Thrifty Sites

Before we even thought of becoming a teacher, there is one thing we all knew. Being a teacher means finding creative ways to work on a shoestring budget. 

Tonight I thought I would share a few things that I have found over the past few years that I hope will be helpful to you in your classroom. 

1. Hip2Save This website is a legitimate website, endorsed by The Today Show. Not only does this website tell you where you can use coupons for groceries, office supplies and clothes, but it also tells you about freebies you can sign up for. Throughout my time visiting Hip2Save, I have received free books, learned about cash back, and found great deals on clothes (hey, we have to look nice when we are teachers right?)

2. EBates At first when I heard about this website, I was a bit skeptical...but after I got an actual check, I then believed. Basically, this website links you to a website you were going to buy something on, take Macy's for example, and it opens up a ticket for you. You buy the items you want and then you get a small percentage back which accumulates over time (think 3 month period) and once you reach a certain amount (I believe it is minnimum $10) Ebates will cut you a check. If you are going to buy something online anyway, might as well check out to see if they have an agreement with EBates. 

3. Kellogs Family Rewards with this website, you simply enter codes from your Kellogs brand foods and then redeem them in for a reward or donate them to a school of your choice. I am a huge lover of Cheese-Its and so I get points everytime I buy them. Another way is to get extra points, is to always check hip2save. I know they often are giving away codes to enter.

4. Recycle Bank This is one of my favorites. This website could be used in the classroom, if the kids each had an email address. If not, you could just show them yours. Basically the mission of this website is to promote a clean environment. You take quizes, pledge to recycle certain things, or watch a short video and earn points. Once you recieve points, you can redeem them for magazines, even Starbucks and Target gift cards (while they are in stock) sometimes, I save up my points until the gift cards are back in stock. If you chose to get the Target card for example, it could always be used toward your classroom. While it is only $5, I think that its a free $5 and I learned a lot about recycling than I did before I started so it is a win-win situation!

Those are just a few thrifty sites that can not only be helpful to teachers, but others as well.

Does anyone else know some great websites similar to these?