Earn Coupons and Gift cards with Recyclebank

Helping the earth by recycling, reducing and reusing is great, but wouldn't it be better if you got something for your efforts?

Well, ladies and gents, let me introduce you to Recyclebank.

Recyclebank has games and quizzes that you can take to earn points. Other point earning activities include pledging to be greener, entering codes from Kashi cereal boxes, registering your Nook with their site, and learning about various green initiatives.

You can redeem points for high value coupons (many you can print at home), or save up those points and turn them in for gift cards or deep discounts at green retailers.

I especially love the $2.00 off an Kashi products!  At Target, that makes a box of Kashi cereal only .99!



Check out Recyclebank!  It's fun, easy, and you can earn coupons like whoah!  I've been a member since 2009 and I earn 1 $2.00 off Kashi Coupon PER MONTH, just by playing games and entering codes from my Kashi boxes.

 

 

 

 

 

*This Post may contain affiliate links. Check out our Affiliate Disclosure here.

More goals for 2012..

I've been working on my list of goals for 2012, especially in relation to this blog, my money saving/couponing lifestyle, and how it fits into our family life.

Major Goals

• Finish my book! (I've been working on it for over 2 years, I just need to finish it. Really.


• Stay within Budget (I'll be doing a new post on budgeting next)


• Save 10% of our income!


• Work on saving for Mr. CouponDiva's new(ish) car.


• Go back to college!


• Read 1-2 more books/month.

Family/Household  Goals

• Recommit to menu planning and eating at home 6 days/week.


• Get us back on the Zone or Mediterranean style Diet.


• Get Mr. Small Man out and playing with other kiddos at least once per week.


• Take Mr. Small Man to the park/playground at least once per week (it's good exercise for me too!)


• Have Date night with Mr. Caoupondiva once a week (even if it's just a movie and snacks after Mr. Small Man goes to bed).


• Take stock of HBA and cleaning supplies and re-stock items as needed.  After 2 years of buying no HBA, our stockpile has dwindled.


• Schedule house cleaning/laundry and stick to the schedule.  I'm going to check out FlyLady.com, I've heard great things!


• Participate in more coupon swaps and clip-ins to obtain more coupons.

Blog/Business Goals

• Buy Domain.


• Monetize blog to defray cost of domain and pay for more giveaways. ( I promise- the site won't be over-run with ads or spam posts!)


• Commit to writing at least 7 posts per week.


• Tweet more often (I'm bad about it right now).


• Teach 1-2 free coupon classes/week.

What goals do you have 2012?  Post at least one of your goals for 2012 and I'll send you a potluck of 25 coupons!

 

Coupons and great deals!

Here are some random, great deals, and freebies!

 

Like Coke Zero on Facebook and Print at .99 off any Coke Zero Product.  It is a Bricks Coupons, so you should be able to print two.

Use this Eco Tools coupon at Target and get a mesh bath poufy for .04!

SavingStar has new E-coupons! And remember that you can stack a paper coupon with a SavingStar coupon.  SavingStar coupons do not come off your total in store, the amount of the coupon is added to your SavingStar account, and once the account reaches $5.00 you can chose a gift card or a paypal payment!

• Agro Corn Starch's website has printable coupons that you can stack with the SavingStar E-Coupon!


• Check your recent inserts for Playtex tampon, Campbell Soup, Wacky Mac, and Pull Ups Coupons to pair with the E-Coupons available on SavingStar!

In not such happy news, Sears/KMart announced they are closing 100-120 stores.  Here is a list of the stores they will for sure be closing....

Free Sample of Meow Mix!! (Courtesy of Wal-Mart!)

If you have a Revolution Money Exchange Account, FYI, it's been purchased by American Express, and it now called Serve. Log on to your account (or sign up if you don't have one!) and earn $10.00.  To earn an additional $10.00, play this game. They will send you an ATM/Am Ex Credit card and you can use the card to spend t he funds.

I went shopping: Fresh and Easy!

WOO HOO!  Hubs received a $25.00 Fresh and Easy gift card in his office gift exchange, so today the Small Man and I went over to our local F&E and checked out the markdown section.

I printed a $6 off $30 coupon before we left home.

Before gift cards and coupons, the total was: $32.19

-$6.00 coupon

-$25.00 Gift Card

OOP was $1.19, which I had in my coin purse!

 

9 lunches for Hubs, two packages of veggie side dishes (one for tonight and one for tomorrow), focaccio (bread) for tonight's dinner, and soup (which I had half of for lunch today!).

