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New PinchMe Samples Drop 5/4/2021

Abby H.

Sample Tuesday is Coming 5/4/2021- Mark your calendars, set an alarm on your phone!

Don’t have any idea what I am talking about? PinchMe! Join PINCHme and receive free samples that you can provide feedback on.

PinchMe is awesome! Once you are signed up, they will email you reminders when new samples are about to drop, and remind you when it’s time to leave feedback.

May’s Samples include:

Moroccanoil, ONE MINIS™ Bars, Nature Nate’s, Eva NYC, Organic Valley, Hartz, John Frieda, Bella, Compeed®, Lumify, Sebastian, Bahlsen, Biotrue®, Living Proof, SSkeeter Hawk, and MORE!

Answer a series of questions about your household and shopping habits in the Member Profile. PinchMe learns what you like and offer samples just for you.

Once you’ve had a chance to try the samples, complete a short feedback survey to tell PinchMe what you think of the samples.

What are you waiting for? Sign up here and get on the free sample bandwagon! I’ve gotten all kinds of awesome sample/trial size items, as well as full-sized items to try out from PinchMe!

$20 Referral bonuses from BitmoPerks!

Abby H.

Bitmo is an app that I don’t use too often, but when I do, I save money and it makes me feel good!

It’s an app that you can use to send and receive gift cards.

You can also earn rewards when you shop through the app at specific retailers, like a lot of other apps (Dosh and Ibotta to name a few).

And one other thing that Bitmo does is it donates 2% of your gifting spend (that’s how much you spend on gift cards for others) to a charity- there are currently eight, including the San Diego Zoo, Rady’s Children’s Hospital, Feeding America, and The Salvation Army.

Right now they are offering bonus points when you refer new friends. 20,000 bonus points (that’s a $20 gift card) for everyone that joins, connects a card, and does a transaction. THey run referral bonuses a few times a year, but it’s usually for a $2-$5 Dunkin’ gift card or something small- Never a $20 bonus! And as far as I can tell, there is no limit on how many bonuses you can earn!

They are a San Diego, CA area business too. It’s cool to support local businesses, especially right now when a lot of small, local businesses could use the help.

 

Earn Gift Cards with Digsite Crew!

Abby H.

I’ve been doing surveys and research studies with Digsite for a little over a year. Right now, they are looking for new members!

Join the Digsite Crew today to earn rewards for sharing your valuable opinions with today’s leading brands! You’ll earn points for completing short surveys, even if you don’t end up qualifying for the research study.

A typical Digsite survey is 5 minutes long and worth 100 points. Every time you earn 1,000 points, you’ll be able to choose the $10 reward you’d like to receive.

You’ll earn additional gift card rewards for participating in research communities, typically ranging from $10-$50. You’ll also have opportunities to participate in video interviews where you can earn $50 or more!

Sign up here and start earning points today!

I do 1-2 research studies per month, most of them are at home, either testing products or online.

If you are looking to get hooked up with companies that do research studies, I recommend the following, in addition to Digsite above:

In San Diego there are the following research companies:

I try to post opportunities for Research Studies when I run across them, either here on the blog, or on my Facebook Page.

Recipe: Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Abby H.

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The kids have been begging for homemade cookies lately, and I’ve been busy with other stuff, so I haven’t had tons of time to make cookies.

I dug through the cupboard last week and realized that I had all of the ingredients except baking soda. I used the last half box I had to deodorize the kids bathroom.

So I turned to an old favorite, Kodiak Cakes Power Cakes Flapjack & Waffle Mix. and because of the other ingredients, I used a smidge of baking powder (please remember that soda and powder are not interchangeable in recipes- it has a lot to do with the other ingredients and their pH/chemical makeup) and the cookies turned out perfect!

Kodiak Cakes Power Cakes Flapjack & Waffle Mix contains leavening, so the added baking powder was just a little *bump* to make sure the cookies didn’t come out flat.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

  • One stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter, smooth preferred
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup white/granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups Kodiak Cakes Power Cakes Flapjack & Waffle Mix
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups quick oats, uncooked
  • 2 cups of chocolate chips

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and peanut butter.
  3. Add sugars one at a time and mix until fluffy.
  4. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated fully.
  5. Mix in baking powder, salt, flour, and oats. Once all are blended into the dough, add chocolate chips.
  6. Drop tablespoon-sized dough balls on cookie sheets that have been greased or are lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking pad.  I prefer silicone baking pads.
  7. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  Let cookies rest 1-2 minutes before transferring to the cooling rack.

