family

Saving money at Costco!

Abby H.5 Comments

DSC07871-BMost of us Costco shoppers love it for the good deals (and the samples- COME ON!), but ever wonder if there is a way to save more money at Costco?

First off, let’s be clear: Costco doesn’t accept coupons, other than their own. So don’t pick up a Sunday paper and get clipping thinking that you’re going to save a ton of cash at Costco that way, because… no. Not gonna happen. And most of the time, you don’t actually need the paper coupons from the Costco Flyer/Coupon book. The coupons come off at checkout OR the checkers all have the coupon books at their registers.

Here are my tips for saving money at Costco:

  1. Keep a Price book. You can learn more about them here. It will tell you if that 5 gallon drum of hummus is a better value than the small 16 oz tub at your regular grocery store. Sometimes bigger isn’t better. Top money savers at Costco for my family include Fat Free Milk and PB2.
  2. Make sure to use money saving and rebate apps! There is a full list here, but my favorites for Costco include Mobisave and Ibotta.  Any rebate app that is not store specific can be used to save extra cash at Costco. I cruise all my apps before I hit up the store. It takes just a few minutes, and I usually save $5-$10!
  3. Shop from a list. I know it’s an oldie, but a goodie. And it will help you save money.
  4. Don’t shop hungry. Or with hungry kids.
  5. If you’ve never had a membership, before you shell out the cash, check Groupon and see if they are offering their discounted Costco Memberships. A few times a year you can get a membership for $55 (which, btw is the regular price), but it comes with a $20 cash card, and a booklet of coupons for free merchandise- including their rotisserie chicken, which we love. You can only buy it if you’ve never had a membership. TRUST ME.

Talk Back: What are your tips for keeping the grocery bill down at Costco?

New Month, New Coupons!

Abby H.

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

Check out the following sites:

One of my favorite website 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!

Here are just a few of the new coupons that have me excited:

$1.00 off 3 LaCroix Curate
$2.00 off any one Balmex Diaper Rash Cream
$2.00 off any ONE package of HUGGIES Diapers

Rocking out with the Spinjitzu Masters at Legoland California!

Abby H.

If you follow me on instagram, you know that Lil’ Man and I got a sneak preview of the new Ninjago World at Legoland California last week.

NINJAGO_THE RIDE_R_BLACK_Original_CMYK

And we had a BLAST! Ninjago the ride is crazy fun! Ninjago World opens officially on May 5th, just in time for summer adventures with your littles!

Rockin' the 3 d glasses!
Rockin’ the 3 d glasses!

LEGO NINJAGO tells the story of four young ninja heroes – Kai, Jay, Cole and Zane – who train under the watchful eye of Master Wu to master an ancient martial art – Spinjitzu. NINJAGO The Ride enables guests to demonstrate their ninja skills without the use of a hand held device and instead, they simply use their hand gestures. Riders collect points for their training and battle efforts throughout the ride and scores are displayed when their quest is completed.

What I love is that the ride isn’t passive, everyone gets involved- and let me tell you, after riding it 3 times, my arms were tired! Everyone in our car got into the action!

 

Our chariot awaits!
Our chariot awaits!

In addition to the new Ninjago The Ride, there are tons of fun activities to keep the kiddos entertained.  Henry loved Kai’s Spinners, where you test your balance as you stand on one of Kai’s spinning platforms and twirl!

 

There is also a building stations where guests can tap into their inner imagination and create LEGO models inspired by NINJAGO. If the kids need to get their wiggles out, check out the rock wall!  Kids can test their agility as they scale a rock wall. Or, check out the lightening drill! Guests can test their speed by pushing the lit up buttons in the speed cage.

IMG_5101
Look at those fierce skills!

And of course, you can’t go to Legoland without running into a few of your favorite Lego Characters!

IMG_5048

 

 

In addition to the fun rides and activities, Ninjago World has some tasty treats too. We got to try tasty sandwiches from Ninja Kitchen!

LEGOLAND chefs have put a special twist on Asian street food with Banh Mi Vietnamese sandwiches on fresh baked baguette or steamed Bao Buns with your choice of crispy pork belly, lemongrass chicken or baked sweet chili tofu.IMG_5049IMG_5050IMG_5051

We had a great time! It was fun to check out the sights and sounds of Legoland California.

If you are looking for good deals on admission to Legoland California, here are a few options:

Costco: They frequently have discount tickets available.

Denny’s: Right now, select Denny’s have kids go free coupons available. When you buy an adult ticket, receive a kids ticket free. I’ve only seen this offer in San Diego area locations. I’m not sure if this deal is other places.

 

 

How do you get so much free stuff?

