What I’ve Been Up To

Frugal Friday: Eyewear and Paint

Welcome to Frugal Friday, a new weekly feature in which we highlight the best deals for the weekend — and beyond. You may know that Jean has a similar segment on the Today show — sometimes we’ll repurpose those deals, often we’ll feature new ones we find.

If you’re planning home improvements or need some new eyeglasses — widely different categories, I know — this is your week. Here’s what’s happening in each area:

• Ace Hardware is handing out FREE quarts of paint for the next two Saturdays — March 9 and March 16 — as part of their aptly-named “Free Paint Saturday” promotion. The brand on offer is Clark+Kensington paint+primer in one. The best part: There’s no obligation to buy anything else in store. You simply print out this coupon and head to the store while supplies last. It’s first come, first serve.

• As you may have noticed on Facebook — they’re heavily advertising this one, at least in my feed — Coastal.com, an online eyewear company — is running a “First Pair Free” program. Coupon-eligible frames — so not every pair of eyeglasses on the site, but many — are free to first-time customers. You pay shipping, which averages about $12. Not bad! Single vision lenses and coatings are included, but you may upgrade to other lenses at an added cost. Here’s a link to the frames that are included — you’ll want to enter the coupon code FIRSTPAIRFREE at checkout. Note that sunglasses are not a part of the promotion. This offer is for a limited time, though Coastal.com says an end date has not yet been decided.

On the segment this morning, we also featured viewer Amanda’s tip for saving money. I’d love to hear your tips as well — and they may be featured in an upcoming Today segment! Email them to me at jean@jeanchatzky.com.

Amanda’s tip:
“We have 4 credit cards with different cash back bonuses (1-5%). Each month I put sticky notes on them so we know which card to use at which location. For instance, normally I would use Chase at a restaurant (3%), but when Discover gives 5%, we know to use that card instead. Everything that can go on a credit card, does. As long as you have the discipline to pay in full every month and pick cards with no annual fees, it works great! We are on a very limited budget and still make $500-$600 a year in bonuses.”

And, in case you missed it, here’s the full segment from this morning’s Today:

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