MUMMY TO THE MAX

If you have read my blog a lot, you would understand that I hate wasting money and I am a bargain queen. Many of you would think that I would hate putting money on activities like Bingo however this is something I enjoy doing regularly online. I ensure that when I do it, I will always get my money back and a little extra. Although my Bingo playing idea is not a fast money making idea, it is something which generally makes me profit every month and is something which could help you make some money ahead of Christmas.

To make a profit on bingo you are going to need to sign up to Topcashback. For those that are unaware of TopCashBack, it is a site that gives you money when you spend money online. Once you have signed up and before you start earning your money you will need to clear your cookies, browsing history and download the TopCashBack bar which reminds you of any potential cashback when you are shopping online. Doing this will ensure you gain your bingo profits with ease.

First you will need to sign into you Topcashback account and head to this link and find out what merchants are offering you the best cashback on a £10 deposit on any bingo site. I often find that Sun Bingo, Ladbrokes and Betfair offer great cashback on a £10 spend. I often find that per £10 you deposit, you will receive £25 back once you have used the full £10 you deposited on bingo games.


Recently I took part in the Sun Bingo offer and managed to walk away with £25.25 profit? How? I simply deposited £10 on their site and played Bingo. I used the full £10 I deposited on bingo cards and managed to cash out £10 of winnings after playing Bingo for around 30 mins. Due to me cashing out the £10 which I put upfront, I walked away with £25.25. This offer took me just 30 mins and although it meant having to wait for my returns, I was in profit. I would have still been £15.25 profit even if I had not won a single penny.
My top 5 tips to take advantage of this offer:

• Always ensure you read the terms. Terms can often state that you that you are unable to use any promotional codes you may find online when trying to earn Topcashback. Terms often state how many people per household can take advantage of the offer. If you do not follow terms, merchants do not have to pay out your cashback.

• Always take note of what the Topcashback amount says when you take advantage of the offer. I always ensure I take a screen shot of the amount I am meant to be getting back.  This allows me to put a support ticket into Topcashback if the amount of cashback is presented wrong when it tracks.

• Be prepared to wait a little. Transactions for this retailer often appear on you Topcashback account within 24 hours. Transactions are usually confirmed within a month and should become payable within 30 - 60 days after the event date, this said Sun Bingo paid out my Topcashback within 2 weeks and paid my winnings within 4 days.

• Always aim high. I often only do a cashback deal if I am making £10 or more profit. Each deal can take me anything from 30 mins to 1 hour and I believe a minimum of £10 profit is enough money to compensate me for my time.

• Remember most deals can only be done once. I often aim to complete one bingo merchants cashback deal a month. Although it may feel like there are only 5 - 10 Topcashback deals you can take advantage of, new merchants are being added to Topcashback all the time which ensures there is normally a new bingo site to take advantage of monthly.

I am a huge fan of loyalty cards and one of my favorite's is the Nectar card. The Nectar card can be used to collect points in a few select places such as Sainsbury’s, Homebase and at BP garages. Unfortunately me and Ben shop at none of these places however over the last few months I have learnt other ways to collect points.

eShops
If you go to Nectar.com and click through to a shop say ASOS and buy something on the ASOS website, you are able to earn points on your nectar card. One of our favourites places to do this is Just Eat. Ben and I order a takeaway most week's and we find these points really do add up, no other website reward Just Eat customers so we love that Nectar do. Ebay is another place where we manage to collect point and although I tend not to buy much on Ebay, since linking my Nectar card to my Ebay account I have found I have gained a few extra penny's which always come in handy. I love that I can be rewarded for things I need to buy.

Nectar app
The Nectar app is free to download and can be downloaded to many phone/tablet devices. I personally have the app on my Iphone and my tablet. The app gives you the opportunity to opt in to special offers from retailers such as Sainsbury’s and BP, when you go to shop there you can gain 300 extra points for buying a certain thing. So far I have gained 200 extra points for buying a deodorant I needed which was on offer. Once I got the points back for it it made the deodorant free.

