Sharing My Two Cents

Free Chick-Fil-A and $100 Gift Card for San Diego Residents

2009-03-25T17:08:10Z

Save Your Receipt Day is coming to the Chick-Fil-A on Marron Rd in Oceanside TOMORROW, March 26th, 2009. How does it work? Come by on March 26th, save your receipt, and receive your entire purchase for FREE during the week of March 30th (except on Sunday, they are closed). We love Chick-Fil-A in our house, so this is a great deal. If you don’t live in the area, keep an eye out for this deal at your local Chick-Fil-A. Each restaurant runs their own deals, so you may get it at a different time.

Test a HP printer and get a $100 gift card. This is for those living in San Diego or Washington. I can personally vouch for this program. The printer I use here at home I received free after a product test a few years ago. IMommies has more info here.

Ok, I’m done now, off to make some homemade baby food for the little one.

Blog Giveaways - A Roundup

2009-03-25T16:43:00Z

There are so many giveaways going on right now, here are just a few that I’ve caught my eye and wanted to share really quickly. I’m spending the day at home catching up chores. Didn’t you know that I can blog and fold laundry at the same time?

First up is a giveaway for a pink Burberry watch over at Nicole’s Nickels. It’s super cute, and for those that know me, a must need for me. With 4 boys I don’t have enough pink in my life, and I never know what time it is. The contest ends at 9am EST APRIL 3rd, 2009.

Nicole is also giving away a Fiber One Friend Gift basket. The basket contains the following:

coupon for FREE Fiber One yogurt, nutrition journal, water bottle, pedometer with calorie counter, and kitchen scale.

I’m hoping I win this one, all of this would help with my weight loss!

Savin’ It Up is giving away 1 free can of Enfamil Lipil and Gerber Oatmeal. Anyone with babies know how expensive formula is. What a great giveaway!

Mommies with Cents is giving away FIVE copies of The Tale of Despereaux (I had to triple check my spelling of that word!). Each DVD comes with a Despereaux lunch box and set of Despereaux ears. Contest ends March 28th 11:59 CST.

Check out more giveaways at Money Saving Mom!

Giveaway tip: If you don’t have a blog, don’t worry. You don’t need a blog to enter most of these giveaways!

Hot Buy At San Diego Costco’s!

2009-03-10T16:49:14Z

I have mixed feelings about Costco. I can save some money by shopping at Costco, but can usually do better with rock-bottom sales and coupons at Albertson’s. I do pretty good buying milk at Costco (we go through 4 gallons a week) and there are some products that only Costco sells that we really like. But yesterday I found an awesome deal that I couldn’t resist sharing.

This was at the Costco in Vista, but I’m assuming that all San Diego area Costco’s have this deal too. It’s sponsored by SDG&E. I found a 16 pack box of CFL (the energy efficient kind) 14w lightbulbs for only $2.99!. These lightbulbs are the equivalent of 60w bulbs. There was a sign that said one per household (or family or something like that). They are displayed in a HUGE stack when you first walk in the entrance.

If you happen to be going to Costco this week and need some new bulbs make sure to check it out. The bulbs are usually $22.99, but there is an automatic $20 rebate that comes off at the register. I remember being happy if I could find these at Home Depot or Lowe’s for $8 for a 4 or 6 pack.

Friday Freebies 7/4 - Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-04T02:21:15Z

Freebies

I’m actually posting this a bit early for all you night owls or early birds. I’m sure a lot of you will be busy tomorrow so here’s a chance to get your freebies now.

I’ve got a new poll up. Last week’s poll asked if you had ever made your own bread. 100% of those than answered have! I’m surprised by the answers, I just made homemade bread for the first time a few weeks ago. I’ve made banana bread a million times before, but never a loaf that you could slice and make sandwiches with.

Have an awesome 4th of July everyone!

