giveaway winners!

yay giveaways! i absolutely love giving things away, especially really cute things! and after plugging all the numbers into random.org, we have a completely new list of winners this week-even some that i don't know personally. i feel like a real blogger now.

lullabies winner (white hair clip): Rachel Y.
compassion winner (pin): Amy F.
exodus cry winner (earrings): Leah S.
missions winner (bobby pins): Natalie
look around winner (coffee sleeve): Jeska A.

bonus giveaway cd winner: Kellie E.


i loved all your comments, but my favorite was leah's: "Okay, this is going to be my lucky comment I can feel it. ;)" leah, that was your lucky comment! how funny is that?!



since i've never not known my commenters, i'm hoping this works out.

here's what you have to do to claim your prize:
email me your mailing address by friday, november 4th (i promise i'm not some creeper who's going to stalk you, i just want to mail you your prize!)
i'll mail all the prizes out on friday, so you should all receive them early next week.

i'll also try to contact you however i can, and if i don't hear back from you by friday, i'll have to give your prize to another reader.


thanks for reading, commenting, and giving me some love last week. i would probably blog even if no one read this, but i'm thankful to those of you who do. : )

october tuition update

to quote myself: "we still need to save at least $506.74 this semester. i'm not super confident that october will be a good month..."


we saved $520.23 in october! i'm not really sure how that happened...but it totally did!
God is awesome.

total tuition for 2011-2012 school year: $9,654.00
total tuition paid so far: $2,090.00
savings at the end of october: $2,104.49 $2,090.00*
difference: $5,474.00 (which is the exact amount that our loan is covering)
percentage saved: 43.3%
percentage left to save: 56.7%


here's how october went down:

right at the beginning of october we got our dryer fixed. this made me want to puke. it cost $140 dollars just for the guy to walk in the door. one new heat lamp later, and we just paid $220 to fix our dryer. gross.

three days later, i got in a car accident. long story short, i was on the highway and the other driver crossed into my lane without seeing me. i braked but had to swerve into the ditch and ended up popping back out of the ditch, hitting her, and spinning back into the ditch. both the other driver and i were perfectly fine, but our cars both gained sizable dents. unfortunately, that was five weeks ago now and i still haven't heard what the consensus is regarding the fault.

but the month started getting better after those two events.

my amazing dad decided he wanted to pay for our dryer, so he left us money on our fridge after they stayed with us for the weekend of my brothers wedding. it made me cry-what a huge blessing!

bryan was finally approved to give plasma again. he wasn't able to give most of august and september.

our car insurance went down. since we have a sinking fund for our car insurance, we got to put the extra that we had already saved up into our tuition fund.

my eyesight didn't change enough to warrant a change in prescription! not only is this the first time i've ever gone to eye doctor without feeling like my eyes are dying, it also means i only had to pay for my eye appointment and not new glasses! we also had a sinking fund for my eyes, so we got to put the extra towards our tuition fund as well.


i was honestly getting nervous about not having enough to pay our u-bill for next semester (i'm assuming we'll receive the bill sometime in november). but i'm so glad that we intentionally didn't take out more loans than we thought we needed-God has provided the rest with plenty of time to spare!



*i'll post soon on why we're only keeping exactly what we need ($2,090.00) in our tuition fund account

bonus giveaway!

as an added bonus to this weeks daily giveaways, i'm extending the comment timeline through sunday, october 30th. so now you have extra time to enter to win one of five cute crafts from lullabies.

but i'm also giving away one hardcopy of the lullabies for africa cd to one random commenter from this week! so if you haven't commented yet, and would like a chance to win a copy of this cd, you know what to do!

here are links to the five posts you can comment on:

lullabies for africa
compassion
exodus cry
missions & relief projects
the look around

please leave only one comment per post to keep things fair, thanks!

the look around

as you might be able to confirm after this week, we're totally into giving. we always want it be a large part of our lives. we want to trust God for his provision, and we want to give more than we're always comfortable with. 

this week has been a great reminder for me to give even more. [for example, i'll confess that while we decided to give monthly to exodus cry, i didn't actually do it until i sat down to write the blog about it.] it was encouraging to see so many comments and so much excitement about giving. i truly hope i've encouraged you to think more about how you can contribute to causes that you find worthy.

but this week, i was challenged to write about one of the pitfalls i fall into when it comes to money. 

