75 Free Prints from Kodak

Last week I mentioned how you can get 50 free prints from Snapfish. Now you can 75 free prints from Kodak, according to Freebies4mom. Go to Freebies4mom to find out how to get them. You'll have to pay for shipping, but they offer local store delivery for less. You're well on your way to compiling an album full of 2008 pictures for next to nothing!

Free Chick-fil-A Biscuit with Purchase

Make any purchase at Chick-Fil-A on January 1 (10:30 am to 6:00 pm) and get a coupon for a free chicken biscuit on your next visit. Valid in AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MO, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NM, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WI, WV, and WY.

Free Coffee on New Years Day

According to Convenience Store News, participating 7-Eleven stores in select regions will give away free 12-ounce cups of coffee to anyone who stops in between midnight on Dec. 31, and 6 a.m. Jan. 1. Regions include Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas; greater Austin, Texas; Utah; Colorado; Arizona; Washington; Oregon; Idaho; Northern California; Nevada; Florida; Illinois; Indiana; Ohio; Michigan; Kansas; Missouri; Central and Southern Virginia; Maryland; and Washington D.C.

Additionally, Cumberland Farms stores in the Northeast and Florida will give away cups of its new Farmhouse Blend and original hot coffee on the house from 5 p.m. on New Year’s Eve to 5 a.m. New Year’s Day. The free coffee offer is available at all stores except for those with Dunkin Donuts service.

Sample Sunday

Here’s this week’s free samples. To check out other samples that may be available from previous weeks (many are still available!), visit my Sample Sunday page.

Don Francisco’s Breakfast Blend Coffee
Oxyfresh Toothpaste
Xylimelts for Dry Mouth
Degree Men’s Deodorant
Pantene Pro V
Vaseline Clinical Therapy Lotion
(this takes about 2 minutes – you enter to win a trip to Alaska and if you’re one of the first 45,000 to enter, you’ll get two free samples of lotion. This has been going on for a couple of weeks and it looks like they have about 1,000 free samples left)
Bausch and Lomb Cleaning Tissue
Curamin Anti-Inflammation/Pain Relief
Kerasal Foot Lotion
Crock Pot Soup Recipes Booklet

Two Years of Traditional Home Magazine for Free

Last week I wrote about a bunch of magazines that you can get for free by simply providing your address (no credit card needed). Here’s another one… Get 2 years of Traditional Home magazine for free by going here.

50 Free Prints from Snapfish

I took advantage of the free 8x10 prints from Walgreens last week and mentioned to my husband that I wished that someone was offering free 4x6 prints so I could start on another scrapbook. Lo and behold – here it is… Sign up to Snapfish and get 50 free prints. Freebies4mom mentions that you'll also get a free flipbook (an album that you make with 4x6 prints). You'll only pay the small fee for shipping. That will get me started on my book! Head over to Snapfish to get yours.

Free Fun with Kids at Home Depot and Lowes

Head to Home Depot for fun activities with your kids. The Home Depot Kids Workshops teach children from ages 5-12 do-it-yourself skills and tool safety, while at the same time helping to instill a sense of accomplishment. Overall, a great time! In addition to the newly constructed project kit, each child receives a kid-sized orange apron, similar to The Home Depot associates' aprons, and an achievement pin. On January 3rd from 9am-12pm, you can make helmet-themed bookends and on January 7th, you can make a trinket box. Find out more on the Home Depot site.

Over at Lowes, on January 10 from 10-11am, you can make a time capsule and on February 14, you can make a jewelry box. To sign up at your local store, go to the Lowes Build and Grow site.

Free Advance Screening – United States of Tara

Entertainment Weekly, Netflix and Showtime are offering a free advance screening of the United States of Tara (a dark comedy about a woman with multiple personalities) in several cities nationwide. Tickets are on a first come, first serve basis depending on the capacity of each movie theatre. Go here for your tickets.

Sample Sunday

Here’s this week’s free samples. To check out other samples that may be available from previous weeks, visit my Sample Sunday page.

Hearts and Minds Peanut Butter
Soft Sheen Carson Optimum Care Dandruff Solutions Shampoo
Blue Spring Natural Pain Relief
Aveeno Lifting and Firming Cream (coupon with free sample) – new link

Eliminate the line item on your budget for magazine subscriptions this year! Free magazine subscriptions are readily available as the publisher hopes that you’ll enjoy the sample and end up purchasing a subscription. The below is a list of magazines that you can get for free without handing over a credit card and worrying that they’re going to bill you…

5 free issues of Cosmopolitan magazine
10 free issues of More magazine
7 free issues of Spa magazine
6 free digital issues of Marie Claire
1 free issue of Bridal Guide

If you order free issues for any of the above, it will pop up a link enabling you to order other magazines covering topics about surfing, yachting, boarding, motocross, the Caribbean, Florida, and more.

If you’re loyal to a particular magazine and can’t find it for free, check with your local library. You may find that although you can’t check out the most recent issue, you can borrow older copies.

Free Krispy Kreme with Coupon

Join Friends of Krispy Kreme and you’ll receive a coupon towards one free Original Glazed doughnut at participating stores.

Horizon Organic, Silk Soymilk and Other Coupons

If you're on the lookout for Horizon Organic coupons, Silk Soymilk coupons or Apple and Eve Organic Juice Coupons, be sure to get the Winter 2009 Publix Greenwise flyer from your local Publix store this month. The flyer contains these coupons along with several others. The $1 Silk Soymilk (exp. 1/31/09) and 50c Apple and Eve coupons (exp 3/31/09) are manufacturer's coupons so can be used in any store. The $1 Horizon coupon is a Publix coupon (exp. 1/31/09). Where can you get other coupons for organic products? Check the list on my previous post here to see which manufacturers frequently issue coupons. If you don't live near a Publix, it's still worth getting a free subscription of the magazine for the coupons. We usually buy Horizon milk and between Publix coupons and those on the Horizon website, we never pay full price!

