How to Supplement Your Income with Sweepstakes Winnings

Win what you can’t afford I say. If the present economy has you worrying about your financial situation, there is something you can do about it whether you are requesting a free sample, printing coupons to save money at the grocery store, or entering sweepstakes to win prizes. Every little bit helps!

When money is tight many people get creative about how to supplement their income and ease their household budget. The Internet has so many options for saving money, getting something for free, winning a prize, or earning money from home. You just need to find those resources that offer helpful information and point you in the right direction to get you started and keep you motivated. Saving money or getting something for free can be a lot of work but the rewards can be great for your family and your budget!

2009 Update!

I won $5,000 cash in April that really helped supplement our income this year. Readers on my site are also winning big everyday from trips to cash and cars. Hannah also won $5,000, Barbara won a $32,000 grand prize, Melanie won a car instantly, and Ysenia who won a 2010 Camaro instantly. You too can learn how to supplement your income with sweepstakes prize winning and win what you can’t afford.

If you don’t win cash you may win something you can sell on eBay. I did that last year and earned an extra $1,500 in cash.

More updates: I continue to win. In August a $200 Best Buy gift card and $100 Target gift card. In September an HP Netbook, and in October a trip to Florida, $100 ShopRite gift card, year’s worth of water, and $250 in cash. As long as you consistently enter sweepstakes there is no reason why you can’t win consistently.

My Story

I first learned about entering sweepstakes back in 1993 when I attended my first coupon swap at my local library. There were a group of people who met once a week to exchange coupons and at one of the meetings someone told me about entering sweepstakes to win prizes. Within a few months I was entering sweepstakes through the mail and I won my first TV from Captain Crunch cereal.

Because of this exciting hobby, there is something in almost every room of our house that we have won from a sweepstakes – things we could have never afforded on our incomes alone. We own these free and clear (after taxes) and some still have warranties. The list below is just a small example of prizes we have won. Some prizes have been given away, are no longer around for whatever reason, or they were trips we took and all that is left are the wonderful memories. But, this gives you an idea how entering sweepstakes to win prizes can really make a difference in your life and in your family’s budget.

Sometimes we won money that was used to buy a lot of little things or we sold larger items on eBay for cash but those wins actually helped us more because they helped us pay bills, buy groceries or gas, and were, at times, lifesavers that came just in the nick of time. I can tell you that often a gift certificate would arrive just when we needed a present for someone’s birthday. We have even paid for almost all of the Christmas presents we gave away many years from sweepstakes wins. When you are a middle class family on a budget the prizes you win can make a tremendous difference in your life.

Prizes in the living room:

• 37″ flat-screen HGTV
• Home theater system
• Area rug
• Curtains

Prizes in my office:

• Digital camera
• Cordless keyboard and mouse
• Web cam
• 9″ TV
• Les Paul Guitar on the wall
• Laptop bag
• Office chair

Prizes in the kitchen:

• Dishwasher (the 3rd one we have won)
• Food (At least $1,500 in grocery gift certificates in the last year)
• A framed poster of the castle we stayed in that reminds us of the France trip we won and now we were inspired to start a wholesale lavender business because of that trip.

Prizes in the den:

• Couch
• Coffee table
• Entertainment center
• TV
• DVD player
• A year of Netflix

Prizes in the bedrooms:

• 2 Stained glass lamps
• 26″ TV
• 19″ flat-screen HGTV
• new bed linens, rugs, and curtains

Prizes in our driveway:

• Dodge truck
• New tires for the car
• $500 in gas (last year)

With persistence, patience, and perseverance there is no reason why you can’t fill your house with prizes like these. We haven’t won these all in one year but our dedication to this hobby has paid off for us over the long haul. We consistently win 200 to 300 prizes a year, many of them large items we cannot afford on our incomes alone.

I have always been a resourceful person, learning to make “something out of nothing” so it is just natural that freebies, couponing, rebates, discount shopping, and winning prizes team up together to help you stretch your budget. With a combination of all of these things you can add to your income and stretch that ever shrinking dollar.

I hope you will consider Sweeties Sweeps to be one of your favorite resources for entering sweepstakes, blog giveaways, and other promotions. I will continue to post helpful articles that will give you the “skills” you need to win prizes on a consistent basis.

It is so much fun to win prizes and feel that rush when a prize comes through the door. It is also a bonus when those prizes help you balance your budget and ease some financial burdens.

So, you see, you can definitely supplement your income with sweepstakes winnings.