shopping – Page 18 – Hewes Family Fun

Obol – The Champion of Breakfast Bowls

November 6, 2015November 6, 2015Abby H.

Hubs got one of these awesome Obol bowls a few years ago for Xmas, and they are super awesome! I can’t wait to get one and let Lil’ Man try it out!

Cereal Never Gets Soggy (important if you have kids and never get to finish anything in 1 sitting)!

Obol “The Original Crispy Bowl” made in the USA is the favorite for cereal
lovers around the world. Inspired by a playground slide, its Spiral Slide Design
changed the mundane cereal bowl into an everyday kitchen sensation. The
pleasure of eating cereal at the table, while watching TV or even is bed is easy,
just Swoop n Scoop!

Crispy cereal…your way, your pace.

Save 10% at obol.co Signup for instant discount code.

#obolco

Print Coupons From Your Smart Phone!

November 3, 2015November 3, 2015Abby H.

It’s finally here! Coupons.com is offering printing from your Smartphones! It’s easy!

You can print directly from your Android and iOS devices to a WiFi connected printer. Coupons.com will automatically detect a user on their mobile device and guide you through printing. Users will be texted an authentication code before they can print and must be connected to a wireless network with an AirPrint or Wireless enabled printer. Click here to get started!

Here are just a few of my favorite new coupons!

Bulu Box: Healthy Monthly Box Delivered to you!

November 2, 2015Abby H.1 Comment

I love Monthly subscription boxes. It’s a great way to try out new products at a discount, all without leaving your home.

If you are trying to eat a little more healthy, here is a sweet deal for you! The perfect partner in the pursuit of a healthier you, Bulu Box is like having a personal trainer and a nutritionist as a best friend.

Each month, a box of healthy discoveries is shipped right to your door for just $10. You learn about that month’s 4-5 premium samples, try each one and see what fits into your individual healthy lifestyle.

For sharing your opinions on each month’s samples through a quick survey, we will give you 50 Rewards Points (that’s $5!) to use in our shop to get more of your favorites.

My readers get a special deal, thanks to our friends at Bulu Box and Us Family Guide! Get a 3 Month Subscription for just $15 (regularly $30)! at Bulu Box – Use code WOWZA at checkout!

I’ll post photos of my next Bulu Box when it arrives!

@usfg @bulubox

How I Scored a Free Bed (And How You Can Too!)

October 27, 2015October 26, 2015Abby H.1 Comment

Fresh-fruit-green-font-b-polka-b-font-font-b-dot-b-font-piece-set-flannel

Recently, our bed frame broke. Our bed is nine years old, and our bed frame was the cheap-y one that came free when we bought our mattress and box springs. I shouldn’t really be surprised that it broke, but it did and it was no longer comfortable to sleep in our bed. It’s sagged in the middle because the part of the bed frame that broke was the center slat that provided the support for the mid section of the mattress.

I began my search online for a new bed frame. I checked all of the usual suspects: JCPenney, Sears, as well as trusty old Craigslist. All I wanted was a sturdy metal bed frame. No headboard, no foot board, just a bed frame.

Finally I found one that fit the bill. It was this one here from Sears. It was sturdy, as it had extra supports in the middle (which is very important when you have a small child likes to bounce on the bed like we do), and it fit my budget. So I set upon trying to get it for cheaply is possible.

First, I checked to see if there’s any place I could get a free Sears gift card with points from various rewards programs I use. I checked my Mypoints account, and I checked my SwagBucks account, and finally I checked my RecycleBank account. Turns out I had enough RecycleBank points to get a $10 gift card from Sears. I cashed out my points and a few days later I have received via email a $10 gift card from Sears.

Second, I logged onto my Shop Your Way Rewards Account (through Sears.com). If you haven’t signed up for Sears Shop Your Way Rewards, it’s easy! You can do it at any Sears, Sears Outlet, or Kmart location. It’s like any other store club card. Scan your key fob or enter your phone number when you check out and earn points. Points can be redeemed for cash off purchases. Also- Shop Your Way Rewards members get access to great coupons, and sometimes even surprise points (Frequently they send out $5 in points- just for being a member!). I had a $10 off of $50 or more purchase good for anything in the home department, which happens to include bed frames.

