Shipping without leaving the house

Do you hate going to the post office?

Do you have paypal?

Check this out.

If you have paypal, you can log in to your account under www.paypal.com/shipnow and send your packages without leaving the house. Here's how.

This is primarily for domestic shipping. I have not done much with international shipping, or with the new customs form online option.


What you will need:
~A free paypal account, start here

~A working printer

~Packing supplies, such as tape, envelopes, and scissors.

~A stack of flat rate boxes/envelopes to always have handy. These are free and can be picked up at any post office. Or, if you really don't want to leave the house, you can ask them to ship you some free flat rate boxes here. The package comes with 1 small, 2 medium (one top loading, one side loading) and 1 large flat rate box. Again, free of charge and free shipping to your house. There's no limit on how many you can get!

~A food scale that goes up to at least 1 lb. I found mine at bed bath and beyond for about $8. Money well spent. Be sure it has a removable top. If you're frequently shipping heavier items, you may want to buy a scale with a higher limit. Here is mine!

Keep in mind, when picking out envelopes, the labels that print take up a good chunk of space on the envelope, about 4x6 inches. I usually use these nicely padded envelopes from Sam's club. A 25 pack of 6x9 envelopes for $6, not bad, they look like this. Just enough padding for protection. They come in different sizes as well.

The cliff notes:

Here is the shortcut version:
1. Log in to your paypal.com/shipnow account.
2. Enter the send from and send to addresses
3. Select a shipping service type (priority, first class, media)
4. Weigh your item and enter the weight (remember 16 oz is a pound)
5. Enter the mailing date, signature confirmation, insurance, email message.
6. Print label, tape to package (without taping over the barcode)
7. Put in mailbox for pickup. You do not need to schedule a pickup.

The full notes:

1. Go to paypal.com/shipnow and log in to your account. Immediately, it should bring up the create your shipping label page.

2. Edit your address if it isn't correct, you can also add multiple addresses if you frequently ship from different addresses. I do this to enter my work address instead of my home address. You can also add the sender's email address so that they receive a tracking number and notification that their package has been shipped.

3. Then, select your carrier. You can use USPS as a default, but it also has the option for UPS, which I've never used. So these steps below are for the USPS shipping method. There are two options, feel free to weigh your item and mess around with the different shipping methods to get different pricing. After you select one method and fill out the information, click continue, you will pay at the next screen. To edit the shipping option to view different pricing, click on EDIT SHIPMENT DETAILS right above the Source of funds section.

Option 1: Flat Rate box/envelope: Now, if you have those handy flat rate boxes/envelopes, you just select the Priority Mail option. Unless, you happened to grab the Priority Mail Express envelopes/boxes, then you would select Priority Mail Express. Keep in mind priority mail is automatically insured up to $50 free of charge. Also, there is free delivery confirmation and tracking information.

Priority mail is the way to go if your items are heavy or if you need it to arrive quickly. The shipping time is usually 3-5 days.

As a side note, Priority mail is usually cheaper when purchased online than the post office. I tried to find an article proving this, but I couldn't. All I could tell you is from personal experience. Most recently, I shipped a Large Flat Rate box to myself from Christmas and it was closer to $18 at the post office (plus the 20 minute wait) verses the $15.80 online.

Here are the online flat rate boxes. If I ever happen to step foot into a post office again, I'll write their prices next to these. USPS does mention a potential discount to purchasing online here, but no specifics.

Small flat rate box: Online: $5.25
Medium flat rate box: Online: $11.30
Large flat rate box: Online: $15.80
Flat rate envelope: Online: $5.05
I've never used the package/thick envelope option under Priority because I find it confusing.

Skip down to step 5 below.


Option 2: Weighted mail: If you are using another envelope use this method (often much cheaper, but the same price as the post office). Don't seal it yet. It's always easier to tape the label onto the envelope before you put the items in. ALWAYS round up to the next ounce to be safe. The last thing you want is to have a package returned to you for insufficient postage.

If your food scale only goes up to a pound (like mine), try weighing the contents individually and adding the weight together. If you are stuck with something that weighs over a pound and can't be separated, try searching for the item on Amazon, it will likely have the weight for you.

First class mail parcel - 2 to 5 days: First class will not let you ship anything over 13 ounces. This is the USPS statement on first class mail: Envelopes and small packages that are at least 3/4 of an inch at their thickest point and weigh 13 ounces or less. If not greater than 3/4 of an inch thick, the contents must be prepared in a strong and rigid container. I know my envelopes adhere to this, so I always stick with those.

The price ranges from 1oz at $1.93 to 13oz at $3.47, each additional ounce varies and can also vary with the zip code.

Media mail: This is usually the cheapest way to send books, but if it is a heavy book, don't rule out the priority mail flat rate envelopes or boxes. Also, for an easy reference to get the weight, check Amazon for the item, it will often list the weight.

With media mail, here is a list of items that you are legally allowed to ship: books, film, manuscripts, printed music, printed test materials, sound recordings, play scripts, printed educational charts, loose-leaf pages and binders consisting of medical information, video tapes, and computer recorded media such as CD-ROMs and diskettes. Media Mail® cannot contain advertising.

Parcel Select Nonpresort service - Small and large packages, thick envelopes, and tubes containing gifts and merchandise can be sent using Parcel Select Nonpresort. To be honest, I have NO idea about using this method. I just checked to see how much it would be to ship a 1 oz package and also tried 10 pounds and it said $32.70. SO, I would probably avoid using this method, as the flat rate method would probably be the cheaper option.

Here's more info on the package size options per the help link. I always just use large package because I'm always shipping either small packages, or flat rate.

