Holiday Shopping & Swagbucks

I know, it's only September. School just started. Sometimes it is hard to think about the holidays right around the corner.

But I love giving - I get excited about it! And I love being able to give generously without depleting our savings account.

One of my favorite tools to use for reaching this goal is Swagbucks. It's easy to use and has a pretty good return. In 2011, I was able to cash in on $75 worth of Amazon gift cards. This year, I am up to $40 so far. What a great way to make our gift money stretch further!

If you have not heard about Swagbucks, here's the scoop:

Swagbucks.com is a site where you can earn points (Swagbucks - SB) and redeem them for rewards. Bucks are earned in a seemingly endless number of ways: online surveys, daily polls, web searches, playing games, couponing...

It can be time-consuming, but it doesn't have to be. Everybody seems to have their favorite way to earn bucks, but here are my tips:

1) First you need to sign up for an account. Go here to get started!  (Note: This is my referral link, which you do not have to use.) If your friends and family aren't signed up, send them your referral link. You will earn bucks for every buck they earn!

2) Every day take the Daily Poll for 1 SB.

3) Every day follow the path through the No Obligation Special Offers (NOSO) for 2 SB.

4) Print Coupons or add them to grocery savings cards. Every coupon redeemed in store is 10 SB.

5) Use the Search Engine. At random times (not each search) you'll earn various amounts of SB - usually around 7-10, but sometimes more. I got 28 SB the other day.

6) "Watch" Swagbucks TV. The key is, don't watch it. Instead, if you are on the computer for a long period of time (or just sitting and watching real TV), keep the SB videos running in the background. The SB meter usually goes up every 30 seconds, after which you can switch videos. When the meter reaches 10, you get 3 SB. I work on the computer all day so sometimes I can earn up 40-50 SB just by clicking the next video once in a while. Doesn't take any extra time - just a click!


You can redeem your SB for all kinds of rewards - gift cards or actual items. You can even donate them to charity. For my use, I believe the $5 Amazon gift cards are the best value at 450 SB each.

Yes, it's only September. But now is a good time to start earning. By the time December comes around it is quite possible to have $40 or more in gift cards, just for a few clicks a few minutes a day!

Have fun!