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Saturday, February 28, 2009

FREE stuff for babies!

Here is a list of FREEBIES for babies/toddlers:


Pampers coupon - Pampers


Gerber Life -

FREE subscription to American Baby magazine - click here

FREE subscription to Family Fun magazine - click here


Baby to Bee samples - BabyToBee.com - Free baby stuff


Parent's Choice Formula FREE sample - click here


FREE baby samples - FamilyPlanning

FREE subscription to Babytalk magazine - click here

FREE subscription to Parents magazine - click here

Friday, February 27, 2009

One Last Kmart Double Coupons Trip

As many of you know, some Kmarts are participating in the double coupons event this week. The promotion ends Friday and coupons up to (and including) $2 are doubled. I posted this week about 2 previous trips (trip 1 and trip 2) where I got incredible deals. Today I went back with my co-worker and a purse full of Internet Printable coupons and got the following:

1. St. Ives Olive Oil Scrub (on clearance for $3.49, I used a $2 off coupon which doubled and item was FREE)
2. Clean & Clear Toner (on sale for $4.99, I used a $2 off coupon which doubled and item was $.99)
3. Clean & Clear Face Scrub (on sale for $4.19, I used a $2 off coupon which doubled and item was $.19). I got 3 of these.
4. Pledge Multi-Surface Cleaner (on sale for $4.19, I used a $2 off coupon which doubled and item was $.19)
5. Dentyne Gum (on sale for $.99, I used a $.50 catalina that printed for my co-worker who checked out in front of me which doubled and item was FREE)
6. Special K Blueberry Cereal (on sale for $3.00, I used a $1.00 off coupon from the 2/22 newspaper which doubled and item was $1.00)

I paid $3.68 for these 8 items!

FYI: I found the links for the Internet Printable Coupons for items 1-4 above at It's Hip 2 Save.

Shop-Text & FREEBIES

I've just started using Shoptext but I think it is the new wave of samples. You first have to sign up for Shoptext here. Once you've signed up they will text you a code to enter on your registration page. Enter in the code, your mailing address and you're all set. I skipped the credit card info and billing address since I don't intend to buy anything from them, just get FREE samples. There is a place to click "skip" when you get to that screen.

Once you are done registering, you can start texting for freebies. The codes below are the ones I could find and were still valid when I posted this. Please be advised that standard text messaging rates apply. I think many people have a text plan nowadays with their cell phone, but if not you'll want to check with your cell phone carrier first to see how much each text message may cost you. I have 50o texts per month with my plan so I won't incur any additional charges.

Here are the codes I found. You just text the code in ALL CAPS to 467467.

CREST - Crest Whitestrips Sample
DISSOLVE - Clean & Carefree Makeup Wipes sample
FIBER - Fiber One Bar Sample (FYI: response comes in Spanish)

You will get a text back asking you to answer a question and then a confirmation text, so in total you receive 2 texts and send 2 texts. You can log onto ShopText after you text and see that your sample requests were received and what the status of the request is.

Milestones and must-do's

My blog is now 2 weeks old! I have hit some major milestones in the past few days. I have well exceeded 100 subscribers and 10,000 page views! Thanks to you all! Please consider doing the following:

1. Subscribe to receive daily updates of my blog (subscribe via email to the left) or via RSS feed or Twitter for those of you who roll like that.

2. Tell your friends and family about the blog and spread the word!

3. Leave a comment to let me know how I'm doing and give suggestions you may have on ways to improve the blog.

If you're new to the blog, you're coming at a good time. It's probably still possible to read all of the posts I've done since it's only been two (2) weeks. Here is a quick summary of some of the "must-do's" to sign up for:

a. sign up for a separate free web-based email address to use when signing up for deals and samples

b. sign up for Swagbucks and set it to be your home page. Use it as your primary search engine (it's powered by google) and earn $ (Amazon e-certificates) for doing what you do everyday - searching online! I earn about $5 per week just by using Swagbucks!

c. sign up for the surveys I've discussed so far (Valued Opinions, American Consumer Opinion, Zoompanel, Ipsos I-Say, and university-sponsored sites.

d. sign up for the freebies and samples I've posted about, including free spring samples, freefly's samples, eat better america coupon booklet

Of course, I think signing up for everything is important! You'll soon be excited when the mail (and all your FREEBIES) comes every day.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Healthy Coupons

When you sign up for the Eat Better America coupon booklet, you'll get the following coupons:

$1 off Green Giant Frozen Veggies
$1 off Fiber One Yogurt
$1 off a Muir Glen Product
$1 off Multigrain Cheerios



and MANY other healthy products. It's FREE to sign up for this booklet.

