Tag Archives: save money

Make #NationalCoffeeDay Every Day

Iced Coffee

Happy Tuesday! I hope you’re all enjoying the #NationalCoffeeDay freebies! I know I am – I just headed to Dunkin’ Donuts and got a free medium iced coffee – easy! I was certainly not the only one to know about the deal. The line was long, but it moved fast.

Unfortunately, #NationalCoffeeDay can’t be everyday, so I can’t get free coffee every day. That being said, I waste SO much unnecessary money on iced coffee. I’m addicted. I always tell myself that I should be making it on my own, and doing some research really confirmed that. This seems SO easy.

Join me in making your own iced coffee! Don’t be intimidated. FrugalBeautiful makes iced coffee easy with their recipe that I found this morning. I’m inspired!

Things you need:

  • Coffee grounds of your choice
  • A jar
  • A strainer

Directions:

  • Measure our 6 ounces of coarsely ground beans with 6 cups of cool or cold water. Use a large pitcher, or a mason jar, combine, and seal. Shake the mixture to make sure the grounds don’t lump together.
  • Leave your coffee mixture out for a few hours (overnight, if you can)
  • Strain the mixture, preferably with a strainer, or even a coffee filter
  • Pour over ice and add your milk/sugar of choice!
  • Store any leftovers in the fridge.

Truly that easy – I need to try this! I can’t imagine how much money I’d save.

#NationalEatAHoagieDay

hoagie

First things first: what is a hoagie? This term is certainly not used nation wide.

According to my National Day Calendar:

The hoagie consists of a meats, cheeses, vegetables, sauces and seasonings on a long roll of Italian or French bread.  The hoagie goes by many names including:

  • torpedo
  • grinder
  • hero sandwich
  • Italian sandwich
  • submarine sandwich
  • sub

“Hoggies” was a nickname for Italian workers at the Hog Island shipyard in Philadelphia during World War I.  These workers were known for bringing giant sandwiches for lunch.  The nickname became associated with the sandwich and the spelling has been altered over time.

Hoagie is a very ‘Philly’ term, but around my parts we just call them subs 🙂

I couldn’t find any great deals from all of the sandwich chains we all love so much, so I wanted to write a little bit about how to make hoagie-making cost efficient. With a meal like this, it’s a little tough, since almost all ingredients have to be fresh, from the bread to meats and cheeses, to veggie toppings.

GoodCheapEats.com gives us some great tips on how we can maximize our sandwiches at smaller costs. Recommendations include:

  • Buying big baguettes and chopping into smaller rolls
  • Turkey clocks in at the cheapest cost deli meat
  • Grilled chicken is also an inexpensive option and allows you to use bulk-brought frozen breasts
  • Tuna – canned, cheap!
  • Egg salad – you all already know how I feel about the incredibly budget-friendly, protein-building power of the simple egg
  • Don’t overbuy on the toppings! Most sandwiches just need some lettuce, a slice or two of tomato, maybe some onion, jarred pickles – don’t overcompensate toppings wise. Buy within reason, and it’ll be enough
  • Standard condiments – mayonnaise (jar, bulk buy, or even, make your own!), mustard, pesto (make your own!) – these are all simple and one container generally lasts a long time

It’s simple, although sandwiches are so easy to pick up on the go, don’t forget that if you have enough foresight, these are the easiest of meals to make, and can be immensely cost-efficient if you make them on your own.

Enjoy celebrating #NationalEatAHoagieDay!

Hopster: Get More From Your Coupons

Want to share with my readers a website I found fairly interesting this morning: Hopster.com.

Hopster promises more bang for your buck when it comes to coupons by earning points through their website. I visited their FAQ for a more in depth look at how this works.

Hopster

Hopster [www.hopster.com]

Some highlights:

  • Once you register, you can print coupons at anytime
  • You get extra goodies for the products that you buy the most
  • Earn points by liking brands on social media channels, watching videos, signing up for newsletters, etc. and redeem them to increase the value of coupons and save even more money
  • You do need to download and install a Coupon Plugin – this is a one-time quick and easy installation that lets you print your coupons quickly. Hopster claims that their plugin has a 100% success rate, so it’s not going to junk up your computer or cause detriment that so many other toolbars do.
  • You can get bonus points by submitting your receipts – this speeds up the process of Hopster knowing that a coupon has been ‘redeemed’

I took a look at their coupon section to see what kind of selection they have, and was really pleasantly surprised! There is a huge variety of products and well known brands available. Some highlights for me: Barbara’s Organic Cereals + Snacks, Once Again Nut Butters (these are typically so expensive!). Kale Chips, vitamins galore, batteries – really everything here. I was shocked to see so many healthy and organic brands – these generally cost so much more and can deter people from buying them. With these coupons, especially if you boost them with points, the prices are so much more reasonable!

It seems a little bit like Ebates to me – make it a game! Check the site before you buy and rack up the points and savings. I think I’ll give it a shot 🙂

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