Shopping at Staples soon? Here is a terrific printable coupon good at any Staples store (in-store only) for $25 off of any $50 purchase. If you have any office supplies or Christmas presents to pick up you may want to make a break for your local Staples soon!

CompUSA is going out of business. Right now you can use the code ‘office20′ to get 20% off on office products from CompUSA. This only works on office supplies. They also offer free shipping so you can make a pretty good deal if you need something small like these sharpies for $0.80 or a pack of rechargable batteries for only $11.99.

Off Topic: If your family uses a lot of batteries I suggest getting a battery charger and using rechargeable batteries. We have an energizer battery charger and it has not only saved us a ton of money in batteries but our battery-needing toys never collect dust! The batteries are much more expensive but the cost is definetely lowered in the end.

I wrote a week ago about starting up a CashCrate account. As some of you may know, I am VERY skeptical. I never believe anything and I always assume that ‘too good to be true’ is just that. (I bought a Kirby once. Enough said)
I am no longer a complete fool when it comes to product scams. This wariness has spilled over into these make-money-quick schemes, too, which is why I have never been caught up in these web companies claiming I can make easy money reading and filling out surveys.

…until CashCrate came along. I have read many good things about CashCrate and I know a few people who have received their checks on time like they were supposed to.
Still, I am ever the skeptic but I decided to just go ahead and try it anyways. The only reason I chose now is because we are moving soon and will be changing our phone number. I also used a separate, free email account with Yahoo for the spam I knew I would receive.

From what I have read checks are sent out the month after you earn. So, my December earnings will be sent out in January. Since I just started the last day of November I won’t be able to confirm my check receipt until January. That is okay with me. I am pretty confident that I will receive my check.
I never HAD to use a credit card – there are some offers that require them but you can skip those. Also, CashCrate pays via check so I never needed to give out my bank info either. I did have to verify my phone number though. It was one of those things where I click a button and my phone rings. As soon as I answer it and press the required button I was verified. Easy.

Some tips I have learned:

• You don’t need to complete the gold, silver, and platinum offers. I just skip them until the survey is over. Completing those offers will only get you the ‘special’ gifts. I never do the metal offers – just the survey portions.
• Not every survey or offer pays out immediately. In fact, most take at least 24 hours and some can take up to a few weeks. After you hit the ‘submit’ button you will see at the top of the screen how much is pending. When it is confirmed you will see in your monthly earnings.
• If you want immediate payouts you should look in the CashCrate forums. They have a place in there where people can say who paid out and how fast. I always try to do the surveys that people say pay out quickly.
• Be wary of offers where you are required to pay something and if you decide to do some of these trials watch out for shipping costs!
• Don’t be discouraged if one of your offers doesn’t seem to pay out or seems like a scam. Just close that one down and move on.
• Open up a free email account with Yahoo as a special spam account and be aware that you will need to give our your home phone number, though I haven’t had any additional telemarketers call me. I NEVER give out my cell number. Those offers get passed up.

I will keep posting updates as I learn. Some days I seem to do really well and some days I seem to only make a dollar or two. That is okay. $36 is pretty good for one weeks work at about 30 minutes a day while I am nursing my baby. I have to be sitting down for that anyway!

This weeks prayer requests: (for info on how to get your prayer request listed please go here)

Char asks for prayer for her new son with Hydrocele. It doesn’t appear to be serious right now but could be painful in the future.

Michelle asks for prayer for her husband post neck surgery, his neck brace removal, and healing.

C.W. asks for prayer for friends who will be moving soon, for strength to deal with her personal postpartum issues, and guidance for her family members going through a very life-altering situation.

T.H. asks for prayer for a young couple new to Christianity (N & D are their initials). There is a court case involved and much spiritual healing needed.

and of course, please continue to pray for my friends, Kara and Jeremy, and continued healing after the loss of Baby Curt.

And the winner of the feeding time package is…

Amber!

Amber, I will be contacting you shortly about your package! Or, you can contact me here.

Congratulations!

Are you planning on purchasing a digital camera sometime soon? Hey, it is Christmas and digital cameras are a pretty hot gift right now.

If you get your camera from Staples you can get a free printer, too. In today’s Staples email circular there is an ad for this Canon printer. When paired with two of the rebates on this page (the first rebate and last rebate as the page looks right now) you should be able to walk away with a free printer.

I suggest going local first because there are actually two rebates on this printer. There is a $20 just on the printer and a $50 bundle (printer and camera) rebate. Pair that with the $10 off sale at Staples (from 12/9 to 12/15) and you can get it free – if you are careful.
Going local will allow you to ask questions BEFORE you purchase, specifically about UPC codes. Staples is advertising this printer for free after two rebates however, both rebates want the original UPC codes cut from the boxes. This will need to be clarified before you buy your bundle. Double check about using receipt copies, too. Make sure to read your rebate forms carefully and read my tips and warnings page, too, if you are new to rebates.

Register at Hyatt.com for free and receive a $10 Starbucks giftcard in the mail in 6 to 8 weeks! I just did this. It took about 20 seconds to fill out the form. To prevent spam I used my special ‘spam only’ email addy. You do have to wait a few moments when you click through. The form you need to fill out will show up on this page.

This white Kitchenaid mixer is going for only $149 with FREE super saver shipping at Amazon.

Before you leave your comment and run make sure you check out our other giveaways for this week (pay attention to closing dates!). Yes, there are numerous giveaways this week! Make sure you enter them all!