April Redemptions

Here are my redemptions for the month of April.  That's a total of $164.80 in one month. Or somewhere close depending on how poorly I've added. I also cashed in for 25FB credits at 4Loot. I haven't cashed out at Bing yet, but with continued luck I will redeem a $5 AGC this month. 

Swagbucks: $25 Amazon, $10 Domino's, $10 donation to Autism Speaks

Irazoo: $20 Amazon

Instant Gift Cards: $10 Amazon

Jingit: $32.35

Calyp: $37.45

Superpoints: $10 Amazon

Social Moms: $10 Amazon

Lifetime Totals:

Swagbucks (since 11/03/11):
$225 Amazon
$10 Domino's
$1 donation to Children's Miracle Network,
$10 donation to Autism Speaks
Irazoo (since 12/01/11): 
$35 Amazon
Instant Gift Cards (since 1/16/12): 
$30 Amazon
Jingit (since 11/17/11): 
$62.07
Calyp (since 1/1/12): 
$136.88
Superpoints (since 11/8/11): 
$10 Amazon
Social Moms (since 3/17/12): 
$10 Amazon

That's over $500 since November!

A Little of This, A Little of That

If you're not doing Jingit, I just don't know why not. I've made $10.00 since Sunday just watching a couple of ads on Walmart.com. What else do I have to do to convince you? Jingit is the easiest money I make.

I've finally reached platinum status at Calyp by pimping out my Twitter (@stokesreagan). I'm totally fine with it; I really only use Twitter for my GPT sites anyway. I've earned over $150.00 at Calyp this year.

I'm very excited about the newest toy I purchased using money I earned online. Anyone want to guess what it is? Here's a hint: it's not cloth diapers. I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of four diapers in transit right now from various retailers. I'm so impatient when it comes to waiting on cloth diapers! 

I can't wait for the weather to decide what it wants to do. Sweaters one day, tank tops the next. Come on, summer! Only a little more than a month left before school's out so it's almost here. 

Patrick  and I took Austin to school this morning since Jonny had to go in to work early (after my mom came over and helped me jump the battery). I went to the Drug Store to eat breakfast with my mom and grandmother as I always do when I take Austin to school. It just so happens there was a Grammy Award-winning group there. I'd never heard of The New Christy Minstrels, but it's cool to be able to say I've eaten breakfast with someone who's won a Grammy. They even sang a little tune for us. It's not quite my type of music, but if you like folk chorus you should enjoy them. Here's the daily pic of the little guy. He's asleep, as I'm sure you can tell. It won't be long before he'll be awake and wanting a diaper change and some nourishment.

Diapers, Races, and Money! Oh, My!

Overview of Diapering Systems

POCKETS-First, I'll start with my family's personal favorite, the pocket. This is a shell with an attached lining. There is an opening (usually in the back) for a liner. You stuff the pocket and you're ready to go. They're a little more time-consuming than an AIO, but dries faster and is more absorbent. Right now, we use Swaddlebees and Blueberry pockets. We prefer the Swaddlebees. While the Blueberry diapers are softer, it's often more difficult to tell if it's wet. Pockets are our preference for nighttime because of their absorbency and there is room to add more liners if needed.

PREFOLDS W/COVER-Our second favorite is a prefold (PF) with a cover. We use Gerber PFs with Baby Beehinds covers. The best thing about this system is that it is the most economical system. You can fold the PF into the cover or secure the PF to the baby with a Snappi then put the cover on (we typically use the latter method). With wet diapers, you can wipe down the cover and replace the PF. With dirty diapers, you should replace the cover as well. We have about ten PFs and three covers. This system is a little time-consuming and I prefer not to use PFs at night. PF are my preference for taking out in public. It seems odd since they're more work, but they also take up less room. I can take one cover and a few PFs for a few hours.

AIOs/AI2s-The AIO/AI2 is our least favorite. They're easy to use-just pull them out of the dryer and they're ready to go-but they are less absorbent and take longer to dry. We use the AIOs during the day when we change Patrick as soon as he soils his diaper. At night, he may go twelve hours between diapers changes and the AIOs simply will not last that long without leaking. We use Grovia AIOs and while I'm happy with the engineering, they're just not as versatile as pockets or prefolds.

FITTEDS W/COVER-As a disclaimer, I have not actually used fitted diapers. I think it's silly since I'm capable of pinning a Snappi on a PF myself. A fitted diaper is basically a PF that has been assembled and has snaps or applix. They are not one size and one fitted diaper is about the same cost as a pack of PFs. With this system, you secure the fitted diaper onto the baby and secure the cover over the fitted diaper.

HYBRID-Hybrid diapers are diapers that are both reusable and disposable. Confused? Basically, imagine a reusable AIO with a disposable liner. These can also be used with reusable liners. I haven't used these because I'm not entirely sure it's not a waste. If you only use the disposable liners it will take you longer to recoup the initial costs. These are ideal for vacations as it reduces the amount of diapers you would need to carry. I haven't used this system due to the fact that my son uses all of his diaper. I've tried adding a liner to his diapers turning them into AI2s, but he just ends up soiling the diaper and the liner. I've ordered a diaper in this system to try out.

