Frugal Friday - Saving for Christmas 2020

(Note 1 :  my referral codes/links for grocery apps and Swagbucks can be found at the bottom of this post for anyone who might be interested.  Thanks)

(Note 2:  These are not for earning fast money, but consistently using them over time will add up!)


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Beginning on January 1st, I decided to see how much money I could earn using Apps on my phone, Swagbucks, selling on EBay, Pine Cone Surveys, etc.  The purpose of this is to save toward the cost of Christmas gifts in 2020, or at least put a chunk of cash toward it! 

In my planner I assigned a page to each source of income.  My plan is to update the page with the amount earned each month in 2020, so I can track the figures and also get an idea of what's worth doing and what's not worth doing.

Here are my current planner pages and the categories:

1.  Paypal

I started out with a balance of $198.53 as of January 1st.  I don't spend the Paypal money too often and it reached this amount over a long period of time.  Things that go into my Paypal account include things like payment for doing Pine Cone Research Surveys and an occasional sale on EBay or Etsy.   

So far since January 1st, I have added $12 from Pine Cone Research and $16.93 from Ebay sales (net after all expenses) So currently there is $227.46

The surveys earn $3.00 each and I usually do 2 or 3 a month.  Pine Cone Research is a great way to earn a little cash.  They have open applications every so often and you have to be accepted by them.  If I see that they are accepting applications, I will post it on here.  The surveys are easy to do and occasionally  they will send a new product for you to try out for free.  Then you complete a follow up survey which earns another $3.00. 

I don't sell a lot on EBay.  In fact this is the first time in a couple of years that I have sold anything.  What did I sell?  I don't use the conditioners that come in my hair color boxes.  So I had been putting them to the side for quite a while.  I had accumulated 11 of them!  They sell quickly.  Its not a lot of money, but they are out of my house and the money goes toward my goal of Christmas money!

I have some ideas for other things to sell on EBay, such as a dress that I bought a couple of years ago that still has the tags on it and I haven't worn.  It might be fun to see what I can get for it. 


I haven't had anything for sale in my Etsy shop in a very long time.  I would love to though.   Maybe soon!

2.  Amazon Gift Card Balance

This is by far the place that I accumulate money in the most.  I started out on January 1st with a balance of $210.53.  As of today I have $299.48.    The increase is made up of the following:

Fetch Rewards $10.00
Ibotta $20.00
Swagbucks:  $53.00
Amazon refund 5.95

I consistently earn points on Swagbucks which I redeem for Amazon Gift Cards!  Here's my Swagbucks Referral Link if anyone is interested:  CLICK HERE

The grocery apps on my phone are a source of income, but its slow.  Here are the ones I am using:

Shop Kick.  As of today I have 681 points which I earned since January 1st.   I need 1250 to get a $5.00 Amazon Gift Card.  The way it works is that you earn points (kicks) when you go into certain stores.  Then while in stores you scan the bar code of certain items.   Watching short videos earns a few points. You can also buy certain things and scan in your receipt for points.  I haven't bought anything yet that qualifies.  I'm only doing the things that don't require me to spend money.  So, at this rate I should have a $5.00 gift card in a couple of months.  This is REALLY slow, but its kind of fun to do and eventually there will be items that I would be interested in buying that would accumulate points much faster than just the scanning in the store.  So, I am going to continue on and see how much I earn by the end of the year.

Fetch Rewards.  This one is easy to use and earning a gift card doesn't take too terribly long.  You just scan all of your eligible receipts and if you purchase certain items you earn points.  If there are no eligible items on the receipt, you still earn a flat 25 points.  You need 1,000 points to earn a $10.00 Amazon Gift Card.  I started out on January 1st with 1433 points.  I cashed out for one $10.00 Amazon Gift Card, and after earning points since January 1st, I currently have 8,896 points.  I will soon have enough points for another $10.00 gift card.

Ibotta.  This one isn't as easy as Fetch Rewards, but I can earn gift cards pretty quickly.  I enjoy using it.  You need to activate the offers before shopping and I find that I already purchase many of the eligible items.  Sometimes it is for any item, such as any pasta sauce, or any oatmeal, etc.

You have teammates, which for me are friends on Facebook that also do Ibotta.   I didn't do anything to add them as teammates, they just showed up on my account.  To be on my team, use my referral code shown at the bottom of this post.  We can see what each of us is earning and help each other earn more!  I started out on January 1st with $18.71.  You have to reach $20.00 to cash out.  Since then I cashed out for one $20.00 Amazon Gift card and currently have $12.66.  I need $7.34 more to cash out for another $20.00 Amazon Gift card.

