Stretching the Budget Further While Buying Non-Consumer Gifts

Last year I announced that we were joining The Compact and not buying anything new for a year. My biggest worry was gift giving and it did prove to be the hardest part. I am just not as talented as Angela Barton at coming up with non-consumer gifts. I am going share my experiences on The compact in posts over the next few weeks. Today, I wanted to share a few resources that made non-consumer gift giving a little easier.

I discovered shortly before I started my Christmas shopping that I could get cash back on my EBay purchases if I joined Ebates and shopped through their web page. It is only 1% – 3 % back, but every penny adds up. They will either mail you a check or deposit it in your Pay Pal account. I have already received my first check and I also received a $10.00 gift card for Home Depot which I will use for my garden this spring.

So how did my children react to an eBay Christmas present? The first present my youngest son opened happened to have been purchased from EBay. He did not want to open anything else, he just wanted to play with his “new” airplane. Every time we asked him if he wanted to open another present he said, “I already have one and I’m playing with it”.
He didn’t finish opening his presents until dinner time. One of the blessings of a non-consumer life style is a grateful heart.

Another site that I have found helpful in finding non-consumer gifts is Groupon. Groupon allows you to buy one of each of their deals, but they also allow you to buy a deal as a gift. A few of the deals in our area that made good gifts were:  60% off a one year museum membership, 50% off rock climbing, 50% off eco-friendly house cleaners, 50% off a spa day, and 60% off a bakery gift certificate. I would not have thought of some of these gifts if Groupon had not suggested them.

Today’s Groupon for my area is 50% off a $20.00 gift card to a local USED Book store. But it gets better! I received an email from Ebates saying their Daily Double discount is for Groupon. So if I go to my Ebates account and click through to Groupon, I receive 6% cash back on my purchase. I had no idea I could be purchasing my Groupons through Ebates, but I definitely will from now on!

I also discovered that this week Ebates has a deal with Half.com for $5 off a $50 purchase (use code HALF5OFFBOOKS2011 at checkout) AND 4% cash back. This is timely because my two oldest kids are buying their college textbooks this week.

I did not join The Compact last year to save money; I did it to reduce waste and live more intentionally. But I don’t feel that saving money is at odds with those goals. 🙂 If you are not already a member of Ebates, you can join by clicking here. If you would like to join Groupon, click here.

This post is linked to Frugal Fridays.