Unconventional Ways To Save Money

Two weeks ago I entered into a contest to win a trip to New Zealand. The contest was simple. The company would tweet a question daily and choose a winner based on the best answer. The question I answered was "You're a chef preparing a dinner for Valentine's Day. What are you preparing?" I tweeted back with my answer thinking I would never win.

A few days later while grocery shopping I got the word that my answer was the winning tweet. Now, I originally wasn't planning on going to New Zealand so in theory I won't really be saving any money. However, there are sweepstakes that offer cold-hard cash as the prize. I encourage you to pursue this option when trying to live large on a small budget.


A few options for finding these great sweepstakes:

•  Twitter is a great way to find easy contest. Search #win or #giveaway
• This blog (best for women) details daily giveaways
• Sweeps Advantage has a variety of sweepstakes separated by category
• Search Google for even more sweepstakes and sweepstakes websites

If you do win but you don't particular like your prize or have no use for it, sell it for some extra cash. Online markets, like Ebay or Amazon, make it easy to unload your prizes.

Unfortunately, not every contest is honest and there are scams out there so always read the fine print. This article offers tips from sweepstakes veterans and ways to avoid scams.

Have fun and good luck!!

Deals & Steals

As a college student I have developed many habits. Some haven't been great (i.e. going out for margaritas instead of studying) but others have helped me out along the way.

I have gotten into the habit of using coupons--no clipping required--to live large on a college-student budget. Here are a few of my favorite money-saving sites.

• Listen to any song for FREE as many times as you want at GrooveShark
• Sign up for with an .edu address here to get an Amazon Prime account for one year.
• This includes free two day shipping, $3.99 one day shipping for each item (think textbooks!)
• Find a coupon for almost any online retailer at Retail Me Not
• Pizza lovers: Domino's offers coupons (and sometimes free cinnastix!) 
• Nu Coupons was created in San Marcos, for San Marcos.
• This iPhone app has coupons for restaurants, retailers and other goods in the area
• Check out the discount page before you go to the outlets: Tanger and Prime
• The Texas State Student Discount Handbook also offers a variety of local coupons

For more money-saving tips check out Bobcat Net Worth Network on twitter -- @bobcatnetworth