I love this freebie weekend and I hope we will have a beautiful weekend just like we did this past week for these events!
To kick off summer, the Department of Game, Fish and Parks encourages families to spend the weekend outside during the Parks’ Open House Weekend and Free Fishing Weekend May 18-20.
During the annual three-day event, anglers can fish without a license anywhere in the state, and entrance fees are waived for all visitors to South Dakota’s state parks and recreation areas. Camping fees still apply. Fishing regulations and limits also apply.
Parks will host a variety of Open House Weekend special events across the state.
Custer State Park will host a number of family activities on Saturday and Sunday, including cookouts, nature hikes, free hayrack rides, a fishing derby, nature programs and demonstrations. Historic Valhalla cabin also will be open to the public. A full schedule of events can be found on Custer State Park’s website.
For the last 2 years I’ve participated in Couponing for Community and this year it’s back and going to be even bigger and better than ever!
Saturday, May 12th is the big day for Stamp Out Hunger. That’s where the postal workers will come around and gather any food that you would like to donate. All you have to do is leave your donation right at your mailbox. It’s that easy!
As couponers we very often get the chance to get all kinds of freebies, many that we won’t even be able to use. Stamp Out Hunger Day is a great opportunity to be able to give back to our community using our talents as couponers.
Our goal this year as a Couponing for Community group is to donate 30,000 items. Can we do it?
Start thinking about putting aside items to donate. In the next couple weeks I’ll start making lists of all the freebies that we can get during the week that would be good items to donate. Then during the week of May 6 – 12th, make sure you snap a picture of your donation and share it on that Couponing for Community Facebook page. Also, send the picture to me at admin@littlehouseliving.com so we can see the difference we are making right here in South Dakota!
My personal goal is to donate 100 items. What is your goal?
Here is a list of free rewards reading programs you can take advantage of this summer. Know of one I missed? Contact me and let me know so I can add it to the list!
Book Adventure – Sylvan offers this FREE reading incentive program. Basically your child reads books and then takes a simple comprehension quiz to make sure they understood what they read. The quiz is usually about 10 questions long. They earn points based on how much they remember from reading the book.
There are hundreds of books to choose from in all reading levels. These are common books that can be found at your local library. Once they have earned enough points they can trade them in for some really neat prizes!
Half Price Books– They are offering kids ages 14 and under a chance to earn a $5 Gift Card for reading just 15 each day throughout the summer!
PBS Kids Summer Reading Challenge – This challenge kicks off on June 6th and includes a FREE six week reading program and the chance for your kids to win daily prizes for their participation.
Barnes & Noble Imagination Destination – This summer reading program through Barnes & Noble gives your child the ability to earn a FREE book after reading 8 books and keeping track of them in a reading log.
Local Public Library – Don’t forget to check out your local libraries to find out which programs they’ll be offering this summer!
Chuck E. Cheese – Earn 10 FREE tokens every time your child reads for 2 weeks in a row. Just fill out the form and bring it in to claim your free token.
Scholastic Summer Challenge – Log in your reading minutes to the Scholastic site and your child will be able to participate in a World Record challenge as well as earn digital prizes!
I’m sure by now pretty much everyone has heard of Groupon, Living Social, Eversave, and sites like that. And if you’ve been a follower of Dakota Savers for any amount of time you might also know that we have similar local daily deal sites as well:
These sites offer local deals for at least 40 – 75% off. A company offers their product for a serious discount in an effort to get you in the doors in the hopes that you will purchase more or become a repeat customer, basically the same idea behind any kind of advertising special or coupon. But are they worth it?
Here’s some tips on buying local daily deal certificates:
1. It’s only worth it if you needed the item anyways. If you go out to eat alot you might want to watch for the restuarant deals to save. If you planned on making a purchase at a certain store, you will want to watch for that too. Don’t purchase a deal if you think it’s just a “good deal” and you aren’t sure if you will be able to use it or not. The certificates DO expire and chances are you will probably forget about it if you didn’t really need it.
2. It’s great to be able to support local businesses. Instead of finding a deal online you might be able to score an even better deal with the local vouchers and you get to keep the money in your local economy and support the mom and pop shops. Win win:)
3. Just like any special deal or discount…the store or company isn’t entitled to give deals, they are doing this as a special just for you. Make sure you thank them for participating in the deal and be courteous while shopping or eating at the restaurant. If the business has a good experience with offering the deal they are more likely to offer it again and then you will be able to save even more.
Check out my deals above, I paid $12.50 for a voucher worth $25 at Staple and Spice in Rapid City. We buy organics and even though they are a little higher priced than my normal co-op I bought the certificate to be able to buy local. My total was almost exactly $25 for the items in the picture so I actually only paid $12.50 for it. I got snacks for hubby and meal makers that I was planning on purchasing anyways. I also had a great friendly local shopping experience. At the end of my transaction I made sure to thank them for the deal, I hope they offer it again!
In short, I love daily deal sites, specifically the local ones! What have your experiences been with buying from local daily deal sites?
Something very exciting is headed our way! Savings.com has started up Savings Nation, Grocery Saving Coupon Workshops! It’s hard to get couponing and shaving money off your monthly budget when you aren’t sure where to start. If you are one of those people that isn’t quite sure what to do but you know you are ready to save then these classes are for you!
Savings Nation is bringing their classes to states all around the US and later this fall they (with the help of me!) will be bring them to you here in South Dakota!
What will you learn in these classes?
How to realistically cut your grocery bill by using coupons.
How to shop smarter to make the most of your monthly budget.
How to start meal planning and seeing your grocery shopping and coupon clipping in action in your household!
I know we have to wait until fall for this awesomeness to head our way, but here’s a little video to get you excited about the plans to come!
If you head out to the grocery store right now I can guarantee that you will see an abundance of fresh produce at the grocery store. However since we have a lack of produce that’s grown here locally in the winter and the produce that we have for sale has been shipped here….it tends to be more expensive than it could be.
The high prices combined with the low incomes of South Dakotans makes a difficult combination. So what’s our solution to this issue? Here’s some ideas:
Check Out Bountiful Baskets: It’s only $15 to order a basket with at least 20lbs of produce! Right now I think Bountiful Baskets is currently only on the west side of the state and they deliver every 2 weeks. However, if you are interested you could always contact them about setting up a drop site in your area!
Think Beyond Fresh: Sometimes buying fresh produce just isn’t an option. Watch for sales on canned fruits and veggies or check out a surplus store to find a deal.
Buy In Season: Knowing what produce is in season can save you a good deal of money. I noticed strawberries “on sale” lately for $3.99/lb. In the summer you can pay $1.99/lb or less. Just do a google search for ” Current Month Seasonal Produce” to find out what might currently be a good deal.
Stock Up In Season: If you buy in season like I suggested above you might also want to consider stocking up and preserving to have the produce for later months. Grab a couple extra containers of strawberries in June for $1.99/lb, wash and freeze them and then you can have fresh strawberries in the winter for $1.99/lb instead of $3.99/lb!