Free Sheet Music and Lessons

Sheet music can be expensive. Why pay for sheet music when you can get it for free? Check out 8Notes where you can download sheet music from a variety of genres. You can get the sheets in a variety of file types (although you must subscribe for $20 a year for the pdf versions).

80% Restaurant.com Again!

Usual prices at Restaurant.com are $10 for a $25 gift certificate. Use code CELEBRATE through 12/31 and get 80% off that price. So you'll get your $25 certificate for only $2. If you purchase any certificates as a result of clicking on the Restaurant.com links on my blog, you'll not only save big on dining out, but you'll also be supporting my blog. My fave is the dinner of the month club: Three month club - Three $25 gift certificates ($75 value) for only$6; six month club – Seven $25 gift certificates ($175 value) for $12; twelve month club – Twelve $25 gift certificates and a $50 gift certificate ($350) for $24. Now that's eating out like an Affluent Pauper!

Sesame Street Happy Healthy Monsters Books for 99c

Teach your child healthy habits that will last a lifetime—from starting the day with a good breakfast to the importance of bedtime. The best part is these stories feature your child's favorite characters. You can get your book by mailing in 2 UPC's from Earth's Best Sesame Street Products, plus $.99 for shipping and handling and submitting the Earth’s Best redemption form. Click here for coupons on Earths Best Organic products.

Free Sure Antiperspirant/Deodorant after Rebate

Purchase any Sure Max Clinical Power or Sure with Natural Extracts anti-perspirant and deodorant that has the little yellow “try me free” sticker on it and fill out the Sure rebate form between now and 3/31/09 for a rebate up to $2.99. Week of 12/18/08 - if you live near a Kroger, you'll see that it's on sale for $1 and if you have the $1 coupon from the 10/19 Smartsource, you'll get it for free. So after postage, you'll make a few cents.

Sample Sunday

Here’s this week’s free samples. To check out other samples that may be available from previous weeks, visit my Sample Sunday page.

Happy Baby Food – Coupon for Free Box from Target expires Dec 21
Rice Works Snacks – Coupon for Free Bag
Lancaster Anti-Aging Crème
Cosamin DS Double Strength

Dark Knight DVD for $4.99 at Publix

I noticed this morning that "The Dark Knight" Batman DVD is for sale this week at Publix. The sale price is $12.99 and there is a $5 coupon in the current Publix Happy Holidays Savings flyer which would make it $7.99. But then Candace mentioned that she bought a pizza from Papa Johns this week and they are currently sticking a manufacturer’s coupon on all boxes for $3 off! So if you stack the coupons, you’ll get it for $4.99! Target is selling it for $17.99 this week. Nice detective work Candace!

$131.46 Worth of Groceries for $49.38!

Today, I took advantage of the great sales at Publix. Yes, I paid $49.38 and saved $82.08. There was a pizza in there too, but it was in the oven when I was taking the picture.

The kids are happy because we ran out of waffles last month and I refuse to pay more than 50c for a box of Eggos waffles (they usually retail for $2.39). In today’s paper, there were two 75c coupons, so after the buy one get one free sale and the coupon, they were 44c a box. After I realized that each double bundle of papers has $3 worth of Eggos coupons in it and that a bundle of two papers is $2.50, I went ahead and bought two more sets. I’ll consider all the other coupons in there a bonus.

What I have learned is that persistence and a change in attitude really pays off. Yes, we had to go on a waffles hiatus for a couple of weeks, but we managed. Then there was the toddler toothpaste. Last night, I noticed that the tube was almost empty. A few months ago, I would have simply gone out and purchased a new tube for around $3. But I couldn’t bring myself to pay full price. This morning, after cutting the tube in half, scraping out one half to brush the kids’ teeth and putting the other half in a plastic baggie so that the gel wouldn’t dry out, I looked in the paper. And there it was in all it’s glory – combining a coupon in the current Publix Fall Winter Savings flyer with a 55c coupon that was in the previous box – I was able to get two tubes for 95c each! I often hear people say that they tried the “coupon thing” but it didn’t work out. Simply clipping coupons is not enough. It really takes a shift in attitude to make it work.

So we’re again stockpiled on waffles, frozen and canned veges (the canned veges are great for throwing in a pie with leftover chicken for pot pie).

This week, we’re combing today’s purchases with previously stockpiled items and vegetables that are still sitting in the fridge from last week and we’re having chicken, beans and rice, pork chops with sweet potatoes and other vegetables, linguine with lemon clam sauce and fried rice.

If you haven’t already done so, I highly recommend signing up for the Grocery Game and you’ll see how simple it is to save this much!

Free Chicken Tacos at Del Taco

Thanks to Freebies4Mom for mentioning that Del Taco will send you a coupon for 2 free chicken soft tacos upon sign up plus a free premium shake on your birthday if you sign up for Del Taco's Raving Fan eClub.

Filippo Berio and Walmart Coupons

Filippo Berio Coupons - Matt, Michelle, vwestermeyer, Cynthia Dickens, Julie, Patricia, ZombieMommy (thanks for posting the $1 coupon for flour on your site - I wish I had that this morning when I was at Publix - I'm going to print it out and go back for more! You can't beat 99c flour!), Greenbean and Tina Jennifer - e-mail your addresses to me at affluentpauper@gmail.com and I'll send you the Filippo Berio Coupons. Glad we could put these to good use!

Walmart Coupons - Ellen - send me your address and your coupons are on their way.

Craft Project Instructions for Free at CraftBits

Thanks to Diana for letting me know about CraftBits. Want to get your family out from in front of the TV this winter? CraftBits is an easy to navigate site that has simple instructions on a multitude of crafts. Ever wanted to make soap, a bath bomb, gifts in a jar or engage your kids with some paper crafts? CraftBits has not only written instructions but also links to online craft videos. Sure, you could go to the library, but this is so much easier!

Questions from Readers…What is Coupon Stacking?

Q. I’ve been enjoying your blog for a few months now, but am trying to get to the bottom of this “coupon stacking” thing you talk about so often. I am assuming that means that you use multiple coupons for a single product? I’m just wondering how that works when most coupons say that they cannot be combined with any other offer/coupon. Do you just use them anyways and disregard the rules?

