How A "Couponer" Prepares For A Disney Vacation (Or Any Vacation For That Matter)

Last summer, after our multi-day Walt Disney World trip, I wrote a post about how a “couponer” does Disney—click here to read more.  But as our summer 2014 adventure approaches, I thought I would confess/tell/share how a “couponer” prepares for a Disney vacation.

Let me begin with the fact that I know taking a family vacation to the most magical place on earth is a potential budget busting affair.  Flights, resort stay, park tickets, and dining can all add up and that isn’t even taking into consideration souvenirs or other magical experiences.  A husband of a friend was surprised to hear about how much we spend on a multi-week vacation that includes adventures on land and sea.  He was under the impression that since we save so much in other parts of our life that we would save on vacations, too.  Well, Disney hasn’t give us a trip, but we have saved by purchasing and reserving in advance, using a travel agent that can snag discounts and perks for us, and not adding extra days or privileges to our park tickets that we would not use which means we aren’t paying “full price” for our vacation.

Let me also add that our multiple trips gives us some advantages such as not having to go out and buy stuff like a misting water fan or umbrellas or ponchos or a park bag.  These items, among others, are things we already have on hand and I make sure to keep tabs on them when we return from a trip so that they are easily accessible for the next trip.  Having these items saves us money before AND during the trip.

Another caveat is that we do not, I repeat, do not, go out and buy a bunch of new clothes for a vacation.  If something new is purchased, such as a new dress for me for formal night, it is purchased well in advance, is most certainly on sale, and the purchase comes out of our regular budget.  But sometimes, other items are needed. . .

There were some new items that were needed/purchased for the upcoming trip.  Some did not cost us a thing and many of them I made money back when purchasing them!

• The husband needed a new pair of black, closed toe, fisherman sandals.  These could be worn on the ship as well as at the parks and are perfect for cruise casual evenings.  I “bought” them from Amazon using Amazon gift cards I had earned through Swagbucks.  And, not only did I not pay a thing, I MADE money, as Ebates was offering 3% back on shoe purchases on Amazon.  ChaChing—money in my pocket—cash money!  (Click here to get started with Swagbucks and click here to start earning cash back every time you shop on line with Ebates.)
• One of our planned meals for our upcoming trip is at T-Rex Café.  Again, we used Swagbucks to earn a $25 gift card AND will earn another $25 credit on our Landry Select Club account as it will be the anniversary of joining Landry Select Club.  Nothing like dining for FREE!
• Also, the husband needed some rash guards.  Those, too, were FREE with Amazon gift cards and I earned cash back—click here to read the post about the FREE rash guards.
• All three of us were in need of waterproof watches.  Enter Amazon and Swagbucks.  Again, paid zippo and earned 3% back when shopping on-line through Ebates.
• This one is a need/want, depending on your perspective.  We promised the boy a new game for his Nintendo 3DS for the trip.  He selected a game and I added it to my cart on Amazon and waited until I had enough gift cards to cover the cost.  This item is on its way!  But, the boy won’t get it until the day of the trip.  
• The boy had outgrown several of his swimsuits.  K-Mart had boys’ swimsuits 50% off ($6.49) and because I started my on-line shopping at Ebates, I earned 4% back on my purchase.
• A big cash rebate from Ebates came when we booked our stay at the Hyatt at Orlando International.  I knew we needed a reservation for two nights and I also knew that we were members of Hyatt’s Gold Passport Program.  Then, I waited.  And to our luck, Hyatt offered a “double cash” back promo on Ebates and so I got 12% cash back for our stay!  And, points earned using our Hyatt frequent stayer program.
• The boy also needed new tennis shoes.  He wanted Nikes (gulp)!  Thanks to MyCokeRewards, I snagged $50 in Nike gift cards for FREE and the boy has new black/red Nikes.
• What’s in it for me?  Well, in addition to knowing that my fellas are well taken care of, I am looking forward to a treat of a pedicure prior to our trip.  No out-of-pocket costs though, as I was given a gift certificate during the holidays AND am getting a $30 check from an on line company that pays me!

There you have it.  A family prepared for a summer vacation without breaking the bank or busting the budget.  I am so grateful for Swagbucks and Ebates—both allowing me to keep our budget in check.

Click here to get started with Swagbucks.  And, if you sign-up now and earn 1,500 Swagbucks by July 14, you'll get an addition 500 Swagbucks Bonus!

