Eating Out Without Breaking the Bank

So, this is pretty late, what with the holidays already being over and everything. But I got pretty much everyone on my list the gift of eating out. Yup. At restaurants and everything. How the heck did I afford gift certificates to restaurants?? Don't they like.... cost money, you ask?

Well, yes. But, not much. See, all of my gift certificates cost only $2 each... and they were all worth $25. I know, I know, hard to believe. It's entirely thanks to the wonders of http://www.restaurant.com ! You just choose a gift certificate from the restauraunts available, use the 80% off coupon codes, and voila - $2 gift certificates worth $25. (Of course - I have tested these out just in case. 3 for 3, they were all completely legit!) How did I get the coupon codes? The website sends 'em out - and to make things even better, the site from my last entry has a deal with the site, and gives 5 points per dollar spent on the site.

Now, about those coupon codes. The current coupon code (1/20/11) is ENJOY

Happy restaurant gift certificate-ing!

Paid-To Spotlight: MyPoints

I recieved this $50 gift card to Macy's a couple of weeks ago in the mail from Mypoints. It's already been spent on Christmas presents! This was actually the second $50 gift card I've recieved this year, the first also to Macy's, and also from Mypoints.

Mypoints is one of my favorite paid-to sites because they pay out in gift cards, and have cards available to a huge amount of retailers in amounts starting from $10. It seriously takes hardly any time to get to that first $10 level, but I always hold out for $50 cards! To redeem a gift card, you need a certain amount of "points,"
which you can earn in a variety of ways. I get the majority of my Mypoints points through paid-to-click emails. They send me emails with deals from their sponsor sites, I click to visit the site, I get 5-10 points. Easy! They also have surveys, and the best thing about their survey is that you get 10 points even if you don't qualify to take the survey. Not qualifying takes much less time than qualifying, so typically I'll click around just to get my 10 points!

Another great way I get points is through shopping online. I already shop online, and Mypoints has some of the best sites, in my opinions, as sponsors. For example, you get 2 points per dollar you spend on Ebay. Ebay, people!! Who DOESN'T shop on Ebay? Why not get points back for it??? Mypoints gives you points for shopping everywhere from Barnes & Nobles to Urban Outfitters. They have SUCH a huge selection of sites to earn points from that I typically do most of my holiday shopping just by clicking through their list! Some of the retailers even give you 10 points PER DOLLAR. Imagine how many points you could rack up on a hoilday shopping spree!

They also have games for points, a "daily spin-n-win" that I almost never win, a
search bar, and this one magical little box that occasionally pops up when surfing on the site that has yes/no questions for 5 points each. When I find that box, I quickly gather about 100 points in less than 5 minutes, but I have never seen any way to find it - it just appears randomly!! Sometimes it has tons of offer and sometimes only a few - but after you fill them out, if you click refresh, THE BOX DISSAPEARS. It's so random. I love that little box.

Mypoints has gift cards for every category of retailer imagineable - everything from resteraunts, gas stations, clothing stores, to hotels and travel packages. You can even donate your points to charitable organizations like the Red Cross! And it really doesn't take much time to rack up the 7,000 or so points needed for a $50 card (only 1500 point for a $10 card - it's been 2 weeks since I redeemed for my $50 card, and I'm already at the $10 level again. SO fast!)

So, how do you sign up, you ask? Where's the link? Unfortunately, this is one of those sites that's so great you have to know someone to get in. Luckily for you, you know me!! All you have to do is comment with your email address - or email me personally at corosaun (at) indiana (dot) edu -- and I'll send you an invite. Hurry! They have amazing deals for Christmas!!