Money Saving Tip Archives - Couponing to Disney

Save Money By Cleaning With Microfiber Cloths

By SaraAuger on January 24, 2020 at 8:18 am

One ways I save is by limiting one-time use products. Not only is this better for the environment, it saves me money – making it a win-win!

One example of this is cleaning with Microfiber cloths versus paper towels. Not only do the Microfiber cloths clean well, the cloths can be used over and over again. Yes they themselves need to be cleaned, however I don’t notice the impact of cleaning them when simply putting them in a load of laundry (they hardly take any space in the load)!

Another benefit of Microfiber cloths is they are non-abrasive and do not scratch surfaces I am cleaning. They are also absorbent and dry quickly.

Benefits of cleaning with Microfiber Cloth Recap:

Clean well
Reusable
Non-abrasive
Quick drying
Save money!

Consider this highly rated 24-Pack of Microfiber Cloths from Amazon so you can start saving too!

Money Saving Tip: Spend Now, Save Later

By Kristen D on January 23, 2020 at 2:00 pm

This is one of my favorite money saving tips, and oddly it seems like a hard one for folks to grasp sometimes. Sometimes, to save money later you have to spend more money now. *GASP* Blasphemy! But, dear reader, this is called Stockpiling!

Let’s say you normally pay $3 for your favorite body wash, but it’s on sale for $1.50. Well, you could buy one and save $1.50 for your fund. Or, you could buy 2 and save $3 for your fund, spending the same amount of money you normally would. But- let’s say you’ve got a few bucks extra in your budget. What if you buy four body washes? You use it, after all. It’s not going to go bad. Well, dear reader- you just spent $6- twice as much as usual, but you have also saved $6 across the next few months, because when that first body wash runs out, you can go to your stockpile and grab another. Then do it again. Then again!

If you learn the sales cycles on some of your favorite items, you’ll never run out and you’ll be ahead of the game, never having to pay full price- because you’ll have a stockpile to draw from when there are no sales. The laundry detergent above is part of my detergent stockpile- and as you can see, it’s got Tide, Gain, there is even Arm & Hammer in the back. I’m not usually brand loyal, which means I can take great deals as I find them and build my stockpile faster.

Some of my favorite items to stockpile are laundry detergent, toothpaste, dishwasher tabs- and yes, body wash! I also keep a fair amount of my deodorant on hand, because that mess is expensive. I have to shop the sales for it and I sure don’t want to run out.

You can even stockpile food! Just be careful you don’t go overboard. You’re not saving money unless you use it all before it goes bad.

Money Saving Tip – Use Up All Of Your Condiments With This Hack

By brandyvasquez14 on January 21, 2020 at 10:50 am

This super easy savings hack will ensure you use up every last drop of your condiments! Don’t you just hate the little dabs of condiments stuck in the jars. Even if you use a spatula its often hard to get out every last drop. I worked hard for my money. The same money that purchased those condiments. I don’t want to throw my money away. Which is essentially what you are doing when you toss out a condiment jar with dabs stuck to the sides.

My solution to this is to add oil or vinegar to the jar. Shake it really well to mix. Then pour it over meat to make a tasty marinate. For jams, jellies, and honey I microwave the empty container just a few seconds to turn the remnants into a syrup. Hold the empty container upside down into a bowl of batter. It can be pancakes, waffles, cakes, cookies, or really any kind of dough that has sugar in it.

My favorite go to quick empty out that condiment jar marinate is 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, and 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar. I haven’t found meat that doesn’t taste good with that marinate.

Money Saving Tip: Follow Brands and Stores on Social Media

By Kristen on January 21, 2020 at 9:29 am

We live in a fast paced world and companies trying to sell us their products are hustling to keep up with the preferences of a modern consumer base. A sale used to be advertised through the inserts in the paper, or by a commercial on the radio or television. A discount would come in the form of a coupon sent to your house, or picked up at the store the day of the event (ohmygosh, remember those??).

But the times they have a changed.

With online shopping becoming massively popular, brick and mortar stores as well as internet shops have gotten more creative and ambitious, not only with the way they get your attention, but the ways they keep you as a loyal customer. You have a billion options on where you can spend your money. Stores know this and they’re working hard to court you and keep you.

My tip of the day involves taking advantage of that fact to stretch your money further.

If there is a brand you like, a store you like, here is my tip: follow them on social media.

Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter are the main four I recommend, with special attention to Facebook and Instagram. In order to add to their subscriber/follower count, brands will often do social media exclusive offers. This can take the form of free shipping, a digital coupon, or a subscriber only sale.

Here’s an example. I am a person who wears shoes almost everyday, so I follow Zappos on social media. I like Zappos customer service and exchange/return policies, but I’ll admit it can be hard to find a deal. Their prices are reasonable and they do run the occasional sale, but this isn’t a situation where you can wait out the clock on a pair of sneaks you like until they get marked down 50% percent. But what are you gonna do?

Well, what I did was see a Facebook post from Zappos with an exclusive code for $25 off any order. All you had to do was click on the post and an email would be sent to you with the code.

So great, here’s $25 off, but that’s not all! Just for using the code, I got an additional “loyal customer” discount of $5. This was the code that kept on giving so. That’s 30% off! Next thing you know, I’m paying $50 for a new pair of shoes instead of $79.99.That’s $26 I saved that stays in our clothes budget and could one day make it to our Disney Fund.

As I was writing this tip, all pumped up about my new kicks, the image you see popped into my feed. Another store I love, giving me a discount on things I need. (That code, by the way, is legit, so you’re wanting to shop some Book Outlet, here’s a gift from me to you!)

