San Diego Area Readers: Donate Canned goods receive a free facial or massage!

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Firefly Wellness is having our seventh annual holiday food drive to support the San Diego Food Bank. Items can be dropped off  through December 20th at their location in North Park.

Screen Shot 2017-11-11 at 8.44.59 PM.pngThe best part of this offer is that not only are you helping others with your food bank donation, but when you donate ten or more food items off at Firefly Wellness, you’ll receive a certificate for a free 30-minute massage or facial. You can use it yourself or give it as a gift.

I know most Frugalistas have at least ten extra (and unexpired) items in their cupboard they could part with. If you are unsure what kind of items to donate, here are items that the food bank always needs:

  • Canned Meats
  • Canned Vegetables
  • Canned Fruits
  • Canned Soup
  • Peanut Butter
  • Cereal & Oatmeal
  • Rice & Pasta
  • Powdered Milk, beverage mixes (like shelf stable juice concentrate, instant coffee, hot cocoa pouches)
  • Infant Formula (The sample sized canisters or sample pouches that you may have received free in the mail are perfect donations!)

(if you are looking for coupons to help you shop for donation, check out the coupons here)

Food Drive Information:
 
When: Now through Dec 20, 2017
Where: Firefly Wellness
How: Drop off items on your next visit, or call 619.249.4323 to schedule a drop-off or pick up or your items.
BONUS: Receive a THANK YOU GIFT CERTIFICATE when you donate ten or more items.  (Limit one per person.)
Please comment if you will be taking advantage of this great deal (and what you’ll be donating). I’ll be donating Oatmeal and Peanut Butter among other things.

Tons of Freebies from Kroger stores!

I love me some freebies… And right now the Kroger family of stores (which for us So Cal peeps means Food4Less and Ralphs) has a bunch of great freebies that you can load to your club card.

It doesn’t matter which card you have (Ralphs, Food4Less, Kroger, etc), you can load all of these great freebies to one card and head to the store!

Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 8.39.12 AM.pngKScreen Shot 2017-11-10 at 8.39.07 AM.pngroger has Free Arla Cream Cheese and free Lifeway Kefir Cups! Click this link to get started.

 

 

 

 

Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 8.46.57 AM.pngScreen Shot 2017-11-10 at 8.44.49 AM.pngRalphs has a free Silk Yogurt Singles here.

Food4Less has a free Nissin Cup Noodles here.

 

Each Week Ralphs/Kroger has at least one free item!

If you are new to Free Friday Downloads from Ralph’s, here is more info about how it works:

WHAT IS FREE FRIDAY DOWNLOAD? An exclusive benefit to having an account online at ralphs.com is FREE products (yes, we said FREE!). When you download the free product coupon, it will be loaded directly to your Shopper’s Card and applied at checkout in-store.

HOW DOES IT WORK? Visit this page on Fridays

DOWNLOAD the digital coupon for the free product (make sure to download between 12:01 am and 11:59pm PT). View the coupon under ‘My Coupons’ in your account online or in the mobile app.

You have two weeks to redeem this coupon in store! Pick up the product at your local Ralphs store and digital coupon will automatically apply at checkout.

Natural Skin Care for Kids and Moms from Healtop

One of the downfalls of living in the desert (because, yes, San Diego is a desert, even though there is a beach) is that my family always has dry skin.

I have lotions, and serums, and potions all over the house. None of them have been doing the trick lately, so I was excited when Healtop asked me to review their Moms Package.

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The Moms Package consists of three items:

  • Slim- Natural herbal supplement that is added to water.
  • Everyday Face Care-Serum for regular and mixed skin.
  • Body- 100% Natural Body Cream.

I’ve been adding the Slim to my water every morning and afternoon and I haven’t noticed a difference on the scale, but my skin is looking incredible! It contains extracts of several types of mushroom, turmeric, Milk Thistle, and several essential oils.

The Everyday Face Care is my new favorite product. I’ve added it to my beauty ritual. The directions tell you to apply a few drops to a clean face twice daily, but I’ve been mixing it with my usual Vitamin C serum. Everyday Face Care contains tons of nourishing essential oils in a sweet almond oil base. It is perfect for those days when my skin is super dry- which has been all the time lately.

The last component to The Moms Package is Body- 100% Natural Body Cream. This is worth it’s weight in gold! It’s 100% Natural products, no synthetic scents or mineral oils. It’s also free of petroleum-based ingredients and parabens. It’s really soothing and easy absorbed into the skin. It’s been perfect for my rough elbows and knees and for my sons dry skin. I’ve been applying it after I bathe and I wake up the next morning smooth and soft.

logoHealtop is based in Israel, and all of their products are Manufactured under international standards of GMP, HACCP, ISO90. They are naturopath approved, cruelty free, and vegan. Healtop’s products will make a great holiday gift for anyone on your gift list. they have bundles for everyone on your gift list: Teens, Toddlers, Infants, and Moms over 45!

