Bzzagent - a freebie hunter's dream!

Hello again!

I am often asked how I get freebies and high dollar coupons. You already know how much I love Swagbucks (ordered pretty jewelry the other day from Amazon.com - FREE!). My next favorite is Bzzagent.com.

I joined Bzzagent because it promised to give me the opportunity to try free products if I completed surveys. Now many sites have promised that, and very few freebies ever come of it. This site however is FAR different. When I first signed up, I spent two days completing surveys, waited a week, and... nothin. I was all set to be disappointed and never visit the site again. Then a few days later, I got an email asking me if I'd like to try some spring cleaning products... hmmm sure, why not. Shortly after that I received a giant box at my mail  box with a full can of Pledge, an airwick air freshener, a glade candle, a can of scrubbing bubbles shower foamer, scrubbing bubbles toilet cleaning gels, and gosh I don't remember what else. And not tiny sample packets - full products! So I figure this website had to be pretty cool, and I went back. I earned more points by telling them all about my experience with the products (dear bzzagent - I love you!). A few weeks later they ask if I want free Covergirl lipstick - duh! Over time I have also gotten free Covergirl foundation and lip moisturizer. My newest prize is free computer antivirus - a $79.99 value! Each time I tell them my honest opinion, I earn points for my Mypoints.com account (another site I absolutely love!). Each time I tell YOU my honest opinion on the products I get more of those points. By doing this I also earn honeycombs (leveling up) - the more honeycombs I have, the better my chance of being chosen for the new campaigns!

Oh and those freebies often come with high value coupons for me to share!

is being a Bzzagent something that interests YOU? Check out www.bzzagent.com

Magical new ways to save money!

Hello Ladies!

I am in such a great mood today, I could float away!

First things first, it is almost time to start school... which means money spent on textbooks... ugh. Now as I'm sure you can all guess, I am the queen of buying used textbooks and previous editions (because most of the time the difference between the third and fourth editions of a book are the cover art, the color of the text on page 27, and $138.00). Now sometimes old editions don't exist, or really ARE different, Or sometimes those books cost just as much as the current edition (me thinks someone has discovered what I discovered, LOL). In those situations, I usually toy with the idea of renting, because the dollar amount is so much smaller, but I usually cave and pay full price... Why, you ask? Because renting means the book isn't mine, so if I fall asleep while studying for finals and spill my Redbull all over my textbook, now I owe big time. OR what happens if I forget to take that book out of my bookbag and mail it back? Yep, I owe again. Mailman drops the box in a puddle of mud then runs over it with his truck? Yep, I owe... My new found solution?

KINDLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had been toying with the idea of getting a Kindle for a while, something light and handy to take with me so I always have something to read, but lets face it, $189 book is hard to swallow, so I waited. Then I discovered the Kindle apps. First I downloaded Kindle for PC. It is free to download from Amazon.com, and Amazon often has wonderful books you can also download for free.

Next, I downloaded Kindle for Android when I got my new phone. Now I have all those free books - in my pocket!

So how does this save money on my textbooks? Well I need a $110 book for my math class, which lasts 30 days. I could buy it used off of Amazon.com for about $50. That's not too bad I guess, but $50 for a book I will use for 30 days is a bit much for me. Guess what else was on the Amazon page? A button that says "rent this title on your Kindle" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For just over $20, I will have my book for those 30 days, on my home computer, AND my cell phone, plus all those web addresses listed in textbooks are actually clickable on my Kindle app! :) Now, not all of the books I need for my semester are available on the Kindle (but the most expensive one is!), but I think for those that are, I will go that route. No more stacks of outdated books that no book buyback wants. Nope, I will read it, then when class is over, it will go away!

Think of all the back pain I will avoid this way!

Craigslist!

Okay ladies! I'm back! Last Thursday I had my nasal surgery, so I was out of commission all weekend. I felt like I had the world's WORST head cold, AND they told me I wasn't allowed to sneeze or blow my nose... TORTURE! Yesterday I had the straws taken out of my nose, and may I just say for the record, I love breathing! I haven't breathed this easy, well, ever!