Package Sizes - Domestic only

• Package - A package is a parcel less than 84" when you add the length + girth. Length is the longest side of a package. Girth is the distance if you wrapped a string around the 2 smaller sides of a package.
• Large Package - A Large Package is a parcel where the length + girth is over 84" and less than or equal to 108". Length is the longest side of a package. Girth is the distance if you wrapped a string around the 2 smaller sides of a package.
• Very Large Package - A Very Large Package is a parcel where the length + girth is over 108" and less than or equal to 130". Length is the longest side of a package. Girth is the distance if you wrapped a string around the 2 smaller sides of a package.
• Package/Thick envelope - A package is a parcel less than 84" when you add the length + girth. Length is the longest side of a package. Girth is the distance if you wrapped a string around the two smaller sides of a package. A Thick envelope is a large envelope exceeding 3/4" thickness.
• Flat Rate Envelope - Pay a flat rate, regardless of weight to any U.S. destination, for any amount of material that will fit in our Express Mail or Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope. You must use USPS® packaging to ship at the flat rate. Envelopes are available at your local Post Office or you can order online through http://supplies.usps.gov
• Flat Rate Box - Pay one flat rate, up to a 70 lb. maximum, to any U.S. destination, for any amount of material that will fit in the Priority Mail® Small, Medium, or Large Flat Rate box. For International destinations, maximum weight limits are 4 lbs. for Priority Mail® Small and 20 lbs. for Priority Mail® Medium and Large Flat Rate Box. You must use USPS® packing to ship at the flat rate. Boxes are available at your local Post Office, or you can order them online through http://supplies.usps.gov or http://eBaySupplies.usps.com.

4. Weigh your item with your envelope on the food scale. ALWAYS round up to the next ounce to be safe.  Below is more information on the shipping methods to choose from. You can also learn MUCH more info about each method here. You must be logged in to paypal to see that help link.

5. Once you select your shipping method, fill out the remaining options, and decide whether or not you want insurance. I've shipped over 200 packages and I have only used insurance once. I've never had a problem with missed or damaged packages. If something does happen, you can file a claim with USPS and/or Paypal.

Click continue.

It will then ask you to confirm and pay. After payment, your label will appear in a separate window.

Click print, and tape it to your package. DO NOT TAPE OVER THE BARCODE PART. I've had a couple mailmen complain that the barcodes do not scan as easily when they are taped over, even if it is clear tape. Then they have to manually enter the super long number, and the last thing I want to do is upset my mailman!

6. After you print your label, cut along the lines accordingly and tape and seal your package extremely well. I'd rather over tape and annoy the receiver, than under tape and lose any contents!

7. Then, place in the mailbox for the mailman to pick up. Or, if you have a huge stack, you can drop them off at the post office, but they will reweigh all of them to make sure you did it right. A few times, they've asked me to pay for more postage and I refused, then went home and sent it with my mailman and had no issues. Again, if they are over 13oz, you CANNOT drop them off in the blue boxes. **Correction thanks to Amy (thank you!), you CAN drop them off in the blue boxes since they have an electronic label. The 13oz rule only applies to stamps. Read more info here.

There you go! Again, wordy, but I guess I like to oversimplify things?

Additional information:

I'm guilty of reusing envelopes from my previous online purchases. I literally have a box full, it always comes in handy.

The post office recently added the option of printing your customs form online (for international, military, or APO shipping). I have not tried this yet, but it will hopefully continue to spare a trip to the post office. If I ever try it, I will update this information. If you've tried it, please let me know!

Starbucks Rewards

Are you a Starbucks junkie? Do you use your credit card or cash to pay? You are missing out!

Did you know that Starbucks has a rewards program?

Check out the details and how to sign up here.

Yes, it's FREE!

Personal experience

My name is Teara and I love coffee. I've worked at three coffee shops in three different states. Just thought I should get that out there. Whew. Okay. Let me warm up my coffee first.....

So, to start this program, I used one of the gift cards I had (you can also just take one from the store and put money on it). Once you get the gift card, you have to register it with the My Starbucks Rewards program, here. It doesn't ask for too much as you can see, name, email, password setup, and birthday. Already have a gift card that you still have money on? Or even if it's all used up, READ step 9a below for a jumpstart to Gold!

So, now that you are set up, what do you do? What do you get?

There are different tiers of their rewards program. Here's from their website:

Welcome level
To earn your first rewards, just register a Starbucks, Teavana or La Boulange Card.

• Birthday drink or treat on us
• Birthday coupon for 15% off a purchase at StarbucksStore.com 
• Custom offers via email (be sure to opt in)

Green level
Collect five stars within 12 months and you’ll be in the Green level.

• Birthday drink or treat on us
• Birthday coupon for 15% off a purchase at StarbucksStore.com 
• Custom offers via email (be sure to opt in)
• Free in-store refills on hot or iced brewed coffee and tea  

And then comes awesomeness:

Gold Level
Collect 30 Stars within 12 months and you’re at the Gold level.

• Birthday drink or treat on us
• Birthday coupon for 15% off a purchase at StarbucksStore.com
• Custom offers via email (be sure to opt in)
• Free in-store refills on hot or iced brewed coffee and tea
• A free food or drink item after another 12 Stars earned
• Personalized Gold Card

So, I have already mentioned that I LOVE coffee. So, how do YOU catch up and get stars more quickly? Here are some hopefully helpful tips:

1. Card swipes matter: Most importantly, each SWIPE of your registered Starbucks card is one star. (Don't go using your other cards, use the same one each time). So, if you're buying multiple items, say a cookie and a latte, have the barista swipe your card separately. It's worth it, and they don't mind.

2. Price doesn't matter: You can by a $6 coffee drink, or a $2 cookie, it doesn't matter. Don't be fooled into thinking the more you spend, the more you get. Not the case, re-read tip 1.

