Fun — Page 11

Is Swagbucks a Scam?

I get asked all of the time, “Is Swagbucks a Scam?” To which I’ll answer- “No WAY!!!” I have used Swagbucks for about 2 years, and it is one of THE VERY BEST ways to earn free rewards online. Seriously.

To see some proof, check this out:

Date	Description	Amount
08/23/11	Searching the Web	7 SB
08/22/11	Searching the Web	12 SB
08/22/11	Referral SB from: Leslie5578	9 SB
08/21/11	Referral SB from: Leslie5578	10 SB
08/20/11	Referral SB from: Leslie5578	9 SB
08/19/11	Referral SB from: Leslie5578	11 SB
08/19/11	Searching the Web	11 SB
08/18/11	Referral SB from: Leslie5578	7 SB
08/18/11	Searching the Web	10 SB
08/17/11	Searching the Web	8 SB
08/17/11	Referral SB from: Leslie5578	9 SB
08/16/11	Bonus Swag Bucks: Toolbar Use	1 SB
08/16/11	Searching the Web	7 SB
08/15/11	Searching the Web	11 SB
08/15/11	Bonus Swag Bucks: Toolbar Use	1 SB
«Previous	Page 1 of 96	Next»

These are the Swagbucks that I’ve earned!

Notice how it says on the bottom, “Page 1 of 96”?? Yep, that’s how many points I’ve earned. Every 450 points earns me another FREE $5 Amazon gift card!! I earn $100’s in cards each year, which is an amazing help for my family, and is what I use to buy diapers for the baby- FREE. Awesome, right? And going into the holidays, it’s a great way to do your shopping for free. {Get 15 more ways to shop online for free here too.}

How do you earn points?

Add their toolbar. This is super easy, I promise. I’m not a skilled technology person, but this was simple to do. Then, use the toolbar for your regular searches, and you randomly get points added to your account. Seriously, what could be easier?
To boost your points, you can do more activities: The surveys can earn you 50-150 points each, which can add up SUPER fast!! There are tons of other ways to earn- daily polls, games, offers, etc.
Refer your friends. You can connect your Swagbucks to your Facebook account, and it will automatically share on your wall when you get new points, so that you’re friends want to check it out too! Then, when they earn points, so do you!! {I only have 4 referrals, but even that small amount gives me a big boost!}
Watch for SwagCodes while searching, or that other bloggers post. Then enter them in your account for MORE bonus points!!
Tons more ways to earn too: Coupons, Shopping, Daily Deals, Games, Videos, and loads more!

Tons of Rewards Available:

There are literally thousands of different rewards to choose from: gift cards, donations, products, sweepstakes entries, and more.

I redeem almost all of my points for Amazon.com Gift Cards, since that’s where I do all of my baby shopping. Every time you get a new gift card, you can add the code to your Amazon account, and let them add up until you’re ready to use ’em. Love it. Plus, since some of my favorite survey sites reward with Amazon gift cards too, I can get most of what I buy there for free each month.

Other great rewards available:

Gift Cards from sites like Cookies Kids, Gourmet Gift Baskets, EcoMom, Frecklebox, and Restaurant.com.
You can use small amounts of points to make donations to charities like Lupus Foundation of America.
You can get FREE products, from games and toys to magazines and home decor.
Your points can be used to enter Swagstakes giveaways too! You use the points as entries, and there are so many giveaways to win!

Swagbucks ROCKS my SOCKS!

I recommend this site to everyone, and it’s hard to understand why you wouldn’t want to use it! Even if all you do is add the toolbar, you’ll earn points with NO effort at all. It’ll take you longer to earn rewards, but heck, they’ll be free when you do earn ’em, so why not??

If you’re using Swagbucks too, leave a comment to tell me your best tip, or favorite feature of the site!!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on August 23, 2011 Filed Under: Freebies | 8 Comments

Celebrate Grandparents Day + Free Card!

This year, Grandparents Day is on September 11th!!

