Doggie Freebies at New Dog Park at Tamarac Park in Grogan's Mill: Sunday, May 2, from 2p - 4p

Copied and Pasted from GMVA Newsletter with permission: Pass It On: If you find this newsletter of value, please pass it on to your friends and neighbors.

Grand Opening of the Grogan's Mill Dog Park  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The "Grand Opening" of the Grogan's Mill Dog Park will be on Sunday, May 2, from 2p - 4p. Put the date on your calendar and make plans to be there. It's a great place to let your dog run and play with others, and it's a great place for you to make friends with people who have a common interest.  Come on out and try it.   The dog park is located in Tamarac Park on North Millbend.  The entrance is between the Northwoods Unitarian and First Church of Christian Scientists. The Park was sponsored by the GMVA, funded by the Woodlands Community Association and the opening will be sponsored by Barker Street Dog Biscuits, Best Friends Veterinary Hospital, Best Friends Pet Resort & Salon and will be supported by the Woodlands Dog Park Association and our very helpful Parks and Recreation Department.  There will be treats for all participants (two-legged and four-legged) and raffles for prizes for those two creatures.   Raffles will include: One plush bone (large), one plush football and baseball, one large throw stick, one bag of Science Diet treats, and a tooth brush. One gift certificate for a *Pampered Pooch Package valued between 110 and 170 dollars. (depends on size of pet) *This package includes...two nights of boarding in a two room suite with premium food, orthopedic bedding and daily room service. One free playtime daily, followed by a suite treat or ice cream & bottled water and a bedtime story or cuddle time. One gift certificate for a free Microchip valued at $49.00 (must be done at Best Friends) and a gift certificate for $50.00 dollars off of their visit to Best  Friends   Veterinary Hospital.

Link to Free Video on Demand on Amazon

Cool! I found the landing page for Free Video on Demand on Amazon!  Like the Mp3s it is a lot of random stuff. I expect the content to get better over time. Save these emails for future reference.

Link to Free Music on Amazon

I told y'all earlier today that there are quite a few freebies on Amazon. Here is a link to Free Downloadable Mp3s on Amazon. This is the main page for free mp3s. It says 1716 items found.  Click the categories that interest you the most on the right hand side. I have never heard of most of these musicians.

Enjoy!

Go Green Eco Taxi: $10 Tours

Copied from the GMVA April Newsletter with permission:

Go Green Eco Taxi
 

Go Green Eco Taxi Inc. is an all electric taxi service available in the Town Center of Grogan's Mill Village.  Sara Bissig is now offering "Eco Tours of the Town" for hotel guests and new residents. These tours will last approx 30 minutes and cost $10.00. 

She will show tourists and locals various places to dine, drink and shop, plus the parks for kid's activities, entertainment options, etc.  The service is also available for private events.  Go Green's phone number is 281-639-9724. Check out their web site for more information.  www.gogreenecotaxi.com  Go Green!

 

Randalls: Kraft Deal still going = More Free Cream Cheese

My frugal adventures reports that the Kraft deals at Randalls are still going! That means you can get cream cheese for $0.49 even without any coupons, and there are plenty of coupons out there! Woohoo! You must buy 5 Kraft cheese products to get the discount. Click here for more matchups from my frugal adventures

Kraft First Taste: Free Oscar Meyer Turkey Bacon

My April offer from Kraft First Taste just arrived: Free Turkey Bacon. Go here to sign up to get the same coupon! Kraft First Taste is were I got coupons to try out the Philadelphia Minis I told y'all about and the Oreo Cakesters that appeared at some recent playgroup meetups.

Fwd: P.F. Chang’s Special Limited Time Opportunity

Extra 10% off already discounted prices of Appetizers at PF CHANGS with Warrior Card (your free card for signing up online).

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My Mail Today!

