My First Two Months with PowerSheets

FTC disclosure:  This post contains affiliate links.

I have wanted a PowerSheets Goal Setting book for a long time.  When I was able to find a brand new one for 2019 at a Goodwill Outlet, I didn't care that I was several months into the year.  After all, my birthday is in July, and I always feel like July is another good time to make changes in my life.  (I feel like I get three "new starts" a year -- January, of course, July, and September.  I haven't been in school for over 20 years and don't have kids, so I don't know why I still see September as a new start, but I do.

The first 67 pages of Cultivate what Matters is all about where you want to go in live.  It was a lot of FUN work to get it all written out so I could condense it into my goals for this year of my life.

How to Get Free Bic Pens through September 2019

Right now there is a refund offer out for Bic Gel-o-city pens where you can get the purchase price back to $16.00.  It is limit two offers per household, so all you need to do is purchase a package of Bic Gelocity pens in TWO DIFFERENT TRANSACTIONS and mail the receipt, UPC and this completed form to the address stated on the refund form and you'll get your money back (minus tax and any coupons used.)

This post contains affiliate links.

You can also purchase Bic Gel-O-City pens at Amazon.

Again, the links you need are
The refund form:  https://bicgelocity2019.dja.com/assets/pdf/form.pdf
While you can purchase the pens anywhere, you can also purchase them at this link on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2yfijZu

The Three Types Of Sweepstakes That Are Easiest To win

When I was growing up, I often hear, "Nobody ever wins those things" in regards to sweepstakes and contests.  I jokingly tell people these days I am "Nobody".  I am a consumer first, and I enter sweepstakes and contests second.  I tailor part of my shopping around promotions.  To me it only makes sense.  It started when I learned about coupons and refunding.  People often would say back then, "Buy generic, it saves money."  By combining coupons and refunds, I would often get products for pennies and I would think, "I don't have the money to spend on generics.  I have to buy name brands!"  It's funny, but it's true.

The same goes for sweepstakes.  I love ramen.  I don't eat it as often as I would like, because while it's inexpensive, it's not one of the more healthy meals.  I was recently in Weis, and I saw a cup of ramen with information about a sweepstakes on it.  I purchased that package because I was going to buy some ramen, and I wanted to learn more about this giveaway.

So what sweepstakes are easiest to win?  There are three that stand out to me:

Doing Family Research on eBay

It might sound like it's crazy to go to eBay and expect to find anything that helps you with your genealogy research, but it happened to me.  I'm going to show you the tips and tricks that I use to keep an eye on items that get posted on eBay, receive alerts to new items that might have gotten out of our family, and how I was able to purchase my great-great-Grandfather's Civil War medal after it was posted for sale by a non-family member on eBay.

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I have been amateur genealogist since I was a child.  I was fascinated with one branch of my mother's side of the family, but as I aged and things like DNA testing became available, I realized I was more than just one branch of our family tree.  I started to want to learn everything about all eight of my great-grandparents and the generations their lives.

The Best Books about Contests and Sweepstakes

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I love to read, and for the past twenty years I have enjoyed entering contests and sweepstakes.  Here is a list of some of my favorite books about contests and sweepstakes and why I have enjoyed them.


Some of these aren't exactly about contests and sweepstakes but also cover luck, positive thinking, and books written by winners themselves.

Book review: Life in Spite of Me Living After a Suicide Attempt

FTC disclaimer:  I received a copy of the book from the publisher for review purposes.  All opinions are my own.  This post may contain affiliate links.

In the book Life, In Spite of Me: Extraordinary Hope After a Fatal Choice, Kristen Anderson was depressed. Not really any one thing contributed to this depression, but she'd been fighting with her parents, three friends had died as well as her grandmother, she had been raped, and the previous night she'd been out until ten in the morning with friends. She was grounded until further notice. She sneaked out to be with friends, left a note saying she was going to take a walk, and later was in a park. She decided to sit on a train car and think. As she heard a train approach, she decided she would end her life. She planned for the train to hit her and she assumed death would come instantly. Instead, she survived, but her legs were cut from her body.

How to Win Sweepstakes and Prizes!

I started entering sweepstakes as a hobby in 1998.  My very first prize was a trip for two to Arizona and $2,000 cash.  I was hooked, and since that time I have won a whole host of other things.  One of the questions I get asked most is "How do you do it?"  Today you are in luck, because I'm going to share my secrets with you!

By definition a sweepstakes is a giveaway where no purchase is required (in the USA) and the winner is picked randomly.  (A contest requires skill.  Watch for an upcoming blog post on that!)

