Swagbucks

Clearly I'm obsessed with Starbucks and even if you don't know me, you know it because I'm just that obsessed. I've been waiting patiently to write this particular post...two months to be exact! Two months ago I googled "Free Starbucks Gift Card" and found the following ehow site where #1 is:
"The easiest way to get free Starbucks gift cards is to use SwagBucks. This is a search engine that rewards users with credits. Once a user has 130 credits, a $10 Starbucks gift card can be redeemed. If you use the site enough, you can earn 2-3 gift cards a month."

2-3 gift cards a month, eh? Yeah. But before I get into that, here's my personal SwagStory: Aside from the free Starbucks gift card, I wanted to experiment with this concept so I could pass along the info to you, my fellow bloggers on a budget. So basically, I wanted to go about this as a very average user. There are some Silly for Swag people out there who go nuts over this stuff, with all the little hints and hunts (more on that in a bit). All in all, my effort in this endeavor was somewhere between bare minimum to mild interest.

Like ehow describes, it works as such: Sign up for an account. Download the SwagBucks Toolbar (and it 'installs itself' into the top of your browser). Then, instead of Google, you use the SwagBucks search engine, and every once in awhile ('once in awhile' being the operative phrase here), "SwagBucks" will pop up and drop into your account (as long as you're signed in). Usually it's just a dollar, but they say you can stumble upon $5, $10, etc. There are many other ways to get SwagBucks too: there's SwagHunts where you have to put together clues to get a code that you type into the main SB site. You can shop and earn SwagBucks. You can donate money to causes and earn SwagBucks. Basically anything short of prostitution will get you a SwagBuck (and even then I'm sure there are people out there...)

So you'd think these things would pile up, and you would, indeed, get yourself all kinds of gift cards for absolutely free. Well, as I said, it took me two months...two months to earn a $10 Starbucks gift card (aka: 130 SwagBucks). When I first started searching, I was earning about 3-4 SB a day. They tend to give you one in the morning, afternoon, and evening. With the holidays in there, though, I wasn't at work (um, where I may or may not be on the internet often?) so my SwagBuckery was at a lull. I also don't get all insane about it and look for the special codes or take part in the SwagHunts every time.

I'm a Google maniac and look stuff up like 387356283 times a day (um, not at work?). This is another reason why, initially, I thought this SwagBucks thing was gold, Jerry, GOLD! But I'll tell you...the SwagBuck search engine is pretty slim pickin's. "Who was that guy in the Goodwill commercial?" "Was Jeff's hat on Today's Special tan colored?" "Why is the music in Cadillac commercials so hip and awesome?" These are things you can NOT look up via SwagBucks' search engine. So usually what I'd do every day is look up the same very basic things: Facebook, Yahoo Mail, Blogger, Flickr, You Tube, etc any time I needed to get to those sites (as opposed to a. using my bookmarks or b. just typing the site into my browser).

So now that I've earned my $10 Starbucks gift card, will I continue this whole exSwagaganza? On the one hand, free is free, and typing in a word or two every few hours is really no skin off my back. If I don't really care too much about the whole thing, I'll keep on earning these guys and eventually get a gift card here and there. On the other hand, the whole thing is like an annoying itch that won't go away. That toolbar is always looming up there reminding me to Get My SwagBucks and I know it'll be forever till I get a measly $10 gift card*. Like putting pennies in a jar to try and get that bright purple bike sitting in the local shop window.

To make a long story even longer, my conclusion in all this is that I must be at a point in my life where I feel that getting free things should be easier...and that's not good! I should probably go back to earning my Starbucks coffee the old fashioned way...working...um, where I may or may not be on the internet often.



*a $10 gift card to Starbucks is the absolute opposite of measly and something I would love to have all day every day!

[Ed. note: I finally received my Starbucks $10 gift card in the mail yesterday! (2/17) So it really only took about five weeks...not so bad! Yay Starbucks and yay Swagbucks!]

'Tis the Season...

...but how the heck am I going to pay for it?! Well, cheap and/or homemade gifts don't have to be cliché and lame. If you truly put some thought into them, something that cost you $5 to put together could mean more than that shiny new PS3. Or at least Even Stevens.

