Simple- yet inexpensive photo gifts

There's always some kind of occasion to worry about.  Instead of buying something from a store, make your gifts more personal!

Here's how: Pictures! It's something thoughtful, personal, and importantly super inexpensive!  Sign up at snapfish.com.   You get 50 prints free for signing up! In the store, to get digital photos printed, it can cost anywhere from $0.06 to $0.25 per photo.  Why waste money when you can get it printed for free through snapfish? Snapfish also does amazing collages, photo-books, mugs, calendars, etc.  These can easily be great gifts for any occasion.  Also, snapfish occasionally will email you with a free shipping offer, so free prints, free shipping!  But of course you can't just give a random photo.  Buy a beautiful frame from a crafts store like Michael's.

Michael's is such a great store! Even if your not into crafts, Michael's has great picture frames.  You can use the 40% off any regular price item coupon (link below).  You can make a great collage gift from snapfish (way less work) fitted in a great frame for almost nothing! Michael's usually has coupons like this.  If you don't want to subscribe to the email list, just check out their website.  The link is on their homepage usually.

Michael's 40% off coupon

Good until August 28th, 2010

Free Samples

Walmart regularly updates and changes free samples that they give out.  You never know what it's going to be.  Click on what you want sent to your home, fill in your address and information, and wait for it to arrive!  Free samples like this are usually great for travel!


Free Samples From Walmart

Groupon

Groupon in such a great site.  Everyday, there's one coupon or offer available for something that gets you a crazy amount off of the original price.  Like 50-60% off at LEAST.

How it works: Go to Groupon.com and sign up for a daily email.  Once daily, there will be a different deal.  You can then choose a city, which will bring up the daily deal in that city.  If the deal is say $25 for $50 worth of flowers for a florist in your area, you buy the coupon for $25.  When you use it, it's like you had $50 to spend.  Deals can be flowers, restaurants, stores, classes, etc. There is usually an expiration date on the coupon, but usually its more than two months from the date of purchase or so.  For example to flower example has one year before it expires.

Click to link below to sign up for free email alerts! You never know when your favorite neighborhood place will appear on Groupon!

Groupon

Sell your old textbooks, books, movies, games, and dvds

Trust me, you have things in your house you haven't looked at in 10 years.  What use are they to you anyway?  Half. ebay.com is one of the best ways to sell your things.  You can't sell old clothes or your grandmothers old sewing machine, but you can sell a lot, and you don't have to pay to list.  PLUS, you can keep it listed until it sells!

I'm a big ebay fan, but this is much easier and less complicated.  I've actually bought textbooks on this website, and sold them back at the end of the semester for more than I bought them for! $$$ ! In total since April of 2009 when I began a half.com account, I have made $795.86

How it works:  Set up an account.  Then, get out those old movies, that's right, all the VHS tapes must go! You have them all on DVD now anyway, and if you don't it probably means you haven't watched it in the last 8 years.  Find the UPC label on the bottom and enter the number.  If you can't find it listed, type in the name in the search box and when you see what you're selling, click on the link on the right called "Sell My Copy"  then begin to enter the information they ask for.  Then you just wait until you get an email saying that your item has sold.  Use the name and address given in the email, and ship it away!

What about shipping? I don't have time to calculate that stuff.  Don't you even worry about it!  half.ebay.com charges a flat rate for each type of item sold (usually it's a dollar or so more than it actually costs to sell).

How do I get paid?: In 14 days, they will transfer the money in your bank account.  This means you do have to give them your information.  It is very safe though.  I've used them (as well as others I know) and no one has ever had a problem.  Ebay is a very reputable company.  the website does charge a small percentage of the item sold.  I don't think they've ever taken more than about $3-4 dollars out of the total price.  It's definitely not a noticeable amount by any means.

When buying from half.ebay.com, you almost always save a lot of money opposed to buying in the store.  I've never paid full price for a book, movie, game, etc. in years!

Follow the link below!

Half.ebay.com

Inbox Dollars

The truth is in the title! You get paid to read emails from your inbox! You're probably saying, there's clearly a catch, and there is! Here's the deal:

How it works: You sign up, and automatically get $5.  After that you can get paid to read emails, do surveys, tasks, referring friends, etc. The catch is.... you get between $0.01 and $0.10 for each email you read.  If you complete the offer in the ad they send you, you get more money.  I haven't yet done one.  You're probably thinking, well that's not worth it.  And you're probably right.  Especially when you can only get the cash when you reach $30.  

