Check out the 24/7 Moms Webcast with my Thrifty Travel Tips!

May 27, 2010 by Jen
Filed under NW Info

Hands On Children’s Museum – Olympia – $20 for 5 Tickets

May 27, 2010 by Jen
Filed under NW Info

Savvy Source is a parenting website and they are offering weekly offers for top local family-friendlyattractions & activities in 5 cities. The 5 current cities are: Seattle, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay area, & Dallas/Ft Worth. They are adding a new city a week , so if your city is not included now, keep watching for it to be included. They have had some great offers the past few weeks with discounted admission to the various children’s museums in the Seattle area. What I love about it is that when you purchase one of their weekly deals, 5% of the purchase price will go to the preschool of your choice & 5% of the purchase will go towards a preschool scholarship fund for local children. Find out more about the program HERE.

Hands On Children’s Museum – 5 tickets for $20

~Expires TONIGHT~

This week’s special offer is for the Hands-On Children’s Museum in Olympia, Washington. Savvy Source is offering a significant discount on admission to the Children’s Museum. You can buy 5 admission tickets to the Hands On Children’s Museum for just $20. This is a savings of $20 (or up to 50% off). Tickets are regularly$7.95 for children ages 2 -12 & adults and $5.95 for 12-23 mos. The tickets must be redeemed by May 27, 2011, so you have a year to use these tickets.

The important part of this deal is to know that you must use all 5 admission tickets during one visit. So, if you don’t have 5 in your family or are just going with your kids – then bring along a friend, so you can all save up to 50% off your admission.

You can also purchase up to 5 sets of tickets at a time through this deal (if you want to go to the Hands On Children’s Museum on 5 different occasions hroughout the year).

Go HERE to purchase your 5 admission tickets for $20.

Here’s the catch, though – this deal will expire tonight in 7 hours at 11:59pm pst. I was so busy this week preparing for the 24/7 Moms webcast, I forgot to mention this deal earlier! So, make sure you take advantage of this deal right away!!

I have to admit that the Hands On Children’s Museum is our favorite museum! In fact, we just went last week for my daughter’s 4th birthday! It was the perfect place to celebrate her birthday. It may look small from the outside, but it is packed full of exhibits!! The exhibits really provide so many opportunities for learning, too! We’ve now been to almost all of the children’s museums in the area & this is our top choice just for the amount of exhibits. I can’t wait until they open up their new museum in Fall 2011, when they will have much more room.

Tags: discounts, northwest

Thrifty Summer Travel Ideas

May 26, 2010 by Jen
Filed under Money saving tips, Uncategorized

2 Comments

As I mentioned yesterday, I had the opportunity to be on the 24/7 Moms Live Webcast with Trisha Novotny. We had a blast talking about thrifty summer travel ideas! If you missed the show, don’t worry because she will have the webcast up soon at 24/7 Moms, so you can watch it anytime.

I’ve also written out the tips that I shared last night so that you can look up the links & have it to refer to later. You can use these tips for big family vacations, “staycations” (playing tourist in your own area), or even just day excursions during the summertime!

Do Your Research – Start planning as soon as you can, whether it be for a short weekend trip or a week-long trip. The sooner you start planning, the more opportunities you’ll find for discounts.

1. Resources to use when researching the city or area you’ll be visiting

Chamber of Commerce – Visit their website or call the Chamber of Commerce directly
Convention & Visitor Bureau’s website (just google “Dallas Convention & Visitor’s Bureau” for example). Great resource for general information, kid-friendly activities, coupons/deals & more
Facebook Pages – Try the “Discover” pages. Ex: Discover Atlanta, Discover New York; or “365 Things to do in Seattle” (or you name the town). You’ll find not only the popular sights to see, but also readers will provide their favorite off-the-beaten path places to visit.

2. Make list of top places to visit

Wish List - Once you’ve done your research, then come up with your wish list of sights to see, sporting events, restaurants, parks, beaches, etc
Make this a family affair – get your kids involved in the planning & deciding what they’d like to do on vacation.