So if there are brands you love, especially expensive brands, find them on your favorite social media platforms. Chances are very good you’ll start seeing the results of that customer loyalty soon.

Kristen B. is wife to the best Prince around, mama to the spunkiest little princesses, and lover of all things Disney. She started her savings journey five years ago and is now dedicated to making her family’s wishes come true one coupon at a time. She is so excited to take her love of saving to the next level and share her journey with you! Click here to catch up on Kristen’s Savings and join in on your own savings adventure

10 Restaurants With Ongoing Meal Deals + Special Offers

By SaraAuger on January 17, 2020 at 4:01 pm

Cutting back on Dining out is an easy way to save. However, to cut out ALL dining out can be tough for some. Therefore, consider heading to a restaurant that offers specials and discounts, so you don’t break the bank next time you dine out. Here are 10 restaurants that offer ongoing meal deals & special offers!

Applebee’s

Save at Applebee’s with their 2 for $20 deal. Diners will get two entrees + one appetizer, for just $20! Subject to item availability and location.

Chili’s

Enjoy a great deal at Chili’s with their 3 for $10 offer. Diners start with a non-alcoholic beverage and then their choice of an appetizer and entrée from the 3 for $10 menu. Appetizers include select salads, soups or chips & salsa. Entrees include their Chicken Crispers, Bacon Ranch Chicken Quesadillas and more.

Denny’s

Denny’s offers 20% off your next visit when you join their rewards program. Plus, put in your birthdate and enjoy a delicious birthday gift year after year.

IHOP

Enjoy $4.99 2x2x2 (2 eggs, bacon & pancakes) Monday through Friday, PLUS combine with All You Can Eat Pancakes!

Logan’s Roadhouse

Head to Logan’s Roadhouse, Select locations, where Kids Eat Free each Wednesday (age 10 and under). Purchase of adult entrée required.

Olive Garden

Olive Garden is the place to go for specials. Enjoy lunch specials starting at just $7.99 (M-F until 3pm). Enjoy Dinner Early Dinner Duos starting at just $8.99 (M-Th 3-5pm). Now available daily are $5 take home entrees, Dine-In only with purchase. Plus, sign up for their eClub and enjoy a Free Appetizer (with purchase of 2 adult entrees).

Outback

Come hungry to the Outback for their 4-course meal, the Aussie 4-Course, starting at just $15.99. Diners get their choice of soup and salad, plus entrée from list and end with a slice of cheesecake!

Red Lobster

Red Lobster has a New, 3-Course Shrimp Feast starting at just $14.99. Start with your choice of soup or salad, then pick from 1 of 7 entrees and end your meal with a dessert!

Ruby Tuesday

The email offers from Ruby Tuesday are hot! Sign up and you will get a Free appetizer, plus a Free Garden Bar entrée or Free Burger on your birthday and even more offers weekly.

TGI Fridays

TGI Fridays is the place to be on Fridays with their Fridays Feast deal. For $20 you get: 2 Apps, 2 Entrees and 2 Desserts!

Tip: See if your favorite Restaurant has a Free Rewards program, and get on the email list!

Money Saving Tip: Stamps

By Kristen D on January 16, 2020 at 2:00 pm

Stamps, man- will these things every stop going up in price?

It costs 55 cents to mail a letter- and more importantly it costs 55 cents to mail a BILL now in the United States! A simple and easy savings tip I have is to pay every bill you can online- or if you go right by the physical location, swing in and drop your bill off there.

This seems like such a small thing to do, but saving the stamp from just one bill save you $6.60 across the course of the year. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t stop and pick up $6 off the ground if you found it laying there. But who only has ONE bill? By the time you pay your mortgage, water bill, credit card bill and Kohl’s bill you’ve saved $26.40 for the year- for no reason other than you paid your bill online!

Tip: Keep an eye out when you pay your bills online for “convenience charges”. My power bill adds a percentage onto the bill when if I pay online, while the rest of my bills do not. Instead, I either pay the power bill in person or use one of my precious stamps on it.

Money Saving Tip: Check Every Piece of Mail You Get

By Kristen

We all get 200 pieces of junk mail a day, the overwhelming majority being credit card offers: official looking letters that reveal themselves to be nonsense as soon as the envelope is ripped open.

So it’s no surprise that so many of us just throw away (or recycle) these kinds of letters on sight. My husband is one of them. Barely a glance to confirm it’s nothing but a credit card offer and into the recycling bi it goes. But a few years ago, we got some mail that changed the way I see those sneaky official looking envelopes, forever impacting which person in the B household would check the mail. (Hint: it is now always me.)

Unlike Mr. B, I tended to open every letter when I was the one getting the mail. Mostly because I wanted to shred the credit card applications that had our personal info on them. I’m paranoid that way. And on this fateful day, I opened a letter to discover a check for $38 for a settlement we didn’t even know we were a part of. Since then, I make sure I am always the one to check the mail. I open every single letter, because you never know if some Disney Fund money is hiding in that boring looking mail. In the years since I started doing this, we’ve been sent settlement checks, rebates, freebies rewards, and high value coupons that make items free. All dressed up like regular old mail.

Last week, I went to check the mail and Mr. B stopped me, “Oh, I already got the mail. It was all garbage.”

“What kind of garbage?”

“Just credit card offers. It’s all in the recycling bin.”

