One of my favorite freebies of the summer. I get to take my kids to the movies all summer long for free! They love it, and it costs me zilch..so I love it, too. :)
We are heading out tomorrow to watch Alvin and the Chipmunks, the Sqeakquel.
Here is what being offered from the many different theaters. Click on the link and find your state to get dates and times. Most theaters offer a different kids movie each week.
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For those new to the House Party concept, it is a great way for advertisers to get products in front of all of us! And, the benefit? You get tons of freebies just to try their products and have friends over to your house to try them, too.
So, what new parties are open for applications since I last posted about House Party?
Nabisco 100 Party - Includes: Picture frame magnet with inspirational snack time words, NABISCO 100 Calorie Packs Fudge Petites Fudge Shortbread, NABISCO 100 Calorie Packs Fudge Petites Mint Fudge Chocolate Shortbread, 2 oz. plastic martini glasses to sample the cookies and More - Click here to register
Alexia Party - Includes: 4 Free coupons for Alexia Products, Bamboo Tongs, Wood Cooking Spoon, cocktail napkins, $1.00 off coupons for your guests, Recipe Ideas - Click here to sign up
For my local readers, you may already be frequent visitors to the Children's Museum.
It is a great place to take children. It is fun, educational and great during these snowy winter days. On top of the Children's Museum, Union Terminal houses the History Museum and the Natural History and Science Museum.
On top of that, they have Omnimax, Tower A ( the old Train tower ), gift shops, etc, etc. It is fun!
Today, if you stop by between 1Pm and 7Pm, you can donate blood to the Hoxworth Blood Center on location, they will give you a free ticket to all 3 museums PLUS a ticket to see their new exhibit, Gold!
Would you like to see the new movie, Hot Tub Time Machine starring John Cusack?
In March, the movie is available for screening all around the U.S. In fact, you can either request free screening passes, or you can sign up to Host for free.
If a Host, you get 9 free tickets for you and your friends, free reserved seating, free popcorn and soda and free Tshirt.
Some locations are full, but look around. Cincinnati still has the Host packages available!
Click here to see if your city free tickets are still available in your area of U.S
A free night out at the movies is one of my favorite things to do! In December, I got to take the whole family to the cinema to see the new Disney movie, Princess and the Frog. And, we paid nothing. A local friend and real estate agent, provided us tickets! They were hosting the event for clients and referrers to their company.
And, it got me hooked. I want to go to the movies for FREE all the time! So, as you may have noticed, I have started sharing free movie screenings whenever I find them.
Today, I wanted to share screenings for the new movie, Shutter Island, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Martin Scorsese. To read about the movie and see a preview, click here.
Viewing dates are February 16th and 17th, depending on the city.
Interested in getting your tickets? Click here to find your city and get your code! Right now, I have only found codes for the Southern states. I will share again if anything becomes available elsewhere and I am made aware of it.
Here are some free movie passes that are available again for a screening of a new release!
I will note, there are only a select cities left again, as many of the locations have filled up fast. So, take a look and see if your area is still open.
Which movie is available currently? The Blind Side
This movie stars Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw and Kathy Bates in a true story about a family who opens up their homes and lives to a classmate of their daughters who is virtually homeless.
Would you like to see if you can get free tickets? Click here.
If you have a young daughter, like I do, then I am sure you heard Disney will be releasing their newest animated movie, the Princess and the Frog.
Well, here is your chance to take the little girl in your life for free!
Disney will be showing advanced screenings in select cities. Click here to print your tickets for 2! No purchase is necessary and the tickets are fist come first serve.
Wow...the year is flying by. Tomorrow is already Valentine's Day!
Now that I am older, it is not a holiday I spend a lot of money on. Once in a while, my husband and I will suprise each other with something special, but then other years....we do nothing!
I will tell you, though, the year he came home with a very nice gift for me ( 2 years ago now ), I was so surprised and touched, I started crying. It is much more of a surprise, because I wasn't expecting anything.
But, I do think it is nice to acknowledge friends, family and even your husband :-) on V-Day! And, you don't have to spend money to do it. A nice, free e-card is a nice way to tell friends across the world that you are thinking of them and love them. Or, feel free to drop a card creation in the mail.
Here is a company I found that allows you to create cards, personalized and photo cards, for free on your own PC. You can then either email them or print them and mail them. Your choice.
Click here to go to the EZ Card Creator. When you sign up and start the download, make sure you know that you do NOT need to accept all the advertisements on the download bar. You can decline them. It is just an option.
