Pack It or Un-Pack It?

Since my toddler started drinking cold milk, I've been eyeing this bag for awhile.  It seemed like a pretty "cool" thing to have when we're out to the park, to the beach, or just whenever we're out for a few hours.  I bought two, It was about $30 after S+H, and it also came with a bunch of meal ideas.

Read More --->

Handy App Tip: Yelp

This is going to be a post Nerdy mom would approve of.

I've recently been using the Yelp App to help me find restaurants & stores nearby. It's been quite handy, providing reviews from other people, how far the business is to me, addresses, telephone numbers & website details.

And, it's not just limited to restaurants or stores. I've found organic farms, physical therapist, Auto repair/ tire stores, gyms and rug cleaners.

But here is one feature I recently discovered on Yelp. If you register an account and open the Check-in tab, there are many businesses that offer discounts, free services & products. All you have to do is check-in. For example, my favourite doughnut store Krispy Kreme is currently offering 1 free glazed doughnut when you check-in. I have also spotted beauty salons & Pilates studios that offer 10-20% off your total bill.

The App allows you to search the check-in offers by location & filter the results according to the type of business you need.

The Yelp App gets the thumps up from me!

~Fit mom

Crocs Baby/Toddler Winter Boots Starting From $9.99!

Oh my gosh, how cute are these boots?!  Too bad they don't have the size for my little one because I would love to get these for winter!  Right now  at crocs.com you can get them for $9.99 + free shipping!  Just use the code SHIPCROCS.  Make it a even better deal when you sign up for their email subscription and receive a 20% off code and get them just for $7.99!


If you want something for your toddler/kids, the Kosmoboot Kids are also on sale for just $24.99.  Use the 20% off code and get them for just $19.99!  I had to order one(although I really like the blue ones above), really awesome deal for kids boots if you ask me.  Hopefully I'm ordering the right size, I don't know how big his feet will be by winter!


-Nerdy Mom

Quick & Easy Nutritious Toddler Meals

I'm always looking for quick & easy meals for my toddler.  But most importantly, nutritious.  I came up with a list of some of the foods my little one - Jae -  likes to eat(26 months old at the moment).  He's not a very picky eater but I still have trouble getting him to eat peas, carrots and green beans.  I found some great ways to slip in those Vitamin A's and other nutrition in his meals.  Below is mostly what I serve him for breakfast/lunch.  I make dinner for the whole family so it's different.

One of the tips I like to keep in mind is putting paprika(it's not spicy) and bits of spinach(thanks to Fit Mom) in everything.  Kids probably won't eat chunks of spinach leaves but if it's in tiny bits and pieces most likely it won't bother them.  We all know that spinach is fortified with valuable nutrition and paprika and other dried/fresh herbs are rich in Vitamin A.  Please keep in mind that all the ingredients that I use below are either natural or organic and make sure your child isn't allergic to anything that I list here.

Read More --->

How To Take Advantage of Catalinas and Pay Less Out of Your Pocket

I paid $28.49 for all this.  Not the best I've done but I really needed some toilet paper and paper towels and ShopRite happened to have a pretty good deal going on this week through 6/2/12:

The Sparkle paper towels and Angel Soft toilet papers were on sale for $5.88 each.  Which is a nice deal.  But on top of that, according to the ad, if you spend $20 on these participating products you get $5 off on your next shopping trip.  At the cash register, there is a little machine usually near the receipt printer and when you make the qualifying purchases, a $5 coupon will print from that machine and the clerk should hand it over to you with the receipt.  In the couponing world those coupons are called "catalinas". 

So how can you take advantage of those catalinas and pay less out your pocket in your shopping trip?  The trick is to do 2 separate transactions.  All you need to do is kindly ask the clerk if you can do 2 separate transactions and they never have a problem to do so.  Here is what I did:

1st Transaction

2 Sparkle Paper Towels - $5.88 each (on sale with club card)

2 Angel Soft Toilet Papers - $5.88 each (on sale with club card)

8 YoCrunch - $0.60 each (on sale with club card)

1 Box Fudgesicles - $0.88 each (on sale with club card)

*Coupons Used:

1 $1.00 off for 2 Sparkle Paper Towels from previous Sunday paper

1 $1.00 off for 2 Angel Soft Paper Towels from previous Sunday paper

2 $0.65 off for 4 YoCrunch from www.couponnetwork.com (after they tripled the coupons I got all of them for free)

Total: $24.70 after tax + $5 catalina from spending $20 on participating products

2nd Transaction

1 20 lb ShopRite Long Grain Rice $8.79 (with club card)

*Coupons Used:

1 $5 catalina from 1st transaction

Total: $3.79

It's that easy.  I wish I had this kind of knowledge on grocery shopping a long time ago.  Oh well, better late than never!  I hope you found this post beneficial.  I'm such a nerd when it comes to saving money! :)

Happy saving!

-Nerdy Mom

Breaking Up With Wells Fargo: Why we went with Credit Union

I was 18 years old when I first opened up a bank account.  I had no knowledge of shopping around for banks - I just went with one of the biggest in my area and closest to my house for convenience.  CoreState was my choice at the time and there were numerous changes over the 13 years I was with the bank.  From what I remember, CoreState merged with First Union, then merged with Wachovia, then lastly, merged with Wells Fargo.  Every time they merged, they made changes to my account which really didn't bother me back then mainly I think because my husband and I were both working and didn't worry much about our money.  Some changes were good and some changes were bad but we put up with it.

Read More --->

Fit mom practicing what she preaches: Hillsprints

I recently found an awesome trail with a 260ft hill last Memorial weekend.

The elevation went from 199ft to 222ft.

You bet I got my hillsprints in and even made it a family affair.

My legs burned but I felt great. And, the hill sprint repeats took less than 15 minutes in total.

Another great & free workout :)


Views from the middle and top of the hill.