Other Grocery Apps.  The apps I am also attempting to earn money are Checkout 51, SavingStar and Coin Out.  I've earned gift cards before on Checkout 51 and SavingStar, but so far this year I have not earned anything.    I started out on January 1st with $9.50 on Checkout 51 and that has not changed.  I need $20.00 to get a gift card.  I started out on January 1st with $13.25 on SavingStar and that has not changed either.  I will keep an eye on SavingStar and Checkout 51, but they just haven't offered any items so far this year that I actually use.  I'm not going to buy something that we don't want or need just to earn a few points.  Coin Out is a new one I am trying and so far have $2.22.  Its easy to use because you just scan any receipt and earn a few points. There are other ways to earn money with Coin Out, but I haven't really tried any of them, other than scanning receipts.    It might not be worth the trouble, but I'll keep plugging away.  I have to reach $10.00 to cash out for a gift card, so at this rate it will take 10 months!

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If you would like to sign up for any of these Apps, I would love for you to use my referral Code.  It would be especially fun to be teammates on Ibotta.  Here are my codes, or links.

For Fetch Rewards use this code when signing up: B4AEN

For Ibotta use this code when signing up:  foujkwh

For Checkout 51 use this link:  https://checkout51.app.link/9JidDdPcg4,   or just click HERE.
 
For Coin Out use this link:  https://coinout.com/referrals/new?r=MGPHCWC   or click HERE.

I don't think SavingStar has a referral program.

I'm off work today, so had time to put this post together!  Have a great weekend!

Swagbucks - Get $30.00 when you sign up for HULU

If you're a TV lover, Hulu is running a special on their offer through Swagbucks this weekend only: You'll get $30 (paid in the form of points called SB) for trying Hulu for a month. That will cost you $7.99, so you're making $22 on the deal.

Hulu has tons of current and classic programming, movies, brilliant original series, and more. Here's how you do it: 

1. Click this link. You need to be a Swagbucks member to take advantage of this offer, and if you don't have an account you can create on here, which takes 30 seconds.  
2. Click "Continue" and sign up for Hulu
3. Enjoy Hulu! You should have your points within 30 minutes. You must be a first time Hulu member to receive SB for this offer.

Haven't tried Swagbucks yet? They're a site where you earn points (called SB) for doing things like online shopping, watching videos, taking surveys, and discovering deals and services you might like to try (like Hulu!). You then take those points and turn them into free gift cards to places like Amazon, Starbucks, Walmart, Target, or PayPal cash.

This is a great time to join because when you sign up through the link above and get your 3000 SB, you'll get a bonus 300 SB at the beginning of September. So that's $30 (3000 SB) for trying Hulu plus your $3 (300 SB) bonus, which gets you 3300 SB, which means you make $25 total for trying Hulu!

CLICK HERE to use my Referral Link for Swagbucks.  Thanks!

Swag Luau Team Challenge - US

One more quick Swagbucks post!

Swagbucks is holding a Luau Team Challenge to help you earn free gift cards. For those of you who don't know what Swagbucks is, it's a website where you can earn cash back on everyday tasks you do online like shopping, answering surveys, discovering deals, and watching videos. You can even earn for searching the web! 

If you've never tried Swagbucks before because you didn't know where to begin, their Team Challenges are a great way to learn the ropes! The challenge, begins Monday, August 14th at 8am PT, but you can pre-register today.

Here's how you can join the challenge and the site:  

1. Click here to join the challenge and be assigned to a team.

2. Starting August 14th at 8am PDT, in addition to earning SB you'll contribute points to your teams total as you complete different activities on Swagbucks.

3. Check back on the page often to see the scores and what you've contribute so far.   

All members who participate and contribute at least 600 points to their team’s total will receive a SB bonus in the form of a SB Swag Up Rebate on their next gift card! 

Not only that, but if you sign up under me this month and earn 300 SB before September 1st, you'll get a 300 SB bonus!

Members of the 1st place team will receive a 100 SB Swag Up Rebate, members of the 2nd place team will receive a 50 SB Swag Up Rebate, and members of the 3rd place team will receive a 30 SB Swag Up Rebate. Your SB Swag Up Rebate will be made available on Friday, August 18th at 2pm PT and will expire on Thursday, August 31st at 11:59pm PT.


(Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links and I appreciate your using them! This means that I may receive a small compensation.)

Swagbucks Swago - Back to School Shopping Edition - Starts Today

Swagbucks is hosting another round of Shopping Swago! What is SWAGO you ask? It's a bingo-inspired promotion run by Swagbucks, a website that rewards you with points (called SB) for completing everyday online activities. You can redeem those SB for free gift cards. If you've never used Swagbucks, participating in SWAGO is a great introduction to the site and an easy way to earn a good amount of points quickly.  