The app also gives you the chance to earn points by doing internet searches on your phone. You can earn one point for every two searches and can earn up to 100 points a month, this is great money maker if you’re often looking things up on the go.

Nectar Canvas
Nectar Canvas gives you the chance to answer surveys in return for points. I have done a few surveys however I feel they are a waste of time. You can click through half a survey and then are told you are not suitable for the survey. Instead of rewarding you with a few points they only add you in a competition to win lots of nectar points which is very unlikely when you think of the masses of people who do the surveys. On a plus side if you are suitable for the surveys I have found you can gain over 250 points at a time.

Nectar Toolbar
The nectar toolbar can be downloaded onto your browser on your computer. It allows you to earn points for doing internet searches. The toolbar works the same as the app it is one point for every two searches.

This week Monsters Inc arrived free on DVD for Maxwell. Maxwell was of course pleased that he had a new DVD but I was also pleased that he had a new DVD which would have cost me around £8 for free. How did we get it for free? We signed up to Disney Movie Rewards, bought Disney products and saved enough points up to get our free DVD.. Is it worthwhile? YES!

This is our last week in our home before we move and I have been going around cleaning as much as I can so when we arrive in our new property, everything is clean, shiny and ready to use whilst making sure this property is left in a clean state. This week I have had to entertain Maxwell whilst packing which has been quite easy and has cost me very little money. I could have gone out and bought lots of expensive toys, but this week I thought I would simply use things from around the house.

Let your children help you pack This week Maxwell has been helping pack some of our personal belongings up. Even at a young age children are able to sort their toys and help you wrap objects in news paper or bubble wrap. Maxwell favourite activity was helping in the kitchen with the pots and pans and making as much noise as he could with a wooden spoon.

Moving boxes can be fun To keep Maxwell occupied this week I have been building Maxwell fun things out of the boxes that we are meant to be using for our move. I let Maxwell loose with some crayons and stickers and let him decorate the box. I also let him stack a few together and let him use them as a tunnel. Maxwell never gets board of boxes and the fun can only continue as children can have lots of imaginative ideas.

Permanent laser hair removal -  Switch to longer-lasting treatments and you’ll save yourself tons of money and time on beauty. Not only do I spend hours shaving my legs but I also spend a lot of money on using razors and hair removal cream to keep my body hair free which is not great when you are a busy Mum. One of the best ways to save money is to get laser hair treatment. Laser hair removal is a simple and effective way to keep your body free from hair.
Buy on sale and in bulk - I often visit my local supermarket or chemist and find beauty products on sale. If I am after something particular I often check on websites to see the best price and even wait for it to go on offer.  When on offer or in the sale I like to stock up, this saves not only money but time as it means I do not have to go to a shop regularly to buy products.
Skip the salon - I have saved a lot of money over time by skipping the salon and going to places like collages where they do beauty and hairdressing courses and getting a free/cheap treatment. Many collage students need people to experiment on and complete there portfolio work, Most people doing this are just as qualified as any one working in a salon and if something is to go wrong there is someone always on hand to fix it for you.

Its the end of July and I thought I would write a post telling my readers what I got this month . As most of my readers know.. I love a bargain and I rarely pay full price for anything!

Maxwell's Items


H&M Pj's =  RRP £7.99 - I payed £3 including delivery
10 small pots of playdough = RRP £5 - I payed £2 including delivery
Mega Blocks Truck = RRP £10 - I payed £5 including delivery
Gap T-shirt = RRP £10 -  I payed £2.99
Vtech Toy = RRP £15 - I payed £3.49 including delivery
Tommee Tippee Cup - RRP £4 - I payed £1

RRP Cost = £51.99
I Payed = £17.48

Mummy's Items


Classic Blue Short Uggs = RRP £150 - I payed £40
Next Shoes = RRP £15 - I payed £4
7 cans of Right Guard = RRP £15 - I payed £0
Topshop Maxi Dress = RRP £40 - I payed £10