Why I'm doing it then: Well, as an avid computer user, i'm constantly checking emails, and clicking on a few links to ads in emails isn't taking much time out of my day.  It doesn't really cost a lot of time or energy to do, and it's pretty amazing that someone would even pay $0.01, let alone $0.10 to read an email.  And I'll be $30 richer from it!

That $30 could be two lunches, a tank of gas, 30 songs on itunes, 10 dvds, definitely enough for a mani/pedi, and the list goes on...

Follow the link below or on the right side of the screen to sign up (You get $5 just for signing up!)

Inbox Dollars

My Points

My Points is connected with BzzAgent, a company I mentioned earlier which gives you free stuff to try and tell your friends.  This is how I originally got involved with My Points in fact.  Now I am a My Points junkie!  So far, I have already gotten over $100 worth of gift cards for clicking on links in my email, and making purchases online!

How it works:  You get points for reading emails, doing surveys, and buying things online.  MyPoints sends you emails daily, which give you 5 points for clicking on the link in the email (I have never received a virus from doing this).  They are usually links to places like overstock, or officemax, etc.  Occassioanlly you get deals for going through MyPoints.  When you order something online, go through MyPoints! They give you, depending on the place, 10 points per dollar.  You go onto MyPoints, find your favorite store (there's hundreds if not thousands) and then click on it, my points will tell you how many points you'll earn per dollar, then transfer you to the website.  When you purchase, you'll get points in your account!

Excellent example: Overstock through MyPoints had a deal where for each dollar spent, you get 12 points.  I bought a CHI hairdryer (already discounted through overstock) for $65.00 (65 x 12 = 780 points) You can get $10 gift card to Chilis from 1,500 points.  Believe me, the points add up very quickly, even if you don't buy anything online.  I usually wait and get $25 gift card.

Using this program, I have given this gift cards as birthday and christmas presents to friends and family, saving a lot of money!

How to get the cards: After you get enough points, go to rewards and choose from retailers such as Gap, Banana Republic, CVS, Lowes, Walmart, Macys, TGI Fridays, etc. They will mail the gift cards to you in a few weeks (so if you need it for a gift order in advance!)

FYI: You also get a lot of points through BzzAgent for doing quick surveys and telling them about the products you try!!

Follow the link below!

My Points

Opinion Outpost

I was skeptical about doing surveys for money, but when push came to shove, I decided to try it because hey, I needed some money.  This is my absolute favorite survey website!  Currently, I have made $89.00 using this website!  


How it works: You sign up, fill out some general information about yourself, then complete general surveys.  These surveys tell Opinion Outpost what type of person you are so they can send you surveys that you can qualify for. 


How to get the money: Once you sign up and complete the preliminary surveys, they will send you emails about survey opportunities.  You will see them ranging from about 8 points to sometimes 40 points.  (10 points = $1.00) So in general, surveys pay about $1-4. Once you reach $5 (or 50 points) you can cash out, which means they send you a check, OR you can get an immediate amazon gift card code to be redeemed immediately.  Checks take about 2 weeks to be sent out.  


It's that simple! You won't get rich from it, but you might be able to afford that extra pair of shoes that catches your eyes or treat a friend to a great lunch! Please follow the link below or under the "Links to get money" on the side, opinion outpost gives you $2 for each referral, so once you sign up, tell your friends and family!


Thanks!


OpinionOutpost

First Blog--BzzAgent

This is my first post ever.  I decided to make it about one of my favorite websites.  It's one that not many people seem to know about.  It is called BzzAgent.  The concept behind BzzAgent is that they send you a free item to try out, along with some coupons, and occasionally samples for your friends.  The goal is to spread to word about the products.  As you continue with the company and try more and more products, writing about your experiences with sharing the products, etc., you get invited more frequently to try things as well as sometimes get better products to try.  So far, I've received: Bic Soleil razors, Orbit Gum, Burts Bees Acne Solution, Clean and Clear make-up wipes, Loreal Paris lash Boosting Mascara, and Covergirl make-up.

Sign up today! It's free and easy!   BzzAgent