Sunshine and Sippy Cups

{Part 3} “How to Get FREE Stuff”

Welcome to {Part 3} of the series, “How to Get FREE Stuff”…

Cash Back Shopping Sites!

You can see my most recent check from Ebates in the picture above; I posted it so you can see that yes, these sites are legit, and you DO get real rewards!

I will admit that Ebates is my VERY favorite cash back shopping site, and I can’t believe that it took me so long to start using it! I do most of my shopping online since it is easier than going out with the kiddo’s, I find better deals, and especially- because I can earn rewards for my purchases!

Why would I use a cash back shopping site?

Well, if you’re going to shop online, and you’re going to buy it anyway, why not use one of these sites to get a reward back as a bonus? It’s like free money!

Now that I have been using some of these sites, I have started to buy some of our basics online too… I can stock up on shampoo, detergent, paper towels, etc, at a place like Walgreens, Right Aid, or Drugstore.com, and get cash back rewards on my purchase. This saves me time since I don’t have to get to the store in town, and gives me free cash. Awesome, right?

How do these type of sites work?

There are several different types of shopping sites: some give you cash back in the form of a check, and some reward you with gift cards.

When you get online to make a purchase somewhere, you just take a quick second to go to a site like Ebates FIRST. You type the store into the search box to see if it is a partner, if it is you click the link to visit the site, and you do your shopping just like usual! The site will track your purchase and calculate your rewards. Simple, right?

Plus, some of these sites, such as Ebates, will also post exclusive coupon codes that you can use on your purchase too!

Shopscotch (say the name, it makes you smile, love it!) is a really fun new one that I’ve just started using. It makes shopping and getting deals into a game almost :) It is built on the idea that all of the users are a community, and it lets you share deals and best practices with others, so you can all benefit! Plus, you earn badges and rewards for your activity. Very fun site.

What are some things to be aware of when using these sites?

I learned the hard way that you need to carefully read the rules on these sites, to make sure that you don’t miss out on rewards.

For Christmas, I ordered about $150 worth of merchandise from Shutterfly. Since Ebates had a promotion, and Shutterfly was earning you 12% cash back, I thought this would be a great way to save on such a big purchase.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t aware that you cannot use a “non-Ebates” coupon code on your purchase. This means that you can use any of the great coupon codes that they provide on their site, but not a coupon code that you have found on your own. This is because the partner companies will only provide cash back with APPROVED discounts. But it makes sense… I was using a photo book Buy 1 Get 1 FREE deal, and saved over $100 already, so it seems fair that I couldn’t earn cash back TOO. Just wish I’d known that at the time!

What tips do you suggest for using these reward sites?

I’ll explain how I use these sites, and what works best for me, just as an example. You’ll figure out what works best for you, based on what type of purchases you make, but this will give you a basic idea…

I always go to Ebates first, since most of the companies that I order from are partners there. I search out the company, check out the available coupon codes, and keep that in my mind. If I’m not too excited by the coupon code or the cash back percentage, sometimes I’ll also take a minute to check out ShopAtHome and Shopscotch and see what they offer. Then I make my decision on where to link up for my purchase.

If I have a coupon code of my own, (this usually happens with Shutterfly or Snapfish) then I’ll head over to MyPoints to do my shopping. MyPoints rewards you with points for your purchase, no matter what code you use! Those points are then redeemable for FREE gift cards, and I get a lot of these.

Another option that works great when you are using your own coupon code is Inbox Dollars. Inbox Dollars you earn cash back too. MyPoints and Inbox Dollars are similar in that they reward you for lots of different activities, not just shopping. So you can earn rewards pretty quickly. Check them out to learn more!

Now that you know how it works, I’m sure you’re ready to get started! (And, if you’re like me, this just gives you another reason to go shopping, lol.)