RRP = £220
I payed = £54

Food Items


2 X Little Dish Meals = RRP £2.40 - I payed £2
Helmans Mayo = RRP £2.79 - I payed £0
2 X Utterly Butterly = RRP £3.60 - I payed £0
J20 = RRP £4.49 - I payed £1.14
2 X Danio = RRP £1.70 - I payed £0
2 x Oasis = RRP £2.30 - I payed £0

RRP = £17.28
I payed =  £3.14

As you can see we got some massive bargains in July. Most of the things we bought Maxwell is being put away for Christmas. All the clothing is aged 3-4 so it will last him and the toys will all end up in his Christmas stocking.
We did well on food this month thanks to vouchers I was sent from manufacturers or I found on the internet!

My bargain of the month goes to my amazing Ugg Bargain. They are real and have original certificates! I headed over to my nearest outlet shops to get these and this is not the first pair I have found this cheap.

Total
RRP =£289.27
I payed =£74.62

FREE doughnut from Greggs. Chocolate lime, raspberry coconut ice, banana shake. Print this voucher and take it to your local Greggs shop. FREE bar of Elizabeth Shaw Milk Chocolate Butterscotch Crisp (100g) at Sainsburys with voucher. Print off voucher and take to your local Sainsburys.  FREE bag of walkers deep ridged crisps from Nisa. Click on the banner in the middle of the page. Print voucher to claim your free pack. Eastbourne Airbourne Free International AirShow August 15th - 18th. Click here for more info.  Kirtles, court and kitchens Weoley Castle, Birmingham Sun 28th July 2013. Click here for more info. Bournemouth Air Festival 2013 - Thursday 29th August - Sunday 1st September. Click here for more info.

Swap your old electric toothbrush for a new Colgate ProClinical C200 with Absolute Radio. From today (Monday 8 July) you'll be able to swap your electric toothbrush, by registering on this page, then posting it to us free of charge.

Has anyone noticed the date today?? Its under 6 months until Christmas!!!

Yesterday was a great day for the Mummy To The Max household. I managed to save over £50 simply by using coupons and getting great deals on reduced items.

First off I popped to Boots to get myself some toiletries to take to London with me for Britmums. I went into the shop and went to the Kiosk to get the best deals off my Advantage Card.
There were some great deals including bronzer makeup down to £2.50 instead of its £5.50 price tag and 10% off deodorants/body sprays.
I then headed to the reduced section and was amazed at what I saw. Shampoo down form a £1 to 50p and dry hair shampoo from £2.50 to £1. I picked up 2 of each and headed to the checkout along with some body spray and my bronzer.
I paid for my items and once I had left the shop I found that I had been charged 50p for the dry shampoo instead of £1 and they had taken 20% off the body spray instead of the original 10%. I managed to save over £10 on my Boots shop and I also got advantage points as well as a voucher for half price sunglasses.

We then headed to Tesco, I had no plans of what to buy but my purse was full of coupons so I went around the shop working out what I could buy with my coupons and getting some shopping to feed us for the week minus fruit,salad and veg which I buy from our local market.
I had £4 Walkers coupons, £3 Fox Biscuit coupons and £5 Pampers coupons to use... I also had a lot of £1 coupons and some coupons to use from my Bzzagent trials to use.
Whilst in Tesco I spotted that they had a fab deal on Huggies Baby Wipes - 9 packs for a small £6.28 which is a great saving as I normally only see the wipes on offer at £1 a pack. Before I left my house I also spotted that Tesco were selling there jumbo boxes of Pampers nappies off at £5 so I asked for them to look out the back and to my surprise they had a box - 68 nappies for £5!!

When I went to the checkout I was unsure how much my shopping would cost as I had walked around the shop working out the price in my head and had calculated I would need to spend around £13 of my own money once I had used vouchers.

My shopping came to £49 and I got it for £11.79 which is a amazing saving! I got paid to take the Pampers nappies away as I had a £5 voucher from P&G and also a £1 voucher when you buy pampers nappies in Tesco. I also got paid to take some of the cheese's away as the voucher was more expensive than some of the products. I had a £4 off voucher for a £40 spend as well.

