A big thank you to Swagbucks for sponsoring this post!
As you all might know, I have quite a love affair with Starbucks. It used to be one of my biggest money-wasting habits a few years ago, but I was able to drastically cut down on my visits there and now only go as an occasional treat.
The thing is, I would still feel guilty if I was forking over cold, hard cash for my caffeine craving that could be used for something more practical for Little Miss. Like oh I don’t know…diapers, wipes, clothes to put on her back, food to eat, wedding fund, college fund….I think you catch my drift.
I have a very difficult time spending our money to treat myself without feeling guilty. We have so many bills and expenses to allocate money towards, that I just cannot justify spending it on something like a $5 frappuccino for myself.
So how the heck do I treat myself without feeling guilty?!
I buy my beloved Starbucks drinks with gift cards I earn through Swagbucks!
I discovered Swagbucks last year and it has been awesome you guys. It allows me to use only gift cards I’ve earned through their rewards program to fund my coffee obsession. As in, I treat myself quite regularly and never pay out of pocket for my treats. Pretty darn fabulous, if I do say so myself!
What is Swagbucks?
I remember hearing a lot about Swagbucks before I started using it, but never quite understood the concept until I actually dove in myself. Swagbucks is essentially a rewards program where you can earn free gift cards for the things you already do online. You are rewarded with their points called “SB” which you can then cash in for gift cards or even cash through PayPal!
They have several stores that you can choose gift cards from, and some of my other favorites besides Starbucks gift cards are Target and Amazon gift cards. What more can a gal need in life?!
My favorite quick and simple ways to earn points on Swagbucks
There are several different ways that you can earn points to redeem for gift cards, and each of the different activities will reward you with a different amount of points in return for completing the activity.
I have a few favorite ways to earn on Swagbucks that are pretty simple and don’t consume that much time on my behalf. And I’m not exaggerating when I say they don’t take that much time…between my freelance business, blogging, and being a stay-at-home Mom,”ain’t nobody got time for that” is pretty much my life motto these days.
While there are a few more activities you can choose from to earn your points, these are my personal favorite ways to earn:
1. Shopping Online
I tend to do a lot of my shopping online, usually on Amazon or Target just because I find it to be especially convenient now with a babe in tow. Sometimes I just don’t feel like lugging her all around to run errands, so online shopping is my saving grace a lot of the time!
This is probably my favorite way to earn points because it’s literally just one extra step in my online shopping experience to be able to earn points for a purchase I was already going to make anyway.
The only thing you have to do is go to the Swagbucks site under their “Shop” tab, find the store you were going to purchase from, and then you’ll enter that store through Swagbucks. Swagbucks then tracks your purchase through that store and you earn a certain amount of points depending on how much money you spent. It’s a pretty easy way to earn points, considering you were going to make that purchase anyway!
2. Searching
Yes, you read that right. You can earn points just for using the Swagbucks search feature! It’s powered by Yahoo, so instead of going to Google or Yahoo to search the web, you simply just use the Swagbucks search and earn points for that search you were already going to perform. Easy, right?
Yes, I totally just searched for my own blog below. It still amazes me that it even shows up at all, hah!
3. Answering the Daily Poll
The Daily Poll is a fun question that changes on a daily basis and it only takes a matter of seconds to answer it because it’s typically just a Yes/No answer. Below is an example of what a daily poll looks like.
And in case you are wondering…YES, I’ve been to a Disney Park – Disney World in Orlando 🙂 . Can’t wait to take Little Miss there someday and see her reactions to everything!
It doesn’t get easier than that when it comes to making some extra money! If you haven’t used Swagbucks yet, I really recommend it. It’s a great way to earn gift cards to be able to use towards either treating yourself like I do, or spending it on necessities like groceries!
Cheers to Swagbucks, this drink is on you! 😉 . Love being able to treat myself to Starbucks without the guilt!
How do you manage to treat yourself without feeling guilty? Let me know in the comments below!
Great idea! It is so important to allow yourself a little “splurge” now and then. I like to use credit card rewards to get gift cards for restaurants or stores and use those to treat myself a bit.
Agreed Ali! I love credit card rewards too! We mostly use them for airline tickets, but my hubby has a credit card with rewards and will typically use the points to get me Starbucks gift cards…lol so he funds my habit too. Love that man!
I’m like the last person on earth to do Swagbucks. I had this master plan of getting a new laptop and starting with it (and freelancing). Sigh, the laptop thing is wrought with problems (and is my post today).
