Target $10 gift card with $50 purchase, Nov. 30-Dec. 3

Head over to Target's Facebook page to find a link to print a coupon for a $10 gift card with a $50 purchase. Or here is a direct link to the coupon. It's good from Nov. 30, 2011, to Dec. 3, 2011.

$20 off McWane Science Center membership

Valid through 11/19/11. Use this coupon at the McWane Science Center to get $20 off membership. If you already have a membership, they can add a year to your membership from the time it would expire.

Happy scientific explorations!

$20 off Rock n Roll race registrations on 11-11-11

I've been MIA because of this very thing, racing! It is quite addictive, but it can get on the pricey side with all of the race entry fees and $60 compression socks (which of course you can buy on Amazon for much less, but they don't help when they arrive the day after you needed them for the race).

I raced two Rock n Rolls this year, Nashville and Savannah, and they were both huge, well stocked, well organized, and insanely fun. Better support and crowds for the half marathon portions, but still fun no matter which way you go.

They are unfortunately more expensive than some smaller races, but with this $20 off, it levels that paying field (get it!).

The details: register here on 11-11-11 between 11am and 11pm to get your discount.

There is no time like the present to set a goal and work a training plan. Seriously, it's the most motivating and empowering thing I have done in a long time. And if you do this and are looking for a simple training plan, I recommend Hal Higdon, who has lots of free training plans to fit your training level.

Do it!

Free Pinkberry and stagecoach rides in Birmingham, AL

If you live in Birmingham, this post is for you. These are special insider tips from the people who know (which is not me, by the way). Seriously, you are going to want to know this!

First, Thursday, October 20th, is Relax By the Tracks at Railroad Park at 5 p.m. There will be music, family-friendly atmosphere, lots of space for kids to play and ride bikes, Rocky 3 at 8 p.m., and free Pinkberry frozen yogurt! Spread the word to your friends. Every time I go to these events, I am so happy I went. The kids have an amazing time and are ready to hit the sack right when we get home. Sweet relief. And did I mention free frozen yogurt from Pinkberry because that junk is delicious.

Source

Second, Saturday, October 15th, at the Birmingham Zoo, Wells Fargo will provide free stagecoach rides from noon to 3 p.m. This is in conjunction with a healthy donation they are making to the zoo. Go, zoo! And banks too.

I'm pretty sure this is an accurate representation of the rides on Saturday.

To Netflix or Not to Netflix

What are your thoughts on the new rate increases for Netflix? We had the one-DVD-at-a-time plan with unlimited streaming, which works awesome for us. Some months we barely order DVDs through the mail because I misplace a DVD or an envelope. Sometimes, I just order something because it got decent ratings, but it feels like torture putting it in the DVD player to actually watch it. Those types sit on the nightstand for weeks. But the kids use the heck out of the instant streaming, and I like to stream things during laundry folding. So the rate hike adds six bucks a month to keep my same plan, or I can do either streaming or ordering individually for $8/month. Currently, we pay $10/month for both.

My question is, can I take advantage of redbox free codes (go here to sign up for free codes) enough to cancel the DVD portion of my Netflix? I did an experimental Blockbuster free code, and they charged me extra for turning it in one minute late. I was ticked and re-vowed to hate Blockbuster forever, for the fifth time. Seriously, they are sneaky about their return policy. It isn't posted clearly on machines, and when they had their stores, the return policy was constantly changing in an effort to trick me. At least that's what the president of Blockbuster said. Not really, but that would have been rude, right?

So is it worth saving the six dollars and trying to time my movie watching with redbox free codes. Is it actually possible to watch a movie in a 24-hour period? Will I end up wasting more mine in time and gas? What if I want to watch Breakin', which is definitely not at redbox? What will my nightstand look like without a Netflix movie envelope cluttering it up?

Are you a Netflix-er? What are you doing with your subscription?

Free Waffle House Waffle

Print this here coupon to use at your local Waffle House (expires Sept 30, 2011). And if you live in the south and don't like the nearest Waffle House, just drive across the street to the other one.

Half off Cheesecake Factory cheesecake slices, July 30th

On July 30th, The Cheesecake Factory is offering half off cheesecake slices. If you're going to splurge on dessert, make it a good one. These are worth the splurging. And at half off, it is closer to the price of a dessert than a meal. We went there last week for Amory's birthday and decided to buy a whole cake because it was a better deal than the slices, but if slices had been half off, it would have saved us a lot of regret later in the week. Actually, I only regretted that we didn't get the largest cake size.