So cut to me, fishing for our mail in the recycling bin, because I have to see those letters! You never know!! And, vindication!!! I was right: while there were four nonsense credit card offers, there were also two decidedly non nonsense missives. One was $10 Kohl’s cash. Which, I have no idea why they sent it. I don’t really shop at Kohl’s. I bought a blanket during the holidays because there was a great deal, but if a free $10 is my reward for purchasing a cozy blanket, I’ll take it. The second letter was a $10 gift card from Costco as a thank you for our membership auto renewal. Mr. B protested over that one for like 15 minutes. “It had a card shaped bulge! I thought it was Costco trying to offer us a new credit card! How was I know??” Truthfully, he couldn’t have known. That’s why you gotta check that mail!

That’s $20 worth of Disney Fund that could have been recycled if I had not been diligent!

So my tip is a simple one that costs you no money and very little time, but could net some major rewards: check your mail! Check each and every letter, because you never know which one could have some hidden Mickey Bar money in it.

Money Saving Tip – How I Saved Over $684.00 On Kcups

By brandyvasquez14 on January 13, 2020 at 10:30 am

I have to admit I am late to this! This idea had been floating around the internet for a while. I ignored it thinking the taste would be inferior. That my friends is marketing at it’s best! I believed what K cup manufacturers wanted me to believe. That way I would keep on buying those pricey K cups. You can save hundreds of dollars a year just buy purchasing your own reusable K cup and ground coffee. Verses buying K cups.

After reading tons of reviews I went with this one. Plus it comes with extras in case one breaks or you accidentally put the needle (I did that) on the Keruig thru the mesh. For the coffee you can use any brand you like. I prefer to buy whole bean and grind it fresh. The flavor is so much better if you grind it fresh. Most grocery stores have coffee grinders in the coffee aisle. Every time we run out I buy a pound of whole bean at Starbucks and have them grind it for me. A pound of coffee from Starbucks generally is $13.00 – $15.00. The fancy RESERVE coffee is much more expensive. It is about double the price. You don’t have to buy the whole pound. Starbucks will sell you as little or as much as you like. I recommend buying only what you will drink in few weeks up to a month time frame. You can also earn stars towards free drinks from whole bean coffee purchases.

How much I am saving:
We would buy 2 club packs every month. The price would range from $30.00 – $40.00 for 72ct. It all depended on what was on sale that month. For this we are going to do an average of $35.00 per 72 ct. That mean’t that each cup of coffee costs $0.48. This was for basic store brand coffee. If I was to purchase a club back of Starbucks it would run me around $50.00 or $.70 per cup of coffee. A pound of coffee lasts us about a month. It costs $13.00. My grandma drinks a cup a day, I drink a cup a day, and my husband drinks 2 cups a day. Sometime we have guests over they will drink a cup a day. I am going to estimate we go thru around 5 cups of a coffee a day. That is around 150 cups of coffee from 1 pound of coffee at $13.00. That comes out to only $0.08 per cup. With a savings of $0.40 per cup! Just in my house alone we are saving $57.00 a month. Over that course of a year that is $684.00!!! Plus we are drinking higher quality better tasting coffee.

Save Money & Repurpose Oui Yogurt Jars (Simple Storage Idea)

By SaraAuger on January 10, 2020 at 3:08 pm

Repurposing items can help you save big, by using something you already have. Recently, I had a coupon combined with a Fetch Rewards offer on Oui yogurts by Yoplait.

I love the look of these jars and they are glass! Little glass jars like this (without labels of course) average about $1 each to buy from a store. Therefore, I wanted to find a way to repurpose them.

These little glass jars are perfect for holding small makeup items and brushes. Not to mention, finding my makeup brushes are so much more convenient now. What do you think of this idea? I consider this a $3 savings, from not having to buy glass jars.

Another use for these jars are for arts & crafts items, consider using them to hold markers, pencils and more. They would also be perfect for holding small items such as change, buttons, paper clips and more.

Money Saving Tip: Save Your Fast Food Extras

By Kristen D on January 9, 2020 at 2:00 pm

As much as we try to “be good” and eat at home, there are times when fast food is necessary, or just wanted. That’s why we have a dining out line in our budget, after all.

So when you splurge and need that greasy fix, be sure to keep any extras napkins, ketchup or sauces and use them at home! The napkins pull double duty for us as car tissues. We’re fancy, y’all.

My daughter loves when we have an extra Chick-fil-a sauce and she can use it with her less fancy at-home nuggets.

Now, I’m not saying go in and load your pockets with ketchup, or take half a sleeve of napkins. However, often if we ask for ketchup we are given a handful! I’d rather take that home and use it, stretching our own ketchup farther, than toss it in the trash.

This is a small savings tip, but it’s easy too- and pennies make dollars! Do you keep your extras to use around your home?

Money Saving Tip: Make Your Own Dishwasher Tabs

By Marisa on January 8, 2020 at 8:57 pm

Wondering if you can make dishwasher tabs at home? You can!

One of the ways that I like to save is to make my own dishwasher tablets. The ingredients cost very little, and can be used repeatedly! If you have a homemade cleaning supply recipe you’d like to share, I’d love to hear it!

Here’s how I make dishwasher tablets:

Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda 55 oz. – $3.50
Baking Soda – $1 from Dollar Tree
Vinegar – $1 from Dollar Tree
Salt – $2.89 (this salt I’ve had at least a year!)
Container – $1 from Dollar Tree

Total: $9.39

These took me about 10 minutes to make! This recipe made about 40 tabs, and the only ingredient I need more of is Baking Soda! I will be able to make at least hundreds more before needing more Washing Soda or Vinegar.

