Wanna shop for free? Why not use points2shop?!

Welcome back readers! This weeks's review is of a favorite site of mine called points2shop.

It's a good one so I'll share a referral code here and then again later: http://www.points2shop.com/?ref=allpeachkitty ;

So here's my review:

PRO 1: 250 bonus points just to sign up - I love when I get rewarded just for joining a site! What I love even more is when the signup bonus is enough to request a prize right away! That's what you will find on p2s. When you sign up you get 250 points for joining and that is enough to request a reward which they will use to verify your address. They want to make sure that the people who sign up are real live people, since a lot of times people will try and pull a fast one on a business that sends out free rewards! 

PRO 2: Membership is free - Of course this is a pro in my book. Why do I want to pay money to make money? I don't, so instead I look for free sites that will pay me! This is one of them!

PRO 3: Points are given to use on amazon - When you complete offers you get points, these points are able to be used to buy anything on amazon that you could think of. The points system is also very easy to understand. 100 points is equal to $1.00 on amazon. So essentially points are worth $0.01 a piece. Not bad since I've seen some sites where the points are not worth nearly as much!

PRO 4: Points are given for many different things - There are points for downloading and running apps on a smartphone, and there are points for playing games, and there are points for printing and redeeming coupons and the list just goes on and on. Actually you may find that some of the offers are also on swagbucks. This can make it a little difficult to choose which site to use. I always weigh the value of the points I'm getting and see who will give me more for the same offer. Many times I find it is p2s and so I do the offer through them. But it is always up to you to decide. Just remember that many offers can only be completed once per person, no matter how many sites you come to them through.

PRO 5: They have an app for that - There is a p2s app that you will get points to download and then there are points that are exclusive to the app! Many of these points are from downloading and trying out a game. I made my first $10 giftcard just from the points I accumulated on my cell phone in the matter of a few hours! It really is a great feature!

PRO 6: The shoutbox is there for people to help you and they take their time to share info with you - I have never seen a site have people sitting around waiting to help newbies before! This site was awesome when I signed up and was kinda sitting there twiddling my thumbs because I wasn't sure where to go first, but the shoutbox announced I was a newbie and before I knew it I had 3 people offering me all kinds of tips and how to info! 

PRO 7: Multiple accounts per household - This is a first of mine to be listed on here as a pro, but it is for a reason. When I first signed up they had a rule of 1 per household, now it has been changed to 1 per person. This means that if Tom and Sue are married and both want an account, they can both sign up! There is a requirement however, anytime 2 people at the same address sign up for an account, they will have to provide proof, such as a driver's license, that they are in fact a living person. But like I said, this is a pro, I know many people who have had to forego signing up for a good thing because of a restriction of 1 per household!

PRO 8: You can change from earning points to earning cash if you choose - Say you've been shopping online for a long time and don't want anything else from amazon (I doubt it will ever happen) then you would be able to switch from points to cash. This may not sound like a big deal, but it is. You would go from earning points that can only be used on amazon to earning cash that you can then request a check after you've gotten the minimum in your account. It's actually a very nice option.

Ok so now on to the cons, because we all know there has to be some:

CON 1: A lot of same offers from similar sites - Many offers are only allowed to be completed 1x per person, and if you really enjoy these kind of sites and have several accounts then it's likely you have come across some of the offers already and maybe have even completed them too. Sadly this will effect your ability to complete it on p2s. So use caution when doing offers, I always check around and make sure I'm getting the most points for an offer before completing it on any site. Remember that it's OK to "window shop" your points before completing an offer! I do it everyday!

CON 2: There aren't as many free offers as other sites have - Now this isn't really a con, so much as an inconvenience. But here's the deal, every site I have shown you and all the ones I've yet to show you have a niche. Swagbucks for example has the niche of rewards for searching the web and/or watching tv. ICS has the whole survey niche going on. P2s just doesn't have a niche like these guys. And to be honest I'm not really sure what their niche is, YET! But I know I will figure it out eventually! And then I will share it with you all!

So there's my review, not a lot of cons because this is one of the better sites that I've found! Again here's a referral code to get you started: http://www.points2shop.com/?ref=allpeachkitty   Hope to see you around p2s really soon! 

Shortcuts for coupons? ecoupons are the way to go!

Hey guys, so today's blog is on a site I've discovered called shortcuts.com. This site is an ecoupon site that will make saving money at the grocery store much easier! As long as you shop at a store that is listed, all you have to do is register your store loyalty card and then just click on the coupons you want to add to your card. Then when you go to the store and use your store loyalty card, since your coupons are already loaded on your card you see the savings when you checkout! Simple!

