I was in NYC to attend the Affiliate Social Media Summit where I learned some new tricks to hopefully make my videos and blogs better!  My other girl crush (besides iJustine) is Melissa Salas from Buy.tv, and she was there!  Click here to see Melissa catching us up on the hottest Top 10 in Books! Looks like I’ll have some more books to review!

Totally Free Stuff I received this week….

Pepsi-Cola 1970’s Vintage Beach Towel from Amazon - Free with 50 Pepsi Stuff Points!  Regularly $19.99! And we don’t drink a lot of Pepsi here, but it didn’t take long to accumulate 50 points.  If only Diet Dew points would count!

Free Schick Intuition Plus Razor from iVillage (sorry, offer ended 8/15, so I hope all all visited earlier and got yours!)

Scrubbing Bubbles Action Scrubber Starter Kit - Buy at Store - Use $2.75 off Coupon - Mail in Rebate (up to $5.69, was in last Sunday’s newpaper supplements) = Free Plus Profit!  I have a few extra rebate forms, so contact me if you need one!

Genuine Ink cartridges for my Hewlett-Packard printer directly from HPShopping.com - they are less expensive even most places that offer remanufactured cartridges. Plus they offer Free Next-Day Shipping on All Ink, Toner and Paper and a Free My Print Rewards Program (you can register without ordering) that offers exclusive offer and reward savings.

I just got done reading the chick-lit book Match Me If You Can (click for my review) - buy a used copy for only 1¢ at Amazon!

Rent a free movie at Redbox with Code: WALMART - the girls and I watched Definitely, Maybe.  Find more Redbox codes for free rentals at InsiderRedbox.com, FreeRedboxCodes.com and RedBoxCodes.com.

Next Monday there will be no Mailbox Monday as I will be in New York City!  I’ve been there several times, but love it, love it, love it, and am always anxious to go back.

Have a great week!

I apologize as I got a little long-winded today…

Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes!  My mom gave me some homemade canned vegetable soup (yum) and some Mary Kay Gold Sequins Lip Gloss (cool).  Andrew Wee said I should have bought myself a new webcam for my birthday since mine is so blurry.  Touche.

Menards sent me a coupon to redeem for a free flashlight for my birthday. Another perk of having a Menards Big Card. This will be nice if our electricity should go out again. 

It’s been a rainy day today, and my cable always goes out during thunderstorms.  I think my cable is corrupted. My daughter says we should put the cable guy on speed-dial. So, he was out this morning to fix it, and an hour later, Kaboom, thunder struck, and it’s out again. (If you listen closely, you can hear the thunder in the background as well)

Free Gain Scent Card with $1 off Coupon from Walmart

Sorry, the Free Renuzit TriScents is no longer available, but you can print a $3 off Coupon here.

My daughter received her Aeropostle.com order - shipping was only $5.95, which is less expensive (in both gas and time) than driving to/from the mall.

My son, who is a senior, plays football, and wore out his football cleats!  Not wanting to invest $150 into another pair that he won’t wear much longer, I found these Reebok Men’s NFL Thorpe II Mid D Football Cleats on Amazon for only $22.49 shipped, and they had his size 12 in stock!  I ordered them Friday, and received them today already! I’m an Amazon Prime member (get your own Free Month Membership).

FREE 14-day supply of Nature Made Multivitamins from NatureMade.com

Featured Free Catalog - Figis.com (Gifts in Good Taste) is offering Free Gifts with Every purchase, plus deferred billing until February 14, 2009! Think ahead for Christmas gifts!

Featured Free Magazine - FREE Successful Living Magazine Subscription (thanks for the link, Clint!)

Enter to win stylish prizes over at StealTheStyle.com!  I am mailing out the Mario Badescu Gift Package to our winner later today (when it stops pouring rain as to not ruin my hair).

