frugal living

Freebie Roundup!

Abby H.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

It’s that time again! Let’s dive into spring with some new samples!

Free Color Sample of Kelly-Moore Paint (these samples are great for small projects, like painting wooden craft kits)

Free Sample of Natures Design Supplements (They have a limit of two samples per household!)

Free Bottle of Diet Standards Prenatal DHA

Free Samples of Seni Pads & Briefs

Free Sample of Naked Essentials Jerky Bites or Kibble
Free HydroMassage Massage on April 15th-22nd

Free Comic Book Day on May 6th

Free 2017 National Parks Entrance Days (there is only 1 National Park in San Diego county- FYI)

LEGO Monthly Mini Build – Free LEGO Race Car

If you are going to be near a Penzey Spice store tomorrow, here is an awesome freebie! Free Penzeys Embrace Hope Spring/Easter Mini Gift Box In-Stores

Another program that I love is Social Nature. They offer coupons for free natural products in exchange for honest reviews. I’ve sampled many really tasty products, including Ezekiel products (they have yummy high protein English muffins).

Here is my post all about how I score free stuff, beyond finding cool samples like these online. There are a lot of programs that are looking to share full size products with you for free!

 

3/27/17 Meal Plan Monday!

Abby H.

DSC07997

Bringing it back! To help get us back on track and use up what we’ve got in the pantry. I just did a pantry and freezer inventory, and I’ll need to do a quick trip to pick up some frozen veggies and fresh fruit tomorrow, but other than that (and a gallon of milk), we should be good for the week!

I’m just posting dinners for our meal plan. The kiddos have started eating a small toasted bagel with cream cheese for breakfast along with fruit.  Hubs likes Oatmeal (my recipe for an easy almost instant oatmeal mix can be found here) if he’s got time, otherwise he and I have protein shakes with frozen bananas and PB2.

Lunches for Lil’ Man are usually Peanut butter and crackers, fruit, milk, a protein muffin (aka a kid cupcake), and applesauce cup. He takes his lunch every day! Hubs usually has a protein shake or I pack him leftovers or a frozen entree.

Bitty Bird and I usually have leftovers from the night before, or soup, sandwiches, quesadillas. She eats almost anything!

Monday:

  • D:Crockpot pulled BBQ chicken, steamed veggies, garlic bread

Tuesday:

  • D:  Bean, Rice, and cheese bowls (they also have caramelized onions and peppers)

Weds:

  • D: Fritatta (with veggies, bacon, and cheese) and fruit salad

Thursday:

  • D:  Veggie Enchiladas (it’s a complete meal, no sides needed!)

Friday:

  • D: Date Night! (we go out)

Saturday:

  • D: Crockpot Chili (I’ve got a batch in the freezer- I’ll de-frost and toss it into the crockpot!), fruit salad

Sunday:

  • D:Chicken and Veggie teriyaki stir fry, rice

The menu may change, as  I pull stuff out of the pantry to rotate what we’ve got (I am trying to cut down on waste, and put the older stuff up front to get eaten first. I need to replenish our snack bag that lives in the car, and make sure to take our water bottles when we leave the house!

 

Common Kindness: Save Money and Help Others!

Abby H.

CKLogocolored.jpgSaving money is awesome, but helping others while saving money is even better! That’s why I like printing coupons onCommon Kindness.

Common Kindness donates a portion of each coupon amount redeemed to the charity of your choice! At no cost to you! They have mostly Organic/All Natural food coupons, but they’ve also great HBA coupons:
Screen Shot 2017-03-19 at 7.25.22 AM.pngThese items are available for sale at Dollar Tree (which accepts coupons).

If you need to stock up on HBA, Common Kindness is a great resource for printables!

.50 for a bottle of body wash or shampoo/conditioner is a great deal, and that price is even great for donations to your favorite charity!

If you want to learn more about redeeming coupons at Dollar Tree, check out their Coupon Policy Here.

 

 

School is Back in Session- Time to Start Saving!

Abby H.

Bus2I don’t know about you, but when I’ve got both kids home all the time, it’s a lot harder to keep on my frugal goals.

I’m all about taking advantage of local free and cheap fun (like events at our local library or community center, local parks and splash pads), but for some reason summer vacation always distracts me from frugality. Maybe is the 100+ degree temps we’ve been having most of the summer.

Well, we are into our second week of school and I’ve re-committed to my frugal lifestyle for my family.  Here are just a few things I’ve done over the past two weeks:

  • Meal Plan using what’s on hand in out cupboard before heading the the store. I’ve also planned out school lunches too!
  • Committed to taking drinks with us when we leave the house.  This doesn’t sound like a lot, but when it’s over 100 degrees in the shade, we go through a lot of water on our daily adventures. Check out the cool growler I got on Amazon. It’s supposed to be for beer, but I fill it with ice cubes and water each day and it comes with me in the car- it’s an easy way to get your 8 glasses in! I also take iced coffee with me in the morning to school drop off.
  • Set a schedule for Bitty Bird and I.  Again, a schedule doesn’t sound like a way to save money, but now I know what we are doing each day after Big Boy is at school. I have time each day while she is napping to write, research, and do Amazon Reviews.
  • Plan out shopping trips a little better.  Now that I don’t have two extra sets of hands helping me shop (especially a 5 year old who is constantly near death starvation when in proximity to a grocery store), I can look at ads, check my smartphone apps for rebates and deals. I also have more time to print coupons! This really saves me money (and time).

Now that school has started, I’d love to hear how you’ve recommitted to your goals (whatever they might be).