Here are links to the sites that I mentioned:

MyPoints: Earn points for shopping, surveys, offers, and ads. Points are traded for FREE gift cards to tons of great stores!
Ebates: Shop at 1200 Top Online Merchants and Get Up To 25% Cash Back! Click Here.
Shopscotch: Earn $5 today for signing up! Shopscotch is a “social” cash back site, and lets members share what they’re buying, and learn about great deals from each other! Lots of other fun stuff too. Click Here.
Inbox Dollars: Featured on the Good Morning America TV Show.InboxDollars pays members to read e-mail, take surveys, play games, shop online, and more! As a special bonus, anyone that joins NOW will receive a quick $5 in their account just by filling out their user profile, so signup right now for FREE. Click Here.
ShopAtHome: This site offers tons of other great features like giveaways, coupons, and more. Click Here.

I’d LOVE for you guys to share any cash back/reward sites that you are using to get bonus stuff back on your purchases. There are so many of them out there, and these are just the sites that I personally use…. So I’d love to hear your experiences with other sites too! Leave some comments and share your tips.

If you missed {Part 1} about Survey Sites or {Part 2} about Newsletter Freebies, make sure to check them out and leave some thoughts! And I always LOVE it when you guys shae my post on Facebook and Twitter! (Check out the new little Twitter box my the GFC!).

And don’t forget, there is a new giveaway, where you can win a swag bag just like the one that my guests took home from the Dinnertime Dillema House Party! Win it… Enter the giveaway HERE!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on April 13, 2011 Filed Under: Deals and Coupon Codes, Freebies, Shopping | 3 Comments

Check out SurveySpot… $12,000 in Quarterly Prizes!

SurveySpot Rocks!

SurveySpot is a new site that I’ve just started using, and I’m pretty impressed already! Since I am a bit of a survey junkie, and hadn’t heard of it until now, I thought a lot of you might have missed out on it too….. So I’m sharing my awesome new find with you guys!

Read more here:

Join SurveySpot and participate in online research studies that match your interests and demographics. Earn prize draw entries every time you participate in a survey, with a chance to win up to $12,000 in our quarterly prize draw. Click Here to sign up now!

If you are already a member of SurveySpot, let me know what you think of it. Are there any tips or tricks that you recommend to earn rewards faster?

AND… If you are looking for new survey sites, check out yesterdays post, {Part 1} of my new series, “How to Get FREE Stuff”, to find a HUGE list of great places that I use myself. And I’d LOVE it if you’d add your own favorites to my list too!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on April 12, 2011 Filed Under: Freebies | No Comments

Using Mailing Lists to Get FREE Stuff – {Part 2}

Welcome to {Part 2} of my series, “How to Get FREE Stuff”… First, I showed you how I use survey sites to earn free cash, gift cards – and even free full size products to review in my home. No, you won’t get rich, but yes it does do a ton to help your family budget! And, today’s tip will totally help you in the budget department too – in a ton of different ways. I’m going to show you how joining brand reward programs and signing up for mailing lists can save you hundreds of dollars, and load you up with new freebies every week! Check it out…

How to get FREE stuff using newsletters

This is something that I started doing a few years ago, and I get so many great offers, coupons, and freebies this way. I know that some people say, “Why would I want to sign up for all that marketing junk?” Well, because I like to be “marketed to.” Lol. Seriously – I want to be enticed to try your brand new products, whether it’s a coupon or a sample. I want to be in the group of people that brands send their best stuff too. And I love getting to try the newest products before anyone else, save a ton of money when shopping, and get random cool perks free. So – “That’s why I want to sign up for all that marketing junk,” lol.

