Shopping Smartly: Using the Cycle of Sales to Save Even More!

Manufacturers and stores use holidays or events to entice people to spend more in their stores by offering sales, coupons, cashback offers. I have listed below, by month which types of items are on sale. Not only food, but home goods, furniture, and electronics.

I recommend checking out sale flyers (most can be found online) and cashback apps (A list of my favorites can be found here) before each shopping trip.

JANUARY

  • Diet Food and Weight Loss Equipment (New Year’s Resolutions)
  • Gyms have sales and free trials
  • Healthy Food including Veggies
  • Television and other Electronics (Super Bowl Sunday)
  • OTC Medications (FSA’s expire in Jan./Feb.- Use it or Lose it!)
  • Winter Clothing and Shoes (Formal clothes are usually 75%+ off)
  • Organizers (totes, Christmas ornament storage containers)
  • White Sales (Sheets/Towels)
  • Snack-y food for Super Bowl parties: chips, dip. Velveeta, salsa, taquitos. There are often times really great rebates for snack food and beer or soda around the Super Bowl.

FEBRUARY

  • Diet Food and Weight Loss Equipment (New Year’s Resolutions)
  • Healthy Food including Veggies
  • Furniture and Housewares
  • Candy and Chocolates

 

MARCH

  • March is National frozen food month. Many Stores like Albertson’s have a “fill a bag” sale where you are given a paper or plastic bag and you receive a discount (typically 15-25%) on each frozen item in that bag.
  • Spring Apparel (Easter Dresses and Suits)
  • Depending on when Easter falls, look for sales on Easter Dinner food: Ham, Prime Rib, stuffing, veggies, eggs, and Easter Basket Supplies.
  • Luggage and Travel (Spring Break)
  • Spring-cleaning sales will start and there will be rebates for cleaning supplies- especially with SC Johnson Products.
  • Between March 13-17th (St. Patrick’s Day) Corned Beef, Potatoes and Cabbage are all Dirt Cheap. Stock up!
  • During Lent, seafood is inexpensive.

 

APRIL

  • More Spring cleaning sales and rebates
  • Paper products (plates, napkins) start to have really good sales.
  • Paint & Wallpaper (In the same vain as spring cleaning, a lot of people start to spruce up their homes in the spring)
  • Jewish Foods and Eggs (Passover)

 

MAY

May is the start of picnic season. Barbeque food, Hotdogs, hamburgers, ribs, condiments will all be on sale throughout the summer and will be until September.

  • Auto Maintenance (tires, oil changes, tune ups)
  • Beverages, Hot dogs, Ground Beef, BBQ sauce, Ketchup, Mustard, Ribs (Often times there are some really great rebates WYB beer or soda)
  • Bug repellents – Sprays and Candles
  • Home Maintenance (carpet cleaning, duct cleaning)
  • SPF and After Sun products (like Aloe)

 

JUNE

  • Summer Clothes
  • June is National Dairy Month- Dairy Products
  • Summer Activities (local attractions sometimes have “locals only” days or rates)
  • Beverages, Hot dogs, Ground Beef, BBQ sauce, Ketchup, Mustard, Ribs (Often times there are some really great rebates WYB beer or soda)

 

JULY

  • Air Conditioning units
  • Summer Sports Equipment & Craft Supplies (things for families to do together)
  • Beverages, Hot dogs, Ground Beef, BBQ sauce, Ketchup, Mustard, Ribs (Often times there are some really great rebates WYB beer or soda)

 

AUGUST

  • BBQ and Patio Equipment (Just in time for Labor Day!)
  • White Sale – Linens and Towels
  • Back to School Supplies – Sales may Start in Late July, Depending on when school starts in your part of the world)
  • Bathing Suits and the last remnants of summer clothes
  • Back to school clothes
  • Jackets and light coats for fall
  • Beverages, Hot dogs, Ground Beef, BBQ sauce, Ketchup, Mustard, Ribs (Often times there are some really great rebates WYB beer or soda)
  • Breakfast foods (cereal, oatmeal, juice, bars) Cereal sales will start this month and continue into September as school starts up.
  • Lunch box food- juice boxes, lunchables, snacks, chips, yogurt

 

SEPTEMBER

The traditional Back to School Sales will start. For most schools, classes begin the Tuesday after Labor Day. This is a great time to stock up on snacks that are healthy and shelf-stable. 100 calorie snack packs, fruit leathers, 100% juice boxes, bottled water, peanut butter. Watch the inserts for Lunchables coupons too- they will start going on sale!

  • Back to School Supplies (Office Depot, Staples, and Walgreen’s often have Freebies)
  • Canned Goods. Canned soup and spaghetti sauce also starts to go on sale in September.
  • Frozen Pizza

There are LOADS of rebates and special cashback offers through apps like Ibotta and Checkout51 in the last quarter of the year. Why?

