What a croc!

Get it?--what a CROC. I totally crack myself up.....

Anyways, I was just on Crocs website, and spotted these adorable shoes on sale! They are $9.99 before shipping, and if you buy them through Ebates, you will get 4% cash back! It's a great deal if you ask me, especially since the shoes would be perfect for the cold weather that is coming....

I had to pick up a pair for my oldest E, who is extremely rough on shoes. I think these will hold up for at least a month or two. :-)

Out to eat on a budget

We don't go out to eat very often. It is way too expensive and way too much stress for me and my husband. :-) Although I must say, Color Wonder markers and doodle pads seemed to calm the savages the last time we ate out.....

Anyway, I wanted to share the main ways that we ARE able to eat out when we do. You can do it on a budget--you just have to be creative!

5 Ways to Eat Out for Cheap (or FREE!)

1) Use coupons whenever possible. I don't think we ever eat out without some sort of coupon. Watch for these in your mail, newspaper, email, or even at the restaurant. Also take advantage of coupon books that restaurants offer....McDonalds and Wendys both sell cheap kids books around holiday times.

2) Sign up for restaurant e-clubs. These often reward you with coupons for free things or for $$ off of your meal. You can also get free meals on your birthday! (This is how we take our family out to Red Robin, one of our favorite restaurants.)

3) We often earn giftcards through My Points. My Points is an easy way to earn giftcards by reading your email. It only takes a few minutes a day......takes awhile to add up points, but it is worth it for FREE giftcards! I never respond to the offers--just click on the emails to obtain my points, and then delete them. *Note: Using a junk email box may be a good choice if you sign up for My Points. I use gmail--it filters out any spam.*
If you are interested, please email me at hotmamasar (at) gmail (dot) com for a referral link, so we can both be rewarded for you signing up! :-)

4) Redeem credit card/debit card reward points and earn giftcards.
I bank with Chase, and my debit card is connected to a rewards program. I have earned us a few free meals, just by buying groceries and diapers.
My husband also just received 3 giftcards in the mail after redeeming some credit card points. I wouldn't suggest signing up for a credit card just to get giftcards (lol!) but if you use credit cards for daily needs and are able to pay them off each month, apply for one with a good reward program. We use Chase Freedom (and we actually get $money$ back with that one!)

5) Buy gift certificates through Restaurant.com. We have done this several times, and have always had a good experience. You click on your region, and choose from the list of restaurants.
Plus--when you shop on Restaurant.com through Ebates, you earn money back!!! Right now we have a $25 gift certificate from there, for a nice fish restaurant in town, and I only paid $3 for it. And I got 10% back on my purchase! It all adds up in the end. (In fact, I just received my $47 cash-back check from Ebates, all because I bought Christmas gifts on there.) Sign up for Ebates today, and start earning money to eat out. :-)

I hope these suggestions help you a little. It is nice to have a break from cooking, but not if it breaks your budget! Have fun exploring frugal ways to eat out!

Just like a day at the beach!

Our master bathroom has a "summer beach" theme. I wanted to incorporate some family pictures on the wall, but a slight lack of funds put a halt on the decorating for awhile.

I was getting a little antsy though.

So I searched through all of my decorating notebooks and pictures, and dredged up a frugal idea from my college era.

You see, my roomate and I back then were also lacking in decorating funds. But lucky for me, my roommate was a decorating genius and she came up with some fabulous ideas. Ideas that required little or no money and involved found objects around the house.

(Seriously, I think she could replace Evan Farmer on this show.)

Anyways....I recalled her using some garden twine, a few nails, and some clothespins found on our neighbor's clothesline in the back yard. She added in some cool black & white postcards, and poof!!!! Instant wall decor (and very shabby~chic to boot!)

So, I ran to Target and Lowe's for some twine and silver hooks.....spending a whopping total of $3.27.......then came home and ordered some prints through Snapfish (always via Ebates, of course!), and paid NOTHING because I had 50 free print credits. Woo-hoo!


And now we have a fun beach-y bathroom! (Now if I could only convince my hubby to paint the rental walls even though it means having to paint it back in a year when we move.......)

Any ideas on coercing him? :-)

Poor, poor horse.....

What's the expression???

"Don't kill a dead cow"...No.

"Don't shoot a dead dog"......doesn't sound quite right.

Oh wait, "Don't beat a dead horse."

Yep, that's it. And that is exactly what I am going to do in this post.

I have ranted numerous times about the joyous rewards of Ebates. I have whined and begged and even coerced at times, trying to get my dear readers to sign up for this money-making (free) opportunity. A few of my faithful followers have complied and signed up but sadly.....have never purchased anything! Therefore, they have not reaped the benefits of their free Ebates' membership!

So---in order to fulfill the idiom that I previously referred to (in case you have forgotten, it is "don't beat a dead horse"), I am going to once again rave on and on about the advantages of joining Ebates. I am also going to point out the $30+ that I have earned in the past six months, just for buying things online that I normally would buy anyway. I am going to stress the ease that accompanies your signing up for this FREE program. And I am going to throw in that if you sign up before October 31st AND BUY SOMETHING, you and I will both earn $10 cashback.

(The horse is almost demolished, but I must give one more kick.)

My favorite way to earn cashback on Ebates is by purchasing all of my digital prints at Snapfish. I earn 10% back, by buying the prints and photo gifts that I normally would.

If, after this tirade, you are even remotely interested in Ebates, please sign up through
this link so that I can see that you tried to humor me. And if you really are my friend, you will sign up and buy me something at Target (earning yourself a nice 4% cash back!). :-)

RIP, dear horse.

P.S. If you have any questions about signing up, purchasing, or anything about how Ebates works--please feel free to email me or leave a comment here! I would be glad to help you out--because it means we will both earn a free $10. :-)

An easy $10......

Hey everyone--I posted about my favorite online shopping site awhile ago. I just received my $15 check today for shopping through them (I think I made 4 purchases), and saw that until Sept. 15th, you can receive $10 for signing up and making a purchase! Plus anyone you refer will receive $10 and so will you! I am all about "free money" so I just wanted to encourage you all to try it. :-)
I need a book and some pictures from Snapfish, so I am off to shop and save!!!!

A little advertising never hurt.....

My hubby has become addicted to saving us money (not a bad thing to be addicted to, right?!) and as a result has interested me in several avenues of cheap shopping. One that I absolutely LOVE is Ebates. We buy quite a few things on-line (it is easier than driving 45 miles to shop for gifts, etc.) and this is the perfect place to buy stuff and get some cash back. I have already earned $15.20 in just a few months!!! It is really easy to sign up and you don't have to give any personal info. When you sign up, I get $5 after your first purchase, you get $5 just for signing up, and you can also refer people and earn even more money!! The biggest thing is remembering to go through Ebates' site in order to earn the money. I forget all of the time--in fact, I just ordered prints at Snapfish and could have earned 10% back for going
through Ebates :-( So all of you computer-savvy women out there (well, men too, if you are reading this)....you should sign up and start saving!
If you decide to try it out, please use my referral link:
http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?id=32898824
so I can earn $5 for signing you up, and you will earn $5 just for signing up!!! My e-mail address is oregongirl77 at charter dot net.
Have fun shopping (and let me know how much you earn!)