Coupons, coupons and more coupons!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Our Easter meal was rocked--literally ROCKED--by a 7.2 earthquake yesterday. My family and I had just sat down to eat when along comes the biggest earthquake I've experienced in almost 20 years (the last big one I felt was back in '92) and I am still quite nervy and on-edge today as we've been feeling some pretty big aftershocks ever since. When I got home from my family's house last night, I checked around for any damage to my own house, and luckily all I discovered was that all of my shampoo and body wash bottles had fallen off the ledge and into the tub. I am grateful that the effects of this earthquake were so minor inside my home, and maybe it's nature's way of telling me that I have far too many products in my shower (nah...I don't think so! lol).

So let's get on to those coupons!

First let me apologize to those of you who don't live near a Rite Aid--I know I tend to post a lot of Rite Aid information on Nouveau Cheap but it's just such a great place for drugstore goodies that I can't help myself.

So for those of you who DO live near a Rite Aid, have you joined their Video Values program yet? If not you totally should because it's AWESOME! You can watch short commercials for certain products, and then once you watch them, you'll have access to some serious coupons that you can print out immediately and use at your local Rite Aid!

This week, there's a $3 off coupon good toward any Borghese nail product! I just watched the little video and got mine (note: you have to register, and then once you watch a video, you click on your "My Rewards" tab to actually print the coupon. I learned this the hard way and thought the coupon had disappeared after I watched the video because I was expecting the coupon to just pop up on my screen. It doesn't. You HAVE to click the "My Rewards" tab to access the coupons in your queue!).

Anyway, I just got mine, and you can be darn sure I'm picking up one of those Borghese Limited Edition Tutti Gelati nail colors I posted about the other day. Five dollars for nail polish is certainly better than $8, right? Oh, and I almost forgot! You earn 1 credit for every video you watch, and once you hit 20 credits, you get a $5 off any $20 purchase coupon for Rite Aid. Yay!

Next up:

A little while ago I asked you, my lovely readers, to share any info on coupon sites that you use and love. The best sites I have found (that feature tips, tricks, sale info and/or printable coupons) have all been through word-of-mouth, so if you love a site that I have not featured here, please leave a comment and let us know!

Most of the time, when I try to find sites like this myself through a google search, I get directed toward sites that are questionable or just full of ads and spam. So that's where YOU have come in to save the day! It's so much better to hear about sites that you already use and love, as opposed to finding them on my own.

My wonderful reader L. shared her favorite coupon site, called PocketYourDollars. What a wealth of information! The owner of this site gives you weekly tips about how to maximize your savings for that particular week, based on weekly sales, coupons and rewards programs. A great example is CVS. There are tips on this site that show you how to really get the most out of the CVS rewards program, and they give you a heads-up about what's going to be on sale each week and how to use your coupons, CVS Extra Bucks, etc. to get free or almost-free goodies each and every week. This site is a must-read for CVS, Target, Walgreens and Walmart shoppers!

Also recommended by L. is this site where you can search for printable coupons. I have spent some time on this one and can confirm that you can search by type (I searched "printable") and then search by store (I searched "CVS") and the links take you directly to the CVS site where the printable coupons are located. It's great to have a resource that has all of these printable coupons pages all under one roof. Love it.

My lovely reader spifftiff88 loves this site called AFullCup, which is an awesome money-saving database that I am so grateful she shared with us! You do have to register to join this site, but it is SO worth it! It takes just a second, and once you're registered, you then have access to awesome printable coupons (I just printed a fantastic $2 off coupon good for any Nivea Body Wash which doesn't expire until 4/28). There is TONS of helpful info on this site, but so far my favorite feature is their excellent (and huge) printable coupon directory. Having access to coupons that you get instantly is SUCH a great resource especially if you're like me and sometimes forget to pick up your Sunday newspaper. I hate missing out on savings, so now I don't have to!

Speaking of the Sunday Paper, spifftiff88 also shared with me her go-to site to preview the coupons that will be available in each Sunday paper: SundayCouponPreview. This site not only gives you a heads-up to what you'll see in your next Sunday paper, but there's also a fantastic printable coupon section as well!

And I don't want to forget to mention IHeartCVS, IHeartRiteAid and IHeartWags (links to these sites can be found on my left-hand sidebar). If you are not clicking on these sites weekly, you are REALLY missing out. Not only do these sites feature the weekly sales circulars for each store, but the owner of this site features amazingly comprehensive information (more info that you can dream of) to help you maximize your savings each week. For example, did you know that IHeartCVS gives you the heads-up about what coupons you can get from the "CVS Red Slot Machine" each week? And also, IHeartCVS tells you what coupons might print on your receipt, as well as coupons that will only print via the slot machine and NOT on receipts. The detailed information on these sites is AMAZING, and I personally love how the owner shows you what what she's been able to purchase for free or for pennies (with pictures and detailed explanations of how she got everything). She is a true inspiration and often times she gets things not only for free, but gets money BACK (I love getting paid to shop!). I really can't recommend these three sites enough--get your daily inspiration to save money and check 'em out ASAP.

That's it for now, but if you've got some secret goldmines that you'd like to share with the rest of us, please please leave your comments below!