5 Things I'm Loving This Week (+ pictures from our trip to Arkansas!) and more...

Here's what's new: 5 Things I’m Loving This Week (+ pictures from our trip to Arkansas!) How I Earned 126 Swagbucks Today (+ have you tried InstaGC?) 5 Things I’m Loving This Week (+ pictures from our trip to Arkansas!) We spent this past week in Arkansas at Bull Shoals Lake with all of my extended family. This is a yearly tradition for us and it’s something we all look forward to. We rent a boat and take turns going out in groups to do various water sports and swimming. The kids LOVE getting to hang out with all of their cousins on my side of the family! Grandpa (my dad) spends almost all day driving the boat so that his kids and grandkids can enjoy tubing, water-skiing, kneeboarding, and more! Here are 5 things I’m loving from this past week: 1. Time Away It was good to be away… we loved getting so much time to just be together as a family and to do fun things together. We made so many great memories. Also, it’s amazing how much easier it is to travel now that our kids are older. This was the first time that we took a road trip where our kids completely packed themselves and I didn’t even check what they had packed! That was pretty incredible and made packing a complete breeze! 2. Kneeboarding I learned how to kneeboard two years ago, but I actually fell in love with kneeboarding on this trip. I realized how much stronger I felt doing water sports now that I’ve been weightlifting. 3. Bowling We went bowling while on our trip and, I’m not sure what happened, but I found some sort of winning stride and I ended up bowling the highest score I’ve ever bowled before. {By the way, if you’re on Snapchat, be sure to follow me there. I post lots of photos and videos of behind-the-scenes things in our life that I don’t post on the blog or anywhere elsewhere online.} 4. Fishing The kids were so excited about getting to fish. They jumped out of bed early every morning eager to go down to the lake to fish with Uncle Zachary. {Uncle Zachary not only is great at helping kids fish, he also has impressive skills in taking photos… This catch looks pretty amazing until you look closer and see how tiny the kiddie fishing pole is! :)} 5. The Olympics A list of what I’m loving this week wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the Olympics. You all know I’m SUCH a fan of pretty much all the Olympic sports — especially swimming, diving, and gymnastics! If you need me the next week and a half, I’ll be in front of the TV. {We kicked off the Olympics by doing the activities in the Olympics-themed Surprise Ride box I got just for the price of shipping recently. Get your FREE box here (just pay $5.95 shipping!).} What are YOU loving this week? Tell us in the comments!        How I Earned 126 Swagbucks Today (+ have you tried InstaGC?) As we head into the second half of this year, I know many of us are starting to think ahead to Christmas. I’m a BIG believer in paying for Christmas with cash, and wanted to start sharing different very practical ways you can earn cash and gift cards to help pay for some or all of Christmas (or anything else you’re currently saving for!) One very easy way to earn free gift cards is through Swagbucks. If you’ve not signed up for Swagbucks, go read more about it here and then sign up here. While we were watching the Olympics tonight, I earned 126 Swagbucks. Here’s how: Here’s the breakdown: I earned 4 Swagbucks for doing the Daily Poll, Daily Crave, and the Daily NOSO.  I earned 7 Swagbucks for searching. I earned 8 Swagbucks for playing games. I earned 35 Swagbucks for doing a search for a travel booking on Hipmunk (super easy!) I earned 20 Swagbucks signing up for a free TravelGuide. I earned 25 Swagbucks by signing up for the Lifescript Schick offer. I earned 20 Swagbucks by printing the Famous Footwear coupon. I earned 4 Swagbucks by running various nCrave offers in the background while doing the above. I earned 4 Swagbucks by filling out a survey. All of this took me about 12 minutes total, but I was doing it while we were watching the Olympics — something we were already planning to do! And yes, you won’t get rich by earning Swagbucks, but it’s a fun way to earn some gift cards every month — for FREE! And if you multi-task while you’re doing things you’re already planning to do, it makes it even that much sweeter! A few simple tips for earning more with Swagbucks: Focus on the quick and easy earners — especially the free offers where you can sign up and earn 20-35 points for signing up for something. Make sure you read the details on how you earn the Swagbucks for each offer. Some of the offers just require you to click through a take a few simple actions. Others require a lot more work. See if you can hit your daily goal — you’ll earn bonuses for doing so. Use a junk email address to sign up for anything. You will get junk mail when you sign up for offers. Did you earn any Swagbucks today? What other simple ways do you earn extra cash on the side through apps, sites, or other ways? Links You Should Check Out: How I Earn $50 in Amazon Gift Cards Every Single Month 15 Ways to Earn More Swagbucks 31 Days to Earn Extra Cash Before Christmas 6 Companies That Will Pay You For Taking Online Surveys P.S. Do any of you use InstaGC? I just signed up for them tonight (finally!) after hearing so many good things about them. I’m testing it out right now and will give you an update on my thoughts after I’ve had more time to experiment with it. If you’ve used it, I’d love to her your thoughts and tips! (Note: The links in this post are affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.)        Latest finds on Pinterest A SIMPLIFIED HOME BECAME A CONTENT HOME! Over the course of the last year, my husband and I have completely rewritten our life plans, moved away from the city we thought we would retire in, said goodbye to our best friends, gave away 1/3 of our possessions, and downsized our living situation from a 2600 square foot home to a 900 square foot apartment as we pursue this new dream. The biggest surprise for me in this whole journey has been how much I’ve loved downsizing! 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home -- this is a fantastic, step-by-step series to walk you through getting more order in your home and life, in just 4 weeks! Have you had a hard week? Do you just feel like throwing in the towel and giving up? This honest look at one blogger and some struggles and times she has wanted to quit will encourage you... Latest finds on Pinterest A SIMPLIFIED HOME BECAME A CONTENT HOME! Over the course of the last year, my husband and I have completely rewritten our life plans, moved away from the city we thought we would retire in, said goodbye to our best friends, gave away 1/3 of our possessions, and downsized our living situation from a 2600 square foot home to a 900 square foot apartment as we pursue this new dream. The biggest surprise for me in this whole journey has been how much I’ve loved downsizing! 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home -- this is a fantastic, step-by-step series to walk you through getting more order in your home and life, in just 4 weeks! Have you had a hard week? Do you just feel like throwing in the towel and giving up? This honest look at one blogger and some struggles and times she has wanted to quit will encourage you...     Click here to safely unsubscribe from "LITE Feed, Money Saving Mom®." 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