Restaurant FREEBIES

A great place to find hidden freebies is the restaurant email club. Most restaurants have an email club and regularly email coupons and freebies to members. More importantly, there is usually a great freebie just for signing up! Here are a few that I have found recently:

Sign up for the Johnny Rocket's email club and get a FREE hamburger

Sign up for WendyMail and get a FREE $1 Menu item plus $1 coupon

Sign up for Chevy's Fresh Mex email club and get a FREE appetizer

Sign up for The Melting Pot Fondue Club and get a FREE chocolate fondue for 2

Sign up for Longhorn Steakhouse email club and get a FREE appetizer

Sign up for the Texas Roadhouse email program and get a FREE appetizer

Sign up for Texas de Brazil's email club for 25% off coupon for up to 8 people

Sign up for the Chilis email club and get a FREE chips and queso

Sign up for the Macaroni Grill's email club and get a FREE appetizer

Sign up for On the Border's Club Cantina and get a FREE queso or empanadas

Sign up for the Uno's Insider Club and get a FREE appetizer

Sign up for Dairy Queen's Blizzard Fan Club and get BOGO FREE Blizzards

Sign up for the Houlihan's email club and get a FREE appetizer

Sign up for the Firehouse Subs newsletter and get FREE chips and drink with sub purchase

I think the lesson learned here is that before dining out check the restaurant's webpage to see if they have an email club for you to sign up for - you're sure to get something FREE out of it! If you know of other restaurant email club FREEBIES leave a comment or send an email!

UPDATE: Here are some additional clubs courtesy of reader Jess M - Thanks, Jess!

Sign up for Sonic Cruisers for a birthday surprise

Sign up for the Red Lobster club for a birthday surprise

Sign up for the Famous Dave's Pig Club for a birthday surprise

Sign up for the Red Robin eclub for a birthday surprise

Sign up for Coldstone Creamery's birthday club to get FREE ice cream on your birthday

Sign up for the Baskin Robbins email club to get FREE ice cream on your birthday

Valued Opinions

Valued Opinions is another survey site to discuss in my series of survey sites. Valued Opinions sends surveys on a frequent basis though your inbox won't be flooded with them! You choose to do the surveys you want to. It's free to sign up and you are under no obligation to complete any surveys.



Each survey invitation will tell you how much money you will earn by completing the survey and approximately how long it will take so you can decide if it's something you want to do. Remember to use your separate "deals" email (you can sign up for free email addresses through gmail or yahoo) for these survey sites. If you sign up for the sites I discuss here, pretty soon you will find yourself making money doing surveys every day!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Miscellaneous FREEBIES or FREE after rebates!

Since I am still new to the world of blogging, I struggle daily with what to post, how to post it, etc. There are so many great deals that I want to share with you but I still want to make my posts cohesive and so they make sense. That being said, I'm home from work and am going to post a "miscellaneous" post with deals and freebies I saw today. Hope you enjoy! Feel free to leave a comment and let me know.

FREE Sephora by OPI nail polish - your choice of 2 cute colors!

FREE after rebate All-Bran Product (cereal, bars, drink mixes) - you buy the product at the store, take it home, enjoy it, cut the UPC code and mail in with receipt and completed rebate form - get your money back!

FREE after rebate Just for Men Touch of Gray - same rules as All-Bran offer above but this could be a money-maker if used at CVS or Walgreens and rewards (ECB's or register rewards) are received and/or product is on sale or clearance.

4 FREE issues to Esquire magazine - no credit card needed, no bill, totally free.

FREE 1 year subscription to Car & Driver Magazine - no credit card needed, no bill, totally free.

Get a FREE tank top by printing the seventeen.com homepage and bringing it to participating Aeropostale stores starting March 3. Here are the rules.

FREE Spring Samples

Quality Health is offering free spring samples (Special K Cereal, Total Cereal, Centrum Vitamins, Tazo Tea, etc.).



It's free to sign up for these and there are others available to you. Get your free healthy samples!

Earn $ from university-sponsored surveys/experiments

Most leading universities have graduate programs where the masters and doctoral students need to survey a cross-section of the population to prove (or disprove) a theory. By signing up with these university sites you can make money or earn prizes.

These are usually very interesting surveys and I have participated in experiments regarding my views on race and politics among many other topics. Many of the surveys pay with Amazon e-certificates that you get very quickly after completing the survey (TIP: log into your amazon account and under "your account" add the gift card code to "apply a gift certificate/card to your account". That way there is no losing the email). Others give you a percentage (say 1/10) chance of winning a prize. I have won many gift cards through these lotteries - they usually give pretty good odds!

I check these sites often as they usually don't email about experiments. I say experiments but really it's just reading some material and answering questions - you answer from the comfort of your home and they interpret the results! Here are the ones I am a part of:

Stanford Graduate School of Business Behavioral Lab

UCLA Anderson School of Management Behavioral Lab

eLab at the Yale School of Management

Columbia University Center for Decision Sciences

Psychological Studies at Harvard University

Lewis & Clark College Behavioral Health & Social Psychology Lab - take survey to sign up

Want more ways to earn Amazon e-certificates? Join Swagbucks where 45 Swagbucks earns you a $5 Amazon e-certificate!

Search & Win

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Utz Snacks Tasting Club!

