I hear it everyday—I never win. Whaaa!
My answer: do you ever enter? There are so many free and nearly free things on the Internet you can get for just filling out a form, but if you never enter, then of course you aren’t going to win.
I have been entering sweepstakes since about 1993 and it has literally changed the way our family lives. We have won cash, computers, TVs, food, furniture and rugs, trips, and even the truck we drive.
It may not happen overnight, but it is possible to win things you can’t afford and help your family out financially. Maybe you are a stay-at-home Mom and don’t want to work or have way too many kids to work. I stayed home with my children for thirteen years and there was no Internet available. The Internet is changing how Moms interact with one another and there are lots more opportunities for Moms to make money online whether by blogging or winning cash and prizes.
When I stayed home for those thirteen years I found myself doing every craft under the sun from sewing, cross-stitch, quilting, and even macrame at one point, but when I found sweepstakes that all changed. Entering sweepstakes and actually winning prizes opened up a whole new world to me. I started winning things like bikes for the kids, gift certificates to go out to eat, gift certificates to buy clothes, and trips like the Nabisco cruise we took with SpongeBob and another trip to Hollywood my son and I went on to the MTV award show. We were having fun entering the sweepstakes and dreaming about all of the fun stuff we were going to get. It let us do things we never dreamed were possible. Now it is a major part of our everyday lives. My children are grown, but I still win them all kinds of things they can’t afford. And we win too. This year alone I have won $5,000 in cash, a PS3, a Wii Console and Wii Fit, $100 for groceries, $100 to go to the spa, and lots of other gift certificates I can’t even remember.
We have gotten to do so many things because of this hobby and I want to share it with you.
So, just what are sweepstakes?
A sweepstakes is a tool a company uses to market a product, event or Web site. It is a game of chance that usually only requires that you give out your name, address, and email address. Sometimes you have to give out your phone number.
Does it cost to enter sweepstakes?
It never costs to enter legitimate sweepstakes. The way you find out if a sweepstakes is legitimate is by looking to see if they have official rules. The first part of the official rules will usually say “no purchase necessary.” They can’t legally require you to buy anything. If a purchase is required then they must give you an alternative method of entering through the mail or by texting. Somewhere in the official rules it will probably list the agency that is officiating over the rules to make sure they are followed.
What information do I need to give out? How can I protect my identity?
You will need to give your real name, address, phone number, and email address to enter. If you give out wrong information and actually win a prize, the judging agency will have no way of contacting you. Your address is easy for anyone to find online by searching, so there is not much you can do about that. Most of the time PO Box addresses are not allowed when entering sweepstakes. If you are leery about giving out your real phone number or email address, I suggest you get new ones. You can sign up to get a free phone number online that will send the caller to voice mail where you can then go on a Web site or call a number to check it by using K7.net. It’s a free service. You can also put zeros in for the phone number like this 000-000-0000 if the entry form requires that information. I suggest you sign up for a free email address; I use Gmail just for entering sweepstakes.