I also love the blog section of their website. There are a lot of really great articles about various health topics. Get Rid of Back Pain Easy and Fast was of interest. Carrying around a 30 lb. 2 1/2 year old leads to a sore back frequently!

Disclaimer: I was provided with a free Moms Package from Healtop and USFamilyGuide in order to facilitate my review. All opinions are my own. I received no financial compensation for my review. Please review my Disclosure Page and contact me with any questions.

A Review: What’s up with Restaurant.com?

Screen Shot 2017-10-25 at 10.29.17 PM.pngFor those who have never used Restaurant.com, but hear me extol its virtues, here is how it works.

You purchase a discounted gift certificate (make sure to check the cert for restrictions, such as a minimum purchase amount or mandatory gratuity ) for a local restaurant.  You have a year from the date of purchase to use it.

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Here is an example of how to use the certs to your advantage.

Cafe XYZ- Certificate for $15.00.  Terms of cert: $15 off the purchase of $30 or more.  Mandatory 18% gratuity.

  • The check comes to $30.00
  • Mandatory grat. 18% $5.40
  • Minus Cert amt. -$15.00
  • Total New Bill: $14.60
  • Gift Certificate Cost $6.00, but thanks to coupon code REAL, you save 50% off the certificate making the total $3.00 for the Gift certificate.

The price for this complete meal is $17.60 (that includes the cost of the certificate).  The total amount saved $12.40.

They offer discounted certs in smaller amounts too.

ABC Cafe- Certificate for $25.00.   Terms of the cert: $25.00 off the purchase of $35.00 or more.  Mandatory 18% gratuity.

  • The check comes to $35.00
  • Mandatory grat. 18% $6.30
  • Minus Cert amt. -$25.00
  • Total New Bill: $16.30
  • Thanks to coupon code REAL, you save 50% off the certificate making the total $3.00 for the Gift certificate.

The price for this complete meal is $19.30 (that includes the cost of the certificate).  The total amount saved $15.70.

There are always coupon codes for http://www.restaurant.com/ on Retailmenot

ModCloth Stylish Surprises Starting at just $10!

(This post contains affiliate links, I may earn a commission if you purchase something from a link I post).

I love love love a good surprise!

So when I found out that ModCloth was launching Stylish Surprise, I had to share it.

I’ve already ordered 2 of the dresses, and I’ll be posting pics on Instagram when they arrive. What piqued my interest is that the mystery items with retail values up to $149.99. Dresses in my size ain’t cheap! I’ve got my fingers crossed for a couple cute Retro dresses!

Supplies are limited, so if you are interested, order soon!

Great Deal on Tide at Lowe’s!

Screen Shot 2017-08-21 at 6.13.59 PM.pngI love a good deal. And while I’m not big into deal blogging any more, it’s my duty to help ya’ll save money. If you are frugal like me, you wash your laundry with whatever gets your clothes clean and is inexpensive.

Screen Shot 2017-08-21 at 6.14.04 PM.pngLowe’s has a great deal right now on Tide 40-fl oz Refreshing Breeze High-Efficiency Laundry Detergent. It’s $2.00/bottle, instead of $4.28. 53% off isn’t too shabby.

A quick check on Lowes.com shows that the closest store to me is Poway, but because I have a mylowe’s account (that’s their store loyalty card- it’s totally free and you can sign up online immediately prior to your purchase), I can score free shipping. WOO HOO!

In a mere matter of days, I’ll have 50 bottles of Tide. I figure based on how many loads of laundry I do, that will last me about a year. That’s 625 loads. That’s about $.08/load. I can’t make laundry soap that cheap.

I know there are sometimes coupons for Tide, but with the limits on P&G (the company that makes Tide) coupons, that’s two per household, per day for those playing at home, it would take me quite a while to amass a stockpile on laundry soap.

That doesn’t take into consideration:

  • How on earth would  I get 50 coupons? (no, I won’t pay for them)
  • How on earth would I find a store where I could find 50 bottles of Tide?
  • It would take me 25 shopping days (that’s about a month, since I only shop when my big kid is in school), so I’m sure the coupons would expire before that.
  • The gas driving to the stores each day to buy the detergent.

 

If you need Laundry Detergent, check your local Lowe’s via Lowes.com!