I haven't been able to find Utz potato chips (love the BBQ and the crab varieties) in Florida but when we visit up north we always buy some! Here is the chance to join the Utz Snacks Tasting Club where they want YOUR opinion.
You may even be asked to taste and give your thoughts on a new flavor before it is released! Click here to sign up.

FREEBIES - for the dog, your skin, your tummy, and more!

I found some great freebies this morning:

-FREE shortstack of pancakes at IHOP today between 7-10 am in honor of National Pancake Day

-Doggy Delightz All-Natural Dog Treat FREE sample

-Nelson's Pure & Clear Skincare FREE sample

-Sun Laboratories Self-Tanner FREE sample

-2 years of Parents Magazine FREE subscription

-Victoria's Secret 1 oz. Pink Body Lotion FREE sample

-Playtex Sport FREE sample

-1 year to Motorcyclist Magazine FREE subscription

-1 year to Elle FREE subscription (I previously posted Elle Decor Magazine, this is for regular Elle Magazine)

-Jiffy Cornbread Mix Recipe Book FREE book

-Baby To Bee FREE baby samples

-General Mills Dinner Made Easy Recipe & Coupon Booklet FREE coupons

Remember to sign up for StartSampling and Freefly's for more great FREEBIES!

freeflys

Monday, February 23, 2009

Another Kmart trip!

I must confess. I went to Kmart again today. I was reading up on some other deals at Kmart and had to go back. I ended up spending $5.96 for 11 items. Here's what I got:

1. Purell Spring Bloom Hand Sanitzer - on sale for $1.49 plus I used a $1 off coupon that doubled so it was FREE. I had 2 coupons so I bought 2.
2. Johnson and Johnson Body Was - on sale for $2.64 plus I used a $1 off coupon that doubled so item was $.64. I had 2 coupons so I bought 2.
3. Glade Carpet Cleaner - on sale for $1.50 plus I used a $1 coupon that doubled so item was FREE.
4. Special K Blueberry Cereal - on sale for $3.00 plus I used a $1 off coupon that doubled and item was $1.00. I had 2 coupons so I bought 2.
5. Listerine Tooth Defense - on sale for $4.59 plus I used a $2 off coupon that doubled and item was $.59. I had 2 coupons so I bought 2.
6. Band Aids - on sale for $2.49 plus I used a $1 off coupon that doubled and item was .49. I had 2 coupons so I bought 2.

The woman at Kmart remarked how organized I was with my coupons. If you do go to Kmart try to get the cashier to ring each coupon after they scan the item that matches the coupon. It cuts down on the mistakes as the cashiers have to physically "touch" on their screens which items match which coupons. If you do it one-by-one you'll hopefully find no mistakes! Remember to use your $5 off $50 printable coupon!

FREE Quizno's Sub

Quizno's is giving away a million free subs! To get yours just click here and they will send you an email with a coupon for your free sub.

Please note that by signing up you will be agreeing to receive emails from Quizno - if you don't want the emails, you can always unsubscribe.

American Consumer Opinion

American Consumer Opinion is one of the best survey companies I am a member of. I do not get many surveys from them but the ones I do are well-paying and concise.



They often send out very short screener surveys and then if you get chosen for the "big survey" you know you've qualified. They also send out their checks very quickly and without you having to ask! This is a reputable survey company and they want YOUR opinion! Sign up today.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Coupon for FREE Kashi Meal

Click here for a coupon for a free Kashi meal. My mother and my friend Jenny love these meals!

Walgreen's this week

Yes, it was a "hat trick" today. I went to Kmart, CVS and Walgreens for deals! I spent approximately $15 for 40 items from all 3 stores!

Since I am new to the drugstore deal shopping, I hadn't purchased the monthly free after rebate items. I checked out some blogs, such as Southern Savers and Nickels-n-Dimes and made my list.

Here's what I got:
1. Garnier Frutis Wonder Waves Conditioner - used $1 off coupon and the item is FREE after Easy Saver Rebate (ESR) with overage from coupon
2. Revlon Age Defying Concealer - used $2 off coupon and the item is FREE after Easy Saver Rebate (ESR) with overage from coupon
3. Revlon Creme Lip Gloss - item is FREE after Easy Saver Rebate (ESR)
4. Reynolds Aluminum Wrap - on sale with coupon in today's ad for $.89 plus I had $1.00 off coupon so was FREE with overage from coupon. I bought 2 of these with coupons.
5. Pringles - clearanced for $.45 each plus I used coupon for $.30 off of 3 so they were $.35 each.
6. Esencia by SAMY shampoo - $7.99 but had hanging "try me free" tag so is FREE after mail in rebate
7. Wrigley's Slim Pack gum - FREE with coupon from 2/22 Smart Source
8. Softsoap Body Wash - on sale for $3.49 plus used $1 coupon from ESR book plus $1 coupon from All You Magazine

After the rebates I spent $2.54 but got $3.22 in overages from my coupons so all items were FREE!!!

