DH has been outside putting covers on our crawl space vents to see if that will help keep some extra heat in the house this winter. We have never tried this before and I am curious to see if it will cut down our heating costs a bit this winter. DH has never cared one whit about saving money as far as heating goes (or much else, for that matter) and I really don't think saving money is really his intended goal in this project, as much as it is just to maybe keep the house warmer (he's always cold). He said he was outside standing near the vent the other day and could feel the warm air coming out of it. So, if it benefits both ways I'll be happy. Though I will grant him props that he is using some old pieces of boards he had laying around to cut to fit over the vents, so we are saving by not going and buying some foam or some type of pre-made cover. He's even going to paint them to match the house with some leftover house paint. If nothing else, it's keeping him busy with a little project today that isn't costing me any money!
A free sample of dog food came in the mail today. We train our puppy with kibble and sometimes packaged treats, so why not use free kibble?! I had received a free sample bag of one brand right when we got the puppy and when I ran out I looked online at a freebie site and found a different brand offering a free sample bag. Works great for training. Whenever the puppy goes and does his business outside I give him a treat. And he's learned "sit" so well, I give him another one :)
I was going through the mail yesterday while sitting at my desk and DD was in her bedroom. I hollered over to her there was something in the mail from JC Penney for her. She hollered back something like "just throw it away" and I have a feeling she thought it was just some advertisement. It was actually like a letter in an envelope so I opened it up and hollered back "well, if you don't want this $10 off $10...". She was out of her room and had that snatched out of my hand before I could finish my sentence!
Abigail over at I Pick Up Pennies had a post today about InboxDollars. I had signed up for them sometime back (probably a couple of years ago now) but at .02 cents per email read, it just seemed like it was gong to take forever to earn the $30 required for them to send a check, so I gave up. It appears they have updated their site and now also offer payment for doing searches - doing them daily could earn you up to $57 a year. So, I re-signed up (my account had lapsed and been closed), earned a $5 bonus for signing up and already have over $6 in the account. I'm sure I could use $50 or so come this time next year!
My Women's Day magazine that I got free last year from MyCokeRewards is about due to expire, so I used some of my 600 points to order another free subscription. I love just reading magazines as a way to sit and relax and all the ones I subscribe to have been free (Woman's Day, Family Circle, All You, GoodHousekeeping). with the rewards points each year. DH loves to drink the MinuteMaid light lemonade in cans, so I might as well take advantage of the freebies from the points codes on the boxes.
I've done awesome keeping to my dinner plans this week and have done NO takeouts! I'm already working on my dinner menu for next week (starts Friday for me). The grocery store ad and store coupons have some good deals to stock up on, along with some mfg. coupons I can stack.
Bar-S meat franks will be .62 each. Definite for a stock up and freeze them!
Mission Tortillas - .99. I just googled and found out you can freeze these too. We never seem to go through a whole bag before I have to throw them out
Best Foods Mayo - This appears they are going to end up .99 a jar! The store has an special for $2.49 plus an added coupon loaded to my card bring it down to $1.99. I just printed off 2 $1 off coupons from the internet to stack on this deal.
Lindt chocolates (Yum!) recently had a Facebook promotion for a coupon for a free bag by liking their page. I printed one out and so did DD. We went to Walgreens the other day to get our free bags. She got dark chocolate and I got regular - figured we share with each other. We got home and she opened her bag and it was all messy and melted inside. She stopped a different Walgreen's on her way home from school today to return it and get a new bag. Got home with the new bag and it was even worse inside than the first bag! This is getting a bit annoying and I'm not really sure it's worth it to make another trip and time inside the store. I did send a message to Lindt on their facebook page about the problem. Maybe they'll send another free coupon and we can try getting a bag at some other store than Walgreens.
That's all I got!
I love Lindt chocolate, never saw that for Canada. Well done on your other deals, every little helps.
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Thanks for the tip on the tortillas - didn't know you could freeze them. We are the same - never get through a package before they go bad. Will have to remember this. I think I mentioned this before, but we love to make the Zatarains beans & rice to put in the tortillas with the toppings. One of my most favorite dinners. (I hate to cook - not that I can't, just that I don't like to!! But we don't eat out often - maybe once a month, if that). I'm just for the super quick/easy meals.
ReplyDeleteSusie Q - thanks for reminding me about the Zatarains beans and rice meal - it sounds good and I do want to try it out. I'll put that on my menu for next week!
DeleteNice deals! LOVE Lindt chocolate- it's my favorite!
ReplyDeleteIt's 'funny' you'd mention Walgreens and their messy chocolate .... we have the exact same problem with the Walgreens right up the road from my house. If the choccy isn't melted, it's OLD and ashy looking. Hmmmm methinks that Walgreens is doing something wrong LOL Either that or they're selling old/defective candy. Anyways, well done on sticking to your budget and collecting freebies!
ReplyDeleteI have the same coupon but my daughter decided to practice calligraphy on what she thought was a blank piece of paper. I hope they still take it from me.
ReplyDeleteHave you tried swag bucks? You earn points that can be redeemed for gift cards. I tend to use mine for Amazon gift cards. It takes awhile to earn enough points but if you plan your points around holidays and other special events it can really help save on some of those expenses. I bought my nephews lunch box and only paid 6 cents for it. (I'm also a prime member so I get free shupping from Amazon) Well worth checking out.
Make sure none of the vents that he covers cause Carbon Monoxide to build up in your home.
Shelly - I do Swagbucks (I even have a link to it here on my blog) and love getting the Amazon gift cards! I've been saving up my points and almost have enough for 4 $5 giftcards before Christmas comes. Every bit helps and my daughter has the Student amazon prime, so free shipping. I also do MyPoints and get giftcards and am trying to be good and save up my points for one big giftcard.
DeleteWe only have all electric heat and appliances, no gas around here, so as far as I know carbon monoxide poisoning isn't an issue, but good thing to remember for those that do!
I decided to check out mags at the library for free!!! If I drank coke I would get them with rewards too! Awesome idea!
ReplyDeleteOh I forgot about mags at the library - I used to borrow mags from there all the time too, years ago. It was fun reading ones I'd never read before.
DeleteWe store our tortillas in the freezer & just defrost what we need each time. Works perfectly! Since it's top of mine (just bought tortillas today myself) - my favorite recipe is grilled chicken, black beans, cheddar cheese, & hot sauce. All mixed together in the food processor, then spread as fillng inside tortillas. Roll, secure with toothpicks (if needed) & then you can either bake to make taquitos, or heat in the microwave for a quick burrito. This is one of our standard quick lunches. I love serving it with a jalapeno yogurt dip that they sell at Costco. YUM. :-)
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