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Jan 242011
Jan 242011
I was doing my weekly task (I find it daunting to have to do it as they come in) of reading all my mypoint.com “Bonus Mail” emails. These are where you have “bonus mails” sent to your inbox, and in doing so, you read them and click on the link “Get Points” in order to receive 5 points for just reading the bonus mail. I just earned 200 points for this past weeks bonus mailings. However as I said earlier, I find it daunting to open each one when they come in, so I had to come up with a method to get these read efficiently so I could receive my points before they expire (these mailings do expire).
Here’s my method: Either on Saturday or Sunday, I do a search in my inbox for “mypoints” and all the emails from My Points in my inbox are shown. Next, I open the first email and scroll down to where it says “Get Points.” I right click on this icon and chose “Open link in a new tab.” This now opens a new tab, but leaves me right where I am (using gmail and Google Chrome*). I then scroll down to delete the email and I then am brought back to the search I did. I open the next bonus mail and do the same, and so on, until I have a numerous amount of tabs open at which time I will close those (to avoid slowing down my browser) and start the process all over again. It took me less than 10 minutes…to open 40 emails… to earn 200 points in my mypoints.com account.
* Google Chrome or any other web browser…Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari etc. gives you the choice of how you want pages opened in your browser. To find out what your settings are: Google Chrome…Click on the toolbox link (looks like a wrench at the top of your browser) and then click on “Options.” You’ll see the options you have by clicking on each tab at the top of this pop-up. The same for Firefox….click on “Tools” tab at the top of your browser and then on “options”. Internet Explorer (latest version) you’ll see a double right arrow on the right side of the browser near the top. Click on the arrows which will take you to a list of options, click on “Tools” and then on “Internet Options.”
I hope you find this useful. If anyone has another way they’d like to share…I am open to any suggestions 🙂
Jan 242011
So, I was just going through my email and came across one from Lakeside Collections. Even though they aren’t listed as a cash back site…they are on mypoints.com and offer 500 points on a $25 order or more. I happen to rack up a lot of my points shopping on this site. The site offers a lot of practical items and for the most part, I have gotten quality items (the price you pay when shopping online). The one thing I wish this site did was allow customers to review products they’ve purchased. That being said, I still buy but read the item description very carefully. Anyway, what brings me to mention this store was the lamp advertised in the email. I can think of so many places I could use one of these in my home. It’s such a space saver, and for people like me who needs bright light to see print, I could adjust this to where I need to have it to be able to see clearly.
As I sit here looking at the lamp, the creative ideas that come to mind for revamping this lamp to co-ordinate with my decor, are flowing. Since the lamp base and rod is metal…I can repaint it to match my wall color. The lamp shade…I bought an extra valance when I purchased my living room curtains…I can use that to cover the lamp shade…a very simple task. I’ve already used some of the valance to cover light switches and a smaller table lamp. With a little time and work I can have a custom lamp for under $30…not too shabby! This would also make a nice lamp for my son’s room, in fact, I’d like two for his room. He is wheelchair bound so floor space needs to be kept open in order to manuevre the chair (it’s a custom chair for a 6′ young man). Yup, I need to place an order! Bummer…I just searched for coupon and promo codes..doesn’t look as though they have any going on right now :-(.
Jan 232011
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Jan 222011
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner…like 23 days or so, away! Shop now and your items will arrive in time all while saving some hard earned cash! I love Ghirardelli’s milk chocolate. It’s my favorite for using in homemade chocolate chip cookies. The chocolate chips are bigger than Nestle’s morsels, and oh so yummy just to eat by the handful, when that chocolate craving comes along :-).
GHIRARDELLI is today’s ebate’s Daily Double Cash Back!
A WHOPPING 15% cash back if you click-thru the ebates.com website
Jan 222011
RESTAURANT.COM….What A SWEET DEAL this is! I just found it and had to share it right away!
- Get $25 Restaurant Gift Certificates for only $3 PLUS
- Enter code: ENJOY at checkout and hit “apply”
- Click-thru mrrebates.com to received 25% back on your purchase
- Receive a $10 Restaurant.com eGift Card with every order! The code for the Free $10 will be emailed to you and will not appear in your shopping cart. The free eGift Card can be redeemed on restaurant.com’s website for a restaurant specific certificate.
