Website Deals

I'm reposting this.  All credit goes to Holly from SunnysideUpsideDown and her original post. Thanks Holly for all the leg work!

Since we are on a tight budget here in Chi Town I have been scouring the internet on ways to save money and find deals. I have found a couple things that are worth sharing.

Free Jewelry: This site gives jewelry away for FREE! The catch? You must pay for shipping, which is $6.99 and you can't combine purchases. BUT it is sterling silver and gemstones. My mom has ordered some from the site and says the jewelry is beautiful. They only offer four pieces at a time and they change every few minutes, so if you see something snag it quick!

Want free haircuts? I don't even remember where I got this tip, but I just scored an appointment for a free haircut so I thought I'd pass it on. On craigslist there is a section called 'Services' and sub-category for 'Beauty'. If you check it OFTEN new and upcoming stylists will post ads for free haircuts, facials, etc. They need to build up their portfolios and so they offer free services. You have to act quick, hence the checking OFTEN. I have responded to several and finally scored the free one just yesterday. I have my appointment on Monday so I'll let you know how it goes. 

Shopping High for great deals and freebies. She posts freebies, and items that are on super great deals. Most are online, but occasionally it is coupons for a free item that you have to take to the store. I have scored free antibacterial stuff at Bath & Body Works and free frozen lemonaid at Corner Bakery just to name a couple.

Fantabulously Frugal is similiar to Shopping High. They post coupons and freebies and such, but it seems that the majority of her posts are geared to when retailers are having great online and in-store sales. 

Betty Crocker - You can print coupons right from their website and the best part is that you select the coupons you want and only print them and not a bunch that you won't use. 

Pillsbury - Same as Betty Crocker. The coupons on this site change about once a week (I think) so keep an eye on them. 

Diamond Shark - This site has one deal every day. It is always jewelry, it might be a watch, a pair of earrings, a ring...but it is ALWAYS a steal. Name brands are a regular occurance and the shipping is always free.

So there are a few. I am also looking to increase my shopping saavy...any of you out there have some tips to share?

Free Arby's Sandwich!

Sorry it's so late in the day, but today at Arby's you get a free turkey club sandwich with the purchase of a drink. If you're up to dealing with the crowds, it's worth a free sandwich!

Free Bowling at Fat Cats - Utah only

My friend called me today and said that Fat Cats Bowling offers free bowling over the Summer to kids ages 5-15. The kids get 2 free games per day on M-F from 9AM-5PM and up to 5 kids per family.

You do have to pay for the shoe rental (not included) and the adults have to pay to play. But, you can sign up for a "Family Pass" that is $29.95 and then up to 4 adults (parents, grandparents, babysitters or whoever) can bowl on the family pass, also getting 2 free games per day.

This is a limited time offer. You need to go to Fat Cats (click link or go to www.fatcatsfun.com) and then click the "Kids Bowl Free" icon in the upper right hand corner. Then you can register your kids online and they will email you your "Kids Bowl Free" pass within 24 hours.

So...technically if you do the math (and it is not likely you would go this often, but humor me)....then it would be $2.72 a week (11 weeks) for 4 adults to bowl. Remembering that you have to pay for the shoe rental, so it's not quite that cheap, but really, you are getting 2 games per adult, so it comes out to be 34 cents a game per adult (and that is if you only go ONCE a week). Not too shabby!!

Note-- as for the 11 weeks-- thatis just a guess on my part. I do not know officially when the summer bowling program ends. That's just when school starts again for my kids.

Cheap summer fun!! Can't beat that!

Yard Sale Question

Have any of you ever had a yard sale?  We're thinking of hold one to sell our furniture and household items preparatory to moving cross country.  What are reasonable prices to expect people to pay for items like books, childrens clothing, womens/mens clothing & shoes, furniture, and toys.  Is it worth it? What have your experiences been?  Any sage advice? 

Just like I-Hop

Do you love eating out at I-Hop (or a similar pancake house) and eating their delicious pancakes? Me too. Unfortunately, it's not in my family's budget to do something like that very often. I mean, maybe once a year we have done that. It's just not something we can afford to do -we rarely eat out AT ALL, let alone for pancakes on a Saturday morning with the kids. But I ran across a pancake recipe a couple years ago that is awesome and the pancakes turn out fluffy and perfect, very similar to those of a restaurant. (I honestly would give credit to where I found the recipe if I could remember, but I can't. So please forgive me for that one.)

