frugal

Faith Chapel: 7/31/22 Backpack Giveaway!

Abby H.

This popped up in my inbox last night. I know a lot of you are keeping tabs on school supply and backpack giveaways, and Faith Chapel in Spring Valley has got you covered!

For those of us who start back to school early, this backpack giveaway is perfect.

This Sunday, July 31st, Faith Chapel will be giving out 400 FREE stuffed backpacks! Details will be shared during our 10:30am service so plan on attending. Registration begins as early as 9:30am.

Students must be present to receive a backpack.

Come to Faith Chapel’s main campus to register, enjoy the service, then receive the stuffed backpacks with school supplies.

Faith Chapel
9400 Campo Rd.
Spring Valley, CA 91977

And don’t forget that Faith Chapel hosts two Neighborhood Distributions per month! To learn more, check out my post here. 

2 Upcoming Clothing Swaps in San Diego!

Abby H.

I love clothing swaps- If you have read my blog, you know it’s one of my favorite ways to refresh the kids wardrobes (and my own).

There haven’t been too many clothing swaps since the pandemic started, but I have found two coming up that are going to be GREAT!

Saturday, August 06, 2022, 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM Foothills Church 365 W Bradley Ave, El Cajon CA

The women’s ministry is hosting a FREE clothing exchange! You can swap gently used women’s & children’s clothing and infant essentials. They have limited space, so please no toys or books. There will be no childcare available, so keep that in mind. If you want to drop off items early, Look for the bins in their lobby. I’m dropping off items tomorrow.

August 27, 2022 Porchlight Community Services, Inc. 8888 Clairemont Mesa Blvd Suite B San Diego, CA
Clothing Swap
From their site “We invite you to be part of our SWAP PARTY! Bring clothing, accessories, personal hygiene, or toiletries, OR you’re welcome to donate a bag of canned/shelf-stable food to participate. *Expired food will not be accepted*”

This is a fundraising event, donate what you can ($5 suggested) or you can bring canned goods to donate on the event date to participate. We will gladly accept them on the day of the event.

Please drop off items to swap in advance: 8/25 Thursday 10 am-5 pm or 8/27 Saturday *Before 9 am.  For more information, check out the event page here. And to learn more about Porchlight Community Services, check out their website.

And if you are looking for more information about clothing swaps, check out my post from earlier this year here.

Getting Ready for Back to School: Health Edition

Abby H.

The Back to school shopping crazies will start in a few weeks with sales and deals, but one thing we’ve done this summer to help with Back to school is getting everyone in tip-top health!

I made sure the kids are seeing all the doctors/specialists over the summer to minimize appointments during the school year.

Here in California vision and dental insurance is included under health insurance plans for kids 18 and under. To learn more, check the back of your kid’s health insurance card for phone numbers.

The kids saw the dentist and had eye exams. New glasses were ordered through the optometrist that are part of the vision insurance (one pair every 2 years from a list of specific frames), and we get the paper prescription for our family binder. 

I order extra pairs of glasses through online discount retailers such as EYEBUYDIRECT. A lot of online discount retailers have inexpensive kid’s glasses that can be less than $20 a pair, which is great to have on hand because we all know, kids tend to break stuff.

EYEBUYDIRECT prices start at $6 for select frames!

I also had the kids see any specialists that they needed to, in our case they needed to go to the podiatrist.

And of course, we took care of behavioral/mental health appointments and medication checks over the summer as well. And all future mental/behavioral health appointments are after school or on weekends.

The next health component that I am working on is getting our family first aid kit up to snuff, and that will be a separate post over the weekend.

7/22/2022 Friday Freebies and Deals

Abby H.

Today was my last day of work at school for a month. So there should be an uptick in blog posts and social media stuff.

The big kid was sick earlier this week with an ear infection. He’s starting to heal, but it’s slow going.

If you are looking for some frugal adventures for this summer, check out this post.

Mask Mandates are changing constantly in California and can vary by city and county, so please do your part if you are going to any in-person freebies.

