Pardon Me, I'm Drowning In Paper

I wish I was a rapper and then drowning in paper would refer to money...sadly I am not. Instead, I am swamped with writing papers for grad school. It's almost the end of the semester and sweet freedom is on the horizon! So that explains the lack of coupon matchups and posts, but hey, at least I can't spend any money while tethered to my computer writing papers. As long as I leave Amazon.com alone.....I really want to get the The Hunger Games trilogy and read that instead..sigh.

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Julep Nail Polish Box for Only 1 Cent!

Such a deal! I have been really into nail polish lately and stumbled across this deal while reading beauty blogs. Julep, a popular nail polish company with monthly subscription boxes, is offering new members an opportunity to get a box for just 1 penny!

Their subscription service is called Julep Maven and when you sign up you take a short style quiz to help determine what nail polish colors you would prefer. I'm Classic With A Twist and they also have Bombshell and It Girl. Then the company automatically will send you a box each month with over $40 worth of products in it. It normally costs $19.99 a month but new subscribers can get their first box for just a penny! Seriously! I tried it, only got charged a penny, and received a box with two nail polishes (one purple and one pinky-nude, what a great combo!)and a nice glycolic hand scrub. You can cancel any time and can skip months that you don't want too. You can even send your box to a friend and they make great gifts. There's free shipping on all orders so you just pay the cost of the box.

The upcoming May box is huge and values at over $140 but still costs the same $19.99! It includes 7 nail polishes, a foot scrub, and other goodies!

To get your first box for a penny use the promo code PENNY when you sign up.

What have you got to lose! Go ahead a sign up and enjoy your fancy nail polish in no time for almost no cost!

Julep also has a cool style blog that shows off hot new nail polish trends and how to's.

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CVS Coupon Matchups: April 15-21

Here are some coupon matchups for some of the best deals at CVS this week. Prices change on Sunday.
Remember to scan your ExtraCard card at the coupon machine (usually near the door) for in-store coupons. If you need help deciphering coupon lingo click here.

**This week there are some great coupons coming out of the CVS Coupon Machine! Scan your card to see if you get a $15 off Physicians Formula skire product coupon or a $2 off Biore Cleanser or Towlette coupon.
Deal Ideas: Physician's Formula Tinted Moisturizer- $14.99
Use $15/1 Physician's Formula from CVS Coupon Machine
and $1.00/1 Physician's Formula, Smart Source 3/18 or 4/15
Final Price: $1.00 Money Maker!

Biore Cleanser 1 oz- $1.99 Sale
Use $2.00/1 Biore Cleanser from CVS Coupon Machine
Final Price: Free!

Here's more great CVS deals this week:

Depend Silhouette or Real Fit, 3 ct $3.99
Buy 1, Receive $2.00 Extra Bucks, Limit 1
Use $2.00/1 Depend Absorbent Product printable (Sign Up Required)
and use $2.00/1 Depend Real Fit for Men or Depend Silhouette for Women CVS printable coupon
or $1.50/1 Depend Real Fit or Silhouette Product, Smart Source 4/15
or $1.00/1 Depend Product, Smart Source 3/25 (exp 5/5)
Pay $0.00, Receive $2.00 Extra Bucks
Final Price: $2.00 Moneymaker

NatuRelief Chewable Tablets, 30 ct $8.49
Buy 1, Receive $8.49 Extra Bucks, Limit 1
Use $1.00/1 NatuRelief Product, Smart Source 11/06
or $1.00/1 NatuRelief Product, Smart Source 1/15
or $1.00/1 NatuRelief Product, Smart Source 3/11
Pay $7.49, Receive $8.49 Extra Bucks
Final Price: $1.00 Moneymaker

Colgate Total, 4-4.2 oz, MaxFresh, MaxClean, 6 oz or 2-in-1, 4.6 oz $2.99
Buy 1, Receive $2.00 Extra Bucks, Limit 2
Use $1.00/1 Colgate Total Advanced, Optic White or Sensitive Pro-Relief, Smart Source 4/15
Pay $1.99, Receive $2.00 Extra Bucks
Final Price: Free!