Eating healthy on the cheap

Lately, I've talked to a lot of people about couponing without buying junky processed foods. It's hard because a lot of the foods advertised in the Sunday coupon section are junky and will make you and your family feel gross. I love coupons as much as the next person but not quite as much as the people on Extreme Couponing. Admission: I've never watched this show because I know I will be annoyed that they are saving more money than me. So here are a few ways that I try to eat healthy (not California healthy, just regular healthy) and save money.

• Stock up on coupons for healthier products. Example: I like to buy Kashi cereals, so I signed up for their mailing list and such online. Also, any time I have requested a free sample from them, I get a bunch of coupons with it. Save these to combine with a sale at Publix, and bam, you've got cheapish, healthyish cereal. 
• This week, I had a $5 off $30 Winn-Dixie coupon and a $5 off $30 Publix coupon. My store accepts both and will let me use both in one transaction. So you can buy whatever the heck you want and still save $10. 
• Stock up on in-season produce. Some things I buy no matter what the season (bananas, lettuce, spinach), but when produce is on sale (because it is in season), I buy more of that item that week. It's a good way to rotate and add variety to our diet too! Also, hit up the farmer's market for produce. It adds an extra trip, but it's fun and educational for the little people too. 
• BOGOs are our friend. So ever since my trip to California I've been trying to eat raw foods for breakfast and lunch. Because I love greasy unhealthiness, it has been a hard transition to make, but there are some things that make eating veggies easier for me. Hummus is one of those things. This week hummus was BOGO at Publix, so I bought ten of them. Even better would be to make my own, but I can only do one super hard thing at a time. Right now that is eating vegetables. 
• Pick your own fruit. I haven't found any places I love in Alabama yet, but in Florida we explored a lot of pick-your-own farms. Again, educational and fun for the kids and cheaper for you. Here is a site I use for finding places to pick.

What do you do to save money and eat still eat healthy foods? I am seriously asking for help with this one!

Free Captain D's Sandwich

Just go to their Facebook page and click Like. Follow the links to the coupon and print that bad boy. Fine print reads that you have to buy a drink and a side, and you can print out as many as you want. But the fun ends on July 8th, so really I wouldn't print out too many, depending on your tolerance for deep friend fish sandwiches.

Free donut day at Krispy Kreme, June 3

Stop by and grab a free donut at Krispy Kreme to celebrate National Donut Day on June 3rd.

Rock n Roll Race Sale, June 1st ONLY!

Source

To commemorate National Running day, the Rock 'n' Roll running series is offering discounts on their races.

• Full Marathon: $26 off
• Half Marathon: $13 off
• 10K: $10 off
• 5K: $5 off

Go here for more details.

I'm running Savannah on November 5th (luckily I haven't signed up yet, but I will now). If you sign up for the full marathon, it will actually be cheaper than the half with this discount ($95/full and $85/half). Yet another reason to prove to yourself just how cruel to your body you can be by signing up for the full marathon.

Read to earn tickets to Alabama Adventure

If you live in the Birmingham area, check out the Vestavia Library in the Forest's summer reading program. We went today and picked up bags (with lots of coupons for freebies in town) and got the low-down on the reading program. For every 50 pages you read, you get a ticket. You can combine tickets to earn prizes that are worth between 2 and 15 tickets. The best part of the program is that if you read 300 pages, you get a ticket to Alabama Adventure in Bessemer. So fun! I couldn't find any info for this reading program on their site, but they may be updating at some point. And the part about the park tickets wasn't listed on the materials we got, so I don't know if they have a limited supply or what. Question mark. If you go and get any more/new/different info, let me know, but for now, my kids are super stoked about going to the closest thing to Disney World in Alabama.

Our cheap summer plans

Since many small people in my house have been vomiting a ridiculously large amount, I decided to think about the joys of summer and make a list of what free/cheapish things we can do in our community this summer.

1.  The gardens: Aldridge Gardens and Botanical Gardens are both free and make for nice walks, exploration and picnic lunches.

2. Running: This is for me, as I don't really expect my kids to start training for a marathon (until next year). Moss Rock Preserve and Boulder Fields, Oak Mountain Park, Greenway Trail, and Veterans' Park.

3. Animals: The Alabama Wildlife Center and Birmingham Zoo (which isn't free, but since we purchased a pass, we will be getting our money's worth).

