frugal

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 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!

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

$1.00 off 3 LaCroix Curate
$2.00 off any one Balmex Diaper Rash Cream
$2.00 off any ONE package of HUGGIES Diapers

Rocking out with the Spinjitzu Masters at Legoland California!

Abby H.

If you follow me on instagram, you know that Lil’ Man and I got a sneak preview of the new Ninjago World at Legoland California last week.

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And we had a BLAST! Ninjago the ride is crazy fun! Ninjago World opens officially on May 5th, just in time for summer adventures with your littles!

Rockin' the 3 d glasses!
Rockin’ the 3 d glasses!

LEGO NINJAGO tells the story of four young ninja heroes – Kai, Jay, Cole and Zane – who train under the watchful eye of Master Wu to master an ancient martial art – Spinjitzu. NINJAGO The Ride enables guests to demonstrate their ninja skills without the use of a hand held device and instead, they simply use their hand gestures. Riders collect points for their training and battle efforts throughout the ride and scores are displayed when their quest is completed.

What I love is that the ride isn’t passive, everyone gets involved- and let me tell you, after riding it 3 times, my arms were tired! Everyone in our car got into the action!

 

Our chariot awaits!
Our chariot awaits!

In addition to the new Ninjago The Ride, there are tons of fun activities to keep the kiddos entertained.  Henry loved Kai’s Spinners, where you test your balance as you stand on one of Kai’s spinning platforms and twirl!

 

There is also a building stations where guests can tap into their inner imagination and create LEGO models inspired by NINJAGO. If the kids need to get their wiggles out, check out the rock wall!  Kids can test their agility as they scale a rock wall. Or, check out the lightening drill! Guests can test their speed by pushing the lit up buttons in the speed cage.

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Look at those fierce skills!

And of course, you can’t go to Legoland without running into a few of your favorite Lego Characters!

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In addition to the fun rides and activities, Ninjago World has some tasty treats too. We got to try tasty sandwiches from Ninja Kitchen!

LEGOLAND chefs have put a special twist on Asian street food with Banh Mi Vietnamese sandwiches on fresh baked baguette or steamed Bao Buns with your choice of crispy pork belly, lemongrass chicken or baked sweet chili tofu.IMG_5049IMG_5050IMG_5051

We had a great time! It was fun to check out the sights and sounds of Legoland California.

If you are looking for good deals on admission to Legoland California, here are a few options:

Costco: They frequently have discount tickets available.

Denny’s: Right now, select Denny’s have kids go free coupons available. When you buy an adult ticket, receive a kids ticket free. I’ve only seen this offer in San Diego area locations. I’m not sure if this deal is other places.

 

 

How do you get so much free stuff?

Abby H.2 Comments

Screen Shot 2016-04-24 at 11.31.34 PMIf you’ve been around for a while, you may notice I post photos on Social media- a lot of it is stuff I’ve gotten for free.

If you’d like to fill your mail box with goodies, here are a few companies that have great, FREE programs where you can earn free stuff!

L’oreal USA: The makeup Giant wants women from across the United States 18+ to join and take surveys on products, daily skin care regimens, and test new products . When you take 5 surveys, you are eligible to receive a full sized L’oreal product (Of their choice)! They also do consumer product testing. They send you a product, you test it and complete a survey.

Vocal Point is a multi-faceted website. One of its greater aspects is that it’s connected to Proctor and Gamble (P&G), and they often times have new or improved products to test and share with consumers. The members of Vocal Point can opt in to receive these items, and them share their opinions with other members of the Vocal Point community.

The Good Housekeeping Beauty Lab: The Beauty Lab needs female testers age 35 and up to help in our evaluations of beauty products. Some evaluations may require testers to visit the Good Housekeeping Research Institute at 300 West 57th Street in Manhattan, but for other evaluations, products can be sent by mail. There is no cost and very little time involved, and participants may keep beauty product samples.” If you’re interested in participating, please contact ghribeauty@hearst.com or 212-649-2408.  I do 1-2

Bzzagent A WOM (word of mouth) website that helps spread the word on tons of great products. Sign up for campaigns when there are products that interest you, use them, and share your opinions (as well as coupons and samples!) with others in person or via the Internet. This sharing is called “buzz”, and the more you buzz and report your buzz, you earn Mypoints points, and chances for early invitations for more campaigns. I’ve been a Bzzagent for about four year, and I receive about eight campaigns per year.

