Have you ever eaten at P.F. Chang’s?  It’s (probably-all the ones I have ever seen are) a restaurant with big cement statues outside the doors, and you can actually tell you’re going to be eating foreign food from the look of the building.  welll, that’s the opinion I have.  And the food?  Words cannot describe how good it is. 

If you’ve never been there, you should definitely sign up for their Warrior Card, which is their reward card, and go there for lunch one day.  Go for dinner if you want to go all out and have the extra money; I prefer dining out at lunch for both frugality and less crowds.  The Warrior Card often gets you perks such as a free appetizer, 10% off your billl, or whatever other hot promotion they want to offer at a certain time.  There may be a period with no perks, but the food is serioulsy the biggest perk!

 Well, May has a few hot perks going on!  You must have a Warrior Card to get these perks but it is absolutely free!

10% discount on Happy Hour menu items

10% discount on P.F. Chang’s For Two menu offerings

Those both go through June 1, 2010!  I would imagine another hot summer promo willl start. 

You can view their entire menu, sign up for a Warrior Card online, and even follow them on Twitter all within a matter of minutes!!

Lunch entree prices start around $8, I believe.  I think you can get a dinner for $10 but I’m not sure what their dinner prices or menu really look like because I have only been for lunch.  I am just grateful we live at least an hour and a half from any of them because that would be a temptation I couldn’t resist. 

Local readers: My grocery ads will be up Saturday.  Today I just didn’t have time after my husbands dental surgery to get them finished.  I just found out that we will be here until possibly next Friday so that puts a strain on next week until I can figure something out. 

Otherwise, i will see you guys tomorrrpwwotj lots of t.g.I.F. Fun!!

This is a new program from HGTV and Food Network, sort of like any other program like Psst.  where you can get the newest scoop on new programs and products, and new hosts of shows.    I joined as well, because you know I don’t advertise anything for you that I wouldn’t join! 

This is one of those things where you never know what kind of rewards you’re going to get. if any, but it’s worth a shot!

I found the Tropicana Juicy Rewards Program by clicking on a banner ad above my Yahoo e-mail.  I know these ads are there for the sites to make money but I click when get curious, and sometimes I’m pleasantly rewarded with a great coupon or freebie or special discount!  Clicking on an orange juice ad was totally with y’all in mind because I only drink one kind of orange juice.  Of course, the ad was for Tropicana, and Trop50 is the only one I will drink. Period.   I’m picky and I seriously disliked orange juice until about a year ago; the taste of Trop50 is totally opposite anything I’d ever had and I am hooked. 

I’m also appreciative that when I drink a glass of Trop50, I don’t have to worry that I’m drinking 50% of the calories I’m allowed to have in a day!  We don’t even need to discuss the sugar…Well, actually we do because Trop50 has a LOT less sugar than other OJ, so for those of you watching your sugar intake, give it a try!

So anyway, the Tropicana Juicy Rewards program is similar to the My Coke Rewards program if any of you are familiar with it.    Specially-marked packages of Tropicana juice and Trop50, and Tropicana Pure Premium products are printed with a 10-character unique code either on the cap or product package somewhere.  The number of points that each code is worth will be indicated somewhere on the package.  To participate you must go to this site and register fro an account.   Each time you have a code you can go to the Tropicana website or you can go text your code to TROPOJ (876765).  The FAQ section recommends that you keep your codes in case something comes up. Youo can enter up to 5 codes per day.

Rewards include discounts for different activities and attractions in your area, online shopping discounts, home improvement, and more.  Tropicana says that each code is worth $5 (some more, some less) approximately, and there are dozens of rewards from which to choose. A couple of examples of rewards are $5 off of one dozen TP Golf Balls by Taylor Made for 1 point, or buy 1, get 1 free admission to many amusement parks. 

The discounts could easily come in handy during the summer to get some frugal fun with your family; daycations are always a great stress reliever, and there’s a potential for some hot staycataion deals too. 

I love it when products I buy find a way to reward me in some way for my purchases.  My Coke Rewards has been so successful that the program has been going on for years; my mother-in-law is a huge Coke drinker so she gives her codes to me (she doesn’t use a computer) and I repay her as often as I can by redeeming points for free Cokes when they’re offered.  These small rewards are great ways to get the little extras that may not be considered frugal purcahses but are life’s guilty pleasures!  You know what I mean…Poeple magazine, Starbucks lattes, stuff in the $5-$10 range that typically have very little long-term value but sure do lift one’s spirits for a bit!