3. Read the bottom of your receipt: Always get your receipt, often times they do an afternoon special. If you purchased something in the morning, you can get a $1 baked good after 2pm. Which, you could use your Starbucks Card to pay for and get an extra star. Sometimes, they do special pricing on certain drinks in the afternoon, so read up!

4. Opt-in for emails: Make sure you are opted in for their emails and/or text notifications. Their custom offers emails that may seem like a waste, but sometimes provide some info on double or triple stars offerings.

For example, this week, I received an email saying that if I purchased any espresso drink between 8-10am from 1/27-2/2/15, I would get an extra star for each drink.

Last week, I received a Starbucks "Challenge" if I were to go to Starbucks 3, 4, or 5 days in a row between 1/20 and 1/24 I would earn either 3, 4, or 5 bonus stars. I failed, but I made an attempt ;)

A few times, I have just been asked to fill out a survey of my most recent experience and they give me a star.

**Keep in mind, not everyone may receive the same rewards, so look at your account to see if you have any. There's often more rewards at the Gold level**

5. Download the app: This comes in handy if you happen to forget or lose your Starbucks card, you can pay with the app! You can also receive notifications, keep up on your card balance, and check your number of stars, and other rewards on the app. If they have any special offers, they will often notify you on the app as well. AND, once you get your free drink, that reward will show on your app. You can also keep track of your account on the Starbucks rewards website. I prefer the app as a method of keeping track of my rewards.

6. Always keep your card loaded: You can easily reload your Starbucks card online or on the app by entering your credit/debit card information. What's also easy, is transferring gift card balances. I received 5 gift cards for Christmas and I added them to my account, then transferred the balances to my Gold card. Cha-Ching! Then I deleted those cards from my account to avoid the clutter.

7. Check expiration dates: Once you receive your free drink (which is good on ANY priced ANY sized drink), be sure to notice the expiration date, the free drink is usually only good for 30 days.

8. Read the fine print: I believe if you do not reach the 30 stars within 12 months in your strive for Gold, you have to start over again at the end of the 12 month period. If you don't reach Gold, you will stay at green. Here's the info on that issue. From their site:

Once you’re at Gold level it takes another 30 Stars to maintain Gold level for another 12 months. 

And since you get a free drink or food reward every 12 Stars, you get at least two rewards for just staying Gold!

If you don’t qualify for the Gold level again by your anniversary date (i.e. the date you qualified for the Gold level), you’ll revert to the Green level and lose all your Stars. Don’t let that happen!

If it does though, don’t worry—if you earn 30 Stars again within 12 months, you’ll move from Green level right back to Gold level.

9. Customer service: If you happen to have any problems, I cannot stress enough to CALL Starbucks verses emailing them. Their email response was literally five days. Sometimes, you may have to wait on hold a bit, but they are generally pretty nice. I've been having issues with my account (long story) and they feel my frustration and as a courtesy they have credited my Gold card a couple times, totaling $35. So, be nice :)

9a. Already used a gift card, still have money on it? Or even if you don't. Register THAT card as your Starbucks card, this will upload all of your transactions on that card, click view transactions under card management. Then contact customer service and tell them you just found out about the rewards program, and you'd like to get stars for your previous transactions. They should be able to confirm your number of transactions and then bam, you now have a jump start to GOLD! It worked for me, so I'm assuming it will work for you. It's worth a shot. Again, CALL, don't email, and have that gift card number handy, they will ask for it right away in the prompts.

10. Google is your friend: If you google "get free starbucks star codes" there are a lot of results. I'm guessing there are some out there, but again, I haven't had any luck and I haven't really tried that hard to find them. If you Google Starbucks hacks, you can find some cool tricks at saving money.  However, I'm very particular with my drinks, so if you try to "add milk from the condiment bar to an espresso shot to make your own latte for cheaper" I know pretty well that it's not going to taste the same. You get what you pay (or don't pay) for.

With the exception of one of their secret menu options, the Café Misto. Otherwise known as a Café Au Lait, or in plain English, coffee with milk. In my opinion, it tastes better than a latte, and it's cheaper, like $2. It tastes great warm or hot! For some extra deliciousness, add a shot of hazelnut. Also, if you haven't tried a cinnamon dolce latte, you are missing out. Yum!

ALSO, if you don't mind hot or cold lattes, order a large drink of your choice, even if you won't finish it, and then just put it in your fridge for the next day. You can drink it cold, over ice, or put it in the microwave. Still tastes delicious.

I think that's all I've got, do you have any other Starbucks tips?

How are you liking these blogs so far?

Ebates is not a scam

Let me repeat. Ebates is not a scam. There is no catch, it is legit. Still don't believe me? Why would I lie to you? Come on.

What is Ebates?

Ebates is an online company that pays you cash back for shopping with major retailers by going through the Ebates website first.

How does it work?

This is why people think there's a catch, and here is the simple answer as to why it works. The company is an affiliate to many online stores. What’s an affiliate? An affiliate is a person (or company in this case) that makes a small commission for referring people to businesses.

As a perk, when you sign up, you also get a free gift card of your choice. It's usually either $5 or $10. Here's my referral link if you'd be SO kind to use it :)

So, what does Ebates do with the money they earn as an affiliate? They split the money with you. Cha-Ching!

Do I need to give them personal information?

All you need to do to sign up is have a valid email address for login purposes and a valid mailing address for them to send your checks. That's it. No credit card required, they don't need your bank information, nothing else. You can also sign up to get paid via PayPal, but I always like my checks.

What do I have to do? Sounds like a lot of work.

Wrong. Are you too good for free money?! Ha! I've timed it, a whopping 23 seconds. There's a video on my FB page.

