frugal

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!

Awesome Breakfast Deal at IHOP 2x2x2 just $5

Abby H.

IHOP has a great deal right now, and it’s ending soon!

Last call for one of the sweetest IHOP deals ever, the 2x2x2 Breakfast Combo for just $5!* Dine in today for 2 eggs your way, 2 custom-cured hickory-smoked bacon strips, or 2 pork sausage links, and 2 fluffy buttermilk pancakes. Don’t sleep on this yummy deal – it ends soon and is available all day, every day. Dine-in only.

Find your local IHOP here.

MyPoints: Refer Friends and You Both Earn 300 Points!

Abby H.

I’ve been using MyPoints since 2011, and I’ve earned a lot of cashback just by doing my normal online shopping through MyPoints. About $550, to be exact.

Right now they are offering a great deal! When you refer a new user, and they earn 300 points, you both get a 300-point bonus. It’s easy to earn 300 points!

I love using MyPoints. I can earn points shopping online and utilizing in-store pick-up with stores like Walmart, Target, Home Depot, and JCPenney.

  • I ordered Christmas Gifts and earned 1200 points.

There are so many point-earning opportunities.

You can double dip on earning points or cash back by using a point earning credit card like American Express or Discover Cards or taking advantage of a points program that rewards you for purchases on their website, like JCP Rewards.

I love that I can earn gift cards which I use to offset the cost of holiday gifts.

Talk Back: What is your favorite Cashback program?

Recipe: Spicy Szechuan Style Green Beans (a la PF Changs)

Abby H.

In our recent Yasukochi Family Farms CSA box, we received 5 fistfuls (about a pound) of fresh green beans. I cleaned them, put them in a large ziploc bag in the fridge until I could be struck by inspiration.

I was doing the end-of-week veg prep Sunday morning (to make room for the new box arriving Monday), and I came across the green beans. I was watching tik tok last night and saw a video for spicy green beans. I decided to give it a go.

To start, I searched online for a bunch of recipes and Frankestein’d together a recipe using what we had on hand, which wasn’t much. Our fridge died last summer and I still haven’t replaced all of the condiments, in part because of supply chain issues, and also because of freaking inflation.

Spicy Szechuan Style Green Beans

Ingredients

  • 1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed
  • 2 T. your favorite cooking oil (I used grapeseed)
  • 2 T. Diced Garlic (It’s ok to use the stuff in a jar)
  • 1 T. Chili Paste or Sriracha (whatever you have)
  • 2 t. onion powder
  • 1 green onion, white and light green parts only
  • 3 T. Soy sauce (I used low sodium)
  • 1/4 c. water
  • 1 T. rice vinegar (or white- whatever you have)
  • Juice of half an orange

Optional, but tasty

  • Sesame Seeds
  • Red Pepper Flakes

Directions

  1. In a large pan or wok, heat oil.
  2. Cook green beans for 5-8 minutes, or until they start to brown and wilt. If your green beans have been stored in the fridge, it will take longer.
  3. While the beans cook, add the 1 T. garlic, chili paste, onion powder, and green onion to a small bowl and combine.
  4. After the beans have browned and wilted, add the chili/garlic mixture and combine/coat the green beans. Cook for 3-ish minutes on medium until the garlic is fragrant.
  5. Add the remaining liquid ingredients (I poured all of them into a mixing cup and set it aside until this step, but you can pour them directly into the pan/wok), cooking on low until some of the water evaporates. Remove from heat, and add sesame seeds and red pepper flakes (less than 1 tablespoon each).

This is a great side dish for any Asian food. I served it for breakfast -grown ups only- over basmati rice, topped with a jammy egg. It was very filling.

This recipe is vegan/vegetarian. If you are sensitive to gluten, replace your soy with tamari or coconut aminos.

Amazing Deals at The Children’s Place In Store and Online!

Abby H.

Bitty Bird and I went to the mall after school on Thursday, and after a brief detour to the food court for a snack (Sbarro), we decided to check out The Children’s Place.

I haven’t been in there in a while, but they are having a really good sale right now, and that includes clearance.

Our local mall has a pretty small location, but we were still able to find a few dresses in her size on sale, in fact, this one was her favorite:

This dress is less than $10!

Such a great deal for a cute skater dress. This is her favorite style right now.

Their online clearance section is huge and as a bonus, The Children’s Place offers free ship to the store! Place your order online, once it’s ready, you’ll get an email once it’s ready to be picked up. It’s super quick and easy. And with ship to store, not only is the price of shipping waived, but you’ll also receive 10% off! That makes a sweet deal even sweeter!