Thursday, December 31, 2009

Inbox Dollars - Another Site for Making Some Extra Money

You can check out Inbox Dollars, which is similar to My Points. You earn $5.00 just for signing up. You can request a check after you earn $30.00. You can earn money by completing surveys, playing games, reading emails.

Today I earned the $5.00, plus $0.50 for completing a very short profile survey, $0.15 for signing up for HotWire newsletters and $0.02 for opening an email! All that in just about 10 minutes!

You can sign up here or you can click the Banner on my sidebar for Inbox Dollars.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Unrelated - Federal Adoption Tax Credit Set to Expire - A Call for Help

Many of you may know me from my other blog, but some of you may not. My husband and I adopted our son from Izhevsk, Russia in 2008. His adoption is truly the best thing we have ever done and the best decision we have ever made. We thank God every day that his life was entrusted to us.

I've been reading a lot lately on adoptions, researching, thinking about adopting again, etc. While we aren't ready to adopt again just yet, it is on our minds.

I had heard the tax credit was going to expire so I did some research. Sure enough the federal adoption tax credit is set to expire December, 2010. This credit is what makes adoption affordable for many families, whether it be domestic or international. Our local Congressman, in the House of Representatives, currently supports The Adoption Tax Relief Guarantee of 2009 H.R. 213, which would prevent the "sunset" of the tax credit.

However our two Senators are currently not listed as being supporters or co-sponsors of the bill.So in an effort to keep this going I wrote 3 letters yesterday which I am mailing today. One to thank our Congressman who currently supports the bill and the other 2 to ask for support from our 2 Senators.

Please I urge you to write your Senators, or call, if that's easier, to ask them to support the bill. I'm sending a copy of our Christmas card with our letter so they can see the family the tax credit helped to create.

You can track the Bill here as well as see who currently supports it.

You can find your US House Representative here.
You can find your US Senate Representatives here.

Here's a copy of my letter - feel free to use it as a template for yours, but be sure to write from your heart about what adoption means to you.

Dear Sentor ________:

My family and I are constituents in 'City, State'. It has come to my attention that the adoption tax credit is set to expire December of 2010. I wanted to write to ask you to support extending or renewing the credit. (The Adoption Tax Relief Guarantee of 2009 H.R. 213).

We adopted our son from Russia in April of 2008. With expenses totaling more than $__________ (insert your number here), the adoption tax credit was a big help last year in helping us pay off a small loan we took out to complete the adoption.

Our son is the best thing that has ever happened to us and the best decision that we have made as a married couple in over 13 years.

While in Russia we were able to see other orphans, like our son, living in the orphanages. I will never forget the day we went in to his room and there were about 15 other children playing. Our son, even though we'd only met him for a few short hours the day before, immediately ran for me and started patting my legs. Suddenly I was surrounded by 4 little boys, all patting my legs for my attention. Then suddenly the most heart warming and at the same time heart breaking thing I saw was when I turned to look at my husband, who had squatted down and was rubbing the back of a small little girl who was hugging his neck as if to say "Take me, Pick me". I will never forget the look on his face that day. We would have happily taken every last child in that room if we could have.

Our hope is to one day adopt another child, but without the credit we feel that we would not be able to offset any of the expenses enough to afford another adoption, whether it be domestic or international.

I've included our 2009 Christmas photo card for you to see that adoption makes families and good ones at that!

Our son is three years old and has been home a year and a half now. He has almost passed the mark of spending more time in a family than in an orphanage. All children should have that chance.

Please support the adoption tax credit so that many families will find that adoption can be affordable, and for others like us, give us the chance to adopt again. Most importantly, support the adoption tax credit for the children who have yet to come home.

Sincerely,Rachel

I hope these letters make a difference.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Prilosec OTC Sample


Wal-Mart is offering a Free Sample of Prilosec OTC. You do have to answer 2 questions to see if you qualify.

Homemade Simple Coupon Booklet - Available Again


The Homemade Simple Coupon Booklet is available again. It contains over $35.00 in money saving coupons!

Monday, December 28, 2009

CVS Scenario - Some Great Freebies - No ECBs Required

I scanned my CVS card today at the store scanner and received a $5.00 off any 2 Excedrin products so I headed over to the aisle with the pain relievers - sure enough I found the On The Go Packs (the tubes containing 10 tablets -pictured below) for $2.49 a piece. I purchased two, making them both free. It might be worth scanning your CVS card if your near a CVS!

Also you can get a 3-pack of Ivory bar soap for free if you got a paper yesterday and received the P&G coupon insert. The bars are priced at $0.99 and there is a $1.00 off coupon in the P&G insert!

