deals

Crafts and Fun DIY with Dollar Tree!

Abby H.

Wednesday is the last day of school for us. And we’ve got two weeks of fun and frolic before summer school starts, so that means it’s time to bulk up our craft supplies and try out some new crafts.

Dollar Tree does not disappoint. Since they’ve increased prices to $1.25 per item, I’ve seen a huge increase in the quality and variety of craft items, including cotton fat quarters, which are great for all sorts of sewing and crafts.

If you are looking for some ideas for fun, inexpensive summer crafts, check out the Dollar Tree Blog here.

I picked up one of their bottles of dye for tie-dying, and I took pics for Instagram. I’ll post a final pic this morning. Overall I’d give it 5/10. I chose dark purple, and it came out more of a wisteria color. There is a lot of fading, but if you use some of my tie-dye tips here (especially the washing soda pre-soak), you may have greater success. Colors available include Green, Pink, Purple, Red, Turquoise, Yellow.

And I made this cute sign the other night. All the supplies came from Dollar Tree!

The wooden sign, The butterfly stickers, one of the colors of paint (white), and the black permanent marker I used to outline the leaves.

All told, this craft cost less than $6 and I have a cute welcome sign for the front door.

There are all sorts of fun crafts available at Dollar Tree! I’ll be posting more of our crafting adventures on Instagram this summer, if you see a craft that interests you, please comment and I can do a tutorial!

 

6/3/2022 Friday Freebies and Deals!

Abby H.

Woo Hoo! It’s Friday and next week is the last week of school! The kids are ready for adventure. And so am I.

There are so many awesome freebies and deals this week, and the weather this weekend is supposed to be AWESOME (AND WARM) here in San Diego.

Mask Mandates are changing constantly in California and can vary by city and county, so please do your part if you are going to any in-person freebies.

2022 Birthday Freebies are here!

Freebies:

Free Subscription to Bon Appetit
Panera Members – Free Bagel Everyday in June
Free Pride Flag Paint Pour Craft Event
Free Museum Admission – Bank of America/Merril Lynch Cardholders
Free Soul Snacks Product – $4.97 value
Ulta – Free Tula the Cult Classic Cleanser for Your Birthday
Free Bloomingdale’s Little Freebies Box
Free IT Cosmetics Bronzing Brush
FREE Personalized Children’s Book & Stickers – Only $1 Shipping
Possible Free Crest 3D White Strips
2 Free Bottles of Vivazen Women’s Health Herbal Supplement
Free Oikos Pro Yogurt Product at Meijer
Free Avarelle Acne Cover Patches
Free Light & Lean Recipe Booklet
Free Doughnut at Krispy Kreme Friday
Mack’s Free Ear Plug’s Giveaway – Every Weekday at 11am EST
Free Famous Amos Cookies at Select Stores
Free Sample of Moon K Tea Kratom Powder
Sephora – Free Laura Mercier, amika, Tatcha or Ilia Mini Set

Tea Collection: The Easy Does It Sale Is Happening Now ($10 and Up)

Abby H.

** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. 

Summer shopping: twirly dress, a super soft romper, and piles of leggings to pair with everything. It’s time for the Easy Does It Sale from Tea Collection! Starting at just $10, there are tons of cute items for the kiddos in your life.

That sale runs Thursday, June 2, 2022 through Sunday, June 5, 2022.

 

Fine Print: Dresses, Rompers & Leggings prices as marked on site. Offer valid from 6/2/2022 through 6/5/2022 at 11:59 PM PT. Discount taken will be pre-tax. Cannot be combined with other promotions. No adjustments on previous purchases. Not redeemable for cash. Limited to stock on hand. Please note: costs have increased due to growing challenges in our supply chain. We have added a 0.75 cent fee to all orders. If you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to service@teacollection.com.

June Sprouts Farmers Market Monthly Freebies!

Abby H.

Sprouts is hooking us up and helping us stay healthy! Every month on the Sprouts app in the Digital Coupon section, there are between 4-6 free items (they are marked “SAMPLING PROGRAM”).

