Author: Abby H.

Earn Money this Summer with Surveys!

Abby H.

It’s not all beach trips and hot girl summer here. This mama needs to earn a little cash on the side to afford all the gas to get around! BTW, if you are looking for a way to save on gas, check out this post.

In addition to the resources below, I recommend checking out the posts I write several times a week for various research studies. It’s a good way to earn the most money in the least amount of time. It’s usually $75+ for an hour of time over a Zoom meeting.

I have signed up for all of the survey companies below and have hit the cashout threshold at least once!

With Branded Surveys, it’s simple to earn! Create a profile and begin taking surveys.

They pay you with cash or gift card rewards to complete market research studies.

Refer your friends to maximize your rewards.

 

 

Inbox Dollars- Join for free and get paid to take surveys, shop online, try name brand products, and play games online.

 

 

 

 

LifePoints is one of my favorites. It’s so easy! Join one of the largest influencer communities in the world. We’ve rewarded over $20 million to our members in the last year alone.

Share your opinions on numerous products and popular brands. Complete surveys and get paid for it!

Earn points that can be redeemed for rewards of your choice. Join today and get 10 LifePoints to kick off your earnings!

The Survey Junkie community shares feedback with brands in exchange for rewards such as cash, gift cards, and more.
To participate in Survey Junkie Pulse, you have two options: Install it on your computer or opt in via the Survey Junkie app.

Once you’ve opted in, the Survey Junkie Pulse tech gets to work in the background, automatically tracking digital activities.

If you are looking for some more ways to make some extra money, check out my side hustles post here. And if you want to earn cashback and save money on your shopping, check out my complete list of smartphone apps here.

 

Arm & Hammer Complete Care Chatterbox!

Abby H.

Check out this awesome party opportunity from Chatterbox!

Introducing ARM & HAMMER™ Complete Care™ Toothpaste, now with a new and improved taste and ultra-smooth formula. Don’t brush off this chance to try it for FREE and experience up to 3X more plaque removal than a non-baking soda toothpaste. Now that’s something to smile about!

If you are selected, you will receive:

  • 1 Sample size ARM & HAMMER™ Complete Care™ Toothpaste
  • 1 ARM & HAMMER™ Complete Care™ Toothpaste info postcard

You must apply and complete the required activities by June 28th to be considered.

A San Diego Summer Favorite- Resident Free Days at Balboa Park

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One of the best ways to pass a Tuesday afternoon in the summer is to hit up Balboa Park. Each week there are several museums that offer free admission to residents of the City and County of San Diego, and to active military personnel and their dependents. Please be prepared to present a photo ID with your address.

Here is the schedule:

First Tuesday

Second Tuesday

Third Tuesday

Fourth Tuesday

Fifth Tuesdays

  • Regular admission prices are in effect

The Following Tuesdays: July 26th, 23rd, September 27th, October 25th,  November 22nd, and  December 27th:

  • The Comic-Con Museum (Not valid for “Beyond Amazing: Spider-Man – The Exhibition.” This special exhibit is an extra charge)

As a lifelong San Diego County resident, I’d pass on the automotive museum, it’s kinda meh (I’m not a gear head). And unless your kids are super into airplanes or outer space/NASA, I’d skip the Air and Space Museum. We paid full price a few years ago, and the kids hated it (ok, mostly Bitty hated it). The Mingei Museum is full of all kinds of stuff (folk arts, useful goods like pottery, clothing, quilts- it’s not super kid-friendly), but it’s pretty interesting.

Take a picnic, and enjoy eating in any one of the gardens/open spaces.  Another free activity in Balboa Park is the Botanical Garden and Lily Pond. Right next door is the Spanish Art Village, which is fun to explore as well.

Talk Back: What is your favorite part of Balboa Park?

 

Summer Movies for Kids!

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One of the kid’s favorite summer activities is to hit up the local theater for a showing of one of their favorite movies.

Big buckets of popcorn, snuck in candy (shhhh), and a drink and they are ready for 2 hours of fun in the Air Conditioning.

In my search for theater chains offering this fun this summer, several of our old friends are not participating as of the writing of this post.

Select Reading Cinemas will have the Reel Kids program, where throughout the summer (June 21-August 9) there will be kid-approved movies for the reduced price of $2/ticket!

And perhaps my kids’ favorite, 2022 Regal Summer Movie Express is back! Express tickets are just $2 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays featuring summer movies the whole family will enjoy. Availability varies by location. My kids are excited to see Lego Movie 2, Lego Batman, Scoob, and Shrek.

AMC has information about their $5 Fan Favorites on their site, but no information or schedules for the summer.

Cinemark (No locations near us) has 8 weeks of Movie Fun planned. More Details can be found here.

Talk Back: What summer movies are you looking forward to seeing?

 

6/6/22 Weekly Meal Plan!

