Samuel A Clarke.com

I remember the first time I saw TLC’s show Extreme Couponing and what my reaction was. It was hard not to be blown away by the sight of someone getting over $1200 worth of groceries for around $60! my first thought was, of course, “I am going to be the next big extreme couponer!” Well I am certainly not the only one who was blown away by the airing of the show. Within 48 hours of seeing my first episode, my chiropractor, dental hygienist and a neighbour had all asked me the same question, “Have you seen that new show Extreme Couponing?”

The buzz about the show was unbelievable! Within a very short time couponing seems to have become a mass phenomenon. I have heard stories from store clerks (who think that extreme couponers are going overboard) about people ripping the entire tear-pads off and leaving none left on the shelf for anyone else! There was even a news story the other day about a woman who was caught paying for one newspaper and then stealing the whole stack of papers from the machine just so she could get the coveted Red Plum and Smart Source coupon inserts.

As big as couponing has become it seems there is another way to make a fast buck on the rise. TLC’s next project is a new show, called ‘High Stakes Sweepers’, which focuses on another quick money subculture: People obsessed with entering sweepstakes. We will get the chance to follow passionate sweepstakes players as they spend their days and nights filling out contest entries in the hopes of striking it big. We will get the inside story on their strategies and surprising successes as these everyday people spend up to 60 hours per week searching for sweepstakes forms, buying products and testing their luck in thousands of sweepstakes in the hopes of winning anything from a tube of toothpaste to a trip to Italy.

So the big question is: are ‘extreme sweepstakes’ really worth the time and effort? Well if you ask one of the ‘stars’ of the new show, a woman who has won prizes worth more than $1.2 million, I’m sure she would shout a resounding, “YES!” but I will have to reserve my judgment for now. I guess I will have to shift some of my attention from ‘extreme couponing’ to ‘extreme sweepstakes’ and see what happens. Happy sweepstakes !

Check out the section ‘Maegan’s Deals’ for your links to deals, freebies, samples, and more…

Follow @Samuel_A_Clarke

Just ‘a buck’ 😉

The topographical landscape of extreme couponing seems to be ever changing. I have been watching my wife Maegan venture out into this wild world of extreme couponing for the last several months – and though I haven’t been all that surprised by the sheer amount of work involved in tracking down and keeping track of all the opportunities to extreme coupon, I am surprised by the extent to which things have shifted out of paper and into digital over the last number of years.

I remember my mother sitting at the kitchen table clipping coupon after coupon. I half expected that to still be a large part of extreme couponing today. It isn’t.

Yes, coupons still come with the newspaper, but I’d say Maegan does 90% of her extreme couponing with a keyboard and mouse.

Extreme couponing digitally is a rapidly growing force that will likely take over as the primary method of distribution of coupons in the next few years if it hasn’t already! Companies like General Mills say they are moving more and more of their coupon budget towards digital coupons and away from news papers. Digital coupons boast higher redemption rates and often cost less to distribute.

Today the stigma surrounding extreme couponing and couponing in general is lifting, it is even becoming chic to clip coupons!

In todays age of economic turmoil more and more people from all walks of life are realizing that not only is extreme couponing fun, (There is no other feeling like getting 50%, 75%, 90% or even 100% off an item) but it is rapidly becoming absolutely necessary for survival.

Maegan will continue to post her finds in new articles and posts and list links to these treasures right here at www.SamuelAClarke.com.

Check out the section ‘Maegan’s Deals’ for your links to deals, freebies, samples, and more…

Follow @Samuel_A_Clarke

Just ‘a buck’ 😉

Anyone who knows me, knows that lately I am all about couponing. I have learned so much over the last couple of months about how to get all those great deals and tons of free stuff.

One thing I have noticed is that the single greatest place to find amazing promotions such as free giveaways, contests, sweepstakes and great coupons, is Facebook. All these years I have been hopelessly addicted to Facebook, and yet I never would have guessed that I could use it to get free things.

Many products have their own Facebook page and it seems that they all, at one time or another, have some kind of promotion going on. I frequently find contests, free product giveaways, and really good coupons. Usually, all you have to do is ‘like’ their Facebook page to be entered into the contest or sweepstakes, or to receive the item and coupons.

I spent some time finding all the product pages that I could and ‘liking’ them. Now when a page is about to have a promotion, contest or giveaway, they post on my wall informing me in advance. How easy is that? Shreddies, for example, just had one a few weeks ago: I liked their page and they mailed me a coupon for a free box of Shreddies! I got my Shreddies yesterday at Save On Foods and didn’t have to pay a dime!

Febreeze also had a giveaway recently. For liking their page you got a Febreeze Set and a Refresh air freshener. Other free giveaways I have seen lately are for Maynards Blush Berries, Skinny Cow Ice Cream, Triscuits and Vector cereal.

