Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Dishing on Chick-fil-a Breakfast Giveaway

Chick-fil-a has a New Years Day special running.

Make any purchase on Thursday, January 1, 2009 between the hours of 10:30 A.M. - 6:00 P.M. and receive a coupon to recieve a free chicken biscuit on a subsequent visit.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE: Eligible participants who visit a participating Chick-fil-A location from 10:30 AM until 6:00 PM on January 1, 2009 and make any purchase will receive an offer, while supplies last, redeemable for one (1) free chicken biscuit on a subsequent visit to participating Chick-fil-A locations (“Offer”). Offer is redeemable at participating Chick-fil-A locations that serve breakfast during regular breakfast hours through March 28, 2009.

ELIGIBILITY: Offer available only to legal U.S. residents of AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MO, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NM, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WI, WV, and WY. Limit one Offer per person, regardless of location and/or number of visits, while supplies last.

For more information visit www.chickfila.com

See you guys there! :-)

Dish on Christmas Savings

As with every Christmas season there is the Christmas clearance that goes with it.

At Target all Christmas seasonal items are at 75% off and Guitar Hero World Tour for XBox, Wii and PS3 are at 50%. Since I didn't really need any more decorations nor do I need more "stuff", I bought the Oreo cookies that were marketed for the holiday season and they were 62 cents and the Ritz crackers at 79 cents. Great deal for snacks once school is back in session.

Walgreens has all of their seasonal items at 75% and CVS was at 50% off. I did go to CVS to use up the rest of my CVS bucks that were expiring yesterday and selected makeup items were at 50% and 75% off. They also had their buy one CVS item and receive the second item at 50% off. Which really means 25% off for both items. But I needed some shavers for my legs while showering at the gym.

A bonus print out of $5 off of $15 purchase within the next 3 days. Trust me, I am sure by then there will be 75% off to 90% off seasonal items by then. They also had Sally Hansen hair removal products and if you are purchasing the item, open the box, remove the coupon (as you are using the product anyway) and apply it towards your purchase.

One particular item of note for Walgreens was the Starbucks Gift Set which sold for 14.99 and now at 75% off is $3.74. It comes with coffee, a mug, hot chocolate, 2 tea bags and a coupon for coffee Starbucks. Yummy for those who love Starbucks, this is a great deal!!

Friday, December 26, 2008

Dishing on Saving the Southern Way

First... Happy Holidays All!!

Okay.. my computer is down and I am in withdrawl. I can't imagine my life without the computer and it is driving me crazy. However, I do want to at least put up another site that was sent to me recently.

This site is called Southern Savers at http://southernsavers.com/
This is for Southern Deals and Frugal Steals -- that would pretty much describe me. I am a Southerner that is for sure and I love saving money. I do want to note that being frugal is not being cheap. Please don't be cheap with your friends and family.

On this site you will find great deals and how to maximize your deals at the grocery stores and at your local drugstores.

There are great pointers for CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid. I will be devoting a section on drugstore deals at a later post and I hope you all find ways stretch your dollars.

** Thanks to Barbara **

Friday, December 19, 2008

The Dish on Hallmark

Hallmark like many stores have "Reward Cards". Hallmark for a while was the only place to get those coveted Webkinz stuffed animals. So, I joined and with it you:

  • Earn points for every dollar you spend.
  • Bonus Points on every card you buy.
  • 100 additional Bonus Points when ever you buy three cards at a time.
  • Points turn into Rewards certificates. Use them to buy any regular-price Hallmark products at your Hallmark Gold Crown Store.
  • With different membership levels, you'll get even more – like additional Bonus Points on every card and exclusive Shopping Rewards.
  • Plus, save everyday with special offers just for members.

So, with that said, the special running until the Christmas Eve is Buy 3 99cents cards for $1.

Bonus -- you do not even need to be a Crown Rewards Member. See the link below, print and take to the store with you.

http://f.chtah.com/i/5/474648236/20081219_v1c_landingpage_01.HTML

Did you know that Hallmark also has Online Address Book, E Cards and Reminders. Obviously, Hallmark is not the only place to house it all but if you create cards online but it is yet another convenient place to keep track of special occasions and their contact information.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Dishing on Free Stuff

There are tons and tons of free stuff out there. I am just going to cover one today.

Oprah had her "How to Have the Thriftiest Holiday Ever Show" today. Michaels and Joann's have not suffered during these tighter times apparently because people are making more gifts or repurposing items.

Additionally, Oprah has eight songs that can be donwloaded for free for the next 48 hours. Simply visit the following link: http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20081118_tows_holiday/2.

Will be posting more free stuff soon!!

Dishing on Green

For practical tips on living green everyday visit http://yourguidetogreen.com/

Great green tips from National Geographic http://www.thegreenguide.com/

Even though I am not technically a "treehugger" the http://www.treehugger.com/ site is very informative and is part of the Discovery Company.

The Dish on Coupons and Shopping Forums

Coupons and Shopping Forums

In addition to www.couponmom.com visit, www.hotcouponworld.com. They also match current sales at your local grocery store, discount store or drugstore with the current coupons every week.

At www.couponsthingsbydede.com you can buy whole coupon inserts from current (and previous) newspapers.

And of course one of my favorites is www.mycoupons.com/boards -- don't let the name fool you. It is a place to look for coupons on the internet but it is also a site where you can find the latest and greatest deals on the items you want. Registration is required.

www.slickdeals.net is a fan favorite site. They provide you with the day's hottest deals every day.

