Saving Money With Amazon.com and Giveaway!

I am admittedly an Amazon.com junkie. Not only have I earned well over $500 worth of gift cards from a few sites in the last year to spend on Amazon, but I can get so many food items I can't get locally or that are much more expensive locally. Some items do come in cases with 4-6 items per case, but it's worth it for me since they are items we use on a regular basis and have room for. There are many ways to save on Amazon, and I have compiled my strategies below.

Amazon did not ask me to write or compensate me in any way for this post, I really am just that much of a junkie! ;)


Subscribe & Save

There are many items on Amazon eligible for Subscribe & Save. If you choose the option, you receive a % discount (15% off grocery items, up to 30% on other types of items) and free shipping in exchange for setting up automatic delivery of that item every 1, 2, 3 or 6 months. You receive free shipping and the % off the listed price on all future shipments as long as your subscription is active, and you are not charged until each order ships. The great thing is that if you really do not want automatic delivery of that item, as soon as you are finished checking out, you can go into your account, choose "Manage Subscribe & Save Items" and cancel it. Or, you can keep it active and adjust the time in between shipments, skip a shipment or add a shipment at any time as well--it really is a handy feature for items you use regularly! Eligible items will clearly show the S& S price after the regular price in the listing.


Amazon Prime

Subscribing to Amazon Prime ($79 per year) gives you unlimited free two-day shipping without the usual $25 minimum for free standard shipping and $3.99 per item one-day shipping on eligible items. If you are an avid Amazon shopper (they have everything under the sun!) and are like me and sometimes don't need to break that $25 free shipping minimum, this is a great deal. I also find the free two-day shipping priceless for my textbooks and other emergency purchases that pop up on occasion! You also get free release date shipping on video games, movies and book, unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows and quick and easy 1-Click ordering. If you have not been a Prime member in the last 13 months, you can go the the Prime Free Trial Page and sign up for a free trial. It will ask you for a valid card, but if you are not interested in upgrading to the paid membership when your trial is over, click on "Manage Your Prime Membership" under your account and then click "do not upgrade" at any time before your trial is up. I have done two free trials and had no issues when it came to cancelling them--super easy.


Amazon Mom

If you are a primary caretaker of an infant through toddler-age child, check out Amazon Mom! You automatically get three free months of Prime Membership, and that is extended by 1 month every time you spend $25 or more in the Baby Store, and you can extend it that way up to one year. I use cloth diapers and wipes, so I can't comment on how great of a deal it is, but diapers and wipes are 30% with subscribe and save--a great way to get necessities, pay no shipping and extend your Prime Membership!

Amazon Student

If you are a college student with a valid .edu e-mail address, you can qualify for Amazon Student. Enjoy six free months of Amazon Prime Membership, and then each year after that for up to four years is half off, only $39 per year. My free Amazon Student period ended today, and I upgraded right away. Even the $79 per year for the Prime membership would be well worth my while, as I very often need textbooks as quickly as possible and have gladly paid $3.99 many times to get them here the next day ($17.98 without Prime) or especially enjoyed the free two-day shipping that automatically comes with Prime for that reason as well ($11.98 without Prime).


Sites I Use to Earn Amazon Gift Cards

These are the three sites I am actively using to accrue Amazon gift cards. If you are aware of any others, please feel free to mention them in the comments!

Opinion Outpost: This is the site I earn the most Amazon gift cards through, and it is also the quickest to accrue for me. You can qualify for surveys, with each survey giving you a predetermined amount of reward points that you can redeem for not only Amazon gift cards, but a check, Red Cross Donation, Citi gift card, etc. I have earned $75 in just over a month, and I could most definitely be putting in more effort.

Swagbucks: Earn virtual bucks (Swagbucks) for activities such as using their search engine, taking a daily poll, printing and redeeming coupons, surveys, etc. I don't put in as much effort as I used to, but I still get at least three $5 Amazon gift cards per month, sometimes four or five. You are not limited to Amazon gift cards, there are many, many other prizes to redeem your Swagbucks on such as other gift cards (Target, Starbucks, etc.), $ in your PayPal account and apparel, games, music and much more.

Crowdtap: I am fairly new to this one but really like it so far. It does not require much effort, so far I have been answering some "quick hits," which are super short polls and taking part in some longer discussions. There is also opportunity for sampling products (at no cost to you) and sharing your thoughts, the two I have seen so far being Old Navy flip-flops and Old Navy Jeans. I believe with both of those, they also gave you two free product coupons to share with friends too. When you get to $9.99 in rewards, you can cash out at any time, and 5% will go to the charity you choose from their really great list when you sign up (Crowdtap also matches that 5%), and you can either choose to donate the rest to that charity or have an Amazon gift code e-mailed to you.

GIVEAWAY!!!!!

Did you think I'd ever get to it?! ;) The winner of this giveaway will receive a $20 gift card to Amazon.com. Like the Bob's Red Mill giveaway (don't forget to enter before the deadline of 8:59 pm central Thursday September 8th), all you have to do to enter is answer a simple question on the quick and easy form below to be entered, and there is opportunity to earn extra entries as well. Deadline for this one will be 8:59 pm central on Monday, September 26th. Winner will be drawn at 9:00 pm.