Back to School with Box Tops and Sam's Club

It is officially back to school time.  With less than two weeks until my monkeys start school, I am on a mission.  I want to get the things they love, need, want, and will use with minimal stress for everyone in the family.  For us, minimal stress means that I will be able to find what we're looking for easily, that the kids won't fight while we're shopping, and that Doc won't freak out about the cost of it all.   :o)  Sounds easy enough, right?  Wrong!  I know that it won't be easy.  First of all, Pumpkin doesn't like to leave the house for any reason.  I sometimes worry that she is going to be agoraphobic as she gets older.  If given the option, she would stay home and play all day, every day.   The second issue is the list.  I don't know about your school supply list, but every year there is at least one item on ours that I assume either isn't made anymore, or perhaps never existed in the first place.   Finally, since Doc doesn't do much of the shopping in our family, he doesn't really know how much things cost.  He is always surprised (not in a good way) at the receipts I bring home.

While most of the shopping won't be easy (I always hope for the best, but expect the worst.  It keeps me from being disappointed.).  There is one place that I know I can go and indulge in a little stress free back to school shopping.  You might be surprised to hear that the one place is Sam's Club.   Before walking in, I tell the girls that if they are good then we can get an ICEE before we leave.  At only $1.15 at our club, I might even let them each have their own.  (Yes, I sometimes bribe my kids.  Does that make me a bad mom?  Even if it does, I'll probably keep doing it.)  For some reason, the girls enjoy Sam's Club shopping (more than other shopping).  Maybe it is the occasional free samples located throughout the stores.  Maybe it is the hope that someday we'll buy them the ginormous stuffed animals or the huge swing set on display in the middle of the store.  Maybe it is just that they get to pick out their own snacks for their school lunches.  Whatever the reason, I'll take it.

With both girls in school full time this year (sniff), I will need lots of snacks.   They'll be eating daily snacks, plus the snack foods in their lunches, and we can't forget the sports snacks for after school activities.  All of those snacks means that bulk is the way to buy.  Right now at Sam's Club, you can buy some of your favorite snacks from General Mills and get bonus box tops - 6 Box Tops on a Pack, in fact.   I don't know about you, but our school loves Box Tops for Education, so I know they'll appreciate the extra tops.  I know that we'll be grabbing some Nature Valley Granola Bars and Chex Mix.

What will you be shopping for at your local Sam's Club for Back-To-School?  Tell me and you could win a $25 Sam's Club gift card to help with the endless expenses of BTS.  Here's how:


Mandatory Entry:  Which General Mills Box Tops item will you purchase during the Sam's Club Back-to-School event?  Leave me a comment.  Be sure to include your email address if it is not visible in your profile.

Optional Extra Entries:

1. Like me on facebook.  Post your initials in the comments.
2. Follow me on Twitter.  Post your username in the comments.
3. Tweet about this giveaway using @rmgm and #myblogspark  Post a link to your tweet here.  This can be done once daily.  
4. Follow me publicly on my new blog, LovingLakeLiving, via Google Friend Connect and post a comment with your username.
5. Like Sam's Club on facebook and leave me a comment with your initials telling me you did.
6. Follow Sam's Club on twitter and post your username in the comments.

Details:

• Only open to US residents
• Winner will be chosen using random.org
• Giveaway ends 11:59pm ET on August 29, 2011
• Include your email address in your comment if it is not available on your profile page.  If an email address in not in the comment or on your profile page another winner will be chosen.  
• Winner will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.
• Prizes will be sent directly from the sponsor.  I am not responsible for prizes that are lost or damaged during shipment.  If you win a prize and do not receive it, please let me know

*Disclaimer:  Through MyBlogSpark, General Mills and Sam's Club have generously provided me with a $25 gift card, and some of the information provided above.  They will also be sending my winner their Sam's Club gift card.  All opinions are my own.  Others may have different experiences.

A quick trip to Sam's for back to school

Today I did some intense back to school shopping.  I was prepared with my lists of supplies, snacks, and a few grocery items.  The first stop on my list was Sam's Club.  The main purpose of my trip to Sam's was to get snacks for Peanut's school lunches.   While I was there though, I needed to pick up my upgraded Plus card (thanks to myblogspark, General Mills, and Sam's Club).   I just have to say that the people at the membership desk couldn't have been nicer.  They upgraded my card, told me about all the benefits, and even walked me over to the computer to print off my list of preloaded coupons.  While I didn't use any of the coupons today, there were definitely some good ones on there that will get used.  I'll update you all later as the year goes on to let you know if I think the Plus membership is really worth the extra money or not.  When I got a chance to look around for the items on my list, I was thrilled to see my favorite snacks with bonus box tops.  Peanut will be thrilled to find Chex Mix in her lunch on the first day of school!

