• Swagbucks: Earning A Little Extra

    swagbucks-logo

    Swagbucks…..what is it?  That was my thought initially as well.   A couple friends mentioned it several times so I decided to check it out for myself.  Even though I have only been part of Swagbucks for a few weeks I must say I am impressed.  I have been able over the short period of time accumulated quite a few Swagbucks and earn several gifts, including Gift Cards to places like Amazon, Starbucks, and more.  Are you looking for ways to get a little bit extra, make your budget stretch, money for gifts, special occasions, gift cards, or just for fun?

    I want to give you a little information on Swagbucks and how you can enjoy the perks as well!  Swagbucks is FREE to join and you can earn many gifts you can use for your family or share with others!

    Starting Out – What is Swagbucks?

    • Swagbucks is a search engine that gives you rewards (like Google).  You earn Swagbucks for searching and bonus ones through various searches and tasks you can do online.  Typically you earn between 5 to 20 Swagbucks for searching each day.  There are many ways to earn additional Swagbucks (I discuss those a little later in this post). 

    What Do I Earn With My Swagbucks? (Below are a few of the items categories, they typically have thousands of prizes to choose from every day)  Always make sure to check out their “On Sale” and “Hot Deals” categories first before cashing in your Swagbucks because they may have an item or gift card you want on sale or at a discount!

    • My Favorite is for Gift Cards – Amazon, Starbucks, Restaurant.com, Barnes & Noble, Target, Macy’s, Bass Pro Shops, Lowe’s, and MORE!
    • Cash – PayPal
    • Apparel & Accessories
    • Books & Magazines
    • Consoles & Video Games
    • Electronics
    • Kid Items
    • Gift & Reward Cards
    • Health & Beauty
    • Jewelry
    • Kitchen Items
    • Movies & TV
    • Music
    • School Supplies
    • Sports & Collectibles
    • Trading Cards
    • And MUCH MORE……

    How Do I Get Started?

    • It is free to join!  All you have to do is fill out a form to get started!
    • Only 1 account per household is allowed (they will close all your accounts if you try to do more than one per household).

    Are There Really Any Benefits?

    • YES!  I have been able to cash in on multiple prizes and gift cards even though I have only been using it a few weeks.
    • If you are already online you can easily begin earning gift cards, prizes, and more just by doing things you already do every day.  You can spend your Swagbucks as you earn them or save them up for gifts (birthday, Holidays, weddings, baby showers, Christmas, anniversary, and more).
    • It is possible to earn a gift card (or several) every month!

    How Do I Earn Additional Swagbucks?

