Danone and DanActive

I am a BzzAgent, whereby at various times I receive products from manufacturers to try and review, and with BzzAgent, I also receive coupons to share, in exchange for spreading the buzz on the product.

I received a Free Product Coupon (FPC) for an 8 pack of Danactive Probiotic yogurt recently, and I got the Vanilla flavour pack. At first I was a little wary of the product because it seemed quite runny, until I reconciled the fact that it was a drink. :) I normally do not drink my yogurt, but prefer it with a spoon.

After trying the Danactive product, I found I still do prefer my yogurt with a spoon, but the Danactive Probiotic drink was delicious. Little Mr.Smith, Miss Smith and Mr.Smith drank the other 7 bottles ofthe product and it was pronounced "delicious," "really good," and "yummy." I also received requests to buy more.

With the campaign I received some contest entries with special PINS to give away to the "Yogurt for a Year" contest which ends May 30. I've given most of them away and will be giving the last couple away to class hostesses in upcoming classes.

I also found that if you join the Danone DanFan club, you can be chosen to receive gift certificates, discount coupons and prizes once you complete surveys sent to you. Right now there is a giveaway of 1 wine cellar (value of $700) and 10 LUSH gift baskets, valued at $100 each. They will pick winners TODAY! Sign up now.

Free K-Y Touch

From the K-Y site: Sign-up to receive a free K-Y® Brand TOUCH MASSAGE® 2-in-1 WARMING™ body massage and personal lubricant sample and to join the K-Y® Intimacy Experiment™.

Go here to receive your free sample.

Canada only, Quebec excluded.

P&G Brandsampler is now live!!

Hurry and get your samples before they run out! These are great samples and usually come with coupons and only offered a few times a year!

For Canadian readers, go here to get them!

For USA readers, go here for your samples.

Gap 60% Sale

Just received an email announcing an up to 60% sale at Gap: valid from April 29, 2010 only at the following Gap stores in Canada: Kerrisdale Kids, Robson street, Oakridge Centre, Pacific Centre, Park Royal Shopping Mall, Richmond Centre, Metropolis at Metrotown, Seven Oaks Shopping Centre, Coquitlam Centre, and Guilford Town Centre. Not valid online, at Gap Factory Stores or at Gap Generation stores. Select styles only. Restrictions may apply. See store for details.

Also posted on the MrsSmith FB page: a 30% off the entire store sale, at Old Navy from April 30-May 2. Details here.

Canadian Tire & SCJohnson = $1000

Along with the contest that is running for a trip to NYC blogged about here, now you can enter to win one of 10 $1000 Canadian Tire giftcards, go here for more information and to enter the contest!

Spring Clean your way to NYC!

SCJohnson is holding a contest where you can potentially spring clean your way to New York City! From their site:

Shine up a mirror and get ready to look gorgeous! With the purchase of any SC Johnson cleaning product, you could WIN a $10,000 Shopping Spree in New York City!

Spring clean your house from top to bottom with our collection of products designed to make chores so easy, you dont need to make time to clean.

You will need to fill in the entry form here and enter UPCs from participating SCJohnson products (Armstrong*, Drano®, Fantastik®, Future®, Scrubbing Bubbles®, Toilet Duck®, Windex®, Shout®, Nature’s Source™, Pledge® and Bon Ami®).

Free Gillette ProGlide Fusion

For the next 3 days, Gillette is giving away limited amounts of Gillette ProGlide Fusion Razors. They will give free razors out at different times each day, and only given out until the day's quota is done. You will need a unique PIN each day.

Tomorrow's giveaway is at 12noon EST, so go here at that time, get the instructions and the PIN and score yourself a free razor!

Free Comic Book Day!!

If you love comic books, or have anyone in your family that does, then May 1 is the day for you!

From the FreeComicBook website:

Free Comic Book Day is a single day - the first Saturday in May each year - when participating comic book shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely FREE* to anyone who comes into their stores. *Check with your local shop for their participation and rules.

Go here to find the closest store near you - there are some in Maple Ridge, Surrey, Langley, etc!

It's April 28!!

It's April 28, do you know what day it is?? Well, to refresh your memory, go here and here!

Have a very yummy day!

Win a Molly Maid service for a year!

London Drugs is holding a contest to Make Mom Queen for a Year - by offering Molly Maid services for a year! To enter, go here, download the entry form and deposit the form in the cosmetic department at any LD store by May 9 2010. Contest is good for BC, AB, SK and MB only.