A. Most coupons do indeed contain the words “no other coupon may be used with this coupon.” So in order words, if you are about to purchase a box of Cheerios and you have two $1 manufacturer’s coupons, you may not use both coupons towards the purchase of one box of cereal. You may only use one manufacturer’s coupon. However, let’s say you’re at Publix and you also have a $1 Cheerios coupon that is issued by Publix (store coupons are often available in store ads, flyers, monthly magazines, by subscribing to their website etc. You can recognize that they are store coupons because they do not have a barcode and may only be used at that store). You may stack the $1 Publix coupon with the $1 manufacturer’s coupon in order to get $2 off one box of cereal. Combine that with a sale, and you’re sure to get a really inexpensive box of cereal!

Some store coupons state limits, but sometimes your local store manager may permit you to purchase in excess of the limit. This is common at Walgreens. Walgreens usually stipulates limits on their items, but many stores will allow you to exceed the limit with no questions asked. I contacted the corporate offices of Walgreens to get a copy of their coupon policy, only to be told that it is up to the discretion of each local store manager.

If in doubt, ask your store manager. Although most stores allow stacking, some do not. Some have limits, some do not. This may sound rather complicated up front, but once you establish the rules for each of your local stores, you’re well on your way to saving big on products you buy every day!

Filippo Berio Olive Oil Coupon Giveaway

The folks over at Felippo Berio sent me some coupons for their award-winning olive oils. Leave a comment on this post letting me know why you love olive oil. Eight randomly selected people will receive two $1 coupons and a handy dandy recipe booklet (yum… flank steak carapaccio style, double chocolate biscotti and more). I’ll select the recipients on Sunday.

Parent’s Choice Formula Coupons Up for Grabs

I have four $3 Parents Choice formula coupons to give away. This formula is available exclusively at Walmart. If you want the coupons, leave a comment letting me know why you prefer this formula and on Sunday I’ll randomly pick someone to send the coupons to. You can also order a free sample here.

Printable Coupons Available

The below is a list of coupons on the Affluent Pauper site at the moment (the Printable Coupons box is on the left hand side of the screen under the breadmaking video and Twitter box. If you see something you want, print it out and keep it in your coupon file. Just because it’s on my site today doesn’t mean it will still be there tomorrow! Unfortunately, my “see all coupons” button isn’t functioning properly - I’m working on it. But, you can still scroll through and easily print the following coupons:

My favorites - Domino Sugar (40c and 50c coupons – this is on sale at Walgreens this week!), Orville Redenbachers ($1 – this often goes on sale, so with a coupon you can get a box for mere pennies), Huggies ($2), Kelloggs Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes, Mini Wheats (remember the Kelloggs rebates). Others - Special K20, Formula 409, Opti Free, Gourmet Dining, General Mills Cereals (Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Chex, Trix) , ReNu, Pillsbury Products (Cookies, Savorings, Pie Crust, Grands and more), Litehouse Dressing, Lever 2000, Betty Crocker Cookie Mix, Sudafed, Natural Jones Dairy Farm, Wanchai Ferry, Bridgford Frozen Rolls/Monkeybread, Bonne Bell Products, Tabasco, LiceMD, CloSYS, Hylands Calms Forte, Neutrogena, Promise Supershots, Totinos Pizza Rolls, Bagelfuls, Breathe Again, Pedigree Dog Food, SheaFlex 70, Tilex, Success Rice, Kings Hawaiian Rolls, Bausch & Lomb Boston Simplus Solution, Progresso Broth and other Products. There are also some non-grocery coupons: Sears Portraits, Leapfrog, Kodak Picture Movie DVD (hold on to this because CVS often has sales on these!), Hasbro, Vistaprint, Kaytee Animal Products, Starwars Lightsaber, Free Dessert at Picadilly Restaurants with any purchase of $5.99 or more.

Also, remember to access the Bricks list, where they have direct links to almost 100 coupons on various sites online. My favorites are Pullups, Coffeemate, Seventh Generation Products, Barilla Piccolini, I Can’t Believe Its Not Butter!, Arm & Hammer Baking Soda.

Sample Sunday

I know, I know…I’m posting Sample Sunday on a Monday again. Sorry folks – a headache prevented me from posting last night.

Here’s what you can get for free this week…

Chiquita Bites Single with coupon
Arm and Hammer Toothpaste
True Lemon Crystallized Lemon Substitute
Goodnights
Solemate Foot Pads (first 5,000)

For samples that may still be available from previous weeks, visit my Sample Sunday page. Enjoy your freebies!

Free Dinner and a Movie from e.l.f. with any $20 Purchase

e.l.f. is an online makeup store with crazy low prices. If you clip coupons, you probably get a majority of your makeup for free by combining coupons and sales. But if you don’t do coupons and still want a great deal on makeup, check out e.l.f. It’s like a dollar store for makeup, but waay cooler. Most products are a dollar and they have really cute gift sets. To top it off, they have a deal from now until 1/1/09 – spend $20 or more and get a free $25 Restaurant.com gift card and a free Fandango movie ticket. So they're essentially paying you to buy their makeup! Use coupon code DINE.

Free Redbox Movie Rentals

Redbox is a red dvd-vending machine that charges $1 for an overnight rental (if you return it late, you pay $1 per day). You can find a Redbox at most Walmart locations.

Every Monday, Redbox issues a code that you input in to the machine for a free rental (today’s code is 23MJT7). This month, check out Centsible Sawyer for additional RedBox codes for the next four Sundays thru 1/14/09 and hints on how to get the most of your free Redbox codes.

So if you live near a Redbox location and are disciplined enough to return it by 9pm the following day, you may be able to eliminate or reduce the cost of your Netflix subscription! Ah! One less line item on your budget!