The last three months of the year are packed full of holidays and entertaining possibilities. Sales, rebates, and cashback offers will most likely be for the types of food and beverages that are associated with entertaining: crackers, cheese, wine, beer, candy, nuts, etc. Many of these food items are shelf-stable and it can be a good opportunity to buy a few extra to stock up, especially if it’s something that your family consumes regularly.

OCTOBER

  • Home goods such as serving dishes, and glassware (to prepare you for the onslaught of entertaining you will be doing for the holidays)
  • Candy, nuts
  • Baking/candy-making items (choc chips, sprinkles, vanilla, corn syrup, nuts, etc)
  • Fall/Winter clothing
  • Fabric, Patterns, sewing machines (Halloween)
  • Coats/Jackets

NOVEMBER

  • Winter Clothing
  • Blankets and flannel sheets
  • Heating Devices
  • Turkey, ham
  • Canned goods (soup, chicken broth, condensed milk, veggies, etc)
  • Baking goods (flour, sugar)
  • Baking wear

DECEMBER

  • Toys- there are usually deals through Target’s app, and online as well
  • Gift Items-Stock up and fill your stockings and keep your wallet full.
  • Post-Holiday Sales- I like to stock up on plain colored paper goods after each holiday and stockpile them to use throughout the year for parties and events. No one will know the red napkins are from Valentine’s Day, not from Christmas. Light Blue gift paper from Chanukah will wrap a present for a baby shower gift just the same.
  • Party Foods, Baking Goods, and Various Meat There will be a lot of rebates, keep your eyes open!
  • Canned goods (broth, soups, etc)
  • Prime Rib, Turkey, Ham

 

Year-round after a holiday, you can always pick up cheap cookie dough. Cookie dough freezes really well for about two months.   You can also find plain colored paper goods, including plain-colored wrapping paper and tissue paper after each holiday in the clearance section.

 

 

9/28/2020 Weekly Meal Plan

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgI’ve started doing weekly meal planning on Sundays. It’s easier to do it while I’m writing up the weekly calendar/schedule and prepping the snack box for the week.

As I posted on Instagram yesterday, the big kid and I hit up Sprouts and Food4less yesterday to pick up produce and a few others things (milk and butter) to round out what we already had on-hand. The free school lunches that our school is providing gives us some yummy stuff the kids like (baby carrots, milk, and apple slices to name a few), and the stuff that they don’t care for or contains meat we share with some of our friends who have kiddos that aren’t able to stop and pick up free lunches.

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 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 kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

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 love the Kodiak Cakes Mix).  I also keep sandwich Ziploc bags of other frozen fruit on hand to make the kids smoothies when they request them (a few times per week). Berries, peaches, and mangos are pretty popular. recently the Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

Lunches will be whatever the kids want for the time being. The big kid has lunch at school, so it’s whatever he chooses from the lunch box in the cupboard, plus some fruit and juice or milk. Since the little girl is in the morning cohort at school, she has lunch at home. Buttered noodles, yogurt, apple slices, and a popsicle are her go-to lunch.

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:  Leftover Extravaganza
  • Monday:  Entrees & Salad
  • Tuesday:  Bean, Rice, and Cheese Bowls (I’ll post the recipe this week)
  • Wednesday:  Kofta Meatballs, Rice, Salad, Hummus
  • Thursday: Cheesy Ravioli and Veggies
  • Friday:  Pizza Night!
  • Saturday: Breakfast for Dinner (Probably pancakes, eggs, and fruit salad)

Please stay safe you guys! The sooner we flatten the curve, the sooner life can go back to normal- whatever that means.

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

9/25/2020 Friday Freebies & Deals

bright boxes

This Friday’s freebies and deals: This week is chock full of Freebies! I’m stoked. Both kids are back to school (part time), so I’ve got a little wiggle room in the morning to get some writing and deal hunting done!

If you find a cool deal or freebie, please leave a comment!

