Hi all! I hope you have had a wonderful holiday, and that the last week has been restful! I am not quite ready to come back from my break- my entire family has been sick since last Wednesday, and I have had a vicious case of strep throat that has kept me in bed all week- but I did want to remind you of a couple of things before the month- and the year!- ends!

-If you signed up for the $20 Rue La La credit (no longer available), you only have until the end of the month to use it before it expires. I know a lot of people have used it to score some free or inexpensive gifts for people- maybe you can find something to reward yourself for all the money you saved this Christmas season! :) They have a new sale starting at 11am EST.

-All coupons will be reseting at the beginning of the month, so if there are some you wanted to print, I'd do it now. Go ahead and look through the major sites, because they have alreaded added a lot of coupons in the past couple of weeks that you may not have seen. Don't forget that you can now print coupons on Swagbucks, and you get 10 SBs for every coupon you print and redeem!

-Speaking of Swagbucks, if you haven't signed up yet, you only have 2 more days to take advantage of the doubled sign-up bonus. You can get 60 Swagbucks instead of 30 when you sign up and use the code JoinIn2010. It's free to join, and now is a perfect time to do it- you can start saving them up for next Christmas, or to pay for things you need now- like diapers! Go here to read more about it.

-There are a TON of coupons expiring tomorrow. You need to look through your stash, start pulling out the expiring ones, and see if there are any you really want to use before you lose the chance. You will not only save money, but your notebook or coupon stash will be ready for the new year!

-If you are still looking to make a year-end tax-deductible donation, check out this great nonprofit!

We are in the home stretch! Only 5 more days left to shop, wrap, clean, cook, decorate, travel... oh, and enjoy! :) I will be taking some time off for all of these things, but also to enjoy the Christmas season with my kids and husband. My kids are out for two weeks, and I really want to focus on them (blogging takes so much time, and I have somewhat neglected them in the craziness of Christmas posting!). I am looking forward to relaxing and enjoying what is left of the Christmas season.

I will be hard at work again when January starts. We will be getting back to basics in January- our focus as of late has been mostly helping you to save money this Christmas (and I hope you have!). I am ready to get back to our couponing, grocery stores, and drug stores deals that have always been our most important interest. As we are getting back to basics, I will be posting features from all of our couponing info as regular posts, which will be especially helpful for all of our new readers and those just starting out with couponing, or those who are interested in trying it. That way we can all start the new year with our focus intent on slashing our grocery bills and really reshaping the way we shop to save money in our households- won't that be a fantastic way to start 2011?

Since this will be the last post I make for a little while (be sure to follow us on Facebook- if I find any really fantastic freebies or deals going on, they will be posted there), I would love for you to head over and check out a post I just did called "A Mommy's Perspective on Christmas". I wrote it a couple of years ago at Christmas when my youngest was getting ready to celebrate his first holiday season, and I recently rediscovered it and wanted to share it with my wonderful readers. Please head over and check it out!

Merry Christmas to all of you. Thank you for helping me and my family to have a better Christmas than I thought would be possible, and know that you are all appreciated so much. I enjoy hearing from you, writing for you, and saving money with you, and am grateful that you choose to spend time with me here! I hope you all have a fabulous Christmas, heavy on joy and light on stress, and that you are truly able to enjoy all of the wonderful things about this season. I'm looking forward to getting back to work soon!

I TOTALLY just snagged this- MacAfee Internet Security 2011 for 3 computers/2 years for $19.99 instead of the regular $129.99! This is a lightning deal and half of them are already claimed. Hurry over and click the Lightning Deal button on the right to purchase. This will ship free with Amazon Mom or Amazon Prime! I am SO excited about this deal! :)

Amazon has a special promotional code that you can use to score a SWEET deal on the new Twilight Eclipse movie! Enter TWILIGHT at checkout to get $8 off!


Eclipse Single-Disc DVD $7.99 after code!
Eclipse Single-Disc Blueray $11.99 after code!
Eclipse 2-disc DVD/Blueray $17.99 after code!


