frugal living

New Month, New Coupons!

Abby H.

I’m a few days late, but I’ve been super busy! Planning hubs Birthday fun, getting prepped for the holidays, and taking care of sick kiddos (and me too!).

file000786402730Here is your monthly reminder!  A new month means new printable and electronic coupons!

Check out the following sites:

One of my favorite website 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!

Here are just a few of the new coupons that have me excited:

Save $1.00 when you buy FOUR any Progresso™ products (excludes Progresso™ Broth, Bread Crumbs & Pasta Bowls)These will be on sale at Alberston’s starting Wednesday, .79/each WYB 4. using this coupon bring them down to .54/each!

Save $0.75 on ONE (1) McCormick® Good Morning Slow Cooker Breakfast (Redeemable at Walmart)

Save $1.00 on any ONE (1) GODIVA Masterpieces Individually Wrapped Chocolates or Chocolate Bar (any flavor variety)

11/21/17- Meal Plan… Tuesday?

Abby H.

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I fell asleep last night before I could hit Publish on this article. Yesterday was the first day of Thanksgiving break and I was bushed after playing all day.

I’m just posting dinners for our meal plan. The kiddos usually have 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: Spaghetti Squash with caramelized onions, bacon, and cheese

Tuesday:

  • D:  Casserole (We’ve got  guests for dinner tonight)

Weds:

  • D: Chef salad

Thursday:

  • D:   Thanksgiving feast with family

Friday:

  • D:  Leftovers from Thanksgiving

Saturday:

  • D:  Date night for our Anniversary

Sunday:

  • D:  breakfast for dinner

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).

Holiday Resources For Those in Need

Abby H.

thanksgivingturkey.jpgIt’s getting to be the season of giving, and for some families there isn’t the means to give this year. For some families there isn’t the means for a sit down family meal either.

Thanksgiving and Christmas are more than food and gifts, but no one should go hungry any time of year!

Here are some resources for those in San Diego County who might need some help.

Here is my post with a list of food banks/pantries in San Diego. Meet the Need at Faith Chapel has a lot of great events coming up to help you get through the holidays:

  • 11/19/: Faith Chapel is giving out Food Boxes and Turkeys starting at 10:30am.
  • 12/3: Meet the Need’s first Sunday event will be featuring a limited number of free Christmas trees in addition to the usual free lunch and bag of groceries.
  • 12/17: Faith Chapel will be distributing toys to children in need after the 10:30am service.

Feeding the Flock and several other ministries are sponsoring a Thanksgiving food box (turkey included). More information and sign ups can be found here.

You can also find local food banks/pantries from AmpleHarvest or by calling 211 in your area.

Toys 4 Tots is a well know toy charity, however their deadline to request toys is early November. If you missed the cut off, there are a few San Diego based toy charities that can help out.

Screen Shot 2017-11-13 at 1.53.34 PM.pngToys 4 Joy has 4 San Diego area events on December 9th. Toys for Joy is open to all children and families and no registration is required. One free toy will be given to all children attending the event ages 0 – 11. Free lunch will be provided in addition to free entertainment, kids activities and giveaways. All four locations have free groceries and one location has free gently used clothing available.

We Care Toy Drive provides 750 toys to local San Diego area kids. You can learn more by visiting their website.

Screen Shot 2017-06-01 at 8.09.41 AMThe Closet on 54th has a great free clothing closet you can shop at once a month, they also have a free food pantry that is open three days a week. You can find more info on their Facebook page here.

 

 

11/13/17 Meal Plan Monday!

Abby H.

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We’re scraping the bottom of the produce drawer, so I’ll be hitting up .99 Only to pick up some salads, veggies, and berries.

I’m just posting dinners for our meal plan. The kiddos usually have 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: Potato Cheese soup and fruit

Tuesday:

  • D: breakfast for dinner- probably pancakes, eggs, and fruit salad

Weds:

  • D: BBQ chicken (in the crockpot), green salad, biscuits

Thursday:

  • D:  Grilled chicken and grilled veggies 

Friday:

  • D: Date Night! (we go out)

Saturday:

  • D: DIY pizza night!

Sunday:

  • D: Leftover buffet

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).

Good, Clean (House) Fun with Oh Goodness!

Abby H.14 Comments

Screen Shot 2017-11-11 at 9.09.01 PM.pngDoes anyone really like to clean? I like when my house is clean, but I do not look forward to actually cleaning my house.

I don’t enjoy spraying who knows what surfactants, artificial fragrances (or worse, “natural” flavoring or scents like castoreum..eww), or harsh chemicals (the thought of bleach makes my eyes water). And yet, I’m not one who wants to spend hours mixing up my own house cleaning products.