4. The great outdoors: Ruffner Mountain nature sanctuary, Rickwood Caverns and Meyer Planetarium.

5. History: Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Southern Museum of Flight, Sloss Furnaces and 9/11 Memorial Walk.

6. Fire: Watch July 4th fireworks from my brother's house/awesome view of fireworks.

7. Food: Birmingham Farmers' Market and The Peanut Depot.

8. Art: Birmingham Museum of Art.

9. Water: Free splash pad in Gardendale and The Bama Belle (sunset boat rides, which is what Enoch really wants for his birthday).

10. Parks: Kelly Ingram Park, Homewood Park, Railroad Park, Wald Park, Wildflower Park and Veterans' Park.

11. Movies: Free movies at the Rave on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings and free movies at Homewood Park on Friday evenings.

12. Reading: Hoover Library summer reading program and Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program.

What's something cool and cheap are you doing this summer?

Free 8x10 Walgreens Photo Collage

Just picture a tiny baby at the other end of this freaky Winona stare.

Available until tomorrow, May 7th. Give your mom something at which to do the mom stare. You know what I'm talking about. You're riding along in the car, and suddenly you feel her eyes glued to you. It's the mom stare, and shouldn't she be driving? I already do it to my own kids too. Maybe my kids will get this for me. So type in FREECOLLAGE at Walgreens online photo center.

$.31 scoop night at Baskin Robbins, Wednesday, April 27

Nothing is sadder than standing in line for an hour to get a lonely free scoop of ice cream. The free part is good, and it's great for kids. But sometimes I feel like I deserve a couple ounces more. I had to wrestle four kids in line for that whole hour, major calorie burner. That's why I love $.31 scoop night at Baskin Robbins. I can get three scoops and one each for the kids. And $.31 is still a super bargain for a family outing. It's Wednesday, April 27th, from 5 to 10 p.m.

Homemade buttermilk

Do you come across recipes that call for buttermilk, but after using the required cup for the recipe, you let the rest of the container go to waste? Unless you like drinking buttermilk (I mean, who doesn't, but just in case), try this easy homemade solution that is perfect for recipes that call for buttermilk. And you will save money, guaranteed!

In a measuring cup add:

1 cup whole milk

1 TB vinegar

Let sit until curdled. I usually start this at the beginning of making a recipe, and by the time I need to add it, it's perfectly curdled ("perfect" and "curdled" are not generally companions).

If you don't have whole milk, use the fattiest kind you have around. If you don't have vinegar try substituting an equal amount of lemon. And if you don't have either of those and you are still determined not to purchase buttermilk at the store, substitute 1 1/2 TB cream of tartar.

And in case you are dying to use this right away, here is my favorite recipe in which I use buttermilk. It's a cilantro dressing that we eat with pork salad or just use for dipping chips.

1 avocado

3 tomatillos

3 TB lime juice

1/2 cup mayo

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup buttermilk

2 cloves garlic

3/4 cup cilantro

3/4 tsp salt

1 TB green chillies (optional)

Combine in a blender or food processor and enjoy, the savings and the dressing.

Pampers Gifts to Grow Points

Here are some points that I used today to royally up my total:

welcome2pampers (50pts)

JOINNOW4REWARDS (50pts)

GIFTSTOGROW4MOM (50pts)

2BEGINEARNING50 (50pts)

CAREFORNEWBORNS (10pts)

GTGCOUPONPOINTS (10pts)

10ptsfreecode4u (10pts)

Pampersgtg10pts (10pts)

newwipespackage (10pts)

CONGRATS2NEWMOM (10pts)

PAMPERS4MOMSOND (10pts)

GTGWELCOME10PTS (10pts)

PAMPERS4MOMJFM1 (10pts)

welcome2village (10pts)

SEP3PGW7NRKYWXK (10pts)

GETSTARTEDNOW10 (10pts)

Publix promise, price guarantee

Doesn't the lady in this picture seem to be standing

a little too close to that employee? Awkward!

If you shop at Publix, take advantage of their price guarantee. If their price at checkout is above what was listed at the shelf, you get one of that item for free.

Tonight, I got free Fresh Express baby spinach, five pounds of gold potatoes and a bag of Stacy's multigrain pita chips.

If numbers stick in your head, these will be easy for you to spot as they ring them up. Someone has to go check the shelf tag, so I find that it is easier to wait and go to customer service so that you are not holding up the line. Also, they are a little more used to dealing with it and don't act like you are a crazy person for asking about three items in one transaction.

