One of my new favorite things...

Okay, I know of some of you (like anyone who is my friend on Facebook) are probably getting tired of hearing me prattle on and on and on about Swagbucks. But I'm going to prattle some more, because this is my blog, and I am here to tell you that if you're not signed up already, you are missing out!!

Here are the very basics - bear with me for a minute. There are lots of ways that you can earn Swagbucks, but the main way is by using it as a search engine. Just type in whatever it is you're looking for, and every so often you'll win Swagbucks just for searching. I typically win 7, 8, 9 Swagbucks at a time by searching, but it's not uncommon to win 11 or 12...and Fridays are Mega Swagbucks Days, so you can win even higher amounts. You don't even have to search for anything legitimately, if you're just after the bucks. I recently won 9 for searching "funky chicken." True story.

What do you do with the bucks once you've earned them? You spend them, of course! There are a TON of things to choose from in the Swag Store - books, clothes, electronics, you name it. My personal favorites, though, are the gift certificates. Amazon, Barnes & Noble (you reading, Dad?), Starbucks, Target, Paypal (which equals cash in your account), Travelocity. 450 Swagbucks earns you a $5 Amazon gift card. At the moment - and this is just with modest use, I'm far from a hard core Swaggernaut - I have 1726 Swagbucks in my account. That's enough for three Amazon cards, and I'm working on four...$20 to spend at Amazon, and you know they have everything! I've read many, many accounts of bloggers using their Swagbucks to help fund Christmas, and I'm pretty sure mine will as well. My goal is to use Swagbucks to pay for a LARGE chunk of it next year!

Three other ways to earn Swagbucks, then I'll shut up.

1. Swagcodes - these are codes you can find and enter on the main page of their website. Sometimes they're hidden in the blog, sometimes in a related store, sometimes right on the main page, you just never really know. Unless you subscribe to the nifty newsletter that *I* subscribe to, which emails you a heads up when a new code is posted. Way easier than hunting for them.

2. Toolbar - installing the Swagbucks toolbar puts a little search bar and easy access to the blog, store, etc. right at the top of your screen. Plus, you randomly earn 1 or 2 Swagbucks when you open your browser - a couple of times a day for me.

3. Referrals - telling your friends and family about Swagbucks and getting them to join to! It's quick and free and really, what is there to lose? You earn FREE STUFF just for doing something online that you were going to do anyway. Best of all, whenever someone joins because of you and earns Swagbucks by searching, you earn the same amount, up to 1000 or so.

So, what are you waiting for? Go sign up for Swagbucks - earn some free stuff, and help me out too, by using that link. ;)