3. Look for Discounts

Buy an Entertainment Book - Currently $15 with FREE shipping. You’ll find discounts for hotel, car rental, airlines, Buy 1 Get 1 Free coupons for restaurants, sporting events, museums/children’s museums, zoos, aquariums, science centers
CityPass.com - They offer 5-6 top sightseeing sights in a package deal which is up to 50% off admission prices. Valid for 9 days (14 days in Southern CA). Decide whether this would be a good deal for your family or not – how many of the places were you wanting to go to? Or is it a better deal to look for individual discounts?
Websites – Check out the specific websites for the attractions, sporting events, museums, hotels, & more. May have web-only specials or special discount/free days (ex: Museums often offer a FREE day 1 day or night/month. Also, sign up for E-Newsletters to be notified of special promotions, discounts & more.
Follow the businesses/attractions on Facebook & Twitter - often post one-day deals or specials for their fans
Sign up for the daily emails for group-buying sites . These sites offer 1 Day deals with 50-90% off discounts for restaurants, sightseeing tours, memberships to zoos, aquariums, hotel discounts & more
Here are a few of the top group buying sites:
Tippr
Groupon
Living Social
Savvy Source – Offer 50% savings on admission/memberships to Children’s Museums & more; in 5 cities currently w/a new city added each week (Seattle, LA, San Francisco Bay area, Philadelphia & Dallas/Ft Worth)
Reciprocal Membership Programs at museums, zoos, science centers - If you have an annual membership to your local museum, zoo,science center – check to see if they are part of a Reciprocal Membership program where you can get FREE admission to zoos, aquariums & more around the country. Go on the website or call them to find out.
Military Discounts - Blue Star Museum Program – Free admission for active-duty military & their families to over 600 museums nationwide this summer (Memorial Day-Labor Day 2010); Also, make sure to ask about military discounts anywhere you go.
National Park Pass – America the Beautiful annual pass – $80 for up to 4 adults & kids 16 & under are free. Good deal if you’ll be going to a number of parks throughout this year.
Restaurant.com Certificates - You can buy $25 gift certificates for just $10. Look up restaurants for the cities you’ll be visiting. Even better, sign up for their updates & they often have sales – right now they have an 80% off sale -making the gift cards just $2 for a $25 gift certificate. Use the coupon code: FLAG (this code is valid thru May 31, 2010)

4. Free / Inexpensive Places to go with your Kids on Vacation:

Find out about local festivals & fairs - free entertainment, lots of food options, games/activities for kids
City, County or State Parks – Find ones near rivers, lakes, ocean beaches. Check for free events going on while you’re there – nature walks, guided hikes, etc
Family-friendly hikes – Check with your Chamber of Commerce or the National Park or National Forest offices
Go to the waterfront, beach, walking the boardwalk

5. Ways to Save Money on Food:

Save $$ on food to save up for a few special meals or put the money you save towards more fun attractions & events!

Cooler in the car - Bring a big cooler if traveling by car. Pack a portable backpack cooler or get a styrofoam cooler if traveling by air to your destination. Bring lunch meat, peanut butter & jelly, bread, cheese sticks, fruit, juice boxes. Don’t forget wipes & napkins!
Water - Bring packs of water for road trips (cheaper than stopping at convenience stores). Or bring reusable water bottles by car or air & fill up throughout the day
Stop at rest stops versus convenience stores – means less impulse-buying!
Choose hotels with free breakfast or eat breakfast in your room. Bring cereal & buy milk at the store-use with paper cups. Or bring instant oatmeal & use the coffee pot for water.
Switch & have sandwiches for a picnic dinner at the park – then make lunch your bigger meal out (less expensive than dinner)

6. Ways to Save Money on Lodging:

Use travel sites such as Travelocity, Hotwire, Kayak, & Priceline
Hotel Website - Go to the specific hotel’s website & look for web-only special & sign up for their newsletter. Also, follow on Facebook & Twitter
Ebates & Shop At Home – Book your hotel (& airfare) thru Ebates or Shop At Home to get cash-back on your purchases
Camp to save the most money on lodging & food

KOA campgrounds – tent & RV camping, cabins, lodges. Often offer pools, playgrounds, planned activities for kids. Check out the the KOA website under the “Hot Deals” section. And consider the Rewards card for $24/yr – earn points towards free stays.
County, State or National Park campgrounds

A big thanks to Lora from Cascadia Kids (a wonderful, informative resource for families traveling around the NW) for many helpful travel tips! Also, thank you to all the Facebook fans who provided the great travel suggestions, too!