Adorable FREEBIE - baby blanket and stuffed toy

One Step is offering this cute baby blanket and plush toy (your choice of lamb, bear or pig) for FREE. You just sign up and make sure to check your email to confirm the address (they will send you a message). I hope this one comes because it's so cute and would make a great baby gift!

CVS this week

Last week was my first week of CVS shopping with coupons and ECB's. This week I read some more blogs on the topic and developed my game plan yesterday before I even saw the CVS ad! I'm not going to post the long list of deals each week for CVS but will direct you to a couple of blogs who I think did a comprehensive job. This week please check out Melissa's Bargain Blog and Deal Seeking Mom for their CVS lists and updates.

Today I went to CVS and got the following:
1. Organix Pomagranate Shampoo - $4.99 on sale plus there was a "try me free" tag on the bottle and directions for a mail-in rebate making the item FREE
2. Vitamin Acai and Guava Conditioner - $4.99 on sale plus there was a "try me free" tag on the bottle and directions for a mail-in rebate making the item FREE
3. Gilette Daily Shampoo - $4.99 plus I had a $1 coupon, then $3 in ECB's printed so they were $.99 each and I bought 2 of them
4. Stayfree pads - $3.79 on sale plus I had a Buy 1 get 1 Free coupon and got $2 in ECB's for each of them so they were FREE

I paid using the ECB's that I earned last week and earned 10 new ECB's this week plus a $3 off $15 printed from the scanner in the cosmetics department.

The CVS I went to had a lot of Organix and Vitamin products with "try me free" tags, thanks for the tip, Thrifty Mama!

Kmart Shopping Extravaganza!

I never go to Kmart but this week my Kmart is doubling coupons up to $2! None of the grocery stores where I live in Florida ever double coupons so this is a big deal. The closest Kmart is about 10 miles away and I spent a while this morning going through my coupon inserts (I've only been saving them since 2/8 so I didn't have that many) plus the coupons I had in my coupon organizer. Thanks to It's Hip to Save and Hot Coupon World for their resources. I ended up paying $11.07 out of pocket for 22 items!

1. Revlon Nail Clippers - on sale for $1.25 plus I had $1 off coupon which doubled and item was FREE
2. Revlon Toenail Clippers - on sale for $2.02 plus I had $1 off coupon which doubled and item was $.02
3. Dawn Plus Hand Renewal - on sale for $2.99 plus I had $1 off coupon which doubled and item was $.99
4. Cascade Complete - on sale for $4.49 plus I had $1 off coupon which doubled and item was $2.49
5. Pledge Multi-Surface Wipes - on sale for $4.19 plus I had $1.25 off coupon which doubled and item was $1.69
6. Little Debbie 100 calorie pack Snow Puffs - on sale for $1.79 plus I had $.55 off coupon which doubled and item was $.69
7. Zephyrhills 3 liter water - on sale for $1.00 per bottle plus I had $.75 coupon off 3, bought 3 and each item was $.50
8. Colgate Fresh Advanced Toothpaste - on sale for $3.29 plus I had $1.50 off coupon which doubled, item was $.29
9. Kotex Pads - on sale for $3.49 plus I had $1.50 coupon which doubled, item was $.49
10. Secret Flawless Deodorant - on sale for $4.29 plus I had $2 off coupon which doubled at item was $.29 (I bought 2 of these with 2 coupons)
11. Crest Sensitivity Toothpaste - on sale for 2 for $6.00 plus I had $1.50 off coupon which doubled and item was FREE (I bought 2 of these)
12. Tampax Compak Pearl - on sale for $4.49 plus I had $2.00 off coupon which doubled and item was $.49
13. Oral B Indicator Toothbrushes 2 pack - item was $3.69 plus I had $2.00 coupon which doubled and item was FREE (I bought 2 of these 2 packs)
14. Sugar Free Halls - on sale for $1.50 plus I had $.50 coupon which doubled and item was $.50 (I bought 2 of these)
15. Carefree Pantyliners - on sale for $1.29 plus I had $1.00 off coupon which doubled and item was FREE (I bought 2 of these).

I noticed that my store had Softsoap body wash on clearance for $2.24 and with the $1 coupon doubled they would have been $.24 but I had already used the coupon at Walgreens!

I used a $5 off $50 printable coupon first and then presented my coupons. I scanned all items at the price scanner at the end of one of the aisles to check the prices. I am going to go through my coupons again and probably head back to Kmart on my lunch break one day this week. I'll add a post if I find anything new. Not all Kmarts are doubling coupons so you should call your store first. Happy Shopping!

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Zoompanel Surveys

Besides Ipsos, Zoompanel is another survey company I love. Sign-up is free and you should get several surveys a week from Zoompanel.



Their surveys are well-designed and easy to follow and you are fairly compensated in Zoompoints for your time. You can redeem your Zoompoints for various prizes. I have received several products to test in my house through this company and can highly recommend it.

