INFLUENSTER has selected me for a VOX BOX!!!

I was sooooo excited to open my email today and learn that INFLUENSTER had preselected me for a VOX BOX!!!  I had never heard of 'it' before October, when I was watching some You Tube videos and someone mentioned that they got a "vox box."  It looked great and I thought it was some sort of monthly subscription service...lol.  If you are like I was and have no clue what it is...

Influenster is a social networking site, where you can complete little activities to share your interests in products, hobbies and activities and also learn about others through reviews and activities (on the site, and through your blogs, channels, twitter etc.)  Think of it as a fun little community!  One of the perks of the site is that they select members based on their activity level and intersts to participate in a review of a box filled with goodies- in exchange you are asked to share your opinion with the social networking sites you use to help give an honest opinion of the products you were sent.  How cool is that?  This is a real win-win for me as I get to receive a little surprise in the mail (and who doesn't like that) and in exchange for my time and opinions, I get to keep the items inside!  Can you tell that I am super excited!???  

A word of caution here...and I am just keeping it real....this is not for everyone.  I think you have to be the type of person who enjoys this sort of thing to begin with, and have enough time to dedicate small, frequent visits to the site to complete the activities.  While you can pick the areas you are interested in to 'explore' on the site---for me ones like beauty, being a mom, and reading were easy picks while fitness, over 50 and men ones I steered away from (duh)......you really have to enjoy the whole social networking experience to make this work.  I joined October 5th and the email was sent to me last night so in just 2 months I was selected for a Vox Box!

I am just so sstinkin' excited to get the box that I am not sure what is in it at this point!  lol
If you want to explore it for yourself there is a link to Influenster on the right hand side....

Until next time...

More FREE stuff...including lots of coffee&tea and lots more!

So this morning I woke up like I normally do, started to get the coffee pot ready and realized that I was actually out of coffee!  It happens right?  Well, that meant only one thing...I needed to go to my little pile of freebies that have come in the last week or so, and dig out a bag of coffee! 

So here is the one I selected...Folger's gourmet Vanilla Biscotti!    This is 0.9 oz sample, which they say is enough for a "half pot" but we had a teensy bit of coffee in the container and adding this, I was able to make a full pot!  (11 cups)  I think this is the third one of these I have received- each at different times, and let me tell you, on a morning like this- I appreciate Folgers and the few moments I spent to have it sent to me!!!

Since I had to take the coffee out anyways, I thought I would also snap a quick shot of the other freebies I have found in my mailbox this week.

Folgers 0.9oz sample
Gevalia k-cup and froth packet + $3 coupon
Gevalia 0.84oz sample
Real Cup 3 capsules
4 Twinnings tea (jasmine, spiced apple, mixed berry, honey madarine & orange)
2 Ovaltine
Naturals Grain Free dog food 6oz! whitefish & sweet potato
Eucerine Professional Repair in extremely dry
Katy Perry Killer Queen sample
Nexxus Youth Renewal 4 ml sample!!!  (hair elixir)

I think since we are heading into the colder months, it is a great time for drink samples because there are FOUR coffee samples, 4 tea samples, and two Ovaltine!  I enjoy getting free samples, but this is a great way to show how you can get A LOT of quality samples in a very short time!

In addition to the actual samples, I also received a FREE $10.00  gift card from Victoria Secret!!! It is valid until Jan 31/14 so it will be perfect to snag a lotion, or perfume body spray!!  (this was part of the birthday sign up which is absolutely FREE)  annnnnnnd for the second month in a row I received a Lane Bryant catalog with TWO FREE $15/$15 coupons!  squeeeeel!

So while I still have lots of friends who tell me you can't get things for free, I continue to enjoy sampling a wide range of products, and do very little to receive them!  Just how do I do it?  Simple...I read my emails for a few minutes each day, click on the 'get free sample' tabs while browsing through Face Book and the internet, and sign up for email notifications from people who specifically do all the work for me to find the samples!  Easy Peesy!   So tell me....what's in YOUR mailbox today?  :)

There is such a thing as FREE

For about a year now I have been requesting FREE SAMPLES online (and to a lesser extent in stores), and I am still amazed at just at much I am able to get for just a few moments of my time filling out a request form.

Here are the samples from the last week or so.  They include perfume,3 herbal teas that I'm super excited to try because are two of them are Chai, face serum (enough for 5 days!), two packs of style extender, a pore minimizer, Gain (have really been wanting to try this and compare it to my other brand), a shampoo and mask, another shampoo, conditioner and a deep conditioner...and a full sized socket sealer set which should help with our electric bill!

This may not seem like very much, but if I get this amount every month it quickly adds up!  Obviously some samples are more exciting than others, like tea and coffee samples for example.  I just love getting those and they are relatively high value.  But in the  last month I have also got several samples of feminine products, 3 small bags of dog food, 3 dog bones, Chapstick, some hand lotions just to name a few!  My favorites of the last year are full boxes of cereal, jewellery, sippy cup, razors, elastic wrap, several Target beauty bags full of samples, cranberries and cranberry juice, a year subscription to O magazine, bandaids, and medications!

A couple things to keep in mind if you are just getting started and want to explore the wonderful world of freebies...

* it might be easier to set up an email just for freebies and to keep it separate from your personal emails
* many take a month or longer to ship so be patient at first...they will slowly start to trickle in, and then become more regular....keep with it and soon you will have a steady flow of samples in your mailbox
* since companies are sending these out free, be courteous and obey the limits (usually one/household) so everyone out there can also get one.
* if there is an option to give feedback on the product- do so!  It helps with the development of products and it shows your appreciation
* sign up for emails from freebie sites that easily link you to the current ones
***finally MANY OF THE SAMPLES ALSO INCLUDE HIGH VALUE COUPONS TO PICK UP THE FULL SIZED ITEM....USE THEM!!!