 

And, because I am a Fresh & Easy Friends card holder, I earn points for every purchase!

 

If you have a Fresh & Easy near you, check it out- it's a great little market!!

We survived!

Wow!  Little Man had a great first X-mas, and Mr. Coupondiva and I did too.

Yesterday we braved the mall and picked up a few more sweater vests at JCP for Mr. Coupondiva.  They were 70% off!  There were a lot of great sales, but there were TONS of people at the mall.

I hope all of you who did day after Christmas shopping had a great time, and got tons of bargains!

2012 Goals: Making Money!

This is just the first post in a series of posts about my goals for 2012.

Today's Post: My money making goals for 2012.  Since I am a stay at home mama, my income can be limited. My plan is to take advantage of as many affiliate/pay per click/deal sites and programs as I can to earn extra income, either with cash or gift cards. Since I don't play the drugstore game, I am not planning on (or counting on) any Register Rewards or Extra Care Bucks in 2012.  Occasionally I will shop at drugstores, but not often enough to count on those rewards as income.

This includes:

Endorse (We've earned over $200 since October 2011!!)  I love Endorse because I can use coupons, store cards and gift cards and still earn money.

Mypoints- Click on links in emails, take surveys, and earn points when you do online shopping. Redeem points for gift cards!

SBKC- send in your junk mail and earn points which can be redeemed for Gift Cards

Pampers Gifts to Grow (We earn points when we buy diapers and wipes! And there are always free points available online)

Global Opinion Panels (take surveys and do product studies for points, redeem points for $$ or Gift cards!)

PineCone Research- Take surveys and do product surveys.  Get paid $3.00 per survey!

 

Also, I plan on doing TONS of rebates!  My fav spot on the web for finding tons of rebates is Coupons, Deals, and More!

 

In addition, we take all of Little Man's outgrown clothes and some of the equipment he has outgrown to the baby resale shop and trade them in for clothes in the next size up and new equipment or toys.That means no OOP for us!

 

How do you plan to earn extra cash in 2012?

 

 

 

I'm still here!

Sorry, we've been super busy with holiday plans, shopping, and general Festivities.

Here are some super rad things that have going on:

I just received a check in the mail from Endorse for $35 and some change! And I just POP'd two moreenvelopes into the mail yesterday!  All this holiday shopping is really paying off!

If you haven't "liked" us on Facebook, what are you waiting for?  I post great freebies and deals DAILY. Once we get to 50 followers on Facebook, there will be a MASSIVE giveaway!

East Acres is a new daily deal site for floral arrangements and decor.  Sign up, receive a free 410.00 credit.  Click PROMO on the bar across the top, select the set of peacock feathers and check out.  Choose "free credits" as the method of payment and It's FREEEEE!!!

Vons and Albertson's stores are popping out Catalinas for $3.00 or $4.00 WYB 12+ jars of Gerber baby foods!

MyPoints is rocking this time of year!  In the past 3 months, I've earned 3 $10.00 gift cards, just by clicking links in emails and taking 2-3 brief (10 minutes or less) surveys each day!

Over at Drugstore Divas, they are doing Redbox: 12 Days of Deals!- Check it out!

 

 

I went shopping: Causal Male XL

Mr. Coupondiva is on the Causal Male XL mailing list. They send coupons about once per quarter, and last week we got a $20/$20+ coupon.  I was super excited!  I scoured the clearance section for about 20 minutes until I came upon two great dress shirts.

[caption id="attachment_1504" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="What a sweet OOP!"][/caption]

 

I ended up paying $1.35 OOP for two dress shirts that were originally $42.50 each!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[caption id="attachment_1505" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="A great shirt at a great price!"][/caption]

 

They are George Foreman brand Oxford Cloth dress shirts. I purchased one in white and one in blue (which he wore the next day!)

I didn't save them for Christmas, I gave them to Mr. Coupondiva right away. He can always use more dress shirts, especially since he wears one every day to work.

 

The moral of this story is: If there are specialty shops that you shop at (big and tall, maternity, petite, plus size, kids clothes), sign up for their mailing list.  9 times out of 10, they'll send you high value coupons and offers.

Ralph's Private Selection Campaign (BzzAgent Review)

Recently I was selected to be a part of the Kroger's Private SelectionBzzAgent Campaign.  Around these parts, the Kroger brand store is Ralph's.