Finally, Amazon is giving a free MP3 song away for Valentine's Day. Today and tomorrow only. Click here to download your song, "Let's Get it On" by Marvin Gaye.
Did you love the 6 free Photo Valentine's Cards I posted about here? Did you not take advantage of them yet? You better. Mine came today and they are ADORABLE! I love them.
Well, I couldn't leave my eldest son out. He has to pass out Valentine's to his 1st grade class, to his Sunday school class, etc. So, I needed quite a bit. I ordered 40, just to be safe.
So, how do I get 40 Photo Cards for basically nothing? I use all the free print offers from the photo companies!
The first key is you must have photo editing software. I, personally, have Photoshop and love it.
Next, find a picture you love of your child and create a masterpiece.
I created the one above last night by myself. Yes, it isn't fancy ( we all know my design knowledge is limited ) , but my son thought it was pretty nifty. So, he was happy. I am also going to wrap some tootsy rolls up with black and yellow construction paper to look like a bee and cut out some pink hearts for wings...courtesy of scrapgirls. Click here.
Not crafty enough to come up with your own design?? Then, click here to go to scrapgirls. Once there, go to their Boutique tab. Type Valentine. It will pull gobs of items back, but I then sort by price in ascending order. I loved a lot of the Easy Pro Pages and plan to make some more Valentine's for my daughter. And, they are on sale for $1.66 right now!! You can use them over and over! Woo, hoo!
Now, you can use those templates to add your son or daughter's photo and then add some text! Wa, la!
The kicker, make sure you create your card in the size of 4X6, so you will have to size down the templates!!
Why? Because you are going to order your cards as photos from all the photo sites. I did this with my lasts son's baby announcements and loved them. When I got them home, I added ribbon to them, to dress them up a bit. Just like I plan to add the bees to my son's Valentine.
So, I ordered Brady's Valentine's today on one of the sites I haven't used before and had 50 free print credits! So, I paid shipping of just under $3 for 40 Personalized Photo Valentine's Cards! Can't hardly beat that! It is much cheaper than if I bought generic Valentine's from the store.
Which sites can you order your free photos ( cards ) from? Click here to go to my Free Photo webpage and find one that suits you. Or, you can the Free Photos button at anytime by going to my left side bar.
Or, one of the best deals right now is the York Photo deal happening. They have 50 prints for a Buck! Click here for the details.
So, today, it only seemed appropriate that I touch on Affiliates after the large checks that came in over the weekend. It has, by far, surpassed all of my other money makers or savers! And, when I started my blog a year ago, I never dreamed it was possible to provide this extra for my family.
As you know, I also have an affiliate button in my left menu bar where I discuss the basics of my affiliate programs and provide links to the companies I have worked with and gotten paid. As I find new programs I like, I will add their sites to my webpage.
Click here to read more about affiliates or sign up with the companies.
So, what am I going to discuss on this topic today?
How I manage my programs as a blogger.
Of course, this post is going to be most helpful to those who are bloggers already. But, don't forget, it is very easy to start your own blog. The key is to write about something you absolutely love or enjoy.
And, towards the bottom, I will also have a program for non-bloggers to earn money, as well.
Once you have a blog, how do you earn money thru these programs?
Once you are a member, you have access to many, many different companies. You can then apply for specific companies you would like to see on your site or write about. After they approve you, you will gain access to links for banner or text ads to use.
So, what if you go thru all these steps and an advertiser denies you? This happens all the time. Especially to me, as I am still a small blogger. I always write them a very nice email then, thanking them for their consideration. I then ask if they could possibly review my site and provide me with any feedback of what I could change to bring my site up to compliance with their program.
After I write this email, they almost always approve me. They know I am serious. I want to promote their company! So, ALWAYS send an email if you get denied.
Next, how do I find which companies I want to promote?
Easy, I let them find me.
I do this by finding the topics I want to write about on a day to day basis. If I find a great deal/sale I am going to share, I immediately do a Swagbucks search on the name of the company and the word affiliate or referral.
It will then bring back results letting me know if they pay bloggers to advertise their product or company.
If they have a program, I sign up. That way, I then, potentially, get paid if people use the deal. If they don't, oh, well....I tried! But, you would be surprised how many companies have affiliate or referral programs. And, if they have a program, why write the post without joining the program.
