I am back!

So, I started this blog a while ago and then life got really crazy. I still did my surveys and got rewards and tried to keep up, but after a few posts on this blog, I took a break. Working full time and being a wife and mommy was really keeping me busy! After 2 whole years of being a mommy, I finally feel like I have a routine and have some time (maybe an hour!) to myself in the evening. I thought to myself "why waste this hour sitting around and watching tv when you have sampled different products and can actually write about it!" So, I am having a glass of 2.89 a bottle moscato from Lidl and writing this post.

During my hiatus, I discovered a website called Moms Meet which allows you to apply to test different products, share them with other moms, and earn points. Today, I got my first sample from them! And what a sample it is!! It is a huge box full of Baby Mum-Mums in 2 flavors along with coupons to share with all of my mom friends! In fact, one of my mom friends was over this evening and her girls sampled them and she took some to share with some of her friends. As for Mr. Nate, he wanted it, tasted it and then told me he was all done, so I did not get a good sense of if he liked them We will try them again tomorrow on our trip to the zoo!

Now to get a group of moms together to try out some snacks...

Happy Saturday!! My week was pretty busy, so I didn't get to write until this morning. Yes, it is 8 am and everyone else here is fast asleep. Baby Nate woke up at 6 and is now back asleep and Josh is fast asleep next to me as I write this. I have a million things to do around the house, but I couldn't wait to sit down and write this update.

Last time I wrote, I promised a review on the Daisy Sour Cream that I got for free. Since I had all my meals planned for the week and I am going grocery shopping today, I didn't get to use it yet! So, I have no update there. I just hope I get around to trying it and it doesn't go bad first. I am planning on using it tonight. I am going to make some Mexican food, so it should be the perfect time to try it out!!

However, I do have another product that I received from Smiley360, another market research site that provides free products in exchange for an honest review. They sent me SweeTart Mini Gummy Bites. If you know me, you know that I try to eat healthy but I have a major weakness for candy. There are very few types of candy I won't eat. I pretty much can't resist if someone offers me something sweet! Well, it just so happens that SweeTarts are not one of my favorite candies. I like the sweet and sour combination, but something about the texture and the chalkiness makes me cringe. When I saw that SweeTart was offering a gummy version of their candy, I thought it might change my impression. 

I definitely liked the texture of the gummy candy better than the normal SweeTart. There is a crystallized sugar coating each piece of candy comparable to the kind that coats a Sour Patch Kid. Although the texture was better than the hard pieces of SweeTarts Originals, they were a little too gummy and got stuck in my teeth easily. Even though this was the case, they were small and addicting and I ate quite of few them. If you see these in the store and want to try them, I would definitely recommend the smallest package you can find. They are very sugary and, honestly, after a while can make you kind of queasy. 

I don't think this is product is something I would gravitate toward in the store and probably not something I would try again. While I really do like candies that have a sour kick to them, I found this product to be overly sweet.

I promise a review of the Daisy Sour Cream is coming soon! I also received another free product from Amazon that I have yet to open! Stay tuned...

Free stuff of free junk?!

After scouring the internet for way to get free samples and free products, I found a few websites that provide free products in return for an honest review on Amazon or their own website. Yesterday, I received my first two free products (lucky right?!) One was from Tomoson, which hooks up reviewers with start up companies. Products are provided free of cost or for a significant discount. I received an offer for a free iPhone case in exchange for an Amazon review from this site. The other item I received was a set of free coupons for Daisy Squeeze sour cream from BzzAgent. BzzAgent finds consumers to try out free products for market research.

The iPhone case  was made by a company called Gosh. It arrived in my mailbox and it seemed like it would be a nice, sturdy case based on the bulkiness and quality of the packaging. The packaging was a nice thick plastic and very high quality, so I had high hopes for the iPhone case. I opened the packaging and removed the case and the cleaning cloth that also came with the case. To my disappointment, the case literally fell apart in my hand. As I sat there trying to figure out how to put the thing back together, my husband and mom could not contain their laughter. My first free item endeavor was turning out to be a mild disaster. Not only was the case very poor quality, it was for an iPhone 5. And.... my phone is an iPhone 6! This fact, alone, caused fits of laughter and several jokes about how I can't turn down even the most useless free item. Despite all of this, I did write my Amazon review, suggesting that the company improve the quality of the case and spend less on the packaging.

