saving money

Earn Rewards with Fetch Rewards!

Abby H.7 Comments

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Have you heard of Fetch Rewards? It’s the newest in receipt scanning, cash/reward apps. Most of us already know about all of the other smartphone apps (my list is here) that get you cash back or other rewards (like gift cards).

Fetch Rewards is different. Shop at any store, scan your receipt and earn points that you can redeem for Amazon Gift Cards (or other GC’s, I just love me some Amazon GC’s). You can use coupons, you can even use other apps like Ibotta, Checkout51, or Find&Save to double or triple dip.

Gift card cash outs start at just 3000 points for a $3.00 Amazon gift card!

Here’s how it works…

Purchase your regular groceries.. Seriously! Fetch Rewards is partnered with brands like Pepsi, Quaker, Starbucks, Naked Juice, Axe, Dove, St. Ives, Suave, Jello, Dreamwhip, Kraft, Coors, Miller, Polly-O, Oscar Mayer, Boca, Cool Whip, Weight Watchers Smart Ones, the list goes on! You can see the full list here.

Open the app and scan in your receipt. The app does the rest. It goes through your receipt and picks out the brands you bought and gives you points!

And it gets even better, they have Bonus Point Deals! Score Extra points when your purchase specific items! Here are a just a few available now:

See, it’s actual food from actual brands you have heard from before! And you don’t need to pre-select the deals before you go to the store to shop!

So, if this seems like an app you’d enjoy, check this out: Use my code ND2TB when you sign up and you’ll score 1500 points after you scan in your first receipt with Fetch Rewards. That’s half way to your first $3 Amazon Gift Card (or whatever $3 Gift Card you choose). You can find Fetch Rewards in your app store.

If you use my code, I’ll get 1500 points when you do. Win/Win, right? Honestly, my disclosure statement is here. I’m here to help ya’ll save money, not make a million dollars!

This is a great way to save up giftcards for holiday shopping or to defray other costs (They also have CVS and Target GC’s available).

Score a FREE ecobee4 Wifi Thermostat!

Abby H.

So, ya’ll know my love of Ohm Connect! It’s an awesome way for Southern CA residents to earn money while conserving power! I wrote about it here, with all the deets.

Right now through Labor Day, when you refer 4 friends that reach silver status (it’s super easy) you will receive a free ecobee4 wifi thermostat! The ecobee4 is the new hottest thermostat on the market (no pun intended). With built-in Amazon Alexa Voice Service and a remote sensor to manage hot and cold spots, CNET is calling ecobee4 the new smart thermostat to beat!

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If you haven’t signed up for Ohm Connect yet, you can do so here.  We’ve been members since 2005, and we’ve earned over $300 cash back via paypal, plus, we’ve saved a bunch of money on our utility bill!  The Ohm Connect alerts (via text) about when to conserve power are a big help!

Ohm Connect is available to those with an electric utility account with Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison or San Diego Gas & Electric.

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! 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:


$1.00 OFF any ONE (1) Vermont Creamery Fresh Goat Cheese Log (any flavor 4, 8 or 10.5 oz.)Save $1.00 on Any ONE (1) Veggie Noodle Co. Product

Save $1.00 on any ONE (1) Gerber Cloth Diaper or Training PantSave $1.50 off any one (1) Luvo Steam in Pouch Entrée. Unlock when you complete 1 Luvo Inc activity.



Save $2.00 any ONE (1) package of HUGGIES Diapers (Not valid on 9 ct. or less)Save $0.50 On Any ONE (1) Knorr Selects™ Product

Back to School Shopping (and Saving) with Groupon!

Abby H.

I love Groupon! They have such amazing daily deals, but, in addition they also have coupons to tons of your favorite retailers too? For example: Target! Yup, the beloved Bullseye!

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On the Groupon site there are 71 deals and coupons for Target. One of my absolute favorite deals for Target is $5.00 off $50.00 plus free shipping! This deal is not only good online but, in store as well. Perfect to get your Back-To-School shopping kicked off. Just think with Cartwheel and insert/printable coupons in addition to the Groupon Coupon, you’ll be driving a full shopping cart to your car!

I could shop Target for hours (hopefully alone and sipping a latte from the Starbucks inside the store!).