Below are some current facebook promotions. Don’t forget to register on this site so you can leave comments on my blog posts and receive exclusive access to special promotions and deals only offered to registered users of SamuelAClarke.com! Also bookmark us and add us to your RSS feeds so you can stay up to date with my blog where you will get new and up to date info on the latest and greatest coupons and free sample promos.

Dial coupon
Dial Coupons

Kit Kat Contest for $25,000
Kit Kat Big Break Contest

Safeway Deal of the Week Coupon
Safeway Weekly Deal

Giorgio Armani Fragrance Sample
Armani

Flavur Contest to win iMac, Mountain Bike…
Flavur Contest

Motts Fruitsations Coupon
Motts Coupon

Pier 1 Imports Daily Deal (today’s deal is 50% off any LED candles)
Pier 1 Imports Daily Deal

Don’t forget to register for this site so you can leave me a comment. Also, don’t forget to +1 on Google and ‘like’ my post on Facebook. Thanks

Just a Buck… Help me to keep finding GREAT deals! 😉

These days I am always on the hunt for a great coupon offer or free product sample. Well I found both of these with this fantastic Purex promo! Purex has come out with a new product, Purex with Zout. It is a laundry detergent combined with the triple-enzyme stain-fighting power of Zout® pretreater. If you sign up on their website,(see link below) Purex will mail you a free sample pack of their laundry detergent AND a $3 off coupon!

Now I am all for getting free samples, but this free sample especially appealed to me since I just got a new washing machine a week ago, one that requires HE detergent! I needed to find a new product to replace my usual brand of non-HE laundry detergent, so I was happy to receive this free sample pack of laundry detergent from Purex. However, the coupon that came with the free sample pack was the really great part of this free offer. Why? Well, because there where two really amazing opportunities to use the $3 off Purex laundry detergent coupon.

The first opportunity I found was at London Drugs. They normally sell the 1.47 L bottle of Purex laundry detergent for $7.49 a bottle. However, London Drugs had a sale on where you could purchase TWO bottles of Purex laundry detergent for only $7.00. So thats just $3.50 a bottle, then minus the $3.00 off product coupon, that worked out to only $0.50 a bottle!!! That was a great opportunity, but… It gets even better!

The second opportunity I found to use the $3.00 off product coupon was at Zellers. Zellers has the same size 1.47 L bottles of Purex laundry detergent on sale for just $3.00 a bottle!!! So with the $3.00 off product coupon applied to the price, each bottle of Purex laundry detergent you purchase is FREE!! (you will however have to pay the sales tax unfortunately) This is extreme couponing at its best!

NOTE: Also be sure to register on this site so you can leave comments on my blog posts and receive exclusive access to special promotions and deals only offered to registered users of SamuelAClarke.com! Also bookmark us and add us to your RSS feeds so you can stay up to date with my blog where you will get new and up to date info on the latest and greatest coupons and free sample promos.

Here is the link to get your free product sample pack and coupon. It may take about two or three weeks to arrive in the mail.
Click here to get your Purex laundry detergent FREE Sample

Don’t forget to register for this site so you can leave me a comment. Also, don’t forget to +1 on Google and ‘like’ my post on Facebook. Thanks

Just a Buck… Help me to keep finding GREAT deals! 😉

I am pretty impressed with the website I mentioned in my last blog post, FreeCycle.org. I figured ‘what the heck!’, I’ll try posting in the ‘wanted’ section and see what happens. So I posted that I was looking for a free original XBOX since ours broke recently. I assumed it would be a pretty big long shot that I would get any responses. However, within 48 hours of posting, someone emailed me that they had an original XBOX they did not use anymore that I could have for free. Also at FreeCycle.org you can post to different ‘groups’ (each group represents a different area in which you live) increasing the chances you will find what you are looking for – for free. The person that contacted me is right here near me – just a few minutes from my house!  I definitely think everyone should check out:

FreeCycle.org.

Tell us all just what you were able to get for free or what you gave away for free.
Don’t forget to register for this site so you can leave me a comment. Also, don’t forget to +1 on Google and ‘like’ my post on Facebook. Thanks

Just a Buck… Help me to keep finding GREAT deals! 😉

In my search for free samples and coupons I came across this really great website called Free-cycle.  If you have stuff you want to get rid of for free you can post it on this site, and who ever wants it for free will take it off your hands. Conversely you can browse all the things people are offering, for free of course, and you just might find something you need.  I thought this was a great idea.  The idea is that we are keeping all this stuff out of a landfill by reusing it and I am all for that!  Check it out here:

Freecycle.org

Let me know what you got for free or gave away for free by entering your comments below. 😉

Don’t forget to register for this site so you can leave me a comment. Also, don’t forget to +1 on Google and ‘like’ my post on Facebook. Thanks

Just a Buck… Help me to keep finding GREAT deals! 😉