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Save More Shopping Online with the Capital One Shopping!

Abby H.

I just learned about this the other day when I logged onto my Capital High Yield Savings account.

The Capital One Shopping Extension has coupon codes! Apply coupon codes for savings.

They have a Chrome, Edge & Firefox Extension, which you can install here.

OR if you are more of a mobile device shopper, check out this link.

Don’t overpay on Amazon — Capital One Shopping can save you money. Get notified instantly when other sellers have a better price. Download Capital One Shopping for free and save money.

Automatically apply coupon codes for free – it’s kinda genius.

Capital One Shopping searches for a better price while you shop at Target, Best Buy, and more. You’ll see a friendly little pop-up if a better offer is found, including tax and shipping details.

Earn Capital One Shopping Credits while you shop, then redeem those Shopping Credits for gift cards.

It’s easy and quick! I had the app downloaded on my phone in less than 10 minutes and I was ready to shop.

It’s Back! Make $10 by writing Software Reviews with G2!

Abby H.

I received an email from G2 this morning! G2 is a peer-to-peer review site. If you are looking to learn about new software before you purchase it, G2 is a great place to look. Right now G2 is offering $10 Amazon gift cards to those who review software that you have used in your business. It’s a quick, easy way to share your opinions of software and earn a little extra.

Plus, once you have reviewed for them, they will contact you when they are looking for more reviews (with incentives). I earn about $30/month from G2 writing reviews. It doesn’t take long, and it gives me a little extra fun money.

You will need to log in with either Google Business credentials or your LinkedIn account.

To get started, click here.

Back to School Amazon Coupon Codes- Save up to 50%!

Abby H.

I love good deals. I recently stumbled across a few great deals on Amazon on back-to-school essentials.

As someone who works in a school, this is my number one deal- 72 Pack Black Whiteboard Erasable Markers at 50% off with coupon code 50T375GI. (deal ends 8/9/2024 at 11:59PM PDT)

I have already ordered this one- The charging cables in my house are out of control. Electronics Organizer bag 9.45″x7.09″x3.94″. 50% off with coupon code 507ITYG2. (deal ends Aug 11, 2024 at 11:59 PM PDT)

Daily and Weekly Planners in various pastel colors 8.4’x6.4″ 40% off with coupon code 40Y873CB. (deal ends 8/13/2024 at 11:59 PM PDT)

Sticky Notes – 12 Pads, 3”x3” – Colorful Self-Stick Post Notes 50% off with coupon code 50IOUFN5. (deal ends Aug 14, 2024 at 11:59 PM PDT)

Acrylic Paint Markers– These are awesome for painting rocks among other things. Two varieties 50% off with coupon code 50Q1I3IN. (deal ends Aug 17, 2024 at 11:59 PM PDT)

Acrylic Magnetic Whiteboard Acrylic Calendar, Monthly and Weekly Calendar – 16″x12″ Size- includes 6 Color Dry Erase Markers.   50% off with coupon code 50N7O8VA. (deal ends 8/18/2024 at 11:59 PM PDT)

Talk Back: I love hunting for good deals- If you are looking for a deal, please let me know- I’d love to help!

It’s Soup Season! Southwestern Chowder Recipe

Abby H.

It’s Soup Season y’all! I recently made this soup for the first time after craving something full of veggies, but a little more comforting than a minestrone or Tuscan Sausage soup.

This soup is easy to make and is perfect with cornbread or garlic bread (which many of you know is a staple in my house). I served it with a variety of toppings as well.

Paired with a simple green salad, this is a great fall dinner.

Southwestern Chowder

Ingredients

  • 2 Tablespoons butter or neutral oil (I like Avocado Oil)
  • 1 cup diced onions
  • 1/2 cup peeled and diced carrots
  • 1/2 cup diced celery
  • 2 cups potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces- I used red-skinned potatoes and left the skin on, but if you use russets or Yukon gold (basically any brown-skinned potato), peel them.
  • 1 15 oz. can of corn or 2 cups of frozen corn
  • 1 small can Ortega chilis
  • 2 cups chicken, cut up into bite-sized pieces (leftover rotisserie chicken is great for this or use leftover Turkey!)
  • 4 cups Chicken Stock or Bone Broth
  • 1 can of evaporated milk
  • 1 bay leaf
  • garlic powder, salt, pepper

Directions:

  1. In a large stock pot, saute onions, carrots, and celery in butter/oil over medium, until onions are translucent.
  2. Add in bay leaf, potatoes, corn, and stock/broth.
  3. Cook over medium/low, with the lid on the pot for about 20 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender.
  4. Add in all remaining ingredients and simmer, stirring occasionally for 15-20 minutes.
  5. Add salt, pepper, and garlic to taste/as needed throughout the simmering.
  6. Ladle into bowls and top with cheese crisps, tortilla strips, sour cream, chives, hot sauce (your choice)
  7. Serve with bread of your choice.