You can redeem your codes for your Tropicana purchases easily, either by text message or online as i said earlier.  I would never suggest that you change the product you buy simply for rewards.  That would be nuts   but if you do buy these products you should go ahead and make sure to enter your codes from the packages.  The prizes may not be to your liking now but they could be changed at a later date, or you never know.  You may be able to use one of those amusement park discounts later on. 

For more information about the Tropicana Juicy Rewards program, visit their main website.

Remember the rewards program, Live It With Charter,  from Charter Communications that I told you about a few weeks ago?  Redemption days are few and far betwee, and if you blink you miss ‘em!  Well, Redemption Days are here starting 2/9 at 11 AM CST (Noon EST) through 2/12! 

The theme this go around is pet products and the e-mail I received said that there’d be everything from treats and toys to Animal Planet merchandise.  I’m hoping for a couple of gift cards thrown in, but I won’t hold my breath because you just never know what they’ll have in there. 

A tip I have learned is that you have to log in exactly at noon or a minute after to see the prizes, or if you get there early and don’t see anything when time rolls around you should log out and log back in.  The screen will then refresh.  I don’t know how else to explain it but I missed out a lot last time because I got there too early and when I kept refreshing my screen nothing would happen.  I had to log out and back in.   So try that but be fast, and get there as soon as it starts or you’ll miss out on the good stuff. 

Your points depend on the level of services you have from Charter and how much your bill is each month.  Personally if I were in that top tier it would mean I was overpaying for my cable!  This program is another awesome way to help yourself get prepared for Christmas, because the prizes are quite nice and make great gifts.

So if I lost you, to recap the Charter Communications Live It With Charter Redemption Days start tomorrow 2/9 at Noon EST  and go through 2/12! 

Sometimes they restock each day so if you miss out on the great prizes you have another chance but I’m not sure they do that each time.

I love being a MyPoints member.  I’ve written about it before, but I didn’t really give you any tips or pointers to show you how easy it is to earn free gift cards.   I want to take the time to tell you what you can do to earn your first gift card from MyPoints with little effort and absolutely no money out of pocket!

When you do any task to earn points for MyPoints, unless it’s reading e-mail, they usually stay “pending” on your account for 30 days.  This is mostly to ensure that they get paid by the company, or that the information you submit is truthful, and one of many other reasons.  This is why I say that I can help you earn a gift card in 30 days.  Give or take 2-3 days, and it all depends on if you do the things I tell you to in one day or stretch it out.   Any way you look at it, you can earn a gift card quickly to one of hundreds of manufacturers!

This guide is pretty long, so if you’re already a MyPoints member skip around to the points that pertain to you or feel free to look around the site to find more savings tips and tricks!  There’s over 1,000 posts to read, and I do my best to provide you with quality info and the top freebies as often as I can.

Ready to earn from MyPoints?  Here’s how to get on your way to free money:

First, of course you’re going to need to go to MyPoints.com and register.  You’ll have to confirm the e-mail they send you before you can get started. I will include the points you’ll earn beside each step.

Each item in green is something I’m not counting in your gift card total because not all of you will have referrals.  MyPoints has been around for a long time so everyone you know may already be a member   All of the point-earning opportunities I include will be things pretty much anybody can do.

Keep in mind I am operating under the assumption that the opportunities for points will be the same for you as they are in the “dummy” account I’m doing to help walk you through these.  You may see different offers but they should be similar, and this will give you an idea of how your points will look if you do them all.