    • Install the Swagbucks Toolbar – when you install the Swagbucks toolbar you will earn Swagbucks for searching online.  If you prefer to not install the toolbar and continuing using your current sofware (Google, etc….) you can still get rewards by going to Swagbucks hompage and searching online directly from their site. Swagbucks will often give you a free code in your toolbar as well which will add free bonus points to your account.
    • Print Swagbucks Coupons – every coupon from Swagbucks that you print and use at a local store earns 10 additional Swagbucks.  Get the coupons by going to Swagbucks homepage, click on the “Earn” tab, then select “Coupons” and it will bring you to the current coupons that you can use.  I go through the coupons once a month and print the items that I buy regularly.  Once you have used the coupon 10 Swagbucks will be added to your account within a few weeks (their website says up to 12 weeks, it usually does not take that long).
    • Swagbucks Blog – follow the Swagbucks Blog to get additional free codes.  They typically have at least one free code a day on their blog.  In additional to that you have a current update on their giveaways and any Swagbucks News.
    • Swagbucks Facebook –follow Swagbucks on Facebook and you will find the latest Swagbuck codes.  Members post to the wall, start discussions, or make comments that will help you find the bonus codes.
    • Swagbucks Twitter – follow Swagbucks on Twitter and you can receive Twitter specific codes.  Several times a week they will randomly award their Twitter followers with an additional 100 free Swagbucks which will be added to your account when they use the hashtag #Swagbucks.
    • Daily Poll – every day you have the opportunity to participate in the Swagbucks poll and receive 1 additional Swagbucks.  While this does not seem to be a lot it takes a matter of seconds to complete the poll and the points really do add up over time.
    • Swagbucks TV – this is an easy one to do if you are working on the computer throughout the day.  When you are on Swagbucks homepage, click on the “Earn” tab, select “Swagbucks TV” and chose from a variety of items to watch.  The length of the videos are typically from 30 seconds up to 5 minutes.  Every 10 videos you watch you earn 3 Swagbucks.  The reason why this one is easy to do is you can click on a video and have it running while you continue working, cleaning, or other tasks throughout your day.  Swagbucks will allow you to earn up to 25 three point rewards within a 24-hour period, which means you can get up to 75 additional points by multi-tasking throughout your day.
    • Games – if you enjoy playing various games on your computer this may be a great way to earn additional Swagbucks.  I have tried several games and tend to stick to the ones that I do well at.  Please Note:  There are a lot of free games available to play and earn bonus Swagbucks, however, they do have some you have to pay Swagbucks to play.  I stick to only the free games so I don’t have to use my Swagbucks on games.
    • Special Offers – you can earn an additional Swagbucks when you complete special offers.  Click on the “Earn” tab and select “Special Offers” to see of list of ones you can choose from and complete.  Many of the offers require no credit cards or payment to earn the additional Swagbucks.  Please Note:  You will only receive the specified listed Swagbucks if you complete the special offer, if you stop in the middle or don’t complete it for whatever reason you will not receive any credit for the special offer.  There are some free trials that you can sign up for then cancel later, I would recommend only participating in these offers if you are already considering the product.  If you do cancel make sure to keep track of the information and dates so you will not be charged for it.
    • Groupon Swagbucks – you can earn additional Swagbucks by purchasing a Groupon deal through the Swagbucks website.  Click on the “Earn” tab and select “Daily Deals”.   You can earn an addtional 150 to 450 in Swagbucks by purchasing a Groupon you were already going to get through Swagbucks.  (Note:  450 Swagbucks can earn you hundreds of prizes, including, a $5 Amazon gift Card). If you are already planning on purchasing a Groupon deal consider going through Swagbucks so you can earn a little extra.
    • Bonus Video’s & Offers – on the Swagbucks Homepage you will often find a bonus video or offer than takes on you only moments to watch or complete and you will earn additional points.  Many times 1 video will be worth 2 points or more.
    • Surveys – you can earn additional Swagbucks by taking surveys.  This is a great opportunity to earn bonus Swagbucks if you enjoy filling out surveys especially if you qualify for a bunch of the ones they are offering.  They do pre-qualify the surveys so you’ll have to meet their qualifications to participate in each individual survey.  They give you the amount you will earn as well as the estimated time to complete the survey up front.  You have to finish the pre-qualification and survey prior to receiving the additional Swagbucks.
    • Trade In – You can earn additional Swagbucks by trading in old electronics, books, phones, MP3 players, games, consoles, and more.  If you are not using it or considering donating the items anyway check out how much you can earn in Swagbucks by trading it in.  Go to the “Earn” tab and click on “Trade In”.  You can look up the items you are wanting to get rid of and find out how much you can get for them by searching for that specific item in the Trade In section.  How to do it – Look up the item, print out the pre-paid shipping label, save your receipt, and mail it in.  You will receive the amount in your account once they have processed your item.  Please Note: you must have at least 600 Swagbucks in your account to qualify for free shipping.  It doesn’t take too long to earn those points and by trading in your receive even more Swagbucks.
    • Bookmark Regular Pages – bookmark the websites you visit daily (such as Facebook, Twitter, etc…) and search for them using Swagbucks.  Go directly to the bookmarked page through Swagbucks instead of directly to the site and you will earn a decent number of Swagbucks each week.  Make sure when you are search for the same sites you use a variety of search terms because your account could be flagged if you search the same thing (aka “robotic”) every day.
    • Tasks – under the “Earn” tab if you select “Tasks” you will be able to see a list of variety of different tasks you can do to earn Swagbucks.  Every task is different and you earn a variety of different amounts based on the task you chose.  They do tell you when you start the task how many minutes they anticipate it to take for you to complete.  Please Note:  Although, you can earn more Swagbucks doing these tasks they typically take a little more time.  Make sure you have enough time to complete the task so you receive your additional Swagbucks.
    • No Obligation Special Offers – you can go through the “No Obligation Special Offers” every day and earn additional Swagbucks.  You don’t have to sign up for the offers and can choose to skip through all the ones they show you (unless you prefer to sign up).   You will earn 2 Swagbucks from doing this additional offer.  It typically only takes a few seconds to complete.

    One other quick note I want to make so you will be informed about Swagbucks – you can earn as much or as little as you want to on your account.  However, you are only allowed to purchase 5 of the same item per month.  For example, if you want to purchase $5 Amazon Gift Cards at 450 each (which are stackable when purchasing on Amazon) the maximum amount you can order in a month would be 5 – $5 Amazon Gift Cards (2250 Swagbucks).  If you want more Amazon Gift Cards you will have to purchase a higher amount or wait until the following month to purchase more at $5 increments.  Or you can chose a wide variety of other prizes with your Swagbucks.  It is your choice so pick the ones that best fit your family.

