Happy Halloween everyone! Here are some great Halloween freebies just for you today. Get your costume on and go and grab some free stuff at your local restaurants and stores around town.

For All Ages:

Caribou Coffee – BOGO drinks! Print or show on your cell phone

Chipotle - Dress up as something inspired by “family farms” and show up between 6PM and closing tonight and get a BOO-rito bowl, salad or order of Tacos for only $2.00 (regular price is around five bucks for these so quite a deal) – participating locations only.

Krispy Kreme – Don your Halloween costume and get a free doughnut. Choose from a Halloween or Pumpkin Spice doughnut.

Sonic Dive-Ins – 50¢ corn dogs between 5-10 PM tonight only!

Steak ‘n Shake – 1/2 price milkshakes with this printable coupon

T.G.I. Friday’s - Come in costume and get a free appetizer. There is also a costume contest starting at 9PM for a chance to win a $50 Best Buy gift card

Which Wich – Get a free just out of the oven cookie with this printable coupon.

For The Kids:

Applebee’s – Kids 10 and under eat free when accompanied by an adult, limit 2 free kids meals per adult entree.

Boston Market – Print this printable coupon for a free kids meal with any adult meal purchase.

Bass Pro Shops – Is having some great Halloween fun today too with Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang. See link for details.

Beef-O-Brady’s – Kids in costume receive a free kids meal per purchase of adult meal.

Build-A-Bear – Your child and bear can come in costume and get free virtual codes and free samples of Quaker Chewy Smashbar

Brunswick Bowling Centers – Ages 15 and under can redeem these free printable coupons for a free game of bowling. The coupons are good from today, October 31st, through November 23rd.

Chili’s - Kids eat free with every adult entree purchase all day today!

CiCi’s Pizza – Print off this printable coupon and kids in costume get a free kids buffet with purchase of adult buffet.

Friendly’s - Kids in costume receive a free ice cream cone!

Hometown Buffet – Kids 12 and under, in costume, after 5 PM eat free. Limit 2 free kids meals per paying adult.

McDonald’s – Have your kids trick-or-treat at your local McDonald’s and they will get free apple slices. This is valid for kids 12 and under.

Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes – Kids 12 and under in costume eat free with the purchase of an adult meal.

Tijuana Flats – Kids in costume eat free all day with adult meal purchase. PLUS kids get a free trick-or-treat bag.

Do you know of a great Halloween freebie or deal that I missed? Let me know in the comments! And have a very happy Halloween everyone! Stay safe!

Tags: Halloween, Halloween Deals, Halloween Freebies, Kids Eat Free, Kids Eat Free Halloween
Posted in Deals, Freebies | 1 Comment »

Halloween can be sort of an expensive holiday, what with the cost of costumes, decorations, candy and whatnot. And while the traditional Halloween pumpkin for Jack-O-Lanterns is not usually the most expensive item on the list there are ways to cut the cost down some, and in this economy every penny counts.

Skip the Pumpkin Patch

Yes it is really fun and sort of a tradition to take the kids out to the local pumpkin patch and do the corn mazes, take pictures sitting on hay bales, taking a hay ride, drinking cups of hot apple cider, bobbing for apples and picking out your own pumpkin straight from the patch. However, most of the time the cost for all those extras are usually figured into the cost of the pumpkin thus the cost per pound is often twice the cost per pound of what you can find in your local grocery stores. Now mind you, the local pumpkin patches are usually small local farmers and by buying your pumpkins through them you are supporting your local economy. While most grocery store pumpkins are grown by large corporate farmers. It is a choice to make. A middle ground might be to see if local farmers offer their pumpkins at a local farmers market instead; the cost may be lower since there is not as much overhead as there is at a fancy patch with tons of extras.

Buy at the Grocery Store

If money is tight the best bang for your buck is going to be commercially grown pumpkins sold at the big chain grocery stores. Prices will vary depending on where you live and what this year’s weather conditions were like. But pound for pound this is usually the cheapest way to go. Last year for example I spotted pumpkins for 18¢ a pound, while this year’s prices are higher (due to bad weather in most parts of the country) at around 28¢ a pound in my neck of the woods.

Opt For a Fake Pumpkin

If pulling out the “guts” and seeds of a real pumpkin grosses you out or you don’t like the idea of buying a food item, carving a face into it and then tossing it the day after Halloween. Then purchasing a fake pumpkin is an affordable alternative. Faux pumpkins come in a wide variety of sizes, colors and shapes these days and also in a wide price range. I have seen them for $5.00 at Walmart to $20 at more expensive stores like Grandin Road. You can get fake pumpkins already carved into silly faces or spooky designs or you can even get artificial pumpkins that you can carve yourself so that you do not miss out on the creative fun of a real jack-o-lantern. So while the initial outlay of money for a fake pumpkin might be a tad bit higher than a real pumpkin the plus side is that these last for years and years. We have had out fake pumpkins for 5 years now and all they need each year is a damp rag to swipe away the dust from being stored in the garage and the occasional new light bulb.

Skip the Pumpkin and Do Something Else

Who says you have to have a carved jack-o-lantern for Halloween. While they are traditional nothing says that you have to have them. In fact if you are not going to be home for Halloween because you will be out taking the kids trick-or-treating or at a Halloween party or some other event, I suggest just skipping this decoration and the expense. However there are alternatives to pumpkins that are still festive. Decorate empty milk jugs into ghosts and light them with Christmas lights, paint empty jars with faces and light them up with tea candles. Or even the old fashioned paper bag luminary works too for some Halloween light and décor.

