Financial Planning

Buy 5, Earn $5 in Box Tops for Your School + New App!

August 14, 2017 By Sarah Roe Leave a Comment

This is a sponsored post, all opinions are my own.

If you have kids, you know all about Box Tops. In our family, earning Box Tops greatly influences what we purchase as our schools (like all schools) need the extra funds for things like computers, class supplies, art supplies and much more.

When you’re picking up school supplies this season, be on the look out for bonus box tops. Right now, you can even pick up bonus Box Tops on specialty marked packages. My kids were so excited to find them on our must-haves this season.

Box Tops aren’t just for school supplies, while you’re out pick up some of your favorite snacks or even dinner and you’ll still be earning money for your child’s school. While we were shopping at Walmart, I picked up an Old El Paso taco dinner kit!

School supplies, snacks and dinner plus, a GREAT way to earn money for my child’s school. Easy!

Right now, you can earn even more Box Tops for your child’s school. Simply download the Box Tops for Education App and start earning bonus Box Tops! All you have to do is download the app, find offers and purchase products then, scan your receipt! Just like that, the Box Tops will add up!

What are you waiting for? Start earning for your school today!

Checking Out the Latest Smart Devices with Cox

July 17, 2017 By Sarah Roe Leave a Comment

This post is sponsored by Cox however, all opinions are 100% my own.

Did you know by 2020, the average home will have 50 smart devices? Last week, I toured a Cox Smart Home filled with over 50 smart devices powered by Cox. I’m going to take you through the tour right now, these devices will blow your mind!

We started the tour in the kitchen with food blogger, Whitney Bond. She was busy cooking up amazing food in her smart kitchen filled with amazing smart devices such as a slow cooker and coffee maker both controlled by an app!

Next, we learned all about Contour. This is the latest technology from Cox allowing you to find the latest shows and movies using all of your devices. In fact, you can watch personalized entertainment on your phone, tablet or television directly from the Contour Mobile App.

From the living room, we walked into a live violin lesson. Jason Yang, a professional violinist and composer was holding a virtual violin lesson right there in the bedroom (side note he’s a violinist for Madonna-WOW). Cox powered all of the smart devices in the home including this violin session, all working at the exact same time.

Just past his room was a demonstration of Augmented Reality. I can’t explain all the technology behind this but I can tell you, it will blow the socks off your kids! A children’s book was laid out on the bed and when the iPad was placed over it, the illustrations and additional illustrations came flying off the page, literally. It was like 3D only 1000 times better!

The next room was a bit different, I can tell you I have never thought this would be possible but, we were able to witness a virtual doctor’s appointment. Powered by Cox, a patient with heart failure was able to connect to Mercy Hospital and hold a virtual doctor’s appointment (completely secure) right there from her bedroom. Can you imagine that? No more waiting rooms!

As I mentioned earlier, the entire home was filled with smart devices, in the hallway, everywhere. As we went upstairs I was able, for the first time, to try virtual reality. Oh. My. Word. My kids were jealous.

It was like a combination of Minority Report and a very real video game. Everything we’ve seen it portrayed as in the movies, it’s just like that only a million times better. I was smack center in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by jellyfish and sea anemones I could reach out and touch. It was unbelievable and that’s probably not even the best word to describe it, it was just unreal.

We finished the tour by checking out the Cox security system, I absolutely loved this. The cameras were state of the art, all visible through an app. They also offer a Smart Lock system as well as the ability to set your lights on and off via app and even text you when a door is unlocked just so you know your child came home safely. In fact, this system will actually save me quite a bit in comparison to my current system and I’m all about that!

By the time I left the tour, I had decided to upgrade my internet, switch to Contour and install Cox security. I’m telling you, this tour was like nothing I have ever seen before. Plus, it also proved the power of Cox internet which I personally use daily and love. For more information on these amazing products offered by Cox, visit Cox.com.

How to Upgrade Your Hotel for Free

June 26, 2017 By Sarah Roe Leave a Comment

We are a family of 7 and many of us have food allergies. That being said, we require a refrigerator, microwave and sometimes more space (a kitchen if available), etc. But, if you’ve booked a hotel room lately you know, those upgrades are costly!

A few years ago, I learned a trick about getting those upgrades. I book the normal room then, simply ask if a refrigerator can be rolled into the room or an extra bed, etc. Almost every single time, those items can be added at no additional cost, that’s HUGE!

When my husband and I travel, we love getting suites but we don’t like paying for them. Want to know my number one way to get a FREE upgraded room at a hotel?

When I say upgrade I’m talking about SERIOUS upgrade. Are you ready for this?

Here it is: Ask for it.

Book the hotel as usual, using whatever means you normally use to book a good deal on a room. Then, arrive at the hotel and ask if there are any suites available. I would say 9 times out of 10, we are upgraded at no cost. Typically the only reason we are not upgraded is because the hotel is full.

A few weeks ago, I booked a hotel room and wanted to go ahead and spend the $50 to upgrade to the suite. I talked myself out of it, booked the regular room, got to the hotel and asked if they had suites available. I was upgraded to the suite I wanted to book at no extra cost.

For our honeymoon, we booked the $99 room at a hotel in Florida (it was the off season). When we arrived, we asked if the honeymoon suite was available (around $399 a night) and guess what? It was. We were upgraded for free for the entire time of our stay.

This isn’t fool proof but it’s worth a try at the end of the day, it’s just a question. What could happen? Just a free upgrade. 🙂

Shop for Father’s Day + Earn Swagbucks

June 2, 2017 By Sarah Roe Leave a Comment

Swagbucks is currently offering double cash back or more at a number of stores for Father’s Day. From Best Buy to Lowes, you’ll get cash back (in the form of SB points) for buying your gifts online through Swagbucks. They also have offers where you can earn SB points towards free gift cards for getting the Dad in your life a subscription to Hulu or Dollar Shave Club! It’s a smart way to buy the gifts you were already going to get, and Swagbucks offers coupons and deals when you shop online to your favorite stores on top of the points you earn.

You can find all of the details here. If you haven’t signed up for Swagbucks yet, you can also do that at this page and start earning points towards your first free gift card. As a bonus, if you sign up through me a spend at least $25 shopping online through Swagbucks, you’ll get a 200 SB bonus – that’s $2 in addition to the points you get for each dollar you spend.

These deals will run all the way through Father’s Day on Sunday, June 18th.

Get $28 to try Hulu THIS WEEKEND ONLY!

April 22, 2017 By Sarah Roe Leave a Comment

If you’ve been thinking about trying Hulu, this weekend is the time to do it. Thanks to an offer through Swagbucks, you get $28 (paid in the form of points called SB) for trying Hulu for a month. That will cost you $7.99, so you’re making $20 on the deal!

Hulu has tons of current and classic programming, movies, brilliant original series, and more. Here’s how you do it:

1. Click this link.
2. Create your Swagbucks account (takes 30 seconds)
3. Click “Continue” and sign up for Hulu
4. Enjoy Hulu! You should have your points within 30 minutes.

Haven’t tried Swagbucks yet? They’re a site where you earn points (called SB) for doing things like online shopping, watching videos, taking surveys, and discovering deals and services you might like to try (like Hulu!). You then take those points and turn them into free gift cards to places like Amazon, Starbucks, Walmart, Target, or PayPal cash.

This is a great time to join because when you sign up for Swagbucks through the link above and get your 2800 SB from the Hulu offer, you’ll get a bonus 300 SB at the beginning of May. So that’s $28 (2800 SB) for trying Hulu plus your $3 (300 SB) bouns, which gets you 3100 SB, which means you make a profit of $23 total just for watching TV!