Click here to get started with Ebates—remember to start at Ebates every time you shop on line AND be sure to select your sign-up bonus!

FREE Rash Guards For The Husband Using Swagbucks

As the planning continues for our summer 2014 vacation which includes a Disney Cruise and a trip to Walt Disney World, the need for various items arises.  The latest need and/or request from the husband were rash guards that he could wear while on the ship and at the water parks.  I checked various stores to no avail, but found a great supply--lots of color choices and the size he needed--on Amazon.  Better yet, due to my ability to earn Amazon gift cards through Swagbucks, his rash guards have arrived and were FREE!

He got four of them ranging in price from $16 to $19 with the dark colors being less expensive than lighter shades.  The rash guards can be machine washed and tumbled dry, another convenience.

The next items in our Amazon cart are waterproof watches and already I've earned $10 worth of gift cards to go towards their purchase using Swagbucks.

Earning is easy with Swagbucks--just click here to get started.

A Valentine's/Birthday Gift For Myself--For FREE!

My birthday is approaching, as is Valentine's Day.  While people who love me would love to shower me with gifts, I tend to be more practical.  I also tend to find those special things that I like for myself.  It used to bother my mom, who would ask me for a shopping list for the holidays, only to discover that I had purchased the items for myself as I have been earning an income since I was 15.

So while the husband and boy coyly try to conceal some sort of gift giving, I found a Mickey watch on-line that I snagged as a treat for myself for FREE!

How did I get that for FREE you might ask?  Easy.  Swagbucks.  I have written about Swagbucks before and the incredible earning opportunities.  Here's how it works. . . I use Swagbucks as my search engine, just like you might use Google.  I earn Swagbucks 2-3 times per day through Search and Earn.  Then, there's the on-line games, the videos, the surveys, the special offers, the daily poll.  There are over 15 ways to earn Swagbucks.

Once you earn Swagbucks, you can redeem them at the Swagstore.  My favorite redemption is the Amazon gift card.  Amazon gift cards NEVER expire.  The Amazon gift cards that I earned through Swagbucks is how I got my new watch--for FREE!

Another way to earn Swagbucks is through Shop and Earn, so I actually earned more Swagbucks when "purchasing" the watch.  Yes, there are some things in life that are FREE.

If you want to start earning Swagbucks--click here to get started.  It is easy!

We have used our Swagbucks to also earn Landry gift cards for T-Rex Cafe and Rainforest Cafe at Walt Disney World.  Click here to read more.

Swagbucks also helped us get Disney trading pins--click here to read more.  And, Swagbucks helped us get our new waterproof camera--click here to read more.

Happy Swagging!

50 Disney Trading Pins For FREE Using Swagbucks

As you may already know, the husband is the pin trader in our family.  His pin trading started off innocently enough, as a way for him to interact with Cast Members and other guests.  Now, he arranges his pins into collections--Villians, Pixar, black and white, etc.  Before a trip, he sorts and organizes the pins that are going with him and each evening of our trip, he will add pins to the various lanyards (yes, he has more than one lanyard) for trading the next day.

The husband's pin lanyard is extra-wide for more pins!

The boy also has more than one lanyard, but he is more likely to broker trading of his dad's pins than of his own.  He will check out a Cast Member's selection and then propose, "Hey, want to trade that pin for one of my dad's?" without even considering trading one of his own pins.  He also has a lanyard full of Stitch pins that gets heavy so is reserved for special occasions.

So it is not surprising that a set or "lot" of 50 Disney trading pins is on it's way from Amazon in preparation for our next Disney vacation.  What is surprising is that we are getting the pins for FREE!

Free?  How do you do that?  Well, it's easy.  The answer is Swagbucks.  Swagbucks is a search engine and more that pays you back when you interact--in Swagbucks, of course.  I started using Swagbucks about 18 months ago and since have earned over $400.  The Swagbucks can be used/redeemed at the Swagstores for gifts, prizes, contest entries, and best of all, gift cards!  Our favorites are Amazon gift cards which never expire!

To get the trading pins home, I earned enough Swagbucks to redeem for Amazon gift cards which were then applied to the purchase of the Disney trading pins.  The Amazon gift cards covered the cost of the pins and shipping, making the pins FREE.

There are 15 different ways to earn Swagbucks, but my favorite is Searching.  I use Swagbucks like any other search engine--such as Google-- and earn Swagbucks for searching.