Up to 30% off with Macy’s Friends and Family Day

From Wednesday December 10 to Monday December 15, 2008, it’s Macy's Friends and Family Day! Get 20% off most purchases and an extra 10% off electrics, electronics, mattresses, furniture and area rugs. If you have a barcoded pass from a friend, you can take it to your local Macy’s store. If you don’t have a pass, you can simply use code MACYSFF online.

The smallprint - Excludes: cosmetics and fragrances, selected fine watches and Tempurpedic. Not valid on online Coach and toys purchases, Everyday Values, Macy’s Gift Cards and Gift Certificates, special orders, previous purchases, restaurants,or nonmerchandise-related services; on purchases from Gift Registry kiosks, maternity, fine jewelry trunk shows, fine jewelry bridal collections in ID, OR,UT and WA, eSpot, gift wrap or licensed departments; or as payment on credit accounts. Discount will be deducted from the current price (regular, sale or clearance, as applicable). Returns will be credited as purchase price less the discount, and you will forfeit the discount. Cannot be combined with other coupons/Savings Passes. Valid on transactions made Wednesday, December 10 through Monday, December 15, 2008.

Another great deal – right now enter code SAVETEN to get $10 off any $25 purchase on Dec 6 instore and online.

The Benefit of Starbucks Gold for Small Business Owners

OK, I’m almost hesitant to write about this. In my attempt to live large on little, I rarely go to Starbucks anymore, opting to make my own Starbucks treats at home. However, I can see how this could benefit entrepreneurs who work from home and rely on Starbucks for client meetings and to utilize Wi-Fi when they simply aren’t able to work at home. Yes, there are a lot of places that offer free Wi-Fi but Starbucks is pretty comfortable and is often a preferred place to network with other small business owners. So here’s the deal… For an annual membership of $25, you can purchase a Starbucks Gold Card which entitles you to:

- 10% off most purchases in participating U.S. Starbucks stores
- A free drink when you purchase your membership in-store
Then when you register, you get:
- Free Wi-Fi access for up to 2 hours each day in participating Starbucks stores
-A free beverage on your birthday
- Exclusive offers and discounts throughout the year

Starbucks is in the process of transitioning from being a TMobile Hotspot to AT&T. If you only have occasional use for Starbucks Wi-Fi, you could always simply purchase a $5 gift card, make a purchase, register your card and you’ll then be entitled to use their hotspot each day for up to two hours for 30 days from the purchase of the card. If you already have AT&T for your internet service, you’ll already have free access to Wi-Fi at Starbucks and other nationwide hotspots.

On another note, if you’re buying a beverage from 11/27/08 to 1/2/09, make it a Red Exclusive Beverage (Peppermint Twist Mocha, Espresso Truffle or Gingersnap Latte). For every Starbucks Red Exclusive beverage purchased, Starbucks will contribute five cents to the Global Fund to invest in AIDS programs in Africa.

Free Meal with Purchase of $20 Gift Card at Captain Ds

If you’re planning on eating at Captain D’s, you may want to consider purchasing a gift card and paying for your meal with the gift card. Put $20 or more on a Captain D’s gift card and you’ll receive a free fish and fries meal.

Remember to also sign up at the Captain D’s site – each new member gets a coupon good for a free Fish & Fries or a free Chicken & Fries. Remember also that kids eat free each Thursday at Captain D's. Get two free kids meals with any adult entree purchase at regular price, dine in only. Lastly, check out your Sunday paper because there are often Captain D's coupons in there.

Free Mint Chocolate Swirl Shake at Arbys

Register online with Arbys thru 12/28/08 and they’ll e-mail you a coupon for a free shake!

Free Makeup at Publix with Coupons

Another great shopping trip last night. I spent $33.19 and saved $72.14 with coupons!

When I’m standing in the grocery isle and realize that there’s a readily available freebie that anyone can take advantage of, I feel impelled to tell someone. So last night, I’m standing in the cosmetics isle and I turn to the lady next to me who was buying mouthwash and I exclaim, “hey, did you know you can get free makeup here today?”. I explained that the Happy Holiday Savings flyer at the front of the store has a $2.50 off any Covergirl cosmetics coupon in it and that the same $3.59 product is on sale for 40% off, bringing the total to $2.15, so there’s actually money to be made on the product (some Publix stores will adjust down the amount, most will simply take the entire $2.50 off if you have other items in your cart). She looked at me in amazement and told me that it was a great deal and kept looking for mouthwash. The next lady looked at me like I was crazy. At that point, I figured I’d better keep this amazing deal to myself in the store and simply come back and blog about it. It never ceases to amaze me how many people simply don’t believe that freebie deals like this exist - that they must be too good to be true.

Anyhow, I ended up with the following freebies: 4 blushes, 2 foundations and 4 packs of emery boards (yes, the same Publix flyer has a $2 off coupon on any Revlon beauty product and the emery boards are $1.69 and $1.89). In the newspaper, there were recently some Covergirl coupons which are stackable with the Publix coupons. So Publix essentially paid me around $4 to buy $32 worth of cosmetics! The cash I made went towards my groceries.

If you have a Publix near you, check out and see if they have an in-store special on Covergirl items. If they don’t, get a few copies of the Happy Holiday Savings flyer from the front of your local store and save them. The coupons are valid through Dec 26, so the product will probably go on sale again before the end of the month, so you too can get free makeup!

As for all the other groceries, all the items were on sale and I of course used coupons. The pizza was the “penny item” – so it was only 1c! I used Stouffers and Electrasol coupons from the paper. There were 55c coupons off Coffeemate right in front of the product on the shelf, several Arnold bread packages had a “buy two, get $1 off a gallon of milk” coupons (and the bread this week is buy one get one free). I’m also a member of the Publix Baby Club, so they sent me coupons for $1 off any dairy product, $1 off any meat item and $1 off any produce item. I almost got to use all my Vocalpoint tuna coupons on the Publix buy one get one free sale this week, but they ran out of tuna. So I got a rain check (which will give me more time to accumulate more tuna coupons to take full advantage of the deal). I love coupons!!!! If you also have been able to get free makeup at Publix this week, let me know…

Georgia Aquarium Hot Deal

Finally – a great deal for families at the Georgia Aquarium! We had family in town last week who wanted to check out the Titanic Exhibit at the Georgia Aquarium, but we decided not to go due to the cost. Then I stumbled on this info. at Centisible Sawyer… For only $20, you can purchase a Me & Mommy ticket that includes Georgia Aquarium admission for one adult, free admission for children age 5 and under (maximum four children per paid adult) and free parking ($10 value). This offer is valid Monday-Friday, Oct. 15 - Dec. 31, 2008, and can only be purchased online. Blackout dates are Nov. 28, Dec. 26 and Dec. 29-31. You also have to bring the little ones along to take advantage of this great offer! - This offer has been extended thru March 31, 09.

