novathrifty

Here are a few coupons to take along if you’re going shopping this weekend:

Print a coupon for 25% off at The Children’s Place here.  It’s good today and tomorrow (July 31-Aug 1) only.

If you’re going to Tyson’s Corner Mall, you can use this coupon for a free Signature Collection Body Care or Home Fragrance (up to $12.50 value) with a $10 purchase at Bath and Body Works.  It is good through August 27, and is only good at Tyson’s Corner.

There are a whole bunch of Borders coupons here.  They are good through Sunday with your Borders Rewards membership.  If you aren’t already a member, it’s easy to sign up in the store.

Take 30% off at Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic with this coupon, and 5% of your purchase will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  It is good through August 2.

Thanks to Hip 2 Save, Coupon Cravings, and All You for the heads up on some of these coupons!

If you’re new to couponing, or want to better understand how to use the grocery store deals posts, start here.  These deals are shared each week as part of the BeCentsable Grocery Gathering.

This week’s Giant ad in the Washington Post had four “Dollar Doubler” coupons.  These coupons work with a $1 off coupon for an extra dollar off.  Basically, they take $4 off your total grocery bill.  These are usually not in the in-store fliers, so you’ll need to get one from the Post or home mailer.

White Seedless Grapes – $.99/lb

Eastern Peaches – 10 lbs for $10 Read the rest of this entry →

I haven’t mentioned this in a while, so here’s a reminder: at 9AM, and every Friday through September, you can go here for a coupon for free chocolate from Mars, Inc.  Coupons go to the first 250,000 to sign up each week.  (Limit 4 per household—my household has already maxed out!).

The Redskins 2009 Training Camp opens today and eight practices are open to the public, free of charge.  They take place at Redskins Park in Ashburn and start up at 8:30AM every day between today and August 6.  The parking lot opens 90 minutes before the start of the practice, and the gates open an hour before.

Saturday August 8 is Fan Appreciation Day, with drills at 1:30PM and an intra-squad scrimmage at 2PM.

Yes, I know there is a lot of summer left, but this gets me excited for fall!

If you’re downtown tomorrow (July 31) and need a Friday pick-me-up, DCist reports that the new Red Velvet Cupcakery in DuPont Circle will be giving out free mini-cupcakes from 1PM until closing.  They look delicious!

If you’re new to couponing, or want to better understand how to use the grocery store deals posts, start here.  These deals are shared each week as part of the BeCentsable Grocery Gathering.

Be sure to load up this month’s coupons from Cellfire.  There’s a great one for $1 off Honey Nut Cheerios that should come in handy sometime this month!

Not the best week ever at Safeway, but here are the best deals I saw:

Blueberries – $.99

Thomas Plain English Muffins – $1.99

Chips Ahoy Cookies – $1.99 (Wed-Sat only) Read the rest of this entry →

Getting married soon?  Looking for a bargain on a wedding dress?  Well tomorrow is the famous Running of the Brides at Filene’s Basement at the Mazza Galerie in Chevy Chase.  Dresses that were once priced from $900 to $9000 will be sold for as low as $249.

Doors open at 8AM, but I’ve heard that you need to get there early if you want the best picks.  You can get the full details and an FAQ here.

Good luck, and if anyone actually tries this, please let me know how it went!

The Hard Times Cafe is celebrating National Chili Dog Day tomorrow (July 30) by giving away a FREE Coney Island Chili Dog with any purchase.  I think that you can buy a drink as your purchase, so you’re basically getting a meal for the price of a drink.

The offer is good at any Hard Times Cafe (except Nationals Park) during store hours.  Limit one per customer.  You can find your nearest Hard Times here.

If you’re new to couponing, or want to better understand how to use the grocery store deals posts, start here.  These deals are shared each week as part of the BeCentsable Grocery Gathering.

Here are the best deals I saw this week at Harris Teeter:

Blueberries and Strawberries – 4 pints for $5

Craisins – Buy 2 get 3 free ($1.18/ea for 5) Read the rest of this entry →

Thanks to Money Saving Mom for sharing this excellent deal on Kraft products at Shoppers.  From August 7-23, purchase $25 of participating Kraft products at Shoppers and recieve a  coupon for $5 off your next shopping order AND a rebate form that will allow you to submit your receipt for $20 back.

You can see the full list of participating products here.  In my household, this will translate into $25 of free Wheat Thins!

My mom is visiting this week, so we decided to spend the day at one of my favorite places in the greater DC area: Tyson’s Corner Mall.  I had quite a successful day of shopping (more on that shortly), and learned about a way to save money while cleaning out your closet and contributing to those in need:

Between July 27 and August 13, Tyson’s Corner is sponsoring The Great Denim Event. Donate new or gently worn denim to benefit Habitat for Humanity, and you will be rewarded with “special offers.”

It isn’t completely clear to me what these “special offers” are, but I’m assuming that they are the ones listed here.  There are some pretty good deals, like $10 off a $50 purchase at Express or Aeropostale, or $20 off jeans at Gap.  If anyone tries this and figures out exactly how it works, please let me know!

On to my shopping trip.  Here’s what I bought:

West Elm: I received a coupon in the mail this week for $25 off with no minimum purchase.  I looked around for a  while for something that cost approximately $25.01, but eventually decided to buy this very very soft cotton throw to give as a wedding gift next month.

Victoria’s Secret: I received a coupon in the mail for free panties (up to $7.50 value) plus $10 off your purchase with no minimum purchase.  So I bought the panties plus some body mist.  This was very exciting: I have been boycotting Victoria’s Secret since the racy mannequin scandal of 2005 (yes, I’m kind of a prude), and the only thing that I have really missed was the Strawberries and Champagne body mist.  It was all totally free, including tax.