• Fill out your short personal profile. (5 points)
• Work the Network, Invite Friends.  Facebook Wall Post (50 Points)
• Import e-mail addresses and invite up to 20 friends (500 points)
• Download the MyPoints Toolbar for searches, etc.  (100 points)
• Complete your in-depth profile (60 points)
• Print and redeem 15 coupons. (150 points)
• Do a total of 31 searches (75 points)
• Sign up for the daily deals alert (25 points)
• Click on “Easy Points”.  Answer the 3 questions in the box on the right upper side of the page.  (15 points total)
• In that same box, answer “Health” if you see it, until the end of the questionairre.  (80 points)
• In that same box, answer the tab “Education”, do the same until the end of the questionairre.  No financial info should be asked or given. (30 points).
• Again in that box, answer “Other” until the end of the survey (55 points).
• Register with Quality Health (50 points).
• Take the Nature Made quiz.  Don’t make any purchases you don’t want to. (150 points just for quiz)
• Sign up for Beyond the Rack (25 points)
• Sign up for Home Service Magic and just request info.  (25 pts)
• Register for the Publishers Clearinghouse Sweeps (50 points)
• Fill out the Target gift card survey for the shopping spree (50 pts)
• Register at Viewpoints and write 1 review (50 points)
• Write 9 reviews at Viewpoints for 50 points each (450 points)
• Look under Max Points, and click on Plus Points (offers without credit cards).  Complete 2 offers (250 points)

You will also have e-mails to click on sent to you each day if you opt in for them, and they are worth 5 points each or more.  Each will tell you how much you can earn.  If you don’t want to take advantage of one of the offers above there will be others so you can still get a quick gift card, but the method above (as long as everything is offered) is the easiest way to get a gift card.

When everything on my list is completed, you’ll have 1,695 points!!  You’ll work for it but that’s enough for a $10 gift card to one of many places like Cracker Barrel, Panera Bread or Red Robin.  You can let your points stack up and get a large gift card near Christmas or another special occasion.  This was part of the way I paid for Christmas a couple of years ago, and continue to use it each year.  It’s so easy to click on the e-mails.

Don’t give your phone number out if you don’t want to!  I signed up for one of the many free voicemail accounts just to get a free dummy phone number for surveys.  There are many services out there who offer you free phone numbers and voicemail accounts, just for the sole purpose of having that voicemail box.  I know we have an unlisted number, and I never give it out.

If you have any questions about this just leave a comment or e-mail me at makingcentsoutoflife (at) gmail (dot) com.  I hope this shows you just how valuable rewards programs like MyPoints can be!

The folks at Dunkin’ Donuts aren’t going to let the ‘Bucks beat them at any game!  Just register your Dunkin Donuts card and they’ll deposit $2 on it.  Not only will you reap that reward but if you lose it (I’m really good at that!) you can immediately freeze it to protect your balance.  Sweet!

Are you a Charter Communications customer, and if so are you taking part in the free rewards program called Live It With Charter?  I didn’t think much about it for a long time, even though I worked for Charter for a couple of  years, til my Mom told me about some cool stuff she’d ordered for gifts.  She didn’t pay anything for them, and one of them was a complete season of an HBO series.  I just don’t remember which one.  Anyway, I jumped at the chance to sign up!

Live it With Charter members get points based on their services; the more services they offer that you have, the more points per month you get.  You can find out more about how the points accrue here.  As long as you pay your bill, your points accrue.  When Redemption Days, about once every month or two.  happen you go online ASAP and I do mean AS SOON as it starts, to get your prizes.  The more quickly you log into your account the more likley it is that you will get a good prize.  They do normally restock each day but you still have to be quick.

It’s a free program, well as long as you are paying for cable/internet/telephone, and although the prizes aren’t huge they go a long way to helping you with  your budget, getting you something free to lift your spirits or something to add to your gift stockpile.

Become a Live It With Charter member and get all the great perks.  So far, I’ve redeemed my points for 2 gift cards: one for Toys R Us and one for Target for $10 each.  Most of the time I hold onto my points until a really great redemption period comes up, like a few months ago when they had a bunch of gift cards…which I totally missed out on!

*This isn’t a sponsored post, or anything where I get any kind of reward.  I just happened to remember it is Redemption Days so I thought I’d give you a heads up.  They don’t have anything left for today that’s very good but they’ll restock and probably have a few things tomorrow.  The only gift card I saw was a $10 gift card to Dick’s Sporting Goods and the limit is 1 per person per redemption period.

]]> http://makingcentsoutoflife.com/2010/01/06/live-it-with-charter/feed/ 0 http://makingcentsoutoflife.com/2009/12/29/recycle-bank-rewards-for-recycling/ http://makingcentsoutoflife.com/2009/12/29/recycle-bank-rewards-for-recycling/#comments Wed, 30 Dec 2009 05:00:14 +0000 kristinbrianne http://makingcentsoutoflife.com/?p=3995

Have you heard of Recycle Bank yet?  I have been so crazy busy I haven’t yet had time to tell you about this cool way to get coupons and rewards but I’m so excited now.

