Do your daughters have any strung-out looking Barbie dolls to get rid of?  You know – the Barbies whose hair looks like yours in the morning, their legs are have been chewed on by baby brothers, and they’re lying at the bottom of some closet with no clothes on and never get played with anymore.

Check out the Barbie recycling program at participating Walmarts.  On November 8th, noon-3pm, bring in those trashed dolls and for each one you recycle, Mattel will donate a new one to a children’s hospital (up to 100,000 dolls).  This is a great way to teach our young daughters about recycling and giving.  Great program! (Thanks, Denise)

This is a concise list of the sweetest November monthly ECB deals at CVS. I prefer to look at the shorter list because I really want to spend as little out of pocket as I can at CVS. If you haven’t learned how to shop at CVS for free, learn by clicking here.

Old Navy is having a big $10 sale this weekend only.  Certain items will be only $10, but there are also combo deals 2/$10 and 3/$10.  If you shop online the sale is already going on.  Check it out at OldNavy.com.

If you’re heading to Target before the holidays, here is a deal you might want to take advantage of.

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving – the biggest shopping day of the year. Parking lots are full of cars and the insane camp out at the doors of electronic stores hoping to score the best deals before stock runs out. They have their lists, strategies and teams of family members/friends to divide and conquer. This is actually a fun activity for many.

No thank you! A gal like me, who hates to shop, would hurl under the pressure. Wouldn’t it just be me who picked up the item that turned the woman next to me into a drooling, fang bearing, firey-eyed monster? She’d claw at me and I’d come home a bloody, crying mess. That’s how I picture myself shopping on Black Friday. I would rather shop early and shop online to avoid it.

However, I know there are some of you who, because you’re frugal and still enjoy shopping, absolutely love Black Friday. If that’s the case, below are some great sites for all Black Friday 2008 deals. I may sneak down to Half Price Books early, early in the morning (Shhh. I don’t want anyone to know I’m going to be a closet Black Friday shopper this year. Just one store though. Shhh.) Can you believe it’s less than a month away?

BlackFriday.GottaDeal.com
BlackFriday.Info
Black-Friday.net
BFads.net

Admittedly, I’ve always been interested in speed reading, but have never personally pursued it.  I’m still debating if this is something that would be good for a high schooler to learn and practice before going off to college where he/she will read volumes of material (or has college changed that much since my time?) and have to sift through most of it to find the essential information.  This review of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Speed Reading piqued my interest enough to look through the book and possibly purchase it.  Interesting review.  Anyone already read this book, or have comments to share on the value of speed reading?

Here is today’s post on the latest Walmart deals.  Though they vary by region and even by store, many deals are consistent with my area stores.  The list matches sales with coupons.

Every customer gets one free taco on 10/28, 2-6pm.  This deal is good at every location.  Here are the details.

Until midnight tonight you can rent a DVD for free through Redbox.com. Just use the code 93NCA5.  If you don’t know about Redbox, check out this post.

Restaurant.com is offering 80% off their already reduced restaurant certificates when you enter code TREATS at checkout. $25 certificates which normally sell for $10, are now $2, and $10 certificates which normally sell for $3, are $0.60. Great gift ideas!

Fine print is this: Whoever uses the certificate must spend, in cash, the amount of the certificate in order to use the certificate. That’s why the certificates are for fine dining. I wouldn’t suggest you go over $10 or $25. These are still great gifts because people can use them on special occasions and still spend WAY LESS than they normally would.

If you read this blog on a regular basis you’ll think I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but we’ve nipped 3 colds in the bud this month alone!  At the onset of colds, we turn to this remedy and colds are gone within two days – without exception!  Our boys don’t swallow the pills yet, so we break them and shake them into their drinks.  Yuck, but they get to chase it with several ounces of Gatorade – something they love.  I’m still awestruck at the power of this little concoction.

I just added a quick & easy recipe to my Household Recipes page for a gallon of disinfectant that will cost you less than 5 cents to make.  It only has 2 ingredients!

Sale starts tomorrow (Sunday 10/26). Look here for all the freebies! So sad there are no more Kmarts in Texas.  Here is a list of participating store locations.

Go here for a good list with printable coupon match-ups. I’m getting Halloween candy for 50c/bag. If you like to see the scanned pictures of the ads and put together your own list, or add to the one already mentioned, look here. Time to load up on SoyJoy Bars again. If you’re unfamiliar with the taste read this article for info.  If you get a bunch for free and you don’t like them, you can always give them to trick-or-treaters!

Does it get any better than that?  I can’t confirm this deal until I shop, but apparently JCPenney just mailed out a coupon for $10 off a single purchase of $10 or more good 10/29-11/1. Use coupon code DOOR39 at JCP.com.  Just wanted to get the info to you.