Have an e-mail address different from your personal one.  You will get overwhelmed with "gray mail" after a while (e-mail receive from mailing lists).  It will be easier if you separate this from the beginning by having different accounts.  Also, I recommend keeping the words "Win" "Sweepstakes" "Contest", etc out of your e-mail address.

Are People Who Win Sweepstakes Just Lucky Ducks?

I love to enter sweepstakes.   Most of my friends, acquaintances, and even random people tell me "You are so lucky!"  I try to tell them that sweepstakes is a numbers game and the more you enter the more likely you are to win.

Few people actually keep good records of how many sweepstakes they enter.  I do, though.  The reasoning behind it is because I can usually see trends that follow how much I enter and how much I win.  If I am not winning much, a quick look at the chart tells me if I was not entering as much and my wins SHOULD be fewer than usual.

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Each year I get a new incentive chart.  I need one that has at least 24 columns across and at minimum 31 rows down.  I always use a fine point Sharpie marker to help it stand out from what I write inside the boxes.

Pizza Hut on a Budget -- Use the app!

One of my travel tricks is earning points on everything I can. Another trick is getting things at a discount, and my third trick is when traveling sometimes I want something delivered, or if we are on the road, I want my meal ready when I arrive. 

I know that Pizza Hut and bargain are not words that often come in the same sentence for me, but I have been highly pleased with the prices we have found through the app.  I have ordered everything from $5.99 two topping large pizzas, $5 medium three topping pizzas, and 50% off regular menu prices.  What we order depends on what the special is.  I've actually found that Pizza Hut can be just a little over what a premium frozen pizza costs at the grocery store!  Who knew? 

Touring The World of Coca-Cola -- Atlanta Georgia

It's been a few years since I have visited Coca-Cola World in Atlanta, but every time my husband and I have driven through Georgia, I have told him we need to visit there sometime as he has never been.

I was at a convention in Atlanta, and this was back when Coke had the rewards program going.  You could turn in points for a ticket into the museum.  This is what I did, and so the visit cost me nothing.  However, Coke Rewards is a thing of the past, and the current admission price is $17 for adults.  This is very high by my "Small Budget" standards.  Even so, I still recommend this because it is a couple hours entertainment.  Plus, this is not something you can do just anywhere, you have to be in Atlanta to visit.

I have always loved seeing where things are made,  pop culture (no pun intended -- okay so pun was intended), and I've always loved junk food and sugary snacks (and my waist line shows it.)  I also love Christmas, and where better to visit than the factory of the company who invented the American Santa Claus?

How to Earn FREE DISNEYLAND ADMISSION TICKETS!

Visiting any Disney Park isn't exactly a budget friendly vacation, but I do regret that I never was able to visit one when I was growing up.  (In fact I still haven't been.)  So many people try to plan trips to "The Happiest Place on Earth" on a shoestring.  This isn't always very realistic, but did you know you can get your admission tickets to DisneyLand in Anaheim, California for free?

As is everything posted on Small Budget Big Travels, this is a legitimate deal!  It does take some work, but it's entirely possible.
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Swagbucks is a portal where you can earn points called SBs.  You can do this by doing searches, watching videos, surveys, printing and using grocery coupons, starting your online shopping there, plus many more ways of earning points.

What Is The Best Choice For Your First Rewards Credit Card?

One of the ways I am able to travel and save so much money is by utilizing rewards credit cards to their maximum benefit.  When you get a credit card, treat it like cash.  Pay it off at the end of every month so you don't have to pay interest.  Using it wisely can net you some great benefits.  I sell on eBay as my main income.  I put my eBay bill, as much postage as I can, and even buying new inventory on a credit card.  It adds up quickly, as does my rewards.

FTC disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links.

But there is always the question of "What card is best for me?" and "What is the best first rewards credit card?"

My opinion is the Discover Card.  Why this card?   It's a good all around card.  There are no annual fees.  (Those are not always bad, as I talk about in other posts.)  It's a basic 1% back on spending.  You can chose to redeem for gift cards at a lower rate than the value of the card if you would rather have gift cards.  You can get a $50 Best Western gift card for only $45 in rewards.  There are also restaurant gift cards which could help you with costs on your next trip.

Book Review: Wild & Wonderful (and Paranormal) West Virginia

FTC disclaimer:  I purchased this book myself.  All opinions are my own.  This post contains affiliate links.