For a Free Sample of Sani-Hands for Kids call 1-877-SANI-KID (1-877-726-4543)
Free Sharps Container (This is a great freebie for diabetics or anyone who needs to use needles at home. This will give them a safe way to dispose of them.)
Free 10 Month Subscription to More Magazine
Free subscription to Cosmopolitan (4 issues)
Maybelline Mineral Power Natural Perfecting Liquid Foundation
Gillette 2 in 1 Body Wash or Shampoo
Free Can of Mighty Dog Food
Free sample of Pero Caffeine-Free Coffee Substitute Beverage
Nivea Extreme Comfort Shave Gel
Free Celebrity Fragrance Samples (Celine Dion Sensational, McGraw by Tim McGraw & Baby Phat Seductive Goddess)
Old Spice Red Zone Body Wash
Free Suze Orman Will & Trust Kit
Where it says Gift Code type in “People First” for a free download.

Menu Planning Monday 6/30

2008-07-02T01:08:44Z

I’m late posting my menu again, life keeps happening. My poor sweet husband developed a tooth-ache over the weekend. I’ve shuffled around the menu a bit this week due to his aching tooth making it hard for him to eat foods that need to be chewed a lot. He was able to get in to see the dentist on Monday and has a root canal scheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday).

This weeks Meal Plan:
Monday - Parmesan Tilapia, Rice, Corn (didn’t get to this last week)
Tuesday- BBQ Chicken Quesadillas (yumm! We just had this. Would have NEVER paired BBQ sauce with taco type ingredients. I used Sweet Baby Ray’s Sweet Vidalia Onion BBQ sauce. This was delicious!)
Wednesday - Homemade Pizza, watermelon slices
Thursday - “Panera” Broccoli & Cheddar Soup, homemade French Bread
Friday - Grilled Marinated Shrimp, New Potatoes, watermelon slices
Saturday- Chicken Divan, rice, sliced cucumbers
Sunday - Bean Quesadillas, cucumber sticks

To see more weekly meal plans visit Organized Junkie

Earnings for June 2008

2008-07-01T01:35:57Z

In May I earned $143.11. Here is what I earned during June.

Surveys
My Survey $7.30
Survey Savvy $11.50

Rebates $7.84

Get Paid to….
CashCrate $0

Blog Money
Commission Junction $0
Amazon $0
Misc. Advertisements $176.87

Writing
Associated Content $.93 (Performance Bonus)

Total $204.44 as of June 30th, 2008

Gift Cards

$5 Amazon Gift Certificate for doing a survey

Friday Freebies 6/27

2008-06-27T12:05:33Z

Not much going on here except for some cleaning the next couple days. We have an Open House on Sunday and I want everything to look perfect. I’m going to buy some fresh flowers, bake some cookies and just make the home look really homey. Wall-E (the new Pixar movie) comes out today. I love Pixar movies and can’t wait to see this one. We’re thinking of taking the kids tomorrow.

Freebies

Speaking of Wall-E and freebies get a FREE Wall-E watch with each redemption of a child’s admission ticket when you see the movie on the opening weekend (which is this weekend). I can’t tell if this is something they’ll give you this at the theater or if you mail in for it. If you go see Wall-E today and they give you a free watch can you let me know? I’ll see what else I can find about it.

Free Seattle’s Best Coffee Sample (new link)
Free toothpaste from the Natural Dentist (take short survey first)
Huggies Pull-Ups
Free Food Allergy and Intolerance Survival Guide
Call 1-800-662-2544 for free samples from Nordic Naturals
National Geographic Kids Big Screen Safari (select theaters across the US)
Luvs Diapers Welcome Kit and a $5 coupon
Simply American Greetings Card
Free bottle of Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce (I’ve gotten this one before)
Free Lancaster Anti-Aging Sample

Thursday Round-Up - School Supplies Already?

2008-06-26T18:46:06Z

Ya’ll must think I’m crazy but I’ve got school supplies on the brain. School starts back up for my kiddos in a little over a week!! They are on a year-round schedule for school and this will be their 2nd year of this schedule. It still seems a bit strange, they’ve only been out of school for 3 weeks now. I’m still holding out hope that Target will get their school supplies display out soon. That’s where I find the best deals and can get the back to school shopping done quickly.

Hmm…which reminds me, I need to go order some LL Bean backpacks right now. Their backpacks last forever (one has lasted 5 years now) but the kids do eventually outgrow them. The old backpacks will get handed down, and the older kids will get new backpacks this year.

