Blog Sweepstakes

If you've read my blog, you know that I enjoy sweepstaking as a hobby. In the 12 plus years I've been doing it, we've always won more than we've spent in stamp money. I've watched it go from a strictly "mail-in" type hobby to a mostly online hobby -- with most sweepstakes now having a way to enter online.

The most recent wave in sweepstaking seems to be blog sweepstakes. Sites like mine will offer a prize to readers/posters. It's something I'm getting used to and trying out. Often, you can get an extra entry in a blog sweepstakes by posting about that particular sweepstakes on your own blog site. I'm giving that a try for the first time today.

The Thrifty Maven, a blog site I like a lot, is giving away a $100 Home Depot gift card from the Home Depot Garden Club . You can enter too! Just visit The Thrifty Maven site and follow the instructions. Good luck!

There is also another great giveaway at Champagne Living and you can win a $25 Target gift card from Got Free ECards. It ends on 6/20.

Some Recent Wins

Now that we are really penny pinching, I appreciate the occasional win more than ever! For now, we are going to allocate $42 per month (one roll of stamps) for sweepstakes entering. However, that may change if things get tight, so I'm also trying to enter sweepstakes online more.

I was notified the other day that one of my online entries was picked in a General Mills sweepstakes open to active duty and retired military families. We won a Nintendo Wii system, complete with the Wii fit.



That was a really nice surprise and one that will be put away as soon as it arrives. We figured it would make a great birthday present for my son or, if my husband is still unemployed at that point, we may just keep it hidden until Christmas. I also won a $50 gas card the other day, which was also a military sweepstakes. That will come in handy when Mike goes to job interviews.

Today, while I was out doing errands, I figured I would pop into the local Indian casino. They give me "free play" each month in varying amounts and I had $7 to spend this week. I do love going to the casino and it is one of those things that I have to give up for the most part just now. However, I decided to limit myself to the $7 they were giving me and another $5 in my wallet. When the money was gone, then I would go also. Just about the time I had used up my $5, I hit the bonus game on the slot machine I was playing and, during that bonus game, I won a $90 jackpot, combined with the other winnings during the bonus game, I walked away with $110! That will pay for our perishable groceries for the week! Too bad that doesn't happen ever time I go to the casino.

These wins, while not incredibly expensive or lavish are so nice, especially now that we can't buy a lot of luxuries for the time being.

Wonderful Month!

More good news in the sweepstakes department! I entered Mike (my husband) in a sweepstakes for a flat screen TV and -- he won! I couldn't believe that we won THREE flat screens in less than a month! Again, it's one of those experiences that only happen in sweepstaking! We've received the first flat screen that I won, and it is beautiful. Our problem was that we wanted it in the family room, where we spend most of our time -- and the entertainment center in there was a "assemble yourself" pressed wood type that we've had for years. Small and not so pretty -- no room for the flat screen TV. What we REALLY wanted was a solid wood entertainment center with a console, side piers, and bridge above, large enough to fit the alcove where our current entertainment center was dwarfed.

We looked online and at local stores and all of the entertainment centers that we liked were over $1500. Of course, we didn't have that type of money to spend just now, so we were thinking we would have to settle for a larger "assemble yourself" pressed wood type -- sigh. Then I looked on Craigslist and found a beautiful cherry entertainment center, just the right size, just up the street. It looked gorgeous in the pictures and was the right price ($500). We went to see it and it was obvious the owners took really good care of their belongings -- not a scratch on it! We brought it home, set it up, and now are watching high-def TV and marveling that we have such a beautiful and functional entertainment spot in our home! The color of the wood compliments the room color so beautifully! It's just a pleasure to look at (and of course to watch our new TV there). We got a shock when we went to buy the hookup cords for the TV -- but luckily the $1000 Best Buy certificate had come and we were able to use it to buy the things we needed (and we'll use it to buy the wall mount for the my DH's flat screen when it comes in a few weeks). We're planning on using the rest of that Best Buy gift card for Christmas presents instead of for a third flat screen. It just makes more sense financially.

We just got back from a trip to DC where my daughter Mysti was married. It was such a beautiful wedding and reception! Of course, I cried like a baby when she walked down the aisle. Most of the family came from all over the country and I was able to rent a vacation home for a decent price -- so we all stayed together (both sets of in-laws (and one of their poodles), my two brothers (one with wife and baby), my three unmarried children, and my nephew. My sister and her husband just moved to DC, so they visited often, as did my daughter who was getting married, her fiancé (now husband), and some of her bridesmaids when they got to town. It was like a family reunion every night! We did some sightseeing, but most of all I enjoyed helping my daughter get ready and doing some cooking for her, putting about a dozen meals into her freezer for them to enjoy when they get back from the honeymoon. Now I just have to help her find some great deals on some furniture -- as their living/dining room is totally bare!