Here's what happened when I tried: I put in the promo code at checkout, but it said the promo code could not be applied. However, up at the top, it showed an $8 giftcard balance, so that is where the discount shows up. I also had 2 movies in my cart and it took $16 off, but YMMV!


This will ship free with Amazon Mom or Amazon Prime- and Amazon changes prices all the time, so I would hurry!


You can also still get the Twilight single-disc DVD for $5.49!


(thanks Living Rich with Coupons!)

The Lowe's Gift-A-Thon on FB starts today at 10am EST- they are offering 90% off of select products! You will have to keep an eye on their page- every time they have a new item available for 90% off, they will post a link to a sign-up page. You will have to click that link and enter your email address- if you are one of the first (however many they are accepting for that particular item), you will get a one-time use coupon code via email! They will have a bunch of different items for 90% off, including KitchenAid Mixers!! They will be posting codes all weekend long.

Here are their FAQs from their page:

1. We will post valid products periodically throughout the weekend that are part of the promotional event.
2. When we post the products, we will provide a link to an e-mail sign-up page.
3. When you click that link, you will be sent to a page where you can enter your e-mail address for an opportunity to receive a promotional code for a discount on that item.
4. Enter your e-mail address.
5. An image will be displayed with text in it. Enter the text from the image into the field. (Why are we asking you to do this? Doing so decreases the possibility that automated programs will abuse this registration form. If you are not sure what the words are, enter your best guess or click the button labeled “Try Another” and a new image will appear.)
6. There are a limited amount of unique codes for each event, but if your e-mail address is one of the first received (depending on the amount released for each item), the promotional code will be sent to you within 6 hours.
7. Please check your spam folder for the reply e-mail; it’s possible it could be detoured there and not make it into your in-box.
8. If you receive a 90% off code in an e-mail, please note this is a unique code that can only be used once and it will be deactivated after the initial use.
9. Each unique 90% off code will be valid for 48 hours after the code has been sent to you, not 48 hours after you read it. If you send the code to a friend, both of you will not be able to use it, as this code can only be used one time.

It's Friday, and you Swaggernauts know what that means- it's Mega Swagbucks Day! That means that your odds of winning Mega Swagbucks (any amount over 10 SBs) is even higher today! The only way to earn these mega sbs is by searching- so get to it! Put that toolbar to good use- every time you head to a new site, type the name of the site into your search bar, and get to it that way- you will not only remember to search, but you can also be rewarded for it!

If you have not signed up for Swagbucks yet, now is a GREAT time! You can sign up now and get 60 Swagbucks instead of the usual 30 with code JoinIn2010! Check out my guides and sign up- it's free, you lose nothing, and you get double the sign-up bonus!

Barnes and Noble is offering free express shipping today only with code D9X9T7R! They are also offering B2G1 Free on all toys and games, Buy One Get One 50% off on all kids' holiday books, 75% off of select dvd box sets, and other great sales! The site says that free shipping is offered on orders of $25 or more, but this code will get you free shipping on ANY order (I think that there might be items on the site that are not free-shipping eligible, but I did verify the coupon code with an order and it worked fine!).

If you are still in need of stocking stuffers, gift basket fillers, or fun gifts for friends and daughters and yourself!), you can get free shipping on ALL orders at Philosophy today-19th! They have a whole section of $15 and under gifts under Special Value, like the set above which is only $12!

10,000 pairs of prescription glasses will be given away on Coastal Contacts' FB page at 9am EST. They have already released the code, so head over here and like their page to get the code, and then head to the Coastal Contact website at 9am and get your order ready. You can check out at 9 am EST with the coupon code (it will not be valid until then). All you will have to pay is shipping!

Today over 900 retailers are offering FREE shipping on your purchases! This will be a fantastic time to save and get those last-minute gifts to your home without having to go out in the cold. Be sure to read the fine print carefully- sometimes, if you have to spend more than you were planning on to get the free shipping, it is NOT a deal. Also, be sure to maximize your savings by shopping through Ebates or ShopAtHome. You can sign up for either (or both) sites for FREE, and you get back a portion of your purchase as cash- won't that be a nice bonus after Christmas is over? :) You can read my guides here to earning money while shopping online!