Deals as low as $1 at Schoola!!

Abby H.

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Schoola is at it again! This weekend they have two great promos!

The first, and my favorite: Four days of deals as low as $1, so keep checking back. There will be new items added daily. No code needed.
Starts: Friday, February 17th, at 12:00 am Pacific Time
Ends: Monday, February 20th, at 11:59 pm Pacific Time

The second deal is pretty great, especially if you need to stock up on new to you clothes!

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60% off $60 or More
Starts: Friday, February 17th, at 12:00 am Pacific Time
Ends: Limited Time, Act Fast
Code: PREZ60

If you are new to Schoola, sign up here and you’ll receive $10 off your first order! That’s a pretty sweet deal!

In addition to offering awesome gently worn kids clothes, Schoola also gives a percentage (40%) of each sale to a school. So you can feel good twice: Once while your saving $$, and again because you are helping support a school in need.

To get started, click here. And I can’t wait to see what you have scored! I got Lil’ Man 3 shirts!

**Fine Print: Offer valid for a limited time. Discounts and credits do not apply toward the free shipping threshold or promotional minimums. Discounts are applied to the post-credit order value. New-with-tags items are not eligible for purchase with discounts or credits.**

Free Samples!

Abby H.

file7261245785846.jpgEveryone loves a full mailbox, at least when it’s not full of bills! I’ve been stalking a few sites online looking for some samples of products I’d like to try, and I thought I’d share them with you!

Here are just a few of the freebies I’ve recently signed up for!

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.

 

Illness and My Birthday…

Abby H.

file0001442071545 The worst part of being sick as a mom to small kids is that there is seldom time to rest, which means the illness lingers. Additionally, the likelihood that you got the illness from one of those small people is pretty great.

I’ve been battling a plague for over a week. That means, yes, I spent my birthday coughing and blowing my nose…sexy, no?

Overall, it was a great day. Lil’ Man drew me a book. He was going to make me a card, but he wanted to make me something I’d keep forever, so he made a book with pictures of reptiles. He drew most of them himself, and only used stickers from his reptile sticker book a few times. It’s very sweet.  Hubs got me a new FitBit!

The kids and I spent each day after school last week collecting birthday freebies, you can see my list of the goods here and here. We sprinkled it in with trips to the park (where I sat on a bench and coughed) or other errands. Lil’ Man’s overall favorite is the mini bundt from Nothing Bundt Cake. My fav is free lunch at Rubio’s.

Other than than, I’ve been going to bed early and napping during the day while Bitty sleeps, which is the reason there haven’t been any posts in a week. Now that I’m about 75% better, there should be more posts coming, including some fun DIY posts coming up about making infused oils (it’s never too early to start thinking about holiday gifts!).

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen that I posted a photo of some floral print fabric the other day. I am the costume designer for a local theatre’s production of the stage adaptation of To Kill A Mockingbird. That’s right, before I blogged about frugal living and clipping coupons, I designed and made costumes for theatres, movies, renaissance faires, LARP’s, and historical recreationists.

So now you know what I’ve been up to.. What’s going on with you?

New Birthday Freebies!

Abby H.4 Comments

Every year I update my Birthday Freebies post (you can see last years here), but there are some really cool ones, so I decided to do a separate update post, so you don’t miss them.

There are a lot of birthday freebies that I do not list on the original post, only because I don’t think they are that cool. Getting a free Rice Krispy treat when you buy lunch, or a free soft serve cone when you buy a hamburger are not making my list. Sorry Noodle Company and The Habit.

ttronslien-8721.jpgAs a member of the Driscoll’s Berry Advisory Panel, they email you a link for a .50/1 printable coupon!

Kohl’sYes2You members get a $5.00 coupon! I’ll be hitting the clearance rack today!

If you have a Boomer’s near you, join their Discount E-News Club! You’ll receive a super birthday deal (This is Lil’ Man’s Favorite): You’ll receive a free 4 Hours Unlimited Attractions  Play Pass good for all the attractions – Miniature Golf, Go Karts, Bumper Boats, Rock Wall and Kids County Fair.  Club members receive the special privilege of using this offer ANY single day during the month of their birthday.Must provide proof date of birthday at time of redemption.If you sign up during the Month of your Birthday you will receive your Birthday coupon within 48 hours.

Bruegger’s Bagels gives you three free bagels for your birthday. SCORE! Our family eats tons of bagels, so this is a sweet deal.

Between these great freebies, plus all of the ones from my previous birthday post, you’ll be rolling in freebies for weeks!!

 

Living Social Deals for the Kids!

Abby H.

Screen Shot 2017-01-25 at 11.52.22 AM.pngI love Living Social– So many great deals right now!

One of the ways I like to save money is to pick up a few Living Social deals to use on Lil’ Man’s days off school, or for family date night. That way we can still stay on budget and enjoy some fun.

Here are a few of the deals I’m stoked about right now:

Screen Shot 2017-01-25 at 12.40.51 PM.pngUrban Jungle Fun Park– There are multiple options.

Urban Jungle is a great indoor play place that includes trampoline areas, a climbing wall, and even an area for littler friends!

Screen Shot 2017-01-25 at 12.46.06 PM.pngNeed a family night out? Check out this deal! Poway Fun Bowl
3 Hours of Cosmic Bowling for 4 People

 

 

 

Neither of those your bag? There are whale watching trips, painting events, outdoor trips to the desert. All kinds of fun ways to spend time with your kids, spouse, sweetheart, or heck, even go alone (I won’t tell!).

 

So, Go Check out the sweet deals at Living Social!

Enter to Win a $50 Amazon GC!

