Swagbucks, How I Love Thee...

Have I mentioned how much I love Swagbucks? I've considered writing poetry to it, I love it so much.

Some of you have asked if there is a 'trick' to earning more Swagbucks. Yes. There is.

You see, you will most likely only earn 1-3 Swagbucks per day, and they will randomly be rewarded to you. So if you do an online search every day, you should easily earn your first gift card ($5 for Amazon.com) within the first month or two.

BUT the real earnings come when you get others to join you in your Swagbucks love. Then you can just sit back and let others do the work for you!

There are a few ways to get others to join you.

1. ASK them. After signing up here, click on the 'Promote' button at the top of the page and send everyone you know an e-mail. (Hey--who doesn't do online searches? Why not give people a chance to earn free stuff just for doing what they normally do?) You can also e-mail them from your personal account, but make sure to use the referral link that they give you on the 'Promote' page or you won't get credit!
   
   
2. If you have a blog, ya just gotta blog about it! Again, after signing up here, click on the 'Promote' button and then 'Promote banners'. Use the referral link and banners in your blog post to make sure you get credit. Then sit back and watch the savings come in!
   

**This may go without saying, but be sure to download the toolbar once you join. That's how you'll be on your way to Swagbucks heaven!

Let me know if you have any questions! Go here to find out more about what this Swagbucks craze is all about.

HAPPY TAX DAY!!!

In case you forgot, TODAY is tax day! If you haven't gotten those taxes filed, you have until midnight tonight. You can do it!

Once they are done, it's time to celebrate! There are several super fun freebies being offered today, including a free cookie from Subway and free bites from Cinnabon--ohhhhh yeah! I am there.

Deal Seeking Mom has the scoop (including a free scoop of ice cream) right here.

Free Reynold's Wrap

In honor of Earth Day, Reynold's Wrap is offering a FREE roll of their recycled aluminum foil. Go here to sign up. The rebate will not be available until April 22, but you can sign up for an e-mail reminder now. Quantities are limited.

Just in time...we're almost out!

Thanks, Thrifty Homemaker!

Money Saving Monday: The Spring Break Edition

For many of you, this week is Spring Break. Your kids are home from school and you may be feeling a bit like this:

Perhaps some good deals will ease your stress? I'm here for YOU.

In the Keeping Your Kids Occupied department:

• For your princess-loving litte girl: how about a free Precious Places DVD? Go here to order yours today!
  
  
• Thinking ahead about summer break? Go here to find out how your kids can bowl free all summer long! You can sign up to get two free games of bowling for every child in your family every day for the entire summer. How fun is that? (Go here to find participating locations.) Thanks, Jaycie!
  
  
• Did you know that Garmin has a program that allows you to upload Audiobooks for you to listen to on those long trips? Go here to find out more and to download a free Marley & Me audiobook!
  
  
• For those of you in my area (Binghamton, NY), have you checked out the BOOKS Reading Rewards Program? I LOVE it! About the only thing that will keep my three year old occupied for long periods of time is reading. How cool that he can earn free stuff just for doing what he loves!
  
  
• If you are not from my area, you may want to find out if your school participates in the Pizza Hut BOOK IT program. You can also enter a fun BOOK IT contest here until midnight tonight!

In the You Deserve a Break Today department:

• Did you know that Walmart gives away a free music download every week? Go here to get yours today. Then keep checking back weekly to build your collection!
  
  
• How about some free chicken wings? Go here to get your coupon for 6 free wings from Buffalo Wild Wings! (Offer expires April 30.) Apparently this coupon is no longer working. How about $3 off on your next visit to Boston Market instead? Go here to sign up!
  

And finally...in the FREE DIAPERS department

This past week I have found deals all over the place for free samples of diapers. Listen...every bit counts when it comes to saving money on diapers, so I thought I'd share the love. Here's what I found:

• Go here to find out how you can complete a phone survery and earn a free sample of diapers (and possbily $10 as well!)
  
  
• Go here to request a free sample of Huggies Pure and Natural diapers from Walmart.
  
  
• Go here to request another free sample of Huggies Pure and Natural diapers.