I love getting good freebies in the mail. Today, I got a full size bag of the New Cheddar Cheese Popcorn to try, and a coupon for my choice of drink at Starbucks because my birthday is in May. I can't wait for all the other birthday freebies on the way. If you haven't already. Google Birthday freebies and you can find lists and lists of things you can get free on your birthday. I suggest signing up a couple months ahead of time if you can. I still have to go get my free bag of coffee this week at Starbucks for my filling up the sticker sheet for going once a week to get a $1.50 cup of coffee. This is my last week. I was too tired to go today (the irony, hehe). I missed the grand opening today at Chick Fil A. Who went? How was it? Tell me the details so I can live vicariously.

I suggest signing up for Vocal Point for coupons for freebies in the store to try new products.

Update: From Pole to Pole is no longer free

:(  From Pole to Pole is no longer free. Thanks Becky for letting me know.

Amazon does a lot of random electronic media for free so keep your eyes open. Some of the promos don't last long, so grab them when you see them.

Free on Amazon: Season 1, Episode 1 “From Pole to Pole”

Nice! Season 1, Episode 1 "From Pole to Pole" is free on Amazon.

Amazingly beautiful videography. Definitely worth seeing.

Free Chick Fil-A Breakfast at New Sawdust Loc. May 3- May 8

Wow! My sister found this amazing deal! I am forwarding it in it's entirety. I am so excited about Free Food! I love no coupon promotions.

---------------------------------------------------------


Subject: Chick-fil-A Sawdust opening date



To whom it may concern, (which means EVERYBODY!!!)

       Chick-fil-A here, just wanted to say hello, and let you know we are in the neighborhood!!! We are opening this Thursday April 29, at 6am!!! So come on by and let the chicken, bacon, and 100% Columbian coffee wake you up before you head to work. Speaking of breakfast, we want to buy you breakfast all next week (yes, you read that right EVERY day next week is a different item we want to buy for you:


       Monday (May 3, 2010) try our signature Chick-fil-A Chicken Biscuit
      Tuesday (May 4, 2010) how about a delicious Sausage Biscuit
       Wednesday (May 5, 2010) need some finger food? Have a 3 count Chick-n-minis
       Thursday (May 6, 2010) did you like that Chick-fil-A Chicken Biscuit? Have another one on us
       Friday (May 7, 2010) TGIF or as we say TWGSB (that was a great Sausage Biscuit
       Saturday (May 8, 2010) Don't sleep in too late, how about a 3 count Chick-n-minis for the family?

               For your free breakfast be here at the store between 6am and 10:30am. Bring a friend, tell two friends or as many as you want! (One free breakfast entrée per guest - must be present to redeem - no coupon required).

And yes, the Cows did say you may pass this email on to as many friends as you'd like.

Chick-fil-A
720 Sawdust Road
Spring, Texas 77380
(281) 363 - 1400

Open 6am - Close 10pm

Breakfast is served 6am - 10:30am

Closed on Sundays

My Walgreens Trip: 4/26/2010

The Sawdust Walgreens is out of the free after register rewards tooth picks, hair trimmer, pads (I got the last one), and shaving cream (I got the last one).

In one transaction, I picked up the Stayfree pads ($2.99) with a $1 coupon, Skintimate shaving cream ($2.99), and 2 Off Clip ons ($8.99) - B1G1 ($8.99) coupon - $2 Coupon - $4 Walgreens instant coupon. I paid with one $2.50 RR and $5.81 out of pocket. I got back 2 $3 RR. Total Cost after RR: $2.31.

I would have used up my other 2 $2.50 RR on more pads if they had 'em. Oh, well. Maybe I will stop the 242 Walgreens on Wed. to see if they have any left.

HEB: Free Wholly Guac

Wholly Guac is $0.99 this week. I had a $1 off coupon from this Sunday's paper.

