family

Earning Money with Surveys 2021 Summer Edition!

Abby H.
Kitty is on the prowl for surveys!

Looking for a job is a process that takes time. In the meantime, you still have to earn money. I thought that I’d post some survey companies that I use to make money while I’m on the hunt for a part-time job.  There are a lot of Get Rich Quick scams out there (here are a few to avoid), and I wanted to share with you some ways you can earn money at home in a legit way.

I do a lot of surveys online through various companies. Some of my favorites can be found here on my Side Hustles page.

Recently, a few more survey companies have been brought to my attention, so I thought I’d share them too.

Join Inbox Dollars free and get paid to take surveys, shop online, try name brand products, and play games online. And you start off with a $5 bonus when you sign up!

 

 

Receive cashback from Kashkick when you read emails, complete surveys, take quizzes, referring your friend, and subscribing to special promotions.

 

 

With Opinions4Good, you earn points by providing feedback on a variety of different research topics.
Once you reach $10, you’ll be automatically paid out the following month directly to your verified PayPal account.

Earn your first $2 filling out your member profile, which we’ll use to send you surveys that match your interests.

Take Surveys and get Rewarded from PaidResearchSurvey.com.

Sign Up – Create an account and complete your profile step by step

Complete Surveys – Choose from a large amount of surveys to participate in.

Earn Rewards – New surveys added daily, so check back often to earn more rewards.

Pinecone Research members receive points for each completed survey! Points can be redeemed for cash or prizes. I love Pinecone research!

They will send you an email notification when you have a survey available. Complete the survey and earn points to be redeemed for either cash or prizes. Occasionally, they will send you a product to test, too.

Sign up and take surveys to earn points that can be redeemed for e-giftcards from Survey Junkie. Earn points by taking surveys, which can pay anywhere from $2 to $75 per completed survey.

One differentiator with Survey Junkie is that if you do not qualify for a survey, you still earn some points for it.

Survey Roundtable is a community where you can share your honest opinion about the products and services you use every day and get rewarded for taking surveys. Sharing your opinions can earn you real rewards you can use anywhere! Their rewards program grows every day, all depending on what our members most want to earn.

To make the most of your opinions, you’ll first take a Personality Survey. It’s how we target our surveys to your needs and interests

Here’s the virtual debit cards ($10 and up) currently have up for grabs: Amazon.com, Banana Republic, Barnes and Noble, GAP Brands, Regal Theaters, and more.

I’ve been a member of swagbucks for years, and it’s an easy way to earn free gift cards and cash.

Members join for free and will have access to all of our earning verticals, including, but not limited to, watching videos, shopping for cash back, taking surveys, and redeeming special offers.

Swagbucks is the web’s leading rewards platform, dedicated to providing FREE gift cards to its 12+ million members.

Choose from top retailers like Amazon, Target, Walmart, Starbucks, PayPal, and tons more.

Copycat Recipe: Souplantation Cheesy Garlic Foccacia Bread

Abby H.
It’s so good, it practically evaporates.

When my big kid found out that Souplantation (or Sweet Tomatoes, depending on where you live up) had closed permanently due to the pandemic, he cried.

When you have food texture aversions, you rely a lot on your favorite standby foods and restaurants. I was on a mission to try and recreate one of his Souplantation favorites, which was the Cheesy Garlic Focaccia Bread.

I started with my pizza dough base (the recipe can be found here). And here’s where it gets crazy (and by crazy I mean this is not super healthy, so don’t eat it daily). The remaining ingredients are:

  • 1/2 cup melted butter (that’s 1 stick)
  • 2T. granulated garlic
  • 1t. of each of the following: dried rosemary, dried tarragon, dried oregano, dried basil
  • 2cups+ Italian cheese

Directions:

  1. Make dough as directed here. I only let it rise once for this recipe.
  2. While dough rises, combine melted butter, garlic, and herbs. Set aside.
  3. Once the dough is down rising, turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead for about 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
  4. Separate dough into two pieces and roll out to fit onto your pizza pan (I use a cookie sheet that is covered in tin foil and sprayed with spray release).
  5. Spread half of the herbed butter onto the dough, top with cheese. Repeat for the other half of the dough.
  6. If there is any butter left, drizzle it over the bread.
  7. Bake at 450 degrees for 11-14 minutes.
  8. Remove from the baking sheet and slice into long skinny pieces to mimic the Souplantation feel.
The garlicky, herby, buttery goodness….
Cheese and more buttery goodness. Into the oven it does!