This recipe makes approx. 3 dozen cookies. If you are allergic to peanuts, you can substitute sunbutter or your favorite nut butter. Do Not use Nutella- It contains a lot of sugar and other ingredients that will throw off the chemistry of the recipe and you won’t get yummy cookies.

4/26/2021 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

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The CSA emails us in advance to give us a heads up as to what may be in our boxes each week, and that really gives me an upper hand when it comes to meal planning for the week.

Veggies and fruit are delivered each Monday by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $25, it’s a great deal. I don’t have to pick anything, go to the store, or carry it upstairs. I can’t go to the store and get the same amount we get weekly for $25. Seriously. It’s a deal. I spend about an hour on Monday afternoon cleaning and prepping veggies for the rest of the week.

Over the weekend, I did some meal prep: I made a batch of potato cheese soup on Saturday evening, and yesterday I cooked rice, made a big salad, cooked marinated chicken thighs, and refilled the snack/school lunch box to make morning lunch prep even easier.

I’m planning on making a couple batches of soup today or tomorrow. I’ll freeze half, and the other half will go into the fridge for my lunch throughout the week. Broccoli Cheese Soup and Copycat Zuppa Toscana are planned (most of the ingredients will be coming in the CSA box today).

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2  for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids.  The kids are nuts about pancakes. The Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

Lunch: Kids take lunch to school. I eat leftovers. Everyone rejoices.

Dinner: Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.

  • Sunday: Leftovers and roasted veggies (it was Brussels Sprouts and onions with bacon)
  • Monday:  Chef Salad, Grilled Croissants (halved, buttered and cooked on the flat top), smoothies
  • Tuesday:   Steak, Potatoes, Fruit, Roasted Veggies (probably broccoli)
  • Wednesday:  Nugget night (nuggets, fruit, crackers, milk)
  • Thursday: Dream Dinners and Roasted Veg
  • Friday:  Pizza/Takeout Night
  • Saturday: Meal o’ Snacks and /or leftovers

Please stay safe you guys!

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?

Focus Group Connections: Consumer Research Project $150

Abby H.

Focus Group Connections is a research company located in Southern California. They conduct studies and surveys all over the US.

Currently, Focus Group Connection is looking for men and women to participate in an online consumer research project taking place between April 28th and May 12th. This study will be a two-hour online interview and will require that you have a desktop/laptop computer with high-speed internet and a working webcam.

The topic is alcohol. I looked over the pre-screener, and it appears to be about low-calorie/healthier beer/hard seltzer options/low gluten/gluten-free beers.

If you’re selected to participate, you will receive $150.00 for your time and insights.

If you’re interested in participating, please click here to complete the pre-screener survey. 
Please note – Not everyone will qualify to participate and not everyone will receive a callback.
I’ve never worked with Focus Group Connections before, but I am always trying to find and pass along options to help y’all make money.

4/18/2021 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgThe CSA emails us in advance to give us a heads up as to what may be in our boxes on Monday, so that’s helped me be able to meal prep.

The kids and I went to the store this morning and picked up milk and some stuff for their school lunches. OH YEAH- School starts full-time TOMORROW!!!

This past week we didn’t follow the meal plan because a mystery illness swept the household. Everyone is better, so hopefully, this week will easier. and also now with 50% more SCHOOL!

Veggies and fruit are delivered each Monday by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $25, it’s a great deal. I don’t have to pick anything, go to the store, or carry it upstairs. I can’t go to the store and get the same amount we get weekly for $25. Seriously. It’s a deal. I spend about an hour on Monday afternoon cleaning and prepping veggies for the rest of the week.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2  for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids.  The kids are nuts about pancakes. The Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

Lunch: Kids take lunch to school. I eat leftovers. Everyone rejoices.

Dinner: Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.

  • Sunday: Leftovers and roasted veggies
  • Monday:  Breakfast for Dinner (Sausage, eggs, pancakes)
  • Tuesday:   Dream Dinners Meal and Salad
  • Wednesday:  Soup and Snacks!
  • Thursday: Dream Dinners and veggies
  • Friday:  Pizza/Takeout Night
  • Saturday: Meal o’ Snacks and Protein Shakes

Please stay safe you guys!

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?

Mid-Month Coupon Round Up April 2021!

Abby H.

I was cruising my favorite coupon sites this morning and I found some great stuff.