Get a FREE Card from Paper Snaps:

There are 6 different designs to choose from; the one above is the one that I got. They’re all super cute. Details…

“The inside of the cards are blank for you to add a personal message before you address and mail it to them. The cards are printed on heavy 110 pound card stock and measure 5 x 7 inches when folded. Card is creased for easy folding and includes a standard white envelope.”

How to Get it:

Check out the selection of cards for Grandparents Day on Paper Snaps, and choose the one you like best, then add it to your basket.
Use the coupon code GDAY11 at checkout, to make the card totally free! Set up your account with your shipping info, and choose the FREE shipping option too.
Then it will tell you no payment is required, and you’ll get your free card soon!

Celebrate the Day!!

For more fun ideas to help you celebrate the special Grandparents in YOUR life, check out Grandparents.com for some activities, crafts and printables, quotes and poems, and much more!

More Gift Ideas:

Grandparents would LOVE a canvas print of the kids! These are such great quality, {I have a couple now, and have made them as gifts} and are so unique. Check out the cool tools you can use- Pop Art is my favorite!

Or get prints of the family to add to the cards you send! Grandparents, especially if they’re far away, love pic’s of the little ones. This is a great deal- Just register on the site {takes 2 minutes, tops} and you’ll get a code for 50 Free Prints and more. Add a few of those to the FREE card, and you’ve got a great gift to mail out!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on August 23, 2011 Filed Under: Holidays, Freebies, Fun Stuff | No Comments

{Rafflecopter Giveaway} Win a Scentsy Goodie Bag!!

Another Great Rafflecopter Giveaway!

The always amazing Lucinda Faragher, Independent Scentsy Consultant, wants to share some of her fun new Scentsy goodies with you guys. So she put together some really great goodie bags for me, so that I can give them away to FOUR lucky winners! Check her out on Facebook and give her a big THANK YOU for sponsoring this fun giveaway!

A little more about Scentsy…

Scentsy Wickless Candles are smokefree, soot-free, flame-free. Safer then traditional candles. Scentsy candles use a low-watt bulb to melt the over 80+ delicious flavors of wax. A bar of wax costs $5 and will typically last around 60-80 hours.

I am such a big fan of room fragrance…

I’m always looking for new things to try. Everyone had been talking about Scentsy, and telling me how much they just KNEW I’d love it, but I never made time to get to a party. When I finally did…. I totally fell in love with it! If you’re not already a fan, I guarantee that you will be after trying it out. Seriously, this stuff is that good.

Why I love Scentsy:

I love that there is a scent “Lucky in Love” that smells JUST like my favorite Victoria’s Secret spray- Love Spell.
I love that the scent bars last for-EV-er! I am really amazed by it- makes these such a good value.
I love that I can leave the warmer plugged-in all day, for constant fragrance in the bedroom, unlike candles.
And I love the huge selection of products: room sprays, warmers, the Scentsy Warmers for kiddo’s, and so much more!

Enter to WIN a Scentsy Fragrance Goodie Bag from Lucinda!

Four lucky winners will each get one of these cute little goodie bags filled with Scentsy samples, coupons, books, and more! Each bag has either a Scentsy scent pack or a warmer circle in addition to the other great stuff!

Rafflecopter Giveaway:

[Read more…]

Posted by Meagan Paullin on August 22, 2011 Filed Under: Contests | 4 Comments

Back-to-School Coupon Codes + Free Cash

Are you ready for back-to-school?

If you still have shopping to do {and I betting that most of you do!} then you’ll love this quick trick to save big on school supplies, clothes, computers, and whatever else you still need to stock up on.

How to Save:

Do all of your shopping through Ebates! All of the following coupon codes are available to use through Ebates this week, to save you big bucks on your shopping right now. THEN, since you’re shopping through Ebates, and they have a BIG promotion for DOUBLE CASH BACK going on, you’ll stack up some additional savings, and they’ll send you out a BIG FAT CHECK like mine above, with all of your cash back! {During back-to-school and the holidays, I earn between $50-$100 each quarter in savings. The rest of the year, it’s smaller. But still, you’d do the shopping anyway, why not get some of your money back, right?}

How Ebates works:

It’s so super simple. Set up a quick Ebates account, and then use the search box to find the store you want to shop with. They’ll show you some coupon codes to choose from, that you can use at that retailer, and you can see how much cash back you earn there too. Then, click the link, shop like usual, and it will automatically add up your cash back and add it to your account. Easy peasy!