 

Screen Shot 2017-07-22 at 6.58.57 PM.pngThe other Groupon Coupons retailer I am looking forward to visiting soon is JCPenney! Ya’ll know my love of JCP! The great sales, the good, sturdy clothes (we love their store exclusive brands like St. John’s Bay!) and housewares, we do a majority of Back-To-School shopping at JCPenney! There are 43 coupons and deals for JCP, so I know there is no shortage of savings to be had!

If neither of those stores are on your Back-To-School shopping list these retailers are also on Groupon Coupons and Deals:

After you take a peek over at Groupon Coupons, which of the 82,830 free coupons at 12,082 stores are you most excited about?

 

 

Healthy, Frozen Fruit Pops!

Abby H.

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It’s summer and my kids would eat popsicles 24/7 if I let them. Most commercial popsicles (or as they are sometimes called, frozen dessert confections) are full of sugar and artificial ick. A few months ago my dad bought me a package of Zipzicles on Amazon. Zipzicles are long, skinny zip top freezer bags that can be filled with whatever you’d like and frozen. Think DIY Otter Pops.

What I really like is that you can be creative, use what you have on hand, and create healthy and fun treats with your kids.

Here are two recipes that the kids and I came up with. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen this pictures recently.

Screen Shot 2017-06-23 at 7.46.47 AMMixed Berry Pops

Makes about 12 pops

  • 2 cups mixed berries (use whatever you have, I used 1.5 cups of strawberries and 1/2 cup blackberries)
  • 1/2 c water
  • 2 t. honey

Place all ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth. Use a small funnel to fill the zipzicle pouches. Place all Zipzicle pouches into a cup or larger zip top bag and place in freezer. Ready to serve in approx 4-6 hours, or as soon as frozen solid.

Screen Shot 2017-06-23 at 7.46.35 AMTropical Pops

Makes about 20

2c frozen bananas
2c frozen Strawberries
1 pkg frozen mangoes
2c Orange Juice
Blend together, pour into Zipzicle pouches ( I use a funnel). Store in freezer until it’s time to consume.

They are so good, and no extra sugar is needed, because the bananas are so sweet.

Next, I think we’ll be making Bachelor Mousse treats. I think it will freeze well, and everyone loves fudgsicles!

For your convenance, Zipzicles can be purchased here (affiliate link), but you can also find them at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

What would you put into your Zipzicles?

Checkout51 Save, Save, Save, Win, Win, Win Sweepstakes!

Abby H.

You know I love Checkout51! It’s a cashback app that you can use AT ANY STORE!  Even stores like Dollar Tree, 99 Cents Only, and Grocery Outlet!

Right now, Checkout51 has a great Sweepstakes! You could win thousands of dollars in prizes every week, 7 weeks straight!

All you need to do is redeem any offer from the weekly offer list in the corresponding sweepstakes week and you will be automatically entered to win up to $2,500 a week!

There will be a total of $25,000 in prizes to US members every week & a total of  $12,500 in prizes to Canadian members every week.

Yep, thats right, $175,000 total to US members throughout the 7 weeks and a total of $87,500 to Canadian members throughout the 7 weeks.

If you haven’t checked out Checkout51 yet, here is their current offer list.

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.

 

 

Saving Money When Coupons Aren’t Plentiful…

Abby H.

wallet-money.jpgI’m not sure if ya’ll have been noticing, but the coupon in the Sunday paper and online have kinda sucked lately.

Now that the shininess of New Years Resolutions has worn off, there are no more healthy food coupons, and the Big Game is over, so the snack-y food coupons have petered out too.

Values are lower and lower each week, and coupon redemption has reached an all time low (I read this on Coupons in the News a few weeks ago). So what’s a saver to do when there isn’t much to clip or print?

Don’t fret! There are still lots of ways to save money!

Check out other printable coupon websites. I have my list of old dependables here, but I also like Common 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. They also have a lot of printables that match up with rebates on Mobisave and Checkout 51.

That brings me to rebate apps! My full list is here. Don’t forget to check those out each week when it’s time to hit the store.

Don’t forget your Price Book, if you’ve neglected it, it might be time to update!

An updated Price Book can help you determine if items are a good deal, and it can also help you with Price Per Unit (This is super helpful if you shop at warehouse stores, like Costco).