Most companies send you out a weekly or monthly email newsletter, filled with great stuff. You’ll almost always get new coupons to print, usually higher-value ones than you’ll find in the paper or other places. {Looking for more coupons? Check out my giant coupon site resource too.} And, most newsletters reward their subscribers with their best stuff – you can request free samples, free coupons, enter exclusive giveaways, and more. {Because heck, if you were a brand, who would you give your cool free stuff too? The people that love you enough to subscribe, right?} Plus, I love seeing new ways to use products that we already love, and the newsletters usually have fun tips, recipes, and ideas to solve the chaos of my busy-mom life :)

Many companies invite their newsletter subscribers to join consumer panels too. Many times these panels are not open to the public, they are exclusive to people who have already shown their interest and loyalty to the brand by signing up for their newsletter. Makes sense, right? These panels usually involve doing a few surveys or activities, and reward you with free product or other perks. {Love sharing your thoughts in surveys? Learn how to make money at it, and how to get free products to test too.}

Another benefit – my very favorite! – is that by filling out your mailing information when signing up for a newsletter, you’ll sometimes get random goodies in the mail! If Betty Crocker comes out with a new cookie mix, they might send me a free sample, or a coupon to try it out. The unexpected surprises like this are the best!

How do I get started?

A great way to get started is to take a quick look through the house, and make a list of all of the brands that your family uses frequently. Then hop online, and use Google (or your Swag Bucks search bar if you’re smart and using that for more free stuff!) to seach for the brands. Almost all of them probably have a website with an option to sign up for their newsletters!

You can sign up for newsletters for products like Cheerios, Tide, or Dove…. And you can also sign up for brand newsletters like General Mills, P&G, or Unilever. There are also places like Viewpoints or Vocalpoint that have amazingly fun offers to try out new products in their newsletters.

Now that you know what kind of cool free stuff you can get, I’m sure you’re ready to sign up for some newsletters, right? And of course I’ve made it easy for you to get started by putting together a list of some of my favorites! But remember, almost EVERY company has some type of newsletter, (some better than others) – so search out newsletters for your OWN families favorite brands too. You’ll love it.

My Favorite Food Newsletters

Vocalpoint: Check out all of the great articles, message boards, coupons, and free samples.
Campbells: Links to TONS of other brands, coupons, and special offers. Campbells is about WAY more than just soup :)
Kellogg’s: Get exclusive coupons and earn rewards from your favorite Kellogg’s® brands. Click Here. They have lots of great stuff going on – and, I happen to be in love with several of their products, lol.
FreeFlys: This isn’t a brand exactly – but, they have new offers every single day – great coupon round-ups, and freebie and sample round-ups too. You’ll always learn about the best mailing lists to get on with them – this was one of the first sites I joined, to learn about other cool sites to sign up with!
ReadySetEat: Tons of your favorite brands are included in this newsletter. You’ll find tons of easy recipes, coupons, and more samples too.
Bisquick: Amazing ideas, cool coupons, and great offers – Bisquick can make meals all day long, so don’t think it’s just a “pancake product” – :) We make casseroles, biscuits, breads, and more.
Kraft First Taste: Samples, House Parties {these are things where they send you coupons and products, enough to do a small party with your friends. All you have to do in return is share a few pics on their site, and maybe give some feedback!} coupons, and tons more.
MyInsite: From General Mills – you’ll find lots of coupons, recipes, and cool freebie offers. Usually cereal type products, but other stuff from them too.
Betty Crocker: Click up in the top right to join their club, and sign up for some newsletters. This is one of my favorites – I don’t get too many freebies, but I get loads of really high-value coupons, and SO many fun recipes and party ideas.
Box Tops: Help your school earn cash and rewards by signing up for Box Tops for Education – Registration is free, you get access to cool coupons and samples, AND you’re earning the school free money too!
MySavings.com: This is another one where you’ll find a big resource of cool stuff each day. I find a lot of freebies this way, that come from newsletter or mailing list sign ups. So I get the goodie, and then sign up so that next time I get my own notice in my email too.
P&G Everyday Solutions: Opportunity to request free sample packs once each quarter, which are awesome. You want to be sure to watch for the emails, to make sure you get in asap as they announce it, so you get more stuff. This is a great site for moms too, since they share tons of great tips.
Tablespoon: General Mills products, includes recipes and coupons. Lots of big brand names – you’ll love it.
Pillsbury: I get some of my absolute favorite recipes on here. Their newsletters rock! They also do a free recipe calendar each year for subscribers – Like, gorgeous pics, big full size, and amazing stuff. They have lots of cool offers each week in their newsletter, so be sure to open ’em each time!
Dinner Made Easy: Betty Crocker products, simple meal ideas, giveaways, and great ideas to solve your dinnertime dilemas.
Eat Better America: Healthy menu ideas, coupons, and free samples of healthy products. Great option if you’re looking for most diet-friendly fare.
Cheerios: Big giveaway right now, plus tons of contests, samples, games, and coupons. We eat loads of Cheerios in my house!