Free Bluewater bag

BlueWater is offering a free collapsible bag with the purchase of 3 Bluewater products. With the wealth of BlueWater coupons out there, getting the bag should be easy.

Go here to print your mail in form. You also have to send in the UPC from 3 BW products. I'm sure I have at least 3 in my freezer so I am off to check! Yay!

Trying out something new

As many of you know, I use Swagbucks religiously in my internet search. What is Swagbucks, you might ask? Well, it's a search engine that is powered by Google and Ask.com, and instead of using Google automatically as my search engine, I use Swagbucks first. Swagbucks rewards me with random points and I accumulate the points to exchange them for giftcards to Amazon, Starbucks, Target, the likes.

Now that I have some (free!)cash sitting in my Amazon account, I am thinking of getting a couple of things. I've been wanting to get back into shape but really, really, hate running. A friend of mine has been recommending the Jillian Michael's 30 day shred, so I've been swagbuck-ing it on line and researching reviews. I think I might be persuaded to get it, and now even more so because it's on sale for $9.99 (or free, with Swagbucks Amazon giftcards!)

Do you have this workout video? What's your review on it? Or, will you take the exercise plunge with me? We can be Shred Buddies! That could be a whole new series of blog posts: Saving money and Losing weight, by MrsSmith! LOL.

Time for some Nescafe?

Here's your chance to win 1 of 10 Nescafe Dolce Gusto Gift Packs, valued at $179.99, including a Nescafe Dolce Gusto machine!

Offer is only good for Canadians, one entry per household.

Go here to enter!

Break yourself off a piece of that Kit Kat bar

With this contest you just might be able to eat your chocolate and win a million dollars. Yes, $1M. Buy specially marked Kit Kats and enter the PIN codes found inside for a chance to win that cool million and also for Kit Kash which can be redeemed for contest entries.

Go here to start. Good for Canada only.

Just remember Mrs.Smith if you win the million. Heck, I'll take chocolate bar winnings as well. ;)

$5000 GC to HomeSense and weekly prizes

HomeSense is running a "Splurge or Steal" contest and giving away a $5000 giftcard and weekly prizes. It's a fun little game where you decide what is a splurge and what is a steal. You can play once a week for your chance to win. Go here to try it out!

Good for Canada only.

$10 President's Choice GC giveaway - WINNER!

Using Random.org, the winner of the $10 PC GC (hee hee, PCGC) is.....

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Nicole T!

Congrats, Nicole, and thanks for commenting, and joining the FB/blog pages.

Watch for more giveaways on the blog/FB page coming soon!

Free photos from Costco!

As many of you know from taking my classes, I hardly shop at Costco any more. The buy bulk mentality has been taken over by the buy small, spend nothing Extreme Shopping way train of thought. :)

But one thing I still buy at Costco at times, are photos. But now til May 9, 8 5x7's will be free when I order online! You can get them free too, by using code CWFPA426 when checking out. Go here to order. If you do not have a Costco online photo account, you're in luck. Open an account up and get 25 4x6's free as well!

Some goodies from Olive Garden

Olive Garden is offering a $5 off 2 entrees, valid for US and Canada - go here to get your printable coupon!

Also, they are giving away some great prizes, including 4 Grand prizes which include an 8-day guided trip for 2 to Italy, plus 500 $25 Olive Garden gift cards! Enter daily for your chances to win the cards.

Good luck!

Good for USA and Canada.

Extreme Shoppers - starting them young

Little Ms. Smith had a friend over for a sleepover yesterday. I took them both out for some girl time and dinner, but warned them that I had some grocery errands to run in between dinner and going to Rogers Video for a movie. Want to guess what my grocery errands were? If you guessed coupon shopping (ie hunting for coupons) and getting some free cereal, then you'd be correct! :)

We dropped by my local Save On, and found lots of coupons, including one for Kraft Parmesan, which is most exciting because I am almost out. I managed to find (for the first time) a Kelloggs Froot Loops with the FPC for cereal on it so we got that. We don't have a single box of that in the house, imagine that!

Then it was off to Superstore (right across the street), to get some bread and a Special K with the FPC for cereal on it. (I had an FPC for it already).

As we were leaving Superstore, Little Ms.Smith's friend remarked,"It's pretty cool to get food for free." (I must admit, I was a little too giddy cutting out the coupons from the back of the boxes. Yes. I cut them out in the car. With the boxcutters I keep in my purse for that reason. Yes. I know, it's a sickness. But free cereal calls my name. Over and over).

