frugal living

New PinchMe Samples Drop 12/8/2020!

Abby H.

Sample Tuesday is Coming 12/8/2020- Mark your calendars, set an alarm on your phone!

Don’t have any idea what I am talking about? 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.

Here are the companies participating in the December Sample boxes:

  • Impossible™ Burger Patties 100% Free Gratuity Coupon
  • Ocean Spray® Growing Goodness™
  • Purely Elizabeth Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola
  • Rascal + Friends Diapers
  • SlimFast Keto Fat Bomb Iced Lemon Drop Snack Cup
  • Caliper Swiftsticks Flavored CBD Powder
  • Biotrue® Multi-Purpose Solution
  • KübWipes 100% Natural Cotton Dry Wipes
  • Life’s Grape Dark Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Classic Vine-Dried Grape Snack Variety Pack
  • Blue Diamond Smokehouse Almonds
  • Blue Diamond Nut-Thins: Hint of Sea Salt
  • Blue Diamond Nut-Thins: Cheddar
  • Boiron Acidil® Meltaway Tablets
  • HARIBO Goldbears
  • Lumify® Redness Reliever Eye Drops
  • Skylar Vanilla Sky Perfume
  • Prima CBD The Daily Softgels
  • Prima CBD Enlightenment Serum

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!

December 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!

December means it’s time for the winter “feasting” holidays (Hannukah, Christmas, and Yule- depending on your religion), so there will be lots of deals on traditional holiday foods. For a complete list of types of foods and items that will be on sale, check out this post on the cycle of sales.

Here are a few of my favorite new coupons:


Save $2.00 on any ONE (1) Incogmeato™ MorningStar Farms® Product
Save $0.50 on ONE (1) Clorox® Liquid Bleach Product, 77oz+. (Excludes trial sizes and pens.)


Save $1.00 On any Unbun product, limit one per visit
Save $1.00 on any ONE (1) package of Green Giant® Veggie Tots, Riced Veggies, Mashed Cauliflower, Roasted Veggies, Harvest Protein Bowls, or Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Save $1.00 on any ONE (1) package of Green Giant Veggie Spirals™
Save 35¢ On Any California Dairy Product That Carries The Real California Milk Seal

Black Friday Deals From Cents of Style!

Abby H.

I’ll be posting some great deals this weekend.

** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Black Friday

Cents of Style is hooking you up with deals to fit any budget this Balck Friday weekend! Use Coupon Code FABRFRIDAY to score gifts starting at $5!

Headbands, hats, accessories, shirts, sweaters, gloves, thermals, dresses, and more. Nothing more than $20 during this sale, which BTW, is good through Monday at Midnight!

With the frost on the roofs and grass this morning, I’m eyeing the headbands and gloves!

11/28/2020 Friday Freebies and Deals!

Abby H.
bright boxes

It’s Friday again! Time to score some freebies, pick up a few deals (It is Black Friday after all).

Freebies:
Free Medium Fries w/ Any $1 Purchase at McDonalds – Every Friday
Free 8×10 Photo Print at Walgreens
Free Sample of Artemis Dry Dog or Cat Food
Free Smartwater at Giant Eagle
Free Herdez, Chi-Chi’s or La Victoria Products
Free 2021 SEH Employee Artwork Calendar
Free Full-Size Dr. Miracle’s Deep Conditioner
Free Evermine Holiday Gift Tags
4 Free Cinnabon BonBites + Free Birthday Treat
Free Sample of Xyzal Allergy 24H
Free CBD Restoring Facial Oil Sample at The Body Shop

Deals

Save 60% on Lady Gaga Makeup on Amazon
MyQ Smart Garage Door Opener ONLY $16.98 (Reg. $40)
Today Only: Save up to 60% on Anime Films on Amazon
Save 50% on Highly-Rated Lodge Cast Iron Pan ONLY $19.92
T-fal Professional Nonstick Cookware Set ONLY $139
Save up to 58% on Columbia Apparel and Shoes
Kano Coding Kits for Kids as Low as $12.69 (Reg. $80)
Snow Joe Shovelution Snow Shovel ONLY $16.85 (Reg. $30)
Softsoap Liquid Hand Soap 6-Pack ONLY $5.94 Shipped
Home Expressions Bath Towels ONLY $2.98 at JCPenney
Save up to 45% on Simple Modern Tumblers & Water Bottles
Apple Watch Series 3 GPS – 38mm ONLY $119.99 (Reg $200)
Save up to 50% on Adidas Footwear, Apparel and More
Crest 3D Whitestrips 22 Treatments ONLY $27.96 (Reg. $50)
Beats Solo3 Headphones ONLY $119 (Reg. $200) Today Only
PlayMonster 5 Second Rule Uncensored Game ONLY $11.95 (Reg. $25)
Ninja Foodi 9-in-1 Multi Cooker ONLY $119.99 (Reg. $250)
5 Second Rule Game ONLY $8.29 on Amazon (Reg. $20)
Save up to 68% on Watches from Citizen, Bulova, and More

Holiday Crafting on a Budget with Dollar Tree!

