear back from them within forty-eight (48) hours then I will post new winners. And the winners are...


cdziuba who said... "Subscribe cdziuba@aol.com" on Thursday, March 26, 2009 5:00:00 PM

Dwalline who said... "I follow your blog via email dwalline at gmail dot com" on Thursday, March 26, 2009 6:11:00 AM

The following comment was selected by random.org as the winner of the Pink Burberry Watch! I have emailed the winner and if I do not hear back from them within forty-eight (48) hours then I will post a new winner. And the winner is...

Tammigirl who said... "I signed up for your emails. Hooray!" on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 10:13:00 PM

Publix match-ups 4/1-4/11

Sheri at Swaggrabber reports that these deals at Publix are good until April 11 and the list has lots of incredible deals this week!

You will find a few of the ones I think are the best below but will definitely want to head over to read the full list of match-ups at Swaggrabber and learn more about the abbreviations Sheri uses.

Kraft or Seven Seas Dressing BOGO $3.07-
Use the $1.50/1 Kraft coupon found in the 03-29-09 SS insert
$.03 each after coupon - Really Great Price!

Ronzoni Pasta BOGO $1.19 - $1.99-
Use the $1/2 coupon found in the 03-08-09 SS insert
$.09 - $.49 each after coupons

Duncan Hines Cake Mix BOGO $1.73-
Use two $.35/1 coupon found in the 03-29-09 SS insert
$.51 each after coupons

Bird's Eye Frozen Vegetables 50% off ($.99 - $1.99 each)$.49 - $.99 after sale-
Use the $.35/1 coupon found in the 03-29-09 SS insert
$.14 - $.64 each after coupon - Great Price!

If I don't post match-ups for your store each week, check out The Grocery Gathering at BeCentsable and search for your local stores!

VistaPrint FREE products

I have been using VistaPrint for years for personalized products such as notecards, calendars and business cards. Every year I do a magnetic calendar with a picture of my dogs on it to give to friends and family. You design everything on their website and just pay the shipping cost - the products and personalization are FREE for most items.

Here's what you can get FREE now (you pay just shipping):

250 Full-Color Business Cards

Rubber Stamp

Return Address Labels

Sticky Notes

Magnets

Friday FREEBIES, samples, and great deals! 4/3

Here are some Friday FREEBIES, samples and great deals!

FREE Homemade Simple coupon book with $30 in savings

FREE sample of Glad Forceflex by Sams Club (no Sams card needed)

FREE sample of Emergen-C Blue (with coupon and stickers!)

FREE Gerber Baby Food and $5 off Nestle Quick Start Formula when you make a pledge here

FREE 3 pack of basil seeds (sweet italian, lemon and purple)

FREE sample of Rachael Ray Nutrish dog food

It's a new month so you can do the $1 burnless bakeware deal again. Click here to read my earlier post about it. This is very high quality silicone bakeware and you only pay $1!

Want to be the first to know about big sales and deep discounts? Click here to sign up with Shop it to Me (read my earlier post about it here)

Are you expecting a YouData payment in your paypal account today? I am and you can, too because every Friday is payday with YouData! Read my post here or sign into the YouData Widget on my right sidebar.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway that ends tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time - Burberry Watch giveaway!

Make sure you've signed up for Freeflys, Shop4Freebies, MySavings, Cool Savings, and Startsampling for many more FREE samples!

Earn money for normal everyday online searching - Swagbucks is powered by google and is FREE to use! Earn Amazon giftcards as you search! Sign up here.

Winn-Dixie Deals 4/1-4/7

Sheri at Swaggrabber has the match-ups for you this week at Winn-Dixie where it's "getting better all the time" - couldn't resist, those commercials are catchy!

I am highlighting a few of the best but you should check out her post here for the full list and help with her abbreviations. If I don't list the match-ups for your store every week check out The Grocery Gathering at Be Centsable to find stores in your area.

Land O' Lakes Margarine Quarters BOGO $2.09-
Use the $1/2 coupon found in the 03-29-09 SS insert
$.54 each

Ken's Salad Dressing BOGO $3.29-
Use two $2/1 coupons found in the 03-08-09 SS insert-
there are other coupons in the 03-08-09 SS insert as well $1/1, $.50/1
FREE plus overage!

