AO Opinions is another Market Research company that I get information from. Right now they are recruiting for an upcoming research study on the subject of Heart Conditions.
I love the bacon and Gruyere Sous Vide Egg Bites at Starbucks, but… I’m frugal and those little dudes ain’t cheap.
So Sunday night, I set out to see if I could make them. This was a test batch, so I only did 6. I’ll be making more in the future. They are super easy to make, and you can customize them with ingredients you like.
Ingredients:
NOTES:
I used small glass bowls from dollar tree, but you can use a muffin tin, custard cups, whatever fits into a shallow baking dish (I used a 9×13 baking dish).
Directions:
Store in fridge for 4-5 days. Reheat in microwave for 30 seconds-1 minute.
Substitutions:
Have you heard of the new movie, Queenpins? It opens on September 10, 2021 in select Cinemark Theatres, and streaming exclusively on Paramount+ on September 30, 2021.
You catch the trailer here. It looks pretty funny. I love Kristen Bell!
Inspired by a true story, QUEENPINS is an outrageous comedy about a bored and frustrated suburban homemaker, Connie (Kristen Bell), and her best pal JoJo (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), a vlogger with dreams, who turn a hobby into a multi-million dollar counterfeit coupon caper. After firing off a letter to the conglomerate behind a box of cereal gone stale, and receiving an apology along with dozens of freebies, the duo hatch an illegal coupon club scheme that scams millions from mega-corporations and delivers deals to legions of fellow coupon clippers. On the trail to total coupon dominance, a hapless Loss Prevention Officer (Paul Walter Hauser) from the local supermarket chain joins forces with a determined U.S. Postal Inspector (Vince Vaughn) in hot pursuit of these newly-minted “Queenpins” of pink collar crime.
Additionally, the QUEENPINS team is hosting an incredible sweepstakes. QUEENPINS is giving away $500 a day for 21 days starting September 9th through September 29th.
Visit Queenpins.Movie to enter the Golden Coupon sweepstakes. Enter daily to increase your chances to win.
Happy Labor Day! I hope you all had a fun, relaxing weekend. The kids and I spent most of it playing with Legos, or swimming with friends.
No trip to the grocery store this week- I did go buy ice (our icemaker is STILL broken- Looking at you Sears) and popsicles, but we have enough groceries to get us through the week. I may have to buy milk… We’ll see.
Getting the fam to eat more fruits and veggies has been my personal mission this year, and thankfully, Yasukochi Family Farms has my back.
Veggies and fruit are delivered by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $25, it’s a great deal. I don’t have to pick anything, go to the store, or carry it upstairs. I can’t go to the store and get the same amount we get weekly for $25. Seriously. It’s a deal. I did a great deal of meal prep today after the box was delivered- You can see some of what I did over on Instragram.
And I’ve been getting a lot of really great freebies from Social Nature lately too. It’s fun to try new foods.
For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.
I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I have made my own and you can find them for sale here on my Etsy Store.
I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.
Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2 for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids. They are also into fruit and bagels for breakfast. The Ancient Grain bagels from Einstein Bros. are the current family favorite. I pick them up on Mondays when a dozen is only $7. I slice them and freeze them to keep them from going bad too quickly.
Lunch: I have a plastic tote in the cupboard full of self-serve snacks. I buy treats and snacks in bulk and fill up snack-sized zip-top bags. I’m back to packing lunches again. However, school lunches are free this year, but so far, there is nothing on the menu that appeals to the kids.
Dinner: We’ve got a pretty good schedule down for dinners. We have nuggets (vegetarian for the boy child, chicken for the rest) on the nights that we have respite. It’s quick prep and clean up, and I can serve it on our cafeteria trays with other fingers foods (we have trays like these) like cut-up fruit, crackers, and cheese. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.
Please stay safe you guys!
It’s Friday, Friday, Funday! We’re celebrating with pizza. And there are some pretty cool freebies and deals this weekend!
If you are looking for birthday freebies, fret not! I put together a list new for 2021- Check it out here.