Writing it out makes it look more tedious, but here's instructions for the readers:

This takes a second of self control, if you have to, write a post it on your computer saying "Don't forget your free money!" Ebates actually just added a Cash Back Button that you can add to your browser to help remind you. I haven't tried it, I'm pretty set in my patterns! So literally to shop with ebates do this:

1. Go to ebates.com (sign in, make an account and be super sweet by using my referral link)

2. Check which free gift card you want.

3. To shop, search for a retailer in the ebates search menu, for example, Target, click on shop now.

4. Shop at the normal Target website. Ebates will track your purchases and credit your account within a few days.

5. Keep in mind, if you exit that tab or browswer, you will need to go through ebates again in order to get your money!

TIP: I usually do my shopping and comparison and then add the item to the cart. Then I go to ebates, click on Target and my item is still there. It's my OCD way of making sure I'm getting paid :)

Do you make a lot of money?

Personal experience. I signed up in November 2013, total, I've made $559.12 (including next month's check). Now, a good chunk of that is from shopping, but the other chunk is from referring friends. This is where some easy perseverance pays off. Keep in mind, you only get paid quarterly so a little bit of change here and there tends to add up. Here's a screen shot of my total payout so far, click on the picture for a clearer image.

Referrals

Every once in awhile, Ebates offers some great referral bonuses. Currently, the bonus Jan-March is refer two friends and earn $50. In order to claim that money, your friend needs to make a qualifying purchase ($25 minimum) at any retailer found on the ebates website. They also have to go through the ebates site and then click on the retailer in order to get that credit. They have a year to do this after signing up in order for you to get that bonus.

Now, keep in mind that if they sign up for Ebates in February and do not make a qualifying purchase until November, you would only qualify for the referral bonus that is going on in November.

I made bank on this when I first started. They were doing a special, refer 10 friends and you get the normal $5/friend referral bonus, but if you refer 10 friends you get an extra $100! And bam, I did it. Proof:

Ready to refer people?

I have a love of marketing strategies, I have an infatuation with business, hence my BA and MBA in Business Management. SO, when you go to "sell ebates" to get referral money, you really have to sell it! Let me guess, you've tried, but you aren't making any money? You've probably done stuff like this: "I love this site, it's so easy!" or "Please sign up for ebates using my link." Boring. Make it interesting! Here's how:

1. Show pictures of your checks, people love proof and it stresses the truth that it's not a scam (just don't show your address or the routing numbers).

2. Give specifics. Example, "I made $20 off my recent canon purchase just by going through ebates first!"

3. Pleading helps! I've once used, "I only need ONE more person to sign up and make a purchase through ebates and I'll reach by $75 referral bonus!"

4. Use the "send shopping reminders" on the tell-a-friend page to remind those that have signed up to make their purchase. They are intrigued, just haven't been pushed enough. Push it! (Thank you, Salt n Pepa).

5. Show screen shots like I have. Don't lie, you know it worked, you know you're impressed. Umm, right?

6. Find a great deal and share it. For example, Snapfish frequently does 20% off cash back! Sometimes Gap is 10%. Share Kohl's coupons/cash AND ebates. Great deals!

7. Don't be afraid to be annoying. Who cares!

Shopping trips

So, do you make any money shopping?? Well yes, as a matter of fact I do! Here's the bulk of my Christmas shopping money that I earned by going through ebates first, $84.16, this is just from Nov 2014 -January 2015. Again, a little bit here and there adds up!

 

Some tips:

Things to keep in mind.

1. The percentages change sometimes daily/weekly for retailers. For example, for Black Friday they were doing some KILLER specials, like 12% cash back at Gap, 10% back on Kohl's, etc. So, keep that in mind when you're shopping. There's really no way to predict when that change will happen, and there's no way to get a credit for the difference if you miss out.

2. Use ebates to get a better deal! I do this ALL the time with Amazon/Kohl's. One downfall with ebates is that it doesn't always give great cash back for Amazon which is a bummer. It's also very limited to what category of items it will give cash back on. See example below.

3. If you're buying something that is available at multiple stores, search ebates for which store is offering the most cash back. You're bound to make money, save money, and discover new stores. However, don't be fooled by some sites that are a little too good to be true. Trust your internet surfing instincts here. Here's a list of all the stores that participate with ebates.

My typical shopping example.

So, say I wanted to buy this awesome Diono Radian RXT carseat (which I do eventually for baby #2). Here is how I "shop" with ebates. Of course I compare other websites too, but it usually comes down to Amazon vs Kohl's.

Amazon price: $269.99 (plus free prime shipping)
Kohl's price: $271.99 (plus free shipping, takes a little longer)

The normal person would say, okay, Amazon is cheaper, the end.

Let's see.....

Amazon is currently doing 3% cash back with ebates.
So, $269.99 x 3% = $8.10 off, makes the total price: $261.89.

Kohl's is currently doing 6% cash back with ebates:
So, $271.99 x 6% = $16.32 off, makes the total price: $255.67.

If we just stopped here, Kohl's would be the better deal, as you're getting $16.32 cash back into your ebates bank. But let's go a little further.

Hold on to your hats, this is where I work my magic!

I ALWAYS check for Kohl's coupons on either retailmenot.com or even better, this Kohl's Coupons facebook page. It looks like Kohl's has a current 30% off coupon as well. So let's do more math.

Don't forget the Kohl's total is still $271.99, the ebates cash back doesn't apply when doing the math because it is not a Kohl's discount, it's only through the ebates website.

So, take 30% off the $271.99 and we get a whopping $81.60 off. Making the total $190.39. This is the revised Kohl's price, so we have to recalculate what we would make with ebates.

$190.39 (revised price) x 6% ebates = $11.42 in ebates cash, making the total now:

$190.39 - $11.42 = $178.97 + tax. (Again, you're still paying the $190.39 to Kohl's, your cash back will show up in ebates).