Madewell: I love this store, and can occasionally find some great deals on the clearance racks.  I got a shirt, originally priced at $78, marked down to $7.50.  I wish I could find a picture—it’s a sheer button-front that will look great with a cardigan well into fall.

PETCO: I stopped there on the way out to buy some dog food for my puppy and was thrilled to find a Try-Me-Free rebate form on a 5 lb bag of Science Diet Nature’s Best dog food.  That’s a $16 savings on high-end dog food.  Hooray!

Have you scored any great shopping deals lately?  I would love to hear about them!

Head to The Cheesecake Factory on Thursday July 30 to celebrate National Cheesecake Day by getting a slice of any of their 30 varieties of cheesecake for half-price.  They will also be debuting their newest flavor, Stefanie’s Ultimate Red Velvet Cake—which looks wonderful—and for each slice of it they sell, they will donate $.25 to Feeding America.

You can find your nearest Cheesecake Factory here.

Here are the best deals I saw at Magruder’s this week:

Cantaloupes – 2 for $3

Blueberries – 2 pints for $3

Peaches – $.98/lb

Apples (Granny Smith, Braeburn, Fuji, Gala) – $.98/lb

London Broil – $1.99/lb

New York Strip – $4.99/lb (family pack)

And check out the circular in the Wednesday Washington Post for coupons for a FREE Coca-Cola 12 pack with a $35 purchase and FREE fresh-baked baguettes with the purchase of a 34 oz Bella Famiglia Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

*Magruder’s is a locally-owned grocery store with locations in Virginia, DC, and Maryland. You can find their nearest location here.  Their weekly circular is in the Wednesday Washington Post or on their website.

The dates have been announced for 2009’s Restaurant Week in DC: August 24-30.  You can see a list of the nearly 200 participating DC, Virginia, and Maryland restaurants here.

Restaurant Week is a great way to experience some of DC’s best cuisine for significantly reduced prices: $20.09 for a three-course lunch and $35.09 for a three-course dinner.

You can book reservations for most of the participating restaurants at Open Table.  But book soon because the most popular spots tend to fill up quickly!

Are you planning to make reservations for Restaurant Week?  Any recommendations?  Please share them in the comments!

There are some great deals on school supplies this week at Staples!  Here are some of the best:

Bic Matic Grip mechanical pencils – $.25 (pair them with the $1 off 2 coupon from Coupons.com to get them for FREE)

Elmers School Glue – $.25

Staples 3″ x 5″ Index Cards – $.25

Staples Manual Pencil Sharpener – $.25

Staples Cap Erasers 12 pk – $.25

Slider Pencil Case – $.25

Expo Click Retractable Markers 3 pk – 2 for $3

Glue Stics 3 pk – 2 for $3

Staples Invisible Tape 3 pk – 2 for $3

Pair these deals with a $5 off a $30 purchase coupon from this week’s circular or here for even bigger savings!

Normally I avoid the grocery store on Saturday afternoon like the plague.  But I hadn’t been to Harris Teeter yet this week, so I braved it and it actually wasn’t so bad.  Here are the results:

Original Price: $60.13

Price After Sales: $48.55

Price After Coupons: $9.07

Savings: 85%

And I got $3 off my next order from the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese deal, which worked perfectly.  You can see a breakdown of items and prices after the jump. Read the rest of this entry →

I usually get the Washington Post coupon inserts on Saturday, and I was very excited to open it this morning and see that the Red Plum insert is back!  For the last few months, it has been coming as a home mailer that only sporadically makes it to my house and often not until Thursday.  I’m glad that it’s back in the Post and hope it’s there to stay!

Be sure to check out the Harris Teeter Super Doubles list—I’ve updated it with this week’s coupons and there are some great deals, including a bunch of free Dannon products.

Also, be sure to check out Coupons.com—there are some hot new coupons for Hefty Fresh Extend Bags, Kellogg’s Cinnabon Bars, and Whole Grain Cheez-Its that make for some great deals when doubled!

Here are a few coupons to take with you if you’re going shopping this weekend:

There’s a printable coupon here for $5 off a $25 purchase at Babies R Us.  There’s also a coupon code in case you’re shopping online.  It’s valid through July 29.

There is a printable coupon here for 20% the list price of one item at Borders.  It’s valid through August 1.

You can print a coupon here for a free travel-size item from Bath and Body Works (up to $5 value) with any purchase.  It’s good through July 29.  Thanks Coupon Cravings.

Finally, Old Navy is advertising a “Buy One Get One 50% Off” Sale for regularly priced men’s and women’s clothing on its Facebook Page from July 24-29.  If you pair that with a 25% off coupon from Old Navy Weekly, that’s not a bad deal.  (To get the coupon, pick up the apple from the girl’s hand and place it beside the golf club.  Then click on the golf club.  Remember that you have to name a modelquin to redeem the coupon.)

Happy Shopping!

If you’re new to couponing, or want to better understand how to use the grocery store deals posts, start here.  These deals are shared each week as part of the BeCentsable Grocery Gathering.

Here are the best deals I saw at Giant this week:

Northwest Cherries – $1.49/lb

Top Round London Broil – $1.79/lb

Chicken Drumsticks or Thighs – $.99/lb Read the rest of this entry →

Frugal in Virginia has the scoop here on how to make a profit on Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and Velveeta Shells and Cheese during Harris Teeter’s Super Doubles Week.

I wasn’t able to get the coupon link to work–probably because I use a Mac (it’s one of the few downsides).  If you have the same problem you can print the coupon directly from the website here.

Also, don’t forget to keep checking out the Super Doubles Match-up List—I have been updating it as I come across new deals.  Please let me know if you see others!