Recycle Bank gives you points when you recycle qualifying items, if you live in their service areas, for which you cash in to get hot prizes and coupons.  Earn points by signing up for one of these recycle programs: curbside recycling, electronics recycling, the gconomy Visa credit card, and Kashless which is giving and getting free stuff (think Freecycle). I wish I lived in one of their areas.  This is a huge program from Coca Cola so I’m sure it’s coming!

Get rewards!  Depending on how many points you have, there are great coupons or even a boutique of prizes you could choose such as an iPod!

If Recycle Bank isn’t available in your area, you can still register and reap some of the rewards.  I mean, we all recycle sometimes right?  You get 100 points for signing up.  Those 100 points will still get you some great things.

A couple of my favorite rewards are 6 months free Club Pogo for 75 points and free item coupons from Happy Baby for 50 points.  I think a lot of you who like organic products would like those most.  You can get a $1 off of 1 bottle of Honest Tea for only 10 points.  The great thing about these coupons is that you can get as many of them as you have points- you aren’t limited to 1 of each as you would be other reward programs.

When I have more time (a.k.a. aren’t a week behind in posting!) I am going to pick out my rewards.  Choose them carefully if you aren’t in their area because chances are you can’t earn more until their service area is extended.

Enjoy!

]]> http://makingcentsoutoflife.com/2009/12/29/recycle-bank-rewards-for-recycling/feed/ 0 http://makingcentsoutoflife.com/2009/12/20/lockerz-the-easiest-way-to-get-great-prizes/ http://makingcentsoutoflife.com/2009/12/20/lockerz-the-easiest-way-to-get-great-prizes/#comments Mon, 21 Dec 2009 04:39:14 +0000 kristinbrianne http://makingcentsoutoflife.com/?p=3663

How would you like to go to a site, log in, answer a question where you can’t get the answer wrong, and get hot prizes like a Nintendo Wii, a Sony PSP, or a high value gift card every few months?  With Lockerz, that’s all you have to do!

Lockerz is an invitation-only site where you’re given PTZ (points) for logging in once a day, answering their “dailies” which are once-a-day questions where there are no right or wrong answers, and referring friends.  My husband and I have been members for a few months, and to be honest my husband has been more active than me and is a Lab member who answers questions for other members.  His prize redemptions have been Madden 10 for Wii, another Xbox 360 football game, and the latest season of Grey’s Anatomy (for me!), and that’s just been in the last few months since the inception of Lockerz. I can’t seem to remember to log in often enough to redeem my PTZ for prizes but I’m doing better! The best part about Lockerz is that it doesn’t take many PTZ to get a smokin’ hot prize like a video game SYSTEM as long as you’re doing your Dailies and logging in every day!

The great thing of about Lockerz is that you aren’t limited to 1 per household like Swagbucks or other reward programs so the entire family can get in on the prizes and fun!  They ask you to limit to 1 per member but every person in your home can have an account.

Would you like to have an invitation to Lockerz so you can start earning PTZ and getting great prizes, which you could put away for next Christmas?  Well, e -mail me at kristinbriannethompson @gmail .com (remove the spaces) and I’ll send you an invite to that same e-mail address.  Make sure to send it from the e-mail you plan on using!  I wanted to share this special opportunity with you before the site goes public because the prizes just won’t be as good once the site goes non-invitational.

So e-mail me at kristinbriannethompson @gmail.com to get your Lockerz invite so you can start getting sweet prizes.  For those of you who are Lockerz members, if you’ve had positive experiences please share them.

I talk about Upromise a lot in my posts, and I know you’ve seen it talked about other places.  Do you know what Upromise is?  Just in case, I thought I’d explain this wonderful program and how you can start saving money too!

Upromise was created as a way for family and friends to use their purchases, both online and in-store, to earn cash back that is placed in a special savings account to be used for college savings.  It’s the easiest, most user-friendly way to save that I have ever seen, and now you don’t even need to save for a child’s college- you can request a check of your earnings to use for any purpose you like.  The upcoming holidays are perfect for upping your savings!

Enrolling in Upromise

It’s so easy to start the process of saving with Upromise! First, please gather all of your credit, debit (with Visa or Mastercard logo) and store loyalty cards.  You’ll need these when you enroll to get your savings with Upromise.