Photo Company Newsletters

Shutterfly: Free offers, coupons and discounts, amazing project ideas, and more. Once you have this for awhile – especially if you do an order every once in a while, you’ll get great free offers. Things like free prints, free photo books, holiday cards, and more.
Snapfish: Very similar to Shutterfly, plus – Get 50 FREE prints when you join, plus lots of discount offers and deals.
York Photo: Get 60 Free prints with code: FREESIXTY. Just pay the shipping. You’ll also get an additional 40 Free prints just for registering. Click Here.

Household Products

Home Made Simple: TONS of great stuff!! Plus they send out big coupon books every month or so, in the mail, for things like Swiffer, Febreeze, Cascade, Dawn, Mr. Clean, etc.
Tide: Special offers and promos, samples, and more. And they come out with new products a lot.
Dawn: Coupons and offers, lots of tips and ideas.
Febreze: Discount coupons, freebies, rebates and more. {I can’t even tell you how much I rely on their products, with a very bad dog living in my house, lol.}
Purex: Sign up in the top right little email subscribe tab to get their offers – soooo much good stuff. And, you can also check out their Purex Insiders {bottom left side little link says “join here”} group if you have a blog or other influence, to get free full size products.
Right @ Home: These are for SC Johnson products – sign up on the right side, and get their awesome newsletters. This is another one that often offers up BIG samples to subscribers!

Best Baby Newsletters

Johnson’s Baby Products: Helpful baby advice, lots of coupons, and special deals and offers. Plus, who doesn’t love Johnson’s, right?
Earths Best: Tons of great offers and ideas, coupons, and fun sample events. The sample events are more of those “house party” style events, where you get great stuff to share with all of your mom friends too.
HappyBaby: Coupons and offers, big giveaways, fun stuff, samples, plus check me out on the partners page :)
Sprout: Coupons, deals, promotions and more on some really amazing healthy and natural baby and kids products.
Pampers: Join now & get 100 Free Points. Plus coupons, deals, and giveaways. You can get things like free photo books, children’s books or toys, and more. (Read my list of bonus points in this post.)
Big List: I also have a big list of how to get free stuff for babies – check it out for more cool lists to get onto.

I hope you find some newsletters on the list that you LOVE, and I can’t wait for you to start getting some fun FREE stuff! Look forward to new recipes and tips, exclusive offers and surprise samples, new product information and promotions, and great giveaways. Seriously – this is such a simple way to get more stuff for free, get cool tips and awesome ideas, and coupons to save big bucks.

If you have any favorite newsletters, PLEASE share in the comments! Remember, this weeks series is all about you guys, and I’d love for you all to share your ideas, tips, and suggestions.

You can check out {Part 1} of this series: How to Earn Free Money & Products with Survey Sites, and see the Intro to Getting Free Stuff post for all of the links. And remember to share this with your friends too – Use the social buttons to share to Facebook, Twitter, Stumble Upon, or of course everyone’s fave – PIN IT! :)

Posted by Meagan Paullin on April 12, 2011 Filed Under: Freebies, Busy Mom Solution | No Comments

{FREE} Register for the Positive Parenting Webinar

Get your kids to listen—the first time. No nagging or yelling required.

Register today for the Free Positive Parenting Solutions webinar with Amy McCready, sponsored by Frecklebox!

To sign up, click here to register. The webinar is one hour long, and takes place on April 26th, at 9PM EST.