- Offer valid from Tuesday Jan. 18 thru Monday, 1/24/11 at 11:59pm PST.
So….you buy one $3.00 certificate, get 25% cash back…brings purchase to $2.25…plus a $10 eGift Cert. puts you ahead of the game. If you are going to purchase more than one Gift Certificate…do each one separately…you’ll even make out better 🙂
Jan 222011
Carol Wright Gifts is offering $1.99 shipping on any size offer now through January 31, 2011 at 11:59pm EST. This is better than using a cash back site as you will save more in the long run.
Foodnetworkstore.com is having a winter clearance event of savings up to 80%. Click-thru mrrebates to get an extra 4% cash back.
The Company Store is having their annual “White Sale.” Sheets are up to 40% off and if you click-thru mrrebates you will get 3% cash back.
Shopathome.com offers 5% cash back, however as I have stated before, I haven’t any experience with them and user reviews that I have read don’t meet my expectations. That being said, for the amount of transactions I would use their site for I don’t feel that the 1-2% extra cash back (compared to clicking thru ebates or mrrebates) is worth the aggravation I could endure. If anyone has had positive experiences with shopathome.com…I welcome hearing about them.
Haband is having a “For The Home Sale.”
Foodnetworkstore.com is having a winter clearance event of savings up to 80%. Click-thru mrrebates to get an extra 4% cash back.
The Company Store is having their annual “White Sale.” Sheets are up to 40% off and if you click-thru mrrebates you will get 3% cash back.
Shopathome.com offers 5% cash back, however as I have stated before, I haven’t any experience with them and user reviews that I have read don’t meet my expectations. That being said, for the amount of transactions I would use their site for I don’t feel that the 1-2% extra cash back (compared to clicking thru ebates or mrrebates) is worth the aggravation I could endure. If anyone has had positive experiences with shopathome.com…I welcome hearing about them.
Haband is having a “For The Home Sale.”
- Use promo code: XFM to receive free shipping on all orders over $15.00
- Free shipping offer expires 1/23/11
- Click thru mrrebates to receive 5% cash back.
Jan 212011
Join me in my mission of getting the most for your dollar. I so love to save money and have found the Internet is a fabulous tool for saving money compared to shopping at a brick and mortar store. In fact, 90% of the Christmas shopping I do is done online and the same holds true throughout the year. By doing a little research before clicking on the “pay” icon can put money back into your pocket. Let me show you how you can do this too.
Here are the steps I follow:
1. First, search for the items you are looking to purchase to find the best deal on the Web. I add the items on that website to my cart. *Note: if you have your Internet Settings set so your browser clears all your information when opening up a new browser or tab session, you may need to put the items back in your cart again once you get to step 6 (see tip in #5 to save you time).
2. Next, check each of the sites listed on the Internet Shopper Click-thru page of this site, for the store you are looking to make the purchase (I right click and click on “open a new window” so I can compare the sites easily instead of having to write down which site offers what as cash back). You are looking to see if the store you want to purchase at is one of their listed stores). In checking each of these sites, I am ultimately looking for which site will give me the most return on my dollar spent. Once I figure out which site that is, I make sure I am logged in on that site.
3. I then search google.com and swagbucks.com for coupon and promotional codes for that store. You can use any other search engine of your preference, however; I find I get the best results from Google’s search engine. Example: If I wanted to buy at Sears.com I type in: sears coupon and promotional codes in the search box.
4. I click on several of the links of the results from the search to see what they have listed for current coupons or promotional codes. One of my most favorite sites for these codes is retailmenot.com, as they show the coupon code. *Note: Any link you click on that takes you directly to the store in order to utilize the coupon is not the coupon you want to use. If you decide to do so, you will not be able to click thru the click-thru site you have chosen that earns you rewards, points or cash rebates.