The two sites I use the most for printable coupons are:

Here are a few coupons that have me kinda stoked:
Save $1.00 on ANY ONE (1) Garnier® Fructis® shampoo, conditioner, treatment or styling products (exclusions apply)
Save $1.00 on ANY ONE (1) Garnier® Whole Blends® shampoo, conditioner or treatment product (exclusions apply)
Save $1.00 on ANY ONE (1) L’Oreal Paris Elvive or Ever conditioner (excludes any 1oz. & 3oz. product, twin packs, value packs and kits)
Save $2.00 on any ONE (1) Degree Maximum Recovery Body Wash & Soak, Massage Bar Soap, Epsom Salt Muscle Soak, Deep Clean Bar Soap, or Body

And if you are looking for more ways to save, check out my Smart Phone App Page. It’s got all kinds of great apps to help you save and earn cash back on all of your grocery and home essential shopping!

4/12/2021: Weekly Meal Plan!

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpg

The CSA emails us in advance to give us a heads up as to what may be in our boxes on Monday, so that’s helped me be able to meal prep and write up this post last night.. But I went to bed early and forgot to hit POST.

I picked up a full order from Dream Dinners on Friday afternoon, and I’ve got three DD meals planned for this week. I’m working through the freezer too, and I’m planning on making vegetable soup with some homemade stock in the freezer and some freshly frozen veggies. I freeze fresh veggies towards the end of the week so that we have room in the fridge for all of the new CSA goodies.

Veggies and fruit are delivered each Monday by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $25, it’s a great deal. I don’t have to pick anything, go to the store, or carry it upstairs. I can’t go to the store and get the same amount we get weekly for $25. Seriously. It’s a deal. I spend about an hour on Monday afternoon cleaning and prepping veggies for the rest of the week.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2  for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids.  The kids are nuts about pancakes. The Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

Lunch: The little kiddo and I usually have something quick and filling, lately it’s been sandwiches on croissants, and strawberry yogurt.  Big kid takes his lunch to school.

Dinner: Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.

  • Sunday: Roasted loaded cauliflower, Salad, Garlic Baguettes
  • Monday:  Orange ginger chicken, rice, roasted veggies
  • Tuesday:   Vegetable Soup and Cheddar Biscuits
  • Wednesday:  Meal o’ Snacks!
  • Thursday: Chicken tikka Masala, rice, salad or veggies
  • Friday:  Pizza/Takeout Night
  • Saturday: Breakfast for Dinner (Pancakes, Eggs, Fruit)

Please stay safe you guys!

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?

April is Financial Literacy Month! Budgeting and Savings Tips

Abby H.

Today I learned that April is Financial Literacy Month. Which is just in time for tax day (which has been extended this year, but it traditionally April 15th).

One of my favorite topics for this blog is how to save money. So I thought I’d put together a post with links to some of my best ways to save money and throw out some tips and tricks that work for me.

Last year I wrote a three-part series about making a practical budget that a family can adhere to and how to get some extra help if you need it. This was written during the pandemic, so there is a lot of information and resources especially for those feeling the financial panic that many felt during the height of the pandemic last year.

If you already have a budget or feel that your spending is out of control and you aren’t to the point yet where you feel that you need a budget, I did a series of posts in late 2019 about how to reign in the out-of-control spending.

  • Part One- Start in the Kitchen
  • Part Two- Entertainment Some of these tips may not be applicable right now, as so many public places are still closed or have limited services (Like gyms and libraries).
  • Part Three- Shopping Around to Save. Internet, cell phones, health insurance (and that’s just three examples), a lot of times you can save money with a few clicks or a phone call.

Keeping an eye on your Credit Score is another great way to be financially literate. I wrote this morning about Credit Sesame, which I personally have used for at least 9 years.

And finally, if you feel like you need a little more help than the posts above to get a handle on your finances, check out Simplifi by Quicken. To celebrate Financial Literacy Month, Simplifi is offering a 30-day FREE Trial of Simplifi by Quicken.

  • Simplifi by Quicken was named the Best Budgeting App & Tool by the New York Times’ Wirecutter!
  • The app helps you stay on top of your money in less than 5 minutes per week.
  • After your free 30-day trial save 38% off the regular price. That’s $29.99 billed annually for the first year. For the cost of one lunch date, you can have a year of budgeting at your fingertips.

Talkback: What are your tips and tricks to saving money and staying on budget?