Ok here is my review:

PRO 1: Many different stores to pick from - Shortcuts partners with many stores so you can be sure that your particular store is one they work with. If it isn't, you can email the site and ask that they get started on getting your particular store added! 

PRO 2: No membership fees - As a freebie lover, I HATE to have to pay a membership fee to save money! This site is great because they don't charge any fees! You just register your store card and then add your coupons!

PRO 3: Ecoupons aren't the only way to save - They even let you have the choice of printing out your coupons if you'd rather do that than attach them to your card!

PRO 4: Site is pretty user friendly - I've seen my fair share of coupon sites and I've got to say this one is pretty easy to navigate. Everything is clearly marked and/or labeled for finding quickly!

PRO 5: You can do cash back online shopping - If shopping online is your thing and maybe you don't belong to any rebates sites, you can go through shortcuts and get cash back on your online shopping!

Ok so I know it's not the longest list of pros, but my list of cons is a short one too. But we all know that even the best of sites still have something wrong, and this site is no exception!

CON 1: The site seems to be geared more to northern states - As I used to live in the Northeast this was never a problem, however since moving to FL I haven't been able to find 1/2 the stores I shop at regularly that I can enter the store cards for! Best believe though I have already submitted my request to shortcuts to add those stores for me!

So there you have it! This site in my book is definitely worth the time to check it out! Even if you just start there for your online shopping it can get you a good bit of money back on your purchase! The site again is shortcuts.com! So check them out! Have a good week and see you all back here next Wednesday!

Want another way to make your money go further? Try plink!

Hey there guys and gals! I hope that you all have had a great week and are enjoying the tips I've given so far in my past blogs!

So today's review is of a site called plink, it's a site that rewards you for using your designated shopping card at designated stores. They give you points and when you get enough you can get gift cards to make your money go further! It's kind of like a rebate, if you're trying to figure out how to describe it. Here is a referral code to get you started if you're looking to dive right in:  https://www.plink.com/index.cfm/main/homepage/refer/167178/aid/1264

PRO 1: Rewarded for shopping - If you're the type that likes to get rewards for shopping, this is definitely the site for you! As stated above, you get points for using your designated card at designated stores. 

PRO 2: Very simple site - The site is a basic design, and it's very easy to navigate. 

PRO 3: Several rewards - Ok, you will also see this in my cons list when I get to it, but for the pro aspect the rewards that are available there are 12 different types of rewards to use your points on, but they are promising to add more soon. 

PRO 4: You can shop online or in store - Many of the rebate sites that exist will only give you credit for shopping when you start on their site and go to the merchant's site from your reward site. This is true for plink as well when it comes to online rewards, however they also offer the option of registering a card and then using it at the stores and/or restaurants you tell them you want to earn from. Then when you go to that store and use the designated card, you get the points! It's really a nice feature and in my opinion, it's what sets plink apart from the rest of the sites!

PRO 5: New scan a picture of receipt get points option - plink has just released a new promotion that they run (mostly for limited times and on VERY specific items) but they will send you an email about it before the promotion and then all you do is buy the item being promoted and take a picture of your receipt and email it to them, they give you the points! It's that easy!

Now on to the cons, because every site even the best sites will have some cons:

CON 1: Only 12 rewards - As this is in the pros as a pro because 12 different rewards is a good START, it is also a con when you are an avid rewards site person such as myself! I like my sites to offer at least 25 different options for rewards before I jump on the band wagon. However the reason I do promote this site and use it myself, is because they actually have rewards that I use. Sometimes you see when sites only have a few rewards it's because they are only affiliated with those few sites. However plink has a few but some are amazon, walmart and american eagle just to name a few.

CON 2: You have to register a credit or debit card - Now for a lot of people I know, this is a BIG draw back to any online site, when you have to share your credit card info it's a scary thing! BUT let me set your mind at ease. I've been a member of plink now for over a year and I have not seen any charges on my credit card that I have not put on. The reason you have to register your credit or debit card is because that is how they allow you to use your card in designated stores and get the points for doing so.

CON 3: They put a limit to how many points you can earn from each store - This can be a big draw back for a lot of people as well, if you spent the money, then you should be able to get the reward. This is true, but to me it is understandable as to why they have this limit. Since plink is not affiliated with the places they are offering points and/or rewards, they aren't getting a big kickback from those sites. How can they give us a kickback if they aren't getting the kickback. For this reason I understand the limit, BUT it still doesn't make it any easier to accept. 

So there you have my review, I hope to see you guys next week for another review. Again if you are interested in signing up for plink and giving them a try, here is a referral code to get you started: https://www.plink.com/index.cfm/main/homepage/refer/167178/aid/1264