Pinchme Sample Site

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Pinchme.com is a site that I joined about five years.  They are a sample site where you put in your profile information and log on each month to access samples of products before you buy them.  I was able to get a box almost every month, and then nothing for about a year and half.  Gave up, tired again and got a few boxes last year.  Then again, nothing.  I read a lot of complaints on their Facebook page and noticed their site would crash at the appropriate time.  I would have canceled my account, but lately they’ve added surveys and if you accumulate enough points you automatically get a box separate from the monthly sample box.  I tried and accumulated enough points form answering surveys and am still waiting my box.  From the orders page, it look like I am getting a coupon for a free drink.  Not what I was expecting.  I guess with over 4 million members it is hard to please everyone.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, if you are or not a member.  Here is a link to their website.

Keeping My Entertainment Budget Down

We all need entertainment in our lives or else it would be so boring.  I recently read another blog regarding their entertainment budget.  I don’t have an entertainment budget because I try and spend little or no money to entertain myself.  But I do have a vacation budget, as we love to travel.  So back to the entertainment and keeping happy during the week.

MOVIES
Although watching a movie on the big screen is awesome, I do not go to theaters unless I received complimentary tickets.  Where can you get complimentary tickets to the movie theater?  Local radio stations, television stations, AARP and giveaways on social media are a few that I can think of.

Also, I don’t like theaters any more since people talk and/or use their cell phones which really takes away from a pleasant experience.  And we all know how expensive movie theater food is!

I watch my movies at home.  I don’t buy DVDs or Blu-ray discs.  Instead, I borrow them from our local library.  It’s a great way to see movies (sometimes recently released ones) for no cost whatsoever.  Then there is streaming sites.  I am lucky that my daughter added us onto her Netflix account.  Now I can watch their shows and movies on my television for free.  We do pay for an Amazon Prime account (but make that back in free shipping).  With Amazon Prime, you also get access to free movies.  Not always the greatest, but still cheaper than the theater.

If you do like to collect DVDS and/or Blu-ray, and don’t like to buy them.  There is a site called SwapaDVD.com where you can swap DVDs.  It may take a long time for some.  I’ve been waiting years for some popular titles, but have been lucky to get a few.  There is a small fee and you have to pay for postage to send out DVDs, but you get a credit for future swaps.  More on their site on their rules and regulations.

BOOKS
I am an avid reader, and again go to the library to get what I want to read.  I used to buy books and had a library, but I do not reread books and don’t have the space.  That’s a big savings in money.  But if you like to collect books, the sister site to the above is Paperbackswap.com.  Quicker to get books then DVDs, but some are not always in the best of shape.  If you don’t mind reading Advance Reader copies, you can sign up for giveaways at Librarything.com (monthly) and/or Goodreads.com (ongoing).  Many a good book I have received and then passed on to others.

RESTAURANTS
I love to cook and eat healthy, but my wife and I need a date night occasionally.  We used to try once a week, but that become costly.  We still visit our favorite restaurants.  How do we do that?  Restaurant Rewards.  There are many restaurants that reward you for frequenting them. You may get cash back towards your bill or free appetizer, meals or desserts.  Combine that with coupons and gift cards it won’t cost you much.  Recently, we went to a restaurant for date night and with two appetizers, two dinners, one dessert and four adult beverages, it can to $2.04 before tip.  Can’t beat that.  I don’t buy gift cards but get them from redeeming credit card points or better yet, ask for them for Christmas.

AT HOME ENTERTAINING
I’m not talking about watching television over and over again.  We are a game playing family and there is so much out there.  We have some of the classic board games: Othello, Monopoly, Stratego, Clue, backgammon and checkers and favorites from our childhood: Booby Trap, Scrabble, Jenga and Chinese Checkers,   In addition, we are big card game players.  Our favorite is Phase 10.  We also have Uno (and now Dos), Zigity and numerous decks of regular playing cards.  Sure, there is an initial cost to buying the games (cheaper if you get them form the thrift store, yard sales or flea market), but the fun is endless.


I’ll leave Vacations for another blog post.  So what do you do for entertaining yourself and how do you save money by doing so.  Would love to hear from you.