Back to the friend,"Can you find a coupon for such-and-such a cereal? I eat it a lot, and I'd like to get it free." Little Ms.Smith pipes up,"There's no coupon for that, but there's coupons for Special K, why don't you eat that?" Her friend says,"I don't like that kind." And this is what Little Ms.Smith says,"oh, we eat whatever we can get with coupons or for free. We've been trained. Right, mom?"

I had a little chuckle to myself. Seems like Little Ms.Smith knows what her mama is doing!

The best part? The friend says,"I guess I could try Special K, if it's free." Hee hee. (and in case you were wondering, the cereal she was asking for is one of the most sugary ones on the market).

$10 President's Choice GC giveaway

Go check out the MrsSmith-ExtremeShopper Facebook page (click on the right), there is a $10 PC Giftcard giveaway going on until 2pm Sunday (April 25)! We all know with Extreme Shopping, $10 goes a long way! Good luck!

Free Biore Steam Activated Cleanser sample

Go here to get your free sample of Biore Steam Activated Cleanser!

If you like the product, you can also "like" or "fan" their Facebook page here, register and get a chance to win a 150ml bottle of the Steam Activated Cleanser, now through June 13!

Canada only.

RCSS - extra deals this week

Just saw an ad in my local paper for RCSS (Superstore) and I was excited to see Crest toothpaste and Pantene (200ml) on sale for $1! With all the coupons out there, you could get some free toothpaste and shampoo easily. Sale is good until Friday April 23.

MrsSmith's story

With thanks to my friend Laura for the idea.

Customer Appreciation Days at Subway

This Friday and Saturday, Subway is celebrating Customer Appreciation Days. Note that each branch will be offering different deals and some may only be offering the specials on one day.

For the most part, the specials are FREEBIES! It usually includes a free coffee and some sort of sandwich or flatbread. Pretty good breakfast, I would say!

Check out your local Subway and enjoy!

New John Frieda sample

John Frieda has an offer for a free sample of their Go Blonder shampoo and conditioner, on their Facebook page. Go here to get your free sample, while supplies last.

Possible free coffee at Subway

As if free coffee at McD's wasn't enough, now that that deal is over, you can possibly get free coffee at your local Subway through tomorrow! Call your branch first to see if they are participating, as apparently only branches in BC and AB are.

Kelloggs expands Wake Up to Free Breakfast program

Great news!! Kelloggs has decided to expand its Wake Up to a Free Breakfastprogram, originally blogged about here. I'd just been finding the free cereal coupons on the MiniWheats and on the Corn Pops and was hoping to find some on the Rice Krispies.

The good news is that Kelloggs now has a Wake Up to a Free Breakfast, Adult version. From the Kelloggs website:
Now you can Wake up to a FREE Breakfast by collecting 5 FREE product coupons inside specially marked packages of Kellogg's* cereal!

Coupons consist of the following:

- FREE Kellogg's* cereal or Meal Replacement: Redeem towards 1 FREE box of Special K* Original cereal (475 g), All-Bran* Strawberry Medley cereal (375 g), or Vector* Meal Replacement (400 g).

- FREE 1 Litre of Milk: Redeem towards 1 FREE litre of milk (includes Skim 1%, 2%, 3.25% Homogenized) products to a maximum value of $2.69. Offer excludes 250ml, 500ml, 2L and 4L regular, premium and specialized milk and soy milk products. Offer not valid in Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, or Newfoundland.

- FREE Minute Maid® Concentrate: Redeem towards 1 FREE can of Minute Maid® Frozen Concentrate (355 ml).

- FREE Danone® Yogurt: Redeem towards 1 FREE tub of Danone® Activia probiotic yogurt tub (650 g) or Silhouette 0+ yogurt tub (650 g).

- FREE Bananas: Redeem towards up to 2 lbs of bananas up to a maximum value of $1.69.

Coupon Expiry Date: October 11, 2010.
Products

* All-Bran Original* cereal: 525g
* All-Bran* Bran Flakes cereal: 775 g
* Special K* cereal: 475g
* Special K* with Red Berries cereal: 350g
* Vector* Meal Replacement: 400g
* Special K* Vanilla Almond cereal: 400g
* All-Bran* Strawberry Bites cereal: 465g
* Special K* Fruit & Yogurt Flavour cereal: 360g
* All-Bran* Strawberry Medley cereal: 375 g
* Special K* Satisfaction* cereal: 410 g
* Special K* Cinnamon Pecan cereal: 350 g
* Special K* 5 Grains cereal: 535 g

Yay! I love Special K, All Bran and Vector! More variety, and did you see, the expiry for the coupons aren't until October!!