1 cup Baking Soda
1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Salt
3/4 cup Vinegar

You can also use lemon juice in place of vinegar, if you choose!

You just need to mix all ingredients together, set it sit a minute, then using a tablespoon scoop them out onto a piece of wax paper. I have a tupperware container to store mine in, but they can be stored in a ziplock bag or mason jar, also!

You can also double or triple this recipe, if you use your dishwasher often or just want to make a big batch less often.

Let me know if you decide to make dishwasher tabs and tell me how it goes!

(Thank you, Rhonda, for the recipe!)

Money Saving Tip: Amazon Subscribe & Save Is Your Friend

By brandyvasquez14 on January 7, 2020 at 3:00 pm

All of this was delivered to my door! I didn’t have to leave my house, I didn’t use a coupon, in fact I didn’t even shop for it. I did save 15% off the normal price! Just like magic it showed up at my door. With Amazon Subscribe & Save you can put your needs on auto pilot. You add the items you frequently buy monthly or every few months to your Subscribe & Save order. You can set the items to come monthly up to six months out. If you have 5 or more per month you will save an additional 15% off that order. The best part is you can cancel any one item or all of it even after its been charged to you.

Which works out perfectly for us busy mama’s. If you are like me you set it and forget it. Until you get the email in saying your Amazon order of $21.99 was placed. Then you are like what the heck it must be fraud. Only to check your orders and see your Subscribe and Save items where charged. Then you think do I even need that item. You go to check let’s say your toilet paper and see you still have a brand new 16 pack. That will last you the whole month. At that point normally you feel like your failed at this subscribe and save game. But only you didn’t because you can go into your orders under you account and cancel whichever item that is you don’t need.

Fun fact Amazon’s prices are usually the same or better than Walmart and Sam’s Club! I know because I check like a mad woman.

This is my order from this month. This order gets sent every other month. The prices below are after my 15% discount for having 5 or more subscribe and save items this month.

Scott 32 count – $22.94
Solimo Organic Coconut oil – $5.14
Whole Earth Sweetner – $5.93
Solimo Freezer Quart bags 120 ct. – $8.92
Solimo Sandwich bags 300 ct. – $6.37
Colavita 2 liters Olive Oil – $17.67
Corsx Pads – $14.50
Total – $81.47

Same cost at Walmart or comparable from Sam’s Club $89.48. Amazon for the win! Added bonus you don’t have to leave your house.

Money Saving Tip: Buy Kids Clothes on Seasonal Clearance

By Kristen

My children wear clothes that are covered in bunnies, hearts, stars, and cats. Their wardrobes have a lot of purple, orange, red, and green in them. They look “fancy” (their word, not mine) all year round and if they wear the knees out in a pair of leggings or destroy a t-shirt with paint (on accident, of course) there’s always another pair of leggings or another t-shirt, no big deal.

Of all the clothes I buy my children, 100% are on sale. I do not pay retail for children’s clothes, children being notorious for continually growing. Of that, I would say about 75% of my children’s clothes comes from seasonal holiday sales, usually from 70%-90% off.

Christmas, Valentine’s Day, St.Patrick’s Day Easter, Fourth of July, and Halloween tend to bring with them adorable outfits in holiday appropriate colors, with the mascots and symbols of those holidays splashed across dresses, shirts, and pants.

The shelf life of these items is limited: once the holiday is over, the clothes are no longer relevant, and sold at a discounted price. And that is when I swoop in and buy them because reindeer are cute all year long and red dresses work for Valentine’s Day, Christmas, Chinese New Year… While many stores do this, my favorite is Target because of the swiftness in markdowns as well as the quality of their kids’ clothing.

These are some finds from both Halloween and Christmas clearance this year at Target. Everything in this picture is 90% off.

Caticorn Christmas Sweater-$1.79. Originally $17.99.
Reindeer Dress-$1.50. Originally $15.
Sparkly Time of Year Dress-$1.50. Originally $15.
Caticorn Christmas Tee-$.60. Originally $6.
JackO’Lantern Leggings-$.79. Originally $7.99.
Skelton Dress-$1.40. Originally $14.
Batman Long Sleeve Tee-$.99. Originally $9.99.
Batman Long Sleeve Tee-$.99. Originally $9.99.

Total Spent: $9.56

Original Retail: $95.96

Total Saved: $86.40

You can buy a size or two bigger, and be set for the next holiday as well as grabbing basics in your children’s current sizes. Almost all my children’s t-shirts are seasonal clearance. In the winter, they layer them under sweaters, so who cares if it’s a Halloween t-shirt. In the spring and summer, bunnies and four leaf clovers are year round cool.

Most seasonal apparel will go on sale as soon as the day after the holiday. For smaller retail holidays, Valentine’s Day, Easter, St. Patrick’s Day, 4th of July, look for swift markdowns, with 90% usually coming within 3 or four days. for the bigger retail holidays like Christmas and Halloween, the clearance schedule is longer, usually a week to nine days, with markdowns coming every two days or so. This will vary by region and by store, so if you’re new to sohpping seasonal clearance, expect to put in a few extra trips to the store to get a sense of their markdown schedule.

Kids are always growing, so it’s nice to have a variety of sizes on hand, because you never know when a spurt will hit. I also love that because I’m not freaked out about the cost of clothing I can let them just be kids: play outside and tear a knee in a pair or pants or get a shirt covered in art project. It’s a lot easier to be the fun, cool mom when those pants cost less than $1.

