Friday, September 6, 2013
Blizzard Deals
Dairy Queen is running a pretty sweet deal right now....Buy one Blizzard and get the second for only 99cents. The deal runs September 3-22, 2013. It might be time to thing of something to reward the kids for ;)
Thursday, June 13, 2013
2013 Summer Movie List
It's summertime again...and time to entertain the kids. With three months of activities and all the time in the world--that could get a little expensive. Movies can cripple even a healthy budget when you have a passel of kids, like I do. Regal's summertime program used to be free--but now the movies are $1 per person. Check your local area for starting times. Our area starts next week, but others will be the following week. There are two movies to choose from each week...a PG or a G movie. If you're adventurous and need to fill the time--you could go to both! Even a buck (x6) is still cheaper than $8 (x6). Have fun--and enjoy the savings!
http://www.regmovies.com/Movies/Summer-Movie-Express#WashingtonWelcome to the 2013 Regal Summer Movie Express! Below is a list of participating locations and start dates. Each location will host the Summer Movie Express on Tuesdays & Wednesdays at 10am for nine weeks. Admission is $1 and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Will Rogers Institute.
Cinemark Theaters are offering a similar deal. Keep in mind, this is a different company all together, so don't go to the wrong theater! http://www.ravemotionpictures.com/images/smc2013/SMC2013_ColorFlyer_497.pdf The have some of the same movies, some different...so check out both sites before you make your plans. |
Friday, July 13, 2012
Free Haircuts!!
JC Penneys is running a stellar, FANTASTIC deal during the month of August!!
All kids in grades K-6 can get a free haircut in their salons inside the store. I actually called and confirmed this tiddly bit, being that I heard it second-hand, and then promptly scheduled our appointments. It is such a great deal...so I wouldn't delay or miss planning an afternoon to get it done if you have kids going back to school. This is going to save me at least $50!!
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Barnes and Noble Summer Reading
I know--it's been awhile. But we're home now and Nate's feeling better...and I'm back to my old habits! I had a great e-mail that I wanted to share today about the summer reading incentives from Barnes and Noble. I love this program! All the kids have to do is read 8 books of their choice, turn the sheet it with the titles, and they get to choose a age-appropriate book at the store counter. http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/summer-reading/379003570?cm_mmc=Targeted-_-Misc-_-120523_NH_SUMMER_READING_KICK_OFF-_-summ3-120523_NH_SUMMER_READING_KICK_OFF-_-summ3
I have a couple of kids that complete this challenge during the first week of summer break. I usually have to prod my boys along, but they have accomplished it ever summer so far. Sometimes we don't make it in till the end of the summer to redeem our sheets for the free books and they've been a little disappointed. Beware! The selection and variety of the freebies is severely limited by the beginning of August. But if you have motivated readers and get done earlier (like June ;), Barnes and Noble has a great selection of 5-6 difference books per age range. The best part: the books are current and popular titles that the kids will love!
Happy reading!!
Monday, April 16, 2012
Keen Savings on Shoes
I just did something for the first time...I bought a pair of shoes off of www.ebay.com. Now, I've purchased many things from this wonder of wonders...but never something that I needed to wear or rely on for a good fit. But I took a risk that is going to pay off in spades! I've been looking for my favorite brand of shoes--Keen. They are made in the USA and are a little pricey. Ok. A lot pricey. But they are awesome shoes and fit my feet extremely well. I have a couple of pair, identical, except one is brown and the other is black.
I purchased them at Nordstrom's and they have lasted through extensive wear and tear. But with our recent move...they are somewhere extraordinarily safe, protected, and entirely unknown to me. In a week and a half, I'm taking a couple of my kids half way across the country and know that I'm going to be doing a lot of walking. My clogs and flip flops aren't going to do the job. And I've been thinking that I need to prepare and get my good walking shoes ready to go. But with utter chaos in the city of cardboard boxes, I decided it would be most sane to just purchase another pair of my favorites! Who couldn't use another pair of comfortable shoes?
So I hit the mall on Saturday to check out the selections at the European Comfort Shoe Store, Macey's, and Nordstrom's Rack. I must be searching between inventory reduction sales and new lines yet to come...because I did not find the pair or the size that fit the bill. Keen's run anywhere between $90-120. When I'm willing to break the bank and get a pair...I want the pair waiting for me--if you know what I mean! But I had absolutely no luck on Saturday. And rather than going downtown, to see if the only other store in eastern Washington that I hadn't checked yet, had a pair--I turned to ebay.
