New to the Budget Board...overwhelmed!!! Questions!!

[Momtwofour]

We are planning a trip June 2017 and I am very interested in ways to save some $$. I already do erewards and Ibotta. I just signed up for emiles through my Rapids Reward account. I have tried a website called Inbox Dollars and was not happy with all the junk, spam emails I was getting.
I am unfamiliar with websites such as ebates and swagbucks. Are these safe?
Any good tips for how to get started?? It all looks very overwhelming lol

 

[Disneyliscious]

We are planning a trip June 2017 and I am very interested in ways to save some $$. I already do erewards and Ibotta. I just signed up for emiles through my Rapids Reward account. I have tried a website called Inbox Dollars and was not happy with all the junk, spam emails I was getting.
I am unfamiliar with websites such as ebates and swagbucks. Are these safe?
Any good tips for how to get started?? It all looks very overwhelming lol

Rule # 1: Make a "throw away" email account for all the rewards sites like Swagbucks, Inbox Dollars, etc. That way the spam email doesn't go to your regular email account.

Rule # 2: Swagbucks DOES work. I signed up march 1st and earned $55.00 in GC's my first month. Shopping at Walmart.com for things you know you will need and then picking them up at the store is the easiest way I earn points (5 SB's PER DOLLAR spent). ALWAYS make Groupon purchases through your SB portal. You get 7 SB's PER DOLLAR spent at Groupon (they have a great Starbucks offer you should snag before its gone. A $10 GC for $5 and it will net you 35 SB).

Rule # 3: Never put your cell number on any rewards site (surveys, offers, etc) because you will get spam texts, etc. I use a throw away phone number from
https://tempophone.com/

I would NOT recommend InstaCG.com or Dailybreak.com because they are a waste of time and take wayyyy too long to accrue points.

 

[Momtwofour]

Thank you for the advice! So for swagbucks you also use a throw away email account? I am unfamilair with Groupon.
I have always used my email for erewards and have never had an issue. Inbox Dollars was a nightmare! The spam email I was getting was disgusting and some was getting through into my inbox !! Maybe I should revisit that sight using my other email acct.

 

[Momtwofour]

And what types of items do you order from walmart.com?? Like everyday items??

 

[Disneyliscious]

Thank you for the advice! So for swagbucks you also use a throw away email account? I am unfamilair with Groupon.
I have always used my email for erewards and have never had an issue. Inbox Dollars was a nightmare! The spam email I was getting was disgusting and some was getting through into my inbox !! Maybe I should revisit that sight using my other email acct.

Yes. Swagbucks has lots of offers to sign up for. Never, for any rewards site, use your regular email. You will get a ton of emails even with Swagbucks. Just make a spare Gmail account and use that for all your rewards stuff. Then you can use Inbox Dollars again (if you want) using the throw away email account.

Groupon is a really neat way to save. Sometimes they offer good deals and if you to go Groupon from your SB page, you will earn SB for your purchase. Plus, you get a $10 credit for signing up with Groupon ($10 off any $25 purchase) so thats even more savings if you buy a gift card like food or gas that you will use on your trip.

If you went to groupon from your SB page and bought a $25 item you'll use anyway on your trip, then applied the $10 sign up bonus, then also bought the $10 Starbucks card for $5.....you will be getting $35 in merchandise for $20. (You'll actually save more than that because whatever you buy for $25 will already be discounted too!) Then figure in your SB amount of $30 x 7 SB per dollar = 210 SB, so thats another $2.10 saved (theoretically) meaning you get $35 worth of merch for $17.90

 

[Disneyliscious]

And what types of items do you order from walmart.com?? Like everyday items??

I dont do groceries because I like to look in store for whats on sale. But for example, the other day I needed printer ink, dog food, and a pack of diapers for my granddaughter. Since I was already going to buy those and knew exactly what I wanted, I bought them at walmart.com first, went to the store and picked them up. Got 390 SB just for doing it.

Last night I bought my granddaughter a new crib mattress for $55. There is another 275 SB. A week ago I bought a small bbq grill for $20. Thats another 100 SB. Thats a total of 765 SB just for buying things I was going to buy anyway Almost enough for a $10 GC!

 

[ThisIsJason]

Yes. Swagbucks has lots of offers to sign up for. Never, for any rewards site, use your regular email. You will get a ton of emails even with Swagbucks. Just make a spare Gmail account and use that for all your rewards stuff.

You do know that you can turn off setting in your Swagbucks account that stops 95% of those emails from coming right? I get one email a day from Swagbucks now, if that.

 

[Disneyliscious]

You do know that you can turn off setting in your Swagbucks account that stops 95% of those emails from coming right? I get one email a day from Swagbucks now, if that.

Yes, but on offers you sign up for which require an email address, those are a separate website from SB and those are the ones I'm referring to. In your SB notifications you can only turn on/off SB emails. Things like the Diabetic newsletter, which you get SB for signing up for, cannot be turned off in the SB notifications (that I have seen anyway).