Quantities are limited on the app, so if you are interested in any of these, I recommend that you add these coupons (by opening the Sprouts app, click on digital coupons, and click on each coupon in the lower corner where the little green circle is) to your app ASAP.

Not all Sprouts locations will have these freebies, so I suggest trying larger Sprouts locations in your area.

These are full-sized freebies- not small sample-sized products. they are located in the store with the other products of the same type.

Not all accounts will receive all the same products.

June 2022: New Month, New Coupons!

Abby H.

file000786402730Here is your monthly reminder!  A new month means new printable and electronic coupons!

The printable coupon market is slowly coming to an end. Smartsource no longer offers printable coupons, and you may notice that there are fewer coupon inserts in your Sunday newspaper. This is in favor of more offers available on apps. But if you love printable coupons….

  • Coupons.com (printable coupons, e-coupons, and a cashback app)

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!

June is here! It’s National Candy Month, and it’s also time for Father’s Day (June 20th), and Graduation season (starting as early as June 5th in some places). There will be deals on men’s wear, technology for grads (like new laptops), and of course, summer stuff like swimwear, pool toys, and sunscreen!

For a complete list of types of foods and items that will be on sale, check out this post on the cycle of sales.

 

MIDAS: Oil Change Deals!

Abby H.

Summer means road trips! Before you hit the road, make sure your car is road-ready!

MIDAS wants to help you with a sweet deal.

Find a participating MIDAS location near you to get the coupon and request an appointment.

Once you find a location near you, you can print a coupon for a Conventional Oil Change & Tire Rotation for only $29.99 plus a disposal fee at MIDAS. Prices and fees in Hawaii/Alaska are $49.99.

I printed my coupon off this morning, I’m getting Princess Sparkle Cupcake (this is what happens when you let the 4-year-old name the new car) ship shape, and ready to get outta town!

 

My Savings Checklist: Before and After The Shopping Trip

Abby H.

One of the ways I save money on groceries is to utilize cashback apps. But I’ve never shared how I do my cashback “work”.

When it’s time to hit the store, I’ll scroll through Ibotta, Shopkick, and the Coupons.com apps to see if there is anything on my list. If so, I click the offer/coupon (only needed on Ibotta and Coupons.com, no work is needed beforehand for Shopkick). Sometimes I’ll check Fetch Rewards to see if there are any extra point offers. Last week there were two offers for hand soap in the Fetch Rewards app, which was on my list. It ended up making the handsoap free!

If I’m going to Target, I’ll also check the Target app for any coupons or Target Circle offers for anything on my list.

The nice thing about all of these apps is that you can scan the barcode of items if you aren’t sure they qualify for a rebate offer.

Once I get home and get everything put away, I take my receipts out and start scanning.

With Ibotta, Walmart and Target are no scan stores. Just make sure your payment card and Walmart/Target accounts are linked to Ibotta (It’s pretty easy and directions are available in the Ibotta App). For other stores, just open the app and follow the directions.

I scan my receipts through the following apps each time, regardless of what I buy:

I know it sounds like a lot of work, but really, it’s about 10-15 minutes once a week and I’m saving thousands of dollars a year. For the apps that offer gift cards instead of Paypal or Venmo payouts, I select gift cards for the stores I buy groceries or other goods frequently.

I love getting Target Gift cards. I can load them directly to my Target App, and use them at checkout straight from the app, no need to carry around printouts or remember to open emails or other apps at checkout.

Talk Back: If there are any apps that you like that I didn’t mention, please leave a comment!

 

 

 

Shopkick: Earn Cashback When you Visit Stores and Shop!

Abby H.

I’ve never talked about Shopkick before, and it’s a pretty easy program.

Shopkick is a rebate app, similar to Ibotta, where you earn points that can be redeemed for gift cards (there are over 70 gift card options) when you buy specific products.

But what makes Shopkick different is that you can also earn points by scanning barcodes in-store, and by opening the app while you are in the store and checking in through the Shopkick app. It definitely makes walking through the mall a little more lucrative. Walk-ins/Check-ins will net you between 10-75 points, and scanning product UPC’s will net you between 10-50 points. Each store and product is different. With over 40 stores, you can earn on almost any shopping trip.

