frugal

Tryazon: Build Outside the Box with Squaregles Building Party!

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.

Play beyond the build with a new Tryazon Featured Party opportunity from Squaregles! Squaregles have strong magnets that allow kids to build interactive structures so they can play with what they built. They have more ways to play with characters, comics for adventures, paperboard for doodling, tracks, cars for action, and more! Artists and storytellers can draw their own features on panels that pop in and out of magnetic frames so kids can build, play, re-design and repeat. Let kids get lost in play with Squaregles!

Tryazon has 100 hosting spots open for this opportunity! Those selected get to receive a party pack with a variety of Squaregles sets to sample and share with friends and family, valued at $360+ in total!

Learn more and apply here.

October 2022: New Healthy Freebies From Social Nature!

Abby H.

 If you are into Organic/Natural/Healthy products, then Social Nature is right up your alley. Sign up and apply to sample products that you are interested in. I get probably 1-2 products to sample each month. And most of the time it’s full-size products, not just a tiny sample.

Social Nature has rounded up products that are available to try at a local grocery store or mass merchandiser near you.  Apply to Try the products that interest you to see if you’re a match here.

Here are some of the new sampling opportunities:

      • Veggie Pasta by Veggiecraft Farms
      • No Sugar Bacon by Pederson’s Natural Farms
      • Uncured No Sugar Kielbasa Sausage by Pederson’s Natural Farms
      • Almond Yogurt by AYO Almond Yogurt
      • Squeezable Smoothie by Sweet Nothings
      • Barley Milk by Golden Wing
      • Plant-Based Protein Bar by Lupii
      • Quick and Easy Breakfast by Belgian Boys

And More!

And one of the things I love about Social Nature is that they don’t leave our friends with food allergies out.

There are sampling offers for Gluten-free, nut-free, and meat-free foods frequently.

Canadian Friends- You are in luck, there are sampling opportunities for you too! So if you love trying new products, check out Social Nature!

Giveaway: Meal Prep Starter Pack from La Mesa Dream Dinners!

Abby H.6 Comments

I am so excited to share this giveaway with you! I’ve partnered with La Mesa Dream Dinners to give away a Meal Prep Starter kit that contains 4 medium meals (a medium meal feeds 2-3 people, but in our family of 4 it usually feeds all 4 of us with a couple side dishes added) or 2 Large Meals, which feeds 4-6 each.

Y’all know I love Dream Dinners. Dinner is on the table in 30 minutes or less, and there is no chopping, measuring, or shopping for ingredients. It’s awesome for us busy folks- I put 1-2 Dream Dinners in the fridge to defrost Sunday night, and we’ve got easy meals for our busiest nights.

With the kid’s extracurriculars and therapies, every day is busy right now. I’m up at 5:45am making breakfasts and lunches, washing dishes, and feeding the kitty. By the time 5pm rolls around, the last thing I want to do is spend an hour plus in the kitchen.

Dream Dinners is cheaper than takeout, healthier, and many times, it’s the same amount of dishes to wash. Yes, I serve takeout on plates and use silverware. I’m not eating Chinese takeout out of the little paper boxes with my hands.

If you are new to Dream Dinners, check out my post here with all the details, and how they compare to other meal kits.

Onto the Giveaway- Enter using the Rafflecopter widget/link (it’s not mobile-friendly) below. For a mobile-friendly entry, click here.

The first and easiest entry is to check out the October Menu here and leave a comment on this post letting me know what you are most excited about trying. Then click ion the Rafflecopter link below and complete the remaining entries!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Fine Print: This giveaway will run from 10/11/2022 until 10/19/2022. A winner will be chosen at random on 10/19/22 and will be notified via email. The winner must reside in the San Diego, CA county area and pick up their prize directly from La Mesa Dream Dinners. The winner’s contact information will be supplied to La Mesa Dream Dinners to coordinate the delivery of the prize.

This contest is not sponsored or endorsed by WordPress, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Baby on the Way? Three Freebies Opportunities for Expecting Parents!

Abby H.

If you are expecting a baby, or know someone who is, this post is for you!

Here are three great offers, all with various freebies and opportunities to save money.

First up- BuyBuy Baby! Start your online baby registry, then visit a buybuy BABY stores to receive a free Goody Bag full of free samples and a buybuy BABY coupon!

And when you shop for essentials: Start earning points for every $1 spent. You”ll earn 10 points for every $1 spent – no exclusions.

Enfamil is hooking you up with some goodies!

Join Enfamil Family Beginnings® and get up to $400 in FREE gifts including coupons, formula samples, Belly Badges™, and more! (Available while supplies last!)

This is a great opportunity to try different formulas without breaking the bank.

If you are looking for other formula samples, check out this post about Kabrita. My kids loved this formula.

And finally- Walmart has a great offer! Create a Walmart Baby Registry & you can sign up for a free Welcome Baby Registry Box.

This offer is not mobile-friendly, so you’ll need to use a laptop/desktop.

