Washington: Up to $50 refund on booze.

Fellow Washingtonians who are feeling the pain of sticker shock after our state liquor stores were privatized this month, here's an offer that may help ease the sting: up to $50 in rebates when you buy booze. Here's a list of the qualifying brands, and as always with rebate forms, make sure to read the fine print carefully and follow the instructions.

Stock up for a summer's worth of parties, and drink responsibly!

JOSE CUERVO MARGARITAS®
JOSE CUERVO® Light Margaritas
CAPTAIN MORGAN® Black Spiced Rum
CAPTAIN MORGAN® Original Spiced Rum
APTAIN MORGAN LIME BITE®
CAPTAIN MORGAN® Long Island Iced Tea Cocktail
CROWN ROYAL® Blended Canadian Whiskey
CROWN ROYAL BLACK® Blended Canadian Whiskey
JEREMIAH WEED® Sweet Tea Flavored Vodka
JOHNNIE WALKER® RED LABEL® Blended Scotch Whiskey
JOSE CUERVO ESPECIAL® Tequila (Gold or Silver)
JOSE CUERVO GOLDEN MARGARITA®
KETEL ONE® Vodka
SMIRNOFF Any Flavor
TANQUERAY

Get $25 off when you buy Smirnoff and groceries.

Thinking about having a backyard BBQ? Smirnoff is here to save the day! Get a $25 rebate when you buy a 12-pack or two six-packs of Smirnoff malt beverages, plus $25.01 in groceries. $25 will buy you a whole lot of hot dogs and hamburgers.

See the list of participating states and fill out the form here. And fire up the grill!

Free Neosporin Essentials trial pack w/rebate.

This week, you can get a free Neosporin Essentials trial pack (up to $14.99) if you're willing to do a mail-in rebate. Make your purchase before March 26, then send in the form, receipt, and UPC by April 15, and you'll get the purchase price back.

It says "while supplies last," so get your rebate off in the mail ASAP!

Free Keebler 100 Calorie Right Bites white fudge pretzels w/rebate.

Hmm, interesting. Here's a rebate for 100 Calorie Right Bites Keebler white fudgey pretzels, but apparently you need not only the usual UPC and receipt, but also some sort of special "rebate token" that's found inside the package. I'll be on the lookout for one of these in the store. Has anyone else seen this before? It's new to me...

"To receive your rebate on 100 Calorie Right Bites Keebler White Fudge Dipped Pretzels send one token from specially marked packages, original cash register receipt with purchase price circled, and completed rebate form. Maximum rebate of $4.00. Must be purchased by 08/31/12. Must be postmarked by 09/14/12. One rebate per household."

Groupon: Buy local, get $10 back.

Groupon has a special holiday promotion running where the first 150,000 who buy a local deal in their area will receive $10 in Groupon Bucks placed in their account on Dec. 31! The Groupon Bucks you receive must be used by March 31, but that shouldn't be too hard to do.

If you're looking for a last-minute gift, buy a local Groupon and you can treat yourself too!

Renuzit Crystal Elements, free after mail-in rebate.

I have to confess I'm not really on board with plasticky air fresheners, which are not very environmentally friendly. But if you simply MUST have some smelly Jello bits in a glass bowl in your home, at least get them for free with this mail-in rebate offer.

"Try For Free! Renuzit Crystal Elements Air Freshening Crystals (Up to $2.99 on the 9 oz refill and Up to $5.60 on 18 oz refill). Purchase at your favorite retailer between 11/14/11 and 2/28/12 and postmark your rebate form by March 31, 2012."

Download the form and prepare to surround yourself with fragranced crystal chunks.

Get $10 back via mail-in rebate when you buy 2 bottles of Bacardi alcohol.

The Boozeday fun continues with a $10 rebate from Bacardi Rum. Get $10 back by mail when you buy any two bottles from the following list. You must purchase two different brands to receive the rebate, so this is your excuse to try that dubious flavored vodka or rum you've been eyeing at the store.

This offer is only valid in certain states, so as always with any mail-in rebate, make sure to read the fine print so you know you're crossing all the T's and dotting all the I's. That spells FREE BOOZE.

