Restaurant.com is taking 80% off their already discounted gift certificates when you use the code “CHEF”.  This means that a $25 gift certificate will only cost you $2.  When you redeem a gift certificate make sure you check the minimum purchase requirements for that restaurant, but with $23 off the price of your bill it is hard to go wrong.

Bloom is still tripling coupons in select areas.  Make sure to call your Bloom Grocer before you make plans to get triple coupons and are disappointed.

In case you do not understand the lingo here SS stands for smart source and RP for Red Plum (the names of the coupon circulars) and the prices are the original prices for the buy one get one free deals.

If you were to buy the minimum required by each coupon on this list you would only spend $21.40 before taxes.  If you take out the popcorn (by far the most expensive item) you would only spend $16.92.  This is a great set of deals

Buy One Get One Free Plus Triple Coupons

Excedrin Pain Reliever 20-24 ct at $4.29 Limit 4
.75 SS 8/30 makes it free

Mt. Olive Pickle Pack 4 ct – 3.7 oz cups
.50 SS 8/16 makes it free

Hefty Easy Grip Party Cups 20 ct at $1.99 Limit 4
.75 RP 5/17 makes it free plus overage

Comet Long Grain White Rice 2 lb at $3.08
.55 SS 8/23 makes it free

Betty Crocker Suddenly Salad 6.2-7.25 oz at $2.25 – Limit 4
.50/2 SS 8/9 makes it 38¢ each

Pop Secret Popcorn 10 ct – Buy 2 at $5.99 Limit 4
.50/2 SS 8/16 makes it $2.24 each

Other Deals with Triple Coupons

Knorr Rice OR Pasta Sides 4.3-6.4 oz
.75/2 RP 8/2 makes it free

Luzianne Family Sized Iced Tea Bags 24 ct at $1.79
.60 SS 6/21 makes it free

Maruchan Yakisoba Noodles 3.79-4.05 oz at 5/$4
.50 SS 8/23 makes it free plus overage

Knorr Recipe Mix .9-1.8 oz at $1.29
.50 RP 6/28 makes it free plus overages

Mueller’s Pasta 16 oz at 4/$4
.55/2 SS 8/9 makes it 18¢ each

Hefty ElegantWare Plates 16-24 ct at $1.69
.50 RP 6/21 RP 5/17 makes it 19¢

Skippy Peanut Butter 15-16.3 oz at 2/$4
.60 RP 8/2 makes it 20¢

Newman’s Own Salad Dressing 16 oz 2/$5
.75 RP 8/23 makes it 25¢

Lipton Recipe Secrets Soup Mix 2 ct at $1.39 ea
.75/2 RP 6/28 makes it 27¢ each

Texas Pete Hot Sauce 12 oz 2/$3
.40 RP 5/10  makes it 30¢

Scott Naturals Flushable Wipes Refill 51 ct at $1.89
.50 SS 8/9 makes it 39¢

White House Apple Sauce Cups 6 ct at 3/$5
.75/2 SS 8/16 makes it 55¢ each

Jell-O Pudding or Gelatin Snacks 6 ct at 2/$5
.60 SS 8/9 makes it 70¢

Juicy Juice Drink Boxes 8 ct – 4.23 oz at 2/$3
.50/2 RP 8/9 makes it 75¢ each

Endust 10 oz at 2/$5
.55 RP 8/30 makes it 85¢

Betty Crocker Supreme Brownie Mix 19.8-26.7 oz  at 2/$4
.75/2 SS 7/19 makes it 87¢ each

Pillsbury Toaster Strudel Pastries 6 ct at $1.69
.55/2 SS 8/9 makes it 97¢ each

Reynolds Wrap 100% Recycled Aluminum Foil 35-50 sq ft at $3.29
.75 SS 8/16 makes it $1.04

Deals without Triple Coupons

Hefty Easy Grip Party Cups 20 ct at $1.00 Limit 4
.75 RP 5/17 makes it 25¢

Cutter Skinsations All Family Insect Repellent 6 oz at $2.32
2.00 SS 7/12 makes it 32¢

Ken’s Lite Accents Salad Spray 7 oz at $1.49
1.00 SS 8/2 makes it 49¢

Purina Chef Michael’s Canine Creations Dry Dog Food 24 oz at 2/$7
3.00 RP 8/23 makes it 50¢

Endust Free 10 oz at 2/$5
2.00 RP 8/30 makes it 50¢

Bic Cristal Pens OR Mechanical Pencils 5-10 ct at 2/$2
1.00/2 SS 8/9 makes it 50¢ each

Chinet Lunch Plates 36 ct at 2/$5
2.00 SS 8/9 make it 50¢

Splenda Granulated OR Packets Sweetener 1.9 oz OR 50 ct at 2/$3
1.50/2 SS 8/30 makes it 75¢ each

Not a great week for free samples.  Hopefully next week will have a little better quality.  Although the humor factor with this group is pretty high.  And of course all you coffee addicts out there will be happy with the first one.

