Favorite of the Week

 
My favorite item of the week is most definitely my new GOMA Squid Tripod. This thing is awesome and will actually help me a lot with my reviews. No more trying to hold the camera for pics and videos. It has three flexible and strong legs that can bend and twist to any shape. It doesn't take a lot of bending to get it to grip because the legs have squishy foam grips to hold onto it. This thing can grab onto anything.

 

I am also loving it because it can hold a camera with the traditional screw top and it holds phones and GoPros with the included attachments. Since I do not have a GoPro (Are you listening GoPro?), I cannot test out my new awesome tripod on it. Maybe I should add GoPro to my wishlist and cross my fingers. I got this at an extreme discount but for those of you purchasing new it is well worth more than the asking price. This takes place of the traditional large tripods and at 7" tall you can easily carry it in your backpack or purse. Go hiking and attach it to a tree branch for a quick selfie with the cute lil bear cub you saw. (Please do not try to take pictures with wild bears.)

 



Holding a regular digital camera.



Holding my sad little out-dated phone.



 

I want to also give a quick shout-out to NoKiddingCoupons.com for hooking me up with the maker of this wonderful item and allowing me to get it so cheap.  Of course, if you sign up for free I can earn more points to get more stuff to review, but even more importantly you can get stuff discounted too. You do not need to be a super shopper or a blogging mommy to get this stuff. You just need to be able to submit an honest review about the product.

 

Also, you should have an Amazon Prime account that way you do not have to pay shipping on the items. You can get a free 30 day trial at Amazon to explore and see if it is worth the purchase. Even my Amazon Prime I get on discount. Did I mention I love bargains. I get my Prime account through Student Prime. If you or someone in your house is a college student and has a student email address you can get Prime for 50% off.

 

So a little bit about NoKiddingCoupons.com. I am still trying to figure it out myself. It only took me a couple minutes to sign up and then only another minute or two to find something to spend my first 100 points on. You initially earn 150 points and it takes 100 points to obtain a 99% off coupon. Once you have a coupon you head over to Amazon and purchase the item using your coupon.

 

Now here is where it gets tricky. Most sites have you complete a review and then come back to their site and submit a link to verify you completed your review. Then you get more points and can do it all over again. Right now I am still trying to figure out where to submit my review. There are about a dozen different ways to earn points through the site, but I am not making much progress because the site is a bit confusing. I am half tempted to give up and not go back; however, this site has some of the best items and deals around. So I will stay and try to make heads or tails out of it. If I ever get it straight, I will comeback and let you know. For now, I am happy with my new find and hope you take advantage of the opportunity. Have a great day!

Hitting the Ground Running as Reviewer

I have been an online shopper for years. I purchased (at a discount) Amazon Prime a couple months after they launched it and I have been using it every since. But first, let me tell you a little bit about myself. My name is Erynn and I am a 38 year old single mother of two tremendously, awesome teen boys. My youngest Cameron is 15 years old and my eldest Ethan is 19 years old. I am an avid crafter and upcycler. I love make up, reading, learning, spending time with my kids and shopping. I have turned my youngest into a super bargain hunter. We can't pass a clearance rack without stopping to check it out. I am also a gadget queen. I have had to block infomercials from my TV. Bring my shopping and gadgetry to the table and how could I possibly pass up reviewing items for steep discounts and sometimes even FREE. There is no way I will be able to add all the things I gather and collect from different websites, so instead I will choose some of my favorite items. I will also throw in some of my dislikes. 

To start my show, I'll show you my haul this week. After I did the math, the total value of just the items I have brought in this week is $581.67. How much did I actually pay?  $41.19  A bit more than I had budgeted for this experiment, but everyone in my house now has a Christmas present stashed in the closet. 

How did I do it? I found Facebook groups and websites that offer consumers products at discount rates and sometimes free in exchange for their HONEST review. A couple of them asked me to give 4 or 5 star reviews and if I couldn't to not leave a review. I am keeping a list of them. I will only do this with integrity and if you have a bad product don't ask someone to review it. I am thrilled all-in-all every item I received was awesome. I am pretty sure that it because companies know that we WILL be honest. You know us consumers. If we don't like it, we will tell you. 

Our whole country is built on freedom of speech and we are leading the way in transparency. Now more than ever the voice of the consumer is being heard via social media, reviews, BLOGS, newsletter, and more. Of course, that is exactly why these companies are looking for reviews. I usually skip items that do not have reviews on them. I am more likely to purchase an item that has a couple bad reviews over one with none. At least then I know what I am getting into.

Wow, that was a whole 'nother tangent. So here is my haul. Well, most of it. There are about five or six items that I gave to friends and family after testing them out. I didn't think to get pictures of them. Like I said earlier, I really haven't come across a single bad product yet. It's good thing too, because I am sure the companies would hate my nasty reviews of bad products now that they have me up and peppy on new supplements. Lol 

Next time, I may slow down on the supplement ordering. I forgot I really had to try them out to see how they work. I have been trying a new product each day. Yesterday I had no appetite after a heavy dose of Garcinia Cambogia and today I am wide awake at 1:30am with 30 Day Energy rush pills. Lol   For now I am just starting by showing of my stash. (BTW... I am pretty the UPS man is starting to hate me. No less than 5 boxes each day. One day he made two trips.) Please comment below about anything. Tomorrow I will come back and show my favorite item of the week and maybe introduce you to one of the Facebook groups I am a member.