Top off yourself after lunch at Costco

May 2, 2011 in Food, Free stuff with

The conversation of lunch comes up everyday at work.  Where do we go out to eat today?  Chick-fil-A?  Jimmy Johns?  Most sit down restaurants aren’t mentioned, because its just simply too expensive to eat there often.  Most people try to spend less than $7 for lunch.  My cheap ass suggestion?  COSTCO!  Costco’s food court has polishes and a soda for $1.50 and pizzas for $1.99.  This means a lunch under $2.  Heck, buy one pizza slice (they’re big) and go splitsies.  This is the kind of meal where you can scrounge your car’s change drawer for $1.50.  Don’t forget to ask for a free (huge) cup of sauerkraut.

This definitely won’t fill you up, so you gotta “top off” after your meal.  Topping off is a phrase my coworker Shihzy and I came up with which means after you finish eating, you go through the store and eat the samples to get full.

Of course you could just skip the food court entirely and just do the sample rounds over and over until you’re full, which would definitely be more Cheap Ass.

Great moments in cheap ass history: Free yogurt drinks outside Stubb’s

April 30, 2011 in Cheap Ass Story, Free stuff with

 

Jamie Cullum at Stubb's BBQ, Austin, TX

When Mr. and Mrs. Cheap Ass Asian were first dating (she was still finishing up school), we enjoyed going to live music shows.  There was one summer night where we went to a Jamie Cullum show at Stubb’s. The show was amazing, and we were in a really good mood.  Not only was Jamie Cullum great, but these “yogurt people” were giving out some free yogurt smoothie drinks.  It was something similar to this:

YOGURT DRINKS!

Now, keep in mind that this was pre-recession 2006.  They had boxes and boxes of this stuff, and they were giving away multiple bottles to everyone at the show.  The problem was, it’s yogurt.  On a HOT summer night.  A yogurt drink not a thirst quencher by any means.  The show ended and people streamed out the doors, most declining to take a almost luke warm yogurt drink.

But as we passed through the exit, we did what a true cheap ass Asian would do.

Yogurt hawker – “Want a free yogurt drink to go?”

Me – “Uhh yeah! Can I have more than one?”

Yogurt hawker – “Take all of it.  We don’t want it.”

Me – OMG mode activated

The Mrs. and I proceeded to take like 3 BOXES of the stuff in each of our arms.  It was like moving day, where you can barely see over the top of the 3rd box. We looked like human hand carts.  Everyone around us was saying “No thanks”, but we were saying “Yes please. We want to fill our car with yogurt drinks”.

But the best part was when we tried to transport our precious cargo. Hundreds of people were pouring out of the exit, and we clearly stood out as we stumbled across the street in front of Stubb’s with our towers of yogurt boxes.  As we made it to the middle of the road, my tower wobbled and a box of the yogurt fell.  24 yogurt drinks rolled all over Red River St, some in the middle of the street, some collecting in the gutter.  I could hear the collective “OHHHHHHhhhhhh!” from everyone around us.  At first I thought, “Just leave them in the street!  We already have a ton of yogurt!”  But I just couldn’t.  I yelled, “We have to go back for them!” We crossed the street, set our boxes down safely, and went back and picked up EVERY SINGLE yogurt drink.  My cheap ass education policy is “No free stuff left behind.”

And we had a very healthy digestive system happily ever after. The end.

“Why are Asians so cheap?” and other hilarious search terms

April 6, 2011 in Uncategorized with

When I look at the stats for the blog, I can see what people are typing in Google that eventually find their way here.  Some make sense.  But some are hilarious.  The following are copied and pasted from my site stats tool:

  • get paid to buy stuff
  • asians are cheap
  • what is sxswinning
  • refer yourself
  • embarrassing asians
  • how to deal with a cheap ass
  • why dont asians buy warranty
  • asians are so cheap
  • cheep ass weddings
  • ass asians (yikes!)
  • asian ass cookies (double yikes!!!!)
  • why are asians so cheap (this is my favorite. People googled this phrase and clicked on my site 8 times)

Planning your Cheap Ass wedding, get married on a budget

March 26, 2011 in Cheap Ass Story, Crazy deal with

When Mrs. Cheap Ass and I planned our wedding, it was almost depressing.  The projected costs were overwhelming.  We were definitely challenged to try to keep it at a reasonable cost.

