Win a Yoplait Simply Go-Gurt Prize Pack

Our kids love yogurt. But, they're also picky about flavors, which is why Yoplait Simply Go-Gurt is awesome. And of course they're also handy for on the go since you don't need a spoon, and believe me we're always on the go so it's perfect.

So, when I was offered the chance to try out Yoplait Simply Go-Gurt's Goodie Pack courtesy of Yoplait and Myblogspark, I had to say yes!

And when I received my goodie pack I was thrilled to find:

• A coupon for a free 8 count package of Yoplait Simply Go-Gurt
• a travel size Etch a Sketch, which the kids loved using on our last camping trip
• A weekly organizer that contains 3 different stick note designs, a memo pad, weekly note pad and accordion envelope
• a seat back organizer, which I could easily turn into a writing station for road trips.
  

Whew that's a lot of goodies!

The coupon we could actually use at Wal-mart this time, without any problems, and of course the kids enjoyed ever bit if the yogurt. The cool thing was, we discovered we could freeze the yogurt for a real treat on hot days like today.

But, even cooler is the fact that one of my readers is going to get a chance to win the very same Yoplait Go-Gurt goodie pack that I received.

All you need to do to win is:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me how you found my blog
   
2. Tell me why you want to win.
   
3. Don't forget to leave me your email address.

This contest ends Friday, May 7th, 2010 at 3pm Central Standard Time and is open to USA residents only. Good Luck! Also, the coupon offer for free Simply… Go-Gurt is not valid in some states, including California, Idaho, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, Nevada, North Dakota and Tennessee.

And if you just can't wait for the contest, my first 30 readers can just click on the "Try it Free" tab below for a coupon for a free 8 count pack of Yoplait Simply Go-Gurt. Thanks Yoplait and MyBlogSpark for making this so far the best year ever for our kids!

Want to Pay For That Cup of Tea Today?

Okay, so even if you're not a fan of tea, maybe you'd like to pay for that cup of coffee or gallon of milk? If so, then read on.

Now first let me tell you, this is not a way to get rich. As a matter of fact, you'll only make a little extra change a week. A blogging buddy made a little over $4 in less than a week and I just made $.090 in less than 5 minutes. So, it's great for those small purchases, but if you're thinking big bucks, move on.

But for those of us who wouldn't mind paying for a gallon of milk or that loaf of bread, you can do it without even having to have a blog or website. Believe me it really all adds up. Ready to learn how? Just follow my steps below. Okay? let's go!

1. Visit Youdata and Sign Up with them.
   
2. Next, make sure you have a paypal account. You'll need it in order to get paid.
3. Then, Fill out the surveys on your MeFile. This is where I made the mistake of not doing so. I've been with Youdata for a little over a year now, made around $0.30 a week and just learned I could have been making a lot more just by filling out the info. Oops!
4. Now just sign in to the YouData application either through the site itself or by installing it on your computer and click on the ads. It takes under a minute and well worth getting paid for. My advice is to sign in every time you get online or on your computer. It also helps to click the reload button every so often since there's always a chance of getting paid for more ads.
   
5. YouData pays you weekly through paypal no matter how much you've earned. I've always gotten paid and never had a problem with them.

That's it. Pretty simple huh? If you have questions, just leave me a comment or drop me an email and I'll be happy to help. I will also try to share more programs in the future to get paid with that I am a part of and have tested to make sure it's the real deal.

I will never share those who ask for your precious time and simply enter you in for a drawing to win items, nothing more. In my opinion they're a waste of time since you're taking a chance. What I will share is the real stuff that pays you no matter what. So stayed tuned!


WomenFreebies.com - Enter to Win Royal Secret II Perfume

Free Coupons No Longer Valid With Stores?

Not too long ago I was sent four coupons from General Mills for free cereal thanks to myblogspark. It was a wonderful opportunity for me to pick up extra cereal (cheerios) for 5 hungry kids and I can find a few of their boxes of cereal to be healthy.

Here's a little information from General Mills:

General Mills has announced a commitment to further reduce sugar in cereals advertised to kids under 12 to single digit grams of sugar per serving. The company has already been reducing sugar in cereals while increasing key nutrients, such as calcium and vitamin D, and providing whole grain.