If you want to get started earning Swagbucks--click here.

How A "Couponer" Does Disney

The newspaper the husband is reading was FREE

Saving money and Disney vacations are two of my favorite things.  When I get to combine them, it is a bonus!  Here is how a “couponer” makes the most of a Disney vacation while saving money:

Rewards Programs—Let’s start here as I used at least 4 rewards programs to make the most of our vacation.  We fly frequently and belong to many frequent flier programs.  AirTran’s A+ has the best return on points for travel.  We each had earned enough A+ points for a FREE upgrade to business class.  All I had to do was phone the airline 24 hours before travel and ask to use the points for an upgrade.  We got seats in business class which meant no baggage fees, free food choices beyond pretzels, and free alcoholic beverages—which the husband took advantage of.  That one phone call saved us over $75 in baggage fees alone and we earned credit for the flights for future upgrades.

We also belong to Hilton Honors which gives us points for stays at any of the Hilton family hotels.  Our pre-flight stay was a park-n-fly at Embassy Suites in Kansas City near the airport.  While we didn’t have enough points for a free stay, we earned points and got a discount using our AAA membership.  The free breakfast and free shuttle to/from the airport added value to our stay.  And, we were still racking up points for future use.

Landry Select Club is another rewards program/membership that pays you back when you dine at Landry restaurants which include Rainforest Café and T-Rex Café, both of which can be found at Walt Disney World.  We had accumulated $50 in rewards for the club and another $100 in Landry gift cards using Swagbucks—click here to get started earning Swagbucks.  We ate at both Rainforest Café and T-Rex Café for FREE with enough gift card credit left over to get the boy a souvenir at T-Rex Café AND the Landry Select Club saved us 10% on that purchase.  Those two dining experiences only cost us the tips, which we paid in cash AND we earned points towards more rewards from Landry.

Since we were heading to Kansas City the day before we flew, we made the most of it with a trip to Schlitterbahn Water Park.  I had acquired two free tickets using MyCokeRewards points so all we had to do was pay for the boy’s ticket—which was still $33.  Imagine paying for all 3 of us!  Cha-ching!  Schlitterbahn allows guests to bring in coolers, so we packed lunch and drinks to take with us.  Parking and tube use was also free, so we had a full day for $33.

Hy-Vee Fuel Saver Rewards program also saved us tons of money on gas driving to and from Kansas City.  We paid $20 for gas—total—to make the round trip drive!

Coupons:  Yes, you can use coupons and vouchers while traveling to Disney! 

After our day at Schlitterbahn, we needed dinner.  I had printed out coupons on Amazon Local for buy one, get one free Whoppers from Burger King, which was just a few blocks from Schlitterbahn.  Guess what we had for dinner?  We combined that with the free Manager’s Reception at Embassy Suites for a lovely evening.

Our AAA package contained vouchers for various purchases and experiences.  The boy played in the resort arcade for free using one of the vouchers.  We also brought home souvenirs from Planet Hollywood for free, AND had an afternoon snack there for FREE using the $15 food voucher located in our travel packet.  And, by using AAA to book our vacation, we are earning AAA Travel Rewards for discounts off future travel.

Getting the most out of your park tickets and dining plans:  For our trip was had a 9 day base ticket (the more days you have the less you pay per day) so we had great value in our park tickets, then we added Water Parks and More Fun for $59 per ticket.  Because we had a 9 day ticket, adding Water Parks and More Fun gave us 9 additional entries to Water Parks, DisneyQuest, miniature golf, or Wide World of Sports per person.  Given that entry to the Water Parks and DisneyQuest is $45 per person per day and we went to two water parks and DisneyQuest, we can out ahead by adding the Water Parks and More Fun option to our tickets.  If we had only used that option once, we would have lost money.

We also had the basic dining plan on our tickets—one table service credit, one quick service credit, and one snack credit per person per night of stay.  We zeroed out all of the credits.  I had lost track of the quick service credits somewhere in the middle of our stay and phoned our resort front desk.  A check on the computer gave the total and we were in good shape for the rest of our stay. 

When we were checking out of our resort, the Cast Member checked our “account” to notice that we had no room charges and had no dining or snack credits left over.  I was overhearing other conversations about room charges while people were checking their bills or even limiting room charges.  We did good. . . especially for 11 nights/12 days!