Most of these freebies and deals are online. I know y’all are vaxxed and ready to party, but I’m trying to keep you safe. Keep up the social distancing with strangers, wash and sanitize your hands, and cover your mouth and nose if you are going to be around strangers. The kids and I still mask up when we go out, and I’ve got hand sanitizer at the ready.
Freebies:
Free Personalized Chateau Souverain Wine Labels
Free Mr. Orange Multipurpose Cleaner Sample
Free Donut Wednesdays at Dunkin
Free Magnetic Eyelashe Kit, Mascara, Tweezer & Mirror
Free Urinozinc Prostate Immunity Support Supplements
Free Rael Beauty Miracle Patch Dark Spot Cover
Free Foaming Hand Soap Tablets
Free Pretzel with the Wetzel’s Pretzel App
Free Yankee Cande Birthday Gift
Free Redbox Rental
Free Bodyarmor Drink at Pilot Flying J
Free Joolies Date Snack Packs
Free Books, Journals, Stickers & More
Panera Members – Free Bagel Everyday in September
12 Free Backyard Beans Coffee Co. Cold Brew Cans
Free Mylanta Gas Minis Sample
Free Sample of Coach for Men Cologne
Free Curion’s Prestige Beauty Products
Free Milwaukee MX4 4-Cutter SDS PLUS Rotary Hammer Drill Bit
Possible Free $125 Alcoholic Beverages Research Study
Verizon Up Rewards – Free $3-$5 Amazon or Starbucks Gift Card
Kellogg’s Kitchen Insiders – Earn Free Gift Cards
Free Core Organic Bar at Target
Free Tylenol Extra Strength Cold Multi Action Capsules
Ulta – Free Lancome Anti-Aging Face Serum for Your Birthday
Free Kim Crawford Wines Illuminate House Party Kit
Sephora – Free NARS, Laneige, Moroccanoil or Kerastatse Mini Set
Free Subscription to GQ Magazine
Free Kinderlyte Oral Electrolyte Solution Products
Free Sample of Rituals Sakura Body Cream
Free Happiness Digest by Ellen White Book
Free Boots Ingredients Collagen Serum
Deals:
Treasure Beach Wooden Sandbox ONLY $56.91 (Reg. $106)
Michael Kors Charlotte Saffiano Bag ONLY $75.65 (Reg $398)
Funko Games Back To The Future $9.88 (Reg. $21)
Buy 2, Get 1 Free Books on Amazon
PAW Patrol True Metal Mighty Meteo Track Set $9.57 (Reg. $20)
Multipet Gumby Dog Toy ONLY $2.85 on Amazon
Kate Spade Staci Medium l-Zip Wristlet ONLY $29 (Reg $119)
Reversible Micromink Faux-Sherpa Throw ONLY $13.99 (Reg $40)
Nautica True Comfort Standard/Queen Pillows ONLY $6.99 (Reg $20)
Tramontina 9-Pc Non-stick Cookware Set ONLY $19.88 (Reg $40)
Powerbeats Pro Wireless Earphones ONLY $169.99 (Reg $250)
Extra 15% Off your Entire Order + FREE Shipping at Coach Outlet
Nostalgia 16 Cup Air-Pop Popcorn Maker ONLY $10.93 (Reg $30)
Paw Patrol Ride-On Vehicle ONLY $16.41 at Walmart (Reg $40)
Little Green Box Board Books by Dr. Seuss ONLY $9.11 (Reg. $20)
MUK LUKS Marsha Sandals ONLY $16.99 (Reg. $45)
Free Kindle eBook This Month on Amazon
Rainbow Pebbles Stacking Stones ONLY $18.56 (Reg. $35)
Labor Day is this coming weekend! A lot of you are planning BBQ’s or family get-togethers, and here are some special offers to help you save money this weekend.
If you haven’t signed up for Fetch Rewards yet, or want to learn more, check out my post here. Find the Fetch Rewards app in your app store, and when you download it and scan any receipt, use my code ND2TB when you sign up and you’ll score 2,000 bonus points. I’ve earned over $250 in rewards in 2021 alone, just by purchasing my regular groceries and scanning in all of my receipts (grocery, mass merchandiser, gas receipts, restaurants, you name it).