My Randall's Shop: 4/26/10

So, my last shop of the night was at Randalls in Grogan's Mill. I did a quick run in to pick up the cream cheese. I picked up their ad and saw that Fresh Express Salads were $0.99/bag. I stopped by and found $1 off coupons that expire 4/30/10. The Fresh Express Spinach was also marked at $0.99/bag. There were $0.55 coupons right in front of those bags. I picked up 3 of each. It took me awhile to find the cream cheese. It was on the other side of the frozen section near the soda. I picked up 5 Philadelphia cream cheese products. They were on sale for $1.49 down from $2.49, then buy 5 and get $5 off. I had a get 1 minis free coupon from vocal point, 1 $1 off from vocal point and 1 $0.55 coupon from the newspaper. The checker was really nice and gave me the free one at $2.49 off, so I got all the above for free and had $0.75 overage. I ran and got a 2 L bottle of Diet coke for $1.66 to absorb it. (We always need Diet Coke in our house and rationalized the price.) If I had more time, then I probably could have found better ways to spend the overage. Still, I came home proud! All of my shopping tonight was easy and the checkers were friendly.

I picked up my free pretzel by telling a joke at Pretzel Maker. I picked up the wipes at Toysrus and I resisted buying anything else. At Borders, I found some great deals. I also ran to HEB and Walgreens. I think I am mostly done with my shopping for the week. I might run into CVS tomorrow to see if they have any $0.49 hallmark cards. I will post separately about my finds at HEB and Walgreens.

The Randalls sale ends Tuesday at Midnight!

Borders Market Street: Buy 2 Bargain Books Get 1 Free

Borders Market Street: Buy 2 Bargain Books Get 1 Free

In my opinion, this is their best book promotion because you can get tons of bargain books for 33% off. They also released a 33% off 1 item coupon to Borders Rewards members. You should have got it in your email if you are signed up.

The deal of the day at Borders for me was a Cookbook that I am giving to my mom for her Birthday. Normal Retail was $45. It was marked down to $5.99. 33% off makes it $4.

I usually spend between $15 and $25 for birthday presents for my little ones friends. I much rather give 5-20 books that cost me $20 over 1 book for that same price. I am always impressed by what is on sale in the children's bargain books section. When I am on it, I go once a month to see what is new since the books change frequently.

At the register, a coupon printed out for 1 free book (valued up to $15) with a $30 purchase, including the price of the book. This is like 50% off if you can find 2 $15 books that you want.

Yay, Borders! I suggest going during off peak hours so you don't have to wait in line.

CVS: Two free Kodak Picture Movie DVDs!

Money Saving Mom found this great deal:

CVS: Two free Kodak Picture Movie DVDs!

Valid April 25-May1, 2010:

Buy 2 Kodak Picture Movie DVDs — on sale Buy One, Get One Free
Use the Buy One, Get One Free coupon here
Get both free after coupons — the store gives you one for free with their promotion and the manufacturer gives you one free with the coupon

Cheap Astros Tix on Jewish Community Day + Kosher Food

For the first time, the Astros Jewish Community Day at Minute Maid Park on Sunday, June 6 will have a kosher certified concession stand certifed by Mehadrin Kashrus of Texas. It will be certified as Glatt Kosher, Pas Yisrael & Bishul Yisroel.  

This certification applies only to the date, event and specific stand described below with certification certificate posted on location. We ask the public to please confirm kashrus status by MKT with Kashrus Supervisor that will be present all hours of operation.

4 Pack Johnsons and Johnsons Wipes.

It is time to buy more Wipes. Since the only place we can find Johnson and Johnsons Baby Wipes in the area is Toysrus/babysrus, I keep an eye out for promotions. Here is the scenario I plan on doing:

A 2 pack is usually $4.99
A 4 pack is usually $8.99

The Toys R Us ad in the newspaper on Sunday had a coupon for 20% off one baby item (our wipes count!).
There also was a $1 off any Johnsons baby item coupon in the coupon insert that I plan to stack.

So, here are the two choices:
$4.99 * 20% off - $1 = $3 for a 2 pack
$8.99 * 20% off - $1 = $6.20 for a 4 pack

Since, I need more, I probably will go with the 4 pack at $1.55/pack of 256 instead of the $1.50/pack.