Save $5 on any $25 purchase at Walgreens Today

The $5 off $25 purchase coupon is valid for 12/1 and 12/2 only. Here's the coupon. You can use it online or in store.

Cyber Monday Deals

Cyber Monday is basically Black Friday online and on the Monday after Thanksgiving (today!). Some of the best deals can be found here.

The Centisible Sawyer posts some great tips on successful online shopping here.

Free Money From Coinstar

It’s time to rummage through the sofa cushions and cash in the coin jar! From now thru Dec 7, take your coins to a Coinstar location (in many supermarkets) and select the Prepaid Card or eCertificate option from the menu when you cash in $40 or more. At the bottom of your receipt, there will be a redemption form for you to mail in so you can get a $10 gift certificate to Amazon, Lowes, Starbucks, iTunes, JcPenney or Old Navy. They also have a Circuit City card, but I’d be wary of getting it until you’re sure that your local store isn’t closing down before the end of the year. The certificate will take 4-6 weeks to arrive.

Sample Sunday

Here’s this week’s list of free samples. To check out other samples that may be available from previous weeks, visit my Sample Sunday page.

Lipstock Chapstock (natural, free of artificial fragrance and preservatives)
Life Gear Glow Stick (great for an emergency kit)
Glad Force Flex Bags
Pantene Shampoo and Conditioner
Sabatino Tartufi Black Truffle Gourmet Olive Oil (100 ml)
Flexitol Heel Balm
Head and Shoulders Shampoo/Conditioner (7 types to choose from)

Three great places for free samples are Walmart, Vocalpoint and Proctor and Gamble. When samples become available, I post them each week.

Walmart
If you visit the free samples section, you’ll see samples that are currently available that I’ve blogged about previously. There’s no sign up at Wal-Mart – you simply give them your name and address and they ship you the product.

Vocalpoint
If you haven’t had an opportunity to sign up at Vocalpoint, I highly recommend that you do so. This week, you can get a free Crest spa hair band from Vocalpoint. There are a lot of sites out there claiming to give away free samples when you sign up, but many of the sites simply bombard you with ads or even worse, want you to go through a lengthy “qualifying process” where they make you purchase products. I know I certainly don’t want to sign up to Netflix, Blockbuster and apply for a credit card to get a free Chapstick! Vocalpoint is a legitimate site that often sends its members freebies. I signed up a while ago and don’t go to the Vocalpoint site very often, but I’ve received several samples and very valuable coupons in the mail (they often send coupons in sets of 5), including free Kashi with coupons, coupons for tuna, a free razor and more.


Proctor & Gamble
Another great free sample site is run by Proctor and Gamble. Free samples direct from the manufacturer! This week, you can get more Pantene and a sample of Tide.

Remember, when signing up for free samples, you will be required to send in an e-mail address. I recommend you set up a special e-mail address especially for this purpose to avoid filling your everyday inbox with mail from product suppliers. Happy sampling!

Free Coffee and More at McDonalds

Free Coffee at McDonalds Dec 1-31 – Atlanta, GA
Participating McDonalds in the greater Atlanta area will give away one small coffee to customers between 5 - 8 a.m. at all participating stores in Metro Atlanta between Dec 1-31, 2008.

McDonalds Buy One Get One Free Coupons – Charleston, SC.
If you’re in the Charleston area, check out the coupons available at the McDonalds Charleston website. You can get a buy one get one free on a Big Mac, Free Sausage Egg Biscuit Sandwich and a Hot Fudge Sunday through Dec 31, 2008.

Free McDonalds with Post It Rebate

Out of post it notes? If you purchase any 2 Post It products, you’ll get $5 worth of McDonalds gift certificates as a rebate. Go here for the rebate form. Yep, I'm loving it!

If you’re an office manager buying on a larger scale, check out 3M’s other rebate offerings: Buy $50 worth of qualifying products, get $10 worth of McDonalds gift certificates or a $10 Macys Gift Certificate, get a free $5 Subway card with Scotch Tape Value Packs or free Haagen Dazs with Scotch Packaging Tape Packs.

Free 2009 Calendars

I’ve never really been in to free promotional calendars until I was doing some extensive work the other day involving dates and couldn’t put my hand on a 2009 calendar. I looked over at my stack of free samples and wished that there was a calendar in there. If you think you could do with an extra calendar or two, here are some free ones…

Oriental Trading Company
Betty Crocker
Xerox
Wildlife Gifts

Affluent Pauper mentioned at Fox Business, Marketwatch and Sharebuilder

I’d like to thank Marty Orgel for mentioning Affluent Pauper in his article entitled “Wealth of Free Items Online Helps You Free Up Cash for the Holidays.” Check out Marty’s article at Fox Business, Marketwatch and Sharebuilder. You’ll find ways to save on a slew of items from free entertainment, books, guides, clothing, video games, art and more.

Some of the free items that Marty mentions in his article that I particularly enjoyed:

Free TV
If you’re wondering if you can part with your cable or satellite service, check out Blinkx currently in beta) and Hulu. You might find that your favorite mainstream TV shows are available online. Also, check out your favorite networks’ websites as they might have downloadable versions of the shows you frequently follow.

Free Music
SpiralFrog offers more than one million songs and 4,000 music videos for free.

Free 411
Call Google's 1-800-GOOG-411. How cool is that?

