30% off Gap et al

Printable coupon here

You can also use online. Open coupon and online code also appears.

FREE Rita's ice tomorrow -- March 20

Thanks to Penny Pinchin Momma for this deal!
Tomorrow, for the first day of spring, Rita's is giving away free ice treats, YUM!

Click here!

10% off at Michaels -- SUNDAY only

Printable coupon can be found here. Make sure to check the hours, its a tight window.

Restaurant.com 70% off

Enter code LUCKY at checkout. New Restaurants have been added, so check local listings.

Kodak photo deals...

20% off all photo gifts, enter code NEWGIFT20

Click here for more info

FREE Starbucks pastry -- March 23

I don't care much for their coffee. Everyone who knows me knows I am loyal to the taste of Dunkin' Donuts, and loyal to the dollar amount of Target. BUT, if they are going to give stuff away, its always worth a try,

On Tuesday, Starbucks is giving away a free pastry with the purchase of a coffee drink. Click here for more info.

Staples 15% off

Printable in-store coupon found here. Expires March 23, 2010.

Winkflash photodeals, 5 and dime sale

The sale is back! From now through the end of the month, pictures from Winkflash are super cheap. 4x6 pix are 5 cents each, and 5x7 are a dime each. For more info click here.

Never heard of winkflash? Yeah, neither had I. Until Christmas. I saw a deal they had, and was very pleasantly surprised with how fast they were. Definitely recommend.

Fun Easter treats, big savings!

My friend Amber is almost finished touring the globe. I am real happy she is coming home because I have missed her. A LOT!

Ironically though she found this blog for me while traveling in Southeast Asia, I think. The link I am sending you directly to is the from today where she talks about making fun expensive-looking cupcakes, which don't. Not sure I could do it over a few days, would likely need/want to do all at once. But it looks fun, and the cupcakes certainly look yummy!

Enjoy!

NoVa consignment sale -- THIS SATURDAY!

Northern Virginia Parents of Multiples Semi-Annual Sale is Saturday, March 20!

Do you want to save money and love a bargain?
Then you don't want to miss NVPOM Semi-Annual Kid's Clothing, Toys, and Equipment Consignment Sale on March 20th!

NVPOM Semi-Annual Kid's Clothing, Toys and Equipment Consignment Sale
Saturday, March 20
9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
(half price sale starts at 12 noon)
Wakefield High School
4901 South Chesterfield Road
Arlington, VA 22204
Credits Cards Are Accepted

Children clothing, cribs, strollers, books, games, videos, toys, and much more are all on display at this huge sale. There is no need to feel lost at this sale--everything will be either marked and categorized by gender and/or size. There is no admission charge and is open to the public. The sale will be held at Wakefield High School, 4901 South Chesterfield Road, Arlington, VA 22204 and is open to the public at 9:00 A.M.

TONS of Babies R Us Coupons!

These come courtesy of Blue Patch reader Carolyn in Maryland, who I haven't seen in YEARS, but is likely the person following this blog I have known the longest :) Thanks Carolyn!

Click here!

Lord & Taylor 20% off

Printable coupon, found here. Good through next week.

Payless Shoes 15% off

Printable coupon, found here. Good through the end of March (how's that for advance notice?).

FREE Irish Music downloads

Amazon has an album loaded with Irish classics, just in time for St. Patrick's Day. Compatable with various MP3 players, including iPods. Click here.

Tons of Kohls deals...

My Wisconsin friends will like this one! I especially like the Kohl's children's clothes, in case any of my Wisconsin friends might be looking for some new baby clothes....actually, now that I think of it, I have several friends who could find the children's section particularly helpful in the next week or so :)

1) 10% off, expires 3/20/10. Enter code NEW9054

2) 15% off, expires 3/17/10. Enter code MAR15EDT

3) 20% off, spend more than $100, expires 3/17/10. Enter code MAR20EDT

4) $10 off, spend $75, use Visa card, expires 4/3/10. Enter code SAVE100V

Old Navy promotion

Like all deals, if you find this doesn't work, please let me know!

20% off online shopping (expires 3/17/10): Enter code ONGET20

Click here to start saving!

Times are a changin'

It seems many of my favorite blogs are doing redesigns or renamings lately. The Blue Patched Couch is not being left out.

