shopping

Organizing your home on the cheap….

Abby H.

We have a lot of craft supplies. Henry and I do a craft 3-4 times a week. Plus we also paint, color, and draw.

Our Craft supplies were getting out of control.. I mean, check this out:

IMG_1907 IMG_1908Yeah, It was sorta contained by two crates that weren’t the same size. They didn’t stack up and that bugged me. Plus we had a mish mash of family binder plus small craft totes on the desk. It was just cluttered and insane.

I’ve been wanted to get it a little more organized for a while, but organizational stuff can be expensive. Have you ever been to the Container Store? OY VEY!

I had organizing in the back of my mind when I got an email from Shop Your Way Rewards letting me know I had $5 in points for K-Mart. When I logged on to Shop Your Way Rewards, there was a pop up for a new sweepstakes where you can win up to $50,000 in points. I decided to play and I won $10 in points (usable at Sears and K-Mart).

Armed with my $15 in points, I started shopping. I found this great storage chest from Bintopia, and coordinating baskets. I checked my Shop Your Way Coupons and found 15% off anything in the home coupon!

I picked up three of the bins and two of the chests, and my mess became corralled:

IMG_1909 IMG_1911The best part is that one of the chests is only half full, so if we come in to more craft supplies, we can stash them safely. Right now  I have Christmas gifts for family stowed away in there.

I saved money by picking up at the store. After coupons and point redemption, I only paid $8.00. And I shopped through TopCashBack, so I earned 4% cashback!

The original mismatched crates have been relegated to Henry’s room, where they will hold misc. toys.

Change is in the air at Checkout 51

Abby H.

Screen Shot 2015-11-09 at 7.00.53 AMI’ve written about Checkout51 before, it’s a rebate app that saves you money on groceries.

Well, they’ve merged withNews America Marketing, the brand behind SmartSource, and according to their press release email, “we’ve been working on some big things for your offer list.” What does that mean, exactly? I’m not too sure, but I’ll keep my eyes open and we’ll see.

Hopefully it means better offers, or an option for paypal as a pay out. Right now you have to cash out and wait for a check.

Print Coupons From Your Smart Phone!

Abby H.

SMARTPHONE 4It’s finally here! Coupons.com is offering printing from your Smartphones! It’s easy!

You can print directly from your Android and iOS devices to a WiFi connected printer. Coupons.com  will automatically detect a user on their mobile device and guide you through printing. Users will be texted an authentication code before they can print and must be connected to a wireless network with an AirPrint or Wireless enabled printer. Click here to get started!

Here are just a few of my favorite new coupons!

$0.25 off ONE Pampers Wipes 56 ct or higher
$1.00 off one Jar of Pearls Specialties Olives
$0.50 off Sugar In The Raw 100 ct Box or 2lb. Box
$0.75 off ONE Herbal Essences Body Wash

Bulu Box: Healthy Monthly Box Delivered to you!

Abby H.1 Comment

I love Monthly subscription boxes. It’s a great way to try out new products at a discount, all without leaving your home.

If you are trying to eat a little more healthy, here is a sweet deal for you! The perfect partner in the pursuit of a healthier you, Bulu Box is like having a personal trainer and a nutritionist as a best friend.

Each month, a box of healthy discoveries is shipped right to your door for just $10. You learn about that month’s 4-5 premium samples, try each one and see what fits into your individual healthy lifestyle.

For sharing your opinions on each month’s samples through a quick survey, we will give you 50 Rewards Points (that’s $5!) to use in our shop to get more of your favorites.

My readers get a special deal, thanks to our friends at Bulu Box and Us Family Guide! Get a 3 Month Subscription for just $15 (regularly $30)! at Bulu Box – Use code WOWZA at checkout!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ll post photos of my next Bulu Box when it arrives!

 

@usfg @bulubox

How I Scored a Free Bed (And How You Can Too!)

Abby H.1 Comment
Fresh-fruit-green-font-b-polka-b-font-font-b-dot-b-font-piece-set-flannelRecently, our bed frame broke. Our bed is  nine years old, and our bed frame was the cheap-y one that came free when we bought our mattress and box springs. I shouldn’t really be surprised that it broke, but it did and it was no longer comfortable to sleep in our bed. It’s sagged in the middle because the part of the bed frame that broke was the center slat that provided the support for the mid section of the mattress.
I began my search online for a new bed frame. I checked all of the usual suspects: JCPenney, Sears, as well as trusty old Craigslist. All I wanted was a sturdy metal bed frame. No headboard, no foot board, just a bed frame.

