Free Soccer Ball For Schools From Coke

My Coke Rewards is running a great promotion during the World Cup. When you enter a Coke code on their FIFA World Cup landing page, a school of your choice will get a free soccer ball. Don't worry, you'll still get your points too.

If you don't know what school to select, you are more than welcome to donate a soccer ball to my students. Just type in 19121 for the zip code and select Tanner Duckrey.

Free Bag of Nutro Natural Dog Food After Rebate

Nutro is so sure that you will love their dog food that you can currently get your first bag of Nutro dog food for free. The rebate is valid for the purchase of a 15 pound bag valued up to $39.99.

As always, if you do not have a dog at home please consider going the extra mile and picking up a bag for your local shelter. Any little bit can help save a life.

* Offer Terms: Maximum rebate up to a value of $39.99 with purchase of 15-lb. bag of NUTRO® NATURAL CHOICE® Dog Food between 12/30/13 and 2/2/14. Consumer pays all sales tax. Rebate request must be postmarked by 2/16/14 and received by 2/21/14. Limit: ONE (1) rebate per household/address and ONE (1) rebate request per outer envelope. Please allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery of rebate check. Offer void where prohibited, taxed or restricted. Offer good while supplies last. Offer void outside U.S. and not open to employees (and their immediate family/household members) of The Nutro Company (“Sponsor”) and its affiliates/agents. Sponsor is not responsible for late, lost, stolen, damaged, incomplete, illegible, misaddressed, misdirected or postage-due rebate requests or other mail. No incomplete, damaged, mechanically reproduced, altered or forged rebate forms, copied receipts or UPCs accepted. This offer cannot be combined with any other rebate, manufacturer’s coupon, offer or promotion. Sponsor reserves the right to modify, terminate, or suspend this offer, correct errors in promotional materials or disqualify any individual. This offer is subject to all applicable laws, rules and regulations. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY UNDERMINE THIS OFFER IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. For questions or rebate details, please call 1-800-833-5330.

Free Purina Beggin' Strips at Target

Right now, you can pick up some free dog treats at Target using a great coupon directly from Purina's website. Head over and print out two coupons for $3 off any one (1) package of Purina brand Dog Snacks. Purina Beggin' Strips are on sale at Target for 2 for $5 which means that you can get two free bags of dog treats. Some Targets offer overage on coupons which means that the extra $1 towards a different item in your cart. This is the company policy but I've heard of some areas not honoring it.

If you don't have a dog, please consider picking up some treats for your local shelters. Even dogs without families love treats.

Help a School By Voting in Target's Give With Target Promotion

It's back to school season and Target is running a great promotion. On Facebook, you can vote for any school in the country during their Give With Target. Each school that receives a minimum of 25 votes will receive a gift card equivalent to $1 per vote. That means that you can help a local school with just a few clicks of the mouse. You may vote once every five days for any school.

If you don't know what school to vote for, my students would love some extra supplies form Target. Tanner Duckrey Elementary serves a community where over 90% of our families live in poverty. Extra funds from Target for school supplies would be helpful in this time of a budget crisis.

Earn Rewards for Your Local School By Syncing Your Staples Reward Account

Most of my readers know that I am a big fan of Staples and their reward program so I'm excited about their new promotion for teachers, Reward A+ Classroom. This promotion allows you to link your reward card to your child's teacher and earn additional funds for the classroom. You will still earn your normal rewards and an additional 2% (up to $50 per parent) will be sent to the teacher to buy supplies for the classroom. If you are a teacher, you must pre-register for this program and then they have fliers you can print for your parents.

While you should search for your own child's teacher, if you don't have a child or your child is not in school, please consider adding my classroom. Just search for Cori Frede in Philadelphia.

Q: What is Reward A Classroom?
A: Reward A Classroom is a new program available to Staples Rewards® members that allows you to earn additional rewards for any teacher enrolled in Teacher Rewards, while still enjoying your same rewards benefits.
Rewards members enrolled in Reward A Classroom will earn an additional 2% back in rewards on everything purchased at Staples (excluding postage, phone/gift cards, savings passes, purchases made on third-party Web sites, taxes and delivery fees) and 5% back in rewards on Copy & Print purchases. These extra rewards will go directly to the teacher’s rewards account that you have linked to.

$3 Movies at AMC This Summer

AMC is running a great promotion, Summer Movie Nights. Each week, a different movie will be featured on weeknights for $3. Even better, the screenings will support autism research. All movies for this promotion will be at 10pm.

