leap day

Leap Day Freebies 2016

February 29, 2016 By Alexa Mason 1 Comment

Leap years are kind of odd. They have one extra day, which falls at the end of February, but what do we really do with it? Every four years, we have a February 29 and it seemingly goes to waste as “just another day.” Some retailers, restaurants and even travel agencies are trying to change that by offering some deals and freebies for the extra day in 2016.

Free Food for Leap Day

If you have a birthday on February 29, you only have a birthday once every four years. These restaurants and grocers will be offering free items for people whose birthday falls on February 29:

Olive Garden: If your birthday is on February 29, you can receive a free “Dolcini” dessert when you dine in on Leap Day
Great American Cookies: Any Great American Cookie location will give you a free cookie if your birthday falls on February 29
McAlister’s Deli: McAlister’s Deli is doing the very same thing. If you can prove you were born on February 29, you will receive a free cookie
Hard Rock Cafe: Hard Rock Cafe is giving away free meals to those who only celebrate their birthday every four years
Pizza Hut: If you can prove that your birthday is February 29, you can receive a free personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut
Houlihan’s: Everyone who comes to Houlihan’s on February 29 and prove it’s their birthday can receive a free entree
Giant Eagle: Free five-inch birthday cake if February 29 is your birthday
Buca Di Peppo: Buca Di Peppo is offering a free spaghetti and meatball dinner if your birthday lands on Leap Day
Villa Italian Kitchen: offering a free pizza to anyone whose birthday falls on Leap Day

Free Travel for Leap Day

Leap Day has become a pretty big day for travel deals and freebies. It is a great time to start planning your summer vacation. Here is a company which is offering a freebie for travel on February 29:

Allegiant Air: Allegiant Air is holding a contest on Leap Day. Twenty-nine lucky people will win free airline tickets

Free Shopping on Leap Day

Leap Day is also a great day for retail freebies and deals. One of the biggest online sales going on today is that of Shopback Singapore. The company is offering 100 percent cash back to the first 600 shoppers when you shop with certain retailers through their website. This makes the purchases (essentially) free. You may have to wait a moment for the cash back to hit, but you won’t have to feel guilty about purchases from these places:

Lazada
Expedia
ASOS
Taobao
Groupon

The website will also be offering a huge amount of cash back with other online retailers as well such as Booking.com, Hotels.com, eBay, Sephora, Under Armor and many others. The freebies and deals with ShopBack Singapore will last until midnight February 29.

Of course, if you are wondering if your favorite place to shop or eat is offering a freebie or any special deals for Leap Day, you can give them a call. You can also check online for the hashtags #LeapDay or #LeapYear to scope out special offers.

Photo: Flickr: Tim Parkinson

Leap Day Deals 2016

February 29, 2016 By Amanda Blankenship 1 Comment

February 29 is a special day. Although it is not a holiday, it is a day that only comes once every four years. Every four years, we have this extra day thrown in at the end of February (the shortest month of the year). Usually, this is just another day to some people. However, some retailers and restaurants have tried to make what people call “Leap Day” a day people go out, shop, eat and get great deals.

Deals on Food for Leap Day

Some restaurants and grocers will be offering great deals on Leap Day for their customers:

Caribou Coffee: Buy one coffee at regular price, get a coffee of equal or lesser value for 29 cents on February 29
Krispy Kreme: Get a dozen for $2.29 after buying a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts at regular price
Arby’s: Arby’s is using the extra day to introduce a vegetarian menu. It will only be available on February 29
Tropical Smoothie Cafe: If you are a loyalty member at Tropical Smoothie Cafe, you can get a 24 oz. smoothie for $2.29
Hungry Howie’s: Get a large, one-topping pizza for 29 cents after buying another large, one-topping pizza at regular price
Carrabba’s Italian Grill: Carrabba’s is offering 20 percent off your entire meal to celebrate Leap Day. This deal will actually be good through March 6
Giant Eagle: 29 cent fuel perks on every $50 spent on gift cards, 29 cent coffee, 29 cent per pound bananas, $2.49 12-count mini cupcakes and buy one, get one for 29 cents select beauty products
McDonald’s: Buy one Big Mac or Quarter Pounder at regular price, get a second one for 29 cents

Deals on Travel for Leap Day

Online travel agencies such as Expedia and Travelocity will also be offering deals for customers who book through their website:

Expedia: 29 percent off select rooms if you book with Expedia by the end of the day
Travelocity: $29 to $129 off your hotel and flight packages when you book through Travelocity

Retail Deals for Leap Day

There will also be great retail deals surrounding the “extra day.”

