Tag Archives: birthdays

Another Happy Birthday!

1 Reply

As the final minutes ticked away at my birthday on Friday, June 8, I was thankful for another happy one. I love it when it falls on a weekend, giving me more reason to celebrate my birthday over multiple days. 

I decided that this year, I was going to make today all about me. I made it a point of making it happy and enjoyable. After all, isn’t that a lot of what it’s suppose to be about — a celebration of the day we were birthed onto this earth? So this year, I had a plan; not for a party, but for how I was going to take advantage of all of the great freebies and birthday rewards programs I was a part of; with reminders that were stacking up in my email inbox!

So I started my morning in the Starbucks drive-thru picking up my FREE coffee drink! From there I cruised around to my favorite outdoor shopping mall, stopping at the World Market. I had a $10.00 birthday reward that I wanted to make sure to take advantage of, but when I got there, they were still in the middle of the golden seahorse game. I’d been trying to find one of those discount certificates for over a week; first while I was still on vacation in my hometown. And then as recently as yesterday, neither times with any success. I have to admit I was very disappointed; almost mad, when I’d spent over an hour in the Columbia store, unable to find one (mad, because the ladies seem to enjoy the fact that they had hidden them so well). But as timing would have it, as if saving the surprise for my birthday, I didn’t just find one today, but I found the big one with the highest dollar amount of $20.00. The sales lady, recognizing me from the day before, said “aren’t you glad you didn’t find one yesterday,” reminding me that each person could only win once a season! What a great blessing!

So equipped with a $10 birthday coupon and now an unexpected $20 gift certificate (which had to be used on that specific day), I went about the business of deciding how to spend it. After roaming up and down the aisles for about 20 minutes, I realized that I really didn’t need anything. I didn’t need another clock or wall art. I had plenty of bath soaps, lotions; jewelry and other accessories; lamps and other various outdoor lighting configurations. I even tried the kitchen area, with my eye on one thing that would have cost double what my savings were. Since I was determined not to go over the $30.00 — and therefore, maintaining my Free Birthday Friday, I decided to wait for their big kitchen sale they hold once or twice a year. So as I settled back into the food and snack area, it hit me. With several summer birthdays of friends and family members coming up, I thought I’d pick up some items to make a nice basket for one of those. 

The challenge with trying to find gifts for my adult friends is that, like me, there’s very little they still need for their own homes. And outside of an “experience,” which can be a little tricky, there’s not a lot of things to buy that the person would need or even want in their home. But we all have to eat, right? And who doesn’t like some interesting things to snack on; stuff you don’t normally buy for yourself?

After making my selection, the cost, with the basket, and taxes, came to only 12 cents over! Who can complain about getting $30 worth of items for one 12 cents?!

Then it was off to get some lunch; a free birthday burger at Red Robin. I traded the french fries for a salad, and ordered the burger without the bun, in an attempt to reduce the carbs, knowing that a free rewards program desert was going to be in my birthday future! 

fullsizeoutput_3fab

After finishing lunch, I couldn’t believe how fast the day was flying by. How could I get everything in that I wanted to do? Fortunately, almost all of the coupons and rewards were good for multiple days. Only Starbucks required the same-day use. So after I made another stop at Chili’s to pick up the desert, I rushed home, dropped off the World Market items, threw the desert in the refrigerator for later, and did something I almost never do. I went to the movies — alone!

I surprised myself by how comfortable I felt sitting there alone, enjoying this movie! Doing everything I wanted, and on my own terms and time table, felt good. I later joked with my friend and hair stylist that perhaps cutting my hair short had given me some kind of new, special powers. 

I didn’t just feel free. I was also doing some things I hadn’t done before. And I was enjoying it!

After watching Ocean’s Eight, and realizing there was not enough time left in the evening to give my shopping the justice it needed, I decided to call it a day; making one more stop for dinner — Jersey Mike, whose rewards included a sub sandwich and drink. Comfortably at home with my free dinner, I began plotting my adventures for Saturday, which after a high carb and sugar day like today, will include a trip to the gym, where Planet Fitness offers a free bottled water to celebrate birthdays!

The moral of my birthday story? Sign up for rewards programs! It’s worth the inconvenience of receiving email throughout the year; especially if they’re places you shop, eat, or drink at some times during the other 364 days of the year. And you might get lucky enough to be able to save money using your coupons and discounts getting items you would have otherwise paid for — like, say, gifts for other people!

