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How to Save money on Formula + Rafflecopter Giveaway!

Babies = Expensive!

I’ve said it before… Babies are darn cute, but they’re also darn expensive. I was on a very tight budget while I was pregnant, and was really careful about what baby items I bought. There is SO much stuff, it’s all SO cute, and it’s all marketed as MUST HAVE items, it can be hard to know what you really need and what you can skip! I asked around to friends- What 3 items did you totally rely on, and what do you wish you’d skipped? That helped me prepare a nursery without overspending. {FYI- Boppy Pillow, extra baby sheets, a baby swing, baby medicine/first aid kit were the top must-haves, bottle warmer was the one I heard from EVERYONE that I could skip.}

Baby Arrives, Along with MORE Expenses!

Then, when baby gets here, there are even more unplanned expenses. A big one for me was formula. I had planned to breastfeed for at least 6 months, and was really committed to reaching that goal.

Unfortunately, things {as so often happens with a new baby in your life} did not go as planned. My little one arrived 3 weeks early, and had a lot of trauma during delivery. She spent a few days in NICU, then more time in the Pediatrics wing…And in all of the stress and confusion, no one ever brought me a pump or allowed me to feed her {I couldn’t even pick her up until the second night}, so we had a rough start. More complications followed, and after a month and a half of tears and frustration from both me and baby, we finally switched to formula.

The Switch to Formula

While I was really disappointed in switching to formula, baby was much happier with the change. But I could not believe how expensive formula was, or how fast we went through it! My oh my. We started out on Similac, and that worked great for her… Until she got sick for a week, and we found out about the Similac recall. They insisted that it probably wasn’t related, but many other moms were reporting the same symptoms! So we looked for an alternative.

Check out Parents Choice–

A wonderful choice for us, and your baby too, is Parents Choice formula. We switched to this line, and I was worried about how she would react to a new formula, but there was no change at all, and she loved it. But the big change for ME was that it was SO much more affordable. They have a really cool tool to help you discover how much you can save… Our savings switching from Similac Advance to Parents Choice is $634.91 per year. Wow, right? Try it yourself, Parents Choice $avings Calculator.

Great Quality at a Great Price

There are tons of other items for your baby in the Parents Choice line… My little girl is a HUGE fan of the banana puffs :) And, Parents Choice is generously offering a $10,000 Scholarship to one lucky winner in their new sweepstakes!

Win Your OWN set of Parents Choice Products!

Parents Choice Formula

One lucky winner will win this whole set of products:

  • 12.9 oz can of Parent´s Choice Premium to try.
  • 12.4 oz can of Parent´s Choice Advantage to try.
  • Two $3.00 off coupons for Parent´s Choice Infant Formula (redeemable at all Walmart stores).
  • Parent´s Choice Starter Set – a complete nurser system that includes a variety of bottles, nipples, liners, leak proof caps and retainer rings.

Rafflecopter Giveaway

{Disclosure:  The Parent´s Choice Infant Formula product sample, information, and giveaway have been provided by Parent´s Choice through MyBlogSpark.}

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FAN-tastic Freebie Friday! {20+ New Freebies!}

I love freebies...

Sign up for some {or all!} of these free offers, so YOU can have a mailbox full of free goodies like this each day too.

Today is a round up of new samples, plus some of the most popular of the week, in case you missed them!

FAN-tastic Freebie Friday:

Cash4Gold

Has anyone ever tried this “Cash for Gold” deal? If so, I’d love to hear some feedback on whether you think it’s worth it. Leave me a comment if you’ve got any info! Thanks.

