frugal

2/19/2021 Friday Freebies & Deals

Abby H.
bright boxes

This week was a lot calmer than last, but we still had a few bumps in the road, including broken glasses, which resulted in a trip to the optometrist. Being an adult is never dull.

My birthday was earlier this month and I rocked a bunch of freebies. Wanna check out my list of goodies? Check it out here.

Most of these freebies and deals are online. I am not encouraging anyone to go into stores or go out into public. Mask up, wash your paws, stay socially distanced!

Freebies:

Free Entree at The Old Spaghetti Factory
Free NEATwipes – Kills 99.9% of Germs
Free Tropicana Premium Drinks at Walmart
Free Tylenol Products After Rebate
Free Ice Cream at Baskin Robbins
Free Short Stack of Pancakes at IHOP
Free Tom Ford Traceless Soft Matte Foundation Sample
Free Contadina San Marzano Style Whole Canned Tomatoes
Free Sample of Vitafol Ultra or Gummies Prenatal Vitamins
Free 6 Months of Apple News+
Free Arm & Hammer AbsorbX Cat Litter with Mail-In Rebate
Free Dr. Charles Stanley Love Lessons DVD
Free Ocean’s Halo Organic Soy-Free Dressing
Free Maker’s Mark Ambassador Gifts Every Year
Free Astroglide Oil Liquid & Massage Lotion
Free Kite Hill Dairy Free Yogurt at Select Stores
Free Mane ‘n Tail Quin Houff Hero Card
Free Samples of Nature Nate’s Honey Minis
Free 4-pk of Seemore Meat & Veggies Natural Sausages
Free Sample of CeraVe Moisturizing Cream

 

Deals:

Crayola Toy Story 4 Coloring Pages ONLY $4.99 (Reg. $10)
Womens Clog Slippers With Memory Foam ONLY $19.99 (Reg $35)
Power Rangers Beast-X King Morpher ONLY $9.99 (Reg. $20)
Play-Doh Party Pack ONLY $4.49 (Reg. $8)
Women’s Leggings ONLY $4.79 at JCPenney (Reg $16)
Kids Snow Boots ONLY $9.99 (Reg. $30)
I Love You to the Moon and Back Board Book ONLY $3.59 (Reg. $8)
Glow in The Dark Acrylic Paint Set on $13.72 (Reg. $40)
Toozey Puppy Toys for Small Dogs 7-Pack $12.74 (Reg. $30)
Ply-Doh Cash Register Toy ONLY $8.08 (Reg $15)
Gillette5 Men’s Razor Blade Refills 12-ct ONLY $14.81 (Reg $25)
Portable Generator on Sale for $199 (was $417) – Hurry
Medical Thermometer with Fever Alert ONLY $5.77 (Reg. $16)
Carter’s Baby Girls 4-Piece Pajama Set ONLY $10.79 (Reg $36)

Earn Points on All Restaurant Receipts with Fetch Rewards!

Abby H.

Fetch Rewards is reminding us that when the weather outside if cold and wet, you can still earn Fetch Rewards!

Got a craving coming on? Here’s a friendly reminder that all restaurant receipts earn you Fetch points—yup, even takeout.

And don’t forget, in the Fetch Rewards app, click on the ME tab (on the bottom), and sync your Amazon and email address. Once you connect them, you’ll be able to earn points on your online purchases too!

You will earn points from the following retailers:

  • Apple
  • Barnes & Noble
  • Bath & Body Works
  • Bed Bath & Beyond
  • Best Buy
  • BJ’s Wholesale Club
  • Boxed Wholesale
  • Caviar
  • Chewy
  • Costco Wholesale
  • CVS
  • Delivery
  • Doordash
  • Food Lion
  • FreshDirect
  • Giant Eagle
  • Giant Direct
  • Google Express
  • GrubHub
  • H-E-B
  • Hannaford
  • Harris Teeter
  • Hobby Lobby
  • Hy-Vee
  • Instacart
  • Jet
  • Jewel-Osco
  • JOANN Stores
  • Kohl’s
  • Lowe’s
  • Lowes Foods
  • Macy’s
  • magazine.store
  • Meijer
  • Michael’s
  • Office Depot
  • Panera Bread
  • Petco
  • PetSmart
  • Rite Aid
  • Safeway
  • Sam’s Club
    • Does not include Sam’s Scan-and-Go purchases
  • Seamless
  • Sephora
  • Shipt
  • ShopRite
  • Stop & Shop
  • Target
  • The Home Depot
  • Thrive Market
  • Tom Thumb
  • UberEats
  • Ulta Beauty
  • Vons
  • Waitr
  • Walgreens
  • Walmart
    • Does not include Walmart Pay purchases
  • Walmart Grocery
  • Wegmans Food Markets
  • Weis Markets
  • Winn-Dixie
  • Woodman’s Markets
If you are new Fetch Rewards, learn more about it here.    What I love is that it is not store specific, which is great.  Use my code ND2TB when you sign up and you’ll score Bonus Points (amounts vary from 1500-4000, depending on the current promotion they are running).   

Virtual Moms Meet Wow Summit is Next Month!

Abby H.

In less than a month I’m attending the Moms Meet Virtual WOW Summit!

I’m so excited to be attending the Moms Meet Virtual WOW Summit! This three-day online event is focused on raising happy and healthy families, and you can do it all from the comfort of your own home! Join Moms Meet and me for Virtual WOW Summit from March 9–11.

From attending educational workshops and hearing from compelling speakers to networking with like-minded moms, you’ll walk away equipped with the knowledge you need to raise a happy and healthy family. The best part—it’s totally free to attend if you are a member of Moms Meet (and joining Moms Meet is free)! There’s even a unique Track just for bloggers and influencers. Learn more here.

I’ve been to two Wow Summits in the past- It’s an amazing experience, definitely an event worth your time!

Frugal Recipe: Beef Machacas (Slowcooker recipe)

Abby H.1 Comment
Look at the delicious marbling!

This is an easy recipe, and it is divine! You may already have most of the ingredients in your kitchen too!

It’s pretty flexible when it comes to the meat- You want a good roast with some marbling. Chuck Roast, Tri-tip, Round Roast, Rump Roast are all good options. This recipe cooks low and slow all day. Break out your slow cooker my friends!

Let’s dive into this beefy, delicious recipe!

Machacas

Imgredients

Directions

  1. In a heavy-bottomed cast-iron skillet or dutch oven, heat canola oil, add beef, and sear each side for 5-8 minutes. You want a nice brown crust on each side. If the piece is large, cut it in pieces to fit into your slow cooker.
  2. As the meat is searing, in your slow cooker pour frozen vegetables.
  3. In a mixing bowl, mix tomato sauce, salsa, and spices.
  4. Place the meat in the slow cooker, and pour water into the pan that browned meat. Stir and scrape off any browned/burned bits off the bottom of the pan. Pour that water into the sauce bowl and mix thoroughly.
  5. Pour sauce over meat and cook on low in the slow cooker for 10+hours.
  6. Pull meat out, and shred with two forks. Return to the slow cooker, and keep simmering on low until the sides are ready to eat.

I serve this meat with beans, rice, tortillas, Corn and Avocado Salsa, and a green salad. It keeps well in the fridge for a few days, and you can freeze it as well. It’s also excellent in the morning with eggs in a breakfast burrito.

2/16/2021 New Coupons!

Abby H.

It’s the middle of February, and if one of your goals for the new year is to save money, check out the coupons below! I’ve been printing and clipping coupons for years (decades really), and while the coupon values have dwindled over the past few years, I still manage to find some good ones to share with you a few times a month.

I’m all about keeping cash in your pocket!

Save $1.00 on any ONE (1) SlimFast® Original or Advanced product

Save $0.50 on any ONE (1) pack of Energizer® Batteries

Save $2.00 ANY ONE (1) Garnier® Whole Blends® Sulfate Free Remedy or Miracle Treatment product

Save $1.00 On any Unbun product, limit one per visit

 

New Healthy Freebies From Social Nature!

Abby H.

 If you are into Organic/Natural/Healthy products, then Social Nature is up your alley. Sign up and apply to sample products that you are interested in. I get probably 1-2 products to sample each month. And most of the time it’s full-size products, not just a tiny sample.

