saving

May 2022: New Month, New Coupons!

Abby H.

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

The printable coupon market is slowly coming to an end. Smartsource no longer offers printable coupons, and you may notice that there are fewer coupon inserts in your Sunday newspaper. This is in favor of more offers available on apps. But if you love printable coupons….

  • Coupons.com (printable coupons, e-coupons, and a cashback app)

One of my favorite websites 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!

May is the start of picnic season. Barbeque food, Hotdogs, hamburgers, ribs, and condiments will all be on sale throughout the summer and will be until September. Some of the sale items include:

    • Auto Maintenance (tires, oil changes, tune-ups)
    • Beverages, Hot dogs, Ground Beef, BBQ sauce, Ketchup, Mustard, Ribs (Often times there are some really great rebates for WYB beer or soda)
    • Bug repellents – Sprays and Candles

For a complete list of types of foods and items that will be on sale, check out this post on the cycle of sales.

Here are a few of my favorite new coupons:

Save $2.00 on ONE (1) Sonoma Gourmet Item (The Kale Pesto Sauce is great)
Save $0.75 on any ONE (1) Barilla® Chickpea or Red Lentil Pasta
Save $6.00 on any ONE (1) Culturelle® product
Save $0.50 on any ONE (1) pack of Energizer® Batteries up to 20 count
Save $2.00 on any (1) BENGAY® product (excludes trial & travel sizes). BenGay is life around here lately with my tendonitis.
Save $1.50 on ONE (1) 10 lb or larger package of TIDY CATS® Cat Clumping Litter (excluding LightWeight)

Kitchen Reorganization on a Budget!

Abby H.

We’re at the point in kitchen renovation where we need to put the kitchen back together. I was tired of eating out of the myriad boxes in my living room.

Being on a budget, I looked for simple and easy ways to make our kitchen work better for us. Our pantry is long (about 1 meter) and narrow. It’s such a pain. So much of it is inaccessible.

I cleaned out a bunch of the clutter as I unpacked the boxes. My mom gifted me these cool white baskets (which you can find on Amazon here).  She previously used them to store fabric. I put my label maker to good use and labeled the white baskets with the following categories:

  • Soup
  • Sauces
  • Baking Goods
  • Rice and Noodles
  • Oils and Fats
  • Canned Tomatoes
  • Canned Goods
  • Soup
  • Snack Box
  • Snacks (I use this for the overflow of snacks)

I also reorganized the spice cabinet, and I’ll be moving some of the bulk spices to these glass jars from the plastic bags they came in probably later this week.

Moving on to all of the drawers in my kitchen. Yeah. Nine Drawers of various sizes. I lined them with Contact Paper from Dollar Tree– which BTW, is so much cheaper than Amazon or the big box hardware stores. I also lined the cabinets that hold our dishes. I did not line the pantry shelves- They are really long and narrow and I can’t reach all the way to the back.

To contain all of the STUFF in each drawer, I picked up some of these skinny drawer organizers, and the drawer organizers in the picture, which are wider and medium-sized.

The Silverware has a drawer caddy (not shown in the photo, but it goes in the empty drawer), but the rest of the drawers were just a disaster. Now the cooking utensils will be corraled, the batteries rolling around the junk drawer will be contained, and all of the yummy drink powders and drink concentrates (like Mio) are corraled.

So for less than $50, I was able to reorganize the kitchen and spruce it up a bit.

After the kitchen is done and the water heater is installed, we’re having a cleaning service coming to do a post-construction clean up. There is drywall dust all over my freaking kitchen and living room. It’s so gross.

California Climate Credit- Savings on Your April 2022 Utility Bill!

Abby H.

It’s that time again! On your April California Utility Bill (Which includes PG&E, SCE, SDG&E, Bear Valley, Liberty, and Pacific Power), you will receive a California Climate Credit. For SDG&E customers, the amount is $43.06.

The California Climate Credit is part of California’s efforts to fight climate change. This credit is from a state program that requires power plants, natural gas providers, and other large industries that emit greenhouse gases to buy carbon pollution permits. The credit on your bill is your share of the payments from the State’s program.

Rather than receiving your electricity credits in April and October as in years past, the electricity credits have been moved to August and September for 2020 – 2022.

Please know you will still get your climate credits as they will be reflected in your utility bills this year. In fact, in April* your utility bill will include a gas credit identified as the “California Climate Credit.”

Changing the distribution months will not change the total value of the climate credits you receive in a year. The shift will provide bill relief for customers and reduce bill volatility.