Strategically planning your stay:  We strategically planned our stay to be less expensive.  Huh? How do you do that?  Well, the most expensive nights at a Disney Resort are Friday and Saturday nights.  We checked in on a Monday and left the following Friday, only having one week-end during our stay.  This also allowed us to fly on a Monday (less expensive day to fly) and a Friday (which was also less than flying on a Saturday or Sunday).

We also took advantage of a percentage off special for our resort stay which then gave us a refund which we then used towards our Photopass + prepurchase of $149.  Both Photopass and Photopass + are available for purchase prior to your vacation at a discount.  Let’s do the math. . . $149 for 980 photos before editing. . .that makes it about 15 cents per photo AND we brought home five 8 X 10 dining photos that are sold for $35 each.  Yeah, we came out ahead on this one!

When Bell Services picked us and our luggage up (there is no charge for this, just a tip) when we checked out of the resort, we were the first pick-up and it was 8:15 am.  That means the resort wasn’t doing banner business, at least for Bell Services.  I inquired as to why that might be and was told “the economy” and how it can be expensive for a family to travel to Walt Disney World.  Yes, it CAN be expensive, but it doesn’t HAVE to be expensive.  

Don’t get me wrong, we didn’t pinch pennies, only watched them carefully.  The boy came home with new toys including Lego’s which were partially purchased using Lego VIP rewards points which also allowed us to get a FREE Lego set.  We also brought home souvenirs, but they were purchased using a 20% off discount code found on a Quick Service receipt.  One receipt was from an order for 3 glasses of ice water which were FREE and then that receipt was used to save over $30 on souvenir purchases and we paid cash rather than “charging” them to our room.

I am going to venture to guess that the thinking or brain power behind some of our savings can be too cumbersome for some folks and they get caught up in the adventure or overwhelmed by the sites and sounds that are inevitable at Disney (I will write another post about the noise level).  Yet, by doing a bit of planning and strategizing, savings can be had and some significant savings at that.

Water Proof Digital Camera--Finally!

 We did it!  We finally got a water proof digital camera.  After months of deliberation, the Olympus Tough was the top winner and we took it out for a test drive.

We wanted to see how well it did on photos indoors.  The husband and Phoebe, our dog, posed for the photo above.  Not bad.

Then, it was time to take it outside.  Here are are some of the photos from a trip to our local pool:

Very clear, crisp, and bright, even after cropping.  That's what 14 megapixels will do!  There is even a zoom function.

Being a cheap, I mean frugal person, springing for the $100 plus dollars for the camera was a stretch, especially since we already have a new digital camera.  But here is how it happened. . . .

I was changing purses and cleaning them out.  There were various gift cards still in the pouch along with other important cards.  I decided to check balances and found $105 and change!  It was like Christmas!  We decided to use our remaining Amazon.com gift cards earned through Swagbucks towards the camera along with some of the balance on one of the gift cards.  So, the camera was basically FREE! (Click here to get started with Swagbucks.)

So far so good.  Charging was easy as was taking the SD card out of the camera to upload onto the computer.  Oh, speaking of the SD card, we purchased it was Target gift cards earned through a program in our county where you are rewarded for attending cultural events like concerts, plays, art showings, etc.  Many of the events were free.  This made the SD card FREE!  Did I tell you I was frugal?

I can't wait to take camera to other swimming pools, water parks, and eventually on our vacation!

100 Disney Trading Pins--For FREE!

A very special delivery arrived last week. . . 100 Disney trading pins!   And, we got them for FREE!

How did we get them for free?  By using Swagbucks.  Both the husband and I have Swagbucks accounts that we use each day for searching—in place of Google or Yahoo.  Typically I earn or win Swagbucks twice a day through searches; once in the morning after 3-5 searches and again, later in the day.  There are many other ways to earn Swagbucks, too.

After earning Swagbucks, we then redeem them for gift cards.  The 100 Disney trading pins came to us from Amazon, so I redeemed my Swagbucks for Amazon gift cards, but there are other gift cards available too, such as PayPal, Target, Walmart, etc.  A whole store is dedicated to Swagbucks redemption.  Click here to read about how Swagbucks ishelping us eat for free while at Disney.

If you are already using Swagbucks, good for you!  If not, now is the time to get started.

Click here to get started using Swagbucks. 

I have been using Swagbucks for almost a year and have earned over 35,000 Swagbucks.  With a ratio of 500 Swagbucks = to about $5, I have earned over $350 in less than a year!

