Swagbucks - Earning Gift Cards/Prizes

I would highly recommend signing up for Swagbucks if you haven't already.  Even better, today is Mega Swag Bucks Day, which means you can earn even more swagbucks with your searches.

There are many ways to earn swagbucks:

• Searches - Use the search engine from the swagbucks home page to do your searching instead of your usual search engine, and you can earn swagbucks.  On a Mega Swag Bucks Day you can earn even larger amounts of points.  Today I earned 27 swagbucks.  Note:  Swagbucks are not given for every search.
• Coupons - Print out coupons from the Swag Bucks Coupon page and earn 10 points per coupon redeemed.  Points take as long as 8 weeks to be credited to your account, but it is always a nice surprise when they are processed.
• Trusted Surveys - Take surveys and earn swagbucks.  Even before starting the survey they give you an idea of approximately how many minutes it should take to complete the survey, and how many swagbucks will be rewarded for  a completed survey.  If you are screened out, you will still earn 1 swagbuck.
• Swag Codes - These are released randomly and can be found all over, such as on via their Twitter posts, their Facebook page, on their Blog, etc.
• Daily Polls - Answer a poll each day and earn 1 point. 
• Watching Swag Bucks TV - Watch video clips.  For each 10 clips watched, you can earn 3 swagbucks.

These are just a few ways to earn...once you've banked some swagbucks, you can redeem them for great prizes.  My favorite is the $5 Amazon Gift Card for only 450 swagbucks.  If that doesn't interest you, they have a variety of e-Gift Cards (Chili's, Barnes & Noble, Papa John's to name a few), they have other prizes, such as DVD's, magazines, apparel.

When you sign-up you will get 30 points credited to your account as a sign-up bonus.

Today's Free Stuff - Thursday 8/30

I had a fun trip to Fry’s where I ended up saving more than I spent!  I managed to bring home several items for free:

• 10.5 oz bag of Lays – used a $3 mfg. coupon and had a $1 overage to cover the cost of the bananas.
• 5 bananas – used the overage from the Lays chips.
• 3 – Dial hand soap – used 3 mfg. coupons, combined with the sale
• 2 – Seafood Snackers – used 2 mfg. coupons
• 2 – Totino’s pizza – used 2 mfg. coupons, combined with the sale
• Odwalla Smoothie for Kids - used a mfg. coupon, combined with the sale
• Shamrock Farms Rockin’ Refuel – used mfg. coupon*
• 1.72 lb package of chicken drumsticks*
• 2 – Family size boxes Duncan Hines Brownie Mixes*

* Cost covered by a $2 on your next order Catalina from last week’s shopping trip, and $2 check from my Fry’s credit card rewards.

Earlier, I had a very successful trip to Bashas'.  I used my second coupon to try Tree Top Reduced Sugar grape juice for the Mom's Meet Mom Ambassador program.  Bashas' also had a cereal and milk deal.  Kellogg's cereal is on sale for 2/$5, and you get a free gallon of milk when you buy 4 boxes.  I had 2-$1 mfg. coupons for Kellogg's Mini Wheats.
 

Four boxes of cereal, a gallon of milk, and a bottle of grape juice all for $8.

Today's Free Items - Tuesday 8/28

Today I took a trip to Toys 'R' Us to take advantage of their Crayola crayon sale.  The 24 count boxes are on sale 4/$1 (limit 12).  I used my $5 "R" Us Reward Dollars to pay for them.  I threw in 2 "Pinky" balls for the kids (to get over $5), but I walked out of the store with 12 boxes of crayons and 2 balls and paid $1.09 out of pocket!

 

We spent the day at Cardon Children's Medical Center with a sick child.  A very nice lady, who works there, asked our daughter if she wanted to color.  This perked her up so much and made the time move a bit more quickly.  I noticed they have a nice size bin of crayons, but they are pretty well used.  Once we are all feeling better, I think we are going to take these crayons over there and donate them.  Hopefully they can cheer up another child.

 

 

Helping Others - Expired Coupons for Overseas Military

A couple of weeks ago, I contacted Expired Coupons for Overseas Military to adopt a family to send coupons to.  I've been gathering coupons for the past few weeks; today I'm getting my envelope ready to mail.  Although I know not all coupons will be used, I've gathered 971 food and non-food coupons for a potential savings of $1,393.17. 

Today's Free Items - Saturday 8/25

Today I took a trip to Bashas' to look for Tree Top Reduced Sugar apple juice.  I got a coupon to try one free though the Mom's Meet Mom Ambassador program.  The coupon is for a free 48 oz. bottle up to $3.99.  I tried to purchase it at Albertsons, but their regular price is a whopping $4.49.  That is ridiculous.  Bashas' on the other hand has it on sale for $2.99 with $3.99 as their regular price. 

After we chill it, we'll all give it a try and see how it tastes.

While I was out, I made another trip to Fry's.  Here I was able to get 3 more bottles of Dial hand soap for free by combining their sale and manufactures coupons.  I also found Trans Ocean Seafood Snackers.  The coupons are a bit harder to find, but I do love free imitation crab!