 

And if you are looking for more ways to save energy and money, check out Ohm Connect! We’ve been using Ohm Connect for 5+ years and we’ve saved thousands of dollars on our power bill, and earned thousands of dollars in gift cards and cash via paypal!

Tips for Getting a Deal on Glasses!

Abby H.

Kids are rough on everything, including glasses. The big kid usually goes through 1-2 pairs a year, just in day-to-day wear and tear (and being a 10-year-old boy). Luckily I’ve found some ways to save money on glasses and I thought I’d share.

1- Take advantage of existing vision insurance. Look on the back of your kid’s health insurance card to find out which company handles the vision coverage, or give your child’s health insurance carrier a call. My kids receive one eye exam and 1 free pair of glasses per year. I’m not sure if it’s available in all states.

2-If you need help getting glasses or vision exams for your kids, check out Vision to Learn. They operate in 13 states and partner with the Boys and Girls Club, offering free eye exams and eyeglasses for kids. If you aren’t in a state where they operate, check out InfantSEE.  They offer Kids 6 months-1 year a free eye exam.

If you are 65+, you can obtain a free eye exam from Eye Care America.

3- Onto the deals. Once you have your prescription in hand, check out online stores like Abbe glasses. They have great deals on frames and lenses. I scored two pairs of glasses for under $50 for the big kid with their BOGO sale. ILoveGlasses also has good deals as well. Both of these companies are great for budget-conscious families. If you are looking for something a little higher-end (or for grown-ups), I also like Warby Parker.

They have a great glasses try-on program, and they also sell Contacts. In fact, they have a free contact offer.

Having used Warby Parker before, their glasses are great, and their service is amazing! We bought glasses online, and later when they needed to be adjusted (helpful tip: Don’t roughhouse with kids when you are wearing glasses), we took them to our local Warby Parker store and they “tuned up” the glasses FOR FREE!

And if you are wondering what to do with all of the old eyeglasses in your house that are no longer your current prescription…. The Lions Club helps recycle eyeglasses and get them into the hands of the needy. You can find out more about how and where to recycle your unwanted eyeglasses here.  I also recommend checking with your local optometrist’s office. They frequently partner with local Lion’s Clubs to collect old glasses. You could help a person in need get the glasses they can’t afford!

What are your tips for saving on glasses and contacts?

**This post may contain affiliate links, for more information about how we use affiliate links, please visit our Disclosure page.**

 

MyPoints: Refer Friends and You Both Earn 300 Points!

Abby H.

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I’ve been using MyPoints since 2011, and I’ve earned a lot of cash back just by doing my normal online shopping through MyPoints. About $550, to be exact.

Right now they are offering a great deal! When you refer a new user, and they earn 300 points, you both get a 300 point bonus. It’s easy to earn 300 points!

I love using MyPoints. I can earn points shopping online and utilizing in-store pick up with stores like Walmart, Target, Home Depot, and JCPenney.

  • I ordered Christmas Gifts and earned 1200 points.

There are so many point-earning opportunities.

You can double dip on earning points or cash back by using a point earning credit card like American Express or Discover Cards or taking advantage of a points program that rewards you for purchases on their website, like JCP Rewards.

I love that I can earn gift cards which I use to offset the cost of holiday gifts.

Talk Back: What is your favorite Cashback program?

Starting off 2022: It’s Budget Time!

Abby H.

Soo, the potato is crazy in the photo, but it made me laugh, so I included it.

As I mentioned in this post, we’ve got 7 posts coming through the end of the year to help you start 2022 off on a good foot.

I’ve talked a lot about budgeting before and not much has changed except that the cost of stuff keeps going up. Inflation is a bitch, y’all. And with wages not keeping up with the inflation, we’ve got to do what we can. We need to control the factors that we have to ability to control.

Setting up a budget takes time. You can do it all at once, but be prepared to spend a few hours working on it.

You’ll need:

Access to your bank account or bank statements for three months.

A Google Sheet page, or an Excel Spreadsheet

List of your monthly financial obligations. Here are just a few of those:

  • Mortgage/Rent (Our Mortgage payment includes impounds for our Homeowners insurance and property taxes)
  • Gas/Electric*
  • Gift Fund
  • Transfer to Savings
  • Life Insurance
  • Auto Insurance
  • Hulu
  • Car payment
  • Kids 529
  • Netflix
  • YMCA
  • Internet
  • Credit Card Balances
  • Student Loan Payments
  • Water Bill*
  • Groceries*
  • Fun Money (stuff to do with kiddos/girls nights in/date nights)*
  • Gasoline*

Of all of these categories, the only ones that have any difference per month are the ones I indicated with an asterisk (*). For Gas/Electric and the water bill, I averaged the cost over three months and used that amount for the budget.