Bengay (Excludes Patch, 1 ct and Clearance Items), Buy 1, Receive $3.00 Extra Bucks, Limit 1
Buy 1 Bengay Pain Relieving Cream Greaseless, 2 oz $5.49
Use $2.00/1 Bengay Product printable
Pay $3.49, Receive $3.00 Extra Bucks
Final Price: $0.49

Goody Hair Accessories, Spend $10.00, Receive $5.00 Extra Bucks, Limit 1
Deal Idea: Buy 3 Goody Ouchless Assorted Metallic Elastics, 17 ct $3.49
Use 3 $1.00/1 Goody’s Product, Red Plum 3/4
Pay $7.47, Receive $5.00 Extra Bucks
Final Price: $0.82 each when you buy 3

Secret, Old Spice, Gillette Antiperspirant/Deodorant, 2.6-4 oz, Body Wash, 16-18 oz, Ivory Bar Soap, 10 pk or Gillette Shaving Items (Excludes Fusion ProGlide Gift Sets and Clearance Items), Prices Vary
Spend $30.00, Receive $10.00 Extra Bucks, Limit 1
Deal Idea: Buy 4 Gillette Custom Plus 3 Razors, 4ct $7.49
Use 2 B1G1 Free Gillette Mach3, Sensor3 or CustomPlus3 Disposables, up to $7.99, Red Plum 4/15
Pay $14.98, Receive $10.00 Extra Bucks
Final Price: $1.25 each when you buy 4

Select Right Guard, Dry Idea Antiperspirant & Deodorant, Total Defense 5 Body Wash, 13.5 oz or Bar Soap, 6 pack $3.00
Buy 2, Receive $2.00 Extra Bucks, Limit 1
Use $2.00/2 Total Defense 5 Products, Excluding Bar Soap, Red Plum 4/15
or $2.00/2 Right Guard Body Wash printable
or or $2.00/2 Right Guard Total Defense 5 Anti-Perspirant Deodorant printable
(Target website but it's a manufacturer coupon)
Pay $4.00, Receive $2.00 Extra Bucks
Final Price: $1.00 each when you buy 2

Mitchum or Lady Mitchum Deodorant $1.99
Use $1.00/1 Mitchum Product from SS 3/18
Final Price: $0.99

Act Dental Rinse, 16.9-18 oz (Excludes Sensitive) $3.99
Buy 1, Receive $1.00 Extra Bucks, Limit 2
Use $1.00/1 Act Bottle, Smart Source 4/15
Pay $2.99, Receive $1.00 Extra Bucks
Final Price: $1.99

Act Total Care Sensitive, 18 oz $3.99
Buy 1, Receive $1.00 Extra Bucks, Limit 2
Use $2.00/1 Act Sensitive Formula Mouthwash, Smart Source 4/15
Pay $1.99, Receive $1.00 Extra Bucks
Final Price: $0.99

Nature Made Vitamins (select varieties), Buy One Get One Free
Deal Idea: Buy 2 Nature Made Vitamin D 400 IU Tablets, 90 ct $4.49, Online Price
Use 2 $1.00/1 Nature Made printable
Final Price: $1.25 each when you buy 2

Kraft Homestyle, Easy Mac or Deluxe Macaroni & Cheese, $3.00
Buy 2, Receive $3.00 Extra Bucks, Limit 1
Use $1.00/2 Kraft Homestyle Macaroni and Cheese Dinner, Smart Source 4/1
Pay $5.00, Receive $3.00 Extra Bucks
Final Price: $1.00 each when you buy 2

Wrigley’s Singles, 1.8-2.17 oz $0.50
Buy 4, Receive $1.00 Extra Bucks, Limit 1
Pay $2.00, Receive $1.00 Extra Bucks
Final Price: $0.25 each when you buy 4

Spend $25.00, Receive $10.00 Extra Bucks when you buy any L’Oreal Products (Excludes Clearance Items), Limit 1
Deal Idea: Buy 2 L’Oreal Ever Hair Care $6.00 each
Buy 2 L’Oreal Feria, Preference or Sublime Mousse Hair Color $6.50 each
Use 2 $2.00/1 L’Oreal EverStyle, EverCream, EverPure, EverStrong or EverSleek Product printable
and use 2 $2.00/1 Loreal Paris Shade of Preference, Red Plum 3/18
Pay $17.00, Receive $10.00 Extra Bucks
Final Price: $1.75 each when you buy 4

You can find these and more great deals at Krazy Coupon Lady.

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How I'm Saving Today: Tax Return

Well now, hello again. I have been busy with the rest of my life and blogging has had to be put on the back burner, but I promise I'll get back on the horse soon!

What's been happening the past few weeks?

1) I went on a family vacation up to Deep Creek Lake for a long weekend two weeks ago with my folks, sister, and soon-to-be-brother-in-law. We drove up on a Friday and arrived just in time to make dinner. I start puttering around in the kitchen with my sister then heard the front door open and my husband walked in! Yay! My family and hubbie colluded to fly him up to surprise me for the weekend! Oh what a gift to see him since it had been a month already :) We had a lovely weekend which included working on a take home midterm exam (school never stops!), relaxing, walking the dogs, and skeet shooting.