For less than the cost of one shirt, I was able to get three dresses, three tees, one sweater, one pant. That’s a whole seasonal wardrobe! Spending less money on children’s clothes will help your budget, with your surplus going to something you need, like paying off a bill or saving for a Disney trip. When you buy voles in the sizes up, you’re also saving money from that future year’s budget! It’s a win-win situation.

Money Saving Tip: Simple DIY To Save Doll & Barbie Hair

By SaraAuger on January 3, 2020 at 3:53 pm

Meet Ava, who recently visited my at home salon for a hair fix. As you can probably tell from the before picture, this doll has been through a lot. She is from Target and has been passed down from my oldest daughter to my youngest. She has been around for nearly 6 years now! However, my youngest daughter had stopped playing with her because her hair was such a mess. Instead of buying a new doll, I did this simple DIY to save her hair!

Supplies You Need:

Fabric Softener
Squirt Bottle (or large Bowl)
Water
Brush or Comb

Get Started:

Step 1: Fill squirt bottle (or large bowl) with water, add a few drops of Fabric Softener and shake (or stir).

Step 2: Spray directly on dolls hair (or dip brush/comb into bowl), and slowly start brushing out the hair.

I started with smaller pieces, spraying each one liberally, and once those were detangled I moved on. Above is what she looked like once her hair was all brushed through and still wet.

I am pretty happy with how her hair dried. My daughter immediately grabbed the doll and began to play with her so I call that a success! Not to mention, her hair smells wonderful now.

Money Saving Tip: Saving Sweets

By Kristen D on January 2, 2020 at 2:00 pm

Saving money is a topic near and dear to my heart, so I’m excited to be able to share some tips with you to help save you time and money- and maybe a little sanity in the process.

Did you know you can freeze fully frosted cakes and cupcakes? Yeah buddy, you can! Save time and effort in the future when you want something sweet and delicious, and prevent yourself from having to toss out cake that has gone bad- or having to eat it all!

So here we go!

Sit your cake/cupcakes in the freezer, uncovered until the frosting hardens. You’re basically flash freezing it. You can gently touch the frosting to check the hardness, but leave it at least an hour. Full disclosure, I usually forget about it for hours.
Cover the cake with plastic wrap and leave it sitting until you’re ready to eat it. Most folks say it will stay good up to 2 months, but we did this with the top of our wedding cake and it was amazing a full year later. I’ve also had great success with putting cupcakes in a container lined with wax paper, with plastic wrap over the top before I put the lid on.
Take it out of the freezer and let it unthaw. This can take several hours for a whole cake.

This works just as well for cut pieces of cake as it does for a whole cake, so don’t be afraid to freeze it in easy to thaw portions. That’s what I did with the leftover cake pictured.

I love not having to toss out leftover cake, or feeling obligated to eat it twice a day, every day to keep it from going bad. Plus, I’m not messing up my kitchen or having to heat the oven to make a new batch of whatever.

Because I love you guys, I dug this leftover cake out of my freezer to take a picture for you…oh no, I unwrapped it! Guess I’ll have to eat it now. Sacrifices, you guys, I’m out here making them for you.

P.S. This totally works with cookies too! They’ll last 3-4 weeks after you bake and freeze them (longer than that is up to you!) Just freeze and then store in a zip top freezer bag!

How I just saved $227 on my Families Southwest flights and you can too!

By brandyvasquez14 on September 26, 2019 at 1:54 pm

Like many of you I have school aged children. As they have gotten older its hard to pull them out of school for a vacation. That leaves summer and spring break for vacations. Normally we go on family trips in the summer. This year is different. My husband will be graduating in May 2020. We are almost positive he will have a job as soon as he graduates or very soon after. For that reason we didn’t want to plan a summer vacation this year. Instead we decided to take our family vacation during Spring Break. I have been sharing my Coupon To Universal story with all of you! You can read about here.

I have been sitting on pins and needles waiting for Southwest to release all of March 2020 flights. Today was the day they finally released flights thru mid April 2020! It was time to cash in all my Southwest gift cards I had gotten discounted from Raise. Normally I wait to book until the last minute (around 2 months out) for flight deals. The only issue with that is getting us all on the same flight at a normal time. Often times that left us taking undesirable flights like first thing in the morning or the last one of the day. While the savings are worth it. I am at a point in my life. I don’t want to inconvenience myself.

That lead me to ask the SavEars what to do. Many people suggested booking on the first day the flights open. They said often times its the lowest prices you will see for those flights. If for some reason the flight goes lower you can always call Southwest and request a price adjustment. They will apply the difference on a gift card type voucher that has to be used within 12 months. While it is a gamble. I already have plans for another Disney trip brewing. I am sure we will use any credits we have within a year.

These are some general savings hacks that you hear often. I am sure all your super savears have heard these but just in case here they are.

Take the earliest or latest flight of the day.
Fly on Wednesdays and Saturdays those are often the cheapest days to fly.
Be flexible!

Now, on to how I just saved $227.78.00 off my Southwest flights and you can to! Raise (a website where you can buy discounted gift cards) often has 5% or more savings with a coupon code, off the already discounted gift card prices. Usually a $200.00 Southwest gift card goes for 5% – 6% off everyday on Raise. I watch Raise like a hawk. Anytime they have an additional 5% or more off with coupon code I buy a $200.00 Southwest gift card off Raise. Then to sweeten the deal I go to Swagbucks and click thru. Swagbucks pays 1% in SB back on Raise purchases.

