Free Green Magma

I came across a new-to-me product called Green Magma recently. From their site, I learned that "Dr.Hagiwara's Green Magma is a highly nutritious, mildly alkaline powder made from organic barley grass juice."

Green Magma is now offering 5 free samples of their product to both US and Canada, and shipping is free! Go here to order your samples. I did put a request for them to indicate "samples only, no charge" in the "shipping section" as I don't know if these are being shipped from the States, and don't want to get any customs/brokerage fees placed on these samples.

Please note, I have never tried this product so cannot vouch for it nor for any shipping. Try at your own risk.

Canada/USA.

No tax in WA if you live in BC or ONT!!

I am preparing to launch the MrsSmith-ExtremeShopper USA edition very soon and this is the class for you if you live in Canada but are close enough to the US border to warrant shopping across the border, or if you are living in the USA. The majority of the class will be based towards stores found in Western WA but I will also be referencing other stores found in other parts of the USA.

I have great news for you whether or not you are a frequent shopper across the border. As of July 1, those of us living in BC and Ontario will get tax-exempt status while shopping across the border! And to think we have the HST to thank for this break. You will probably have to show your driver's license as proof of residency.

Now, I'm not advocating shopping in the USA vs Canada. I believe that is up to each person to decide how and where to spend their dollars. How the BC and Ontario governments react to this might differ, from doing nothing (no changes) to perhaps upping the tax on whatever you bring back, or lowering the minimums on exempt goods... we shall see. I will still shop for the majority of my items in Canada since I am not that close to the border, and will probably continue my once-a-month shop across the border.

Here's the article that talks about the new tax break.

Tylenol and Motrin recall

From the Vancouver Sun site:

Eleven formulations of over-the-counter children’s cold and allergy medicine are being recalled in Canada as part of a larger worldwide recall for failing to meet quality standards.

McNeil Consumer Healthcare said Saturday that all lots of Children’s Motrin and Infant’s Motrin liquid suspension products and Children’s Tylenol Cough & Runny Nose liquid suspension products are being recalled.

No other Canadian product is affected, the company said in a release.

The company said the recall was issued, in consultation with Health Canada, because “these products may not fully meet the required manufacturing specifications.”

The company said the recalled products do not pose a safety risk to children who have consumed them.

In the United States, more than 40 over-the-counter kids medications under the brand names Tylenol, Tylenol Plus, Motrin, Zyrtec and Benadryl are being recalled by the company, a subsidiary of pharmaceutical and health care giant Johnson & Johnson.

The affected products in Canada are:

• Infant’s Motrin Suspension Drops Dye-Free, 30 ml (DIN 02238626)

• Infant’s Motrin Suspension Drops Dye-Free, 15 ml (DIN 02238626)

• Children’s Motrin Suspension Dye-Free, 120 ml (DIN 02242365)

• Children’s Motrin Suspension, 120 ml (DIN 02242365)

• Children’s Motrin Suspension Grape, 120 ml (DIN 02242365)

• Children’s Motrin Suspension Grape, 30 ml (DIN 02242365)

• Children’s Motrin Suspension Bubblegum, 120 ml (DIN 02242365)

• Children’s Motrin Suspension Tropical Punch, 120 ml (DIN 02242365)

• Infant’s Motrin Suspension for Fever due to Colds/Flu, 30 ml (DIN 02238626)

• Children’s Motrin Suspension for Fever due to Colds/Flu, 120 ml (DIN 02242365)

• Children’s Tylenol Cough & Runny Nose Suspension, 100 ml (DIN 02292122)

Company spokeswoman Tina Peyregatt says no illnesses have been reported so far, and stresses no other infant’s or children’s Tylenol products are affected, nor are any medicines in tablet form.

“We want to make sure Canadians aren’t concerned or panicking” about products that aren’t on the recall list, she said, adding she doesn’t expect the list to grow.

Asked whether children who may have consumed the product are in any danger, Peyregatt said no.

“There’s no safety concern,” she said. “This is a precautionary measure.”

The issue is that some products may not meet manufacturing specifications, she said, noting the recall is voluntary.

While some items in the U.S. recall reportedly contain higher concentrations of an active ingredient than specified, Peyregatt said that is not the case in Canada.

Customers are nonetheless urged to stop using the recalled products and contact the company at 1-888-222-6036 or visit www.jnjcanada.com for more information.

“The company is conducting a comprehensive quality assessment across its manufacturing operations and has identified corrective actions that will be implemented before new manufacturing is initiated at the U.S. plant where the recalled products were made,” the company said.
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Johnson+Johnson+issues+recall+kids+drugs/2980041/story.html#ixzz0mshDstvC

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.

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.

Aveda samples

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

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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

Mama needs a new kitchen

Reynolds is giving away a free kitchen makeover or $8000 in cash, contest is open for Canadians only. Go here to enter.

For USA readers or Canadians who shop across the border, go here to print a $1.50 coupon.

Psssssst - Instant Spray Shampoo

I came across this freebie and was intrigued as I've never heard about it. Anyone tried this before? I was told it was a spray and go kind of product... hmm. Anyway, go here to enter your email and get your free product. Good for USA and Canada.

