Frugal Living Tip #31 - Kids Eat Free

Kid's Eat Free

If you have little ones like me, buying multiple kid's meals, or even one adult entree to split between multiple children can really make a dinner out become even more costly. That is why we have become very familiar with restaurants near us that have special nights where kid's can eat for free.

Just like any promotion there are different rules at each restaurant. There can be age restrictions, such as kid's under 10 or 12. There can be a limit to how many free meals you can get - some are one per adult entree purchased, some are two per adult entrees, some are a limit to how many you can get per check. Of course the free meal also must come from the kid's menu, but some places don't include a drink when it is kid's dine free night. It is also usually only valid for dining in purchases, and during certain hours.

There is a card that you can purchase for the Richmond area that allows you to get one free kid's meal per card, with the purchase of an adult entree. You can purchase it on-line from kidsdinefree.net. We actually won a card from the $10 school supply challenge this past summer and found we used it enough to purchase one when it expired. We only get one free meal at the participating restaurants because of the card, but that can still be a savings.

Being able to enjoy a dinner out as a family for less is always nice, but please remember to tip your server based on what your bill would have been if you had paid for the kid's meals. They still had to do the work to take your order and make sure it was prepared the correct way, and make sure that you had plenty of ketchup and napkins to go along with your free kid's meals.

Do you take advantage of kid's eat free nights? Have you purchased or used the kid's dine free card?

Frugal Living Tip # 30 - Consignment

Consignment

Consignment is something that I have mixed feelings about. I know that there are a lot of people who have great success in finding clothes and accessories at consignment, second hand, or thrift stores. I am not one of them. I have given them lots of chances and tried stores in different areas, but I have difficulty finding things that work for me. I often will find a cute shirt, but then realize it is a few seasons off from my pants and I now have to be extra aware of being modest whenever I sit down or lean over.

I have had some success with children consignment stores, but primarily with items that don't get a lot of use here in Virginia - like snow boots and ski bibs. I have found that a lot of the items are more expensive than what I can find on the clearance rack when I buy ahead for next year at the end of the season.

We are fortunate that the school that our oldest daughter attends has a used uniform store. The store allows us to buy used uniforms pieces that others have donated at a fraction of the cost. (I have learned to understand the higher cost for Lands End items after I have seen the way she wears the used pieces and how well they have held up.)

I also know there are people who take all of their children's outgrown clothes to these places and get cash or store credit to buy new clothes. I personally have not done that either. I find it easier to just take a box of clothes to families that we know who have a child that can use what we have outgrown. I have heard moms say, well I give away whatever the consignment store doesn't buy from me. That is up to you. It makes me smile when I see a little girl that I know wearing a dress that my girls also wore.

I guess the bottom line is that consignment has the same shopping guidelines that anything else I buy. Is it something that I need? Is it in good condition - free of tears at the seams, not missing any buttons, not stained? Can I buy a similar item new on clearance for the same price or even less?

How about you? Do you regularly check out consignment stores? Do you find items that you need? Please share any tips that you have. I would love to hear about buying or selling to consignment stores.

Frugal Living Tip #29 - Swagbucks

Swagbucks

When you go on-line do you normally know the URL you are trying to get to, or do you go to a search engine such as google or yahoo in order to find the web address? If you are using a search engine for a lot of the time that you are on-line you may want to look into Swagbucks.

You can earn Swagbucks just from performing on-line searches. You can also earn them from watching videos, taking surveys, and playing games just to name a few. The easist way to earn Swagbucks is to get friends to sign-up under your referral link. That way you both can earn Swagbucks! (By the way - my referral link is throughout this post, so if you click on it and sign-up -Thanks!)

You can then redeem your Swagbucks towards all kinds of prizes. My favorite are the gift cards - they have Paypal and Amazon ones in addition to lots of other retail stores and restaurants. I have read of people who have saved up all of their Swagbucks towards gift cards that they used to purchase Christmas presents.

Have you ever used Swagbucks? If you have, what are your favorite rewards?