Read more about this event:

Who Should Attend: Frustrated parents of kids ages 2-16 (Note: Please encourage your spouse or other caregivers to attend. Parenting is a lot easier when everyone is on the same page!)

What You’ll Learn: Amy McCready, Founder of Positive Parenting Solutions will present a strategy-packed, interactive, LIVE online webinar designed to teach you…

why kids really misbehave – it’s probably not what you think!
how your personality may actually fuel misbehavior
the 5 R’s of Fair & Effective Consequences so kids listen the first time you ask
training resources to reduce your parenting stress & stop nagging, reminding & yelling

I’m pretty excited to attend this… I love webinars, since they are such a great way for me to learn new things, without having to leave the kids with a sitter. And I’m always interested in learning new ways to keep our family and home happy!

Are you planning to attend? If so, hurry and RSVP today, since this is only available to a limited number of people.

Posted by Meagan Paullin on April 12, 2011 Filed Under: Freebies | No Comments

Who Loves Free Stuff??

Yesterdays Freebies…

I love getting the mail on days like this. Every day there is at least SOMETHING, but today was a fun day!

Here is your daily FREE stuff list:

Free sample of John Frieda Frizz-Ease Smooth Start. Click Here.
Free Huggies Supreme Baby Wipes. Click Here. It asks you for your Sam’s Club number, but you don’t need one.
Free Special K Cereal sample! Click Here.
Join Crowdtap. Earn cash, money for the charity of your choice, collaborate with brands, and have the chance at house parties and product testing. Click Here.
Free sample of HappyMe Skincare.
Click Here.
Todays DAILY DOUBLE at Ebates is Cabela’s!! Get Up to 25% Cash Back at Over 1200 Stores – Sign-up Free at Ebates.com! Click Here.
Get a FREE Mr. Potato Head with a $25 purchase of select Playskool toys on Amazon. Free Mr. Potato Head!
Free sample of Invisible Glass Cleaning Wipes at Freeflys.
Click Here.
Free Red Dress Pin for Heart Disease awareness. Click Here.
Free samples of Pantene shampoo and conditioner. Click Here.
Get 140 Free Return Address Labels from Vistaprint Click Here. These work great as labels on kids toys, or to use as package tags. Tons of cute designs too. I get these all the time!
Free 2 oz. Benjamin Moore Paint Sample. Click Here.
Daily deals on adorable stuff for moms and babies. Click Here.
New coupons and samples today at Women Freebies: Pizza Hut, Duck Tape, Coffee-Mate, and more. Click Here.

New Contests and Sweepstakes:

Enter To Win a One Of 12 $100 Great Clips Gift Cards. Click Here.
Enter to win a Polaris ATV and over 400 other prizes in the Dial for Men 30 Days of Dirt giveaway. Click Here.
Win FREE Laser Hair Removal. I really want to win this for summer :) Make sure to click the box that says, “Yes you can contact me” or they can’t let you know if you’re a winner. I enter this every month, lol. Click Here.
Win a $10,000 Deck Make-over from Thompsons Water Seal. Click Here .
Win a Mexico Vacation package. Click Here. Oh my, how I need a vacation! I’ve been entering vacation contests like crazy lately.
Play the Fast Five Instant Win Game. Click Here.
Cuisinart Giveaway from RecipeLion. Click Here.
Win a $500 Leap Frog Easter Basket! Click Here. This is a kind of fun contest :)
Win a Memories of a Lifetime Prize Package. Click Here.

PLUS, more good stuff:

And, don’t forget to check out {Part 1} of my new series, “How to Get FREE Stuff” posted here, and watch for {Part 2} today! If you love it, please use the social media buttons on this page to share it on Facebook and Twitter! You can share any of my posts that way… It makes you a great gal for sharing sweet deals with your friends, and helps me get out there and meet new freebie-lovin’ faces!

And, the new giveaway started yesterday. Enter here to check it out… You can win a House Party Philly Cooking Creme Set.