• June 24-26, 2013: The Dark Knight Rises
• July 1-3, 2013: Django Unchained
• July 8-10, 2013: The Amazing Spiderman
• July 15-17, 2013: The Hunger Games
• July 22-24, 2013: Olympus Has Fallen
• July 29-31, 2013: OZ The Great and Powerful
• August 5-7, 2013: G.I. Joe: Retaliation
• August 12-14, 2013: Oblivion

Hidden Values at the Grocery Store

I don't know about you, but I love baking. The problem is that things like chocolate chips can get pricey if you want the real thing. Sure you can buy those "chocolate flavored" chips, but they're not fooling anyone. Recently I saw this really cool kit in the bakery aisle for fudge. The Carnation Famous Fudge Kit was on sale for $1.50 and I thought it sounded interesting so I bought it. Call me surprised when I got home and found that the box included a full size bag of Nestle chocolate chips which I could have pulled off the shelf for $3, a can of Carnation evaporated milk, and a few other ingredients.

I actually went back to the grocery store and bought a few more of these kits so I would have chips for my baking. I don't use evaporated milk often, but I added the cans to my pantry and will donate them next time there's a can drive. Instead of paying $3 or more for the chips, I spent less and got more. For those who are wondering, I did actually make a batch of the fudge and everyone that tasted it thought it was great.

This experience made me wonder when else can something as silly as a fudge kit end up saving you money. How many other times have we spent more for less just because we didn't look closely or dismissed something easily. If you are preparing for a picnic or bbq, look for packages that offer all your condiments instead of buying ketchup and mustard separately. It won't always save you money but it often can.

Have you seen any of these surprise deals? Leave a comment and share your finds with your fellow Making Cents of It readers.

Get $25 LivingSocial Credit When You Make a $5 Donation to Toys for Tots (Or Buy Any LivingSocial Deal)

LivingSocial has teamed up with Visa to help promote their new method of online payment called v.me. Make any purchase on LivingSocial from now through December 22, 2012 using v.me and you'll get a $25 LivingSocial credit to use on a future purchase.

Just in time for the holidays, LivingSocial is offering a deal to help children in need. They have a deal for $5 for a $10 donation to Toys for Tots. Based on the rules for the promotion, this donation will count for the v.me promotion if you pay using the new service. Therefore, you will spend $5 for a $10 donation to Toys for Tots and a $25 credit on LivingSocial. Not a bad way to help out children during the holiday season.

Promotional offer valid 5:00AM EST December 16, 2012 to 4:59AM PST December 22, 2012. Following Eligible Purchase during Promotional offer using V.me on LivingSocial, 25 Promotional Deal Bucks will be deposited in LivingSocial account of purchase on or before January 3, 2013. Eligible Purchases include “All Deals” and “Nationwide” Daily Deals (as displayed on www.livingsocial.com) and excludes purchases in Escapes, Shop, Takeout and Delivery, purchases made via mobile app or mobile web, or transacted on a third party site. LivingSocial’s time records shall be determinative and final. Deal Bucks are subject to restrictions at http://help.livingsocial.com/articles/the-basics-of-deal-bucks and will expire thirty (30) days from the date of deposit. LivingSocial reserves the right to revoke any Deal Bucks issued for Eligible Purchases that are subsequently refunded or cancelled. Limit one (1) issuance of Deal Bucks per LivingSocial account. Multiple accounts per user prohibited. (Source: Living Social V.me deal)

If you didn't already know this, Toys for Tots is an annual program run by the Marine Corps. Their goal is to provide toys to kids that otherwise wouldn't have presents for the holiday season. They have drop off locations all over the country in businesses and you can also make financial donations directly on their website.

Hasbro Games Under $5 After Black Friday Sale and Rebate

If you love classic board games or need some inexpensive gifts for a secret Santa, kid, or other reason, I recommend checking out the Hasbro games at Target for Black Friday.

The games are on sale for $7 each but they are even cheaper when you use the Game Night Rebate that is currently being advertised on tv by Neil Patrick Harris.

The rebate works in increments of two games and is good for a maximum of twelve games. For two until eight games, the rebate is $2.50 per game. If you buy ten or twelve games the rebate goes up. The final price of the games will range from $3.67 (twelve games) to $4.50 (two games).

The rebate is for select games and Target sale is also select games. The following is a list that will work for this deal:

• Connect 4
• Jenga
• Monopoly
• Operation
• Scrabble

If I make it to Target, I'm going to pick up a few games. For under $5 these will be great for my classroom and Toys for Tots.