sometimes, it's really easy to just write a check and wash your hands. 

being generous is a discipline in a lot of ways, and i think bryan and i have become pretty disciplined about it. and in that way, i have this tendency to think very logically about giving money, rather than being heartfelt and moved. does that make sense?

i guess what i'm saying is that there are often times when needs arise, and my first tendency is to say, well, let's write a check. it's not to pray for the person in need. it's not to bring them dinner and see how they are doing. it's not to seek to understand why they are in need. my solution is cold hard cash and often, that's exactly what it is: cold. removed. even haughty. 

that's one reason why i love compassion. they make it virtually impossible to just give money. they practically shove it down my throat that i should be praying for and writing letters to the child we support. it's not just money that she needs, it's love and support and letters and jesus. 

so my challenge for you today, but mostly for myself, is to do "the look around." what are the needs around you? the needs that might be a little messy and emotional and hard to meet? the needs that may take more money, more time, more stress than you're willing to give? 

how can you contribute?

maybe it's helping the homeless in your area. maybe it's visiting someone you don't even know in the hospital because she has no one else visiting her. maybe it's letting someone borrow your car. maybe it's buying someone lunch and listening to where they're at. maybe it's serving someone who doesn't deserve it. maybe it's helping someone with their finances. maybe it's making a meal for someone without a real support system. maybe it's organizing all of your friends to make a big difference to a women's shelter. 

it could be a lot of things. today, i'm going to do the look around here in iowa city and find out. 

this week, i'm giving away five handmade crafts from lullabies for africa! 

and i've saved the best for last. this cute little thing is a reusable coffee cup sleeve! instead of using the paper ones that come around your cup at the coffee shop, slide this thing on and you're good to go! 

simply leave a comment on this post if you'd like to win this coffee sleeve!

i'll randomly select the winner at the end of the week!

missions & relief projects

do you want to know something really shocking about me?

i thought so.

i don't have any desire to move overseas. if i'm truly honest with myself, i don't. and it's not for lack of trying either. i've taken perspectives (an amazing and life-changing class!) twice. i do my best to keep updated on what is going on in the world. we are blessed to attend a mission-focused church. but i still don't want to move overseas. i like america.

you can start booing now.

let me clarify by saying that i would move overseas. in a heartbeat. i understand that God loves the world and it's people way more than i love america. and i'm all about following God wherever he leads me. we moved to iowa city in faith, and that was a great step for me. if God wants us overseas, we'll know and we'll go.

but i don't know if we'll ever move overseas, honestly. this is quite possibly the reason why i love those who are passionate about missions and relief work. because i'm frankly not passionate about going myself. but if someone else is, i get so excited.

we are blessed to have many people in our lives who are passionate about many different people groups. i'm so thankful for them-they make me fall in love with the world. they help me see the world the way God sees it.

bryan and i have become eager to help fuel these passions financially, especially since we don't have a specific goal for ourselves when it comes to missions.

how can you contribute?

• compassion international has organized some swift and trustworthy relief efforts. consider making a one-time donation to meet critical needs.
• support your friends or family who are going.
• consider taking perspectives in your area and evaluate your role in world missions.
• support a missionary through gospel for asia.
• pick up a copy of operation world and pray for nations.

this week, i'm giving away five handmade crafts from lullabies for africa!

simply leave a comment on this post if you'd like to win these hairpins!

i'll randomly select the winner at the end of the week!

exodus cry

a little over a month ago, a student organization here at the university of iowa called Students Abolishing Slavery held a viewing of this movie. Nefarious was a powerful film in more ways than one. it plainly described the tragedy of the sex trade in our present world in an artful way.

despite it's horrific focus and against all odds, the film ended with a hopeful spirit. this organization seeks to raise awareness of modern day slavery and the sex trade, rescue women by setting up lighthouses, and reach and change the hearts of men. but it was clear at the film's end that only true healing can come from the power of Jesus Christ. this is the message they carry with them.

it was not a difficult decision to choose to give Exodus Cry monthly support. i talked to bryan about it and we decided to add it to our budget.

how can you contribute?

