Couponing for the Rest of Us

Gutzy Gear Event : School Supply Donation with the Kiddos! #payingitforwardisgutzy

 

Recently, I had the honor of participating in an event with Gutzy Gear to provide a child with a backpack and school supplies. Gutzy gave each of the participating bloggers $25 to purchase a backpack and school supplies for a child in need.  Gutzy Gear also provided super cool backpack straps and patches. 

 

I ended up getting such a great deal on a backpack, I was also able to purchase a lunch box and pencil bag. 

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Since I wasn’t familiar with Gutzy Gear before this event I snapped a pic of the back of the box of patches to show you some of the different products.  My kids were so excited when the Gutzy Gear arrived in the mail.  I was their hero for all of 15 seconds……until they realized that the patches weren’t theirs.  Once I explained that the Gutzy Gear would be going with a backpack and school supplies that they could help me pack and donate for a needy child, they were very excited. 

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I hit up the Target clearance aisle for the school supplies.  I was excited to find such a great deal on the backpack and lunchbox.  Knowing how much my son loves Star Wars, I wish I could be a fly on the wall when this little boy gets his backpack!

Here’s what I bought:

  • Back Pack
  • Lunch Box
  • Pencil Bag
  • Pk of Pencils
  • Pk of Pens
  • 2 Pks of Glue Sticks
  • Pencil Eraser
  • Scissors
  • Pencil Sharpener
  • Tissues
  • Hand Sanitizer
  • Notebook Paper
  • 2 Notebooks
  • Pk of Erasers

 

I took my kiddos with me to donate the backpack to the Caring Place.  They were proud as little peacocks, and insisted that they hand deliver the backpack:)  Ya’ll know we are all about being purposeful givers here at Time 2 $ave.  Makes my heart happy to see my children so excited to GIVE.  They asked a lot of questions and were very curious as to why a kid would need school supplies. It was difficult for them to understand that some parents just can’t afford it.  It opened the door for us to talk about why, and how important it is to treat all children the same no matter what they have.  Although we talk about giving all the time, donating a backpack with school supplies seemed to really hit home to them. 

Disclosure:  This event was sponsored by Gutzy Gear and powered by Madame Deals Media.  Gutzy provided me with $25 to use toward purchasing school supplies as well as Gutzy Gear Products.  All opinions and experiences are my own.  See my full disclosure policy here.


Filed Under: Time 2 Give Tagged With: , , ,
September 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Don’t Forget to Check your Pantry & Owl City’s Photo Montage Video #childhunger

 

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Over the past couple of months I have posted about the ConAgra Foods Child Hunger Ends Here campaign several times.  It’s honorable when a brand steps up to help end and raise awareness of child hunger. Nationwide 1 in 5 children are food insecure, meaning they don’t know where their next meal is coming from.  If you missed any of my previous posts here’s a link to two of my favorites here, and here.

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As I was reaching in the pantry tonight to gather ingredients to make homemade salsa and chicken fajitas (YUMMY- I’ll post pics and the recipe soon) I realized I still had a couple of cans of Hunt’s products with the push pen logo and code that I had not entered.  GASP – I Can’t believe I forgot!  I could have kicked myself, as the deadline to enter codes ends on August 31, 2012. I had four cans in my pantry which means I almost missed out on the opportunity to help ConAgra donate 4 meals.   I figured if I had cans still in my pantry and I’m a Child Hunger Ends Here Ambassador then there is a good chance that some of ya’ll do too.  I don’t know about you but I don’t want to miss this super easy opportunity to feed a hungry child.

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So…….real quick, take a break and run in the kitchen and glance over your canned food and frozen items.  Look for the pushpin logo (see my pantry above) and code on the back/side.  If you find any cans or frozen items still lurking around grab them and bring them back to your computer.  Go to the Child Hunger Ends Here site here and look for the image below to enter your code/s.  It’s that simple; for every code you enter ConAgra donates one meal.

