If you weren’t able to listen live, the August taping of Viva La Value is available through the widget below. The hour flew by and our hosts Lisa and Kate are as delightful as they sound on air. It was definitely an experience to remember and I hope you enjoy some of our insider tips!

(To my amazement, I’m not completely annoyed by my voice on radio!)

Sara of Saving for Someday, Red Plum editor Kate Acieri, Toni of The Shopping Adventures of Cheapo McFrugalpants, Vivia La Value host Lisa Reynolds, Heather of Inexpensively, and yours truly.

Viva La Value – August 2010

I’m on a blogging hiatus this week as I attend BlogHer in NYC. Yes, I realize how ridiculous it is to neglect my blogs while I’m attending a blogging conference, but I have a great guest post to tide you over.

Enjoy!

*************************

Free shipping! Save 50%! Buy one get one free! Coupon codes are everywhere. Especially during holiday and Back to School time, stores are pushing coupons almost daily. If you spend more than 10 minutes online, you are probably getting them via email, seeing them on Twitter or Facebook, and watching them pop up in banner ads. It can be both tempting and confusing when you see a whole list of online coupons for your favorite stores. How do you make sure that you get the best deals?

First, be sure that you are looking carefully at the fine print of the coupons. Sometimes it does not appear until you actually visit the landing page for the coupon. Certain brand names can be excluded or there may be minimum purchase amounts. The former is often the case with higher end stores and the latter is true of a large percentage of online coupons. The last thing that you want is to take the time to fill your cart only to find out that you will not be getting the deal that you initially thought that you would.

Second, evaluate whether you can “stack” the codes. This means combining more than one offer such as a free shipping coupon with a percentage off or dollar off coupon. If you cannot stack the codes, you will need to weigh the amount that you would save using a free shipping coupon versus the amount that you will save with another coupon. Your first step should be to look for a link on the shopping page that gives shipping costs. If the store doesn’t have one, you may have to go the whole way through the cart and experiment with the codes.

Third, do not buy more just to save more if you do not really need the merchandise. It can be easy to get pulled into spending more money just to get free shipping. If you are close to the free shipping or coupon minimum, it makes sense to throw another low price item into your cart. However, if you are buying things you do not need just to satisfy the minimums, it is not a deal at all.

Shopping online can save you a great deal of money if you know how to use the online coupon codes properly. Be a smart consumer and evaluate all of your coupon options before choosing the best. Then shop like away!

Tricia Meyer is the owner of online coupon and cash back site Sunshine Rewards. You can follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/sunshinetricia.

Getting the most out of online coupons

I am pretty excited about this.

On Thursday, August 5th at 4 pm, several Inexpensively contributors, and myself, will be broadcasting LIVE from NYC on RedPlum’s monthly radio show, Viva la Value.

We’ll be sharing practical saving tips, discussing couponing and budgeting, and how we live life frugally without sacrificing anything! You won’t want to miss it.

Read the full press release.

You can listen to Viva la Value live at BlogTalkRadio (if that link isn’t valid the day of airing, I apologize, and will update as soon as I get back from NYC).

Viva la Value LIVE from BlogHer NYC

Morton Season-All Salt is a staple in my spice cabinet. My grandma used it, my mom used it, and I use it on everything from meat to veggies on the grill and on the stove-top.

Give the image above a click (page will say Collective Bias) and enter your email address to print a coupon for $0.55 off Morton Season-All Salt.

I wouldn’t ask you to enter your email address if it wasn’t totally legit. Pinkie swear. Collective Bias is a great company and a partner in the Morton Salt campaign. Please see my site policy with any questions.

Morton Season-All Salt Coupon

Here’s a great little back-to-school perk for teachers and students – show your college or high school ID and receive 25% off your entire Old Navy purchase THIS WEEKEND ONLY!

What a great time to take your student to stock up on jeans and tees! Make sure to check out the Facebook event page and tell all you’re friends where you’ll be shopping!

Did you go? How much did you save? What did you get?

Old Navy Teachers & Students Discount

Congratulations to our winner…Jill Myrick

Here’s how the winner was chosen.:

First, there were four Aquafina posts with eligible entries. Post #3 was chosen using random.org.

Here are your random numbers:

3

Timestamp: 2010-06-21 15:54:25 UTC

Second, the entry #29 was chosen from all eligible entries on post #3 using random.org.

Here are your random numbers:

29

Timestamp: 2010-06-21 15:55:50 UTC

This week I sampled the seventh, and final, Aquafina FlavorSplash flavor…Peach! I continue to be impressed by how much FlavorSplash tastes like realfruit.

I always make sure that our refrigerator is stocked with water and we never leave the house without bringing a few bottles with. A few bucks for a case of water is a lot more budget friendly than a few bucks for a single bottle of water!

Especially with this $1 off Aquafina FlavorSplash coupon! (Make sure to use your back button and print two!)

Still haven’t tried Aquafina FlavorSplash? Well this is your LAST CHANCE to enter the GRAND PRIZE giveaway! Here’s what the grand prize includes:

• 4 FREE 6-packs of Aquafina FlavorSplash
• 4 Aquafina Lip Balms
• reusable straws
• party napkins
• other goodies to enjoy Aquafina FlavorSplash in style!

To enter, answer the following question in the comments:

Do you recycle your water bottles? Do you have a fun craft of special use for water bottles? Please share!

Will will be announced on Monday, June 21st and will be chosen from all entries on all Aquafina posts on this blog to date.

I am a participant in a Mom Central campaign for Aquafina FlavorSplash and have received various FlavorSplash samples to facilitate my participation. Mom Central will send me a gift card at the end of the program.