My aunt, Squeak, gives me a ton of tips, including how to prevent hangovers.  Her and I both love Culver’s (Butterburger for me, Cheeseburger for her) and often get kids’ meals for the Flavor of the Day custard.  Be sure to save your Culver’s Team Scoopie Prize Tokens, as you can get a free kid’s meal with just 10 tokens!

Stop telemarketing calls, register with the National Do Not Call Registry.  I’m going to re-register now, as it’s been awhile, and it used only be valid for so many years.  It appears to be permanent now.

Now guess how many times I said “how cool is that?” in the video.

That’s it for this week - time to eat my pizza for lunch… Happy Shopping!

Related Viewing/Reading: Perks of Shoeaholicism (more free stuff I’ve received)

My mailbox was not overflowing last week, but I still found things to ramble on about…

Free Sample Wholesome Goodness Meow Mix Cat Food (I’ll give this to my mom who has a brood of cats. I can’t handle my kids, let alone any pets!)

Rebate Check from Menards (I then reuse the checks to buy more Free-After-Rebate items.  If my total exceeds my rebate amount, I put the remaining balance on my Menards Big Card to earn a 1% rebate at the end of the year and receive free coupons with the statement.  I suggest paying this card off every month though as the interest is quite high.

Watch your mail for a $10 off $10 Famous Footwear coupon! You can also use the code online - 0608587 - valid 9/16 thru 11/3 - but you’ll have to input your Rewards number as well. If you’re not a Rewards member, you can sign up online (it’s free). Plus they offer free home delivery!

My birthday is on Wednesday, and I got a nice handmade birthday card from Kim Rodgers of 4Checks.com - very impressive! 4Checks currently has 9 HOT Check Deals! that I suggest checking out! They even have Husker checks!

I ordered some clothes for my daughter from Aeropostle.com last week and tracking says they should be here any day.  She had tried some clothes on at the mall in Sioux City, but they wouldn’t have her size in until the next week.  Since shipping online is only $5.95, that is less expensive (in both gas and time) than driving back to the mall.

My oldest is a senior in high school (go ahead and tell me I don’t look old enough, I don’t mind) and got his senior pictures taken at Reflections Portraits by Tammy - they were not one of my frugal buys by far.

Get 10 Free Photo Prints from Walmart on specially marked Kellogg’s Raisin Bran boxes. Plus find a list of 25+ more online places that offer free digital prints at FreeCamPrints.com!

Happy Shopping!

Best credit cards for low-rate/low-fee
Capital One Platinum Prestige
Clear from American Express
Iberiabank Visa Classic

Best cash-back credit cards
Capital One No Hassle Cash Rewards
Chase Freedom Visa
Discover More

Best gas credit cards
Chase PerfectCard MasterCard
Discover Open Road 

Worst credit cards to avoid
(if you have one of these credit cards listed below, I suggest cutting it up and applying for one of the cards listed above!)
First Premier Bank
HSBC American DreamCard
New Millennium Visa or MasterCard

*Ok, so I admit my desk (ok, my whole office) is a mess.  Now you know why I haven’t gotten a new webcam for my Mailbox Mondays videos - this ancient one blurs out the mess quite nicely. 

**The Frugal Duchess is actually Sharon Harvey Rosenberg, author of Frugal Duchess of South Beach: How to Live Well and Save Money, available from Amazon.com.

I got my driver’s license renewed today as my birthday is next week, and they are only open on Mondays here. I only had to take the eye test as I haven’t had any traffic violations in 11 years (knock on wood).

Do what did I all get in the mail this week?

I upgraded my cell with a new HTC Touch smartphone, and it is so cool!  I would have liked an iPhone, but AT&T doesn’t offer service here in hickville, so had to go with an Alltel compatible phone.