P&G Brandsampler coming soon!

I got a notice today that the P& G Brandsampler (Canada) will be coming out in May 2010 - so go here and sign up because you won't want to miss the sampler! They give away great samples and coupons too.

If you're in the US, go here to get your samples now.

Super Staples contest

Win some Old El Paso, Betty Crocker products, Hamburger Helper and Green Giant products by entering the Super Staples Contest here! Good til May 30 2010. Good only in Canada.

For US readers, here's the Ultimate Kitchenaid Stand Mixer contest, you have til April 11 2010 to enter!

Good luck!

Free Movies - US only

US readers, get your TVs ready, here are some great movie deals for you!

1) Become a Fan of Redbox on Facebook and get a free movie rental on March 17 2010!

2) Get 6 Free Blockbuster Express rentals with these codes:
GA13A2 - Get a free one night rental (exp 3/26)
OUFXMV – Get a free one night rental (exp 4/17)
6HHQLC – Get a free one night rental (exp 4/17)
ETKGH7 – Get a free one night rental (exp 4/17)
ICA33W – Get a free one night rental (exp 4/23)
VGG8U2 – Get a free one night rental (exp 4/23)

Happy movie nights to you!

Free Lego magazine subscriptions!

If you've got a child in your home who is of Lego age, this magazine is a must! It's free and comes in the mail. Little Mr.Smith loves getting his magazine, especially since it's addressed to him - he loves getting stuff in the mail!

We do go through the magazine first and have taken out a page or two before letting him read it because sometimes there are cartoons in there that are a little more violent/scary than we'd like to expose him to constantly.

Other than that, he treats it like an idea book and tries to replicate the pieces that are in the magazine, which a lot of times means he needs more new Lego. Hmmmm, those Lego people might have something goin' on here...

Go here to get your magazine. Offer good in several countries, just click on your country of choice.

Free cards!

Need some cards? Here are a few freebies for you!

Give the special child in your life a boost with a free encouraging card from your local Hallmark Gold Crown store. Choose from 9 designs, up to a value of $1.99! Go here to get your card and brighten up a child's day! Valid til March 13 2010. Good only in USA.

Receive up to 5 sample cards here, good for both US and Canada.

Shop with Mrs.Smith - US trip, March 2010

I went across the border into Bellingham, WA yesterday with Marcy on an informal test of my Extreme Shopping USA Edition class, and we had a blast as she followed me along as I hit up some deals. The whole point of the trip was to introduce Marcy to a few US stores, to introduce her to some lingo and programs that only exist in US and which are not available in Canada. We talked about store policies (even had an example to show her in real life), and I shared some secrets and tips that can extend the coupon value, or enable her to get more items for free. I had Marcy print some coupons as well, so she was able to follow along with some deals as well.

Note: Each week's deals are different, this week's purchases are representations of deals available this week and mostly to act as aids to show Marcy how to work some deals, and may not reflect MrsSmith's regular weekly purchases. That means, sometimes I actually buy fresh stuff and not just sugary treats! :)

We hit Target, Albertson's and Walgreens while we were there. I also usually like to go to Walmart, Safeway and RiteAid/CVS but there was no time, and also, we were happy with what we'd gotten.

Looking at the picture above, I got 69 items for $11.22 - although I forgot to add the last item to the photo - it was a Starbucks Frappucino bottle which I got for $0.25. The regular price from Walgreens was $2.19!

So, 69 items for $11.22 - that is less than 16.3cents per item! That is fabulous savings! Here's what I got:

From Target:
- 2 4-packs of GE lights
- 4 SOBE drinks
- 13 individual Kashi cereal cups
- 5 boxes Kashi crackers
- 3 boxes Kashi cereal
- 1 box Kashi frozen Chicken Pasta Pomodoro
- 1 24-ct Excedrin
- 1 Degree trial sized deodorant
- 2 J&J Soap Buddies

From Walgreens:
- 1 Starbucks Frappucino bottle (not shown)
(everything else I wanted was out of stock)

From Albertsons:
- 4 boxes Cheerios
- 1 loaf of bread
- 1 10-piece Oreo Cakesters
- 25 boxes of Roll Ups, Stackerz, Gushers
- 5 rolls of Starbursts

At Target, I had an opportunity to show Marcy how important it is to
1) know your store policy
2) know exactly how much you are going to spend before going to the till

We had a cashier who did not know that if you have a coupon for $1, you can use it on an item that is less than a dollar. She said I could not use the coupon and called over her supervisor who agreed with her. I knew this was not the correct policy and since I had a printed copy of Target's coupon policy with me, I showed it to them and was able to use the coupons. However in all the mix up, the supervisor accidentally deleted my entire purchase and had to restart over, and in the end instead of paying $2 I ended up paying about $5, and I didn't fight it because I didn't want to go through all that again and we had spent a bit extra time there because of them not knowing their own policy. They had wanted to charge me $14 but because I knew the policy, I ended up paying $5. My savings at Target totalled $54.69 and I spent a total of $5.32.

