frugal

Try Products for free with BzzAgent!

Abby H.1 Comment

I get asked a lot, “How do you get so much awesome stuff for free?” I could lie and tell you it’s my good looks, but really, it’s because I belong to a couple of  really awesome Word of Mouth Marketing companies. Word of Mouth (WOM) Marketing- It’s not a new concept, but nowadays companies are starting to realize how powerful consumer recommendations can be.  Remember the “I told two friends, and they told two friends” commercial from the 1980’s? That’s word of mouth marketing.  Since the invention of the internet, WOM marketing has been amplified.

There are companies that connect consumers with companies and products looking to market directly to a specific cross-section of the population.  What does that mean for you?  Sign up with a WOM Marketing company and when they have products that someone like you would like and use, and they will have you complete a brief survey and send you the product.

Often times, the product they will send you will be full size.  Additionally, they will send marketing materials with talking points for you to share with friends.  Depending on the product, samples and coupons may be included! Once you receive your kit, you try out the products and “bzz” about them by posting on FB, Twitter, G+, or on your blog. You can also “bzz” face to face. When I get a lot of coupons in a kit, often times I’ll “Coupon Fairy” when I’m at the store (that’s a term for leaving coupons on the shelf next to the corresponding item). You report back to Bzzagent when you share/”bzz”.

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The BzzAgent bee looks Angry, but he’s just determined to find some sweet deals

My favorite WOM Marketing by far is Bzzagent. Bzzagent was founded in 2007 and they work with a lot of great national brands. In the past I’ve received diapers, wipes, beer, frozen food, razors, cereal, and tons of other awesome stuff to try and share with my friends.

The Campaign I’ve got right now is for Kroger brand products. For those of you who are thinking, “Kroger??” Kroger is the company that owns a bunch of grocery stores across the US, including Ralphs and Food4Less here in So. Cal. Like most major grocery store chains, they have quite a number of private label (formerly known as generic or store) brands.

Kroger is no slouch, check out the wide variety of their Private Label Brands:

Kroger® Brand: The classic Kroger® Brand has you covered with the products you love most in every section of your local store.

Private Selection™: Each Private Selection item has been carefully crafted to delight your senses — from the artisanal breads and cheeses to prime meat cuts and decadent desserts.

Simple Truth™ & Simple Truth Organic™: Every Simple Truth product is free from 101+ artificial preservatives and ingredients — taking the worry out of what’s in your food.

HemisFares: Kroger’s culinary explorers traveled the globe to bring you an extraordinary collection of authentic, regional food specialties.

Everyday Low Price Brands: On a tight budget? Look for P$$T…™, Check This Out…™ and Heritage Farm™ items throughout your local store to discover great prices on everyday essentials.

My BzzKit contained:

  • Kroger® Brand Tomatillo Lime Flavored Tortillas
  • Simple Truth™ Banana Chips
  • P$$T…™ Brownie Mix
  • Private Selection™ Coffee (I got Breakfast Blend)
  • Coupons for FREE Bacon, Pasta, and Mexican Cooking Sauce

This morning I made the Brownies up as cupcakes (perfect for portion control). They are super fudgey and chewy- YUM! I’m setting the rest aside for dessert tonight- I’ll be pairing them with fresh berries and Fat Free Cool-Whip.

I’ll be cutting up the tortillas and baking them to give them some crunch to top our taco salads tonight.

There are quite a few other WOM Marketing Companies such as Smiley 360, Houseparty, Influenster, MomsMeet, and VocalPoint, but I find that overall Bzzagent provides the better campaigns and they have more kits to supply so more people can try out products. Some other WOM Marketing companies make you jump through hoops to get campaigns for example:  Locate products on shelves and take a selfie with them in store, post to your blog, FB, or other Social Media outlets before you are considered or approved for a campaign. That’s just too much work for my tastes, especially when you aren’t guaranteed a spot if you do all of those things!

WOM Marketing is just one way I score free stuff to share with others and stretch our family budget.

 

Military Families: Save money by shopping at the Commissary!

Abby H.

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For those who do not have a close friend or family in the military, the commissary is the on-base grocery store. The Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) operates the military Commissaries throughout the world. Active duty military, guard and reserve members, retirees and qualified family members may shop there. Authorized shoppers need only show proper military ID to use the commissary.

There are 5 commissaries in San Diego:

MCAS Miramar (Mira Mesa/Miramar), Naval Base 32nd Street (Downtown), North Island NAS (Coronado), Imperial Beach, and Camp Pendleton. There is a Commissary withing 30 minutes of where ever you live in San Diego. There is also a small PX/snack shop/gas station in the military housing up at Murphy Canyon (off interstate 15 at Aero Drive).

