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August: 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 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!

Here are a few of my favorite new coupons:

Save $2.00 TWO (2) BOOST® Nutritional Drink or Drink Mix

Save $0.75 on ONE (1) 32 fl. oz. Simply Smoothie™, any variety

Save $0.75 on ONE (1) Monk Fruit In The Raw® 40 Count Box or 4.8oz Bakers Bag

Save $1.00 when you buy ONE any flavor EPIC™ meat bar OR Rise & Grind™ bar

Save $2.00 on ONE (1) pint of So Delicious Dairy Free™ Frozen Mousse

Save $3.00 on any ONE (1) Rimmel Eye Product

New Savingstar Rebates

Abby H.

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SavingStarhas some awesome new rebates available.

If you are new to SavingStar, it’s different from traditional couponing!

What makes SavingStar different is that you don’t receive money off at the register.  The savings in held in your SavingStar account, and once you reach at least $20.00 in savings you can transfer it to your Paypal Account or donate your savings to charity!

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SavingStaris the first national, fully digital, grocery eCoupon service, available for free at www.savingstar.com and on iPhone and Android mobile apps. There’s nothing to clip, nothing to print. Chose offers, shop, and save! SavingStar is currently available at over 70,000 locations!

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Here are the latest offers:

SAVE $2.00 off any ONE (1) Nexium® 24HR Product.Expires 8/20/2019.Save $2.00.

SAVE $5.00 off any ONE (1) 28 ct. or 42 ct. Nexium® 24HR Product.Expires 8/4/2019.Save $5.00.

Save $3.00 when you spend $15.00 on any So Delicious® Dairy Free Yogurt Alternative.Expires 9/15/2019.Save $3.00.

Buy ONE (1) Pure Leaf® Tea Pack (6 pack, any flavor / variety) and get ONE (1) FREE Stacy’s® Pita Thins (up to $3.00, 6.75 oz, any flavor / variety).Expires 8/30/2019.Save $0.00.

Save $1.50 when you purchase ANY TWO (2) BUSH’S® Baked Beans 16oz or BUSH’S® Savory Beans. Any Variety. Items must appear on the same receipt..Expires 8/29/2019.Save $1.50.

Save $1.00 when you purchase ANY ONE (1) Whole Fruit® Frozen Novelties. Any variety..Expires 8/22/2019.Save $1.00.

Save $2.00 when you purchase ANY ONE (1) Scotch® Brand Packaging Tape Multi-packs. Any Variety..Expires 8/21/2019.Save $2.00.(Only at Home Depot, Lowe’s Home Improvement, Target, Walmart)

Save $0.50 when you purchase ANY ONE (1) Scotch® Brand Packaging Tape Singles. Any Variety..Expires 8/21/2019.Save $0.50.(Only at Home Depot, Lowe’s Home Improvement, Target, Walmart)

7/17/19- National Hot Dog Day!

Abby H.

Today is National Hot Dog Day! Let’s celebrate with a couple yummy deals!

If you’ve got a Weinerschnitzel nearby, stop on by for 5 chili dogs for just $5! (Original Chili Dog only, must order in multiples of 5. Cheese extra, today only)Screen Shot 2019-07-17 at 7.35.44 AM.png

 

Screen Shot 2019-07-17 at 7.36.17 AM.pngFeeling more like a Sonic Drive-in Coney?

Open up your Sonic App, and use promo code YUM for $1 6-inch Chili Cheese or All-American Dogs all-day*. And don’t forget when you order via the Sonic App, it’s half-price happy hour** all the time!

*$1 Dogs: Includes 6″ Chili Cheese Coney and All-American Dogs. Tax not included. Add-Ons cost extra. Limit 5. Valid only July 17, 2019 at participating SONIC® Drive-Ins. Not valid with Combos or any other offers. Not valid with third party delivery services.

**Happy Hour Any Time: Get ½ Price Drinks and Slushes Every Time You Order Ahead in the SONIC® App. Includes Soft Drinks, Iced Teas, regular Lemonades and Limeades, Frozen Lemonades and Limeades, Ocean Water® and Famous, Real Fruit and Candy Slushes. Add-Ins cost extra. Excludes Mini size, Ice Cream Slushes, Combos, Wacky Pack® Kids Meals and other offers. Discount based on menu price. Order Ahead available only at select locations. Offer good for a limited time only at participating SONIC® Drive-Ins.

July: 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 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!

Here are a few of my favorite new coupons:


SAVE $1.00 When you buy any ONE (1) jar of Barilla® Sauce


Save $1.00 on any TWO MorningStar Farms® Veggie Foods Products

Save $1.00 when you buy ONE PACKAGE any flavor/variety Godiva® Baking Mix

Save $0.50 on ONE Frigo® Cheese Heads® 8ct or larger Snack Cheese Product

Save $2.00 on ONE (1) package of Purina® TIDY CATS® Free & Clean™ brand Cat Litter, any size

10 Tips to Stay on Budget for Groceries

Abby H.2 Comments

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I frequently get skeptical looks, the side eye, or people thinking I’m starving my kids when I tell them that our grocery budget is $80/week.

