FREE groceries and MORE from the Sharebuilder Bonus

Here's a great offer that I just signed up for through USBank. USBank is currently offering $75 in free groceries just for opening a checking account. Here's how it works, you set up an account, deposit $75 and purchase groceries at any grocery store. Bring your receipts in and they will deposit $75 into your account. This offer runs until March 13th, so check it out and see if this offer is for you. Also, they do not run a credit check to do this, which is a VERY important thing you need to check on before doing any of these offers, otherwise it just isn't worth it because constant pulls on your credit reflects negatively on your score. For locals there is a branch at Smith's on Freedom and one on University Parkway. Yeah for free groceries!

Next up is an update for the Sharebuilder bonus. If you are a Costco member you can get up to a $90 bonus for every account you open (depending on the membership you have). I was about to do another regular bonus for only $50, but because I have an Executive membership I get $90 instead! Wahoo! Here is the link exclusively for Costco members: sharebuilder.com/savetoday. Enjoy!

Sharebuilder $50 bonus

As I've said in previous posts, I like to try programs or deals out before I post them. This post about Sharebuilder just made me $100 for only about 30 mins. of my time. This past Monday, $100 was deposited into my checking, simply for purchasing $10 worth of stock!

Here's a little about how the program works. Sharebuilder is a company that you can purchase stocks through. For new customers, they are offering a $50 bonus for purchasing as little as a $5 worth of stock -- And- - you can open up an account for everyone in your family! I spent about 30 minutes setting up accounts, purchasing stock and then, about a month later, I received $50 ($100 total for both accounts) in my Sharebuilder account. Then, it only took one day to transfer that cash into my regular checking account. Plus, it is definitely a WIN-WIN situation because the $5 you invested remains invested in stock.

Tips and Links

You can sign up for everyone at once, but to make things easier, I just did one for me and one for my husband. You will need to enter in a VALID promotion code when you first sign up the account. I saw recently that this code ORANGE50CASH is valid until March 15, 2009. Make sure that when you sign up and you put the code in that it is valid. If not, you just need to wait until another one comes out to open an account. Also, you will receive a confirmation code if it was accepted as well.

Here is a LINK that I found that has step by step instructions that I followed, just be sure to use the code ORANGE50CASH and not the one they give as theirs is expired.

AWESOME-insane-CRAZY-Albertson's Deal

Okay, here's the scoop on the Albertson's deal this week. The promotion involves purchasing 10 General Mills items (see your flyer or go online), when you do this, you'll get a $10 coupon for your next visit. Here's an example:

The Betty Crocker frostings are 4 for $5, you should have a $.50 off coupon for them. Your total for purchasing 10 items would end up being $7.50, so you're making a PROFIT of $2.50! Plus, you can also take that $10 coupon and do it all over again and another coupon for $10 will print out, repeat, repeat. Basically, you are getting a perpetual $10 bill (but in a coupon form). WOW!

Here are a few tips:

You'll need to go over the paper yourself and find out what coupons you have and what things you may need. You'll get the best deal with the least expensive items, but you most likely wont need a gazillion frostings-so choose according to your needs.

I like to use the long self-serve line and before that I seperate my 10 items into groups in my cart along with the corresponding coupons. I put my first group up to pay, purchase and then grab the $10 for the next group of 10.

One extra deal going on. If you purchase 5 boxes of granola bars you'll also get a $3.50 coupon (if you purchase at least two you'll still get a coupon, it will just be less). If you purchase 5 fruit snacks (I believe this applies to Gushers and Roll-ups) you'll get the same deal. Here's the scenario:

5 boxes of granola bars-$10 (used the $.50 off coupon)
5 boxes of fruit snacks-$10 (used the $.50 off coupon)

-You will end up getting a $10, $3.50 & $3.50 coupons -Voila! You only paid $3 for all those items-PLUS-you can take those coupons and do it all over again, and again!
It took me a little bit to figure it all out, so if you have any questions, please email me at siufanua@juno.com.


Here's what I got today by rolling those coupons. Total out of pocket $7.00 and some change.

Double coupons at Albertson's

A quick update for Albertson's. They are running their double coupon promotion thru next Tuesday. You should have gotten a flyer yesterday with four double coupons on the front page. You can also go in the store to the customer service department and get another flyer if you missed yours.

