Tis the season for making resolutions (and forgetting about them a month later, if my previous record is any indication.) This year, however, I have a goal that I think I can actually accomplish. Of course I have these lofty, far-reaching goals of being a better mother and more spiritual, but those aren't easily measured goals and therefore, hard to see progress. I also want to get back into my pre-pregnancy clothing, but I only had a baby three weeks ago, so I'm cutting myself some slack there. Check back with me in two months and if I'm still unable to wear more than sweats and maternity pants, I'll start a weight loss resolution. Therefore, my measurable resolution for 2011 is to cut back on our miscellaneous spending.
Faithful readers with good memories will recall that this isn't the first time I've blogged about money. I wrote about what I was doing to help save money here and about a particular money-saving site I like here. I might repeat a few things, from those posts, so sorry for any replays.
First off, I have to toot the horn of the website Swagbucks again. I've been using their site since August and have gotten about $100 worth of gift cards to Amazon so far. See the icon on the right of my blog to get more information, as well as this old post. Using this search engine instead of google and doing my online shopping through their links helped with my holiday spending and we're now saving up money for a kinect.
By signing up for programs like Swagbucks and E-rewards, I've been able to purchase items like toys, movies and video games without using the income from our jobs. I also follow money-saving blogs and giveaway blogs. I've won books, ties and gift cards from this blog, run by one of David's old classmates. By following this blog on Facebook, I get all sorts of money saving ideas, such as a program that if you wrote ten product reviews before Dec. 31st you got a $10 gift card to Amazon.
I've also signed us up for rewards programs for places we shop at, like Best Buy and Staples. Recently we got $26 worth of batteries (just in time for all those Christmas toys) for free at Staples. At Best Buy, with our recent TV purchase (merry Christmas, happy birthday and anniversary for the next few years...) we got $20 back from their rewards program and $20 from Swagbucks. As a member, we also got a free $20 reward for Christmas from the company.
None of those suggestions cost me anything more than my time, which I have a lot of right now. Keeping up on money trends is also helpful. We refinanced our car loan recently for a 1% lower interest rate and also slightly increased our monthly payment. This will save us around $700 over the life of our loan.
I hope this post didn't come across as bragging that I'm a money-saving guru. I just think that a lot of people don't realize all the free programs out there that can save them money. I know we're not the only family trying to keep our heads above water. We make enough to cover the essentials, but it's nice to know that I can buy a movie, or save for a video game without using our "real" money. Do you use any other websites or deals for saving money? What are your resolutions for 2011?
3 comments:
Here is a website I subscribe to.
http://www.bargaindivas.com
Wow! You are awesome! I didn't even know about those. Do they take a lot of time? Because I feel like I don't have a lot of time and I don't want to subscribe if I'm not gonna do it. You know?
Kristen, it can be as much or as little time as you want. If you have the google toolbar and use it for searching you can use the swagbucks toolbar and get points instead. So if you just do that and the free daily points, it doesn't take much time at all. It becomes a bit more time consuming if you do the surveys, hunt for codes and follow their blog, but this isn't necessary for getting points. I think it is worth it though.
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