  • $20 Free Gift Certificate: Enter the Peeled Snacks Recipe Contest, and you’ll get a $20 Gift Certificate! Every one who enters gets one.
  • Free Cat Products: Sign up for a new branch of my FAVORITE SURVEY SITE EVER- Synovate Cat Lovers Panel, and have the chance to try out new cat products and be rewarded for your opinions. Love it.
  • MySavings: Get todays new Free Samples- Coffee, magazines, haircare, salad dressing, and more! Free Samples.
  • Stakkd: Get a FREE sample of this new caffeine mixer. Sample Request.
  • LearnVest: Sign up for FREE! You’ll love their daily tips to live frugal and fashionable. Today you can learn 10 things to do with $10 bucks! LearnVest Free Membership.
  • Pampers: Join Gifts to Grow, get 100 FREE points, and redeem them for kids toys, free diapers, and more. Join Here.
  • Free Allergy Med’s: See if you qualify here- Allergy Study, and be eligible to get FREE allergy medications, FREE doctor visits, and even be paid for participation.
  • Depends Sample Pack: Get a sample pack by requesting it with a quick form. Click Here.
  • Free Samples with sign up: Get Free Nestle Nido Milk samples. Join the community here- Click Here.
  • Free Food at Chili’s: Print a coupon to bring with you on your next visit to Chili’s and get FREE Chips and Queso with your order!
  • Free ProForce Cleaner: Hover over the images of the bottles on the Sams Club site, and it’ll bring up a little box to request a sample! Don’t need to be a member.
  • Prescription Discounts: Sign up for this card to get up to 75% off meds- Click Here, or – Click Here to find printable med’s coupons.
  • Freebies for Women: Some great daily coupons, giveaways, and samples. Sign up for their daily update or just check out what’s available now- Click Here.
  • Free The Google Story Book Summary: Click Here to get it.
  • Make your own FREE tshirt: Great for the kids. The T-Shirts are made of 100% Pre-Shrunk cotton and are available in sizes from S to XXL The T-Shirt is FREE, just pay for Shipping and Processing! Click Here.
  • Vindale: Get FREE products to try out at home, just like I do. Sign up give your opinion and win! Click Here.
  • Free Gift Cards + More: Start earning bucks today and you’ll soon be cashing out for Free Prizes. I redeem all points for Amazon Gift Cards. Start today! Click Here to join me!
  • Free $3 Credit: Introducing the Animated Photo card! Move your hand to reveal as one image blends into the next. Get an instead Free $3 credit. Click Here to get one. These are SUPER cool.
  • Daily Freebies: Check out That Freebie Site for each days new updates. They’re new, but have some good stuff.
  • Freeflys: Most of you are already using this, but did you know you can search by category too? Search for your favorites on Freeflys.com today.

Free Laser Hair Removal: LAST chance! Get this months entry in to win a FREE treatment! Enter here to win!

If you have some freebie lovin’ friends, feel free to use the social buttons to share this! Everyone loves free stuff, right? Have a great weekend… And watch for a couple of BRAND NEW Rafflecopter Giveaways starting later today! :)

Totsy

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20% off ENTIRE Purchase at Michaels Craft Store

New Coupons and Savings at Michaels!

Click here to get the NEW Michaels Printable Coupons! 20% off of your entire purchase, even including sale items. Plus, there are several more coupons you can print too.

{Coupons are valid July 31, 2011 US Ad Valid through August 6, 2011}

Love crafts? Subscribe to FaveCrafts Free Quick & Crafty e-mail newsletter and enjoy new craft projects, tips and videos. Click Here to get it too!

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Extreme Couponing Help for Busy Moms

My Coupons...

Love the idea of saving with coupons, but feel like you just don’t have the time?

SavingsAngel helps busy moms dramatically cut their grocery bills. The best of all the blogs and websites with game-changing technology in one easy-to-use system. Personalized shopping lists from hundreds of weekly sale-coupon matchup deals. Search for specific products or coupons.

PLUS personalized help for beginners and great tips for experts. Click Here to join me at SavingsAngel, and start cutting YOUR grocery bill in half.

SavingsAngel

So far, I’ve LOVED SavingsAngel. Seriously.

Some of the best parts of the membership:

  • You get assigned a Mentor that helps to coach you and answer your questions. Take the time to connect with them, it’s so worth it!
  • There is a really extensive and inclusive forum, where you can chat with other members to share tips, learn new tricks, and get help.
  • SavingsAngel does the work for you… They match up all of the coupons and deals for you each week. They have links to guide you right to where you can print out coupons to match your local sales, to get items each week for free or almost free.

If you’re a busy mom on a strict budget {which is EXACTLY who I write this blog for!} then you will really be able to benefit from the services that you get a SavingsAngel. They do the majority of the work for you!

Check them out and get started here: SavingsAngel Sign Up. If you use my link today, you’ll get a BONUS of FOUR weeks of the service for FREE! How does this work? Well, when you sign up for a 4 week subscription, {and trust me, no lie, pinky promise you!!} that the low subscription price is MORE than worth it. If you sign up for that subscription here with my link, then you’ll also get a bonus of an additional 4 weeks for FREE! Imagine how much money you will have saved by then….

