Friday, April 22, 2011

Happy Earth Day!

Today is Earth Day! So go turn off some lights, recycle some of those empty beer cans and red cups, and get some free stuff! There are tons of awesome free Earth Day deals to take advantage of today. If you missed my previous post, here they are again, with a bunch of new ones!
If you sign up at RecycleBank, you can earn "points" for stuff like recycling and learning about how to be greener. You can then cash those in for prizes. Right now they have 3 coupons for Free stuff at McDonalds - oatmeal, a salad, a latte - and a BUNCH of other free coupons and stuff. Perfect for Earth Day!

Get a Free Dream Angels Heavenly Perfume from Victoria's Secret!

Treat yourself to a Free milkshake from Rally's and free pretzels on April 26th, and then some Free Garlic Fries. I hope you're hungry.


Bring in 5 plastic shopping bags to your local Disney store on April 22 and receive a FREE Disney reusable tote bag!

FREE Coffee at Starbucks when you bring in a reusable travel mug on April 22! More Details Here

FREE coffee from Caribou Coffee on Earth Day when you bring in a reuseable travel mug! More Details Here

From April 16 through April 24, the country celebrates National Park Week. Get free admission to all national parks this week! More Details Here

Bring in a skincare product to an Origins counter and get a FREE fullsized Origins cleanser! Click Here for Coupon

Lowe's is giving away Free Trees today! Click Here for Details

Free Milkshake from EVOS today! Click Here for Details

Enjoy!

Edited to Add: I've picked up a few of these today! The lady at Origins was so sweet, she gave me both of the cleansers since I brought in 2 products (1 was mine, 1 was my boyfriends! He needs new facewash too.) They also had FREE Godiva Chocolates, so I was in heaven. These are worth $20 each, guys!! I'm psyched. I also got my Victoria's Secret sample. There are 2 different scents so I might go back another time to pick up the other one. I'm getting the Disney bags, and free Starbucks coffee later tonight! Omg, I am such a freebie dork. Here is a pic of what I got today:

Thursday, April 21, 2011

HauteLook aka Free Designer Clothing and Beauty Products!

A while back I wrote an entry on websites that sell designer and brand name clothing at drastically reduced prices during brief private sales, listing a few of my favorites. However, I didn't spend quite enough time raving about my #1 favorite site to purchase inexpensive clothing/beauty products/everything on: HauteLook.com. I am obsessed with this site. Not just because they have awesome brands that I love with surprising frequency (some common ones are Juicy Couture, American Apparel, LORAC and Urban Decay) but because I get lots and lots of FREE stuff from HauteLook. Yes, FREE. See all those pictures on this post? They are all pictures of items I got 100% for FREE. So, how did I get so much free stuff - and more importantly, how can YOU get that much free stuff?

The answer is referrals. Because HauteLook is an invite-only site, everyone who signs up needs an invitation. For every invitation that YOU give out that is accepted, the new HauteLook member becomes your referral. When they make their first purchase on HauteLook, you get $10 in credits. You can then use that $10 just like real cash towards any items on the site (including shipping for your purchase!) making that $10 worth of FREE STUFF that you just got. Now, say you refer a bunch of your friends - say, 10 of them. 5 of them purchase something on HauteLook. Guess what? You just made $50. Go buy yourself a new outfit.

It didn't take me long to build up referrals, since I'm a fashion design major and LOTS of my friends are into beauty/makeup. According to HauteLook, I've received $460.00 in free credits and have $1,930.00 of credits waiting to happen once my referrals make that first purchase. (Seem like a lot? It is - I've been a member on the site for a couple of years, and tell EVERYONE about this site!) Some tips to get referrals: post your invite link on your Facebook.... frequently. Post every time there's a good sale. Post every time YOU purchase something, so people see how awesome it is and then sign up and purchase it themselves. Post it to your twitter. Post it on any and all other forms of social networking that you have, and then do it a couple more times for good measure.

As for the site and its products, it's super legit. Everything I've received from the site has been just as high quality as I expected. Their customer service is great: once they even comped me on the purchase of a tinted moisturizer I purchased because it was too light; another time, they refunded me the full price of a purchase plus a $20 credit because of a shipping error! I literally have purchased so much from them that I have their customer service number saved in my phone (sometimes shipping takes longer than expected, so I just call up and check on it). It's definetly a great site to get bargain prices on name brand, designer and high quality products and I absolutely recommend it. Plus - allow me to repeat - LOOK AT ALL THAT FREE STUFF. Also - the pictures don't depict EVERYTHING I've gotten free from HauteLook. I have other stuff that I didn't even take pictures of yet. To see some more pictures, visit The Broke Student Guide;s Facebook page.