Sometime in the next week to ten days you will notice some style changes. They will be small, compared to the offerings that are out there. But I hope they will tidy up things a bit and make the site easier to navigate. I certainly welcome and look forward to your feedback -- good or bad.

Now that I am able to write more often here, some things you will notice about my blog. I will rarely encourage you to be friends on Facebook with any product line or company. Why? Because when you do this your feed gets all clogged and I hate that. Yes, you can hide them, but then you are wasting time doing that. This blog is all about saving time and money, and in the cost-benefit analysis, I just don't see how Facebook friending for company X works. Maybe I am wrong, and by all means try, but this is not something I do.

I will try to find you as many original deals as I can. I think this is the reporter in me. So expect coupons from everything from Applebees to the Zoo (if I can find them). But *I* will not tell you that if you combine a coupon from a circular from last month with a sale at CVS this week and use your Extra Care Card, you can get said item for free. Thats too much work. Very few women I know have the time to do that. BUT, like the Facebook promotions, for some these work. So when I see them posted on other blogs, I will be sure to share (and certainly give credit).

Ok, thats all for now. Off to find some deals tonight before I go to bed. The husband and I had a "date" today since he was off and our son was in daycare. It was the first such "date" we have had since our son was born! The day was not terribly exciting, but it was nice to eat food and not worry about cutting up the plate of food next to me ;)

Amazon magazine deals

$5 Magazines

Esquire
Marie Claire
People Style Watch
Bazaar
Redbook
Seventeen

$7 Magazines

Popular Mechanics
Smart Money
Good Housekeeping
Boston
Nylon
Town & Country
Soundvision
New England Home

Click here for all the details

$5 off Jiffy Lube

Printable coupon. You have to sign up here, but I figure just send them a dummy account so you are not spammed and then you can always print at your leisure. (I should note I don't mean Jiffy Lube specifically would spam you...we all know none of these companies ever do anything like that! I am just saying I send all my email offers to a different email account than the main one I use for my personal emails, etc.)

Safe driving

10% Paint work at Maaco

Printable coupon, click here. Exclusions apply.

Yankee Candle $10 off

Printable coupon, click here. This expires in April.
This is a great deal right in time for spring!

GNC 15% off -- printable

Click here. Sorry it expires today. I promise to be better about giving more advance warning in the future as I seek deals.

FREE sample...

...of lady things, as my husband would say. Click here for a free sample of Playtex Gentle Glide Tampons.

And you can click here for a coupon for Gentle Glide from the store.

Thanks For the Momma's!

My inbox: an alternative to (NOT)Freecreditreport.com

Now that things are getting somewhat back to normal, I have time to go through my inbox. Linda in Virginia, one a very loyal member of the couch, sent me an email in response to my earlier post about how Freecreditreport.com really isn't.

Linda sent me a link to this article. It is ironic because it appeared literally the day I posted my original beef. Of course I didn't see it since I was nose-deep in a project, but it was still a good read. I should note that another loyal reader, Heather in Wyoming, commented in the comments section about the site referenced in the article. Thanks Heather!

I thought the article was a good follow-up. Also, thanks Linda! Should you need (or want, and I think we all WANT) to know your credit score, this article is a must-read.

FREE Dunkin' Donuts Coffee -- Mondays in March

What a great deal! Click here for coupon, but basically through the end of March Dunkin' Donuts is giving away a free cup of THE BEST coffee on the planet (can you tell I am biased, I love the stuff!) or a free cup of iced-coffee. Even if you miss March 15, you still have March 22 and March 29....so drink up!

Thanks BeCentsAble!

Best Buy 10%

A bunch of regularly priced items, but hey 10% is 10%. My husband will like this one, it includes video games. Click here

Also, more items here are included with a different 10% off coupon.

Children's Place 25% +15% off

This sale runs through Tuesday. Am including the whole link so you can read the comments from others as words of advice.

Happy Shopping!

Click here.

Free Spaghetti Monday

Another one of my favorite bloggers is KC Penny Pinchin' Mamma. Here she has info on Buca Di Beppo's promotion TOMORROW (March 15) for free spaghetti, or as I used to say growing spisgetti.

YUM!

Lots of cool photo deals here

One of my favorite bloggers to follow is Nicole's Nickels. Here she has a great deal on a new-to-me photoplace. I like her idea for gift watches, and a quick scan of the site shows a ton of neat items.

Happy shopping!