Look for deals other places! I love to check out Living Social for discounted deals on fun stuff for family date night, or the occasional meal out with Hubs.

If you need to do some shopping online, try using an online shopping site/cashback site. I like both Mypoints and Topcashback. You can learn more about how we save while shopping online here. And don’t forget to look for coupon codes while doing online shopping.

Lastly, if you find yourself in need of food, and the ends just aren’t meeting like they used to, please do not be too proud to check out local sources for food. An updated list of local San Diego area food resources can be found here.

 

Wanna Save Money in 2017?

Abby H.1 Comment

8f235f4422591a09bd341f17958e172c.jpgOne of the most common New Years Resolutions is to to save money. And it’s a good one!

Last year I wrote a series with the top ten resolutions:

 

If you feel like you are too busy to “deal with” coupons:

I hope these tips and articles help!

Cutting the Cord: Going without Cable

Abby H.

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Disclaimer: This money saving strategy isn’t for everyone- I’ll admit it. If you HAVE to watch “your shows” or sports games and they aren’t available to stream on the TV channel’s website (FOX, CBS, NBC, and AMC have tons of their shows streaming on their site), this won’t work for you.

We don’t have cable.  Never have. Mr. C watches sports over Antenna TV or he’ll go to the gym and spend time on the treadmill or StairMaster while he watches football!

In my area, cable tv (with Cox Cable) is $61.99/mo for the cheap-o plan.  It’s usually on special for less, or you may get a discount if you bundle it with your home phone (we don’t have one!), but after any introductory rates have expired, the monthly price is $61.99/mo at a minimum.

So, in the 10 years we’ve lived together, we’ve saved roughly $7500 by not having cable. That’s A LOT of money.

There are a few things to consider:

If you want to cut the cord, before you call your cable company and tell them to shove it consider this. How old is your TV?  If it’s older than 3 or 4 years old, you’ll need a digital convertor box.

Why?  In 2009, the FCC made the switch from analog (over the air) TV to digital TV to free up analog airwaves for emergencies.

So if you have an old tv, plug it in and flip the channels, you’ll get static because your TV can’t access the digital airwaves without a convertor box. Convertor boxes run between $40-$60 and can be purchased anywhere that sells electronics. You need one convertor box PER television in your house that is over 3-4 years old.  If you are unsure if your TV has the convertor internally, check online or call the company that manufactured your TV.

Pick up a convertor box.  But you’ll still need one more thing.

An Antenna.  Not a pair of rabbit ears.  Newer antennas plug into your television, and the wall (yup they have an amplified signal, so you’ll get more channels!), and they hang on the wall. You’ll need one for each TV in the house.

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This is what ours look like, it’s a slim, shiny back box that hangs on the wall. They run anywhere from $45-$90 (depending on what type you get)

OK, so Convertor box (if needed)-Check!

Antenna– Check!

Now your are all set.

The directions that come with the antenna will tell you how to set it all up and find your local channels.

Now, you can call the cable company! Remember to return the cable boxes and remotes so you aren’t charged any extra.

Now the next question I get is: How many channels will  I get?

Depending on how strong the signals in your area are, you should be able to receive:

  • ABC
  • CBS
  • NBC
  • CW
  • Fox
  • PBS
  • V-me (Spanish PBS)

There are additional networks that are available in various areas of the county.  Here in So Cal, we also get:

Plus we get a few more spanish language channels.

So- the take away is this: depending on how many TV’s you have in your house, and their age, you may spend a few hundred dollars up front to get all set up, but you may be paying a few hundred dollars a month on cable or the dish.  It will pay for itself in just a few months.

You won’t get ESPN or MTV or any of the other eight million other channels. But, you’ll get more quality time as a family.

We’ve never had cable. We’ve lived together for 10 years, and we’ve lived with broadcast TV (over the air with an antenna and converter box), Netflix- Streaming only (a gift from hubby’s parents!), and we have a HuluPlus subscription (at a whopping $7.99/month).

We’re not addicted to TV.  We watch Netflix or a show or two on Hulu at night, and Little Man and I watch PBS in the morning for Sesame Street and many other educational cartoons. We read, talk, or play games while most people are glued to the tube each night for 4-5 hours. We go for to the gym, or for a walk as a family.

 What would you do with an extra $700+ per year? What would you do with the extra time you could have not being glued to the TV each night?