Smiley360  is much like BzzAgent, in that it is also a WOM (Word of Mouth) website. Sign up for campaigns and you will receive samples to use, and coupons to share with friends. Report your sharing and earn points!
From their website, “Do you love to try new things? Haven’t you ever tried a new product and thought, “This would be so much better if…” Well, as a smiley360.com member, you can provide that kind of feedback directly to the source. Your opinion matters. And as a fringe benefit, you’ll earn status in the smiley360.com community, which has its own perks, rewards, and opportunities. It’s a win-win situation, really.”

Moms Meet- Read my post here.

Ralph’s Free Friday Download– Learn more here (one of their prior offerings that has info on the post about the program).

There are websites like MySavings that have a free sample section that is updated several times a day.

PinchMe offers free sample boxes once a Month- some months there are tons of samples, some months not so much, it just depends on your demographic and what they have.

Proctor and Gamble (P&G) offers samples once per quarter. Sign up here.

Celebrate Earth Day with a colorful pinwheel craft!

Abby H.

**The links in this post are affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link.

April 22nd is Earth Day. Explore the power of wind with a colorful pinwheel craft!

Wind power is a great topic to explore with kids on Earth Day and can easily be demonstrated with a simple craft. Little Passports has teamed up again with Brandy (from Gluesticks) for her Little Passports’ DIY Earth Day Pinwheels Craft.

These pinwheels come together fast and spin in the wind even faster! Celebrate and Explore your Earth!

If you are looking for other fun crafts, check out my post here about crafting frugally.

Legoland California: Special $35 tickets this weekend only!

Abby H.

unnamedCommunity Days This Weekend!
$35 Admission to LEGOLAND

Support our local science, arts and after school programs this Saturday and Sunday!

Specially-priced $35 LEGOLAND tickets include admission with Park hours extended to 8 p.m. for even more family fun!

Buy your tickets online here. You can also get tickets to the SEALife Aquarium at Legoland for just $9!!

This event is very crowded, so please remember to be patient!

Bringing it Back: Meal Plan Monday!

Abby H.

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It’s back! After a long hiatus, I’m back to meal planning! If you are new to meal planning, check out my article on how to get started here.

This week I’m starting off by doing a quick fridge and pantry inventory, and making a batch of cookies.

Monday:

  • D:Baked Ziti, steamed veggies

Tuesday:

  • D:  Indian food (Chicken Korma, steamed rice, steamed veggies)- I have a kit!

Weds:

  • D: breakfast for dinner (probably pancakes, eggs, and sausage) and fruit salad

Thursday:

  • D: Salsa Chicken with brown rice

Friday:

  • D: Bean and veggie enchiladas, green salad

Saturday:

  • D:Veggie and cheese egg bake

Sunday:

  • D: Leftovers

Lil’ Man has started eating a small toasted bagel with cream cheese for breakfast along with yogurt and fruit.  Mr. C has been eating Oatmeal (from a awesome recipe I found online and altered) every AM, and I usually have an HMR Protein Shake, or I’ll make myself a bagel too.

Lunches for Lil’ Man are usually a grilled cheese, yogurt, a granola bar, and fruit (cut up apple, orange, or banana).  I have leftovers or a frozen entree, and Mr. C usually a salad or leftovers or an HMR protein shake (He did  the program last year and really digs on the shakes), or he has a business lunch and opts for a salad and lean protein.

Now I’m off to make a big ol’ batch of cookies!!

 

 

Easy One Pot Meal: Salsa Chicken

Abby H.3 Comments

01128This is one of the most popular recipes that I’ve ever cooked! It is a family favorite and is very popular for meal trains and freezer meal swaps!

I’m constantly tweaking and improving my recipe, so I wanted to share this recipe with you. I cook this all day in the crockpot and it makes the house smell sooooo good!