It is simple, takes minutes, and the points really rack up!
This program is so great! I love that you can save money and P&G helps others in need.
P&G Good Everyday is a Rewards Program for your favorite brands, like Tide, Crest, Dawn Bounty, and 60 more.
Earn up to $150 + in Rewards annually for Brands you already use and love. Enter for chances to win Free P&G Products. And, P&G Donates to Charity on your behalf.
More participation = More Rewards and More Donations.
Sprouts is hooking us up and helping us stay healthy! Every month on the Sprouts app in the Digital Coupon section, there are between 4-6 free items (they are marked “SAMPLING PROGRAM”).
Quantities are limited on the app, so if you are interested in any of these, I recommend that you add these coupons (by opening the Sprouts app, click on digital coupons, and click on each coupon in the lower corner where the little green circle is) to your app ASAP.
Not all Sprouts locations will have these freebies, so I suggest trying larger Sprouts location in your area.
This month the following items are available:
I’ve written about Naomi’s Closet before, but it’s been a few years, and I wanted to bring it to the attention of some newer readers.
If you are a San Diego, Ca area resident, female, and in need, I have a great resource for you.
Naomi’s Closet is run through the Santee United Methodist Church (Located at 8964 N. Magnolia Ave., Santee, CA 92071). They provide up to five items of clothing per month (Your choice from a very good selection in a wide variety of sizes), and 2 toiletries.
Starting in September, Naomi’s Closet is open on the following days and times:
No appointment is needed, just show up during open hours. You do not need to show proof of need.
Donations accepted during open hours: Seeking clean, gently-used casual and business-casual clothing (no suits please), accessories, shoes. New/unused undergarments, sports bras, toiletries, and hygiene items of any type or size. I donate a lot of the toiletry freebies I receive, as well as clothes that I no longer wear.
If you have questions, or you would like more information, you can contact Naomi’s Closet at naomiscloset@cox.net.
I decided that at the end of each month in 2021, I’m going to post the breakdown of how much I made doing each side hustle/cashback app. My complete side hustle list can be found here and my complete list of Smartphone Apps can be found here.
I know some of you are curious about how much I make doing all of the hustles that I wrote about, and while I do a year-end update, I know some of you don’t wanna wait till the end of the year and that’s understandable.
Some of the side hustles I do frequently, like using the Fetch Rewards App every time I go shopping.
Some of the hustles are more passive but have cumulative rewards so even though I do them each month, I may not receive a payout each month. It doesn’t make them any less valuable to me, they just take a longer amount of time to earn the reward. Honestly, those are fairly low-time investments, so I don’t feel bad that they take a long time to earn a payout. SBKC and Achievement are two of these.
And some I do in fits and starts. For example, I may not spend a lot of time doing PaidViewPoint surveys for a few weeks, and then I’ll get two or three emails telling me that I have time-sensitive or higher-paying surveys. Then I’ll rush over to the site and do five or 10 surveys and earn five or 10 bucks. It just depends on what’s available at the time.
Some of you might notice from this list that there are a number of research studies, I’ve been trying to do at least 1-2 a month because they tend to pay a lot better than surveys. I have been posting research studies and opportunities on the blog whenever they come across my email. I hope some of you are also applying for them and receiving opportunities to do them too.
August was busy with back-to-school stuff, so I didn’t have time for any research studies, which are usually a large part of the money I make each month. I have been doing a lot of reviews and such but don’t pay cash, but rather pay in-kind (Tryit, Influenster, Social Nature, and BzzAgent). Each one of those sends a product or samples. In August, I received a new mattress valued at over $500, a new juicer, and skincare valued at $100, all in exchange for a review!
I try not to take the sample only offers because it’s not worth my time to review a bunch of sample size stuff. Especially when I can be working with brands and companies that offer me products that are full-size, or they pay me with cash. Because really, as nice as say five dollar tube of deodorant might be, I can’t really pay my utility bill with it.
Talk Back: How much do you make each month on your side hustles? Do you have any that you love and want to recommend? Leave a link in the comments below! Please no MLM or Direct Sales Opportunities.
Hewes Family Fun 