Happy Monday!

CVS and Upromise

My philosophy when I go to CVS is that I want to get the most that I can for the very smallest amount of money possible. Typically, I will walk away from CVS with $40-$50 worth of stuff, having spent less than a couple of dollars out of pocket.

There are two exceptions where I am willing to pay slightly more money out of pocket.

1) If the deal is on something that we absolutely need and I know it will be more expensive elsewhere (i.e. diapers!)

2) If I know I will get a large amount of extrabucks in return.

This week, both were the case.

Which is why I spent twenty-three whole dollars this week. Here's what I got:

(3) 12-pks of Diet Coke (used $1/1 coupon from MyCokeRewards)
(1) package of Huggies wipes (used $1.50/1 coupon from mailer)
(1) package of Huggies diapers (used $3 coupon from coupons.com--no longer available)
(1) package of Huggies pull-ups (used $3 coupon from coupons.com--no longer available)
(1) can of Pringles (used $1/1 coupon from P&G's Year of Savings booklet)
(1) bag of Easter grass
(1) Skintimate Shaving cream
(1) Colgate Max Fresh (used $1/1 coupon from SS 3/29/09)
(2) Easter baskets

Used $10 off $50 purchase coupon from CRT (cash register tape)

Total after coupons: $23.15

ECBs received: $23.26 (woohoo! $.11 more than I spent!)

However, I am kicking myself because I didn't activate my Upromise eCoupons until after I made this transaction. There is an eCoupon for $1.50 when you purchase a pack of Huggies diapers. Sigh.

If you haven't signed up for Upromise yet, I highly recommend it if you are starting to shop at CVS. I was a Upromise member for 3 years before I started CVSing and didn't earn a dime. But since I so often buy name brand products at CVS now (for almost free!), I've discovered that those products often earn me money at Upromise as well.

Once you sign up, be sure to go to the eCoupon section on the side. By activating these monthly, you'll have another way of earning a little more 'bang' for your buck!

In fact, right now there is a great Beech Nut promotion here plus if you sign up here, you will receive printable coupons for Beech Nut products. AND on top of all that, this month there is an eCoupon for Beech Nut products. My hungry 7 month old is already doing his part to help save for his college education!

Update: Wait...I just realized that I DID sign up for the eCoupons in time. My Upromise account was just credited for $1.50! That makes a girl happy. PLUS...have any of you seen the B1G1 free peelies on Beech Nut cereal? My Walmart has them! This deal just keeps getting sweeter!

Thought you'd like to know...

I earned enough swagbucks for my first Amazon gift card and I'm working on my second.
Woohoo!
(Don't know about my latest obsession? Go here to find out more!)

Money Saving Monday--Part 2: The Free Food Edition

I think it's a conspiracy. This is the third ice cream deal I've found since giving up ice cream for Lent. And it's my favorite. Get a FREE three scoop sundae and other special offers just for signing up for the Best Friend's of Friendly's eclub. I worked at Friendly's for about 6 years in high school and college, and this still sounds yummy to me!


While we're talking free food, Arby's has several more free food with purchase coupons out. These are only good until tomorrow, March 31, so print them now!

Oh...why not one more? Do you have a Boston Market nearby? Sign up for their e-mail club and receive $3 off your next purchase!

Money Saving Monday: The Moneymaking Coupons Edition

All right class, who here would like to get paid to shop?

Mmhmm. Thought so.

I went to Walmart last week and had so much fun actually making money on the coupons that I used, I just had to share. (Of course, I bought other things because I'm thinking that Walmart would frown upon actually paying me money at the end of my transaction.)

Here are my moneymakers:

• Have you printed these $5/1 Glucerna cereal coupons yet? Glucerna was $3.92 at my Walmart, so I made $1.08 per box! (Be sure to print off two by hitting the back button. Plus, you can go here to find out how to get another coupon by mail.)

• If you haven't printed or used the Johnson's Buddy Soaps coupons, do it now! I'm not sure how long they are available and I think they expire April 1. They were only $.97 at my Walmart, so I made $.03 per soap!

