How Im Planning For A Debt Free Christmas

How Im Planning For A Debt Free Christmas

If youve been a reader here for a while, you know Ive mentioned that I set some goals this year.  One of those goals is to spend $0 at Christmas.  Generally speaking, I dont like to spend money.  I dont mind buying a birthday gift or fixing up the house with a small purchase.  What I dont like - buying lots of gifts at once.  And then paying the bills in January.

So I had an idea.  Last December, I told Craig that I wanted to try something new.  Instead of opening up my wallet during December, I want to do everything for free.  Which will take a lot of planning.  A years worth of planning.

I decided to focus on this goal.  Ive sort of challenged myself.  And I think Im doing ok so far.  Heres how Im doing it.

1.  Swagbucks.  This is by far the component that has helped me the most.  If you arent familiar with Swagbucks, let me explain.  It is primarily a search engine that pays you to search the web.





Each day, I search through this site and earn Swagbucks.  When you reach 450 Swagbucks, you can cash them in for a $5 Amazon Gift Card (or other great gift cards.  The Amazon GC is just the best value).  You can cash in up to 5 of any one type gift card a month (For example, you can get 5 $5 Amazon gift cards in a month.  And if you still have more Swagbucks, you can cash them in for a Walmart GC or Paypal cash.  Whatever you want!).  I easily earn $25 in Amazon Gift Cards each month.  As of right now, I have $145 in Amazon Gift Cards in my account.  I also have 6171 Swagbucks (I havent cashed in any during June yet).  
Craig also has a Swagbucks account.  He has (last I checked) about $70 in Amazon Gift Cards.  
So how do I earn so many Swagbucks?  This is what I do - 
- Search.  I earn anywhere from 7-40 (yes I really have earned 40 from a search) each day.  Some days I earn two or three times from searching.
- Swagbucks TV.  When Im working (or searching Pinterest...) on the computer, I keep a tab up and watch Swagbucks TV.  Every 10 videos, I earn 2 Swagbucks.  It doesnt seem like much, but it really adds up during the day.  And it isnt really hard since Im already on the computer.
- Daily poll.  It takes about 2 seconds to answer the daily poll for an easy Swagbuck.
- Swagbucks Toolbar.  Just having the toolbar on my computer earns me one Swagbuck a day. (Note the Daily Poll and Toolbar will earn about 60 Swagbucks a month alone).
- Games.  Sometimes I play the Swagbucks games.  I earn 3 Swagbucks for every 2 games (or so).  There is a limit each day but it still adds up.
- Swagbucks TV mobile.  I downloaded the app on my phone and let it play everyday.  I do have to turn my data package off so I dont get charged by my phone carrier.  It also has a daily limit but is a very easy way to earn.
- Special offers.  I look around this tab each day to find ways to earn.  In the past, I have found short videos to watch, surveys to complete, and websites to click.  This is hit and miss, but I usually find something in here.
- Celebrate my birthday.  Yup, Swagbucks sends an email on my Birthday with a 50 Swagbuck code.  Nice.
- Random codes.  Swagbucks will offer codes sometimes.  I have found that the best way to find these codes is to follow them on Facebook.  Many people will let you know that a new code is out (although they are not allowed to share the actual code, they  will tell you where to find it).  They also share codes on Twitter.

So, thats how I earn through Swagbucks.  And because I challenged myself this year to earn as much as possible, I try to earn at least 150 a day.  Which Ive found is not that hard.
And I just want to add that Ive been earning Swagbucks for years (long before I had a blog).  This is the first year that Ive set this goal though.  Ive been having fun with it (I love a challenge!).  I became an affiliate because I have had such great success with Swagbucks.


2.  Entering Blog Giveaways.  I love giveaways.  But I dont spend much time entering them.  Its just not too practical.  But...I do try once in a while.  And Ive won lots of stuff - $100 Michaels GC, $50 wall stencil, $50 Shabby Apple GC, and $80 lotion to name a few.  How do I win?  I usually enter on smaller blogs so my chances are good.  Youd be surprised how many small blogs have great giveaways!  I usually check out Tip Junkie and Someday Crafts for giveaway lists but there are many more ways to find them.  And a little tip - if you enter a giveaway, become a follower of the blog.  Chances are that there will be many more giveaways there in the future.

3.  Join Sneakpeeq for a free gift.




I joined a while ago and received a beautiful pearl ring that Im going to give to my daughter.

I also have a $10 credit but I havent picked anything out yet.