Free Food Resources for July 2021 (San Diego County)

Abby H.

A new month means that it’s time for the monthly update of free food resources in San Diego.

You can still find resources here for Central and East County, and Here for North County.

If you are located outside San Diego County, call 211. If you are not familiar with 211, here is their website and it can point you in the right direction.

San Diego Food Bank Distributions for July 2021 can be found here. Enter your address (or just your zip code) and the map will show you all of the distributions in your area or closest to you. You can filter by the days of the week to find food when you are available. If there is an income requirement/limit to participate, each location/listing will say such.

Neighbor distributions are intermixed with the San Diego Food Bank Distributions, however, they have no income requirements, and you come as you are. These Distributions are primarily fruits & veg, however, some locations may also distribute canned goods, dairy, and bread.

Super Pantry Locations can be found here (this listing is countywide). The San Diego Foodbank website also has resources for Diaper banks, free food resources for seniors, and more.

Here is my 2021 Free Summer Lunch for kids post. It’s got all sorts of great info on where and when to pick up free lunches for kids all summer long.

If you know of other resources, please leave a comment! And feel free to share this post with anyone you may know in need.

Tryazon: Unlock You and Your Kids Curl Potential

Abby H.

We’ve been participating in Tryazon events for three+ years. We’ve gotten to try all sorts of fun toys, games, and food. You can learn more about Tryazon here.

Now you and your kids can have happy, healthy curls with Tryazon Featured Party opportunity, from Curl Keeper. Kinder Curls is all your child needs to detangle, define and soften curly hair. Curl Keeper products are designed for every curly head, in all weather and conditions. Curl Keeper products moisturizes, defines and cleanses hair to keep your gorgeous curls for 3-5 days straight without having to re-wash hair!

Tryazon has 100 hosting spots open for this opportunity! Those selected get to receive a party pack valued at $125+ with a variety of Curl Keeper products to share with friends and family!

Learn more and apply here: https://www.tryazon.com/kinder-curls-mommy-and-me-party/

 

Special Needs Resource Foundation Presents Free, In-person Read 3×3 Literacy Event!

Abby H.

Join the Special Needs Resource Foundation of San Diego and San Diego Family for our FREE in-person event on Saturday, July 24 from 9-11am at the San Diego Central Library – 330 Park Blvd, San Diego, 92101.

Three authors, Doreen Cronin, Alex Montoya, and Reginald Brown, will entertain children of all abilities with a book reading and a unique, themed craft. Parents can gather resources from local businesses. One free book per child, while supplies last.

To Register or learn more about this event, click here.

And if you are looking for something fun to do later that day, check out the Free San Diego Youth Carnival at the Jacobs Center. 

Become a Just Egg Ambassador!

Abby H.

Have you heard of Just Egg? 

It’s an egg substitute made from plants. And now you can share Just Egg with your friends and family!

Your friends might not believe an egg made from a plant is possible, let alone delicious. But you know it is. Now’s your chance to prove it to the skeptics: gift free JUST Egg to up to three friends. And JUST egg will reward you with a free product too.

When you share JUST Egg with your friends and family, you’re being a force for change in our food system. Because it’s made from plants, JUST Egg is free of cholesterol and it uses less water and carbon emissions than chicken eggs.

