Author: Abby H.

Free Backpacks and School Supplies for 2020!

Abby H.

10997200_1551314338450648_5653174165881717305_nThis article contains location specific giveaways- for nationwide info, scroll to the bottom of the article.

For the past few years the great folks over at SMOAC have been doing an incredible service to the Eastern San Diego County school kids by offering free backpacks and school supplies.

And this year is no different! This year, they are hosting a drive-thru style event at two locations:

  • Rio Seco School 9545 Cuyamaca Street or Pride Academy 9303 Prospect Ave (Both in Santee)
  • August 16, 2020
  • 10AM until supplies run out
  • Kids must be present in the car
  • 1 backpack per child
  • This will be a contactless delivery event- Please Print the form here and complete it per the directions.

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And for those of you not in the immediate area, there are all sorts of other free school supply and backpack giveaways going on.

Boost Mobile is giving away backpacks and school supplies. More info is here. In San Diego County, there is 1 Boost Mobile in Oceanside that is participating.

Operation Homefront is having giveaways for military families on bases all over the US. Here is a list for 2020.

Rentacalc does free giveaways for backpacks, graphing calculators and protractors! You can learn more and enter to win here.

New PinchMe Samples Drop 8/11/2020

Abby H.

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Set your iCals to remind you that the new PinchMe samples drop on 8/11/2020 at 9am Pacific Time!

Sneak Peek of August’s brands to be included in the upcoming PinchMe boxes:

Hint, First & Free, Eva NYC, bioClarity, HARIBO USA, Better & Better Toothpaste, SKIPPY Peanut Butter, Nexcare, Glad, LUMIFY Redness Reliever Eye Drops, Purina, and Compeed.

 

New To PinchMe? Join PINCHme and receive free samples that you can provide feedback on.

PinchMe is awesome! Once you are signed up, they will email you reminders when new samples are about to drop, and remind you when it’s time to leave feedback.

Answer a series of questions about your household and shopping habits in the Member Profile. PinchMe learns what you like and offer samples just for you.

Once you’ve had a chance to try the samples, complete a short feedback survey to tell PinchMe what you think of the samples.

What are you waiting for? Sign up here and get on the free sample bandwagon! I’ve gotten all kinds of awesome sample/trial size items, as well as full-sized items to try out from PinchMe!

8/7/2020 Friday Freebies and Deals!

Abby H.

bright boxesThis Friday’s freebies and deals are an early today because we’re busy today, and I wanted y’all to get a jump start on a frugal weekend!

But it’s never too early for freebies!

Freebies:

 

Deals

San Diego, CA Area Residents: FREE Produce! Tomorrow, August 7, 2020

Abby H.

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It’s Back!! Our friends over at Faith Chapel understand that with all that’s going on in the world that some of us still need help finding healthy food during this difficult time. And that’s it not always safe for us to go to the store or hit up a farmers market. This is going to be the last produce distribution at Faith Chapel for the next few weeks. Once it is back on, I will let you know ASAP!

Distribution is happening this Friday, August 7th,  beginning at 10:00am.

This is a drive-thru style event, so you don’t have to leave your vehicles. This week they are getting 1 truckload of produce delivered, so they will be only be given 1 box of produce to each vehicle.  BUT- Trust me- That’s plenty of quality produce for one family.

Here is an example of what was offered in previous weeks: unnamedNavel Oranges, Grapefruit, Plumcots, Lemons, and nectarines. All free.

Faith Chapel is located at 9400 Campo Road Spring Valley, CA 91977

Wienerschnitzel: Get a FREE Root Beer Float on 8/6!

Abby H.

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Every day it seems there is a National Day of… And tomorrow is one of my favorites- National Root Beer Float Day!

It’s the fizziest, foamiest, and floatiest day of the year! Celebrate National Root Beer Float Day by picking up your FREE Root Beer Float with any purchase at Wienerschnitzel. There’s so much to love about creamy and swirly Tastee Freez soft serve swimming in Mug Root Beer—but hurry in, this deal is only available Thursday, August 6th!

Get your coupon here!

August 2020: New Month, New Coupons!

Abby H.

file000786402730Here is your monthly reminder!  A new month means new printable and electronic coupons!

Check out the following sites:

One of my favorite websites is the Sunday Coupon Review.  It helps me plot out scenarios in advance and I can email friends to ask for coupons in advance. Remember if clipping coupons isn’t your thing, but saving money is, check out my list of Smartphone apps that can save you the big bucks! New offers are added on the Smartphone Savings Apps all the time!

Here are a few of my favorite new coupons:

Save $3.00 any ONE (1) BOOST® Nutritional Drink or Drink Mix

Save $0.75 on ONE (1) 32 fl. oz. Simply Smoothie®, any variety

Save $0.75 on any ONE (1) 6-pack Horizon Organic® Single-Serve Milk

Save $2.00 when you buy any ONE (1) box of Uncle Matt’s Organic Probiotic Popsicles

Save $1.00 on any TWO Incogmeato™ MorningStar Farms® Products

Save $1.00 on any TWO (2) MorningStar Farms® Veggie Foods Products

Save $1.00 on any ONE (1) ARM & HAMMER™ Liquid Laundry Detergent

Save $1.00 on any ONE (1) ARM & HAMMER™ Power Paks Laundry Detergent

Save $2.00 any ONE (1) CLEAN & CLEAR® product (excludes masks, single use, and trial sizes)

Save $1.00 ANY ONE (1) Garnier® Fructis shampoo, conditioner, treatment or styling product (see details for exclusions)

Sign up for Silk®️ emails and get $1 OFF coupons

Print coupon for $1.00 OFF any variety of Whole Fruit Bars.