I use Shopkick to check-in, and if I’m in Target by myself and not in a rush, I’ll scan a few product UPCs for extra points. I earn about $10 in Shopkick Gift Cards a month, just by doing my usual shopping and checking into stores.

And as you can see by the screenshots of the app, there are offers for products that you may actually buy. Nothing weird or hard to find.

If you want to check Shopkick out, you can sign up with code JOY087662 & we’ll both get a bonus! The Shopkick app is available for both Android and IOS phones.

6 Small Ways to Trim Your Out of Pocket

Abby H.

With my work year coming to an end, I need to trim my budget. It looks like my monthly income is about to be cut in half. I applied for a summer school job, but I haven’t heard back one way or another, so I’m guessing I didn’t get the job and I need to prepare for that.

There are fun activities that the kids want to do this summer, and they all cost money, so I need to trim a bit more so we have the opportunity to have some fun.

Here are a few ways that you (and I) can save some money and free up room in our budget this summer.

Start by looking over your family budget. Is there anything you can dump? Streaming services you no longer use, monthly subscriptions that no longer serve you? For us, we are dumping Netflix next month. We no longer use it enough to justify the $20/month. Feel like you are overpaying for your cellphone or other services, look into switching carriers or plans. If you don’t have a family budget, here is an easy way to put one together.

Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make It Do, or Do Without. This is an oldie, but a goodie. And by this statement, I mean that use what you have on hand. Eat the food in your kitchen (meal planning can help with that), wear the clothes you’ve got, and repair them as needed. Don’t forget that there are groups like Buy Nothing, where you can share and receive goods and services from those in your neighborhood. It’s hard to not want to keep up with the Joneses, especially in our society where it seems like everything is based on presentation and showing off what you’ve got on social media.

Take advantage of programs in your community. There are so many free and low-cost programs meant to help families during this time of unprecedented inflation, low wages, and other social issues that contribute to financial instability. Here in San Diego County, there are resources for free food and free clothing. 

If you have someone in your family who requires electricity for their medical devices or if you are low income, check out your local power companies website to learn about discounts you may be eligible for. This post has details and more tips.

If you are looking for some free summer fun for the kids, there are events like Kids night out, and summer reading programs.  And in California, there will be free breakfasts and lunches for kids under 18 throughout the summer through schools and local parks and rec. As soon as I have more details on those, it will be a separate post.

My final tip- Don’t be embarrassed to ask for help. There are so many programs and resources out there to help. Even if you feel like there are people and families out there who “have it worse”, you deserve help. This isn’t a “who has it worse” situation. Everyone deserves to live a good life. Take advantage of opportunities that come your way.

Talk Back- If you have tips or tricks to help with lowering your Out of Pocket, I’d love to hear it!

 

Earn Cashback at Walmart with Zarty!

Abby H.1 Comment

I learned about Zarty on Reddit last week. I downloaded the app, and had to try it for myself. Last night I went to Walmart and decided to give it a shot.

There are three parts to earning cashback with Zarty.

  • First, scan the product in-store before you buy it.
  • Then scan the receipt after purchase, and answer a few questions.
  • Finally, a few days later, answer some additional questions about your experience with the product.

Some products have a 100% cashback rebate in the form of points. This week, it’s frozen veggies and crescent rolls. There was a Snickers bar too, but I missed out on that by a few hours.

What I like about Zarty is that it’s super easy to use. Once you earn 10,000 points you can cash out for a $10 Walmart Gift Card.

That’s it. It’s simple, it’s easy, and you can use it with other cash back apps. You earn points every time you scan in a Walmart receipt too, even if you don’t have any offers on your receipt.

We don’t have a great Walmart in our city. It’s not a supercenter or neighborhood market, so they don’t have a lot of groceries, but if you live in an area with either of those and you shop there, this app may be a really great way for you to earn even more cashback.

There is no referral link or code to download this app. Just go to the app store or Google Play store and download the Zarty app to get started!