I was supplied with three product coupons: A Frozen Appetizer, A Frozen Pizza, and a Frozen Dessert (not Ice Cream)

The three product coupons arrived just in time for my husbands birthday party! I selected the Southwestern Style Chicken Trumpets, Margherita pizza and Cream Puffs.

Margherita Pizza

Southwestern Trumpets

Cream Puffs and Magic Shell!

• The Southwestern Style Chicken Trumpets didn't last 5 minutes.  The boys at the party scooped them up and dipped them in sour cream mixed with salsa. They were flaky and loaded with chicken, peppers and cheese!


• I added pepperonis to the top of the Margherita pizza (Boys love meat on their pizzas).  It was crispy, but the sliced little tomatoes made it a little soggy in the middle, but a few extra minutes in the oven and it was very crispy.  THe boys commented on the yummy balls of cheese on the pizza and how  it was a great appetizer!


• The Cream Puffs were so good we didn't get a chance to thaw them!  I dipped them in magic shell and it made them even more decadent!

Private Selection^® is made for the food enthusiast in us all, with its rich collection of artisan-inspired offerings and gourmet ingredients. Create your own masterpieces in the kitchen with Private Selection^® ingredients or choose from Private Selection^® appetizers, entrees and desserts to help you make each meal a delightful experience for both you and your guests. Either way you'll be bringing your best to the table.

Start with your passion for delicious meals, then let Private Selection^® help you deliver incredible results at your dinner table. There are fine chocolates, artisan meats and cheeses, gourmet pastas and sauces, and a wealth of prepared meals and side items — all carefully crafted so you can be the star in your kitchen. Is there really anything better?

• The entire Private Selection^® collection has been reimagined, with new ingredients and hundreds of new recipes


• Artisan-inspired products that have been carefully crafted with the finest attention to detail


• Exclusively available in the Kroger family of stores


• A complete range of food offerings, including Angus and deli meat, cheese, ice cream, breads, appetizers, desserts, spices, olive oil, chocolates, coffee, seafood, pasta and pasta sauce, cookies and frozen meals

I shared the $2.00 off Private Selection coupons with my party guests and told them all about Bzzagent! If you'd like to learn more about the great Word of Mouth advertising and social marketing company, check out their website!  To Learn about Private Selection, check here or your local Kroger Brand store.

Starbucks Coffee as low as $3.33/each with rebate and Gift Card at Target!

I've seen this deal all over the net and I am SUPER excited.

I opened the coffee canister this morning.. and OHS NOES I only have enough coffee for ONE MORE POT! Oh, the humanity!

 

Here is the scenario at Target:

Starbucks Coffee (10-12 oz) – $7.99/ea

• Get a $5 Target gift card when you buy 3 (remember you can't use this on the current purchase)


• Use $3/2 Starbucks Coffee, 11, 12 or 20 oz 12/04/2011 SS Insert (exp 01/14/2012) &


• Use $1/1 Starbucks Coffee, 11, 12, or 20 oz 12/04/2011 SS Insert (exp 01/14/2012)


• Then when you get home submit for a $5 Starbucks Gift Card Rebate here.  You can do it online and photograph the UPC's and receipt and save the .44 stamp.

Total:  3 for $3.33 each after gift card & rebate! Actual OOP will be $19.97 after coupons (plus tax if applicable for your area).

If you have a lot of shopping to do at Target, print off one of these coupons good for a $10 Target gift card when you spend $50+!

If you use Endorse.com, add Target to your list of Endorses, and submit your receipt to Endorse and earn 2% cashback!

 

 

And the winner is...

Rochelle is the winner of the Omaha Steaks Certificate!

 

It'll be emailed to you shortly!

$20.00 Omaha Steak Reward Certificate Giveaway!

I've got a $20.00 Omaha Steak Reward Certificate.  I don't need it (We have sooo much meat in the freezer!!).

I'll choose a winner tonight before I go to bed and announce it tomorrow AM and email it out ASAP.

To enter leave a comment on the blog or on our Facebook Page about why you want the Certificate.  Remember to leave your email address too!

Getting frugal in the Kitchen: making soup!

Last night I didn't want to cook. A few weeks ago I won a $25 Kroger gift card in a twitter contest, so I headed over to Food4Less (a Kroger store) and picked up a few items.

• Rotisserie Chicken


• Tortillas


• Cheese


• Onions (for another night)

We had Chicken quesadillas with steamed veggies and salad.  After dinner and the baby was down, Mr. Coupondiva cleaned up the carcass, and put the bones and a little meat into a zip lock bag and the remainder of the meat into a tupperware container for later meals.

