First of the Month

I used to think of the first of the month as payday, but now that we no longer live paycheck to paycheck and most of our finances are on autopay, it doesn't cross my mind much in that respect nowadays. However, the first of the month is still a day to be anticipated since I became a sweeper because there are typically SO MANY sweepstakes beginning on that day. (I love it when the first falls on a non-school day--like today!) Now, in honor of payday, here is a great sweepstakes that will also help you reach your financial goals even if you don't win. You will need to be able to set aside $100/month in a savings account. I have used ING Direct for several years as a place to keep funds that I want to be accessible, but not too accessible. Right now my "Dave Ramsey Emergency Fund" is parked there, earning a small pittance (better than most). ING Direct is sponsoring this sweepstakes for $50,000:

I am often asked if entering sweepstakes generates a lot of junk mail. The answer is yes and no. Most of the time I know before entering whether the company will add me to their mailing list and I have to make the decision of whether to enter or not. If the prize is big enough, I might go ahead and allow contact. It's usually easy to be removed from the mailing list after the prize has been awarded, or I can mark it to be blocked and sent to the junk folder. More often than not, contest sponsors will have a place (sometimes hidden!) where people can opt out of mailings. On the other hand, I have opted in to lots of mailings because I have interest. Some sweepers choose to open a separate email account for sweepstakes. I figure I would still have to check it daily in case I win something, so I just use my primary email. Use whatever works for you.

For those of you who would like to get started sweeping, my tip of the day has to do with setting up an email address and username for sweepstakes. You will probably want to use the same one over and over (along with the same password) to cut down on what you have to memorize. If you do a lot of sweeping, you'll find that a lot of sites are related to each other and want you to use the same info. Choose something short (less typing!) but it usually needs to be at least 6 characters and contain at least one number. Happy Sweeping!