Did you know that ready-to-eat cereal eaters consume less fat, less cholesterol and more fiber than non-cereal eaters? Cereals also deliver important vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients, making cereal a top source of key nutrients in children´s diets.

Other cereal benefits:

* Ready-to-eat cereals, including presweetened cereals, account for only 5% of sugar in children´s diets.

* Ready-to-eat cereal is the No. 1 source of whole grains in a child´s diet today.

* More frequent cereal eaters tend to have healthier body weights and lower Body Mass Index measures.

Studies also demonstrate the benefits of eating breakfast. A 1998 study showed that children who eat breakfast tend to perform better at school. Compared to children who skip breakfast, children who eat breakfast score higher on tests, are less likely to miss class or be tardy, have fewer reported discipline problems, and make fewer trips to the office.

***********

However, when I cashed in one of those coupons at my local supermarket I was told they don't take printed coupons from the internet. Ummm a printed internet coupon? I don't think so! It took me about 5 minutes of explaining to the manager and showing him the watermark seal that they were not an internet printed coupon, but in the end he finally gave in.

So after the issue there, I decided to try our local wal-mart supercenter and see if they would except the coupons. Their response was, "We're sorry, but we no longer except any coupons that offer free products because we don't make money from them." Huh? Okay, I'd already had a problem with this before on specific freebie items, but now they were saying they won't take any and I'm seriously wondering how they don't make money off of the coupons. Maybe they've had too many fake ones is my best guess.

Well, despite both supermarkets turning down my best deal yet thanks again to General Mills and myblogspark, I'm off to try using the remainder of the two coupons in the next town when I visit family. I'll let you know how it goes.

So now I am wondering, do any of you have problems cashing in on freebie coupons? If so, what businesses have declined them? Or have you found places that accept them? I would love to list places that do and don't take these type of coupons. Maybe it will save a lot of parents a little more time and a lot less frustration!



WomenFreebies.com - Enter to Win Royal Secret II Perfume



Please Note: While I did receive 4 coupons for free boxes of General Mills cereal from myblogspark, I was not paid to write this post.

New Stuff

For those who don't know about it already, I've added a few new freebies on my Anti-Depressionist Blog. If free stuff just isn't a big deal to you, don't worry.... I'll be back with some new stories in the next few days.

We're Not Made of Money, We Budget!

When people think we have money to spare they're wrong. With the economy we've had to cut a lot of costs too. This week we didn't get groceries, but we didn't need them. We had groceries left from last week and my husband's cousin offered to buy us groceries in exchange for storing some food in the freezer and a shower.

Today he came buy and dropped off two very large watermelons (from a farmer he worked for) in exchange for doing some laundry for him. While the watermelons aren't exactly a food necessity, they are a treat the kids will enjoy, so it makes them worthwhile.

Other things we're able to enjoy are freebies like Lipton tea, yogurt, cereal and Starbucks coffee and ice cream. This happens because of contests I enter, reviews I write or simple surveys that I fill out online.

I also don't always make meat the main meal for dinner. While we do include it, more veggies and fruits are included as well as grains. And we try new things like cow's tongue, emu meat, lemon cucumbers and white eggplants. And aside from the cow's tongue, we shopped for the rest at our local farmer's market which runs on Thursdays and Saturdays. We can save a bundle that way and I mean a bundle. I managed to spend a whopping 50 cents for two very healthy veggie lunches.

On weekends we spend our days doing free activities like hiking, fishing and even singing. It's amazing how much fun kids can have without having to turn on the television!!! However, we do allow for at least one movie on the weekends that the entire family can enjoy. We borrow a movie for free at our local library or we rent one for $1.08 from our local Redbox.

It's not hard to enjoy life even when you don't have a lot of money. It's just all in the budget.

Get Your Own Yoplait Summer Cool Down Goodie Pack!

Yoplait and I want to give you a "Summer Cool Down" gift bag courtesy of My Blog Spark. Hey, the kids may be going back to school, but summer is not over yet and what better way to cool down the kids than an after school treat from yoplait!

The very same goodie pack that was just sent to me (see photo at right), contains Color Changing Spoons, Popsicle Molds, a Cooler Bag and two coupons for free yoplait yogurt.