What I found had me leaping for joy! Because I'm a previous Keen-wearer, I know how the sizing runs and what styles work best on my feet. I found a range of shoes that ran from $15-100. Some were new and some were slightly used. The pictures showed the wear and tear. The price on many of them included the shipping. To save time, I narrowed my search down to only "buy it now" options. I realize that by doing this, it costs me more in the end, but I only have a week and half till I need to fly. But I was jealous because many of the auctions were ending with people getting stellar deals. "Newer" Keens for $20-25, including shipping, is a complete bargain! I found my new favorites in Texas for $29.99, with a "buy it now" price of $34.99. Shipping is $5.65, for right around $40. They are brand-new and still in the original box. They won't be here till Friday or Saturday, and I'm thrilled!!
I was able to glean the colors, styles, and sizes that I wanted to look at by typing my request on their search bar. The prices varied from very low to full retail. If I were a patient woman, I would watch the auctions to score the best deals.
I think that I have found a way to feed my expensive shoe appetite. It pays to "shop" around, even if it means "around" the country! For the price that I paid, I could easily buy 2-3 pairs off of ebay, versus at an expensive retail store. I'm definitely going to check out ebay when it comes to shoes for my kids. I don't know why I haven't thought of this before...but it was a huge "cha-ching" moment and worth sharing!!
So when the dust settles upon my return, I will start looking for the perfect Keen sandals to augment my growing collection. I only buy a pair of really good shoes about every other year, so this is like ChRiStMaS in April...May...and maybe, June!
I purchased them at Nordstrom's and they have lasted through extensive wear and tear. But with our recent move...they are somewhere extraordinarily safe, protected, and entirely unknown to me. In a week and a half, I'm taking a couple of my kids half way across the country and know that I'm going to be doing a lot of walking. My clogs and flip flops aren't going to do the job. And I've been thinking that I need to prepare and get my good walking shoes ready to go. But with utter chaos in the city of cardboard boxes, I decided it would be most sane to just purchase another pair of my favorites! Who couldn't use another pair of comfortable shoes?
So I hit the mall on Saturday to check out the selections at the European Comfort Shoe Store, Macey's, and Nordstrom's Rack. I must be searching between inventory reduction sales and new lines yet to come...because I did not find the pair or the size that fit the bill. Keen's run anywhere between $90-120. When I'm willing to break the bank and get a pair...I want the pair waiting for me--if you know what I mean! But I had absolutely no luck on Saturday. And rather than going downtown, to see if the only other store in eastern Washington that I hadn't checked yet, had a pair--I turned to ebay.
I was able to glean the colors, styles, and sizes that I wanted to look at by typing my request on their search bar. The prices varied from very low to full retail. If I were a patient woman, I would watch the auctions to score the best deals.
I think that I have found a way to feed my expensive shoe appetite. It pays to "shop" around, even if it means "around" the country! For the price that I paid, I could easily buy 2-3 pairs off of ebay, versus at an expensive retail store. I'm definitely going to check out ebay when it comes to shoes for my kids. I don't know why I haven't thought of this before...but it was a huge "cha-ching" moment and worth sharing!!
So when the dust settles upon my return, I will start looking for the perfect Keen sandals to augment my growing collection. I only buy a pair of really good shoes about every other year, so this is like ChRiStMaS in April...May...and maybe, June!
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Thrifty Valentine's Day Gifts!
What do you do with all your filler items that you accumulate when you are doing a hundred small transactions per month at your local Walgreen's and Rite Aid? Like 100 Nestle Crunch bars? You make Valentine's Day hand-outs for the kids!
True Story!! Actually--the Nestle Crunch bars went on sale with a weekly in-store coupon and that were usuable in combination with another coupon from a month-long ad booklet. So between the coupons, they were 25 cents, of which I paid pennies for because they were acting as filler items on my transactions that I used register rewards as my form of payment. There was a method to the mass-purchasing madness....
True Story!! Actually--the Nestle Crunch bars went on sale with a weekly in-store coupon and that were usuable in combination with another coupon from a month-long ad booklet. So between the coupons, they were 25 cents, of which I paid pennies for because they were acting as filler items on my transactions that I used register rewards as my form of payment. There was a method to the mass-purchasing madness....
Because I saw a great idea for making homemade candy bar wrapper labels by copying a picture of a child holding a sign indicating the purpose of the gift.
(Thank you, pinterest...for inspiring the frugal, crafty-side of my mothering experience!)
