Thrifty Thursday: Good news and bad news about diapers

The good news about Huggies diapers is that they are changing their packaging and name, which means that you should be on the look-out for great clearance deals in your area. The Gentle Fit diapers (sizes newborn-2) will now be called “Little Snugglers” and the Natural Fit diapers (sizes 3-6) will now be called “Little Movers.”

The bad news is that the new packages have fewer diapers (about 3-4 less per jumbo pack), but are still the same price. You can read more about this in this article here from Baby Cheapskate.

More good news: Diapers.com still has the “old” packages and they are $9.99/each. This is probably one of the cheaper ways to stock up right now. If you have never used the site before, you can get Huggies jumbo packs for about $6 each when all is said and done. Here’s how:

1. Send in any manufacturer’s coupons you have. Diapers.com accepts manufacturer’s coupons. To find out how to submit your manufacturer’s coupons for credit, click here.

2. If you haven’t already, sign up for Ebates. If you are a new member, you will get a $5 bonus (after you make your first purchase) when you sign up here. Once you have signed up, search for Diapers.com, and click through the link on the site. You will get an additional 1% cash back for shopping through this link.

3. Choose 5 Huggies jumbo packs (size 1-6) here. Add them to your cart.

4. Proceed to check out. If you’re a new member, you’ll have to register.

5. Enter the coupon code MELISSASBA if you are a new customer to get $10 off your order of $49 or more. If you’ve ordered from diapers.com before, you can try to use the code RESOLUTION.

6. If you originally added $49 or more to your cart (before the code), your order should qualify for free shipping. Your total should be $49.95 at this point.

7. In the “promotional code” box in the bottom right hand corner, put a comma after MELISSASBA and then enter the code NEW5. An additional $5 should be deducted from your balance. You should be at $34.95 at this point. (Any coupons you have submitted should also appear as a credit on your account)…if the NEW5 code does not work, try calling diapers.com at 1-800-342-7377.

*Your diapers should arrive within two business days!

8. Submit your receipts to Caregivers Marketplace. You should get $3.75 back.

If you use Ebates and purchased Huggies, your total out of pocket when all is said and done should be $30.85 for five jumbo packs.

Even more good news: You can get paid to test diapers! Arquest is doing another diaper study. They are currently doing a study for boys and girls wearing size 4 diapers. You complete two simple questionnaires (one week apart) about your experience, and in addition to the free diapers, you get a $10 check when you’re finished!

Here’s the number that you call (if you don’t get a “real” person, leave a message…even if they are full, they will put you on their list and call you back when there are openings):

1-888-342-7372
Extension 646 for girls
Extension 634 for boys

It’s always nice when the good news outweighs the bad! Have a great Thursday!

Save 30% during the Gymboree Circle of Friends sale!


The Gymboree Circle of Friends sale starts on Thursday, May 14th and runs through May 17th. Most stores will allow you to go in on Wednesdays and place a 24 hour hold on items.

Click here to print out a 30% off Circle of Friends coupon to use in store.

If you are shopping online, use code GYMFAMILY to save 30% off at check-out. You get free shipping if you spend $100 or more.

You will get an additional 5% off if you use your Gymboree Visa in store or online.

You will also earn a $25 Gymbuck for every $50 that you spend. Your Gymbucks can be redeemed July 16th-July 26th.

Have fun shopping!

Randalls deals for the week of 5/13


Here are some highlights from the Randalls ad this week. Be sure to check your ad for specific details because pricing and promotions may vary by location!

*Ballpark franks are BOGO free – there is an overlapping catalina deal that works with this! Here are the details on the catalina deal:

Sara Lee catalina deal
Valid 5/4/09 – 5/18/09

$5 OYNO when you buy any 5 participating Sara Lee products

Choose from:
Sara Lee Soft & Smooth Bread
Sara Lee Soft & Smooth Buns
Sara Lee Deluxe Bagels
Ball Park Franks
Jimmy Dean Roll Sausage
Hillshire Farm Smoked Sausage
Hillshire Farm Deli Select Ultra Thin Lunchmeat
Hillshire Farm Hearty Slices Lunchmeat

I already have a $5 Sara Lee catalina from the Living Well promotion and I have a $2.50/4 Ballpark tear pad coupon (THANKS MARTHA!) so here’s my plan:

Buy 4 Ballpark Franks – $3.99/each
Buy 1 Sara Lee buns – $2/each

-$7.98 (From the BOGO free promo)
-$2.50 (from the tear pad coupon)
-$5 (from my current Sara lee Catalina)

=$2.48 OOP, earn another $5 catalina!