Living a Beach Life - Almost!

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I worked hard all my life, got married (twice), had a daughter, wanted to make movies, but most of all I didn’t want the 9 to 5 life.  Growing up, I was taught that you work hard, make money and be happy with what you have.  So for so long I though life was about making all that money.  There were so good times and there was some bad times.

My priorities changed, and when I lost my last 9 to 5 job, due to cutbacks, I decided I didn’t want to do that anymore.  I was already freelancing, and I liked the ability to make my own hours.  But still that dream of living the beach life (as I called it) beckoned me.

When I hit 50, I realized life was about making memories, not money.  So I strived to travel more and be adventurous.  It changed my life and I was happier.

When my wife and I had enough of the snow up north, we packed our belongings and headed to the gulf coast of Florida.  My wife was able to keep her job. She started telecommuting.  I gave up many of my clients and that was fine with me.  I wanted to write and paint (other long forgotten dreams of mine).

Then I read the book “Leap of Faith – Quit Your Job and Live on A Boat” by Ed Robinson.  No, I didn’t buy a boat, but liked his philosophy.  I was also introduced to the musician Jim Morris.  Unfortunately, he passed away before I could actually hear him in concert.  I listen to his music and drift away to a different place.

So now I am semi-retired, not making the big bucks, and stretch my dollar as far as I can.  Some say I am frugal, but I am just cheap.  But we are enjoying life and making memories!

InBoxDollars - the online rewards club that pays

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InBoxDollars is a rewards website where you can get cash for reading emails and taking surveys.  You won’t get rich, but your certainly can make some spending cash.  You must make a minimum of $30.00 before cashing out.  And when you do so, they take a $3.00 from your check and out it back into your account.  In other words, your check will be a minimum of $27.00.  This is the one thing that irks me about the site.  But then again, I am not very active, so it is what it is.

I always read and click their emails (I think you make 2 cents per email click).  But now that I have more time on my hands, I do more surveys, which can be anywhere from 25 cents to 75 cents.  Hey, it does add up.

They also other ways to earn cash like cash offers.  I don’t participate because I am always afraid that my mailbox will get filled with junk.  You can watch videos which helps you reach goals in what they call Scratch & Win.  When you reach one of three spots, you can scratch an online card to earn some cash.  One can also advance with Billy’s Spin & Win.  You can save 100 spins and spin 20 times a day. I believe you earn spins from doing surveys, but am not sure.

As with other sites, they have deals for shopping online and coupons to print.  The more active you are, the more money you can make.

I’ve been a member for about 7 ½ years and made over $275.  See, I told you I wasn’t very active.

Also, referring people will help you collect ten percent of what your referral earns once they sign up.  So here is my referral link, InBoxDollars.  Check it out or not.  And if you are already a member, what are your likes and dislikes?  I want to hear your opinion.

How Am I Frugal?

I’ve always been frugal and would do a lot to try and save my pennies. Mostly by not buying anything.  Although, in my 20's I wouldn’t have been caught dead using coupons, they are a big part of my spending nowadays.

FOOD SHOPPING
When we used to live in New Jersey, the grocery store I shopped at would do double coupons and I would use them.  I would try and buy sale items and items that O had coupons for. They also gave back ten cents if you brought your own bags.

Now, here in Florida, I shop in three different grocery stores because two of them offer BOGOs (buy one get one free).  Depending on what we need, I would go to that store.  The third store Walmart Neighborhood Market has the lowest price for everyday items and if you use their saving catcher, they will give you money back if they find it cheaper at another store.  You receive a Walmart gift card that can be used for future purchases.

And now grocery stores or going digital with their coupons which could make it easier or harder depending on whether or not you like paper coupons and can hold them in your hand or use the store’s app and log into their rewards program when you check out.  I still prefer paper coupons and a paper shopping list. Call me old school.

ENTERTAINMENT
We haven’t been to a movie theater in a long time and the last few times we did, it was because I received free tickets from either the local TV station or AARP.  But the lines to get into these free events were outrageous so I stopped doing it.