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You’ll get to download the song “Here’s Hope” preformed by Jewel, Owl City or Jay Sean each time you enter a code from a participating ConAgra product.  Thanks so much ya’ll!  I feel so blessed that our Time 2 $ave Community has such an amazing heart to give and make a difference in the lives of others.  .
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Again, don’t forget to enter all of the 8-digit codes found on the back and sides of specially marked packages at ChildHungerEndsHere.com

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Recently, Owl City rallied their followers to help raise awareness of child hunger by asking, “What surprises you about child hunger?” ConAgra Foods asked their facebook fans to post photos in response to Owl City’s question. Check out the video above of the photos and comments that were submitted.

You can also follow the discussion on facebook here. You can also tweet along by following www.twitter.com/ConAgraFoods using #ChildHunger.

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I am a blogger correspondent for ConAgra’s Child Hunger Ends Here campaign. Opinions and experiences shared here are my own.

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Filed Under: Time 2 Give Tagged With: , ,
August 24, 2012 by 1 Comment

Coupons and Giving: Where do you like to give?

Being a couponer means being able to stockpile things at their lowest price -  the unexpected bonus being that you suddenly have enough extra that you can give some away.  We’ve talked before about some of our favorite places to give – but we’d love to hear some of YOUR favorite places to give!  First, lets take a look at some great ways to give…

The following excerpt is taken from Kasey’s article on giving for Scripps Media services:

Giving can be anything you want it to be for your family. The reality is no matter how you choose to give, the act has the power to bless you in amazing ways.  To get started, here are some examples of items to buy and places that always need help:

■ Grocery/personal care items/household items: food banks, homeless shelters, battered women’s shelters, local church pantries, Salvation Army, United Way

■ Pet food: animal shelters, churches

■ School supplies: schools, day care centers, Salvation Army, churches

■ Baby items: teen pregnancy centers, food banks, homeless shelters, battered women’s shelters, churches, Salvation Army, United Way

Other ideas for giving back:

■ Help homeless people: Make bags of personal care items such as a toothbrush, toothpaste, nonperishable food such as snack crackers, ChapStick, shampoo, etc. Keep the bags in your car, and distribute them as the need arises.

■ Adopt a U.S. soldier: Send care packages filled with some of these items: Gatorade, Crystal Light, beef jerky, beef sausage, canned meats, candy, chocolate, cookies, gum, mints, aspirin, cough drops, dental floss, disposable razors, Kleenex, Neosporin, mouthwash (without alcohol), ChapStick, batteries, pens, local newspapers/comics.

■ Be ready to respond to a natural disaster: Collect items such as water, personal hygiene items, baby wipes, diapers, nonperishable food items, feminine hygiene products, toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning supplies, pet food and cough drops.

And check out these other posts on giving:

  • Include Your Kids in Giving – HERE
  • Unconventional ways to give, the Gas Stations!? – HERE
  • Ways to give during the holidays – 2 Video Posts HERE

So, let’s hear it – what are your favorite ways to give?

Filed Under: Time 2 Give
August 22, 2012 by 2 Comments

Time 2 Give: Reader, Joy, donates 10 Shampoos to Homeless Shelter

We all know that coupons can help us save money on things our own families need – but if you’ve ever stocked up on a great deal, you’ll realize that when you have enough (and often more than enough) of something, it makes it easy to give it away!  Giving, in fact, is a large part of why we continue to coupon through good weeks and bad.  Having that opportunity to go from a place of need to a position of helping others is a real blessing.

Whether you take extra school supplies to school, bring boxes of non-perishables to the church food pantry, or drop off toiletries to the women’s shelter – we want to support you and tell your story here!  To encourage all you “extreme givers” out there – we’re starting a new segment featuring stories of couponers who make a practice of giving, rather than hoarding, their surplus supplies.

This week, for instance, reader Joy commented that she had been to CVS to get (10) Herbal Essence shampoos and a box of Puff’s for around $5 at CVS.  She was even able to mail in her receipt for the $5 P&G Rebate we metioned here.  I actually emailed her to ask if she would send me a picture of her great haul, and this was her apologetic response:

So sorry! I already donated it to a local homeless mission.

 

That stopped me in my tracks this rainy Thursday afternoon.  Joy – if you’re still reading – we just want to say how AWESOME you are!  It’s a great reminder that I have too much shampoo sitting around my house as well :)

We’d love to feature a story of giving through couponing in your life – if you’d be willing to share, please email us at time2saveworkshops (at) gmail (dot) com!

