Freebies for Christmas

Despite that fact that it is not even quite Halloween yet, I've been thinking about Christmas. For several years now I have occasionally gone to "freebie" sites and signed up to be sent free samples of various items. This year, I decided to do this again, but with Christmas in mind.

While I do not recommend giving people on your gift list ONLY random free samples, I think they can be a fun way to add some fun extras to a gift, or to help fill a gift bag or stocking.

 Pictured: freebies I have received in the last month or so.

• Lindt chocolate truffes- got a coupon for a free bag by liking their facebook page during promotion. 
• Harley-Davidson sticker (free by mail. I have some Harley lovers in my family). 
• Ponds wipes samples and blue make-up bag of cosmetics samples (free by mail from Target during promo). Aero Shot energy gel sample (free by mail). 
• Eucerin lotion sample (free by mail).  
• Solar grasshopper (not actually free, but less than $1 on Amazon and thinking a kid in my family would love it.) 
• Not pictured: free mini-candle from Bed Bath and Beyond (got coupon online and picked up in-store).

I've signed up for another dozen or so that I'm expecting in the mail soon, plus I am keeping my eyes peeled for more to sign up for.

These are the sites I check regularly that tip me off to these freebies (I use Google Reader for most of my blog reading, so I'm not actually going to each of these everyday, they just come up in my feed. Easiest way to do it in my opinion.)  Not all of these are exclusively freebies, but I have found them all to be useful for this purpose.

Absurdly Cool Freebie Finder
 Freebie Shark
FreeSamples.org
FrugalFritzie (Actually more of a coupon blog, but does post good freebies sometimes)
HeyIt'sFree!
JustFreeStuff
Living Richly on a Budget (Again not exclusively freebies, but does include sometimes.)
MommySavers (Not exclusively freebies, but does include good ones sometimes.)
Who Said Nothing In Life is Free (Not all freebies, but good.)

Are any of you freebie collectors? What are you favorite sites? Please share in the comments!

Back To School Supplies- check out Frugal Fritzie

Thanks to Frugal Fritzie for being so organized- she has put up a chart of where to get the best deal on each different kind of school supply! Generally with this kind of update I would just put it on the Frugal Townie facebook page or Twitter page, but this is so cool I thought it deserved it's own blog entry.

P.S. Other people are as obsessed with school supplies as I am, right? :)


photo credit

Grocery Deals Round-Up: 3/7 to 3/13

Wondering what the criteria is for my weekly grocery deals? Unless otherwise noted, they are:

1. Limited time sale prices, not everyday regular prices.
2. The sale price is low compared to food prices in general (meaning, I tend to list the cheapest foods. Notice that few things are more than a dollar or two per unit.)
3. Sale price is considerably lower than regular price, or compared to prices at other stores.
4. Basic, whole foods rather than processed/packaged foods. Whole foods are often healthier and cheaper! The idea being you could make many different things from these basic ingredients. (Occasionally I will add packaged foods when they are a really good deal, though, or if they are something that is hard to make yourself.)
5. I bold items that are especially good deals that I am excited about!

That being said, here are the deals for this week!

Produce Items:
Asparagus- $1.18/lb @ Checkers
Avocados (Hass)- $0.88/ea @ Checkers
Broccoli- $0.88/lb @ Checkers
Carrots- $0.99/ 2lb bag @ HyVee
Grapefruit- $0.29/ea @ Aldi
Grapes (Green)- $1.00/lb @ HyVee
Green Beans- $0.88/lb @ Checkers
Kiwi Fruit- $0.99/ 16oz @ Aldi
Lettuce (Romain, Red, Green) - $0.78/bunch @ Checkers
Mangoes- $0.78/ea @ Checkers
Oranges-  $1.48/bag ($0.37/lb) @ Aldi
Peaces/Plums/Nectarines- $0.20/ea @ Aldi
Potatoes (Russet)- $1.18/ 5lb bag @ Checkers
Strawberries- $1.29/16oz @ Aldi
Yellow Squash or Zuchinni- $0.58/lb @ Checkers

Other Items:
Chicken (thighs or drumsticks)- $0.98/lb @ Checkers OR Dillons
Breakfast items: cereals, meats, pancake mixes, frozen meals, etc- on sale @ Aldi
Steel Cut Oats- $2.49/ 28oz @ Aldi
Tortillas- var. sizes- 2/$3.00 @ HyVee
Pet Food- many varities on sale @ HyVee

photo from:  http://www.sxc.hu/photo/609376

In our continuing weekly series, here is the coordinating recipe from Romance on a Dime: Fruit Smoothies!  There are such good deals on fruit right now, what a great way to use it up!