Frugal Hacks » free stuff

Cool deal of the week: 6 free photo products

kimc — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 04:05:50 +0000

Vistaprint has 6 photo gifts for free right now! OK, maybe "free" is a little misleading because you do pay postage/handling, but these are awesome prices for very cool gifts!

Here's what you pay when it's all said and done:

Calendar- $5.67
Flipbook – $5.89
Mug - $5.67
Mouse Pad- $4.41
T-shirt – $4.41
Magnets- $4.70

I don't know about you, but I'm going for the t-shirt! And then a calendar...and a new coffee mug for hubby because the old one is missing a kid...

What are you getting?

I may receive a small commission if you place an order through one of the links in this post.

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Giveaways on Life in a Shoe

kimc — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 05:28:08 +0000

Pop over to my personal blog where I'm running a giveaway every week for at least 4 weeks. Tuesday is your last chance to enter my giveaway for a free triple stack of delicious Apple Valley Natural Soap, and your first chance to win a hardwood drying rack valued at $85.

I love to request items for review and giveaway. Tell me, oh Frugal Ones: what item under $100 would you most want to win?

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Weekend links and a fast $10

kimc — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 11:23:23 +0000

New on the Frugal Blogroll

The Frugalist - Tips on how to spend less and still live just as well or better, including frugal recipes, saving money on bills, coupons and discounts and more. Plus green living tips too.
Coupon Mama Massachusetts - Couponing blog. Coupon/sale matchups, freebies and other bargains.
Graceful Little Honey Bee -I am a stay at home wife. I love crafting, cooking, and saving money!!
Scrimpalicious - A blog about natural, frugal living--with flair. Recipes, tutorials, links, reviews, and advice for people who are hip, crafty... and poor.
Money Green Life - Personal finance blog to help increase your net worth through financial planning, investing, online savings accounts, credit cards, balance transfers, CD rates, personal budgeting, debt reduction and consolidation, and money-saving products and services.

Good reads around the web

20 Favorite Dirt Cheap Meals - Be sure to check the comments for even more ideas.
Kick Frugal Guilt to the Curb - "So often we put a great amount of emphasis on snowflaking every penny toward debt or savings, we have a hard time spending money on anything that’s not necessary."
Creative Cake Cutting Ideas via Lifehacker - Make your cake go farther by cutting it right. Think that sounds stingy? Look at how much goes in the trash when you give the kids a standard wedge.
Are You Ready for Christmas? - Oh wow. Lynnae makes Christmas sound so simple. I need a plan like this.
Simplify Your Life: What Not To Do - I don't agree with all of her criteria or conclusions, but she's onto a great idea.
Cheap Things You Never Use Are No Bargain - It doesn't matter how great the deal was; if you don't use it, it's just clutter.
Exploring a Financial Fast - I'm intrigued by this idea. It's too late now, but wouldn't it be great to do this for the month of November, culminating with a Thanksgiving celebration?
You Really Can't Screw This Up - Words of encouragement that we all need to hear now and then.

Want to win a fast $10?

Leave a comment sharing the best frugal article you've come across. I'll paypal $10 to whoever submits the one I like best!

Please limit your entries to 3 links/person.

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Winner of The Tightwad Gazette giveaway

kimc — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 17:11:50 +0000

Thanks to everyone who shared their tips and entered the giveaway. The winner of The Tightwad Gazette is:

kat martin Says:

i do matchups to sales with coupons, and keep all the free shampoo + conditioner samples for trips and shaving.

Kat, enjoy your new book!

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Giveaway: The Tightwad Gazette

kimc — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:01:12 +0000

Here's your chance to win the bible of frugalites everywhere! Just leave your best, most creative money-saving tip in the comments to enter.

I believe you should never buy new when you can find it used, so I'll choose a random winner to receive a very gently used copy of The Tightwad Gazette.

There are 4 ways to enter. Please leave a separate comment here for each entry.

Share your best, most creative money-saving tip here in the comments for your first entry.
Tell your friends about this giveaway on Facebook.
Tell your friends about this giveaway on Twitter.
Post about this giveaway on your blog.

Just to get you started, here's a tip of my own:

Use an electric roaster to cook outside during the summer. You'll save money by not heating a full size oven, save on a/c by not heating up your house, and your baked goods will be extra moist and delicious! Works great for breads, casseroles, cakes, and anything that doesn't need to be crispy.

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Hampton Hotels giving away 10 Amazon gift certificates every Thursday

kimc — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 11:53:03 +0000

Hampton is starting a Thursday Tweet Deal campaign in which the first 10 people to email hamptonfyi@gmail.com the correct answer to a challenge question will win a prize! Currently they’re giving away 10 $15 Amazon.com gift codes every Thursday.

The challenge question is tweeted at 3pm ET. Last week's question was, How many Hampton Hotels in D.C. are listed on Hampton.com?

Follow Hampton's tweets for a chance to answer first tomorrow: http://twitter.com/hamptonfyi

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Winners: H&R Block giveaway

kimc — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:20:07 +0000

Wow - we only had 23 entries on last week's giveaway for 3 copies of H&R Block's tax software or $50 discounts for taxes online. Maybe all you frugal people out there already did your taxes, unlike me.