I took a 33 cent piece of white poster board and painted the token message and took a picture of each of my kids. The madness had a very basic formula that went like this: 100 almost free candy bars+100 classmates+4 digital pictures of kids (made into 50 copies)=100 VeRy CuTe Valentine's Day treats!
The most time consuming part of the whole gig was waiting for the printer to shoot out the copies.
We put two 4x6 prints on each copy and cut them into a 5 1/2"x 5 1/2" square. They fit around the candy bar perfectly and were secured with a piece of scotch tape.
No fussing about filling out the cards this year. No remembering names or finding the list that the teacher sent home. Easy, Peasy, right? It took us about 20 minutes to assemble the slew chocolate bars. I was very pleased with the results...and will be looking out for another great filler deal to make next year's hand-outs with!
[Just a side note, or in this case, a "bottom" note: this is not a "thrifty" project if you don't get your candy for a great deal or have access to a color copier. If this were done at regular retail with the chocolate bar costing 69 cents, the color copy at 39 cents, tape, and sales' tax...each hand-out would cost just over $1 each. That makes a $3 box of cheesy Valentine's seem like a screaming deal. So-check the cost variable first, before you are soaked a lot of cash for something you thought would cute on the cheap!]
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Giddy UP!!! It's Round-Up Week at Albertsons!
Round Up week at Albertsons...what does that mean? It's so AwEsOmE--ready for this? All manufacturer's coupons (no quantity limits) are going to be rounded up to $1.00! That means those coupons that you think won't really make that much difference at the end of the receipt...are going to score BIG savings off the total, after all. So, while $1 coupons are great--this is the kind of sale that benefits the little man--as in the littlest price coupons. 10cents, 20cents, 25 cents, 35 cents...all become $1 coupons! [Breathe. Take it in. This could be BIG news if you are a detail-oriented person.]
What does that look like? For example, Campbell's Cream of Something soups are on sale this week for $1 a can. Not a stellar price, or even stock-up worthy. There are coupons in circulation for 40cents off of 2 cans. Now here's the deal: the coupon will automatically be taking to $1 on the 2 cans...meaning that instead of a 20 percent savings of 80cents a can--it's now a 50% savings at 50 cents a can! That's a heck of a deal now!
For weeks that off the double coupon savings...it pays to have the $1/1 coupons that can then be doubled for a savings of $2 on one item. But the key to a GREAT Round Up savings week is to find the lowest valued coupon, say 25 cents off of one item, and then it becomes $1 off of the same item. Another example: Suave Kid's Shampoo is on sale at $1.66 a bottle. There are coupons that save 50 cents on 1. Round that up to a dollar, and each bottle becomes 66 cents each. That is a great price when compared to the regular retail price of $3.49+ a bottle.
For master shoppers, it's all in the planning. For novice shoppers, it's all in the planning. You just have to review the ad and see what it is that you find a great deal and if it's something that your family will use and benefit from. Find the corresponding coupons from your favorite source or reserve...and you are in business! Yee Haw! Save. Save. Save. And since there's no limits--you can buy items in a little or as many amounts you like. It's not a "Buy 10, Save $..." kind of ad.
Have fun and start that three month rotation on items that you routinely purchase, especially when you can get it for 50-90% off!
What does that look like? For example, Campbell's Cream of Something soups are on sale this week for $1 a can. Not a stellar price, or even stock-up worthy. There are coupons in circulation for 40cents off of 2 cans. Now here's the deal: the coupon will automatically be taking to $1 on the 2 cans...meaning that instead of a 20 percent savings of 80cents a can--it's now a 50% savings at 50 cents a can! That's a heck of a deal now!
For weeks that off the double coupon savings...it pays to have the $1/1 coupons that can then be doubled for a savings of $2 on one item. But the key to a GREAT Round Up savings week is to find the lowest valued coupon, say 25 cents off of one item, and then it becomes $1 off of the same item. Another example: Suave Kid's Shampoo is on sale at $1.66 a bottle. There are coupons that save 50 cents on 1. Round that up to a dollar, and each bottle becomes 66 cents each. That is a great price when compared to the regular retail price of $3.49+ a bottle.
For master shoppers, it's all in the planning. For novice shoppers, it's all in the planning. You just have to review the ad and see what it is that you find a great deal and if it's something that your family will use and benefit from. Find the corresponding coupons from your favorite source or reserve...and you are in business! Yee Haw! Save. Save. Save. And since there's no limits--you can buy items in a little or as many amounts you like. It's not a "Buy 10, Save $..." kind of ad.
Have fun and start that three month rotation on items that you routinely purchase, especially when you can get it for 50-90% off!
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