Inbox Dollars

I recently joined Inbox Dollars, a free program that allows you to make money simply by reading emails or completing other offers. I tend to be pretty skeptical of things like this, thinking they may be scams or just a waste of time.

While I haven't gotten paid yet (you have to reach $30 before they send you a check), the money is adding up at a slow but steady rate. They send me a few emails a day, I click on the "Confirm this paid email" link, and I make a few cents. It really only takes a few seconds. You can also make more money by taking surveys or completing special offers. Be careful though because some of these are not 100% free!

If any of you are interested in trying out Inbox Dollars, check out their website here. Or, if you would like to help me out, feel free to click my referral link here. One other tip - you may not want all of these emails to come to your regular email address. I have a separate address for offers from stores and such that I wouldn't want to clutter my normal inbox.

I know there are other programs like this - Cash Crate, eBates, etc, and I haven't tried enough of them to make a fair comparison. I know some will pay you sooner than others, and some pay you by gift cards instead of cash.

What types of programs do you use to earn a little money online? Or, have you decided it's not worth your time? Please share in the comments below!

Reusing Listerine bottles

This Works for Me Wednesday trick comes compliments of my husband! Earlier this summer, we got some Listerine SmartRinse free after ECBs from CVS. Now, one thing we loved about this SmartRinse was how you could squeeze the bottle and exactly 10 mL of rinse would fill up the top & you'd use just the right amount every time.

When we finished the first bottle, Javier figured out that you can pry the top off & refill it with the mouthwash of your choice! It works best to use pliers to grab the little top, but now we can always measure out just the right amount of mouthwash and get to recycle the SmartRinse bottles!

Check out Shannon's blog for more tips!

Easy Sour Cream Muffins

As I wrote about in my Menu Plan Monday (oops... Tuesday!) post, I plan on taking sour cream muffins to our community group's potluck dinner Wednesday. So, in case you'd like this super-easy, super-tasty recipe, here it is:

Sour Cream Muffins

2 c. self-rising flour
1/2 pint sour cream (8 oz.)
1.5 sticks melted margarine

Mix all ingredients together & put in ungreased small muffin tins. Bake @ 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. These also freeze really well!

(I have made them in large muffin tins - this works, but sometimes they're a little doughy in the center.)

Menu Plan Monday - September 8-15

Welcome to my post for Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday! As like last time I did this... it's Tuesday. Apparently I just can't get things together to post on Monday! :)

This week is a bit crazy for us. We have a potluck dinner Wednesday (which will be pretty much every Wednesday from now on), and you can see several other out-of-the-ordinary events below too. Here's our stab at a plan though - it seems even more important to have during a week this crazy!

Tuesday: Leftover homemade pizza & spinach salad - we typically make 2 small pizzas on Sunday, eat one, then save the 2nd for another night or lunches

Wednesday: potluck! I'm taking easy sour cream muffins.

Thursday: Grilled tilapia with mango marinade, salad, and rice. Aldi (my favorite store!) has great deals on fish, and we scored tons of marinade at Sav Mor last Saturday.

Friday: Dinner theater! My dad is in his church play that shows as a dinner theater.

Saturday: Tailgating brunch (I'll make monkey bread), sandwiches for dinner (we'll be worn out after the game!)

Sunday: Lunch at church (provided), make fresh homemade pizza for supper

Monday: Mexican night - Bean burritos, rice, salad

We are blessed that where my husband works, lunch is provided usually several days a week. My lunches will be egg salad sandwiches, pretzels, bananas, or leftovers.

Please let me know any suggestions you may have for our menu plan or for things you'd like to see in my future menu planning posts!

Sav-Mor Sidewalk Sale

For those of you who live close to a Sav-Mor Foods, you need to check out their sidewalk sales! I have no idea how widespread this store is - I just know that we have one here in Greenville.

Today was my first experience with the sale - and I will DEFINITELY be going back! Javier & I went with 2 of our good friends with the plan that we would each fill our box up with whatever we could manage, then split what we ended up with.

Here's how it works: Sav-Mor, and other local grocery stores, round up food that has dented packaging or is near/past its expiration date. Since most foods have to have expiration dates well before they will actually go bad, Sav-Mor sells this food at a deeply discounted price at their sidewalk sales. What price, you might ask? $6 for everything you can fit into a large banana box!!

The sale starts at 9:00 at the blow of whistle - very exciting! Before 9:00 you have to line up around the perimeter of the sale (which is also laid out in rows of banana boxes). We got there at 8:30 - but will probably get there earlier next time. Most of the "good stuff" gets gone in the first few minutes, but we were still able to get 3 full boxes between the 4 of us. We fit everything in the picture above into the 3 boxes for a grand total of $18. We certainly won't need salad dressing again for a long time!

Goog 411

Today for Frugal Friday, I want to share about Goog 411. This amazing service offered by Google has saved me lots of time, money & frustration! (FYI - I am in no way associated with Google - I just love this service!)

Goog 411 is a lot like Free 411, except without the ads. All you do is dial 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411). An automated, voice-activated service picks up & asks you for which city & state you wish to search. You just speak the city & state back into the phone, Goog 411 confirms this, then asks which store or business you wish to find. Once it has found the business, it tells you the address, then connects you directly to the business. And... all this is 100% FREE!

As I'm relatively new to my city, I have used this when running errands and realize I need directions or store hours. This has definitely kept me from being lost at times, and also prevented me from going to a store that was about to close.

For more frugal tips, be sure to check out Frugal Friday at Biblical Womanhood.

Works for Me Wednesday - Freezer Storage Question

Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer is hosting a BACKWARDS edition of Works for Me Wednesday today! I was so excited... because I'm super curious about everyone's best suggestion for freezer storage.

Currently, if I buy a large-ish quantity of meat, I'll subdivide it into meal-sized portions and freeze. Ground beef gets frozen in Ziploc bags, chicken breasts usually get flash-frozen then all stored in one big bag. My dilemma really comes with other types of frozen items. For instance, I made chocolate chip cookie dough & froze some - just in a piece of Gladware. I have no idea if this will keep well or not.

Please let me know your best tips for freezing things (especially meal-type items or things other than just plain meat!). We also have relatively few containers that I can use for freezing things, so I may purchase some soon - any suggestions for this, too?