Start stalking your local stores for these specially marked boxes soon!

Datenight at Milestones - April 28

April 28 is turning out to be a great, busy night for freebies! If you haven't read about the 31cent scoop night at Baskin Robbins, go here to find out more information!

April 28 is also Date Night at participating Milestones restaurants in Canada. When you purchase any meal for yourself, your date's meal is free! So this deal is basically a 2 for 1, now we all have no excuses not to date our significant others! :) Good from 4pm to closing.

Eat your Baskin Robbins and support firefighters!

Here's one way to treat yourself to some yummy Baskin Robbins and do some good at the same time! Baskin Robbins is hosting its 2nd annual 31 cent scoop night on April 28 from 5-10pm to support the Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation (CFFF).

From their website:"31 Cent Scoop Night invites Canadians to enjoy a 2.5 oz. scoop of their favourite ice cream flavour (served in a cup or cone) or a 3 oz. Soft Serve cone for only 31 cents each.*** All customers will also have the opportunity to make a donation to the CFFF while in-store.

31 Cent Scoop Night is an exciting night out for the whole family to enjoy an evening of ice cream while, at the same time, paying tribute to our nation's fallen firefighting heroes. Some locations will be hosting additional activities, including having local firefighters on-site to assist in serving ice cream and giving tours of their fire trucks.

And also...

New for 2010, Baskin Robbins will be selling a limited edition "Forget Me Not" sundae. Available from March through April 30, this special sundae will retail for only $2.99 (plus taxes where applicable).

A portion of the proceeds from sundae sales will be donated to assist the families of fallen firefighters through the CFFF*."

Aveda samples

Here's a printable coupon to receive a 3 pack Aveda sample kit at participating locations in both USA and Canada!

Living Well contest

LivingWell is hosting a contest for $500 monthly draw or a $2000 Grand Prize! Go here to answer their "How do you do it" question to enter the contest!

While you're there, check out the coupons for Motrin, Tylenol, Zantac, Nicorette, Aveeno and Reactine!

Oh Spring, come quickly!

Here in the Vancouver area we're starting to see hopeful signs of spring - some nice weather, and bulbs coming up and pretty flowers everywhere, not to mention all the chirping of birds (in my area, the chirping usually starts at 5am...)

I wanted to tell you about an event Home Depot is having, from April 22 - May 2. Bring in your working or non-working gas mower, trimmer, hedge trimmer or leaf blower, and receive $100 instant rebate on the purchase of an eco-preferred mower, blower, string trimmer or hedge trimmer.

A great deal if you're needing to get a new mower/trimmer/blower or if you're wanting to upgrade to a more eco-friendly model!

20% off your entire purchase at Garage

Little Miss Smith turned 10 recently and has all of a sudden started shopping at Garage - even though most of the clothes are still too big for her. She managed to find a sweater that is close to her size and as she says, she'll "grow into it."

So if you or someone in your family loves Garage, you'll love this coupon, good for April 16-18 only, for 20% off your entire purchase. Good for Canada and USA stores.

No Tax Day at RCSS

Today and tomorrow only (April 17 and 19) RCSS is having a no-tax day event! No tax can add up to quite a bit of savings especially if you are purchasing larger items. Have fun!

Dominos free night in!

Dominos is giving away 3 Coke offers, plus you can get a chance to win a 40 inch Samsung LCD TV and Sony PS3 - and more!

Go here to sign up - you then have to "activate" your offer by answering some easy questions, order your pizza and claim your Coke!

Great timing for Friday night dinner! :)

Good for USA and Canada!

Heads up - coupons this week and forward

Remember there is a Smart Source coupon insert due in your local papers this week. Here's what will be in it:

Buy One Get One FREE – Mars,Snickers, M&M, Twix, Bounty etc etc
$.75 off OxiClean Max Force Gel Stick
$1.00 off OxiClean Max-Force Liqui-Gel
$1.00 off OxiClean MaxForce Power Paks
$2.00 off Vileda Oskar broom or Super Mop
$3.00 off Vileda Mop or Fibro Contact Mop
$3.00 off Physicians Formula cosmetics
$2.00 off Sunlight Green Clean
$1.00 off Splenda Flavours for Coffee
$2.00 off any size Bissel ful size Machine Cleaning Formula
$2.00 off Huggies diapers
$3.00 off Hugges Pure & Natural Diapers
$1.00 off Huggeis Baby wipes
$2.00 off any Glade (except Aerosols and Ultra) # 33684420
$2.00 off any Glade (except Aerosols and Ultra) # 33684404
$3.00 off GoodNites
$1.00 off Majesta Bathroom 8 roll, Paper Towel 6 roll, Facial 6 or 12 pack
$1.00 off Bushes Baked beans
$3.00 off Pedigree Vitality+
$6.00 off Pedigree Vitality+
$.75 off Mentos
$2.50 off Pull-Ups
$1.00 off Pull-Up flushable wipes
$5.00 off Windex Outdoor All-in-One Glass Cleaning Tool Starter Kit
$2.50 off Windex Outdoor All-in-One Glass Cleaning Tool Refill Pads
$1.50 off U by Kotex Pads
$1.50 off U Kotex Liners or Tampons
$2.00 off any 2 packs of Kotex Liners or Pads
Buy One Get One Free Scrubbing Bubbles Bathroom Cleaner
Buy One Get One Free Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner refill
$1.00 off Fantastik all Purpose Cleaner
$1.00 off Bic 3 pak or Larger Bic Flex 4 Shavers
$25.00 Rebate Bissell Cleaner
ChuckECheese Coupons

Also, there is a new set of new store coupons due in stores around April 26 - which include Cloverleaf products, Mentos, VH sauce, Nestle, Flintstones, Gillette Bodywash, Hawaiian Tropics, Cascades, Dove, Kraft, Asana Yogurt and more! Remember coupon etiquette, don't take tons but take 2 or 3 at a time, you can always come back for more if you need them!

Free Netipot or Sinus Rinse

My hubby, Mr.Smith, suffers from sinus issues. Early in our marriage, he had to have a sinus operation which resulted in a lot of pain and not much improvement. It is common for him to get sinus infections, which can cause him discomfort and many hours at the doctor's office.

Recently he was advised to try the Neti-pot, and when he came home with a device resembling a teapot, I had to laugh. But to our surprise, the thing actually works! I still get grossed out when he explains that the solution is poured through the pot up one nostril and out the other. But the end benefit is that it helps his sinus issues, so I am all for it.

If you are suffer from Cystic Fibrosis, Asthma, Sjogren's syndrome and Vasculitis, you can request a free Netipot or Nasal Sinus Rinse when you become a NeilMed Pharmaceuticals fan on Facebook. Offer good until the end of April. Offer is good for USA and Canada.

You can also receive a $5 rebate here or a $3 coupon here, (once you've become a fan) but it looks like it's good for the USA only.

Seventh Generation printable coupons

Seventh Generation has put out some printable coupons here! You'll have to create an account and sign in first to access the coupons. There currently are coupons for $1 off any laundry product (including detergent, chlorine free bleach and softener), $1 off any dishwashing product (liquid, powder or gel) and $1 off any diapers or wipes.

You can print each coupon twice (once at a time), and the coupons expire 30 days after printing.

Good for Canada only.

For USA Seventh Generation coupons, go here.

Get a free New Testament Bible

If you are looking for a free Bible to read or give away, here's a link to Bibles for Canada, a non-profit organization whose corporate goal is to distribute free copies of The New Testament Recovery Version Bible.

The Bible is sent free of charge and does include a small non-obligatory return donation envelope.

Canada only.

Free umbrella at Jysk - April 15 only

Jysk is giving away free umbrellas to the first 100 customers to each of its stores tomorrow, April 15 only. Go here for more info.

Plus, you can subscribe to their newsletter and get a chance to win $500!

Free ice cream at Marble Slab Creamery

Subscribe to Marble Slab Creamery's newsletter here and get offers and "a sweet surprise" for your birthday! You can sign up your entire family. Yum! Canada only.

For US readers, go here to sign up.

Another link for a free U by Kotex sample

Walmart is giving you a chance to get a free U by Kotex sample. Here's the link - it's different from the one I blogged about earlier here.

Maybe there'll be coupons sent along with the samples?

The "never-ending" Kelloggs cereal deal

A while ago, I blogged about it. I watched the stores and waited and waited, and seriously did a little dance in the aisle when finally I found my first box of Mini Wheats with the free product coupon (FPC) at my local Walmart.

I bought it after pricematching, for $2.97 and excitedly cut out the FPC from the box.

The FPC is for free Rice Krispies, Corn Pops and Froot Loops (selected sizes).

I waited to use the FPC because I wanted to "roll" the coupon, meaning if I could use it on a box with another FPC for cereal on it, I could technically end up just paying for 1 box and end up with an endless supply of cereal.