Now back to the Disney trading pins. . .  the husband was in heaven with his loot, but the boy and I skimmed through too.  The boy found Stitch pins—his favorite—and I found a Timothy Mouse pin which was interesting.

The pins and lanyards are about to be packed for our upcoming trip to Walt Disney World—our 11^th!  Some people ask about whether or not pins can make it through security and the answer is YES!  Our pins and lanyards go in our carry-on luggage and actually come out of the bag as soon as we are through airport security as we like to wear our lanyards en route.  The lanyards along with the matching Disney shirts and Mickey suitcases leave no doubts about our destination to other passengers or flight crew.

The husband was joking about the number of times we are walking through a Disney park, or anywhere on property for that matter, and I turn around only to find him engaged in some sort of pin trade with a Cast Member.  The boy acts more like a pin broker or agent.  He scopes Cast Member lanyards for wanted or interesting pins and then brokers a trade using his Dad’s pins.  It is almost comical, but hey, it is how they find magic. . . and, “Can I see your pins?” has blossomed into other magical experiences as well.

We Will Be Eating For Free Using Gift Cards From Swagbucks!

We will be eating for free on our next trip to Walt Disney World!  Huh?  Eating for free?  Yes, we will be eating for free for two meals during our upcoming trip to Walt Disney World using gift cards purchased with Swagbucks for Rainforest Cafe and T-Rex Cafe.  We could even use them at Yak and Yeti if we were planning to dine there.

After earning Swagbucks, I redeem them for the gift cards.  A $10 gift card for Rainforest Cafe  is 1,000 Swagbucks.  Then, I print the gift card which includes a scannable bar code and take with me on our vacation.  And, since we have ADR's for both T-Rex Cafe and Rainforest Cafe, we will be able to eat for free at both locations. 

Have you signed up for Swagbucks yet?  If not, now is a great time as new members earn 50 Swagbucks by including the following code when you sign-up:  SPRINGIN2SWAG. 

There  are many ways to earn Swagbucks while interacting with the web-site.  Here are just a few:

• Shop & Earn
• Search
• Watch (SBTV)
• Play (the Swagbucks Games portal)
• Answer (surveys, daily polls, tasks)
• Discover (special offers, coupons, toolbars, NOSO)

 So, go ahead and start earning.  Click here to get started.  It's fun, easy, and free!

Swagbucks Equals New Winter Coat For The Boy

Combine Midwest winter weather, frugality, and a need for color coordination and you get an interesting mix when it comes to purchasing winter outwear for a growing and rambunctious boy.  Somewhere in our son's early years, I decided that his winter outwear would be black and red.  This decision has paid off over time as items were outgrown or broken and needed to be replaced.  For example, the black snow pants still fit, but he outgrew his boots--new black and red boots to the rescue.  I knew the new boots would still match the rest of his winter apparel wardrobe, therefore reducing costs of replacing other items just because they didn't match.

Shopping, okay browsing, winter clearance items is also made easier due to the color combo commitment   Even if that bright blue jacket is the right size and price, since it doesn't match, it doesn't get purchased.

Recently the zipper broke on the boy's winter jacket.  My first impulse would be to replace the zipper, but this would be the last winter for the coat anyway as the boy continues to grow.  So, I jumped on-line and found a new coat for a reasonable price at Amazon.  What made the deal even sweeter was paying no money out of pocket for the coat, as I had accumulated enough Amazon gift cards through Swagbucks to cover the purchase of the new coat.

Earning Swagbucks is easy--by Searching as you would any internet search engine, Shopping and Earning, watching Swagbucks TV to get the latest news and entertainment, and taking advantage of special deals and offers.  The coat purchase earned me even more Swagbucks as I went to Shop and Earn before choosing Amazon, and children's clothing was an earning category on Amazon.

Redeeming Swagbucks is easy, too.  Amazon gift cards are just one of the many categories Swagbucks users can choose to redeem their Swagbucks earnings.  450 Swagbucks can be redeemed for a $5 Amazon gift card that never expires.

So my recent purchase checked off several boxes. . . the boy's new coat is black and red still matching his boots, snow pants, backpack, and lunchbox, it cost me no money out of pocket and I actually earned even more Swagbucks for making the purchase.

To get started earning Swagbucks click here now.

There Is Such A Thing As A Free Lunch--Well, Breakfast Anyway!