So, what have I done to save money this week? CRAIGSLIST! This whole weekend was pretty much lazy, so I found myself surfing the net, finding ideas for re-purposing furniture in my craft room. Since I was unable to yard sale this weekend, I perused Craigslist. You'd be amazed at the kind of things people are selling or giving away!

I am particularly proud of today's find. I made Cecil drive me to Keil to pick up a free heater :)
In our old farmhouse, the house heaters are never enough to keep the chill out of the air. We often resort to space heaters to drive the cold out of some of the rooms we are in. Obviously that is not a very cost effective (or safe) way to do things, so we had been looking into those Amish style Quartz Infra-red heaters. They do not get hot, just warm the air molecules in the house. The big ones we are looking at are a couple hundred dollars, but we think a good investment.

Then I checked Craigslist! Someone was giving away a free infrared heater! It in not as large as the Amish style, and is supposed to heat an area about half the size of the area the Amish one is supposed to heat. FOR FREE! The poster said she just didn't use it any more, tried to sell it with no takers, and she just wanted it out of her garage. SOLD! We plugged it in when we got home (yup, we turned on the heater when it was 80 out), and boy does it work! You could feel the heat come off of it, but the heater was cool to touch which is a great safety feature!

So, Craigslist is my new best friend! I will be checking the listings for wonderful useful items for good prices (or free!), and hopefully I can find a way to get the things our family wants and needs for a great steal!

Do you have any great Craigslist finds?

Pattypan!

Okay, so the chaos of coming home from vacation is beginning to wear off, and I had the opportunity today to go to the local (Plymouth) Farmer's Market. Yay for having food in the house other than camping food! LOL. I picked up quite a few veggies for $10. For dinner tonight we had chicken grilled on the Foreman Grill (not Farmer's Market fare) with lemon juice and rosemary, a salad of fresh greens with kohlrabi slivers, and my new favorite vegetable, Pattypan squash! After a little research on the internet, I decided to try it baked with salt, pepper and crushed garlic. I sliced them fairly thin and baked them for 20 minutes at 425. Ooooh yummers!

So the lesson for today is, always try something new! I've always passed up those pattypan squash because I had no idea how to cook it, but 5 minutes on Google, and I have a new favorite!

Chicken - $ 2.40 for two servings
Seasonings from spice cupboard - $0
Pattypan Squash - $1.00 for 2
Kohlrabi - $2 for 3 HUGE ones (anyone know any good Kohlrabi recipes?)
Fresh lettuce - $2 (half the bag made two yummy salads!)
Delicious healthy meal after an afternoon of shopping with the hunny - PRICELESS! :)

What are your latest farmers market finds? Please share!  :)

A camping we will go!

First, I would like to apologize to all of you for me slacking off in the blogging world. This is new to me, and sometimes, I'm just not sure what to say, LOL. I will try very hard to become more talkative in the future. Want to help? Tell me what YOU want me to talk about! I do this for you!

Okay, so Cecil and I have been looking forward to a big family camping reunion since our vacation last year. We had a grand week planned, but in recent months had decided that since Cecil was just starting a new crane job this week, we should reduce our vacation to one weekend so he wouldn't have to take time off after his first week there. I was extremely bummed, but still excited that we could enjoy the weekend in our favorite Michigan town with family.

Fast forward to yesterday, Cecil's first day on the job. Well apparently, they are going to put the crane up this week, then they aren't sure what day the job will start. Cec spent all day in the blistering sun helping them set up the crane, and by the time he came home, he was fairly convinced that we could leave on Thursday instead of Friday. YAY! An extra day!

Fast forward to today - They will have the crane up and ready to go by the end of the day today, and they may not have him come back to start the job until maybe the week after next... who knows what that means? YEP! Longer vacation!!!!!!