• This one was my favorite. Look for 'Try Me Free' peelies on the Nestle Toll House Chocolate or Caramel Filled Refrigerated Cookies. Then use this $1/1 printable to actually get paid a dollar to eat them. How can you go wrong there?

• If you get All You magazine, (I highly recommend it!) use the $1/2 coupon from the February issue to buy two Ortega Taco Seasonings. They were $.47 for me, so I made $.06!

I also thought this was a fun deal:

• Lender's Bagels: $1.37 each (some stores have them for $1.25)
  $5 Mail in Rebate coupon when you buy 5
  $.25 to $.37 each after mail in rebate! Note: Be sure to ask for two receipts if you plan to do this MIR and the Nestle MIR.
  

Happy Monday!

Shopping Trip

CVS purchase: $.48

Walgreens purchase: $0

Target purchase: $.28

An entire afternoon to shop by myself: Priceless

Yep. It was a good day. After carefully planning my shopping outing this afternoon (with only a few minor setbacks involving computers and printers NOT cooperating...sigh), I dropped the boys off at Grandma Ehret's house and hit CVS, Walgreens, Target, Walmart, and Aldi in a matter of 4 hours. (Oh...and found time to sit still for half an hour in the Target Starbucks enjoying a caramel macchiato. Love those gift cards!)

Tonight I will just share my CVS purchase. The others will have to wait. It was actually a very slow week at CVS, but that's Ok. Slow and simple is a good way to start for all you CVS virgins. (That was for you, Natalie!)

Here's what I got:

Transaction #1:

1 Crest Pro-Health: $2.49 with $1 off coupon/Earned $3.49 ECBs
1 Maybelline Instant Age Rewind *YES!*: $4.99 with $3 coupon/Earned $5 ECBs
1 York Peppermint Patty: (and yes...that wrapper is empty...yum) $.89

Transaction #2:

2 Johnson's Buddies Soaps: $.19 ea. with 2 $1 off coupons
1 bottle of Vitamin D: $2.99/Earned $2.99 ECBs

I used $8 in ECBs that I already had on the first transaction and then used $3.49 ECBs from the Crest Pro-Health on the second transaction.

TOTAL OOP (out of pocket): $.48
TOTAL ECBs to use next time: $7.99

Come back on Sunday when I will share my plan for your CVS steal deal of the week!

Here it is!

It's the moment you've all been waiting for! As promised in a previous post, I have something exciting to share!

Oh I'm sorry...did you think I meant this exciting news? Nope. Not yet. (Am I the only one laughing here? Please don't hate, you'll find out soon!) Actually, the 'something exciting' I am referring to is a response to a question I've been getting for months now.

If you want to know how to become a CVSer, I've got the goods today. And as I always say, It's gonna change your life!

I'm actually not kidding about that. If you don't believe me, ask my mom. She would be the first to tell you that she never thought that becoming a couponer was in her dna, until I started teaching her about CVS. She's nearing retirement age, folks, (Is that ok to share, mom?) and has never used coupons or followed ads until about two months ago. Now she calls me each week feeling hyper (her words) about the deals that she scored.

Since joining the world of the drugstore game (Walgreens and Rite Aid also have great deals), I estimate that I've saved my family over a thousand dollars. Crazy, huh? And the better I get at the game, the more money I am saving.

If you’d like to join the game, I’m going to give you the simplest tutorial I know how and then leave it up to you to bring on the questions.

Here goes!

The CVS ExtraCare Program provides shoppers with something called Extra Care Bucks (ECBs). These are ‘coupons’ that print out at the end of your receipt after you purchase certain items. The coupons are a dollar amount that can be used on your next purchase at CVS.

Weekly and monthly, CVS promotes products by offering a certain amount of ECBs if you buy them. My goal when I shop at CVS is to figure out how I can get the most ECBs for the least amount of money. This means buying items that either offer a high amount of ECBs or items that I have a coupon for or BOTH, which is the ultimate deal.

(For example, CVS has toothpaste this week for $3.49 that will earn you $3.49 in ECBs, PLUS I have a $1.00 off coupon. So, I will spend only $2.49, but get $3.49 back. That’s good stuff.)