Third, I logged on to all of my survey websites: PaidViewPoint, and PineCone Research to see if I had points I could cash out for a PayPal payment. It turns out I had over $25 that I could cash out at PaidViewPoint. I requested a PayPal pay out and within six hours I had $27 and change in my PayPal account. I also discovered that I had enough points to cash out for a $15 payment via PayPal through PineCone Research. I requested that as well. I had $42 and change to use!

Fourth (And Finally), I also logged on to Top Cashback as well to see if I can earn any cash back for this shopping trip. Turns out I was going to earn a cool 3% cashback on my purchase.

So here’s how I got it for free:

Bed Frame $54.98 + $3.60 Tax
-$10/$50 Coupon

-$10 Sears Gift Card

-$38.58 from Paypal. (Money was earned doing surveys online as I outlined above. It took me less than two hours combined to do all of the surveys and earn this money. This time with spread over about a months time.)

Plus I qualified for free shipping because the original price was over $49.99

The best part is, I earned 3% of my post coupon amount ($38.58) because I shopped through Top Cashback. That’s more free money to use in the future! So I got paid .30 to buy something we really needed!

Freshly made bed (and laundry- It is Monday, after all!)

The bed frame was delivered on Friday and I just set it up this morning. And we did give it a good test bounce after the bed with put back together. It’s very sturdy I’m proud to announce.

The point of this post isn’t to show off, “Look what I can do isn’t this cool?!?”, but it’s meant to inspire you and show you that you can-do these things as well. You can get stuff for free. And not just little samples of this and that, but you can actually get things that you need for your home for free.

Taking surveys does take time however with PaidViewPoint, and PineCone Research. The surveys that you will do you’ve been pre-selected for, and take less than 10 minutes each. So you’re not wasting time doing surveys you don’t end up qualifying for and the payout for both of those companies is so low you’ll be able to reach a payout in less than a month even if you only do a few surveys for them each week.

So there it is. That’s how we got a brand-new bed delivered to our house for free. No smoke, no mirrors, no hocus-pocus, or anything shifty or questionable. Just a brand-new bed frame delivered free.

I’d love to hear about the kinds of things that you have gotten for free or really cheap using the profits from surveys or even secret shopping. So leave me a comment and let me know what kind of awesome things you’ve gotten for free!

$20 Referral Credit + Free Shipping with Schoola

October 22, 2015Abby H.

I posted about Schoola last month- and they are back again with an awesome offer AND a great sale that helps others in need! When you sign up for a Schoola account here you will earn $20 in credit and you can give $20 in Schoola credit for a limited time!

There are thousands of top-notch finds you can purchase with your Schoola credit. Plus, now for a limited time you can get FREE shipping with no minimum order value. That means with referral credit, you can SHOP FOR FREE. I recently picked up a bunch of white shirts and onsies that I’ll be using for out next big Tie Dye Project!

Brands Give Back Flash Sale Update: This week Schoola has partnered with the one and only Modcloth to bring you stunning new-with-tags dresses up to 50% off retail prices to benefit the Malala Fund – helping further girls’ education worldwide.

$20 will go far on Schoola– What are you waiting for???

Review: The Minbie Bottle

October 21, 2015October 20, 2015Abby H.

Recently, I was lucky enough to try out the Minbie Bottle. Ok, well, I didn’t try it, but Birdy here did.

I told ya’ll here that I have IGT, and that means we supplement with formula and donor milk, because my body simply doesn’t make enough milk.

Minbie is a high quality soft silicone baby’s bottle teat with revolutionized design-functionality that nurtures a newborn’s instinctive breastfeeding technique. Bird took to the bottle right away. The nipple is soft and looks most like a mother’s nipple. It makes it easier for her to transition between me and the bottle.

The product is the result of 10 years R&D by and Australian Mom, who was frustrated with the inadequacies of the functionality of generic bottle teat on the market when she had children, with the bottles taking over breastfeeding rather then supporting a baby’s ability to breastfeed well.