You can still, before the 31st, get a Neosporin Lip Health tube (pictured below for free also). They are priced at $5.39 at my store (some stores at $5.50) but there is a clip free coupon (meaning just have the cashier scan your CVS card for an instant deduction) and then use the $3.00 printable coupon here. This makes the tube totally free!

I purchased the below for $1.45 OOP - I did use $3.00 ECBs on this one shamelessly as I did not receive any back - but I still have leftover ($7.00 ECBs)


Clairol Root Touch Up - $4.99, used $1.00 off MQ from yesterdays P&G insert
2 Excedrin On The Go Tubes - $249 each, used $5.00 off any 2 Excedrin CVS coupon from scanner
1 Neosporin Lip Health - $5.39, used $2.50 clip free coupon (scanned CVS card) and the $3.00 off printable mentioned above
1 3 bar pack of Ivory soap - $0.99, used $1.00 off MQ from yesterdays P&G insert
Used $3.00 ECBs, paid $1.45 OOP for all items!
What are you waiting for - go grab the Neosporin, the Ivory and the Excedrin (if you get the coupon from the scanner) all for free!!

Friday, December 25, 2009

One Free Swagbucks Code

Head over to your Swagbucks Homepage and the Code is listed right there on the front page where it says 'Christmas'. If you don't have an account, you can sign up for one and get 3 Swagbucks here. You can use your Swagbucks for Paypal money or lots of different prizes. One of my favorites is the $5.00 Amazon gift card. You can load them right into your account and then when you are ready to purchase something you can pay with your gift card balance!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Huggies Pull-Ups Free Sample


Costco is currently offering a free sample of Huggies Pull-Ups. You can choose from Boy or Girl sizes 2T-3T, 3T-4T, OR 4T-5T. No membership number required.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Free Subscription to Boating Magazine


ValueMags is offering a free 12 issue subscription to Boating Magazine. No strings attached and completely free. I enjoy several subscriptions from them and then donate the magazines to hospitals and doctor's offices.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Facebook Freebie - International Delight Creamer (Again!)


This time the Facebook Freebie works a little differently for International Delight Creamer. They are mailing coupons out to the first 100,000 fans to request one. Just go to International Delight Creamer Facebook Page and click on the "Holiday Giveaway" tab, fill out the form and you can expect your coupon in 4 to 6 weeks. I got two coupons last around and they are delicious!

Friday, December 18, 2009

1 Free Swagbuck!

If you have a Swagbucks account, then enter the word Dreidel and hit "Gimme" and you'll get 1 free Swagbuck added to your account. You can redeem your bucks for prizes and gift cards! I'm not sure how long this is good for, so do it quick!

If you haven't signed up for Swagbucks, you can do it today and get 3 bucks just for signing up!

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Pampers Extra Protection Sample


Get a free sample of Pampers Extra Protection Diapers. They are only available in size 5.

North Pole Newsletter for Your Little Ones

Walgreens is offering a very cute North Pole News(letter) for your children. You upload a photo and a few personal bits and pieces and they generate an adorable newsletter. It took me all of 2 minutes to create - I emailed it to my own email and printed it out to read to my little one tonight!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Amazon.com Shopping - Swagbucks!

Today I checked out Amazon.com's Movers & Shaker's in Toys and Games. These are the best deals for the day and let me tell you - the prices have DROPPED! There are several items for only $4.99 today!


I purchased the Crayola Undersea Adventures Color Stories for a whopping $4.99 ($19.99 regular price)!! With shipping it was $10.17, but guess what??


Since I use Swagbucks for all my internet searching I had earned several $5.00 Amazon.com E-gift cards for 45 Swagbucks and had loaded them into my Amazon.com account already. So - I got this extra Christmas gift for my son at no cost out of pocket!! He's going to have a bigger Christmas than last year on a much frugaler (is that even a word?!) budget!!


If you haven't signed up for Swagbucks you can sign up here and get started with 3 Swagbucks just for signing up today!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Free Neosporin Lip Health at CVS


This month at CVS you can get the Neosporin Lip Health care for FREE! Simply print the coupon here for $3.00 off.


The product is riced at $5.49 at CVS with a $2.50 clip-free coupon (by using your CVS card), combine with the coupon above and you get free Neosporin Lip Health!

Another Free Sample of Stacy's Simply Naked Pita Chips


All You magazine is offering this free sample of Stacy's Simply Naked Pita Chips. There are about 32,000 of the original 44,000 left, so be sure to grab your soon!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

CVS - Week of 12/6 - $1.34 OOP!

This week at CVS I had $14.00 Extrabucks to spend.


I purchased the above for a mere $1.34 OOP!!