Screen Shot 2015-10-26 at 9.14.51 PMFinally I found one that fit the bill. It was this one here from Sears. It was sturdy, as it had extra supports in the middle (which is very important when you have a small child likes to bounce on the bed like we do), and it fit my budget. So I set upon trying to get it for cheaply is possible.

First, I checked to see if there’s any place I could get a free Sears gift card with points from various rewards programs I use. I checked my Mypoints account, and I checked my SwagBucks account, and finally I checked my RecycleBank account. Turns out I had enough RecycleBank points to get a $10 gift card from Sears.  I cashed out my points and a few days later I have received via email a $10 gift card from Sears.

Second, I logged onto my Shop Your Way Rewards Account (through Sears.com). If you haven’t signed up for Sears Shop Your Way Rewards, it’s easy! You can do it at any Sears, Sears Outlet, or Kmart location. It’s like any other store club card. Scan your key fob or enter your phone number when you check out and earn points. Points can be redeemed for cash off purchases. Also- Shop Your Way Rewards members get access to great coupons, and sometimes even surprise points (Frequently they send out $5 in points- just for being a member!). I had a $10 off of $50 or more purchase good for anything in the home department, which happens to include bed frames.
Third, I logged on to all of my survey websites: PaidViewPoint, and PineCone Research to see if I had points I could cash out for a PayPal payment. It turns out I had over $25 that I could cash out at PaidViewPoint. I requested a PayPal pay out and within six hours I had $27 and change in my PayPal account. I also discovered that I had enough points to cash out for a $15 payment via PayPal through PineCone Research. I requested that as well.  I had $42 and change to use!
Fourth (And Finally), I also logged on to Top Cashback as well to see if I can earn any cash back for this shopping trip. Turns out I was going to earn a cool 3% cashback on my purchase.

So here’s how I got it for free:

Bed Frame $54.98 + $3.60 Tax
-$10/$50 Coupon

-$10 Sears Gift Card
-$38.58 from Paypal.  (Money was earned doing surveys online as I outlined above. It took me less than two hours combined to do all of the surveys and earn this money. This time with spread over about a months time.)

Plus I qualified for free shipping because the original price was over $49.99

The best part is, I earned 3% of my post coupon amount ($38.58) because I shopped through Top Cashback. That’s more free money to use in the future! So I got paid .30 to buy something we really needed!

IMG_1645
Freshly made bed (and laundry- It is Monday, after all!)

The bed frame was delivered on Friday and I just set it up this morning. And we did give it a good test bounce after the bed with put back together. It’s very sturdy I’m proud to announce.

The point of this post isn’t to show off, “Look what I can do isn’t this cool?!?”, but it’s meant to inspire you and show you that you can-do these things as well. You can get stuff for free. And not just little samples of this and that, but you can actually get things that you need for your home for free.

Taking surveys does take time however with PaidViewPoint, and PineCone Research.  The surveys that you will do you’ve been pre-selected for, and take less than 10 minutes each. So you’re not wasting time doing surveys you don’t end up qualifying for and the payout for both of those companies is so low you’ll be able to reach a payout in less than a month even if you only do a few surveys for them each week.

So there it is. That’s how we got a brand-new bed delivered to our house for free. No smoke, no mirrors, no hocus-pocus, or anything shifty or questionable. Just a brand-new bed frame delivered free.

I’d love to hear about the kinds of things that you have gotten for free or really cheap using the profits from surveys or even secret shopping. So leave me a comment and let me know what kind of awesome things you’ve gotten for free!

Our Frugal Halloween Costume Adventure!

Abby H.1 Comment

Rewind to this conversation a few months ago:

ME: “Henry, what do you want to be for Halloween?”
HENRY: “A Pirate Penguin!”
ME: 0_0
Henry: “You know, Mommy a Penguin that’s a pirate! Like Pingu! NUG NUG!!”
FIN

Yeah, so I set out to create a Pirate Penguin Costume. First I was going to make a penguin costume from scratch, but after pricing out fabric and questioning whether or not I’d be sane at the end of the process, I bought this penguin hoodie and a pair of black pants. He will wear both of these items again and again until they no longer fit, whereas, he’d probably only wear the costume I had originally designed and sketched just once.

IMG_1462
Modeling the jacket Miami Vice Style

Next came the question of the pirate part. I scoured thrift stores for two months looking for the PERFECT coat to pirate-ize. Luckily for me (and Henry), I found this amazing dark teal velvet ladies jacket at AmVets for only $4.95. It’s a size 6 Petite, which is perfect. In it’s original life, it had a short Mandarin collar and single breast front with 5 large buttons.

To fully embrace the pirate-ness of this jacket, we first had to take it in so it fit. We lopped off 4 inches of sleeve length from each arm, and then put a dart in the back.