So what are you waiting for? Sign up and start earning some referrals! Click Here to Sign Up!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Celebrate 4/20 and Earth Day with some FREE STUFF.

4/20 Deals
4/20 Only: Buy One Get One Free at QDOBA! More Details Here

Buy one get one free coupon for a Bacon Maple Sundae at Denny's. Hey, it's 420 .... why not? Click Here

Earth Day Freebies

Bring in 5 plastic shopping bags to your local Disney store on April 22 and receive a FREE Disney reusable tote bag!

FREE Coffee at Starbucks when you bring in a reusable travel mug on April 22! More Details Here

FREE coffee from Caribou Coffee on Earth Day when you bring in a reuseable travel mug! More Details Here

From April 16 through April 24, the country celebrates National Park Week. Get free admission to all national parks this week! More Details Here

Bring in a skincare product to an Origins counter and get a FREE fullsized Origins cleanser! Click Here for Coupon


Lowe's is giving away Free Trees today! Click Here for Details

Free Milkshake from EVOS today! Click Here for Details




Free Samples
Free Sample of Garnier Fructis Pure Clean Haircare. Click Here
Free Sample of Miralax. Click Here
Free Sample of Gold Bond Moisturizing Body Wash. Click Here (SOLD OUT)
Free Sample of Oxygen Botanicals. Click Here

Friday, April 15, 2011

"Extreme Couponing," and a simpler alternative

Lately there has been a lot of buzz about "Extreme Couponing" - mostly thanks to the TLC program of the same name. Essentially, this refers to individuals who collect coupons like it is their job, using them to get massive quantities of food for free or for almost nothing at all - like, say, $800 worth of food for $30. It has faced an awful lot of criticism (because after all, who really NEEDS $800 of food? Doesn't keeping it all seem a little bit selfish?) Personally, I do not practice "extreme couponing" or even mildly extreme couponing, and I am of the opinion that a decent amount of "Extreme Couponers" actually donate or gift a lot of their free food to charity, shelters and the like (or at least I hope so). However, much can be said for casual couponing, which I do practice!

What is casual couponing (aside from a phrase that I just made up)? I'll explain it via comparison. Extreme Couponers collect coupons obsessively, running around town picking up Sunday papers and, in one extremely extreme case, fishing them out of dumpsters; casual couponers, on the other hand, only collect coupons that they happen to stumble across during a normal day. In the case of college students, many casual couponers find coupons in the daily school paper, plastered over bulletin boards or stacked upon "FREE TAKE ONE" tables in dorms. Extreme couponers stock up coupons for one item until they can get that item for free, without regard to what the item is exactly; casual couponers only use coupons for things that they were already intending to purchase, and ignore coupons for things that are not already on their grocery list. Extreme couponers save hundreds of dollars on massive purchases of grocery items; casual couponers save maybe $10 or so per grocery trip on a perfectly normal, average amount of groceries.

Both forms of couponng have their merits, and both can save you money. To read up on couponing in all forms, I recommend this awesome site: Grocery Coupon Guide/. But since I am a casual couponer, and I find that extreme couponing takes endless amounts of extra time, organization and effort (something which we college students are short on, let's face it) I highly recommend taking the casual route. So how do you coupon casually? It's easy! Here are some steps to get you started:

1. If you see a coupon for an item you need, clip it out and put it into a folder or container of some sort. Do this every time you see a relevant coupon.
2. When you need to go grocery shopping, take your little collection of coupons with you to the grocery store.
3. Make sure what you are purchasing matches up with the coupons (the right brands, the right amounts etc) if you want to use those coupons.
4. At the cash register, present your coupons to the cashier.
5. Watch your savings rack up! Score!

It hardly takes any extra effort, and because you're only collecting coupons for items you already purchase, you don't even have to think much about it. (Extreme couponing, on the other hand, involves math. Ew.) If you want to take it a step up, try collecting coupons online - there are tons! You can certaintly find coupons for items that you regularly purchase. Where can you find those coupons?

○ Try looking at your local grocery stores' website. Some, like Kroger, have coupons that you can load onto your shoppper's club card to be automatically used during your next purchase!