It takes a lot of work, but it is doable. I cook a lot from scratch- it’s healthy, cheap, and I can control what goes into each dish (hidden veggies, fruit, less sugar, etc.). I can make a cheese pizza at home for less than $4, and that is enough pizza for the kids for two meals!

Here are a few of our family tactics to stay on budget:

  1. CASH! Go to the bank/ATM and get your grocery money out of the bank every week. This is a great way to start. I get $80 out of the ATM each Saturday for the upcoming weeks’ groceries.
  2. Inventory your Fridge, Freezer, and Pantry. Bonus- You’ll also find stuff that needs to be thrown out or donated. If you are looking for kitchen inventory printables, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.
  3. Menu Plan. Start by using what you’ve got on-hand. Eat food that’s on sale or in season. We eat a lot of strawberries in the summer because they are cheap!
  4. Make a grocery list. Stick to the list Don’t be afraid to substitute brands, or make changes based on what is on sale, or any in-store markdowns you find.
  5. Don’t be afraid to go to more than one store. I’m not saying run all over town, but going to two stores is OK. In our area, there are a 99 Cents Only store and a Grocery Outlet in the same shopping Center. I hit up both each week. Then, on the way home, I stop at Food4Less and buy milk (cheapest in town!), eggs, and bread (if 99 Cents Only doesn’t have the high protein bread we like).
  6. Eat Less Meat. Not only does it save money, but it’s better for the environment.
  7. Take advantage of local resources. There are a few food co-ops in our area. Additionally, there are free produce distributions too. A couple of my friends and I split a co-op lot twice a month. It comes out to less than $20 per person, and we get all kinds of cool stuff. A quick google search can help you find both in your area.  In the summer, we take advantage of Kid’s free lunches too.
  8. Coupon and/or use money-saving apps.  My complete list of apps can be found here. Right now my favorite apps are Fetch Rewards and Ibotta.  I love that I can use Fetch at any store. It helps because I shop a lot of Grocery Outlet and 99 Cents Only.
  9. Speaking of which… Don’t forget to check out stores like 99 Cents Only. There are all kinds of great bargains. Here is my list of 10 Great Buys at 99 Cents Only!
  10. Be Flexible. Some weeks you will go over budget. It happens. Sometimes you need to stock up on staples, or your family wants to eat something that isn’t on sale. Sometimes you really want to order a pizza and wings. That’s OK! Frugality is a journey, it’s not a punishment or a life of austerity and suffering. You can still live a fun, full life while being frugal.

Talk Back: Share a few of your families tips for staying on budget?

Shop Online with Affinityy and score $20!

Abby H.

I learned about Affinityy the other day and I had to try it.

Here’s the skinny:

$20 first purchase cash reward when you make your first purchase within 14 days of signup. Don’t worry, they will remind you to do so via email and on the website so you won’t miss out on your free $$.

Unlike the other cashback shopping site, Affinityy offers:

  • Earn $3 cash when you download the app
  • Up to $10 per referral of family/friends.
  • Earn $5, $10, and $20 cash bonuses the more you shop with Affinityy.
  • Receive your cash via check or PayPal

To try it out, I pulled out a JCP gift card I had been saving with $16 on it (I earned it doing an online survey- it was originally $50, but I did a little shopping a few weeks ago- Kids needed new pants!). Our crockpot died a few weeks ago (and taking along with it so really yummy pork chops- RIP chops), so I was hoping they would be on sale. Enter JCPenney in the Affinityy search bar, and click the resulting link.

Screen Shot 2019-06-23 at 9.28.05 AM.pngLucky for me, this one was on sale for $8.10! I also picked up a new bathroom rug for $5.95.

To save the shipping cost I chose in-store pick up. And I earned JCP Rewards by shopping online as well. Pretty good double dip.

Used a coupon code, and paid with my Gift card. A few hours later, I logged onto my Affinityy account and found that I had received $20 credit for my purchase and $3 for downloading the app!

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So far, it looks good! I’ll report back once I receive my money via paypal!

Talk Back: What is your favorite online shopping cashback portal?

Giveaway: Summer Fun at Uptown Jungle!

Abby H.10 Comments
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Henry playing Dodgeball with the Big Kids

Yesterday the kids and I headed over to Uptown Jungle in Santee. If you haven’t been there in a while (or ever) they’ve got a lot of exciting stuff going on right now!

For those not in the know, Uptown Jungle is an indoor playground with a giant trampoline, super slides, and 2-story indoor Mega Play Structure, Obstacle Course, and climbing walls! So regardless of the summer heat outside, kids can run and play.

