saving money

Using CVS Offers to Your Advantage! How I Paid $5.47 for Over $50 in products!

Abby H.

I have posted about it before, and I am a huge fan of CVS. They have their CarePass, which is pretty inexpensive ($5-ish a month or $48/year if you pay for it all at once).  One of the perks is you get a $10 ExtraCare Bucks each month, for a total of $120 per year. I posted about it before but I got more information here, and overall I think it’s a pretty great deal.

You probably also remember one of the reasons that I love CVS is they have Pharmacy and Health Rewards. When you fill 10 prescriptions at their pharmacy you receive a $5.00 ExtraCare Bucks that you can spend any place in the store.

With the number of prescriptions my family has, we earn a $5.00 ExtraCare Bucks every two months. Which is pretty decent. Between the CarePass, and Pharmacy and Health Rewards, we usually have between 10 and $15 in “free“ money to spend at CVS at any given time.

I went in this morning to go pick up a prescription and noticed that they had a lot of snacks on sale/marked down, and with ExtraCare Bucks rewards. I quickly scrolled through my CVS app and noticed I had six dollars off any purchase of $30 or more and my $10 CarePass ExtraCare Bucks, and a $5.00 Pharmacy ExtraCare Bucks Reward.

Knowing that we needed both cereal and snacks and I walked up and down the snack/cereal aisle and quickly set upon a plan.

  • Chips Ahoy and Oreo cookies are 2/$7 or 2/$8 (depending on the product) this week. When you buy two select, you’ll receive a $2 ExtraCare Bucks (limit one per person/account). My kids loved both Oreos and Chips Ahoy, so I picked two of each.
  • We were also out of Motts fruit snacks, and they are buy one get one free so I snagged two boxes as well.
  • Rice crispy treats are buy one get one free, so I grabbed two of those.
  • Cereal was on sale buy one box get one free with select Kellogg’s varieties, so I grabbed two boxes as well.

Now, this may look like a lot of junk food, but this is about three weeks’ worth of stuff to go in lunches (and about 2 weeks worth of cereal for me). The cereal is for me, but the rest is going to go in kid’s lunches or be available for snacks- I portion out the snacks and put them into the snack box in the cupboard. I will be hiding about half of it so that they don’t know we have tons of it and just mow through it.

As you can see by looking at the video about and all the stuff I got, it’s a pretty substantial amount. I ended up paying $9.47 out of pocket, and I received $4.00 back in ExtraCare Bucks.

$2.00 for purchasing to select Nabisco Oreo cookies, and a second $2 ExtraCare Bucks for purchasing two chocolate bars, cookies, select chips ahoy, or premium crackers.

Making my grand total after ExtraCare Bucks $5.47. That is one heck of a deal. I’ve also submitted my receipt to Fetch Rewards for points, and to Receipt Hog for points!

And I was in and out of the store in less than 20 minutes (including time to wait in line to pay). Doing drug store deals doesn’t have to be long and tedious. And sometimes it’s a small deal.

It’s worth the time to download the CVS app, join the ExtraCare club to save money, and join CarePass. You’ll find deals weekly (or monthly in my case when I go in). You’ll be saving money in no time!

New Freebies from Try Products!

Abby H.

Try Products is another free sampling program that I’ve used over the last year or so.

Sign up to try hundreds of wonderful products from brands who want to provide consumers with cleaner, greener, more natural, better-for-you choices, that you can feel good about putting in your body & home!

It’s 100% Free. No credit card is required EVER!

Here are a few of the products available to sample now:

9/13/2022 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgI’m so tired of it being so humid. Last week we were inside a lot between the heat/humidity and the rain from Tropical Storm Kay. We ate a lot of fruit last week, and the CSA box came yesterday, so we’re going to do it again!

I hit up the grocery store on Sunday. Again this week but we’re eating out of the pantry and our  Yasukochi Family Farms CSA box, which was delivered yesterday afternoon. With the increased cost of groceries, I’m really leaning on cooking meals from our pantry stables and using fresh produce.

I did a bunch of meal prep yesterday afternoon to cut down on cooking time:

  • Marinated Salad (I’ve been using pre-made vinaigrette dressings instead of making my own)
  • Mixed Veggies to roast (I’ll do that later this week)
  • Sliced watermelon
  • Sliced strawberries

I’ll make a fruit salad later in the week when the stone fruit (peaches, plums, nectarines) ripen.

We’ve been trying a lot of new foods lately, thanks to the really great freebies from Social Nature lately too. It’s fun to try new foods. I picked up 5 new products to try this week at Sprouts last night using my Social Nature coupons!

