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In November one of my wonderful friends, who also happens to be a super smart and savvy money-saving maven, offered up her know-how in a Sunday afternoon couponing workshop, after enough of us complained that working in the non-profit professional arts sector (and pretty much all my friends do), we’re fortunate to be doing what we love, but we’re also constantly struggling to make ends meet.

It’s been about six weeks since the workshop, and the impact of Shawnda’s wise money-saving (and earning!) ways has been felt. All said, in the past six weeks, Ted and I estimate that we’ve probably saved close to $500 (including scoring at least $150 in free food, clothes, toiletries, samples, etc.), and have actually earned an additional $125 in gift cards that we can redeem at hundreds of locations to help us purchase food, clothes, toiletries, and other necessities in the future. Our budget is still tight and we know it will continue to be, but we now have a fairly well-stocked non-perishable foods pantry and a really well-stocked toiletries and cosmetics closet full of toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, floss, shampoo, conditioner, soap, body wash, razors, shaving gel, toilet paper, tissue paper, paper towels, body lotion, contact lens solution, eye makeup remover, and more – enough for about 6 months to a year, depending on the item, and almost everything we purchased was at an incredibly steep discount, completely free, or paid for with free earned rewards cash.

I’d always been hesitant to try couponing or money-saving and earning sites for several reasons – it’s sounded really difficult and time-consuming to track down all those coupons and figure out how they work and can be used together. I’d heard couponing takes up enough of your time and effort that it could well be its own full-time job (and I already have a full-time job and don’t need or want another). And, unfortunately, I think couponing has also gotten a bad rap as being really extreme and crazy…and sometimes it is. But I was relieved to learn that it doesn’t have to be that way. You can coupon moderately and save/earn money while still working, participating in your favorite hobbies and activities, and spending time alone or with your family and friends. It doesn’t have to be extreme to be smart or helpful. I won’t say it isn’t frustrating at times, especially when you’re still learning – because it is. And learning new things, no matter what they are, usually is accompanied by moments of frustration. But it isn’t extreme or all-consuming, and it’s incredibly gratifying to know that we’re saving money at a time when our income and budget is pretty limited.

I’m still fairly new to all of this and, therefore, I am still learning how to use coupons, couponing websites, and store’s loyalty cards/rewards programs to my advantage. I think I have Wegmans, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, and Target decently well figured out. And while using a combination of their rewards programs, along with online, printable, and Sunday newspaper coupons, mobile couponing apps (like Target’s Cartwheel or Ibotta), and information on deals from sites that help you combine sales with coupons and store rewards – all in conjunction with one another – have saved us a lot of money in the past six weeks and helped us stock up on necessities, I don’t feel like I know enough yet to share it all on this blog. But if Shawnda does another couponing workshop, I’d gladly send you her way!

But what I can speak for are a few websites I’ve been using to help us earn money or save money on the things we already buy:

• Swagbucks – This is a money-earning website. You complete activities (such as taking surveys, searching the internet just like you would do on Google or Bing or whatever, watching short video clips, writing product reviews, playing games, shopping online, printing coupons for items you can use at your local store, or signing up for other offers – many of which give you neat things completely for free) to earn Swagbucks. You then cash out the Swagbucks you earn for gift cards to Amazon, Target, Starbucks, PayPal, clothing stores, electronics stores, vacation booking websites, and even charities. You can choose what activities you want to participate in too – so if you only want to use Swagbucks to search the web, great! If you want to spend an hour a day doing all of the above on there to earn more Swagbucks, great! Ted and I both participate in this and, together, we’ve raked up over $125 in six weeks. If you’re interested in giving it a try, click this Swagbucks link or the one above to sign up (it’s a referral link, so I get rewarded when you sign up through my link and use Swagbucks as a search engine – so, sign up, search away, and pass it on!)

• thredUP – This website is great for purchasing affordable yet fashionable women and kids clothing. The clothing they sell is gently used (and sometimes it’s brand new), but always carefully inspected to make sure it is in excellent condition and that the quality lives up to their standards. All the clothes, shoes, and accessories are name brand – Gap, Loft, Express, J. Crew, H&M, BCBG, ModCloth, designer, etc. – shipping is reasonable and the prices are great! I was referred by a friend, so I received $10 off my first order (no minimum!). I was able to purchase two really cute shirts from Loft for that $10 (or I could have purchased a nearly new pair of Express jeans for $10), and got a free shipping deal, so my first order was completely free. I was very impressed with the quality of both items when they arrived – they looked practically new. You can even double up on savings by accessing thredUP through ‘Shop & Earn’ on Swagbucks so you can score affordable clothes and earn money through Swagbucks at the same time. The best part is when you sign up through this thredUP link or the one above (both referral links), you’ll earn $10 toward your first purchase AND once you’ve used your free $10, I’ll also earn $10 toward my next purchase for referring you. We both win! And, yes, you can actually get a nice outfit for free using just the $10. And because there’s simply no room in our budget for clothing otherwise, I think thredUP is going to be my go-to when I need new clothing.

• Twice – Twice is very similar to thredUP. Great designer clothing at more affordable prices. Twice is just slightly more high-end in my opinion and, therefore, the clothing is just a little bit more expensive – a few dollars on average. But still – you can get some really nice, quality clothing for a fraction of the cost. Sign up through this Twice link or the one above (both referral links) – like thredUP – you’ll get a $10 credit toward your first purchase AND I’ll get a $10 credit too after you spend your $10. After you click the link scroll to the bottom of the page and click the button that say’s “sign up and claim $10.” Another win-win. That’s $20 worth of free clothing between Twice and thredUP!

• Ebates – Do you shop online? If you do, by signing up for Ebates and accessing the websites you usually shop at through them instead of typing it directly into your browser (Amazon, Groupon, plus – literally – hundreds more), you earn cash back on every purchase and have access to exclusive coupons and free shipping offers. It’s that simple. If you will be shopping online anyway, you might as well be benefitting from it by receiving a good deal and getting money back, right? Click this Ebates link or the one above (referral links) to sign up and start earning money for your online purchases.

• Ibotta – This app sort of works like couponing in reverse. After you register for an account, there will be a list of various items at nationwide stores, movie theatres, and restaurants that you can select on the app. If you what to buy that item in store or visit that restaurant (better yet if the item is on sale or has a coupon out for it, which is common), you’ll complete a short activity or two (take a poll, learn a fact, watch a 15 second video, etc.) to earn credit toward its purchase Then the next time you’re at the store, you buy the item, take a picture of the receipt with the Ibotta app on your phone as proof of purchase, scan the bar code of the item you bought, and click submit. Within minutes, they’ll deposit cash into your Ibotta account. You can also earn cash by using Ibotta more often, completing bonuses, and referring friends. Once you’ve accumulated some cash, you can redeem it for real money – cash or gifts cards. Ted and I earned $10 with Ibotta this month already. Pretty cool. Register for Ibotta here with this referral link.

I am, by no means, an expert at this stuff, but so far, I’ve been pleased by what we’ve been able to save and earn. It just helps make life ever-so-slightly more affordable. And with that said, I hope you can take advantage of some of these saving and earning sites too to help your own family out financially.

And please enjoy this really silly Christmas Day photo that had no where else to go.  And, really, who doesn’t love gift wrap bows?