FREE Chik-Fil-A and (almost) free Ice Cream!

On Friday, July 10th, Chik-Fil-A will be giving away free combo meals to anyone who is dressed like a cow. Hmmmm - not sure if I'm up to that, but maybe you are?!

Also, if you live in Orange County (CA), you may want to visit this Chik-Fil-A, where every day this week between 5-8pm, they are giving away free menu items for "Customer Appreciation Week." Remember this is only the Irvine location offering this deal, but you can ask your local Chik-Fil-A when they will have Customer Appreciation Week near you.

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Remember Thrifty's Ice Cream? Well, Thrifty's is now Rite Aid, but certain locations this week are offering 2 scoops for only .99 cents! I tried to find info. online about this, but limited information was available, so check your local Rite Aid if you're interested in this deal!

Saving on Moving Expenses

Since we are moving to a new house in a week, I have really been trying to figure out how to save money while moving. Anyone who has moved knows that the expenses can really add up, which adds to the stress of having to move anyway. I found out about two resources that may be able to help:

1) Moving Trucks - While shopping around for the greatest deal on moving trucks, I found that Budget Rental charges per day, while U-Haul charges per 24-hours. So, if you need a truck on Friday and Saturday, U-Haul is definitely the cheapest option by 50%. However, if you need a rental for one day only, you may be able to find coupon codes online to save 15% on a Budget truck rental. The only drawback is that you have to pick up and return the truck by the rental stores hours. Some have limited hours which may end up causing you to return the truck late and get charged an extra day.

If you want to comparison shop for the best deal on either moving yourself OR having a moving company move you, you may want to try this site.

2) Utilities - The second resource I found is another comparison site, where you can compare the companies who offer utilities in your area. You can find the best deals on phone service, internet service, gas, water companies, etc... I visited whitefence and found our new phone and internet service through Verizon, and because of this site, I found out that I qualified for a new Compaq mini netbook for FREE with my new service!

Even if you are not moving, you can still "shop around" for the best deals in your area. I hope this helps you a little too!

Free Orange Julius on Friday!

Tomorrow, Friday (June 19th, 2009) is FREE Light Smoothie Day at Orange Julius! Choose from Tropical Sunlight, Berry-Pom Twilight, or Strawberry Delight. You do have to download a coupon, so click here to get yours today!

Free CA Homeschooling Curriculum

A friend shared this with me recently; she desired to homeschool her children but was finding that many of the curriculums (especially for Christian homeschooling) can be very expensive. This is an option that is FREE, and she has been using it for over 3 years now for three of her children.

The California Virtual Academy is a WASC-Accredited Public Charter School. The curriculum, laptop, teaching supplies, craft supplies, and even a printer are provided for FREE. Families even receive a stipend for internet access to use the school. CVA goes from Kindergarten through Twelth grade.

This curriculum is not a Christian curriculum. But the great thing about homeschooling is having the ability to incorporate God into each subject, as you are your child's teacher. There are many homeschooling resources online that you could use to supplement the curriculum, such as adding a Bible class (which would not be graded through CVA).

CVA also offers field trips and gatherings with other families in the system. They even offer science fairs, spelling bees, and community service days.

I encourage you to pass this information on to your friends who are looking for homeschooling alternatives. After all, it is free!

Free Children's Services

Did you know that if you suspect that your child might have a developmental, speech, or any other type of disorder, there are centers in every state where you can receive FREE evaluations and help?

When my older son was two years old, we suspected that he might have a speech and language delay. Someone told me to contact our local Regional Center, which I did, and we received free testing. From there, they recommended speech therapy. I thought our options were limited to what was being offered through the school system (for free through the Regional Center). However, upon further research, I discovered that there are places called NPA's (Non Public Agencies) where you can also be approved to send your child. I found an amazing speech center in my area and requested that my son receive services there instead of at the school. Our request was approved, and he received speech therapy 2-3 times a week for over a year.

If I had not known about these services, we would have either not been able to get our son the help he needed, or been forced to pay out of our own pockets for help. Speech therapy sessions can range anywhere from $40-150 an hour.

For a list of California Regional Centers, visit this website. If your child is over 4 years of age, you can just contact your local school district for services as well. If you are outside of California, do some research to see if your state offers regional centers as well. If not, do an online search for "free speech therapy in [your state]" or "free testing for [your child's issue]". You may find the services you are needing for free!

Need Clothes for Your Kids?

Then don't miss tomorrow's sale at Children's Orchard - Fill a Bag for $5!   Children's Orchard is a children's retail store that sells very gently used clothing for cheap!  The prices here are often better than at thrift stores, with most items selling between $1.99-$5.99.  You can also sell gently used children's clothing to them and earn either store credit or cash.  I have done this a few times and earned at least $30 both times.  If you do want to sell to them, call to make an appointment, and iron all of the clothes.  They are picky and won't take anything with even the slightest stain, fade or tear.  THIS is the place to go for Halloween costumes, special occasion clothing, or just everyday gear.  They also sell many different baby items, toys, shoes, etc.  

Click here for more details:

Fill a Bag for $5 Sale

Find a Location near You!  (Click on the store locator button at the top left of the page)

Disneyland Pass for Less!

You may have already heard that you can go to Disneyland for free on your birthday. But what I didn't know until this week is that you can apply that free admission towards an annual pass on your birthday. If you live in Southern California, this is an especially great deal. If you go on your birthday only, you will get a $69 discount on any annual pass, and get in that day for free. There are four levels of passes:

Southern California Select - $134
Southern California - $174
Deluxe-$269
Premium- $389

If you choose the lowest level pass (which is not good during most of the summer and most weekends), you only have to pay $65 - that is less than one days admission for the entire year! This type of pass is good for my family, though, since my kids are not in school all day and we can go on weekdays for just a few hours. (We also try to avoid all theme parks in the summer anyway because of the crowds and the heat). Even if you choose the Deluxe pass, however, you still will only pay $200 for it.

Since my family has all of our birthdays within 6 weeks of each other, and we live 30 minutes from Disneyland, we have decided that we will go on all of our birthdays and get annual passes for only $65. Granted, we cannot all get in until the last person has their pass (that would be me, in July), BUT, once we all do, we have until May (my husband's birthday) to all get into Disneyland for free. That's called "workin' the system", people! :)

For parking, you can pay $59 to add that to your annual pass. In my family, we are adding that to my husband's pass only. If I ever want to take the kids for just a few hours myself, I can park in Downtown Disney's parking for free for the first 3 hours. There is a tram from Downtown Disney that will take you right smack to the middle of Disneyland, so you really could just spend about 2 hours there and call it a day - for free!

For more info, please visit Disney's website, read all the fine print, and be sure to see if this offer has expired before trying it yourself.