It is my Birthday Week and I am so excited! My Birthday is tomorrow, January 26th and I will be turning “The Great Twenty-Eight!” I love my birthday so much because it is the only time of the year when it is all about ME, LOL. I also love the fact that I can get all of my family & close friends together, that I rarely get to see. What probably excites me the most, is getting coupons/discounts yearly.
Listen, I am ALL for bargains, coupons, discounts, deals, gift cards, etc. So, for the past 4-5 years, when my birthday rolls around, I get excited to check my emails. WHY? Well because, my email is full of birthday coupons from over 100 restaurants, fast food chains, clothing stores, etc. This may not excite you but it excites me going to places like Fogo De Chao, Benihana, Kona Grill and spending less than $20. If you know me you know two things, one is I love FOOD, two is I love DEALS! Everything I do is purchased at a discount or deal. People frequently ask how I can eat out so often, and it is honestly because I am using some sort of discount. I am a bargain shopper, coupon queen in the grocery store, and discount deal eater, LOL! It is out there for us to use, so why not use it? I am always asked to share via email how I can do so, so I figured I would share so you all can have it to refer to. I will share how to get things for your birthday, all year round, and other details.
Birthday Freebie List
Freebie Depot, 59 Birthday Freebies & Retail Me Not – 39 Birthday Freebies are the HOLY GRAIL to free birthday items and so much more. I have to admit it is very time-consuming to sign up for all of these places, but you will be happy you did it. I was sent the birthday freebies list from a co-worker four years ago, and on my free time I signed up for every place I liked and even signed up for places I was interested in and had never been to. Then my emails continuously were flooded with coupons and discount codes all year round. You must sign up for their mailing list/rewards programs, before your birthday because some places will not trigger if your birthday is close or has already passed. It is best to do this at least a month before your actual birthday, to ensure you will get all the deals. Once you sign up, and your birthday comes around they will send you an offer for your birthday. Throughout the year, they will send other offers as well (this really depends on who you sign up with.). What I like about the freebies list is that it tells you what the benefits are signing up for that particular place. So for example, at Benihana you get a free $30 certificate for your birthday, and it gives you the detail right next to the place you are interested in. You will not have to waste your time if it is something you do not see your self even wanting.
Apps
Downloading apps may seem like a headache because it will clog up your storage on your phone, but it is actually rewarding. Most establishments send coupons, AND discounts frequently if you have their app downloaded. Most send something for your birthday as well. If you pay for your items using the app, it tracks it and you build up points to earn discounts, or sometimes even FREE items. For example, my favorite food apps are Chick-Fil-A and Starbucks. Both give you “points” that will later go towards a reward, depending on how often you go. I am a Starbucks gold member because of this and they give you stars when you purchase items using the app. They also send you a free item once you have gotten 125 stars and something for your birthday as well. I love to download apps just to purchase my food through them, and earns rewards. It is worth it, you get free food items! Signing up for their mailing list and being a rewards member will also tie into the app, and help with earning more rewards as well. Download all of your favorite food places/clothing stores and earn rewards now, Thank Me Later!
Surveys
I know most of you throw away your receipts, but I don’t. I snatch up everyone’s receipts because I love to do the surveys on them and they don’t, lol. My favorite surveys are from Chick-Fil-A (free sandwich), Subway (free cookie), Smashburger (a free side with a purchase of an entree), Old Navy (10% off of your next purchase), just to name a few. Several companies have surveys on the bottom of their receipts because they want to know how they’re doing, but they know for you to tell them, you have to benefit from it. So from now on wherever you go, DO NOT THROW AWAY YOUR RECEIPTS! If it does not have a survey on the bottom then yes throw it away, but a majority have surveys. So keep them, fill them out online, store them in an envelope when you’re not using them and then throw them away when you use them to redeem your item.
Survey Mini
One of my favorite apps is Survey Mini. It requires that you turn on your location and picks up wherever you go. It basically reads your location and asks you to “survey” the place you just visited. Once you reach a certain level of points, you can earn coupons/discounts, and my all-time favorite, GIFT CARDS. So I complete the surveys as they come in, build up my points and get gift cards to places like Bath and Body Works, Victoria’s Secret, Olive Garden, Marshalls, Home Goods, etc. These are all places I have gotten gift cards for so far. This is such an easy way to earn gift cards, just by completing surveys.
Coupons.com
This is a website for coupons for grocery shopping basically. There are food items and household items on this website you can use. This helps me get groceries and household items at discounted prices along with coupon inserts that come in the mail, or in your weekly newspaper. I will have a class on this type of couponing soon.
Groupon
Groupon is one of my favorite apps. From travel to adventure to food or leisure, Groupon has it. If you want to do anything check to see if it is on Groupon first before purchasing anything. Everything I do is listed on Groupon. Sign up HERE if you haven’t already, you can receive $10 off your first purchase. I recently went with a group of friends to Spa Castle in Carrollton, which is a few miles outside of Dallas. We only spent $30 each for admission by using Groupon.
The few pictures above do not do it any justice. It was so AMAZING! When we arrived, we just knew we would only stay inside for the heated pools and drinks. We went the first weekend in January and the temperature was below 50 degrees. Afterwhile, it became too hot inside and we decided to go outside. The pools and jacuzzis outside were heated but the temperatures were higher. It was actually super relaxing outside in the heated pools. I am glad I did experience everything Spa Castle had to offer.
This was the most inexpensive, relaxing and enjoyable thing I have done in a LONG TIME. My friends kept questioning why I wanted to go to a spa in Dallas and after visiting they loved it as well, LOL. There was a selection of so many pools and jacuzzis to relax in, there is a spa upstairs for any other specialties you may want (massages, facials, pedicures, etc.)
There was a bar on the first level and a food concession stand. You get a wristband with a number that connects you to two lockers (one for your belongings, the other for your shoes), and it allows you to pay for any items you may want in the facility. This helps with not bringing your wallet or cards around. You can use this wristband for any services you may want on the second level as well. Once you leave for the day, you turn in your wristband and pay everything before leaving. The fact that you only pay $30 to get in is what I love about Groupon! The normal price of Spa Castle on weekends is $50 plus tax. I love Groupon because of this, so many deals where you can save money and still enjoy yourself! Groupon does have “expiration dates,” on when you can use the deals, but the amount paid never expires. It would be left up to the vendor what options you can utilize if your Groupon ever expires. Another thing about Groupon is that deals vary from time to time, and you have to catch it while you can!
As time goes by, I will update this with more deals that I get, so bookmark this post. And, with all this info I gave yall for free, make sure yall hook me up with something too, lol.
Comments