Frugal Patti

Head over to the Kashi website and register for a free frozen entrée coupon. Just by providing your address and email address, they will send you a coupon for one of their frozen entrees. What a great deal!

The fine print:  Offer valid until March 15, 2009 or while supplies last. Available to U.S. residents only. Must be 18 or older to receive coupon. Limit one coupon per family, household, address, or email address. Please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery.

Each month Walgreens offers a booklet of great rebates, which will have at least a few “Free After Rebate” items. We only have one week left in February, but there are still six great (and free) items that you can pick up this month. You may also wish to review the rest of Walgreens EasySaver Catalog for additional rebates.

1. Zucol Cold Care Lozenges, 18 Pack
2. Revlon Age Defying Spa Concealer or Spa Foundation
3. Garnier Fructis Wonder Waves Shampoo, Conditioner or Stylers, 6.8 to 13 oz.
4. Revlon Creme Lip Gloss
5. Walgreens Multi-Purpose No Rub Solution, 4 oz.
6. ThermaCare Trial Size Neck, Shoulder & Wrist Heat Wrap

For additional savings, make sure to select the Walgreens EasySaver option to receive your rebate on a Wagreens Gift Card. For selecting this option, you will receive an extra 10%. What a great deal!

The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports also has programs to keep us active in all stages of our lives. We all remember the physical fitness tests in school, but the program has much more to offer. At presidentschallenge.org you can sign up for free programs to track your activities and keep you motivated. The Active Lifestyle program is designed for those who currently are active less than 30 minutes per day for 5 times a week. The Presidential Champions program is for those who are currently active and want to track and challenge themselves further. These programs will allow you to track all physical activity by points value. They will teach you that all physical activity counts for our fitness, whether it be gardening, washing the car, or mowing the grass

MyPoints.com (formerly BonusMail) has been around for quite a while. I’ve personally been a member since 1997, and earning gift certificates. In the program you earn points by doing various tasks, and then trade them for a variety of gift certificates of your choice. Most of my points have been earned by reading an advertisement email and clicking on a link to go to a certain web page. You can also earn points for using their grocery store coupons, searching the web with their search engine, purchasing from many web sites (through links on their web site), and many others ways. I strongly urge everyone to sign up and start earning points toward some great gift certificates. They come in very handy to make the household finances go farther and/or for gifts.

Although I’ve been able to find great buys at thrift stores all year around. January is the best month to take time out for your thrift store shopping. At the end of each year, people typically are looking for every last charitable contribution that can amass before the end of the year. As people are becoming more careful with their money, the charitable contributions for last year are even more important, and you can take advantage of this. This is a great opportunity to take advantage of especially given the trend that started last year of fewer contributions to thrift stores. As finances started becoming more troubled, the contributions (and quality of the contributions) became less. Take some time and browse the thrift store offerings this January.

Disney announced today that they will be offering free multi-day tickets to US military personnel (both active duty and retired) in the 2009 year, under a program called “Disney’s Armed Forces Salute”. In Walt Disney World, Florida it will be a 5 day park hopper ticket, and at Disneyland Resort, California they are offering a 3 day park hopper ticket. Each US military service member or their spouse can also purchase reduced rate tickets for other family members. Walt Disney World in Florida is also offering 40% off on some of their resort. Disneyland Resort in California is offering discounts on their resorts also, but I’ve not been able to find any specifics in writing for their offers. For additional detail on the Walt Disney World offers and any restrictions, you can refer to their web site at www.disneyworld.com/military. More information on the Disney Resort offers can be obtained by calling 714/956-6424.

As we try to make each of our pennies go a little farther, discount web sites are a good place to find great deals. (Note: Care must be taken to not succumb to impulse buying when the item can’t be used by your family. Buying anything that can’t be used, no matter how inexpensive, is a waste of funds.) Dilleo.com is a unique site in that it offers only one item per day that is at a large discount. By signing up for their newsletter, you will be notified of the deal of the day. Today’s deal is a Men’s St. Tropez Chronograph Swiss Legend Watch for $79.99 including shipping. This is a great site to find unique gifts and home items at a great price.

All the shopping is now done, including all grocery shopping. I have wrapped all the gifts, but still have to add bows and name tags on some of them. I plan to do this between batches of cookies. That should be doable. And yes, I did follow my own advise by downsizing the batches of cookies for the year. I polled the family members and was happy to find out that all agreed on Snickerdoodles, Short Bread and Oatmeal Cookies. Will be making those today, then make the cranberry sauce for tomorrow. I just have to get that done before our first family get together tonight. I always work better with a deadline anyway.

With only 1 day left before Christmas, I want to leave you with one additional last minute tip. If you find that you receive a card from someone you didn’t have on your card list, or for some other reason want to send someone a card at the last minute, ecards are a great way to fit that need. [I also like sending them throughout the year just to remind someone I’m thinking of them, or if they need to be cheered up for some reason.] Hallmark is my favorite site to send ecards from, although there are many others out there. Hallmark, as many sites, does charge for some cards, but have others that are free to send. It’s always nice to have a free way to let someone know you’re thinking of them.

 Disney is giving out free park admission during 2009 for everyone’s birthday. On your birthday they are offering free admission to one park of your choice. You can choose from either Walk Disney World in Florida or Disney Land Resort in California. What a great opportunity to celebrate your birthday.

To claim your free trip to Disney, register your birthday (and those of all your family members) at: Register Your Birthday with Disney Here. You will be asked for some basic information about yourself. A few weeks after your register, you will receive an email that you can take with you (along with an ID showing your birth date) to the park to claim your free trip. If you already have season tickets, you can still register. You can provide your information at the “Will Call” window at the park and will be given a “special gift” for your birthday.