How I Earn FREE Gift Cards

I love free. 

Free books, free clothes, free food. 

Free money. I like that most of all.

Here are some ways we earn free money in the form of gift cards.

• Cashback on our Discover card. We get 5% on everything we purchase. Sometimes we put the money right towards the credit card bill, other times we use if for gift cards.
• Inboxboxdollars.com offers users payment in the form of a check or gift card. You can watch video's, do survey's, or simply confirm the e-mail to get rewarded. 
• Mypoints.com gives points for surveys, clicking on e-mails, or shopping on-line. We get most of our points for on-line shopping. By saving up points, we get 50 dollar gift cards for places like Wal-Mart and Lowes. 

Here are some other popular sites that I don't personally use, but have heard great things about.

• Swagbucks- you can earn points for watching video's, searching the web, and shopping on-line
• ebates- users get cash back for shopping on-line. 

Do you use any of these websites? What do you think of them? Comment below!

Image courtesy  http://mrg.bz/AGhJyb

DIY Face Wash

Are you tired of spending money on beauty products that don't work? Have you ever tried making your own? If not, here is a recipe for homemade face wash that I love. 

Materials:

•  baking soda
•  water

Instructions:

• Mix baking soda and water together. Some websites recommend equal parts of each, others say 1 tsp of water to 2 tsp of baking soda. I just eyeball it. Find out what works for you.
• Wash your face

Things to Remember:

• Just because this works for me does not mean it will work for you. Baking soda makes some people's face break out or irritates their skin.
• Do your research when making any homemade cleaner. Some people do not recommend baking soda for your face because of the pH scale. 
• If you find that it does irritate your skin you may have to play around with how much baking soda you are using. 

Does it work?

• For me, yes. I have been doing it for about a year, only get a few pimples, and never major breakouts. 
• In the beginning my face was a little irritated. I adjusted the amount of baking soda I was using, and began following up with lotion for dry skin. Now I have no trouble.

Does the thought of making your own face wash seem strange or intriguing? Have you tried this recipe or have another one that works? Let me know below!

Image courtesy Muybridge, Eadweard, 1830-1904 [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The 23 Dollar Electric Bill

We are a three person household living in 1200 square feet. In our four years of marriage our highest electric bill was around 70.00. That was during one record breaking cold winter, when we were running electric heaters. Our average bill is about 35.00

But one summer month we only spent 23.00. 

Yes, you read that right.

23.00

Here's how we did it.

1. Unplug Even if something is turned off, it is using electricity. I don't know how much, but those little things add up. I even unplug my wash machine and dryer.
2. Only do full loads of laundry It takes the same amount of energy to do a small load as a large one. 
3. Hang things to dry I really notice the difference in our bill between the cold and warmer months, when I use our clothes line. 
4. Don't overload the dryer If there is no room for the heat to circulate, the clothes will take longer to dry.
5. Use natural light Get decent and throw open the curtains. During the day we rarely turn on the lights. I crack the blinds in the bathroom enough to have light but still keep the privacy. Break the habit of turning on lights as soon as you enter a room. 
6. Energy Saving Bulbs If you are not already using these I'm not sure where you have been.

That's it! Doing these six simple things saves a ton of money. What does your electric bill look like? Is it out of control, or do you have some additional tips to share? Let me know below! 

Image courtesy http://mrg.bz/uowbGs

10 FREE Things You Can Do For Your Husband

1. Send him an e-card. There are several websites where you can get them for free.
2. Make him a card. 
3. Write him a love letter.
4. Write something on a sticky note and place it in his car for him to discover in the morning.
5. Send a text message, e-mail, or publicly acknowledge him on Facebook.
6. Leave a message of love on his voice mail.
7. Bake a favorite desert, wrap it up, and give it to him as a gift.
8. Surprise him at work (make sure you are all dressed up!) with lunch or something else.
9. Write him a silly song, poem, or list of reasons why you love him.
10. If there is a task he really hates doing, do it for him. If you have been putting something off that he wants done, do it!

There are multitudes of other ideas all over the Internet. A great resource is Pinterest- just as long as you don't get stuck pinning and not doing! I am guilty of this.

What are some other ideas that you have? Let me know below!

Image courtesy http://mrg.bz/ZzKCNo

3 Free Videos From Michael Hyatt

Have you ever heard of Michael Hyatt? If not, then it is a privilege for me to be the first to tell you about him. He is not only a successful blogger (as of last count he has 372,898 followers) and speaker, but a best selling author as well. If you have never visited his website, http://michaelhyatt.com, then I highly encourage you to do so. He has numerous posts that will encourage and motivate you to set goals and help you grow in personal development.
Right now he is offering three free videos on how to make 2014 your best year ever. I have watched all of them more than once, taking notes as I go, and then applied his advice to my own personal goals for this year. Sharing examples from his own life, he offers tips on setting smart goals to make this year your best.
I'm not sure how long these videos will be free, so I really hope you take advantage of this great opportunity.

(I am not receiving payment to promote Michael Hyatt or his materials in any way, just in case you were wondering!)

Free Find: Mirror

My husband and I both love a great deal. When stores mark down their items to 50% off we generally don't rush to buy, but wait until things are lowered to 75%. One of the reasons I am in love with Hobby Lobby is sometimes we have purchased totally cute decor for 90%. But the best deals in life?

Free. 

I scored one such deal on Christmas Eve. While doing my regular scan of Craigslist I spied a free mirror that was only a few MINUTES down the road from us. A Christmas miracle! Since I have been wanting a mirror for over our electric fireplace in the bedroom, I jumped on it.

I love how it looks in our bedroom!

Does anyone else ever bargain hunt on Craigslist? Comment below and share your great deals and steals!

Vintage Ruffle Dress Refashion

When I spotted ruffles on the dress rack of our local Goodwill the other week I got excited. I headed over, hoping that the dress would be cute and in my size. I was disappointed when I spotted this instead:

With the vintage style and shoulder pads there was nothing to be excited about. Disappointed, I passed up the dress. A few weeks later I saw it still hanging there, unloved and unlovely. But those ruffles were calling my name, so, with an idea in my head, I tried it on and took it home to my sewing machine. It wasn't long enough for me to keep it as a dress, but I did think it wouldn't take much work to turn it into that adorable ruffly skirt I had been on the hunt for.
First, I made a cut straight across just below the sleeves.

I did not cut off what was meant to be the elastic drop waist. That would become the part to hold up the skirt around my hips (just a tad important). I then turned the garment inside out, folded over the fabric, pinned, and sewed two lines.

Since this part of the skirt won't be seen, I wasn't to worried about making things perfect, as you might be able to tell from the picture.
It really was as easy as one, two three. I don't even think it took an hour to do. I was thrilled with the finished project.

There you have it. A "new" totally cute ruffle skirt for only 5.00 and half an hour of time!