Snapfish 10 cents/pix INCLUDES SHIPPING

This deal ends today, sorry for short notice. Get up to 150 pix for $15, including shipping. Enter code STPATDEAL at check out.

Click here for all the details.

Restaurant.com 80% off

Enter code BITE at checkout. We love this site (although admit we still haven't had time to take advantage of the orders we placed...one day!)

Click here for more info

Kodak photo deals...

Card sets are $6.99, enter code ALLSET. The cards are 10 to a package, so this works out to .70/each for great thank you/hey-whats-up/thinking-of-you type cards.

Photobooks are 25 percent off, enter code BOOKMADNESS

For all the important info, click here.

20% off Disney Outlet ends today

Shop online here, and enter code OUTLET20 at check out. If you spend more than $89, you get flat rate shipping for $5, enter code SHIPTODAY

Free Emfamil

Click here for info.

Thanks For the Mommas!

Anniversaries

This weekend marked two important anniversaries for us.

First, on Friday my husband and I celebrated our five-year anniversary! It was also the six-year anniversary of him getting down on one knee on The National Mall. We have grown a lot, changed a lot, and become a much closer family in these five years. I have no idea what the next five years holds, but am excited for the journey and glad we are partners together. At the end of the day, the only thing I really need is him and our son.

Second, on a less happier note, Saturday marked the one-year anniversary of my attempted layoff. This was the day out of nowhere it seemed to me that my bosses decided the economy had hit its worst and several people had to go. Including me. I said no. I literally begged for my job, because with an infant son and an unemployed husband I had no choice and nothing to lose. I took a 33 percent paycut and managed to get a stay of execution of almost exactly two months.

While I had always been a saver, this event put my savings into high gear and really helped us lay the foundation for when the ax finally did fall. During this past year, we have had periods of no credit card debt, eaten homemade EVERYTHING and didn't go out AT ALL. We now have minimal credit card debt that could easily be paid off tomorrow, but because our savings took such a hit during the layoffs, I want to build up the next egg a big. The $20/month we pay to carry the charge is well worth the piece of mind.

Our saving goal now is to get out of here. Get out of this condo. As I have said before I love our 800 sf of love, but for three people - notably a growing, climbing little monkey -- it is simply too small. I pray that happens this year.

Now that my major project is over though, my main goal is to get back to writing here as I did before. I will begin posting more often the hot deals I find and the little nuggets I use to keep our balance sheet in the black. I appreciate my loyal readers more than you know, because in many ways you keep me on my toes.

Happy Spring! Lets hope that 2010 blooms a little bigger, brighter and happier for all.

Stories about couponing and lots of useful websites

This story comes courtesy of Blue Patcher Erin in Connecticut. I am cutting and pasting since not sure the link will work. The women profiled mention lots of good places to find coupons. Not sure I would hoard that much toilet paper or powdered juice drinks, but to each their own.

Happy reading!

Hard Times Turn Coupon Clipping Into the Newest Extreme Sport
Penny Pinchers Deal for Discounts;
By TIMOTHY W. MARTIN
Wall Street Journal
March 8, 2010
Erin Libranda Coupon clipper Erin Libranda of Katy, Texas, after she saved more than $1,000 on a midnight shopping trip to two supermarkets.
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Under a futon in her Charleston, S.C., apartment, Stacy Smith has stashed boxes of soy bars, bags of potato chips, bottles of vitamin water, canned vegetables, soup, barbecue sauce and antibacterial wipes. Her bedroom closet is jammed with soda and shampoo, her bookcase with garlic salt and meat marinades.

News Hub: Consumers Crazy for Coupons3:54The redemption of coupons spiked 27% from 2008 to 2009. WSJ's Timothy Martin has more insight on the craze, which appears to be about more than just saving money.
.
No, Ms. Smith isn't stocking up for a hurricane. The 39-year-old's apartment is stuffed with groceries because she's one of a growing flock of "extreme couponers."

These discount devotees have formed vast online communities that collectively unearth and swap digital, mobile-phone and paper coupons. The cleverest shoppers combine dozens of coupons and go from store to store buying items in quantity, getting stuff free of charge.

"If you can get 100 packs of toilet paper for free, you're going to," says Erin Libranda, 38. When the resident of Katy, Texas, has amassed enough coupons to buy many months' supply of eggs, she puts tiny cracks in them, adds lemon juice and freezes them.

