New Survey Panel Opportunity: Scripps Network

Go here to learn more about Scripps Network's (HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network) new survey panel. You will receive email invites (but not too many) to participate in up to 4 surveys forums or discussions per month. You will earn survey dollars for your participation!

Remember, this is a opportunity to see new products, shows, or people that are included in their network. You won't earn a lot of money doing this, but you will see what's new. I love the shows on these networks and would love the opportunity to try products or participate in conversation.

Site Showcase Sunday: Feed Readers

Are you currently using a feed reader? I use Pageflakes. Many use it or others like Google Reader or Netvibes to name a few. Feed readers are an opportunity for you to organize the many blogs or other websites you view on a regular basis (feeds). Feed readers allow you to subscribe to your favorite websites so new content comes to you when it is posted. Feed readers keep track of what you have read and organize what you have not read. On my Pageflakes page I have several blogs, the weather channel, news, and a couple other sites. I prefer to use my feed reader instead of clogging up my email. Consider it your free homepage.

Site Showcase Sunday: Recycle Bank

Go here to check out Recycle Bank! I became a member of this website about a month ago. I sent 2 old cell phones for recycling and gained some points! Each time you participate in something ecofriendly you get points. You can trade your points for valuable coupons and other rewards. You won't get rich quick by using this site, but it does motivate you to think about the environment and that is a good thing. I ordered several Coke coupons last week (we don't see coupons for Coke products often so I was excited).

Site Showcase: Bzzagent.com

About a month ago I became a BzzAgent. BzzAgent.com is a website that promotes word-of-mouth marketing networks that allows you to try new products and spread the word about what you like (and don't like).

About 2 weeks after joining BzzAgent's site I received notification that I was choosen to participate in a Loreal campaign for Lash Boosting mascara products pictured above. A week later I received a box with this product inside. I received it free (and saw it for $25 at Target last week)! My only obligation is to tell friends what I think in a couple weeks and take an online survey about my experience with the product.

If you like to try new products, this is a chance to do so FREE! Depending on the campaign you will also receive high value coupons to use and share with your friends. BzzAgent sends several emails each week with surveys and notifications of new campaigns. (I have a seperate gmail account for emails like this.)

Go here to sign up to become a BzzAgent! The process is quick and you will likely get emails regarding campaigns quickly.

Site Showcase: PriceGrabber

PriceGrabber is a website that allows to comparison shop quickly and efficiently. The information you can get about various products includes consumer reviews and Bottom Line Calculators that quickly tell you what something costs including shipping and tax. Many people use PriceGrabber because it is reliable. You can sign up for updates on their website.

I always check PriceGrabber before making a purchase to ensure that I am getting the best deal.

~Thriftynester

Site Showcase Sunday: Free Film Screenings

Go to the movies often? It can be SO expensive! Check out filmmetro.com and gofobo.com to find free film screenings in your area. Plan to arrive at the theater early as showings are typically on a first-come, first-served basis. Make sure you read all the details when you print your tickets.

I signed up for email from these sites several weeks ago when I found out about them in All You Magazine. I'm looking forward to a free movie night very soon!

Site Showcase Sunday: Black Friday Websites

Black Friday is getting closer. I'm looking forward to sitting in my warm pajamas with a nice cup of coffee in front of my computer for an hour on that day. I'm planning to get all the online deals I can and then head out to my favorite stores! This is a day that I will shop with a specific plan. (I don't usually do that!)

Check out the following websites to see what deals you can get and where they are this Friday! Remember nothing is a deal if you can't afford it so plan a budget before you go and stick to it. Watch for updates from your favorite stores. Some of them have not reported their deals yet.

• http://bfads.net/ *This is the site I have been using.
• http://www.blackfriday.info/
• http://www.black-friday.net/

Here are a few more sites and discount codes that have some nice gift ideas...

• Go to redenvelope.com/allyou for 20 percent off any purchase through Dec. 25th
• Go to cherrymoonfarms.com/allyou and get 20 percent off through Dec. 25th to send a gift basket to someone special
  
  

Site Showcase: Inbox Dollars

InboxDollars.com is a website that pays you to take surveys, shop, read email, and play games! You will receive a $5.00 bonus for signing up! If you are doing any online shopping for the upcoming holidays you will want to check out Inbox Dollars as you will earn a bonus by shopping through their website.

I have a seperate email that I use for Inbox Dollars and MyPoints because I get a fair amount of email from them each week and I don't like to have that in my regular email.