{Contains an affiliate link}

4.  Survey sites.  I have no affiliation with any sites but I have used e-Rewards for a while.  And I earn a $25 American Eagle Gift Card every quarter.  Its an easy way to end up with $100 at the end of the year.

5.  Freebies.  A while back, I shared some of my favorite money saving websites.  Well, most of them can point you to some fun freebies.  Everything from body wash to lip gloss to nail polish.  And much more.  All of these things make great stocking stuffers.  

6.  Regifting.  Oh I know we arent supposed to admit it.  But I dont think there is anything wrong with passing on something (that I have never used) that will make someone else happy.  So, I have a few items that will be wrapped up in December.

And there you have it.  My plan for enjoying a debt-free Christmas.  

How Im Planning For A Debt Free Christmas

A Christmas Eve cider

A Christmas Eve cider

Today we knocked off work a little early and popped in for a late afternoon cider at The Apple Shed in Grove with a couple of friends. The recently opened cider bar and providore is almost unrecognisable from the old Apple Museum we had visited often before. The renovation is a great credit to the Willie Smiths team behind it. We love it. It will be a great asset to the Huon Valley. Im looking forward to more pleasant afternoons spent on the deck.

A Christmas Eve cider

Christmas Cookies

Christmas Cookies

Last weekend, I went to a cookie party hosted by a good friend.  Its an annual event and I always look forward to it.  This year, I decided to bring a few different cookies - some old recipes and some new ones.  The most popular cookie I brought was this white chocolate covered Oreo-

I found the idea on Pinterest and modified it.  Originally, they called for pretzels as the "base".  I decided to change it up a little and used Oreos instead.  It was very easy to make (Im all for keeping it simple).  I melted some white chocolate chips in the microwave (sorry I forgot to take pictures).  I dipped the front of the oreos in the melted chocolate.  Then, I dipped the top half of the cookie in red sugar.  To top it off, I added a mini marshmallow (actually I cut the marshmallows in half).  Cute and tasty!

The second "cookie" I made was more for fun.  I found the idea on Pinterest and mentioned it in My Friday Five a while back - 

I just couldnt resist - and they were a huge hit with both the kids and adults!  It was really easy to assemble these little guys.  I used mini candy canes - which I cut the ends off of (the swoopy end - technical term - is a little long as is).  I melted some chocolate chips to use as "glue".  I dipped Hershey chocolate nuggets into the melted chocolate and placed them onto the candy canes.  Then, I dipped the Teddy Grahams into the chocolate and set them onto the nuggets.  They set up pretty quickly.  And off to the fridge they went.  Notice that I only used the Teddy Grahams with arms up (I just learned that there are two shapes of Teddy Grahams.  Arms up and arms down.  I stuck with the more excited arms up guys).  I never get tired of looking at these - they make me smile.

The third cookie I brought were haystacks.  Ive been making these for years (and Im sure all of my friends expect them at this point).  Again, easy and delicious-

How easy?  Only two ingredients - chocolate chips and chow mein noodles-

I just melted the chocolate chips in the microwave - 

And added the noodles (I pour in about a third of the bag at a time)-

Then I dropped them into bite size amounts onto a cookie sheet and put them into the fridge to cool-

They are always a hit!  Everyone loves chocolate!

The last cookie I brought also involved chocolate-

A friend made these for us a few years ago and I love them!  And there are only three ingredients - pretzels, Rolos, and pecans - 

The most time consuming part of the prep is unwrapping all of the Rolos - 

So you might want to get the kids in on that.  Then just spread the pretzels on a cookie sheet and top with Rolos- 

They go in the oven for a few minutes on low heat.  They just need to soften a bit.  Once they come out, pop a pecan on each cookie and squish it down a bit.  Let them cool in the fridge and enjoy-

So there you have it.  Four easy and tasty Christmas cookies for your holiday entertaining.  Oh and while I was making these cookies for the cookie party, I decided to make some more for my husbands co-workers.  

I filled one box with:  chocolate chip cookies, brownies, white chocolate covered Oreos (described above), cookies and cream cookies (I found that recipe here), store bought shortbread cookies, Hershey kisses and candy canes.

The second box was filled with:  haystacks, the pretzel/Rolo/pecan cookies, and white chocolate dipped pretzels.  Craig said that they didnt last too long - always a good sign!  

So now that all of my baking is done, its time to finish my shopping and wrapping.  Only a few more days left!

Christmas Cookies