Freebies — Page 69

How to find legitimate survey companies

I read a lot of big claims about survey companies… $100 surveys, free laptops, huge checks, you know what I mean. I’ve never seen any of these type of rewards, so I don’t know if that stuff is true, but I DO get a lot of great benefits from using these survey places consistently.

Years ago I lost my job, but my severance package allowed me some time to figure out my next move. I’d seen a lot of the survey advertisements and thought I’d give it a shot to earn a little extra since I had so much free time.

It didn’t take long to discover that a lot of these places were scammy and spammy. Some things to watch for:

You spend 10 minutes on a survey to be told you “didn’t qualify”… They should determine that within a minute or so, not get all of the information that they need and then not reward you. Scam.

The company gives you tons of “points”, but the rewards are always unavailable, or not valuable at all…. 10,000 points for a water bottle? Scam.

You very rarely get any surveys at all, just TONS of email with “valuable offers” from third party advertisers. Spam.

Or, worst of all, they try to make you PAY to complete offers, and promise to reward you enough to make it worth it. Do not believe it. Total scam.

So, after a year of trial and error, I narrowed it down to the companies that are legit, give generous rewards, and have other perks too such as product testing and giveaways.

The best way to use these companies is to sign up for a bunch. Take the time to fill out at least a few surveys each day, even if you can’t complete all of the offers that they send you. That way, you’re always earning.

Soon enough, you’ll start to see those points rack up, and get your first set of checks…. But warning, you might get hooked :)

Synovate is hard to get into… Unlike a lot of the other companies, they are not always taking new members. They are right now, but it doesn’t always last too long. If it is closed, just keep checking back. It is worth it! You are seldom screened out of surveys, the rewards add up really quickly, and this is one of the best for product testing… I’ve done home fragrance, shampoo, and skin care this year.

Swagbucks is a little different, not a traditional survey site, but it seriously ROCKS my SOCKS. You install a toolbar (super easy, trust me!!) and then use that bar to search, instead of Google or Yahoo. Every so often, it pops up that you have won Swagbucks. You earn them pretty quick, and earn more by doing surveys or polls. I use my points for Amazon gift cards, and I earn at least $5 bucks a week. I just put those in my Amazon account, and let them pile up. It is awesome.

Mypoints sends you some surveys to earn points, but if you only earn points that way, it’s pretty slow. Take advantage of all of the other options: print and redeem coupons, shop through them, and click on the ads they send you. The ads aren’t spammy, although, the more you click them, the more you’ll get. But they are legit offers, and if you want to shop through one you get big points, if you don’t, you just click it and earn 5 points. Mypoints rewards you with FREE gift cards, I earn a $50 card every couple months. And they have TONS of choices for cards… Macy’s, Target, Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, all good ones.

Inbox dollars was one of the first sites I every signed up with, so it’s like an old friend :) This is another one that sends you emails, and you earn points just for clicking the ad. If you use coupons (who doesn’t?? Lol) they have a big coupon list each month, and you earn points just for printing and redeeming them. They have a lot of new options too, like points for watching videos. Inbox dollars is another one that rewards you with actual cash checks!

Toluna is another really great one I’ve used for years. This one is strictly surveys, no other add ons. But I’ve gotten a few product testing opportunities here over the last year, and the rewards are given in a check which is sent really quickly.

These are my favorites, and I have earned real rewards from every single one of these. If any of you guys have tips for how to earn rewards faster, or other sites that you have had good experiences with, please share your tips in the comments!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on March 19, 2011 Filed Under: Freebies, Product Testing | No Comments

FREE Parenting Magazines

Get at least one FREE issue of Parenting Magazine, The School Years edition. The first screen said I would get just one issue free, the next screen said it was a free subscription. ?? Weird. Either way, this magazine always has a ton of great baby coupons… Some issues lately have had the $10 off diapers at Amazon, which is always cool.

Also, get a free 7 issue subscription of Parents Magazine too. This is another one with a ton of coupons…

I love getting bunches of baby magazines each month. I had NO experience with babies before having my own, and I find so many helpful tips in these things.

An example: My little girl was acting so fussy one day, and didn’t seem to be feeling well. I took her temperature during a diaper change, and she was running a moderately high temp, which of course made this over-anxious momma start worrying!

Then I remembered, I had just read an article about teething in one of my baby magazines a week or two before, and that babies sometimes get a temp when they start teething. Sure enough, I rubbed her gums to find some little nubbies trying to poke through! This is why I love these magazines :)

Posted by Meagan Paullin on March 18, 2011 Filed Under: Freebies | No Comments

How to get FREE stuff!