I hope that gives a bit more insight into how I manage my affiliates. I know there are many different ways, but this method has seemed to work well for me. My goal is to only advertise for companies I am currently using myself to earn and save money. Of course, every blogger can establish the guidelines of how they want to run their own blog.
Now, if you are not a blogger and don't plan to start one anytime soon, how can you still make money from advertisers?
Thanks to Marianne at Writer-Mommy for sharing about a program called You Data. She mentioned that she only clicked thru a few ads last week, mere minutes, and earned over $6! Wow! Good return on the bit of time spent!
But, here is the gist of the program. Instead of bloggers like me getting paid to have the ads on my site, YOU are getting paid to view the ads. Why not? You are the end customer, potentially.
What are the benefits?
Based on the profile you set up, you can view ads that are targeted to your interests. Yeah! You then get to view those ads and read them, etc, and get paid. The amount you will get paid is there for you to see before you view the ads. Very nice!
Finally, if you are a blogger, they have a referral program. Love that!
And, you get paid WEEKLY to your paypal account. Now, that is exceptional. As we know, most companies pay monthly or sometimes even quarterly. So, weekly is really great!
Want to sign up and begin earning a bit? Sign up via the ad below. Also, this will be posted on my Affiliate webpage for others to utilize and in my side bar on this main page.
So, what is your homework?
If you are a blogger, click here to go to my affiliate page and begin signing up for these programs and applying for advertisers you are interested in.
Not a blogger, but want to start? Get busy tonight. What are 3 easy steps to get going? Come up with your topic and title, go to blogger.com and begin the free, easy process of setting a blog up and then write your first post! You will want to write at LEAST 3 times a week to grow, but preferably at least once a day or every other day.
Once you are over this initial hurdle, you can begin promoting your blog and creating backgrounds, designs, etc to suit your style.
Not a Blogger and don't plan to be? Just want to make a bit extra off of advertisers? Sign up above for You Data. Now, start earning a bit each week for viewing ads. Very easy money!
Well, it's official...I am now having fun with the Methods Madness Marathon. Putting together my goals, creating my budget and setting up my files is well, OK, but it is when I actually start seeing financial results that I get truly excited!
And, today, I saved my family $200!!!! That is right, and it took me all of 10 minutes to do it! That is about a $1,200 an hour rate ( wouldn't that be nice if I could make or save my family $200 every 10 minutes ). Much better than my hourly rate I made when I worked. :-)
So, what is the Method today, and what do you need to do TODAY!! You need to make some phone calls to your TV Cable or Satellite providers
Cable/Satelite
To start, there are MANY different ways to get this part of your budget lowered, so you are saving money. I will try to touch on all of the options here, but please feel free to leave comments below if you have even more suggestions.
For some families, like my own, we subscribe to Cable or Satelite. There are MANY different options...from Basic to Deluxe HD packages. There is a wide range. I am not here to tell you what option to choose. That is totally up to your family......depending on your wants, needs and your budget ( if you can afford it, bascially ) will drive your final decision.
My household is not picky. We don't need the movie channels ( unless they are giving them to us free ), and we don't need the top package. We started out with the Basic package back when we were first married and were on a tight budget and have been at the middle of the road package for about 7 years now.
We are happy there. I enjoy the news channels, the channels for the kids, etc, and I love the caller ID showing on my TV, and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my DVR!! Love it! No more rushing to get the kids in bed so I can get downstairs on Thursdays to watch my favorite TV shows. I can liesurely take my time, come down when I am done and watch them...minus commercials ( since I can fast forward thru them ).
The problem, though, is I always want the rock bottom price! And, I am not afraid to switch providers to save that money! I will switch to DirectTV or Time Warner ( my local provider options ) if Dish Network is not matching their Intro Offers.
That is right....most of these companies have Intro Offers that are only valid for about 3 months to a year, depending on the actual promotion. They want to get you in the door with these great rates, then knowing that most people never think about going thru the hassle to switch again once the intro rate expires and their price goes up.
Well, I am here to tell you that MOST of the time, you won't have to switch. I have been with Dish Network for years, and everytime I call to switch, they lower my price to match the deal I see thru a current provider.
In fact, I have even called before when I didn't even have another offer lower than what I was paying and they STILL offered to lower my bill to keep me as a customer!!
