Back to School Shopping Challenge with Ford Escape + 10 Readers Win $33 Visa Cash Card

by Jen on August 14, 2012

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We are excited to tell you about a fun back to school shopping challenge we have planned this week. Ford Motor Company has challenged us to see how many back to school items we can find for $99 using this week’s current store sales & coupons.  We will then be donating all of the school supplies to students in need at several local schools in Tacoma.

Sia will be heading to the stores on Friday to take advantage of all the school supply deals available this week & see how many back to school items she can buy for $99. We will then come back & share with all of you, the deals that Sia found & how she maximized her savings by using simple shopping strategies & putting her couponing skills to the test! We will be showing you ways to save on a variety of different kinds of back to school deals. We hope this will give you some inspiration on how you can utilize coupons & the store sales when looking for the items on your children’s school supply lists.

The fun part of this challenge is that Sia will be  doing all of her back to school shopping in style! The Ford Motor Company is giving us the opportunity to try out the new 2013 Ford Escape for a day while driving around town finding the best deals on school supplies. It sounds like the Ford Escape is definitely a very family-friendly vehicle so we are looking forward to reviewing the car & letting you know what we think of it!

Here are a few of the features of the 2013 Ford Escape that we’re excited to check out:

  • Hands-Free Liftgate  - this means that you don’t have to put down your kids or your shopping bags to stow items in the trunk area – it will open for you
  • Large cargo space in the trunk area (great for families)
  • Active Park Assist – technology that basically parallel parks the vehicle for you (it takes me forever to figure out how to parellel park so I think this would come in handy for me!)
  • Up to 33 mpg on the highway  - with rising gas prices once again, it’s important to look for vehicles that get better gas mileage when traveling or just driving around town with your family & the Ford Escape definitely gets great gas mileage

Giveaway – 10 Readers win a $33 Visa Cash Card 

As part of this Back to School Challenge, Ford Motor Company also is generously providing a $33 Visa cash card to 10 Thrifty NW Mom readers. This is a chance for you to save some money on gas as you travel around town getting ready for school or use the cash card towards school supplies to help lower your budget.

This giveaway will end on Tuesday August 21st  at 9pm pst.

The winners will be drawn using “And the Winner Is” plugin and announced on the blog.  I will also email the winners. The winners will have 48 hours to contact me, otherwise a new winner will be drawn. US residents only & you must be 18 yrs or older to enter the giveaway. This giveaway is not affiliated with Facebook in any way.

Here’s how to enter this giveaway::

1st Entry (required entry): What are your favorite or dream features for a vehicle? 

Extra Entries : (make sure these are all separate comments, with a comment for each entry)

2) Subscribe to the Thrifty NW Mom feed via a reader of your choice or email (must be verified)

Disclosure:  Ford Motor Company sponsored this Back to School Challenge by providing $99 for us to use shopping for the back to school deals, which will be donated to local students in need.  Ford Motor Company is also providing 10 $33 Visa Cash Cards to  10 Thrifty NW Mom winners  randomly chosen. No compensation was given to us.  All opinions are 100% ours. See our disclosure policy  for more details.

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{ 140 comments }

Victoria August 14, 2012 at 9:54 PM

My favorite features on a car are remote start, heated/cooling seats and dvd player.

Emmy Goodwin August 14, 2012 at 10:01 PM

My favorite features would be heated seats (for the winter), large trunk, & good gas mileage.

sarapete August 14, 2012 at 10:05 PM

I LOVE the hands free lift gate!

sarapete August 14, 2012 at 10:06 PM

subscriber google reader

Denise August 14, 2012 at 10:07 PM

My dream features for my vehicle: leather interior, great gas mileage, cargo space in the back for a dog and gear, easy maneuverability. Also, a great price and reliability are a must! Hmm…might need to check out the Escape.

Trista August 14, 2012 at 10:10 PM

I’m terrible at parallel parking so I would love a car that would do it for me!

Darlonna August 14, 2012 at 10:21 PM

Features I would love are GPS, backing camera, and auto start/defrost.

Darlonna August 14, 2012 at 10:21 PM

I am subscribed via e-mail!

Melissa R August 14, 2012 at 10:34 PM

I love mirrors that able down on the curb side when you put the car into reverse!

Melissa R August 14, 2012 at 10:36 PM

Subscribed via google reader

Tracy Robertson August 15, 2012 at 3:06 AM

I have always had an idea that cars should come with what I would call a “courtesy horn”. It would be a small button in the center of the main horn, and it’s beep would be much lower in volume than the main horn. I would use my courtesy horn when I need the horn for a non-emergency like getting someone’s attention (like if the light has been green for several seconds and they haven’t noticed). A courtesy horn would give drivers a chance to be much more polite towards each other in non emergency situations.

Bethany August 15, 2012 at 6:45 AM

My favorite feature on a car is the button to open all doors at once. This is a must with 3 small children. I also like cars with great gas mileage.

Bethany August 15, 2012 at 6:46 AM

I subscribe to your e-mail and am friends on facebook.