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgIt’s Monday Morning, and that means Meal Plan time! Can you tell I’ve had my coffee already?

I shopped over the weekend and did some meal prep as well. We should be set for the week!

School is over on Wednesday, and we’ve got two weeks off before summer school starts. I’ve got two lazy days planned for the end of this week, but after that, we are starting fun activities and we’ll be out and about!

Saturday is Bitty’s Birthday Party and we are having a fairy themed affair. Snacks, wands, and wings (fairy wings that is).

Our veggies and fruit are delivered by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $28, 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 $28. Seriously. It’s a deal. They email a preview of what will be in the boxes over the weekend, so I can start thinking about what I’d like to make.

With the increase in food costs, we are leaning more and more on our CSA box each week as the base of most of our meals.

We’ve been trying a lot of new foods lately, thanks to the really great freebies from Social Nature lately too. It’s fun to try new foods. On Friday night I ran to Sprouts and picked up the monthly freebies, and redeemed all of the Social Nature Coupons I had in my wallet. We’ve got all kinds of yummy snacks and treats!

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.

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. Lately, the big kid has been digging protein shakes in the morning. This is his favorite kind. 

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- Little Bit has been buying her lunch and expanding her palate.  The big kid still brings lunch from home.

Dinner: We’re still working our way through our Dream Dinners order for the month, and I’ve got two meals ready for this week.

Q-insights Car Study- Pays $125

Abby H.

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Q-insights is another company where I do research groups, focus groups, and online surveys to earn extra money.

They have a lot of stuff in South Orange County, and less often San Diego County. This upcoming survey takes place virtually!

They are recruiting for a new online interview on cars.

The study will run between June 13th- June 17th  and you will be compensated $125 as a thank you for your time.

If you are interested in participating please fill out the survey here. If you pre-qualify someone from Q-insights will call you to ask some additional qualifying questions.

Laundry Detergent Stock up Alert!

Abby H.

If you have Walgreens nearby, checkout this sweet deal on Arm & Hammer Laundry Detergent this week!

Through 6/11/22, you can score up to 5 bottles (25 load size) of any variety of Arm & Hammer Laundry Soap for just $1.99 (normally $7.49). I prefer the purple cap variety, but really, it’s a personal scent prefence. No coupon needed, and you can even buy it online or through the app and pick it up in the store!

I’ve been using this laundry detergent for years, but I only buy it when it’s on sale. This is a definite stock up sale price for me.

Focus Group Connections: Consumer Research Project $125

Abby H.

Focus Group Connections is a research company located in Southern California. They conduct studies and surveys all over the US.

Currently, Focus Group Connection is looking for Parents of children age 7-12 years old to participate in an online Consumer Research Project taking place on June 9th (times vary) on the topic of “Television.” Both Child and Parents will be needed to participate. This study will be One hour & 45-minutes in length. To participate, you must have a working Desktop or Laptop computer with high-speed internet, audio, and a working Webcam. The total Incentive will be $125.00 for your time and insights.

If you’re interested, please click here to complete the pre-screener survey.

Crafts and Fun DIY with Dollar Tree!

Abby H.

Wednesday is the last day of school for us. And we’ve got two weeks of fun and frolic before summer school starts, so that means it’s time to bulk up our craft supplies and try out some new crafts.

Dollar Tree does not disappoint. Since they’ve increased prices to $1.25 per item, I’ve seen a huge increase in the quality and variety of craft items, including cotton fat quarters, which are great for all sorts of sewing and crafts.

If you are looking for some ideas for fun, inexpensive summer crafts, check out the Dollar Tree Blog here.

I picked up one of their bottles of dye for tie-dying, and I took pics for Instagram. I’ll post a final pic this morning. Overall I’d give it 5/10. I chose dark purple, and it came out more of a wisteria color. There is a lot of fading, but if you use some of my tie-dye tips here (especially the washing soda pre-soak), you may have greater success. Colors available include Green, Pink, Purple, Red, Turquoise, Yellow.

And I made this cute sign the other night. All the supplies came from Dollar Tree!

The wooden sign, The butterfly stickers, one of the colors of paint (white), and the black permanent marker I used to outline the leaves.

All told, this craft cost less than $6 and I have a cute welcome sign for the front door.

There are all sorts of fun crafts available at Dollar Tree! I’ll be posting more of our crafting adventures on Instagram this summer, if you see a craft that interests you, please comment and I can do a tutorial!

 

6/3/2022- National Donut Day!

Abby H.

Today is National Donut Day! Did you know there are two donut days?

Ok, so first let’s find out why there are two National Donut Days... Thanks Mental Floss.

Now that we’ve figured out that mystery, it’s onto the free donuts….

There aren’t a lot of free donut deals here in California, but there are some BOGO offers.

And more: National Donut Day Freebies & Deals RoundUp Today June 3rd!