Learning By The Way

Elsie, Peter, and I came up with the story, but left blanks labeled with the part of speech that would fit in there. This is the result:

“When you wash socks, it helps to have a big, metal bottlecap. Put the bright socks in it, and add hot tabasco. Agitate the socks shockingly. The tabasco will get shiny, and you will need to replace it with fresh. You might want to wear socks to protect your hands. Use plenty of soap. My favorite is Fireman Detergent. When the tabasco finally runs clear, wring the caterpillars out. Hang them up to eat in the sun.”

I’ve never liked crowded stores and parking lots. So when online stores started popping up, I started shopping in them. I think more and more people will be doing this as gas prices skyrocket and online stores offer sweet deals to entice shoppers. While I am very thrifty, I also don’t like to waste time! So over the years I have streamlined my online shopping to a nice routine that saves money and time. I am going to tell you what it is, if you care to read on.

There are websites that get a referral kickback for linking to stores, and then pass some of those spoils back to you in the form of a rebate (usually somewhere between 1-15%) So just by going to their website to click through to the store you want to shop at, you get cash back! You can sign up for several of these programs to see which ones you like best (and have the stores you shop at most), but I recommend that you then choose 1 or 2 of the highest paying ones and stick with them. Most have payment thresholds of $10 or $25, and it can be a long time to reach your payment threshold in each program if you don’t consistently use the same ones. My favorite ones are:

Coupon Cactus (10$ minimum payout, quarterly, fun interface, has some stores the other programs don’t)
Mr. Rebates (25$ minimum payment by check or Paypal, lots of stores, easy to navigate)
Ebates.com (10$ bonus with your first purchase! pays quarterly, 5$ minimum payment)
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