Best and Worst of 2009

It’s the last day of the year and I thought it would be fun to look back and highlight some of the best deals we enjoyed this past year. I also thought it would be fun to check out some of the duds from this year.

The Best of 2009

Without a doubt my favorite deal this year was every time Kmart did Super Doubles. It’s been a few months since the last and I am really crossing my fingers they bring it back. Other favorites include: Huggies coupons for $5 off and $3 off, Free Dog Toy and Dog Tag from Mighty Dog, $2 off A-1 Steak Sauce.

Some of my favorite freebies were: Earthbound tote bag, free foodsaver bags, Free Chocolate every Friday, FREE after Rebate Ice Cream Novelty from Blue Bunny, Free Luna Cookie Bar, Free EOS Lip Balm Sample

Some of the most popular deals, besides the Kmart Super Doubles, were: FREE Bushnell Weather Forecaster at Walmart, Free Gerber Baby Bottles at Target, Free LipFusion XL Mini Deluxe Gloss, Liftfusion and Glowfusion Samples, Free Toblerone Chocolate, Burt’s Bees Grab Bags, Lee Jeans Giveaway, Victoria’s Secret: Free $10 Pink Certificate and Recycle Bank: Two Free $5 Huggies Diaper Coupons.

There were also lots of high value coupons and coupons for free items available. Here’s a recap: $5 Luvs Diaper Coupon, Buy One Get One Dozen Eggs Coupon,Free Bottle of Suave, Free Kashi Entree, Free Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce, Free Right Guard deodorant, FREE DiGiorno Flatbread Melts Coupon, FREE Oscar Mayer Beef Franks, , FREE Tropicana Juice, Free Starbucks Ice Cream Coupon, Free Honey Bunches of Oats Coupon, Free Cesar Bistro Entree Coupon, Free Quaker Fiber & Omega-3 Granola Bars, Free Herbal Essence, Free International Delight Creamer, Free Bag of Stacy’s Pita Chips, More Free International Delight Creamer.

That’s a lot of free stuff isn’t? and this doesn’t even scratch the surface of the HUNDREDS of items that were free after coupon and sale. I hope that makes you want to keep reading this blog. I am sure tons of more freebies await us.

The Worst of 2009

I would be remiss though if I failed to mention some of the duds we had this past year. I have to say that the worst deals this past year involved free food. It seems some companies don’t understand how the idea of free food can go viral and get out of hand quickly. This is what helped the following three deals go bust this past year: Free grilled Chicken at KFC, Free Rotisserie Chicken at Whole Foods, Free Sub at Quiznos. There are also the companies who promise one thing and deliver something completely different like Texas Pete Hot Sauce and their “free hot sauce.”

There were also deals that didn’t work out quite the way we thought they would and caused some of you some frustration: Leapfrog’s Alphabet Pal $0.49 After Coupon at Target, Huggies and Playskool Toy Deal at Kmart, Fannie May: $25 of $25 or More Purchase Coupon Code and most recently Free Tide Detergent Scenario at Walgreens.

I also thought it would be fun to mention some of the freebies that I at least never received. I do want to mention that I think a big reason this often happens is because companies get more demand than what they expected and they fail to update their sample offer as soon as they hit their limit. Here are some freebies I never got: EVOL burrito, Free Coffee Mug from Tom’s Friend, Free Reusable Water Bottle from Juicy Juice, Free Gardein Veggie Entree, and Free Sample Abuelita Hot Chocolate Mix. I could use that hot chocolate too!

It’s been a fun year for sure. I feel so very lucky to have been able to share all of these deals and freebies with you. I hope they helped you keep more of your hard earned money in your pocket. I know that 2010 has even better things for us, so you need to stick around. Even better, share some of these freebies with friends and family. When you see an offer or deal you think someone you know may enjoy, send it over so they can also take advantage of it.

Share with us: what was YOUR favorite deal or freebie for 2009? I know it will be hard to narrow it down. Leave me a comment.