Everyone is always asking me, “How do you get so much FREE stuff??” Well, I sign up for a lot of newsletters that bring me a list of new freebies each day, which makes it really easy to quickly request lots of free goodies. Here is a quick list for you guys of some sites that I use… Sign up, and start seeing your mailbox fill up too!

You can check out my Facebook page to see pictures of the freebies I get in my mail each day! Plus, I post lots of deals there too.

Happy St. Patricks Day! Please tell me that you are a fan of Jib Jab?! We have so much fun making these videos! :) Go check them out and make your own FREE video today!

Toys R Us has a bunch of cool stuff going on… Shop in stores or online this Saturday, and get a FREE $20 gift card when you buy 2 boxes of Pampers, plus FREE shipping on any order over $75. And check out their giveaway on Facebook, one lucky fan will get $1,500!

Coupons.com just added a TON of new coupons, a bunch of really good ones. Check them out… There are so many that are $1.00 off or more! I’m getting better at couponing all the time, and this is such an easy way to clip ’em.

Freeflys has a bunch of new freebie offers right now too, so get signed up so you can check them out!! I found a free Dove deodorant, Lancome sample, Haagen-Dazs, and more. Make sure to check back with them often.

I just recently found Woman Freebies, and I love it. They send you a daily email with the newest freebies and giveaways. When you go sign up today, you can look through the freebies they have posted too. They never give you spammy type freebies, they’re great.

Viewpoints is offering a FREE sample of Tide Stain Release If you are not already a member of Viewpoints, I definitely reccommend that you sign up… I use this site so much! It is so helpful when researching new purchases, plus they do loads of product samples and giveaways.

The Ready to Eat newsletter is new, and very cool. During the quick sign up, you add your top three grocery stores, and they target their coupons and savings towards those! Sign up for coupons, freebies, and meal ideas.

Some quick links:

FREE {super cute} photo magnet when you sign up at Kodak. No purchase, just sign up!

FREE Coffee-Mate products! Apply to be a member of the Brew Crew for free stuff… I’ve done 3 house party style events, and get loads of freebies.

FREE Arm and Hammer Toothpaste ending soon!

FREE Glad Garbage Bags at Sams Club. Scroll to the bottom right to see the offer!

If you guys have any other great ideas to add, comment below!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on March 17, 2011 Filed Under: Freebies | 2 Comments

Free Mom-Approved Movie Night!

This looks like such a great idea! Family Values Cinema is now offering Family Movie Night Packages, and you can get your first one FREE.

Family Value Cinema

This sounded like a really cool idea, but I am always skeptical of new “free” offers, so I did some digging around for the details… And I was happily surprised to see that it really is a legit deal :)

Here is a little more info about this company, from their question and answer section:

How do you select your movies? In partnership with the National Board of Mothers, we literally review thousands of movies, and we choose the best, most entertaining films that we’d be proud to watch with our own children. We look for movies that both entertain and inspire families. No profanity, no sex, no violence! Only movies with messages promoting positive family values are pre-selected each month to send to our members.

What do I receive with my Free Trial Offer? A complete movie night package! You will receive a free Mom Approved Movie with a Family Discussion Guide, Interactive Family Activity, and a Movie Inspired Recipe from Auntie’s Kitchen. The movie will be pre-selected and approved by the National Board of Mothers. You are only charged $1.95 for shipping & handling. No obligation whatsoever, you can cancel at any time!

So, what happens if you like your FREE Mom-Approved Movie Night Package? There are two monthly subscriptions that you can sign up for, two movies and package extras for $12.95 per month plus shipping, or one movie per month plus the extras for only $7.95 per month! And whats cool is that this is not like Netflix… They send you out your monthly movie, the family activities and matching recipe, and you get to KEEP the movie!

I don’t consider myself to be very conservative at all, but even I get a little uncomfortable with some of the things that I see in “family” movies sometimes… I hate being surprised by inappropriate content. So I love the idea of a council of moms approving all of these videos before adding them to their movie list, so I know that they will all promote good values.

I think it is also such a great idea to add family activities and games that will help reinforce the positive messages found in the movie, this is a great way to get kids to pay attention to that kind of talk. And adding in a matching kid-friendly recipe is a bonus!

You have NO obligation to continue the program after getting your free movie. I figured spending $1.95 for shipping to check this out was totally worth it… If I don’t like it, I’ve hardly wasted anything. I mean, even a so-so movie is worth two bucks! And if it is as good of a program as I’m hoping it is, then I will definitely be signing up for the subscription!

Check it out, and let me know your experiences with it. You can sign up just by clicking on the box above! If any of my readers have used this service already, I’d love for you to leave feedback on it in the comments! Looking forward to my first movie :)