Lady Luck Has Been Smiling On Me!

It's been an interesting month. I'm still getting use to working in the "real" world again and missing those days of editing in my jammies from home. However, we've seen a significant decrease in the credit card debt, which was the goal.

I've also managed to find some time for my sweepstaking on the weekends and I'm starting to see some results from that, which is nice after a rather long dry spell in that area. In the past few weeks, my daughter Kristina -- who just went away to college -- won her very own iPhone. This was welcome news, as the first week in college she was pushed into a swimming pool with her old cell phone in her pocket. The same day, she also won a $10 ITunes card -- so now she can buy some music to put on her fancy phone :)

A week or so later, I got an affidavit stating that I had won a 37" LCD HDTV -- something that has been on my "to win" list for the past year or so. I guess that "name it, claim it" mentality works -- because just today I received another affidavit and I won ANOTHER HDTV -- this time in the form of a $1000 Best Buy gift card! At the time, I was just heading to the post office with ten entries to another sweepstakes (a regional and quick closer) with 20 prizes of HDTV's -- LOL!

I think I need to start "naming and claiming" things like gift cards to home improvement stores or money for home improvement. The bathroom remodel is coming up quicker than I would like. I'm keeping my eye on the internet, hoping to find most of the fixtures and such on sale -- but a little help from some wins would be wonderful!

A Fun, Free Evening Out!

One of my hobbies (when I can find the time) is sweepstaking. I've been doing it for over ten years now and have won some nice things over that time, such as a Mazda Miata car, $20,000 in Home Depot certificates, several trips, and other nice prizes. Some of my best wins are not expensive things, but special things that a normal person could not buy -- such as the time I won a 50-pound custom made chocolate/almond candy bar with my name inscribed on the label! That was a ton of fun that lasted a long time -- the family got hammers and screwdrivers and used them to chisel the candy bar into chunks, which we stored in ziplocks and kept in the freezer for more than a year, eating it slowly over time. The label is still in my "memory" box, with some other nice mementos from wins.

Things have slowed WAY down in the wins department in the last several years, but occasionally something fun will come along. Tonight the family went to the local ballpark as I was drawn as one of 20 finalists in a key turn to win a Harley Davidson motorcycle. As part of that win, I was given four tickets to the baseball game and $40 in vouchers for food. It was the last night before my youngest daughter, Kristina, went off to college, so it was nice to be able to spend it doing something fun.

It turned out that all 20 finalists showed up and we drew slips of paper out of a bucket to determine our order of drawing keys and trying to start the motorcycle. We then all went inside the stadium and lined up -- and they brought the motorcycle in. I was # 3 in line. They had told us that some keys would not even fit into the ignition, while others would fit, but would not turn -- and only one would turn all the way and be able to turn on the headlight of the motorcycle, which would determine the winner.

I was between a middle-age guy who seemed very excited and a very old woman who was on oxygen, who did not seem to care at all that she was there. The guy next to me asked her if she planned to keep the motorcycle if she won and she said she did not want it, but that she had kids who probably would like it. I'm not sure why she even entered -- as she was so unenthusiastic.

We lined up and the first woman went. Her key went in, but did not turn. Then the guy in front of me went and he could not fit his key into the ignition. Then it was my turn. I tried to see if there was a key more scratched than the others (that is one pointer you often hear in key turns -- to make sure to take the scratched key). However, they all looked the same to me and I didn't want to stand there all day deciding, so I grabbed one and gave it a try. It went in smoothly -- but did not turn :(

The crowd gave a sympathetic groan when I shook my head and then they gave me a big hand (I later found out that I was on the jumbotron and the family said I looked good and "normal" -- so I guess that was a good thing.

I walked to the back of the line and then turned to watch the other contestants. The old woman was helped up the ramp (the motorcycle was on a trailer), put her key in the ignition, and the light on the motorcycle came on!! I couldn't believe it! She did not even smile when she was told she won! My daughter said that her son and daughter were sitting behind them in the stands and the son said, "I already have a Harley!" I just don't understand why they would even enter this contest if 1) she was not interested in winning and 2) her son already owned a bike. I'm sure it was rather disappointing to the Miller Beer and Harley Davidson people (the sponsors) who were also present, as this woman was obviously not in their target audience and did not even seem happy to have won.

I did feel lucky that I at least had a chance to try my key -- as the other 16 people never even got to give it a shot, and that had to be frustrating. I went back up into the stands and we ate lots of ballpark food and heckled the other team for a bit until it started to rain. Then we headed home. All in all, it was a fun night -- but I really would have liked to have won!

Maybe the next drawing I'm in (for the $2000 Visa card) will be luckier. That one also has great odds, with only 21 finalists and, on that one, I don't have to be present to win, so it will be less stressful for sure.