    You can earn many neat prizes by using Swagbucks during you daily tasks online.  I don’t have the time to do every single activity that they offer, but even if I do a few the points add up pretty quickly over the course of a week.  Like I said before I have only been doing this for a few weeks and have already earned gift cards to purchase items for my family.  Pick the handful of activities that work well for you and do them regularly.  You can choose to save your Swagbucks or use them as soon as you can.  I have done it a variety of different ways.  Right now I am choosing to save up my Swagbucks to get something for a gift.

    I would love to learn more about how you earn Swagbucks.  Congratulations if you have earned some great prizes already using Swagbucks!  Please share in the comments below some of the prizes you have purchased using Swagbucks so the readers can see how it has benefited your family!

  • CVS: Spent $5 and Got $31 ECB’s Back!

    CVS has a few great deals this week.  I was happy to get some items this week for free with ECB’s  plus a little overage on a couple products once I used a few coupons.   This week I was able to get a handful of items for $5.55 and received $31.97 ECB’s to use on my next CVS purchase.  Here is what I purchased this week.

    • 1 – Benefiber Citrus Packs (16 count) – $7.49
    • 1 – Benefiber Chewable Tablets (36 count)– $6.89
    • 1 – Gas X Prevent (20 count) – $6.29
    • 1 – Complete Multipurpose Eye Solution plus Free Case – $8.99
    • 2 – Oral B Advantage Toothbrush (plus free scope) – $2.99
    • 1 – Gold Bond Body Wash – $5.88
    • 1 – Crest Pro-Health Complete Rinse – $3.49
    • 1 – Crest Clinical Gum Toothpaste – $3.49

    The total was over $51 with tax before using coupons.  Here are the coupons I used on the items.

    • Used $3.00 Benefiber Manufacturer Coupon
    • Used $3.00 Benefiber Manufacturer Coupon
    • Used $4.00 Gax-X Prevention Manufacturer Coupon
    • Used $1.00 Complete Multipurpose Eye Solution Manufacturer Coupon
    • Used $2.00 Oral-B Manufacturer Coupon
    • Used $2.99 B1G1F Oral-B Manufacturer Coupon
    • Used $2.00 Gold Bond Manufacturer Coupon
    • Used $1.0o Crest Rinse Manufacturer Coupon
    • Used $1.00 Crest Toothpaste Manufacturer Coupon
    • Used $25.49 ECB coupons from prior purchases

    I received $31.97 ECB’s back today:

    • $10.00 ECB’s for Benefiber & Gas-X Products
    • $8.99 ECB’s for Complete Multipurpose Solution
    • $5.00 ECB’s for Crest or Oral-B Pro-Health
    • $3.00 ECB’s for Gold Bond Body Wash
    • $2.00 ECB’s for Winter Spending
    • $1.98 ECB’s for Oral-B Manual Toothbrush
    • $1.00 ECB’s for Green Bag Tags

    When you shop the CVS sales regularly and have ECB’s that you can roll over toward future purchases the bonus ECB’s start adding up (Green Bag Tags and Beauty Club).  As you can see from my shopping trip today you don’t have to purchase a lot to save money when shopping at CVS.  Plus you can use the additional ECB’s you receive towards your next purchase.  You can pick and chose what is best for your family.

    I would love to hear your CVS shopping story for this week!  For those of you who shop regularly at CVS please share how you were able to save this week!  Although the weekly ad sales are similar every family and situation is different so you may have found items better suited to your household.  In your comment please feel free to share a link to your blog article showing us how you were able to save shopping at CVS.

  • New Upromise eCoupons for April 2011

    Turn Your Everyday Spending into College Savings!

    Upromise has posted their new eCoupons for the month of April 2011.  Remember to activate your eCoupons to get additional savings.  If you have not yet signed up for Upromise you can get more information regarding on our experience or directly at the Upromise website.

    This month they have 45 coupons you can activate for bonus savings.  Once you activate your eCoupons all you have to do is scan your rewards card or purchase the items at the store and the cash will be added to your account.  You don’t even have to carry any coupons to get the rewards!

    You can go to their website for more information on the Upromise program, it’s free to join.

  • Pampers Gifts to Grow – 10 Free Points

    Receive 10 free points from Pampers with the a new Gifts to Grow code!

    This code is different from the previous codes I have given.

    Use Code:  FollowPampers10

    You can save up the rewards to purchase gifts!

    For more information about the Pampers Gift to Grow Program and how you can start earning Pampers “Gifts to Grow” Rewards for your family go to Pampers Gifts to Grow!