Abby H.14 Comments

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I am so glad that I’ve been able to grow my social media presence organically, meaning, just by word of mouth. And now I want to thank my followers, however they discovered me!

To celebrate 500+ Instagram followers, I am giving one lucky follower a $50 Amazon Gift Card!

Entering is easy!

  1. Follow me on Instagram.
  2. Leave a comment on this post with your Instagram handle.
  3. For a bonus entry, share this blog post. Leave a comment as to how/where you shared it.

You must be an Instagram follower to win (and yes, I will check).

 

I will choose a winner on 1/31/17. Winner will be notified via Instagram and/or email.

Earn Extra Cash as a Stella & Dot Stylist!

Abby H.

I know some of you want to earn a little more money this year, and for some of you the hustles that I wrote about in this article aren’t in your scope of interest. Fear not,  I found out about a way you can earn money, while selling cute, stylish jewelry with Stella & Dot.

Just so you know, this post contains affiliate links, and I may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Stella & Dot is creating a whole new way of running a business! Fresh thinking. Irresistible style. Innovative technology. Modern selling. Your Business, Your Way!

Even better! New stylists who join now through January 31st, will get up to $650 in FREE accessories! Tell your readers about this fun, flexible, and rewarding opportunity.

Here’s how it works:

  1. – Join during this limited time offer—Now through January 31, 2017.
  2. – The stylist will automatically get $650 of free accessories.
  3. – Achieve $1000 of sales within the first 30 days and get a $199 rebate.
That’s like joining for free and getting $650 of free accessories!
Encourage your readers to be bold and discover the entrepreneur in themselves. They will find a job they will love when they explore launching their own business as a Stella & Dot Stylist!

Here are a few reasons why:
Flexible Rewarding Stylish
To work around the million other things you do. You call the shots. Earn 25% – 30% commission on your sales. No sales minimums, no quotas, no territories, no inventory or deliveries. Style that practically sells itself.

This offer is only valid through 1/31/17, so if it interests you, click on the banner below to get started!

Quick Recipe: Easy, Healthy Brownies!

Abby H.

IMGP8542.jpgIn the search for healthier yummy recipes to feed Lil’ Man, I stumbled upon a recipe for black bean brownies. Ok, so stop making that face and read on. Oh, and this one is GLUTEN FREE!!

I read the recipe, and a bunch of comments and did some more investigating online and made a few tweaks to the recipe and got to cooking.

Ingredients:

  • 1 15 ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 T. sugar free applesauce
  • 3/4 c. cocoa powder
  • 1 T. Hazelnut extract (You could use vanilla)
  • 1 1/2 c brown sugar, lightly packed
  • 1 t. instant coffee crystals (optional)- I used 1 t. of very strong coffee instead.
  • 1 C. chocolate chips

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Grease a 8×8 baking dish. I used an 8 inch round baking dish.
  3. In a blender, combine all of the ingredients EXCEPT the chocolate chips. This is important.  I didn’t do this!
  4. Pour batter into greased baking dish and top with chocolate chips. Bake for 25-35 minutes.  The brownies are super fudgy. If you want cake-ier brownies, add a pinch of baking powder.

 

If you like your brownies really sweet, add 1/4 c. white sugar. I like my desserts not super sweet, so I opted to use a little less sugar, and I’ll top mine with a scoop of ice cream- Yum!

They are not bean-y.  If I didn’t know they had beans in them. I wouldn’t be able to tell.  They are very moist, fudgy brownie. And if you use a flax egg and vegan chocolate chips, you’ve got a yummy vegan recipe!

 

Coupon Clubs: Friendship & Savings!

Abby H.3 Comments

deals_and_Coupons_version_2 (2).jpgOne of the questions I get frequently  is how do I get so many coupons?

I used to subscribe to FIVE Sunday papers (so much waste!!), but the best way is that I belong to a coupon club!

A what?  A coupon club.  We meet once a month, bring our extra coupon inserts, clip, trade, nosh, gossip and share tricks and tips.  We have a private Facebook group, so we can discuss deals and post our “wishlists”.  Each of us posts a list of coupons that we would like, and as the next meet up draws near, those who are attending clip and print coupons for each other.  Each meet up is like Christmas morning, we trade envelopes of the clipped coupons we requested.  We also talk about deals, frugal living strategies, and help each other. We’ve been together about 7 years!!

In addition to trading coupons, we also have teamed up with a local American Legion Post. They collect Sunday coupon inserts from members. We clip them and return them (taking whatever coupons we’d like). The Legion mails the coupons overseas for those military families living on base overseas. Overseas Military commissaries (that’s the on base grocery stores) accept coupons expired up to 6 months after the expiration date. So not only do we get access to multiple inserts, but, we are able to help others.

We also collect sample sized toiletries and items that we are able to get for free and donate them to the American Legion Post for their homeless veteran outreach.

If you are interested in starting a coupon in your local area, check out Facebook or meetup.com- there are lots of coupon clubs all over the country.

I have a Facebook group for people in my local East County San Diego area. We meet twice a month during the week. If you are interested in joining, check out our group:  Weekday Frugalistas: East County

I post freebies, deals, and other stuff between meetings, and I post a run down of what we discussed at the meeting afterwards, so even if you cant go, you’ll still be up to date!

If you can’t find a local coupon group, there are website dedicated to helping couponers. My favorite is:

 

Visit Hotcouponworld It's all about the deals.HCW has forums for all the major stores, including grocery, drug and mass merchandisers. Trade coupons, find freebies, and find local coupon groups.  You can trade coupons and view their coupon database! I’ve met lots of friends on HCW!

And if you are looking to print coupon online, check out my list of printable coupon resources here.  Every coupon you print helps support our blog!