Serves 6-8.

Notes:

  • This soup freezes well, and is great for potlucks!
  • If you prefer your chowder thicc, add 1/2-3/4 cup of potato flakes to the soup and stir to combine about 5 minutes before serving.
  • This Soup is naturally gluten-free.
  • To make this recipe vegan, use vegetable broth, omit butter (sub in oil), use plant-based faux chicken, like this from Sweet Earth), and use plant-based milk or cream in place of evaporated milk. I’ve heard good things about Cashew Cream.

Here are a few of my favorite cheese crisps:
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Fall Beauty Favorites Under $25 (& Amazon Gift Card Giveaway)

Abby H.3 Comments

It’s fall, it’s finally not 90 degrees all day long in Southern California. I’ve been tweaking my self-care routine to incorporate everything I need to keep my body looking and feeling good. Some of these items are not 100% skincare/beauty-related, but remember that self-care is more than slapping a mask on and relaxing on the couch!

Here are some of my favorites that come in at $25 or less:

These Microfiber Facial Cloths are quick drying, wash up well (I wash mine in a large lingerie bag), and you get 12 for a little over a dollar a piece!

These Stella and Grace undereye patches are just one of my go-to eye patches. They are a cooling gel that infuses the under-eye area. Did you know that our undereye area has no oil glands? After you’ve enjoyed an eye mask, make sure to keep that area hydrated with an eye cream. I’m digging Global Beauty Care Smooth & Lift Collagen Eye Cream with Peptides, Hyaluronic Acid, and squalane. You can buy it on Amazon, but I recently found it at Dollar Tree of all places (Shout out to Dollar Tree for having some pretty decent skincare lately- remember to read the ingredients and know what active ingredients you are looking for!).

If you are like me and take meds twice a day and HATE refilling the stupid little containers every week, here is my savior… A 28 day pill organizer that has a day and a night area for each day.

28 days is perfect- That way it reminds you to check with the pharmacy or your doctor to get another refill.

As the weather gets colder, our poor feet need love too. I’m all about compression socks to keep the fluid retention down. I also love doing Legs up the Wall in the evening to help with circulation. Slather some of O’Keefe’s Foot Cream, pull on a pair of compression socks and chill with my legs up the wall for 20 minutes.  I have chonky claves, so I need the wide calf socks, but Levsox sells compression socks for all-sized calves in tons of cute patterns.

My absolute favorite bubble bath and bath salts are from Dr. Teals. They have melatonin, lavender, and chamomile. Target frequently has these on sale or as part of a beauty gift card deal. Even the kids like it!

If you are looking for something to help with your sleep routine, I use ASUTRA Magnesium Body Butter Lotion Lavender Scent. It contains Shea Butter and Almond Oil, and the magnesium can help calm your body for rest. It really helped Bitty Bird when she was having problems turning her brain off to sleep.

And finally, I’ve really gotten into Gua Sha facial massage over the past few months. It’s really helped with the dark circles under my eyes, and increased the blood flow to my face (but honestly all massage does this). I have a tool like this one (I bought mine at Dollar Tree), and I use this Glide Oil, but you can use any serum or facial cream. Tina Enego has some great videos and follow alongs on You Tube.

I’d love to hear about your favorite fall self-care. Drop a comment and be entered to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card. I’ll choose a winner on 11/20/2023 and notify you via email. The gift card will be delivered via email. 

Recent Kitchen Glow-up on a Budget!

Abby H.

We didn’t end up doing a staycation this summer. Between Summer School and the overall unbearable heat that the southwest has been experiencing, I haven’t really wanted to drag two kids that are sensitive to heat out to “have fun”.

Because of that, I’ve decided to make some small cosmetic changes and upgrades to the kitchen- and the bedrooms too. This post is just covering the kitchen.

Our overhead fluorescent kitchen lights are starting to out. The ballasts are old, and while I’m saving up to have the kitchen lights redone, I needed a little something more. I landed on magnetic, rechargeable under the cabinet lights. I looked online all over, read reviews, and decided to give Temu a try.

I’m sure that you’ve seen advertisements all over for Temu. It’s similar to Ali Express and Amazon combined. Smaller international companies sell their goods on Temu. Shipping is pretty quick, usually less than 2 weeks.

I also picked up a few other things for the kitchen that I had on my “need in the kitchen sometime”. This included:

Plastic Garbage Bag Clips– These keep the trash bag from sliding into the can. If you got kids, these are perfect.