So, what happened to me today? I called Dish Network in regards to my bill. For the middle package...with 5 TVs hooked up, DVR on 3 of the TVs and over 200+ channels, the going rate was $54.99. This is what I had in my budget, since I knew this was the full price. Of course, all last year, I had it lowered, but when they do this...it is usually only good from 6 months to 12 months. So, mine was for a year...meaning my bill was just going back up to full price.
Well, I couldn't have that, right? So, I picked up the phone and called them.
The first tip is to ask for the Cancellation department. If you talk to a regular customer service rep, they usually will not give you the best deal.
Once you are in the cancellation department, here is your 2nd tip. Ask them how you go about cancelling AND have the best rate of a competitor handy...but don't mention it yet. They usually will ask you why you want to leave, and THEN I simply state I found a better price somewhere else. Today I told them I found a deal with DirectTV for $34.99 for the 200+ package. I failed to tell them the promo was only for a couple months, since they didn't ask.
Before we even got into the details of how to cancel, she asked if I would stay on as a customer if they took $20 off my bill each month for 10 months!! That is $200!! Of course, I said yes!!
I was now getting the same price as the other deal, but for 10 months and I didn't have to change providers. If you can't find a deal worth mentioning, don't mention one at all. Simply say the price for your service is too high. This is definitely what you would probably want to say if you are on a Basic Plan, which is probably the lowest advertised price with most companies. And, by the way, you can get Basic Plans lowered, too. I got my in-laws and my parents both lowered!
Tip 3, be prepared to tell them that you do not want to schedule the cancellation today! If, for whatever reason, you get a rep who does not want to lower your bill, then you want to make sure they don't shut your service off before you decide if you want to switch providers for real and when. I usually tell them I have not called the other provider to schedule my set up yet, and I was just calling to see what I needed to do on their end to cancel.
Tip 4, if they don't lower your bill the first time...call, call again! I called last week, and my rep only gave me $10 off. I told him no thank you. Why? Because I knew I had gotten $20 off last year, and I wanted to see if I would get a better deal if I called and got another rep. Sure enough, this rep didn't blink an eye when she offered me $20 ( of course, it was probably because I mentioned the DiretTV deal and their price for a similar package ). I figured if they offered me $10 again, I would take it and then shop around to see if it would be worth it to switch.
Tip 5, if there is a lower deal for similar service somewhere else.....switch providers. In this day and age, with the economy suffering and finances tight for many families....customer loyalty is NOT worth paying an extra $200 a year to stay with your current provider.
Tip 6, if times are very tight...consider going to a lower plan and then calling in a month to cancel and get the price lowered even more!! If you aren't able to pay your credit cards off in full, or being held down by loans...then paying more for TV probably isn't worth it! You could get by with Basic for very little.
Tip 7, consider getting by with the good old Antenna for free! Just as mentioned above, is TV worth it if you are strapped everywhere else? I have friends who only use Antenna and their kids and them get by just fine. They have their PBS cartoon channels, news, the standard channels and they know no different. On top of that, your kids can still grow up with Dora, Blue and all the others by just going to your local library. You can borrow DVDs with the same shows they often play on the Nick and Disney Channels.
What service are you using in 2009?
Cable or Satellite? Here are some decent deals currently out there with different providers. You can either use these to negotiate with when you call your current provider or click on the advertisement to go sign up yourself.
Here is the Dish Network deal I utilized when I called Dish Network. It is a very good deal!
This deal from Charter is really good. If they were in my area, I would probably consider this. $69 for TV, Telephone and Internet.
First, click here to get your $40 off coupon from the government. They are currently out, BUT they put you on a waiting list...and as others coupons expire ( you only have 90 days to use them ) they will reissue a coupon to you.
Also, if you have your coupon in hand and want a free converter box, click here. This is $0 out of pocket...no shipping, etc.
SOOOO...how much did you save today ( tomorrow, I guess...I am getting this posted pretty late )? Leave a comment below. Did you call and get your bill lowered? Did you switch to a lower plan? Did you go for the converter box? Whatever you picked...how much is it lowering the amount you budgeted for TV? And, if you are saving...strongly consider taking that extra money and putting it towards one of your goals!! Savings....paying down CCs, etc, etc!
Today I have another great Mystery Shopping company, and I am actually keeping my fingers crossed that I get a shop this next week. I just applied for the shop, so I am waiting to hear.
Interested in Mystery Shopping, too? Click here to go to my webpage with details on the ins and outs. Or, click on the Mystery Shopping tab in my left menu bar at any time. I will also have listed all Mystery Shopping companies I have talked about on my site.
