Being Thrifty

Do you have a Savers or Value Village thrift store in your area?  There was a Savers in neighborhood when I lived in Missouri.  I loved it.  I was there at least twice a month, if not more often.  I got some wonderful deals on some great items.  I miss not having one here.  Ah, but I digress from the reason for this post.

If you have a Savers or Value Village thrift store in your city, and you shop there on a regular basis, then this offer is for you.  Fill out this survey and you will receive a 2009 calendar with $200 worth of coupons inside that you can use at Savers or Value Village.

The questions are about your shopping experiences at their stores, what they can do to improve, and how they compare to other thrift stores.   You need to fill the form out completely in order to receive the calendar.

There’s also a box you can check to sign up for their email newsletter.  This is definitely worth doing if you don’t already receive it.  It’s full of coupons, notifications of sales, and other subscriber-only news.

The year-end survey ends on January 2, so you’d better hurry if you want to get this great calendar.

I hope that everyone had a safe and happy holiday.  As I figured, there are not many new freebie offers on this Friday after Christmas.   Here are a few that I have come across today.

Need to brush your teeth after eating all those holiday sweets?  Get a free sample of Arm & Hammer Advance White toothpaste.

Try a Free two year subscription (16 issues) of Traditional Home magazine.

Register to win a hardcover copy of Bad Dogs Have More Fun by John Grogan, author of Marley & Me, and receive a free ‘bad dogs’ keychain .

Offers were available at the time of this posting. Offers available only in United States unless otherwise noted.  Limit one per offer per household unless otherwise stated.  Author cannot guarantee receipt or quality of any freebie offer listed.

With less than a week to go before Christmas, there are a few new freebies available for you this week.

Mailfinity magnetic clip

2009 Pocket Planner with tips for healthy bones

12 issues of Transworld Motocross magazine

Super Blue Stuff OTC natural pain reliever

Softsheen-Carson Optimum Care Haircare Treatment

Join the Natrol Nutrition Club and receive a free welcome pack of Natrol products .

Get a free pocket Declaration of Independence and US Constitution .  They will also fulfill bulk orders for schools and organizations.

Free sample of Emergen-C .  Click free sample link on top right of page

Offers were available at the time of this posting. Offers available only in United States unless otherwise noted.  Limit one per offer per household unless otherwise stated.  Author cannot guarantee receipt or quality of any freebie offer listed.

What’s the most economical gift you can give someone?  Why, a regift of course! Today is National Regifting Day, a day set aside for recycling that unwanted gift you got last year.

According to www.regiftable.com, the Thursday before Christmas is typically the day when most office holiday parties occur. And, co-workers are the target of a lot of the regifting that occurs, hence, National Regifting Day.

Regifting is economical.  You can save money by unearthing that thing-a-ma-jig in the basement that you got from Aunt Sally last Christmas and putting it in the office gift exchange.  Regifting is a way to go green.  You’re preventing landfill fodder by giving away something you have no use for.

There’s nothing wrong with regifting in my opinion.  As long as what you’re regifting is in new (read unused) condition, I think it’s perfectly acceptable.  I’d much rather receive a regift at a gift exchange than something totally cheap, like a package of grocery store bakery cookies that cost $3.99, like we did at my husband’s company party gift exchange.

If you have pets, they’re part of your family, right?  You don’t want to leave them out at the holidays, but if your finances are tight, you may not be able to buy them new toys.  If you can’t buy them, try making your own.

For dogs:

Take an old sock, preferably a man’s tube sock, tie a knot at either end, and you have a tug-of-war toy.  You can also use old rope if you have any lying around.

Old towels also work for tug and pull toys.  Just tie a knot in the towel.

You can also make a chew toy from an old sock.  Take an old tube sock and cut the top off.  Sew one end of the tube.  Stuff the foot of the sock inside the tube, and sew the other end.

Sleeves from old sweatshirts work for this as well.  Or, if you’re really crafty, you can make chew toys from fabric scraps and stuff with old socks or padding.

Dogs love balls, so if you have any old tennis balls or rubber balls around the house, your dog will love these. 

For cats:

Crumple up some foil, toss it, and watch your cat chase it and bat it around.

If your cat likes catnip, take an old sock, place a pinch of catnip in the toe, and tie off the top.  Or, if you sew, make small pillows from fabric scraps and place catnip inside.  If your cats don’t like catnip, you can stuff these toys with cotton balls or stuffing.

Place a few small pebbles or bells inside an old pill bottle or film container. Make sure the lid is secure so that the container doesn’t open.  You don’t want kitty choking on the pebbles or bells.  Rice or dried beans will work too.

A felt ball or ping pong ball attached to a piece of yarn or string and tied to a doorknob makes a great swatting toy for your cat.

If you can knit or crochet, you can make some balls or mice for your cats. 

With a little creativity, you can come up with toys that your pets will enjoy for very little money.

Get a laugh in your email box every Monday morning from TBS.  Sign up for their Monday Morning Laughs newsletter and be entered to win one of five $100 gift cards from American Express.