Another one awesome deal site is www.bradsdeal.com. Brad and his counterparts find and filter online shopping deals, online coupons and codes, and in-store printable coupons for you everyday. You can subscribe to the receive daily updates on the deals you are most interested in.


A shoutout to Sandy and Shari for pointing out additional savings sites.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Dishing on Santa at Chick-fil-a Howell Station - Duluth

Yes, I am a big fan of CFA -- only because I can eat and my kids can play.

Last night, the CFA at Howell Station (off of Peachtree Industrial and Pleasant Hill) hosted pictures with Santa.

Santa with the real beard, not the fake ones like the ones my kids will point out, was there. Kids could sit on his lap and tell him all the things they wanted for Christmas. The CFA also took a picture, printed it, gave you some coupons and each of the kids received a souvenir stuffed Chick-fil-a Cow. All that and a cheap meal to boot.

They are doing it again from 5 - 7pm on Thursday, December 18th.

In addition, this week they are offering a free dessert to anyone who brings in an unwrapped, new toy to donate to the Toys for Tots collection bin. It is such a great cause. So, if you are going to donate, why not donate and receive a free dessert to boot, too!

Chick-fil-A at Howell Station
3555 Peachtree Industrial Blvd.
Duluth, GA 30096

Directions: http://local.botw.org/Georgia/Duluth/ChickfilA/2829258.html

Dishing on Being Green

First of many future blogs on being Green

One of the easiest thing to do is reduce, reuse and recycle.

Plastic Bags:
First, buy the reusable bags whenever possible. There seems to be plenty of stores that carry the $1.00 bag. For example, Publix, Kroger, Target, Home Depot, etc. In fact, I love the Home Depot bags because they are super durable, they stretch from one side of the shopping cart to the other and can carry double the load of those sold by the grocery chains for just 99 cents. They are great bags for the pool and beach, too. At a fraction of the cost of the beach bags sold at retail stores.

However, there are times when one forgets or when bags are given to us regardless. And what do you do with them?

- recycle them at the bins in front of Publix or at Wal-mart
- reuse them to line your trash bins
- use them as doggy poop bags when you are walking your 4 legged friend

Compact Fluorescent Bulbs (CFL)
Did you know that if every home in America replaced just one incandescent light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified CFL, it would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes and prevent greenhouse emissions equivalent to those of more than 800,000 cars annually. They use much less energy and last 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb.

Try replacing 5 of your most used lights in your house and you may even notice a difference in your power bill in the coming months. Additionally, traditional incandescent lights emit so much more heat that your energy bills in the summer should also be reduced!

There have been concerns about the mercury content and where to recycle these bulbs. Thanks to the efforts by Home Depot and Ikea, recycling CFL bulbs are just a quick trip to your local store.

Recycling at Publix
- Plastic bags from stores and from the drycleaners
- Paper bags from the supermarkets, the liquor stores and from takeouts
- Foam Egg cartons, foam food trays and carry out containers (please wash are remove traces of food)

Recycling at Walmart
- Plastic bags from stores and from the drycleaners
- In the spring, Walmart in conjunction with Elmer's will recycle Washable School Glue and Glue-All bottles that are marked with a #1 or #2 recycling symbol.

Recycling in Roswell
And for those who live near Roswell/Alpharetta - Roswell Recycling Center located at 11570 Maxwell Road Alpharetta, GA 30009 is a local drop off center to recycle paper, glass, plastic and metal. Visit http://www.roswellgov.com/index.php/p/28/t/Recycling%20&%20Solid%20Waste for more information on the items that can be recycled.

The Dish on Eating Out

The Dish on Eating out in North Fulton and South Forsyth

www.restaurant.com
Pay $2 for $25 restaurant coupons by using the code SANTA

Visit http://www.northfulton.com/Site.Coupons.html for coupons for local restaurants. You may search based on type of foods or the name of the restaurant.

www.Entertainment.com
If you have already purchased an Entertainment Book, review it for coupons and visit the site for additional savings added throughout the year.

www.diningperks.com
Dining Perks® are certificates that spend like cash in participating restaurants in and around Metro Atlanta.

http://skymiles.rewardsnetwork.com/
Register your credit card and each time you eat at a participating restaurant, you can earn up to 5 miles for every dollar spent. It is free and easy to register.

The Dish on Savings

Dishing on Savings

Here are some of my favorite sites...

www.couponmom.com
This is one of the best sites out there for matching your groceries to coupons or drugstore deals to coupons. Registration is required.

www.fatwallet.com
This is one of the best sites out there to look up the latest deals out there. Click on Forum and then Hot Deals for the latest and great deals out there.

www.ebates.com
You actually get paid to shop the sites. Many online stores give kickbacks to that send shoppers to their sites. Ebates allow you to cash in on that. Registration is required but it is easy and relatively painless. And if you do, use me as a referral as they also give referral cash, too: issure@yahoo.com

You would need to sign onto ebates.com prior to visiting your intended online shopping site. It not only pays you a percentage back in what you purchase but it also gives you links to the latest coupons available.

www.retailmenot.com
Visit retailmenot.com before you even start to shop at your favorite online site. Find coupons for more than 20,000 stores it is the world's largest coupon source and one of my favorite sites.

www.billshrink.com
Provides a free, online service to help consumers make better purchase decisions for cellphones or credit cards. It takes a scientific, highly-personalized approach which identifies the products that best fit users’ individual requirements.

The Dish with Ish

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Mom, Organizer and Jack of All Trades