As a mother, I try to find any and every opportunity to make money and save money. Making money is pretty straightforward (though not necessarily easy, I admit). You have to either find someone to employ you, find someone to buy stuff from you, or invest your money so it can work for you.

But saving money is another way to “make” money, and couponing something a lot of my friends are doing. It’s not something I’m great at (yet), but I do try. You may have heard of “extreme couponing,” where people buy groceries worth hundreds of dollars and wind up paying a fraction of the cost. Some people even wind up getting money back when they go to the store. Extreme couponing usually means clipping coupons, stacking coupons, and buying items in bulk. Personally, I’m not the most organized person in the world, so adding lots of paper to my life isn’t the best idea.

What I am good at is using online coupons. Being a freelancer, I spend a lot of time online, so that’s also where I tend to do my shopping. Also, unlike the stereotype, I abhor going shopping in malls and such. Online coupons are usually in the form of coupon codes. So there’s no clipping involved. You just take note of the code, found on various coupon code websites. When you make your online payment, there is usually a spot for you to type in the code. It’s super easy. I use coupon codes for things like webhosting, clothing, toys, and more. When it comes time to give gifts, for instance, I can have cookies delivered using Davids cookies coupon codes. If I want to join a program like Weight Watchers, there’s a Weight watchers promo code I can use for a discount.

The thing about coupon codes is you have to find reputable sites, and you have to keep checking. Codes expire all the time, but there are also always new ones. Before you shop at any online store or buy any product or service online, check to see if you can find a code for that company. Some codes are specific to your country, so if you live in Canada, for instance, or if you’re shopping at an online store based out of Canada, it’s helpful to do a search for “coupon codes canada” in your search engine. This way you’ll be sure to find deals that are relevant to your location.

Coupons are an excellent way to save money, both online and off. If you’re not using coupon codes online, you’re pretty much throwing money away.

I’m moving to a bigger apartment, so I’m in the middle of a home makeover.

So it fits that I would find out about this cute home makeover contest (I wish I’d entered).

Now it’s down to the semi-finalists, and the public gets to vote on their favorite from the semi-finalist gallery.

My favorite is the one with a family of girls and their mother. They videotaped a little mini-movie, going from room to room talking about where to place their TriScents plugins. The “acting” is really cute, and I like how they edited the video. As a mother, I really enjoyed watching a family with children work together. They seemed to have a lot of fun.

Some of the others were interesting too, and a close second was the family with triplet babies and a 3-year-old. The only reason I didn’t vote for them is because the only person speaking was the preschooler. The entry I voted for seemed like it had more teamwork. Of course, you can choose your own favorite. Don’t let me sway you.

Here’s screenshot of the video I liked:

If they win, they’ll get a $20,000 home makeover with Tanya Memme. Whichever semi-finalist gets the most votes will be the winner, obviously, and you can vote everyday until June 7. So go vote for your favorite, and vote often.

Back to packing. I’ve got my own makeover to complete.

If you’re a blogger, which most of you are, you’ve heard about having advertisers directly sponsor your blog.

Sounds great, in theory, but there are potential problems. Even if you get the advertiser, you have to figure out how to handle the transaction. One of you will have to take a leap of faith…that you’ll do the post if they pay you, or that they’ll pay you if you do the post.

PayPerPost Direct helps you get paid to blog, makes it easier for advertisers and bloggers to connect, and takes only 10% as a fee. They don’t find advertisers for you, so they’re not a middleman in the traditional sense. Instead, they help us complete our transactions a little more securely.

How do you find advertisers?

One way is for them to find your site and notice the PPP Direct widget in your sidebar.

What I’m looking forward to, though, is the PPP Direct directory of bloggers that are part of the program. PayPerPost should be launching the directory soon. 

I’m also considering marketing myself to advertisers on my own.

How does it work?

After you sign up with PPP Direct (click on my logo near the bottom of the right sidebar), you choose a minimum price and install your widget. Advertisers that like the quality of your blog can then make you an offer to review their product or site.

If you’ve used other review programs, including the original PPP, you know there can be substantial markups on your fee. Your widget says you charge $200, but you may only get $100 (while the review program gets the other $100).

With PPP Direct, if your widget says $200, you get $200 (while PPP Direct gets $20).

Pretty much a no-brainer.

I’ll be sure to report later to let you know how this program works out for me.