• purchase and watch the documentary or consider hosting a viewing
• consider making a one-time donation to Exodus Cry
• purchase the "Hold On" cd as a gift or for your family, music inspired by the Nefarious Film
• consider becoming a monthly partner with the Exodus Cry ministry

this week, i'm giving away five handmade crafts from lullabies for africa!

simply leave a comment on this post if you'd like to win these awesome earrings.

i'm probably going to have to get a pair for myself!

i'll randomly select the winner at the end of the week!

compassion international

have you heard of compassion international? you likely have. it's a cause that has gained wild popularity. and unlike the bachelorette, their popularity is well-deserved.

this is a multi-faceted organization who has found an incredible balance when it comes to the job of supporting impoverished children and families. i've listed just a few things they provide:

• a monthly financial support program that connects the able to children in need of clothing, food, and education in impoverished areas of the world
• a deeper connection between the sponsor and sponsored by allowing for pictures, updates and correspondance along with the financial contribution
• amazing compassion-run programs for the children that allow the gospel to be delivered while also meeting the physical needs of those in need
  

bryan and i support an almost 11-year-old girl from the dominican republic. i love receiving her letters and hanging her cute drawings on my fridge. she has truly become a part of our family.

how can you contribute?

• consider making a one-time donation to compassion international.
  
• consider supporting a child in need by committing to $38 per month.
• consider supporting a center for babies and moms.
• consider supporting a student leader by committing to $300 per month.

this week, i'm giving away five handmade crafts from lullabies for africa!

simply leave a comment on this post if you'd like to win this adorable pin.

my sister-in-law put a lullabies pin on her winter coat-i must say, it's pretty cute!

i'll randomly select the winner at the end of the week!

lullabies for africa

this week, i'm sharing five different opportunities to give. i've shared several times now on why my husband and i find giving to be an essential part of life. i thought it would be fun to help promote the causes that we are most passionate about. 

today, i'm sharing about a wonderful cause. Lullabies for Africa is something i've been really excited about these past few months. 

haleigh is a friend of ours from ames. bryan played for the anthem band while she was also in the band-this girl has pipes! i was so excited to get a support letter from her and hear that she was going to kenya for three weeks this winter. it was so evident that God had moved in haleigh's life and given her new eyes to see all of the orphans in need. thus, the Lullabies for Africa album was born-some of our good friends both in Ames and in Iowa City contributed to this album, which is also fun! as usual, God had a bigger vision than even she had for this project. 

on top of the cd, haleigh (and some other awesome people) have been hand-crafting a bunch of cute goods and selling them with the promise that 100% of the proceeds goes to help orphans in africa! 

watching haleigh be transformed by God's vision and love for the world has totally gripped my heart. i've told her several times that i'm just so excited about what God is doing in and through her! 

how can you contribute? 

• consider making a donation to the Lullabies for Africa cause.
  "The money collected will go towards traveling costs and fees. Any donations that exceed the $3500 mark will go to help families adopt from Africa."
• check out the adorable handmade goods in the lullabies etsy shop.
• purchase the cd as a gift or for your own children, it's a beautiful collection of lullabies!

this week, i'm giving away five handmade crafts from lullabies for africa!

simply leave a comment on this post if you'd like to win this adorable hair clip. 

i'll randomly select the winner at the end of the week!

preview for next week & giveaway winners!

i have to tell you, i was nervous and excited for all of you who commented on my blog as i was entering the numbers on random.org. you all had pretty good chances. apparently not very many people were interested in winning free amazon.com giftcards-i honestly expected more comments!

but there were only 5 winners, which means some of you did not win. i guess i'll just have to do more giveaways next week! next week is what i like to call "give week." i'm going to be writing about generosity, worthy causes, and how and why we give even though we're on a tight budget.

and in the theme of "give week" the giveaways next week are actually in support of a cause i've been super excited about lately. here's a picture of the adorable items i'm giving away, i'll post more about the cause on monday!

and without further ado, here are the winners for this week!

#1: Christy
#2: Alicia
#3: Kaylee
#4: Ami
#5: Karlee

congratulations! you will all receive an email today from amazon.com with your giftcard information!

iphone apps + giveaway

**scroll down find out how to enter to win a $5 amazon.com gift card!**

post your comment before 10/22/2011

it's not too late to comment on my other posts this week

more comments=more entries

i want to give these giftcards away!

this is relatively new to me, as i've only had an iphone for a month and a half. but apparently i really enjoy doing menial tasks for fictional money like "swagbucks" or "kicks" or "points." you all probably think i'm crazy! just note, i don't have a longterm history with any of the apps i'm about to mention like i do with the other four sites i've written about this week, so don't consider my recommendation as gold or anything. 