This week, I found the specially marked boxes for Corn Pops. So off I went and got a box at LD, for free. I then cut the FPC from that box, and rolled it into getting yet another box for free. Over and over I did this deal, until I ended up with 7 free boxes of Corn Pops today (6 are shown in this picture and one in the post below). PLUS, because I started with one FPC, I now have one FPC left over, which I will wait to use when the Froot Loops/Rice Krispies specially marked boxes come out.

Enjoy this deal, but remember not to clear your store shelves all at once!

This deal is good until August, which gives me plenty of time to wait for those boxes of Froot Loops/Rice Krispies/Frosted Flakes. It's a good thing my kids love to eat cereal!

Note: There are other FPCs on the boxes as well for free yogurt, bananas, juice and milk, I've just decided the never-ending cereal was a deal I would rather do now, so I could "roll" the coupons.

Shop with MrsSmith - a lesson at LD

I was out in Burnaby today and decided to do a quick shop at LD - totally off the fly, with no preparation in advance. This was easy to do because I've read my flyers, and I knew what coupons I had. For all you newbie Extreme Shoppers, I promise that working out deals will get easier with time, the more you extreme shop, the easier it becomes. Plus, this deal was easy because I was not pricematching, I was just buying items advertised in the LD flyer.

I decided to work this deal:
- 2 free VH sauces
- 1 free Kelloggs cereal
- 6 free Knorr soups

Since these are food items, I knew there would be no tax, so I knew I would end up paying nothing after coupons.

So off I went with my items up to the customer service counter. I handed over my coupons and waited patiently to get my receipt.

I was surprised when the cs rep handed me back 3 of my coupons, each worth $1, and told me,"I can't take these, Ma'am, you'll have to use them next time."

I asked her why, as I had worked my deals and coupons so that they could all be used to get my balance to zero.

She said,"I can't let you have these for free."

I asked,"why not? I have coupons to go with these items to get them all free."

She then said again,"you can't get things for free. That's not how we deal with coupons here."

I calmly told her she was wrong and that their policy allowed the deals I was getting. She started to argue, and so I asked for the manager. All calmly, because I knew the policy, and I knew getting upset would not help.

She called for the manager, almost tapping her foot as she waited for an answer. When he came on the phone, she proceeded to tell him about the situation, almost as if she was reporting me. I watched her as she listened to what he said, and there was almost a 100% change in her facial expression. That was then I said a silent "thank you, Mr.Manager."

She got off the phone and rang in my coupons. I thanked her for checking and her attitude took a complete turnaround. She said she had to check to avoid getting into trouble. But I knew she had decided not to use my coupons because somewhere in her training she had been told,"the customer cannot NOT pay anything - they have to pay the tax." This is true especially in cases of overage where the coupons would cover the tax, which is not supposed to happen according to LD corporate coupon policy. But in my case, the items were food, and there was no tax. So she took it upon herself to not use some of my coupons so I would in effect have something to pay. But the problem with that is, where did one draw the line? I could have asked her,"why didn't you stop at $1, why did you stop at $3?" So obviously her method was flawed.

The point of all this rambling is that if you know your store's policy, you will always be ok. Treat the cashier/rep kindly because getting upset doesn't do anything. Having the store policy in writing in your purse will go a long way. Don't bother arguing - just take out the policy and refer to it. There is some chatter on the MrsSmith FB wall where there is currently some confusion happening at checkout so I thought today's post would be timely. I will say it over and over and over in class, but just in case you didn't hear it in class, I'll say it here again: "know your policy and treat the cashier kindly."

Just in case you are wondering how to get any store's policies - just contact them, and ask for the policy in writing (ie via email).

I ended up doing a second transaction at the same store with the same cashier, who rang me through with a pleasant and helpful attitude the 2nd time around. :)

Getting off my soapbox now.

Men can be Extreme Shoppers too!

I've noticed that there is at least one male fan on the MrsSmith FB fan page, and a couple weeks ago, I had the pleasure of having my first male student which was exciting! Since then a hostess' hubby sat in on the class (the entire 2 hours), which speaks a lot for itself, I think!

Although they are far from the norm, some men are the shoppers in the family, as is the case of my brother in law, Chris. He and his family were visiting from out of town recently, and he was very excited to get a quick Extreme Shopping class and get shopping. This is the result of his first trip - not bad for someone who had no coupons and had to cobble together some coupons from my coupon stash in a short amount of time!


So you see, men CAN be Extreme Shoppers too!