The cherry on top is, that I use my credit card that pays 3% cashback to purchase the discounted gift cards off Raise. Immediately following (if not I forget which defeats the purpose of couponing to Disney), I transfer money from my Disney fund in Paypal to my bank account and pay whatever I spent to my credit card. Below is a breakdown of all the steps!

1. Go to Swagbucks and search Raise. This little step will give you back 1% ($1.74)
2.Click thru to Raise.
3.Search for a $200.00 Southwest gift card normally sells for $188.00 (6% savings).
4.If there is a promo code to save additional money add it. These promo codes appear often.
5.Pay with the highest amount of cash back credit card you have. For me that is 3%!
6.Deposit or transfer money from your Disney fund to your bank account to cover the cost of the Southwest gift card. As soon as it has posted pay it on your credit card.

NOTE – I used 8 of the $200.00 gift cards towards the cost of my Southwest ticket. Every time Raise had a promo code that would save me 10% total or more. I would buy a Southwest gift card. You can use up to 3 forms of payment per transaction. Each separate gift card is a separate form of payment. I did have to buy each ticket separately in order to use all my gift cards towards the tickets.

Total Saved: $227.78

That is a lot of steps but totally worth it! We have never had an issue sitting together. Southwest doesn’t assign seats only boarding spots. Those boarding spots are not assigned until you check in 24 hours before. I have always checked us all in back to back. Usually we are in the same boarding group. Sometimes even one after another numerically. You can also have whoever boards first hold spots for the rest of your family.

(Thanks, Brandy)

21 Apps to Start Making Money for Disney Today

By Kristen

Photo Courtesy of Disney

Recently, I posted about how I saved $1326.44 in seven months to completely fund my Girls Trip to Disney World. There were many charts, graphs, and other assorted number crunching, but it turns out that my three of highest earners were Swagbucks, Cash Back Apps and Survey Sites.

Swagbucks came in top with $300, 22.6%. My second biggest earner was a variety of cash back apps that I use on my phone, making me $242.18, 18% of my total. These apps include Fetch Rewards, Ibotta, Rakuten, and CoinOut. Coming in at a close #4 (behind Found Money) was Survey Sites, bringing in $180, or 13% of my final total. This included Pinecone Research, E-poll, and Dabbl.

Here’s the key thing for me with apps and survey sites: know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em. I did not use every single app under the sun. I focused on the apps that worked well for me, the ones I enjoyed and were intuitive. I did not spend four hours a day doing surveys. I set myself a time limit, accomplished what I could in that time limit and moved on. Sometimes it was seven disqualifications and 7 sbs. Sometimes it was qualifying for a study that paid out $100.

I’ve copied all the apps, survey sites, and assorted cash back money makers here for you, but I present them with a caveat: not all of these will work for you. Find the ones that do and stick with them. Hold ‘em. Try as many as you feel are interesting, but if after a few months you’re not seeing the results you’d like, fold ‘em.

Two points to be careful of: notice I said a few months and not a few weeks. I know of no earning method that pays big instantly and if it claims to, I’d be wary of it. Two weeks isn’t really enough time to see progress. Give it a few months before you reach a verdict.

Secondly, don’t measure success only in big payouts. That might seem counterintuitive to a post that’s all about making money, but remember, time is also money. If you’ve got an app that takes no time or energy and gives you free money, even if it’s pennies, GREAT. Ibotta is not a huge earner for me because we don’t buy a lot of name brand or shelf stable food. But it takes me 5 seconds to upload my receipt and it still made me $25 in seven months. You might be tempted to be like, “$25 in seven months? That’s nothing!” If it takes me 10 seconds a month to upload those receipts, that’s $3.50 a month for doing nothing but scanning a receipt. $25 a minute, in the long run. A minute of my time is definitely worth 25 free dollars. Those little bits add up!

Click on any of these links to get a description, tutorial, and more info!

SmartPhone Apps

Survey Sites

Cash Back Websites

Which of these apps is your favorite? Do you have a tried and true that I missed? Let me know down below!

Pumpkin Spice Season Is Upon Us!!!!

By brandyvasquez14 on August 2, 2019 at 5:00 pm

Its everyone’s favorite time of the year again! What is that you may ask? Why it’s PSL (Pumpkin Spice Latte) season! While there hasn’t been an official launch date. My bestie that works at Starbucks says she is hearing around the 28th of this month. YES, August 28th 2019!!! While it is still sweltering with high temps thru out the nation. Starbucks says it’s time to bring out all the nostalgic goodness that makes us love Starbucks even more year after year. If you can’t do hot in the heat not to worry Starbucks has got you covered with Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino’s or Pumpkin Spice iced Latte’s. Before you head to Starbucks make sure you read our top 4 savings hacks for Starbucks!

Not only is the Pumpkin Spice Latte making its 16th year debut this month. Pumpkin Spice Latte was launched in test markets in 2003. By fall 2004 it was available nationwide. We also have my personal favorite Salted Carmel Mocha, and the NEW Pumpkin Cold Cream Cold Brew debuting. I am super excited to try the new cold cream pumpkin version.

With fall drinks comes yummy seasonal fall food options! That means Pumpkin scones, Pumpkin cream cheese muffins, and Pumpkin Spice Madeline’s. Rumor is a super cute Cat Cake Pop is coming in September but my friend couldn’t confirm that one. Usually there is a few more unannounced drink and food options that magically appear. Make sure you stop by your local Starbucks this fall to see what new and exciting things they have on the menu!