Get $8 back via mail-in rebate when you buy two bottles of select liquor.

Stocking up your bar for the holidays, or just looking for stocking stuffers? Give everyone's favorite gift — booze — and save $8 with this mail-in rebate when you buy two bottles of qualifying hooch.

"Purchase TWO bottles (750ml or larger) of the following spirits to receive $8 by mail. See rebate for details.


BAILEYS® Irish Cream Liqueur (Original or any flavor)
CAPTAIN MORGAN® Original Spiced Rum
CAPTAIN MORGAN LIME BITE
JOHNNIE WALKER® RED LABEL® Blended Scotch Whisky
JOSE CUERVO ESPECIAL® Tequila (Gold or Silver)
SMIRNOFF NO. 21™ Vodka (Red label or any flavor)
TANQUERAY® London Dry Gin


Limit one refund per household."

Arm & Hammer Neti Pot kit free after rebate.

The season of sinus congestion is upon us, and what better time to enjoy a free Neti pot kit? Just send in the rebate form along with your receipt (with price circled) and the UPC code from the box, and you'll get your purchase price back up to $14.99.

Um... have fun?

Free La Creme coffee creamer after rebate.

It seems to be Rebate Week, so let's keep it going with another one: get up to $2.99 back when you buy a full-size La Creme coffee creamer (available at Walmart and Safeway). You have until 12/31/11 to buy the product and send in the rebate, so you can even wait a while and save it for your Thanksgiving dinner or holiday cookie parties if you want.

One thing to remember with rebates is to read the instructions VERY carefully — sometimes they insist on you cutting out the UPC code, sometimes they don't, but they usually want the original receipt with the item(s) circled. So if you're trying to cash in on all the rebates this week, make sure you buy them in separate transactions so you have receipts to send off with each one.

Free PAM cooking spray with rebate.

It's quite the week for food rebates! In addition to the Progresso soup rebate, now we have one for PAM cooking spray. Get a free cooking spray in original, olive oil, or butter after mail-in rebate (up to $4.00). Send a copy of your cash-register receipt (dated 10/1/2011–4/27/2012) showing the purchase of PAM Original, Olive Oil, or Butter variety (with the purchase price circled), and the completed offer form. Must be received by 05/27/2012.

Just don't try to use the PAM to cook your soup. Nothing good can come of that.

Free can of Progresso Rich & Hearty soup.

If your morning commute was as chilly and rainy as mine, then there's no doubt in your mind that soup season is here. How about a free can of Progresso Rich & Hearty soup to start things off? Get a mail-in rebate for up to $2.68 when you buy one Progresso® Rich & Hearty Soup between 9/1/2011 and 1/31/2012. Fill in the rebate form and send in, along with the cash register receipt and UPC bar code symbol from can, postmarked by 2/17/2012.

Plus, that long, brisk walk as you attempt to find a mailbox or an open post office will warm you right up...

Smirnoff: $5 off vodka with rebate.

I love a good booze rebate! In the last month or so, I've cashed in several, for bottles of wine and vodka. It does take a little extra effort and patience — you have to hang onto your receipt, fill out the tiny form properly, and wait 6-8 weeks for your rebate check — but you can save quite a bit that way. Remember to read the fine print, because often you're allowed to redeem multiple offers per household; at, say, $5 a bottle, that adds up.

This Smirnoff vodka rebate, unfortunately, only lets you do one per household (though you could always enlist a friend or relative in the cause). Still, $5 knocked off the price makes for a good deal... and an excuse to try out one of those crazy flavored vodkas they keep coming out with.

Pill Glide Swallowing Spray, free w/rebate.

I can't say I've ever heard of this product before, and it's kind of bizarre... a throat spray, if I understand correctly, that you take before swallowing pills to help them slide smoothly down like it was Wild Waves in your esophagus. But I suppose if you take a lot of pills every day, or you're trying to convince a stubborn child or old person to take them, this could be a godsend.