Ingredients:

  • 1-2 lbs of frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts (rule of thumb for this recipe 1/4 lb of meat per person, plus an extra 1/4 lb of meat for leftovers or seconds)
  • 3 cups of your favorite salsa
  • 1 bag frozen tri colored peppers and onions

Optional ingredients:

  • 1/2c. chicken broth
  • 1 cup rice or 1/2 cup quinoa
  • 1/2 C shredded cheese

Directions:

  1. In a crockpot, place the first four ingredients.
  2. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
  3. (If you opt to add the last two ingredients) About an hour before serving add rice or quinoa to the crockpot along with the broth and turn crockpot up to medium or high. Meal is done once grain is done to your liking.
  4. Stir before serving.
  5. Ladle into bowls.
  6. Top with cheese (optional, but tasty) and serve.

Makes 6-8 servings. Sometimes I turn leftovers into quesadillas, or add more broth and some C&W Southwest veggie blend and it transforms into a hearty soup! It’s so versatile and easy to make!

Free Snackies at 7-11!!

Abby H.

Screen Shot 2016-04-07 at 4.18.06 PM

SQUEEE!!! Free noms! Celebrate 7RewardsSM Week April 11–17. Come in for a FREE 7-Select® product (under $2) when you buy any 7-Eleven® cup and scan the app.

Oh yeah, the 7/11 app is rad! Buy 6 cups (hot or cold beverage- Any size!), and any 7th cup is FREE when you download and scan the app at checkout.

How to make money: 6 tips that really work (because I do them!)

Abby H.

money-coins
So last week I wrote about ways to save money without coupons, today we are talking about ways you can actually make money.

These are all things that I do. None of them are iffy, weird, or involve you selling your blood.

  1. Surveys online. Here are two fer shure, legit companies that I use. Pinecone Research (they are always looking for 12-24 or Hispanic demographics) pays $3.00 paypal per survey! My other favorite is PaidViewPoint– They only send you surveys that you qualify for, so there is no wasted time. Payout is only $15.00, so I make payout about every other month. It’s not tons of work, and every little bit helps!
  2. I use cashback apps. My full list of favs can be found here. No lie, I cash out about $50.00 a month between all of the apps downloaded onto my iPhone!
  3. Recycle... Return your bottles and cans for their deposit money. You aren’t really making money so much as you are getting your deposit back. Depending on how much soda/bottled water you consume.
  4. Secret shopping. There are tons of apps and websites that will help you find secret shopping gigs. I recommend checking out Volition.com for a listing of secret shopping companies (and reviews). A few of my friends recommend jobslinger.com as a great resource. I earn about $25.00/week doing secret shopping and that’s for less than 1 hours work! Oh, and I can take Bitty Bird along with me!
  5. Clean out your Closets! About once a month, it seems the kids have grown out of something. Whether it be clothes, toys, or gear. I clean it up and take it to the resale shop. I can either get store credit or cash. There are resale shops for adult clothing, sporting supplies, even furniture!
  6. Turn your Junk Mail into Cash! I’ve been doing this for YEARS, and I love it. You can learn all about Small Business Knowledge Center here.  I just got another $20 Visa GC in the mail yesterday! My second this year!

There are other ways to make money: Have a garage sale, Drive for Uber or Lyft (our friend Brittany does it. She loves it driving for Lyft- she makes her own hours, and gets to meet all kinds of people).

 

How do you make extra money?

Better than free shampoo at Target!

Abby H.

IMG_4385WOOOHOOO!!

Just as my stockpile starts to dwindle, my fav shampoo and conditioner comes up free! Through Saturday night (remember, Target sales start anew on Sunday morning), when you buy 4 13 oz Garnier Fructis Shampoo and conditioners at $2.97 each, you’ll get a $5.00 Target GC. It’s all of the 13 oz varieties, I just took a photo of this one shelf tag.

Deal:

Buy 4 13 oz Garnier Fructis Shampoo and conditioners at $2.97 each= $11.88

Use 4 $2.00/1Garnier Frucits Shampoo, Conditioner or Treatment (excludes trial) – from the 3/6/16 Red Plum

Pay $3.88, get back a $5.00 Target Gift card for your next purchase. Now that’s a deal!

I bought 4 (the coupon limit on the coupon is 4 like coupons per day), but I may buy 4 more tomorrow when I go back to the pharmacy to pick up my prescription! It’s deals like this that help me re-stock my dwindling stockpile.