I tried Swago for the first time last month.  Its fun, but challenging and is just like playing bingo.

Click here to get started! 

Here’s what you need to know to get your 200 SB Bonus (and don’t worry, you don’t have to make a purchase to complete a pattern):

• Shop Swago will begin on Monday, August 7th at 9am PT/12pm ET, make sure you hit “Join” otherwise you won’t get credit for completing the action items. Each square on your Swago Board will contain an action item to complete.
• Once you complete the action item in a particular square the square will change color signifying the action item is complete.
• You have a limited amount of time to mark off as many squares as possible so use your time wisely.
• Be mindful of the patterns and their corresponding bonuses located on the right of your Swago Board. The patterns will vary in difficulty and bonus value.
• Once you’ve achieved a pattern the corresponding “Submit” button will light up. You can have multiple patterns available for submission, however, you can only submit ONE pattern so choose wisely.
• The game ends Thursday, August 10th at 12pm PDT/3pm EDT. So make sure to hit “Submit” on the pattern you wish to submit. If you don’t hit “Submit” before the game ends you won’t receive your SB bonus.
  
  Also, if you sign up through me this month, you'll get a $10 rebate when you makeyour first purchase via Swagbucks Shopping! You can activate it in the "Swag Ups" area of "My Account"
•  Click Here to use my referral link.

Frugal Friday - Swagbucks - Walmart Points

I was remembering all of the "Frugal Friday" posts I used to do way back when I first started blogging.  I really enjoyed coming up with those posts and so I thought I'd post some more.  It might even be fun to go back and repost some of those oldies, but goodies!

I've posted here before about swagbucks, and I'm still earning Amazon Gift Cards that way.  As I've said before, its not a get rich quick scheme, but if you are patient and consistent, you can earn some gift cards for Christmas or what ever you need them for.    I am saving mine for Christmas!

If you would like to sign up and try it, here is my referral link:  Debbie J's Swagbuck Referral Link

There are always different ways to earn points going on.   As an example, Walmart is running huge deals all week long on everything from clothing and jewelry to home electronics, grills, and toys, and Swagbucks is offering 6% cash back (in the form of SB Points) for every dollar you spend through Sunday. Whatever you need this summer, now's the time to buy it and get rewarded for doing it.      Just click HERE to take advantage of the Walmart Swagbucks points.

If you haven't signed up for Swagbucks yet, you can also do that at this page and start earning points towards your first free gift card. As a bonus, if you sign up through me and spend at least $25 shopping online through Swagbucks before the first of the month and you'll get a 200 SB bonus - that's $2 in addition to the points you get for each dollar you spend.

For some reason this year I'm getting excited about preparing for Christmas in July!  I have lots of gift ideas and am trying to earn all the "free" money I can.  I already have a $25.00 Amazon gift card earned  through Swagbucks and am well on the way to earning the second one. 

What are ways you are preparing for Christmas?  Most of the time I don't even want to think about it, but for some reason this year I am inspired to get ready early.

Swag Code Alert #4

Here's another Swag Code good from 2:00 PM until 3:00 PM (Eastern time)

Swagbusters

Enter the code in the Swag Code Box HERE.

If you'd like to sign up for Swagbucks, use my referral link here:  Swagbucks


Thanks!

Swag Code Alert!

Here's a new Swag Code, good until 1:00 PM (ET)

GoldSilence   Enter in the swag code box HERE.http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/debroon


If you'd like to sign up, here's my referral link:   Swagbucks

Check back for more codes today. 

Thanks!

Swag Code Extravaganza Alert

TODAY ONLY! Swagbucks is giving out 30 SB in Swag Codes for the Swagbusters Swag Code Extravaganza! Check out the Swag Code schedule here for the where and when to make sure you get them all!!The Extravaganza goes until 6pm PDT/9pm EDT so make sure to grab all 6 Swag Codes! Not a member yet? Don't miss out on easy & fun ways to get gift cards for the many things you do online! Join today to take advantage of all the Extravaganza's bonus SB & get your first gift card even sooner!



If you'd like to sign up, use my referral link:   Swagbucks 

Thanks!


 

SWAG CODE ALERT

I received another email from Swagbucks with a Swag Code that I can share with my friends and blog readers.

Its good for 3 swag bucks today only from 1:00 to 2:00 PM Eastern time

Enter MOARSurveys in the Swag Code Box. (Betwen 1 and 2 PM Eastern time today).

If you aren't a member of Swag Bucks, here's my referral link, if you'd like to sign up.

Debbie's Swagbucks Referral Link.

