Deal Alert: Join Sam’s Club for $45 and get $45 in Savings!

Do you have Sam’s Club near you? If so, check out this cool deal.

Receive $45 off your first purchase when you get a Sam’s Club Membership for $45!

And did you know that you can skip the checkout lines with Scan & Go? It’s a pretty cool app!

Sam’s Club also have Freeosk’s inside many locations, which dispenses free samples! Pretty cool, right?

And, to sweeten the deal, Field Agent frequently has money-making audits at Sam’s Club locations!

To get started, click here.

Space Jam opens Friday…in theaters and on HBOMax

I know my kids are excited to see Space Jam: A New Legacy on HBO Max Friday night as they chomp down on pizza with Daddy. I’m heading out of town for a girls’ weekend!

While you wait for your chance to see it, there are tons of fun activities and games that you and your kids can play. Check out this page for all sorts of fun: Download an activity pack, check out the AR lens, there is a pinball game, GIF stickers, and downloadable wallpaper!

Talk Back: Are you digging the new movies being released directly on premium channels? Are you and your fam going to watch Space Jam: A New Legacy?

 

#SPACEJAMMOVIE

@SPACEJAMMOVIE

Free back to School offers from Ibotta!

 

Hot damn friends! This deal is incredible. Go to your desktop, log on to Ibotta (sign up here if you already haven’t), and unlock these deals redeemable at Target, HEB, or via Shipt if you are an online/app shopper, or in store at Walmart.  These offers expire on 8/31/2021.

 

 

 

 

 

That’s right: Skippy Peanut Butter, Smucker’s Squeeze Fruit Spread, Ticonderoga #2 pencils, Kleenex, Fruit Cups, 5-star notebook, Pink Pearl Erasers, and Nature’s own bread- All for free after Ibotta rebates.

And don’t forget to save your receipt and scan it on Fetch Rewards to earn more points!

New Freebies from Try Products!

I posted about Try Products last week. There are a bunch of new freebies from Try Products now. Try Products has amazing products for you to try absolutely FREE.  It’s 100% Free. No credit card is required EVER!

Here are the latest new offers:

 

Get Some Party Inspiration at Dollar Tree!

Dollar Tree has some really great party supplies right now in some cool motifs:

 

 

 

 

I love Dollar Tree for Party supplies! They have some really great motifs, plus a variety of plain colored plates, bowls, napkins, table coverings, and plastic flatware to tie it all together!

Birthday party, Garden Party, Summer BBQ, whatever your theme or reason to gather, Dollar Tree has all sorts of party supplies, photo booth props, and goody bag filler to make your party a hit.

If you have a gathering this summer, check out the Dollar Tree blog here for party ideas and inspiration for crafts, themes, and decor.

Dream Dinners: Host an event, get rewarded!

Dream Dinners is one of my favorite ways to save time and get tasty, healthy meals on the table in 45 minutes or less! And now you can win a prize when you share Dream Dinners with family and friends!

Host an event with Dream Dinners this summer and be rewarded with an Exclusive Summer Essential Kit full of fun gifts and exclusive summer recipes (a $50 value). Plus, you will earn up to $75 in store credit to get more dinners for your family.

Interested in hosting an event and earning a Summer Essentials Kit? Spaces are limited, contact your local Dream Dinners today. For most of my readers, the La Mesa Dream Dinners is the closest.

Dream Dinners La Mesa Call: 619-460-6800 Email: lamesaca@dreamdinners.com

Save and Earn Money for College with Upromise!

I’ve had a Upromise account for 15+ years. It’s a great way to earn and save money for college. I used my earnings/savings to pay for my college textbooks and parking pass when I finished my AA’s a few years ago.

The Upromise savings tools and automatic transfers let you set goals and transfer your earned rewards into college savings plans.

Receive a $5.29 bonus when you sign up for a free Upromise account.

Receive a $30 Welcome Bonus when linked to a 529 account. A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged savings plan designed to encourage saving for future education costs.

Upromise® Mastercard® – Cardmembers earn 1.529% cash back rewards on purchases when their Upromise Program account is linked to an eligible College Savings Plan, or 1.25% cash back rewards on purchases if their Upromise Program account is not linked. Apply today at upromisemastercard.com

There are a lot of ways to earn money with Upromise: Shop online through their portal or add their Chrome Shopping extension to earn extra money. Upromise also has a Dining program, where you can earn cash back for dining at specific restaurants and paying with linked cards.

 

 

 

Family Recipe: Chicken Fajitas Soup!

This Recipe is easy and tasty.