When you earn your first ECBs you may feel that you have a coupon burning a whole in your pocket and you should use it right away. Actually, the best idea is to save your ECBs so that you can use them when there is a new week with new deals and new coupons. Again, the goal is to figure out how you can get the most ECBs for the least amount of money. And now you have a coupon that will make it that much easier to do so!

What made learning this game possible for me is that there is a whole world of resources available online. There are numerous web-sites dedicated to helping you figure out the best deals and the coupons that you can use with them. Stick with me and I will introduce you to these sites and help walk you through them.

Here’s what you need to do to get started:

1) Sign up for a CVS Extra Care Card. You can do so online, but I suggest just signing up in the store so that you can start using your card right away.

2) Start saving your Sunday coupons. If you don’t get a Sunday paper, it’s time to start! For tips on the easiest way to organize your coupons, go here.

3) Plan your shopping trip in advance. Check my blog each Sunday for the upcoming week’s best deals. Look through the store flyer to see if there are any deals that you don’t want to miss.

4) Take a carefully planned list and the store flyer with you, so you can be sure you are getting the exact items that are advertised.

5) If at all possible, take NO children with you! You will end up feeling stressed and rushed and paying more than you intended. (Besides, the CVS carts are about the size of my kitchen sink. No, I’m serious.)

Ok, let the savings begin!

(Check back later today for my CVS deals this week. I'm heading to the store this afternoon...without children!)

The Secret is Out...or will be

Some of my best ideas come in the middle of the night.

Although my 7 month old continues to sleep well, my 3 year old still needs potty breaks in the wee hours occasionally. (I SOOOO did not mean that as a pun!)

So, last night as I lay in bed after putting him back to bed, I started thinking about this little secret of ours. Some of you have been asking about it. I've been trying to figure out how we should tell you.
Then it hit me. A CONTEST!! Why not have a little fun?

So, here's the scoop. (Oh...and speaking of scoops, if you live near a Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shop, stop by TODAY--March 24--only with a non-perishable item and you can get a scoop for only $1!)

At some point in the next 7 days, I will write a post, outing our little secret.

If YOU are the first commenter on that post, I have a $5 Target gift card with your name on it.

Now, isn't that fun? Just keep coming back...maybe it will be YOU! (hint: if you want a bit of an edge in this contest, become a follower or subscribe to this blog!)

Besides, aren't you just dying to find out?! (And seriously, I'm not pregnant, folks...)

Swagbucks Love

It has now been a week since I signed up for Swagbucks.

Update: I am only 2 swagbucks away from my first gift card!!!

It has been so much fun to watch my numbers grow with very little effort on my part. I have searched the web several times, but most of my points have come from a few people who signed up last week when I posted about this new online search engine. As they earn swagbucks, so do I!

Here are a few tips:

• Sign up here. It only takes a minute and no credit card is required.
  

• Once you are signed up, be sure to download the toolbar and start earning bucks right away. You'll automatically receive 3 swagbucks just for signing up!
  

• Then, click on 'Promote' to find banners and links to post on your blog.
  

• If you don't have a blog, you can simply click on 'Promote' and send out an e-mail to your friends to invite them to join you in this fun new way to earn free money.

Seriously, this is so much fun. Join the Swagbucks craze with me. Hey, everybody's doing it! (This is what we call positive peer pressure. =)

Money-Saving Monday: The Health and Beauty Edition

It's been interesting to see how the deals I find each week all seem to follow a certain pattern. This week, I'm gonna help you stay healthy, strong and beautiful for a looong time.
(← Ok, maybe not that long, but at least for a few weeks...)

1) Go here to find out how you can get up to $28.00 of Attune Probiotic Granola Bars for FREE.

2) If you know someone with diabetes, or if you simply like healthy cereal, or FREE cereal, check this out. Go here to print two $5/1 coupons per computer (hit the back button after it prints the first time.) You can also call 1-877-879-4857 (it's an automated call) to receive a free $5/1 coupon for Glucerna cereal. Most stores have this cereal for around $4.50 a box, so you should be able to get three FREE.