If you don’t live in the San Diego, CA area, don’t fret there may be a commissary close to you! To find the commissary closest to you, visit here.

Commissaries charge the wholesale price +10-20% for goods sold in the commissary, and there is a 5% surcharge at the end of your order. What this means for military families is that you can buy food and toiletries for much less than you can at the civilian grocer. The surcharge covers the payroll for cashiers, the electricity bill and other administrative costs.

Without using coupons, the average commissary shopper saves 30% over civilian grocery prices. When you combine the lowered prices at the Commissary with coupons, you will be saving 60-70% over civilian grocery prices. To learn about the coupon policy for the commissary, visit this page.  It also includes a lot of great FAQ and some videos.

If you are new to base shopping, here are some things you need to know:

  •  There is no sales tax on taxable items at the commissary: Toilet paper, cleaning supplies, dog food, etc.. There is no tax on food in CA.
  • The commissary gets crazy busy the weekend of payday. As in you’ll wait in line for upwards of an hour to check out. It’s seriously insane. Try to go a few days after payday to avoid the craziness.
  • The baggers do not make an hourly wage. They work only on tips. Keep that in mind. There are tip boxes at each checkout stand. My mom generally tips $5-8 for her monthly grocery trip, but she pushes her own cart to the car and loads her car up herself.
  • There are a large number of tear pad coupons available. They usually have a long expiration date, and are only good at the commissary. Usually, these items that have a pad of coupons next to them are on special, so when you combine the sale price with the coupon, it’s a steal. In that case, buy a couple extra of the items that you find to be on your list or that you know you will use.
  • You can use manufacturer coupon (from newspapers and printable coupons) at the commissary.   State-side locations only accept valid, in date coupons.  Overseas locations accept expired coupons, up to 6 month after their expiration date.
  • Right inside the door of most commissaries is a newsstand type rack with coupon inserts and circulars. Take a minute to pull your cart over, and flip through them. There are always great coupons in them. Don’t forget a tiny pair of scissors!

The commissary has a website. DeCA’s website has a lot of great info, including sales information, shopping lists, and did you know that the commissary also has a savings card that you can load e-coupons onto? You can pick the card up in the commissary, and register it online, load coupons and you’ll be saving even more in no time.

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The commissary is a full service grocery store. Most larger locations have butchers and grind their own hamburger/ground beef several times each day, a full produce department (with limited organic produce), a bakery, and a service deli where you can get meats and cheeses sliced, and even a deli sandwich made to order! Most commissaries have organic food, gluten free food, various ethnic foods (South American, Pan Asian, European), and a large variety in name brands. There is no generic brand as DeCA does not manufacture food.

Most commissaries are very large. At MCAS Miramar for example, if you are to walk up and down each aisle in the entire store, you will have walked 1 mile at the end of your trip.

Most Commissaries have a case lot sale each year. Commissary Case Lot Sales are held during both the May and September timeframe each year. The sale dates for each store will be available at least a few weeks prior to the sales commencing. Check your local store during the April and August timeframes for more information.

If you have never shopped at a commissary before and you have base privileges, I recommend that you go at least once. You’ll be surprised.

Oh, one last thing… Don’t forget the scratch and dent section! The one at MCAS Miramar is pretty big.

How do I know so much about the commissary? I grew up in a military family, in a military town, and I grew up shopping on base with my mom. Occasionally when she has a large shopping trip, I go with her as her guest and push the cart (it gets really heavy too!!). I can’t buy anything, as my military dependent ID card has long since expired, but I get a good insight to prices, deals, and sales.  It’s a very fun store to coupon fairy at!

Shopping for healthy food with coupons: It can be done!

Abby H.

One of my goals for this blog is to show you all how to save money and continue to eat the same healthy foods you already eat, or give you new avenues for saving so you can afford more of the healthy foods you like that you can’t find coupons for.

Today I went to Ralphs. For $7.30, I bought all of this:IMG_2850

That’s 10 1 lb. packages of Driscoll’s Strawberries and 3 cartons of Dream Blends nut milk.  I used ten Driscoll’s coupons I earned from the Driscoll’s Advisory Panel and three Dream Coupons that I printed from a recent Facebook Campaign (they are no longer available). 

The Strawberries were $1.48 on sale and I used a .75 off coupon on each package, for a total of $.73/each.

The nut milk was marked down to $1.79/each and I had $2.00 off coupons. Because the coupon price was greater, the cashier adjusted the amount of the coupon on her register, so I received the nut milks for free.

But, what am I going to do with 10 lbs of fresh fruit? I’ve already chopped up 5 lbs and put them into snack size Ziploc bags. They are chilling in the freezer, perfectly portioned for smoothies or to go into yogurt.