And stay tuned… I have so much fun stuff lined up for the next few weeks!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on April 12, 2011 Filed Under: Freebies, Shopping, Contests | No Comments

{Yumm-tastic!} House Party Philly Cooking Creme Set Giveaway!

Are you ready for another NEW giveaway? Wooooo!

I had the opportunity to host the Philly Dinnertime Dilemma House Party recently, and all I can say is… Yummmmm! The new Philadelphia Cooking Creme was the feature of the party, and well, this stuff rocks my socks, no lie.

I’d seen the product in stores, and it looked cool, but I wasn’t really sure what I would do with it. Um, that is NOT a problem. It is one of the most versatile products, and it makes it so easy to turn a simple dish into a kinda amazing one.

For those of you who are not familiar with House Party, it is an AWESOME site that provides you with everything you need to have a fun party in your home, featuring a sponsored product or brand.

I used all of the goodies that they sent me to make up some fun swag bags for all of my guests, and I ended up with one extra…. So I am giving it to one lucky fan!!

This is what is in this prize package:

A Philly Cooking Creme Cookbook: This is just a small soft-cover book, but oh my. The recipes are SO simple, yet SO amazing. Serious. I have made about half of them already, and they are all easy, fun, and delicious. Every. Single. One. Plus, once you read these recipes, you’ll start realizing how many dishes you make now could be jazzed up a bit with this cooking creme!
$10 off a Todd English purchase on HSN coupon: so you can try out one of his amazing pans. I got one to try out in my party pack, and this thing was really great.
Two additional coupons: Both good on other HSN purchases.
Kitchen accessories: A cute Philly branded fridge notpad and magnet.
Philly wooden cooking spoon: I ended up with two, one that is great in the kitchen, and one that is my baby girls new favorite toy!
TWO Philly Cooking Creme Coupons: One coupon will get you a package for FREE, and the second gets you a $1.00 off when you try another flavor!

Now, the rules! To enter, as always, you MUST follow Sunshine and Sippy Cups either by email, or with GFC. This is mandatory, and you’re other entries won’t count if you don’t follow the rules.

Mandatory Entry:

Leave me a comment letting me know how you follow Sunshine and Sippy Cups. If you subscribe by email AND follow with GFC, then leave TWO seperate comments, one saying email follower, one with GFC.

Bonus Entries:

1. Become a fan on Facebook! Leave ANOTHER comment telling me that you are a fan on Facebook, and what your FB name is.

2. Share this giveaway on your Facebook page! Leave a NEW comment letting me know that you did this. (Sharing is easy, you can use the buttons at the end of each post!) And please “tag” me in the post… Use @sunshineandsippycups in your post, and it’ll tag me so I know you shared!

3. Follow me on Twitter! Leave ANOTHER new comment letting me know, and what your user name is.

4. Share this giveaway on Twitter! Leave a NEW comment for this too, to get another entry!

5. Tell me what your favorite post is on Sunshine and Sippy Cups, and why. Leave your answer in another comment. I love hearing what you guys think!

That is a total of SEVEN entries total that you can post RIGHT NOW! Plus…. You can earn another BONUS entry every day for sharing the giveaway on Facebook or Twitter! Just share it, and come back here and leave ANOTHER comment telling me it’s your daily entry, and where you shared. Easy, peasy :)

Enter to win today! The winner will be chosen by Random.org on Sunday, April 17, 2011. Open to U.S. Residents only, 18 and over. Winner will be contacted at the email provided, and will have 48 hours to reply before an alternate winner will be chosen.

This is a nice little swag bag of goodies, and you’ll love it! The prize package is all tied up in a pretty ribbon with one of my fun new business cards from Vistaprint attached :) Yes, I’m showing them off a bit, I’m rather proud of them. And as you can see below, I got them free, and you can too. LOVE Vistaprint stuff.

Speaking of freebies… Make sure to join in on my “How to Get Free Stuff” series this week! You can check out the {Intro} with all of the links in it right here. I’d LOVE to hear some feedback on this post. I want to do another series next week, just to answer your questions and share your best tips!