If you or a member of your family is a former or current member of the United States military, be sure to head over to Thrifty NW Mom for a long list of freebies and offers for veterans today. Note especially the FREE entree at Applebees for veterans and active duty military today only! And now I'm headed to call my dad and thank him for serving our country! Keep Reading
Veteran’s Day Freebies
Family Fun: Great Wolf Lodge
A big thanks to the folks at Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, Washington for a fantastic family vacation earlier this month. Here are the elements I especially loved: The Lodge -- It's beautiful, super clean and comfortable. All the rooms have a sitting area so you're not hanging out on the beds. The lobby is huge with tons of room for lounging. In fact, our baby had tons of room to practice walking, which he started over our GWL weekend! The Waterpark -- My family had a great time enjoying the wave pool and all the water slides. The water was the right temperature and even our little kids had a good time. Though my husband and I remarked quite often Keep Reading
Frugal vs. Cheap
Unless you have been hanging out under a rock lately (no offense to those gutsy Chilean miners), you know that daily deal sites like Groupon and Living Social are incredibly popular right now. For example, Groupon has sold nearly 14 million vouchers through their site since late 2008. It's a strong model in a weak economy: Small business owners partner with these sites to offer deeply discounted deals on salon services, restaurant certificates, etc. The consumer gets a great deal. The business owner gains the opportunity to boost business by turning new customers into repeat business and word-of-mouth advertisers. It's a win-win situation for Keep Reading
Fred Meyer Toy Sale
Fred Meyer is having a Buy 2, Get 1 FREE toy sale. Frugal Chic Living has come up with a great list toy deals. Here are a few of the highlights. Use the Playsaver coupons from 9/26 (or print them here) combined with the 10% off Home Coupon on the front of the ad to save big. My Little Pony Mommy and Pony Vehicle priced at $16.99 Buy 3 Free item for buying 3 Use (2) $5/1 PlaySaver coupons Use 10% off Home coupon $6.86 each when you buy 3 Strawberry Shortcake Berry Cruiser RC priced at $19.99 Buy 3 Free item for buying 3 Use (2) $10/1 PlaySaver coupons Use 10% off Home Coupon $5.33 each when you buy 3 Littlest Pet Shop Collectible Keep Reading
Walgreens 101
Walgreens Coupons: You can find Walgreens coupons from two different sources: the Walgreens weekly ad and the monthly Walgreens coupon book (both can be found at the front of every store). Portland is a test market for the Walgreens Rewards Card program. Because of this most of the coupons in our weekly ad can be redeemed simply by having the cashier scan your Walgreens Rewards Card. Read more about the Rewards Card program here. Stacking Coupons: The Walgreens coupon policy states that you can stack one Walgreens coupon with one manufacturer's coupon. Some stores will give you a hard time about this when you use the monthly coupon book. Keep Reading
Tomato Time
My husband and I are realists (pessimists?) when it comes to planting tomatoes. After a few years of trial & error, we now stick with planting the smaller grape & cherry tomatoes. The harvest is always plentiful, even when the warm weather is not, giving our green thumbs a real ego boost. This summer was a disappointing one in the gardening department. Cool weather meant later crops and smaller harvests. As signs of fall start to appear, most gardeners are moaning about all their green tomatoes hanging on the vines: "Tomatoes have everyone feeling blue, rather than seeing red. Several times a day, someone asks me despondently why they don't Keep Reading
Walgreens 101: Walgreens Rewards Card
As many of you know, Portland is a test market for Walgreens new Rewards Card program. I asked Brittany, our Walgreens expert, to explain how the program works and if it's something to get excited about. ****************** If you live in the Portland area and you shop at Walgreens, you probably have a Walgreens Rewards card by now. You might look at the ad and see statements like “10x points” and “500 bonus points” when you purchase select items. These statements might have you a little confused. What do these bonus points translate to in dollars? The short answer: not much. The day these bonus points ad up to much of anything, I will make Keep Reading