Henry is taking two pounds to school tomorrow to share with his class (his school has a no baked goods/candy for birthday celebrations rule).

One pound we will eat tonight, and the remaining two will be served at Henry’s birthday party on Saturday. Ten pounds of fruit doesn’t go all that far when you have two guys that LOVE fruit!

If you follow a healthy diet and are looking for more coupons on the products that you regualrly purchase, here are a few suggestions:

  • Check the websites of the products you like. You’d be surprised how many have printable coupons on their websites! That’s how I found out about the Driscoll’s Advisory Panel!
  • Don’t forget to check websites like Coupons.com, Redplum, Smartsource, CommonKindness, and Hopster for healthy printable coupons. Common Kindness and Hopster specialize in “whole” food coupons.
  • Don’t skip out on the money saving apps! This article has a pretty comprehensive list of money saving apps.

Recipe: Butternut Carrot Bisque

Abby H.1 Comment

Bisque. It’s gotten a bad rap. Rich, creamy, laden with calories.

If your refined palette demands a creamier texture here is a secret cooking ingredient: Evaporated Milk. It’s got a rich, velvety mouth feel that mimics cream in soups, but it’s got a fraction of the calories. And it’s shelf stable, so you can always keep a few on-hand.

Butternut Carrot Bisque

Ingredients:

  • 1 bag of cut up Butternut Squash (about 22 ounces- About the same amount of flesh from one medium sized Butternut Squash)
  • 1 cup chopped yellow onion
  • 1 T. butter
  • 10 oz Wild Veggie™ Carrot Puree
  • 4 cups Stock (your choice, I either use vegetable stock or chicken stock)
  • Salt, pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg to taste

Directions:

  1. In a large stockpot, saute onion in butter until the onions are translucent.
  2. Add in butternut squash and continue to cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes until squash is soft.
  3. Add remaining ingredients, and cook on low for 20-30 minutes, allowing flavors to blend.
  4. Prior to serving, process in a blender in batches (I use our Ninja), or use an immersion blender.
  5. Serve steaming hot with biscuits. YUM!

This also freezes really well, so if you have leftovers, freeze them for a night that’s begging for soup!

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!

 

Driscoll’s Advisory Panel- Save money on fruit!

Abby H.4 Comments

Original File Name: 20_waterfall_ 42433.tifWe eat a lot of berries, especially when they are on sale. So, imagine my surprise when I discovered the Driscoll Advisory Panel!

It’s quick and easy to join. Sign up here, and after you enjoy a package of Driscoll berries, just visit the website and enter the traceability code or scan the QR code at the bottom on the carton to take the survey.

Screen Shot 2015-02-27 at 5.13.58 PMYou’ll earn coupon with each survey you take! Sign up and you’ll automatically score a .50/1 coupon!

Rewards Club members enjoy:
-Special offers & a birthday gift
-Get access to sweepstakes & contests
-New & exclusive recipes, health & wellness tips, and more
-A monthly e-newsletter

 

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With all of the berry sales coming up, you’ll find tons of chances to buy Driscoll Berries! You’ll be taking surveys and earning coupons in no time!

This week, Ralphs has Strawberries for $1.88- after the .50/1 coupon you can print after you sign up that’s only $1.38 per pound- that’s a good deal. And if you are an ORGANIC eater- Rejoice! These codes are on Driscoll’s Organic berries too! I’ll be posting a recipe featuring berries this weekend!

Recipe Tuesday: Black Beans and Brown Rice!

Abby H.

I’m going to try to publish a recipe at least once a week. Some of these may seem familiar to those who have eaten in my kitchen before. Most of these recipes are family favorites with a healthy twist.

Ingredients:

  • 1 T. butter
  • 1 T. diced garlic
  • 1 bag Birdseye Recipe Ready Mirepoix OR 1/2 cup each, chopped: white onion, celery, & carrots
  • 1 red or green bellpepper, diced
  • 1 1/2 cups brown rice
  • 4 cups water or broth (I used homemade chicken broth)
  • 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1/2 T. Cajun Seasoning

Directions:

  1. In a large saucepan, melt butter and add garlic. Cook until fragrant (about 5 minutes)
  2. Add Mirepoix and pepper.  Cook on medium until onions are clear.
  3. Add rice and liquid, cook on medium, stirring often, for 30-35 minutes, until rice is tender.
  4. Add black beans, and cook until beans are heated.
  5. Add Cajun Seasoning and serve.

This makes 6-8 servings. It’s yummy!

*To make it vegan,use coconut oil in place of butter, and use veggie broth instead of chicken broth.

 

 

Photo credit: ronnieb from morguefile.com