I "Like" EVERYTHING! - Why I am "like" happy on Facebook

Well, this one of those posts that I can't wait to do, yet kind of want to keep to myself.  Many of you may be wondering why in the last week I seem to "like" every page I see on Facebook.  This is especially unusual for me since before a week ago, I rarely "liked" anything.  My cake page may have been the only thing on the list and now I'm liking tide, shout, pantiene, and things you've never even heard of.  Why?  Because I am scoring lots of Free Stuff and Awesome Coupons!  

So here is how it all got started.  Last Wednesday Maddie and I took a trip to OKC and stopped by to visit a friend, Kathleen Kammerer.  We sat and chatted for a while and Kathleen began telling me about her new addiction to couponing.  I have long been addicted to coupons (I hoard the campus coupon books each semester) so didn't think much of it.  But then she told me about a website she found where she was getting tons of free samples and big coupons (ones you can't find in the Sunday paper).  As she showed me all of the free stuff I felt my coupon addiction growing and a new outlet emerging.

The website is www.hip2save.com and as she advertises, it's "not your grandma's couponing site". 

How it works - Each day she posts (multiple times throughout the day) different deals and bargains along with links and the how to's of getting the deal.  Some are website deals where you go and give your info and others require you to "Like" the facebook page then you can go to a promotion tab for free stuff!  The deals are not from this website, but rather a collection of current deals.  You can find the deals by:

1. Checking the Website
2. Subscribing to the Blog (I use google reader)
3. Like "Hip2Save" on facebook - all the deals show up in the news feed with links!

I use all 3.  I like the subscription because I can see them all on google and know what ones I have read and those I haven't.  I like the facebook way too because it's easier to check it on my phone, however, note that most of the time you won't be able to access the deal from your phone (I don't like the facebook app much at all, but that's a rant I will avoid) unless you get an app like atomic web that allows you to tell the internet you are accessing it from a non mobile device, allowing you to see the webpage as you would from your computer (this is explained as best I can, thanks to my husband for teaching me this!)

What it's AWESOME!
As I said before, this allows you to get several items for free and coupons that are larger than the normal sunday coupon papers (ex. Bounty recently gave away a $5 off 1 Bounty papertowel 6pk or larger to 1st 1,000 people).  The other good thing is that often they send you the coupon which is good because lots of places don't accept internet coupons, especially large ones like this (thanks to scam artists).  One of my concerns was giving out my email and home address to receive these samples, but Kathleen told me that she hasn't had a problem with it because these places want your business and hassling you isn't really a step in the right direction.  (I will update you if I find this to change).  *Note:  Don't EVER give out credit card info!  None of these have asked me for this but if they did I would run the other direction.  Most of the time they ask for name, address and email.

What I've Scored So Far -
I have been doing this almost a week now and I have gotten/will be getting $2 in MP3 credit from Amazon, several printable coupons, Free 18pk Tide Stain Release, Free Shout Sample, Free Crest Clinical sample, free bottle of Pantiene shampoo or conditioner just to name a few.  They also let you know about deals in stores (like Old Navy's $2 tanks this past weekend). 

Other things they offer - 
Each week she gives you the deals from different stores (Target, Walgreens, CVS) and combines their sales with coupons from the Sunday Paper and tells you what the final cost of each item is.  This is a really easy way to see if it's really a deal or not and it tells you about items you can snag for free with coupons or moneymakers! (Moneymakers are items that you make money buying, ex. if a can of pringles is $0.88 and you have a $1 off 1 you would make $0.12).  This takes a lot of the work out of finding the best deals.  She also has a list of what coupons are in the Sunday Paper (comes out Saturday evening generally).  I don't use this because I like the surprise of finding out what coupons are in my paper...it's like a present!

-------WARNING----------
This is HIGHLY addictive, so if you want to do this, be warned and know what you're getting in to :)  This is a great way to really save some cash though...not to mention I find it ridiculously fun, yes, it's official, I am a coupon nerd/junkie.