And...if you live near a Kroger (unfortunately, I do not), the word is that if you buy two boxes of this cereal at Kroger stores, a $2.50 off your next purchase coupon is printing. SCORE!
Tkanks, Money Saving Mom!

3) Herbal Essence has a new promotion out when you buy specially marked products, they will pay for a haircut for you. Go here to find out the scoop!
Thanks, Faithful Provisions!




4) Want some free mascara? The April issue of my favorite magazine, All You, has a coupon for a free Rimmel mascara, up to a $6.47 value. All You magazine is only carried in Walmart stores at a price of $2.24. So, you can buy one magazine and still get a great deal. OR you can find out how you can get a 2 year subscription for $19.95 $17.99 here. This magazine is loaded with coupons, so you can easily pay yourself back if you use them!

I should add that the mascara coupon says 'only in Walmart stores'. However, I took mine to Walgreen's and was able to use it because it is a manufacturer's coupon. Just to be safe, you may want to purchase it at Walmart though.

5) Finally, to finish off the 'healthy living' theme, I recommend heading to CVS and buying the following items:

• 100 ct. CVS brand Vitamin D 400. It is priced at $2.99 and until the end of the month, you will get $2.99 in extrabucks back.
• Crest Pro-Health Enamel Care. This week only, you pay $3.49 and will get $3.49 back in extrabucks. AND if you happened to save your coupons from last week, you can use the $1.00 off Crest coupon from the 3/15 Procter and Gamble insert. You'll pay only $2.49 and get 3.49 back!
  
• Stay tuned for more information about how to become a CVSer. If you have not joined the CVS craze, I promise it's gonna change your life!

Happy Monday!

Gotta share this HOT coupon...

MARCH 21-22 ONLY: Use this coupon to get a FREE Thomas and Friends wooden train at Toys R Us. (Coupon states it can be used for Thomas the Tank Engine, Lights and Sound Percy, Sir Handel, and Peter Sam.)

These go FAST so hurry!

Thanks, Money Saving Mom!

Update: Sorry if you missed this coupon! If you want to be sure to not to miss any offers in the future, why not sign up in a feed reader or become a follower of this blog?

How We Got Here, Part 2: Kaley's Edition

You can read the first part of this series here.

I've always been a fan of the "This is Your Life" concept. If there were a made-for-tv movie highlighting all of the events in my life leading up to my current state of frugality, I think it might look something like this.

Cue soundtrack. Cut to slideshow of old family pictures. Begin voice-over of Kaley speaking.

The early years--I'm the one with the finger in my mouth

"I grew up poor.

Wow, that feels weird to say. I think I had no idea how poor we were. My parents worked hard to find creative ways to keep us from feeling poor. And rarely did we talk about money being tight.

But, the salary of a small country church pastor is small and our family was large, so we were definitely poor.

If I had to do it all over, I think I might grow up poor again. (Although I might choose to be filthy rich the third time around!) For a lot of reasons.

First of all, I learned how little I really needed. Cut to scene of young girl sitting contentedly on ugly orange carpet. I was the kid who wore her sister's hand-me-downs with pride, had no hate about the ugly orange carpet in her teeny tiny bedroom, and was completely unfazed by the fact that the guy she dated in high school had a brand new red sports car. And I promise I wasn't weird.

I also learned that I liked to save my money. At some point when I was younger, my parents gave us a set of three envelopes to keep track of our money. We labeled them Savings, Tithe, and Spending. I would separate any money that I earned into those three envelopes. My favorite envelope was the one for savings. Maybe I was secretly hoping to save enough to replace that ugly, orange carpet...I don't know.

Being poor also meant that I saw God provide for me a lot. When I was in college, my parents moved overseas to become missionaries in Korea. So our family's pay scale changed from poor to dirt poor. To be honest, I'm not sure how I was able to afford college. But, over and over, God showed His care for me in the form of financial provision.