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2  for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids. They are also into fruit and bagels for breakfast. Lately, the big kid has been digging protein shakes in the morning. This is his favorite kind. 

Lunch: I have a plastic tote in the cupboard full of self-serve snacks. I buy treats and snacks in bulk and fill up snack-sized zip-top bags. These snacks make up most of the kid’s lunches during the school week. School lunches are still free, but on most days, they prefer to bring their lunches from home.

Dinner: Now that school is in session and our weekday schedule is cemented, I’m using one weekend morning to do some baking/side dish meal prep, and Monday afternoons after school/work to prep the CSA box goodies.  As the price of groceries goes up, I find myself buying less meat, relying more on sale/clearance prices, and repurposing leftovers.

  • Monday: Home-Made Pizza, Fruit

  • Tuesday:  Mac n’ Cheese, Roasted Veggies

  • Wednesday: Loaded Smashed Potatoes (Recipe coming this week), Salad

  • Thursday:   Grilled Cheese or Quesadillas, Soup, & Salad

  • Friday: Takeout night!
  • Saturday:  Leftovers
  • Sunday: Fruit Salad, Funeral Potatoes, Toast

Office Depot: Recycle Toner/Ink Cartridges and Earn Money!

Abby H.

I haven’t talked about this in a while, but this is a good way to help the earth and your pocketbook.

If you have an Office Depot/Office Max nearby, you can recycle your ink or toner cartridges in-store and earn credit to spend in the store. It’s as easy as 1,2,3.

  1. Bring your empty cartridges to the cash register. Any brand, from any store. Office Depot/Office Max will take it! Limit 10 cartridges per month.
  2. Make a $10 qualifying purchase during the same month.
  3. Get $2 back in rewards per recycled cartridge. Once the $10 qualifying purchase is satisfied, rewards will be paid out the next day as a rewards certificate online. Details and the fine print can be found here.

And if you need to buy more Ink/Toner, you can earn 30% back in bonus rewards when you buy your ink/toner at Office Depot/Office Max.

And if you are like me and don’t have time to pop out to buy ink during the week, Office Depot/Office Max offers Free next-business-day shipping on qualifying $45 orders. With back to school, I’m printing tons of permission slips and homework!

Deal Alert: UNLIMITED 11×14 canvases for $9.99 each from Easy Canvas Prints

Abby H.

Easy Canvas  Prints is a company that takes digital photos and prints them on canvases. I love them because I can print really great summer pics of the kids and give them to relatives that live far away. I think that photo gifts are great for grandparents and great-grandparents.

This brand new Easy Canvas Prints deal offers UNLIMITED 11×14 canvases for $9.99 each! That’s 90% off of the original price. All other canvas print sizes are still 85% off. What a great deal!

You can have them directly shipped to the gift recipient too! To check out this deal, and the other deals on their site, visit Easy Canvas Prints.

9/5/2022 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgThis past weekend was hot. And humid. We spent most of the weekend indoors, playing games, watching videos, and eating strawberries.

I hit up the grocery store Friday to pick up a few things, but we’re mostly living off the pantry and our  Yasukochi Family Farms CSA box, which was delivered this afternoon.

I did a bunch of meal prep this evening:

  • Green Salad
  • Marinated Salad
  • Mixed Veggies to roast (I’ll do that tomorrow afternoon)
  • Cauliflower to roast
  • Sliced watermelon
  • Sliced strawberries

We’ve been trying a lot of new foods lately, thanks to the really great freebies from Social Nature lately too. It’s fun to try new foods. I received a few more coupons over the weekend, so I’ll visit Sprouts sometime this week to pick up the new foods. I’m focusing on snacks and treats from Social Nature.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2  for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids. They are also into fruit and bagels for breakfast. Lately, the big kid has been digging protein shakes in the morning. This is his favorite kind. 

Lunch: I have a plastic tote in the cupboard full of self-serve snacks. I buy treats and snacks in bulk and fill up snack-sized zip-top bags. This is really helpful for the summer when for some reason, kids are starving all the time.

Dinner: I’ve got a couple casseroles/freezer meals this week, and other than that we’re eating easy and quick stuff so I can spend time playing, coloring, building legos, and swimming, which is the plan for the week.

  • Monday: Fruit Salad, Protein Shakes

  • Tuesday:  Chef Salad (Using the green salad I made, plus bacon crumbles, hardboiled eggs, and cheese)

  • Wednesday: Crockpot Chili, cheese toast, fruit

  • Thursday:  Spaghetti with red sauce and hot Italian sausage, roasted veggies

  • Friday: Takeout night!
  • Saturday:  Leftovers
  • Sunday:  Tamales, Beans, Rice, Salad

Print your Photos FREE with Freeprints App!