Freebies

Free Sample of IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better Foundation
Free Sample of MMMints
Free Walmart Welcome Baby Registry Box
Free Sample of Suave Professionals for Natural Hair
Free Atelier Cologne Perfume Stories Mini Set
Free Snickers Bar (Walmart Gift Card) for Essential Workers
Free Medium Fries w/ Any $1 Purchase at McDonalds – Every Friday
Free FandangoNOW Credit for Roku Users
Free Loaf of Schar Gluten-Free Bread
Free Unbun Foods Keto-Friendly Baguette
Free Enspice Seasonings & Spices
Free Eye Drops
Free Uncle Bud’s Hemp Product

Deals:

Green Toys Flower Maker Dough Set ONLY $12.65 (Reg. $25)
Fisher-Price Baby Bunny Massage Set ONLY $15.99 (Reg. $30)
Green Toys Train ONLY $15.59 (Reg. $30)
Touchless Digital Infrared Thermometer for ONLY $9.99 RUN DEAL
LEGO Creator 3in1 Twin Rotor Helicopter ONLY $39.97 (Reg $60)
HP Chromebooks on Sale for $144 RUN
Asus 10.1-In Convertible Chromebook Flip ONLY $149.99
Acer 11.6-In Dual-Core 16GB Chromebooks From $129.99 – $144.99
Choose Your Own Adventure: House of Danger Game $13.49 (Reg $25)
Mega Bloks 80-Piece Building Set ONLY $14.90 on Amazon (Reg $25)
MUK LUKS Morty Ragg Wool Slipper Sock ONLY $23.99 (Reg. $40)
Harry Potter Pop-Up Advent Calendar ONLY $27.99 (Reg. $40)
Kalorik 12qt Analog Air Fryer Oven ONLY $49.99 (Reg $120)
Premium Original Saltine Crackers 6-Pack ONLY $11.50 Shipped
Christmas Pearl Earrings ONLY $1 Shipped
Baby Shark Kids Weighted Blanket ONLY $14.97 (Reg $50)
Disney Frozen Magical Discovery Elsa Doll ONLY $13.31 (Reg. $25)
Baby Alive Shimmer n Splash Mermaid ONLY $10 (Reg. $20)
Converse Shoes as Low as $16.00 at Kohl’s (Reg. $40)

 

Rubio’s: Free Kids Meal!

This popped into my inbox this morning and I had to share. Every Wednesday in September when you order an adult Entree, you can score a kids meal at Rubio’s FREE. Log onto the Rubio’s app for the QR/coupon code and for details/restrictions.

One free kids meal per order, expires 9/30/2020.

This is perfect for me and the littlest kiddo- she loves Quesadillas!

9/18/2020 Friday Freebies and Deals!

bright boxes

This Friday’s freebies and deals: This week is chock full of Freebies! I’m stoked. The big kid has gone back to in-person school, and the little one is doing distance learning for another week. I am looking forward to getting back to a schedule where I can have more time to write and work, and the kids get some sort of normalcy with our new normal.

If you find a cool deal or freebie, please leave a comment!

Freebies

3 Free Meals Every Day for Any New Yorker (While I live on the West Coast, I know some of you are in New York or have friends who live there)
Free Brainiac Kids Yogurt Tubes
Free Derek The Dinosaur Coloring Book
Free 5pc. Chicken Nuggets at Jack in the Box
Free National Parks Pass for Military & Dependents
Free Sample of WowButter Creamy Peanut Free Toasted Soy Spread
Free Pepsi Zero 2-Liter at Walmart
Free Tru-Nut Peanut Butter Powder Sticks at Publix
New Sampler Samples – Finish Rinse Aid, Airwick Mist & More
Free Red Baron Pizza Melt After Rebate
Free Subscription to Town & Country Magazine
Free Care Packages for Students
Free Digital Issue of Family Handyman Magazine
Free Acne Patches
Free Subscription to Field & Stream Magazine
Free Chosen Foods Guacamole or Salsa at Sprouts
Free Sample of Nexwear Pads
Free Medium Fries w/ Any $1 Purchase at McDonalds – Every Friday

 

Deals

GUND Glitz Pandacorn Panda Unicorn Plush ONLY $10 (Reg. $20)
The First Years Disney Mickey ONLY $2.48 (Reg $5)
Small Kitchen Appliances for $11.04 – Over 50% Off
Wonder Nation Sleeve Pajamas 4-Pack ONLY $9.92 at Walmart
Giggle McDimples Plush Toy ONLY $1.98 (Reg $10)
Expo Dry Erase Fine Tip Markers 8-Count ONLY $5.79 (Reg. $14)
Papyrus Christmas Cards as Low as $4.81 (Reg. $15)
Rainbow Unicorn Cuddleez Plush ONLY $6.98 (Reg $35)
Water Beads Rainbow Mix ONLY $6.79 (Reg. $14)
Kinder Fluff Car Sun Shade 4-Pack ONLY $11.87 (Reg. $30)

San Diego, CA Area Residents: FREE Produce! Friday, September 18th, 2020

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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.

Distribution is happening this Friday, September 18th, 2020, beginning at 10:00am.

This is a drive-thru style event, so you don’t have to leave your vehicles.

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

Slow Cooker Recipe: Sausage and Peppers!

