Do 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:
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?
Have you checked out Fetch Rewards yet? If not, you can check out all of the deets here.
Right now, Fetch has some really awesome (read useful) products that are offering increased point rewards.
If you haven’t downloaded the Fetch App yet, use my code ND2TB when you sign up and you’ll score 1500 points after you scan in your first receipt with Fetch Rewards. That’s halfway to your first $3 Amazon Gift Card (or whatever $3 Gift Card you choose). You can find Fetch Rewards in your app store.
So far in 2019, I’ve cashed out $30 in Amazon GC with Fetch Rewards!
If you use my code, I’ll get some points when you do. Win/Win, right? Honestly, my disclosure statement is here. I’m here to help ya’ll save money, not make a million dollars!
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 $10.00 in savings you can transfer it to your Paypal Account, buy a gift Card, or even donate your savings to charity!
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 100 retailers!
It’s June- The middle of the year, time to review how much I’ve made on my side hustles so far this year. To be fair, I did just complete a semester of college, so it’s probably not as much as I could have been making.
I’ve only included the hustles I’ve made money with in 2019. A complete list of all my money making hustles can be found here.
Radial Insight So far in 2019, I’ve earned a little over $25 in Amazon GC (which is my preferred method of payment, besides cold, hard cash)
PaidViewPoint– $33 via Paypal, plus I’ve done 2 studies where they send me a product to try out and fill out a survey about.
Field Agent $120.30 (via EFT) to date! This is one of my favorites. You choose the tasks you wish to do, and you can do as many as you are able to complete.
SBKC $50 via online Visa GC. I’ve been doing this for one for about 9 or so years. It’s dead simple.
Focus Groups $300 I’ve only done two this year, but I’m scheduled for one next Friday that pay $200!
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!
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!
One of my favorite website 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!
Oh, and don’t forget about MooMoney from the CA Dairy Board! You can learn more here about to score cash back on your fluid dairy purchases through 4/28/19.
Ya’ll know that I’m super excited about Fetch Rewards. It’s a cash back app. You can learn more about it here.
Now through February 25th (that’s Monday) you’ll score 3000 points (that’s $3 in rewards) for every referral. Yup, and there is no limit!
Use my code ND2TB when you sign up and you’ll score 3000 points after you scan in your first receipt with Fetch Rewards. That’s a $3 Amazon Gift Card (or whatever $3 Gift Card you choose). You can find Fetch Rewards in your app store.
One of the things I like most about Fetch Rewards is that even if you don’t buy one of the brands that Fetch Partners with (complete list can be seen here), you still earn points. And you can earn points regardless of where you shop!
So Get Started! Download the app, upload a receipt and share the app with your friends!
Sunday Night I went to the grocery store to pick up milk, bread, and a few other things.
I spent $42 and it was not all that much stuff. While I was waiting in line, the lady behind me in line was going through her coupons, and her grocery list. We got to talking, I showed her the store app, where she was able to find a few more coupons. We started talking about how expensive it was to eat healthy, and I confessed to her that this was not my weekly shopping trip, I was just picking up stuff that I only buy at Food4Less:
Milk (it’s cheapest at FFL),
A specific kind of higher protein bread (it’s the cheapest place to buy this type of bread and has no High Fructose Syrup),
A specific kind of popscicles
5 lb bag of bananas (cheapest place to buy that many bananas)
This doesn’t have to cost a fortune!
And I picked up a few other misc. things that we needed and were on sale (cheese, oranges, and a 5 lb. bag of Gala apples), and a 2 liter of diet Cherry Pepsi and a jar of maraschino cherries (Mama needs a cocktail sometimes, OK?).
She asked about my grocery budget and where I shop the rest of the time. I told her my shopping strategy, after I make my grocery list:
My Top Ten Deals at 99 Cents Only– Start there for fresh produce. Salad, carrots, celery, berries, pineapples, zucchini, squash (all kinds), onions, potatoes are all types of produce that are regularly stocked. They usually have other interesting seasonally available produce too. They also have great sauces, condiments, herbs and spice blends.
Keep a Price Book- I know the best place to buy Milk, cheese, bread, and butter. I keep my price book in my phone now, but I used to use a little spiral bound notebook that lived in my purse.
Stock up on food that you will eat frequently when it does on sale. I’m not talking about fresh produce that can’t be kept (like lettuce), but if you find a good deal on strawberries, for example, chop and freeze some for smoothies or baking, make fruit leather, or dry some (they are really tasty dehydrated). Bread can be frozen, so can butter! Canned goods, shelf stable foods are perfect for stocking up. I also like stocking up on chicken when it’s on sale. I can butcher a whole chicken in a few minutes, and I frequently will break up large packages of chicken breasts into meal sized portions, season them, and put them into the freezer. Learn more about meal prep here.
For our family, meal prep and meal planning saves us a lot of time and money. There are always multiple choices for each meal at our finger tips, so the allure of getting food from take-away is gone. I always have a batch of pizza dough in the freezer too! I make two batches once a week- one for the freezer, and one to go in the fridge that gets used within 1-2 days of making.
It doesn’t matter what your food budget is, you can still eat well! It may take a little prep work each week, but the health of your family is worth it, right?
If you are on a very tight budget or are facing food insecurity, here is a list of San Diego based food resources that offer healthy food.
Do 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.
Have you checked out Fetch Rewards yet? If not, you can check out all of the deets 
Bed Bath & Beyond is in the app! Get 2% back on all your indoor and outdoor household essentials for cooking, dining, decorating and more.
Sunday Night I went to the grocery store to pick up milk, bread, and a few other things.
Hewes Family Fun 