Sunday, June 8th…

1 Reply

Today is my birthday. Every day is someone’s birthday, so mine is no more special than the next person — except maybe to me, of course. But what I’ve learned over the past few years is that you’re not the only person who thinks they’re special on their birthday; and neither are your friends and family. Restaurants, retail spots, and even some companies are so interested in getting more of your business, that THEY think you’re special too! And for that, you can use it to your advantage in catching these raindrops in your water buckets.

I’ve shared how I feel about Rewards programs before. But in case you’re not sure — I LOVE THEM and encourage people to sign up for the most helpful, useful, and practical ones for you (not all programs are best options for everyone) — whether that’s saving money on your gas bill because of your food purchases; getting make-up products for free; or earning a free bagel at your favorite breakfast spot. But what I’m talking about today are all of those special meals and treats awarded to you just because it’s your birthday! There’s nothing you have to do (once you’ve signed up), except just wait every 365 days to cash in.

And while I haven’t even begun to take advantage of everything that’s out there for birthday anniversaries, the week leading up to my actual birth date has been filled with plenty of money-saving free stuff just there for my taking. You see, most companies give you anywhere from a week to a full month to cash in on your birthday surprises. And if you time them right, you could spend an entire day eating breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even snacks, out on the town, and never spend a dime.

Let me tell you a little of my adventure. Last year my sister, whose birth date is one week before mine, turned me on to Red Robin’s Birthday burger. Sign up for their program and they’ll send you an email every year with a coupon for one of their FREE burgers. And least you think it’s a trap to get you into the restaurant (which of course, that’s where they’d love for you to be) to get you to spend more money, this year we actually phoned our order in from the gym where we’d just worked out, and then went by to pick our sandwiches up on the way home. I had the Turkey burger and it was fabulous! One FREE dinner down; several other freebies to go.

A day before my Red Robin experience, I bought $10.31 worth of merchandise at the World Market, using my $10.00 birthday coupon. To get my money’s worth, I went straight to the Clearance table and picked up some items that were marked down 55%. So for just 31 cents, I picked up some chips, popcorn, and Italian soda for the movie night we had planned. 

The next morning, on my way to go spend some time visiting my parents’ gravesite, I stopped by Starbucks and used my birthday rewards points for a Frappucino which came in handy sitting out in the hot sun. What was really cool about the Starbucks surprise is that they gave two rewards — one for in-store and another (which I haven’t claimed yet) for online! Later that afternoon, I stopped in on Honeybaked Ham to redeem my FREE birthday sandwich, which I saved until the next day, and ate for breakfast during my almost 500 miles travel back to TN. That saved me money and the time making an extra stop.

When I got back from SC, I had an email from Applebee’s waiting for me for a FREE birthday dessert — no purchase necessary (the best kind of “freebie!”). And if that wasn’t enough, one of my new favorite local places to get gas is Thorntons, who also loaded something on my car. I originally joined their rewards program for the free coffee. But since then, they’ve revamped things, and now, I get freebies dropped on my card a couple of times a year. This is my first “birthday year” with them, and what awaits me is 10 cents off per gallon of gas! It’s almost time for a fill up, because I of course made sure to run my tank down as low as possible before utilizing the birthday discount.

And that brings me to today; my actual birthday. Circumstances were such that I did not do anything with the friends who I would normally go out to eat with. So I treated myself to a FREE meal at iHop. Though the coupon called for a Rooty Tooty Fresh and Fruity pancake special, the fine print gave option to order anything up to the cash amount of the same. Always read the fine print. So I enjoyed a very filling plate of chicken and waffles for lunch. I could have ordered an omelette or even a salad too! The only money I spent was on the tip for the waitress who was a pleasure. But what sweetened the deal even more is that the receipt had a survey on the bottom that once I complete, I’ll get yet another coupon to return for one FREE short stack of pancakes. How great is that?!

So what’s the moral of this story? SIGN UP! Create a separate email account, if you will, so that you don’t have to be bothered with any extra emails throughout the year. But take advantage of these freebies — and sign up your significant others so they can take advantage of it too. Because when your birthday comes around, and you realize that if planned according, you could eat free for an entire day, or spread your fortune around for an entire week, it will start making sense and be more than worthwhile for you to do it. And if you don’t personally want to “eat,” all of this, treat a friend!

And to think, I’ve only just begun to scratch the surface of all that’s out there. Next year, I’m going in search of more retailing opportunities! My philosophy is, “money saved is money earned for something else!”