Basically, you can take any coupon up to a dollar and they will double it for you. There are some really great deals going on, some items are free or cost very little. Here are some examples of things that I found yesterday (for a complete list check out the Savvy Shopper link on the side):

$.50 for Jolly Time popcorn (doubled $.50 coupon)
$0 for Activia or DanActive yougurt (doubled $1.00 coupon)
$.50 for Loreal kid's shampoo (doubled $.75 coupon)
$.25 for Knorr sides (doubled $.50 when you buy 2 coupon)
$.30 for Shrek kid's toothpaste (doubled $.75 coupon)
$.50 box of Simple Harvest granola bars (doubled $1 coupon PLUS you get a free shopping bag when you buy three boxes)
$.50 ea Dannon drinkable yogurt (doubled $1 off of four coupon PLUS you get a free 4 pack La Creme yogurt with this purchase).
$.35 box for Pizza bites (doubled $.35 coupon)
Lots of salad dressings under a $1 if you double.

Plus, don't forget the FREE MILK DEAL with cereal purchase. The cereals are 3/$7, but you get a $4.50 credit off your bill. So really you can purchase 2 gallons of milk or just let the extra $2 come off the cereals. Please email me at siufanua@juno.com with any questions.

Buy Low

If you run down to the new Buy Low grocery store today, (Located where the old Ream's was by Movies 8 in Provo) they are having some sweet deals:

Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken breast, .99 lb. You do need to purchase a 40 lb box. But if you're like me, you can just pressure cook it or freeze it.

Here are some other deals that went down which I still think are good until Feb 3rd:

Bananas 4#/$1.00
Fresh chicken leg quarters 10# bag/ $4.99
Roma tomatoes 3#/$1.00
Blackberries and blueberries $1.25/cup
Fuji apples .33 lb.
Red potatoes 4lbs for a $1
5 lbs green or red apples for $1.5
WF Sugar 25# $7.99
Coca Cola Products 12 pk/12 oz cans 4/$10.00
Dreyers Ice Cream 1.5QT/2 for $5.00
WF Milk 1%;2% or skim 1 gallon - 2/$4.00
Baby carrots $.50 a bag.

Have a great weekend!

Snowflakes

I wanted to talk about "Snowflaking" in terms of making and saving money today. We all know that the first little sprinkles of snowflakes are light and somewhat unnoticeable. We've also seen how they can accumulate pretty quickly into inches or feet of snow and together, they can create an avalanche. I want to talk about how saving and making money can also have this affect. Many times we may overlook or not take advantage of certain programs or savings because they do not amount to much. But I believe that every little bit counts. Here are some examples:

*Take a look at your receipts. Many times there are surveys or offers on the back or the bottom. I received two coupons for $10 off at Bath and Body works, 3 free loaves of french bread from Albertsons and 1 large hamburger from Wendys in just the past couple of months.

*Check out programs like Mr. Rebates, eBates, Cashbaq and Upromise. They give you money back when you shop. It's not a ton of money, but $5 or $10 here and there can sure make a nice meal or at least put a little in your gas tank.

*Consider doing surveys. Although you usually only make $1 or $2 a survey, most people can make about $200/year for their efforts. Check out this great site for more info: Money Saving Methods.

*Swagbucks. This is another one that I was skeptical about, but I've already made $10 this month in gift cards and I'm halfway to another one in about a week. (For more info, see post below ). Plus if you refer others using your link you get points faster( Thanks, N Smith!). Here's a CD that I just got off of Amazon.com using my free gift cards; it's an album done by my super cool cousin Kai Kalama who's currently on American Idol.


Lastly, choose wisely because your time is precious. Somethings may not work for out for you or may just be a hassle, if so pass up on those snowflakes.

No longer a skeptic. I received $1,000 worth of Visa gift cards yesterday.

I am a skeptic. I will always be a skeptic. I'm willing to try certain things, but only if I've researched it fairly well.

Have you ever seen those online ads that offer $500 or $1000 gift cards and thought they were a scam? Me too. I came across a website called Money Saving Methods (you can find the link on the side). The girl who runs this site is a former accountant and now stay at home mom. Her methods for saving money are brilliant. She's researched these companies, tried them and made $15,000.00 in profit. Hmmm...That's a nice chunk of change.

Now, in order to do this you will need to spend some time and some money completing offers. I spent about 6 hours setting things up and getting things organized; then a little time each week checking up on things. I did spend $178 on offers (About $130 worth of DVDs , books, beauty products, jewelry and services are included in that figure). BUT, in the end I made a profit of $822! Anyone will tell you, thats a great ROI! Plus, you just might find some offers that you really love. I kept my Blockbuster membership because they had a great plan that was equal to the amount we were already spending every month on rentals. Besides, don't you love just sticking your movie in the mailbox instead of running it to the store before you get more late fees!?

You can click HERE to go directly to Online Offers page for Money Saving Methods. She gives instructions on how to do it, she also will answer questions and offer encouragement. If you're interested, read all of the information she has and then go for it! It took me about 2 months from start to finish to receive my cards.