Some Things I've Done Lately...That You Should Try!!!

Okay, so I just wanted to pass along the info on some of these really helpful things...I'm kind of wordy. Sorry. But read through this, because it's some helpful information that might help you save a little money for the Holidays!

Yesterday, my husband and I decided to take advantage of the CoinStar machine deal going on right now. So, we grabbed our change bucket and went on up to the coin counting machine around the corner (which I never even knew existed!). It was so simple. We just chose to receive our money in Amazon.com gift cards, and our 9% processing fee was waived! We tried to count out about $80, but went over, so we decided just to make it $90. Haha! So I now have $90 worth of Amazon.com gift cards from cashing in our coins. In addition, I'm going to send in for the extra $10 gift card that CoinStar is offering right now if you choose to receive your cash in gift cards! I won't receive the extra $10 until January, but that's okay! So, go here to see if your have a machine near you, and grab a gift card to use for Christmas! I now have about $200 in Amazon gift cards to use towards Christmas presents this year. The other $110 is from the gift cards that I traded my Swag Bucks in for just recently (another awesome program)!

Speaking of Amazon.com, I just signed up for a free trial memership of Amazon Prime a couple of days ago. Now I usually do not go for this type of thing...where it's a free trial, and then they try to charge your credit card if you forget to cancel. I decided to do this one, though, because once I signed up, there was a place under "my account" where I could check a box that said "Do not renew my memership after the trial period is over." So even if I forget, it will not automatically renew or charge me anything! What's so great about Amazon Prime? You get free TWO DAY shipping on just about everything you buy (must be Amazon Prime eligible, but I've found almost everything to be so far, unless you're buying directly from a user offering a used item). Like I said, I usually don't go for this kind of thing. In this case, it was totally worth it for me, though. Since I'll be buying almost all of my Christmas gifts on Amazon (using my Coin Star and Swag Bucks gift cards) I figured free, quick shipping would be awesome to have in addition to that. Who wants to pay shipping on a free item with gift cards? Not me! In fact, I just bought my sister the greatest birthday gift on Thursday. We're getting together today to celebrate. Since I have Amazon Prime, I was able to get the entire order for free with my gift cards and free shipping...PLUS, it got here yesterday, just in time for today, without having to pay astronomical shipping fees! If you're planning on doing a lot of Amazon shopping over the next month, I think it's definitely worth it to sign up. Just don't forget to check that "don't renew my membership" box under your account once you're signed up!

Last of all, if you haven't signed up for Vocal Point yet, I really recommend that you do! I know I talk about this company constantly, but I do not get reimbursed at all for promoting them. I just really like them, and know that you would highly benefit from being a part of their free program. They send out so many awesome *high value* coupons. Sometimes, I receive coupons to "try a product for free." It really helps save even more on the deals! Just this week, here's what I received from them:

• Del Monte fruit package: 1 jar opener, 1 buy one get one free coupon, and (5) $1/1 coupons!
• Pantene Pro-V package: (1) $2/1 coupon, and (5) $1/1 coupons!

If you haven't signed up yet, go HERE to do so!