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Frugal ways to help your Child’s School!

Abby H.

For most of us, school starts soon, if it hasn’t already started… That means the fundraising will start.  Wrapping paper, candy, candles, you name it, you’ve probably seen a catalog and a doe-eyed child selling something to raise money for their school.

We’ve got a pretty tight budget around out house, and $12/roll wrapping paper is not in my budget, but I do want to help Lil’ Man’s school. Here are a few ways that you can help your kiddo’s school. If your kid isn’t in school yet, ask the parent of your favorite mini-fundraiser if their school participates in any of these programs!


Screen Shot 2015-08-12 at 10.21.07 AMBox Tops for Education (BTFE): This Program has been around for a while, and it’s probably one of the easiest ways that you can help the school of your choice. Look for these little box top doodads on hundreds of products that you probably already buy (here is a list), clip them, and drop them by your school’s office. LIl’ Man’s class sends home a cute themed Sheet for us to attach up to ten each month. If I have more, I just staple a ziploc bag full to the worksheet. Any parent would be thrilled to receive an envelope of bag of BTFE from family or friends!

Screen Shot 2015-08-12 at 10.21.16 AMLabels for Education: Similar to BTFE, but this program is run by Campbell’s. To find products that are a part of the Labels fro Education Program, click here.

Screen Shot 2015-08-12 at 10.21.24 AMTarget’s Take Charge of Education®:
Choose your kids’ elementary school, the neighborhood middle school or any other eligible K–12 school. We’ll donate up to 1% of your REDcard purchases at Target stores in the U.S and at Target.com.

 You can learn more here. 

Escrip: Now this one has been around since I was in High School. It’s super easy. Once your school is registered, all you do is sign your various loyalty cards (like your Vons Card), and shop like you usually do. You school gets a percentage of your total purchase!

The best part about these four programs is that you just do what you already do: Shop and save money! Clipping Box Tops for Education and Labels for Education are not that much different than clipping coupons off of packages.

 

Family Recipe: Yummy Banana Nutty Bread

Abby H.1 Comment

IMG_0405We love bananas, but sometimes they get over ripe before we can eat them all. That usually only happens when the weather is so hot and muggy- or if I buy too many. In that case, I peel, slice and bag them in snack sized zip top bags and toss them in the freezer. They are now perfectly portioned for smoothies or baking recipes!  This week, I’m posting my favorite Banana bread recipe. It’s quick, easy, and it uses no white sugar, so it’s ideal for those watching their sugar intake.

I’ve included variations for various diets below.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Stevia or brown sugar splenda (or 1/4 c honey)
1/3 cup applesauce
4 egg whites
1/2 cup of ripe banana (about 3-4 ripe bananas)
3/4 cup almond meal or flax meal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

  1. Combine the first 4 ingredients in a large mixing bowl with electric mixer until fluffy and creamy.
  2. Add in the remaining ingredients until smooth.
  3. Pour batter into 1 greased loaf pan.
  4. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.
  5. Slice and serve hot or allow to cool, wrap in aluminum foil and store in the freezer for up to 3 weeks.

Variations:

  • Gluten Free variation: Substitute coconut flour or GF baking flour blend.
  • Nut Free Variation: Use Flax meal in place of Almond Meal.
  • Vegan Variation: Substitute egg whites for flax egg.

Frugal Recipe: Home Made Pizza!

Abby H.
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Yummy, cheesy pizza!

Who doesn’t love pizza? Ok, I know 1 person, but other than that, everyone loves it! Lil’ Man is no exception. He requests, “Cheesy pizza dinner” at least once a day, but I only acquiesce to his request once a week.

I tend to stock up on the crust mix and cans of salt free tomato sauce, so it’s easy to throw together a pizza on those days when I don’t really feel like cooking, or pizza is requested. With the only limitations being your imagination (and what’s in your fridge and pantry) you never have to have the same pizza twice!

Henry’s Cheese Pizza
Ingredients:

  • 1 Betty Crocker Pizza Crust Mix (All you add is a 1/2 cup of hot water)- available at  99 Cents Only OR most grocery stores for $1.00 or less
  • 1/2 c hot (not boiling) water
  • 1/2 c (more or less) all purpose flour (for rolling out the crust)
  • 1 small can tomato Sauce
  • Spices to taste (I use 2 T. Italian seasoning, 1 t. each granulated garlic and onion)
  • 3/4 c. Mozzarella
  • 3/4 c. cheddar cheese
  • (feel free to add up to 1 cup in additional toppings, such as veggies, meat, or even fruit!)