IMG_0242.jpgSo when Annie from Oh Goodness contacted me to tell me about her awesome products, I was down to try their awesome DIY cleaning kits.

She sent me their Glowing Collection, which contains the reusable glass containers, ingredients and directions to make:

You Shine Dishwashing Powder (35-40 loads)

You Sparkle All Purpose Spray (16 ounces)

You’re Brilliant Scrub (8 ounces)

The one thing I like is that I know all of these ingredients. I use them all in other ways around the house. It’s all non-toxic (but that doesn’t mean you should eat it- DON’T EAT IT), it’s easy to make, and it actually cleans! I’m sure you’ve read online and seen all over Pinterest how you can clean your kitchen with peroxide, baking soda, vinegar, etc. Those are all great, but I’ve never had results with those ingredients like I have with my Oh Goodness kit.

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mix, mix, mix, mix and here are my finished products!

15 minutes after opening the box, reading the directions, (stopping to make a snack for the kids) and mixing, I was in business. I cook 90% of our meals, so my kitchen is always in need of some kind of cleaning.

I started with the kitchen sink. I have no before picture, but let’s just say it was.. icky.

A liberal scoop of You’re Brilliant Soft Scrub, and a quick scrub of the sink with a sponge and ta da:IMG_0236Can you hear the Angels singing? I can! I even scrubbed the black flange into the garbage disposal that keeps the whirling chunks of food from flying out of the garbage disposal.

The You Sparkle All Purpose Spray got my counters clean like whoah, and the entire house fills with the bright scent of lemons every time I run the dishwasher (which is seriously two times a day)..

I love that the containers are recyclable and reusable. The littler bottles the coconut soap and essential oil came in got a good scrubbing and the kids use them in their toy kitchen.

Oh Goodness wants to share their cleaning glory with two of my readers! Entering is easy.  Click here, or use the Rafflecopter link below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I’ll choose two winners on 11/20/17- Remember, you can’t win if you don’t enter!

Tons of Freebies from Kroger stores!

Abby H.

I love me some freebies… And right now the Kroger family of stores (which for us So Cal peeps means Food4Less and Ralphs) has a bunch of great freebies that you can load to your club card.

It doesn’t matter which card you have (Ralphs, Food4Less, Kroger, etc), you can load all of these great freebies to one card and head to the store!

Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 8.39.12 AM.pngKScreen Shot 2017-11-10 at 8.39.07 AM.pngroger has Free Arla Cream Cheese and free Lifeway Kefir Cups! Click this link to get started.

 

 

 

 

Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 8.46.57 AM.pngScreen Shot 2017-11-10 at 8.44.49 AM.pngRalphs has a free Silk Yogurt Singles here.

Food4Less has a free Nissin Cup Noodles here.

 

Each Week Ralphs/Kroger has at least one free item!

If you are new to Free Friday Downloads from Ralph’s, here is more info about how it works:

WHAT IS FREE FRIDAY DOWNLOAD? An exclusive benefit to having an account online at ralphs.com is FREE products (yes, we said FREE!). When you download the free product coupon, it will be loaded directly to your Shopper’s Card and applied at checkout in-store.

HOW DOES IT WORK? Visit this page on Fridays

DOWNLOAD the digital coupon for the free product (make sure to download between 12:01 am and 11:59pm PT). View the coupon under ‘My Coupons’ in your account online or in the mobile app.

You have two weeks to redeem this coupon in store! Pick up the product at your local Ralphs store and digital coupon will automatically apply at checkout.

Free Water & Energy Savings Kit from SDG&E!

Abby H.

Screen Shot 2017-11-09 at 1.26.41 PM.pngThis offer ends 12/3117, so order ASAP!

If you are an SDG&E customer, check your emails for this offer!

When you install a Water & Energy Savings Kit, you can save up to $100 per year in water and energy costs. This kit is valued at $30 and you have been pre-qualified to receive it at no charge.

Take advantage of our improved online order process and receive your kit sooner. Quantities are limited so order now while supplies last.

The Water & Energy Savings Kit includes:

•1 Low-Flow Showerhead

•1 Kitchen Faucet Aerator

•2 Bathroom Faucet Aerators

•1 LED Sensor Night Light

 

I just ordered ours! Anyway we can save money and natural resources is a win-win in my book!

Earn Cashback, Gift Cards, and now DISNEYLAND TICKETS with Swagbucks!

Abby H.

I’ve used Swagbucks Since February 2012 and so far I’ve earned over $700. Usually I cash out for Amazon GC or Paypal cash, but recently I learned that you can save your points for Disneyland tickets! We’ve been saving up change for a Disneyland trip next year, but now I have another trick up my sleeve to score tickets!