Minbie nurtures a newborn’s ability to breastfeed by allowing newborns to bottle-feed with the instinctive feeding technique that they are born with.
Minbie supports a newborn’s digestion by helping to release natural digestive enzymes. This supports a baby’s sleep too.
Minbie matches breast and bottle feeding techniques.

Want more info about Minbie? Here is what some Aussy mums have been saying about the product recently. Thanks to Minbie for hooking us up with this great bottle. I was not compensated financially for this review, however, I did receive a free bottle and an extra nipple to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own.

Save for the Holidays (and Beyond!)- My top tips!

October 20, 2015Abby H.

Christmas is 64 days away, and while some of us have been saving our pennies and dollars, some of us haven’t. This article is for those of you who are looking to earn some extra money. For the holidays, or heck, even beyond that!

Now these are all methods that I have used, and continue to use, so there is no baloney coming from me.

I do Surveys. Here is a post with links to my top survey companies, including how much each one has earned me!
One of my favorite survey companies is Paid View Point. Surveys are short (less than 5 minutes). Earn cash with each Survey. You get $1.00 when you sign up! The pay out is $15.00, and it takes about a month-6 weeks to earn $15.00. So far in 2015, I’ve earned about $78.00.
I send my junk mail to Small Business Knowledge Center. Here is a post about it with details. I just got another $20 GC from them earlier this month!
I take our bottles and cans to the recycling center. It’s not a ton of money, but I paid the deposit on those bottles, I want it back! I take Lil’ Man with me and we get about $4-$5/month between the milk jugs and misc. bottles and cans. We don’t drink a lot of soda or juice. My parents save their recyclables for us too!
I do simple tasks with Field Agent. Field Agent is an app for smartphones that allows you to do simple tasks like photographing displays in stores or scanning items in stores. They even have secret shopping tasks. Tasks vary in pay, however most pay between $3-$10. I’ve been using Field Agent for 2 months and I’ve earned over $100. Payment is done via Paypal!
I also do simple tasks with Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. I transfer the earnings to my Amazon.com account. You sign up and do tasks for small amounts of money, but the money adds up fast. The tasks are quick and simple (transcription, surveys, flagging inappropriate photos). I’ve earned over $50 since February. If you want cold hard cash instead of Amazon.com credit there is an option to have money transferred to a bank account. Mechanical Turk does ask for your SSN when you sign up- you will receive a 1099- MISC at the end of the year., regardless of which option you select.
Earn Gift cards with Mypoints. I take surveys, click links in emails, and do all of my online shopping through Mypoints. So far in 2015, I’ve earned about $45.00.
I also use Swagbucks. I use their search engine toolbar, take a daily poll, watch a video and click a few links each day! So far in 2015, I’ve earned about $60.00. Swagbucks has tons of rewards, you can receive cash via paypal too!
I use my smartphone to save money too. There are tons of apps that have help you save money in the store (coupons), and get your money back afterwards (rebates). Here is a list of my favs. I’m loving Ibotta right now- I’ve saved over $100 this year alone, just buying my normal groceries!

All of these things are easy to do, realistic, and even a busy person can take 10 minutes out of their day to do one of the things I’ve listed.

Save Money with a DIY Pedicure (and look like you just stepped out of a spa!)

October 9, 2015October 9, 2015Abby H.

I love a good pedicure. Living in California, I wear sandals 300 days in a year. What I don’t love is paying $40-$60 each month for a good pedicure that lasts a month. Sure, sure, I could get a cheaper pedicure, but the polish would chip in a week and I’d look scruffy.

Here are some tips for a great at home spa pedicure.

You don’t need a foot spa. I use a Rubbermaid Dish pan. I got it on Amazon for $9.00. It’s the perfect size for both of my big feet to fit into (I wear a size 11.5 shoe!) After I’m done with it, I just scrub it out with dish soap, a little beach, hot water, and dry it by hand. The best part is, you can store all of your pedicure supplies in the tub. You can also use a shallow pan or basin that both of your feet will fit in.