IntelliShop is currently offering shops from Oil Changes, to Pizza Shops to Retail Card and Gift Shops. So, it is a wide variety, which makes it nice.
In addition, remember, they may not currently have shops in your area. BUT, even if not, you want to sign up and have them begin sending emails with the current shops to your "mystery shopping" email account. You just never know when a shop may become available in your area of the US.
The Holidays are such a wonderful time to make family memories and create traditions. For years now, we have put together a "to do" list of what fun adventures we will go on each weekend.
Why did we start doing this? Well, it was always so easy to say we were going to do this or that, and we just never got around to it. There was often times an excuse. The baby napped too long. We have to get shopping done. Etc, etc.
We found, that if we made this list around Thanksgiving...we stuck it on the refrigerator.....we were much more likely to get out and mark items off the list. They became the priority. We want the kids to have these memories. We look at it every Friday night and decide which activities we are marking off that weekend.
But, being a frugal family, we also want things that don't cost us unbelievable amounts of money. And, believe it or not, there are ways to do this ( at least in Cincinnati ).
Some of our traditional free visits?
Tree Lighting in Downtown
Niederman Light Display
Macy's Downtown Celebration ( Fireworks, Santa climbs down the building, free carriage rides, free train display, free trolley rides, free visits with Santa, free hot chocolate, etc )
What fun free events are going on in your area? I bet if you look, there are a few. And, it is a great time to pack up the kids...bundle them from the cold ( if you live up North ) and head out. These memories will last forever.
I STILL remember our Christmas traditions. We would ride the train/tram ( what was it called ) to downtown Cleveland. Once there, we went to Higbee's ( I believe it was called at the time ) and went to see the talking Christmas tree, go to the Children's Santa Shop ( only us little kids could get in and buy for our families ). Mom and Dad always made it special. Or, how about Dad always getting SOO mad about the Christmas lights? It is so true, he would have this little box he would sit and go thru each light to find the one that didn't work, so he could fix it. Meanwhile, ranting and ravings....SOO funny! Love you, Dad!
OK..maybe it is a bit fuzzy in some parts. But, I remember other fun things about those visits downtown. I know the escalators got narrower and narrower as you went up ( and became wooden ). I always thought that was very cool!
I remember always feeling so safe, and loved during the Holidays. My Aunt Karen and Uncle Russell came in from out of state with my cousins. I remember my Grandma's homemade Christmas cookies. She had a HUGE container filled ( or multiple containers, I should say ) with them. They had frosting and sprinkles. Yummy! She also had Ginger flavored cookies..yuck! I sure do miss her.
But, I am happy to say that my Aunt and Uncle still come in for Christmas and my kids love them as much as I did as a child ( and still do ). Christmas is always such a happy time for everyone, but especially for a child. And, it is not all about the gifts and that one day...it is the excitement and joy of being all together with your extended family.
As I got older and into High School, I remember fun activities all the school kids did together. One of my favorites? Caroling for cans. We would get SOOO many of our class ( I am talking 30 or more kids at time ) to go caroling. Not only was it fun, but we asked for canned food donations after singing. And, it was even more fun because we were always in a competition with neighboring schools to see who could collect the most food!
My point to this post is that it is possible to make wonderful memories and make it special for your family and with friends! And, often times, it can cost very little.
This is where my post should stop...but.....
With that said....I have to say...tonight we headed to the Beach Waterpark for their Holiday celebration. We met my friend, Lili, and her family. Lili, being as frugal as myself, was excited to get our kids out and together for the Holidays. And, we both thought we had found a great deal!
We had gotten coupons in the mail for Kids to Get in Free and Adults were only $10 a ticket. We thought, what the heck. $20 for a family of 5 is not that bad of a deal. They have carriage rides, slides, a show, Ice Skating, Pony Rides, etc, etc. Now remember...these were coupon prices...it can be more expensive if you buy at the gate.
We get in, AND...it was not what we expected. We had to pay for everything ( almost ) once we got in.
Basically there were two slides open for all visitors ( wait forever ) that were free and a merry go round. The carriage ride was $5 per person 4 and older. That means, we would have had to pay $20 to ride the carriage. Ice Skating was the same. ( Ok...I kind of expected skate rentals..so I was OK with this one ). The pony rides were $4 per kid. There is another $12. I was wondering what that entrance fee was for? My poor kids...my son went down the slide once....my daughter and youngest rode the merry go round once...and then we just wandered around.
