Queen Mother Blog

I didn't mention in my previous post, another great thing about Coupon Mom's website is that she always has the best deals on Restaurant.com gift certificates. Right now (until 12/31) get a $25 gift certificate using her code CELEBRATE and they are only $2 each!

I always get nervous about using these, but they always work like a charm. Just be sure to check the restrictions, some places have none (those are the best!) and then some want to put rotten restrictions on them, like 'only valid Mon-Thurs' or for parties of more than 4, for example.

Also, the selection might be low right now, but they re-stock the first of the month, and you can usually check her site then for a code for $4-5 each.

Even though my photo editing skills were always seriously limited, I always managed to somehow have Photoshop on my home computer. Recently, when I purchased a new one, it didn't come with Photoshop, and I didn't seem to mind for a while.

Enter my blog, and suddenly I want to do basic photo editing like cropping photos. That is when I found out about Picnik. It is totally free, you don't need to download anything...you don't even need to register!

All you do is upload your picture from your computer, facebook, or whatever site you have it on. From there you can crop, brighten, add text, etc. I used Picnik to add the text to my banner up top. This is a free layout where you have to add the text to the image and that's how I did it! (Aside: I was also tinkering with Picnik to create my own blog button, but I'm gonna hold out until I get a new blog template. I like the free option I have now, but would like to get something a little more "professional." Know any good blog designers?)

So here's a button for you to click if you wanna hop on Picnik yourself.

I'm sure it will work for you. Check out the other posts on Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in my Dryer!

It looks like the double cash back has been extended still...so you can keep using this deal!

It is the last day before Christmas to earn double cash back on all of your online purchases at Ebates! Shop today and get 12% cash back on your purchases at Barnes & Noble and 20% back on Kodak Gallery! I am definitely going to use this today to complete my online shopping. I clicked through Ebates and made a purchase from Sephora last week and already have $6 put in my cash back account.

Click here to join!

photo by iChaz on flickr

I think every online shopper is at least vaguely aware of coupon codes online, but I wanted to put this up as a resource for you when looking for coupon codes.

If you are looking for a really quick coupon code to get you in and out of your shopping cart fast, check www.retailmenot.com. I've gone here to check for Victoria's Secret coupon codes (because VS actually lets you use THREE in one transaction!) & they also have other stores available. For example, there is a $10 off $30 coupon for American Girl listed here. I have also found retailmenot to be good for Papa John's online coupons.

If you want to get the most bang for your buck, shop through a program that will give you extra rewards, such as MyPoints and Ebates. I've already written about my love for MyPoints, and I often complete a lot of my online purchases through Mypoints because I will earn big points for them, such as right now Overstock.com is offering MyPoints members 10 points per dollar in addition to their site-wide free shipping.

Ebates is another program you can use. Shop by clicking through Ebates' links to your favorite merchants and you will earn cash back on your purchases. Right now is double cash back, so some sites are giving 8% cash back! You will get this money in the form of a check in February (Ebates sends out checks several times a year). What is great is that Ebates shows you what other coupon code offers you can use in addition to your cash back. If you want to sign up under my referral and earn a $5 bonus, you can sign up here.

Whatever you do, don't shop online without coupon codes and without getting something in return. Combine these offers with a rewards-generating credit card and you can get yourself some really good bonuses for things that you have to purchase anyway.

Hope this helps! Love, Bay

This post is part of Works for Me Wednesday. Be sure to check out the other WFMW tips at Rocks in my Dryer.

iHere are a few more websites that you may be interested in joining. I am a member of all of these and there aren't any referrals needed here, you just sign up.

Vocalpoint- I love Vocalpoint! You join, they mail you free things. Well, they also have a bunch of other activities and articles going on, but when they do have promotions they just up and mail you something free. I have received a free Venus Breeze razor, coupon packs for Starkist tuna & Del Monte fruit bowls, and just this week I got a little calendar/planner from Crest with coupons, including a coupon for a free Crest Weekly Clean toothpaste. You can sign up here.

Shespeaks- This site is another that aims to be a community for women, with polls, chats, etc. What is cool is that they claim to have special offers, coupons, and products to test out. I was just selected for my first product test & will be receiving some free Ghirardelli chocolate squares. You can sign up here.

House Party- I would love to have one of these! Will they ever pick me? lol...Maybe I'm not putting that I have enough friends to invite...Anyway, House Party is a site for different companies to promote their products by sending kits to people who pledge to host a party & invite all their friends. The host gets supplies to help throw the party & samples to give out/use at the party. There was one where you had to have an Xbox 360, and they sent out a movie from Netflix and a SceneIt game to use on the Xbox. If any of you are chosen to host a party, you better invite me! You can sign up here.

Hope you like them! Love, Bay

I am a member of about a million different kinds of websites, and I find that people do enjoy hearing about sites I use & checking them out for themselves. One website I think you may be interested in joining is Mypoints.

This is not some kind of program I barely use and am just hoping to earn some kind of referral credit. I have been a Mypoints member for 10 years! I couldn’t believe it when I got an “anniversary” email from them a few months ago, but it’s true because Mypoints has been good to me over the years. Some people dog it because it can be slow going, but I have been able to earn quite a few gift cards. I have their credit card, which automatically gives you a point per dollar. But, there are plenty of easy ways to earn points quickly. The first is they send quite a few emails, and when you click through the link you get 5 points instantly. Generally there is some type of offer to be had, like “click the link and get 5 points, join Netflix and get 2,000 points”, etc. There isn’t any obligation to join or buy anything, you can just score an easy five points.

When you do shop online, you can click through Mypoints and get several points per dollar. Sometimes there will be an order code, such as Overstock.com loves to offer Mypoints members points per dollar on a purchase as well as free shipping. Other times, you can click through the Mypoints site and use your own coupon codes, to “stack” the offers to your advantage. Example: Recently I ordered a gift from Victoria’s Secret.com. I clicked through Mypoints’ link, but then used my own coupon codes to get a discount & I was still credited 3 points per dollar on my Mypoints account.

They are constantly adding new participating merchants, like this week they added StubHub; earn 3 points per dollar spent at StubHub.

Once you have earned yourself points, you can redeem them for various rewards, mostly gift cards. One final thing that they’ve started recently was offering their own printable coupons (the same that you find on coupons.com), but they will give you 10 points for every coupon printed and redeemed, plus a 25 point bonus every month you redeem 5 or more coupons. If you’re going to use them anyway, you might as well get a little something extra for it.

You can check them out at www.mypoints.com. If you would like to have me send you a referral email so you can sign up and I get credit, just leave me your email in a comment or send me an email and I’ll send it to you!