Archives for 2012

Burger King: Free Fries on March 17-18, 2012

March 16, 2012 by Tracy

Photograph Credit: Burger King

Let St. Patrick’s Day celebrations begin!

Burger King is offering each guest a free value-size French fry on Saturday and Sunday, March 17 – 18, 2012.

This offer is while supplies last, and served with green ketchup. How fun!

I want the free fries just to try the green ketchup. What a fun twist to St. Patrick’s Day! 🙂

Per Burger King’s Facebook Wall:

You don’t need to wear green and you don’t have to be Irish to feel lucky this St. Paddy’s Day Weekend at BURGER KING® because we’re giving away FREE fries March 17th-18th!

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.

While supplies last.

Restrictions apply.

Not sure what the restrictions are – no restrictions listed. But if you will be near a Burger King on Saturday or Sunday and want a snack, then stop by and ask for your free value-size fries. Enjoy!

Good Grades: Second Quarter Rewards – 2012

March 16, 2012 by Tracy

For the first quarter rewards, I expressed my concern with my son’s school transitioning from an official report card to on-line records.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

Not knowing how Krispy Kreme would handle the change, we stopped by with our printout.

True to form, Krispy Kreme Doughnut employees accepted the printout, congratulated my son on his good grades, allowed him to choose his 6 doughnuts, and stamped his printout.

What a joy to watch my son carefully choose his rewards, remembering to choose special ones for his sisters. His sweetness melts my heart. 🙂

Blockbuster

Due to their merger, Blockbuster has removed the good grades promotion page from their website. At this time, Blockbuster is not offering a free movie for good grades. If this promotion returns or changes, I will pass along the information.

To find other good grade rewards, click on this comprehensive list. In using time wisely, I suggest you call your local businesses to verify participation before arriving. 🙂 Better to find out before you arrive that a store is not participating than having to explain the situation to your disappointed child.

If you find other programs, please share the information in the comments. Happy weekend!

Question: What good grade rewards does your child receive?

Checking the Receipt: Catching a $6 Error

March 15, 2012 by Tracy

Photograph Credit: Flickr (Dan4th Nicholas)

On my weekly shopping trip to Bi-Lo, I restocked on a number of items that were on sale buy one, get one free and paired the sales with coupons.

In addition to those items, I also purchased Huggies diapers that were on a $.20 fuelperks! bonus and a sale and paired with each package a Publix store coupon and manufacturer’s coupon.

Well, at least that was my plan.

Gathering my Savings at the Store

After shopping, I headed to checkout. With only one register open, that was not a self-scan or express lane, I unloaded my savings. Prior to scanning my items, I presented my coupons to the cashier. He placed them to the side and checked me out.

At the end of scanning, the cashier grabbed my coupons, and they dispersed. (Gasp!) All my coupons that were in perfect order were now on the register, conveyor belt, and floor. To make matters worse, the line behind me was lengthening.

After collecting the coupons, the cashier called a manager since the competitor’s coupons will not scan. The manager viewed the coupons, punched in his code, and left. Then another coupon needed his override. We went through this process three times before the transaction finished. Did I mention that this was the only line open?

With the confusing checkout process, I stood shocked at the total since I expected a lower price. Not wishing to hold up the line any longer, I paid, apologized to those behind me, and left.

Checking the Receipt at Home

Later at home, I reviewed my receipt. As I matched my items with the coupons indicated on my shopping list, I noticed that my 3 packages of Huggies diapers showed only the competitor’s coupons. The manufacturer coupons were not deducted. I checked the receipt again making sure that the $6 ( 3 – $2 off coupons) had not been deducted from another product. When I confirmed that those coupons were missing, I filled out the store survey.

Confronting and Resolving the Error

In the survey, I indicated the problem. Within 12 hours, I received an e-mail from a manager offering a $6 refund on my next visit. I printed the e-mail and placed it in my store envelope.

On my next visit to the store, I stopped by customer service, asked to speak to the manager, showed him the e-mail, and received $6 for the missing coupon discount and an apology. The problem was quickly addressed and solved. 🙂

By checking my receipt to verify that all the coupons got deducted, I saved $6. Otherwise, I would have overspent $6. As I keep track of my food budget this month (one of my goals for March), checking my receipt to catch $6 mistakes helps in stretching those dollars.

As you use coupons and stack savings, spending a few moments to check your receipt is using time wisely. Keep increasing your savings as you feed your family. Happy savings!