3 12-packs of drink - $11.00
earn 3.00 ECBs
(This is almost the only time we buy sodas to keep in the house)

1 pack of Zan-Tac - $8.99,
used $1.00 off MQ
earned 8.99 ECBs (better than free!)

2 Candy bars - $1.00
used B1G1 off MQ

Total after coupons and 14.00 ECBs - $1.34, earning back $11.99 in ECBs!

There were other great deals this week like Bayer Contour Meters for $14.99, earn $5.00 ECBs,(use $30.00 off MQ, cashier will adjust down) - FREE and Emergen-C Immune Booster 2 pack for $3.99, earn $3.99 ECBs - FREE.

Happy CVSing!

Free Sample - Benefiber Orange


Wal-Mart is offering a free sample of Benefiber Orange. Wal-Mart is a great source for free samples of items.

Free Johnson's Shampoo


Get your coupon for $1.00 off and Johnson's Shampoo. This coupon should get you a trial size bottle for free at several stores or you can use it towards a larger bottle. The trial size bottles are perfect to add to stockings for little ones and to shower gifts.

Facebook Free Sample - Aveeno Nourish


Aveeno is offering a free sample of Nourish Hair Care on Facebook. Simply click the free sample tab and fill out the form. You do not have to become a fan, unless you want to!

Internet Printable Coupons

Check out the Coupons.com sidebar for some great coupons! You can scroll through at the bottom of the bar or you can click the bar and go directly to the Coupons.com website.


There is a $0.75 cent off Wishbone Salad dressing and if you have a store that doubles coupons that high, you can get free or cheap salad dressing!


There is also a $2.00 off Mr. Potato Head coupon that means you can get one for only $0.50! Dollar General has them on sale for $2.50. If your Dollar General doesn't take printable coupons, then take a Dollar General ad to Wal-Mart, have them price match and use your coupon - what a great stocking stuffer!


There are also several $5.00 off Playskool coupons for some last minute shopping!


Remember to treat coupons like cash!!

Monday, December 7, 2009

Another Facebook Freebie - Stacy's Pita Chips


Become a fan of Stacy's Pita Chips to receive a coupon for a free bag. Limited to the first 65,000 fans and you should receive your coupon in 2-4 weeks.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Facebook Freebie - International Delight Creamer


International Delight Creamer is offering the first 25,000 fans a coupon for a free 16 oz. pint of International Delight Creamer. Once you click the link, become a fan and then click for the coupon. You can print the coupon twice! There were only under 10,000 fans this morning so there should be plenty of coupons left - but act fast! These coupons print slow, so give them time!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Swagbucks - Swagananza

I know I previously mentioned Swagbucks, but this is too much fun. Each day they are offering a different gift card for a lowered amount of Swagbucks.

Today it a $5.00 cash Paypal credit for only 55 Swagbucks, instead of 70. Who couldn't use an extra $5.00! (You do have to have a Paypal account.)

My favorite though is still the Amazon.com $5.00 e-giftcard for 45 Swagbucks. Once you get the code for the e-gift card, you just sign in to Amazon and credit it to your account. I've purchased books, puzzles, and training underwear on Amazon for free - or at least for my time searching with Swagbucks which I would have to do anyway!

So sign up today and get started with 3 free bucks!

Making a Little Extra Money - CashCrate

Just a reminder that CashCrate is still out there and still an option to bring home a few extra bucks each month. Just in the last 2 days, I managed to rake up over $10.00 in earnings. You need $20.00 to cash out each month (they mail you a check). I have received at least 3 checks from them in the past and they are legit.

I recommend sorting the surveys/offers by 100% free and by rating. This way you're sure to only get the free offers and don't get roped into anything. Be sure to read the instructions by each survey - sometimes you only have to fill out the first 2 pages and click offers (not actually fill them out) to submit for your earnings.

You can sign up here or by clicking the green box on my sidebar for CashCrate.

Free Sample of Excedrin Extra Strength


Sam's Club is offering a free sample of Excedrin Extra Strength - no membership number is required. You can expect to receive your sample in 4-6 weeks.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Alice.com - A new Site for Super Cheap Shopping!

Alice.com is a newer website which offers household products and more at super cheap prices and completely free shipping! With items like pantiliners for $0.41, Clairol Hair Dye for $2.90, shampoo as low as $0.97 and that's just in the bathroom section! You can search for items by name or by room in your house.

Alice.com can track your purchases and remind you when you are low on items. They also match up coupons for you so you don't have to clip them! You can shop from the convenience of your home for the neccessity items you need!

And you really can't beat the free shipping - right to your door!

Free Redbox Rental Code

This code is good through tomorrow (12/2):



SPNSV9



You can use this code once per debit/credit card.

To locate a Redbox or read more click here for my original post.