Product Testing

{Moms Rock!} Mother’s Day Freebie List

Happy Mother’s Day!

This is my first real Mother’s Day, although I did celebrate last year… I was about 6 months pregnant, and could feel that little girl kicking my tummy all day, and so I really did feel like a mommy. But I am pretty excited for my first Mother’s Day spent with my daughter…

This picture is a few months old, she is MUCH bigger than this now!! But I don’t have any new pictures of us, since my camera broke a while back. As soon as I learn how to download pics from my NEW camera into my computer, I can finally have new “Mommy & Me” pictures to share.

So, in honor of Mother’s Day, here are some freebies just for moms!!

The {Moms Rock} Freebie List:

Baby to Bee is an excellent site for new moms! You can find tons of coupons and samples, as well as a really helpful community to get answers to all of your questions. I’m a big fan.

Woman Freebies is a GREAT resource of coupons and free samples that are chosen JUST for women. Sign up to get one notice each day with a roundup of new free stuff.

Zuilily offers the VERY best selection of brands and products of any of these type of deal sites. I love getting their email, and seeing the amazing stuff that they have found. This is the only way I can afford this type of designer stuff! All sales are on merchandise just for mom, babies, or kids.

Vistaprint rocks my socks, no lie. I’ve ordered SOOOO much stuff from them, and have always been really happy with the quality. These Mommy Cards are such a fun idea! You can give them to new babysitters, teachers, other parents… Anyone that you want to have your contact info. Love it.

Are you a crafty momma? If so, join me in entering to WIN this Cricut Expression 2. I want one of these sooo bad…. *fingers crossed*

Planning Family is another favorite of mine, and is a super great resource for baby coupons and freebies! Plus, their weekly emails are full of tons of great tips and ideas too. You get a new email each week with an update on your babies development. I love these.

Use coupon code YMW4CP to get 40 FREE prints at York Photo, just for you!!

And a few more:

Power Pill Extreme Energy: Get a sample of their new energy product… I know all of us momma’s could use THIS stuff, lol. Click Here.
Garnier Fructis: This one is kinda funny, and seems to give a different sample option for each person! Should get you some type of shampoo, and then after you enter “female” you may get options for more beauty products! Click Here.
Free Nail Polish: Just text the word SUMMER to shortcode 467467. You must be 18 years or older to participate. If you’ve never used ShopText before, it’ll make you answer a few questions first. They’re legit, I’ve used them before… no weird charges or anything :) Sponsored by Cosmopolitan.
Tire Gel: Get another texting freebie… FREE Meguiar’s Tire Gel Sample by doing the following: Text TIRE3 to 44567! Maybe momma wants shiny tires, right?
Free Money for Mom: Get $5 FREE when you sign up at Ebates today, and ANOTHER free $5 when you sign up and start your profile at Inbox Dollars too! Both companies I use and love.
FREE Products and Cash: My very most favorite-ist survey site is taking new members right now… If you are a busy mom with not a lot of time to devote to these survey sites, then trust me, Synovate is the one to go with! You get FREE full size products to test {lately I’ve gotten to test salad dressing, plug-in freshners, styling products and more} and then you get reward points when you give your opinion on them! Those points can then be redeemed for cash! And you earn rewards pretty fast too.

I’ll post more too, as I find them! But I wanted to get at least one big post out for you ladies right now! I hope you all have a really wonderful day, and get to enjoy your families! Happy Mother’s Day!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on May 7, 2011 Filed Under: Freebies | No Comments

My {Favorite} Site is taking NEW Members Again!

Woooo!!! I got an email that Synovate, my VERY favorite survey site, is accepting new members again!!

The last time they opened up, they stayed open for about 3 weeks, but sometimes it closes in as quick as a day or two. It just depends on how much room they have available.

This is my VERY favorite survey site, hands down… Especially for those of you who don’t have a lot of time to fill out surveys. You’ve probably seen many of my posts with pictures of the full size products that I have gotten to test out with Synovate…. They are THE BEST survey company for product testing. Love it.

PLUS, not only do they send you FREE products to test out, but then they even reward you with points for giving them your feedback on those products. Then you trade your points in to get FREE MONEY in the form of a check mailed to your house!

And, as you can see, they also have tons of monthly giveaways, EXCLUSIVELY for Synovate members. Awesome, right?

So, if you are interested in doing surveys for rewards, don’t miss out on this chance! They may not accept you this time, since many times they are only looking for people in certain areas…. But it is DEFINITELY worth a shot!!

Check it out, and let me know if you get accepted too! Sign up by clicking either of the boxes, above or below. I’m excited to hear whether some of you guys get in or not… Leave me a comment!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on May 7, 2011 Filed Under: Product Testing, 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

How to Get FREE Stuff Online {Part 1} – Earning Free Money & Products with Survey Sites

How to Get FREE Stuff Series {Part 1} – Earning free products and cash with Survey Sites! So many of my friends were super skeptical when I first started signing up for survey sites… Everyone told me that there was no way that this stuff was legit, and that I was wasting my time. But as the free full size test products, the boxes of samples, and the checks that I cashed to get free money started rolling in regularly, they changed their tune pretty quickly, lol. Most of them now use these sites too, and I’m excited to share my tips and tricks with you guys here too!

