Author Archives: Nikki Goodson

About Nikki Goodson

Nikki Goodson started hard-core couponing in August of 2004. She is a member of several deals sites and has previously been a Deals moderator for Deals.Families.com. One of the sources that really helped Nikki get started was Dealagogo.com, where she was an active member. When it merged into Families.com, she became a moderator for the newly-created Deals section. During a re-organization, she specialized and became the moderator for the CVS forum. October 2006 was an amazing month for the CVS forum. Due to the busy-ness with all the awesome deals, her daughter waited 13 days past her due date to be born at the very end of the month! ;) Later, Nikki stepped down as moderator and is now stepping back up as a blogger. Nikki is a SAHM to a 3.5 yr old boy and a 1 yr old girl. Her family lives in Merriam, KS - a suburb of Kansas City. She is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Besides the Deals section of Families.com, her favorite forums include Cloth Diapering, Attachment Parenting, and Breastfeeding.

Tip: Buy produce in bulk

In my ongoing quest to find the cheapest sources of organic produce, I made a few discoveries in the past month. I think we all know that buying in bulk can often be a great way to save some bucks. But we don’t typically think of that principle working for produce, do we? Think again! I recently started going to The City Market in Kansas City. Read more about that in my recent blog post: Produce Brokers. This is the type of place where you can do a little bit of negotiating. So here’s where the bulk buying came into … Continue reading →

Produce Brokers

I recently started going to The City Market in Kansas City. Once or twice a week, they do have a farmer’s market there, but every single day of every single week (year-round!), they have the “city market.” Now, I don’t know exactly how to describe it, but as I understand it, the vendors are produce brokers, meaning they buy wholesale and supply the grocery stores. I don’t know much about it; all I know is that the produce is DIRT CHEAP! Of course, when I first went, I had to keep reminding myself that most of the produce is conventional, … Continue reading →

Raw Unpasteurized Almonds

Huh? Unpasteurized, you ask? Isn’t pasteurization what they do to milk? Well, yes, it is. And as of Sept 2007, it’s also what they do to all almonds grown in California. Pasteurization is a process used to destroy things like viruses and bacteria on food. The Wikipedia article on almonds tells us: “Because of cases of Salmonella traced to almonds in 2001 and 2004, in 2006 the California Almond Board proposed and the USDA approved rules regarding the nature of almonds available to the public. From 1 September 2007, raw almonds will technically no longer be available in the United … Continue reading →

Organic Raisins

It’s been too long since I have updated you on things! Does that mean that there haven’t been any good deals? No! Maybe it means I’ve been too busy figuring out all the deals! I’d like to talk to you for a minute about raisins today. Organic raisins, actually. Raisins are a big hit in my household. Everybody loves them, and I consider them close enough to raw (hopefully, they were dried at a low enough temperature!) Organic is usually my choice when it comes to produce. Why would I even be blogging about the deals for the healthier option … Continue reading →

New Deals Focus: Raw Vegan Lifestyle

Wow! So much has changed in my life these past couple of weeks. I think that many of my Deals blog posts might take a drastic change from now on. I have just recently become a raw food vegan. This means that I will be mostly consuming fruits & veggies, all uncooked, plus some nuts & seeds. I first learned about it in November, at which point I started making a few raw gourmet dishes here & there, but near the end of December, I began realizing how important and how easy it really is, so I decided to commit … Continue reading →

More Freebies at Dillons 12/12 – 12/18

Last night, I posted my favorite freebies, but these ones are great too! Remember, these deals are assuming that your Dillons/Kroger doubles coupons. Hunt’s Snack Pack pudding (4-count) – on sale for $1. There was a coupon available in the All You magazine from 10/26 for $.50 off one 4-pack or larger. I don’t get the All You magazine; I believe it can be purchased at Wal-Mart, but of course you would have had to have purchased the one from 10/26. You may be able to trade for this coupon! If you have it, that makes FREE pudding! Fleischmann’s Yeast … Continue reading →

My Favorite Freebies at Dillons 12/12 – 12/18

There are some pretty good deals this week at Dillons (finally – it’s been a while!). I’m in Kansas City, and I’m not sure how widespread these deals are. Dillons is part of the Kroger company, so I imagine that some of the same deals can be found in Kroger stores in other parts of the nation, but the sale dates may vary. Please leave a comment with your location to tell me if you’re having luck with these deals too! Oh – by the way, Dillons doubles coupons. In my area, any coupon $.50 or below is doubled; and … Continue reading →

Wow! $9 for 16 tubes of lipsticks!

And let me clarify that… I didn’t pay $9 for 16 tubes of lipsticks. They paid ME $9 to walk out with 16 tubes of lipstick! I went today for my weekly trip to CVS (I used to go much more often, like every other day. But that has slowed way down now that I’ve got two kids. Sometimes I can’t even go each week! 🙁 ) One of the big things on my list was a bunch of Covergirl lipstick. The incredifull & Trushine lipsticks were both Buy One, Get One Free this week. And in this week’s Procter … Continue reading →

Google Books

One of the best ways to save money is to be certain that you actually want what you’re buying! I have recently discovered a tool that is a huge help when you’re considering buying a book. It’s called Google Book Search. When looking for a book on Google Book Search, you will often be able to read some of the book online. I have found that several books of interest to me were available as a limited preview. That means that the author or publisher gave permission to Google Books to show a preview of the book, usually several pages … Continue reading →

Free Gillette Fusion at CVS – weeks of 12/2 and 12/9

Free razors! I remember when I first started shopping at CVS, getting free razors seemed like such a big deal. Now, I know that it is a regular thing if you stick with CVS for long! Hopefully, you haven’t thrown out the coupons from this week’s paper. In the Procter & Gamble coupon insert from December 2nd, there is a coupon for $4 off 1 Gillette Fusion. Clip that out! In this week’s CVS ad (back page), it advertises that you can buy a Fusion for $9.99 and earn $6 Extra Bucks. That would make your cost $3.99 – BUT … Continue reading →