NOW, we could stop here, but if you are signed up for Kohl's FREE Yes to you rewards program, you get 1 point for every dollar you spend and a $5 Kohl's cash reward for every 100 points.

So, with this transaction with $178.97 dollars, we will get 178 points, and we'd get an additional $5 cash back. Which you can use later at Kohl's, or sell it on ebay. That's another post for another day!

So, if we take $178.97 - $5 = $173.97 + tax is our new total. Amazon wanted $269?! We saved $95.03 :)

BUT, WAIT! There's more! If you buy during Kohl's cash time, you usually get $10 for every $50 spent. Which again, I sell online. And on top of that, you can use coupons, and on top of that you still earn Yes to You rewards. SO, if you have the patience to wait til Kohl's cash time, especially for a big ticket item, the normal price of the item usually increases during these times, but you can usually make quite a bit more with selling the Kohl's cash.

*As a side note, if you don't have a Kohl's charge card, I highly recommend it. We are a credit card free family, but Kohl's is one we keep! The extra coupons, and free shipping deals make it worth it.*

Are you still there?! Did I lose you?

So, this is my typical process for big ticket items! Once you get in the habit, I promise it's not that difficult to shop around! Or just use ebates like normal people do to get cash back on purchases.

Ebates also has an app you can download. SOME stores, like Amazon, are not available to use on the app, so you need to shop through a computer. Also, there are some random stores that actually offer MORE cash back when using the app vs the computer. However, ebates is pretty good at letting you know when that will happen.

And yes, I do shop online a lot.

Walmart Savings Catcher / Bluebird

 

This is a nice thing that you probably won't get rich off of, but it's free money that eventually adds up, so why not?

My personal experience: I live in Del Rio, we have a Walmart, HEB, a plethora of dollar stores, and a CVS coming soon. I've scanned in 9 receipts since November and I've received a total of $1.90 back. I really wish this would compare prices with the commissary, where I do most of my shopping, but it does not. However, if you read testimonials on other sites, people do make quite a bit of extra money, just for scanning a receipt.

All you do:
1. Download the Savings Catcher app on your phone.
2. After making a purchase, scan the barcode at the bottom of your receipt (don't through it away just yet, sometimes it doesn't always go through the first time). Also, I think you need to scan the receipt within 7 days of the purchase.
3. Within a couple of days, Walmart will check the prices on your items and compare them to other local retailers. It will also give you the option of cashing in your savings once they find them.
4. This also keeps an electronic copy of your receipt on the app, so my folder of "keep the receipt just in case" is shrinking :)

I blindly use this app and don't pay attention to much of the details. However, this blog does a really good job of detailing the specifics about the program if you're interested, thanks SimplisticallyLiving.com.

In addition, thanks to Hip2Save.com (follow them on facebook for AWESOME deals), I've learned that if you have or sign up for the Bluebird card at Walmart (not a credit card) you can cash in and DOUBLE your savings catcher money earned. This is only valid til February 28, 2015. Here's more info on the bluebird/savings catcher bonus. And here is more info on what Bluebird actually is, it looks like a bank card without the bank and fees. It's also backed by Consumer Reports. https://www.bluebird.com/

I do not plan on using bluebird since the promo ends in February.

Again, if you live in a small town, with not many options other than Walmart, you probably won't make but a few pennies at a time. But, it's free pennies and pennies make dollars :)

Amazon Prime

**How do I have time to blog right now? I sent an email to myself using the voice button on my phone keyboard to type out 90% of it!**

Everyone loves Amazon, right? Now that I live in a really small town I really, really love Amazon Prime.

You can start a free 30 day trial (don't forget to cancel). You can also get a $5 referral bonus for encouraging friends to sign up. Please use my link, I think this is it:

 

Already have prime, start making money! Here's the referral program info:

 

Or, if you're a student, you can get a free 6-MONTH trial! After your free trial, your membership will upgrade to Amazon Prime for 50% off. Cancel anytime. And you can get a $10 referral bonus for each student you refer.

 

SO, What is Amazon Prime?

Amazon Prime is a yearly membership that costs $99. Yea, that may sound like a lot but let's take a look at what all you get.

 

 

FREE TWO DAY SHIPPING

 

Most everyone knows if your Prime member you get free 2-day shipping on prime items. Not every item on Amazon is a prime item but most of them are. Or if you're like me, you change your shopping preferences to get whatever is similar to a free shipping item! (If you have patience to wait 3-5 days for a package, pat yourself on the back, you are awesome).

 

$3.99 ONE DAY SHIPPING

Here's something you may not have noticed with your Prime membership. When you go to check out, you also have the option of selecting $3.99 ONE DAY SHIPPING! So basically, overnight shipping for super cheap! Perfect for those must have immediately items that happen to be out of stock anywhere in town. I used this for teething supplies, crucial.

 

Is it worth it? Let's do the math

 

Say, on average a package costs $5 to ship. That $5 for shipping could take anywhere from 3 to 10 business days. You could also pay even more than $5 for expedited shipping making packages closer to 2 to 5 days. Furthermore, you could pay for overnight shipping which is anywhere from $9-25. from certain retailers.

So, a membership of $100 a year, divided by an average of $5 shipping per package, you would need to order online 20 times a year to break even. Okay, so maybe 20 times sounds like a lot and maybe it is to people who have access to great stores like Target, Costco, Whole Foods, Sam's Club, and a fully functioning Walmart. Lucky you!

 

BUT, if you live in the middle of nowhere, you can easily get 20 packages shipped to you within a short few months. What on earth do you buy, Teara?! Anything and everything, from dog food, baby supplies, cosmetics, bulky grocery items, electronics, books, toys, clothes, things you would normally buy at retail stores but for usually the same price without having to get out of the house. AND, with my Prime membership I also get....