I absolutely love their yogurt and with all of the kids that run around my house, it's definitely not going to last! Plus those color changing spoons look like so much fun and so do the popsicle molds. I already have some great healthy snack ideas for the molds! And then the hubby is already talking about stealing my cooler for his fishing trips! What??? I Don't Think So!!! I'm not willing to give that up!

I am however, willing to give away a prize pack of the same goodies I just received thanks to Yoplait. So, if you want to win it leave me a comment on this blog post and tell me why you'd love to win.

If you want an extra chance to win, just blog about it on your own blog and include a link back to my blog somewhere in your post. Then leave a comment here and let me know that you did it, along with a link to your blog post. This contest will end Thursday August, 20th. I'll contact the winner by Friday.

Two great chances to win, now who can resist that!

Guess What I won!!!

Not too long ago I found out that I was one of the winners of the Yoplait Yogurt's Prize Pack over at Gena's Yummy, Yummy, Yummy Blog. I love yogurt and I'm especially in love with Yoplait's whips, so when I found out I was a winner I was ecstatic.

Of course it didn't hurt that I not only won free yogurt, I also won a stationary set from Yoplait, complete with a pen and stick pads! The set is really cute and since I'm a writer I'm loving it! Of course I'm a little worried about the drooling that's bound to happen once I'm out and about using this cute set!

Here's a snapshot of what I've won! I want to thank Gena for sharing this contest with her readers and Yoplait for offering these free goodies.

A Scour Update

I decided to try out a new search engine called Scour.com. The cool thing about it is I get points that I can cash them in for Pre-paid Visa Cards. I can collect the points by using the search engine...I'm always doing research anyway so I figured I might as well get paid for it, right? And I can also earn points by commenting and voting on websites.

So far the points are easy to accumulate and I've earned 572 points with very little effort. If I did a lot more searching I'm sure I would earn quite a bit more! And it only takes 6500 points to get a $25 visa card. It's just as easy as Mypoints only better. For every friend that I get to sign up I earn even more points. So far I have 4 friends. Not bad! Not bad at all since I've only been a member for 47 days!

Okay one thing I'll admit I was afraid of at first, in the past I've joined other search engines for points and found that the search results were worthless. With Scour however, the results come from google, yahoo and msn, which is great since I've been known to use them all.

So if you're interested, check out the link for yourself : http://scour.com/invite/theinsanewriter and let me know what you think. And as I earn more points I'll add more info and give you more updates!!!!

The Anti-Depressionist

I don't know if I've mentioned it or not, but I have another blog that I post to when I find the time. It's called, The Anti-Depressionist. The blog houses freebies that I find both on and offline. Also at times I may right about ways to save money in this economy in every day life. So if you're interested in free goodies and cheap savings, feel free to check it out and let me know what you think of the blog. As time moves on and I have my life organized, I'll add other blogs of interest.

How Scour's Doing For Me

I've been using Scour.com for a little over a week now. So far I've found the search engine to be........... not bad at all. I have 241 points and found that the search engine really came in handy one night when I was working on my novel. Could I have made more points in the week since I started using scour? Yes. But my excuse is I haven't been online as much to do so.

The points really might not seem like a lot, but freebies add up and for something I already do every day, I'm glad I took advantage of this program. I can't wait to get my first $50 pre-paid visa card from these guys just for searching. I'll keep you informed on how things go with this one!

Scouring For Pre-Paid Visa Cards

I decided to try out a new search engine called Scour.com. The cool thing about it is I get points that I can cash them in for Pre-paid Visa Cards. I can collect the points by using the search engine...I'm always doing research anyway so I figured I might as well get paid for it, right? And I can also earn points by commenting and voting on websites.

So far the points are easy to accumulate and from what I understand, it only takes 6500 points to get a $25 visa card. It's just as easy as Mypoints!

Okay one thing I'll admit I was afraid of, in the past I've joined other search engines for points and found that the search results were worthless. With Scour however, the results come from google, yahoo and msn, which is great since I've been known to use them all.

So if you're interested, check out the link for yourself : http://scour.com/invite/theinsanewriter and let me know what you think.

Guitar Picks, Crockpots, Ohh Myyy

My husband is just starting to learn how to play guitar. So when I found an offer for free picks and a pick case, I was estactic. I love freebies as long as they're not abused. I for one just fill out for the things I'm most interested in and I don't do it multiple times either.