Directions:

  1. Prepare the crust as per the package directions. I set the dough to rest for about 10-15 minutes on the back of the stove. I do this as the stove pre-heats. The dough relaxes and rises just a little.
  2. While the dough is relaxing, mix the tomato sauce and spices together, set aside.
  3. Roll out the dough on a floured surface, and transfer to a well greased cookie sheet.
  4. Top pizza dough with about 1/2 of the pizza sauce, and the cheese
  5. Bake per the package directions
  6. Slice and serve.  I usually get 3 or 4 servings per pizza. We like thin crust, so I roll the dough out to fill a cookie sheet.

Variations: Use white sauce, bbq sauce, or even Robert Rothschild Farm Roasted Pineapple & Habanero Sauce (I usually buy it at Costco) in lieu of the tomato sauce, you can change up your base flavor.

This pizza costs us about $4.00 and serves 3-4  hungry people.  And since I make it at home, I know exactly what goes into it!

Ditch Your Junk Mail & Earn a $20 Visa Gift Card!

Abby H.7 Comments

One of the ways that I earn extra spending/Christmas money is I participate in SBKC’s junk mail program. It’s easy and takes no time and almost zero effort.

The Small Business Knowledge Center (SBKC) studies marketing techniques and practices.  They securely dispose of your junk mail after they are done with it- no need to worry!

SBKC mails you postage paid envelopes, you stuff your junk mail into it and drop it into the mail.
pngYou will receive points for your junk mail, and once you receive 2000 points, you will receive a $20 pre-paid Visa GiftCard!  I am really excited about this because I can save these for holiday shopping, or spend on a fun date or an afternoon out with Lil’ Man!

You can also forward emails to SBKC as well.  They occasionally have special projects where they are looking for special items like welcome packets for credit cards, Explanation of Benefits from your health insurance carrier, or loan information that you can obtain by walking into your bank or credit union.  Special projects offer additional/bonus points or gift cards .

I’ve done SBKC for 5 years and I consistently earn 5 or 6 gift cards per year!  That’s free money that I didn’t have to work for.  Just forward some emails before I hit “delete” and toss my junk mail into an envelope as it comes into the house and mail an envelope once a week.

They email you once a month to update you on the amount of points you have and with any special projects they have going on. A few times a year they look for special types of mail, open enrollment solicitations, IRA or other investment/retirement info. When they want those materials, they’ll email you and let you know- usually there is a bounty of extra points available too!

Unlike many other programs, you can sign everyone in your home who is over the age of 18!

If you are interested in signing up, here is the link. In the box next to: How did you here about the SBKC Consumer Panel? Please type my name: Abby Hewes. I get points for referrals, and once you sign up and refer your friends, you will too!

 

DIY: Stuff Animal Bean Bag Chair

Abby H.

Lil’ Man has a lot of stuffed animals. He’s got some in a hammock like this one, but it’s not enough space.

IMG_1812-1024x757Witness the 45 gallon Sterilite tote on wheel crammed full. Now We’ve weeded out the ones he doesn’t play with or like, but there are still a lot.

I’ve been looking online for better storage methods, and I came upon a few sites suggesting a “bean bag” chair.  You can buy a bean bag chair cover for about $20, or if you’ve got a little craftiness in you, you can make one of your own for a lot less.

Basically you are making a large drawstring pouch.

All you need is:

  • 3 yards of 60 inch wide fabric or a twin sized duvet cover (scour thrift shops)
  • 3 yards 1 inch wide(or wider) grossgrain ribbon
  • Pins, scissors, sewing machine, thread

IMG_1809-1024x764I used a queen  sized duvet cover that I found at Amvets. I washed it and turned it inside out. I trimmed it down to 86(width) x60 (length). I kept the top with the snaps (the 86 inch side), and one adjoining side.

 

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If you are using fabric, fold the fabric in half, the long skinny way, so the selvedges (that’s the edges that are already finished-sometimes they have writing on them) are at the top  and  bottom of what will become the bag.

Now the the bag is sewn together, fold over the top and stitch it down. This is called a casing. You’ll need to leave a gap of about 1 inch, so that you can thread the ribbon through the casing.

Here is what the casing looks like on the other one I made:

Because my duvet already had a finished top, I snipped little holes in the top casing and threaded my ribbon through, using the safety pin. Attach the ribbon to your safety pin and guide through the casing.

Then, I turned it right side out, stuffed it full of friends,  pulled the drawstring tight, and it was ready to be enjoyed as a bean bag chair in Lil’Man’s room in a corner with some books.

IMG_1817-1024x764As you can see, Woody and Salmon Fish are kicking back.

There are tons of tutorials. Many call for a piece of mesh to be sewn in, but it’s a PITA to sew down (it moves even when pinned down), so I opted not to do that. and really, if you need to get into it, just open the drawstring and start fishing for toys!

You can also use an old top sheet in whatever size you have, just cut it down to fit. Our toy bag chair is large because of all of the toys Lil’ Man has, but if you’ve got less, feel free to make the bag smaller. Conversely, if you have more, make it bigger!