Prudent and Practical

There’s only one month between the two largest holidays of the year. Cram into that time winter weather and car repairs, the bad economy, and for my family, two anniversaries and two birthdays, with three more birthdays the month after Christmas, and you have a catastrophic monetary disaster!  However, there are ways to lessen the impact of all the special days.

Every birthday guy or gal in my family is showered with gifts, cards, a special dinner, and a professional cake – that’s the way it’s been since I was little. Now that I’m married and have to deal with purchasing these things myself, I’ve come up with some ways to cut costs.

Money-saving Birthday tips

• Purchase gifts ahead of time when they’re on sale. Think Black Friday and after Christmas sales.
• Use coupons. The main store I can think of is Bed Bath and Beyond. If you sign up with them, you get $10 off $30 coupons and also 20% off coupons in the mail every month. BBB also takes competitor coupons.
• Use online auction sites. You can guarantee that you’ll find something unique for a little bit of nothing there.
• Purchase food. For example, my grandparents will never buy shrimp on their own, so I get my grandpa a bag of frozen shrimp when it’s on sale = 2 pounds of shrimp for only $8. I save money, and my grandpa feels spoiled! You could also do cans of nuts, specialty cookies, a cheap bottle of champagne ($10), or a gift card to a restaurant ($10+).
• Make your own cake. Watch the ads and you can get a Betty Crocker mix for less than 99 cents. If you have the basic kitchen staples and a little time, you can make the cake and frosting from scratch.
• Hire a talented friend to make the cake. ¼ sheet at the local grocery store is $16.99 plus tax. Through a friend and ex-baker, an even better tasting cake of the same size cost $12 even.
• If you’re wanting to dine out, check out the list below. Casinos, Country Buffet, Country Kitchen, Fire Mountain, Home Town Buffet, Old Country Buffet, and Ryan’s Buffet all offer a complete free meal on your birthday! At Arby’s, Blimpie, and Red Robin, you get a free sandwich!

I have either found the information below online or personally called the restaurant. Please check with your local restaurant for any local deals before going. Also, many of the restaurants require you to join their online club in order for you to get birthday coupons. Please sign up a few weeks in advance as it takes time to process your new registration.

When you click on the name of the restaurant, you will be taken to their e-club signup page. Those listings with (*) indicate that I called the restaurant and asked about their birthday deals.

• Applebee’s – free birthday dessert shooter* (called three locations)
• Arby’s – free sandwich with purchase of drink and fries, kids get a free kid’s meal on their birthday – details coming soon on their site
• Baskin-Robbins – free 2.5 ounce scoop of ice cream
• Bennigan’s – free dessert (Brownie Bottom Pie)*
• Biaggi’s – free dessert with purchase of an entrée
• Blimpie – free 6” sub (sign up at the restaurant)*
• Boston Market – birthday offer
• Buffalo Wild Wings – free dessert w/ $5 purchase (rumor, Cedar Rapids, IA location does not honor that)
• Carlos O’Kelley’s – free dessert
• Caribou Coffee – free drink
• Ced-Rel Supper Club – free dessert*
• Chili’s – free dessert
• Chuck E. Cheese – birthday surprise and coupons
• Cold Stone Creamery – free “Creation”
• Country Buffet – free buffet
• Country Kitchen – free adult meal, free kid’s meal not to exceed $8, just show ID
• Cracker Barrel – free birthday or anniversary dessert*, just show ID
• Dairy Queen – free ice cream cone
• Dave and Buster’s – $10 in free game play*, sign up 2-3 weeks in advance
• Fazoli’s – birthday surprise and coupons
• Fire Mountain – free buffet
• Fuddrucker’s – birthday and anniversary specials
• Happy Joe’s – free ice cream sundae*
• Hard Rock Café– an embarrassing moment*
• HomeTown Buffet – free buffet
• Hooter’s – birthday song*
• IHOP – free sundae and song*
• Joe’s Crab Shack – free appetizer (rumor, West Des Moines, IA location does not honor)*
• Krispy Kreme– spoke with corporate office: birthday bargains are at the discretion of the individual store*
• Old Chicago – free dessert or free shot*
• Old Country Buffet– free buffet
• On the Border Mexican Grill – free appetizer or dessert*
• Orange Julius – B1G1F drink
• Outback Steakhouse – free sundae*
• Papa John’s – free breadsticks and free pizza coupons
• Papa Murphy’s – coupons
• Perkin’s – free stack of pancakes (rumor), also anniversary offer and Perkin’s kids Club, slice of pie*, kids get a free meal
• PF Chang’s– free mini dessert*
• Quizno’s Subs – free Sammie on with new signup, free cookie on birthday
• Red Lobster – $5 off two adult dinner entrees
• Red Robin – free gift for signing up, free burger on birthday
• Ruby Tuesday – free sundae*
• Ryan’s Steakhouse/Buffet– free buffet
• Sonic Drive-In– birthday surprise, free “wacky pack” for Kid’s
  
• Taco Bell – free combo meal
• TGI Friday’s – free sundae*
• Texas Roadhouse – free brownie*
• Wendy’s – free kid’s meal to all kid’s club members (rumor)

Other Businesses to Check Out!

• CASINOS!– The casinos in Iowa let you eat for free and give you game money*, Click your state on the right-hand side to find the nearest casino to you.
• Disneyworld and Disneyland – free admission on your birthday for both children and adults!
• Sephora – free gift: such as body wash, bubble bath, or body butter. You have to be part of their Beauty Insider Club. If you want the gift sent to you, you have to make a purchase online. Otherwise, you can stop into your nearest Sephora and pick it up without an additional purchase. The birthday gift is not available at the Sephora’s within JCPenneys.
• Strip clubs – free lap dance
• Tanning salons – free tan
• Toys ‘R’ Us – party planning booklet, a phone call from Geoffrey, birthday card, $5 gift card, and $3 off coupon. When you visit the store, your child also gets a crown, birthday balloon, and an intercom birthday announcement! People seem to have better luck receiving the gifts by signing up in the store and not online.
• Victoria’s Secret – free Birthday Angel $10 gift card. You have to have their Angel Credit Card and keep it active.*
• Video rental places – free movie rental

Local, family-run restaurants may also do special things too, from free slices of pie or ice cream, to a special Happy Birthday chorus and free balloons.

Remember:

• Many chain restaurants and businesses require you to join their birthday club to get a discount.
• The discount may only be valid on your birthday or may be valid up to a couple weeks afterwards.
• Call the business beforehand to find out what birthday specials they have before you show up.

The photo used in this post is courtesy of FreeFoto.