The Santee location is going to be getting a makeover soon. The toddler area will be getting a wall-sized Light Brite board (which sounds super cool to me), the Obstacle Course is getting a cool ninja makeover, and the parent’s lounge will be reconfigured!

One of the best parts of Uptown Jungle is that the staff is really great with kids and they try to make sure everyone has an awesome time. The staff helps the kids safely get into the climbing wall harnesses and cheers them on as they climb. The trampoline area switches from little kids to big kids frequently, so everyone gets a turn to play safely.

One thing that really impresses me is that Uptown Jungle has Fundraising opportunities!

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Forget selling candy bars, candles, T-shirts, etc. Host a fundraising event at Uptown Jungle and earn 35% of the group’s admission!

And of course, there are opportunities for Birthday parties or team parties!

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Uptown Jungle has a Customer Royalty Program! When you download the app, you receive an offer for 1 hour of free play added to your paid admission! Find it wherever you download apps.

And they also have an email club! Join the Email Club for a Buy One Get One Hour of Play Time!

I want to share the fun of Uptown Jungle with you! One lucky reader will win 4 90-minute passes to Uptown Jungle. To enter, click here, or visit our Facebook page here (This option may not be mobile friendly).

 

Talk Back: How do your kids get their wiggles out in the summer?  

 

IMG_5970.jpgThanks so much to Ricky and his staff at the Santee Uptown Jungle for hosting the kids and me yesterday! We had a fun time, and they were exhausted after 90-minutes of running, jumping, climbing, and sliding!

 

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“Get my Good Side Mom!”

$1 Hot Dogs at Sonic Today Only!

Abby H.

Screen Shot 2019-06-20 at 7.36.04 AM.pngI’m stoked about this deal because I like hot dogs every once in a while. Not enough to buy them at the store and cook them at home.

The big kid is a vegetarian, so he’ll probably enjoy some tots, But the little and I will each get a dog.

6″ Chili Cheese Coney or All-American Dog are just $1 today at Sonic! You can order ahead in the Sonic App today using promo code DOLLAR. Plus, get half-price drinks and slushes with Happy Hour Any Time when you order in the Sonic App. Sweet Deal!
*$1 Dogs: Includes 6″ Chili Cheese Coney and All-American Dogs. Tax not included. Add-Ons cost extra. Limit 5. Valid only June 20, 2019, at participating SONIC® Drive-Ins. Not valid with Combos or any other offers. Not valid with third-party delivery services.

**Happy Hour Any Time: Get ½ Price Drinks and Slushes Every Time You Order Ahead in the SONIC® App. Includes Soft Drinks, Iced Teas, regular Lemonades and Limeades, Frozen Lemonades and Limeades, Ocean Water® and Famous, Real Fruit and Candy Slushes. Add-Ins cost extra. Excludes Mini size, Ice Cream Slushes, Combos, Wacky Pack® Kids Meals and other offers. Discount based on menu price. Order Ahead available only at select locations. Offer good for a limited time only at participating SONIC® Drive-Ins.

Save Time & Money This Summer with Online Shopping!

Abby H.13 Comments

e6d40b7bc536c9a8b6f32ebd3b6730efDo you dread taking your kids shopping in the summer? I love my two weirdos, but I dread taking them to Target, Wal-mart, basically any place I need to run errands that has toys, candy, treats, impulse buy items.

I can stick to my list and budget while shopping solo, but add my two smalls into the mix, and stuff “mysteriously” makes its way into my cart. The whining, crying, begging. It’s enough to drive me to day drink.

So, I try to shop online and do in-store pick up as much as possible. I use all of the tools available to me to save money:

Smartphone Apps 

A lot of the stores available through Mypoints and Topcashback  offer in-store or curbside pick up.

Target has their Redcard which has tons of perks. I save 5% every time I shop by using my Target Red Card.  It’s a debit card and it’s Target branded, so I can only use it at Target, just like an ATM card (with a PIN).

Today I’m running to Target to pick up an order of stuff (face wash, cotton balls, stuff like that).

Then it’s off to 99 Cents Only to refill the snack box!

Talk Back: How do you Navigate the stores in the summer while staying on budget? 

 

Earn Cashback in-store and online with Rakuten!

Abby H.

Ok, so I love me some cashback sites, but most of them are for online only purchases… Enter Rakuten!

Earning Cash Back at Rakuten is as Easy as 1-2-3! Sign up for free, shop at your favorite stores and earn Cash Back on every purchase.

Join free and get a $10 gift card after your first purchase of $25 or more.

And it gets better- If you are a lazy online shopper, you can install the Rakuten Extension Button (available for Edge, Chrome, Safari and Firefox ). It will activate Cash Back directly at store sites and automatically apply promo codes at checkout.

In-Store Cash Back:

  • Get started by adding your credit and debit cards to your account.
  • Find an In-Store Cash Back offer you like and link it to your card.
  • Pay with your linked card in stores and get Cash Back.