Jill Lansky, 34, of Kalamazoo, Mich., likes to amuse friends by opening a cupboard to reveal 150 bottles of Powerade she bought for 25 cents each, thanks to coupons she collected on CouponForum.com.

.Jody Wilson, 33, got turned onto the couponing Web site AFullCup.com last March. Since then, she's posted nearly 9,500 messages to the site's forum. "I became extremely addicted," says the credit analyst from Battle Creek, Mich. "There's deal after deal after deal."

Couponers trade deal information and coupons themselves through cellphones, Twitter, Facebook, and message boards on Web sites like Slickdeals.net and TheKrazyCouponLady.com, motivated as much by competitiveness as by frugality.

Some sites, which tend to make their money from online ads, organize contests to see which member can spend the least cash in a month on essentials. Some couponers brag online about stockpiling free groceries, then selling them at yard sales.

Coupon Fraud GrowsRead more about how the use of counterfeit coupons for groceries and other items has risen as budget-conscious consumers increasingly get their coupons from online sources.
.
Proud shoppers post photos of themselves posing with their latest hauls. Nathan Engels of Villa Hills, Ky., can't resist loading up on free products. Mr. Engels recently erected a 6-foot-tall tower featuring the 1,142 packages of Jell-O he had got for nothing. He brags about his jam-packed freezer holding 30 pounds of meat, 50 pounds of cheese and 200 bags of vegetables.

"I'm going to buy as much as I can—I don't care if it's a year's or two-year's supply," says Mr. Engels, 28, who is married and has a young daughter.

For decades, shoppers clipped coupons from newspaper circulars, magazines and coupon booklets. Redemptions peaked in the early 1990s, and couponing gradually declined as grocers launched loyalty-card programs that rewarded repeat shoppers with discounts.

But amid the recession last year, the number of coupons redeemed rose 27%, to 3.3 billion from 2.6 billion in 2008, says Inmar Inc., a coupon-processing agent. The year-over-year percentage increase was the largest since Inmar started tracking the statistic more than 20 years ago.

Fueling the increase isn't the general populace but heavy coupon users, people who redeem 104 or more coupons over six months, according to an August report by The Nielsen Co. These users tend to be females under the age of 54 with college degrees and household incomes above $70,000, Nielsen says.

The upsurge mirrors the growth of Web sites dedicated to couponing. CouponMom.com, which appeals to a broad range of savers, has 2.2 million members, up from one million last January, says site founder Stephanie Nelson, author of the book, "The Coupon Mom's Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half."

View Full Image
Nathan Engels Nathan Engels built a 6-foot tower out of Jell-O boxes he got free.
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Hotcouponworld.com, which has seen its membership grow to 200,000 from 80,000 in the past year, targets couponers who think "there's an economic value in buying all your peanut butter for the year in one week in September," says site founder Julie Parrish, 35, of West Linn, Ore. Two years ago, she bought 50 18-ounce jars of Skippy creamy peanut butter for 17 cents each; last September, she paid 35 cents each. At retail, they cost around $3.59.

Ms. Smith, the Charleston woman whose closet doubles as a pantry, says she disliked grocery shopping until she got laid off last year from her clerical job and, to economize, turned to couponing Web sites. On two recent trips to her local supermarket, she says she paid $5 for $78 worth of items, and $2 for $40 worth of goods.

When Ms. Libranda, the Texas shopper, needed 500 coupons for flavored water last summer, she posted a request at Hotcouponworld.com. Within days, she had exchanged postage stamps and cereal box tops with half a dozen other members. "We had free water for a long time," Ms. Libranda says.

All the deal making isn't great for grocers, some of which have seen their profits squeezed by discounting. Craig Herkert, chief executive of Supervalu Inc., operator of Jewel, Albertson's and other supermarkets, recently told analysts that shoppers with an eye for discounts were "executing with surgical precision."

Carrie Petersen of Columbia, Md., says she tries not to abuse discounts. Recently, Ms. Petersen, 38, took 50-cent coupons for meat seasonings to a number of supermarkets that were doubling the coupons' value. Because the seasonings were already on sale for $1 each, Ms. Petersen got them for nothing.

Instead of scooping piles of packets into her shopping cart, she bought just five at a time at each of the stores she visited. "I never clear the shelf: I don't think that's right," Ms. Peterson says. "I probably only got 30."