Free sample of Dunkin Donuts Coffee

Coupon for a free sample of Dior Hydraction Creme

Free sample of Drinkin’ Mate hangover relief tablets (now that is just funny)

Free sample of Nikwax waterproofing wax

Free sample of NoDoz caffeine pill

Free taco from Taco Del Mar (with signup) on August 27th

Coupon for a free bottle of water at any Racetrac gas station

Free samples from Bragg Live Foods

So I found a triple coupon deal at Bloom on a new product by Juicy Juice.  Bloom had cut the price down a dollar to $1.99.  With a 50¢ off of two it brought the price down to $1.24.  This is not a great deal for juice, when you consider the price per ounce, but one of the reasons I use coupons is it pushes me to try new things (something I am usually loathe to do when it comes to food).

We load our cart up with six of these boxes of juice and I think we have gotten a reasonable deal comparing with the other juices that are on sale.  When we got to the checkout everything went normally.  We got the exact price I was expecting until the coupon printer started printing coupons.  One after another printed out and I was curious as to what was going.  It turned out that for every Juicy Juice Immunity or Brain Development you purchase you would get a coupon for $1 off any product on your next trip to Bloom.  The coupons appear to be stackable, so that means I will save six dollars on my next trip as long as I purchase six items.  This brings the actual price of the Juicy Juice down to 24¢ each.  This is a great deal and you can take advantage of it at Bloom until the end of today.  Get the coupon in your Red Plum circular from 8/9 and enjoy some juice for less than a penny an ounce.

I would like to introduce you to the newest addition of the SavingFreak family, Carston.  This cute little guy was born on July 7th and has been the reason you haven’t seen any posts for the last week.  It is amazing how much my life has changed with his arrival but, we seem to be slowly getting a handle on things (especially since he has been sleeping eight out of nine hours during the night).  For all you baby junkies out there he was born at 8:06 AM weighing nine pounds thirteen ounces and was 21.5 inches long.  He and Mrs. SavingFreak are doing great.  He has already gained back most of his weight and is eating like a champ.  Thanks to all of you who have been praying for us and I will be doing my best to make sure that his first word is “FREE”.

Free baby samples from PlanningFamilies.com

Coupon for free sample of shaving cream or OPI nail lacquer

Coupon for one free instant tan from Hollywood Tans

Coupon for one free 12oz. beverage from Seattle’s Best Coffee at Borders

Free sample of Head and Shoulders shampoo and conditioner

Free sample of Green Magma herbal supplement

Coupon for free tube Advantage, K9 Advantix, or Advantage Multi for Dogs

Free sample of Thermadrene energy supplement

Free sample of Blivskin facial care

Just picked up a great tip from my aunt Kathy.  You can get free minor jewelry repair at Jared jewelers by opening up an account at their stores.  This puts you on their mailing list and gives you a credit line, but even if you do not use it you can get free jewelry repair there.  It is amazing what some stores will give you just to have access to showing you advertisements.

Just wanted to remind everyone to thank a soldier today for their service and their sacrifice.  And if you want to really make someone’s day thank a soldiers spouse for their service and their sacrifice.

Happy Memorial Day

Recently USA Today posted a report on buyer activity starting to increase in the big real estate bubble states of California, Arizona, Florida and Nevada.  This is an indication that the banks are finally learning how to deal with this real estate mess.

When the bubble began to break two years ago the banks pretty much stayed in denial about foreclosures and tried to get the amount of the loan out of the properties.  Now they are finally getting to the point of putting prices that reflect a market value.  Some areas are actually starting to see multiple bids on properties.

This will really take effect in the bubble markets and will eventually seep over to the markets that did not have a real bubble.  This means that there are deals to be had in real estate and that people who have been able to pay their mortgages while the value of their home drops should see home values come back in the next two to three years.

Walgreen’s has decided to offer free health care to anyone who has lost their job and is uninsured at their 340 Take Care Clinics.  This is a great way for people to get used to using a nurse practitioner instead of a doctor.  Prescriptions are not covered under this offering.

It has been over a year since I first talked about the advantages of nurse practitioners and the amazing cost savings.  I will be going through a job change in the next few months and this will put my family on a health savings account style of insurance.  I will soon be searching for a good nurse practitioner to take care of all the little stuff instead of going into a doctor.

You can check out the Wagreen’s offer here and can read my previous post about nurse practitioners and quick clinics here