Free Stuff
Free Schick Quattro Titanium Trimmer For Men
Free Roll of Scott Toilet Tissue
Free Pack of Stride Gum
Free Sample Cascade Complete & Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (these magic erasers are incredible and clean anything from rust on concrete to stovetops to bathrooms, everything I tell ya)

AllYou Magazine (this current issue contains $64 worth of manufacturer coupons so the subscription more than pays for itself)

$25 off $100 at Staples.com Code: 2537740758803877 exp 11/3 (This appears to be a one-time use coupon, so first taker gets.  Please comment if used. Thanks.)

The Big Book of Spam by Daniel M. Clark (my video book review here)

Now I’m outta here, as I have to take my daughter to the doctor for shingles of all things.  I thought only old people got shingles?! She’s ten. Shingles are usually from stress - you’d think I’d have them - ha!

Happy Shopping!

And since it’s the first day of the month, it’s time to weed out my coupon box (I use the deluxe coupon file). With no school today (and no mail, thus no Mailbox Monday video), my kids are bored. I put one of my daughters to work cutting coupons and taking out expired coupons.  Don’t throw away your expired coupons - donate them to overseas military families as my friend Karen details here.  Thanks for the info, Karen!

A fellow SB’er emailed me that K-Mart plans to double coupons up to and including $2 off from September 4th - 8th! Limit four of the same coupon. Limit 75 coupons per person per day. No internet coupons.  I live an hour away from the nearest KMart, so plan to call first to make sure they are participating before driving that far.

I also have another vote plea for you! (The Kohl’s winners haven’t been released yet). Please click here and vote for #5! Jim Kukral is giving away 5 Zappos gift certificates to the top 5 vote getters, and I submitted a pic of my “mandals” to enter! Remember, mine are #5!  I hope me not chanting the white rabbit today doesn’t deter me from winning.

More ramblings from me this past week…
My cable is corrupted?
Me in a Christian tshirt (did you know they also make Christian shoes?)
Showing off my new shoes
The Huskers beat Western Michigan (I won $25 in a football pool!)
Win with me on Winzy! (I also won another Amazon gift certificate!)

I forgot to mention in the above video to please ignore the beeping of my smoke alarm that needs a new battery in the background noise.  I am looking to borrow a 16′ extension ladder so it can be changed (and maybe someone willing to climb up there as I’m a tad scared of heights).  Any takers?

That being said, here’s today’s Mailbox Monday recap…

Happy Birthday to my Grandpa Sutter today (8/25), and Belated Birthday to my mom (hers was yesterday).  If you’d like me to give a shout-out on future editions to anyone having a birthday, please contact me.  I promise not to sign.  But Jim Kukral will.

Sign up online to receive offline coupons.  Here’s the ones I received this week…
Gordman’s 20% off (and I was just there yesterday!) They also periodically send printable coupons via email.
DSW $5 off $19.95 instore or online (code: 819)
Victoria’s Secret $10 off during my birthday month (plus if you are an Angel Credit Card member, you receive several coupons per year for free panties, and you don’t have to use credit card to receive them).
Bausch & Lomb Alaway Anihistamine Eye Drops $5 off Coupon (link now is a printable $4 off, but should still net you some free eye drops)
Enfamil Lipil $7 check (for my cousin’s twins)

Free Samples…
Free Sample Snuggle Fresh Release Liquid Fabric Softener (now expired)
Free Sample Pond’s Clean Sweep Towelettes from Costco/Momma Mia (you do not need to enter a Costco Membership #).  My daughters want to see the Momma Mia movie, and I’m hoping to see the actual Broadway Momma Mia show while in NYC this fall.
Free Books & Publications from Pueblo, Colorado including the 2008 Consumer Action Handbook

This week’s hottest online deal…
50-piece color blockbuster only $14.99 from Ulta!
Use Coupon Code: 95193
$150.00 value! Includes 28 eye shadows, 12 lip colors, 2 lipsticks, 2 liners, train case and much more! Available in black or pink. While quanities last, so hurry!

And as an incentive for those of you that came and visited our blog today, the first five people to leave a comment here will receive a free ShoppingBookmarks.com koozie! After you leave a comment, please contact us with your mailing address.

