Favorite Deals of '08

Common Sense with Money has a post today discussing favorite deals of '08 and I have decided to join in.

2008 was the first year that I really started to use coupons strategically. I had always used coupons but often did not match up sales or stockpile, which is a huge money saver. It was also the first year that I learned about the drugstore games and began to shop at CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid. That has really changed my life, and now I get to try all the things I would never have purchased before for next to nothing and often for free.

It is also the first year that I have been able to give back, a lot. I hate to admit it, but I was never big on giving to food/item drives. I always felt it was a struggle just providing for our family. When my daycare had a food drive this year, I brought in bags and bags of things, sometimes bags coming straight from the store. It was a really, really nice feeling to be able to do that, and I look forward to doing more.

So here are my favorite deals for 2008:

• Free soap! CVS had a fantastic store coupon this past year that allowed me to stock up on tons of free soap. Also, Johnson & Johnson continues to issue great coupons that make their children's Buddies soap free or about .10 each.
• Muir Glen tomato products. Muir Glen keeps issuing $1 off of any product coupons. Their tomato paste and tomato sauce are usually under a dollar at Publix (found in the organic section) and will give you overage which you can use to purchase other products. I have a shelf full of the stuff, and it is really great, especially for chili.
• Kroger's deals that occur every once in a while that usually go like this: $5 off of 5 products or $5 if you purchase $20 of certain items. I have gotten some great free things when they do that.
• Free Poptarts at Target. They had that awsome deal this past summer and I somehow really lucked into it because I had bought 10 newspapers with the right coupons in it. I still have poptarts (last a really long time). I so hope they do that again!
• Free TP at Kroger. And who couldn't use that? The deal still works, by the way!
• Free L'Oreal moisterizers and cleansers at CVS and Walgreens. They have had some kind of big promotions this year for L'Oreal products. They are frequently free or money makers at both these drugstore. I used to only like Mary Kay's moisterizer since it was one of the few that worked and didn't upset my skin. Well, L'Oreal, your promotions were successful! I have a number of your free products and will probably buy them again even if I have to pay money!
• Stocking up on coffee and creamer when Harris Teeter has triple coupon weekends. The creamer lasts a really long time and it has truly reduced our cost. Good coffee and creamer is a must in our house!
• Free Shampoo at Walgreens. Great deal! This is one to watch for in the future.

Check out Common Sense with Money for other favorite deals of 2008!