Discounts on Ingredients for Green Bean Casserole

If you're family is like mine, a green bean casserole is a necessary side dish for Thanksgiving. The basic recipe is two cans of green beans, one can of cream mushroom soup, and crunchy onions. Some people prefer fresh beans and others prefer frozen. Another variety is french style (shredded beans) versus regular cut. However you make your green beans, there are a few coupons and deals to help you out.

Green beans - Check out SmartSource for a coupon to save 50¢ any four (4) cans of Del Monte® Green Beans 14.5 oz or larger. These cans are on sale at Target for $0.65 which will make them $0.53 each after the coupon if you buy four.

Cream of Mushroom Soup - Check out Coupons.com to get a coupon for $1.00 off any four Campbell’s Condensed soups. Use this coupon at Target, where the Cream of Mushroom soup is on sale for only $0.60 which makes the $0.35 each after the coupon if you buy four.

Remember that coupons from Coupon.com can earn you Swagbucks. Just head over to Swagbucks and select "coupons" under the earn heading. Each coupon you redeem after printing from Swagbucks will earn you 10 Swagbucks.

Crunchy Onions - No green bean casserole is complete without that delicious onion crunch. French's is the most common brand of these onions that you will find in the stores. Head over to French's website for a coupon good for $0.30 off any French's French Fried Onions.

If your local grocery store matches ads and doubles coupons, take the Target ad over to save even more. I've never seen the Campbell's soup under $1 before coupons so this is a great sale.

If you buy these great deals but can't use all the cans, please consider bringing them to your local food bank. You'll still save money and help others.

NYSC Offers People a Place to Shower and Recharge During Hurricane Sandy Aftermath

If you are currently powerless because of Hurricane Sandy, NYSC wants to help. The article my sister forwarded to me states that from now until November 14, 2012, non-members can use the facilities at NYSC locations. Weither you need a shower, a charge, or just a place to get out the stress, they want to welcome you in. I went to the official NYSC website and there the invitation was right on their homepage.

Our doors are open to help anyone impacted by Hurricane Sandy.

All of our clubs are opening their doors to Hurricane Sandy victims allowing full use of our facilities. If you need to take a hot shower, charge your cell phone, or recharge your body with a stress-reducing workout, our club is your club. All we ask is that nonmembers bring a towel. (Source: NYSC Website)

In my opinion, this is a great business move. NYSC is showing goodwill to their neighbors and some people that come in might end up joining the club.

Free (Red) Sticker

(Red) is an ongoing project to raise awareness and money for AIDs research. Today, you can request a free sticker from the (Red) campaign.

Wholly Heroes

Today is National Guacamole Day. What better way to spend it than opening up a package of Wholly Guacamole and enjoying that delicious, fresh flavor. Wholly Guacamole wants to use National Guacamole Day as the beginning of a great new promotion.

Wholly Heroes is a great new promotion that was designed to help give back to the families of American heroes. Every day, our brave men and women risk their lives to protect the freedoms that we as Americans grew up with.  While they're fighting in wars, their families remain home.  Wholly Heroes has teamed up with Operation Purple.

Operation Purple, a program of the National Military Family Association, are a nice group of people who made camps for military kids like me. And you can even go to camp with your family, so no one gets left out.

They make camp really fun and I am very happy when I am at camp. We get to do cool things like check out the inside of a helicopter. You can help other kids go to camp by donating. If everyone gave some of their allowance maybe everyone will get to go to camp.

From now until October 31, 2012, you can donate money or purchase t-shirts to help Wholly reach their goal of sending 100 military children to camp. You can purchase a really cool t-shirt for $10, with 100% of the proceeds going to the goal. To reach the goal of sending 100 kids to camp, they need to sell at least 5,000 shirts. I received on of these t-shirts and I have to say it's a fun little graphic on a nice quality white shirt. The design, by Brad Meltzer, is two soldiers lifting an American flag with the caption "Ordinary People Changing The World" underneath.

 
Additionally, each order will arrive with a coupon for a free Wholly Guacamole product. That's a great addition for such a good cause. Help Wholly reach their goal and help support our service members and their families.

Disclaimer: I received a cooler full of Wholly products and a t-shirt in exchange for writing this post about Wholly Heroes. I did not receive any other compensation. All opinions are mine. Any facts about the program come from Wholly Heroes.

Free Cat Food at Petco

Head over to Petco's website to print a coupon for a free 3oz can of Wellness cubed, sliced, or minced cat food. The coupon doesn't expire until October 31, 2012 so you have some time to get to the store. You must be a member of PalsRewards to redeem the coupon but it's free to join. It's just Petco's loyalty program.