○ Some couponing websites have coupon databases, such as Coupons.com or SavingsLifestyle.com

○ Paid-To sites, such as MyPoints, SwagBucks, SendEarnings, and InboxDollars often have grocery coupons that you can print out - and as a bonus, you'll earn points/money on the site while you're saving money! (10 points per coupon at MyPoints and SwagBucks; $.10 at SendEarnings and InboxDollars). Please comment on the post with your email for an invite to MyPoints!

○ You can always write to your favorite food manufacturers to receive grocery coupons - that way you'll definitely have coupons for products you enjoy!

Have you had any success with couponing? Leave me a comment!

Friday, April 1, 2011

American Apparel FREE STUFF Sale, and Freebies of the Week

Today only, American Apparel is having an awesome sale with a bunch of FREE things. You'll need to pay shipping, but you can get up to 5 items COMPLETELY FREE. I tossed in some other stuff and didn't even have to pay shipping, and recieved $50 worth of stuff FREE. Use the promo code APRIL1ST and these links:
Secret April 1st Sale at American Apparel! Spend $10, get 5 items FREE.
US/Int'l: http://lyris1.americanapparel.net/t/52376/1578462/7621/0/
Canada: http://store.americanapparel.ca/april2011.html
UK: http://store.americanapparel.co.uk/april2011.html
EU: http://store.americanapparel.eu/april2011.html

More April 1st Freebies
-Free Google Chrome Finger Sweatbands. (Seriously, look at the picture - how awesome are these?) https://services.google.com/fb/forms/chromercise/
-Free bag of Kettle Tias or tortilla chips: Earthfare
-Free piece of chocolate for entering sweepstakes http://www.facebook.com/KudzuFans?sk=app_142306875835435
- FREE Mountain Dew today from Murphy USA! Print coupon
- Like the Eucerin Facebook page & get a free sample when you pledge to put your skin first. www.facebook.com/EucerinUS
- Like Degree Women on Facebook, click the Giveaway tab to get a free sample. Plus a chance to win a $1,000 Zappos gift card www.facebook.com/DegreeWomen
- Free Breathe Right Nasal Strips https://www.breatheright.com/freesample.promo?sessioncheck=true

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

5 Ways to Make Extra Money at College

So, The Broke Student Guide typically covers ways to save and get things for less money. But what about when you need to make some money - fast? Here are a few tips to help you out! Try one, two or all of these next time you need to make a quick couple of bucks.

1. Donate plasma. Donating plasma is just like donating blood, except you get paid for it! Most cities have a plasma donation center. Donating plasma is fairly easy - as long as you don't mind needles - and you can do it up to twice a week after you pass a screening and fitness exam which takes about 2 hours (additional visits take much less time). You can make roughly $200 or so extra a month donating plasma. Plus, as a bonus, you'll be helping out patients who need plasma for medical reasons! For more information and to find a donation center near you visit this site: http://www.bloodbanker.com/plasma/ or try googling "Plasma Donation [Your City]"

2. Paid studies and experiments at your university. whether Most universities that do academic research host paid studies that you can participate in for cash. For example, the psychology department at Indiana University offers up to $10/hr for certain studies, and they are always looking for demographics like people who smoke pot, drink often, don't drink at all, have good hearing, etc. You'll be helping with ground-breaking academic research AND earning cash. To find these studies, try looking around your school's Psych department building or Googling "Paid Studies at [My University]." The link to Indiana University's paid studies can be found here: http://cognitrn.psych.indiana.edu/busey/PaidSubjects/

3. If you have a marketable skill, earn money by offering your services. Marketable skills can be anything from tutoring in a subject you're great at, to cleaning houses, walking dogs, babysitting, making websites, creating artwork, or mending/hemming clothing. If you can't think of any skills, how about helping people move for $8/hr? I guarantee you'll find some takers at the end of the semester. Or how about putting up flyers around campus for clubs and organizations? You can advertise your skills online at put up an ad on your local Craigstlist or school classifieds - and while you're looking around in the classifieds, try to respond to any ads for "odd jobs" that you could do. You can also put an ad up at http://www.fiverr.com/, a website for exactly the purpose of getting people to pay you $5 for whatever random skills you may possess.

4. Sell any extra stuff you might have lying around. Some things you might sell include clothing, textbooks, CDs, video games, DVDs, action figures, key chains, jewelry, unused makeup, purses, or shoes. There are loads of ways to sell your extra stuff. You can have an old fashioned yard sale, or sell your items to stores that buy used items such as Plato's Closet or your local comic book or video store. If you have access to a camera and can take pictures of your stuff, you can sell it online at Ebay, or Craigslist . If you're absolutely desperate and have low standards, people will also buy your used underwear. (I've never tried this, but apparently you can get $30 for a pair of your panties on Craigslist. Hey, if the demand is there, why question it?)