If you don’t have a Starbucks close by or can’t stomach paying $5.00 for one drink not to fret. Have your read the our savings hacks?Starbucks has a HUGE variety of Pumpkin Spice flavored things coming to grocery stores this fall. Including the NEW Pumpkin Spice Latte Creamer.

(Thanks, Brandy)

4 Starbucks Money Saving Hacks

By brandyvasquez14 on July 17, 2019 at 2:00 pm

I LOVE Starbucks just as much as the next girl! What I don’t love is that I can easily spend over $5.00 on a single drink. If I have my kids with me I can kiss a $20.00 bill goodbye. Ouch!

Did you know I worked at Starbucks for 4 years once upon a time? I am going to share some tips and tricks to save money at Starbucks. These are my top 4 savings hacks!

4 Starbucks Money Saving Hacks

1). Ask for an extra cup with lid. Be prepared for the weird looks. If the side eye bothers you, just ask for a cup of water or ice. It’s really common for people to request a cup of water or ice. That is the safest way to get an extra cup and lid minus the side eye, though not all baristas will look at you strangely. Most are more then happy to give you a cup and lid! Starbucks is like Disney in that most employees are more than accommodating.

Why the extra cup? By far the best money saving hack I have is to split a Grande (medium) or a Venti (large) drink between people if you go with more than one person or kid. My kids love Frappuccinos, but there isn’t a kids size option. That means for a Tall (small) you going to pay $3.95 plus tax…ouch! If you order a Grande (medium) it is $4.75 plus tax. If you split a grande between 2 people or kids you are going to spend $2.37 per person, verses ordering a Tall for each person at $3.95 each. That is a savings of $3.15!

2). Don’t order Lattes. You can get almost the same exact taste by just ordering a Cafe Misto with whatever syrup you would like. A Cafe Misto is half coffee and half warmed milk of your choice. It’s also $1.00 less then a latte. You can add in any flavor of syrup you would like for an extra $0.50. If you prefer Iced Lattes you can replicate the taste by ordering an iced coffee with 1/2 the cup full of your choice of milk.

If you really like the taste of espresso or need the added boost of caffeine then order just espresso shots with warm milk of your choice. You can also order the espresso over ice with milk. When ordering ask for the amount of milk and sugar you would like in your shots. Remember, this is Starbucks- you can customize as much or little as you want!

3). Sign up for the Starbucks Rewards program! This is a MUST. You will earn points back on every purchase. Every dollar spent is worth 2 points. These points accumulate and are redeemable starting at just 25 points. You can either scan the app when you pay or use a Starbucks gift card that is registered to your account.

There is always some sort of promotion going on that earns you extra points for purchasing certain items. Usually the more you visit the more points you get during that promotion period. Each visit counts as each time you pay for a transaction and scan the code in the app or use the registered card to pay . Currently the promotion is earn 40 bonus stars when you order 2 Frappuccino’s or earn 80 bonus stars when you order 3 times. If you are strategic with earning, the points can be a gold mine of savings!

In addition to the bonus point earning offers, you can get free coffee and tea refills while in store during the same visit. Let’s say you buy a green tea. You sit down and read a book. An hour later you are realize you finished your tea and want another. You can then order a refill green tea and pay nothing for it. As long as you don’t leave the store you can get refills on hot brewed coffee and tea.

With the app you will also earn a free treat on your birthday. That treat can be a handcrafted drink, food item, or ready to drink bottled item.

4). Buy discounted gift cards from Raise! You can often find discounted Starbucks gift cards for up to 10% or more off. After you buy the discounted gift cards from Raise, you can add funds from one Starbucks card to another. I have a Starbucks card I have had for years linked to my Starbucks rewards. Every time I buy or am gifted a Starbucks gift card I move the funds from that card to my registered card on Starbucks website. It is a very simple process!

(Thanks, Brandy)

How I just saved $64.00 on my Southwest flight and you can too!

By brandyvasquez14 on June 28, 2019 at 3:10 pm

I HATE driving anywhere! 8 hours is like my maximum amount of time I can spend in a car. After that I get stir crazy. Flying is not cheap. Now add on to that my family of 6. That makes flying anywhere very expensive. Over the years, I have learned a few hacks to make flying more affordable. Including one tip I have NEVER heard another blog recommend! I am going to say its exclusive to the CouponingtoDisney tribe.

These are some general savings hacks that you hear often. I am sure all your super savears have heard these but just in case here they are.

Take the earliest or latest flight of the day.
Fly on Wednesdays and Saturdays those are often the cheapest days to fly.
Be flexible!

Now, on to how I just saved $64.00 off my Southwest flight and you can to! Raise (a website where you can buy discounted gift cards) often has 5% or more savings with a coupon code, off the already discounted gift card prices. Usually a $200.00 Southwest gift card goes for 5% – 6% off everyday on Raise. I watch Raise like a hawk. Anytime they have an additional 5% or more off with coupon code I buy a $200.00 Southwest gift card off Raise. Then to sweeten the deal I go to Swagbucks and click thru. Swagbucks pays 1% in SB back on Raise purchases. The cherry on top is, that I use my credit card that pays 3% cashback to purchase the discounted gift cards off Raise. Immediately following (if not I forget which defeats the purpose of couponing to Disney), I transfer money from my Disney fund in Paypal to my bank account and pay whatever I spent to my credit card. Below is a breakdown of all the steps!