I am sure you can find these coupons online if you want to do multiples of this scenario.

Party City: Pink Party Goods B1G1 Free

Party City is having a b1g1 free sale on pink, Caribbean blue, and kiwi green paper goods. If you have a girl, this could be the time to stock up. Check here for the complete listing.

These could also be good for a baby shower.

The buckets are 2 for $0.99. That is lowest I have seen them.

New to Couponing? Deal Finder E tips!

Hey Deal Finders,
   I was just talking with a friend about easy ways to get started in finding deals at most local stores. 

Here's what I do:
I subscribe to the Houston Chronicle. On Sundays, I go through the ad section. On my first pass through, I separate out the ads that I want to look at from the ones that I am not interested in. I pull out the coupon inserts and set them aside. I flip through the ads once through to see what the big promotions are. I pay special attention to Walgreens and CVS since I have been doing a lot of those match-ups recently. I then clip the coupons of only the things I need or think I might want to try. I save my extra coupons to give away to friends (or readers). If I am on top of it, I sort my coupons by category right then and put them in my coupon expanding folder. After clipping the coupons, I look at the Walgreens and CVS ads again and plan what I want to get that week. I sometimes pull out the coupons just for those shops and leave them in the front pocket of my expanding folder for easy access.

On Wednesday, I look at the Houston Chronicle ads again. They usually have the weekly ads for HEB, Kroger, and Randalls. I do most of my shopping at HEB (because they are the closest to us), but I will run into Kroger and Randalls on occasion for special promotions. I mentally think about what coupons I have and do match-ups based on what I just cut on Sunday. You can just grab the ads at the front of those stores if you don't get the newspaper on Wed.

Overall, my strategy is to save money by matching a coupon with a sale. Not all sales are sales. I do my best to learn the prices of things I regularly buy so I will know what is a bargain.

For example, since we buy Diet Coke regularly, I think under a $1 is a fair price. $0.88 is a deal and $1.59 is overpriced.

Same story with Blue Bell ice cream half gallons. I recently have seen them for 3 for $10, which I think is a great price. Anything under $4 is fair. Over $5, and I think it is overpriced.

FYI: The TV is on and an HEB commercial said red grapes are $1/lb. That is a fair price to buy.

What till I start giving y'all stock advice! Hehe.. Same idea.

Ok, back to finding deals:
The only other thing I really do is I go through the junk mail and find coupons there. I sign up for the email lists of most of the restaurants and shops I regularly go to. Most businesses give you the full scoop on their latest deals through email, and they often offer a sign up bonus.

If I want to buy something online (like books or contacts), I google for the best price. Fatwallet.com has some nice forums, as well as many other cashback and couponing sites. I usually check amazon, but amazon isn't always the cheapest. I also check ebay if I am in the mood.

I will need to buy new contacts in June, so I will post the deal I find then.

Macy's Friends and Family Sale: 25% off Total Purchase Wednesday, April 28 - Monday May 3

Macy's is having their Friends and Family Sale Wednesday,  April 28 - Monday May 3. You get 25% off your Total Purchase with the coupon. Sign up for their email or home mailing list if you don't already have one. I have an extra one. Email me if you want my extra one. The nice thing about this sale is that there are very few exclusions (10% off for the normal 10% off things).
The promotional code for macys.com is MACYSFF. Free Shipping after you spend $99. You can get cash back from the cashback sites, too.

Diet Coke: $0.88 at Walmart

2L Bottles of Diet Coke are $0.88 at Walmart  and $1 at HEB (after In-Store coupon when you buy 5)

Great Article: Best Time of Year to Visit Disney World

I just read this great article on Couponing to Disney about when the best time of year to go to Disney World, and I had to share.
Chris from the Chip and Co website wrote it.

Chick Fil A: The Cat in The Hat May 5 10am-11am

The Lake Woodlands Chick Fil A is doing an event about The Cat in The Hat on May 5 from 10am-11am.