If you forgot to sign up for the Ipsos survey panel I blogged about earlier this week, check it out and sign up soon!

Join the Ipsos Survey Panel

Even More FREE Magazines

Just a few more free magazines through Rewards Gold. Remember, these are completely free, you don't give a credit card when you sign up or get a bill. You may get a renewal notice in the future, but you are not obligated to renew.

Woman's Health
W Magazine
Business Week

Enjoy! Remember to sign up for Freefly's to get great free samples daily!
freeflys

Friday, February 20, 2009

A Closer Look - mystery shopping

Mystery shopping is getting paid to shop! You act as an independent contractor and secretly evaluate a company, reporting back to the mystery shopping company whose client is the company you reviewed. Mystery shopping companies should always be free to sign up for and be a member of. They pay you! Some companies pay a reimbursement for your costs (i.e. dinner, product, service) and others pay a fee and some combine the two. You can find many mystery shopping companies here who are registered with the Mystery Shopping Providers Association.

I am going to highlight the companies I am registered with in the coming weeks but you can email me if you want more information. Each company is different and has a different shop assignment system but the basic premise is you sign up to complete the "shop" you want, do what the guidelines tell you then scan your receipt and enter your report online. Some companies oay very quickly through paypal and others take longer.

My favorite mystery shopping company is A Closer Look so I will highlight it first. I have done many shops with A Closer Look. Most of the shops I have done were fine dining ($150 reimbursement) or casual dining, among others. A Closer Look just finished posting March's assignments so now is a great time to sign up!


Search & Win

Get a restaurant.com $25 giftcard for $1.50

Restaurant.com is offering $25 giftcards to the restaurants on its website for $2.00 by using the code DINE at checkout. This is another reason to sign up for Cashbaq as they will give you 25% off your purchase (remember to open the restaurant.com webpage once you are logged into Cashbaq and click through their site), making the total you pay $1.50 for a $25 value! If you're a new member of Cashbaq then you get an extra $5 for signing up and this turns into a money-maker!

Pay a little, save a lot!

The 2009 Entertainment Books are here! For those of you who made a New Year's Resolution to spend less money this year and be more budget-conscious this is the perfect buy. The books are currently 35% off plus free shipping but I have a deal for you!

Cashbaq is a website to use whenever you shop. You log on to them and then open a "ticket" with them by clicking on whatever store you want to shop at. They will let you know what percentage of "cashbaq" you will get for your purchase. For instance, right now you'll get 5% cash back on your purchases at Overstock.com. They have most every retailer on there and why not save as you shop?



Right now when you sign up for Cashbaq, you will get $5 in your account just for signing up. You will get $10 off your order at Entertainment.com for the 2009 Entertainment book through Cashbaq (the deal is on the front page right hand side). So for those of you just signing up, many books are $19.50 with the 35% discount and free shipping, plus you get $10 off through Cashbaq, plus $5 for signing up for Cashbaq which gets you an Entertainment book for $4.50! You'll make your money back just using 1 of the BOGO restaurant entree coupons!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

More FREEBIES

Here are some new freebies that I have signed up for. They are all completely free to sign up for. You should have signed up for a free email address (I use gmail) and use that when you sign up for these sites. Using an auto-fill program like Google's Auto-Fill makes filling out the sign-up forms a breeze!

Pampers - get $1.50 off coupon - Pampers

Freefly's free sample site - freeflys

CoolSavings coupons and samples - CoolSavings

My Savings online community for coupons and samples - MySavings.com

You can sign up for each of these free General Mills e-Newsletters and get $10 in coupons!
Eat Better America
Betty Crocker
Dinner Made Easy

Healthy Samples at Quality Life -
 Free Samples and Coupons for Brand Name Products

Silicone Bakeware for $1

This is a great deal. You can choose a piece of high quality silicone bakeware (square pans, muffin pans, etc.) and pay only $1. You'll need to sign up for the 7 day free trial for Savings Ace and select the $1 shipping option. The bakeware you choose is free! Click here or on the banner below.



Remember to calendar the 7 day trial and cancel if you do not wish to continue prior to the 7 days. You keep the pan and the yummy goodies you'll make with it.

My friend Jenny "The Sugar Mommy" did this deal a while back and said she had no problem cancelling the trial. I'm sure she's making more yummy goodies with her $1 pan!

FREE Soap Opera Digest!

Do you watch soap operas? If so, or if you know someone else who does, Freebizmags is offering you a free one year subscription to Soap Opera Digest.


Freebizmags is one of the free magazine sites that I wrote about in my earlier free magazine post. This is completely free and no credit card is required, but sign up soon as these offers do not usually last long!



Join the Ipsos Survey Panel

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Great CVS money-maker!