Check out some of the BIG savings available:

JCPenney: Shop the Awesome 3 Day Deals Sale for the newest Back to School styles. Free shipping on $49+ orders. Use code: SHIP49 Was 3.0%, now get- 6.0% Cash Back!

HP Home: $15 off orders of $75+ during our Back to School Promotion. Use code: SAVE15HP. Was 3.0%, now get- 5.0% Cash Back!
Nordstrom: Shop Nordstrom and get the coolest Back to School Fall looks from The North Face, True Religion, PEEK…, Lacoste, Levi’s and more! Was 3.0%, now get- 5.0% Cash Back!
Walmart: Have all of your supplies and essentials shipped directly to your store for FREE, and earn cash back too! Shop top-brand electronics for college at Walmart.com! Was 1.0%, now get- 2.0% Cash Back!
Kohl’s: Save 15% off orders of $100 or more at Kohls.com. Use code: BTS15EBT Was 2.0%, now get- 4.0% Cash Back!
4inkjets: 10% off all products excluding OEM ink & toner. Free shipping on all contiguous US orders, no minimum. Use code: STUDY99. Was 13.5%, now get- 14.5% Cash Back!
Staples: Free shipping on $75+ order at Staples. Was 2.0%, now get- 4.0% Cash Back!
Barnes & Noble: Save up to 90% on used textbooks plus free shipping on $25+ order. Was 4.0%, now get- 6.0% Cash Back!

Share your stories:

You know I love to hear from you guys! What’s your best back-to-school shopping advice? {Or, if you’d like to hear some great advice from other moms, check out the Mom’s Online Back-to-School Countdown for some really helpful tips.} Or, where do you recommend shopping for back-to-school this year; who do you think has the best deals??

Have a great end to your weekend, and happy shopping!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on August 21, 2011 Filed Under: Uncategorized, Shopping, Deals and Coupon Codes | No Comments

Join the Mom’s Online Back-to-School Countdown!

Are you ready for Back-to-School yet?

Ok, I know we’re all ready for the kids to be gone for part of the day… As much as I adore my nephews, and love getting to spend so much time with them while they’re living here with me, I won’t lie- I’m going to enjoy the afternoons with just the baby and I, and the quiet, again.

But I’m talking about “READY”-ready. You know, school supplies, new clothes, shoes that fit, backpacks, etc.

If you’re a member of my favorite online community, CafeMom, check out the Back-to-School section!

There are two places you can visit: One is the Back-to-School Supplies section, where you can ask questions to get advice from other moms, or read the answers to other momma’s questions like, “What do you suggest a kid keep in their school lockers (besides books)?” So helpful.

The other section is the Mom’s BTS Countdown, with tons of great videos and info to help you get prepared! You’ll love it.

Not a member of CafeMom yet?

It’s super easy to join me there! Head over to CafeMom and fill out a couple quick forms to get started. Then you can start browsing around, join some groups {I just joined a recipe swap group, and some local moms who do a coupon exchange! So cool.} and meet some new people.

How to meet other momma’s like you:

There are groups you can join based on your interests (cooking, scrapbooking, couponing, tattoos, etc.), your location, the age of your kids, your age, and much, much more. Join in the conversation in the group and you’re sure to find other moms like you.

You can also find CafeMom on Facebook. While you’re there, stop by too and leave me a comment- I so love hearing from you guys!

If you’re a member, and would like to connect on CafeMom, leave me your user name in a comment, and I’ll come by and say hello!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on August 19, 2011 Filed Under: Freebies, Fun Stuff | No Comments

Do you spend a lot of time online? Then get rewarded for it!

Do you spend a lot of time online?

If you’re like me, and spend a lot of time online for work, school, or just for fun, then you would totally benefit from signing up for some of my favorite sites! You deserve some great rewards, right? Of course you do.

I’m a freebie junkie…

But you already knew that :) I sign up for every rewards, survey, points and freebie site that I can find. I join tons of rewards programs, mailing lists, and fan clubs. Anything that will give me a chance at free stuff, I’m in!