Welcome to Part 1 of this weeklong series teaching you, “How to Get FREE Stuff”!! Today’s topic is how to get FREE stuff by becoming a member of Survey Sites.

Why use survey sites?

Signing up with survey sites was one of the first things that I did years ago when I first started looking for online freebies. I was pretty discouraged at the beginning, because so many of them just didn’t seem to be getting me any rewards. I’d spend tons of time filling out surveys and never have enough rewards to cash out. Or, once I got enough points to get something, all of the “good”rewards were always “sold out”, leading me to think that they never actually offer this stuff.

How to find legit survey sites

With a legit survey site, you should be able to earn rewards in a reasonable time frame, cash out and get a check {or PayPal deposit} without waiting months, and have a good selection of rewards to choose from. Also, when you request a reward, you should get it within a few weeks, not be told that it takes “2-3 months for shipping.” No way. So, how do you know if a survey site is a scam? A legitimate survey site will be honest about what they can offer you… Beware of offers like, “Make $90 per survey!” or “Test out new iPads at home for FREE!”… offers like this are a pretty obvious sign that the company is a scam.

And be careful too about claims like, “Make a full time income from home filling out surveys!”, because I have not seen ANY company where you can earn that much!

Don’t get me wrong, you can make some nice extra money doing surveys, just don’t expect to quit your day job :) I make about $80 – $150 a month from the sites that I use… Plus a few product testing shipments each month, and sometimes I even get lucky and win a big prize in one of the giveaways! I used to make even more, but with the new baby and new blog, I’ve cut back quite a bit.

How to Maximize Your Online Survey Site Earnings

The more sites that you sign up with, the more surveys you can complete, and the more money you can make. Here are a couple tips to keep your email under control if you’re worried about the offers coming too frequently – Use one separate email account dedicated just to surveys, so you can easily log in when you’re ready to earn some cash. Or, put the survey invites into their own email folder in your regular account, and have everything ready to go in one spot. The sites I use don’t send spam, just the invites to participate in surveys or giveaways.

What kinds of rewards can you get from these survey sites?

Most of the sites that I use have the option to trade in my “points” for cash, which means checks mailed to you, or a PayPal deposit. Some sites let you cash out as soon as you reach $5, but I like to wait until I hit $20 or $30 to request my checks. Lots of sites reward with you with FREE gift cards, which I love. You can usually earn these even faster than you can cash, and the sites that I use all have a great selection of places to choose from, like Amazon, Macy’s, Home-Depot, Old Navy, and more. Many sites will also reward you with entries into their monthly giveaways each time you attempt a survey. That way, if you start a survey but don’t qualify to finish it, you will still get rewarded, with a chance at winning prizes. And – one of my favorite rewards is the product testing! Several of these sites will send out surveys to see if you qualify for product testing opportunities, and if you do, ask you if you’d like them to send you free stuff. Um, of course, right? Right now we’re doing a salad dressing test, air freshener plug-in testing, and trying out a new face cream product too. Super fun.

What should I know before getting started with survey sites?

Know that you won’t earn HUGE amounts of money, but you will have a new, fun way to earn some extra spending money. I put part of my earnings away in a separate account each month, and then I have FREE Christmas shopping money at the end of the year. {Learn more about how to shop online for free.} Know that you won’t always qualify for every survey, but that’s ok. Don’t get discouraged. You’ll see the rewards start to pile up after a while! Just make sure to sign up for as many survey companies as you think you can handle, so that you are always earning in different places. Soon, you’ll be amazed at how much you’ve earned at each one :) And remember… Not every survey site is right for everyone. Some people like to get lots of short surveys that offer smaller rewards. Some people like taking the longer surveys to earn rewards faster. Some people want to only earn cash, while others (like me!) LOVE getting to do the product testing! So sign up for a few, try them out, and see what you like.

There’s nothing to lose…

If you don’t like one site – cancel it, and come back to find some new ones to try out! Bookmark or Pin this page, so you can easily add new sites when you’re ready for new rewards. I’ll add to this regularly as I use and earn with new sites… I don’t like to recommend sites unless I’ve actually cashed out and received a reward myself, to ensure I’m not sharing spammy-scammy places with you. Because those suck.

Now that you’ve learned more about how this stuff works, it’s time for the fun part… Signing up!