After my trip to Sam's Club I headed to Target (followed by ToysRUs and Staples) to pick up the last of the school supplies.  As I searched futilely for Crayola Tropical markers and a 10 pack of pencils (Target only carried, 8, 12 or 24 count).  I remembered an email that a dear friend sent me last year that fairly accurately describes how I am feeling after my shopping expedition.  You'll have to wait for tomorrow's Funny Friday post to read all about it though.  Just so you know - I ended up paying almost $6 to order an 8 pack of those stinkin' markers online.  :o(  Hopefully they'll arrive in time for school.

*REMINDER: Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a Sam's Club GC from MyBlogSpark, General Mills and Sam's Club here

*Disclaimer:  Through MyBlogSpark, General Mills and Sam's Club have generously provided me with an upgrade to my membership, a $25 gift card, and some of the information provided above.  They will also be sending my winner their Sam's Club gift card.  All opinions are my own.  Others may have different experiences.

Sam's Club and Box Tops for Education

All of my long time followers know that I am a Sam's Club junkie.  I have had a membership for many years and am always trying to win gift cards that other bloggers are giving away.  While not all of their items are great deals, the snacks, frozen food items and ICEEs make it well worth the trip for our family.  In addition, I really enjoy just browsing the store to see the new and seasonal items they bring in.

For those of you that aren't currently Sam's Club members, you should really stop by this weekend.  Sam's is offering a weekend of shopping without the usual upcharge on August 6th - 8th.  This would be a great opportunity for you to try out Sam's and see how much money you could save by becoming a member.   Take a calculator so that you can compare costs, and be sure to check out every department.  You'd be surprised at the items you can find at Sam's.

In addition to the open house, Sam’s Club is also giving you the opportunity to earn Box Tops for Education when you upgrade to a “Plus Membership".  If you have school-aged kids, I'm sure you've heard of Box Tops for Education.  Around our house, we guard those Box Tops like they're gold.  Every time the kids see a box of General Mills Cereal or a bottle of Juicy Juice, they shout, "Don't throw it away mommy, its a Box Top!"  From August 6 – August 13, or while supplies last, you can visit the Member Services Desk of your local Sam’s Club and receive a certificate for 150 Bonus Box Tops with your Plus Membership payment.  Now that is a whole lot of Box Tops! 

Sam's Club is also having a Back-to-School event from August 11 through August 31 where you can earn more cash for your school.   Participating General Mills products will have 6 Box Tops for you to clip and save.  I don't know which products this will include, but I'm really hoping to find some on the individual serving size boxes of Chex Mix.   Those are one of our favorite travel snacks!   For more information on how you can take advantage of the Back-to-School event at Sam’s Club, visit www.samsclub.com.

Now that you've read all my thoughts and opinions on Sam's Club and Box Tops for Education, I'd love to hear yours.  Just for sharing your thoughts, you have a chance to win a Sam's Club gift card for yourself.

Mandatory Entry:  Which General Mills Box Tops item will you purchase during the Sam's Club Back-to-School event?  Leave me a comment.  Be sure to include your email address if it is not visible in your profile.

Optional Extra Entries:

1. Follow me on Twitter.  Post your username in the comments.
2. Tweet about this giveaway using @rmgm and #myblogspark  Post a link to your tweet here.  This can be done once daily.  
3. Follow me publicly on Google Friend Connect and post a comment with your username.
4. Comment on any of my non-giveaway posts.  Leave a comment here telling me which post you commented on.  This can be done once per non-giveaway post.  All comments must be relevant.

Details:

• Only open to US residents
• Winner will be chosen using random.org
• Giveaway ends 11:59pm ET on August 21, 2010
• Include your email address in your comment if it is not available on your profile page.  If an email address in not in the comment or on your profile page another winner will be chosen.   I will not contact you through Twitter or Facebook.
• Winner will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.
• Prizes will be sent directly from the sponsor.  I am not responsible for prizes that are lost or damaged during shipment.  If you win a prize and do not receive it, please let me know.

*Disclaimer:  Through MyBlogSpark, General Mills and Sam's Club have generously provided me with an upgrade to my membership, a $25 gift card, and some of the information provided above.  They will also be sending my winner their Sam's Club gift card.  All opinions are my own.  Others may have different experiences.