If you don’t have anything to “roll” into this deal, there were $1/2 Ball Park Franks, Any Packages in the 4-26-09 RP inserts. This would be the least expensive way to do this deal:

Buy 4 Ball Park franks – $3.99/each
Buy 1 Sara Lee buns – $2/each

-$7.98 (from the BOGO fere promo)
-$2 (if you have 2 $1/2 coupons)

=$7.98 OOP, earn a $5 catalina

Buy 5, Save $5 cereal promotion: save $5 instantly when you buy 5 participating items

*Kelloggs Corn Flakes/Betty Crocker Fruit Gushers – $1/each (after instant savings)
*GM Honey Nut Cheerios/Cinnamon Toast Crunch – $1.50/each (after instant savings)
*Kelloggs Special K Red Berries/Post Honey Bunches of Oats – $2/each (after instant savings)

$1/1 Kellogg’s Cereal (10 oz or larger ~ any variety), 4-1-09 RP
$1/1 Special K printable on Coupons.com
$.75/2 Betty Crocker Fruit Gushers printable on BettyCrocker.com
$1/3 General Mills Cereals (see list under aditional info) from 5-3-09 SS
.55/1 Cinnamon Toast Crunch printable on coupons.com

OTHER DEALS:
*Fresh assorted pork loin chops – $.99/lb
*Angus Beef Boneless bottom round roast – $.99/lb
*Blackberries – $.77/lb
*California Pizza Kitchen pizza – $4.99 (use $2 printable from coupons.com)
*Lucerne milk – $1.99

Clean up and save big – $4.99 each when you buy 3 participating items (don’t forget to load P&G esaver coupons – this will be pretty good if you have the coupons from the P&G Year of Savings booklet)
*Bounce fabric softener
*Gain laundry detergent
*Duracell or Energizer batteries
*Bounty paper towels
*Cheer laundry detergent
*Downy fabric softener
*Febreze fabric refresher
*Quilted Northern bath tissue
*Brawny paper towels
*Charmin bath tissue
*Febreze candles

Get free Jennie-O Turkey!


Jennie-O is running a promotion in conjunction with The Biggest Loser season finale. The first 25,000 people to register here on their site will get a free $5 coupon to use toward the purchase of Jennie-O turkey products. You can also download a free copy of Savor Flavor: A Guide to Sensible, Healthy Living.

You can check out a list of Biggest Loser approved recipes that can be made with Jennie-O products here.

I don’t know if this is “Biggest Loser approved” but here is another yummy recipe that you can make using ground turkey (I got this from my freezer swap group).

Southwest Turkey Burgers
(1 recipe, makes 6 patties)
Ingredients:
– 1 lb. ground turkey
– 1/4 c. salsa
– 1 t. garlic powder
– 1 t. salt
– 1 t. paprika
– 1/2 t. cumin
– 1/2 t. chili powder
– 1/2 t. black pepper
– 1 T. Worcestershire sauce
– 1 c. bread crumbs

On Hand:
-6 Hamburger Buns

Assembly Directions:
-Combine all ingredients. Shape into appropriate number of patties for the number of recipes you are making.

Freezing Directions:
-Press patties flat. Stack between sheets of freezer paper. Four stacks of five patties will generally fit into a 1-gallon freezer bag. Place patty stacks in freezer bags. Seal, label and freeze.

Serving Directions:
-Thaw in refrigerator or microwave. Patties can be cooked in a non-stick frying pan or on the grill. Cook until no longer pink in the center.

Tip of the Day Tuesday: Where to donate glucose meters

Yesterday Cheryl posted this comment:

I love reading the scenarios and get lots of ideas, but I have to ask….what do you do with so many blood glucose monitors? My husband in diabetic, but we can’t use all of those!

Her timing was perfect since there are a lot of deals on glucose this week and I had already planned this topic for Tip of the Day Tuesday!

There are lots of great places where you can donate your blood glucose meters if you don’t have a use for them: (please note that your meters will need to be sealed in the original packaging if you plan to doante them)

*Free clinics – If you have a free clinic in your area, contact them to see if they will accept your meter donations

*OB/GYN offices – Donate to your local OB/GYN office for pregnant women who are diagnosed with gestational diabetes

*Senior citizen centers – Check with your local senior citizen center to see if they have a need for or will accept your donation

*Schools – school nurses keep these on hand for monitoring blood sugar levels in students

*Vet clinics – even pets can have diabetes!

*Freecycle – Click here to find a Freecycle group near you. Post a message offering to donate your meters, and they’ll be gone before you know it!

Here are a few other organizations which accept donations:
*American Diabetes Association

*Ashley’s Diabetes Information Center

*Hope Heals Healthcare Ministries

*IPump.org

*Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

*medWish International

Sometimes the test strips are more valuable to people you know who may be diabetic than the monitors themselves are. The Bayer Breeze/Contour monitors (which are on sale at CVS/Walgreens this week) contain free test strips. If you know someone who is diabetic and uses these monitors, they would probably be grateful for the free strips as they are VERY expensive. Some people take the batteries out of the monitors to keep and use and then donate just the strips.

If you do make a donation, don’t forget to get a receipt so you can use your donation as a tax deduction!