Sweet(er) deals...while in your pajamas

Ok, so I admit. I can't do the Black Friday shuffle.  It's not good for my nerves ; ) My husband, however, occasionally enjoys the thrill of getting up early and treasure hunting for deals.

I tend to lean towards the convenience of online shopping and several sites that make the deals EVEN SWEETER.  Let me show you how.

Sadly, I dropped my Nikon camera right on the lens and broke it : (

So, that put me in the market for a new lens to capture holiday memories.  I thought, what better time to replace my lens than Black Friday?!  I was happy to find it for a good deal on Amazon.

Here is the breakdown of my purchase:

• Amazon $99 Nikon Nikkor Zoom Lens  with free shipping
• Searched through Ebates and received 8% cash back on my Amazon purchase
• Used $5 Amazon gift card from Swagbucks 
• $33 cash back credit from from Discover card
• 5% cash back using my Discover card

The final outcome - approximately $50 for my brand new lens.  Woo hoo!

So, the moral of this story is.... if you are like me and don't want to face the crowds, but are looking to get the best deals during the holidays, maximize the already amazing Black Friday online deals by also using:

SWAGBUCKS (free digital dollars for searching)
EBATES  (earn free rebates for shopping your favorite stores AND $50 for referring 2 friends and most stores offer double cash back today!)

In case you are in the market, here are my camera and lens.  I highly recommend both. 

 

Happy Saving and Earning!

*Disclaimer: links in this post may contain my referral links to products.

Psssst...don't forget about Swagbucks

Hey everyone. Happy {frugal} Friday! I just wanted to remind you about Swagbucks today. If you don't know what I'm talking about, click here to check out my previous post which explains this phenomenon where you can earn free stuff.

If you've already signed up...don't get discouraged if it seems like it's taking forever to earn your digital dollars. Remember how you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. How do you get free stuff...one Swagbuck at a time. In fact, I'm using my Amazon gift card that I got from Swagbucks to order this book today:

Dr. Chi's Fingernail & Tongue Analysis Book - 1 book,(Chi's Enterprise)

Why do I feel like a cheerleader for Swagbucks right now?!?! Happy searching and earning everyone and have a great weekend!

How to increase your Swagbucks earnings {Frugal Fridays}

So a few weeks ago I talked about the Swagbucks phenomenon. This is where searching the internet earns you digital bucks.

Today, for "Frugal Friday", I want to share two more tips on how to increase your Swagbucks so that you can cash them in for free stuff.

Sign up for an account

:: On the Swagbucks homepage, you can sign up for a free account. You will earn Swagbucks just for doing this. You can click here to do this.

Search, search, search!

:: As I mentioned last week, you can set the Swagbucks site as your homepage. Therefore, whenever you go online, you can earn by going to the sites that you normally go to. Simply type the name of the website, topic, or social media page that you go to in the search bar.

Next week, I will give two more tips on earning more Swagbucks.

P.S. I got my free stuff in the mail this week that I ordered using my Amazon gift cards "bought" with Swagbucks. That's always fun : )

Happy Swagbucking!

How to increase your Swagbucks earnings {Frugal Fridays}

So a few weeks ago I talked about the Swagbucks phenomenon. Where searching the internet earns you digital bucks.

Today, I want to share two of the many tips on how to increase your Swagbucks so that you can cash them in for free stuff.

In fact, I have two items on their way to my house that I ordered this week with Amazon gift cards that I got by cashing in my Swagbucks. I ordered a book from my 2012 book list and a CD for the girls.

If you are frustrated or you don't understand how to earn digital dollars, here are a few tips:

Reset your homepage

:: Set the Swagbucks site as your homepage on your computer so that you

are reminded to do all of your searches through the site, which will increase

your earnings.

Daily polls

:: Take the "daily polls" on the Swagbucks site to earn 1 Swagbuck every day. Hey,

that's 30 "bucks" a month for answering one question per day.

The idea here is not to spend more of your time trying to get something for free. After all, time is money. It's about doing the things that you most likely do everyday and benefiting from it. I want to be a good steward of all that God has blessed me with...time, finances, etc. Swagbucks is one way to do that.

(Side note - I earned 11 Swagbucks while searching something for this post. woot woot!)

Have you cashed in your Swagbucks lately? What are some ways you have found that have earned you the most "bucks"?

Swagbucks {Frugal Friday}

This may be a familiar term to you. You may be an avid follower or you may not have a clue what I’m talking about.

Well, let me introduce you to the Swagbuck phenomenon. I was excited to be introduced to Swagbucks over a year ago. The thought of getting something for free is a very exciting concept for me and Swagbucks is just that.

Basically, Swagbucks rewards you for searching online. As you search, you randomly win digital “Swagbucks” for your searches (and other means on their site like daily polls, etc.). As your digital bucks add up, you can cash them in for various items.

It has become quite an event in our house. Even the kids get excited when mommy wins Swagbucks. I know, I know...we're a little strange.

I have gotten oodles of gift cards with my Swagbuck rewards and used them for gifts or to buy various items for homeschooling. I usually opt to use my Swagbucks to get Amazon gift cards. Since we are on our own when it comes to curriculum and school supplies, it has really helped to offset the cost.

I also use my Amazon gift cards to buy books on my book list. In fact, tomorrow I will be getting Calm My Anxious Heart: A Woman's Guide to Finding Contentment for FREE on Amazon. Woo Hoo!

If you haven’t signed up, I encourage you to check it out…heck you even get several Swagbucks just for doing that. Who knew?!? You can click on this Swagbucks link to check out what the craze is all about.

In future posts, I will be sharing how to rack up your digital "dollars".

Are you already a "Swaggernaut"? If so, share your Swagbuck strategy with us.

(Note: the links in this post are my referral links.)