Filed Under: Time 2 Give
August 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment

CVS: FREE Hair Accessories Set!

I stopped by CVS tonight to pick up my FREE Hershey’s Chocolate and FREE Makeup Wipes, and I got a coupon from the scanner for $1/1 Hair Accessories.  I roamed around a bit and everything was around $4 – until I got to the Dollar Aisle.  Check out what I found – this little girls’ hair accessories set full of 100 ponytailers/barettes/whatnots for $1.  The scanner coupon made it totally FREE!

While I have 4 boys, this is something cute I can put aside for the Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes or as part of an Angel Tree gift this coming Christmas.  Couponing is so great when it gives you things you can give to others – what a fun bonus!

Have you been able to pick up something to donate recently?  What was it?

Filed Under: CVS, Time 2 Give
July 13, 2012 by 2 Comments

#ChildHunger: Schools Out for the Summer but Child Hunger Isn’t

hunger free

 

School is out, and it’s officially S U M M E R T I M E!  Many of us are planning vacation getaways with our families and other fun family activities.   It’s so easy to get busy and forget about needs around us, especially since daily school routine has been interrupted with promises of summertime fun.  In reality, during the summer months free and discounted school lunches are gone. Therefore, the number of children are food insecure is even greater.

 

This summer, approximately 18 million children will face a greater risk of hunger while they’re out of school. During the school year, almost 21 million children depend on free or reduced-price school meals to help keep them from going hungry. But only 2.3 million children are enrolled in similar summer meal programs.1

(from http://www.hungerfreesummertour.org/)

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The past couple of months, I have posted several times about the ConAgra Foods Child Hunger Ends Here campaign as one of their blogger ambassadors. I’ve include links below to a couple of my favorite posts!  Remember, all you have to do is enter the codes on the back of participating ConAgra products online and ConAgra will donate a meal.

Child Hunger Ends Here- 3 Ways to Include Your Kids in Giving

ConAgra- Child Hunger Ends Here! We can all help by entering

ConAgra Child Hunger Ends Here- Enter Codes to Donate Meals!

 

All you have to do is enter the codes on the back of participating ConAgra products online and ConAgra will donate a meal. If you have codes that you haven’t entered yet you’ve still got time!  Codes will be accepted up to a maximum of 3 million meal donations or until 8/31/2012

 

You can make a difference by purchasing participating ConAgra products at your local grocery store. Look for the push pin logo, and enter the code online at Child Hunger Ends Here. For every code entered, ConAgra will donate the equivalent of one meal.

You can also follow the discussion at www.facebook.com/ConAgraFoods, or tweet along by following www.twitter.com/ConAgraFoods and using #ChildHunger.

 

I am a blogger correspondent for ConAgra’s Child Hunger Ends Here campaign. Opinions and experiences shared here are my own.

 

1 U.S. Department of Agriculture/FNS

Filed Under: Keepin' It Real, Time 2 Give Tagged With: ,
June 8, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Dollar General: $.60 Suave Bodywash!

Remember that awesome $.75/1 Suave Bodywash coupon available to print?  Well here’s yet another deal to use it on!

Dollar General has Suave Body Wash for just $1.85 each.
Use the $.75/1 Coupon HERE
Stack with the $1/2 DG Store Coupon HERE
(makes it $.60 ea!)

This is a great donation item – so if you can afford to pick up an extra to donate – keep that in mind!

- Thanks, FrugalFabulousFinds!

 

Filed Under: Dollar General, New! Printables, Time 2 Give
June 5, 2012 by 1 Comment

Child Hunger Ends Here: 3 Ways to Include Your Kids in Giving

 

Last week, The Cleveland Daily Banner featured an article about our involvement as a blog ambassador with ConAgra Foods and the Child Hunger Ends Here Campaign.  Ya’ll know we are passionate about giving to others, especially since couponing affords us the opportunity to “Save Big so we can Give Bigger.”

I always knew there were needs in my community, however since I have been involved in the Child Hunger Ends Here campaign my eyes have been opened.  Nationwide, 1 in 5 children are food insecure meaning they don’t know where their next meal is coming from.  In my county, the need is even greater 1 in 3 children.