Free Courses
You can download free course materials, lecture notes, exams and videos from MIT through its OpenCourseWare program. There are hundreds of courses you can download.

Free Books
You can download miscellaneous books at free-eBooks.net.

Trade & Swap
Marty mentions Craigslist and FreeCycle. Read my July 20, 2008 article “Why Buy New When you can Trade?” for more info. on the benefits of trading and swapping.

If you’re new to Affluent Pauper, welcome! Check out the navigation bar at the top of my home page to find frequently updated information on freebies, samples, coupons, hot deals, frugal tips, online printable coupons and more. If you want to stay up to date on all the hottest deals and freebies, click on the orange button on the top left hand side of the screen, enter your e-mail address and you’ll receive blog updates so you’ll always be up to date! In these hard economic times, it’s wise to live large on less. Every bit helps!

Free Starbucks - New York

According to Food and Wine Magazine, on Friday, November 28, at 10 a.m. at Military Island, the intersection of Broadway and 7th Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets in Manhattan, Mario Batali and Starbucks will take over Times Square, making and passing out (RED) coffee for everyone who shows up. If you decide to make a holiday drink purchase, for each beverage sold, Starbucks will make a five cent donation to (RED) in the fight against aids.

Black Friday Shopping Deals

I get my newspaper subscription delivered to my home on Sundays. Today, they dropped off a couple of complimentary Thanksgiving editions chock full of store coupons. So if you’re planning on taking advantage of Black Friday shopping deals, the paper is a must! Also, remember that online deals will typically start on Black Monday – Monday Dec 1.

Here are my faves:

Ashley Furniture – 20% off any single item or room group purchase11/28 7-10am.

Bed Bath and Beyond - 20% off entire purchase 11/28 6-10am

Belk – 15% off regular and sale priced purchase, 10% off home and shoes 11/28 5am-1pm. $10 off purchase of $50 or more 11/28 1-10pm. Free gift card for first 250 customers at each store (valued between $5 and $5,000). Store opens 5am.Estee Lauder, Lancome beauty boxes at $49.50 (items worth over $300) with any fragrance purchase

CVS – Free after ECB (you pay up front, but get full value coupons cash back after you pay and the coupons can be used like cash in store for the next 30 days – many of these are money makers if you have coupons for the products. Free after ECBS for 11/27-11/29 include: Colgate Total 4 oz toothpaste, Magnavox Universal Remote or Phillips Headphones, Aussie Shampoo, Aussie Conditioner, Aussie Styler, Johnson’s Soft lotion, Gatorade, Hershey’s chocolates, Bic Soleil Razor, Garnier Nutritioniste Towlettes, Maybelline Mineral Powder Liquid Foundation, 5-hour Energy Extra Strength 2pk, L’Oreal Colour Juice Sheer Lip Gloss, Sally Hansen Nail Color, Covergirl Smoothers Liquid Makeup, Covergirl Smoothers Pressed Powder.

Home Depot – Free Ryobi One + Tool (up to $70 value) with purchase of any combo kit through 12/31 (combo kits start at $59.97)

JcPenney – 10% off sale prices 11/28 4am-1pm. Free Disney snow globe (no purchase necessary!) while quantities last, includes $10 coupon redeemable 11/29. Receive a $10 savings coupon with any store purchase 11/28 redeemable on a $50 purchase on 11/29. $10 off any single purchase of $50 ore more or $15 off any purchase of $75 or more 11/28 3pm-11pm. $38.88 5-pc luggage set $38.88 (reg. $150) and other 11/28 4am-1pm door busters on children’s entertainment items, clothing, jewelry.

JoAnn – 50% off any one regular priced item and 20% off your entire purchase (includes regular and sale priced items) 11/28 6am-noon.

Kohl’s - $10 Kohl’s coupon for every $50 spent in store now thru 11/29 (coupon redeemable in store 11/30-12/6). 300 early bird specials 11/28 4am-1pm including 50% off all toys and 50-60% off a lot of clothing. Free 6 in 1 game cube with any $35 beauty purchase.

Lowes – Rival 3.5qt slow cooker $9.99, buy one get one free 12 gallon storage totes, $59.97 24 volt 4-pc cordless combo kit (was $159), $34.99 4” ladder (was $69) 11/28 6am while supplies last.

Macys - 15% off storewide sale and clearance merchandise, 20% off fine jewelry, 10% off home, certain clothing items 11/28-11/30 all day. They have 200 morning specials from 5am-1pm 11/28. Huge discounts on kitchen items

Macys - $10 off $25 regular, sale or clearance-priced merchandise 11/28 and 11/29 until 1pm

Michaels – 20% off entire purchase 11/27 6pm-9pm. 25% off entire purchase 11/29 6am-noon, 50% off any one regular priced item 11/28 noon-10pm.

Office Depot – Shop 11/28 or 11/29 and get a coupon for $15 off your next purchase of $50 or more valid 11/30-12/6

Old Navy - Free Samsung Pebble MP3 player on 11/28 with any purchase of $20 or more to first 50-200 people in line outside store depending on location (they'll hand out coupons outside store). 50% sale on many items 11/28.

Room Rack Shoes - $10 off purchase of $60 or more 11/28

Rooms to Go - buy one get one free $100 gift cards 11/28 8am-noon

Sams Club - Complimentary breakfast 11/28 (opens at 5am).

Sears - $10 off any apparel, accessories, footwear and home fashions purchase of $50 or more. 450 door busters 11/28 5am-noon.

Toys R Us – 100 door busters on kids toys 11/28 5am-1pm – many 50% off deals. $50 Toys R Us gift card when you buy black 16GB iPod nano for $199.

Ulta - $3.50 off any $10 purchase 11/28-11/30. Free luxury robe deal still available.

Walmart – Amazing deals on kids clothing - $4 toddler jeans, tracksuits, graphic hoodies, $8 winter jackets for the entire family.

Check out a great guest post at Freebies4Mom on shopping safety from Ginger at Attention Target Shoppers.

Sample Sunday

Here's this week's list of free stuff...