I am still glad we went to see what it was all about. And, I was glad to spend the evening with friends...but the money would have been much better spent elsewhere during the Holidays ( Cincinnati Zoo Festival of Lights is one of our favorites ) Live and Learn! And, make sure you read the fine print on a so called "good" deal!
So, with all my rambling done for the night ( sorry ), I hope you are having a Happy Holiday with your family.....are finding fun activities and enjoying the time together, too!
Well, if you have joined the ranks and decided to buy your child a Wii ( or already have one ), here are some decent deals on games. I picked mine up tonight, as we have the system for the kids to open on Christmas...but no games! I guess that wouldn't be so fun!
Ultimate I Spy for Wii
First, you will want to buy this product thruEbates, as they are giving 10% back at the Scholastic Store. This will all be up in the air, as you are using a coupon code not listed on their site ( and they make no guarantees if they will pay if you use outside codes ). But, it is worth a shot!
If you are a new member, you will also get a $5 sign on bonus ( again, if they accept this promotion ).
Once you are logged into Ebates, as mentioned...go to The Scholastic Store. Or, click here if you would rather buy directly from them and not thru Ebates.
Then, search for Ultimate I Spy Wii Game ( this is retailing from $29.99 to $39.99...depending on store ).
Once you have it loaded to cart, enter promotional code SMHPSPY2
Then, enter code FNFAM.
This will take shipping off and bring your final price down to $14.56. Not bad!
Potentially, take the extra 10% from ebates off and you are down to $13.11. If you get the $5 bonus on top for being a new member, you will get it for $8.11. Again, this part is up in the air.
Guitar Hero w/ Wireless Guitar Bundle ( for Wii, Xbox 360, etc )
First, sign up here to become a Reward Zone member at Best Buy ( everyone might want to do this...you know me and free reward programs...you never know what fun things you will get. Plus you earn points everytime you shop. )
Print your membership card ( the real one will be mailed to you soon )
Next, sign up for the Gamer Club here. ( Free, but you will get even more points for any games you buy )
Finally, print this coupon here. This coupon is taken from FatWallet, and they still have it posted, so I am going to assume it is a valid coupon. They are usually pretty good about taking it down. But, you never know. It could disappear at any time.
It is for $20 off each. Limit 3 per title.
This brings the price down quite a bit per item, so I am considering this for my husband. He loves playing this game when we are at Best Buy.
I'm going to apologize up front, because this post is probably going to very confusing. Ugh! But, I want to make sure I relate all the different options to get the BEST price for all these wonderful Barbie products for your little girl.
To start, Barbie is running a promotion thru the end of the year. If you buy $100 worth of "certain" Barbie products, you get a $50 Visa Gift Card back. This means, you are getting the products at approx. 50% off. This is a good deal in itself.
Here is the list of products to choose from:
Barbie and the Diamond Castle Princess Liana Doll
Barbie and the Diamond Castle Princess Alexa Doll
Barbie and the Diamond Castle Horse and Carriage
Barbie and the Diamond Castle Glimmer Flying Horse
SOOO...how do you make this an even better deal. Well, there are a couple different options.
Scenario 1:
Toys R Us sent their Big Christmas Book out recently and included was a $10 Off $100 Purchase coupon or a $10 Gift Card with a $75 purchase. By using either of these, you are immediately getting another $10 off, which equates to spending $40 for $100 worth of Barbie products now. In fact, I would actually consider adding a $10 or more product to the receipt, in case your total being below $100 would disqualify you for the rebate. Remember, ask for a gift receipt and you can actually return the add on gift later. Total Out of Pocket is $40 for $100 worth.
Scenario 2:
Or, if you buy $100 worth of Barbie products online, you get free shipping AND $10 instant savings thru November 15th. Click here for details. Because you don't want it to interfere with your $100 purchase for the rebate, I would add a $10 Barbie gift...basically getting you another FREE gift after the instant savings. You will probably not want to return this extra gift, because you have to pay for shipping back.
Go thruMr. Rebates when buying from Toys R Us online, and you will get $5 if you are a new member in your account AND another 2% back.
Use Bill Me Later to pay on Toys R Us and you will get another $10 off your total. Bill Me Later will take the $10 off when they send you your invoice. PLEASE remember that Bill Me Later is like a credit card. If you don't pay your invoice off within 90 days under this promotion, they will begin charging you interest. In addition, they do a credit check on your account, so it is probably a hard pull. Make sure you click here and copy/paste these terms into Word. You always want copies, in case you need to get manual credit.