2) My hubbie is on spring break this week and is home (yay!) for a week so we've been busy hanging out and making the rounds visiting family and friends while he's here.

3) I had a second draft of my thesis paper due this week which I had to crank out despite the fact that I would much rather be hanging out on the couch watching a movie. Grad school burnout is a real thing....

4) We got our tax return back and hooray for education tax credits! It really helps to beef up our return that we are both students. So what did we do with the money? Well, this is a personal finance blog after all. Check out my breakdown below. Also, I realized that my witholdings from work were not correct and hadn't been changed properly after we got married last year so we had a larger return. Technically, we lost money by having the witholding incorrect and could have invested that money throughout the year rather than letting Uncle Sam hold onto it, but with our financial situation now I was greatful to get a lump sum which we really needed to pay some bills. Besides, I probably wouldn't have invested it anyway, unless you count Cadbury Eggs an investment. mmmmm......

So here's what our tax return went to. Some of this we had to float and borrow against next month's
money. I always budget a month in advance so we have some float exactly for this purpose. I don't like borrowing against next month's money just in case something goes wrong and we don't get the money we were expecting, but in this case we had to make some exceptions and float anyway.

-$310.20 Hubbie's plane ticket to come home for spring break
-$159.50 Paying for FedEx shipments to ship down to Louisiana my hubbie's suit and shoes for his great Aunt's funeral. She was a lovely lady and will be missed. *sniff*
-$671.66 Shortfall on my hubbie's tuition to complete the next two payments
-$550.00 Maryland Taxes (yep, we owed because unemployment didn't take out taxes)
-$100.00 Payment for 2011 tax year to our Individual Retirement Account (IRA). Saving early for retirement means a greater return!
-$80.68 Shortfall on the bridesmaid dress for my sister's wedding (I almost had saved enough)
-$59.31 Doctor's bill
-$20.00 Parking Ticket (argh!)
-$105.00 Skeet Shooting at Deep Creek Lake (expensive but totally fun vacation splurge)
-$52.00 Airport parking fee
-$40.00 Haircut for me (ugh, I tried to get a free haircut but got rescheduled 3 times, so I broke down and paid. But on the upside my hair looks great now!)
-$100.00 Spending money for food and activities for my sister's upcoming bachelorette weekend trip to Florida
-$200.00 Shortfall for my hubbie's monthly expenses for the next two months (the man's gotta eat)
-$100.00 Shortfalll for my monthly expenses for this month...yep, over budget :(

We will have still around $1000 remaining which we are dividing up to pay down debts and put into savings.

Yeah, it's great to get a lump sum but I have noticed that it's been really easy over the last couple of weeks to let down my guard and spend a bit too freely while thinking, "It's ok. We just got this big tax return. We'll still have plenty to put toward the credit card balance." Yeah, we neeeded to use the tax return to help us out with tuition and pay some bills and such, but now I need to get the remainder out of my account pronto so it can't be whittled down more by "Sure, let's go out to dinner again" or "Oh yay, movies, and popcorn, and a soda, and...."

My approach to make sure that I spend any lump sum smartly is to make a list of what it needs to be spent on, use it for those items, pay bills and debts, and transfer the remaining to my savings account. Leaving it in the Miscellaneous line item of my budget can have disastrous consequences.

Did you get a tax return or any other lump sum of money? What did you do with it?

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Review: Hill's Science Diet Ideal Balance Grain Free Dog Food

I went to Petco a few weeks ago and noticed that there was a new Hill's Science Diet dog food variety available called Grain Free. My dog eats Hill's Science Diet normally because it's what our veterinarian recommends and it's got a good nutritional makeup. So this new Grain Free variety was interesting because I had never heard of "grain free" dog food before. I wondered if it was just for dogs with a wheat allergy or some other dietary restrictions. I perused the package but left the store without buying it.



Lucky for me i'm a BzzAgent and I love getting to test out new products. So does my dog :) And later that same week BzzAgent emailed me and invited me to participate in their new campaign for Hill's Science Diet Ideal Balance Grain Free. How timely!

BzzAgent sent me a free bag of the Ideal Balance Grain Free from Pet Food Direct which arrived in just one day. Great delivery speed! I started mixing in the new Ideal Balance Grain Free with my dog's regular Hill's Science Diet food. My dog Julius is a picky eater and if he doesn't like something he just leaves it in the bowl. But he seemed to love the new food! He ate it all right up. My Dad fed him one night when I was at class and just gave him his old food and Julius looked at him as if to say "Where's the Grain Free?" He clearly prefers it which is great since I hate to see him not finish his food. Also, Julius has a sensitive stomach and can get sick easily so I am careful with what I feed him.