That’s us at the Hyatt at Orlando International Airport ready to eat our free breakfast before catching our Disney Cruise Line bus to the port.  Did I tell you the breakfast was free?  Well, it was free for the adults and we got a great deal paying for the boy’s breakfast.  How did we get a free breakfast?  It was included in the fantastic rate our travel agent got for our room and I wasn’t going to turn down a free meal, frugal as I am. 

That same frugality is what got me into the coupon game and now the coupon game has turned into teaching coupon classes!  A friend and I have teamed up and have taught two rounds of classes so far with three more starting this month!  We were even featured in the local newspaper—click here to read more.

The savings on everyday things from gasoline to haircuts allows us to enjoy our trips to Disney.  And, if we need to tighten the belt a bit due to an unexpected expense, I know our freezer and pantry can tide us over.

The whole family is in on the savings game from packing food from our house instead of eating out when we are on the go, looking for deals on needed items, and clipping coupons.  A few days ago the boy asked if I had any toy coupons and the husband sent me a text this morning indicating he had saved over $35 when purchasing gas using a local grocery store’s fuel saver program. 

In addition to saving on everyday purchases, I have made a goal to not spend any money out of pocket for holiday gifts this year.  I’ve already started with my first “acquisition” (I can’t really say purchase) of an 11 X 14 collage photo print that only required a small shipping fee and will eventually need a frame.  I also have Amazon gift cards stacking up by using Swagbucks to earn daily while searching the web—click here to get started with Swagbucks.  (Click here to read about the free gifts last holiday season.)

While some would see Disney travel and saving money as somewhat juxtaposed opposites, I actually see them as collaborative partners.  By saving money, we have more money for Disney AND I have figured out ways to save money on Disney travel.  For example, our next trip will be 11 nights Monday through the following Thursday.  I know that the most expensive nights to stay on property are Friday and Saturday nights, therefore, we only have one Friday and Saturday night during our stay.  I also know that Saturday and Sunday flights are more expensive, so we are flying on a Monday and Friday.  Just by adjusting our stay, even though it is lengthy, we saved money on our stay and our flights.  And, by having such a long stay, the cost per day of our park tickets is minimized and becomes more economical—more savings!  Just imagine how many Photopass photos we will be able to squeeze in during such a long trip!  Shazam!  Our cost per photo on a pre-ordered (at a savings) Photopass CD just went down!

Yes, there are ways to save for and on a Disney vacation.  But since we are still months away, I think I’ll concentrate on everyday savings.  Coupons, anyone?

I Used Swagbucks For My Holiday Shopping

 Shhhh. . . . Don't tell anyone on our holiday shopping list, but I got all of the items in the photo above for FREE!  How did I do that?  Swagbucks, that's how.  When interacting with the Swagbucks website, I was able to earn Swagbucks that could be redeemed for prizes and gift certificates.  My favorite is the $5 Amazon gift card.  I then apply the gift card to my Amazon account--they never expire--and then make purchases at Amazon.  All of the items in the photo above were purchased at Amazon.  So, 4 Disney watches, cookie cutters, and an Olympus camera all for FREE.  Okay, the camera isn't for holiday gift giving, it is for our family.  I began earning Swagbucks in July and had nearly $200 in Amazon gift cards when it came time to do our holiday shopping.

Here's how Swagbucks works:

Once you click here to get started, you will be greeted with a log-in or join screen.  You can create an account through Facebook or by using an email and creating a  password.  Joining Swagbucks in free.

Once you join, it is about earning Swagbucks.  The easiest way to earn is by searching--using Swagbucks as your internet search engine, just like you would Google.  Just type in your search in the Search and Win window at the top of the Swagbucks homepage.

You can also download the Swagbucks toolbar to your desktop and use it for your internet searchers.  I typically "win" twice a day when searching. . . once in the morning after 2-7 searches and again later in the day.  Here's what it looks like when you win Swagbucks.

Another way to earn Swagbucks it to find Swagcodes.  When you see the Swagbucks Swidget click on SC to see if any Swagcodes have been released in various locations--right there on the Swidget, Facebook, Twitter, or the Swagbucks Blog.  You can find a Swagbucks Swidget here on the Williams Family Blog--I use it to find Swagcodes.

When you find a Swagcode, copy it and paste it in the "Gimme" box on the Swagbucks homepage.