Aluminum Foil Square Stove Burner Covers  I usually buy them on Amazon, but this price and quantity were much better.

 

Dishwasher Magnet Clean Dirty Sign– We had a flippable magnet for years, but it was really hard to get off. This sliding magnet is much easier.

Refrigerator shelf liners– I love these and have wanted some for years. I finally bit the bullet and both sets for the freezer and fridge.

After falling down the rabbit hole of Temu, I switched over to a few other sites- JCP, Target, and Amazon for the other things I needed.

My kitchen canister set was janky. It was at least 11 years old. I got it for Xmas when the biggest kid was a baby. Several of the lids were cracked, and the remaining lids were not able to be cleaned properly.

I did a lot of research online, I looked at 4 or 5 sites, read reviews, and watched videos. I didn’t want glass ones again, and I wanted snap-on lids. So much easier to clean, and easier to stack.  Based on my kitchen size and how much I needed to store, I opted for the 14-piece Airtight Food Storage Containers with Snap-On Lids.

I switched over all of the canisters, and I also poured some other frequently used foods into canisters to be stored on the shelf where I keep our coffee and protein shakes supplies.

The remaining containers I used to store rice, pasta, and some other misc. snacks in the pantry. These all fit really well in our pantry, and yes, it’s all still organized like I did here.

I also bought new kitchen rugs to replace the older ones, and a couple packs of kitchen towels in white (they are easier to keep clean).

While I was doing all of this, I was cleaning out the cupboards and got rid of broken, chipped dishes, unwanted mugs, and extra kitchen stuff. I also ordered new dishes, but they haven’t arrived yet.  Once the new dishes arrive, the remaining old Rachel Ray/Albertsons dishes from the mid-2010’s will be donated.

Now I’m sure y’all are thinking, “How did she pay for all of this??” I worked my “hustles” and saved up Amazon Gift cards by doing surveys (I post opportunities weekly), used my cashback apps, cashed out as soon as I was able to with all of them, and stashed the money in my savings account. All in, I ended up paying $18.51 out of pocket, and that was for the kitchen towels that I bought at Ross.

It’s not new cabinets and new flooring (Cabinets were painted and flooring was replaced last year as part of our water loss), but it’s the little things that make our homes more comfortable!

How I’m Saving Time and Money in 2023 and Beyond!

Abby H.

I’m posting a lot less these days because I now have a full-time job outside the house, and y’all- I’m freaking exhausted at the end of the day. weekends are spent doing family stuff (mostly playing with legos and drawing), and doing kid activities like martial arts and girl scouts.

I wanted to share with you some ways you can save money, score freebies, and even earn some money each month without running all over town, spending hours of time doing little penny surveys, or scanning your entire grocery order to earn points for junk (looking at you Neilson panel).

This is how I’ve been doing it for years, and now that I have even less time, I’m leaning on these more.

Automate

  •  Use the calendar in your phone to remind you of appointments, neighborhood free food distributions, sales, and even coupon events: I seriously put the Bath and Body Works coupon dates in my calendar so I remembered to use them.
  • I bought a subscription to  Yasukochi Family Farms CSA boxes. This way my fresh fruit and veggies are delivered to my door each week.
  • Set up auto-shipments for most needed household items. Vitamins/supplements, specialized food, and even pet food. There are all sorts of companies that offer this service including Amazon, Chewy, and Vitacost are just a few.
  • I order from Dream Dinners once or twice a quarter. Now that they have lower minimum orders, I can grab a few favorites and try a new meal with greater ease. I order online, and pickup is so easy- I drive up and they deliver to my car!

Organize

  • I reorganized the kitchen over Winter Break. I have printables available for free. If you are interested, please drop me an email and I can send them to you. They print in color or black and white.
  • I meal plan weekly. I may not have time to post them on the blog each week, but I’ll still have pics up on Instagram each week- it helps keep me accountable. I spend about an hour on Monday evenings meal prepping fruit and veggies that come in our weekly CSA box.
  • For more organization tips that work in our home, check out my post about managing a household with neurodivergencies here.

Disconnect

  • This one is hard, but I am trying to consume only meaningful media. Don’t be afraid to disconnect from Social Media Platforms, people, or advertising that does not serve you or your life. Unfollow people and brands, delete or pause apps as you see fit. Engage with media in a manner that serves you and fulfills you. Do what feeds your soul and makes you a better person.
  • Unsubscribe from emails that don’t serve you. It will make your inbox smaller and you won’t miss information and freebies that you actually want. In my case, it’s freebies from Social Nature, PinchMe, and research study invitations.
  • In the same vein, I am trying to consume less physical media, specifically, mail and advertisements. If I don’t see sales, I won’t be tempted to shop. Junk mail and sale fliers go directly into the recycling can next to our group mailbox.

