‘Scary face pancake’ among Halloween freebies for kids
As Halloween approaches, certain eateries are offering freebies for kids. Examples: At participating Chuck E. Cheese’s restaurants daily throughout October, each child who shows up in a Halloween costume receives 50 free tickets. “No purchase necessary,” states the fine print at chuckecheese.com, adding that the deal is available “once per day” per youngster.
On the actual holiday, kids in costume eat free at participating Applebee’s. For every adult entrée purchased, two children age 12 and under can choose any entrée on the kids’ menu, including a side dish and a limited selection of beverages.
At IKEA store restaurants on Halloween -- and every Tuesday year-round – children eat free (and don’t need to dress up in costume). Up to two free kid’s meals such as Swedish meatballs or pasta are offered with the purchase of one adult entrée. Meanwhile, participating IHOP restaurants are returning their annual “scary face pancake” promotion. From 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Halloween, children who dine in get one free pancake to decorate in scary fashion with candy corn, strawberries, whipped topping and little cookies.
Avoiding bank fees: You likely know that you can avoid monthly service fees on a checking account by joining a credit union (find one near you by calling 800-342-1266 or go to aSmarterChoice.org). But if you want to stay with your current bank, you might ask whether you could save money by switching to a different type of account. Example: “Wells Fargo will waive its $10 monthly fee for its Everyday Checking if you use the account's debit card to make at least 10 purchases per month,” states ConsumerReports.org. “Not all banks offer this deal, so ask.”
Reader tip: A reader named Trish says she agrees with my recent observation that prices at Petco.com tend to be cheaper than at Petco stores. “However, the stores will match the online prices if you can show the cashier the active price,” she shared via email. “Also, Petco will take competitor coupons so I always bring the Pet Supermarket ones with me when I shop.”
Thanks for the tip, Trish. Indeed, Petco.com states: “If you find a lower price for an identical item at any competitor’s store, we’ll gladly match it. Petco and Unleashed by Petco stores will also match regular and sale prices (excluding Repeat Delivery* pricing) found on Petco.com and unleashed by Petco.com. However, we do not match other online sellers and/or websites.”