Abby H.2 Comments

Screen Shot 2016-04-24 at 11.31.34 PMIf you’ve been around for a while, you may notice I post photos on Social media- a lot of it is stuff I’ve gotten for free.

If you’d like to fill your mail box with goodies, here are a few companies that have great, FREE programs where you can earn free stuff!

L’oreal USA: The makeup Giant wants women from across the United States 18+ to join and take surveys on products, daily skin care regimens, and test new products . When you take 5 surveys, you are eligible to receive a full sized L’oreal product (Of their choice)! They also do consumer product testing. They send you a product, you test it and complete a survey.

Vocal Point is a multi-faceted website. One of its greater aspects is that it’s connected to Proctor and Gamble (P&G), and they often times have new or improved products to test and share with consumers. The members of Vocal Point can opt in to receive these items, and them share their opinions with other members of the Vocal Point community.

The Good Housekeeping Beauty Lab: The Beauty Lab needs female testers age 35 and up to help in our evaluations of beauty products. Some evaluations may require testers to visit the Good Housekeeping Research Institute at 300 West 57th Street in Manhattan, but for other evaluations, products can be sent by mail. There is no cost and very little time involved, and participants may keep beauty product samples.” If you’re interested in participating, please contact ghribeauty@hearst.com or 212-649-2408.  I do 1-2

Bzzagent A WOM (word of mouth) website that helps spread the word on tons of great products. Sign up for campaigns when there are products that interest you, use them, and share your opinions (as well as coupons and samples!) with others in person or via the Internet. This sharing is called “buzz”, and the more you buzz and report your buzz, you earn Mypoints points, and chances for early invitations for more campaigns. I’ve been a Bzzagent for about four year, and I receive about eight campaigns per year.

Smiley360  is much like BzzAgent, in that it is also a WOM (Word of Mouth) website. Sign up for campaigns and you will receive samples to use, and coupons to share with friends. Report your sharing and earn points!
From their website, “Do you love to try new things? Haven’t you ever tried a new product and thought, “This would be so much better if…” Well, as a smiley360.com member, you can provide that kind of feedback directly to the source. Your opinion matters. And as a fringe benefit, you’ll earn status in the smiley360.com community, which has its own perks, rewards, and opportunities. It’s a win-win situation, really.”

Moms Meet- Read my post here.

Ralph’s Free Friday Download– Learn more here (one of their prior offerings that has info on the post about the program).

There are websites like MySavings that have a free sample section that is updated several times a day.

PinchMe offers free sample boxes once a Month- some months there are tons of samples, some months not so much, it just depends on your demographic and what they have.

Proctor and Gamble (P&G) offers samples once per quarter. Sign up here.

Legoland California: Special $35 tickets this weekend only!

Abby H.

unnamedCommunity Days This Weekend!
$35 Admission to LEGOLAND

Support our local science, arts and after school programs this Saturday and Sunday!

Specially-priced $35 LEGOLAND tickets include admission with Park hours extended to 8 p.m. for even more family fun!

Buy your tickets online here. You can also get tickets to the SEALife Aquarium at Legoland for just $9!!

This event is very crowded, so please remember to be patient!

Easy One Pot Meal: Salsa Chicken

Abby H.3 Comments

01128This is one of the most popular recipes that I’ve ever cooked! It is a family favorite and is very popular for meal trains and freezer meal swaps!

I’m constantly tweaking and improving my recipe, so I wanted to share this recipe with you. I cook this all day in the crockpot and it makes the house smell sooooo good!

Ingredients:

  • 1-2 lbs of frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts (rule of thumb for this recipe 1/4 lb of meat per person, plus an extra 1/4 lb of meat for leftovers or seconds)
  • 3 cups of your favorite salsa
  • 1 bag frozen tri colored peppers and onions

Optional ingredients:

  • 1/2c. chicken broth
  • 1 cup rice or 1/2 cup quinoa
  • 1/2 C shredded cheese

Directions:

  1. In a crockpot, place the first four ingredients.
  2. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
  3. (If you opt to add the last two ingredients) About an hour before serving add rice or quinoa to the crockpot along with the broth and turn crockpot up to medium or high. Meal is done once grain is done to your liking.
  4. Stir before serving.
  5. Ladle into bowls.
  6. Top with cheese (optional, but tasty) and serve.

Makes 6-8 servings. Sometimes I turn leftovers into quesadillas, or add more broth and some C&W Southwest veggie blend and it transforms into a hearty soup! It’s so versatile and easy to make!

50% off at Schoola!

Abby H.