 

[Momtwofour]

Is swagbucks better than ebates?

 

[Marionnette]

Is swagbucks better than ebates?

They're not mutually exclusive. eBates is strictly a shopping portal. SB has a shopping portal, but also has other ways to earn. Each has its advantages and drawbacks. I do both programs and do pretty good with each of them.

 

[Momtwofour]

Ok, so I signed up for swagbucks. There was something about adding a swag button?? And using it as your search engine? Advisable?? Sorry for sounding so silly but I am very hesitant about what is ok on the internet.

 

[Marionnette]

Ok, so I signed up for swagbucks. There was something about adding a swag button?? And using it as your search engine? Advisable?? Sorry for sounding so silly but I am very hesitant about what is ok on the internet.

There's a thread just for SB. You should probably look for help there.
http://www.disboards.com/threads/those-using-swagbucks.3222525/

 

[Momtwofour]

I did see that, thank you. However its 316 pages long. When I have more time I will have to sift through it all

 

[Disneyliscious]

Ok, so I signed up for swagbucks. There was something about adding a swag button?? And using it as your search engine? Advisable?? Sorry for sounding so silly but I am very hesitant about what is ok on the internet.

I added the Swagbutton to get the 50 SB but later disabled it as it runs programs in the background of your computer even after you have closed out of everything. It was making my computer run too hard. Also, when I need to search something I just go to the swagbucks site and search from there. You'll randomly get awarded SB that way. Today I got 7 SB for doing a search.

 

[verleniahall]

i do ebates and i like it more than swagbucks - but i do the same as a pp - i order what i would buy anyway and i get credit for it and just pick it up

 

[Momtwofour]

I added the Swagbutton to get the 50 SB but later disabled it as it runs programs in the background of your computer even after you have closed out of everything. It was making my computer run too hard. Also, when I need to search something I just go to the swagbucks site and search from there. You'll randomly get awarded SB that way. Today I got 7 SB for doing a search.

OK, I did see something about that on the thread about SB. I did activate it but now maybe I will take it off. I didnt quite understand the benefit of having it anyway.

 

[LinderInWonderland]

Glad you signed up for Swagbucks! I learned about it on Disboards and since August 2015 have earned $400 worth of Disney gift cards (via Target gift cards that I got from SB). I don't seem to go at it nearly as hard as some folks do, but I am quite satisfied with the results.

Good luck to you!

 

[Momtwofour]

Glad you signed up for Swagbucks! I learned about it on Disboards and since August 2015 have earned $400 worth of Disney gift cards (via Target gift cards that I got from SB). I don't seem to go at it nearly as hard as some folks do, but I am quite satisfied with the results.

Good luck to you!

Do you do it everyday?? How many SB do you try to earn a day?
I have been reading on the other thread and it seems people spend a lot of time doing it! I'm not sure I can commit that much time lol
And do most people buy target gift cards and then buy Disney ones? I did not know you could buy a gift card w a gift card!

 

[LinderInWonderland]

Do you do it everyday?? How many SB do you try to earn a day?
I have been reading on the other thread and it seems people spend a lot of time doing it! I'm not sure I can commit that much time lol
And do most people buy target gift cards and then buy Disney ones? I did not know you could buy a gift card w a gift card!

I do a little bit every day. Sometimes I try to get my daily goal so I can get the streak bonus, but I have only gotten the 300 point month bonus once. I run SBTV at night while I am sleeping. Sometimes it works, sometimes it hangs on an ad. I generally only do surveys on the weekends if I can get them. I shop online a lot and it's just as easy to link through Swagbucks first. I do big point offers if they make sense for me and it's something I want anyway (Audible, Disney Movie Club, etc.). If I am watching TV, I am running videos (which you can get up to 500 points a day, though I never have the patience for that). I also have two friends who I referred, so I get 10% of their points.

As for the gift cards, once a month (at the beginning of the month) you can get a $25 gift card for 2200 SB. Then I use the gift cards and my Target Red Card (which I signed up for via Swagbucks and got points) to buy things I need plus Disney gift cards. I get 5% off my whole purchase with the Red Card and I use the gift cards plus a bit of cash to pay for it all. And I also get SB for my whole Target purchase, even using the gift cards!

 

[5kidsmommy]

Do you do it everyday?? How many SB do you try to earn a day?
I have been reading on the other thread and it seems people spend a lot of time doing it! I'm not sure I can commit that much time lol
And do most people buy target gift cards and then buy Disney ones? I did not know you could buy a gift card w a gift card!

I set a goal to be done by 11am everyday and start by 9 or so. I can usually meet my goal by then. If not I'll usually meet it at night when sitting down to watch tv. I signed up just under a month ago and have cashed out $110 in gift cards so far. Not bad for a month. I figure though it will slow down and I'll be happy with $50 a month.