 

 

IMG_1584Working with velvet and satin lining isn’t easy, but I used these awesome Wonder Clips and the fabric stayed in place without a problem. These clips are perfect for taking in or up garments. They have built in seam allowance marking, and they can clamp together large or bulky fabrics (and in my case, slippery ones too).

 

I like these clips much better than my usual sewing pins- The bottom of the clip is flat, so I don’t worry about the bottom of the fabric scrunching up, and I didn’t stab my self while sewing (something that occurs every time I sew a garment that is pinned together and I’ve been sewing for 20 years)!Screen Shot 2015-10-26 at 10.34.18 PM After we had taken in the back and the sleeves it was time to crank up the pirate-ness of this jacket.

We spray painted rayon lace with antique gold spray paint. We pinned the lace pieces to foam core board, sprayed the lace, and once it was dry sewed it on the cuffs. For the lace on the front, we applied it using fusible web. We did this instead of sewing it down because the jacket has pockets in the front that could not be accessed if the trim was sewn on.

I hot glued acrylic gems over top of the existing buttons. And there you have it- A Pirate coat, fit for a penguin!

IMG_1629
NUG NUG! (Pirate hat not shown in photo)

We used additional accessories that we had laying around the house: Pirate Hat, sash belt, velvet pouch, and no pirate kit is complete without a telescoping spyglass (it was a birthday gift).

There you go! A complete costume for less than $40.00

Hoodie: $16.24
Pants: $6.00
Coat: $4.95

All of the additional supplies (lace, spray paint, acrylic jewels, sewing notions) we already had on-hand.

I’d love to hear about and see your DIY Halloween creations! Leave me a comment (and a photo)!
I received the Wonder Clips free to facilitate a review. All Opinions are my own. I received no finanacial compensation to review them.

$20 Referral Credit + Free Shipping with Schoola

Abby H.

schoola20dolla

I posted about Schoola last month- and they are back again with an awesome offer AND a great sale that helps others in need! When you sign up for a Schoola account here you will earn $20 in credit and you can give $20 in Schoola credit for a limited time!

There are thousands of top-notch finds you can purchase with your Schoola credit. Plus, now for a limited time you can get FREE shipping with no minimum order value. That means with referral credit, you can SHOP FOR FREE. I recently picked up a bunch of white shirts and onsies that I’ll be using for out next big Tie Dye Project!

Brands Give Back Flash Sale Update: This week Schoola has partnered with the one and only Modcloth to bring you stunning new-with-tags dresses up to 50% off retail prices to benefit the Malala Fund – helping further girls’ education worldwide.

$20 will go far on Schoola– What are you waiting for???

Shutterfly: $20 off $20+ Purchase! (great for holiday gifts!)

Abby H.

Shutterfly-Logo(This post contains Affiliate links!)

WOW!! Right now through 10/13/15, Shutterfly is hooking up EVERYONE! All customers enjoy $20 off one qualifying merchandise order of $20 or more with promo code FIRSTGIFT at checkout!

I’m ordering a photobook! They make excellent holiday gifts!

Shutterfly Free StuffAre you new to Shutterfly?

Not only do you receive 50 free prints when you sign up, but you also can chose from one free magnet, one pet tag, one set of address labels or one set of playing cards with promo code QUADAFF at checkout (this offer is only valid through tonight at midnight).

 

Fine Print:Offer expires October 13, 2015 (11:59 P.M. PT). Offer is good for $20 off one qualifying merchandise order of $20 or more (after any other discounts and before taxes, shipping and handling) through shutterfly.com, our mobile-friendly site or Shutterfly apps. Offer cannot be redeemed more than once per account and/or billing address. Taxes, shipping and handling will apply. Not valid on TripPix, personalized postage stamps, prepaid plans, gift certificates, Videograms, cards sent using mailing services, prior purchases and orders placed for in-store pick up. Cannot be redeemed for cash or combined with other offers or credits. Not valid for resale.

The future of Haggen Stores…

Abby H.

lsAs most of you know by know, Haggen has filed for bankruptcy, and all of the stores here in Southern CA will be shuttered.

If you are like me, I was worried about yet another empty store front in my community, so  I was thrilled when  I found out this morning that man of the Haggen’s Locations will be turned into either Smart &Final or Gelson’s

Check out the complete store and the list of stores here.

As someone who lives right next to a Haggen’s, I’ll be glad when another store comes in.

 

A New Month means New Coupons!

Abby H.

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

Check out the following sites:

One of my favorite website 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!

Here are just a few of the new coupons that have me excited:

$1.00 off (1) Gerber Apparel or Bedding Item
$0.20 off ONE cup Liberte Mediterranee yogurt