Here is a great CVS money-maker that I did today. It really works! I bought 2 bars of Neutrogena soap (I bought one original formula and one fragrance free) at CVS for $2.99 each. My total came to $5.98 and I paid using Extra Care Bucks (ECB's) that I had from this week's deals so I had no out of pocket (OOP) costs. At the bottom of my receipt was $10 in Extra Care Bucks (ECB's) because this week's deal is that when you buy 2 Neutrogena products you get $10 in ECB's. Most Neutrogena products are expensive but not the soaps! So I paid $0 OOP and got 2 soaps and made a $4 profit - I'll take it!



Magazines.com, Inc.

Free Books!

I love to read and regularly go to my local library for the newest books. But getting a free book before it's released is definitely better! I have received free books through two programs by large publishing houses.

Harper Collins has the First Look program which this month offers 12 different books in the genres I chose. You just send them a quick message on their contact form saying why you'd like to review the book and they let you know when the drawing date for receiving the book is. Last month I got The Stepmother by Carrie Adams for free and I loved it. They ask you to write a brief (2-3 sentence) review of the book. I love this program because they let you know the outcome of each drawing you applied for. The book is shipped free of charge right to your home. It's free to sign up so click here!

Random House also has a program called Read it Forward where you receive a monthly newsletter from them highlighting at least one book that you can email them and request a copy of. Again, it is free to sign up by clicking here.

There is another new book program called Reader Spoils that I recently joined. Here authors are paying (with Starbucks gift cards) you to read their book and write a review on Amazon or another designated site. This one is also free to join by clicking here. They say they will let you know via email when they have a new book for you to review, but so far I haven't received any. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I love FREE BOOKS!


Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Free Samples

Since I started signing up for free samples, I can't wait to get the mail each day to see what goodies await me. I'm all set for toiletries as far as traveling goes and love trying new products for free! Remember to use the free email (I use gmail) address that you have for freebies and deals.

Here are some great free samples for you to sign up for:

Tide Total Care
Viva Paper Towels

Maybelline New York Dream Liquid Mousse
Benefiber
Orville Redenbacher Lime & Salt Popcorn (plus $4.50 in coupons)
Harajuku Lovers Fragrance
Crest Whitestrips (plus $7 coupon!)
Pantene Hair Care
Starbucks Ready-to-Brew Coffee
Sarah Jessica Parker Beauty Collection

You can find more freebies by joining Freeflys by clicking below.

freeflys

Another great site to join is Start Sampling to find more great samples.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Ipsos I Say

Ipsos I Say is one of the survey companies I am a member of. With Ipsos I say you earn points which you can redeem for gift cards (like Amazon e-certificates or hundreds of other retailers) or merchandise. I receive approximately 3 surveys a week from Ipsos I Say. For those of you who have never done online surveys before the subjects can range from automobiles to personal care products. Sometimes you will qualify to test (and keep) a product in your home. To sign up for Ipsos I Say click here or the banner below.

Join the Ipsos Survey Panel

More FREE magazines

I love my free magazines. There are many resources online to find free magazines. I find the top 3 to be Mercury Magazines, Rewards Gold, and Freebizmags. These are all completely free magazines. You don't give your credit card information or receive any bills. You may receive a renewal notice but that's it and if you don't renew, your subscription will just run out.

1. Mercury Magazines - Fill in your contact information on the page, then choose your industry and occupation information. Internet rumor has it that if you put "student" throughout you have a better chance of getting the magazine but I haven't found that to be true at all! On the second page the magazine you want should have a check in it. If it doesn't, the magazine isn't available. If it does, skip the trade magazines (unless you want them) and proceed to the next page. I put "Current" under job title and "Resident" under company.

Current Mercury Magazine offers are:
Harper's Bazaar
Metropolitan Home
Motor Trend

In the past couple of months there have been Mercury Magazine offers for Car & Driver, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Maxim, and US News & World Report among many others. I'll post new links as I get them.

2. Rewards Gold - once you subscribe to one magazine through them you should receive emails announcing new offers.

Current Rewards Gold offers are:
Elle Decor
Body and Soul
Latina
Woman's Day
Golf Digest
Forbes

In the past couple of months there have been Rewards Gold offers for Martha Stewart Living, Self, Vibe, and Blender, among many others. I'll post new links as I get them.

3. Freebizmags - similar to Mercury Magazines. Right now they do not have many offers but in the past

Metropolitan Home

In the past couple of months there have been Freebizmags offers for Elle, Elle Decor, Maxim, Interview, and Blender, among many others. I'll post new links as I get them.

4. For 2 free issues of Family Circle click here

Sunday, February 15, 2009

CVS

I have been reading these blogs where people shop the CVS sales each week and combine the sales with coupons from the Sunday papers and CVS' Extra Care Bucks to get free products! This week I decided to give it a try. Maybe next week you'll try it with me?

Last week I started keeping the coupons from the Sunday newspapers. I wrote the date across the top of each flyer and put them away. Today there were no new coupons because it is a holiday weekend. This morning I put aside the CVS weekly circular and got to work. There are many blogs and sites that match up the weekly sales with the coupons. One of them is The Coupon Mom which is free to join. A coupls of blogs to look at are Deal Seeking Mom and Bargain Briana. Both have detailed explanations of how to maximize shopping with CVS.

