Last night I made a ‘quick run’ to Rite Aid and CVS.  (Thankfully, my husband understands that ‘quick runs’ are not always as quick as I claim they will be.  Ahem.)

It has been a while since I have had the time for any serious drugstore shopping, and this trip was a reminder of why I love. it. so. much.

I took advantage of the Special K moneymaker and Stayfree deal at Rite Aid.  Then I scored the Dove moneymaker (Oops!  Forgot to add that to the picture!) at CVS.  I also grabbed some Physician’s Formula concealer priced at $1.29 with the $7 discount.  (Sadly I did not get the $10 coupon.)  The Wisk and the Excedrin were rain checks from last week.

Missing from the photo: Dove Chocolate Bar, two Skinny Cow single cups and a bag of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Minis.  And no…it’s not because I ate them already!

If my math is correct, here are the final stats:

Price before coupons: $193.07

Total after coupons: $7.81!!

I may not be on TLC’s Extreme Couponing Show, but I feel like a star after a shopping trip like that.

Oh…and speaking of Extreme Couponing, stay tuned for details on my own version of the show right here on Cha-Ching on a Shoestring.  I’ve been busy behind-the-scenes putting together my own ‘mini-series’ with a little bit more of a realistic look at the world of couponing.  I think you’re gonna like it!

 

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed or not, but things have been a little quieter around here the past few days.  That’s because we have been busy visiting family and now family has come to visit us!

So I’m going to be taking the next few days off as I try my best to be the hostess with the mostest!  I love spending time with family and want to make sure I make the most of my time since we don’t get to see them as often as we used to.  (Not to mention, my younger sister just got engaged, so we have some wedding plans to discuss!)

In the meantime, if I find any really great deals, I’ll be sure to post them on the Facebook page.  So be sure to click ‘Like’ on the Cha-Ching on a Shoestring Facebook page so you’ll stay up to date with any great deals.

Oh…and feel free to take a few days off from deal finding too.  I think we all deserve it!

Ok, so here’s the scoop.

Bad News: I did NOT get enough referrals to to earn an iPad.

Good News: You guys are still the best readers ever.

More Good News: I DID earn enough credits to win an iPod Touch AND an iPod Shuffle.

And you better believe that as soon as I receive the iPod Shuffle, I will be giving it away to one of you!

Oh…AND the winner of the $25 Amazon Gift Code is: Valerie (issheinacoma@xxxx).  I have contacted you with the details on how to claim your prize.

Thank you for ALL of your support, guys.  It means so much!

Get a FREE download of Kelly Morris’s new eBook “Just Get ‘Em Fed: Simple Whole Food Meals for your Family”.  It’s a great resource for feeding your family well without a lot of hassle.  (Sounds great to me!)

Here are the details:

Join the Cha-Ching on a Shoestring Online Survey Panel, and you could earn as much as $20-$30 per week by completing online surveys. Once registered, you can respond to and complete surveys online, making a potential of a few dollars per day as you surf the net.  Because of CampusFundraiser’s strict privacy policy, your information will not be shared with any 3rd party or the survey companies themselves.  Everything will be filtered through CampusFundraiser themselves and come via email from surveys@cfsurveys.com so as not to be confused with any other program you may be taking advantage of.

Surveys will come the following 3 ways:

Invitation Survey: These will come every couple of days and provide you the opportunity to complete one survey.  They will usually be titled Movie Survey or Need Women 25-35 to give participants some understanding of what type of survey may be inside.  If you are qualified you move on to participate in the survey and will normally earn 50 market points, which translates to $1 but sometimes, $2, $4, with the highest surveys ever having been in the $11-$22 range.  You will be told in the invitation if the survey is of a high value.  If you are not qualified, as in they are doing a survey on a men’s razor and you put in you are a female, you will be “screened out” and will earn usually 4-5 market points or $0.08 – $0.10 for the attempt.  Pay close attention to the subject line or messaging as there will often be a clue as to what type of responses are being looked for.

CF Daily BONUS Survey: This will come to your email a few times a week but there is no need to wait for it’s arrival!  Copy and paste the link to your desktop and complete ONE survey every day.  The survey pool or router will continue to offer you opportunities until you are able to actually complete a survey or the opportunities are out.  If the latter happens, simply return to the link later in the day.  There are no points offered in screening out of a daily survey and 35 market points ($0.70) offered for your regular Daily complete.

Daily 5 Survey: Another, more lucrative opportunity that you can copy and paste to your desktop and complete up to FIVE surveys per day!  Again, there are no points for a screen out and 35 market points or $0.70 for each of the completed surveys.  This opportunity informs you of the time involved in each survey (5 minutes-35 minutes) so you can easily decide to return later if you don’t have the time.

**Important: Taking advantage of all 3 opportunities CAN earn an individual $20-$30 if they are completing the maximum a week or more (this will not be the case for everyone so please keep your expectations realistic), which, although may not allow you to quit your job, will definitely pay for your coffee habit or a night out here and there!

How do you get started?: Click here and register your information to become a part of the Cha Ching on a Shoestring test panel.  Understand your name and corresponding activity will be shown in list form although no personal or contact information will be shown.  Remember we are looking to test this with a limited number of participants for now and should the program be successful, we will open it up to everyone else at a later date.

Please disregard the collegiate or group wording that will be peppered throughout the registration process and remember you are the some of the first participants outside the collegiate market we have approached and are in the process of making improvements to the reporting pages currently.  At the end of the registration process you will be given a username and password at the bottom of the last screen.  Please save this for your records.  You will need this when checking your account activity.

The activity page is NOT “live”.  Activity will be reported back to us by the survey companies every 1-7 days depending on the company so do not panic if you do not see your points updated right away! To see your progress simply go to www.campusfundraiser.com and click on View Your Account in the upper right hand corner of the screen.  Use your login information here.  Your activity will be found on the Current Fundraiser Tab, Survey Fundraiser 2010/2011.  Use the Control “F” function on your keyboard to search for your name within the list.

How do I get paid?: Once you have achieved $25, which, as we previously stated, can happen every 10-14 days (sometimes sooner) if you are a highly active participant, contact us to request a payout, if we don’t contact you first.  Make sure to provide your address information during registration and allow 2-3 weeks for processing and mailing of payment.

Currently you will not be able to double your points as an individual as stated on the group page but we will be providing different rewards and prizes based on your activity including DAILY cash drawings, free multi-year magazine subscriptions and double earnings days.

Please contact mrijos@campusfundraiser.com with questions or info@campusfundraiser.com to request a payout and please refer to the fact you are part of the Cha Ching on a Shoestring test panel.  REMEMBER, activity is updated as we receive it (every 1-7 days) and will not be available live.

Looking for a fun little gift for a little one?  Amazon has the Fisher Price Stack & Roll Cups marked down to $5.99 (reg. $11.99) right now.  Get FREE 2 day shipping if you are signed up for Amazon Prime.

Thanks, SwagGrabber!

Right now you can score an HP Deskjet 1050 All-in-One Printer from Walmart for only $20 shipped to your home.