Saving Money

This is the big one, the reason you wanted to read this post. All of the above will help you save money, but here are a few specific ways that I use to save money on top of all of the above.

  • Use the notes section on my phone to keep a running list of our stockpiles: Toiletries, laundry soap, canned goods, and paper products.
  • Use the notes section of my phone to keep a running grocery list for the week. As we run low on items, I add them to my list. Right now I shop at three stores: Food4less, Grocery Outlet, and Dollar Tree (for specific items that are cheaper there). Unless I have coupons or freebie offers for other stores-usually from Social Nature, I stick to those three. At this point with inflation, we eat meat once or twice a week.
  • Use money saving/rebate apps. My list is here, and it’s pretty up-to-date. Fetch, Ibotta, and Shopkick are my go-to apps, and they yield me the biggest payouts.

 

Venmo Users: Check your Accounts For An Amazon Deal!

Abby H.

Venmo users: Check the email linked to your Venmo account for this sweet deal!

Spend $100 on Amazon orders now through 12/31/22 (Max 200k redemptions available under this offer), and you’ll score $10 back in your Venmo Account.

Pretty sweet, right?

If you hadn’t heard by now Amazon and Venmo are now buddies- You can pay for Amazon purchases with Venmo. Learn more here.

And you haven’t signed up for Venmo yet, check it out here.

5 Tips to Save on Black Friday (and earlier)

Abby H.

Black Friday shopping is not my jam, nor has it ever been. I know a lot of people love getting up at the crack of dawn to save money, but I’d rather snuggle with my cat.

Some Retailers have already started their Black Friday Deals: JCPenney, Walmart, and Target have deals up on their sites and in-store now. Here are my top five tips to help you save a little more on Black Friday (and beyond):

  1. Make a List! This seems like a no-brainer, but make a list of each person you are shopping for and then list a few possibilities. There are still supply change issues, and that means some stores may be out of what you had planned.
  2. Use Rewards Programs to your advantage! I’m talking about Target Circle, Target Red Card, JCPenney Rewards, MyPoints, Swagbucks, and Ibotta. I did a bunch of holiday shopping yesterday online at JCP. JCPenney Rewards members earn a $10 bonus Reward for every $50 spent in-store and online on qualifying purchases 11/18/22-11/30/22. Limit 3 bonus Rewards per customer. I had already planned to do the bulk of my holiday shopping there anyway, so these rewards are a bonus that I’ll use to buy kid socks, which both kids need. And if you are looking for coupon codes- Don’t forget the Honey Browser Extension!
  3. Make a Budget and STICK TO IT. Seriously. And if you do stockings- take those into consideration as part of the budget.  I save Amazon Gift card codes all year for gift shopping, and I set aside a small count each month in a separate saving account for holidays and gift-giving occasions. I earn Amazon Gift cards by doing Research studies (like the ones I post about all the time) and surveys on  MyPoints and Swagbucks.
  4. If you shop in person, take cash. If you are easily tempted, take cash, and leave your cards at home. This forces you to stay on budget.
  5. Homemade Gifts are awesome!  If like me, your budget is very small this year, don’t forget to flex your craft/artistic/cooking skills. I make hats, cookies, pj pants, and aprons usually for several folks on my gift list. I use supplies that I already have on hand. I love making soup, so I’ll be making several large batches, freezing 4-6 serving-size portions, and giving them to family members.

And finally, remember that the winter holidays are not about gifts. They are about coming together with friends and family to celebrate. If you having a difficult time making the magic happen for your family this year, check out my 2022 Holiday Resources post here. In December I’ll be hosting an Amazon Gift Card giveaway as well.

Fetch Rewards: 4000 Points for Every Referral through 8/28/22!

Abby H.

Woo Hoo! Fetch Rewards is hooking us up with points out the wazoo! Earn an extra 4,000 points when you invite a friend to Fetch and they snap a receipt. Head to the app and share your referral code now through 8/28/2022!

If you aren’t already using Fetch Rewards, signing up is quick and easy! You learn more when you check out my post here. Find the Fetch Rewards app in your app store, and when you download it and scan any receipt, use my code ND2TB when you sign up and you’ll score 2,000 bonus points. I’ve earned $163.00 so far in 2022 just by purchasing my regular groceries and scanning all of my receipts (grocery, mass merchandiser, gas receipts, restaurants, you name it).

In order for you to qualify for the increased referral bonus, your friends must enter your referral code and complete a valid receipt now through 11:59 PM CDT on 8/28/2022. After 11:59 PM CDT on 8/28/2022 the referral bonus will expire.