Saving $15 was worth the three extra minutes it took me at the store tonight.

Free Cheese Fondue at Melting Pot

I never thought anything free would come from Melting Pot. This is not a deal-seeking family restaurant. But April 11-14, 2011, you can get free cheese fondue! What do you do? Follow this link to instructions. You will then follow the four-step instructions, which include calling the restaurant to make a reservation. We called yesterday and made the reservation very easily. It just happens to be the perfect dates for my birthday celebration!

Free fry day at Chik-fil-A, March 4th

That rhymes. And is awesome. I love fries and Chik-fil-A. Go March 4th to get your free fries by mentioning that you are there to try the new Heinz Dip & Squeeze. So here's a true story. I went to Chik-fil-A at the mall recently, and after getting our food, we weaved double stroller and other children through crowded table after crowded table. We finally settled down at the opposite end of a rather large food court. We did our eating business, and just when my cup no longer ranneth o'er (meaning I needed a refill), the Chik-fil-A lady showed up and asked if she could get me one. I expect that type of thing at their store because their service is over the top. But in the middle of a crowded food court? Those people are magic elves sent from the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, or something else equally unreal. I will definitely be going for fries.

Discounted newspapers

Since moving to Birmingham, AL, we haven't started a newspaper subscription, for the coupons of course (to the horror of my former, news-oriented co-workers). Let's get real. We can get our news online or through status updates of our facebook friends (insert laugh here), and actually we can get coupons that way too. But sometimes it is nice to have some on hand. Mainly because I get so jealous when iheartpublix.com lists a coupon that I don't have. Arrrrgghh. And then I have to X it off my easy shopping-list-maker gizmo, which hasn't worked since I finally decided to use it. On to what we can get to work, and that is this fabulous deal on a newspaper subscription. In Birmingham, the selection I wanted (Wednesday and Sunday only) was over 60% off ... holla! So go to discountednewspapers.com to see if it's in your area (sorry, Gainesville, but you're not there, frown).

Book club is tomorrow, and the library is closed

Well, technically, book club is next week, and The Help is all checked out with precisely a million holds. Going to the book store: not an option. You would take that off the list too if you had seen my twins' reaction to a return at Best Buy today. I think they sold out of earplugs while we were there. Oh ... they don't sell those. Well, um, anyway. Ordering on Amazon: would arrive the day before book club meets if I chose 1-day shipping. I really want to go to book club, but not spend-the-mula-on-1-day-shipping want to go to book club. My library kept taunting me with e-books, but apparently that is only for the print-impaired. I thought that was a joke or some kind of clever advertising to get you to read the e-books, but it is an actual disorder that you have to prove you have before you can get access to these e-books. So after a little exploration I found onread.com, where I can read The Help online for free. Without having to download it. And though I hate reading on the computer, I thought this was good for emergency book-club situations. I am not equipped to answer any is-it-safe-and-legal questions, but feel free to share any info you gather.

Paper towel replacement

I have read many times over that you can substitute newspaper for paper towels when cleaning windows. It sounded like a great idea, but I just never got around to trying it. Until today! The newspaper was right beside the paper towels on the counter, goading me to try it. I recommend the more glossy print to avoid the ink rubbing off onto your hands. I cleaned about six windows with Rite Aid. What other things do you substitute to save funds?

Free Underjams

With the amount of nightly urination we've got going on around here, we could use about 500 samples of these. But one will work for now. Go here for your free sample.

Free Dippin Dots Today Only, 1/25/11

Yum, free dippin dots. But just for today. Go here for the coupon. I thought these were just a novelty item of the state fairs of the 90's, but apparently, they never went away. And what luck that I just passed by an entire store dedicated to these in Birmingham. Go here to find a store near you. If you are in Gainesville, there's one at UF.

Deal sites

I always wanted to buy stuff from Groupon, but they were not in my previous town (Gainesville) -- which may have changed by now since they are growing quickly. But since we've moved to Birmingham I've discovered livingsocial.com. If you have it near you, definitely sign up. It's basically just like Groupon in that it'll send you a daily email with the daily deal (usually saving 50% on a product or service), and as a newcomer here, I see it as a way for me to check out new restaurants and local sites on the cheap, which is how I like it! Are there any other deal sites out there that are worth checking out?

Free Egg Beaters Coupon

I really haven't ever read the ingredients on the box so they could be really full of fakeness that isn't so healthy, but they taste pretty good. Especially for free. So go here to get the coupon from Wal-mart.