2022 Birthday Freebies are here!

Freebies

Free Sample of Gerber Soothe n Chew Teething Sticks
Free Starbucks Drink or Treat for Select Spotify Accounts
Possible Free $150 Candy Research Study
Free Kids Book Every Month
Free Niacinamide Face Serum
Free Combo Meal at White Castle
Free Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil Sample
Free Hot Dog at The Original Hot Dog Factory
Free Donut Wednesdays at Dunkin
Free Glycolic Overnight Peel Treatment
Free Montchevre Goat Cheese After Rebate
Free Pretzel at Auntie Anne’s – Every Wednesday in July & Aug
Free Garden of Flavor Cold-Pressed Energy Elixir
Free Book with Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program
Free Sample of Saturix Clean Room Wipes
Free Duracell Batteries at Office Depot & Office Max
Free Skincare Bath & Body Bundle
Free Sample of Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Gel Cream
Free Bath & Body Gift Sets
Free NeilMed Sinus Rinse Kit
Banfield Pet Hospital – Free Office Visit & Consultation
Free Original Chick Meal at Chicken Salad Chick
Free Shoes from Dream Pair Shoes
Free $10 ThredUP Credit = Free Womens & Children Items
Free Beyond Meat Teriyaki Jerky at Walmart
Free Goody Bag at buybuy BABY Stores
Free Andalou Naturals Skincare Products
Free 10 oz. Ithaca Hummus After Rebate
Free Love Corn
Free Half Price Books Summer Reading Camp
Free Tannenberg PC Game
Free My Best Friend’s Wedding for Xfinity Rewards Members
2,000 Free AllState Rewards Points
Free Shop Titans PC Game

 

Deals:

Michael Kors Travel Crossbody Bag ONLY $74.25 (Reg $398)
Levi’s Women’s Bermuda Jean Shorts ONLY $24.99 (Reg $50)
Insulated Backpack Cooler ONLY $19.04 (Reg. $39.99)
Flying Saucer Outdoor Swing at Amazon ONLY $29.99 (Reg. $59.99)
Women’s Turtleneck Sweater ONLY $7 (Reg. $28)
Youth Camping Chair ONLY $8.98 (Reg. $17.97)
Silk Queen Size Pillowcases 2-PC ONLY $8.49 (Reg. $16.99)
2022-2023 Planners as low as ONLY $2.99 (Reg. $5.99)
Adidas Adilette Footbed Clogs ONLY $18.54 (Reg $45)
Arctic Air Cooler ONLY $23.99 (Reg $40)
Char-Broil Gas Grill with Side Burner ONLY $132.99 (Reg $230)
Airtight Food Storage Containers 7-pc ONLY $21.99 (Reg. $51.59)
Polarized Sunglasses 3-pack ONLY $7.49 (Reg. $15)

99 Cents Only: Sign up for the NEW 99 App today and get a $5 Reward!

Abby H.

This was in my inbox earlier today, and while I have fallen out of love with 99 Cents Only (which is a huge misnomer these days, the average price of items is $2.99), this is still a pretty good deal:

When you download the app, sign up for an account (or log on if you had the older version of the app already), you’ll get a $5 off your next purchase of $25+ offer.

With inflation and 99 Cents Only’s foray into more expensive merchandise, I have stopped shopping there as much as I used to. They still have decent deals on bagged salads, bread, spices, canned goods, and first aid supplies.

Tryazon: Storypod Make Screen-Free Learning Fun!

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.

Fascinate little learners with this Tryazon Featured Party opportunity, from Storypod!
Storypod is a smart, screenless storytelling toy with adorable yarn figurines and read-along audiobooks offering engaging and interactive content while promoting independent learning, decision making, and listening skills. How does it work? Storypod offers a delightful screen-free experience that feels like magic! Just tap any Craftie, Audiobook or Trivia Card on The Storypod to activate its audio. Listen to the immersive audio experiences with screen-free stories, songs and lessons. So fun kids don’t even realize they’re learning!

