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Monday, January 11, 2010

I've been doing a small amount of research on mystery shopping in the past week. At first, it seemed a bit overwhelming to sort through what was real and what was not. I have found a blog called The Mystery Shopper's Manual that has some very informative information regarding what it takes to be a mystery shopper. You'll also find links to 200 or so legitimate companies that accept mystery shoppers.

Have you done any mystery shopping? My interest in it is as a small supplement to my income. I shop a lot, love it, and I enjoy the type of paperwork that is involved in doing a shop. I'd love to hear some thoughts an opinions from my readers. What is your experience?

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Free subscription to Website Magazine Free Global Finance Magazine Tarde Pub Magazine
Sign up here for free magazine subscriptions! There are hundreds to chose from. Global Finance and Renewable Energy World are two that I am interested in. Which ones look good to you?


Sign up for CVS photo center and get 50 free prints. You get 20 for registering for an account and you get another 30 when you add your Extra Care card to your account. The best part is you can have these free prints sent to your local CVS store so you don't even have to pay shipping!

Just register your account, add your Extra Care card, upload your photos, and then select to have to picked up in store to get free shipping! Registration also includes free photo storage and sharing!

Click here to sign up!

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Here's a few great deals I've found today. If you have some others, please be sure to post them in the comments section for all of us.

Swaggrabber shows us where to get $10 in Downy coupons by email or mail - There's quite a few nice coupons in this group.

At Deal Seeking Mom, you can find a link to print a coupon for $1/1 GE CFL lightbulb - There's a special at CVS on these!

You can find CVS Bonus Offers at Common Sense with Money.

Money Saving Mom has found a free downloadable Excel savings tracker - This is awesome! I've already started using it and since it's the beginning of the year, you'll have a great start.

Find out how to get ALL 2X Ultra for $4.04 after coupons at Totally Target.


At the beginning of December, I joined Opinion Outpost which is a survey panel. Since I have joined, I have redeemed $37.40 in Amazon Gift Cards. This has been my favorite survey panel where I am a member.

Every 10 points earned is worth $1. You can cash out to get Amazon gift cards or choose to receive a check in the mail. We like to do the gift cards since there are a few things on Amazon that we are saving for. Plus, you get instant gratification. It takes only a few seconds to get your gift card code.

Check it out
! Personally, I think it's a great program. The surveys are realistic and while one doesn't always qualify, there are still plenty to make it worth your while.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

After some research, we found that eBay now allows sellers to list 5 auctions every 30 days for free. After that, regular listing fees apply. The final value fees are 8.75% for the first $25.00 and then 3.5% after that. We looked into some other auction sites and have found eBid where there is no listing fee and the final value fee is 3%. Has anyone had any experience with this site? There are a lot of auctions listed, but I wonder what the traffic is like.

I'd love to hear your thoughts!


My husband and I have been brainstorming not only on ways to save money, but ways to increase our income. Swagbucks, MyPoints, surveys, etc. are different things we are doing now. While it's not much, it does add up. Some people don't realize how those little things add up to something larger over time and this is what I am "banking" on.

Early this morning (or was it late last night?) my husband came to me and started talking about eBaying our old video games that we don't play anymore. They are all in mint condition so we decided to research it today. Some of the games we have are selling for $50-$100 each and we have quite a few! I'm really excited about seeing what we can bring in with the items we're not using anymore!

Do you have something that you're not using anymore? Something that could bring in a little bit of extra cash on eBay or Craigslist?

Friday, January 1, 2010

I just want to share an inspirational story from Money Saving Mom. She and her family have managed to save 100% down on their first home. Congratulations to you! I am so inspired and cannot wait to read about her story!

Money Saving Mom's Major Financial Milestone

Our Journey Towards Saving 100% Down For Our First Home: Part 1


I hope my readers find inspiration in this as well.

So, here's a challenge that interests me. Using items from my pantry, freezer, and refrigerator this month and minimizing trips to the grocery store. Can I do this? I'm sure going to try!

This challenge is from Money Saving Mom and Life as a Mom.

Here are some of my goals:

  1. Only hit the grocery store once a week. Normally I go 2-3 times a week which is bad, bad, bad for the wallet.
  2. Spend $100 the entire month on groceries. Milk, cheese, and produce are things we need. Eggs will be easy since the turkey is laying right now and she's producing some beautiful ones!
  3. Make our own baby food. Our daughter is pretty much eating adult food, but she still enjoys a bit of pureed food with oatmeal in it. So, I'll be stocking up on apples, sweet potatoes, and other produce to cook up and blend for her.
All I have to say is if we can get by spending only $100 this month for groceries, it will be great! That could put an extra $200 in savings this month!

Today we are starting with a curry coconut chicken recipe that was shared by my sister-in-law. It's in French so I'll have to sit down to translate it. I'll also be making some Spicy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from Allrecipes.

Happy New Year!

Here is the New Year's savings roundup for you today.

Swaggrabber has the Winn Dixie Deals of the Week.

Publix weekly deals are at I Heart Publix.

The weekly coupon insert preview is at Deal Seeking Mom.

Common Sense with Money links us to coupons worth $5 off 5 Healthy Choice Meals.

Money Saving Mom tells us about a Walgreens Moneymaker!

Don't forget to activate your Upromise coupons!

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