deal

New In-Store Cash Back Deals from Rakuten!

Abby H.

I wrote about Rakuten last month, and I’ve discovered all kinds of awesome in-store cash back deals!

There are going to be some crazy July 4th sales this week all over the mall, so before you hit the stores, make sure to check out Rakuten and load some in-store cash back offers!

Here are just a few of my favorites:

Sephora: 4.0% In-Store Cash Back
Bed Bath & Beyond: 3.0% In-Store Cash Back
Macy’s: 6.0% In-Store Cash Back
JCPenney: 2.0% In-Store Cash Back
The Body Shop: 7.0% In-Store Cash Back
Sally Beauty: 6.0% In-Store Cash Back

Make sure to check the terms of each offer too. I love that I can use coupons and take advantage of store sales and deals and earn cash back in-store too!

If you haven’t check out Rakuten yet, here is a little deal to sweeten the pot: When you join (it’s free) you’ll receive a $10 gift card after your first purchase of $25 or more!

Enjoy Fireworks & Fun at Legoland!

Abby H.

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If you don’t have plans for Thursday, check out the fun at Legoland California!

Don’t miss Fireworks set to a patriotic musical tribute with great viewing in designated locations throughout the Park.

Event activities include:

  • All-American family picnic games: water-balloon tosses, burlap sack races, Family Build Challenge and LEGO Hamburger relay
  • Patriotic costume parade: come dressed in your favorite Red, White and Blue attire
  • Fireworks
  • Character meet and greets
  • Special giveaways
  • Live performances and more!

The celebration lasts from 1:00pm to 9:00pm with fireworks at 8:30pm. All Red, White and BOOM! activities are included in the cost of admission to LEGOLAND California.

And if you are looking for a deal, Groupon has discount admissions here. Or if you stop by a San Diego County area McDonald’s location, you can pick up a coupon for a free child admission when you purchase an adult admission at full price.

If you are looking for more frugal fun at Legoland, check out my post here.  If you have a special needs child, learn more about the Assisted Access pass here.

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

6/28/19 Friday Freebies and Deals!

Abby H.

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This week there are a bunch of cool, different freebies and deals!

 

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?

A Sizzling Summer Flash Sale at Schoola!

Abby H.

Schoola.comBlink, and you’ll miss this flash sale! Get 75% off orders with code SUPERFLASH at Schoola.com. Offer valid 6/25/19-6/26/19 only.

And if you are new to Schoola, sign up here and earn $10 off your first order!

And another thing I love about Schoola, in addition to helping schools, and keeping clothes out of landfills, is that the shipping is really cheap (or free).

I’ll be picking up some light colored clothes to tie dye! I love the $3 Finds in the Closeout Closet! Only at Schoola.com.

This sale at Schoola is a great way to start your back to school shopping!

Fine Print: Not valid on previous purchases. Discounts and credits do not apply toward shipping 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.

And as always, FREE SHIPPING on orders of $25 or more on the first 10 items.

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?

6/21/19 Friday Freebies and Deals!

Abby H.

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Happy first day of summer! Let’s celebrate with a round of freebies and deals!

Free Stuff:

 

Free Magazines:

 

Free in-store events:

 

Summer Movie Programs for Kids!

Abby H.

In the past, I’ve only posted about Regal Cinemas Summer movies but after some digging, I’ve come to discover that most movie theatre companies offer an inexpensive summer movie program for kids!

Looking at each theatres offerings, it appears that there isn’t tons of variety. Most theatres are showing kids movies that were popular in the last 5 years or so.

UltraStar Cinemas: A different film shown every week at 9:30 AM. Tickets on sale NOW at the theater box offices. $1 per movie. Mission Valley at Hazard Center Summer Program, every Monday-Thursday: June 17-August 8.

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Regal 2019 Summer Movie Express series– Movie ticket deals are just $1 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays featuring summer movies the whole family will enjoy like Shrek, Despicable Me, Kung Fu Panda and many more. Regal has the widest variety of movies.

Screen Shot 2019-06-20 at 8.46.09 AM.png Reading Cinema has summer movies as well! Tickets are just $1 each, and movies start at 10am M-TH.

 

Screen Shot 2019-06-20 at 8.57.05 AM.pngAMC offers a summer movie program, however, there are only three locations in California: Bonsall, Irvine, and Apple Valley (Victorville area). Their Summer Movie Camp is being offered at their AMC Classic theatres ONLY.  The complete list of participating theatres can be found here.

The nice part about the AMC program is that the programs includes a ticket to the Kid-Friendly movie plus a KidsPack every Wednesday for just $4 (+tax).

 

To keep the frugal morning going, check out a free kids lunch location near the theatre.  For more info on San Diego locations, check out this post. If you live outside San Diego County, Text FOOD  (Or COMIDA for a list in Spanish) to 877-877, or call 211 and you can find a list of free summer lunch locations near you.

$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.