Shop with MrsSmith - quick trip to USA April 2010

Yesterday I went to Target, Albertsons and Walgreens to do some Extreme Shopping. The border line up at the Pac Crossing was long (about 1.5hours) but I believe it was because of the time, it was around 11am when I first got into line. Coming back was easy with only a 5 minute wait.

I went specifically to work more deals to add to the MrsSmith-Extreme Shopper USA version class and to take more photos to supplement the course, and am so excited to see the curriculum come together and the class will hopefully be ready to launch online soon!

At Target, I bought:
- 3 boxes of Special K cereal
- 2 boxes of Special K crackers
- 1 bag Sunchips
- 1 Vitamin Water
- 10 cans of corn
- 1 individual cup of Kashi cereal

At Walgreens, I purchased:
- 2 boxes Kashi
- 1 Shave cream
- 12 boxes Sour Patch kids (for a craft project for Little Miss Smith's birthday party)

At Albertsons, I bought:
- 5 packages Del Monte chill cups
- 2 6-pk Danino yogurt
- 1 4-pk Yoplait yogurt
- 1 carton Minute Maid OJ
- 3 Scotch Brite Nailsavers sponges
- 2 3-pk Scotch Brite sponges
- 2 Kelloggs fruit snacks
- 1 Keebler cookie package
- 1 pkg Sargento shredded cheese
- 1 DiGiorno Flatbread Melts

I ended up with 52 items and paid $16.59, saving $103.49, so my total should have been $120.08 if I had not bought on sale or used coupons. My savings for a 86% savings which included the taxes, or just under .32cents per item.

BzzAgent - Nabob coffee campaign

As previously blogged here, I am a BzzAgent and I'm excited to let you know that they are looking for new "agents" - why not get free stuff to try out, review and share?

The current BzzCampaign is for Nabob coffee - go here for more information.

Need a Huggies coupon? Print one here ($3 value) - remember you can hit backspace and print it twice.

Free sample - U by Kotex

Go here to get a free sample of the new U by Kotex (Canada). Go here if you have a US address.

Go http://www.ubykotex.com/get_coupons/print_cato get a Canadian coupon and go here to get a US one.

Remember, you can hit backspace and print it twice!

Be a Gillette Shave School Graduate

Gillette has a fun game here that you can play, and even get the title of "Shave School Graduate!" Play the quick and cute game here to get a free Venus razor in the mail!

Canada only.

Free Starbucks on April 15!

Bring your travel mug into any Starbucks Canada location on Thursday, April 15 to get it filled up with free regular coffee! Find more information here.

Free Cloverleaf coupon

Go here to sign up for the Cloverleaf newsletter, and fill in a survey to get a Free Product Coupon (FPC) for Cloverleaf, mailed to you home in about 4 weeks!

New Redplum insert this weekend!

There's going to be a new Redplum coupon insert in your local papers this weekend, here's a sneak peek into what will be in it:

Pedigree - $3 on Vitality dog food, 8kg, exp Sept 30/10
Pedigree - $6 on Vitality dog food, 16kg, exp Sept 30/10
.50 cents off Dove Ultimate Supreme visibly smooth antiperspirant,exp Dec 31/10
.50 cents off Degree, women(any), exp Dec 31/10
$2 off WYB any 2 different Dove products, exp Dec 31/10
$1.50 off SpinBrush Pro Clean, Pro Select, Pro Whitening Battery toothbrush, exp Aug 10/10
$2 off SpinBrush Pro Clean Sonic Battery toothbrush or Sonic refill, exp Aug 10/10
$3 off SpinBrush Rechargeable toothbrush, exp Aug 10/10
$2 off any Pure Protein wyb $5 or more, exp May 24/10
$2 off Met-Rx wyb $5 or more, exp May 24/10
$2 off Nature's Bounty, exp May 24/10
Magicuts - free haircut with any color service, exp May 31/10
Magicuts - $3 off an adult haircut, exp May 31/10
$5 off Osteo BiFlex, exp May 24/10
.50cents off SpongeTowels EnviroCare paper towels, exp July 31/10
$1 off Cashmere EnviroCare bath tissue or multi pack Scotties EnviroCare facial tissue exp July 31/10

Get a free Ocean Spray bag

Get a free, no purchase necessary, reuseable bag from Ocean Spray just by filling in the form here.

Hostess and Student Prize Pack winners!

MrsSmith-ExtremeShopper is the success that it is because of the hostesses who host the classes and the students who come to these classes, and so because of that, I want to acknowledge them and have a special giveaway just for them. Every quarter, I will pick one hostess and one student to receive a prize pack and it's time to pick this quarter's winners!