Bringing home huge piles of stuff doesn't always work out. Julie Felton, a 39-year-old respiratory therapist from San Marcos, Texas, says she was ecstatic when she combined 20 coupons from a retailer and a manufacturer to get $5 bags of dog food for nothing—a six-month supply.

Ms. Felton's dog didn't like the food. Neither did her cat, nor the deer that wander into her yard.

She wound up donating it to a local animal shelter.

Write to Timothy W. Martin at timothy.martin@wsj.com

Expensive coffee...cheapo price

This post brings me back to the original roots of this blog. When I was home in Baltimore this past weekend my sister-in-law Teresa had some of THE BEST coffee I have had in someone's home.

Teresa's plan is super easy. Here's the deal. Take your favorite regular coffee (non flavored) and sprinkle some ground cinnemon on top, not a lot mind you, just enough to lightly cover the top grounds.

It works like a charm, and will taste like you bought it fresh from Gloria Jeans (or whatever your favorite gucci coffee shop is!)

Enjoy!

Upcoming consignment sales in NoVa

God willing, after tomorrow, my life will be my own again. This major project I have been working on will be complete and I can get back to posting here more often. It kills me everytime I see bargains I want to pass along and just don't have the time.

Wanted to make sure you saw these though since several readers have asked about them.

First, this weekend, March 13, the Mother's of Multiples in Loudoun and Fairfax Counties are having a sale. Here is the info:

KIDS AND BABY CONSIGNMENT SALE

SPRING & SUMMER INFANTS' AND CHILDRENS' CLOTHING, TOYS, AND EQUIPMENT

SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 2010; 9:00AM TO 12:00AM

Countryside Elementary School

20624 Countryside Blvd., Sterling, VA 20165

Sponsored by the Loudoun Fairfax Mothers of Multiples Club

WWW. LFMOMC.NET

Early Shopper Passes available to get in to the sale at 8:30 (1/2 hour before everyone else).

Contact ways_means@lfmomc.com for details.

Directions: 7 West, to RIGHT on Countryside Blvd., ½ mile on right.

*****PARK IN SCHOOL LOT*****

Bring a large shopping bag with you!

Bake Sale

PLEASE strollers will not be permitted inside the sale area.

Second, next weekend, March 20, the Northern Virginia Parents of Multiples is having its consignment sale. Here is their info:

NVPOM Semi-Annual Kid's Clothing, Toys and Equipment Consignment Sale
Saturday, March 20
9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
(half price sale starts at 12 noon)
Wakefield High School
4901 South Chesterfield Road
Arlington, VA 22204
Credits Cards Are Accepted

Children clothing, cribs, strollers, books, games, videos, toys, and much more are all on display at this huge sale. There is no need to feel lost at this sale--everything will be either marked and categorized by gender and/or size. There is no admission charge and is open to the public. The sale will be held at Wakefield High School, 4901 South Chesterfield Road, Arlington, VA 22204 and is open to the public at 9:00 A.M.

Freecreditreport.com is a SHAM!

My husband was right. I hate admitting that, but he was right this time and everyone needs to know!

I signed up for "free"creditreport.com on Feb. 4, 2010. The fine print says I have 9days to cancel. I view my reports for free, since thats what the ads say they offer, and I cancel on Feb. 9, 2010. The confirmation email I receive from them says this cancelation will be in effect Feb. 13, 2010. Thats nine days exactly, I am in the clear.

WRONG!

Imagine my surprise when I open my credit card statement today and see a $24.95 charge from them on, wait for it....FEB 4, 2010!

I immediately call. I am on hold for 10 minutes before I woman overseas answers my call, reads from a script, and determines that I should have read the super duper fine print that says if I view my three reports, and not the one they are pushing, I will be charged!

I am irrate. I am sitting here at the kitchen table stewing. This flies in the face of their advertising and I told this woman I was going to tell everyone I knew NOT to ever get this product.

On the day I signed up, my husband was furious. He said we didn't need it, we just bought a car and a computer so we had to have good credit. He was right. My scores (which was all I asked for) were above 750 on all three. So while I am glad I got confirmation of my excellent credit, I am furious at the way they operate!

Seriously, their elevator-type music they have while you are on hold signs the praises of knowing your credit scores and protecting against identity theft. But they will think nothing of swindling you out of every dime in the process.

So, there you go. If you want to get a credit check, try anywhere, and I mean ANYWHERE besides them!