Before checking the mailbox for my useless iPhone case, my mom and I went to Harris Teeter to get my free Daisy Squeeze sour cream. I was able to get 2 containers of sour cream for free. BzzAgent sent a free recipe booklet, so I may try a couple of the recipes in there. We ordered in tonight, so I didn't get a chance to try the product out just yet. My next post will probably include my thoughts on the sour cream and maybe some pictures of whatever recipe I decide to try!

I also wanted to mention that I checked my mailbox this evening and I received 2 free packages of SweetTart Mini Gummy Bites Candy from Smiley360, another market research site. I'll make sure to update you when I get a chance to try them out!

Surveys Surveys Surveys

Since my first free product hasn't arrived just yet, I thought I would share my survey obsession with you. I am currently subscribed to several survey sites that offer rewards for my opinions. It is such an easy way to get free stuff (although it does take time). I literally sit in front of the TV at night with my laptop and and go through survey invites in my email. Sometimes I qualify and sometimes not, but eventually the points build up and I get to cash them in for gift cards.

My favorite site is Toluna. They offer surveys and chances to apply for free product samples. Occasionally, the surveys offer free items to try and then follow up surveys about the item. I actually just received a tube of sunscreen from them a couple days ago. I seem to qualify for a lot of the surveys on Toluna and earn lots of points. Once you earn about 30,000 points on Toluna, you can redeem for a variety of different 10 dollar gift cards. If you have more self control than me, you can save up your points for bigger rewards! I usually redeem for Starbucks cards and they come within a couple days through email. I always feel like I am winning when I get gift cards for Starbucks because I get Starbucks rewards too!

Another survey site I use is Opinion Outpost. This site offers surveys that I also frequently qualify for. The great thing about Opinion Outpost is that when you earn rewards, they come immediately. However, they only offer rewards to a few places. They do offer Amazon cards in $5 increments which is what I usually redeem my points for.

GlobalTestMarket offers loads of surveys and lots of rewards. You do have earn a certain number of points on this site in order to redeem for a reward, so it can take a while to get a payout. There are a multitude of rewards, and the values of the gift cards are much higher.

The very first survey site I ever signed up on was MyPoints. MyPoints is not just surveys, though. If you link your account to certain purchases you make, clink links in emails that you get, and answer surveys, you can earn all kinds of rewards.

Who doesn't love a free product?!

For several years now, I have tried to find different ways to get free stuff online. Believe it or not, I have actually been successful. So, I decided to start this blog to share the ways I get my hands on free stuff and to tell you about the free products I receive.

Up until now, I have used survey websites to share my opinion and, in return, earn points to get gift cards and other rewards. My survey habit has helped fund my Starbucks addiction and has saved me and my husband money on Amazon and restaurants. In March, I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, Nathan Harris and I started to look up ways to get free baby stuff. Baby supplies, clothes, etc. add up fast! My survey taking just wasn't going to earn me enough in Amazon gift cards, although it certainly helps. So, I started googling ways to get samples of diapers, lotions, and anything else I could get my hands on. Well, it turns out that there are website out there that will give you free products in return for an honest review on Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and so on. So, that is what this blog is for.

Of course, the surveys are addicting, so I am going to try to continue to do those. I'll make sure to write a post on those websites in case you are curious. However, the surveys take time and the rewards are pretty slow coming in. With a 3 month old baby and a full time job, my email is filling up with survey invites that I can't keep up with! So for the time being, I will be reviewing whatever I can get my hands on. My first two products (an iPhone case and some Daisy Squeeze Sour Cream... I know those are pretty random) are already on their way. I can't wait to let you know about those products!