If you’re already using them, I’d love to hear what you think! I’ve only been a member a little over a month now… How have they helped YOU save?? Share in the comments!

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11 Free Things that New Moms Need Today

Babies are super cute… But they can be super expensive too!

I was already a freebie junkie before I got pregnant, but I really jumped into it more when I knew I had a baby on the way. There are SO many great free samples and coupons to be found for things like diapers, formula, wipes, food, toys… Really, everything you need to get ready for a little one. This is one of the best ways to try things out before investing in full-size products, so you learn what you and your baby like best. And you can rack up some major savings by stocking up on this stuff while you’re expecting – and it’s also an awesome way to build a frugal baby shower gift too, by filling a diaper bag with great samples, coupons, and trial sizes of baby stuff for the new mom to try out. Love it.

Samples, Coupons, Giveaways:

These are all resources that I have used myself to get great coupons, freebies, samples, and savings. The more mailing lists you get on – the more free stuff you’ll start to see show up in your mail too – Love it!

  1. Formula: Free sample of Simply Right baby formula- Sample Here. And then sign up to have a free sample of Members Mark baby formula  shipped to you too. If you plan to use formula, trying a few samples first is a great way to figure out how your baby will tolerate them. They’re all very similar, but there were a couple that Abby just couldn’t handle well at all. They’re so expensive, you definitely don’t want to purchase a brand that you’ll end up throwing away!
  2. Baby Magazines: These are SO awesome – they have fun articles and helpful tips, but they also have loads of high-value coupons! Some of my favorites are KIWI, Parents, & Family Fun – but here are two totally free options – American Baby Magazine and Baby Talk. Or, get one for you – Free subscription to Ladies Home Journal.
  3. Walmart: Find new updated samples a couple of times a week, with lots of great baby options like diapers or lotions.
  4. Travel Mug with Photo: Ok, this one is almost free. Get a super cute travel mug customized with a picture of your new baby. Perfect when you’re away from them during the day, or as an awesome gift for grandparents.
  5. Free Baby Book: Create a free online baby book to privately share photos, movies, and more with friends and family.
  6. Free Photo Canvas: I’m sure you’ve seen this Canvas People free offer before… But if you haven’t used it yet, check it out today. I promise you, you will LOVE the print when you get it. The quality is amazing, and it is such a beautiful way to remember your favorite baby moment…
  7. New Printable Diaper Coupons: Check out Planning Family for tons of fun freebies, advice, and a great community to chat with other new moms. But my favorite part is the printable diaper coupons section!
  8. Amazon Mom: Sign up for Amazon Mom to get FREE 2 day shipping on almost everything, plus big discounts on diapers and wipes! And, to earn FREE Amazon gift cards get a FREE account at Swagbucks!
  9. MySurvey: I’ve had really good luck with product tests from MySurvey, and have gotten diapers to try out two times now. They seem to have a lot of great opportunities for moms to sample new products for name brands.
  10. Free baby tshirt: There are so many great baby tees with funny sayings on them – think up one of your own, and put it on a tshirt you customize yourself, for only $2 bucks. Or make a super cute big brother or sister tshirt, to wear when you bring baby home for the first time. Love it.
  11. Zulily: Sign up for a FREE account at Zulily to get access to deals of up to 80% off designer baby, kids, and mom items.

If you have a little one on the way, already have a kiddo or two, or are an auntie or grandma, then these goodies will help you a ton. If you know other momma’s looking to save some money, feel free to use the social buttons to share this to your Facebook or Twitter – everyone loves a freebie.

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Did you get your FREE Inspiration Guide yet?

Get this super fun new issue of the Inspiration Guide from KraftMaid!

I got this last year, and I loved it. It was filled with great, fresh ideas, tips, tricks…. And even a few coupons. If you’re a DIY lover or a home improvement junkie, you’ll love reading through this book.

I thought that the promotion was over, but I saw today that they are still giving these out…. So get one while they’re still available!

Choose which books and materials you’d like them to mail you, and you can even download some copies right now!

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Are you a Frugal Quiznos Fan?

Quiznos

Quiznos is one of my FAVORITE restaurants!

I love the Honey Bacon Club… One of my favorite sandwiches, anywhere, of all time. But they’re a little spendy, so we only stop in when I have coupons.

If you’re a frugal Quiznos fan too, print all 4 of these new coupons to save on YOUR favorite sandwich too!

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