ShopaholicSavers

Swagbucks Sponsored Post: Spooky Fun with the October Shop Swago Board!

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on October 9, 2018 No comment

Swagbucks is hosting another round of Shop Swago! What is SWAGO you ask? It’s a bingo-inspired promotion run by Swagbucks, a website that rewards you with points (called SB) for completing everyday online activities. You can redeem those SB for free gift cards. If you’ve never used Swagbucks, participating in SWAGO is a great introduction to the site and an easy way to earn a good amount of points quickly.

Click here to get started!

Here’s what you need to know to get your 150 SB Bonus (and don’t worry, you don’t have to make a purchase to complete a pattern):

Go to the Swag page and make sure you hit “Join” otherwise you won’t get credit for completing the action items. Each square on your Swago Board will contain an action item to complete.
Once you complete the action item in a particular square the square will change color signifying the action item is complete.
You have a limited amount of time to mark off as many squares as possible so use your time wisely.
Be mindful of the patterns and their corresponding bonuses located on the right of your Swago Board. The patterns will vary in difficulty and bonus value – up to 150 SB.
Once you’ve achieved a pattern the corresponding “Submit” button will light up. You can have multiple patterns available for submission, however, you can only submit ONE pattern so choose wisely.
The game ends Friday, October 12th at 12pm PDT/3pm EDT. So make sure to hit “Submit” on the pattern you wish to submit. If you don’t hit “Submit” before the game ends you won’t receive your SB bonus.

Swagbucks Sponsored Post: Get 300 bonus SB when you sign up for Swagbucks in October

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on October 9, 2018 No comment

All throughout October you can earn large bonuses when sign up as my referral on Swagbucks. Swagbucks is a rewards site where you earn points (called SB) for things you’re probably doing online already, like searching the web, watching videos, shopping, discovering deals, and taking surveys. Then you take those points and exchange them for gift cards to places like Amazon, Target, or PayPal cash.

When you sign up through me this month, you can earn a 300 SB bonus! Here’s how:

1. Sign up using this link

2. Earn 300 SB total before November 1st, 2018. You’ll get a 300 SB bonus for it!

3. That’s it. It’s super easy, and Swagbucks is for real. I use it myself, and I’ve earned hundreds of dollars in gift cards and I have used them to buy fun items off of Amazon and also to buy Christmas gifts.

A Few Frugal Things- A $20 Dress Form and New Laptop

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on October 6, 2018 No comment

We walked to a yard sale in our neighborhood and I bought the above pictured dress form for $20. It was covered in a lot of fall crap but underneath was an expensive and adjustable sewing dress form that I am using for my Poshmark/ Ebay sales pictures and will be able to use for my sewing projects as well. This dress form would have cost well over $100 to buy new.

Frugal Things

– This week things really picked up at work at both of my main jobs. And then my laptop died. I don’t like having to rush through a decision about which laptop to buy but I didn’t have any choice and I think it turned out okay. It’s never frugal replacing a laptop but by ordering it on Amazon I saved $500 over purchasing one immediately at Best Buy, I didn’t go with the cheapest option because those laptops only seem to last a year or two, instead I got a slightly better one and hopefully it will last a little longer because I really don’t want to have to go through this process again. So far I love it!

– I was able to rent a laptop from work until my new laptop arrived

– We have been eating at home, mostly thanks to B who has been cooking

– We finally found a new dog groomer for the pup’s nails and glands, this is frugal because if he gets a clogged gland it’s very expensive and, frankly, it’s not worth the money saved to fight him for hours to do his nails at home

– We carpooled with friends to a Burger Battle from local restaurants, our tickets were half off through a deal B found and no gas expense either

– Our local thrift shop gets the Disney lost and found ever few months and I did some great Christmas shopping for very low prices

– B cut his own hair and my hair

– I wanted to order pizza for everyone for a work meeting and I was able to get work to pay for it so I didn’t have to. We ordered pizza from a locally owned place and it turned out great. They were willing to give us a similar deal to a chain place that is usually used whose owner has expressed beliefs that I cannot support even if the money isn’t coming from my pocket. Took home 2 leftover slices for a snack.

– My mother gave me a keyboard and shirt when I visited her so I didn’t have to buy the keyboard and she fed me dinner

– We are keeping our Cat Genie unplugged when we aren’t home so that we only run it when it needs to be run, saving us money

– Decided not to leave the house Sunday, this saves time and money and instead I got ahead at work

– I found B a new pair of running shoes at the thrift shop for $1. Shoes are usually outrageously expensive.

– Mom was having some eBay printing trouble and I was able to sort it out for her online and she was able to print her shipping labels at work.