Ingredients:

  • 1 t. avocado oil
  • 2 bell peppers, diced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 ribs of celery, diced
  • 2 carrots peeled and diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, diced.
  • 1 lb. cooked chicken, cut into bite size pieces (leftover rotisserie chicken is great for this)
  • 8 cups chicken stock
  • 1 can diced tomatoes (about 14.5 ounces)
  • 1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained (about 14.5 ounces)
  • 1 packet fajitas seasoning
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 c. uncooked rice

Toppings: Crispy Jalepenos, cheddar cheese, avocado

Directions:

  1. In a large stockpot, saute onions in oil until translucent.
  2. Add garlic, stirring often. Cook until fragrant (about 5 minutes).
  3. Add in peppers, celery, carrots, and can of tomatoes. Cook over medium until celery is tender (about 10 minutes).
  4. Add remaining ingredients and cook over low, stirring occasionally for 30-45 minutes, or until rice is cooked.

This recipes serves 8-10. It freezes well.

Substitutions/tips:

  • This can be made with beef instead using cooked chopped beef and beef stock in place of chicken.
  • Or make it vegetarian omitting meat and substituting veggie stock.
  • If you have an abundance of fresh tomatoes, substitute 5 tomatoes (peeled and chopped) in place of the can of tomatoes.

7/11/2021 Weekly Meal Plan

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgThis week the big kid and I will start going to the gym in the afternoon with my dad. We all need to work off our quarantine chub and strengthen our bodies again.

I’m hoping this week will be more chill, last week was NUTS. I need some time to process and get stuff finished from last week.

The kids have been digging the free school lunches- It’s a great way to encourage them to try new foods. That’s great because the price of groceries has gone up exponentially over the past few months. We’ve been eating less meat to save money, and I’m leaning more on stores that have good deals like Grocery Outlet, and using my cashback apps like Fetch Rewards. I’ve been cashing out Fetch rewards for Target Gift Cards. I’ve been combining the Target Gift Cards with grocery sales and deals in the Target app, and picking up via curbside pick up. It’s a great option if you’ve got kids and you’ve got a busy summer.

And I’ve been getting a lot of really great freebies from Social Nature lately too. It’s fun to try new foods.

The CSA Box arrives tomorrow AM, but they send an email over a few days before with a sneak peek of what’s going into the box. This helps me meal plan for the week.

Veggies and fruit are delivered each Monday 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 spend about an hour on Monday afternoon cleaning and prepping veggies for the rest of the week.

I did a little bit of meal prep today: I made a batch of homemade applesauce. It’s been too hot to bake- I may make some drop cookies tomorrow. I also cleaned out the fridge today.

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 om 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.  The kids are nuts about pancakes. The Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

Lunch: We pick up free school lunches during the summer for the kids, I also 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.

Dinner: Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.

  • Sunday: Chicken Fajitas Soup (I’ll post a recipe this week)
  • Monday: Breakfast for Dinner (pancakes, bacon, eggs, and fruit salad)
  • Tuesday:  Steak with caramelized onions and red wine pan sauce, baked potatoes, roasted vegetables
  • Wednesday:  Nugget night: Nuggets, crackers, cheese, fruit
  • Thursday:  Chef Salad, Garlic Bread
  • Friday:  Takeout Night
  • Saturday: Leftovers, fruit, salad

Please stay safe you guys!

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?

Ch Ch Ch Changes…

Hey friends! If you are a long-time reader, you know that I’ve been talking about upcoming changes for about a month.

Spouse and I are getting a divorce. We are separating, and we’ve told the kids. This means a few things for the blog:

I need to look for more work that pays on a more consistent basis. I love blogging, sharing deals, sharing ways to make and save money, but it doesn’t make a lot of money. Side hustles are fun and a great way to make fun money, but it doesn’t provide enough money to pay the bills.

I’ll be posting as much as I can, and I may be posting more affiliate content to try and make a little more money while I look for employment outside the house. Clicking links in my blog posts is a small way you can help me. Especially the Freebie Friday links. I get paid a few cents for every link you click through on Freebie Friday posts. It’s not a lot, but it can add up. Plus it means cool freebies for you!

I may be posting more information on helping separating or single/divorced parents to help others in my position.

I may be posting more information on helping special needs parents/parents of children on the spectrum.

I am working on some other ways to bring in passive income that I may talk about on the blog as well. I’ve started a Redbubble store– I love journals, and I’m working on a line of my own.

I’ve also started at Etsy store to sell the printables I will be working on. For years I’ve been posting about everyone else’s printables, but using the ones I’ve made myself using various programs and software.

I will probably be posting longer, detailed posts about specific ways to save money.  I may also be sharing more deals and hauls on Social Media. Please follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook, if you haven’t already.

I really appreciate my readers and social media followers. Without you, I’m just some weirdo posting photos and shouting into the void of the internet.