Here’s how it works

Step 1: Get your ambassador code and forward it to 3 friends

Step 2: Your friend buys JUST Egg (and saves the receipt)

Step 3:Your friend uploads the receipt and gets reimbursed

Step 4: Then, you get a free JUST Egg product too

 

You understand how a better world is created one bite at a time. So JUST egg is giving you this free JUST Egg to start a conversation that will spark change. Join the bigger conversation at #ShareJUSTEgg. Full terms and conditions here and if you have any issues or questions, please reach out to wecare@ju.st.

Free Donuts for Father’s Day!

Abby H.

You know what Dad’s like?

Donuts. And saving money (or maybe that’s just me dad).

This deal is pretty sweet- Two free donuts for all dads on 6/20/2021 at either Mary’s Donuts location (Santee or Lakeside).

You have to bring your kiddos with you.

Sign up for this deal here.

San Diego Summer Fun on a Budget

Abby H.2 Comments

681517ea18b6760354438c6a7f6190f1.jpgIt’s time for kids to finish up school, and be let loose on the world.

Now that places are reopening at 100% capacity, there are a lot more options for summer adventures.

Free Music Lessons from Staump Music School.

Kids Bowl Free all Summer!

$1.00 Movies all Summer with Regal Cinemas

Free Summer School Lunches (Gotta keep them fed this summer). Lots of locations have events or activities nearby, so you can have fun and have a free lunch!

The splash ground at Santee Lakes is GREAT! It’s only $2.00 per kid (on weekdays, $3.00 on weekends) to play and if you park outside the Santee Lakes, you don’t have to pay to park! Take a picnic and it’s a great frugal outing! We go at least once a week in the summer and it’s always
a GREAT time!

If you are looking to beat the heat and need something free, check out the Waterfront Park downtown. They have a great splash pad area for kids, a really fun playground, and a big grassy area for picnics. Only downside- no shade trees.

Balboa Park still offers Free Tuesdays at various museums in the park. Another free activity in Balboa Park is the Botanical Garden and Lily Pond. Right next door is the Spanish Art Village, which is fun to explore as well. Pack some snacks and make a day of it.

San Diego County has great parks, as do most of the cities in San Diego County! Our favorite parks include Big Rock Park in Santee, Kennedy Park in El Cajon, La Mesita/Junior Seau Park in La Mesa, Harry Griffin Park in La Mesa (great for little kids).

I also find lots of local events and free fun stuff by checking the “Events You May Like” section on Facebook Events.

Guess in Ten Game Day (Tryazon Party)

Abby H.

Over the weekend while we celebrated Bitty Bird’s birthday. We also checked out the Guess in Ten games thanks to Skillmatics and Tryazon!

Skillmatics is a new age brand that develops innovative educational products and games that help children build core skills, ranging from math and language to science and logic, through the joy of play!

We played Animal Planet, but if animals aren’t your posse’s jam, Skillmatics makes many other Guess in Ten varieties:

  • Guess in 10 All Around the Town
  • Guess in 10 Things that Go
  • Guess in 10 Cities Around the World
  • Guess in 10 States of America

These games are available on Amazon, or in stores near you.

I’m not sure if the kids or the adults had more fun.

And if you want to learn more about Tryazon, their website has tons of information about all of the cool campaigns and parties they have coming up!

 

Free Food Resources for June 2021 (San Diego County)

Abby H.

A new month means that it’s time for the monthly update of free food resources in San Diego.

You can still find resources here for Central and East County, and Here for North County.

If you are located outside San Diego County, call 211. If you are not familiar with 211, here is their website and it can point you in the right direction.

Neighborhood Distributions for June 2021 can be found here. Enter your address (or just your zip code) and the map will show you all of the distributions in your area or closest to you. You can filter by the days of the week to find food when you are available.

These Distributions are primarily fruits & veg, however, some locations may also distribute canned goods, dairy, and bread.

Super Pantry Locations can be found here (this listing is countywide). The San Diego Foodbank website also has resources for Diaper banks, free food resources for seniors, and more.

I will be posting Free Summer Lunch information for kids 2-18 in the coming days.

If you know of other resources, please leave a comment! And feel free to share this post with anyone you may know in need.