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 Diabetes.
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 locations in your area.
These are full-sized freebies- not small sample-sized products. they are located in the store with the other products of the same type.
Not all accounts will receive all the same products.
Here is your monthly reminder! A new month means new printable and electronic coupons!
The printable coupon market is slowly coming to an end. Smartsource no longer offers printable coupons, and you may notice that there are fewer coupon inserts in your Sunday newspaper. This is in favor of more offers available on apps. But if you love printable coupons….
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!
June is here! It’s National Candy Month, and it’s also time for Father’s Day (June 20th), and Graduation season (starting as early as June 5th in some places). There will be deals on men’s wear, technology for grads (like new laptops), and of course, summer stuff like swimwear, pool toys, and sunscreen!
For a complete list of types of foods and items that will be on sale, check out this post on the cycle of sales.
Woo! A new month means a reminder about all of the free food options there is here in San Diego County.
Keep in mind there are still supply chain issues, so there may not be a lot of food at some distributions, especially those that serve a large portion of the community.
I recommend showing up a little early with a bottle of water and a book and waiting in line. Time passes quickly in these lines, and it’s a great time to learn from others about community food options. Remember to socially distance and follow local masking regulations.
You can find resources here for Central and East County, and Here for North County.
Our friends at Faith Chapel are super ahead of the game and sent out information regarding their 2022 food distributions early on in the year.
If you are located outside San Diego County, call 211. If you are not familiar with 211, here is their website and it can point you in the right direction.
San Diego Food Bank Distributions for June 2022 can be found here. Enter your address (or just your zip code) and the map will show you all of the distributions in your area or closest to you. You can filter by the days of the week to find food when you are available. If there is an income requirement/limit to participate, each location/listing will say such. You can learn more here about the Feeding San Diego Together Tour.
Neighbor distributions are intermixed with the San Diego Food Bank Distributions, however, they have no income requirements, and you come as you are. These Distributions are primarily fruits & veg, however, some locations may also distribute canned goods, dairy, and bread.
Super Pantry Locations can be found here (this listing is countywide). The San Diego Foodbank website also has resources for Diaper banks, free food resources for seniors, and more.
All kids in public school K-12 in the State of California are eligible for free breakfasts and lunches at school. More information can be found here. I’ll have more information on 2022 summer feeding programs as soon as they are available.
If you know of other resources, please leave a comment! And feel free to share this post with anyone you may know in need.
Summer means road trips! Before you hit the road, make sure your car is road-ready!
MIDAS wants to help you with a sweet deal.
Find a participating MIDAS location near you to get the coupon and request an appointment.
Once you find a location near you, you can print a coupon for a Conventional Oil Change & Tire Rotation for only $29.99 plus a disposal fee at MIDAS. Prices and fees in Hawaii/Alaska are $49.99.
I printed my coupon off this morning, I’m getting Princess Sparkle Cupcake (this is what happens when you let the 4-year-old name the new car) ship shape, and ready to get outta town!
Check your Sonic Drive-in App!
Red Bull® Slushes are back, and you can get one for FREE in the SONIC App!
Redeem your new app reward at checkout and get a FREE Medium Red Bull® Slush with any app purchase. Grab the classic Red Bull® flavor or the NEW Summer Edition flavor — Strawberry Apricot! This reward is available through June 26, 2022.
And don’t forget- Order through the Sonic Drive-In app and get 1/2 off drinks all the time. Check app for details and restrictions.
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 survey for owners of 2021+2022 SUVs and Minivans listed below. The survey pays $150 for 90 minutes of total time commitment online.
Audi Q7
BMW X7
Buick Enclave
Cadillac Escalade
Chevrolet Equinox
Chevrolet Suburban
Chevrolet Tahoe
Chrysler Pacifica
Chrysler Voyager
Dodge Durango
Ford Edge
Ford Expedition
Ford Explorer
GMC Acadia
GMC Yukon
Honda Odyssey
Honda Pilot
Infiniti QX80
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Jeep Wagoneer
Kia Carnival
Kia Sorento
Kia Telluride
Land Rover Range Rover
Lexus RX
Lexus LX 600
Lincoln Nautilus
Lincoln Navigator
Mercedes Benz GLE
Nissan Armada
Nissan Pathfinder
Toyota Sequoia
Toyota Sienna
Please note that you may be asked to provide proof of vehicle ownership during the survey.
To apply, please complete the pre-screener survey here. If you pre-qualify someone from Q-insights will call you to ask some additional qualifying questions.
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 men and women to participate in an online Consumer Research Project taking place during the months of June & July on the topic of “Social Issues.” This will be two hours (120-minutes)total. To participate, you must have a working Desktop or Laptop computer with high-speed internet, audio, and a working webcam. If selected to participate, you will receive $150.00 for your time and insights.
I came back from my camping trip a few hours ago, and I’m already done with the meal plan for the week.
I’ll hit up the store tomorrow AM after I take the kids to school. We need just a few things… like MILK!
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.
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: I picked up our Dream Dinners order last week, and we’ve got a couple on deck for this week. I’m leaving a lot of prepped foods for the rest of the family to enjoy while we are out camping.
One of the ways I save money on groceries is to utilize cashback apps. But I’ve never shared how I do my cashback “work”.
When it’s time to hit the store, I’ll scroll through Ibotta, Shopkick, and the Coupons.com apps to see if there is anything on my list. If so, I click the offer/coupon (only needed on Ibotta and Coupons.com, no work is needed beforehand for Shopkick). Sometimes I’ll check Fetch Rewards to see if there are any extra point offers. Last week there were two offers for hand soap in the Fetch Rewards app, which was on my list. It ended up making the handsoap free!
If I’m going to Target, I’ll also check the Target app for any coupons or Target Circle offers for anything on my list.
The nice thing about all of these apps is that you can scan the barcode of items if you aren’t sure they qualify for a rebate offer.
Once I get home and get everything put away, I take my receipts out and start scanning.
With Ibotta, Walmart and Target are no scan stores. Just make sure your payment card and Walmart/Target accounts are linked to Ibotta (It’s pretty easy and directions are available in the Ibotta App). For other stores, just open the app and follow the directions.
I scan my receipts through the following apps each time, regardless of what I buy:
I know it sounds like a lot of work, but really, it’s about 10-15 minutes once a week and I’m saving thousands of dollars a year. For the apps that offer gift cards instead of Paypal or Venmo payouts, I select gift cards for the stores I buy groceries or other goods frequently.
I love getting Target Gift cards. I can load them directly to my Target App, and use them at checkout straight from the app, no need to carry around printouts or remember to open emails or other apps at checkout.
Talk Back: If there are any apps that you like that I didn’t mention, please leave a comment!
Hewes Family Fun 