Photo Credit: George’s Optical

Tags: Money saving tips, summer, travel

Watch Me on 24/7 Moms Web Show Tonight!!

May 25, 2010 by Jen
Filed under Money saving tips

Rite Aid Wellness Program

May 22, 2010 by Jen
Filed under Rite Aid

2 Comments

Do you know about Rite Aid’s new Wellness Program? This is a fairly new loyalty card program for Rite Aid that you’ll definitely want to sign up for, as you’ll receive special members-only coupons, discounts on purchases, & much more! Just make sure to carry your card with you & use it at the register when you pay for your items. Whether you’re a seasoned Rite Aid shopper or someone who just goes into Rite Aid occasionally – it’s definitely worthwhile to sign up for the Rite Aid Wellness Card & keep the card in your wallet to receive special members only benefits.

You can sign up online HERE & then your Wellness card will be sent within 2-4 weeks. Once you sign up online, you’ll be able to print a $5 off $25 Rite Aid store coupon. Then, you’ll also receive an email with over $50 in coupons.

The great thing is that you don’t need to do anything to receive these coupons & discounts & points towards rewards. Just hand them your card when you checkout.

Check out all of these great benefits for being a member of the Rite Aid Wellness program:

-Members only pricing, with up to 20% off discounts on your purchases when you use your Wellness card

-10% off on Rite Aid brand products every day when using your Wellness card

-Earn one point for every dollar you spend on non-prescription purchases (your purchase amount counts before using coupons, which can bring your total down much lower!)

-Earn 25 points for every prescription you purchase (prescriptions filled in NY/NJ are not eligible)

-24/7 Access to a pharmacist when you call 1-800-RITEAID

-Receive periodic emails with Rite Aid coupons & discounts, as well as possible coupons at the bottom of your Rite Aid receipts.

The great thing is that the Wellness card is in addition to Rite Aid’s Single Check Rebate (SCR) program, where you can earn rebates on your purchases every month. There is also a new Wellness+UP Rewards program coming at the beginning of June. It sounds like this will include additional reward coupons that will print at the register when you use your Wellness card & purchase particular products (as mentioned in the ads or on tags throughout the store). Here’s more info from For the Mommas about the +UP rewards program.

Thanks Fabulessly Frugal!

Tags: Rite Aid

Tacoma Moms Nite Out Event – Welcome New Readers!

May 7, 2010 by Jen
Filed under Uncategorized

1 Comment

What a fun time we had at the Tacoma Mall Moms Nite Out event last night! The Tacoma Mall, Showcase Magazine & 24/7 Moms all did a fabulous job of providing a great event for moms of all ages. I had such a great time meeting so many Thrifty NW Mom readers at the event & connecting with you face-to-face & hearing about your money-saving tips & experiences. Many of you also had the opportunity to meet my blogger pal, Abby from Steals & Deals – you’ll definitely want to check out her site as she does a great job of finding all sorts of savings online & in the stores!

And a big welcome to all of you who I met last night who are new to Thrifty NW Mom! I hope you’ll find this site a great resource for bargains & money-saving tips for the NW as well as all areas of the country. You can learn more about me & what this site is all about HERE. And I will be posting the winners of our 4 giveaways in the next post!!

Here are a few ways to get you started on staying up-to-date on the latest bargains & tips that I’ll be sharing here:

Subscribe HERE and receive a daily email newsletter with all of the posts I share on the site. This is sent out once a day in the morning with all of the articles I’ve posted in the last 24 hours.
Subscribe using an RSS feed reader HERE (such as Google reader, yahoo reader & more). You’ll receive updates in your feed reader within a half hour of them being posted on the site. This is great for those coupons, freebies & online deals that are time-sensitive & you need to act quickly to take advantage.
Join the Thrifty NW Mom Facebook page - just head on over HERE & “like” the page. You’ll then start receiving the updates in your Facebook News Feed. I post most articles on the Facebook page, especially those deals that will go fast – so you can find out about them right away. This is also a great resource to check periodically throughout the day as many readers share their tips & bargains that they’ve found as well as fun giveaways.
Follow me on Twitter & you’ll see the same updates I post on Facebook – plus you might learn a little more about my personal life on there as I share interesting tidbits about my day!