Abby H.

I am a big fan of homemade gifts. This year the kids and I are making most of the gifts we will be giving, and thankfully, Dollar Tree has all sorts of craft supplies to help us out.

Our local Dollar Tree has a great selection of craft supplies: Wooden cut-outs, acrylic paints, decals, stickers, wreath making supplies, glitter paint, gems, beads, you name it.

This week we have been painting Christmas Tree Ornaments.  We’ve got a bunch of acrylic paints in our craft cubby, and I let the kids go wild.

Over the weekend I painted laser-cut pineapples and a laser-cut pineapple light- all from Dollar Tree. As part of our holiday crafting, the kids are I are making a photo frame- We painted it, the next step is to trace and paint their hands on it.

If you are on a budget and wanna get crafty this holiday season either to give as gifts or to decorate your home, check out Dollar Tree either online or in-person (following all social distancing regulations for your area).

Cents of Style Deal- $12.99 Swing Dress w/code: FUSSFREE

Abby H.

Dress** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Cents of Style is bringing us deals all week long to get a jump on Black Friday shopping (and to keep us social distant- online shopping FTW!).

Dress

The new Cecilia Swing Dress is here and IT IS GLORIOUS! Pure perfection! It’s finally here and ready for the holidays! From family pics to holiday parties, this dress is a must-have on our list! This dress checks ALL the boxes- it’s comfy AND cute which is the perfect combo in our humble opinion and comes in sizes Small – 3X and 10 amazing colors.

And it gets better because it’s ONLY $12.99?!!! Remember to use the coupon code FUSSFREE.

This deal won’t be around forever! It’s only good through 11/30/20 at midnight. I snagged a couple this morning: One for me and two as gifts!

 

 

11/22/2020 Weekly Meal Plan!

Abby H.

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I did not go grocery shopping for this week over the weekend. The craziness of Thanksgiving shoppers and increased traffic to stores has made me back off a bit. I made a quick trip for bread on Friday night, but that’s it. The store was packed and everyone was too close for my comfort. I grabbed my bread and booked it.

This week focuses a lot on what we already have. I may run to the store to fill in some blanks. We are running low on eggs, coffee creamer, and salad fixings. If we could make it a whole week without a trip to the store, I’d be amazed!

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 the 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 a 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.  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.

This week is Thanksgiving break- the kids are home all week. Since we are in the Purple Tier as far as the county’s Covid Cases, a lot of the fun things we usually do are off the table. We will probably skip the zoo this week, even though it is open. It’s a holiday week for most of the county’s school districts, and there will be a lot more people out and about. We’ll be doing outdoor stuff where we can socially distance ourselves from others. We’ll be having a lot of leftovers from Thursday onward. Lunches will probably be protein shakes, pasta and veggies, Peanut butter sandwiches, and beans and rice.

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:  Veggie Soup & Garlic Toast
  • Monday: Baked Sweet Potatoes, Veggies, Grilled Cheese
  • Tuesday: Nuggets and Fruit
  • Wednesday: Mac n’ Cheese and Salad
  • Thursday: Thanksgiving dinner with my parents
  • Friday:  Pizza Night!
  • Saturday: Leftover Shenanigans

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?

Mid-Month Coupon Round Up!

Abby H.

I was cruising my favorite coupon sites this morning and I found some great stuff.

The two sites I use the most for printable coupons are:

One of the things I am digging right now is that Fetch Rewards is giving 10,000 points ($10 in points basically) when you buy $30 in Unilever products from Grocery stores. What’s making that deal even better now is that you can use coupons when you buy these products. Here are some Unilever brand coupons:

Save $1.00 on any ONE (1) pint of Ben & Jerry’s Non-Dairy
Save $1.00 any ONE (1) FINISH® QUANTUM® 22ct+, FINISH® Max-In-1® 28ct+, or FINISH® Deep Clean 38ct+
Save $2.50 on any TWO (2) Dove Deodorant Products (excludes twin/multi packs and trial/travel)
Save $1.50 on any ONE (1) Dove Even Tone or Dove 0% Aluminum Deodorant (excludes twin/multi packs and trial/travel)
Save $1.50 on ONE (1) DM+C Deodorant Stick (Excludes Trial & Travel & TwinPacks)
Save $0.50 on any ONE (1) Degree Men® Original Protection Antiperspirant Deodorant product (excludes twin packs and trial and travel sizes)
Save $0.75 on any ONE (1) Degree Women® Motionsense® or UltraClear Antiperspirant Deodorant, Deodorant Wipes, Dry Spray Antiperspirant or
Save $1.00 on any ONE (1) Axe Stick product (excludes Twin packs and Trial & Travel sizes)
Save $1.50 on any ONE (1) Axe Body Spray product (excludes Twin packs and Trial & Travel sizes)
Save $2.50 on any TWO (2) Axe Body Sprays or Sticks products (excludes Twin packs and Trial & Travel sizes)
Save $1.00 on ONE (1) DM+C Deodorant or Antiperspirant Stick (Excludes Trial & Travel & TwinPacks)
Save $2.50 on any TWO (2) Dove, Dove Men+Care, Axe, Degree® or Degree Men® Dry Spray Antiperspirant products (excludes Trial & Travel