What is you total for this scenerio? $43 PLUS a free $10 Barbie Gift for $100 worth
Scenario 3:
First, KB Toys is out of stock of most of these products ( you can request they notify you if they become available ) BUT they do still have Candy Glam Station for $39.99 or the Barbie My House for $39.99. You could buy multiple of these products for gifts for others. Then, use coupon code ETNLTRto take $5 off a $40 order. You do have to pay shipping.
NEXT, if you use Bill Me Later to pay, they will take $15 off a $30 purchase on KB Toys. AND, this $15 doesn't come off until you get your bill from Bill Me Later.
In addition, if you decide to go thruMr. Rebates to log into KB Toys, you get an extra 4% back in your account plus the $5 back if a new member. Plus, if you are new to Mr. Rebates, you get a bonus $5. So, this store could be a great deal to pick up one or the other of those two items to get them at a low price. Then, get the other products to get you to your $100 total from another store.
Scenario 4:
Amazon.com has almost all these products in stock for very reasonable prices. AND, if you have been using Swagbucks ( click here to read details on this program ) and have enough points earned to redeem for Amazon.com Gift Certificates...you could use that money to potentially pay nothing out of pocket for these items AND get your $50 back. And, they are offering free shipping on Amazon.com right now. Click here to go to all the Barbie products.
Or, you can buy just over $40 at KB Toys ( add a key chain or something small to get over $40 ) and pay only $20 some odd dollars for the product after the $5 off AND the $15 Bill Me Later discount. Then, buy the other $60 from Amazon with your gift certificates or out of pocket.
If nothing else, pick $100 of these products up at ANY of your local stores and get your $50 back. It is a fun deal!
Again, I apologize there is SOO much information...but hoping everyone can get some ideas and come up with the lowest out of pocket cost from these ideas.
I have added this deal to my Holiday Savings button in the right side bar.
Restaurant.com is offering one of their unbelievable sales again. If you remember, they had some great promotions just a few weeks ago, and they are now offering 80% off their gift certificates.
Simply click here to login and when checking out, use code TREATS. If that code doesn't work, use code TREAT. Both codes were posted by the company, so I'm not sure which was the typo on their part. This deal runs thru October 31st.
Never used Restaurants.com before? It is a great program where you can buy discounted gift certificates for local restaurants. They normally sell a $25 Gift Certifcate for $10. That in itself is a good deal! They also have dinner of the month packages and smaller gift certificate amounts, too.
Since they are currently offering 80% off, this mean you can get the $25 gift certificate for $2!!
As always, don't forget to read the terms for the restaurant you pick. Some restaurants will require you spend a certain amount of money to use the certificate. For example, one of the ones I was looking at requires a $35 minimum purchase to use the $25 GC. Another restaurant required two meals be purchased.
In addition, if you would like an additional percentage back, consider shopping thru Mr. Rebates.
If you log in and click to Restaurants.com thru their site, you will earn another 20% back. That brings it down to $1.60 for a $25 GC. And, as an added bonus...if you are new to Mr. Rebates...they give you a $5 sign on bonus. Profit!
Anyway, the deal is even sweeter now. $25 gift certificate is now only $2.00 when you use code EIGHTY! Click here if you want to order directly from Restaurant.com.
Unfortunately, I did not see this coupon code listed on Ebates.
But, Mr. Rebates does have this code and they actually pay 20% back ( instead of 15% like Ebates ) when you buy thru their site. And, if you are a new user, you get a $5 Sign on Bonus, making this a money maker for you.
Mr. Rebates is very similar to Ebates in that your total must be over $10 to get paid ( this does include your bonus ). So, remember to always check between Ebates, Mr. Rebates, Big Crumbs and Upromise to see who has the best deal whenever shopping online.
IF, you are Cincinnati reader and you got in on the free Playhouse in the Park tickets for this Thursday evening, like I did, then this is a great time to buy a restaurant certificate for dinner before hand.
I bought a $25 to The White House ( yummy and nice restaurant ), and my total out of pocket after Mr. Rebates is only $1.60! I also like this restaurant, because you do NOT have to make a minimum purchase....just has to be for 2 dinners.
So, we will be having dinner there before we go see the play. Can't beat those prices for a nice dinner out and the theatre! $1.60 and Free ( but don't forget to tip your server on the full value of your meal ). :-)