Most of the time, Social Nature will mail me a coupon for a free product and I go to my local Target, Sprouts, or other retailer and pick up the item. I’ve gotten products valued at $20+ too. I recently sampled and reviewed skincare products, kombucha, frozen entrees, and veggie burgers to name a few.

Right now there about a dozen new products that you can apply to try from Social Nature!

And one of the things I love about Social nature is that they don’t leave our friends with food allergies out. There are sampling offers for Gluten-free, nut-free, meat-free foods frequently.

Canadian Friends- You are in luck, there are sampling opportunities for you too!

 

2/15/2021 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgToday is a national holiday here in the US (President’s Day), so no school for the kiddos, but that doesn’t mean that I get any reprieve in the action.

I did a little shopping yesterday (we ran out of milk, ohs noes!). But it was a pretty small shop. Once again, we’re eating a lot from our pantry and freezer. I scored some great produce last week and we’ll be eating that for most of our salads.

I did some meal prep over the weekend, including making up beans and rice for lunches (and Sunday’s Dinner), and I made a HUGE batch of Machacas yesterday- half of it went onto the freezer for another meal in a few weeks.

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

Lunch: The little kiddo and I usually have something quick and filling (I’ve been prepping bean and rice bowls on Sundays for us to have during week) so we can get back to our adventures.  Big kid takes his lunch to school. He’s been digging on Bear naked protein granola in his lunch lately. It’s his new favorite.

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:  Beef Machacas, Beans, Rice and Salad
  • Monday: Black Bean Burgers, Chick’n Nuggets, Cauli Fries, salad
  • Tuesday:  Dream Dinners Entree, Salad (green or fruit)
  • Wednesday: Protein shakes, Meal of Snacks or leftovers
  • Thursday: Soup, Grilled Cheese sammiches, fruit
  • Friday:  Pizza Night!
  • 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?

Virtual Sleep Well Yoga with Jennie Olson Six

Abby H.

My friend and Yogini, Jennie Olson Six is offering an awesome, relaxing 30 minutes of unwinding movement and the rest of the time is a restful relaxation.

You can do this on your mat or in bed and then drift off to sleep!

Most of us miss our pre-pandemic exercise time. I don’t know about you, but I miss the quiet relaxation that yoga provides. It is impossible for me to do yoga in a house full of people (and CAT). Interruptions (mom mom mom mom mooooooom), cat trying to sleep on my mat, even the Amazon Guy knocking on the door- OY VEY.

The best part of this class is that it fits every budget-By Donation or Free
Zoom Link
Jennie has some great tips and more information on other workouts and yoga opportunities for FREE here.

Rare $15/$100+ Coupon at Sprouts (ends today)!

Abby H.

I love Sprouts! We grew up shopping for produce there, and as an adult, I love shopping there too. I discovered this coupon buried in my email, and it expires today!

This coupon is perfect if you are primarily a Sprouts shopper, or if you want to stock up on some of the goodness that Sprouts sells. I love that you can use other coupons too (either paper coupons, or in-app coupons from the Sprouts app). And to sweeten the deal, you can use cashback apps too- that saves you money after the fact.

However you use this coupon- It’s a rare deal!

Fun Hair Colors from Sally Beauty!

Abby H.

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

One of the ways that we’ve combated boredom through the stay at home orders over the past 11 months is by coloring our hair bright, fun colors! Little Bit has had various shades of pink, and I even did “mermaid” hair for her. I wasn’t sure exactly what she meant, so we did pink, purple, and teal. Pink was the all-over color and she had highlights of purple and teal. It was a hit!

We rely a lot on Sally Beauty for bright colored dye. For the Kids, I use Color Jamz Semi-Permanent Color. They have a lot of great colors (19), and they last about 2-3 weeks.

One bottle is usually good for 2-3 all over colorings, but you may get more or less usage depending on the length, thickness, and texture of your hair.

For myself, I prefer Inspired By Nature from Ion (Also available at Sally). It’s a permanent color, so you will need a developer too. I’ve been using Medium Plum, and it’s unlike any other purple hair color I’ve ever used. It has minimal fade, and leaves my hair so soft and manageable!

If you are looking for more short term color, Check out color sprays or hair chalk.

If you are new to coloring your hair, Sally beauty has step by step tutorials to achieve salon-quality results at home.