I love when Viewpoints offers this deal……through January 18 you can earn a $5 Amazon gift card just for posting 5 reviews.   I easily found 5 items to write about just from things we got for Christmas.  I bet you can, too!    Viewpoints does this offer several times through the year and it’s free to sign up.  Be sure to read the details about the offer — there are specific categories that you have to review.  Also, your review has to be at least 500 characters long (characters, not words.  It goes fast!) [Read more…]

I heart Swagbucks.  Have I mentioned that before?  I love earning points just for doing my normal searches and newsletter sign ups, then cashing out for free Amazon gift cards.   And now it’s going to be even easier to get those points because I can have the surveys sent directly to my inbox!  To find out more, click here and complete your profiles.

 Here’s the official word from Swagbucks: [Read more…]

If you’re an online shopper, Swagbucks has a way for you to earn reward points while doing it with the new & improved Shop & Earn. With a collection of over 250 major retailers to choose from,  the Swagbucks Shop & Earn also gives you access to exclusive coupons, deals and offers to give you the best bang for your buck! Get started with the Swagbucks Shop & Earn today.

I LOVE this and use it often.  Then I cash out the swagbucks I earn to get free Amazon gift cards.  It’s like the money that keeps getting recycled!!   Right now I’m saving those to use toward my Downton Abbey fix….Season 3 baby!

This post contains affiliate links.

Thrifty Thursday:  Using Gas Points

When you’re already budgeting, it’s hard to find new ways to cut the spending even further.  Have you been using your store shopper card to earn free gas points?  Many of our local grocery stores offer this deal and it has saved us a lot of money in our gas purchases.   Here’s an example…..

At Food City, we get 15 cents off per gallon when we earn 100 points (which is usually 1 gas point for each dollar spent.).  We typically earn this amount in one week, sometimes more.  I usually wait to fill up our gas tank when the tank is just below ¼ tank.  This is about 12 gallons worth of gas, which is approximately $8 in savings per month for one car.  In one year, that’s about $90 in gas savings!   When we do this with both cars, it’s even bigger savings.  Consider it as driving the car for free for a few weeks!

If you’re a Kroger shopper, you can even get $1 off your gas when your points add up to 1000 or more in one month.  Now, you don’t actually have to spend $1000 to get that savings, of course.  Pay attention to their gift card deals and you’ll often have an opportunity to earn 4x the gas points when you purchase gift cards.   Go ahead and purchase gift cards for places that you normally eat or shop at, or get a head start on your Chirstmas gift card purchases.   Use those savings at the gas tank to maximize your budget.

This is just one way that you can save a little extra on things you would be buying anyway.  If your grocery store has a similar savings program, I’d love to hear about it!

If you read my previous posts about earning free gift cards, you’ll know that I love Zoombucks.  It’s my favorite search-and-win site because the points add up so quickly and you can earn them in lots of ways such as doing surveys, watching videos, or just fulfilling easy offers.  They also don’t have the limits on redemption the way that Swagbucks does.  In the past I typically redeemed my points for Amazon gift cards, but I’m really excited that they are now offering the $25 VISA gift card as rewards!  It’s great to have prepaid credit cards on hand for getting freebie offers through Shop At Home and other sites where you don’t want to pay out of your regular budget.  It’s also nice to have these gift cards on hand to use as Christmas or birthday gifts and stocking stuffers.

If you’re not a member of Zoombucks, you can click here to register.  It’s free!  If you have questions, feel free to ask me and I’ll try to answer them.  I would LOVE to help you earn free gift cards! If you  need tips on how to built your point balance, read the posts I linked below about Zoombucks and similar sites.

I was skeptical about Zoombucks at first, but let me show you that it’s for real.  I joined on October 31, 2010.  Here’s a screenshot of my rewards cashed out from the first two months of my membership

With most rewards each point is worth 1-cent, so 2000 points cashed out is a $20 Amazon card.   So I had some unexpected Amazon gift cards to spend for Christmas that year. 🙂   So yes, it’s legit.   Here are the other new rewards they added:

Sony Station Game Card 30 Days – Worldwide
Facebook Credits – $15 – Worldwide
IMVU – 10000 Credits – Worldwide
Rixty – $10 – Worldwide
Runes of Magic -150 ROM Diamonds – Worldwide
Runescape – 30 Days – Worldwide
Ultimate Game Card – $5 – Worldwide
World of Warcraft – 60 Days – US
XBOX Live – 3 Months – Worldwide
XBOX Live – 12 Months – Worldwide
Zynga Game Card – $5 – Worldwide
Microsoft Points – 1600 Points – US
Canadian Tire – CA
Chapters.ca – CA

Those are in addition to the ones that are currently available, such as Paypal, Barnes and Noble, Gap, Best Buy, PetSmart, Walmart, Target, iTunes, Disney, Aeropostale, Bath & Body Works, ShoeBuy, and more.  Pretty great, right?

Here are those Zoombucks posts I promised:

Earn Gift Cards easily and quickly…..totally free!

How to have a Low-Cost Christmas Without the Credit Card!

Survey Sites—are they legit?  (this one’s not about Zoombucks but shares how to earn gift cards)

This post contains my referral links.  If you don’t want to use it, feel free to go directly to the website!

DEAL IS EXPIRED—-now showing as $1.49.

Have I told you how much I love ShopAtHome’s WILD deals?  Oh wait, yes I did.

Well let me tell you again, because you have another chance at a freebie today.  Get your bottle of Febreze with free shipping by clicking here.  Log in/sign up and then order through the Internet Deals.  See the Quill offer?  Just click on the “buy it now” link.   It looks like the picture below:

Add the Febreze to your cart.  Your shipping should be automatically free.  You might have to pay tax, as I did.  Then the $2.99 will be credited to your ShopAtHome account in 30 days or less.  Once your balance reaches $20 or more, you’ll receive a check that month!  I paid for mine using a free giftcard I earned doing surveys, so no cost out of pocket at all.   I love Febreze products.  I teach 6th graders and WOW, do I need that air freshener for my classroom.  Getting it for free is a huge bonus!

This was my total:

(note that the link above is my affiliate link.  If you sign up using my link, you get $5 and I do, too.  Thanks! )

The girls at work love to get away for a yummy lunch every once in a while.  Most of us pack or buy the school lunch (yuck) but every so often, we have what we call “Lady Lunch” at Panera.  I love their salad and soup combo. [Read more…]

Disclosure: Post contains my affiliate and referral links. If you make a purchase, I may earn commission. Opinions shared are mine.

Summers have always been the time when my family spends the most on groceries. Being out of school means we tend to go on little adventures and often stop at a fast food drive-thru along the way. Being home all day means we eat more often. Since we’ve also been home due to pandemic closures, the food budget has threatened to be explosive!

Our family doesn’t do well on meatless meals or skimpy menus. We’re big eaters. Here are some of the ways I’ve been saving money on groceries right now, despite the rising cost — and even low availability — of food.