 

We ran into Fry's to pick up a gift card (and get 4x fuel points), so I picked up 3 more bottles of Dial hand soap, free using the sale and mfg. coupons.

 

Making Credit Cards Work For You

I am getting a bit tired of hearing about how horrible it is to use credit cards.  I don't know how many times I've read that if you want to live debt-free you should get rid of your credit cards.  Here is my unsolicited opinion....use credit wisely.  Yes, we use our credit cards and get bills in the mail each month, BUT we have not paid any of our credit card companies interest in YEARS.   We use our cards to their fullest advantage.  Each of the cards we use has some type of reward associated with it.

Years ago, I had a Barnes and Noble credit card.  I earned certificates to get free merchandise at the bookstore.  Given how much I love to read, this was right up my alley.  Well, they decided to discontinue the program.  I stumbled onto Chase and their Amazon.com Rewards credit card.  At the time, I knew Amazon sold books, so that was a good incentive for me to apply.  Since then I have acquired hundreds of dollars of merchandise from Amazon at no out of pocket expense to me.  I use my credit card for everything.  The catch is, I pay off the entire balance each and every month.  Yes, the credit card companies probably hate me because they are paying out roughly $20 in reward money each month and they are not getting any interest out of me, but I don't care.

Just yesterday I shopped for my daughter's birthday gift.  Last week I found the bike on Amazon for $80.  Last night I checked the price and it was $65 (+ shipping).  I checked and I had $20+ in Amazon reward points available, plus $5 in a gift certificate.  By the time I was done, I bought a bike for my daughter that could have cost us $80, but instead it was only $45 out of pocket.

Our Fry's (Kroger) stores have advertised their branded credit cards for awhile.  I gave it a lot of thought before deciding to apply.  Since I shop at Fry's weekly, and I can get additional grocery and fuel savings, I decided to go for it.  Today I saved an extra $3 off of our grocery bill because of the rewards offered for using their card.  I only use it for my trips to Fry's and the fuel center, but the points add up.  Like the Amazon card, I pay off the balance each month.

Target is another place I find myself each week.  I was reluctant to get a Red Card because it would mean I would earn fewer Amazon reward points.  However, doing the math, the additional 5% off each purchase made with the Red Card is more beneficial.

I've heard people brag about not owing anyone because they don't have a single credit card in their name.  That is wonderful.  I certainly don't suggest taking on mountains of debt.  These same people then complain because when they do need credit (for a car loan or home loan) they have trouble because they don't have a strong credit score.

My suggestion is live within your means.  Only purchase things you can afford.  Find a credit card with a reward that will benefit you.  You don't need to get rid of all of your credit cards, you just have to learn to use them wisely!

Today's Free Items - Thursday 8/23

Today's trip to Safeway was fun...I was able to get some Pure Leaf Sweet Tea and YoCrunch yogurt free.  The girls are really looking forward to the yogurt since it has mini m&ms.

BzzAgent Campaign - Glade Expressions Collection

Wow, I was just accepted into the BzzAgent Glade Expressions Campaign.  I'm looking forward to trying the new products.

Today's Free Items - Tuesday 8/21

I took another trip to Target, where among other things, I bought more lunch meat and got bread free.  I also had another coupon for Fancy Feast Mornings canned cat food.

Tonight we redeemed our 25 Papa Johns Reward Points for a free large pizza!  I love Papa Johns!

Jimmy Dean Breakfast Club

I didn't even know it existed until today, but I was accepted to the Jimmy Dean Breakfast Club.

New BzzAgent Campaign

I'm so excited, I was just invited to participate in the Progresso Recipe Starters campaign.  I'm looking forward to trying something new!

Today's Free Items - Monday 8/20

I had a very nice trip to Target where I got the following times for free:

• a bottle of herbal essence shampoo (received a coupon in the mail for a free bottle),
• a package of Simple Pleasures chocolate (I stacked a $1 Target coupon with a $2 mfg coupon)
• a loaf of Wonder bread (buy 2 lunch meat or cheese and get the bread free)
• 2 cans of Fancy Feast cat food (using mfg coupons) for the donation pile

My box of UnderJams was delivered today.  I used my Amazon Mom's discount, the Amazon Subscribe and Save discount, and some gift cards earned from taking surveys, and paid nothing out of picket for this box.

Today's Free Items - Sunday 8/19

A month or so ago I applied to be a Mom's Meet Mom Ambassador, and was accepted.  I applied to try out Tree Top Reduced Sugar juice and was accepted.  Today I received my coupons for free juice and a nice Tree Top lunch bag.

I also remembered to upload photos to Walgreens and create a free 8x10 collage, using coupon code GETONENOW.  This code expires 8/21/2012.

Today's Free Items

My mail was a bit exciting today...I had a coupon for free crackers (from mycokerewards.com), a coupon for free shampoo, and I finally got personalized coupons from Fry's!!!  I also received a free trial of GoodNites underwear  and my free Olympic pin.

I finally found Fancy Feast Mornings at Target so I was able to get my free can to add to my donation pile.