  • *Hot Deal* DealPulp – Give $3 Credit & Get $3 Credit

    DealPulp is another daily deal site (like Groupon & Living Social).  Today you can earn a $3 credit when you sign up here for a new DealPulp account!  You can then turn around and invite friends through your referral link on your account and give them a $3 Credit as well!  How it works!

    • Sign up here on DealPulp = $3 Credit from me!
    • Share your referral link with a friend by visiting today’s deal and clicking “invite.”
    • When your friend signs up for a DealPulp account = they receive $3 Credit from you!
    • You can help friends gain credits!

    This deal ends in less than 20 hours.  It costs nothing to sign up and you can use your $3 towards a future purchase at DealPulps.  I have received several great deals at DealPulp already!  The last two DealPulp deals I have purchased were $1 each therefore you could potentially get three unique deals for $1 each just for signing up and sharing.  In the spirit of sharing with others please feel free to post your referral code in a comment below so we can help others get their credits as well!

  • CVS Savings: Use Your “Green Bag Tag” & Earn ECB’s

     

    You can earn bonus ECB’s (Extra Care Bucks) by purchasing the Green Bag Tag.  If you go to CVS regularly you should consider getting it.

    • It costs $0.99 to buy the tag (I used an ECB to buy it a couple months ago).
    • The Green Bag Tag is scanned when you check out and you earn ECB’s for using it.
    • Every 4th visit to CVS that you bring and scan your Green Tag you will earn $1 ECB.

    How to sign up?

    • Ask the clerk at the store for a Green Bag Tag.   When you purchase the Green Bag Tag with your Rewards Card it becomes linked to your account so you can get the bonus ECB’s every time you use it.

    I have a reusable CVS bag in the van with the Green tag attached to it so I can quickly grab it when I head into the store.  The Green Tag can be scanned any time after scanning your first item (unlike your Rewards Card that can be scanned before any items).  Always make sure that they scan it, sometimes new employees are not aware of it.  Also, double check on your receipt to make sure it is updated with your recent Green Bag Tag use.  Each receipt will show you how many total Green Bag Tags you have used and how many more you need to get your next bonus ECB.  Even though I have only had it a couple months I have been able to earn $4 extra ECB’s using the Green Bag Tag.  At one time (several months ago) they offered it free after ECB’s but even if you have to pay the $0.99 to get it the Green Bag Tag will pay for itself pretty quickly.

  • Giveaway: ALL YOU Magazine Subscription

    I will be doing a giveaway for the month of March!  The winner will receive a one year ALL YOU Magazine Subscription (approximately $30 value)! A friend gave me my first subscription to All You magazine on my birthday and I highly recommend it.  I typically do not pay for any of our family magazine subscriptions, however, this is one that I will renew once my subscription is up.  Most of the issues have at least $80 and sometimes up to $120 or more worth of coupons.  Although you will see some of the coupons in your newspaper the ones in All You are often higher or they may have coupon for a free item.  If you were to purchase it in the store it runs around $2.50 a month.  For those who already use coupons this magazine will provide additional savings as well as articles on family life, your health, world, home, delicious recipes, and much more!  If you already have a subscription you can add this to your current one!

    All you have to do to enter this giveaway is sign up to follow my blog (if you haven’t done so already) and leave a comment below by 10 PM EST on March 31st telling us how you follow Blessings Multiplied.  You can get a BONUS entry into the drawing if you leave a separate comment below telling us one of your tips for saving money for your family!  On March 31st I will randomly draw a winner from those who have entered the giveaway.

  • New Upromise eCoupons for January 2011

    Upromise has posted their new eCoupons for the month of January 2011. Remember to activate them to get additional savings. If you have not yet signed up for Upromise you can get more information regarding on our experience or at directly at the Upromise website.

    This month they have 30 coupons you can activate for bonus savings.  Here are some of the name brand items you can buy and get bonus cash back from using your eCoupons in January:

    • Krazy Glue
    • Elmer’s Glue & Craft Items
    • Wacky Mac
    • No Yolks
    • Fisher
    • Snyder’s of Hanover
    • Farmland Meats
    • Charmin
    • Bounty
    • Filippo Berio
    • Puffs
    • Krunchers!
    • O-Ke-Doke

      • Earn a bonus $0.40 and up (several are for $1 or more) for purchasing items on the eCoupons list from these companies. You may already buy some of these products! Once you activate your eCoupons all you have to do is scan your rewards card or pay for your purchase at the store and it will add the cash to your account. You don’t even have to carry any coupons to get the rewards!

      You can go to their website for more information on the Upromise program, it’s free to join.