If that’s not your jam, here are a few of the coupons that grabbed my attention:


Save $1.00 on ONE (1) Nestle Pure Life Fruity Water 8-pack

Save $1.00 ONE (1) Montchevre® Goat Cheese Product

Save $2.25 on any FIVE (5) SMART ONES products

And don’t forget to check out my list of Smartphone apps that can save you the big bucks! These apps add new offers and deals daily!

Looking to Make Money at Home? Check out these Survey Companies!

Abby H.

I posted here last month with some legit survey companies, and a few more have come to my attention. I’m here to help you live your best frugal life, so I gotta share!

Survey Roundtable is a community where you can share your honest opinion about the products and services you use every day and get rewarded for taking surveys.

  • Sharing your opinions can earn you real rewards you can use anywhere! Their rewards program grows every day, all depending on what our members most want to earn.
  • To make the most of your opinions, you’ll first take a Personality Survey. It’s how we target our surveys to your needs and interests.
  • Here’s what our virtual debit cards ($10 and up) currently have up for grabs: Amazon.com, Banana Republic, Barnes and Noble, GAP Brands, Regal Theaters, and more.

With Opinions4Good, you earn points by providing feedback on a variety of different research topics.

  • Once you reach $10, you’ll be automatically paid out the following month directly to your verified PayPal account.
  • Earn your first $2 filling out your member profile, which Opinions4Good will use to send you surveys that match your interests.

And if you are looking for more legit ways to make money (and no Pyramind schemes!), check out my side hustles post here.

 

A Practical Guide to Setting A Budget (Part Three)

Abby H.

The first two parts (Part One, Part Two) of this series talked about the essentials of how to budget. This third part is for those of you who are having a difficult time making the ends meet to get your needs met.

I’m talking about when cutting cable and going cash only for groceries isn’t enough. When you need help. When there isn’t much (or anything) to eat. When the power might be shut off. When there isn’t money to put gas in your car to get to work or job interviews.

This is the most important thing to remember: It is ok to ask for help. It is ok to seek out services and take advantage of programs. Do not worry about what others will think- This pandemic and all of the fallout that has happened has affected so many of us. So many hardworking families and individuals need a hand up right now. 

A lot of the services and programs listed below are specifically for San Diego County. If you live outside San Diego County, I recommend that you call 211 anywhere in the US. They can help you find resources- all judgment free!

So when I talk about needs being met, I mean:

  • Shelter (Rent/mortgage assistance/utilities)
  • Food (Healthy food for you/your family and pets)
  • Comfort (Clothing, healthcare, medication)

Shelter:

  • If you have a mortgage, contact your lender for a forbearance. You may have to provide them with proof that you are unable to pay.
  • If you are a renter in San Diego, here is the County Rental Assistance site.
  • If you require assistance with your utilities, SDG&E has many programs and assistance available.
  • For your water/sewer bills, you will need to contact them directly. There are so many water municipalities in San Diego County.

Food: Food insecurity is a cause near and dear to my heart, so I have all kinds of resources to share!

Many food banks give out pet food as well- don’t forget to mention your furry friends when you complete your intake paperwork (which is oftentimes to find out demographic information to obtain additional funding from the government or private grants). Some do not require any paperwork at all.

Comfort: Being housed and fed is important, in addition to this I’ve added the comfort category. This includes clean, well fitting clothes, access to health care, and prescription medicines.

  • There are many resources for no and low cost clothing (besides thrift stores, which have become increasingly higher in cost in the past year). Naomi’s Closet, Closet on 54th, Charity’s Closet at Sonrise Church, Sharia’s Closet are all San Diego resources. I’ve been told that some Salvation Army churches offer free clothing vouchers to be redeemed at their thrift shops. Don’t forget your local Buy Nothing Group too! So many of your local neighbors are cleaning out their clothes and purging while they are stuck at home, you’d be surprised what your neighbors are will to share with you.
  • If you are in need of healthcare, there are several options. Medicaid/Medi-cal may be available for some. If you have had a “life event” (job separation, birth of a child, death of a spouse, marriage, etc.) you can look for health insurance in your state’s Health Insurance Exchange. Here is a link to California’s Exchange. There are frequently lower rates or discounts for those with certain income limits.
  • If you or family members take prescription medicines, look into discount programs like Singlecare (which you can access via the Fetch Rewards App and earn cashback/points), or GoodRX. Some pharmacies have their own discount programs too. Make sure to ask the pharmacy staff. Another option is to ask your doctor for medication samples when you are visiting them. Many doctors have medication samples in their offices, and most doctors are willing to help you when you tell them you need assistance with medication costs.