Question: How often do you find errors on your receipts?

Goals for March 2012: The Food Budget

March 14, 2012 by Tracy

Photograph Credit: Flickr (Angie Torres)

As I review my February goals, I cringe since I fell flat on my face on most of these goals. It was a tough month.

After being away from home, grieving, and returning to a mountain of responsibilities, I am getting back on track. With a clean slate, I am ready to start again and make progress on my goals.

My goals stem from Crystal Paine’s book The Money Saving Mom’s Budget, where Crystal breaks down the steps to reach your financial goals. I have included my financial and other goals as I seek to change and improve.

Though I do not meet every goal, I love that I am not where I was at the beginning of February. Progress, no matter how small, is still moving closer to my goals.

Physical

Drink 2 glasses of water per day. I did not meet this goal every day, so I will be keeping this same goal for March.

Eat breakfast each morning. Good, but I still need more work. When I got a cold, I did not eat much, but I am making progress.

Exercise for 20 minutes at least 3 times a week. Exercise? What’s that? I need to find a consistent time in my schedule to fit this goal. Keeping this goal though I have not succeeded yet.

Family

Plan at least one family outing/activity each week. Accomplished! I love this goal! Our family enjoyed building projects at Lowe’s and Home Depot, participating in a Kidgit’s event, playing putt-putt golf, jumping in inflatable bounce houses, eating free pancakes at IHOP, and spending lots of family time on our 12-hour trip to and from my mom’s home. Keeping our family relationships close remains a top priority.

Spend 10 minutes with each child each day. Better this month. My preschool daughter has learned to write her name. (Woo Hoo!) How exciting to watch her enthusiasm increase with her accomplishments!

Allow children to help with a household task each week. My kids enjoy this goal. They continue to ask how they can help. By working in extra time for training, we cook, clean, sort, stack, decorate, and pickup throughout our day. My children love contributing to our family while I enjoy using time wisely with them.

Financial

Follow Crystal’s year-long plan to reach my goals. On Track. The main rooms of my home are clutter-free. I still have 2 closets and 2 storage areas to organize, but the bulk of February’s task is complete.

For March (Month 3), Crystal has chosen tracking food purchases. I use this spreadsheet which helps me budget all my household purchases. With the formulas commuted, I only need to add the numbers from my receipts which saves me energy and time.

Our food budget remains at $80 per week for our family of 5. (If you are just starting, Crystal recommends $40 per person per week. As you track your spending, you can adjust as needed.)

Purchase dressers for my daughters’ room. This goal is ongoing. We saved $20 for these dressers in February. 🙂

Purchase upgraded computers for hubby and me. This goal is also ongoing. We saved $30 towards this goal in February. 🙂

Business

Write posts one week in advance. Fell short AGAIN on this goal. Not only am I not ahead, but I also fell behind. (Bummer!) To help with a framework, I printed this calendar and have planned my posts for March. This plan helps focus my time at the computer which, hopefully, will help me get ahead. I will keep this goal for March.

Follow Blogelina’s daily/monthly tasks. Failed. Found these tasks on her Facebook page. However, I do not check often enough to keep up with the tasks. I completed 3 of the 4 sessions of the on-line course and will complete the 4^th session in March.

I am changing this goal to “Making one improvement to Using Time Wisely this month.” For February, I participated in Blogelina’s 100 comments event. Though I did not get 100 comments, I did get 76 unique comments which thrilled me. Thank you for participating and encouraging me along this blogging journey.

Read two chapters of blog book each month. Accomplished! Finished 2 more chapters, but I have not applied what I have read . . . yet.

My goals are working for me. With some easy goals and others challenging, the balance works. By plugging along slowly and steadily, I am making progress. If you are struggling with your goals, then adjust. Small steps are still steps in the right direction. Keep going!

Question: How are your goals coming along?

Holiday Ideas: St. Patrick’s Day – 2012

March 13, 2012 by Tracy

Photograph Credit: Flickr (Dining Delight)

Though our family hosted both a small dinner party and a play date, we have not clad our home in green for Saturday’s holiday.

I know . . . I had great inspiration, but no big party plans for this celebration. On the upside, I did swap the Valentine’s Day decorations for the St. Patrick’s Day embellishments and found some more St. Patrick’s Day recipes and crafts. 🙂

Last week, I shared 5 party ideas from around the blogosphere. This week, I will add 4 more ideas that I found creative.