what it is?
i recently read this article on making money with your iphone. most of the apps out there simply advertise certain products by having you scan barcodes when you're in the store.


shopkick and checkpoints are two apps that i use. 

how does it work for me?
if i feel like it, i'll run around walmart, scan some barcodes, and earn some points. i haven't earned enough points to mean anything yet, so i'm not convinced it's worth my time yet. but, like all of the things i've mentioned this week, i've found that it doesn't actually take a lot of my time once i figure out a system.

i don't by any means make extra trips to the store just to get these points, but i'm in walmart a couple times a week anyway, so i'll make some scans if i'm not pressed for time.

if you don't have a smartphone, which i know is many of you, i would liken these apps to technology-driven mystery shopping. i've never mystery shopped personally, but i know this is a viable way to earn some extra cash, too, and you don't even need a smartphone! : )

where's the proof?
i don't have any proof yet, as i mentioned earlier, but on shopkick, i've earned 561 kicks in about 3 weeks. i'm a little less than halfway there to earn a $5 target giftcard.

*giveaway closed*

enter to win another $5 amazon.com gift card today!




here's how to enter the giveaway today:
simply leave a comment answering this question: what you're favorite way to earn "free money?"






i'll randomly select a winner for today's giveaway at the end of the week!

pinecone research + giveaway

**scroll down find out how to enter to win a $5 amazon.com gift card!**

post your comment before 10/22/2011

it's not too late to comment on my other posts this week 

more comments=more entries

i want to give these giftcards away!

what is it?

pinecone research is a survey company. their surveys are consistent and simple, and they pay promptly with no strings attached. it's the only company i spend the time taking surveys. while inboxdollars and swagbucks both offer many surveys, i've never found that those are worth my time. 

how does it work for me?

i receive requests to take surveys between 2 and 4 times a month. each survey takes me about 20 minutes to complete if i'm focused. with pinecone, i receive $3 for every survey i complete.

i try to complete the survey as soon as it lands in my inbox. most surveys allow only 2-3 days to complete, and i've missed several opportunities because i simply forgot to respond.

i enjoy taking the surveys, even though it is the most time consuming "free money" thing i do.   

where's the proof?

pinecone doesn't have an earnings total, but in the past year i've completed 23 surveys, so i've earned $66 in one year. at 20 minutes per survey, i earn about $9 an hour.


disclaimer, pinecone only allows for a certain number of researchers. i'll try to post the next time they have openings.

*giveaway closed*

enter to win another $5 amazon.com giftcard!

here's how to enter the giveaway today:

simply leave a comment answering this question: have you ever taken surveys before? 

i'll randomly select a winner for today's giveaway at the end of the week! 

ebates + giveaway

**scroll down find out how to enter to win a $5 amazon.com gift card!**

post your comment before 10/22/2011

it's not too late to comment on my other posts this week 

more comments=more entries

i want to give these giftcards away!

what it is?
ebates pays you for shopping online. you can receive on average 1-4% cash back simply by clicking through this site to get to the store site. 

how does it work for me?
basically, i use ebates whenever i can. i don't do a ton of online shopping other than on amazon.com and ebates unfortunately doesn't offer any cashback for amazon (darn!). however, i do occasionally purchase things from target.com, gap.com or somewhere else. i've also recently noticed that they link to a lot of airfare websites, so i'm definitely going to use ebates the next time i buy plane tickets! when i hear of a good online deal or decide to order online, i simply go to ebates first, search for the store i'm using, and click on their link.

this creates a "ticket." after i complete my order, ebates processes my cashback-it's that easy!

disclaimer: ebates only processes payment 4 times per year and you have to have over $5.00 (not including your sign-up bonus) accrued before you get paid.

where's the proof?
while i love getting that extra rebate, i still don't shop online a lot, so the pay off isn't as big for me. but i never refuse free money! i've earned $49.76 since june 2009.


another note: shopathome.com is a similar website. i also have an account here, but i prefer ebates by far. shop at home requires $20 in earnings before they pay although they do pay monthly if you've reached over $20.

*giveaway closed*

enter to win another $5 amazon.com gift card today! 


here's how to enter the giveaway today:

1) simply leave any sort of comment on this post, that's it! 

