The mentality of frugality

Hi, I'm Beth and I am a closet freebie finder. I am that person who plagues all my friends and family with the inevitable question "So...(I say with the sly smile of one who has uncovered the illusive secret of the universe), go ahead and tell me, how much do you think I paid for that?". Ideally, my unsuspecting prey (yes, I know that by now they should be aware of my parsimonious nature, but IDEALLY they will be like a babe in the woods each and every time) will look over my object of great value and make a ridiculous offhand guess of a very large sum of money. I will then scoff at the person with A. utter contempt, secure in my knowledge, that yes indeedy these folks are fools, and also B. that I am somehow superior to my dim-witted peers by their endearing innocence in the ways of the world. At this point, I will then confirm my social dominance as I pounce upon my pals with something akin to a war cry, naming an obscene pittance of money and laughing heartily at their consumer stupidity. And while it is a somewhat dysfunctional existence, yes I am aware of that, it works for me ;).

Therefore, periodically, I will be sharing some of the tricks of my frugal lifestyle to the masses, on this very blog. Now these methods are all legal, so don't give up your day job just yet, but if you want to save a few bucks here and there, and if you are willing to put in a little work in order to do so, then jump aboard the Penny Pincher Express! I have begun the journey by adding a link to Winzy, a search engine that gives you points for using their search engine. The points can then be used to enter sweepstakes and earn rewards.

Another fun way to earn points that can be used for rewards (think movie tickets, music downloads, gift certificates) is Winster. You can sign up for a free account (though they do have other levels of membership that include a monthly fee), and you play games with other folks in order to earn points toward a prize. I enjoy playing the games (cooperation is encouraged rather than competition) and even though the free accounts have a finite amount of plays per day, all my points earned go toward a prize. In a week's time I already have enough points to exchange for a free fandango ticket.

If you are concerned about giving out your email address to these companies (which may pass along your info to other promotional companies), you may want to get a free email account (gmail, yahoo, hotmail, etc) just for the purpose of free samples and such.

***Please keep in mind that I spend no money on any of my freebie accounts, and I would be very cautious of any company that asks for a credit card or bank routing number. Just say no! Also, note that I am not affiliated with any of these companies in any way other than that of a consumer. Use your own judgment before giving out any personal information online and surf responsibly.***