~Thriftynester

Site Showcase Sunday: Upromise

The good people over at Upromise believe that each individual should be able to go to college. Upromise has been around for almost 10 years and has more than 10 million members. This website that pays you to shop. You have the opportunity to earn money with everyday purchases. Here's how it works:

• Join Upromise for free!
• Link your shopper rewards cards like Food Lion and CVS and debit cards, etc.
• Shop online through upromise.com, eat at participating restaurants invite family and friends to upromise
• Enjoy watching your account grow!

This is a great way for grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends to help save money for college. If you don't have kids you can still participate. You can help a child you know or fund your Upromise account for your own education. This is free money!

I have had a Upromise account for about 5 years. Internet printable coupons for many items I buy to stockpile are delivered to my email monthly by Upromise. When I use these coupons, I receive a small amount of money in my Upromise account! It is very simple and a great opportunity to save for college. There is no limit on what you can earn from Upromise.

Check out Upromise and start earning some free money!

~Thriftynester

Restaurant.com has a deal for you!

Go here to score great deals on gift cards for your local restaurants! Restaurant.com has released a new promo code that will allow you to get $25 gift certificates for just $2! All gift cards are 80% off. The promo code is TREATS. Gift certificates are good for one year. Stock up while you can!

For all our Raleigh area readers, I'm stocking up on gift certificates for Amedeo's! We LOVE this restaurant. Great, local eats! I will be using my Restaurant.com gift card so I will have no out of pocket expense! Wondering how I will do this? Go here to read my post about Restaurant.com and how I limit my out of pocket when I shop for gift certificates on their website.

Looking forward to another CHEAP date night with Hubby!

~Thriftynester

Series: Site Showcase Sunday

Deals, deals, and more deals. Head to Brads Deals to find the best of them. Brads Deals is a website that has a plethora of online coupon codes as well as coupons that can be printed out and used in many stores nationwide. Each day Brads Deals features the best deals online on a variety of products. I check this website nearly every day and use it for my gift stockpile. I already have many great gifts for Christmas and birthdays for less.

The website is well organized and has enticing search categories such as Top Deals, Newest Deals, Online Coupons, Printable Coupons, By Category, By Store, Most Recent, or Popularity.

Brad Wilson, of Brads Deals estimates that he has a coupon for at least 90% of stores that you shop at! It takes just a moment to check his site for possible deals before making purchases and it could save you hundreds of dollars! You can also sign up for email alerts or suscribe via RSS feed.

I just bought the Halloween collar below for my fur baby Joey through a post I saw on Brads Deals.

Site Showcase Sunday: Sunday Coupon Preview

It's Sunday, so that means two things. First of all, new coupons! Every week when Sunday rolls around, I get a little bit excited the night before thinking about all the new coupons I will get, clip, organize and put to new and exciting deals.

Sunday also means time to showcase another website. Last week we introduced you to Site Showcase Sunday where we will highlight a website we find useful. This week as I was getting excited about my new coupons, and with knowing many of you are just getting ready to coupon, or are new couponers, the Sunday Coupon Preview is the perfect site for today!

If you have just begun couponing, or want to start, this site will be helpful in previewing the coupons before they come out in the newspaper on Sunday. This information helps me decide how many newspapers I will buy that week. It also allows for planning ahead of time for shopping deals for the week because you can see your new coupons in advance.

This not only helps me decide about how many papers to buy, but it gets me excited for coupon day and the chore of cutting apart the coupons. Those of you who have couponed awhile, know that it can be a big job, so staying excited and being creative with fun ways to clip is part of keeping the momentum going!

I love Sunday Coupon Previews!

Remember, coupons are regional and may vary slightly in amount and kind, but generally are nearly the same!

--Savvyteacher

Site Showcase Sunday: MyPoints

It is Site Showcase Sunday! We are starting a weekly series that you absolutely can’t miss reading every week. We will feature a website that is useful, interesting, and helpful to you!

This week I’m featuring two websites as I used both of them to score a fabulous deal. They are http://www.mypoints.com/ and http://www.restaurant.com/.

Last week I received a FREE $25 gift card for http://www.restaurant.com/ from MyPoints! I was so excited. This gift card will allow my husband and me to go out to dinner for very little out of pocket at many great restaurants. This is an opportunity for us to be frugal, but still enjoy a wonderful date night.

So let me tell you about the deal…

For the last five years I have been a member of http://www.mypoints.com/. It is a website that allows you to earn points to redeem for a variety of gift cards. It’s free to sign up. It’s easy. It’s worth a few minutes of your time, a few days a week. I created a separate email for MyPoints and I check it about three times each week. I read emails, take surveys, and occasionally make purchases online. MyPoints thanks me by giving me points for each email. It takes some time for me to accumulate enough points to redeem, but I’m patient.