One of the biggest online sales going on today is that of Shopback Singapore. The website will also be offering a huge amount of cash back with other online retailers as well such as Booking.com, Hotels.com, eBay, Sephora, Under Armor and many others. The freebies and deals with ShopBack Singapore will last until midnight February 29.

The company is also offering 100 percent cash back to the first 600 shoppers on their site between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. You have to shop with certain retailers through their website. This makes the purchases (essentially) free. You may have to wait a moment for the cash back to hit, but you won’t have to feel guilty about purchases from these places:

Lazada
Expedia
ASOS
Taobao
Groupon

Urban Outfitters: $29 sale on select styles (website only)

There are tons of others places who may also be participating in Leap Day deals this year. You can call and see if your favorite retailers or online site is holding any type of Leap Day sale. You can also look online by checking the hashtags #LeapDay and #LeapYear to see what other deals may be going on.

Photo: Flickr: Mike Mozart

Leap Day: Ways to Cash in on the Extra Day

February 29, 2016 By Amanda Blankenship 1 Comment

Every four years there is a leap year. This means that there are 366 days in the year instead of only 365. The “extra” day falls on the last day of February. This means that you have a full extra 24 hours to do whatever it is you want to do this year. However, you should use the extra day to try and make or save some extra money.

Of course, you can do any of these things any other day of the year as well. However, most of the time, everyone’s excuse is there “isn’t enough time.” Well, there is a full extra day this year, so here’s your time to start saving money or even make a little extra money.

Get Married

Okay, this may sound crazy, but if you’ve been planning on getting married, Leap Day is a great day to do it. Of course, you can’t have a full-blown wedding (if you haven’t been planning it for Leap Day). However, you can go to the Justice of the Peace and get married today. It is relatively cheap to get married that way and (here’s the money saver), if you get married on Leap Day, you only have an anniversary to celebrate every four years.

Leap Day Deals

Keep an eye out for Leap Day deals. Many retailers are taking advantage of the “extra day” this year by offering deals and other specials. Some retailers will be offering a percentage off everything in the store. This is a great time to get discounted clothing for next winter also. Most stores are beginning to switch out their apparel selections.

Change Your Energy Provider

One thing you can do on Leap Day (February 29) is you can call up your energy provider. When you do that, you can also call their competitors and inquire about switching. This usually only takes about 10 minutes, but the full extra 24 hours opens up an entire day that you can get these things done. You can be saving money every single month by simply making a call and doing some price comparing.

Clear out Your Spare Room

Most people have a spare room full of things that they don’t really use that much. You can go through that room and sell a few things for some extra cash. What better day to do that than Leap Day? You can usually find things like used books, used CDs and DVDs, unused gift cards and even old cell phones. All of these things are able to be sold or exchanged for cash.

Start a Blog

Another great way to take full advantage of Leap Day and start earning some extra money is by starting a blog. You may have been thinking about starting a blog for extra income for some time, however, you never seem to have the time to start one. Well, Leap Day is an extra day in the year that you don’t normally have so why not do it then? If you are an expert on a subject (or even very passionate about something), you can start a blog. By using things such as Google Adsense and affiliate postings you can make decent money through your blog.

Become a Tester

You can also start making some extra cash by becoming a tester of products. This is usually something that takes very little time. However, you’ll have to fill out a form online. You can sign up online and you usually can earn up to $10 per test that you take. This is an awesome way to rake in some extra cash not only on Leap Day but also throughout the rest of the year as well.

Photo: Flickr: Denise Krebs