FREE RETURNS

 

Now, this is where reading the fine print may come in handy, as I don't think all items qualify for free returns, or some items have exceptions (electronics, diapers, etc). However, I've returned maybe 5 things to Amazon, and I've never had an issue, AND I've received a full refund. You just have to know how to work with the system which leads me to my next perk.

 

AMAZING CUSTOMER SERVICE

 

The level of customer service at Amazon is spectacular. I'm assuming it's because we have a prime membership, but I'm sure it's fantastic without it as well. Here are a couple of tricks I recently learned about the shipping. Keep in mind, try to be as nice as possible to the representative, as they can help you more than you think! If you happen to catch a rare mean rep or one that won't help you as much as you would like, you could ask to speak with a supervisor or just disconnect the chat and try your luck with someone else. Be patient!

1. If Amazon Prime 2-day shipping is ever late, you can get your prime membership extended for a month, for FREE. This is true, I've done it twice. If you had selected the free two day shipping and your package arrives late you can contact Amazon customer service and they will add an additional month of Amazon Prime membership to your account for free. Don't lie about it though, tracking doesn't really allow for that. Don't believe me? Read it for yourself, straight from the source: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201117450

 

It sounds like a tedious task, but Amazon has a really good chat support which I use very frequently. At the end of each chat, it allows you to email a transcript of the chat to yourself. I keep these on file for record if anything happens to go wrong. Although, with Amazon I've never had an issue. My satellite and phone bills are another story for another blog :)

2. Amazon wants me to pay for return shipping?! Try this first. Ok, so in the occasion that Amazon does ask you to pay for return shipping, you can contact customer service for that as well. For example, in my pregnancy mind I ordered paper plates, which I thought were the normal size but turned out to be 6-inch paper plates. Totally my mistake. When I got the order, I realized my mistake and I selected the service to return the item to Amazon. The return shipping was outrageous! The plates cost me maybe $15 and the shipping to send them back was about $10. I thought this was crazy, so before I thought of the many uses for such small plates that I would force upon our family, I contacted customer support via chat. I told them the situation and even explained to them that it was my fault and the tech simply said,  "Just put the item back on your porch and UPS will pick it up from you. Also, I have credited your account the full refund amount." I didn't even have to print a label! UPS printed their own label when they picked up the item. The total process took me about 10 minutes. (As a side note, I did buy these through Amazon Subscribe and Save, another blog for another day, so the Prime membership may not have clicked with the returns). 

 

3. Change your prime shipping address. Okay, so this may be a no-brainer, but it was an AH-HA moment for me. Did you know, you can change your shipping address for your amazon prime items? For example, when packing for our trip home, I really didn't want to pack a ton of diapers and wipes and baby food, AND Christmas gifts. So, I ordered all the items on amazon prime and had them shipped home (to my name) with free 2-day shipping, no hassle!

 

4. Share your Amazon Prime membership. This is a feature I haven't used yet, but if you have multiple people living in your house, you can share the same Prime perks. From the Amazon website: Prime members may invite up to four eligible household members living at the same address to enjoy the shipping benefits of a free trial or paid Prime membership at no extra cost. If you purchase a Prime membership as a small business, you may invite up to four co-workers to shop with this corporate account. For more information, go to Share Your Amazon Prime Benefits.

Okay, so all of that sounds pretty awesome right? BUT WAIT, there's more!

 

There's so many benefits to Prime, I've barely scratched the surface on their other services. Here's a list of some that I have and haven't used:

 

1. Amazon Instant Video (and Prime Instant video). Amazon has quite an extensive library of free instant videos for prime members. these videos include many seasons of TV shows and movies as well as kid shows and movies, for free. IF you have an iPhone, you can download these to your phone to watch offline, using no data or wifi. Perfect for entertaining kids at the doctor's office. If you have an Android, that option isn't available yet. Boo.

 

2. Prime Music. Unlimited, ad-free access to over a million songs and hundreds of playlists. Not as awesome as Pandora yet, but this just launched within the past year.

3. Prime Photos - Unlimited photo storage in Amazon Cloud Drive. Haven't tried this one yet either!

 

4. Prime Early-Access - This gives Prime members a 30-minute head start on purchasing Amazon Lightning deals. Lightning deals are basically price reductions on random items for a limited time and on a limited quantity. Some of them are fantastic deals, some of them are the same as Walmart's every day price, so be sure to do your research before you think you are getting a deal!

 

5. Prime Kindle Books - I do not have time to read, nor do I have a Kindle, so I can't say much about this service. But here is the info from Amazon: Choose one featured early release book for FREE every month with Kindle First. Borrow one Kindle Book per month from over 500,000 titles for free on any Kindle device with no due dates. Learn More

6. Prime Pantry - Access to Prime Pantry, where members can purchase and ship to addresses in the contiguous U.S. low priced grocery, household, and pet care items for a flat delivery fee of $5.99 for each Prime Pantry box. Prime Pantry orders cannot be shipped to addresses in Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. I have not tried this yet, but I'm very intrigued.

Again, selfish plug, if you would like to sign up for Amazon Prime, please use my referral link as a token of appreciation for me telling you all about how awesome it is! 

 

Okay, so that's the rundown on Amazon Prime, and we've barely touched the awesomeness of the rest of Amazon. SO, be on the lookout for another blog talking about my other favorite features of Amazon. Including: Amazon Mom, Subscribe and Save, Selling your stuff on Amazon, Trading in items on Amazon, Buying used on Amazon, Ebates and Amazon, Using coupons on Amazon, price matching with Amazon, price adjustments after purchase, daily deals, Amazon Price check app. I think that names most of them!