– We visited my Mom to help with her printer and cell phone issues and it turned out to be a much cheaper trip then we thought. We thought we would have to buy her a new cell phone to get it to work as a WiFi hotspot (the only way she can get internet at her house) but they helped us at the store so we didn’t have to. Then we went to eat and I downloaded the Moe’s Ap and got her meal for free. Then we bought her printer ink and it was cheaper at Walmart than anywhere else. Then the $7.50 printer we got at the thrift store worked so she could return the $40 printer she purchased.

– I really need to get to Trader Joe’s for several of their harmful chemical free products but unfortunately have not made it. I’m making due without but I’m almost out of toothpaste so I will have to go soon. This is frugal because I’m using up every last drop of product I have

Not So Frugal

– Replacing a laptop is never cheap but I’m happy with the one above that I bought

– I bought a $10 in the box printer from the thrift shop for my mom who needs one but unfortunately it doesn’t work. We are going to return it. Unlike Goodwill, they only do returns on electronics which is fine.

Extra Income

– I have continued to earn some small online income

– My 2^nd contract job has been renewed and I am happy for the extra income even though it means a lot more work for me, partnering with a friend who has the same contract to make things easier

– I have sold several things online that were listed over the summer

– I need to list more items for sale but I just haven’t had the time

– I did end up listing and selling the below rob that paid for the new dress form! It sold one day after listing.

9-18-18 Thrift Finds- Disney Lost and Found Items and More

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on September 24, 2018 No comment

My local thrift shop gets Disney lost and found items every few months. I never know exactly when they will be getting the stuff in (they don’t know either) so when I walked in last Thursday and the store was full of Disney stuff I had fun doing some early Christmas shopping for my family. At least one item has been left out of the pictures so that someone won’t glimpse their Christmas gift early! Of the items above, the most expensive were the R2D2 Mickey Mouse ears for $4 each.

My father has an electric litter box and accessories are expensive but I found some for him for a few dollars at the thrift shop. I also purchased some citronella candles for our hurricane supplies and some other random items.

I was able to buy some little things for the nephews, a Star Trek Enterprise ship for my office at the college, a couple of vintage Nestle coffee mugs and some really pretty reusable napkins.

I found the above baby Buddha, hand towels, Pedi Paws, fans, loafer, and bag of sand toys for $2 or less each. The fans are for Hurricane season, the V.S. blanket is either for a Christmas gift or to sell, and the bag of pool toys and snorkel are for the nephews and our next beach trip.

I also got lucky with some clothes and a blow up cruise ship and a light cover. I especially like the chameleon dress for teaching. The Victoria Secret bra is to sell on Poshmark because they sell well.

End of Summer 2018 Thrift Finds- Suitcases and More

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on September 22, 2018 No comment

We didn’t realize until our last trips that our suitcase collection had been reduced beyond usefulness. We often give them to relatives and had to throw some away after breaking from age/use. So when we found this 3 piece matching set for $20 at the thrift shop (usually over $100) we bought them right away. I still need to find a couple of rolling suitcases that will fit in ever shrinking overhead bins on flights.

For less than $1 each we also bought some items for our nephews and a $2 NIB Slip and Slide. We couldn’t pass up the U.S. divers mask and snorkel for $2 because on our last cruise if we had owned a set or 2 we would have used them off of some of the islands we visited.

I really needed a new pair of sandals to replace a few that had broken at the end of the summer. Unfortunately, a couple of these pairs didn’t quite fit but a couple did. For $1, I can’t get upset either way but I have learned my lesson that if I’m buying shoes for myself and not to resell I should try them on. Note- I know some people are squeamish about thrifted shoes but I have been wearing them my entire life and have never had any kind of reaction.

I was pleased with finding some dressed and sweaters for less than $2 each.

This picture is showing the items I bought to sell on Poshmark and eBay including a Victoria’s Secret hoodie, Chicos skirt and hippie vest. All less than $2 each.

Other small items I bought.

Can’t pass up a less than $1 Peppa Pig for the nephews.

These video game art books caught my eye and I took a moment to look them up and sure enough they sell for decent prices on eBay. Now if only I can find the time to list them.

B found this brand new in box keyboard for $2.

I also bought these fun shower curtains for my mother for about $1 each.

9-27-18 A Few Frugal Things- Wedding and Start of Fall Semester

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on September 16, 2018 No comment

Our last weekend of the summer was spent out of state at a wedding and then Fall Semester has started. The wedding was in a beautiful state park and the happy couple looked beautiful. We got to spend time with family and make it home in time for a brand new semester.

A few frugal things

– We purchased our plane tickets ASAP after hearing that we needed to fly to this wedding. We only spent $333 for 2 round trip tickets including bags and seats. Our flight went through a plane change so we actually were refunded about $20 as well.

