Couponing at Target

I had a great shopping trip at Target today!  Target is one of the best stores to coupon at, because they allow you to combine store and manufacturer's coupons for the same product (called "stacking"), so you can save even more money.  I usually try to do this 'when I can', but this weekend I actually planned out a shopping trip to see how much money I actually could save.  It worked out well!

My haul from the day!

Here's what I got!


Febreeze Air Effects, $2.50 (reg $2.69)
Febreeze Set & Refresh single, $2.50 (reg $2.69)
manufacturers coupon:  $2/2 Febreeze products

Dove Ultimate Go Fresh deodorant, $3.49 (reg. $3.84)
Dove Ultimate Go Fresh body mist, $3.49 (reg. $3.84)
promo:  buy deodorant, get body mist free
manufacturers coupon:  $1/1 Dove Ultimate Go Fresh deodorant or body mist

Suave Professionals touchable finish hairspray, $2.74
Suave Professionals volumizing mousse, $2.74
manufacturers coupon:  BOGO Suave Professionals dry shampoo or styling product
Target coupon:  50¢/1 Suave Professionals product
Target coupon:  50¢/1 Suave Professionals product


Covergirl Lipslicks lip gloss, $4.99
Covergirl Eye Enhancers 4-kit, $4.84
manufacturers coupon:  $8/2 Covergirl face products
Target coupon:  $1/1 Covergirl product 
Target coupon:  $1/1 Covergirl product

Another bonus to couponing at Target is that even if you are getting an item for free, you can use a coupon on it.  That's why I could use two Target coupons on for my two Suave Professionals items, even though I technically was only paying for one.  I could have also used a coupon on the free body mist I got with my deodorant purchase, but I only had one coupon with me and not two.


I paid $8.52 for everything I got, and saved $20.96 between sales & coupons- a total savings of 71%!  Though I do love couponing and getting things for free, I rarely keep track of how much I am actually saving.  That might change in the future!

BzzAgent Campaign - How "Smarterer" are you?

I recently joined a BzzCampaign for a new website called Smarterer.  Smarterer allows you to take tests about a wide variety of different websites, applications, and programs, and then share your scores- if you choose to- online (Facebook, Twitter, your blog) or even on your resume.  The tests are scored similarly to the SATs (I know...bad thing to compare to!) in that the points are on a scale of 800.  After answering only 10 questions, you can get an accurate score.  The more questions you answer, the more your score can improve.  Because there are always more questions being added to the tests and more people taking them, you do need to answer more questions on each test in order to prevent your score from decreasing over time.


So far, I have taken tests for BzzAgent, Facebook, Twitter, and Blogger.  It's fun to see how well versed I am in these websites that I use every day!  I realized that I know a lot about BzzAgent, and not so much about Twitter!  In fact, I'm at the top of the leaderboard for the BzzAgent test at the moment, with a score of 797.  Based on your score on each test, you also get classified as "smart", "smarter", or "smarterer".  Right now I am "smarter" about Twitter and Blogger, and "smarterer" about BzzAgent and Facebook.


As I said earlier, you can share your scores on your blog.  My scores are in the left-hand sidebar- check them out!  The only problem that I have with this feature is that, since the scores are shared through an HTML code that you have to post yourself, and not a widget, the scores you share don't automatically update.  Therefore every time you take a new test or answer more questions, you have to go back to your blog and update the HTML code.  Update 10/19/11- I was mistaken on this!  The scores do automatically update!  Update 10/20/11- But if you take a new test, your score won't automatically add until you update the HTML code.


Overall, however, I've been extremely pleased with Smarterer.  The quizzes are fun, and the competitiveness of vying for a spot on the leaderboard keeps me returning to the site at least a few times a week to take the quizzes.  I've participated in a few "online-only" BzzCampaigns over the past few years, and Smarterer is the first of those campaigns that I've really enjoyed participating in!  I definitely recommend joining Smarterer and trying it out for yourself.

Smarterer is a free service.  I received an early invitation to the site from BzzAgent.  Since then, the site has opened to the general public and can be joined for free.

Science students utilize critical thinking, too

Science students utilize critical thinking, too is an opinions letter that I submitted to my college's daily newspaper in response to an article earlier this week that contested that science majors don't use critical thinking skills- that only liberal arts majors do.  My piece is going to be published in today's paper!  I usually don't get irked enough about issues to write about them, but this article bothered me just enough that I decided to say something about it.  Besides the initial article itself, the specific quote from the article saying that only liberal arts majors use critical thinking was the paper's quote of the day!  Unbelievable...  As a student doing both a science major (molecular biology & biochemistry) and a liberal arts major (French lit), I really do see both sides of the playing field, so to speak, and I think it's fair that I voice my opinion on the subject. :)  PS- It's cool to be "officially" published!