Update: Chick Fil A 6am on Wednesday 24hrs before the opening

Wow, they want people to show up 24hrs before the grand opening and to stick around for the entire 24 hrs to receive $250 worth of food. That comes down to $10/hr. 

I didn't even want to wake up the day of the opening to be there for an hour at 6am, let alone 24hrs.. 

Thanks Desireah for pointing out my misunderstanding. 

If you plan to go, email me and I will stop by to say hi some point on that Wednesday to keep you company for a few minutes. 

I still expect some giveaways on that Thursday, April 29. 

Pick Your Own Strawberries: $2/lb next to The Woodlands

We discovered another local strawberry field called Rudy's Orchard. It is on a side street off of Rayford/Sawdust Rd (past sawmill rd). Look at the website for the map and times.Strawberries were $2/lb and yummy. They said that they expect another couple weeks of good strawberry picking. Everything was easy about it. It was easy to find the place, park, walk, get a basket, check out, etc. We also picked up some on the vine small tomatoes for $1/lb. When we went today at 1pm there was almost no one their and tons of strawberries. I developed a strawberry strategy for find the best ones.

Deal Finder E's Strawberry Picking tips:
Quality is more important than quantity.
You want the really red ones.
Do a taste test.
Inspect each strawberry that you want to pick for blemshes.
Bend and pinch off the stem instead of pulling it.
Get down at eye level by either sitting or laying down between the rows in order to look beneath the leaves.
Go to the opposite side away from the entrance to find the least picked over strawberries. Most people start near the entrance, so you want to do the opposite.
Think about how many strawberries you really need.
Be careful not to smush them on your way home in the bag.
When you get home wash off the sand. Dry them well.
If they are super ripe, I suggest cutting off the stems and freezing them for smoothies.

Happy strawberry picking.

ps. HEB strawberry prices this week are $2.50/lb so picking your own is a deal. Really, it is a fun experience. April is a lovely time to be outdoors.

I am happy I found a place near my house to pick fruit and veggies. This place would be a good place for a field trip.

Free Chick - Fil - A for a year: Show up at 6am on April 29

Cheap Eats in Houston pointed me in the right direction to find out the details on the Grand Opening promotion that is happening on April 29 at the new Chick Fil A location on Rayford-Sawdust. Show up at 6am (not earlier than 5:30am). If there are less than 100 people. Everyone gets "free food for a year:"  52 coupons for a chicken sandwich, medium fries, and medium soda.
If there are more than 100 people, then there is a raffle to see who wins. Here are the complete details from their website. You have to stick around during the counting and giveaway period.

Free Pretzel on Monday in The Woodlands Mall

Pretzel Time has changed their name to Pretzel Maker. On Monday, they are giving out free pretzels. They are located the ground floor near the elevator on the Dilliards (and Lane Bryant) side of the mall. The Woodlands Mall is open from 10am - 9pm. No purchase necessary.

Here are the details from their website:

NATIONAL PRETZEL DAY. YES, IT EXISTS.

Pretzelmaker®/Pretzel Time® will once again host a day-long National Pretzel Day celebration on April 26 at participating stores across the country. This year the company is putting a new "twist" on the holiday by asking customers to "Sing for Your Snack."

To mark this festive day, customers are encouraged to visit their local Pretzelmaker on National Pretzel Day, sing a snippet from a song of their choice and receive a FREE pretzel(with or without salt). Patrons who prefer not to sing won't go hungry - they can simply mention "National Pretzel Day" and receive their free snack*.

Michaels does Birthday Parties.

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To ensure delivery of Michaels emails to your inbox, simply add TheKnack@tk.michaels.com to your address book. Offers, pricing and coupons listed in this email are valid from Monday, April 19 through Saturday, May 1, 2010.

Prices are for US stores only. Please check your local Michaels store or TheKnackKids.com for more details. Prices in Canada may be higher than those in the US.