Instead, I rent DVDs from the local library and I can request online so sometimes I am lucky to see a new movie within the first week in comes out on DVD.

The same thing with music and books.  When I was younger I would buy music (still have some old LP's) and I love to read, but no longer have my own library.  Now I get my books and music from the library.  This has saved me a lot of dough.

CLOTHING
I am a guy, so I really don’t go into fashion and can wear my clothes until they fall apart.  When I need suits to go to functions, I waited until The Men’s Wearhouse had a sale and was able to buy two suits for the price of one.  I can get t-shirts from 5Ks I run or contests I enter.  If I need anything else, it gets added to my Christmas and birthday lists.  My annual clothing budget is almost nothing.

OTHER
We were lucky that we used to live not far from a scrap metal place and when I was cleaning out the bungalow, I was able to get rid of an old water heater, wood stove and shelving and made a few bucks.  Here in Florida, the scrap metal place is a distance, so I have to make sure I have enough to make the trip worth it.  Since downsizing, I have gotten rid of some metal file cabinets which I filled with empty cans.  We remodeled our home and I took down the rusted metal blinds to recycle.  Lastly, I have calculated that a full garbage can of crushed aluminum cans will bring in about $10.

I am sure there other ways I am frugal and can’t think of any at the moment.  When I do, it will be for another post.  What about you?  What things have you’ve done to save money?

MyPoints and what collecting points can reward you with

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The first website I want to write about is MyPoints.  I have been a member for almost 20 years.  I was actually shocked to find out that information.  I didn’t realize that I have been using the site for so long. 

What they do is that you collect points for shopping online, doing surveys, reading emails and much more.  And with those points, you can redeem them for gift cards or PayPal cash.

I haven’t used all thy have to offer, but will explain what I do use on their site and what I like about it.

What I use

Surveys – Partake in surveys when I have the time and accumulate some points.  There are so many survey sites out there (I will discuss more in future posts) that I get tired of doing surveys or I don’t qualify for them, but I still do accumulate points.

Watch Videos – another one to do when I have the time and am not doing anything else.  I watch videos to collect points.  Not a lot, but they do add up.

Print Coupons – I use a lot of coupons when I go food shopping so this is the place I go to print coupons because everyone I use from the site, I collect more points.  What really sucks is that most grocery stores are beginning to use digital coupons which I think is easier and therefore will not be printing as much as I used too.  Yes, they are the same coupons you see here and other coupon sites.

Read Email - MyPoints offers great deals on email they send to your mailbox.  Even if you don’t take them up on the offer, if you click you still receive five points!

They also have the Daily 5 where you can collect 5 points by visiting completing five of the eight categories listed.  I always start off with the voting in the daily poll.

What I don’t use

Online Shopping – I don’t so a lot of online shopping. Amazon is my favorite place to go so I don’t do it through MyPoints.  But if you did, you can earn points through over 19,000 shops through them.

Play Games – You can earn points by playing online games.  Something I don’t do, but could be for the gamer for sure.

Local Deals – you can earn points through Groupon and Living Social voucher purchases.

Redeeming points

You can redeem points for gift cards, cash and airline mileage.  I redeem my points for Amazon gift cards because I do most of my holiday shopping on Amazon and by the end of the year, I costs me very little.  If I need cash, then I redeem my points for PayPal cash.  I have never redeemed for airline miles because I use other sites for that (again, will go into detail in future post).

So, what do you think?  Do you use MyPoints?  If so, how do you feel about it?  What do you take advantage of and what don’t you like?  If you don’t use MyPoints, why not?  Would love to read your comments.

Disclosure and Privacy Policy

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About Me

I worked in corporate accounting for over 25 years before I started freelancing.  A lot less stress and I could make my own hours (mostly).  But when my wife and I decided to leave the NYC metro area and move to Florida, I had to let go of some of my clients and worked a lot less.  And so the stress level dropped.  I never wanted to go into bookkeeping and here was a chance to pursue my dreams.

I have always been cheap.  My wife say frugal.  My dad always said when I opened my wallet, moths would fly out.  I like to enter contests and get free things.  People have asked me how I do it, so I’ve decided to share what I have learned and created this blog.