Anyway I thought I would share the link for the free guitar goodies just in case anyone else may be interested, so HERE YOU GO.

P.S. I made fajitas in the crockpot last night from a recipe suggestion online. They had way too much liquid and I won't be making them again. I really love the crockpot though and it's great for when we're busy and I don't have time to really cook. Lately that's been about once a week because of sports with the kids.

The crockpot I purchased at an estate sale for a whopping $2! I was really excited about that find.

I know that there will be some bitchers about how low it is to buy things from yard sales and such because they think that it means your poor and can't afford to live by buying the most expensive stuff you can find, but you know what..... I really don't care! There's not a damn thing wrong with going to yard sales or estate sales.

And the Winner Is....

The winner of the FREE Gilden Tree All natural beauty products is Gena of Visions of Life: A Journey Towards Health and Wealth.

I want to thank everyone for entering the contest and I especially want to thank Gilden Tree for making this contest possible.

If you have not already visited Gilden Tree's website, please do so. They have some fantasic products that won't harm your skin or Mother Nature!

Last Chance to Win Free All Natural Beauty Products!

Looks like I'm a little behind on blogging. It's been somewhat of a busy week now that hubby has been laid off.

Don't forget tomorrow is the last day you can enter my contest for the FREE Gilden Tree All natural beauty products. Tuesday I will draw a winner and let the winner know from there. Although it might be late this would make a wonderful Mother's Day Gift or birthday gift!

Don't Forget to Enter The Natural Beauty Products Contest

Monday I told you about the contest I'm sponsoring for Gilden Tree where you can win the all natural Nourishing hand cream and cuticle salve from them. If you're interested in winning this free contest visit my post on free natural hand cream and cuticle salve for more details. The contest runs for two weeks, so you still have time to enter! Good Luck.

Win Free all Natural Hand Cream and Cuticle Salve

I'm sponsoring a free contest for Duo New Nourishing Hand Cream and Hand, Nail & Cuticle Salve by GildenTree.com and you can win it!

The prize package includes a tube of Gilden Tree's Duo New Nourishing Hand Cream and a tube of Hand, Nail & Cuticle Salve, which will come in an organza bag.

This contest will run for 2 weeks starting Monday April 2oth and ending Monday May 4th. If there are any entries before then they will be void. The reason I am posting this contest before then is because I will be offline job hunting and will not have access to the internet.

You can enter the contest by simply leaving a comment on this post and telling me why you want to win this product and how you found my blog. Don't forget to leave a valid email address so I know how to get a hold of you if you're a winner.


If you have a blog or website and you want a second chance at winning, in addition to leaving the comment, blog about it with the links and text anchor The Insane Writer is Sponsoring a free contest for Duo New Nourishing Hand Cream and Hand, Nail & Cuticle Salve by GildenTree.com. Please do not edit the links or the text anchor because I will have to void your entry if you do. Once you've blogged your 2nd entry, leave a comment on this post with the link to your blog's entry post.

If you're a winner I will notify you by Tuesday May 5th. If I don't hear from you within 24 hours I will draw another name for the prize. Good Luck!

By the way this would make a wonderful gift for Mother's Day!

Review of MagNext for Kids

I'm not a big fan of letting kids under 13 play online without constant supervision, but I might be able to see myself easing up a little for kids 13 and older on MegaBrands' MagNext .

The website is based off of the building pieces known as magnetics. Only the website is a free game where you play with the marble looking balls in various colors. The interesting thing is you can build and collect and you can race them on racetracks or run them on a roller coaster ride. Kinda cool in my opinion and it gives the kids something to do on a rainy day.

The only thing I did notice, however. If you have a computer that is old or slow like mine, you're better off skipping this website. Also, make sure you're keeping an eye on your kids' activities. Although I didn't see any real danger while playing, it's all too easy to lie about your age on this website. All they ask for when you sign up is an email address, your username and whether you’re under 13 or over 14.

I could have easily just clicked the, I’m under 13 button and there would have been no questions asked. Even the, I’m over 14 button is a bit leery since as I said, anyone can join the site.

It's a neat site, but I’d really recommend that you try the site out yourself before you allow your kids to do so.