 

Please feel free to share this post with anyone you know who might be expecting or adopting soon. The best part about these offers is that you will continue to receive coupons and discounts for baby and kids items for an extended period of time!

New PinchMe Samples Drop 10/11/2022!

Abby H.

Sample Tuesday is Coming on 10/11/2022- Mark your calendars, and 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.

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.

I get PinchMe samples every month. Here is what arrived at the end of September for the September 2022 box. Fiona really dig the Delectables Squeeze up Cat Treats- It’s like a gravy Capri Sun for cats!

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!

Kohl’s Rewards Members- Check your Accounts!

Abby H.

I love shopping at Kohl’s. They have great deals on clothes and home goods. Did you know they have a bussin’ toy department (at least according to my kids)?

If you are a Kohl’s Rewards Member, log on to your account and check your wallet for a $10 of $50 toy department coupon (exclusions apply)! They are valid through 10/31/2022 in case you have a birthday to shop for, or if you’re like me and you want to get a jump on your holiday shopping.

And to sweeten the deal, through 10/31/2022, select Lego sets and toys are 20% off!

October is Kids Go Free Month 2022 Edition!

Abby H.

October is a great time to be a kid in San Diego!

This October 1-31, kids 12 and under receive free admission at many arts, cultural, and science museums and historical sites in San Diego County.

For those of us with curious kids, this is perfect! Kids can get into over 40 museums in the San Diego area free with paying adults (all the info can be found here).

Some of the participating organizations include:

Birch Aquarium at Scripps
Fleet Science Center (Galleries only)
Heritage of the Americas Museum
Japanese Friendship Garden
Living Coast Discovery Center
Maritime Museum of San Diego
Marston House Museum & Gardens
Mingei International Museum
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
Museum of Making Music
Museum of Photographic Arts
San Diego Air & Space Museum
San Diego Automotive Museum
San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum
San Diego Chinese Historical Museum
San Diego History Center
San Diego Model Railroad Museum
San Diego Natural History Museum (The Nat)
Tijuana Estuary Visitor Center
Timken Museum of Art (it’s always free for everyone FYI)
Women’s Museum of California

A full list can be found here. Oh, and as part of free October, Kids can get into the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo’s Safari Park free when accompanied by a paying adult!  Other Kids go free attractions include: Legoland, Sea World, and the USS Midway!!

*Some museums charge fees for special exhibitions, programs or films. Some museums may limit offer use to once per month per guest. Purchase of a Balboa Park Explorer Pass does not qualify as a paid adult admission for the Kids Free in October program. Purchase of a Go San Diego Pass or card does not qualify as a paid adult admission for the Kids Free in October program at most museums; call museum(s) before visiting to enquire. 

Free Food Resources for October 2022(San Diego County)

Abby H.

Woo! A new month means a reminder about all of the free food options there is here in San Diego County.

Keep in mind there are still supply chain issues, so there may not be a lot of food at some distributions, especially those that serve a large portion of the community.

I recommend showing up a little early with a bottle of water and a book and waiting in line. Time passes quickly in these lines, and it’s a great time to learn from others about community food options. Remember to socially distance and follow local masking regulations.

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

Our friends at Faith Chapel are super ahead of the game and sent out information regarding their 2022 food distributions early on in the year.

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 October 2022 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. You can learn more here about the Feeding San Diego Together Tour.

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.

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

Focus Group Connections: Kids11-17 Cell Phone Usage Project $50

Abby H.

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

Focus Group Connection is looking for kids 11-17 to participate in a Focus Group on the topic of “Cellular Applications.”
This study requires the download of an informational app to your child’s cell phone for 9-days.

Focus Group Connection is doing a study to learn more about how pre-teens and teenagers use their mobile devices and how this usage may correlate with their health. To get this information, we would 11-to-17-year olds to answer a survey and download a study app onto their devices for 9 days. We expect it to take about 15 minutes to complete the survey. We expect it to take about 5-10 minutes to install and enroll into the study app, which then runs automatically in the background.

The study app, collects mobile device usage data from cellular devices. This app only tracks mobile device use in terms of whether the phone is on or off, which apps are running, and the time of day the apps are used. It does not collect personal information, phone contacts, the content of any texts or emails, what websites are visited, or other specifics such as which videos are watched on YouTube. For example, the app would know you used the Google Chrome app, but not what you searched for or what websites you visited.

 If you and your child are interested – they will send a short survey link for you (Parent) to complete. If you have a qualifying child, we will email the instructions for the app installation. If selected to participate, your child will receive $50 for their participation. 

If you would like to include your child in this study – Please click here to fill in a short pre-screen. Note it says “August/September”, but they are looking for candidates for October/November.

Sprouts Monthly Sampling Program is Ending!

Abby H.

That’s right, the Sprouts full-size sampling program has been canceled. Honestly, it was really hard to get them on the app or find them in the store, so I’m not at all surprised that this program is closing.

BUT- Never fear! With in-app coupons from the Sprouts app, as well as savings/cash back apps (find my favorites here), there are still tons of ways to save at Sprouts!