Inbox Dollars: Get $5 in your account just by filling out your user profile, so signup right now for FREE. Click Here.
SwagBucks: Search, complete surveys, and more! Start today! {You may have read my post, and seen how I earn about $5 in FREE Amazon gift cards each week with SwagBucks. Adds up quick!} Click Here.
Global Survey Group: Businesses want to pay for your opinions – that’s how they develop and launch new products, learn what pricing people will pay, improve existing products, and more. And they reward you well for filling out those surveys and trying their products!
Valued Opinions: Nice reward options, fun surveys so far. Click Here.
Neilsen Home Scan: I was doing this one, using the scanner, until the baby came and I got too busy. I want to get started again, and I heard their taking new members. It’s incredibly cool – you scan everything you buy, in town or online. You earn points for sharing that feedback. You can earn SERIOUSLY awesome stuff like kitchen appliances, trips, and more. Click Here to check it out.
Opinion Outpost: The minimum cash out for Paypal is $10 and only $5 for Amazon gift cards. Learn more.
MyPoints is a little bit different than the rest. You can earn points for surveys, completing offers, and clicking on the ads that they send you via email. You also earn points if you start here when you shop online. You’ll learn more about MyPoints on Wednesday when I post {Part 3} about cash back sites. MyPoints rewards you with FREE gift cards, and I have earned sooooo many of these over the years with them.
MySurvey: They have tons of great product test opp’s for moms. I’ve tested out two big packages of diapers, and a baby jumper. Take Surveys, Earn Rewards, It’s Easy & Free! Click Here.
SurveySpot: Love this- “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.” They always have fun games. promotions, and giveaways. Click Here.
NPD Group – Online Research: This is one of the largest and most trusted market research companies in the world, with over 40 years of experience, very trustworth and legit.
Mindfield: Frequent surveys = more chances to qualify. Click Here. This is valid for US and Canadian residents too.
Vindale Research: Keep products you review Click Here.
Ipsos I-Say Moms Panel: Earn points for taking surveys and use them towards Cash, Gift Cards or Charities.

So – now you know how to tell if a survey company is safe or a scam, what to expect in rewards, and have a HUGE resource of great new programs to join! And remember: I am VERY interested in hearing from you guys this week! If you have questions about any of these companies, post your question in the comments. If you want to share your experience, good or bad, with any of these sites, please comment about it! And if you have a great site to add to my list, post it!

Check out the the rest of the How to Get Free Stuff Online series here.

Once you become a NCP panel member all you have to do is scan and send them your household purchase information every week with a handheld scanner that they provide. For each week of the month NCP receives your purchase information, you will earn one entry into the Monthly Sweepstakes where you can win a $500 American Express Rewards Card. That’s up to FOUR entries every month! Every month, 25 panel members win!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on April 11, 2011 Filed Under: Freebies, Product Testing | 7 Comments

How to Get FREE Stuff Online – Series Intro

Have you even wondered, “How do some people get SO much free stuff?” Or, maybe you hear about people getting all these cool freebies, see posts on Facebook with offers that look great, but your skeptical or suspicious on whether it’s all real? Well, I’m here to help! First of all, I’m going to show you pictures of what I get in the mail on a weekly basis – each of these were taken after collecting a week’s worth of free stuff from my mailbox. That’s to show you that yes, it’s real, and you really can get freebies like this. Then I’m going to give you a week’s worth of tips, to help you tell the difference between the scammy-spammy stuff and legit offers, where to find them, and other ways to get things totally free. Check it out…

[Read more…]

Posted by Meagan Paullin on April 11, 2011 Filed Under: Freebies, Product Testing | 8 Comments

How do you know if a survey company is legit?

You know a survey company is legit when you see this…

… my most recent reward check from Toluna! This post is for those of you that are skeptical of working with survey companies… I’m posting it so that you can see, yes, you really DO earn rewards with these companies. Not all survey places are legit, but as you can see, Toluna is! They let you cash out and request a check every time you reach $20 dollars, so I get a check about once a month or so.

You can get started here…

It takes just a minute to sign up, and soon you’ll see that first survey show up in your email! You don’t have to fill out any surveys that you don’t want to do, but the more you complete, the faster you’ll earn that first check :)

You also get entered into their amazing monthly contests with every survey that you attempt but don’t qualify for, and I know a couple of other bloggers who have won pretty awesome prizes from Toluna!

Check it out, and get signed up today! There is no risk… Fill out surveys whenever you have a little extra time, and cash out checks every time you reach $20 bucks. Why WOULDN’T you sign up, right? Toluna rocks.

And, if you’re looking for new survey companies to work with, read my post about the new product that I’m testing from Synovate here, and learn more about signing up with them.

And here are a couple more that I PERSONALLY use. When a company is a favorite of Sunshine and Sippy Cups, you know it’s good, right? :)

*InboxDollars will pay members to read e-mail, take surveys, play games, shop online, and more! Sound too good to be true? Absolutely not! Our advertisers want to hear YOUR opinions on every day products and services and will PAY you to try them.

Join over a MILLION Americans just like you who are earning cash from reading emails and taking part in advertiser trials. 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 to get started.

AND ANOTHER…

Start earning Swagbucks today and you’ll soon be cashing out for Free Prizes. Earn bucks by searching the web, completing surveys and polls, and more. Start today! Click Here