P.S.  Do my teeth look whiter?  Ok, maybe not in this lighting, but they are.  Read about it here.

Target
C Pepsi Products 4/$10 - $1 Mt Dew Coupon (click link for more Target coupons which are combinable with manufacturer coupons) I just ran out of my Diet Dew stash from earlier this year.
And while in Target, I always check out the endcaps for clearance items.

Walgreens
C $5 off $20 Coupon (valid today and tomorrow)
Instore Sales / Coupons (you can pick up ad for coupons at front of store)
Filler Paper 39¢
Mars Candy 39¢
Paper Mate Mechanical Pencils 39¢
Big Roll Bathroom Tissue 2/$1
Dental Care Toothbrushes 39¢
Fly Swatter 39¢ (I have a fly bugging me right now)
Lip Care 39¢
Gift Wrap / Tissue 39¢
Plastic Cutlery 39¢
Jiffy Muffin Mix 39¢
School Supplies 39¢
Sharpie Permanent Markers 39¢
Walgreens Soda 39¢
Tuf Trash Bags 2/$5 R
Shave Cream 99¢
Mandarin Oranges 2/$1
Ragu/Skippy 3/$5 plus Register Rewards
Red Baron Pizza 2/$5
General Mills Cereal $1.99
Palmolive 99¢
Free After Rebate Items (valid through 8/30)
Walgreens Soft White Light Bulbs 4 pack or 3 Way Single Bulb
Living Solutions Vacuum Bags
BioInfusion Organics Shampoo, Conditioner or Olive Oil Hair Care
Walgreens Pitcher Filter Replacement Cartridge
jane Be Pure Mineral Crushed or Sheer Powder, Powder Brush or Liquid Foundation
Pert Plus 2 in 1 Shampoo Plus Conditioner

Payless Shoes
It’s BOGO time! (Buy one, get one half off - includes clearance)
This sale is available online as well at Payless.com (with a bigger selection!)
Plus there is a $5 off $5 coupon in the current issue of People Magazine (Ellen & Portia on cover)
Like I really need any more shoes!  This month alone I already bought 3 pairs of shoes at Payless (for $20) and Crocs for only $6.66.

I’ll probably get my staples items (milk, bread, Powerade for Taylor) at Walmart, and price match local grocery ads there to avoid extra stops. We are out of frozen pizza!

I don’t want to forget to use my Coke Rewards coupons, as I let some of them expired (boo)!  Can anyone use expired coupons?  If so, I’ll gladly send the first inquiry a dozen coupons for totally free items that I spaced off not redeeming. Get 33 Free My Coke Rewards points from Safeway.com (register/log in, opt in to Coke program).

And I think I’ll pick up Pizza Hut for supper.  Shocking, I know.  Their advertised deal on TV right now is 2 medium one topping pizzas, breadsticks and Chocolate Dunkers (addicting) for only $19.99.  I wish they delivered!

Happy Shopping!

What did I receive in my mailbox last week?

Free DVD about OCD from the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (Two of my children have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder thus why I requested this)

Walmart Freebies
Free Sample of Gillette Shampoo For Men
Free Sample General Mills Oatmeal Crisp
Free Book ‘We Lost It’ from Alli - Alli Weight Loss Orlistat Capsules (available from Amazon.com) are the only FDA Approved over-the-counter weight-loss aid.

Magazines
Refund Cents Magazine  for couponers and refunders
PINK Magazine Career advice, inspiration, and mentoring for female business executives and professionals.

Free Catalogs
Free Woman Within Catalog
Free Tiger Direct Catalog
Free Sephora Catalog

Precious Moments Collectors Club - I’ve been a member here for years and receive an exclusive figurine from here every year.

FaceYourManga.com - I not only said the wrong URL in the video, but spelled it wrong as well - ugh - blame it on being Monday.  Anyway, this is a cool place to create an avatar.