Today is December 1st, and more or less the beginning of the Christian celebration of Advent. Advent has been non-religiousized over the years, however, when retail stores found they could market Advent calendars as a basic--and delicious--way to countdown to the big 25. Hanukkah and Kwanza and even the Winter Solstice are non-Christian ways to celebrate the season as well. What's my point? Well whatever your faith or nonfaith, for the next month, I'm going to celebrate a random "Ten Days of Holiday Cheer" (choosing "ten" because it rests gently between the 12 Days of Christmas and 8 Crazy Nights). In these upcoming ten posts, I'll discuss a fun, and hopefully less cliché, cheap and/or homemade holiday gift to unveil to your loved one (and again, all of these work just as well for brothers as they do boyfriends!)

I shall begin with...
Gift Number One: The Coupon Book.

Yes, this would be the lamest of the homemade gifts, but as I just suggested, it doesn't have to be if you put some personalized thought into it. Forget the coupons for backrubs, BJs, and bubble baths. Be creative! How about a free oil change?! Ok, not creative per se, but one gloomy Saturday afternoon at the next 5K mile mark, the love of your life may or may not find herself unemployed and that free oil change, while not necessarily the most romantic gesture in the world, could really help her out of a small jam. Or how about a coupon that states: "YOU make the coffee!" He's been dragging himself out of bed every morning for the past five years to make YOU coffee before work. Imagine the laughter in his eyes when you offer your coffee-making services for once!

Now here's a little secret: At the end of the day, what the Coupon Book REALLY does is influence a sense of empathy for the person you love. It allows you to, for a moment, walk a mile in his or her shoes and imagine the kinds of things that would make life a little easier. It encourages you think about ways in which you could help more--and because positives lead to more positives--vise verse. Because basically it all comes down to the little things in life. Sometimes the most seemingly unromantic gestures can totally make a person's day, week, month, or year! Whether it's doing the grocery shopping that week or offering a ride to work or school, it is kind and helpful, and that is always romantic. Coupon books can be funny little ways to say: Hey, I recognize that you do so much for me, so let me return the favor. Who knows? Maybe in time, you won't even need coupons at all ;)

Date night: great food, super cheap!

Three words: Restaurant dot com
And even better? This deal

Normally, Restaurant.com sells gift certificates for 60% off, so a $25 certificate will only cost you $10. A pretty good deal. But every once in awhile, Restaurant.com will have a mega sale. Countless times, I've purchased $25 gift certificates for $2. I've also purchased $10 gift certificates for 80¢. EIGHTY CENTS! There are some caveats, however, depending on the restaurant. For example, I had a $25 certificate to the fabulous Irish restaurant Brocach here in Milwaukee. At this particular place, you must spend $35 and none of the total can be alcohol. It's slightly more difficult than it sounds for two people to spend $35 solely on food, especially when it's a delicious, but filling feast of high-caloric mounds of Irish meat and potatoes. Apps and dessert? Do you want me to explode? In any case, I did end up throwing a dessert on the bill that I took home and never ate. Kinda defeating the purpose of saving money. Meanwhile, however, I used my $10 certificate at one of the tastiest, underrated diners in Milwaukee, Cafe at the Plaza, where you only have to spend $15 total. So two hot, mouthwatering, hangover-killing breakfasts with coffee and juice cost me a mere $5, plus the 80¢ certificate, plus tip*.

Restaurants.com is always adding new local restaurants to their roster, but the popular joints' certificates go really fast. For example, Izumi's--this awesome Milwaukee sushi place--NEVER seems to have certificates and it's getting pretty frustrating. Nevertheless, the whole set-up is pretty rad all around, and I highly recommend signing up. You'll receive emails that contain the discount code and remind you of the current deal. Today, for example, is the last day to get $25 certificates for $2 and the code is ENTREE.

So stop feeling guilty about going out for a nice romantic dinner date. The certificates make great holiday gifts too...why not surprise the annoyingly gooey PDA couple in your life!

*Remember to tip off the total bill pre-certificate! Servers might be worse off than you are and need that extra cash. Unless you're at one of those fancy places where you suddenly realize the baseball cap wasn't a wise ensemble choice. Then, perhaps, they're doing ok.