Free Pantene Shampoo full sized bottle

I love Pantene shampoo, and here is a great freebie - a full-sized bottle, not just a sample.

Click here for a FREE bottle of Pantene Nature Fusion Shampoo. This is available through Vocalpoint; if you aren't already a member, register for free and then you can request this sample.

How I Changed from Owing Taxes to Getting a Refund

I did my taxes a couple weeks ago using Taxact (I used to use Turbotax but they charge now for anything other than basic) and determined that we owed $92 in taxes. Not bad, but not a refund. The trouble with having to pay is you have to tear out all the little w2 forms and write a check and find a big envelope and remember to wait for April 15th to mail it all in. I like to just do it, and be done with it, and move onto the next big deal.

 

Well today I was reading the Sunday paper with my valentine in bed this morning and saw a little tip printed in the business section about to how to reduce what you owe to Uncle Sam. Just make a contribution to a traditional IRA account for the year 2009 and it will reduce your taxes. Well, that seems simple. I'd rather pay myself a few hundred bucks to an IRA than pay $92 to Obama. So I logged into Taxact adjusted some numbers and determined I can contribute $350 into an IRA and this swings our taxes to a refund of $8. Whalaaa - I can just file online and not have to print and sign all those stupid papers, and get we'll get a refund to boot - direct deposited into our checking.

 

So, if you haven't done your taxes - get to it. Its free to use Taxact online and you'll get an idea of what your obligation or refund will be. And you still have time to change it if you owe.

Publix Pays

I'm not sure exactly how to report my latest shopping trip, but I think I got paid to shop at Publix. I bought the usual salad fixin's and some BOGO items with matching coupons to make them really cheap. The money makers were the knox gelation (4) and some shedds country crock (2). I did happen to have two $5 off $50 Publix coupons I could use since the total was over $100, and the free milk gallon with $100 purchase coupon, plus an $8 walgreens register rewards coupon. The unique thing was the sale this week on American Express $50 gift card get a free $10 Publix gift card. There was a $4.95 activation fee on the AMEX card, so it was only a $5 money maker.  Well, at the end of the transaction, I paid $39 and walked away with a cart full of groceries and $60 in gift cards. So, I think they paid me $21 to take away my groceries.

 

I did the same thing today saved $51, spent $39 and walked away with a bag of groceries and $60 in gift cards. I used the Amex card from yesterday to pay so no OOP from my wallet. Now I have $80 in gift cards remaining, and my OOP was $39 from the initial shop. So $41 of it is profit.

 

Now I'll be able to pay for my groceries for about 2 or 3 months with those gift cards. It's absolutely amazing that this is legit. I can't believe more people aren't doing it. It's funny sometimes in the store, I'm behind someone in line and see all the food they're getting where they could have used coupons, and then they pay over $100 or $200. I just shake my head.

Happy Valentines Day

Hope your valentines day is everything you expected. We don't usually do anything special on Vday and this year was no exception. Spent the day removing cabinets from the kitchen because of a variety of reasons, drilled holes through the concrete wall in the kitchen to move the plumbing, and sanded all the patches to get ready to paint. I'll have to tell you all about the kitchen drama that gave me a headache all day. Oh well, it'll get corrected and we'll be on our way again in a couple days.

Combining Coupons for a Great Deal

I just have to share this great post by one of my favorite coupon blogs iheartpublix.com. Even if you don't have a Publix in your area, she explains in detail how to "stack" coupons appropriately to get great deals. Its a confusing topic, but she has done a great job of clarifying for us.

Friday Follow 2/12/10

Hi this is my first time trying to post the MckLinky for the blog hop to the blog via email. I'm blocked from Blogger at work and need to try to figure this out. So if its a bunch of bahooey, just leave a comment and I'm work on it from home tonight on a normal computer that doesn't the evil government restraints.

FL Offer - Free MP3 Player from Kane's Tonight Only

Saw this in the St Pete Times newspaper this morning, inside the front section. Kane's Furniture is giving away a free MP3 player from 6pm to midnight TODAY ONLY to 5,000 winners, no purchase necessary. If you have a FL Drivers License number that contains a one (1) or zero (0), you're eligible to win a free MP3 player. DH and I both have DL's that end in zero, so we're going to stop by this evening and pick up our MP3 players.

 

Luckily, we live right by a Kane's. There are not very many locations, so the chances of getting the player is probably pretty good, Plus its not mentioned in the website, just the full page ad in the newspaper. It has a picture of the free player and the brand is COBY. It looks like a flash drive, silver and black. No mention on the size, hope it holds more than 128 MB or something silly like that.

 

Good Luck

Free State Fair Admission

On Thursday, February 11, the Florida State Fair is offering free gate admission after 4pm to all guests.

If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It

This is one belief in our household, if it ain't broke - don't fix it. It kind of goes along with "If you don't make a mess, you won't have to clean it up". Consequently, we have some old stuff around our house. Our outdoor TV is 1983 JCPenney color TV, with a remote that only has 5 buttons: on/off, up & down volume, and up down channel arrows. It still works fine and we just can't find a valid reason to get rid of it, and put a new TV outside in the heat and humidity of Florida.

 

We also have a 1986 Litton microwave, I think its 600 watts. Everything on it works as designed and until we have our kitchen remodel done, we'll continue to use it. Then we'll donate it to one of our job office breakroom since we can always use another microwave at work.

 

It seems like the newer appliances we've purchased just aren't as good a quality and workmanship as these old relics, and they break or become sufficient within a couple years.

 

Well, I'm thinking its time to get a new cell phone. Ours is a Samsung A925 we got free from the Sprint contest in the summer of 2006. We signed up for the Sprint SERO plan for 500 minutes, unlimited data, texting and picture mail, plus free nights at 7pm and free weekends. We love the plan and it meets our needs. Come to think of it we love the phone too, since its synced up with my laptop and Nokia 800m so I can surf while driving down the highway. The problem is I have phone envy when I see all that the new smart phones can do. The cameras are sharp, the weather radar is nice and they are fast. So now I want a new phone, but the SERO plan is a thing of the past and I'm afraid that Sprint will try to switch us to a different plan when we get a new phone. The pros on slickdeals SERO forum say its not a problem, but the thought lurks in the back of my mind that it could happen.

 

The other dilemna is what phone to get? I"m limited by what Sprint is compatible with, but there are lots of choices that are perfectly fine. I've heard LG's have short battery life, but we love our Samsung - never had a problem in 4 years, not even a battery. Plus we have all the plug ins and chargers for Samsung - is that a big enough reason to stick with Samsung? They do have the Instinct which I think I like. I'd of course love to get it free and we have a $150 sprint credit, for plans over $39 but we don't qualify as our SERO plan is only $35 with taxes and fees included.

 

So, any recommendations?

Sunday Coupons 2/5/10

This weekend there will be 4 coupon inserts in your Sunday papers, of course regional differences may occur. There should be a Smartsource (SS), Redplum (RP), General Mills (GM) and Proctor & Gamble (PG). It might be a good week to get some extra papers since there will be NO INSERTS on VALENTINES DAY next Sunday.