This recipe is dead simple and so tasty! The best part is you can use any kind of Dinner sausage you want. We used Italian Sausages (made with pork), but you can use whatever you like (including veggie sausages if you are meatless).

You can use fresh or frozen peppers and onions (Yes, you can buy frozen peppers and onions at the store- They are often branded as “Fajita Mix”), it’s really up to you.

And you can load your yumminess onto a hoagie roll, top with cheese and chow down, or top a bed of pasta or Zoodles- It’s really up to you.

The best part is this recipe makes a lot, so there are always leftovers!

Sausage and Peppers Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 Package Dinner Sausages (Italian or your choice)
  • 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
  • 2 bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 can of tomato paste
  • 1 small can tomato sauce
  • 1 20-ish ounce can of diced tomatoes
  • 2 T Italian seasoning
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. In your slow cooker, combine all the ingredients.
  2. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
  3. Turn up to high, remove the lid and cook for 30-45 minutes.
  4. Serve on a roll/bun, on pasta or zoodles.
  5. OPTIONAL- Top each serving with cheese.

$5 Prime Video Credit + $5 Cheez-It Credit For Watching Amazon Prime Movies!

Do you love Cheez-it’s? Do you love movies? Do you have Amazon Prime? If you answered two to at least two of these questions, have I got a deal for you!

 

 

 

Cheeze-It has partnered with Amazon to launch a campaign called Cheez-It Snap’d & Stream, where you can earn a $5 Amazon Prime Video credit and a $5 Cheez-It credit every month for watching 8 hours of select streaming movies. Movie titles change monthly, and each month has a different theme- This month it is back to school!

  • Amazon Prime Members can enroll in this program monthly.
  • You can save all your credits and combine them together for later use, however, credits need to be used by 1/31/21.
  • You will be notified via email once you have earned your monthly credits.

I’m excited because my kids love Cheez-it’s, and I love movies. I’m most excited about Heathers this month. There are 15 movies to choose from, from animated to adult.

More information about the Cheez-It Snap’d & Stream program can be found here.

 

9/13/2020 Weekly Meal Plan

 

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgI’ve started doing weekly meal planning on Sundays. It’s easier to do it while I’m writing up the weekly calendar/schedule and prepping the snack box for the week.

Tomorrow the big kid goes back to physical (in person) school. The Special Education classes are going back first, and they get the entire campus to themselves for about a week. Big Kid is super excited to see his friends and show off his new masks. He has a new hand sanitizer for his backpack too.

I’ve been picking up school/lunch snacks over the past few weeks and hiding them in the back of the cupboard, so we are all set for tomorrow!

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 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 kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

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 love the Kodiak Cakes Mix).  I also keep sandwich Ziploc bags of other frozen fruit on hand to make the kids smoothies when they request them (a few times per week). Berries, peaches, and mangos are pretty popular. recently the Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

Lunches will be whatever the kids want for the time being (Peanut butter sandwiches and baguettes toasted with garlic butter are high on the list as of late). I may make up a cheese pizza and serve that for a few lunches during the week with apple slices (or apple sauce), cheez-its, and milk (as well as some sort of dessert- I picked up a box of Ghiradelli Brownie Mix at Costco a few weeks back, and I’ve been making a pan of brownies once or twice a week. My secret is to use milk and coconut oil instead of water and vegetable oil).

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:  Sausage & Peppers (in the crockpot)
  • Monday:  Salad and Avocado toast (We have a bunch of avocados)
  • Tuesday:  Bean, Rice, and Cheese Bowls
  • Wednesday:  Chinese takeout (I have coupons)
  • Thursday: Pizza Night (pizza and salad or fruit)
  • Friday: Breakfast for Dinner (Probably pancakes, eggs, and fruit salad)
  • Saturday: leftover fiesta

Please stay safe you guys! The sooner we flatten the curve, the sooner life can go back to normal- whatever that means.

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

EXTENDED: 25,000 Fetch Points for 5 referrals

This popped into my inbox this morning and now that the kids are settled into Epic and reading (or being read to), I have time to share this great opportunity to earn rewards and share what I think is one of the best cashback rewards programs (it’s also the easiest).

Fetch Rewards has extended their deadline to get 25,000 points for referring five friends to Fetch to Wednesday, 9/9 – so you better get referrin’. You’ll get 4,000 points for each friend who signs up using your code, plus Fetch Rewards will give you 5,000 extra points if you refer five people.

There’s no limit to the rewards you can earn, and each friend who signs up gets 2,000 points. So, reach out to everyone you know and spread the word how easy it is to earn Rewards with Fetch.

Find the Fetch App wherever you get your apps.  Use my code ND2TB when you sign up, and I’ll earn some points to when you scan in your first receipt! If you would like to learn more about Fetch, check out this post. 

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