I Pick Up Pennies

Who wants Swagbucks?

Abigail — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:21:52 +0000

In the vein of my renewed Swagbucks effort, I’m happy to announce that Swagbucks is having another swagcode extravaganza.

This time around, they’re even nice enough to list the times. Though some of them are pretty brutal for those of us on Pacific or Mountain time.

Point is, you can bulk up your Swagbucks account

Don’t have one yet? What are you waiting for? (Seriously, go read my other piece.) Sign up and get started!

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Out with bug bites

Abigail — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:10:35 +0000

Those of you who saw this site’s Facebook page already know that the lil suckers have got me already. Three times on the arm, but only two of any real note.

It’s making it pretty difficult to type, since they’re all on the inside of my arm. So I’ll keep this short and save my arm integrity for the remaining 4 hours of work.

The two are swelling despite heavy-duty steroid ointment (Triamcinolone). They’re not as bad as previous years, where a full arm or leg actually swelled up.

Just took some Claritin, which I’m hoping will relieve some of the swelling/itching. If not, Tim’s threatening to cart me off to Urgent Care. Where they’ll probably tell me to keep doing what I’m doing.

At best, they can give me some prescription-grade Benadryl which will make it impossible for me to function for a day or two.

I’m off to sit in something that won’t graze the inside of my arm. That is all.

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Swagbucks saved me $275

Abigail — Sat, 18 May 2013 17:41:36 +0000

Well, the program has saved me significantly more than that. But for the purposes of this post, I’m talking about money I was able to bank by using Swagbucks.

As some of you remember, we have a new strategy for rewards programs. When we used rewards program gift cards for purchases, we bank an equivalent amount. Buy a $20 item on Amazon, send $20 from checking into savings.

So far, the results have been good. We’ve added $275 to savings since November.

The number should have been about $400, but sometimes I forgot to transfer the funds. Guess I’ll be more careful about that in the future.

Meanwhile, we’ve also banked about $225 from Mr. Rebates, Ebates, and Inbox Dollars. Those were already coming in, though. So I’m far more excited about our new strategy netting us $275.

Of course, Swagbucks has saved us a lot more than that over the years.

I checked my Amazon account history from November ’09 to present. In all, GCs from Swagbucks paid for just over $1,525 of items.

Whoa.

Those GCs went to buy books, video games, consoles, collectibles, t-shirts, underwear, shoes, razors, shampoo, toilet paper, cereal, vitamins, pet supplies and more.

This gives me a new determination to concentrate on the program. Frankly, in the last five or so months, I’ve been slacking pretty badly.

What with the emotional and physical blows over the last 18 months, I just haven’t felt up to wading through surveys every day. Looking over those numbers, though, it’s hard not to have a renewed enthusiasm for the program.

Clearly, it’s possible to save big with Swagbucks — even bigger than I’d realized. Of course, I have to remember to actually put the funds into your savings account. It’s a process.

Point being: Here”s to another $1,500 in freebies!

What rewards programs do you use? Do you use it for free stuff or just to stretch your dollar?

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Freebie Friday

Abigail — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:00:02 +0000

Freebie Friday is brought to you by The Freebie Blogger. Check out the site daily for information on events, coupons and, of course, freebies.

Free U by Kotex Sample
Free Bowling for Kids at Brunswick Centers
Free Clark’s Syrup Recipe Booklet
Free Nescafe Taster’s Choice Sampler Pack
Free Latin Music Downloads
Free TIKE Child Safety Seat Sticker
Free Dinosaur Stickers
Free Recycled Crafts for Kids eBook
Free Carbonell Olive Oil Sample
Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition
Free John Frieda Luxurious Volume Sample

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Ask and ye shall receive

Abigail — Wed, 15 May 2013 17:43:51 +0000

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again (and again and again): Always ask. I’ve had three instances in the past couple of weeks that highlighted this for me.

1. JCPenney

As some of you recall, we bought some new curtains and rods to make sure everything matched. There was a lot of hustle and bustle, as I kept ordering the wrong things.

Finally, we found the right confluence of items. The last item we needed was a curtain rod which was, of course, only available online. And for some reason, I couldn’t choose ship-to-store.

Since I’d naturally left it til the last few hours of the sale, I couldn’t call customer service. So I had to choose the $8 home shipping. Once the order was complete, I emailed JCP, asking if it could be shipped to the store.

Unfortunately, by the time they got back to me, the order had already shipped. So I responded, asking (very, very politely) if they would give me an $8 credit on the order.

And they did.

2. Hair salon

I go a long time in between cuts. Mainly because I’m excellent at procrastination, but also because there are always so many other important fires to put out.

I finally got a cut/color after two months. The next day, I got a “We Miss You” email, offering a free blowout for a service before June 1st. Did I mention I made my next appointment for June 11th?

So I wrote the salon, explained the situation and asked if they would honor the coupon during my next appointment. I got a very nice note back saying that she would absolutely take it during my next appointment.

Now, assuming I didn’t accidentally delete the emails in my last round of inbox-cleaning, I’m all set!

3. Cover Charge

We knew there was a cover charge at the piano bar last weekend, so Tim took out $10.

We got to feel all smug in our preparation. Until we got to the door and were asked for $12. Oops.

We told the guy we only had $10, and then we started discussing where the closest ATM was. The employee took pity on us, I guess, and said he’d take $10.

That one was nice because we didn’t even have to ask! Plus they more than made up for the $2 with our drinks bill.

Have you had any similar successes lately? What’s your most bragworthy coup?

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