Missi August 15, 2012 at 7:08 AM

My favorite dream feature is an iPod pulg in. That would be awesome to just plug in & listen to your gave songs anytime you wanted.

Tara August 15, 2012 at 7:39 AM

Remote start would be amazing!

Tara August 15, 2012 at 7:39 AM

I subscribe with google reader.

Pua C. August 15, 2012 at 7:57 AM

My favorite features in a car would have to be first – GREAT gas mileage. Traveling with your family in a car is much more affordable nowadays.

Tricia August 15, 2012 at 8:30 AM

Dream feature is perfect storage compartments for everything; purse, drinks, hand sanitizer, etc.

MWalker August 15, 2012 at 8:54 AM

I would love solid seats (no nooks and crannys) so crumbs from kids and dogs weren’t always stuck in my seats. Or I would like an awesome hand held vacuum that came with the car, with special attachments for reaching the little spots!
Super fast air conditioning and heat that came from all angles within the car.
Hands free doors to go with the liftgate.
a no carpet cargo area…mine is filthy from hauling furniture and dogs, I would love if I could wipe it out or hose it down instead of vacuum.

Susan August 15, 2012 at 9:07 AM

I love to have my doors and trunk open via remote. I don’t think I could get a car/van without that feature anymore. I don’t mean just unlock, I want them to fully open!

Diana August 15, 2012 at 9:12 AM

Hands free lift gate is a must. Also extra storage space and gas mileage is always a plus!

Diana August 15, 2012 at 9:12 AM

I subscribe via email!

christa August 15, 2012 at 10:42 AM

You had me at hands free lift gate! And then I was like WHAT, how do you keep it from opening all the time? Can’t you just imagine your kids playing with that feature…. Watched the video to learn you still have to have the keys in your pocket. I would also love a backup camera, hands free speaker phone built in, and auto start/defrost.

christa August 15, 2012 at 10:43 AM

I subscribe via google reader. Thanks ladies!

Terry August 15, 2012 at 11:36 AM

A good quality car at a reasonable price that gets great gas mileage! Is that too much to ask for?

Beth Johnson August 15, 2012 at 12:13 PM

My “dream” vehicle would have remote start and cooled seats. the fan might like heated seats, but at my age, cooling is more important.

Beth Johnson August 15, 2012 at 12:13 PM

I subscribe to Thrifty NW Mom via email

susan b August 15, 2012 at 12:27 PM

Heated seats and great gas mileage.

Melissa N August 15, 2012 at 12:56 PM

I already subscribe Via email and twitter! But the best feature I would want in a car is little to no gas use.

Melissa N August 15, 2012 at 12:57 PM

But the best feature I would want in a car is little to no gas use. and the hands free opening of the rear lift gate is great for a mom like me!

Jen S. August 15, 2012 at 2:22 PM

Dream: I keep waiting for the Jetson’s car to become available! We’ren’t we supposed to have them by now? It would be nice to fly over traffic. :)

Jen S. August 15, 2012 at 2:22 PM

I subscribe to Thrifty NW Mom via email!

Christina Myers August 15, 2012 at 3:05 PM

I really like the active park assist feature.

Christina Myers August 15, 2012 at 3:06 PM

I subscribe via email.

Christina Myers August 15, 2012 at 3:07 PM

Great gas mileage for an suv!

Candice August 15, 2012 at 3:59 PM

I would love to have GPS, heated seats, remote start, and GPS.

Candice August 15, 2012 at 4:00 PM

I am an email subscriber. Thanks!

Jennifer August 15, 2012 at 6:17 PM

I would love a car that used little to no gas, auto open doors, something to parallel park for me, and something that automatically knows what kind of music I want to listen to!

Jennifer August 15, 2012 at 6:17 PM

I’m an email subscriber!

Kati C. August 15, 2012 at 7:46 PM

My favorite feature is the ability to have my own playlists either stored in the hard drive that is already in the car (I think that is what Ford is doing lately) or even just the ability to plug in my ipod so that I can have my kids music and my christian rock without having to worry about cd’s.

Kati C. August 15, 2012 at 7:46 PM

I subscribe via Google Reader and via email! :)

Alissa August 15, 2012 at 7:51 PM

My dream feature would be stain proof fabric!!

Alissa August 15, 2012 at 7:52 PM

subscribe to the reader!!

Serina C August 15, 2012 at 8:20 PM

I subscribe to your email! : )

Serina C August 15, 2012 at 8:22 PM

More dream feature is space now that my family is growing and we enjoy taking trips!

Lorri f August 15, 2012 at 8:36 PM

I love having ac!

Lorri f August 15, 2012 at 8:39 PM

Subscript via email

Tabitha August 15, 2012 at 9:17 PM

I love my heated seats, I just wish they were AC seats :)

Tabitha August 15, 2012 at 9:18 PM

following you via GFC and email

Sabina August 16, 2012 at 12:25 AM

The best feature and a must is heated seats for sure—in addition to ample coffee mug space!

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