If you don't own a cat, or your cat eats a different brand of food, please consider donating your free can to a local shelter. Some Petco's will even have donation drop boxes right in the store.

Weekly Back to School Deals from Office Depot

Starting Sunday (July 29 - August 4, 2012), the following items are on sale at Office Depot. These are the deals that I think are worth looking at but be sure to check the full ad for other sales.

• SwissGear Backpack - $10
• Personal Care Hand Sanitizer with Clip - $0.25
• Office Depot Brand Marble Composition Books - $0.25
• Scholastic Standard Crayons, 24/pack - $0.25
• Office Depot Brand Ballpoint Pens, 10/pack - $0.25

Remember to consider pre-paying at Office Depot by purchasing limited edition Born the Way gift cards. For each $20 gift card sold, $5 will be donated to the Born This Way Foundation.

Shared Reading: Best Stock-Up Prices for Back to School Sales

With all the back to school sales already beginning, you might be wondering what prices to expect. Surviving the Stores has created a pretty in-depth list of school supplies and the common prices you can expect to see over the summer into the beginning of September.

I think some of her numbers are on the high end of the estimates, but I do think it's a great start to help readers know what to wait on. Unless you need a specific item tomorrow, keep an eye out and wait for the sales. It will be worth it because they hold off on the more popular items until closer to the start of the new school year.

• Ream of Copy/Printer Paper - You should never have to pay more than $1 per ream if you stock up during sales. This might be a flat out price or a rebate/reward but you will find cheap paper.
• Calculators - As a math teacher, I highly recommend the Texas Instruments TI-30X IIS 2-Line Scientific Calculator. Normally around $20, you can find it during August for only about $8. I like it best because it has the same key entry as the graphing calculators your child will use in high school. It makes the transition much easier.  It also displays what is being typed to prevent costly mistakes on tests.
• Backpacks/Computer Bags - I've seen bags go as low as free after rewards.  If you see a 100% back offer, I recommend buying a new bag. You never know when you'll want it for a day in the park or an overnight trip.
• Anything Else - Most items are normally priced at $1 or above.  If you see the penny or nickel price tags, it's probably a good deal.  Just don't get suckered into buying something you don't need.  Consider donating penny deals to a local school supplies drive.  Some office stores will even have a donation box set up for the local schools.

See the full list of best stock-up prices at Surviving the Stores.

Buy a $20 Office Depot Gift Card, Donate $5 to Born This Way Foundation Free

Lady Gaga, along with her mother, started the Born This Way Foundation in 2011 to help the youth population feel comfortable in their own skin. Right now, Office Depot is selling gift cards in the store that are limited edition cards promoting the mission of the Born This Way Foundation. For each $20 gift card sold, Office Depot will donate $5 to the cause.

If you're planning to make any purchases at Office Depot in the coming months, consider purchasing a few of these special cards. It won't cost you any additional money and you'll be helping a great cause. You'll pay $20 for a card worth $20. Office Depot will donate the $5.

Update: I found an official link to the Be Involved promotion. So now it's available online.

Back to School Sales Already?

Didn't the summer vacation just begin? I was looking through some of the ads that are already published for next week and it seems that some stores are beginning their back to school sales. Even if you are not a student, teacher, or parent, these sales can really help you out with basic office supplies.

Some of these deals are through the store's reward program so you will have to lay out money. In the past I've heard people mention that they're not really "free" because the reward checks can only be used at the store, unlike rebates with are cash. My thoughts on this are that if you use the rewards to buy things you would be buying anyway it's a great deal. For example, I can always use printer ink and paper so that's what I normally spend the reward checks on.

A reminder to all the teachers out there: Make sure you bring proof that you are a teacher because many of these stores will increase the limit for you on these penny sales.

As I find the deals, I will be posting them. Check the school label to make them easy to find.

If you don't need any of the discounted items, consider donating the items to a local school. I guarantee the teachers will be happy and thankful.

Free Lysol Wipes After Rebate

If you need disinfecting wipes, check out this great new rebate. You can get Lysol Dual Action Wipes for free after rebate. The rebate is good for the 35 count package up to $3. You have until July 8, 2012 to make your purchase and August 17, 2012 to postmark the rebate.

If you don't use Lysol wipes, consider buying a pack and donating it to a local school or community organization.

Free (After Rebate) Bag of By Nature Pet Food

Head over to By Nature Pet Food's Facebook page and request your rebate form for a free bag of dog food.  I checked their website and it looks like you're more likely to find this brand at the higher-end pet stores and local vets.

As always, if you don't have a dog please consider picking up a bag for your local shelter.  They can always use free food.