Back to today...I logged onto Coupon Mom and saw several items that were on sale and for which there were coupons in last week's newspaper. Since I just started putting the coupons aside last week I didn't get the full benefit of the bargains everyone was talking about. Make sure you have a CVS Extra Care card. With the card you will receive money ("Extra Care Bucks") back on certain purchases and use them to "roll" to the next week, in essence paying the most money out of pocket the first week and then using the ECB's in future weeks.

Today I was able to get the following products:

-Gilette Fusion Gamer Razor (on sale for $7.99 plus I had a $4.00 coupon from 2/8 newspaper, plus I got back $4 extra care bucks which made the item FREE)

-Herbal Essences Shampoo and Conditioner (on sale for $2.99 plus I had $3.00 off of 2 from the 2/8 newspaper plus $1.00 in Extra Care Bucks each). I got 2 shampoos and 2 conditioners so they were $11.96 less the $6.00 in coupons (I had 2 coupons for $3.00 off) less the $4 in Extra Care Bucks (ECB's) which made each item $.49

-Colgate Advanced Toothpaste (on sale for $2.99 each plus get $2.99 in ECB's so they were FREE).

I will use the ECB's I got this week to purchase the items for next week and keep you all posted on how it goes. If you want to know more, leave me a comment or send me an email.

All You Magazine - coupons, coupons, and more coupons!

I wanted to let you all know about All You Magazine which is only for sale at WalMart. Each issue comes chock full of coupons. The March issue alone has $48 worth of coupons (such as $1.00 off Baked Lays, $1.00 off Snuggle dryer sheets, $1.00 off Softsoap body wash, and $1.00 off Starkist tuna). I found a subscription deal where you can get 24 issues for $20.00 - and you can make it all back plus more using the $48 in coupons from just this issue! Click here for the subscription deal and happy couponing!

Saturday, February 14, 2009

FREE magazines

Just wanted to post a few links for free magazines. You don't put in a credit card and you never get a bill through these sites.

Click here for a FREE annual subscription to Martha Stewart Living
Click here for a FREE annual subscription to Woman's Day
Click here for a FREE annual subscription to Golf Digest
Click here for a FREE annual subscription to Forbes

Keep checking - many more to come!

Everyone loves free SWAG!!

A few posts ago, I advised that you should get a new free email address (I use gmail) for the things I post about. So with your new email address, sign up for SWAGBUCKS by clicking here or clicking the banner below.

Search & Win


Set swagbucks to be your home page and use it as you would any other search engine. Swagbucks is powered by google and ask.com and functions just as your regular search engine does - except it earns you free money and merchandise! It's easy to earn money doing something you already do such as use a search engine online.

Deals

The "deals" tab is the catchall label I will use when posting new offers, deals, etc. I find online. I will post coupon codes, free merchandise with purchase deals, information on clipping coupons and matching them with local sales to get the most money off your products, etc. Keep checking back!

Samples & Freebies

There are many freebies and samples to be had online. Many companies offer samples of new products. The hard part is knowing where to find them which is where I come in. I hope to bring you new samples as I find them. A great place to find some samples is on the Walmart website by clicking here. You can sign up for each sample listed and they will arrive right to your home. I also receive many free magazines and will link you to available free magazine subscriptions as I find them. I'm planning to do a free magazine post in the next few days so you can see what is available.

Online Offers

I am very new to online offers and just completed one and am waiting for payment. Online offers are those ads you see advertising free gift cards or a free game system that you probably never thought worked. They do work! Well, the legit ones do at least. I completed this offer and after following the requirements (i.e. signing up for various "offers") have qualified to receive my free Wii and Wii Fit which should be arriving in the next 6-8 weeks. I am going to hold off on posting more on this topic until my goods arrive and I can show them off.

Surveys

Last year I made approximately $400 in 4 months doing surveys online. This is a very easy way to earn money from the comfort of your home. There are many survey companies out there and I know which ones you need to sign up for. I am a member of approximately 20 survey sites and cash out an average of $100 per month with the most money coming from 6 main sites. Many surveys lead to product tests where you are sent products to test (and keep) in your home and provide feedback. I have received everything from shampoo to frozen dinners shipped on dry ice. I plan to highlight each company in its own post in the future but you can get started by signing up with Say Nation by clicking here and following the instructions. Say Nation is great because they keep a meter on the right sidebar of how many points you need to cash out for a $25 gas card.

Mystery Shopping

I started mystery shopping last year and have been fairly sucessful with it. Mystery shopping is when you sign up with a reuptable and free company and receive an assignment to be a "secret shopper" at a location such as a restaurant, retail store, bank, gas station, etc. There are literally hundreds of mystery shopping companies and they do not release the names of their "clients" (i.e. Cheesecake Factory, Capital Grille, Bed Bath and Beyond, Sonic, etc.) until you have signed up and signed their confidentiality agreement. Because of this confidentiality agreement I won't be able to tell you which companies shop which stores but I can recommend companies I have shopped for in the past and let you know the categories of shops I see most often. It takes some organization to do mystery shopping and you have to follow the rules or risk not being paid. Recently I have done a fine dining restaurant where I received a $125 reimbursement and a retail store where I received a $12 reimbursement. Look for my posts under the "mystery shopping" label where I highlight the various reputable companies in the field and give tips on how to be a successful mystery shopper.