2) get a bonus entry for signing up through my referral link and leave another comment telling me you've done so

i'll randomly select a winner for today's giveaway at the end of the week! 

inbox dollars + giveaway

**scroll down find out how to enter to win a $5 amazon.com gift card!**

post your comment before 10/22/2011

what it is?
inboxdollars is basically an advertisement service. they send advertisements via email and you get paid $.01 or $.02 for clicking to confirm you've read the email.

how does it work for me?
each morning, after i've gotten through my swagbucks routine, i click on my inboxdollars toolbar where it tells me how many unread emails i have. rather than reading them when they come to my actual email inbox, i go directly to my inbox on their site. by doing this, i only check those emails once a day and it takes about 10 seconds to click through them all. i usually receive between 4-5 per day.

these emails are basically spam and i've become numb to subliminal messaging. however, i've never received any actual spam because inboxdollars doesn't share my email. i only receive emails directly from inboxdollars and i simply delete them on the spot.

they also require that you earn $30 before "cashing in."

where's the proof?
while this is considerably slower-going than swagbucks, i still find it to be an easy and fun way to earn a little extra cash. since january of 2010 i've earned $55.24. because of the $30 rule, i've only cashed one check for $33.74 and have $21.50 in my account. i roughly spend a total of one hour on this throughout the year.

*giveaway closed*

enter to win another $5 amazon.com gift card today! 


here's how to enter the giveaway today:

1) simply leave a comment telling me if you had ever heard of inboxdollars before reading this, that's it!

2) get a bonus entry for signing up through my referral link and leave another comment telling me you've done so

i'll randomly select a winner for today's giveaway at the end of the week! 

swagbucks + giveaway

**scroll down find out how to enter to win a $5 amazon.com gift card!**

post your comment before 10/22/2011

i'm being completely sincere when i say, if you don't use swagbucks yet, you're crazy.

what is it?

swagbucks is a search engine that rewards you with points on a random basis for simply searching through their site instead of using say, google. 

it's a simple idea without a lot of gimmicks. i'm under the impression that their partnership with amazon.com makes the idea the huge success that it is. 

how does it work for me?

here's how i use swagbucks:

every morning when i pull up my computer, i have a system. 

i go to swagbucks.com

i earn 1 swagbuck for having the toolbar on my browser

i earn 1 swagbuck for answering the daily poll

and i earn 2 swagbucks for completing the NOSO (no obligation special offers)

then throughout the day, i use swagbucks as my search engine instead of google. 

say i'm just dying to know how demi and ashton are doing. instead of using google to search for these arbitrary facts, i use swagbucks. on a random basis i'm rewarded 7 or more "swagbucks" once per day. 

using this process i earn between 11-15 swagbucks per day.

i also use their great referral system [which i'm doing right now] and read their blog which often has hidden codes. 

how do i make the most of this?

the amazon.com giftcards are hands down the best bang for your buck when it comes to swagbucks. one $5 giftcard "costs" 450 swagbucks. using my system above, i can earn about 1 giftcard per month. and who can't find something to buy on amazon? 

where's the proof?

since march of 2009, i've earned $90 in amazon.com giftcards for spending about 10 seconds a day on swagbucks. roughly, that's about two and a half hours of time total since i started. i think it's worth it! 

*giveaway closed*

this week, i've giving away one $5 amazon.com giftcard each day in honor of swagbucks!

here's how to enter the giveaway today:

1) simply leave a comment telling me if you use swagbucks and how you like it-that's it!

2) get a bonus entry for signing up through my referral link, and leave another comment telling me you did so.

i'll randomly select a winner for today's giveaway at the end of the week! 

free money week

it's free money week!

i've wanted to do this for a while, because i love free money, and i know most people do too.

so, this week, i'll be posting on my favorite ways to get free money. 

i personally use and recommend everything i'll be posting about so if you have any questions or concerns, just let me know. i've found that when you're on a budget, these little extra sources of income can be so much fun!

disclaimer: i consider the money or rewards i receive from these programs to be free because they don't cost me anything but time. all of these opportunities require some time, but most of them very little. these are all things i find enjoyable and fun on top of a fulltime job and keeping a home.

what's even more exciting about free money week is that i'm giving away one free $5 amazon gift card every day!

after all, what would free money week be without free money?!

find out how to win an amazon gift card later today!

under construction

so, i have some fun things coming up on the blog, but i need to re-construct the blog a little, especially because people my mom can't leave comments. so, come back next week for some crazy blog craziness.