There are still more ways to earn Swagbucks.  Check out the "Earn" menu on the Swagbucks homepage for Coupons--just print, save, and earn 10 Swagbucks for every coupon scanned when you shop.  You can watch the news on Swagbucks TV and earn Swagbucks.  Then there is "Shop & Earn" where you can earn Swagbucks by shopping at your favorite on-line retailer.  Just start at Swagbucks Shop & Earn when you go to shop on-line.

When you have earned Swagbucks, head on over to the Swagstore and redeem your Swagbucks for prizes.  Find the Swagstore under "Redeem" on the menu bar on the Swagbucks homepage.

Be sure to "Verify" your Swagstore purchase either on-line with your password or through your email.  It can take a few days, no more than a week, for the gift card code to be credited to you but Swagbucks will send you an email telling you the gift card code is ready to be used.

Amazon not your thing?  Well, there are Target, Wal-Mart, Paypal, and many other gift card selections available and other prizes.

My goal is use Swagbucks for all of my holiday shopping one year from now.  And if I was able to snag almost $200 in Amazon gift cards in less than half a year, I'm pretty sure I can earn enough Swagbucks when I have an entire year.  I'll keep you posted on how it goes!

So, go head.  Get started earning Swagbucks.  It's easy and free.  Click here to get going.

Yes, some things in life are free!

On-Line Ways to Earn and Save

Frugal, cheap, miserly may be some words to describe saving money.  I prefer savvy, bargain minded, and creative, especially when it comes to describing me and the various ways I have found to save.

Swagbucks

Swagbucks awards me when I use it to search on-line.  450 Swagbucks can be redeemed for a $5 Amazon.com gift card.  Right now, I have $100 in Amazon.com gift cards from using Swagbucks as my primary search engine—since July! ( I did have more but spent $19 on a gift for the boy that was a great deal!)

Just download the Swagbucks Toolbar and use Swagbucks when you search.  I typically earn Swagbucks twice a day, in the morning within the first 2-7 searches and again later in the day. 

Click here to get started with Swagbucks if you haven’t already.  Earn 30 Swagbucks just for signing up!

Jingit

I was skeptical about Jingit at first, but have now figured it out.  Jingit.com pays you to watch/listen to commercials on-line.  The commercials run for a few seconds and there may be some questions to ask on the screen then your account is rewarded . . . a few cents per viewing.  Log into Jingit via your Facebook account.

When you reach $5 in your Jingit account, request a Jingit card sponsored by U.S. Bank.  The card will come in the mail in just a few days.  Register your card on-line and add your Jingit earnings to your card.  You can then use your Jingit card to pay for purchases.  In just a few days, we have $8 in the Jingit account and that is even after paying for the card (It was $3, but I believe the cost has now gone up to $5.)  A few clicks and a couple of minutes can earn money.

SavingStar

I just recently discovered SavingStar.  Find out if your local grocery store participates in SavingStar an on-line electronic coupon source.  If your grocery store does (In my area it is Hy-Vee) and request your SavingStar card from the grocery store—it is a little card that fits on your key ring and has a barcode that can be scanned.  Register your SavingStar card on-line using the barcode, an email, and a password.  Then load choose or “activate” the electronic coupons you want on your account.  A list of those coupons can be printed or emailed to you.

Then, when you shop and purchase the items with electronic coupons preselected and loaded on your SavingStar card, have the cashier scan your card at check-out.  Now, the total of your transaction won’t change, but in a few days you will notice that the amount of the electronic coupons has now been added to your SavingStar account.  Once you reach $5 you can select your pay-out option—donation, deposit to a bank account, Paypal credit, or Amazon. Com gift card.

In just a few weeks, I had $25.90 in my SavingStar account and chose an Amazon.com gift card.  The code for the gift card was delivered to my email within 48 hours of the request.  It was then easy to copy the code and add it to my Amazon.com account.

New electronic coupons are added to SavingStar regularly and there is a limit to the  number or “activations” and payouts for some electronic coupons so be vigilant as some coupons can be “sold out.”

On another note, you can still get full credit for your SavingStar account if you make the purchase using a manufacturer or store coupon.  So for example a SavingStar coupon I activated was save $5 after spending $10 on bottled Lipton Tea.  I purchased two 12 packs at the grocery store and even had a $1 off coupon reducing my purchase price.  I still got full price credit for the purchase on SavingStar and had $5 added to my SavingStar account. 

Oh, what fun it is to find ways to earn and save!  Go ahead, get started today!