Here's my idea for the week...Let's help each other save money!

There are certain brands that you know will be in your shopping cart every time you shop.  For us, it's a little more complicated since I buy a lot of groceries at Englishtown Flea Market - they have a "natural" grocer guy that has amazing prices!  The boxes may be a little smashed, may be dirty on the outside, etc - but the food inside is fine!  Even still, I can come up with many brands that I love!

I'm going to take 3 different brands of food each day and email them a compliment about their foods.  Many resources on the internet say that this will yield coupons (some for free products even!) from many companies. 

Here's my challenge to you - if we all email 3 different companies a day and then report back on which companies gave us something for our trouble, we will gather up an amazing list of companies that we can contact for coupons and samples!  

If you also let me know which companies respond to you and do not offer anything, we can add them to the list of companies not to bother with.  

Just leave a comment on this post anytime you get a response either way and I'll compile a list that I will publish at the end of this week.  

Also remember - the more of your friends and family you refer to this blog, the longer and more complete our list will be!  Even if you only email 1 company all week, it will still contribute!

I tried this last week with Post cereal.  I politely told them how much my son likes their Raisin Bran and just flat out asked for coupons.  This is the response I got:

February 25, 2010

Dear ,
Thank you for your inquiry regarding coupon availability.
We regret to inform you that we do not have a coupon system in place at this time. Post Foods, LLC supports a wide range of humanitarian causes and as you can imagine, our commitments are quite substantial. Because of our established budgets, sufficient funds are not available to support all coupon requests.
We would recommend our website, www.postcereal.com, as a reference point. We also have a new website, www.postnatural.com, at which you can sign up for our Health and Wellness newsletter which is accompanied by a $2.00 coupon. Our Honey Bunches of Oats website, www.onespoonful.com, also has a newsletter you can register for that will inform you of online coupons, new promotions, and new products.
Be sure to keep an eye open for coupons on your cereal aisle as well, as they are sometimes available. If you cannot find many coupons in your local grocer or Sunday paper, www.smartsource.com may have also coupons from time to time. 
We thank you for your support, and hope you continue to be a loyal customer.
Leslie Spaes
Consumer Response Representative

So don't bother with Post :)  But please play along and let me know how you do!