Here are just a few pictures from the Thrifty NW Mom table at the event last night (unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to leave the booth to take pictures of the other great things happening at the event!) ! Thanks to Abby & my friend Missy for help setting everything up!

Abby from Steals & Deals & Me

Tags: Events, local, northwest

National Moms Nite Out – Tacoma Mall – Thursday May 6th!

April 25, 2010 by Jen
Filed under Events, NW Info, Uncategorized

1 Comment

There’s an exciting event coming up at the Tacoma Mall on Thursday May 6th that you’ll want to make sure to put on your calendars now! This is the 2nd year for the National Moms’ Nite Out event with parties being held across the country & this year the Tacoma Mall is hosting this FREE event for moms to celebrate motherhood! It’s taking place on the Thursday before Mother’s Day as a chance to celebrate moms by having a fun girls night out filled with pampering, shopping, yummy food & great prizes! It’s your chance to leave the kids at home with daddy or a babysitter & you can get out for a well-deserved break!!

This event will take place on Thursday May 6th from 5:30-8:30pm in the Macy’s Courtyard at Tacoma Mall. There will be goody bags for the first 200 guests as well as numerous prize giveaways taking place throughout the night! Trisha Novotny from 24/7 Moms & Showcase Magazine will be co-hosting this event. You can find more details HERE.

This is sure to be a fabulous event & I’m excited to be joining in the fun with a Thrifty NW Mom table at the party!! I’d love to meet you – so make sure to mark this down on your calendar & come visit me at the Moms’ Nite Out event! I’ll have some great giveaways going on that you won’t want to miss!

Here’s all you can expect at this event:

Gift bags for the first 200 people
Live demonstrations
Fun interactive activities
Free prize giveaways
Discounted shopping from participating retailers
Live entertainment
Yummy Food

There are actually over 80 Simon Malls across the country participating in this National Moms Nite Out event – so if you’re not in this area, don’t worry – there’s most likely an event going on near you! Go HERE to find an event near you!

Tags: Events, local, northwest

St Patrick’s Day Freebies – Baja Fresh, Redbox, Free Irish music, & more

March 16, 2010 by Jen
Filed under Holiday, Redbox, Restaurant Deals, Uncategorized, freebies

1 Comment

Tomorrow is St Patrick’s Day, so here are some freebies for you:

Baja Fresh – Become a Facebook Fan of Baja Fresh and then print off the full-page coupon (instructions are found on Baja Fresh’s wall). You can get a FREE burrito (with purchase of a large beverage) for bringing in the FB coupon and wearing green tomorrow for St Patrick’s Day.

Find a Baja Fresh location near you. It looks like there are several in WA and a number of restaurants in OR.

Redbox - Don’t forget to become a Facebook fan of Redbox to receive your FREE rental tomorrow for St Patrick’s Day. Only good for tomorrow. Once you become a fan, click on “Fan Freebie” to get your unique code.

Parades – Find a list of local St Patrick’s Day parades. It looks like Cashmere, WA (central WA) is the only place in WA having a parade on St Patty’s Day. There are 2 in OR-Portland & Corvallis (Thanks Penny Pinchin Mom)

Music – FREE St. Patricks Day Sampler from Amazon

St Patrick’s Day Card – FREE printable card for kids for St Patrick’s Day from Disney

E-Book - FREE St Patrick’s Day crafts, recipes & decorations E-book

Coloring Pages - FREE St Patrick’s Day Coloring Pages

RECIPES:

Green Lunch Ideas for St Patrick’s Day

Rainbow Cupcakes (check out the FB fan page for pictures that a FB fan took of her Rainbow cupcakes she made for her grandchildren. They look delicious!)

Green (Pistachio) Cake

Mint Brownies

Tags: freebies, holidays, Redbox, Restaurant