How to Eat for Free (Or Cheap) on Your Birthday

Tomorrow's (February 1) is my birthday. I'm pretty sure you already knew that because I mentioned it earlier this week; plus, I love my birthday and usually celebrate for about a week. Oddly enough I share my birthday with the daughter of my college roomie, Melissa. I think Melissa's daughter will be six this year, but I've probably lost track and she can let us know in the comments. I also share my birthday with a girl I go to church with and she also lives down the street from me and went to the same school as me (only about 13 years after me). So, February 1 is a good day indeed.

I may have mentioned it before but am not sure I have ever gone into great detail about it and so today, I wanted to let you know how you can eat free for about a week just for having a birthday. One of the web sites I frequent and follow on the Twitter is Hey It's Free. This site lists all sorts of freebies from soap to dog treats and you can often get a lot of good loot if you follow the site often enough. The key is to register for items as soon as you can because those of us who like freebies swarm to the freebies and then the freebie is no more.

At any rate, Hey It's Free has a great page on their site which lists a slew of restaurants and other such establishments that will send you a coupon for a free something-or-other around the time of your birthday. You have anywhere from one to two weeks to redeem your freebie and they are often really great deals. For example, Monday night I had a small Schlotzsky's sandwich for dinner and paid nothing for it. Wednesday night I ate a free entree from Moe's Southwest Grill. I have also received coupons for $5 off at Jason's Deli and McAlister's Deli as well as a free bagel and cream cheese (with purchase of a drink) from Breugger's and a free cookie cake slice (with drink purchase) from Great American Cookie. There are lots of others as well. I also have a Panera card which has been loaded with a surprise. For my birthday last year I received a Starbucks card from some friends and I registered it online with Starbucks and I reload it from time to time and continue using it. That card has been loaded with a free drink which I plan to redeem quite soon. So, you see, you can load up on all kinds of great treats just because you are having a birthday.

For those of you interested in eating free (or on the cheap) for your birthday, check out the Birthday Freebie List on the Hey It's Free Web Site. Please note that you must click on each individual link for the restaurant/store to receive your birthday surprise. I had told a co-worker about this a few weeks ago and she thought you could just sign up for the Hey It's Free newsletter and you would automatically receive a birthday freebie from every place on the list. Um, no, that's not how it works. So, go to each web site and register. I would suggest using a junk email account because most of the places will send you random promotional emails throughout the year.

So, get out there and register for those birthday freebies and you too can eat free (or on the cheap) for a week when your birthday rolls around.

Don't forget you have until 11:59 p.m. tonight to enter the Fourth Blogiversary Giveaway!

Deal of the Week

While watching TV, have you noticed that a lot of companies are offering coupons on their respective web sites? It seems like almost every commercial I see these days says go to yada yada .com to get a money saving offer. One I recently saw was for Swiffer. I think almost everyone in America uses Swiffer. So, why wouldn’t you want a coupon?

I went to their web site today to check it out. They actually have two offers going on right now. The first offer is for either a $5 or $10 debit card when you purchase Swiffer refills. The form is downloadable and you just have to fill it out and mail in UPC codes along with original receipt.

The second offer is what I originally went to the web site for, which was a “money saving coupon.” I was disappointed to learn that the coupon is not printable from the web site, but after you fill out the required information, you can expect a coupon book for $30 worth of savings to arrive in the mail. I don’t know about you, but I get awfully excited when I receive these types of things in the mail. So, go to www.swiffer.com to take part in these money saving offers. The links are on the right hand side of the page.

Deal of The Week

I realize it’s been a while since I’ve posted a deal of the week here at The Chronicles of Nat. But, to be honest, I really haven’t come across anything to pass along. So, I’ve decided to fall back on my old faithful, the Wal-Mart sample site. This site features many samples that can be sent to your home from Wal-Mart and once the sample arrives, it often includes coupons that can be used should you decide to purchase the product. The samples vary from week to week, but often include dog treats, diapers, baby formula, and laundry detergent among other items. I try to log on once a week to see what’s new. So, check it out and see if you can’t find something that makes your skirt fly up.

http://instoresnow.walmart.com/In-Stores-Now-Free-Samples.aspx

Deal of the Week

First of all let me apologize for not posting as frequently as my one reader would probably like. I was really excited when I first started this blog, but the newness wore off after a week. Go figure. Not to mention the fact that nothing exciting has been going on lately. So, maybe in the next few weeks something exciting will happen. If I have some time later today I may review a movie I saw recently. So, stay tuned.

This week’s deal of the week comes from TGI Fridays. Most of the world has probably gotten this coupon through email, but in case you haven’t, here is the link: http://www.tgifridays.com/promos/bogo_2009_02.aspx?fromsearch&gclid=CM38h5zG4ZgCFQRkswodojvjcQ

It’s a coupon for buy one entrée get one free. A guy I work with has gone about four times already. It’s definitely a good deal if you’re trying to be frugal. So, go on out there and pump up the TGI Friday’s economical outlook by eating there for dinner. Happy Eating!

Deal of the Week

Have you ever tried Rachel’s yogurt? No? Me either; but, this week’s deal of the week is buy one get one free yogurt from Rachel’s. They have lots of interesting flavors and I’m sure you will find one to satisfy your taste buds. Just fill out some information and voila – you get a coupon. Here’s the site: http://www.rachelsdairy.com/community-offers.php Happy Shopping!

Deal of the Week

This week’s deal of the week is $31.50 worth of coupons from SC Johnson Company. To get your coupons, go to http://www.rightathome.com/tipsandcoupons/

Happy Shopping!

Deal of the Week

For those of you who don't know me, I love to save money. So, one thing I would like to do here on this blog is pass along information to you folks out there who might also be looking for a deal. Times are tough folks, and every little bit helps. I am a coupon user - I love them! And have saved in excess of $20 at a time using coupons. Right now, Velveeta has a $1.00 off coupon on their web site. Go to http://www.velveeta.com/ to print it off - just in time for Super Bowl Sunday!

Also, Diet Dr. Pepper has a promotion going on right now for a free 20 oz bottle or 2-liter. Go to http://www.freedietdrpepper.com/ to register for your coupon, which will be mailed to you in 4-6 weeks. Hope you're not thirsty! I'll try to post a deal at least once a week. I would like to post one daily, but I'm just not that good.