Do you have a favorite Amazon feature that you use frequently? I'm always up for learning more about Amazon.

Here's access to info about Amazon Prime.

Conveniently, here's a buzzfeed list that talks about Amazon shopping secrets to keep you entertained! 

 

Thanks for reading! Hope you learned something new.

8 weeks left.

I sit here wondering where the time went. How do we only have 8 WEEKS left until our little one arrives? I have no idea. Thankfully for me, since the start of second trimester, I've been a cleaning, organizing, project planning fool and have had plenty to do to keep me busy. While we are very much looking forward to the arrival of our baby, we are also trying our best to make the most of our time together.

Everyone has seen or heard about the blogs or people that say "just wait." Wait until the baby arrives, wait until you can't sleep a full night, wait until your house is a mess, wait until it's your baby crying nonstop, wait until you can't function etc. Well, we've been waiting and wanting this moment and we intend to cherish the heck out of it when the "fun" times come. After all, that's parenthood, that's what our goal is and was, to become parents. This was an intentional choice. Why would we want to wait any longer? We know there will be challenges, we know we will be tired, but we also know it will be worth it.

Now comes the time in the pregnancy where I'm thinking, wow, 8 more weeks of just my husband and I. We've known each other for nearly 15 years, we starting dating (the second time) 8 years ago, and have been married for a little over 6 years. It's always been him and I. We have accomplished nearly everything we have wanted to do together (though our European trip is on hold). We shared our first job together at McDonald's in high school, went to prom, graduated high school, college, and grad school. Planned a long distance wedding, traveled all over the country, accomplished our first long deployment and many TDYs. We've added two pups to the family, conquered debt, and have moved five times. It's always been him and I.

So, now as our family dynamic is about to change, I am excited to embrace it. Excited to see my husband hold his little baby girl for the first time, to see them napping together, see them playing together. I'm excited to see him come home from work and embrace his two girls. I'm excited to see him proudly carrying our girl around town, to work functions, and at get togethers. I don't fear the sleepless nights, the crying, and the hecticness, because of these things. We won't be anywhere close to perfect parents, but no one says we have to be.

The Lord doesn't give us more than we can handle, and we will definitely cling to that promise.

So yes, our family dynamic is about to change for forever. We accept it and pray that God will continue to bless us just as he always has.

What's new

It doesn't look like people really blog in the summer, and it looks like I'm one of those people! But for memories sake, here's a recap of what we've been up to since May.

1. We had the Hoes family come and visit from Abilene over Memorial Day weekend, had such a great time! Love this family so much!

2. Our nursery is coming along, we now have a crib, dresser, and painted light gray walls, possibly some tealish curtains. I've had many people ask, and if you are interested, we are registered at Amazon, Target, and Babies R Us.

3. We celebrated 6 years of marriage and actually stayed in town! Very rare for us! We had a rather classy meal at the Applebees :)

4. We found out we are having a baby girl and everything looks healthy! If anyone happens to have some used baby girl clothes and would like to send them our way, we would appreciate it! After watching my nieces and nephew grow up so fast, the thought of paying for new clothes sickens me!

5. We spent 4th of July weekend in South Padre Island, another Texas city to check off the list! We love the beach, it was so good to get away. We also took the pups in the new car and they did so well. We puppy proofed the car and it came out unscathed. We LOVE our new car, LOVE LOVE LOVE!

6. As far as the pregnancy goes, this week I will be 7 months. I've officially gained 20 pounds! It's getting harder for me to bend over and get up after sitting down. Sleeping on my back is getting difficult. I'm not sure if it's the hormones or the heat, or both, but at times I feel myself turning into a crazy impatient person, especially with strangers. I still haven't been sick, it's been an easy pregnancy, we are so blessed!

I think that's about it. Hope you all had a great 4th!

My birthday/anniversary/mother's day gift

We've been talking about it for awhile now. We need a new car! Not that there is anything wrong with ours, it's just that I'm a very impatient person and having a baby and two two-door coupes is just not going to fly for us.

If you're an "avid" reader of the blog, you know that nearly a year ago we paid off the last of our 100k+ debt. See Here. SO, we are coming up on a year of being completely debt-free!! I must say, it's been a great year. Throughout that year, we've been saving and saving for a new car. We've test drove the Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot, Ford Explorer, Infiniti JX, and the new Nissan Pathfinder.

My personal favorite from the get-go (after all the test drives) was the Infiniti. I liked that it was unique, the interior and exterior were beautiful and not cheaply made, and I liked the extras it came with that were standard. Josh also loved the Infiniti, but we weren't sure if the extra price was worth it. So, a close second was the Ford Explorer. We liked the thought of having two captain chairs as opposed to the bench style backseat. The interior of the explorer was also rather nice, but still second place to the Infiniti. We left the Ford dealer pretty much thinking that we were probably going to go with the Ford because it was cheaper. We then ran the numbers for each car. We found out the captain chairs for the Ford were a bit extra and quite a few other things that were standard on the JX, were extra on the Ford. SO, when it came down to numbers, the difference between the Ford that we wanted and the JX that we loved was about $3,000. We.were.shocked! Why get a Ford, when you can get a "luxury" car for just a little more? Not to mention, a better resale value.

During Josh's birthday trip, we spent the last day in Austin dealing wtih the Infiniti dealer there. The biggest shocker was after working with the San Antonio Infiniti dealer for the past year, not once did they mention that Infiniti does a military discount similar to employee pricing. That was one of the first things the Austin dealer had mentioned, so we decided to stick with them. And SUPER long story short, we have a car being delivered to Austin for us from Baton Rouge, and if all goes well, we will pick it up Memorial Day weekend.