So why Grain Free? Well, it's specially formulated to be easier to digest for dogs with sensitive stomachs. It has chicken as the first ingredient, followed by fruits and veggies. The food has no corn, artificial preservatives, or artificial colors. And the food is formulated to improve your dog's coat and skin. And since Hill's Science Diet is the #1 veterinarian recommended brand, I felt good about giving it to my dog.

My dog loves the new Ideal Balance Grain Free food and now will only grudgingly eat his old food! Looks like it's time for another trip to Petco to get more. There's a happy pup!

Julius at Swallow Falls State Park in Western Maryland

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CVS Coupon Matchups: April 1-7

Here are some coupon matchups for some of the best deals at CVS this week. Prices change on Sunday.
Remember to scan your ExtraCard card at the coupon machine (usually near the door) for in-store coupons. If you need help deciphering coupon lingo click here.

Allegra Allergy, 5 ct $6.99
Use $7.00/1 Allegra, Excludes D and Childrens, Smart Source 4/1
Final Price: Free!

Complete Multi-Purpose Solution, 12 oz $8.99, On Sale through 4/7
Buy 1, Receive $8.99 Extra Bucks, Limit 1
Use $1.00/1 Complete Multi-Purpose Solution, Peelie located on Box
Pay $7.99, Receive $8.99 Extra Bucks
Final Price: $1.00 Money Maker! or without coupon it's Free!

Russell Stover, Mars or Hershey’s Easter Singles 1-1.2 oz or Cadbury Mini Eggs, 1.5 oz $0.50
Use $1.00/2 Any Mars Easter Products, Red Plum 3/18
Final Price: 2 for Free!

Depend Silhouette or Real Fit, 3 ct $3.99
Buy 1, Receive $2.00 Extra Bucks, Limit 1
Use $2.00/1 Depends Absorbent Product printable
and $1.00/1 Depend Product CVS Store Coupon printable
Pay $0, Receive $2.00 Extra Bucks
Final Price: $2.00 Money Maker!

Buy 3 Garnier HerbaShine Color Creme Hair Color $4.99
Spend $15.00, Receive $5.00 Extra Bucks, Limit 1
Use 3 $3.00/1 Garnier HerbaShine Color Creme, Red Plum 3/4
Pay $5.97, Receive $5.00 Extra Bucks
Final Price: $0.32 each when you buy 3

Peeps, 5 ct, Mars Candy Filled Eggs, Cotton Candy and More $0.88
Use $1.00/2 Any Mars Easter Products, Red Plum 3/18
Final Price: $0.38 each when you buy 2

Tums, 50-150ct $3.99
Buy 1, Receive $1.00 Extra Bucks, Limit 1
Use $1.50/1 Tums Fresher, 50ct printable
or $1.50/1 Tums Freshers, Red Plum 4/1
Pay $2.49, Receive $1.00 Extra Bucks
Final Price: $1.49

Pedigree or Purina MarroBone, 26 oz, Beggin’ Strips, 6 oz or Beneful Baked Delights, 9-12.5 oz $3.00
Spend $20.00, Receive $5.00 Extra Bucks, Limit 1
Deal Idea: Buy 8 Purina Beneful Bakes Delights Dog Snacks, 9-12.5 oz $3.00
Use 4 Buy Any 1 Package of Purina Beneful Baked Delights Dog Snacks, Get Any 1 Purina Beneful Baked Delights Dog Snacks Free, Smart Source 3/18
Pay $12.00, Receive $5.00 Extra Bucks
Final Price: $0.88 each when you buy 8

Receive $5.00 Extra Bucks when you buy 2 Advil or ThermaCare Products Below (Excludes Clearance Items), Limit 1
Deal Idea: Buy 2 ThermaCare HeatWraps (Excludes 1 ct) $5.99
Use 2 $3.00/1 Thermacare, 2ct or Larger printable
Pay $5.98, Receive $5.00 Extra Bucks
Final Price: $0.49 each when you buy 2

Buy 1 Sally Hansen Moisture Twist Lip Gloss $4.99
Buy 1, Receive $2.00 Extra Bucks, Limit 2, through 4/7
Use $2.00/1 Sally Hansen Lip Product printable (Valid only at CVS, Rite Aid, or Walgreens)
or $2.00/1 Any Sally Hansen Lip Product printable
Pay $2.99, Receive $2.00 Extra Bucks
Final Price: $0.99


You can find more great CVS deals this week at Krazy Coupon Lady.

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