So, here is my planning mission. Originally we were packing clothes for two days, we'd leave on the ferry late Friday night (technically early Saturday), and land in Ludington around 7 am on Saturday, camp Saturday night, and leave 8 pm Sunday night. All meals were going to be eaten out, since we were going to be pressed for time. NOW, we will be there longer, and eating every meal out would get pricey. SO, what would YOU pack for a week long camping trip? Here is my ideas:

• small propane grill
• air matress
• 9v pump (last year we forgot this - kinda makes the air mattress pointless, LOL)
• Small tent (someday I will own a popup...)
• Flashlights
• Lantern
• bug spray
• sun screen
• beach towels (yep, we're going to the beach!)

 Now for food:

• Hot dogs
• Smores
• burgers
• chips
• local fresh fruits (last year we found fabulous cherries, blueberries, and peaches at a roadside stand )

What other ideas do you have for me? We have a few more days to plan, and I want to bring as much of the food with me as possible, because I know our grocery store sales better than the sales over there. I think a trip to Aldi is in order! Any other tools I've forgotten now that we will actually be cooking at the site? How else can I save money on this camping trip?

Piggly Wiggly week of 6/28/11

What are your plans for the fourth of July weekend? We're having a small cookout before band practice on Monday, so I'll be hitting up the Pig to stock up on supplies!

What caught my eye? Well the soda got my attention first. Pepsi products, 4/$8.88 with in ad coupon and separate $10 purchase. I love this time of year for soda sales. Regular price on soda can be as high as $4.50 per package, and can make a bit dent in grocery budgets, so when soda is on sale this cheap, I stock up so I don't have to buy as much in the winter at full price!

3 lb box of Johnsonville Sausage is priced at $6.79. Seems like a pretty good price. Please let me know if you find a better deal somewhere, because brats will be on the menu for Monday's cookout! :)

Other good grill foods: Fresh Bi-Color Sweet Corn, 24 cents an ear limit 12, T-bone steaks $2.99 per lb. , Oscar Mayer Wieners, 3 lb box $2.88.

Also, don't forget the charcoal! Kingsford Charcoal, $5.99 with in ad coupon and Separate $10 purchase. (There are 4 coupons in the ad that require a separate $10 purchase, but it can be the same $10! That means if you make a $10 purchase, you are eligible to use all 4 coupons, the Pepsi deal, Ice Mountain Spring Water for $2.99, The Kingsford Charcoal, and 30 oz Kraft Mayo for $1.99.)

How does Watermelon sound for your cook out? Get a whole seedless watermelon for FREE with the purchase of  Miller High Life 30 pk! Don't need the beer? Buy the watermelon for $2.99 each, limit 2.

I hope you all have a wonderful fourth of July weekend! Stay cool tomorrow, it's going to be a scorcher!

Piggly Wiggly week of 6/22/11

Good morning all!

I had fully intended to have this Piggly Wiggly post up last night, but life got in the way. Isn't that just the way life goes? I think I tend to over plan my days, LOL.

Today is the day I will be stopping at the Piggly Wiggly for groceries, so let's take a look at what is on sale this week.

Front page, bold letters - 99¢ for previously frozen all natural split chicken breasts or natural chicken wings by the lb, or a 6 oz pkg of Butterball Turkey Bacon.

California peaches 99¢/lb

Piggly Wiggly Gallon Milk $2.49

Crystal Farms chunk or shredded cheese $1.49 limit 3

Era Liquid detergent 50 oz $1.99 limit 2

Coke products 4/$10
7-up or Dr. Pepper 6 pk bottles 4/$10( I think this is a good week to stock up on soda! )

Food Club Granulated sugar 4 lb 99¢ (with coupon from ad and separate $10 purchase)

Of course you all know there is no way for me to list all of the specials in the ad this week, that would take forever, but these are a few that peaked my interest. Take a look at the full ad HERE and tell us what deals you find. Also, if you know of any available coupons for the deals, please let us know! We're here to help each other out! :)