Housekeeping

I wanted to take some time to write a post for each of the topics on my navigation bar at the top of my blog so that readers know what to expect. I also hope that if you like what you are reading and want to know more that you will subscribe to receive a daily email where you can read all of the updates to the blog each day. The box to subscribe is on the left hand sidebar and is super easy - just enter your email address and click "subscribe". Please leave comments within posts or use the "contact me" button on the left sidebar to send me an email. I am excited to get your feedback so please write. I strongly suggest that you open a new email address (I use gmail which is free) to use to sign up for my deals. I don't get much spam at all from these deals but it helps to keep things organized. And away we go....

Disclaimer, Disclosure & Privacy Policy

Disclaimer

Many of you will not be surprised that I am including a Disclaimer on my website. Most of this is obvious but this website is intended for personal enjoyment. I will try to post deals and offers that are valid but cannot guarantee that any particular thing that I mention is something that is still available or that you will qualify for. I do not endorse any of the companies I mention but will give background as to whether or not I have been successful and/or had any issues with the company. If you choose to sign up for something I am in no way responsible for your relationship with the company. I am neither the agent, the representative, nor the employee of any company mentioned on this blog and as such am in no way liable for any damages or issues resulting from your relationship with them. I do promise to give the most updated and reliable information as possible and if a link doesn't work or an offer is dead, please leave a comment or email me through the "contact me" box.

All external links from this website are not in my control or endorsed by me and therefore any and all information you submit on these other sites is at your own risk. I cannot guarantee that the claims made or goods promised on another website are valid and that you will receive what you sign up for.

This site gives no warranties (whether expressed or implied), and is not responsible for damages incurred by the users of this site. All information is provided as is, and all trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Please be advised that when you sign up for offers or freebies you may begin to get many emails for additional offers, freebies, etc. These emails are not spam as you likely requested these emails in your sign-up for the service and are the company's way to promote their products. If they become bothersome to you, you should check with the service on how to unsubscribe

Disclosure

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. For questions about this blog, please contact nicolesnickels at gmail dot com.

This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation. The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content.

The owner of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question. This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org/

Privacy Policy

I value the privacy of my readers and will never sell your information to any third party. If you post a comment leaving your name and/or email address or other contact information, please be advised that I cannot guarantee the privacy of this information. My blog is hosted by blogger by google and you should read google's privacy policy .

I may share your first name only on the blog if you win a giveaway but will not disclose any other information.

For each visitor to our Web page, our Web server automatically recognizes only the consumer's domain name, but not the e-mail address (where possible).

We collect only the domain name, but not the e-mail address of visitors to our Web page, the e-mail addresses of those who communicate with us via e-mail, aggregate information on what pages consumers access or visit, information volunteered by the consumer, such as survey information and/or site registrations and the email addresses of those who leave non-anonymous comments on the blog and those who subscribe via email to the blog.

The information we collect is used to improve the content of our Web page, , disclosed when legally required to do so, at the request of governmental authorities conducting an investigation, to verify or enforce compliance with the policies governing our Website and applicable laws or to protect against misuse or unauthorized use of our Website.

Some of my advertising partners may use cookies and web beacons on this blog. My advertising partners include, but are not limited to, Google AdSense, Logical Media, and Commission Junction.

I am unable to control the information collected by these third party advertisers, who may use cookies and other methods to store information about your preferences and/or the effectiveness of their advertising. I am also unable to control the privacy policies of the sites linked to my blog. You should consult the privacy policies for each third-party advertiser and/or site linked to mine if this is a concern for you.

I only collect information from those over 18 years of age.

From time to time, we may use customer information for new, unanticipated uses not previously disclosed in our privacy notice. If our information practices change at some time in the future we will post the policy changes to our Web site to notify you of these changes and we will use for these new purposes only data collected from the time of the policy change forward. If you are concerned about how your information is used, you should check back at our Web site periodically.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

First post!

This is the first post of my new blog, Nicole's Nickels, which will focus on freebies, samples, surveys, mystery shopping and other online money-makers. I will compile the latest and greatest and bring them to you in a convenient forum so you can earn and save money while at home. Many of you receive emails from me when I find products or samples I think you'd like. Sending all those emails was getting tiring so I figured I'd start a blog on the topic and be able to get my "deals" out to everyone. Please visit often - I plan to post at least one (1) time a day though with the amazing deals I have been finding recently it will probably be much more often. Please subscribe to the blog to receive notifications when I post an update and leave comments to let me know how I'm doing and how you're doing with my "deals".
 
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