Herbal Clear Outdoor Whole Body Deodorant (you need to complete a quick registration on their site and go back to the link to get the sample)
Kotex Thin Liners (wait for the flash ad to finish and you can then request the free sample)
Gas X Thin Strips Sample and Coupon
Metamucil Berry Burst
Being Girl Sample Kit (feminine items)
Coupon for Nutro Products 4Ib bag of cat food or 5Ib bag of dog food (go4nc is the code)

For other samples that may still be available, visit my Sample Sunday page.

How to Make Starbucks Treats at Home

I love the pumpkin loaf, gingerbread loaf and lemon pound cake at Starbucks. It used to be virtually impossible for me to step in to Starbucks for a tall drink and not walk away with a delicious slice of something. And I figured…. Hey, I deserve it. But at around $1.95 a slice, my bank account also deserves a break. I had to find an alternate way to satisfy my sweet tooth. Then one day I wondered in passing if I could make all this yummy deliciousness myself. With a couple of keystrokes, I discovered that Recipe Zaar has an entire section of Starbucks recipes that are extraordinarily close to the real thing. Now on cold winter days, my kitchen can smell like Starbucks!

Here are my faves if you want to try them at home. These make great gifts too. You can buy loaf baggies with ribbon at your local JoAnn store this time of year (be sure to use your 40% off coupon from the newspaper insert!)

Starbucks Gingerbread
Starbucks Pumpkin Scones
Starbucks Lemon Loaf
Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins (I actually skip the cream cheese part and divide this in to two loaf pans to make pumpkin bread and then add a cream cheese frosting. You can also substitute half of the vegetable oil for applesauce.)

Free E-Book by Melanie Lynne Hauser

You can go here to get a free copy of Melanie Lynne Hauser’s book – Jumble Pie. According the author, it’s the story of the elusive nature of friendship, sometimes clinging, other times liberating; a story for any woman who has ever lied to her best friend just to make her feel better - and who has been brave enough to tell the truth, even when it hurts. And of course, it's a story about the remarkable healing power of pie.

Free Dr Pepper – Nov 23 Only

Go to the Dr Pepper website to get a coupon for a free 20oz bottle of Dr Pepper. Only valid today, November 23.

Last Day for Restaurant.com 80% Off Sale

Just received word - this is extended thru 11/24. I'm loving Restaurant.com right now. I went out to lunch at Doc Greens the other day with friends - three adults, two kids. The adults got soup/sandwich combos with large drinks and the kids got kids meals. We used a $25 gift certificate that I had purchased at Restaurant.com for only $2. Our bill came to approx. $32. Since the terms state that we need to spend $35 to use our $25 certificate, we ordered some cookies. Our bill came to a little over $35. We didn't need to pay a tip as there was no table service. After the certificate was subtracted, I ended up paying $10.23 at the register for all of our food! Now that's eating like an Affluent Pauper! It made me feel bad for all the families behind me who paid full price!

Usual prices at Restaurant.com are $10 for a $25 gift certificate. Use code SURPRISE through end of day today, Nov 20 and get 80% off that price. So you'll get your $25 certificate for only $2.

If you purchase any certificates as a result of clicking on the Restaurant.com links on my blog, you'll not only save big on dining out, but you'll also be supporting my blog.

My fave is the dinner of the month club:
3 month club - Three $25 gift certificates ($75 value) for $6
6 month club – Seven $25 gift certificates ($175 value) for $12
12 month club – Twelve $25 gift certificates and a $50 gift certificate ($350) for $24.

Ann Taylor Friends and Family Day Coupon

Get 30% off all Ann Taylor purchases Nov 20-23. Thanks to Jessica Shops for mentioning this. You can get your 30% off coupon here. Ann Taylor is currently running a 60% off sale.

JC Penney Coupons

Click here for coupon that entitles you to $15 off a $75 purchase or $10 off a $50 purchase from now until Nov 22nd. They’re having a huge sale from 7-1 on Sat Nov 22nd so Saturday is probably the best day to use the coupons. The coupons can be used online or in stores. If you shop online, use code SAVEHUGE to get free shipping on any purchases of $49 or more through Nov 24. Online is currently running a 40-60% off sale.

Regional Freebies

Free Cumberland Farms Coffee – Fridays - Northeast
Cumberland Farms customers can pour a cup of Farmhouse Blend for free every Friday through Dec 5. Additionally, all hot beverages, of any size, will be just 99 cents, every day of the week. Cumberland Farms has almost 500 convenience store and gas station locations in the Northeast.
Thanks to Money Saving Mom for mentioning this!

Free Coldstone Ice Cream Nov 20 - Michigan
Today, you can get free samples of Coldstone’s holiday ice creams, ice cream cakes and pies at all Michigan locations from 4-8pm.

Everything’s Free at Progress Coffee Nov 20 – Austin, TX
Progress Coffee isn't charging for anything on their menu today. You are however encouraged to make donations and 100% of donations will benefit the Bread for the World and/or Capital Area Food Bank. This is what Progress has to say about this: “Any amount (or no amount) is fine, whatever you’re comfortable with a penny, a buck, a hundred bucks- cash, credit, check or change Progress will take it and donate it all. And if you can’t or just don’t want to contribute, no worries—it’s certainly not a requirement (and nobody will look at you funny). At the end of the day, we’ll donate all the proceeds—100%—to these two charities so your loose change can unleash change.” I’m sure there will be lines around the block for this! Thanks to This is Life in Austin for mentioning this.

Free Items with Purchase at Ulta

Ulta Beauty is offering a free luxury robe worth $60 with any mens or womens fragrance purchase of $30 or more. You can choose from 3 styles. One per customer while supplies last.

They’re also offering a free Redken Shades EQ hair color or gloss service ($50 value) with the purchase of any salon service of $30 or more and to top it off, you’ll get a bag with $15 worth of Redken samples in it!

Sample Sunday

Here's this week's list of free samples...