Cut to scene of college-aged girl in line at the grocery store, searching through her purse. Whether it was the $.25 that I found on the day that all I needed was a quarter or the $100 bills that would show up randomly from a secret provider or the woman behind me in line at Kroger who paid for the rest of my grocery bill when I didn't have enough money--I knew my lack of funds was not a problem that was too big for God.

There were a few things that being poor did not teach me, however. Learning to be wise in my money management was one of them. Cut to scene of girl standing in the middle of a bank, crying. Loudly. The day that I stood in the middle of my bank sobbing uncontrollably because I had bounced my first check was one evidence of my lack of money sense. (I've always felt sorry for that poor bank teller.)

Cut to scene of girl devouring a pack of Twizzlers. I also signed up for a credit card in college because by doing so, I would get a pack of Twizzlers. By the time I was done with college, that was the most expensive pack of Twizzlers I have ever purchased. I had a good chunk of debt and little idea of how to get rid of it.

Then I married Wes."

To be continued...

Couponizing

I have a confession to make.

I hate clipping coupons.

I hate the mess it makes and the time it takes. And then, when it's time to look for my coupons, I hate searching through them all to find the one that I need.

So I use the simplest method possible to store and keep track of my coupons. I thought I would share it with you in case you are a closet coupon-clipping hater like myself. It doesn't get much easier than this.

First, a quick tutorial in case you are new at this coupon thing. I just started less than a year ago, and I promise it was all greek to me.

1) Sunday papers contain three basic sets of coupons: Red Plum, Smart Source, and Procter & Gamble. (Some regions also carry Valassis coupons, but mine does not.) Some weeks they carry all, and some just one or two.

2) There are tons of web-sites dedicated to matching up sales to coupons in stores nationwide. Rather than spending hours trying to do so on your own, why not let someone else do the work? Check out some of my favorite sites: Walmart, Price Chopper, Drug Stores, Other Grocery Stores...just to name a few.

And now for my system. I bought an accordion type file folder like this:


Then I labeled it like this:

PG=Procter & Gamble
RP=Red Plum
SS=Smart Source
MIR=Mail-in Rebates
All You=All You magazine (it's full of coupons)
CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens=my coupons for those stores
(These are the stores I frequent. Your list may be different.)

Each week, I take the coupon inserts out of my paper and I use a sharpie to label them with the date. Then I file them away, without clipping them.

As you look for the deals online, you will note that the sites use the name of the insert and the date the coupon was in it to indicate what coupons you should use. For example, if a coupon was in Procter & Gamble the week of March 1, the coupon will be labeled: PG, 3/1/09. So you can just open your handy dandy file folder, grab the 3/1 insert from the PG section, and clip the coupon that you need.

Isn't that easy?

But wait, it gets better! I know that some of you may actually want to know what coupons that you have, in case you need to use one that isn't listed on a site. Have I got a deal for you! I am going to post a weekly database that lists all of the coupons from the Sunday paper in alphabetical order. I will update it each week so that it is current and all expired coupons have been removed. So, if you need to know if you have a coupon for Lysol toilet bowl cleaner, you can just open the database, scroll down to the L's and BAM! your question is answered. Look for a link to the database on the right hand side of my blog for easy access.

HOLD THE PHONE!!! I just found out that there is an online database for coupons ALREADY. Just go here to register and then you can search for coupons to your heart's content. Their database will also list printable coupons that are available...SCORE! This is why I love the world of money saving bloggers...there is never a need to re-invent the wheel. THANKS, SHARON!

I would love to know if you have any questions. I really want to be a resource, particularly for those who are new to this whole coupon thing. It's easier than it seems!

Happy non-clipping!

Money-Saving Monday: Wait, there's more!

Remember these fabulous coupons? Well, they're BA-AAACK!!!
If you print out each of these coupons twice (hit the back browser after they print the first time), you should be able to print enough coupons to score as many as 16 FREE Buddies soaps. I've found them at Wegman's for $.99 and I think they may be about the same price at Target. They are usually $1.19 at CVS, but sometimes go on sale for $.99.

Note that I've listed links for both Internet Explorer and Firefox, depending on which browser you use.