14_MAR_SpringBreak_HERO_Blogger

SQUEE! It’s back! 50% off at Schoola!  Just use Coupon Code  SPRINGBRK at checkout. And in addition, if you are new to Schoola, they are offering $20 free and free shipping when you sign up here.

In addition to offering awesome gently worn kids clothes, Schoola also gives a percentage (40%) of each sale to a school. So you can feel good twice: Once while your saving $$, and again because you are helping support a school in need.

To get started, click here. And I can’t wait to see what you have scored!

6 Tips to Save Money WITHOUT Clipping Coupons!

Abby H.4 Comments

file000739624389

Trust me, it can be done! There are lots of people who ask me about saving money, but they announce that they don’t want to bother with clipping coupons. They either lose them, forget them, or are embarrassed to use them. That’s ok. There are still ways to save money!

Here are a few:

  1. Use money saving apps. My list of favs (and links) is here. I use these in addition to coupons and I save a ton. I was at Target buying shampoos and body wash the other day. After coupons and other discounts, I paid $14.86. After submitting my receipts to Ibotta and SavingStar, I got back and extra $7.99 in my paypal account!
  2. Don’t forget your loyalty card! Some stores like Vons, Ralphs, heck even Best Buy have loyalty cards. Some offer discounts on the spot, and some accrue discounts to more you shop and scan your card!
  3. Don’t forget your discount! Some stores offer discounts to military, teachers, and peace officers. And if you are a senior citizen there area plethora of discounts waiting for you!
  4. Buy what’s on sale! If you have a choice between an item that’s on sale versus an item that is full price that is comparable size….
  5. Check out the Price per Unit to see what is the best deal. Bigger isn’t always better!
  6. Reusable bags can net you some savings….In addition to helping Mother Earth, some stores (like Target and Sprouts) offer a discount of .05 per re-usable bag used. A nickel isn’t a lot of money, but over a year, they can sure add up! I use between 5-10 bags each time I shop.

 

Price Per Unit: Is Bigger Better?

Abby H.4 Comments

random-aisle-photos 013The price per unit helps you determine if the jumbo sized drum of applesauce is a better deal than a regular sized jar. How to determine the price per ounces is easy, most of the time stores do it for you! Take a look at the shelf tag- it should give you a price per unit, usually in ounces (oz.) or pounds (lb.).

If the price per ounce/pound on the larger container is smaller, then it is a good deal. When comparing, make sure both containers are using the same unit of measurement

Here is an example of what the shelf tags can look like:

Screen Shot 2016-03-27 at 2.54.29 PM

The majority of shelf tags will list:

  • The Item
  • The size of the container (in ounces, pounds, or units)
  • The Price of the item
  • The price per unit (in ounces, pounds or units)

This is also a great strategy to see if the store brand or a brand that isn’t your usual brand is a better deal than what you normally buy.

If your store doesn’t have shelf tags that break down the price per unit, here is how you can figure it out- I recommend using a calculator.

Take the price of the item and divide it by the number of ounces/lbs/units in the package.

Let’s use for our example the Uncle Ben’s Buttery Ready Rice, pictured above on the left.

$1.93 divided by 8.8 ounces equals .219, which is 21.9¢ per ounce.

If you keep a Price Book, you might want to  include a space for unit price, you would write 21.9¢ in the Unit Price Column. You can round up, or leave it as a fraction of a cent, to get an exact price for comparison. Learn more about price books here.

Recipe: Honey Lemon Ginger Syrup

Abby H.1 Comment

P1050863I’m no doctor, but I do know that when we don’t feel good, nothing is more soothing than lemon and honey.

IMG_3602I recently made a very soothing syrup, and I had to share it with you. I put 1/3 cup of the syrup in the bottom of a coffee mug and pour boiling water over it. I have been drinking a mug full twice a day.

It’s quick and easy to make!

Ingredients:

  • 2 C honey (real honey, none of that honey flavored syrup junk!)
  • Juice of 10-12 lemons (reserve two lemons and chop them up)
  • A Thumb sized knob of ginger, peeled and sliced

Directions:

  1. In a saucepan, combine the honey, juice, and ginger.
  2. In a jar with a screw on lid, pack in reserved chopped up lemon pieces.
  3. Cook on low for about 20 minutes. Do Not boil!
  4. Pour honey mixture over lemons.
  5. Screw lid on and let sit on counter until it reaches room temperature.
  6. Store in the fridge.
IMG_3603
Waiting for yummy syrup!
IMG_3601
Hunks of ginger

If you’re looking for the science behind all of this, Lemons contain a lot of vitamin C! Honey is very soothing and coats a sore throat. Remember that honey should not be consumed by anyone under 12 months of age. And ginger contains anti-oxidants.