Grow Your Own

While this is not a viable option for this year, if you have a green thumb and a little extra space you may want to consider planting a few pumpkin plants next spring for next year’s Halloween harvest. A packet of pumpkin seeds usually costs about a dollar and you can get a lot of pumpkin plants from a packet of seeds. They are relatively easy to grow provided you give them steady water and plenty of sunlight. This is a great gardening project for the kids. In fact, if you buy a real pumpkin this year save some of the plumpest and biggest seeds from inside, rinse them and dry them on paper towels and store in an envelope for growing in the spring!

Don’t Let Your Pumpkin Go to Waste

No matter what cost you spent on your pumpkin, if you bought a real pumpkin do your best not to let that pumpkin go to waste. I think it is shameful to throw away food items when not needed. And while most pumpkins grown for carving into jack-o-lanterns are not really the best pumpkins for making pies with you can eat the flesh from them if you want. Also roasting the seeds makes a tasty treat. Sometime zoos are looking for leftover pumpkins to feed to the animals so if you live near a zoo you may want to donate your pumpkin there. Otherwise, cut it up and add it to your compost pile.

Photo Credit

Tags: Frugal Living, Halloween, Jack-O-Lantern, Money Saving Tips, Pumpkin
Posted in Articles, Featured Article, Holiday's & Gifts | 2 Comments »

Don’t throw those empty milk jugs out. Instead re-purpose them into great Halloween decorations and costumes! Wash them out well with soap and water to avoid that funky sour milk smell (unless that is part of the Halloween fun in your house)!

Here are some ideas to get your juices milk flowing….just click the link underneath each picture to see how they are made!

Spirit Jugs from eighteen25

Mr. Bottle Bones from Little Green Bean

Spooky Spider from Family Fun

Milk Jug Pinata from cathiefilian

Milk Jug Pumpkin from DaniellesPlace

Milk Jug Masks from Living Green-Living Frugal

and last but certainly not least for any of you Star Wars fans you gotta check out this one….

Milk Jug Storm Trooper Mask from Filth Wizardry

Now you….have you made or seen a really a awesome Halloween decoration or mask using milk jugs? Let us know about it in the comments!

Tags: Crafts, Family Fun, Frugal Living, Halloween, Halloween Crafts, Kid Crafts, Milk Jug Crafts, Milk Jugs, Recycling
Posted in Blog, Hot Finds | 3 Comments »

Frugal shoppers know that the best time to get a deal on holiday items is to purchase them after the holidays are over and save them for next year. You can pocket some major savings by thinking ahead and saving 50-70% or more on holiday items now rather than paying full price for them right before the holidays.

The biggest after holiday savings is seen after the Christmas holiday. Retailers usually put all holiday merchandise at 50% off the day after Christmas and you will usually see 75% a week or two later. Some retailers will do further markdowns just to move the merchandise off the shelves to make room for Valentine’s items.

Look for deals on items like wrapping paper, gift bags, tissue paper, gift tags, holiday lights, festive decorations, potted poinsettias and other potted holiday plants. Holiday gift sets and baskets can be a great bargain. This year, I picked up Yankee Candle gift baskets online at 50% off retail. They make great gifts later in the year for teachers, friends, and family members. Other holiday goodies worth watching for include holiday cards, napkins, paper plates, Ziploc baggies with holiday designs, candy, and candles.

Most people don’t know they can negotiate with the store manager for further markdowns. At one of my local grocery stores they put all of the holiday clearance in shopping carts and park them near the front store entrance. I’m not shy about asking the store manager what kind of deal he can make me if I purchase the entire basket full of merchandise.  I’ve walked out with hundreds of dollars worth of products for a mere $20 for the entire cart.

Christmas is not the only holiday that offers great post-holiday savings. Each major holiday is a great time to stock up on items to use the following year. Valentine’s Day, Saint Patrick’s Day, Easter, Fourth of July, Halloween and Thanksgiving all provide a great opportunity to save money.

Storing your post holiday bargains is an important thing to remember because poor storage can result in melted candy or forgotten gift items. Here’s some helpful tips for storage:

* Freeze all candy that could possibly melt like chocolate. All other food candy such as jelly beans or valentine heart candies should be put into zipper bags with as much air removed as possible. Most candy has a very long shelf life and should be just fine the next year.

* Holiday wraps and decorations should be stored with your other holiday items in a cool dry place such as a garage or basement.

* How you store gift items will depend on when you plan on giving them. Gifts you plan on giving the following year should be stored with your holiday decorations so that you will remember them the following year. Label your storage containers with the holiday name and contents on the outside so you know what is inside.

* For gifts that you planning on giving year round (think gift baskets of coffee, tea and spa type items) set yourself up with a gift closet, cupboard or chest so that you have your gifts at hand for any occasion that arises.

Putting aside a small amount of money to stockpile holiday gifts and items after the holiday is a smart way to save lots of money and be prepared ahead of time saving you less stress next year.

Tags: 4th of July, Christmas, Easter, Frugal Living, Halloween, Holiday, Post Holiday, Shopping, Shopping Tips, St. Patrick's Day, Storage, Thanksgiving
Posted in Articles, Holiday's & Gifts | No Comments »