Stuff Parents Need

Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

Food Lion Coupon Portal and Giveaways, Galore!

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Attention Food Lion shoppers! I’ve got some exciting news about some new developments happening on the Food Lion website that are designed to help you get your grocery store shopping done faster AND save you some money.

food lion coupon portal

Let me introduce you to the MVP Coupon Hub. This site allows you to do several very cool things. First and foremost, you can load coupons directly to your MVP card, and then print the list of coupons you loaded for easy reference in the store.

food lion weekly specials coupon portal

Second, you can also easily build a list from the Food Lion weekly flyer. As you browse it online, just click on anything you’d like to buy, and it adds it to a list for you! I found this to be a much faster way of shopping the sales than going through the flyer myself and circling everything, as I always seem to miss something that way.

food lion printable coupons

Finally, you can also print some printable coupons right from the store website. No need to go all over the internet hunting them down!

I received a gift card from Food Lion so that I could experience the MVP Coupon Hub for myself. I used to be pretty good at clipping coupons, but after my second child was born, it became increasingly difficult to find the time to match up sales with coupons, go out and buy Sunday papers so I could clip them, and also print the ones offered online. I became overwhelmed and just gave up.

food lion logo

Through the MVP Coupon Hub at Food Lion, I was able to take care of everything with a few simple clicks. I loved having coupons go straight onto my card, and my very favorite thing was being able to pick out what I wanted from their sales online and then just print my list. The truth of saving money at the grocery store is that you will save the most just by shopping the sales. Yes, coupons can absolutely save you more, but if you want to get the biggest return on your time investment, you simply need to shop the sales. Food Lion has made that VERY easy, and as a busy working mom, I very much appreciate that.

food lion coupon portal shopping

Once I saved cards to my MVP card, shopped the sale flyer, and found a few coupons I wanted to print, I gathered my lists and headed to the store.

apples on sale at food lion

I went through the stores and scooped up deal after deal, just following along with my lists. Gala apples on sale? Don’t mind if I do!

using MVP coupons from Food Lion portal

My MVP coupons were also fun to use, as they made some products that weren’t already on sale feel like they WERE on sale, just for me! And they sometimes made name brands cost less than the store brands (for example: I had a .75 coupon for Philadelphia cream cheese). Score!

closeout stickers at Food Lion

I also just happened to notice a fair number of closeout stickers throughout the store. That doesn’t have anything to do with the coupon portal, but it is something to keep your eyes peeled for, as that is another EASY way to save some money on groceries.

At the end of my shopping trip, I found out that I saved $38, and I only spent a few extra minutes getting my lists together. That’s a powerful testimony to the power of the Food Lion coupon portal, I have to say!

Try the Coupon Portal and WIN!!!

Every week until March 4, Food Lion will select 8 lMVP Coupon Hub users each week to win a $25 Food Lion gift card (the funds will be loaded directly to your MVP card…so easy!). At the end of the Save to Win sweepstakes, one grand prize winner will win $1,000 loaded to their MVP card!!!!! To enter that giveaway, all you need to do is load at least one coupon to your MVP card. It’s just that simple!

Win it!: I get to host my own giveaway, too! FOUR Stuff Parents Need readers will each win a $25 Food Lion gift card!

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday Night Relief: Red Baron on the Table

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This post brought to you by Walmart. All opinions are 100% mine.

Most every family has that one night of the week that is the craziest. For us, it is most definitely Wednesday. It’s one of my primary work days, coupled with schlepping kids to and from two different schools all over town, ballet lessons, and in the warmer months, a trip to the farmer’s market to pick up our CSA basket. This is the day, more so than any other day, that we wish fairies would sneak into our house while we are gone and magically prepare dinner. Because by the time we get home, we’re hungry and totally out of gas. 

Well, those fairies have yet to show up, but I’ve been buying convenient options that please everyone, like Red Baron® pizza. I like this brand because the pepperoni they use is exceptionally flavorful. It’s a stand-out, for sure!  

Red Baron

Right now you can find great coupons for Red Baron® at Walmart. Their prices are already really good, and the coupon makes it even better! Don’t miss the coupon for $3 off and 3 Red Baron® multi-serve pizzas. While you are printing those great pizza coupons, don’t miss out on the string cheese and the egg rolls. I definitely printed those, too!

Wednesday at my house is the complete and total opposite of this:

photo rainbowatsea_zps72bb7f7e.jpg

If you have a day of the week that is also NOT AT ALL like rainbows at sea, then pick up some Red Baron. You’ll give yourself a break, and by using the coupons, you’ll save some money! Take that, elusive pot of gold! 

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Healthy Essentials (and LOTS of Great Coupons) from Johnson & Johnson!

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This post is part of the HEALTHY ESSENTIALS® 2014 program by Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc. and The Motherhood, who sent me a box of products and compensated me for my time. Opinions, experiences and photos shared here are all my own, and I hope you enjoy them.

Healthy Essentials logo

My friends at Johnson & Johnson are SO excited to announce that just in time for the post-holiday budget crisis happening in many homes (Definitely in mine! Too much holiday spending!), you can save over $45 on products you likely already know and love. Go to www.HealthyEssentials.com and sign up for some totally awesome coupons, offers, tips & tools. HEALTHY ESSENTIALS® is here to get you on track for a healthy new year (and an affordable one, too!).

#Moms4JNJConsumer healthy essentials package
If you’ve got some healthy resolutions, from pain & allergy relief to digestive & dietary health, you can find what you need on this website and save some money, too! Love it!!!