I went to school for a couple years in Tennessee having grown up in West Virginia.  As is typical of college kids, we would sometimes sit in a dark room and tell ghost stories.  (Even at a Christian college!)  There was one friend of mine who would leave the room when I would tell a story because she said they were so frightening.  I adapted most of my tales from Ruth Ann Musick's books.  So of course, when I saw this book, I was curious.

Wild & Wonderful (and Paranormal) West Virginia exceeded all expectations I had.  Unlike other books, it didn't just deal with one subject, but included The Moth Man, Flatwoods Monster, UFOs, ghosts,  Sheepsquatch (which I had never before heard anything about it) and also included other strange phenomenon and cryptozoological mysteries from across the Mountain State.

The thing set this book apart from others in this genre is that the author tried to give multiple explanations when possible, and some of them seemed quite plausible to me.  For instance, there have been reports of kangaroos getting loose from zoos and other places, so who is to say some of these monsters might not be part of a pack of kangaroos that live in a remote part of West Virginia? Obviously, he also leaves open the possibility for paranormal occurrences, but I really enjoyed reading the different theories.

Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio Book Review

When I was a child, I remember meeting someone who had been crippled with polio.  She was the first person I ever met who was in a wheelchair, and as children are apt to do, I was extremely interested in the fact she was in a chair that rolled around.  Of course my parents were embarrassed at the attention I was giving her chair, but she showed it off to me and told me about how she did different activities that many of us take for granted.  Of course, this is a great way for children to learn about handicaps.

I remember coming home and telling my mother I hoped I never got polio.  She told me I never would and reminded me of the little cup of liquid I didn't like the taste of but was required to drink.  She explained that would keep me from getting polio.  Of course I asked why that lady didn't drink that liquid and it was explained when she got polio there was no vaccine.

Polio was a very real -- and very scary -- part of life before the vaccine was developed.  The iron lung, a machine that helps patients breathe was developed in the 1920s.  In 2017, there were still three people alive living in an iron lung.  Polio was highly contagious -- and when she was twelve years old, Peg Kehret had a twitching thigh muscle in chorus, then went home for lunch.  She collapsed, and was diagnosed with polio.

Where to find Sweepstakes, Contests, and Giveaways to enter.

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There are thousands of sweepstakes, giveaways, and contests where you could win prizes.  But where do you even begin to look?

First, keep your eyes open around you.  Be aware of drop boxes in stores.  Also, packaging or advertising that you can use to find out more information.

Personally, other than local sweepstakes, I tend to find the sweepstakes I enter in one of four ways.

Book Review: Goodbye Clutter, Hello Freedom

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Goodbye Clutter, Hello Freedom:  How to Create Space for Danish Hygge and Lifestyle by cleaning up, Organizing and Decorating with Care is by Lena Bentson.  It is a relatively short book, only 82 pages, but I would rather a book be the right length than too long or too short.  (The right length is explaining what the author wishes to express, but not rambling.)  This book is the perfect length.

I read this book because I'm dealing with a lot of clutter.  I sell on eBay which creates a lot of clutter.  Plus I am still going through my mother's possessions.  My husband and I sometimes disagree as to which item we should keep and which we should get rid of.  As a result we have multiple computer desks in our garage!  :)

If you are looking for an inspiring book to help you want to get rid of the excess in your life, look no further.  Lena Bentson does a great job of this.  She is a Dane, and while geared towards the Danish people, it is relevant to everyone.  (I mean, don't we want to be like the Danish when we think about hygge?  And who wouldn't when they are one of the happiest countries on earth.)

Voice, Story, and Humanity

Last night I was listening to a Catholic Stuff You Should Know podcast.   I've been pondering it ever since.   Everyone has a story.  I've heard it said that everyone has a book inside them.  Life is not without adversity, and it's often the adversity that makes our story.  Adventures are either due to facing adversity or going out of our comfort zone.  The ones that are funny are just often not the normal.   For instance, I once crossed the Baltic Sea at 3 in the morning with a Ben Stein look-alike.

I think of some of my family stories and am both amazed and horrified.  My grandfather, whom I never met as he passed away before I was born, had to drop out of school in 6th grade. Yet, he took to educating himself and often read the dictionary for fun.  (I loved to read the encyclopedia when I was young.  Everyone thought it was strange, but I think my grandfather would have been proud.)

My grandmother was orphaned before the age of ten.  When she was a toddler, she poured a kettle of boiling applesauce over her.  I remember as a child sitting and listening with rapt attention as she and her brother told stories of growing up, how the doctor thought that tomatoes would kill her because of her burns and Uncle Ira sneaking her the forbidden fruit so she would snack on them without adults knowing.