After about 6-8 weeks I usually redeem MyPoints. I used to always get gift cards to Panera Bread as I enjoy eating there, but now I stick to getting cards for restaurant.com. The best part about redeeming MyPoints for a Restaurant.com gift card is that it costs me several hundred points less then the cost of a Panera Bread card (or many other popular cards).

According to Restaurant.com they “serve as the community matchmaker…Restaurant.com helps restaurant owners promote new and unique aspects of their restaurant while providing diners with great value in a fun, new and cost effective way.” What this really means is that I get CHEAP gift cards to use at local restaurants. To make it even better, their gift cards go on sale. I usually wait until many of their gift cards are 80% off. Then I login and buy them with the gift card I redeemed at MyPoints so I am out of pocket very little!

For example, I bought a gift card at 80% off at a great local restaurant. It was normally priced on Restaurant.com at $10 for a $25 gift card. Since it was 80% off I was able to snap it up for $2. I used my Restaurant.com gift card I redeemed from MyPoints so I was out of pocket nothing! When I actually redeem the gift card at the restaurant on my date night my husband and I will spend about $10. (It is a $25 gift card, but it stipulates that you must spend $35 to use the gift card.) We will spend about $10 plus tax and tip to enjoy an appetizer, 2 entrees, a dessert, and 2 drinks on a Saturday night. AMAZING!

I’m looking forward to a cheap date night very soon and fun local restaurant!

Happy Eating!
Thriftynester

I have been MIA for a while, but I have something fabulous to share! Last weekend, I went to the above link to do a trial offer and got some free bakeware. I figured I need another muffin pan for my muffin parties. The pan I chose retails at $15.95 and I got it for free with $1 shipping!

There was a great surprise for me when I completed the transaction. It gave me 2 credits for 2 more free items ($2 shipping). So I went back to the website and bought a cake pan that retails at $15.95 and a BBQ Grill Set that retails at $14.95. I figure I'll keep one and use the other 2 as Christmas gifts.

Total OOP: $3.00

Are you wondering how to do this?

Click on the link below to get your free bakeware

http://www.easybakeware.com/default.aspx

Add Item to Bag
Fill in your Information
On the next page, you can enter friends names or not. I skipped this part. Pick the $1 Shipping option and get a 7 day free trial (mine was for Privacy123 the first time and then a home shopping company the second time).

*Make sure you pay attention to the email you get because you will need to cancel 1 or more offers before the 7 days is up. When I called to cancel, it was automated. I just needed my member number from my email. Quick and easy!

Also, I did a screen copy and saved the terms and conditions in a word document just in case I need them.

Bank Deals are easy money!

QQflyboy and I opened 2 Sharebuilder accounts using the code "INVEST50" to receive $50 when I invested $5 (I believe this offer is now expired.). I am happy to say that the $50 posted this week in each account. That means that we made $100! It only took me about 20 minutes to open the 2 accounts.
In addition, I opened 2 Ameritrade savings accounts today. As long as I auto-deposit $100 in each for 12 consecutive we will get $100 deposited in both accounts in a year. (I'm excited...another easy $200 and a good return on my my savings.)

The Ameritrade bank deal is available until the end of the year. Check out more details at http://www.saveyourself.com/aboutplan/page1.html or http://www.moneysavingmethods.blogspot.com/.

We will be able to deposit an extra $300 in our savings account and it is so simple!

Invest $5, Get $50

I am SUPER excited about the new deal on Sharebuilder! They often run promotions that will get you a free $25, but they are currently running one that will get you $50 and you only have to invest $5! I created 2 accounts for QQflyboy and myself tonight and we will each get $50 deposited into our accounts in 4-6 weeks.
I have fallen off investing for the past 2 years since our move and this was great motivation to get going again. I bought a stock I strongly believe will be around for awhile and it is on sale in our current economy. I miss being the savvy investor I have been in the past. I just gave myself a kick in the pants!
If you are interested, follow the directions below. I highly recommend doing this! Very easy and lucrative.:) I found this info on http://www.moneysavingmethod.com/.

Go to http://www.sharebuilder.com/
Click on the Open an Account tab in the upper right hand corner
Choose Individual Account ( or custodial account if for a child. NOT valid on ESA accounts )
Change the Promotional Code to INVEST50 ( expires 12/31 ), otherwise you will only get $25.
Click No, stating you do NOT have another account
Fill out your personal information on the next few pages & then Create Account. You will then get a message stating your $50 will hit in 4 weeks. Do a screen print of this page!!!
On the next page, click Basic Plan
Make sure Build My Account Over Time is checked then click next
Create your Own Automatic Investment Plan on the next page
Click here to find a stock under $1
Enter the Stock Symbol and $5
Set your schedule to One Time
Enter information to authorize and Fund then Create Account

Happy shopping!