I will say that once we discovered this recipe, we no longer have the desire to "eat out" for pancakes. They are really yummy and so much cheaper than taking the whole family out to eat! We have added chocolate chips to them on occasion, and that is really good too. I am sure you all can come up with many delicious variations! If you do, please share them with us.

Buttermilk Pancakes:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Pour onto the griddle to form pancakes. Flip pancakes when edges appear top harden. Cook pancakes on the other side until just slightly golden. Makes about 6-8 medium sized pancakes.

Buttermilk Waffles:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoong baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, separated
2 cups buttermilk
2/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Combine ingredients and mix well. Spray waffle iron with cooking spray and cook until lightly golden brown. (Now that I type this, I don't know why the eggs are separated. Hmmm....can you tell my husband always makes these? lol. I will ask him in the morning and come back and fix this part).

Slash Cell Phone Bills

For those who know me know I'm just slightly addicted to my Blackberry... and addicted might be a tad too loose of a term.  Pretty sure I keep better tabs on my phone than my children sometimes.  Well, we've been looking for ways to cut costs as we move our life into the living-on-student-loans-and-loving-it-mode.  One "extra" we pay for is the data plan on my BB.  Which means I get IM, Facebook, Internet, etc all from the nifty little thing in my hand.  However, it costs me an extra $20 a month which equals an extra $240 a year.  Blast.   What's a girl to do? 

Well, get excited.  For those of you who get the shakes just thinking of going without the data plan on your phone.... there is a new wonderful program called OPERA MINI that you can download (while you still have your data plan).  It somehow grabs low running network and allows you to continue to use BB messenger, all the other IM plans (yahoo, msn, aol, etc), facebook, and certain news webpages.  Yes friends.  That means you can have those plans WITHOUT paying for the data plan (or being charged for RIM access).   Plus, it forces you to be a leeeetle less connected to the internet. 

Wanna take it a step further?  Get all your friends who usually text you to download it and then you can all talk on the IM's on your phones.  You'll still be "texting" but won't be paying per text nor having to pay the extra $15 a month for the unlimited text.  Potentially, if I was able to cut out my unlimited text and data plan, I would be saving myself $35 a month = $420 a YEAR!  

I downloaded it tonight and am calling to cancel my data plan tomorrow.  I'll let you know how it all goes. 

**update** apparently I'm not super duper tech savvy. This plan will only work if your phone already has a Wifi chip. Most "smart phones" released in the last two years do, but of course mine doesn't. geeeeeez. good thing I'm getting a new phone next month eh? yay for a contract expiration!!***

Stretching Cold Cereal

I know that cold cereal is not a very frugal way to eat breakfast. However, I have a 10-year-old die hard cold cereal fan in my house, a kid who likes the expensive kinds! And personally? I like cold cereal too. I had to come up with a solution to stretch the cold cereal a little, and hopefully make it more filling and nutritious in the process.

Obviously, shop the sales AND use as many coupons as you can. You might be able to find the boxes for a $1 or less if you do this. You have to be on top of your game and a careful shopper, who might have to make trips to more than one store, or special trips to certain stores, just to hit the sales. But it can be really worth it. If you want more grocery tips, specific to your state (U.S. only), visit Pinching Your Pennies for some great money saving tips.

The other method I came up with was to buy the cereal in the bags, the "Malt-o-Meal" brand, where you are not paying for the packaging. You can get 32 oz for $4.99 (reg price) in the Malt-o-Meal (cheerios) or you can get about 12 oz for about $2.50 (on sale). So, it is much more cost effective to purchase the bagged cereals.

I took it one step further and mixed the sugary cereal that my son loves with the Cheerios. I bought a container and fill it up with cereal mix when needed. My kids haven't complained one bit. I am slowly planning to increase the Cheerios to sugar cereal ratio, gradually, so that they doesn't notice that they are eating more Cheerios than sugar. Yes, I am a bit devious that way. :)

For our readers: What methods do you use to save money on cereal and/or what recipes can you share that you use for inexpensive breakfast foods? Thanks! Hope to hear from you!