– Going out of state for a wedding the weekend before Fall Semester starts was not ideal timing but the trip itself was not as expensive as it could have been. B’s mother and partner paid for our shared Air B&B and rental car. We pitched in for groceries but overall did not have to pay for much while we were there.

– We bought enough groceries at ALDI that we could get through the first weeks of school.

– I brought my lunch on the days that I work on campus long enough to need a lunch. I got a cheap McDonalds lunch (which I love) on the day I had back to back meetings and they fed us dinner and drinks which was great.

– I continue to carry around my stainless-steel water bottle everywhere. This not only saves me money but encourages me to drink more because it stays cold.

– I continue to wear thrifted clothing to teach as a college professor. I try to set a good example for my students in more than one way.

– B has been cooking healthy dinners and we have both lost the weight we gained on the cruise.

– We watched my brothers dogs over the weekend when he was out of town. They are adorable. This was frugal for him and a little bit of gas for us.

– We have had some great finds at the thrift store lately. Including new to us luggage that we needed with the amount of travel we do. We got a set of 3 for $20. We had broken or given away most of our luggage and what remained was not entirely the size we needed.

– I continue to make our dirt cheap, no cooking, 4 ingredients in a bowl and mix laundry detergent.

– Spent time over the weekend swimming in the pool, walking around the mall, working and cleaning the garage. None of those things cost us any money. It feels great to be going back to work Monday with everything that needed to be taken care of at home done and ready to take on the work week.

– Declined several invitations this week for activities that would have been quite expensive. If they were things we had really wanted to do we would have done them but sometime the ability to politely say no is a huge savings.

– We continue to buy our groceries from ALDI and Dollar Tree and then only make a small trip to Walmart/Publix.

– B tried to buy the cats more natural aka healthier food but they absolutely refused to eat it. Back to the cheap, gigantic bag of food from ALDI.

Not so Frugal

– We finally found a great pet sitter who will come to the house or take the puppy to hers but it’s not cheap.

– Our flight was delayed and I ended up buying a $12 airport sandwich. It was a good one but really! We brought snacks but not for as long as we were stuck there.

– We did have to purchase more pet flea medicine. It’s never cheap but it’s cheaper than a flea infestation.

– We are having family and friends over for dinner and are going to treat everyone for pizza. We are going with a family owned local place. It’s not cheap but they did send us a $10 off coupon. Like I said it’s not cheap but it’s very worthwhile.

– Paid to renew this website. I could save money by moving it but I just don’t have the time yet. This site does pay for itself so it’s worth it but it is a chunk of change every year to keep it.

– I think my laptop is starting to die. I need to shop for and buy another one but it’s such a huge commitment so to speak that I hope I have a bit more time for it.

Extra Income

– I listed so many items for sale on eBay and Poshmark at the start of summer that I have continued to have steady sales. B had to step in and help get everything packed and shipped after our trip.

– I’ve started a new side job and so far it’s been a mess but they are paying me well enough that it’s worth it to deal with it. I just keep saying that I’ve done worse for less LOL

– We continue to get ready to have a garage sale and get rid of junk. We are waiting until our neighborhood sale in November and we will have a ton of things to sell. Whatever doesn’t sell will get donated to the local thrift shop that fights homelessness.

– I haven’t been able to get any new items listed for sale online since the semester started back but I have slowly been getting more organized which hopefully means I will have more time to list stuff next weekend.

Sustainability Living (Eco Friendly, Harmful Chemical Free, Reduced Waste, etc.)

– I am grateful that we have switched so many household items from disposable to reusable (coffee filter, paper towels, napkins, plastic bags, etc.). You never have to worry about running out!

– I used up some old green cleaners while cleaning and also used water and rags.

– I organized a rescue to come try to catch the kittens running around campus and get them fixed and vetted for free. They haven’t had any luck catching them yet but at least we are trying rather than ignoring the situation.

– We made two fresh batches of our Dirt-Cheap laundry detergent.

– I use recycled packaging to mail out the items I ship online. I save Amazon boxes and envelopes, tissue paper, bubble wrap etc. I keep a nice stash and then try to recycle or pass on the rest. Unfortunately, I still end up with more than I can use.

– My students will be giving demonstration speeches. Many of their topics involve cooking and small craft projects. I don’t allow them to be wasteful so we usually end up with some snack and small gadgets.

– The puppy is only allowed to have unsalted green beans and organic baby carrots for treats. It’s healthy for him and cheaper for us.

8-25-18 A Few Frugal Things- A Last Minute Cruise and End of Summer

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on September 9, 2018 No comment