And Don’t forget you can save even more by shopping through Topcashback or Mypoints.com!

 

 

 

 

Back to School Shopping (and Saving) with Groupon!

I love Groupon! They have such amazing daily deals, but, in addition they also have coupons to tons of your favorite retailers too? For example: Target! Yup, the beloved Bullseye!

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On the Groupon site there are 71 deals and coupons for Target. One of my absolute favorite deals for Target is $5.00 off $50.00 plus free shipping! This deal is not only good online but, in store as well. Perfect to get your Back-To-School shopping kicked off. Just think with Cartwheel and insert/printable coupons in addition to the Groupon Coupon, you’ll be driving a full shopping cart to your car!

I could shop Target for hours (hopefully alone and sipping a latte from the Starbucks inside the store!).

 

Screen Shot 2017-07-22 at 6.58.57 PM.pngThe other Groupon Coupons retailer I am looking forward to visiting soon is JCPenney! Ya’ll know my love of JCP! The great sales, the good, sturdy clothes (we love their store exclusive brands like St. John’s Bay!) and housewares, we do a majority of Back-To-School shopping at JCPenney! There are 43 coupons and deals for JCP, so I know there is no shortage of savings to be had!

If neither of those stores are on your Back-To-School shopping list these retailers are also on Groupon Coupons and Deals:

After you take a peek over at Groupon Coupons, which of the 82,830 free coupons at 12,082 stores are you most excited about?

 

 

Freebie Roundup!

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I keep getting requests for more free sample posts, so here you go!

Free $5 Off $5 Pre-Owned GameStop Coupon
Free Subscription to People, Real Simple, W & More
Free Palmer’s Eventone Cocoa Butter Moisturizing Sunscreen
Free Sample of Nutty Berry Burst SPIRU-TEIN Shake
Free Subscription to Better Homes and Gardens Magazine
Free Sample of Clinique Take the Day Off Makeup Remover at Ulta
Panera Members – Free Bagel Everyday in June
Free I Love Birds Decal

Free samples are a great way to try new products and offset your household budget.

Another program that I love is Social Nature. They offer coupons for free natural products in exchange for honest reviews. I’ve sampled many really tasty products, including Ezekiel products (they have yummy high protein English muffins).

Here is my post all about how I score free stuff, beyond finding cool samples like these online. There are a lot of programs that are looking to share full size products with you for free!

Cooking at home with Home Chef & $30 off!

We’re back from camping and ! am pooped. Making a yummy, home cooked meal is the last thing I want to do today. I am wishing that my box from Home Chef was already here!

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Home Chef delivers perfectly portioned ingredients and easy-to-follow recipes directly to your door, so whether you’re an amateur cook, or more seasoned in the kitchen, cooking with Home Chef is easy and enjoyable.

Each week, you can use the personalized recipe recommendations they provide you. Or, you can pick from 11 fresh, chef-designed dinners, priced at $9.95 per serving. They change their menu weekly to give you countless new dinner options.

In about 30 minutes, using Home Chef‘s simple, step-by-step recipe cards, you’ll confidently prepare meals from scratch that impress everyone at your table…including yourself! Use the promo code “FAMILY” to try out Home Chef for $30 off!

I can’t wait to try a few different entrees and share them with you!
300x250v2The Tacos al Pastor look really good! Which entrees pique your interest?

Awesome Deal on Visa Gift Cards at Staples #StaplesSV20

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Staples is back at it again with an awesome deal on Visa Gift Cards! Right now through May 27, 2017 when you purchase $300 or more in Visa gift cards at Staples you will receive a $20 Staples gift card by rebate. See store for more details, find your local Staples here. What is great about this deal is you can choose different denominations of Visa Gift card to reach the $300.

There are so many great ways to work this deal!

  • Use your points or cash back credit card to purchase the gift cards for a double dip! Our American Express Card gives us 5% cash back when we shop at office supply stores.
  • Pick up gift cards in smaller amounts ($25) and give to your kid’s teachers as end of the year gifts, save for Father’s Day (it’s next month!), or give the Grad in your life.
  • Use the gift cards to stay on budget for gifts and online shopping! Because you can shop in store or online with gift cards, it’s a great way to triple dip (use a cashback online shopping website like ebates or Topcashback to redeem your gift cards. You will earn even more cash back!).

Right now, you can enter to win a $50 Amazon Gift Card! Buy yourself something nice, or maybe put it towards some summer fun!

Click here to enter: a Rafflecopter giveaway  (the Rafflecopter may not be mobile friendly).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is a sponsored post, thanks to Tatu Digital Media for including me on this awesome offer and giveaway! All opinions are my own!