1. Go to Swagbucks and search Raise. This little step will give you back 1% ($1.74)
2.Click thru to Raise.
3.Search for a $200.00 Southwest gift card normally sells for $188.00 (6% savings).
4.If there is a promo code to save additional money add it. I used SHOP7 only good today to save an additional 7% (saved me $13.11)!
5.Pay with the highest amount of cash back credit card you have. For me that is 3% ($5.22 savings)!
6.Deposit or transfer money from your Disney fund to your bank account to cover the cost of the Southwest gift card. As soon as it has posted pay it on your credit card.
NOTE – I used 2 of the $200.00 gift cards towards the cost of my Southwest ticket. You can use up to 3 forms of payment per transaction. Each separate gift card is a separate form of payment.

Total Saved: $64.07

That is a lot of steps but totally worth it! Often times I have to do a few transactions on Southwest to purchase tickets for everyone using my discounted gift cards. We have never had an issue sitting together. Southwest doesn’t assign seats only boarding spots. Those boarding spots are not assigned until you check in 24 hours before. I have always checked us all in back to back. Usually we are in the same boarding group. Sometimes even one after another numerically. You can also have whoever boards first hold spots for the rest of your family.

(Thanks, Brandy)

FUNDamentals: Grow Your Fund by Using Trade In Programs for Books and Electronics

By Kristen on June 4, 2019 at 5:25 pm

Goodbye, books! Hello, Dole Whips!

I love a good book. In my many years as an adult human, I have amassed a sizable collection. At a certain point I realized I had more books than I could ever hope to read. When I say “at a certain point”, I mean, when my bookshelves were over flowing. And when I say “overflowing” I mean, I have gotten as creative as I can get with getting more books. My stacks got stacks. And when I say “I realized”, what I really mean is, “Mr B told me no more books in the house until I got rid of some because he’s tired of bumping into my stacks of books on every available surface.”

While it is never fun to say goodbye to our loved items, there comes a time in every household object’s life when it must move on. Maybe it is getting recycled. Maybe it is getting donated. And maybe, just maybe, it is getting sold. To make money for a Disney Fund.

There’s a variety of ways you can sell your no longer needed home goods. We’ve talked on this page about yard sales or selling on Ebay being great ways to turn your clutter into cash. Another option is to sell your stuff back to retail sites, online or brick & mortar, in exchange for either store credit or cold hard cash.

When Mr. B issued his book ultimatum, I set to clearing my stacks. “Clearing” meaning picking up each book in turn, promising I would never abandon it, and then setting it back on the shelf. While I was “clearing” I found some old copies of Disney movies that we had forgotten about because we upgraded when the new editions came out. Mr. B is all, “See? Your books are taking other thing hostage!” And I am all, ‘Hey, I can sell these!”

Now I’ve got books AND movies to sell. What are my best options?

Amazon

The first place I looked was the jungle. The Amazon Trade-In Program accepts books, electronics, video games, and DVD/Blu Rays in good condition. “Books” includes textbooks and homeschool materials.

The process is simple: click the link above, or go to the Amazon website, type “Trade In”, and you’ll be taken to that program’s page. You’ll see the categories of items they accept. There is a search feature to find title offers within those categories.

Pick your trade category.

See what Amazon will trade for your items.

When you’ve selected your items for trade, you’ll enter your information, and get a mailing label to print. Amazon pays for shipping. This allows them to track your items and you’ll be alerted once they arrive to Amazon. There is a window of time between when you print your mailing label and when the items are expected to be in the mail, so don’t print until you are ready to ship.

You’ll receive an Amazon credit that can be used in the future. You can use that Amazon credit for gifts, groceries, what have you, and then transfer that money you would have spent from your gift, grocery, or what have you budget into your Disney Fund.

Local Book Store

I’ll be real, I ended up with like 40 books to sell (sob), and I did not feel like putting each ISBN number into Amazon to see if they would trade me because I am lazy. By “lazy” I mean, “heartbroken over saying goodbye to my books.” Plus, while the Amazon trade in prices were great for electronics, they were a little less exciting for books. Also, I was not about to sit outside in my yard and sell books. I would price them all at $400 and I would sell nothing and Mr. B would use them as kindling for our bonfire.

We have a chain here called Half Price Books, and they buy back most books, refusing only ones in rough shape or that they have no hope of selling. I’ve been before but never with a haul this big. Worth a shot.

Selling to a chain that accepts buy back, like Half Price Books, or a local store that buys used books is a great option because you get cash immediately. You can usually get store credit as a possibility as well, with some stores giving you a higher percentage of store credit. For example, they’ll offer you $20 in cash or $25 in store credit. Mr. B went with me to make sure I didn’t choose the store credit option and bring home even more books.

Many of these places also accept movies and music in their buyback programs, paying very nicely for popular titles (Disney) or desirable formats (vinyl). What I like about a buy back program vs a yard sale for books, movies, and music is that the store is setting the price based on what they think they can re-sell it for. They’re not going to haggle with you. You, and by you I mean me, won’t be tempted to overprice your books based on sentimental worth and not market value.

I was pleasantly surprised that my books and movies earned me $38. I went in hoping for $20, and my expectations were almost doubled. This was a great, (relatively) painless way to add to my Disney Fund, as well as declutter my house. If you’re upgrading gaming devices or stereo equipment, unloading some vinyl records you inherited, of you have a husband who wants to walk through his home without the fear of being caught in a book avalanche, look into a trade in program.

Do you use trade in programs? Where have you had the best luck, online or in person? Are you a book hoarder like me? Tell me all about it in the comments!

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FUNDamentals: Grow Your Fund by Using Trade In Programs for Books and Electronics

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