Getting People to Listen to Your Business Ideas

I was recently introduced to Magnetic Sponsoring. Usually when I hear anything about Market Leveraging, I ignore it. Why? Because most simply don't work. But, the biggest reason they don't work is because people really don't follow through. Not the business offering their ideas, but the person using them.

Most people want immediate results or they want miracles where they don't have to do any of the work. Sorry, but life just doesn't work that way. And yes, some of you are probably thinking (or saying aloud!), She don't know shit! Well, I was one of those miracle-immediate results expecting people! So I know shit, thank you very much! I walked through life with blinders on and I'm slowing taking those blinders off.

What amazed me is Magnetic Sponsoring isn't a ridiculous $100 or more like most programs. I paid a simple $19.95 for it (really a friend paid). Now I didn't buy the program on purpose. I also didn't go looking for them. I was actually asked to help a friend and that's how I find out about the program. So far I'm still learning about it, thanks to that friend.

I'm also not asking you to go buy the program. If you want to check it out, feel free, if not, then don't. This program is still new to me, so I'm not going to bullshit anyone into getting the program. What I am going to do is post about my experiences with this program in the future. I am hoping with this program I will learn a lot about online business and be able to improve my earnings. It's a goal many of us have and I know many of us don't have money to splurge, so I'm sharing my results for free.

Nothing But the Best

Do you believe in fairytale endings. Romances that do become a happily-ever-after? For some it may only exist in a romance novel, yet for others they may find it in places like true.com. There you can search for free and find someone who you can connect with. What is there to lose? Sign up is FREE.

For me, my first fairytale romance or so I thought, happened to be when I was five years old. He was the bully of the class and surprisingly a lot shorter than I was. It took me a very long time to realize he wasn't even remotely interested in me.lol Then again what five year old boy is interested in girls? In the end he pushed me in a mud puddle and went on his merry little way.

I lost contact with him until I graduated high school. By then he had joined the military and was visiting home. I never forgot his face and recognized him right away when he pulled into the stall of the fast food place I worked at and shirtless at that! But did I say anything to him? Nope! Of course he had his mom, so maybe that was part of the reason.

After that I moved away and didn't hear from him again until years later. But I never forgot the boy I had a crush on and ironically he never forgot me. As it turned out he was in a really bad accident that caused him to lose a lot of his memory as a child. But for some odd reason, he remembered me. And even more ironic is the boy who was once a bully grew up to be a gentleman. I'm glad to know him as a friend and I'm pretty sure he feels the same way.

I'm married now, but everyone who frequents my blog, knows that. But for my friend, maybe someday he will also find the fairytale, the one and when he does I'll be Happy for him. Because I know he deserves nothing but the best.

Free Land O Lakes Halloween Goodies

Yesterday when I went shopping for groceries at our local wal-mart, I noticed that the prices had gone up, yet again. The mushrooms that I usually buy for under $2, I ended up paying nearly $4 for! The cheap brand of toilet paper that I used to pay $1 for, has gone up to $1.50. And I won't discuss how much the bread was!

Unfortunately there's very little I can do when it comes to a grocery bill and I've already cut some corners on things. I have been making homemade breads and snacks lately, to save some money and I buy the cheaper versions of almost everything when I can get away with it. We've also been going to another store who's groceries are highway robbery there, but cat and dog food are $4 less than what we pay at wal-mart.

Another thing I have been doing is shopping online for freebie offers. Many even come from wal-mart which makes some of the ill-pain I feel towards the company a little easier. I do know that many people don't believe in freebies and while my husband used to be one of them, he's changed his tune after I was able to get him a free subscription to Log Cabin Living just for filling out a survey. So freebies have been such a wonderful blessing in our home.

And let's face it, with the economy the way it is, we can use all of the help we can get. So without further ado, I wanted to share with you a few freebies I thought you might enjoy. Please feel free to let me know when you receive these free goodies and how you liked them!

Halloween is vastly approaching and let me tell you I am a huge fan of Land o' Lakes. My hubby and I absolutely love their whipped sweet cream butter! So when it's on sale or we have a little extra money, we splurge on a container of it.

Here are some great Halloween goodies I found free from them! Enjoy!

Land O' Lakes

Halloween Gift-Giving Labels

Halloween Coloring Sheets

How-To Video: Wicked Witch Hat Cake