Pizza Hut: Book It Rewards

June 1, 2013 by Tracy

In challenging my school-aged children to meet their monthly reading goals, they earn Pizza Hut’s Book It rewards.

Pizza Hut Book It Rewards for my Family

Since my son was in K5, he has met each reading goal resulting in about 24 certificates from his teachers with each redeemed for a FREE personal pan pizza.

The first year of participation (2010), I adhered to the expiration date on each certificate. As each coupon states it expires at the end of the month granted, we used the coupons each month.

When my son went into first grade (2011), his teacher indicated that multiple vouchers could be used at the same time. Checking with two local Pizza Hut locations, I verified that we could use multiple coupons in one transaction.

Last year (2011-2012), my son saved up his coupons all year and treated our family to a pizza dinner after a soccer game. He was so excited to provide the meal with his hard-earned coupons. We were very appreciative of his hard work and willingness to share his reward with us.

This year (2012-2013), both my son (2^nd grade) and my daughter (K5) earned Book It coupons. We saved them up. On the Friday half days of school, we picked up pizzas and ate them at our local jump zone before playing all afternoon. My daughter was very excited to participate this year as she waited her turn to earn the coupons.

In using time wisely to invest in my children’s reading, our family benefits from the coupons earned. In saving our coupons to provide a meal for the family, we enjoy an outing while stretching our dollars.

Pizza Hut Book It Rewards for You

School Program

If your school does not participate in the FREE Pizza Hut Book It program, then pass along the Book It website information to your school’s administration.

Homeschool Program

For those of you who homeschool, your registration is currently open through September 1, 2013. Each family will need to register for the coupon booklets. The FREE Book It program is for children in kindergarten through 6^th grade.

Heads Up on a NEW Summer Reading Series

With summer on the horizon and at least 14 summer reading programs available, I will take the next 2 weeks to highlight one summer reading program a day. Reading is a fundamental in life, and so many organizations are willing to reward our readers this summer.

I encourage my children and desire to develop a love of learning through reading. As the number of programs increase with different requirements and rewards, I will invest my time to research these options to focus on one each day. At the end of the 2 weeks, I will pick up where I left off on the documents and coupon series.

As you continue encouraging a lifetime of learning, the Pizza Hut Book It program partners with parents and teachers by offering rewards for reaching those goals. If you do not have a child within this age group, you may know of a family, relative, or friend who may benefit. Feel free to pass along this information to help them in encouraging reading while stretching their dollars. Happy savings!

Question: Does your family benefit from the Pizza Hut Book It program?

L’Oreal Paris: Earn Free Hair Color

May 25, 2013 by Tracy

Photograph: L’Oreal Paris

When I was pregnant with our son, my hair immediately changed. Besides getting thicker, my hair grew faster and coarser with streaks of gray. Yikes!

Since my OB did not recommend permanent hair color and I wasn’t ready for gray hair, I chose a temporary hair color.

Using a cosmetology school service, I began going every 2 months to get my hair colored and trimmed.

After my second child, I realized that my time was very precious and taking almost 2 hours at the salon was not working for me.

Asking around, I found the temporary hair color of L’Oreal Paris Healthy Look Crème Gloss.

Between my mom and neighbor, they keep my hair colored which saves me money and time.

How to Earn Free Hair Color

As a loyal customer, I was thrilled when L’Oreal Paris rolled out their rewards program because I now earn free hair color up to twice a year. The program works like this:

1. Purchase any box of L’Oreal Paris hair color.

2. Locate the code. Some codes are on the hair color bottle while others, like mine, are on the bottom of the box.

3. Enter the code by registering or signing into your L’Oreal Gold Rewards account.

4. Earn 1 credit for each code entered for 1 of 2 rewards.

Free box of hair color: Once you reach 5 credits, you can redeem your credits for a coupon to get your 6^th box for free. The coupon is a manufacturer coupon and arrives via snail mail.

$3 off coupon: When you reach 3 credits, you can redeem those credits for a $3 off printable coupon.

Tracy’s experience: Though I usually save my credits for the free box of hair color, I had 3 credits and chose the $3 off coupon. The coupon, offered through Coupons.com, loaded immediately for print.

I printed the coupon and then hit the back space button on my keyboard to print a second $3 off coupon. So, I can purchase 2 boxes of hair color and use both coupons getting $3 off each box. Now I will wait for a buy one, get one free sale at the grocery store or drugstore to maximize those savings.

Limits of the L’Oreal Paris Rewards Program

You can enter 2 codes every month from any L’Oreal Paris product with a limit of 10 codes per calendar year.

For 2013, you can earn 2 free hair color coupons OR up to 3 of the $3 off coupons. When you select the $3 off coupon, 3 credits are deducted from your account.

Extra Perks on Golden Monday

When I have codes to enter, I wait to see if the first Monday of the next month is a Golden Monday. On these days, a limited-time, members-only perk gets announced.

Golden Monday does not come every month. When it does come, Golden Monday is always on the first Monday of the month.

Besides the free perk, you also receive the 1 credit towards your next reward.