Sign up and receive a printable coupon for $5 OFF 1 Mucinex Product over $14.99.

7/31/2020 Friday Freebies and Deals!

Abby H.

bright boxesThis Friday’s freebies and deals are an early today because we’re busy today, and I wanted y’all to get a jump start on a frugal weekend!

But it’s never too early for freebies!

Freebies:

Deals:

San Diego, CA Area Residents: FREE Produce! Tomorrow, July 31, 2020

Abby H.

unnamed

It’s Back!! Our friends over at Faith Chapel understand that with all that’s going on in the world that some of us still need help finding healthy food during this difficult time. And that’s it not always safe for us to go to the store or hit up a farmers market.

Distribution is happening this Friday, July 31st, beginning at 10:00am.

This is a drive-thru style event, so you don’t have to leave your vehicles. This week they are getting 1 truckload of produce delivered, so they will be only be given 1 box of produce to each vehicle.  BUT- Trust me- That’s plenty of quality produce for one family.

Here is an example of what was offered lin previous weeks: unnamedNavel Oranges, Grapefruit, Plumcots, Lemons, and nectarines. All free.

Faith Chapel is located at 9400 Campo Road Spring Valley, CA 91977

California Residents: Expect a refund on your August bill!

Abby H.

CPUC.jpgThe Climate Credit that we’ve all grown accustomed to seeing on our April and October bills has been moved to August and September when most Californians have higher utility bills due to the weather.

In August and September, there will be a credit each month of $32.28 on the Electricity portion of each ratepayer utility bill.

Changing the distribution months will not change the total value of the climate credits you receive in a year. The shift will provide bill relief for customers and reduce bill volatility.

If you’re having trouble paying your utility bill and to learn more about the available resource to help you and your household, please visit sdge.com/coronavirus.

Visit Energy Upgrade California to learn about ways to lower your energy usage.

And if you want to save energy and earn money, check out my post about Ohm Connect.
What is the California Climate Credit?

This August* your utility bill will include an electric credit identified as the “California Climate Credit.” Your household and millions of others throughout the state will receive this credit on your utility bills.

In the past years, the electric credit was applied in April and October, and the gas credit was applied in April. For 2020 and 2021, the California Public Utilities Commission authorized SDG&E to temporarily shift the electric credit to be applied in August and September.

 

*Billing periods vary by utility and may not always coincide with a calendar month. If you don’t see a Climate Credit in the bill that arrives this month, it will appear in the bill you receive next month. If you are an electric customer, the electric credit will appear as a line item on the electric portion of your bill. If you are a gas customer, the gas credit will appear as a line item on the gas portion of your bill. If you receive both electric and gas service, you will see the electric and gas credits on the respective portions of your utility bill.

The CPUC regulates privately owned electric and natural gas companies and serves the public interest by protecting consumers and ensuring the provision of safe, reliable utility service and infrastructure at reasonable rates, with a commitment to environmental enhancement and a healthy California economy. For more information about our work visit www.cpuc.ca.gov. If you have a question or complaint concerning a privately owned utility, call 1-800-649-7570 or visit or visit http://consumers.cpuc.ca.gov/CABUtilityComplaint.aspx.

New Recipe: Baked Tortellini

Abby H.

00169 (1).jpgThis recipe is dead simple. Make it as complicated as you want. Use jarred sauce, make your own from scratch, or take a jar of sauce and church it up yourself. Whatever.

Frozen pasta, fresh pasta, heck, you can even use the shell stable/dried tortellini. You could use ravioli if you wanted.

You can make this Vegetarian, Vegan, Chock Full o’ Meat, Gluten-Free, it’s up to you.

This is one of those recipes that’s a big hit at potlucks too. It’s pretty inexpensive, and we always have the ingredients in one form or another to make a batch.

Baked Tortellini

Ingredients:

  • 6-8 cups of Red Pasta Sauce.  I usually make a big batch of this sauce and portion some out just for this recipe. If you use jarred sauce, I recommend  you add 3-4 cups of veggies (carrots, onions, celery, bell peppers, zucchini, chopped/diced tomatoes, etc.)
  • 22-30 ounces of Tortellini/Ravioli, cooked per the package directions (this will probably take a couple packages)
  • 2 Cups Italian Cheese blend

Directions:

  1. Cook the pasta per the package directions. Drain.
  2. Pour pasta sauce into a baking dish (I use a 9×13), toss cooked pasta in sauce.
  3. Sprinkle cheese on top.
  4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-ish minutes until food is bubbly, and cheese is brown and delicious looking.
  5. Serve with hot French Bread or Garlic Bread and a green salad.

This serves 8-10 people as a main.

 

If you are vegan, substitute in filled pasta and cheese that works for you.