eBates Review

There are many good mom blogs on the web that thoroughly cover current deals, freebies, and online promotions, which for me, means that I get to sit back and let those talented ladies do all the hard work of matching coupons and scouring the web. But occasionally, as a public service, I will mention and link to some especially good deals, or share about an excellent deal I've personally done.

Since I am one of those crazy people who enjoys making detailed lists and packing (and repacking, and re-repacking!) weeks in advance of a big trip, I've been working on finishing up my Christmas shopping this month. I had heard about eBates before, but I never remembered to sign up, and it seemed like a lot of trouble to use. But I saw it mentioned again last month, and since I knew I'd be doing a fair bit of shopping online in August, I took the plunge.

eBates is one of the best-known cash-back sites on the web, and sign up is free. All you have to do is use their search function to find the store you'd like to shop at, and follow their link to earn a percentage of your purchase back (usually about 3%), which is credited to your account. Most of the large online retailers participate, and a surprising number of smaller ones, too. Every three months, if you've earned $5.01, they will either mail you a check or add the money to your PayPal account. If you've earned less than $5.01, the money carries over until the next quarter.

As an added bonus, they offer a choice of several $10 gift card as a thank-you for signing on. The catch is that you have to earn $10 in cash back within 30 days of opening your account, which is hard to do unless you're planning to make a large online purchase since the percentage of cash back is usually small. All the same, I've been very happy using the site so far. It's very simple and straightforward to navigate and only adds a few seconds on to my shopping routine.

If you'd like to sign up through Arlecchina's Doves, you can use the link here and I'll receive a small $5 bonus. If not, head over here to sign up. The small percentages of cash back hardly seem worth it at first, but if you're like me and like to scout for deals online, they'll add up. Even if you only get back $0.50, you've only spent a few seconds of extra time. I hope this review helps you save a little extra next time you're shopping online!

Visit Home, Birthday Freebies!

We're leaving today for a week-long visit with my family back in the Midwest, so things will probably be quiet around here until we go back (hence no Menu Plan Monday!). Hubs enjoyed his birthday a lot. I managed to get a free pedometer and a free pack of playing cards (with our dog's face on them!) by signing up for some freebies a couple of months ago, so that helped to supplement the lean birthday gift allowance.

I've found that keeping an eye out for those good deals throughout the year really helps with gift giving. iMommies is a good resource for finding these deals, but you have to request them well in advance, as freebies usually take about two months to arrive. Hubs actually jumped on the bandwagon over Christmas by surprising me with a little collection of perfume samples. It was a lovely, pampering little gift that didn't cost him anything but a little time.

So, wish us a safe and fun trip!

Cheap Makeup and Easy Freebies

This has been a big week for bargain shopping, and it's only Tuesday! Here is a round up of some great deals I've been reading about:

• Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to "Outback Steakhouse Fathers Day Certificate Request, 2202 N. West Shore Blvd., Tampa, FL 33607" to receive a free $10 gift certificate to Outback Steakhouse. This deal may be too good to be true, especially because it looks as though you can request one certificate a day from now through July 5th. Read more about this deal here, as originally posted at iMommies.
  

• From WantNot.net:

Right now you can purchase $25 worth of beauty products from Amazon and get $20 back. Yes, really. Read the terms, there, but basically any $25+ beauty purchase from a single seller will come with a free subscription to US Weekly. You can send in a rebate form so that instead of the magazine subscription, you get the retail value back—$19.80. (Although I am generally not a fan of rebate deals, I have always requested rebates on Amazon magazine bonuses and they have always come without a problem.)

I used some of our stockpiled Amazon rewards from our Chase Amazon Visa to buy myself some Bare Escentuals powder foundation, which I've been lusting after but can't ordinarily afford. I don't use a lot of makeup, but I do like to have a nice powder and some color on my lips, so I'm excited to try this popular foundation! Mine will be $5.20 after the rebate, which is cheaper than the powder I usually use!

• Also, Walgreens has Organix shampoo and conditioner on sale this week buy-one-get-one-free. Many of their bottles come with full rebate forms clearly visible around the cap. If you haven't yet taken advantage of the rebate deal, this is a great time to pick up two bottles of shampoo or conditioner that would usually retail for $6.99 each. Hooray! Edit: Bethany just gave me the heads up that not everyone is receiving their rebates. Maybe I'll get lucky, since it's too late now! Proceed with caution if you decide to give this a try.