I had a great day of shopping and managed huge savings.


Freebies for this week:

Coupons
E-vouchers to use online for fruit and veg at Tesco.
75p off £3 or more fresh salad. Enter code GRF66P at checkout
£1 off £4 or more fresh fruit. Enter code GRKFTY at checkout
John Frieda Everlasting Blonde trial packs to give away every hour. 200 each hour - from 9am until 8pm for 2 weeks.

Freebies
Get a FREE pot of yoghurt. Print off the coupon and take it to a local Waitrose.
Get a FREE/Cheap Tub Of Clover. Print off coupon and take it to a local store. It has been reported Asda have ranges that are £1-£1.50 meaning it will cost you no more than 50p!
FREE L'Oreal Nude Magique CC Cream Sample. Follow the link and enter your details. 3 Samples to choose from.

Get a FREE piece of Original Recipe on-the-bone Chicken from KFC on May 7th when you print or show the attached voucher on your phone.
A pack of 100 FREE Tealight Candles. Just print off the coupon and take instore. You will need your Ikea Family Card to claim these.

FREE 'Big Lunch' Kit - Bunting, Balloons, Tablecloths & Coasters
Halifax is a proud partner of 'The Big Lunch' this year and to help your community lunch go off with a bang they are giving away 7,000 Big Lunch Kits. Each kit contains bunting, balloons, tablecloths and coasters. Fill in the form to claim one.
Mini Ninjas for IOS FREE It was previously 69p on the Apple App Store, free for this weekend only!

This amazing giveaway has been provided to us by Yu!.


Recently me and Maxwell had the chance to review lots of amazing, tasty, healthy treats. They were so fantastic we wanted to share them with our readers and offer you the chance to win some yourselves. Up for grabs today we have 2 lots of Yu! goodies to giveaway.
There will be 2 lucky winners who will have the chance to win a range of goodies for them and their families to enjoy.

Get a free bottle of coke zero! Just enter your details online and you'll be sent an email to print out your voucher.
https://www.freecokezero.co.uk/
16+ yrs in GB, CI and IoM only. Download until 1st May or limit of 1,000,000. Coupon valid until 12th May 2013. Coupon can be redeemed in all retailers where Coke Zero 500ml is distributed, except WH Smith, Subway and EAT. Full terms apply.

Free Easter Activities For Children

Get a FREE child's cinema ticket when you buy a adult ticket when going to see Finding Nemo in 3D. It is valid in Cineworld, Odeon, Vue and Empire cinemas. Valid untill the 29th of April.
http://www.disney.co.uk/finding-nemo/downloads/finding-nemo-cinema-voucher.pdf

FREE entry to Morwellham Quay (Edwardian farm was filmed there) worth £7.95 when you register for their newsletter - offer valid until the end of April.
Sonic Dash FREE at Apple App Store. Play as Sonic the Hedgehog as you dash, jump and spin your way across stunning 3D environments. Swipe your way over and under challenging obstacles in this fast and frenzied endless running game for iPad, iPad mini, iPhone & iPod touch.

If you are on 02 rewards look out for:
Use your 02 rewards app at ODEON - FREE large popcorn, hot dog or nachos! The same code stays on your phone but resets every week so you can use the same code every week!
If you have any problems redeeming this offer, please speak to the cinema manager. With this offer you can get a free large dispensed popcorn, hot dog or nachos only. Use the offer between 20/02/13 - 01/05/13. Voucher can only be redeemed at the cinema retail counter of any ODEON Cinema in the UK, and cannot be used at cinema box office, ODEON.co.uk, the ODEON Mobile site, ODEON App or via the Filmline or ATM. Voucher must be presented at time of purchase, and can only be used once in respect of one snack purchase. No reimbursement for previously purchased snacks will be allowed. Only one voucher can be used per transaction. Only one voucher can be used per week.

Competition:Win