Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Tax Tidbit: You Can Write That Off?

In talking with the new accountant yesterday we were discussing various things that could be written off.  We knew that medical bills could be written off if they reach a certain percentage of your income, but what surprised us both was finding out that you can also write off mileage of driving to and from Drs. appointments.  This was a nice surprise for us since I drive 200 miles round trip on a monthly basis for Drs appointments.

FWIW, you can't write off your pets.

Code on the Swagbucks Blog & 50 Extra Swagbucks for New Signups!

Search & Win


There is a code on the Swagbucks blog good for 15 Swagbucks until 4pmEST

If you aren't a member of Swagbucks, right now is a perfect time to join. In celebration of their 3rd birthday they are giving away and additional 50 Swagbucks to any new signups (that's on top of the 30 you normally get on signup). So if you haven't already joined Swagbucks, click here and be sure to enter the code HipBirthday.

Also, on February 28 they will be giving away lots of Swagbucks codes for their birthday, so be sure to friend them on Facebook & Twitter and watch the blog regularly throughout that day for new codes.

Why Swagbucks?
Simple.  Because Swagbucks gives you points for doing stuff online that you'd do anyway (like searches) and even for trading in used video games, cell phones and books.  They give you points for no reason at all (like the 15 Swagbucks they are giving away today).  Then you can take those Swagbucks and trade them in for real stuff like electronics and gift cards.  I like to get the Amazon gift cards (it only takes 450 Swagbucks to earn a $5 Amazon gift card).  If you join today and grab the 2 codes I just told you about, you'll be almost a quarter of the way to your first gift card!





Search & Win

Publix Sale Matchups

Be sure to check Passionate Penny Pincher for details of the new Publix ad (starting today) and coupon matchups!

We are shopping light this week, and buying lots of Silk Soy Milk at .75-$1 per half gallon. We'll probably be using our $3 Kroger coupons to buy it too!

3 Inserts Sunday (including Proctor & Gamble)

Proctor & Gamble is by far my favorite insert as they put out some really good coupons for products I know we'll use, so it makes me happy that this week is a Proctor & Gamble week.  We should also be seeing a Smartsource insert & a Redplum insert this week.

Just a little preview of what to expect in the P&G insert....

  • $4/1 Vicks Sinex product
  • $2/1 Gillette body wash
  • $1/1 Head & Shoulders
  • $1/1 Pantene
  • Buy Vicks product, Get Puffs FREE
  • Buy Old Spice Antiperspirant/ deodorant GET bodywash FREE

For the full preview of what to expect in this insert as well as the others, check out the Sunday Coupon Preview.


2/$20 Candles @ Bath & Body Works

Bath & Body Works has their 4oz candles on sale 2/$20 both online and in the store. Also, when we were in the store I noticed quite a few of these candles had a peelie coupon that allowed you to get $10 off on the large 3-wick candles (up to 3 per coupon).

If you are ordering online, you will want to go through Ebates and get a little cash back (3%) to cover some of the shipping fees.

Cash Back on Travel

Ebates offers cash back on hundreds of websites online, including many travel sites.  Right now they are offering double cash back on travel sites like Travelocity, Hotels.com, car rental companies and more.  I didn't even think to check them for travel sites before I booked our last trip on Travelocity.