The categories I included above are what is in my budget, you may have other items that my family does not. Some of the expenses such as Health Insurance and retirement savings come out of paychecks, so for our family, they are not included in our budget. You may wish to add them to your budget if you pay them directly.

Cash for some Budget Line Items: For items such as groceries, fun money, and gasoline I visit the ATM each week and take out cash. I paperclip the money for each budget line item together and keep them separate in my wallet. When the money is gone, no more spending.

Doing cash for those line items really helps me take a hard look at shopping for groceries (this is when cash back apps, couponing, and price per unit knowledge all come in handy), and making sure that I am getting the best deal on gas (I have the GasBuddy app, it’s very useful). Any unspent money gets rolled over to the next week.

If you are discovering that you have too many bills and not enough money (and hey, it happens), trim where you can ( this article has some helpful suggestions), and if that’s still not enough, here are some Southern CA/San Diego based resources to help you.

Please do not be embarrassed to seek help. Resources are available to help you. If in the future you are able to give back, please do, but in the meantime, accept the help that is offered.

Next up, we’ll be talking about ways to save money on groceries and beyond. The beyond is going to be how to get toothpaste and health and beauty items for free (or really cheap) without turning into the stereotypical crazy coupon lady. Because clipping coupons out of ten plus newspapers each week is sooooo 2008. Seriously. I love to save money, but I don’t clip Sunday papers these days.

November 2021: New Healthy Freebies From Social Nature!

Abby H.

 If you are into Organic/Natural/Healthy products, then Social Nature is right 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.

Social Nature has rounded up products that are available to try at a local grocery store or mass merchandiser near you.  Apply to Try the products that interest you to see if you’re a match here.

Here are some of the new sampling opportunities:

  • Mac & Cheese By Freak Flag Organics
  • Frozen Wraps By Cool Beans
  • 100% Plant-Based Pork By OmniFoods
  • Sunflower Cream Cheese By Spero Foods
  • Notco Plant-Based Milk Alternative
  • Plant-Based Spicy Nuggets By Alpha Foods

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! So if you love trying new products, check out Social Nature!

November Sprouts Farmers Market Monthly Freebies!

Abby H.

Sprouts is hooking us up and helping us stay healthy! Every month on the Sprouts app in the Digital Coupon section, there are between 4-6 free items (they are marked “SAMPLING PROGRAM”).

Quantities are limited on the app, so if you are interested in any of these, I recommend that you add these coupons (by opening the Sprouts app, click on digital coupons, and click on each coupon in the lower corner where the little green circle is) to your app ASAP.

Not all Sprouts locations will have these freebies, so I suggest trying larger Sprouts location in your area.

These are full-sized freebies- not small sample sized products. they are located in the store with the other products of the same type.

Not all accounts will receive all the same products.

This month the following items are available:

  • Kevita Beverages
  • Brazi Bites
  • Milton’s non-GMO Fire Roasted Crackers
  • Somona Creamery Cheese Crisp Crackers
  • Notmilk Products

Saving Money with the Target App!

Abby H.

This post isn’t what you are thinking it is. The Target App is great, don’t get me wrong. There are coupons and discounts available, and you can shop through the app for store pick up, or curbside pickup.

But one of my favorite parts of the Target app is that you can scan barcodes to see if Target carries the item, and how much it costs. I use this feature to my advantage a lot. I love shopping at 99 Cents Only, but recently they have started carrying tons of items that are way more than 99 cents.

To see if these offerings are actually a good deal, I use the scan barcode feature of the Target App to see how much the items are at Target- That gives me a good idea if it’s a good deal or not. The app will also tell me if there are coupons or discounts within the Target app to make the cost at Target even lower.

Recently, on a visit to 99 Cents only, I found a couple items that I was interested buying, but I wasn’t sure if they were a good value or not. I pulled out my phone, opened the Target App, and scanned.

In each of the cases above in the pictures, the items at 99 Cents Only are a good deal. I also use this app at Grocery Outlet, Dollar Tree, and Sprouts. Why Sprouts? Sometimes their prices can be a little high. Since I use my Target Red Card, I get an additional 5% off every purchase.

If you’re not a Target shopper, check out my post here with more savings tips shopping at the Bullseye!