Surviving Christmas

The Sweet Remembrances Kitsy Lane boutique is having a super sale!!

I opened a shop with these guys just recently, and there are a couple great jewerly promos going on now...

Also, from now until Christmas, purchase $50 or more and get a free gift! (Gifts change weekly).

Be sure to create an account, as we're sending special discount codes via email!

Sweet Remembrances Boutique

Thanks for stopping by the store to check out what we've got cooking for this year's holiday jewelry offerings!!!

Many Blessings
GrannySue 

For those who have not yet joined Ebates, they sent out two updates this morning, and I thought I'd better get over here and let you know...

1. CYBER MONDAY SALE: 

Started this morning... Some highlights -

Ebates is another great place to earn cash back for your Christmas shopping! During the Black Friday weekend they are offering double cash back bonuses for many stores in their program.

Basically, you shop at your choice of store through their portal, and you will get between 1.5% and 6% back generally. Some places like Dish Network are offering $100 cash back. Some stores only offer discount codes, but those can be more than 20%. Some also offer coupons.


There are literally hundreds of stores (1600 at last count!) to shop at from Bath and Body Works to Macy's, Mattel and even Zale's! Travelocity is also listed. You name it, this site offers it.




Just like MyPoints, Ebates can save you money on gifts and everyday purchases year round. Unlike other programs, the program is all about shopping and coupons.


You can search by product, coupons available, and their list of participating stores.


They also work with Amazon and Groupon.


Ebates is free to join, and unlike many other sites, there is no introductory survey where they want tons of details. You simply sign up and start shopping. You can save favorite stores inside your member area, and you can also promote the site to earn cash rewards.




Ebates allows you to cash out with as little as $5.01 in your account. However, they only pay quarterly, so its wise to build up that balance before requesting a payment. The most common methods of payment are via check or PayPal.


One thing I am not fond of is that if you allow your account to be inactive for a period longer than a year, they will debit your account (not your bank, just your Ebates balance) $2.00 per month to cover administration costs.


While this shouldn't be a problem, I wonder why it is that this is specifically spelled out in their Terms and Conditions! Since I only recently joined, I wonder how many people this happens to.

They do also state that your account will never go into the negative. If it gets to $0.00 and you still haven't been active, they simply delete your information.


I haven't been a member here long enough to say whether or not this will be one of my top programs. I've been watching the blog and other people's reactions to the site, though, and so I do trust them.


Once again, I'd be honored if you would join the program through my link.

Ebates

Here's the affiliate details:


Joining their affiliate program is automatic – you have access to a link to promote the site (go to the bottom left side of the page in the dark green section, and click on the “Affiliates” link in the bottom left-hand column – it takes you straight to the page where you can send emails and pick up your link.


There is a special promotion going on for the holidays where you can earn bonuses for each member you refer after the first.


They make it really easy to tweet and post to facebook, too. That's nice... Some sites disregard these sites, and they are great for getting referrals!


Caveat – in order to earn your commission and bonus rewards for referrals, the new members must purchase at least $25 through the ebates site (at any store) within the first 90 days.

Many Blessings
GrannySue

Again, if you have something you'd like to share or ask about this program, please do post!  

The first program I am going to mention is MyPoints.com.


This site offers you a means to earn points for doing some things you do every day. You earn points by clicking a special link in emails they send you (5 points per email opened). Each of these offers allows you to earn even more points by taking advantage of a free trial, making a donation to your favorite charity, signing up for an online newsletter or purchasing their product.


You get the basic points whether you take advantage of the offer or not.

They offer surveys, too. You will earn 10 points when you click through to the survey – even if you don't qualify to take that survey! You will earn between 50 and 200 points for each survey you complete, as well.


You can also earn points by taking advantage of free and low-cost trial offers for goods and services, by playing online games (poker, slots, and a host of others), using their search engine when you surf online, doing simple (really – no-brainer type) tasks, listening to online radio and more.




You also earn points for shopping at your favorite stores through their site!! Of course, this applies all year, not just now, but this IS a Christmas site, after all!!


For instance, if you use the MyPoints site to shop at Wal-mart (you can schedule pick-up or have your order shipped to your house, sometimes for free), you will earn 8 points for every dollar you spend. Sometimes during special sales they offer 10 points per dollar.


Some of the places you can shop in addition to Wal-Mart are: Land's End, Barnes and Noble, Old Navy, Amazon and more.




MyPoints is free to join. You earn points for everything you do, and these are redeemable for rewards cards. Many of the stores you can shop at for cash back also offer their rewards cards through this program.


I usually opt for the Barnes cards, because I love to read, but I've also traded my points for cards to Red Lobsters, Outback Steakhouse and Chili's.


There are nearly 100 different cards you can choose from.


If you need money more than books, clothes or a night out, they also offer a VISA card.




You can get a reward card starting with as little as 1600 points. Given the way the program works, I have never done a trial offer or any other paid action, and still have gotten more than 5 cards.


MyPoints will send between 2 and 10 points emails per day. You choose whether or not to get the emails, and you choose whether you just want the 5-pointers (offers) or whether to get survey offers as well. I get them all, and it takes me about 2 minutes to click through on everything – 5 if I decide to try for the surveys.


You will not get the 10 points for the surveys that you don't qualify for just by opening the emails, you actually have to go through the (very short!) qualification process. Of course, if you do qualify, you can still choose to end it there and take your 10 points - or go on for the full points value – but you do have to go that far.


Being a member of several other sites that offer trials and other offers, I would trust the MyPoints system with these. I have not done any offers there that I can remember. But if you do these, be sure to read the FAQ about it. I write about this on another blog (GrannySue's Get Cash Now).


The offers are easy, but you have to keep track and you have to be sure that you know the details so that in the event you need to cancel, you have that information handy.




Like I said – I don't remember ever doing any cash offers at MyPoints. However, I have earned more than 30,000 points basically doing nothing. I've gotten more than $100 worth of rewards cards.


Just opening emails and surveys you can easily earn at least one $25 gift card each year.


However – with the holidays upon us, and retailers offering everything from 5 to 12 points per dollar to use this site to shop, well, you can see where that will lead!!


Plus, if you get into the habit of shopping your favorite retailers through MyPoints, you can earn and use those points all year round! This can be a MAJOR budget saver, and is a great way to do your Christmas (and much of your other) shopping!




I would be both honored and grateful if you would use my link should you decide to join this program!!


I am currently a pending affiliate for this program, so I will not be receiving any commissions from the site if you join now. Once I am approved, I will receive $1.00 for everyone that joins through that link.


However, if you request an email from me (NO AUTO-RESPONDERS – you have to sign up for that once I get it ready!), I will send you a link. I will not keep your email address.


If I send you an email directly from the site, they still do not have access to your address unless you sign up. I will get points if you join from that email.

Many Blessings
GrannySue

Remember to post a comment to let me know about your experiences with this program or to ask any questions you might have! I'm always here to help and can always use suggestions!