If you have the time and ability, I suggest trying your hand at assembling your own cloth diapers. I have absolutely no abilities in the sewing department, but my aunt was able to help me out. Our prototype left much to be desired, but it was a learning experience. I've used the prototype for about a month now. I know what needs to be changed and how to make the diaper better. I was able to get all the material for six diapers for $40. I can use the materials to make pockets, covers, fitteds, PF, or AIOs. The first diaper was a pocket. I'm thinking the other five will be pockets and covers. I may attempt to make one AIO and a fitted. I found everything I needed to make the diaper below at our local Hobby Lobby and inside my house (the lining is one of Jonny's old 100% cotton t-shirts).

I ordered Econobum PFs and a cover and gDiapers from Walmart online earlier this week. The Econobums arrived yesterday. I've already washed them and they're ready to go. He's been wearing them since he got up at 9:15am. We've done one change already. I'm a little skeptical since the leg openings don't seem to be tight enough (and Patrick has chunky thighs). No leaks this time, but I'm not sure how it will hold up with poop. I love the unbleached cotton PFs that came in the pack, though. So much better than than bleached Gerber diapers I'm using. I'm reserving judgment of Econobums until we use them overnight and they undergo the ultimate test-a potential blowout. Hopefully, the gDiapers will arrive today and I'll get to try them out this weekend.

Don't forget, the Dan River Autism Awareness 5k is Saturday at Dan Daniel Park. The race begins at 10am. Jonny, Austin, Patrick, and I will be there. Heather and Tammy will be there as well! Go Team Austin! Proceeds will be donated to Autism Speaks. For more information about Autism Speaks, click HERE. Also, in honor of Autism Awareness Month, I will be donating to Autism Speaks 100% of the Swagbucks earned from the SBTV mobile app in April.

I won a $20 Amazon gift card today from Social Moms, one of the GPT sites I use. It's always excited to win stuff. That's my second win on a GPT site this week!

Here's my cashout from my main sites so far this month:
Swagbucks: $25.00
Irazoo: $20.00
InstaGC: $7.00
Social Moms: $10.00
Calyp: $37.45
Jingit: $6.00
Superpoints: $10.00

That's $115.45 cashed out so far this month.

It's Been Awhile

I should post a new blog. It's been awhile. I don't have the time for the long blog posts I did before the baby arrived, but I'll do what I can. It's been awhile since I updated.

First, JINGIT IS BACK! Wait, maybe I didn't yell loudly enough. I got 3 ads yesterday for a total of $1.50. That is so fantastic since Calyp has been having problems lately.

Second, Calyp has been having problems lately. I need more followers here in order to increase my "reach" (read: popularity) so I can earn more for each ad I post. If you'd be so inclined, I would appreciate more followers.

Third, Swagbucks has been doing earning challenges lately, with bonuses offered if you meet the daily goal and the bonuses being doubled if you meet all the daily goals at the end of the challenge. I'm excited by this. It gives me an incentive to work harder at Swagbucks. I've been slacking there lately. I like free pennies.

Fourth, I've been doing really well at Irazoo the past month or so. I've averaged about $5/week there. Not too shabby. It takes awhile to get the codes for gift cards, but the payout is higher than Swagbucks.

Fifth, InstaGC has become one of my new favorite earning sites. I've earned over $20 since I started in February. The gift cards are, well, instant. As soon as I cash out, the code is sent to my email.

And lastly, I finally cashed out at Superpoints! Cashed out on Sunday, $10 AGC in my email on Monday. I still don't know if I would say I love them. It took me four months to get that $10, but I did get paid.

After buying a computer (yes, a computer), a few cloth diapers, and a wireless keyboard/mouse combo in the past couple of months solely with Amazon gift cards earned from various sites, I now have over $200 in my account again. Back to deciding if I want that Kindle Fire or not.

New Sites to Recommend

Irazoo
I finally earned enough irazoo points to cash out for a $5 Amazon gift card. It isn't much, but every little thing counts. And I don't use irazoo so much that I feel like I've wasted my time. You can win points with the search function up to 10 times a day. Yesterday, I won 240 points with 7 searches. You can get 1 point for each game you play, up to 10 points. You get 5 points just for opening up the offer page, which really just requires clicking a link. While you're there, check out Gambit for videos (usually worth between 2-7 points each). There may occasionally be some decent offers on the other walls as well, but for the most part I only do offers on one pay-site. It can get confusing otherwise. There is also a code (easily located on their facebook wall) issued every few days. The last code was worth 16 points. If you max out the dailies (search wins, games, offer page) every day, you could easily cash out for a $5 AGC at least once a month. I cashed out 3000 points for a $5 AGC yesterday morning and I'm already back up to 400 points. If you're looking for a new site just to tinker around on, I can definitely recommend irazoo.

Calyp
Calyp is a different type of earning potential. It's a pay-per-click network. You must have some sort of social network account in order to use this. Here's the basic idea: you endorse a product (ie. Lifesavers candy), you post a link to your Facebook, Twitter, blog, or LinkedIn, you get paid for 1-posting the link, 2-people clicking on the link, 3-people clicking through to an external site. I've been using the site since January 1 and I'm already up to $15. They issue a debit card at $30 so I'm halfway there already. I definitely like the potential of this site.

**Note:
Even if you're not a referral, if you every have any questions about a site, or you have one you want me to try, let me know. I'm always here to help. I won't be around as much, at least at first, once the little bundle of joy arrives (any day now), but if you leave a comment or email me, I'll try to get back to you as quickly as possible. I love all the money I've been able to earn on the different sites and I like to share my enthusiasm. I obviously appreciate referrals, but that's not what this is about.