The sweepstakes is open to legal residents of the United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older.  The sweepstakes began on December 2 and continues through 11:59pm Eastern time on January 6, 2009.

The grand prize of one gift card will be awarded during each of the five weeks of the sweepstakes, for a total of 5 grand prizes.  The sweepstakes is currently in week three.  The remaining eligibility periods are: 12:00am Eastern December 16 to 11:59pm Eastern December 22; 12:00am Eastern December 23 to 11:59pm Eastern December 29; and 12:00am Eastern December 30 to 11:59pm Eastern January 6.

Enter to win by filling out the online form.  Limit one entry per person in a 24-hour period.  Once someone has won a grand prize, they are not eligible for another prize during the remainder of the contest.  For complete rules, visit tbs.com.

My husband’s company Christmas party is Sunday.  He’s only been employed there a week, so it will be a good opportunity to get to know his fellow employees.  In addition to the food and drinks, there is also a gift exchange.  I’m not exactly sure how it’s going to work, but every employee that brings a gift gets one in return.  It’s not mandatory, but my husband got the feeling that if he didn’t bring a gift, he’d be the only one not participating.  So, today I went out to find something suitable.  The only stipulation was that it had to be $20 or less.

There aren’t a lot of places to shop in this town, outside of Wal-Mart and Kmart.  There’s a lot of boutique and local shops, but anything decent there was out of the price range.  This close to the holidays, I will not go to Wal-Mart, even on a dare.  That place is too crazy when it’s not the holidays; I can just imagine what the store here would be like now, since there’s not a lot of other choices without driving 30 miles.

So, I went to Ross’s.  They don’t have Ross’s where I come from, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with Ross’s, it’s sort of like TJ Maxx or Marshall’s.  I think I did pretty well there.  I got 2 pillar candles, a package of 4 votive candles, a package of 12 tea lights, a crystal triple tea light holder, a votive cup, and a glass pillar plate, plus a gift bag and tissue paper, and I spent $19.79.

I would have spent at least $15 for the pillar candles alone anywhere else, including Wal-Mart.  I didn’t spend much time looking at what else they had, but they seemed to have really good deals on their clothing and accessories.  I will definitely be going back when I have more time to spend.

It’s another scarce week for freebies. I expect it will be this way through the holidays.  Anyway, here are a few offers I’ve found this week.

Here are a couple of magazine offers.  Get five free issues of Cosmopolitan Magazine, and one free issue of Robb Report .  These are separate offers, and you can sign up for one, or both.

You probably won’t receive this in time for your holiday baking, but it is a pretty cool freebie anyway. You can get a free Pan Saver pan liner sample.

Try a sample of Nature’s Bounty Omega 3 Fish Oil capsules plus $1 off coupon any Nature’s Bounty fish oil product.  You must subscribe to Nature’s Bounty Healthy Rewards to get this sample.

Limit one freebie per household per offer unless otherwise noted.  Freebies listed were available at the time of this posting.  Offers available in the United States only unless otherwise noted.  Author cannot guarantee quality or receipt of freebies listed.

Santa’s Elves, Inc., a non-profit organization on Santa Claus, Indiana, will send your child a free letter from Santa upon request.

You must provide the child’s name, address and a brief narrative about the child.  If you’re worried about safety, you don’t need to be with this company.  The Santa Claus postmaster began answering children’s letters in 1914. Letters from Santa have been sent every year since then.  The organization currently answers approximately 10,000 letters each year.

To request a letter, go to the Santa’s Elves website and fill out a short form to send your request by internet.  If you prefer, you can send your request for a letter from Santa the old-fashioned way, by postal mail.  Address your requests to:

Santa Claus

PO Box 1

Santa Claus IN  47579

Be sure to include child’s name, sex, mailing address, and a brief narrative about the child.

Requests for letters must be received no later than December 21.

I meant to post this earlier in the month, but my notes got lost in my pile of things to do.

There are many towns and cities throughout the United States that have festive names, such as Santa Claus Indiana, Noel Missouri, Rudolph Wisconsin, Bethlehem Pennsylvania, and Christmas Florida.  Most of these towns, and many, many others, will postmark your holiday mail with their towns postmark, and you don’t even have to go to the town!  Some of these holiday-named towns even have special holiday postmarks.

For a complete listing of the towns throughout the United States that offer these postmarks, check out this website .

Just place your already addressed and stamped cards and letters in a box or large envelope and address it to the Postmaster of the town you would like your postmark from.  Mark the package “Holiday greeting card re-mailing”.  Your cards and letters must already be stamped.  Cards and letters only, packages are not accepted for the holiday postmark program.

Your requests for holiday postmarks should be received by the re-mailing post office by December 15 for best service.

If you would like a postmark from The North Pole, send your cards and letters to:

North Pole Christmas Cancellation

Postmaster

4500 Mail Trail

Fairbanks, AK  99707

Again, no packages, and cards and letters must be pre-addressed and stamped, and placed in a larger envelope.

If you miss out on this for 2008, most post offices do this yearly, so you can try it next year!