5. Paid-To Sites Online. I talk about these a LOT, and even though they are not the fastest way to earn extra cash - typically it takes about a month or so to get the first check from each site - there are so many options available to anyone with an internet connection! Here is a list of the ones I use (they are all legit).
- Treasure Trooper. Get paid to do offers, take surveys, and click links, as well as get cash back for shopping online.
- SendEarnings. Get paid to click on links in emails, take surveys, complete offers, use grocery coupons, get cash back for shopping online, and more.
- InboxDollars. Get paid to click on paid emails, watch videos, complete offers, take surveys, complete tasks, and more.
- SwagBucks. Earn cash and gift cards by taking polls, watching videos, searching the internet, playing games, using grocery coupons, taking surveys, and completing offers.
- MyPoints (comment to request an invite to this one). Earn points by clicking on paid email links, playing games, taking surveys, and shipping online.
- CashCrate. Get paid to complete offers, take surveys and shop online.
- Mturk. This is a website owned by Amazon where you get paid to complete simple low-skill tasks such as identifying whether or not photos are blurry, or verifying an address of a company on its website.
-YouData is a site where advertisers target paid ads to you. Fill out a profile answering questions about yourself (try to be as open to everything as possible - the more things you're into, the more ads you'll get!) and then you'll be given some videos or text ads tailored to you. You'll get cash just for looking at the ads. They pay out via paypal with no minumum!

And there you have it. 5 easy ways to earn extra money in between sleeping and studying. For a few more suggestions, check out this link: http://www.walletpop.com/2011/03/03/college-students-guide-to-making-money-online/
Did I miss something? Comment with your experiences earning extra money at college, and any suggestions I can add!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

This Week's Freebies, and an Update

Ok. First, a quick update on my life: I am taking a semester off of college to get some valuable experience for my resume. I'm currently in Orlando, Florida. What does this mean? Mostly that I'm still poor, but not on a college campus at the moment. Which means that I don't have a lot of time - though, it's not like I have lots of free time while at college anyway - and also that I have to work a little harder to find updates since, like I said, I'm not on a college campus at the moment. The updates you'll hear about from me for the next several months will be less focused on on-campus and Indiana University freebies, and more on online freebies and things that are less campus-specific.

Now! On to the freebies of the week.

3/1: Get FREE PANCAKES today (March 1)! IHOP is celebrating National Pancake Day. They are offering a free short stack of pancakes to customers between 7 a.m. – 10 p.m. They simply are asking in return for the pancakes a donation to The Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

3/2: Gap is offering a Free Top whenever you purchase a Pair of Pants! This offer applies to regularly priced merchandise only and is valid at Gap stores. This promotion will be going on until March 2. This offer is not valid on jackets, blazers, vests, or coats.

3/4: Chick-Fil–A FREE Fry Day! Valid between 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. Receive a FREE order of medium fries when you mention that you are there to try the new Heinz Dip & Squeeze. Valid 3/4/2011 Only!

3/1-3/5: Through Saturday March 5, 2011, Taco Bell is offering customers a Crunch Wrap Supreme for $.88. It's not free, but it's usually $2.79, so it's a pretty awesome deal! Here is the ad.

Buy one get one FREE at Chipotle! Just use this coupon: http://chipotle.inomod.com/

FREE Music download! Free download of the Biggest Loser Workout Mix. http://www.podworkoutmusic.com/SUBWAY/

CoastalContacts is giving away FREE glasses. Check their FB page for the code and more information. www.facebook.com/CoastalContacts.com

Throughout 2011, members of the military and as many as three direct dependents may enter SeaWorld, Busch Gardens or Sesame Place parks with a single-day complimentary admission. Valid for one complimentary single-day admission per person, per year, during the regular operating schedules at one of the following: SeaWorld Orlando, San Diego, or San Antonio, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay or Williamsburg, Sesame Place, Water Country USA, Adventure Island. Not valid at Discovery Cove and Aquatica. Christmas Town at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Va. is not included as part of this program. Link for more information: http://www.herosalute.com/states/overview.html

Free Samples by Mail
Free sample of Worx Energy Drink
Free Samples of Miracle Whip! Though these kind of look like something you could grab at a food court.
Free Face Wash Sample
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...