Tuesday was my birthday. Having birthday's when your on a budget feel like just another day. They are really hum drum and no sparkle. I have a secret though, I use every time to make sure that I get treated to something on my birthday! Okay, it really isn't a huge secret, in fact almost everywhere you go these days will ask you about this.
Rewards programs! Seriously though, every single restaurant and store you walk into will ask if you are a member of their rewards programs- Just go ahead and sign up (as long as its free, I will never pay to be a part of a rewards program).
I have a trick for them though. If I am at a restaurant, I will always put in my birthday, however if I am at a retail store, I will use a birth date that is relevant to the type of retail it is. For instance, If I am at a children's clothing store, I will put a date that is closer to the start of school or Christmas. Retail stores will usually send you a higher amount coupon on your birthday. So, that higher coupon will help out for back to school shopping or Christmas shopping.
I got several emails and texts yesterday from all of my rewards accounts, and I took advantage of three of them. CEFCO gas station actually has a great program that will send you several coupons through out the week. Yesterday, I just happened to get one for a .25 cent large fountain drink. I loved this one because soda isn't something we purchase regularly, and they have the flavor add ins for their fountain machine! I stopped and picked up my vanilla Dr. Pepper and only spent .27 cents with tax. Then I drove down the street and took advantage of my Dickies BBQ free small sandwich, and had a chopped BBQ Sandwich.
With this, my 4 year old and I went to the park, he had his pre-packed lunch of PB&J, and don't feel sorry for him, that is his absolute favorite. He was excited that mama had a birthday sandwich and that we had a picnic.
After that we ran to our local library to return his books and find some more. While we were there, we stopped to play at their train station set up in the children's section, spent some time on the children's computer, then we stumbled upon a box that said 'free'. My son picked out a really cool boat and a rubber duckie all painted up like Buzz Light-year. Seeing him happy, made me happy.
After we checked out our new books, we decided to use our ice cream coupons. He had one saved from his reading club and I had a special just for my birthday! We headed to sonic and picked up our shake and ice cream cone.
I also had a free 8x10 print from Wal-greens. I get those a few times a year from their rewards club, but this year it happened to fall on my birthday. I was able to get a print of my favorite littlest soccer player to hang on my wall.
I had several other offers as well, but these are just the ones we decided were really awesome. So next time your at your favorite eatery or retail store, take the extra minute to sign up for their free rewards programs. They can sometimes brighten your dull day by adding a little freebie sparkle.
No comments:
Post a Comment