Reach Access Flosser
Rocky Water Crystals
Del Monte No Salt Added Diced Tomatoes (first 50,000 – the site will tell you if you’re one of the first 50,000 – if you’re not, they’ll give you a 50c coupon)
Aquafresh Extreme Clean (it’s a coupon for $1.29 off a trial size or $1 off a regular size)
Benefiber

Free Underwear at JcPenney

Bring the December 2008/January 2009 cover of Seventeen magazine or a printout of the Seventeen homepage to any JCPenney store to receive one free Flirtitude panty. For each one given away, JCPenney will also donate $1 to the JCPenney Afterschool Fund (up to $25,000). This starts Tuesday, November 18, 2008, and goes through January 6, 2009. One per person. No purchase necessary. While supplies last.

Free Starbucks Gift Card

This is an interesting one. You fill out a short survey at Clayton Kendall’s website (they sell promotional materials that you can imprint with your company’s logo) in exchange for a $5 Starbucks gift card. It almost seems too good to be true, but since the survey is so short, I figured I’d do it and see what happens. It does require your phone number though, so I’m going to assume that a sales rep is going to call.

Free Kids Stuff

There’s nothing like having a box of free stuff on hand to keep small children entertained. Here’s some free kids stuff that’s easy to order…

Scholastic Book
Geotrax DVD
Planet Hereos Ace in Space DVD
Lysol Activity Book (for older kids – they might learn something about hygiene, for younger kids, hey – it’s a coloring book that might keep them entertained for a few minutes! You can order up to 30 copies if you’re a teacher).

Publix Sampling Event Nov 18th 4-7pm

If you love snacking while shopping, here's another sampling event - Publix is hosting a sampling event on Tuesday, November 18 from 4:00-7:00pm. They'll have free party food samples, prizes and more.

Sam’s Club Gift Cards & Sampling Event

Sam’s club is a great place to go to stock up on eggs, cheese and cold cuts. Annual membership is $35 for businesses (you can provide proof by means of either a business license, business card or flyer) or $40 for regular customers. Through Nov 26, if you sign up to become a member, they will give you a $10 Sam’s Club gift card which can be used in any store after Thanksgiving. If you to shop at Sam’s without a membership, you simply pay a 10% surplus.

We all know that Sams Club gives out some pretty awesome samples. They’re upping the ante for a 3-day “Holiday Taste of Sam’s Club” event on Nov 21-23 from 10:30am – 6:00pm.

So hang your apron up and strap on your feed bag! Here’s what’s on the menu…

Nov 21
Planters Deluxe Mixed Nuts, Hersheys All Natural Extra Dark Chocolate
Pecan Pie, Madagascan Vanilla Ice Cream, Lawlers Cheesecake Minatures (New York, Turtle, White Chocolate Raspberry), Jonathan T. Spanakopita, Tyson Honey BBQ Wings.

Nov 22
Old Fashioned Egg Nog, Hidden Valley Ranch, True North Almonds, Apple Lattice Pie, The Cheesecake Factory Pumpkin Cheesecake, Two-Layer Decadent Chocolate Cake, Sauces N Love Tuscan Vodka Pasta Sauce, Lobster Ravioli, Cranberry Apricot Pork Loin, Bacon Encrusted Pork Loin, Bacon Wrapped Beef Fillets, Mini Beef Wellington, Casa di Bertacchi Italian Style Meatballs, Deli Spirals, Gourmet Appetizers (crabcakes, mushroom turnovers, spinach and cheese stars, cheese soufflés), Bacon-wrapped Scallops, Tyson Buffalo Hot Wings, Trio of Belgian Chocolate Profiteroles.

Nov 23
Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Land O Lakes Whipped Cream, New York Style Bagel Chips, True North Pecan Almond Peanut Clusters, Planters Fancy Cashews, Marques de Paiva Organic Medium Roast Coffee, Pumpkin Pie, Cheesecake Factory Trio Selection Cheesecake (Dulce De Leche, Godiva and White Chocolate Raspberry, Jon Donaire Five-Layer Cheesecake, Lobster Bisque, Spinach and Asiago Chicken Sausages, Tyson Tequila Lime Flavored Wings, Smoked Salmon, Chicken Quesadilla Trumpets, Colossal Cooked Shrimp, Nancy’s Petite Quiche, Minh Mini Chicken Egg Rolls.

Great Coupons at Publix

A great place to get coupons this month is at Publix. Many coupons in the Publix flyers (found near the front door of the store) are manufacturer’s coupons that are accepted at any store. Others are Publix coupons, but keep in mind that many competitors accept Publix coupons.

My faves?

November Publix Greenwise has (among other coupons) $1 off Silk Soymilk, $1 off Eat Smart All-Natural Veggie Crisps, $1 off Blue Diamon Almond milk, $1 off Horizon Organic Milk.

Publix Winter Family Savings (among other coupons) $1 and $1.50 coupons for Green and Blacks Organic Chocolalte (Green and Blacks uses cocoa beans grown next to fruit orchards and you can actually taste the fruit in their chocolate, it’s soooo good!), $1 off any Seventh Generation Product, $1 off Scotch Brite Sponges, $1 off Orajel Toddler Toothpaste. Many expire 12/31.

If you want to get these and other Publix publications at home, go to the Publix website. Although I recommend also stopping by so you can pick up multiple copies if there's a coupon for a product you use alot of.

$5 off $20 at Walgreens on Nov 14 and 15

This Thursday and Friday, get $5 off $20 at Walgreens a coupon. Just click on the blue coupon bar to the right of this post to view all the coupons on my blog. The Walgreens $5 off $20 coupon is all the way at the bottom of the list.

Free Appetizer or Dessert at TGI Fridays

I just got a coupon for a free appetizer or dessert at TGI Fridays. Want one? Go to the TGI Fridays site and sign up to Give Me More Stripes. They’ll e-mail you a coupon for a free appetizer (no other purchase is necessary, and it expires one month after it’s issued). TGI Fridays will also mail you a card that gives you a one-time chance to cut the line. On a weekend, this could sure come in handy! The card also entitles you to $8 of free food for every $100 that you spend.