Anyway, purchase any Pill Glide Swallowing Spray from 7/21 to 8/20, and you’ll receive a rebate check for the purchase price of Pill Glide (up to $6.99). It comes in exciting flavors like strawberry, grape, and bubble gum, so it might actually counteract that "pill taste," too. Hmm, the more I think about this, the more it's seeming like a good idea...

Office Max: 100% store credit rebate when you buy up to 2 backpacks.

Now Office Max is jumping on the excessively-complicated-backpack-rebate bandwagon, too - and you can do the offer for up to 2 backpacks, if you want to make it even harder on yourself. No gift cards for this one, though - you have to already be enrolled in their MaxPerks rewards program.

1. Purchase up to 2 backpacks and earn the purchase price back in Bonus Rewards (to be spent at Office Max).
2. Rewards earned for the backpack offer will available in a member’s account in September; Bonus Reward for MaxPerks Rewards for Teachers members will be available in October.
3. All other Bonus Rewards will be available in a member’s next statement. MaxPerks enrollment required.

Offer is good through July 31, if you're willing to put the work in on this one.

Staples: 100% gift card rebate w/backpack purchase, 7/25-7/31.

I'm sort of torn about this Staples rebate offer. On one hand, it sounds pretty great - buy any backpack and get a 100% rebate! BUT there are some important caveats:

1. You get the "rebate" as a Staples gift card, not as cash or a prepaid debit card usable anywhere;
2. Their backpacks are a LOT more expensive than elsewhere.

For example, the classic Jansport Superbreak in black is $49.99 at Staples, but only $24 (with free shipping) at Amazon and $29.99 at eBags. If you go through a lot of office supplies, maybe it's worth it to pay twice as much if you'll eventually get it back in merchandise. But if you just want a good price on a backpack, I'm not sure if this is the offer for you.

Neutrogena Clinical, free w/rebate.

Here's a pretty solid value for rebate lovers: get a mail-in rebate for the full purchase price of a Neutrogena Clinical product, up to $40, when you purchase before 7/31/10. Sure, you have to wait 6-8 weeks to get your rebate check (which is standard), but getting your full purchase price back on an item that costs up to $40 is a pretty amazing score!

I'm not familiar with Neutrogena Clinical, but it sounds very scientific, and science isn't cheap. Except when it's free, which is between now and July 31, so get going!

Sanford Mr. Sketch Washable Watercolor Markers, free w/rebate.

Remember those scented Mr. Sketch markers from when we were kids? I was never allowed to have any, but I loooooved playing with them at school and we all fought over who got the best scents/colors. Anyway, you can get a set of 12 for free from Office Depot with a mail-in rebate. I guess you're paying sales tax, but that's worth it, right?

1. Buy markers in-store or online from Office Depot for $7.99 between 7/11/10 - 7/17/10.
2. Mail in the order form before 8/7/10.
3. You'll receive a prepaid Visa rebate card for $7.99 in the mail.
4. Once you've used it for whatever, recycle that plastic card via Earthworks!

My nine-year-old self would be soooo envious right now.

Free (after rebate) Touch of Gray for men.

I always found this name a bit confusing... shouldn't it be "Touch of Color"? I mean, it's not like this product is adding gray to your hair - quite the opposite. Well, anyway, if you have a touch of gray, get Touch of Gray for men and get a rebate up to $9.50!

This is a PDF form that's kind of big, so hang in there while it downloads. It appears to be legit. And no, I won't tell anyone you printed it.

UK freebie! Send in your used-up Bic pen, get $10. (I can't find the pound symbol on my computer.)

I doubt that anyone actually reading this blog will be able to take advantage of this promotion, but I'm just so proud of myself (or "chuffed," as the Brits say) at finding an international freebie that I had to post it anyway. I do know some peeps in the UK, so maybe if you do too, you can pass the word along.

You know how those cheapie Bic plastic pens seem to last friggin' forever? If you can manage to kill one (try creating a reproduction of a Vermeer masterpiece), mail in the empty pen corpse and they will send you a cheque (hee!) for ten pounds. Then you can put it in your chequing account.

Britons... they're just like us!