Check out some of my favorites:

At RewardPort.com we offer points for taking surveys, completing offers, shopping, reading email, and much more! Sign up today and earn your first 500 points for FREE! Click Here to join!

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Inbox Dollars has been a favorite of mine forever! You earn pretty much the same way as RewardPort.com, but a super cool feature on here is that you can print coupons directly from their site, and then get paid an extra .10 cents for EVERY one that you redeem!

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I love MyPoints! This was one of the very first rewards sites I ever joined… So it’s been about 5 years now. You earn points when you shop through them, and unlike Ebates, you earn points even if you use a coupon code. Plus, they’ll send you emails sometimes, with cool offers. Click the ad, earn points. Then, if you want to shop there {offers like Walmart, Sears, Kmart and more.} you earn MORE points for that too.

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You’ve probably heard me talk about Swagbucks before, because it’s one of my VERY favorites!! I earn seriously TONS of Amazon gift cards, and all I do is use the Swagbucks toolbar to do search online, instead of Google. Once in a while I’ll do a survey or something, but pretty much ALL of my earnings are that simple, and I get enough points to get a $5 Amazon gift card every week.

What do YOU use to earn rewards while you’re online??

I figure, heck, I’m going to be reading my email anyway, how much longer does it take to click an ad or two once in a while, and earn free stuff? Use a toolbar to search, and get FREE gift cards? Um, yeah, I’m in. A couple of surveys each week to get cash money sent to me? Love it.

If you have some favorites, share ’em in the comments! I’m always looking for new sites to join!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on August 18, 2011 Filed Under: Freebies | 3 Comments

Find Amazing, Fun, & Free Resources at School Sparks!

All Children Can Start School Prepared to Succeed!

That’s the goal behind a totally amazing website I found today, School Sparks, where you’ll find a ton of really great resources for your child.

School Sparks is targeted towards parents of preschool kids, who are preparing them for school, and wanting to know if their child has the needed skills and development to start kindergarten. It has an assessment you can use to see how your little one is doing, and loads of great resources and activites! It’s also great for those with kiddo’s who have already started school, with fun activities to reinforce the skills that they’re learning each day.

This site is run by Renee, who is a preschool and kindergarten teacher, now retired after decades of educating young children. Heather is her daughter, mother of two young boys. This blog is their collective scrapbook, passing wisdom from one generation to the next.

Free eBook:

Get the Free eBook, Stepping Stones for Early Readers, that will help prepare your little one for school, as well as help develop reading skills in kids who are already learning words at school.

Free Worksheets:

This site has over 100 different Kindergarten worksheets that you can access and print! There are sections for developing gross and fine motor skills, social and emotional awareness, and fun pages like Alphabet Parade. I love, love, LOVE these printable worksheets! We put some of them into page protectors, so that my little guy can use dry-erase markers to do activities several times.

Free Assessment Test:

This site also has a Kindergarten Readiness Testthat is really easy to use. It asks a few questions in each of the major categories, and you simply click a box for “yes or no”, then get an evaluation of what your kiddo might want to work on to get ready for school. My littlest guy is starting Kindergarten this year, so this was a really cool tool to see where he still needs some help!

Understand How Early Child Development in 8 Areas is Critical to School Success:

Get information on Early Childhood Development, including what will be expected of your little one during preschool and kindergarten.

This covers the 8 areas of that are most important:

Gross Motor Development
Fine Motor Development
Auditory Processing
Visual Discrimination
Letter and Word Awareness
Phonemic Awareness
Math and Number Awareness
Social and Emotional Development

This is just one of the coolest sites, with SO much helpful information and tools, and it’s all presented in such a bright, fun, easy to find layout.

You can find them anywhere you’re hanging out on the web:

Their website: SchoolSparks.com.
Their Facebook page.
On their blog: School Sparks Blog– Make sure to sign up for the newsletter!
And on Twitter too!

{More great kids activites: Sign up for free, educational, safe gaming accounts just for kids: Time Island, and Kabongo, two of our families favorites!}