After you’ve gathered your cards, it is time to begin the process of enrollment!  It’s exciting because not only can you and your family use your cards to earn savings, you can get others to help.  If you have a young child, this is the perfect way to start a college savings account.  For those of us without children, we can choose to save for someone else who will eventually attend college or we can choose to get our savings in the form of a check.

In order to begin the enrollment process, go to the Upromise home page.  This just takes a second, especially if you have Roboform downloaded because it’ll automatically fill in that information.  Just choose your username, email address and other personal demographics.  There is an optional field for you to fill in a recipient if you are saving for college for anyone.

After you submit the enrollment information on the Upromise home page you’ll be taken to a page that will offer you the ability to sign up for the Upromise credit card.  For those of you who use your cards responsibly and pay them off each month, this is something you should consider.  You get an EXTRA 10% on your grocery and drugstore savings!  If you used this card specifically to buy your groceries and drugstore purchases, and paid it off every month, you could ramp up your savings without much effort at all. This is a great offer because they also give you an additional $25 after the 1st qualified use of your card.

I’m going through this process with you because it is easier for me to explain this way.  Now, Upromise is offering a $5 gift card to Target.com, CVS Pharmacy or Barnes and Noble.  Visit upromise.com and click through to a participating store. Then make an eligible purchase to get your gift card or a deposit into your Upromise account!

The next screen is the Restaurant screen.  You get savings for dining out at select restaurants, including tax and tip!  This is called the Preferred Diner program, which is FREE to join. All you have to do is register your credit/debit card and you get 8% savings when you dine out.

Once this is done, you’re almost ready.  I recommend you go ahead and click on the “My Account” tab at the top of the page, and then  click on “add credit and debit cards”.  Register all the cards you have that qualify because you can earn major rewards.  Once thsi is done, click on “Add Grocery Cards”.  The store cards they accept depend on your zip code. You’ll enter that, and then you can choose which cards to enter.  My area I just have CVS.  I entered the nearest big city to me for more choices, and Publix and Winn Dixie and Bi-Lo also popped up, which we do shop occasionally.  I recommend this so you can maximize what you earn for savings and you can enter AL of your cards!

Got gift cards for McDonalds or Sunglass Hut?  Enter those because you can earn savings on their redemptions.  If you anticipate eating at McDonald’s through the year, why not purchase a gift card for $25 or more so you can register it and earn savings on the card?  It’s almost crazy not to if you eat there often.

Using Upromise

The first thing I recommend doing is downloading the Upromise Turbosaver, which is just a tool bar.  When you’re shopping online, this will enable you to earn your savings while still using cash-back sites.  They also have coupon codes they’ll give you for shopping, and they will alert yo u of those with a bar across the top of your creen when youre on the site. You won’t have to go to the Upromise site every time you want to shop, unless you need to find a Upromise eligible site.  They have over 500 sites where savings can be earned so I’m sure most of where you’d shop will be covered.  This is the list of the stores where you can earn savings.

Now, you’re going to want to download e-coupons.  You can stack these e-coupons with paper manufacturer’s coupons becuase the savings are going into an online account, so when you save $.50 with a manufactrer’s coupon and there’s a $.15 Upromise coupon, you really HAVE saved $.65!  You just don’t get the Upromise savings immediately.  Download those e-coupons to each of your store cards so that when you shop, you’ll save!    Just enter your zip code and you’ll be presented with a list of stores in your area.  DO the same as I recommended above to get a larger list for when you shop in larger cities.  The values of these e-coupons are often pretty high, as well.  For instance, the value of a Bounty coupon that is available right now is $2 off of a 6 count or larger.  How often do you get a $2 Bounty coupon?

The other coupons and discounts offered on Upromise are on this page.

Getting your savings

Once you reach a point in your account where you want to withdraw your savings, all you have to do is click on “Use Your Earnings” at the top of the page. You have a few Upromise options which I will explain below.  It’s very easy, and there’s no reason in the world you shouldn’t use Upromise.

You can pay down a loan. There’s Upromise Loan Link®, a free service that lets you automatically transfer $25 or more each quarter from your Upromise account directly to your eligible Sallie Mae® serviced student loans.

Also you can put your savings in a flexible, tax-advantaged 529 college savings plan that gives you professional management, account control and much more.

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