Abby H.

I take so many pictures each month, and I feel like most other parents do as well. Most of the time, they stay on my phone or cloud forever.

Recently I discovered The Freeprints App. It’s a really cool service where you get 85 FREE individual 4×6 photo prints per calendar month through their app, just pay shipping.

You can even earn up to 16 bonus prints per month by inviting friends or family, and by sharing on Twitter.

If you’ve got pictures that you want to give as gifts, there is an option to upgrade to a bigger size print and pay an extra fee at checkout.

The Freeprints app is available for iOS and Android.

September 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:

  • Non-GMO Sesamemilk by Hope & Sesame
  • Ice Cream Pints & Bars by Keto Foods
  • Fruit Spreads by Bonne Mama
  • Nitro Cold Brew Coffee by RISE Brewing Co.
  • Meatless Nuggets by Quorn Foods
  • Sustainably Made Chocolate by Ritter Sport
  • Crunchy Cluster Granola by Bakery on Main
  • Low-Calorie Chocolate Bars by Gatsby Chocolate

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, 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!

9/2/2022 Friday Freebies and Deals

Abby H.

This week has been really hot here in San Diego, and across the southwest. If you need a cool place to go in San Diego County, check out the list of Offical Cool Zones here.

It’s going to be hot all weekend. We’ll be having a lot of time indoors watching movies, and late-night swim sessions.

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 Food & Drinks at Circle K
Free Hot Dog at Rural King
Free Starbucks BAYA Energy Drink
Sephora – Free Laura Mercier, amika, Tatcha or Ilia Mini Set
Free The Body Shop Mango Body Butter
Free DIY Horse Craft Kit at Joann
Free Yachak Organic Plant-Based Energy Drink
Free Headspace Access for Educators
Free Tasty Bite Entree at Target
Free Sweet Chaos Fall Snacking Party Pack
Ulta – Free DryBar Prep Rally Detangler for Your Birthday
Verizon Up Rewards – Free Screen Protector
Free L’Oreal Le Color Gloss Sample
Panera Members – Free Bagel Everyday in September
Free Signature Select Pizza at Safeway
Free Museum Admission – Bank of America/Merril Lynch Cardholders
Free RID Super Max Children’s Lice Treatment Kits
Free Redbox DVD Rental

Free Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition PC Game

Deals

Womens Adidas Slides ONLY $24 (Reg. $80)
Stella McCartney Adidas Shoe ONLY $82.80 (Reg. $230)
Coach Makeup Case ONLY $51 (Reg. $150)
Coach Zip Card Case ONLY $34.64 (Reg. $128)
Coach Zak Flip Flops ONLY $16.15 (Reg. $58)
Bliss Facial Masks ONLY $0.94 (Reg $4.19)
Farmhouse Drawer Dresser ONLY $224 (Reg. $360)
Ninja Nutri-Blender ONLY $19.99 at Walmart (Reg $40) 50% Off
Tired of Missing HOT Free Samples? Get Text Alerts
Pajama Set ONLY $10.79 (Reg. $27)
Women’s Cardigan ONLY $7.74 (Reg. $31)
Kid’s Bento Lunch Box ONLY $16 (Reg. $30)
BP Short Pajama Set ONLY $17.15 (Reg. $50)
Steve Madden Booties ONLY $60 (Reg. $140)

September 2022: New Month, New Coupons!

Abby H.

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

The printable coupon market is slowly coming to an end. Smartsource no longer offers printable coupons, and you may notice that there are fewer coupon inserts in your Sunday newspaper. This is in favor of more offers available on apps. But if you love printable coupons….

  • Coupons.com (printable coupons, e-coupons, and a cashback app)

One of my favorite websites 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! New offers are added on the Smartphone Savings Apps all the time!

Here are a few of my favorite printable coupons:

Save $1.00 on ONE (1) Splash Blast™ 16.9 oz. 6-pack, Any Flavor
Save $0.75 ONE (1) Sargento Balanced Breaks CHEESE & CRACKERS
Save $2.00 on ONE (1) Blue Diamond Almond Flour or Baking Mix
Save $3.00 on ONE (1) Sambucol product. Excludes 10ct Gummies and 10ct Immune Drink Powder.

September means Labor Day and Back to school! The traditional Back to School Sales will start. For most schools, classes begin the Tuesday after Labor Day. This is a great time to stock up on snacks that are healthy and shelf-stable.

For a complete list of types of foods and items that will be on sale, check out this post on the cycle of sales.