• $1/1 Johnson’s Buddies (IE) (Firefox)
• $2/2 Johnson’s Buddies (IE) (Firefox)
• $2/2 Johnson’s Shampoo, Conditioner or Buddies (IE) (Firefox)
• $3/3 Johnson’s Products (IE) (Firefox)

I just printed mine and they expire April 1, so hurry up and print yours today!

Thanks, Deal Seeking Mom!

Update: I seem to be having a problem printing the last two coupons. Let me know how it works for you!

Money-Saving Monday (Things that make you go Cha-Ching! Edition)

cha-ching: The sound that a cash register makes when its drawer is closed after money has been put inside. Used in conversation to indicate that the person being spoken about is going to or already has made quite a profit at little expense. (urbandictionary.com)

One of my favorite ways to save money is to take advantage of every possible offer that will let me earn money for little or no effort. I'm a sucker for 30 day free trials (and have only been scammed once...but that's a story for another time.) Last night, I signed up with Nielsen TV ratings to keep track of our tv viewing for a week for $30. Mail-in Rebates? I'm there.

The way I see it, by signing up for these offers, I'm earning free money. And who doesn't like that?

So for this edition of Money-Saving Monday, I thought I'd let you in on my favorite 'free money' sites. Sign up for these and you'll be saying, "Cha-Ching!" in no time.

MyPoints: Earn points by reading e-mails, signing up for offers, and shopping through their site. Then redeem the points for gift certificates from their extensive list of merchants. I've been a MyPoints member for years and have earned hundreds of dollars of gift certificates. Right now, I consider MyPoints to be my home furnishings savings for when we buy a home. Go to mypoints.com to sign up, or better yet leave a comment with your e-mail address and I will send you a referral and earn 250 points!

Swagbucks: I just signed up for this site, but am pretty excited about it because of all the buzz. It's an online search engine that rewards you for searching online. It's very easy to sign up for and once you download the toolbar, you'll start earning points just by searching the web. After only 45 points earned, you can get a free Amazon gift card. Or at 50 points, you can get a Starbucks gift card. There are dozens of other prizes, too. You can also earn points by referring your friends. You'll not only instantly earn more points when they sign up, you'll also earn points for the searching they do online. What are you waiting for? Sign up now!


Upromise: Sign up with your grocery or drug store card and save money for college as you shop. The savings are a little slow, but you can speed things up by signing up for monthly eCoupons and asking friends and family to sign up as well. Hey...it's free money!

Pampers Gifts to Grow: Earn points for every package of Pampers diapers or wipes that you buy. Use those points to earn a long list of rewards. Kind of makes me feel better about changing yet another messy diaper.
Coke Rewards: I like earning free stuff from products I already use. Since I happen to enjoy Diet Coke, I thought I might as well start earning something for it! Sign up for Coke Rewards or Pepsi Stuff, depending on your drink of choice. (Oh, yay! I just earned 2 swagbucks for googling Pepsi Stuff!)

There are so many more, but I think I'll stop for now. Leave me a comment if any of these sites make you say, "Cha-Ching!'

If Mama ain't happy....

Just gotta share a couple deals to make Mama happy.


The $5 and $3 Huggies coupons have been reset here. So if you already printed two out, you can go back and print two more now! Then, I recommend going here to find out how to get an amazing deal on Huggies diapers at Walgreens this week!






Target has Pepperidge Farm Whole Grain Goldfish Crackers on sale this week from $1 to $1.79, depending on your store. Use this $1 off 1 coupon to get them for $.79 or FREE!!!








While you're there, pick up some Mott's Applesauce for only $.22! Just use this $1 off 1 Target coupon, combined with this $.55 off 1 Mott's Applesauce coupon.

You should also be able to get some free broccoli if yours is a Super Target. Just use this $1 off 1 coupon!

And again with the cheap date theme...

Thought I'd add one more option for your night out. From now until April 28, 2009, you can use this coupon in your local Border's store to get a free mocha or latte when you purchase one of equal or greater value. Alas, we have no Borders nearby, so please enjoy one for me!

Thanks, Lori!