Walmart Trip - Free Stuff

I picked up my mail on the way to Walmart and found I had a $10 Walmart Gift Card for completing a Hillshire Farms survey.  Combined with $8 in coupons, here is a picture of everything I got for free on my Walmart trip.

Smiley 360 Nectresse Mission

Today I received my Smiley 360 nectresse kit.  It has a box of 40 packets, and a bunch of packets to share.  We've liked Splenda for awhile, it'll be interesting to see what nectresse is like.

You can join smiley 360 too: 
smiley360.com—Be Heard. Be Happy.

Cookie Monster Cupcakes

A couple of weeks ago I found a video on how to make Cookie Monster Cupcakes here.
She makes it look so easy. 
Tonight I finished up my cupcakes.  Although I can still use some practice, I think they turned out pretty well.  Our record heat was definitely working against me.  I have never had this much trouble with sagging and melting frosting!

Household Recipes - Washing Machine Cleaning

Despite my best efforts to keep the washer door open for it to dry between loads and avoid getting that musty smell, my washer was developing an odor.  I considered buying one of those expensive options from the store.  Then I found the following:

1. Pour 2 cups vinegar into the machine
2. Run it for 3 minutes on hot
3. Stop the machine (pause the load)
4. Let it sit overnight
5. The next morning, resume the cycle
6. Run a rinse cycle on cold

I do this process on the first of the month.

Household Recipes - Washing Machine Cleaning

To clean and freshen the interior of the front-leading washer:

1. Make a solution of one cup bleach and two cups warm water.  Be careful not to spill or spash the bleach solution.
2. Wipe the door seal with bleach solution and soft cloth.
3. Fill bleach dispenser with chlorine bleach.
4. Run the washer through a complete cycle using hot water.
5. Repeat the wash cycle if necessary.

My washing machine manufacturer recommends doing this process every 60 to 120 days.

Household Recipes - Dishwasher Detergent

Here's a recipe for dishwasher detergent:

1 c. borax
1 c. baking soda
1/4 c. table salt
2 packets unsweetened lemon Kool-Aid

Mix all ingredients, add one tablespoon to each load.  I generally add a tablespoon to the pre-wash compartment of each load.  This cuts down on the amount of dishwashing detergent I buy.  For our needs, this works great as a pre-wash.  I tried it for the pre-wash and main wash, but I had a problem with stuck-on food. 

Country Financial Insurance - Custmer Service is a Joke!!

I've been keeping my posts so far pretty upbeat and light, but since this is my place to express my opinion, I'm going to...

Called Country Financial Insurance's Customer Service line after being locked out of my web account.  Tried to explain the situation to the rep.  From her replied to me, I could tell she didn't listen to what I told her.  She even cut me off mid-sentence to tell me I was using the wrong link (when I just clicked on the one she sent me).  Her tone was very argumentative.  No one needs be treated rudely when they are calling for help.

fresh & easy - Kitchen To Go Meal

A couple of months ago I joined BzzAgent.  Recently I was selected for the fresh & easy campaign.  As part of the campaign I got a coupon for $2 off of a $4 Kitchen To Go Meal.

The other day I actually remembered to check freshandeasy.com to see if there were any Kitchen To Go Bonus Points Coupons to add to my Friends card and I found a 10x coupon.

Today, I finally made it to fresh & easy.  I was really impressed with their selection of Kitchen To Go meals.  This was the first time I had been back since they started their Kitchen To Go line.  Today I bought steamed bbq pork buns and chicken lettuce wraps.  I'm really looking forward to trying these tomorrow night!

8/12/12 Update - We tried our dishes tonight and overall, we enjoyed them.  We would have them again.  A couple of things we were not too excited about: 

• Despite the fact that the lettuce wraps were still eaten before their best buy date, I had to throw out one of the biggest leaves because it was already brown and could not be eaten.
• The chicken mixture was delicious, but it was a bit greasy.

<img src="https://img/bzzagent.com/image/freshandeasy.jpg?Type=activity&Activity=7344149755&Campaign=0693339086&Uid=1327573&token=0b7d7e220fc05e9c6996722057ef6f3a" alt=""/>

Today's Free Item!

In my mailbox today was my free basketball.  It didn't cost me a cent, just 300 points from My Coke Rewards!

Note:  The fuzzball on the left side of the picture was "free" too, but he's been here about 3 years now.

Cottonelle Ultra TP and Wipes

I signed up to be an All You Reality Checker, took a survey, and today I received a 12 ct. package of Cottonelle TP and a 42 ct. pack of Cottonelle Fresh Care.  After we've given them a try, I'll have to complete a survey and give my feedback.

You can sigh up to be a reality checker here:

http://www.allyou.com/community/reality-checkers-sign-up-00400000050245/

Free Items of the Week

Not too exciting to some, but I'm happy any time I can bring home something for free.  This week so far it is two boxes of Bayer asprin.

Why On Earth Am I Doing This?

I'm starting this blog to keep track of those great savings I've been getting, and to have a place to comment on products that I get to test.  Stay tuned to see what happens!