Though I started coloring my hair to solve the streaks of gray, I have found a way to stretch our dollars. I earn rewards and then combine those coupons with sales. The most of I have paid is $6 for a box of hair color. My optimum price is free to $3 per box.

In using time wisely, I can add my codes and earn rewards to get inexpensive boxes of hair color applied by my mom or my neighbor. These L’Oreal Paris Rewards allow me to stretch our dollars while keeping the streaks of gray covered.

If you purchase hair color, check for rewards through your manufacturer. A little savings here and there adds up to deep savings overall. Happy savings!

Question: How do you stretch your dollars on hair care?

Fuelperks!: Saved $20 at the Gas Pump

May 18, 2013 by Tracy

Photograph Credit: fuelperks!

Long are the days of searching for fuel prices under $1. Holding steady around $3 to $3.50 per gallon in our area, I continue to earn fuelperks! via shopping at our Bi-Lo.

Though only one of many grocery store chains offering fuelperks!, Bi-Lo offers bonus savings and ample opportunity to cash in your rewards at the pump.

Using the lessons I have learned about the fuelperks! program, Paul and I drove up to our local Spinx/Sunoco gas station to redeem our $1 off per gallon fuelperks! rewards.

Pumping the maximum 20 gallons into our van and gas container, we paid a total of $43.98 for 20 gallons of fuel which is $2.19 per gallon or a savings of $20.

Thankful for the savings at the pump, I keep track of our fuelperks! as I make purchases at Bi-Lo. Allowing our savings to build, we wait to use our rewards until prior to our rewards expiring.

Having shared the basics of fuelperks! and how to maximize fuelperks! savings in previous posts, I am executing those strategies to save our family money. With summer activities and a family vacation plan in the works, all these savings add up.

As you look to shave pennies and dollars from your budget, using a program like fuelperks! requires no additional time. I shop at Bi-Lo for groceries, and my fuelperks! balance prints at the bottom of my receipt. A quick glance lets me know where I stand.

In using time wisely and stretching our dollars with fuelperks!, our family saved $20 at the gas pump. If you use fuelperks!, please share your successes in the comments. Happy saving at the pump!

Question: How does your family save at the pump?

Stretching Your Dollars: Dollar Store

May 11, 2013 by Tracy

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

As our family is in the middle of birthday season, I am so thankful for our local dollar store. With party supplies and goody bag items available for $1, we can gather the supplies we need without breaking the bank.

I was surprised to find packages of colored napkins for only $1 at our dollar store. The same package costs $3.99 at Party City for the same count and color.

Not only is the dollar store a great first stop for party items, but also for school projects, household items, and food. Though not available in my area, some stores carry loaves of sandwich bread for $1 which competes with Aldi’s price.

Though I need to shop at other locations, I am finding more useful items at our dollar store. With two locations in close proximity to our home and a list of items needed for projects, I make the stop and usually find at least one, if not more, items that we need.

To not get drawn in by all the items that are only $1, I stop when I have a written list. If I just go in to roam, I will end up spending dollars on items we don’t need which is not beneficial to me or my family.

In stretching your dollars, keep the dollar store in mind. Where I usually passed by to visit Walmart or a craft store, I now stop by our dollar store to check for items before spending more than $1 on comparable products. This stop has saved our family money while using time wisely and shopping close to home. Happy savings!

Question: What do you like about dollar stores?

Stretching your Dollars: Return Unused Items

May 4, 2013 by Tracy

Photograph Credit: Fotolia

I am notorious for purchasing more supplies than I need for a project leaving me to return unused items.

A project in our home gets approached differently depending on who’s doing the project.

Overestimating Items

Projects done by me are over planned. I desire to save time from running out for another piece of poster board or extra screws because I underestimated the supplies needed to finish the project.

With all the necessary or possible pieces gathered, I can finish the project and then return the unused items when it fits within my errand schedule.

Underestimating Items

Where I overestimate, my hubby underestimates. Either we are running to get more supplies or the project remains half done until we get to the store. However, we are not left with lots of extra supplies when the project is complete.

Planning to Return Unused Items

Though there are pros and cons to both approaches, I have developed a system that helps me return unused items. If I know I will not use the remaining supplies for any upcoming projects, then I choose to return them to the store. I do not need more stuff coming into our home when I can get reimbursed for those unused items.

My system may not work for you, but having this plan helps me get those items to the store before they clutter our home:

Finish the project.
Gather the remaining unused items.
Sort those items by the store where purchased.
Get the receipts.
Add those items with the receipt to a plastic bag.
Place the bags in the front seat of our van.

Then when I am running around town and have a few minutes to spare near one of those stores, I stop in and return those items for a refund. By keeping the supplies with the receipt, I have everything together when the opportunity presents itself.

Whether you overestimate or underestimate on your projects, return unused items purchased to keep clutter at bay while stretching your dollars. Without making a special trip to return the items, you can continue stretching your dollars at the gas station while using time wisely. Happy returning!

Question: What plan do you use when needing to return unused items?

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