I don’t know about your stores, but my local grocery stores have had some pretty decent deals lately. Not anything spectacular like triple coupons (I wish!), but still some good sales have been going on. It makes the rising grocery and gas prices just a little less painful. If you don’t know what the deals are this week make sure to check out the deals I have listed a bit further down.

Get Your Coupons!

Coupon preview for Sunday, June 29th.

Proctor & Gamble coupon insert preview for July 6th.

Take a quiz (super easy!) at Earthbound Farms and receive free coupons for Earthbound Farms and Horizon Organic dairy products and the 2008 Pocket Guide to Choosing Organic. All while helping to raise $20,000 for Healthy Child Healthy World (a non-profit).

What Are the Deals This Week?

Rite-Aid
CVS
Target
Wal-Mart
Walgreen’s
Don’t forget the Walgreen’s $5 off a $20 purchase printable coupon - ONLY GOOD ON Friday June 27th!
Local Grocery Stores

Survey Results Are In!

Last week I polled my readers on their coupon usage. I asked:

How Long Have You Been Couponing?

20% of you have never couponed before
10% are newbies and have been doing it less than 6 months
10% have been using coupons for 6-12 months.
10% have been at it for 1-2 years
50% have used coupons more than 3 years

This week I’ve got a new poll up - look on the right of the site to make your vote. I’ll reveal results next week (so far I’m kind of surprised by how the results are turning out!).

A Survey Extravaganza (aka a List of Really Good Survey Sites)

2008-06-24T19:43:32Z

Last week I covered companies that offer opportunities for you to test products and provide feedback on them. This week I’d thought I’d give you a list of survey companies. Some are my old favorites, and some are new to me.

Stay Organized-

There are so many great survey companies these days it can be hard to keep track of what companies you signed up with and all the survey invitations that come in. Here are two solutions to help you with that.

Create a separate email address for surveys - You can use gmail, hotmail, yahoo or any other free email provider service to create another email address account. Check with your internet service provider, often times they provide you with the ability to make email sub-accounts.

Create a separate folder to store your survey invites. - This is the option that works best for me. I’ve created a folder that holds all sign-up confirmations for the companies that I’ve signed up with. These hold my log-in information and help me remember which sites I’m already a member of.
You can set MS Outlook so that all new emails from survey companies are directed straight to your survey folder. Periodically check the folder for new survey invites when you have the time to answer the surveys. Be careful though, some of the more popular surveys that pay a lot might fill up fast.

The List

This is not an all-inclusive list, but it should keep you busy for awhile. As I learn about other companies I’ll share them.

Esearch
Survey Savvy
Mindfield Online
Survey Spot
My Survey
Data Intelligence - Town Square
Stanford Graduate School Behavioral Lab
Noesis Noe-It-All
Say Nation
Baker Street Solutions
Focus Forward Online
WRatings
Team Look-Look
Yale School of Management (they don’t pay for surveys, although you are entered into a contest for payment)
My View

I’ve written quite a bit on taking surveys for a little extra cash. Here are some of my previous articles you might find helpful:

Can I Make Money Taking Surveys Online?

Taking Surveys For Money?

Menu Planning Monday 6/23

2008-06-24T12:21:41Z

I’m late posting this as I’ve had to make some last minute changes. Hubby was supposed to be out of town for work until Friday but will be home tomorrow. Yay! Last week’s menu was wonderful. We found some new recipes that are being saved as keepers.

This weeks Meal Plan:
Monday - Breakfast dinner - Pancakes
Tuesday- Spaghetti, Garlic Bread, cucumber slices
Wednesday - Chicken Baseballs, salad (my family loves these!)
Thursday - Parmesan Tilapia, Rice, Steamed Broccoli (Hubby isn’t a fish fan, but loves this Tilapia recipe)
Friday - Homemade pizza, carrot sticks
Saturday- Skillet Chicken Parmesan, homemade french bread, salad
Sunday - Open House today - we’ll be eating out!
To see more weekly meal plans visit Organized Junkie