I love earning Amazon Gift Cards and saving them for Christmas.  I've been saving them for a few months now and have almost $100.00.  I'm not a big swag buck earner, maybe 20 to 30 points a day.  Some days much more.  But if I stick to it and do a little every day, it really does add up and having some referrals, would help boost that amount.

Let me know if this code works for you!

Thanks!!!

Etsy Shop Sale and Swagbucks

Hello there and happy Friday!

I have placed most of the items in my Etsy Shop on an End of Season Sale. If you need a clothespin bag, grocery bag or purse, CLICK HERE.

Its time to clear out some items so I can start restocking for Fall, Winter and Christmas!

Also, if you decide to sign up for Swagbucks, I would appreciate your referral. By CLICKING HERE, or on the Swagbucks link on my side bar, you can sign up and the link will automatically give me credit for your referral.

But, just signing up isn't enough. Once you sign up, be sure to use the Swagbucks website for your search engine, because not only do you earn points, I will earn the same number of points up to 1000.

I always use my swagbucks to buy $5.00 Amazon Gift Cards. Right now, I'm up to $45.00.

I will warn you that this is not a get rich quick proposition. It takes time and patience. But, Its just one of the small ways that I earn a little extra spending money. And, hey, we are all searching for things on the internet anyway, so why not earn a $5.00 Amazon Gift Card while we are at it?

I don't like to push these kinds of things too much on my blog, so I hope you don't mind the occasional post. There's no pressure of any kind. I'm happy just to have you reading my blog!

Some Swagbuck Tips

My plan to earn Swagbucks consistently in 2011 is going well! I have $15.00 in Amazon Gift Cards tucked away for Christmas 2011. I don't want to touch them until the first of November, at which time I plan to start Christmas shopping for my family with them. I am keeping a running total of them on the right side bar and will do periodic posts here also.

To all of you that signed up through the Swagbucks link on my blog... THANK YOU SO MUCH! I also want to say that if you signed up and haven't started searching with Swagbucks yet, its a fun and easy way to earn Amazon gift cards or other prizes. But, just signing up isn't enough. You have to start searching if you want to win .

If you want to sign up for Swagbucks click HERE or click on the Swagbucks widget on my right wide bar.

I'm no expert, but here are a few tips:

1. Once you sign up you can search two ways. If you download the Swagbucks Toolbar, you can search directly from what ever screen you are on while on line. This is the easiest way. Just search on your Swagbucks toolbar, instead of using Google or other search engines. I don't have the toolbar on my computer at home, but do have it on the one at work.

If you don't download the toolbar, you can save the Swagbucks link under your favorites and just go directly to the website to search. Its a little more trouble that way, but either way will work.

2. Don't forget to earn your ONSIES every day. There are 4 Swagbucks you can earn free every day. I know 4 isn't many, but done CONSISTENTLY over time will add up. Here are the 4 ways: 1. If you have the Swagbucks Tool bar downloaded, you automatically get one a day; 2. Go to the Swagbucks homepage and click on EARN. Under that you will see Daily Polls. Take the daily poll and you earn one SB; 3. Under Earn, go to Trusted Surveys. You earn one SB, just by going there. If you want to take a survey, go for it. I never qualify for any of them, but I still earn my one SB for looking; and 4, under Earn go to NOSO (No Obligation Special Offers). I click on NEXT or SEE NEXT OFFER until I win my 1 SB. If you see an offer you want to do, go for it. But you still win the 1 SB either way.

3. Almost every day there are Swagcodes that earn a few swagbucks. The trick is to find about them before they expire. Swagbucks is on Pacific Time, so most of them are later in the day. But, you can never tell what time they will be available. The codes show up on the blog, on Facebook, on Twitter, or on the toolbar that you have downloaded. HERE IS A SITE called We Love Swagbucks that I am sometimes able to get code locations from. About half the time, by the time I find out about the code, it has already expired. I am going to start doing a quick post with the location of a code, if I see it in time to possibly help any of you who are interested, get a few SBs. So if you see a post entitled, "Swag Code Available", that's what it will be about.

4. I use Swagbucks every time I do a search all day, but have found that certain search words trigger the SBs more than others. If it has been several hours since you have won any SBs, try searching the word "facebook". So far that has been the best word I've used. It may or may not make a difference, since recently I won SBs searching, "A Woman After God's Own Heart" and "Green Bay Packers". :o)

5. Since the Amazon gift cards are for internet use, each card is given a different number which posts under your account on Swagbucks. What I do is copy this number and paste it into my account at Amazon. This way the money is available for spending and adds up there just like a savings account.

I hope these tips will be helpful to you.