This is the hostess prize pack:

This is the student prize pack:

And watch the video to see if you won:

Thank you again to all the hostesses and students of MrsSmith-ExtremeShopper, I appreciate you all beyond words!

P&G Brandsaver coupon insert in this weekend's paper

As quite a number of my coupons expired yesterday I was thinking it sure would be nice to get another P&G Brandsaver coupon insert again... and guess what, that wish is coming true! Look for your amazing coupon insert in this weekend's paper - here's what will be in it:
$3 on participating beauty products (same as Brandsaver - Perfect 10, Venus Embrace, Crest whitestrips..etc)
$1 Nice and Easy, any
$0.50 Herbal Essences shampoo, conditioner, or styling product
$1.50 Olay classic moisturizer plus any one Olay facial cleaser
$2.00 Secret Clinical
$0.50 any Secret product
$3.00 WUB2 Olay Total Effects products
$1.00 Satin care
$2.00 Venus Embrace razor or disposable
$1.00 Simply Venus razor
$1.50 Venus Sensitive razor
$1.00 Head and Shoulders product (excluding 50ml size)
$1.00 Head and Shoulders conditioner
$1.00 Always Infinity pad, any
Free 12-22ct Always Ultra or Maxi WUB one 24-48ct
Free 34-60ct Always Pantyliners WUB 68-120ct
Free 18-20ct Tampax Pearl or Compak Pearl WUB1 36-40ct
Free 20ct Tampax Cardboard WUB 40-80ct
$1.00 Scope 710ml or larger
$1.50 WUB2 Crest Toothpaste (100-130ml)
$2.00 WUB2 Fixodent, any
$5.00 WUB3 Gillette, any
$4.00 Gillette Fusion razor
Free Gillette Odor Shield Body Wahs WUB1 Odor Shield deoderant/anti
$0.75 on any Crest Pro-Health toothpaste, excluding 20 ml
$1.50 Oral-B CrossAction toothbrush
$1.00 Crest glide floss, any
$5.00 Oral-B Vitality rechargeable toothbrush
$0.75 Crest Pro-Health toothpaste, 85ml or larger
$1.00 Crest Pro-Health Multi-protection health
$2.00 Oral-B Health manual toothbrush
$3.50 Crest Pro-Health toothpaste (85ml+) and any Oral-B Pro-Health manual toothbrush
$1.00 Old Spice, any
$3.00 WUB2 Old Spice, any
$7.00 Crest Whitestrip Advanced Seal
$1.00 Crest Vivid White Toothpaste
$3.00 Gillette Mach3 Disposable razor
$1.00 WUB one Mr. Clean with Febreze fresh scent spray AND one Bounty paper towel product
$0.25 WUB one Mr. Clean with Febreze fresh scent spray OR one Bounty papertowel product
$1.00 Febreze Fabric Refresher, 800ml
$0.50 Febreze Air Effects
$3.00 Febreze NOTICEables starter kit
$2.00 Febreze Candle
$5.00 Febreze Flameless luminaires starter kit
$1.00 Febreze Flameless luminaires refill
$2.00 Febreze Soy-blend candle
$2.00 Febreze Scented Reed Diffuser
$0.75 Duracell Coppertop batteries, any
$1.25 Duracell Ultra Advanced batteries, any
$5.00 Duracell USB charger
$0.50 Charmin, any
$0.50 Bounty, any
$0.50 One Puffs
$1.25 on two of Bounty, Charmin or Puffs
$0.50 Dawn
B1G1 Cascade Powder or Gel and get one Cascade Action Packs bags FREE
$0.50 Cascade, any
$5.00 Swiffer Starter kit
$1.00 Swiffer Duster starter kit or Swiffer Dust and Shine
$1.00 Swiffer Refills, any
$3.00 Swiffer Wet Jet startr kit
$0.50 Tide
$3.00 WUB3 “with Febreze fresh scent” products
$0.50 Ultra Downy fabric softener
$0.50 Bounce dryer bar
$0.50 Gain detergent
$0.50 Gain fabric softener
$2.00 Pampers baby dry, swaddlers or cruisers
$3.00 Pampers Easy Ups or Under Jams
$1.00 Pampers Wipes

Canada only.

Free Mars!

Mars Canada is giving away free chocolate today and then every Saturday between April 3 and 24th. The premise is that you would get the chocolate and GIVE it away to someone in a random act of kindness. Pretty cool.

Go here to get and give some chocolate!