Suave Body Wash 2/$3 - Buy three for $4.50-
Use three $.75/1 coupons found in the WD flyer-
PLUS use the $2/3 coupon found in the 01-11-09 RP insert
$.25 for all THREE!!!

Nicole's Nickels on the radio this week...

Check out my radio segment from this morning by clicking on the podcast below. I'm on 97.9 WRMF's Jennifer & Danny show every Thursday morning between 7 and 7:30 a.m and highlight the three (3) top deals from my blog that week.



You can listen live on 97.9 FM if you're local to the West Palm Beach, Florida or else online at the station website.

FREE products from Kraft FirstTaste

Kraft FirstTaste is a great community by Kraft that gives its participants coupons for FREE new full-size products. So far I have tried the Oreo Vanilla Cakesters and I will be getting a coupon for the new Deli Creations Foccacia Sandwiches by Oscar Meyer. I get emails from them telling me when I have a new product offer, log in, choose the product and confirm my mailing address to receive my coupon for a FREE product. You can't go wrong with this! As always, it's FREE to sign up with no obligation by clicking here!

Please be advised that you will not receive many emails from them. I joined in October and have received 3 offers for FREE products. Watch for the emails and make sure to get in on these awesome offers!

Lightspeed Research

Lightspeed Research is another survey company that is FREE to join. Lightspeed sends me approximately 3 surveys per week (though this may depend on your specific demographic) and you are under no obligation to complete every survey.



You earn points by completing surveys and then redeem the points for prizes, including Amazon e-certificates. When you combine your Amazon e-certificates from Lightspeed Research with the ones you got from normal everyday web searches on Swagbucks you'll find your Amazon account balance increasing every week!

Some of the other surveys companies already reviewed on this blog are Global Test Market, Survey Savvy, SayNation, Valued Opinions, American Consumer Opinion, Opinion Outpost , Zoompanel, Ipsos I-Say, HCD Surveys, and university-sponsored sites. Have you signed up for all of them?

Borden Single Sensations Contest

As a way to kick off their new Singles Sensations™ line, Borden cheese is hosting a contest to honor those who have given back to their communities. Because I know that their communities are important to many of my readers, I decided to share this opportunity with you. All you do is head to the Friends of Elsie contest at Singles Sensations™ and share your own story or nominate a friend, family member or co-worker. Each week Borden's Friends of Elsie community members will vote on the best story and the winner at the end of the 20 week contest gets FREE groceries for a year!

The product that started this contest is the Single Sensation which is available starting this month. These are individually wrapped cheese slices in 3 mouth-watering flavors: Southwest PepperJack, Sun-Dried Tomato Basil, and Applewood Bacon Cheddar. I've had the opportunity to taste the cheeses personally and can't get over how chock-full of flavor they are! With 43% of consumers eating out less and 35% more packing their own lunches due to the economy, these cheeses will really help you jazz up your sandwiches!

You should feel good about buying and consuming Borden Cheese products as they are made possible by a 100% farmer-owned cooperative with 100% of the proceeds going back to American dairy farmers! Kudos to this socially responsible company and good luck with the contest!

Expired Coupons!

I had A LOT of coupons that expired on March 31 that I didn't use. I don't have to feel bad about throwing these away anymore, thanks to Shelby at Shelby Making Cents who emailed me to let me know that military families stationed overseas can use coupons up to 6 months past their expiration date!

The Happy Housewife started a program in 2008 to benefit our families stationed abroad. If you go to her site here, it will give more details but basically you are assigned a family by emailing her and then you send your newly expired coupons to that family. It is just like mailing a regular mail envelope since mailing to a military APO address is considered a domestic address. What a great way to help our troops and their families!

Great new shampoo and conditioner!

I have been waiting for the new Aveeno shampoo and conditioner to come out on the market. About 3 months ago I was taking a survey about the product before its release and was offered to test the product (this is an added benefit of these surveys - FREE products to test before they hit the market). They sent me a full size sample of the shampoo and conditioner and I LOVED it! I usually get free or almost free shampoo and conditioner but I loved this so much I just may pay for it!

Aveeno is offering a sample of the new shampoo and conditioner for FREE. You can get yours by clicking here and filling out the short survey so they can match you up with the type that best fits your needs. They also said that a coupon comes with each sample!