Free All Bran sample pack

If you have a subscription to Martha Stewart Living, there is a great sample offer available this month. There is an ad for All Bran products with an attached card to send in for a free seven day supply. This is part of the All Bran 7 Day challenge. See the picture above for the cover of the issue and a visual of the postcard to send in. This sounds like a really good freebie!

Great sales to use your Limited coupon

There is a great coupon for Limited stores right now. It can be used for $15 off any purchase of $15 or more. (click here for a printable coupon. I visited a store that had many sales items for 60% off the lowest marked price. Altogether, I purchased three shirts and a purse. After coupon my total was $1.08 and this was mostly tax. Crazy good!

Some stores aren't accepting this coupon for sales, however, there were quite a few nice shirts for $19.50, which would only be $4.50 after coupon. I hadn't been into this store in years, but it has some nice basics and cute accessories. I would have included a picture, unfortunately, I am out of town and forgot my camera. Rats!

Michael Kors at Goodwill?!

I was so impressed by the selection at Goodwill earlier this week, I decided to go back for another round. It was pretty picked over except for this one top. I thought it was pretty cute so I took it to the dressing room. When I put it on, I absolutely loved the look. Then I noticed the original tags were still attached. It is brand new from Macy's Michael Kors petite collection (I had to add the picture of the price tag). Retail price? $109.50.
Whoa!! Talk about sticker shock! It is 100% silk and even cuter than the picture. Goodwill price? $9.99. Seriously, why should I ever shop in a normal store again?

Thoughts on being prepared

The nation of Haiti is experiencing a horrible nightmare right now. Chaos rules. People and even governments were unprepared. Think about your life at this moment. If something like this happened in your community would you be able to fend for yourself? Would you be able to care of you and yours?

I have been blessed to discover a blog called Safely Gathered in. To view this site, click here. The focus of "Safely Gathered In" is helping average folks prepare for the worst. There are printables for 72 hours emergency kits, food storage options, and other resources. I can't fully endorse everything, but they have some wonderful pointers toward emergency preparedness.

I can take care of me, but I can also give to those who don't have the resources I do. Because of my coupons and smart shopping, I was able to donate from the overflow to help the people of Haiti. I sent lots of supplies to the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) to be added to health kits for the Haitian people.

In this time of tragedy, we should be giving to those who need it most. However, we should not overlook the fact that a situation like that in Haiti could happen at any moment anywhere. There are tangible steps we each can take to prepare for whatever may come.

Goodwill deals and squeals!

I had the best Goodwill trip today. Thought I'd show you some of the deals that made me squeal with delight! I got these Converse One Star shoes for $4.99. They were brand new with tags still on them from Target. They are so cute and remind me of my fave show Chuck.

I also got this great Tignanello wallet for $2.29. The leather is so soft, it has that great buttery feeling.

Next up this amazing bowler handbag from Victoria's Secret. Price just $1.99. It will be a great purse for February and Valentine's Day. It has LOVE embossed all over. Super cute.

To end my bragging, I found this top from Charter Club. It still had the tags on it from Macy's! Cost: $2.99. Holy moly! Hope this inspires you to try thrift store shopping. I honestly never know what I will find, but always come home with something special.

FREE Dole salad at Meijer

Several types of bagged salads are part of the 10 for $10 sale this week at Meijer. There is coupon available here in the Meijer Mealbox widget. Click on the specials tab and search for the Dole salad coupon. You can choose to print several copies. I got four bags today for zero dollars!!

24 cent Pictureka at Wal-mart

There were lots of deals this week to be had at Wal-mart. One highlight is the Pictureka card game priced at $5.24 at my local store. There was a coupon for $5 off several Hasbro games in the PARADE magazine in last week's newspaper. This coupon works both the board game and the card game. This game is for ages 6+, can be played four different ways, and is educational. If you are interested in the board game, it was priced at $15. Two great deals for a super fun game.

FREE make-up at Victoria's Secret

Well, I'm done with my Christmas shopping so its time to do something nice for me. I signed up here for the Victoria's Secret Rewards program which has lots of coupons and freebies which they even mail to my house. A few weeks ago, I got one for $10 off any Pink purchase of $10 or more. The store I visited had several kinds of PINK makeup on sale 2 for $10. I got two Chubby eye crayons in colors called Remix and Shake it (or white and gold if you're not so fancy). After coupon, the price was $0.00. It also came with the cute bag which I plan to re-purpose as a gift bag for Christmas. So much fun, so little money!