Those are some pretty good odds for the people who did enter.

Here are the 3 happy winners, chosen by Random.org:

Alice Says: linked to my facebook page!
February 21st, 2010 at 9:31 pm

Vicki Says: I’ve used both TurboTax and TaxAct, whichever saves me the most. I’ll see how HR Block stacks up this year.
February 21st, 2010 at 5:34 am

Pamela T Says: I became a fan on Facebook, wahoo!
February 21st, 2010 at 2:21 pm

Congrats to the winners! May your refund be swift and generous. :)

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Exclusive Swag code for new users

kimc — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 07:01:54 +0000

Swagbucks paid for Christmas in our house last year and continues to provide a steady source of free Amazon gift cards, which can be used to buy nearly anything on earth, including used books at great prices. We love it!

If you're not using Swagbucks to get free stuff yet, now is a great time to get on board! Just take a moment to sign up (use the code at the bottom of this post to get a bonus!) and then use the Swagbucks search engine at http://swagbucks.com for your normal searches - you'll be awarded Swagbucks that you can redeem for free stuff like Amazon gift cards.

You can easily add the toolbar to your favorite browser or even make it your default search engine so that you can type your search terms right into the address bar.

Why is this a great time to join? Swagbucks is celebrating the launch of a bunch of new features with swag codes and giveaways galore to kick it off!

Even old members like me can earn lots of extra bucks this weekend!

1) More ways to earn Swag Bucks every day: With Swagbucks.com 3.0 users will be able to earn by having their toolbar visible on their browser and also by simply viewing our 'No Obligation' special offers. This means that in addition to all the regular ways to earn, the more you are engaged with Swagbucks.com, the more you will earn!

2) New look home page and Swag Store & rewards store: Swagbucks.com 3.0 will include a revamped, cleaner interface that will provide a better user experience.

3) Launch of the Swagstakes Portal: As you may know we currently run about a dozen on-going sweepstakes (called Swagsttakes) at any given time. With the launch of 3.0 we are going to have a brand new, fully stocked Swagstakes portal in which there will be dozens of Swagstakes running at all times! Some contests will be limited entry (meaning a set number of entries will be offered) so the odds for a user to win are greater. The tentative list of items that will be offered during initial launch should include: $100 Amazon Gift Cards, Sony Bravia 32" TV, Amazon Kindle, Apple iPod Touch, Flip Ultra HD Camera, Panasonic Blu Ray with Remote, Apple iPad, Sopranos Complete Series Box Set, Rachel Ray 10 piece cookware set, Playstation 3 system + games bundle, Canon Powershot Camera, Seinfeld Complete Series DVD box Set, Viziio 22" LCD TV and plenty more!

Ready to join? It's fast and easy, and if you use the exclusive code below you'll start off with 6 Swagbucks.

Exclusive Swag Code for new users:

FRUGALHACKS1 (case sensitive) - expires 3/4 at 6AM PST.

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Giveaway: H&R Block tax software

kimc — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 03:14:55 +0000

Comments are closed on this post and 3 winners have been announced.

I recently posted a coupon for H&R Block and I mentioned that I am a happy user, and guess what: they contacted me offering to sponsor a giveaway!

To enter, just leave a comment telling how you usually do your taxes. For up to 3 more entries, link to this giveaway on your blog, Facebook, or Twitter. For one more bonus entry, become a fan of Frugal Hacks on Facebook. Leave a separate comment here to tell me about each entry.

3 winners will each receive their choice of either H&R Block At Home Deluxe + State software or a coupon good for $50 off the online H&R Block tax preparation service of their choice.

Want more info? Read Lynnae's review of H&R Block here.

disclosure: I received no compensation for this post, and all opinions expressed herein are my own.

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Share your failure and win a copy of The Tightwad Gazette

kimc — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 11:51:18 +0000

Many frugal zealots consider The Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn to be the handbook for frugal living. There is such a wide range of ideas in it that everyone can learn something new. Everyone can also find something that is just too extreme even for them. We all seem to love it or hate it, or both. It's just that good.

I picked up 2 used copies over the weekend. They were $2 each, and I used a $5 off coupon that had no minimum. Yes, I got them both for free. Amy would be proud of me.

My money-saving techniques don't always work out quite so well, though, and I suspect yours don't either. Oh, the stories I could tell...wasted food purchased on sale...the cheap iron that burned up hubby's best dress clothes...skipping the survey and building our house on the wrong property...

Want to win your own copy of The Tightwad Gazette? Share your worst-ever attempt at pinching pennies: your biggest, most embarrassing, funniest or worst failure to show how badly you need the book. Either tell us your story in the comments or link to the story on your own blog (be sure to link to the specific post). Enter as many times as you like - just keep sharing new stories of failure to encourage the rest of us that we're not alone and frugality is worth the hard lessons along the way. You can also enter by telling somebody else's story, but if you win maybe you should consider giving the book to them.

We'll take entries for a week, then we'll choose a winner in a totally unfair and biased method of our choosing. Choosing a random entry is just so predictable.

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