World Cup Sweepstakes! 

Want to go to 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™? Visit HealthyEssentials.com and see if your wish could come true. Plus, get tips and coupons to save on your favorite products for the New Year.

All you have to do is share a picture or story of a moment of caring in your life and you could scream “GOAL!” from Brazil.

Visit www.healthyessentials.com for more information on this amazing opportunity!

Ring in the New Year with Healthy Essentials at the #Moms4JNJConsumer Twitter Party

I’ll be joining Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies for a Twitter party to talk about HEALTHY ESSENTIALS® for the New Year, resolutions, family wellness and how to score great deals on health and hygiene products! Learn how HEALTHY ESSENTIALS® can help you reach health-related goals for 2014.

When: Tuesday, January 14, 1 p.m. ET

Hashtag: #Moms4JNJConsumer

Prizes: We will randomly award 15 prizes throughout the party, from all eligible correct responses to trivia questions. Each prize includes an assortment of Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies HEALTHY ESSENTIALS® products with an estimated retail value of $50.

Prize Eligibility: No purchase necessary. Entrants must be legal residents of the 50 United States + D.C. 18 years of age or older. Void where prohibited.

Hosts: @theMotherhood, @CooperMunroe, @EmilyMcKhann, @TheMotherhood25

 I hope to see you there. Do you have any healthy resolutions for 2014? I’d love to hear about them! 

My Favorite Coupons This Week

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I’ve been getting back into couponing over the last month after a year-long hiatus. I’m actually taking a new approach that is working out quite nicely for me: I’m not purchasing the Sunday paper AT ALL! Sure, I’m missing out on some good deals that way, but I’m also missing out on a whole lot of stress and extra work! I simply print the coupons I need online, which rocks!

Here are some coupons I printed this week. I thought I’d share them with you just in case you are interested in some of the same stuff as me! Hurry, though, as these coupons won’t print after today!

This post does contain affiliate links. But as I said, these are coupons I printed, myself, and plan to use. Thought I’d pass the savings on!

My Triumphant Return to Walgreens: Who Needs Coupons with Deals Like This?!

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I used to rock out with coupons every week. I vividly remember stocking up on diapers for Darah when I was pregnant (this was before I knew about cloth!). I amassed 6 months’ of diapers for her, and paid, on average, about 25% of the retail cost per package. It was pretty awesome.

I stopped couponing for about a year after Darah was born just due to a lack of time. Once I got her into a parents’ day out program and once we found our new rhythm in Chattanooga, I got back into couponing. And once again, I got wonderful deals, largely at drugstores like Walgreens. I routinely saved between 50-75% on stuff I needed, as well as stuff I could save for later.

But as soon as morning sickness with baby#2 set in, I was off the couponing wagon. And I have yet to get back on. I’m just short on time, folks! I’m sure you can relate.

But here’s the weird thing: I’ve noticed that because I don’t use coupons anymore, I feel as though I shouldn’t even visit my favorite drugstores. It’s like I have this mentality that if I don’t know how to maximize the deals for the week and get all those Register Rewards then there’s no point in even trying. So I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been in Walgreens in the past year. And I used to go every single week! I think in some weird way I felt as though I would be a failure if I shopped without all those coupons.

But just this past week, Walgreens unveiled a new program that is SUCH a good thing for people just like me: the ones who love to save money but who also need to save time. They now have the Balance Rewards program, and Layah and I ventured into the store I used to frequent to get signed up and see what all the buzz is about. You can see my full shopping experience (including two diaper changes BEFORE we got out of the house! Sheesh!) in my Google+ story here.

Here are some highlights:

 

This is my (little) big helper, Layah. I successfully got her in the car, finally! She’s ready for our adventure.

I signed up for Balance Rewards at the front register. The salesperson was very helpful and had me all set up in 3 minutes!

I was THRILLED to see that Walgreens sells milk at a competitive price. This is actually cheaper than what I pay at the grocery store. I’ll be back for milk next week, and the week after, and the week after…

JACKPOT!!!! Walgreens had all their summer toys marked down by 75%, and the selection was great! May I suggest that you make a stop at your nearest Walgreens today to see if you have the same good luck I had? 🙂 I bought several cool gifts for our gift closet (those birthday party invites keep rolling in!).

I learned all about some of the great features of the rewards program, such as the fact that if you can build up your points a little bit more, your payout rate improves ($50 for 40,000 vs. $5 for 5,000 points). And please check out the pharmacy chat option that Walgreens offers its customers!

When looking through the sale flyer, I was really impressed with some of the point earning opportunities. By spending on Zyrtec and/or Children’s Benadryl (which you’ll likely need at some point this fall!) you get 10,000 points, which is basically like getting $10 back!

While I have a dinosaur model of the iPhone, those of you who are slightly more up-to-date will most definitely want to download the free mobile app. You can keep track of your points balance on your phone, shop online (oh heck yes! Free shipping with orders over $25 and under 10 lbs!), and even ask a Walgreen pharmacy professional a question. Gotta love a store that takes the convenience factor to a whole new level.

Walgreens is definitely on the cutting edge of offering a variety of ways for its customers to save time AND money. I’m so very glad I got over my fear and stepped back into the store. What I found waiting for me were great deals galore!

You can keep up with all the latest and greatest Walgreens happening by following them on Facebook or Twitter.

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Walgreens  #CBias #SocialFabric. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.