Cashing Out With MyPoints

MyPoints is a an online shopping rewards program. According to their website, "Through simple online purchases from hundreds of retailers within the MyPoints network, members earn rewards Points from every transaction made. Members can redeem their Points for gift cards, travel miles or cash back." There are many other ways that you can rack up points on this site including, but not limited to, participating in polls, surveys, and questionnaires. In addition to these purchases, you can get points from BzzAgent. Whenever you do surveys, complete a mission or "create Bzz" on BzzAgent, you get awarded Mypoints automatically!

I finally have gotten to the point where I decided to cash out my points and get me some goodies. I really haven't put a ton of effort into MyPoints so I didn't expect much, but I ended up cashing out with two $10 Old Navy gift cards, and a $10 Barnes & Nobles gift card. These are the same as any other gift card, so you can use them in conjunction, with sales, deals, or coupons stretching your free money out even further!

If you do a lot of online shopping, I would advise shopping through MyPoints to get gift cards. If they don't offer any retailer rewards that you find appealing, remember that there is always e-bates which offers cash back on purchases from select retailers!

Cheap Gardening: Seeds and Plants

Hey, ya'll. It's time (at least for us Californians) to start thinking about planting gardens! Anyone can do it, even those who don't have a yard, and it's completely rewarding! I prefer plants of the edible kind, so I'm going to mostly cover information on those, but flowers are amazing, too!

For those of us who have planted gardens before, you know it can get kind of pricey to buy all things needed unless you just happen to have a perfect spot in the ground ready to go. My house is surrounded by a wood deck - it's nice, but there's not much ground we were able to use for plants, which meant buying a lot of containers and a ton of soil. Of course we also had to buy trees and other expensive rare plants because it can be a bit of an obsession. Let's just say I don't really want to think about how much money has been spent over the past year or two. In the process I have picked up some tips on how to get things done for cheap and even free.

Today we will start with plants and seeds.

Things You Didn't Know You Wanted: Medical Edition

A friend once told me that I've been to every website on the internet - twice. I took this as a compliment and even though it's far from the truth, I have been to ALOT of websites - many which have made me aware of things I didn't know existed and probably didn't need to know existed. From cute finds with animals that defy explanation (like this and this) to the much darker, disturbing side of the internets (I'll spare you those links. happy thoughts, people), it's a mixed bag of pleasure and pain this internet life of mine. I guess now is a good time to admit that medical supply websites are among the copious websites that I've had no right spending time on, but I definitely have. That's right, the same sites that sell pricey pink speculums and bed pans, is where I have found inspiration. C' mon, I've never claimed to be completely normal. Keeping that in mind, here are a few of my sweet, sweet finds:

Set of 5 Sundry Jars, QuickMedical $19.69

I was a little disappointed on a past doctor visit when I didn't see these ubiquitous fixtures displayed but I'm hoping doctor offices still use them because they are pretty darn cool. An entire set of five is under $20 and would be perfect for storing cotton balls and q-tips (or tongue depressors, if that's what you're into) in the bathroom. They also come in opaque white or fancy glass versions.

Swanky Sweepin' Volume 23

Daily:

Trip to Ireland and over 1,000 other instant prizes, ends 3/31

$2000 Saks gift card Ends 5/16

iPad 2 8 winners, ends 4/12

Hello Kitty popcorn maker Ends 4/13

Cheap Thrills: Graphic Artist

Spring is just around the corner, so for this week's edition of Cheap Thrills let's look ahead at some spring trends. We're going to do things a little differently this time, we'll look at some high end options and their more budget friendly counterparts.

Bright colors are an obvious spring trend, the weather starts to warm up and suddenly we're drawn to bold colors and big pops of color. But this spring we'll also see lots of graphic prints, in the form of abstract florals, modern geometric designs, and bold prints and patterns. These pattens don't have to be limited to your clothes, you can jump into the trend by looking for accessories with these fun patterns. It's an easy way to incorporate seasonal trends into your regular wardrobe. No need to spend big bucks to rock the latest style.

DIY Beauty: Body Scrub

Hello, Whoreders! For this edition of DIY Beauty we've brought in a very special guest Whoreder contributor, Kim. She's a good friend of ours and is known for her perfect poses (even when we're on a roller coaster) and her DIY beauty skills. She made us all an incredible scrub for Christmas, and we've all been raving about it ever since. I talked her into doing a guest post with us here, to share her knowledge and pass on the gift of soft, glowy skin to all of you. Take it away, Kim!

Rag Curlin'

For my recent trip to the Edwardian Ball I wanted old-fashioned, natural looking curls. Curling irons are great, but the spirals are just too uniform for me and my straight hair doesn't like keeping the shape for very long. By using an old technique and letting it dry rolled up, my hair not only looked natural and amazinnnggg, but it held all the way through the next day! The additional pros are that it's cheap/free (you can use rags, cut up old shirts, nylons, socks, or even paper bags!) and doesn't damage your hair!