 

Frugal Living Tip #28 - Pampers Gifts to Grow

Pampers Gifts to Grow Program

Gifts to Grow Tag

You may not have a little one still in diapers, but you can still take advantage of Pampers Gift to Grow. The codes are found inside the packaging on most Pampers products. The points associated with the code have to do with the Pampers product that you buy. You will earn more points for diapers than wipes and the larger the package you buy the greater number of points. Pampers will also release temporary bonus codes. These are shared and posted by numerous blogs and deal sites.

So, if you see these codes what can they get you? First, you will need to set-up an account. Then start adding codes, they will give you points. I have done google searches for additional codes. Feel free to browse the rewards section. You can redeem your points towards all kinds of items - baby toys, coupons for products, photo developing, magazine subscriptions, and gift cards.

Have you taken advantage of the Pampers Gifts to Grow program? My favorite reward has been Starbucks gift cards - how about you?

 

Frugal Living Tip #27 - Social Media

Social Media

I am going to assume that if you are computer savvy enough to have stumbled on this blog post, then you have heard of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Even if you don't have accounts with them, you have heard of them.

I first discovered Facebook about 6 years ago. I hate to admit it, but I am in my late 30's now. It was pretty happening for me to be on Facebook and not be a college student or a recent grad at the time. I am not going to go off on a tangent and talk about all of the changes that have happened since then, but companies have really taken to Facebook to promote their products. It is not uncommon for there to be some sort of giveaway, or coupon available if you go and "like" their page.

I recently won a $10 Target gift card from "liking", commenting, and sharing a post from ILikeToSave.com's Facebook page. I have also claimed a lot of free samples or coupons for a free product by "liking" a company on Facebook. I got coupons over the summer for free small McCafe beverages by becoming a follower of Richmond McDonald's on Twitter.

I find some of my best deals by "liking" local businesses on Facebook. I can find discounts if I say a certain phrase at check-out, make my purchase at a certain time, or even wear a certain color.

It can get a little bit more complicated when a company asks for permission to view certain information from your Facebook account. I would encourage you to take the moment to make sure you aren't giving away more info than you would feel comfortable sharing with a company on their site. Do you really want them to have access to all 765 of your closest "friends"?

Do you use Facebook or Twitter on a regular basis? Do you have local businesses or companies that you like on Facebook? Do you sign-up for free samples or coupons using Facebook?

 

Frugal Living Tip #26 - Contacting Manufacturers

Contacting Manufacturers

Is there a product that you love, but you can't find coupons for it? What do you do? Do you only buy it on special occasions? Do you ration it out and make sure you use e.v.e.r.y single drop? Do you put it on your wish list for Christmas and birthdays? Have you ever thought to contact the manufacturer?

Contacting the manufacturer is really easy thanks to the Internet. You can easily find manufacturers' websites from either their packaging or from doing a quick google search. There is usually a contact us button that allows you to share compliments or complaints about their product. Leaving either will generally result in a response from the company and sometimes coupons or samples of their product.

It is possible that you will get a "thank you for your interest in our product" form letter. But, don't be discouraged. By filling out the general information portion on the contact us form you may go into their database. This may lead to you getting special insider offers, or special coupons, or even something for your birthday. LUNA has sent me this same birthday present for the last 2 years!

My Birthday Present from Luna

Have you ever contacted a manufacturer? What types of responses have you received?

Frugal Living Tip #25 - Finding Your Own Coupons

Finding Your Own Coupons

I have mentioned in a previous post about finding deals through blogs, deal sites, and in another post about subscribing to The Grocery Game. But, what if you need to buy a certain item and you want to see if there is a coupon available? Do you have to look through all of your inserts and hope that you will stumble across a coupon for what you are looking for?

The answer is no, you can search a coupon database. There are lots of sites that have coupon databases available. You will find them on lots of blogs and on deal sites. I personally use the one on Hot Coupon World's site. It is one of the first ones I used and the one I have become most familiar with.

The way the databases work are really easy. You just enter a search term - the more generic sometimes the better - and it will tell you if a coupon is available, where to find it in an insert, magazine, or the link to a printable site, the value of the coupon, and the expiration date.

You can also use the database to find your own match-ups. For example, I do the majority of my weekly shopping at Libbie Market. Because they are a small independent grocery store, there isn't a blogger or deal site covering their deals. I just look at their store flyer on-line and look for any coupons that coincide with what is on sale.

Do you look for coupons in a coupon database? Which sites do you use?