Oh no!! I’ll be reading your post shortly to see what’s going on!
I use swagbucks also!! I love it! 🙂 such an easy way to get free stuff!
That’s awesome Samara! It really is, I thought it would be too time consuming initially which is why I didn’t start using it until the last year or so, but it is a piece of cake!
I need to look into this! I love the idea of being able to indulge a little without veering from our budget and discipline!
You definitely should Daisy, it’s a really great way to indulge without the guilt factor!
Hmmmm…while I never feel guilty about treating myself…I like getting gift cards so that – technically – others can treat me 🙂
Thanks for the info and take care.
Lyle
There ya go, Lyle! Nothing wrong with “being treated” 🙂
HA! I love it! And the picture was awesome! Smug satisfaction at its finest! 🙂
I’m right behind Kirsten on never having done the swagbucks hustle. I meant to last year when Tennille wrote about it, but then things just got so crazy busy it got lost in the shuffle. Thanks for the reminder! Cheers! 😀
Haha thanks Kay! I was totally trying to take a selfie in my backyard and it was pretty hard to not crack up at myself trying to get the Starbucks perfectly in the shot lol!! Definitely check it out when you have the time, it’s a pretty fun way to earn some gift cards!
My husband and I have built into our budget a discretionary allowance for each of us. It’s so that we can each have a bit of freedom in buying some essentials that have a broad price-range – like shampoo and clothing – and so that we can each have some guilt-free spending money. I rarely shop online, but if I start to do so more often, I will definitely look into Swagbucks. Enjoy that Starbucks!
Thanks so much, I definitely enjoyed it! 🙂 That’s awesome that you have a budget allocated for those types of purchases; I get Starbucks several times a month (sometimes a couple times a week since Little Miss has joined the crew if I’m being honest) and this has been a great compromise for me to indulge without spending money on it!
I’ve heard of Swagbucks but have yet to sign up. I actually can’t remember the last thing I bought online, but now that I’m working I probably will end up shopping online more. I’m kind of afraid to start because most everyone I know who shops online does it very often, haha!
What’s your “go-to” drink at Starbucks?!
Definitely use it if you go the online shopping route Sarah!! Haha very true, I am pretty good at limiting myself to only necessities these days. I use to love online clothes shopping a little too much before my no clothes purchases 2015 challenge 😉
Either a tall iced coffee in a grande cup with extra cream and sweetened (use to get splenda but stopped for pregnancy/breastfeeding and now it’s just a habit), or a grande caramel frap if I’m feeling decadent. Haha I’m realizing how specific this is and how crazy I sound right now. What’s yours?! Iced coffee with splenda I feel like I remember you saying?!
I’ve never tried Swagbucks but I broke my Starbucks addiction when I got myself a Keurig. On their website, they have such a myriad of flavors, they’re just wonderful! I love that I can make these delicious treats for myself at a very reasonable cost every day–guilt free!
That’s so awesome Chela! I think part of the Starbucks obsession for me is an excuse to get out of the house too. Especially with a toddler and working from home, it’s nice to use it as an excuse to head out and grab a coffee and get a change of scenery haha.
I like the photo of yourself that you posted 🙂
I like swagbucks a lot as well. I purchase a LOT of stuff for the organization I work for and I always go through Swagbucks first (since this does not affect the price).
I have appreciated those extra dollars for a long time now. (usually I just wait till I can cash out a $25 paypal card)
Haha thanks Mariana, I felt like such a dork taking a selfie with my Starbucks but thought it would be too fun to not add to the post lol! That’s so awesome, good for you girl!!
Swagbucks is definitely a great way to earn rewards and receive gift cards. Like Ali mentioned (above), I too use credit rewards for gift cards or cash that I use to treat myself. I don’t travel enough so I have never used my credit card points for airfare or hotel stays.
A couple of other ways I get funds to treat myself:
Recycle bottles & cans – Every 2-3 months I can cash-in about $20 in recyclables and use that at Starbucks or for whatever I want. I can usually get my apartment roommates to help save their recyclables, which definitely helps. It helps that I live in California, as not all states allow you to recycle your bottles & cans for cash.
Loose Change – I take my loose change (usually every 6 months) to a CoinStar machine and get a gift card, since they don’t charge a fee on gift cards. Most machines have Starbucks, Amazon, and my preferred choice, iTunes gift cards. I realize most folks these days use debit or credit cards for most in-store purchases so this might not be an option for all; however, some banks, like Bank of America, will automatically help you save your change with the keep the change program.