On to Walgreens, where although they were out of everything I wanted, I got a chance to show Marcy how to work the instore specials with the monthly coupon booklet and manufacturer coupons. I showed her moneymaking scenarios and we perused the weekly ad for deals.

Lastly, we headed to Albertsons where I knew they were running rolling catalinas (see, that US coupon lingo again), and we went crazy there. The Betty Crocker Roll ups, etc were on sale for $1 each, and for every 5 that you purchased, you would get a $3.50 catalina back. On top of that, there were doublers available and we had coupons to double! Here's what my deals looked like at Albertsons:

Transaction #1:
5 Betty Crocker Rollups at $1 each = $5
2 .50/2 coupons, doubled
OOP: $3
Got back a Catalina of $3.50 which meant I made .50!

Transaction #2 and #3:
5 Betty Crocker Rollups/Gushers at $1 each = $5
2 .50/2 coupons, doubled
Total cost: $3
Used a Catalina of $3.50 which would have meant everything would be free, but I bought 2 Starbursts, using a BOGO coupon ended up paying .19cents total for each transaction.

Transaction #4:
5 Betty Crocker Rollups/Gushers at $1 each = $5
1 .50/2 coupon, doubled
Total cost: $4
Used a Catalina of $3.50, paying .50.

Transaction #5:
5 Betty Crocker Rollups/Gushers at $1 each = $5
no coupons used
Total cost: $5
Used a Catalina of $3.50, paying $1.50

Transaction #6:
1 Oreo Cakesters at $2.99 each
used 1 FPC = $0
4 Cheerios at $1.77 = $7.08
used 2 $1/2 Cheerios, doubled
1 Starburst, .69cents
Used a Catalina of $3.50, ended up paying .27

Received a free loaf of bread as a Thank You from Albertson's!

Total spent at Albertsons: $5.65
(NOTE: If I had chosen not to purchase the Starbursts, I would have paid $0 for Transactions #2, 3 and #6.

Total SAVED at Albertsons: $92.00!

Total spent: $11.22, for 69 items.
Total saved: $148.63.
Total savings of 93%!!!!
PLUS, I came home with a $1.50 Catalina for cereal that doesn't expire until April 30!

Want to know how to save 93% off your groceries just like I did yesterday? You might be interested in the Extreme Shopper US edition, please read this post for more information.

NOTE: Currently I do not have access to any US coupon inserts, so if you are worried that you can't get great deals without these inserts, I hope this post shows you that you can still get coupons and a 93% discount rate without them!

Coupon shopping in the USA

Mrs.Smith does USA: Shopping and saving, that is. Introducing a NEW class to our lineup, this class is called "Guide to Extreme Shopping in the USA." This is a 3-part class, and the cost is $45 per person.

Part 1 (Skype or video): I will walk you through various resource sites and coupon printing sites. I will discuss my favourite sites to get US deals, and work on deal scenarios at various shops for that week and show you coupons and other coupon items such as catellinas. During this class, we will pick a date as to when we will continue part 3 which is a trip down to the USA.

Part 2 (remote): Once the trip date is set, we will, via a private blog, discuss various shopping and savings scenarios and you will be responsible for deciding what you want to purchase and where, and printing out the appropriate coupons. I will be available to discuss your shopping scenarios, discuss what coupons to use, what deals to work out, etc.

Part 3 (in person): we will drive down to the USA and hit the stores we've discussed with the game plan we've discussed. We'll shop the stores and I'll share tips/secrets, and discuss how coupon shopping is different in US/Canada and show you real life, real time examples (such as catalinas, RR's and so forth). I'll introduce you to various stores, go over their store policies and discuss best prices for items. I'll go through check out with you at each store as well.

This class is for you if you:
1) shop often in the US and want to learn more about coupon shopping and saving for grocery/household items
2) have never shopped in the US for groceries/household items but would like to
3) are considering whether it is worth your time/effort to drive to the States to shop
4) want to explore other ways to shop/save

This class is NOT an endorsement to shop USA or a battle cry against shopping in our Canadian stores. This class is just simply an introduction for Canadians to US shopping/saving and the decision on how and where you spend your grocery/household items dollars is up to you.

Please note parts 2 and 3 will happen within the same week, or at mutual agreement, can happen later if everyone in the class is ok with working up their own deals with some help from me.

A minimum of 3 people must sign up for each session and a mutual date for parts 2 and 3 must be agreed upon during class (part 1). The first 6 people to sign up for each session will have their transportation included in the class cost.

Please contact me at kmemeric at hotmail (dot) com if you are interested in attending a US class/session.

For those who are interested in just the class and not the trip portion, you can audit this class (no participation) by viewing a video I have set up on a private blog. Cost is $25. Access to the blog will be granted for 2 weeks from date of payment. If you're interested in this option please email me as well! This class option begins April 15.

(Why the higher cost for these classes? First, the original Extreme Shopper class is offered at an extremely lower price as it is my hope to positively impact as many people as possible and want to offer this class at as low a rate as I can. Secondly, the US classes are very indepth, and takes a lot of time/effort and include videos, not to mention 3 sessions (part 1, 2, 3). Gas costs are factored into the costs. And lastly, the benefit of having another market and source of savings is considered in the price of the classes).