5. Once I find the best coupon/promo code I either write it down or open a new browser session. I then go to the Internet Shopping Click-thru site I have chosen for this shopping session. I click the link on that site which takes me to the store where I want to make the purchase. Now, if you are a person who is up and down from the computer, you will want to start a new session w/the click thru site you’ve chosen, as some of these sites…not all…will boot you out of your click thru session if you’ve wandered away too long (I am famous for this, so I learned the hard way when my $ wasn’t pending in my chosen click thru site to restart a new session if I have wandered…no matter what the time frame was of being gone).
TIP: And, I don’t know about you, but I get all flustered when a website has emptied my cart on me. So…to remedy this….I’ve even gone as far as copying and pasting my cart contents in an email to myself if I know I am going to be interrupted for a while. Some shopping sites, if gone too long, will empty your cart (kohls.com is famous for this…uggg!).
6. Having already put the items in my cart, I proceed to checkout where I find the place to enter a promo/coupon code. I enter the code I am looking to use in this box. If by chance the coupon is not valid for some reason, I will search for a different coupon/promo code as explained in #3 above. If the Click-thru site has a time limit on how long their link is good for, I will go back to their site and re-click through their site. Most of the sites you shop at will save your shopping bag for this duration (read tip in #5 above).
To give you an example of the process…lets say I am shopping for girl’s clothing and find a few items at oldnavy.com:
I search each site on the Internet Click-thru sites listed…mypoints.com, ebates.com, mrrebates.com, etc. for the Old Navy website on their site to see which site will give me the most back on my purchase. I end up choosing ebates.com. Next, I search the Internet for coupon and promo codes. I find one that will give me 30% off my purchase so I write it down. I then go back to the ebates.com website, click on the oldnavy.com link on their site, which takes me to oldnavy.com. I then head to checkout and find the place where I am to enter coupon/promo codes. The reflection of the coupon/promo savings should show up in your total once you apply the coupon to your purchase. I finish checking out, and I have saved two times over, sometimes three if the item was already on sale (BTW…I don’t usually buy anything unless it’s on sale)!
Let’s do the math…(this is ONLY an EXAMPLE):
Total price of items added to cart…. $165.00 –
Coupon code of 30% deducted……..$ 49.50 = $115.50 –
Ebates click-thru of 4%……………….$ 4.62 = $ 110.88 total spent on purchase
Clicking thru the ebates website gave me a 4% rebate on my purchase $115.50 x .04% = $4.62 in my ebates.com account. Most click thru sites let you cash out when you reach $10.00, which really does add up fast if you are an avid online shopper. However, please check the cash out policy on each site, as they are different.
I have now paid $110.88 for $165.00 worth of goods (which potentially may have added up to more if they were on sale to begin with).
Jan 212011
THE MANY USES FOR APPLE CIDER VINEGAR
For all the mommies who use cloth diapers…when you launder then add 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar to the final rinse water. This will make them softer and help prevent diaper rash.
Anti-inflammatory/antibacterial agent: When mixing sea salt with apple cider vinegar and applying it to sprains, Ringworm, nail fungus, bunions, corns, calluses, warts, shingles, boil, ant black fly, mosquito bites, wasp, bee stings and even poison ivy it acts as a powerful antibacterial agent and anti-inflammatory.
For a bloody nose: apply a compress of 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar and 1 cup water to the base of the neck to the top of the nose- this helps constrict blood vessels.
Bugs: Repel lice and bed bugs with a combination of the essential oils of tea tree, rosemary, lavender, and peppermint. Make them into a spray and spray on hair and bedding.
Digestive: It is to be believed that apple cider vinegar improves digestive ailments, correcting constipation, improving digestion and increasing one’s metabolic rate. One cup of warm water mixed with one tbsp apple cider vinegar will help heartburn when sipped slowly.
Indigestion, nausea, and motion sickness is claimed to improve when you drink a mix of 2 tsp. of apple cider vinegar and raw honey in a glass of warm water daily.
Congested anyone? This is a good one….mix 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar and honey in a cup of hot water and drink 3 times a day. It breaks up mucus congestion and cough. Honey, in itself, is known to calm the airways of asthmatics.