Another long story short, we sold my car! I posted it on the base yard sale page late Saturday evening, Sunday morning we had a bite, Tuesday afternoon it was sold!! We were able to get KBB value on it as well. SO, goodbye to Coby.

Debt-free/slightly pride-filled sidenote. Spending a little over 40k on a car is a HUGE deal to us, so we were rather meticulous with a lot of things and debated the purchase throughout the past year. I found myself having to justify the purchase in my head in order to defend it, if anyone thought we were being too spendy. I came up with this. I have been driving the very base base base model of a nice new 2006 Chevy Cobalt. I had taken great care of it and because I started off with a cheap car, that was more money we saved in paying off other debt. After selling the car, I realized that that car only cost me $1070/year to have!! That's pretty awesome. I had mentioned that we had been saving so that in addition to the sale of my car, we are going to be able to put half down in cash. Praise the Lord for financial responsibility. We were also eligible for an amazing loan rate through USAA. So, this car should take us about 2 years, MAX, to pay off. And, if I have to validate it anymore, all the debt we have is a car payment. Amazing. Plus, with this being a 7 seater, we plan on having this car FOREVER.

Without further ado, out with the old, and in with the new:

29th Birthdays!

As most of you know, Josh and I are only two weeks apart, with our anniversary a week after my birthday. SO, April and May are pretty fun months for us.

 

As I mentioned before, we spent the morning of Josh's birthday flying out of Vegas back to Austin. That day we had a delicious dinner at Shady's Burger and then went downtown for a concert Josh had been wanting to see, The Gaslight Anthem. They were playing at a bar, outside, on a beautiful night. There were a TON of people there, and even though I didn't know a most of the songs, the band put on a great show. We also had some drinks (mine virgin of course) on 6th street. It felt good to feel young again, going to rock shows and staying up late. And then, midnight hit and we were exhausted and headed back to the hotel!

 

 

 

 

Josh's apple pie was a little delayed this year because of our trip, but he got it and loved it. I'd say I'm getting better at making it, but it's different every time!!

 

His birthday gift from me was to get the window tint on his car fixed! It held up really well where he purchased his car, Indiana, but the Texas heat on that tint isn't holding help to swell. So, it's on the agenda to get fixed on a San Antonio trip.

 

As for my birthday, we were a little more low key, but with some Texas flare! We had a squadron function at a local RV park where we enjoyed some Texas two-step lessons. And contrary to what we had originally thought, Josh and I CAN dance together, and the two-step CAN be done in flip flops :)

It was a great time filled with many laughs, great food, and awesome friends.

 

 

 And in case you were wondering what Josh got me.....it's on the next post.


And proof my husband doesn't age....

 

Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, Red Rock, Austin - 4/19-4/27

As always, we like to get away.

We've been planning our Vegas trip for quite a while. We wanted to catch some shows, cool sites, pool time, and time with friends. Missions accomplished! We drove out to Austin on the 19th so that we could catch the Austin auto show and hopefully get some more insight on the car we are going to purchase. Also, Del Rio's airline just exited DR on 4/13, so now our flight options are 2.5-3.5 hours away. Austin was cheaper, and we had things to do there, so Austin it was. Can you believe that? Our city is so friggen small, they can't sustain an airport! I digress...

Saturday morning we flew out of Austin to Las Vegas. Our first plans were to get to the hotel, walk around, and get a quick bite to eat. I did not know where we were staying, Josh had stressed that it was a surprise. We've always wanted to go to Europe, and with my 5 years of French, Paris has been on the top of my list. SO, we pulled up to the Paris hotel and he said, "we've wanted to go to Europe before we had kids, so here were are!" My husband is awesome.

We had plans to see Tim Allen at 10pm (midnight our time) so we decided to take a little nap. Well, someone hit snooze on the alarm a little too much (Joshua!) and we had about a half hour to book it nearly a mile down the crowded strip AND have time for dinner for this soon to be crabby and hungry, pregnant lady! Needless to say, McDonald's was a life saver and we made it just a couple minutes late. Tim Allen and his opening act were great!

The rest of the week was a little bit of a slow blur, I guess that's what I get for taking so long to blog about it. We walked around the strip A LOT! Caught all the free shows, the Mirage volcano, the Bellagio fountains, and the Treasure Island pirate show.

Then we headed over for a tour of the Hoover Dam. Pretty magnificent to see! It's amazing how they could have constructed something so elaborate so many years ago without the technology, health regulations, and wages that we have today.

After that we headed over to meet up with our friends the Luppolds and the Pachlhofers. We had some delicious food and wonderful conversation catching up. We have missed them so much!! On Tuesday a few of us headed over to Red Rock Canyon to check out the area. It was rather gorgeous and definitely a different type of desert and hill country than we are used to seeing here in Texas! On our way home we stopped at the infamous In-N-Out Burger. Josh and I's first trip there, believe the hype, it was delicious!!!!!

Later that day (Brooke's birthday!) the ladies headed out for some pedicures before our nice dinner. Our dinner that night was delicious and I've never seen a restaurant so accomodating to birthdays! They had an insert in their menu wishing Brooke a happy birthday, she got a free dessert, and they gave us each a copy of the picture they took of our group.

The rest of the week was spent back on the strip. This time we stayed at Mandalay Bay for two nights. When we arrived, they for some reason gave us a free upgrade to a premium Vegas Strip view. Awesome! This hotel was our pool time and Josh has been wanting to stay at this pool forever!! It was a beautiful hotel with many pools (some heated), and a lazy river. The highlights toward the end of the trip were eating at a Brazillian Steakhouse for the first time and seeing a Cirque du Soleil show for the first time, Ka. I wasn't really wanting to go to a Cirque show, they all seem too feminine, but boy was this one awesome!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We then flew back to Austin on Friday morning (Josh's birthday) for some more entertainment.