$75 in Gift Cards for $7!

Have you heard about Burnless Bakeware for $1? If you haven't tried it yet, you should. It's easy and super cheap. I've done this deal three times now, and my total out-of-pocket is $3!

I have been reading on other blogs about how to get free gift cards by completing offers, but have been hesitant to try them out. Well, a couple of weeks ago I took the plunge and did it. This is what I ended up with! Let me explain.

First of all, I got a $25 Target gift card last week for bringing in a new prescription. Yep, that's it. I had a prescription I had been waiting to fill until I could find one of these deals. Usually Target's deal is a $10 gift card for a transferred prescription. I never have those, so was thrilled when I found the coupon for this deal. I found the coupons at the registers and they are good through 6/30/09. Keep your eye out for them. My prescription cost me $4, and I walked away with $25. Of course they gave me one of those tacky, flimsy red cards that says "Gift Card", so I took it to customer service, along with two cute gift cards, and had them put $15 on one and $10 on the other. I will be using them for birthday gifts next month!

Next, I read this post from It's Hip 2 Save about doing "trial offers" from different companies and receiving gift cards. I did three trials (each costing $1 for a 30-day trial) and I received $50 in gift cards. One sent me 2 $10 gift cards for Lowe's, one sent a $10 Target gift card, and one sent 2 $10 gift cards for Blockbuster. The whole scenario cost me $3. As long as I call to cancel my memberships before the trial period, I will not incur any additional charges. I received all my gift cards on the same day, about 10 days after I signed up. I have tons of time to spare before I need to cancel. I have already cancelled one membership, and another offered me a 30-day extension of my free membership and some gas & grocery rebates. I'm not 100% sure how they work, but will find out when they arrive in the mail. If it's not of interest to me, I'll cancel my membership then.

My next endeavor will be this scenario, found on Nicole's Nickles. It's a bit more time-consuming, but the reward is much greater! The author got a Wii and a Wii Fit for $36.34 out of pocket. I've got my eye on a $500 Visa gift card, with which I plan to buy all our Christmas gifts for 2009.

The key to any of these types of deals is ORGANIZATION. Write on your calendar when you need to cancel (allow yourself a few days before the trial period is over, just to be safe). I have not yet had any problem cancelling, and even if they try to convince you to extend your trial or remain a member, they're very nice and have no problem completing your cancellation request. Always make sure you get a CONFIRMATION NUMBER when you cancel, and you can ask them to send you a confirmation e-mail if you want.