 

This morning I started the killer chicken stock:

• 10 cups of water


• Chicken carcass


• 2 cups of each: chopped onions, carrots, and celery


• 2 bay leaves


• 1 teaspoon garlic powder


• Salt and pepper, to taste

It will cook for about 6 hours. Then I will strain the solids off, and add:

• 2 cups chicken meat, shredded (leftover from last night)


• 1 cup chopped celery


• 1 cup chopped carrots


• 1 package of egg noodles

and cook until the egg noodles are done, about 8-10 minutes.

 

It should make about 8 servings. And the total cost is about $6.00.

 

Whenever you make/buy a roast chicken, or have a bone in ham, don't throw away the bone!  Toss it in a bag and make soup the next day!  Carcasses/bones can be frozen too, that way you can make soup up to 2 weeks later.  Ham bone can be used in split pea soup. Making soup this way really stretches your budget!

 

 

Great Freebie for this weekend: FREE trial sized primer at Bare Escentuals

Thanks to Lisa over at DrugStore Divas!

Between December 1-4th Visit your local Bare Escentuals store and receive a FREE trial sized primer at Bare Escentuals with this coupon.

To find your local Bare Escentuals, click here. For San Diego Peeps, there is one at UTC and Fashion Valley.

Do you get a lot of junk mail? Get paid for it!

Do you get lots of junk mail?  Is your inbox full of spam? Insurance, credit card offers, banking, credit cards, investing, telecom, mortgage or other loan type junk mail and spam?

Then, I have a RAD offer for you!

The Small Business Knowledge Center (SBKC) studies marketing techniques and practices.  They securely dispose of your junk mail after they are done with it- no need to worry!

SBKC mails you postage paid envelopes, you stuff your junk mail into it and drop it into the mail.  You will receive points for your junk mail, and once you receive 2000 points, you will receive a $20 gift card to ICardGiftCard.com. You can also forward emails to them as well.  They occasionally have special projects where they are looking for special items like welcome packets for credit cards.  Special projects offer additional/bonus points.

I've done SBKC for about 2 years and I consistently earn one gift card per quarter.  That's free money that I did no work for.  Just forward some emails before I hit "delete" and toss my junk mail into an envelope as it comes into the house and mail an envelope once a week.

Unlike many other programs, you can sign everyone in your home who is over the age of 18!

If you are interested in signing up, here is the link. In the box next to: How did you here about the SBKC Consumer Panel? Please type my name: Abby Hewes.  I use the gift cards for giveaways on the blog.

 

 

Changes to Endorse.com

If you are unfamiliar with Endorse.com, check out our post here.

Most of you know if you read other savings/frugal living blogs, Endorse.com has made some changes to their program, including:

Reducing the percentage earned on the remaining retail shops to 2% down from 10%. Products and restaurants still remain at 10%! And grocery stores belonging to  Safeway, Kroger, and SuperValu companies!

Most retail shops have been removed, such as Home Depot, Lowe's, JC Penney, Yankee Candle, and Sears.  Cars, plane tickets, and gas stations have also been removed. :(

Here are just a few of the great stores and products you can earn cash back by purchasing!
Stores/Restaurants

7-Eleven
Applebee’s
Babies “R” Us
Bath & Body Works
Bed Bath & Beyond
CVS
Dollar Tree
Rite Aid
Starbucks
Target
Walgreens
Walmart
Albertsons
Denny's
Domino's Pizza
Fresh and Easy
Jack In the Box
Ralph's
Sally Beauty Supply
Subway
Vons

 

Products

Coffee-Mate
Stouffer's Mac and Cheese
Stouffer's Lasagna
Jell-o
FiberOne Bars
Green Giant Boxed Vegetables
Pillsbury
Muir Glenn Canned Tomatoes

 

If you haven't yet joined Endorse.com, I encourage you to do so!  It is based on a Facebook App, so you have to be a Facebook user to use Endorse.com.  I've received a check from them already.

They are swamped with envelopes, so they are a little slow updating accounts, however... The pay out is worth it!  It's like free money!!

It's a new month!!

A new month means new printable and electronic coupons!

Check out the following sites:

Coupons.com (printable an e-coupons), Redplum (printable), Savingstar (e-coupons) Shortcuts.com (printable an e-coupons), Smartsource (printable), Cellfire (e-coupons), All You (printable) and Catalina's Coupon Network (printable).

Go get your savings on!