The fine print… Entries will be accepted until midnight, Sunday, June 20th. One (1) winner will be chosen at random and announced on Monday, June 21st. Winner will be contacted by email and/or Twitter and will have 48 hours to respond. Please use your real first name a valid email address when entering. I am not responsible for incorrect contact information. Aquafina has provided the gift certificates and I will be purchasing all other prizes which will be shipped directly from me. Good luck!

Aquafina FlavorSplash – Do You Recycle?

I don’t mind paying for convenience. Especially tasty tasty convenience made with whole grains and real cheese, like Ritz Crackerfuls.

Ritz Crackerfuls come in four flavors: Garlic Herb, Four Cheese, Classic Cheddar, and Cheddar Cheese & Bacon. Each Crackerful is a generous severing and is individually wrapped and ideal to have on hand when hunger strikes.

My husband is a paramedic, so he works out of an ambulance for 24 hour shifts, and I don’t like him stopping for fast food whenever he gets hungry. It’s expensive and unhealthy! I threw a few Cheddar Cheese & Bacon Crackerfuls in his bag, and not only did he have something filling to snack on, he was eating real cheese and getting 6 grams of whole grains!

The crackers are just what you expect of Ritz- rich and buttery. The cheese is flavorful and creamy and definitely a step-up from other cheese and crackers sandwiches.

I was really impressed with the taste, portion size, and ingredients used in Ritz Crackerfuls and really happy to find something to keep my husband satisfied and away from the drive-thru at work!

I think Ritz Crackerfuls are a great value and to help make convenience all the more budget-friendly, head over to Facebook for $1 off Cheddar Cheese & Bacon Crackerfuls coupons!

I received tasty product samples from the fine people at Ritz Crackers and One2One Network in order to craft my review. All opinions are 100% mine. Please see my site policy with any questions.

Ritz Crackerfuls

As always, these are my actual transactions from today’s trip to CVS. My total out of pocket is slightly less than what you see here, because I had ECBs left from last week. I don’t include those in the listed transactions so that anyone can jump in at any time and take advantage of what I have listed!

Enjoy!

And check out these great blogs for more CVS deals…

• Deal Seeking Mom
• Kingdom First Mom
• Money Saving Mom
• Couponer 101

Transaction #1

Purchased:

• 2 Old Spice body wash on sale $4 – BOGO P&G Coupon = $4 with $4 ECB

Earned:

• $4 ECB from Old Spice

Total = $4

Transaction #2

Purchased:

• 2 John Frieda Root Awakening Shampoo on sale $5 – $3 coupon – $2 coupon = $5 with $3 ECB

Earned:

• $3 ECB from John Frieda

Used:

• $4 ECB from Old Spice (Transaction #1)

Total = $1

Transaction #3

Purchased:

• 2 Clorox Wipes on sale 2/$4 – $1 Sunday Coupon = $3

Used:

• $3 ECB from John Frieda (Transaction #2)

Total = $0

TOOP = $5

CVS Savings – Week of June 13

Congratulations to the winners…Toni, Diedra Lipscomb, and Michelle Lovejoy!

Here are your random numbers:

24
12
15

Timestamp: 2010-06-13 16:39:00 UTC

So far, we’ve tried Wild Berry FlavorSplash, Kiwi and Lemon FlavorSplash, and this week we’re sampling Raspberry and Grape FlavorSplash by Aquafina!

I love fruit juice, but most are too strong for my taste, so I cut them with water or sparkling water (if I’m feeling crazy) – which is a great way to cut back on calories and stretch your budget. What I love most about Aquafina FlavorSplash is that it tastes so much like real fruit juice without being syrupy sweet and without all the calories.

Grape and Raspberry Aquafina FlavorSplash are more like fruit spritzers than juice or water! They have their own unique and refreshing taste.

Want to try Aquafina FlavorSplash?

What is your favorite fruit? Is it a FlavorSplash flavor? Would you like to see your favorite fruit as a FlavorSplash?

Leave your answer in the comments and three winners will each receive a coupon for FREE six-pack of Aquafina FlavorSplash plus two tubes of Aquafina lip balm in Wildberry and Raspberry.

Entries will be accepted through midnight, Saturday, June 12.

And don’t forget, a GRAND PRIZE WINNER will be chosen from all FlavorSplash entries and they will win everything our weekly winners receive!

And we also can’t forget to include a little something for our coupon clipping friends (myself included) – $1 off Aquafina FlavorSplash!

I am a participant in a Mom Central campaign for Aquafina FlavorSplash and have received various FlavorSplash samples to facilitate my participation. Mom Central will send me a gift card at the end of the program.

The fine print… Entries will be accepted until midnight, Saturday, June 12th. Three (3) winner will be chosen at random and announced on Sunday, June 13th. Winners will be contacted by email and/or Twitter and will have 48 hours to respond. Please use your real first name a valid email address when entering. I am not responsible for incorrect contact information. Aquafina has provided the gift certificates and I will be purchasing all other prizes which will be shipped directly from me. Good luck!

Aquafina FlavorSplash – What’s your favorite fruit?

Want to make the most of your coupons? Start stacking!

What’s coupon stacking? It’s when you use a manufacturer’s coupon and a store coupon on the same item.

Check your store’s coupon policy to see if they allow coupon stacking. I do my grocery shopping at HEB and was disappointed to learn that they don’t allow stacking.

Target coupons are my favorite to stack because their coupon policy is so generous, they issue high value coupons regularly and have in store promotions for gift cards.

Just last week I had $0.75 off manufacturer coupons for Scubbing Bubbles, plus $0.50 Target coupons, plus I got a $5 gift card for buying 3 Scrubbing Bubbles products!

You can find great Target coupons in magazines, so keep your eyes peeled!

Do you have a Thrifty Tip? Share your tip with everyone at I Am a Money Magnet!

Thrifty Tip – Coupon Stacking