Wow.  1 in 3 children where I live don’t know where their next meal is coming from?

I can’t imagine, my son wants a snack between snacks……….

 

 

Not only do I think it’s important to include my kids each time we pick out an item to donate, I think it’s important that they know someone sitting right next to them may not know where their next meal is coming from.

I want them to learn empathy, and the importance of looking beyond themselves to see the needs of others.  If I don’t teach them, their view will be based on what they see with their eyes.   To them, hunger and needy will be those on the side of the interstate holding a sign.  It will be the homeless, laying down on a park bench.

Reality.  1 in 3 children where my children play, go to church, participate in sports, etc. are hungry.  It’s up to me to teach them, it’s up to me to show them what compassion for others looks like, it’s up to me to show them we can help, we can make a difference.

 

 

How?  It starts with awareness.  I challenge you, to talk to your kids about child hunger.  Don’t know where to start?  Find out what the stats are in your community.  Educate yourself.

Did you know……..

Children who struggle with hunger face additional problems, such as:

  • Slower growth and inhibited brain development
  • More illnesses, including stomachaches, headaches, colds, ear infections and fatigue
  • Greater susceptibility to obesity and its harmful health consequences
  • Lower concentration and alertness in school
  • Lower academic achievement

Stats – from Consequenses of Child Hunger

 

 

Here’s how to find the child hunger stats in your county:

  1. Click here, then look for the image above – click “See how many children are affected in your county.”
  2. Click your state to see the overall stats.  I live in TN – 17.6% of children are food insecure.  Right around the corner in GA 19.9% are food insecure.
  3. Hover your mouse over the county you live in, talk to your kids about this number.

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Now, go one step further.  Do something.
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Feed a hungry child, with your children.
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It’s as simple as entering a code from a participating ConAgra product online.  (go here for a list of participating products)  Look for the push pin like in the image above for the code.  ConAgra will donate a meal, for every code entered up to the equivilant of 5 million meals.   Depending on how old your children are, walk them through the process from picking up the ConAgra products at the grocery store that qualify to actually entering the code online once you get home.  If they own the experience, it will make a greater impact on their hearts.
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After your kids enter the code, they’ll get to download a copy of the song, Here’s Hope written for the campaign by their choice of artist, either Jewel, Owl City or Jay Sean.
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Not only will our kids feel like they got special time with mommy (depending on their age) but together you took the time to make a difference in someone else’s world.  It’s what giving is all about, looking beyond our desires to invest in someone else’s life.
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But.  Don’t let it end there.
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Each time you go to the grocery store, include your kids.  Let them pick out the donation item.  Every week there are items at the grocery store that are free or super cheap.  There’s no reason, not to pick up an item or two.  Your kids will love it, you will be doing something every time you shop that WILL make a difference.
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We make it easy for you.  Every week we post a Time 2 Give list, that includes all of the items in our grocery and drug store matchups that are $1 and under.  Look for your store, then ask your kids to help pick out the donation item.  Depending on their age, if it’s a printable coupon let them cut it out.  If the coupon is in your binder, ask your kids to grab it.  Give them an envelope and put them in charge.  Once you get to the grocery store, allow them to pick the item off the shelf and hand over the coupon to the cashier.
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It will take a little extra effort on your part, but the lessons your children will be learning are invaluable.  After all, couponing it’s just about getting a deal, it’s about making a dfference!
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You can make a difference by purchasing participating ConAgra products at your local grocery store. Look for the push pin logo, and enter the code online at Child Hunger Ends Here. For every code entered, ConAgra will donate the equivalent of one meal. Codes will be accepted up to a maximum of 3 million meal donations or until 8/31/2012. If you missed our previous post about Child Hunger Ends Here click the following links here and here.

You can also follow the discussion at www.facebook.com/ConAgraFoods, or tweet along by following www.twitter.com/ConAgraFoods and using #ChildHunger.

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I am a blogger correspondent for ConAgra’s Child Hunger Ends Here campaign. Opinions and experiences shared here are my own.

 

Filed Under: Keepin' It Real, Time 2 Give
May 25, 2012 by 3 Comments
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