Use good quality tools. There are coupons regularly for Revlon and Sally Hansen beauty tools. In my pedicure kit I have:

Cuticle Remover, orangewood sticks, Polish remover, Emory boards, Buffing block, Cuticle nipper, nail scoop/nail cleaner, base coat, Top Coat, Colored polish, q-tips, cotton balls, alcohol, cuticle oil, foot scrub, callus remover, Mr. Pumice Pumi Bar, lotion. (I’ve included links to products on Amazon that I love!)

Now that you’ve gathered all the needed supplies here are the steps to a top notch pedicure!

Here are some simple steps that will have you pampering your feet in 30 minutes or less:
• Remove old polish using a gentle nail polish remover (if you have glitter polish on, check out this tutorial on getting that stubborn polish off).
• Clip and file your nails. The modern look for nails is to keep them on the short side with a straight shape and slightly-rounded edge. Remember to file in one direction- don’t saw back and forth, it will weaken and damage your nail.
• Soak your feet for about ten minutes in a dishpan or plastic bowl filled with warm water and a few drops of your favorite body wash or Epsom salts (which have excellent relaxing properties that will soothe your tired, aching feet)
• Apply a cuticle remover; after a few minutes, push back the cuticles gently using an orangewood stick. Use Cuticle nippers to remove dead skin around the cuticle bed. Clean under your toenails with the nail scoop/cleaner.
• Apply a callus remover liquid containing alpha hydroxy acids. Slip you feet into plastic bags for 5-10 minutes, remove the bags and use a pumice stone to remove dead skin cells.
• Use an exfoliating foot scrub on your feet and calves, remove with a hot, damp towel. I make up 3 or 4 per pedicure and keep them warm in a crockpot set to low.
• Massage feet and calves with a creamy hand lotion. Rub in for a couple of minutes in order to fully hydrate the skin, particularly if you are suffering from dry skin.
• Use some rubbing alcohol on a cotton pad on your nail beds to remove any lotion on your nails (The lotion will keep the polish from adhering to your nails) and apply a base coat. Adter the base coat is dry, apply two coats of your favorite nail polish color. Add nail decals, gems or paint flowers on your toes! Follow with a topcoat.

What kinds of frugal beauty regimens do you have?

Shutterfly: $20 off $20+ Purchase! (great for holiday gifts!)

October 8, 2015October 7, 2015Abby H.

(This post contains Affiliate links!)

WOW!! Right now through 10/13/15, Shutterfly is hooking up EVERYONE! All customers enjoy $20 off one qualifying merchandise order of $20 or more with promo code FIRSTGIFT at checkout!

I’m ordering a photobook! They make excellent holiday gifts!

Are you new to Shutterfly?

Not only do you receive 50 free prints when you sign up, but you also can chose from one free magnet, one pet tag, one set of address labels or one set of playing cards with promo code QUADAFF at checkout (this offer is only valid through tonight at midnight).

Fine Print:Offer expires October 13, 2015 (11:59 P.M. PT). Offer is good for $20 off one qualifying merchandise order of $20 or more (after any other discounts and before taxes, shipping and handling) through shutterfly.com, our mobile-friendly site or Shutterfly apps. Offer cannot be redeemed more than once per account and/or billing address. Taxes, shipping and handling will apply. Not valid on TripPix, personalized postage stamps, prepaid plans, gift certificates, Videograms, cards sent using mailing services, prior purchases and orders placed for in-store pick up. Cannot be redeemed for cash or combined with other offers or credits. Not valid for resale.

The future of Haggen Stores…

October 5, 2015Abby H.

As most of you know by know, Haggen has filed for bankruptcy, and all of the stores here in Southern CA will be shuttered.

If you are like me, I was worried about yet another empty store front in my community, so I was thrilled when I found out this morning that man of the Haggen’s Locations will be turned into either Smart &Final or Gelson’s

Check out the complete store and the list of stores here.

As someone who lives right next to a Haggen’s, I’ll be glad when another store comes in.

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