T’ings tough in The Bahamas! And it seems like everything is going up but your salary.
For many Bahamians, the harder we work for our money, the more we have to spend it and be reminded of the thousands of dollars we put in other people’s pockets when we see the crunched up receipts hanging around the house.
But here at eLIFE, we’re all about helping, informing and putting our readers on to some good good! While we all hate paying the ridiculously high prices marked on everything we buy from food to clothes, gas and utilities, we’ve spotted some ways you can recoup some of that expense, if you have the time, a little patience and some detective skills!!
Now you might not get your money back in cold, hard cash, but if you look hard enough, a lot of companies have freebies, giveaways and free sh*t you could cash in on daily. We know, we know; schedules are busy, the children have to be fed…and who have time for dat?!
Well, if you’re sick and tired of always giving, spending and not getting anything back from the companies you patronize all year round and…if you’re prepared to do slight work then this is for you!
Who doesn’t like freebies?!
Wendy’s nuggets – That ridiculously long receipt they give you every time you make a purchase is for a reason. If you read the big bold print, you’ll see that you’re being instructed to head to a website, do a short survey of your visit, you’ll get a code; fill that in on the receipt and take it back to the Wendy’s and just like that…free nuggets! Unfortunately they’re not dishing out a whole meal with fries and a drink but the nuggets are free! And why not make it a family affair, have the kids do the survey and fill in the receipts and treat them to their nuggets as an after school treat!
Starbucks – You could totally cash in on your favorite coffee drinks! We did some research and found out that right now Starbucks is having a promotion on their popular fall drinks, the pumpkin spice latte or pumpkin spice frappe! Here’s the tea (pun intended): once you purchase any of those drinks (hot or cold) you’ll get a customer card, fill out the card and for every 5 stamps you get a tall beverage of your choice! It’s worth it to ask for and keep your customer cards, they do come in handy for days when you’re low on cash or simply forgot the wallet at home! And check this, Starbucks does a new promotion every six months so keep your eyes and ears peeled to learn how you can cash in!
Gas – You see those little poster signs outside some gas stations promoting reduced prices?? They’re there for a reason! Many gas stations around town lower their gas prices during certain times of the day. Now, most of these times are between midnight and 5am, but if you’re on the road during that time, leaving the club, just getting off from work or going to work it’s worth it to fill up your tank in the wee hours of the morning. Who wouldn’t love paying less than $3/gallon (in some cases) for gas as opposed to paying nearly $5/gallon during peak hours? Take advantage of these promo fill up hours and watch how much you save on gas in a month!
2 Fly Free for Family Island trips – We totally dug into this promo this summer! Get this, The Bahamas Out Island Promotion Board is encouraging domestic travel by offering a bomb a$$ deal! One Free airline or Bahamas Ferries Ticket from Nassau or Freeport when you book a 2-night hotel stay OR Two Free Airline or Bahamas Ferries Tickets from Nassau or Freeport when you book a hotel for 4-nights or longer. And if we aren’t mistaken, this offer is available on most local airlines with just about every island hotel taking part. When booking the hotel, just double check with them to see if they’re participating and sign up for your free flight(s)!
Super Value Quality Stamps – These are the most underrated freebies ever! Super Value stamps and cards have been the clutch for Bahamian Christmases for as along as we could remember. For some reason people forget that they could use them all year long and save some serious bucks on groceries! Instead of mashing those little gold and blue stamps up, save them and keep a stash of the cards at home. Each card holds 12 stamps and every card filled out is worth $1..and in today’s world $1 IS A LOT OF MONEY! If you’d prefer to hoard your stamps and cards until the end of the year like my grammy does fine, but the point is to make sure you use them and save some coins!
Restaurants – Free food is constantly being given out. Deals, steals and discounts on some delicious dishes are flying around town and you’re missing them! So if you’re looking for a great fancy lunch without the high prices, check out Luciano’s of Chicago, they have lunch specials every single day. Like this week, they have a 3-course pasta bowl lunch special thats’s just $19 (not including VAT and GRAT). Outback Steakhouse also has drink specials every Thursday and Friday. You can purchase those delicious Wallaby Darned frozen drinks for the price of one between 5pm and 7pm…how’s that for happy hour!? Restaurants like Olives Meze Grill and Island House also have food, brunch and drink specials often! Take the time to call around, ask for the days and times specials are available and plan your outings carefully to save you some bucks!