Tryazon has 50 hosting spots open for this opportunity! Those selected get to receive a Storypod party pack valued at over $240 to share with friends and family! Learn more and apply here.

Recipe: Chicken Corn Chowder

Abby H.

This is a super easy recipe! I made this on Saturday night to be served this week (and some went into the freezer for future meals).

We had a rotisserie chicken, so I made the stock from scratch and used some of the rotisserie chicken meat, but that’s optional. You could use canned broth/stock and canned chicken if you wanted.

You may have most of these ingredients on hand!

Chicken Corn Chowder

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

  • 2 T. butter
  • 1/2 white onion, diced
  • 2 cups corn (I used corn from a past CSA box that I had roasted, removed from the cob, and froze for later use), canned or frozen corn is great. If using canned, rinse the corn before using
  • 1.5 cups chicken, cooked and chopped into bite-size pieces (You can use canned chicken, drained and rinsed, or rotisserie chicken)
  • 1 cup whole milk (or 1 can evaporated milk)
  • 4 cups chicken broth/stock
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3/4 cup mashed potato flakes
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1t. Poultry seasoning

Directions:

  1. In a large stock pot, melt butter and saute onions until translucent, about 5 minutes.
  2. Add corn to the pot, stir and cook for about 5 minutes.
  3. Add remaining ingredients and cook over low for 10-15 minutes, allowing the soup to thicken and heat throughout.
  4. Remove the bay leaf prior to serving.

Serve with green salad and popovers.

Dietary options:

  • For dairy free, use your favorite cooking oil/spread and non-dairy milk.
  • For vegetarian options, omit chicken (or use your favorite meat-free chick’n alternative), and use veggie broth in place of chicken broth.
  • This recipe is naturally gluten-free.

 

Fetch Rewards: Earn More Points with Good Rewards

Abby H.

Ok, so as most of you know, Fetch Rewards is my favorite cashback app. They have a new club within the app: Good Rewards! It’s a way to earn extra points when you purchase General Mills products.

All you have to do is open the Fetch Rewards app on your phone, click on the Good Rewards link in the app, join, and you’ll be earning extra points in no time. General Mills owns a lot of brands you probably buy weekly.

If you aren’t already using Fetch Rewards, signing up is quick and easy! You learn more when you check out my post here. Find the Fetch Rewards app in your app store, and when you download it and scan any receipt, use my code ND2TB when you sign up and you’ll score 2,000 bonus points. I’ve earned $145 so far in 2022 just by purchasing my regular groceries and scanning all of my receipts (grocery, mass merchandiser, gas receipts, restaurants, you name it).

Sea World-Free Tickets for U.S. Veterans!

Abby H.

Did you know that veterans can receive up to four free passes to Sea World? It’s true!

Screen Shot 2017-07-06 at 7.19.30 PM.pngThe response to this opportunity earlier this year was so overwhelming that Sea World decided to offer it to you again! To show their appreciation for those who have served our country, they are offering U.S. military veterans FREE SeaWorld San Diego tickets for themselves and up to three friends or family members.

This limited-time offer is only available online through July 31. Get your tickets by verifying your military status through ID.me at the link below and use them by July 31!

This isn’t available at the park, so you’ll have to sign up here and fill out all the forms before you go.

Parking isn’t included in this offer and starts at $17, depending on which level of parking you select.

 

Tryazon: Summer Game Night from Spin Master

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.

Beat the heat this August with a cool Tryazon Featured Party opportunity, from Spin Master Games! Featuring five great titles including Beat the Parents, Hedbanz, Sink N’ Sand, and more! Spin Master Games has just what you need to make your time together fun and memorable by bringing everyone together through laughs amidst friendly competition that the whole family will enjoy.

Tryazon has 250 hosting spots open for this opportunity! Those selected get to receive a party pack with a variety of Spin Master Games to share with friends and family! Learn more and apply here.