Our thinking was this: If you spend a lot of money, you’ll get what you want no matter what.  But if you get a little creative, you can save money in certain areas, and still get what you want.  We were looking for a compromise we were going to be happy with. None of these tips might work for you, but they worked for us.

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CVS Hacking 2 – Breaking down the hack

March 19, 2011 in Get paid with

I just made money in my latest trip to CVS.  I used ~$13 worth of ECBs and got back $22 in ECBs, which means I made $9 this trip.  I got:

  • 2 Herbal Essences shampoos
  • 1 Irish Spring deodorant
  • 2 Crest Pro-Health mouthwashes
  • 2 Dentek floss picks
  • 1 Tena Ultra Thins pads (I have no shame)
  • 1 Nutty Buddy (not on sale, just wanted it :) )

Here’s how I did it:

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*DEAD* 35% off Lowe’s, 33% off Amazon Gift cards at HEB

March 16, 2011 in Crazy deal with

 

Update: Deal is dead as of 5pm.  HEB emailed all stores to stop the deal

There is a super hot deal going on at HEB (A Texas grocery chain, this is a Texas only deal).  They have $20 off $100 coupons for gift cards (excluding HEB, Visa, Mastercard, AMEX), including Amazon and Lowe’s. There is no limit.  Here’s a list of all the types of gift cards they carry.

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Double Groupon referral bonus

March 8, 2011 in Crazy deal, Free stuff with

Groupon just announced that referrals are now doubled to a $20 credit (invite only, you should have gotten an email).  Go through Mr. Rebates for 8% cashback, open 2 new Groupon accounts (or find 2 actual new Groupon buddies), AND stack this with the You + Two promo (also by invite) and you’re making out really really well.

Refer-A-Friend Bonus Offer FAQs

The Gift(Card) that kept on giving

March 3, 2011 in Get paid with

Recently my local grocery store, Sprouts, had a gift card promotion over the weekend – buy a $100 GC for $89.99.  My friend Carol had a genius idea – buy a GC, then use that GC to buy another gift card.  Then repeat (my idea)!

So at the store I went straight to the checkout counter, and I bought an initial $100 GC for $90 – $90 out-of-pocket.  I used my AMEX cash rebate card that gives 5% cash back on groceries to make that $86.50 total.

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SXsuccess

March 1, 2011 in Crazy deal, Food, Free stuff with

As an Austinite, live music is an inescapable fact. Whether it’s buskers downtown, an open mic at a bar, or the countless live music venues located all over town, you’re going to see plenty of bands while living here. And, of course, ever year there are festivals. Well, really three big ones- ACL, FFFFest, and SXSW. It doesn’t take much to attend the first two: 1)buy a badge/pass 2)fight for parking 3)enjoy a couple days of live music. But, the real gem, the real challenge, the real Cheapass option, is SXSW. Whether you’re coming in from out of town, or just enjoying your city, you can attend (and get drunk repeatedly at) SXSW for free.

“Wait!” you say, “SXSW has badges… really expensive badges. Isn’t it an industry event?” This is a common misconception. While there are tons of shows that require a badge, and lots of industry smoozing going on throughout the festival, the savvy Austinite or visitor will know the secret of SXSuccess: RSVP to private events. Everyone and their dog wants to sell you something, get you to use their product, or just borrow your eyes for a few minutes. Your email address, your phone number, your torso- these are your tickets to music, food, and free drinks.

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How to Groupon smarter and cheap assiér, up to 20% cashback

March 1, 2011 in Crazy deal with

Everyone knows and uses Groupon these days. I love it because it helps bring out the cheap ass in everyone.  But if everyone is getting a deal, then how can we OG Cheap Asses become, pardon my French, even more cheap assiér?

  • Don’t buy a Groupon without going through Mr Rebates first!  You’ll get 8% cashback on Groupon purchases.
  • Open an additional new Groupon account, then refer yourself using your old account.  Your old account will get a $10 credit for referring yourself.  There’s also a current promotion (for select members) for March, where if you buy a Groupon, and you refer 2 friends, you get a credit for what you bought your Groupon for.
  • If you have a Discover Card, then go through and get 20% cashback on your Groupon purchase!  Just login to your Discover card account and then go to the Groupon ShopDiscover page.

- Angell

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