Screen Shot 2017-10-30 at 7.59.21 AM.png

Are you new to Swagbucks? They’re a completely free, no strings attached site that rewards you for all of the things you’re already doing online. Search, Watching Videos, Playing Games, Taking Surveys, Shopping and more – as you do these activities, you’ll earn Swag Bucks, which are reward points that you can redeem for all sorts of gift cards in the Rewards Store.

Join Swagbucks!
You Can Get Free Gift Cards For Shopping, Searching and Discovering What’s Online at Swagbucks.com
You can download their toolbar or download their OS and Android apps for more opportunities to earn. Choose the activities you like or have time for – how much you earn is up to you!

I have been using the search toolbar for all of my searches and I’ve been racking up the points!

Any now you can start earning points just by sharing Swagbucks with friends! When you sign up and refer friends, you’ll earn $3.00 in points (that’s 300 points).

Join Swagbucks!
You Can Get Free Gift Cards For Shopping, Searching and Discovering What’s Online at Swagbucks.com

The nice thing about Swagbucks is that the more you use it, the faster you earn points!

A Review: What’s up with Restaurant.com?

Abby H.

Screen Shot 2017-10-25 at 10.29.17 PM.pngFor those who have never used Restaurant.com, but hear me extol its virtues, here is how it works.

You purchase a discounted gift certificate (make sure to check the cert for restrictions, such as a minimum purchase amount or mandatory gratuity ) for a local restaurant.  You have a year from the date of purchase to use it.

Screen Shot 2017-10-25 at 10.29.09 PM.png

Here is an example of how to use the certs to your advantage.

Cafe XYZ- Certificate for $15.00.  Terms of cert: $15 off the purchase of $30 or more.  Mandatory 18% gratuity.

  • The check comes to $30.00
  • Mandatory grat. 18% $5.40
  • Minus Cert amt. -$15.00
  • Total New Bill: $14.60
  • Gift Certificate Cost $6.00, but thanks to coupon code REAL, you save 50% off the certificate making the total $3.00 for the Gift certificate.

The price for this complete meal is $17.60 (that includes the cost of the certificate).  The total amount saved $12.40.

They offer discounted certs in smaller amounts too.

ABC Cafe- Certificate for $25.00.   Terms of the cert: $25.00 off the purchase of $35.00 or more.  Mandatory 18% gratuity.

  • The check comes to $35.00
  • Mandatory grat. 18% $6.30
  • Minus Cert amt. -$25.00
  • Total New Bill: $16.30
  • Thanks to coupon code REAL, you save 50% off the certificate making the total $3.00 for the Gift certificate.

The price for this complete meal is $19.30 (that includes the cost of the certificate).  The total amount saved $15.70.

There are always coupon codes for http://www.restaurant.com/ on Retailmenot

Keep Cool During a Fall Heat Wave!

Abby H.1 Comment

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San Diego County is expecting a heat wave this week. Tomorrow it’s forecasted to be 104. UGH.  A heat wave this late in the year is different from a summer one because so many of our go to activities to beat the heat either aren’t available because venues are closed (local splash pads are shut down October 1st-regardless of the weather) or are not not appropriate for the fall (the ocean temp is in the mid-60’s, too cold for most kiddos to play in conformably) .

So what CAN you do to beat the heat and keep a handle on spending?

Check out your local library for events! Our local Library has Lego club, various storytimes, teen activities like chess and robotics building, yoga, even creative play on Saturday mornings. San Diego County Libraries have tons of great activities- each branch has different schedules.

Check out your local mall! Did you know that Lego stores have free build/Make and Take events each month. Some malls also have free monthly kids events in their courtyard/common area. Our local mall updates their local events through their Facebook page and their website. Past events have included free crafting events, storytimes, and visits from Santa. In fact, many malls have Halloween/trick or treating events.

Toys R Us locations frequently have free events too! Like free Lego building events, Geoffry’s Birthday Club, and other fun toy related events!

If you’ve got a 4th grader, check out this free pass for  National Parks. Here in San Diego, we’ve only got one, but it’s at the ocean, so it’s at least a littler cooler than our house (only 85 instead of 100!). National Parks have free days several times a year! The next one is for Veteran’s Day!

There are always Kids Eat Free (Denny’s does it Tuesday and Saturday) if you want to keep the oven off too. You can also score free ice cream at Baskin-Robbins!

We use Ohm Connect to save energy (and money) and earn cash. They text and/or email you to let you know when you can save energy to help the grid load (and help avoid brown/black outs).

 

I’d love to hear how you beat the heat! Leave a comment.