I’m starting a brand-new Swagbucks week today! Last week was a little frustrating because Swagbucks kept kicking us off, things weren’t always tracking correctly, and sometimes we’d have to start over. So I’m not even going to pretend I know exactly what we earned last week.

What I do know is the LORD has given us a new week and that means we have a fresh start. LORD willing and the Creek don’t rise I will have a better week at tracking what we get each day so I know if Ive made my daily goal and I can come and share with you how I did.

This week my beginning total is 22,257 SB. LORDY LORDY that still sounds like so much when I’m trying to get to 30,090 SB by December. Now, I know that’s a pretty big goal, and I’m also realistic enough to know that we may not make it. And that’s okay.

We can make plans. We can set goals. We can work toward them. But ultimately, it’s all in the Lord’s hands. If we make 30,090 SB, I’ll be thrilled. If we don’t, I’m still going to be thankful for every single point we earned along the way. Which is why I have a plan B in place.

So let’s do a little math. We’re currently at 22,257 SB, which means we need 7,833 more SB to reach 30,090. Our regular goal is to earn at least 100 SB a day, with 25 SB being our absolute minimum. If we earned 100 SB every day for seven days, we’d earn another 700 SB and end the week at 22,957 SB.

That wouldn’t get us to 30,090 yet, but it would get us 700 points closer. And that’s something I want to teach our family, too. You don’t always reach a big goal all at once. Sometimes you just keep taking the next little step. One hundred points today. Another hundred tomorrow.

Maybe we have a really good day and earn several hundred. Maybe we have a day where all we manage is our 25-point minimum. It all adds up. That’s real-life math. It’s also a lesson in patience, perseverance, budgeting and goal-setting. And we’re not starting from nothing. This is something I really want to remember.

Even though 30,090 SB is our goal, we’ve already earned enough for $200 in gift cards. So we’ve already accomplished something. And if we don’t end up with enough for three $100 PayPal gift cards, that doesn’t mean we’ve failed it just means it wasn’t the LORD’s plans and that is okay.

Every dollar gets us closer to another reward. Swagbucks offers different gift card choices, so we could choose a couple of restaurant gift cards. We could get a movie gift card. We could choose something else our family would actually use and that is okay because its a Gift my family wouldn’t be expecting and its something I did on my own. Not something I had to ask David for.

Maybe we end up with PayPal and a restaurant gift card. Maybe we have a family movie night. Maybe we use a reward for something we were already going to purchase. There are options. Every point has value and when your living on a budget that is what counts.

If you’re looking for a way to earn a little extra money or gift cards in your spare time, Swagbucks may be worth checking out. I’m not going to tell you that you’re going to get rich doing it, because that’s not realistic. For me, it’s about those little amounts adding up. And one thing I like is that you don’t have to spend all your time taking surveys.

There are several different ways to earn SB, depending on what’s available:

• Surveys and polls
• Shopping through Swagbucks
• Qualifying receipts through Magic Receipts
• Games
• Discover offers
• Web searches
• Special promotions and other earning opportunities

So if you tried Swagbucks before and thought, I don’t want to sit around taking surveys all day, there are other things to look at.

If you want to give Swagbucks a try, I may receive referral rewards from Swagbucks. So yes, I benefit if you sign up through my link. I’m telling you that because I believe people should know when someone is sharing a referral link. But I’m also sharing it because I actually use Swagbucks, and we’re putting our own earnings toward a goal.

A few tips if you decide to join

Don’t immediately jump into everything you see.: Take a look around first.

Check the requirements. If an offer says you need to do something specific, make sure you understand what you’re agreeing to before you start.

Check Swagbucks before you shop. If you’re already planning to make a purchase, see whether there’s a qualifying shopping offer available. Don’t buy something you don’t need just because you see an SB offer.

Look at Magic Receipts. Check the current offers before you go shopping because you may find something you’re already planning to purchase.

Don’t forget about games and Discover. Depending on what’s available, these can give you other ways to earn besides surveys.

And most importantly: Keep track of your points. Set a goal. Write down your starting balance. Check your progress. Watch those little numbers add up. That’s exactly what I’m doing and at times its hard because we need money and I know I can pull my earnings out at anytime and get the added to my paypal account but David and I’ve decided were leaving everything in there I make until Christmas. I just wish David and Charlie would join as well but you can lead a Horse to water but you can’t make them drink.

Our goal for this week

Starting balance: 22,257 SB– December goal: 30,090 SB

Daily goal: 100 SB Daily minimum: 25 SB

Will we reach 30,090? I don’t know. But we’re going to work toward it. We’re going to do the math. We’re going to see what opportunities come our way. We’re going to be thankful for the $200 in gift cards we’ve already earned toward. And we’re going to remember that our plans are ours, but the outcome belongs to God.

So if you’re looking for a way to earn a little extra in your spare time, maybe give Swagbucks a try. And if you do, I’d love to know what you decide to try first. Now let’s see what this new week brings!

Gracias,

Glenda, Charlie and David Cates