When there’s someone that’s difficult to shop for on my list, I always default to gift cards. I like that they can then go out and buy themselves something that they normally wouldn’t or have a nice evening out on the town, but I always feel a bit guilty because they aren’t as personal as a gift.

This year, I won’t feel so bad with custom photo gift cards from GiftCardLab, especially since they are on Oprah’s “O” list this year! You can select a design from their library or upload your own photo, select your dollar amount, and *viola* a customized Visa gift card!

Use the coupon code PUMPKIN and receive $2 off per card through November 25th!

This is a sponsored post. Please read my site policy if you have any questions.

• $39 Staples
• $31 Costco
• $34 Sprint – husband’s cell
• $25 Best Buy
• $38 Old Navy
• $86 DSW
• $21 Hobby Lobby

I convinced my husband to do a ton of running around with me last night – I prefer to have company, and someone to carry everything in. He got new shoes and socks out of the deal and I got groceries and supplies for the Christmas gift baskets I’m planning.

We also recycled some ink cartridges and picked up some office supplies – woohoo.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Sponsored Tweets. All opinions are 100% mine.

It seems to be a taboo topic, but every month I share how much money I’ve made blogging and what companies I’ve partnered with to make money, so I thought it might be interesting to take a closer look at one of the newest companies I work with – Sponsored Tweets.

Sponsored Tweets is part of the Izea family (PayPerPost, SocialSpark…) which connects Twitter users looking to monetize their stream with advertisers. Here’s how to get started…

1. sign up for sponsored tweets – Link your Sponsored Tweets account to your Twitter account with a single click, then set your price, add categories and keywords, and wait for interested advertisers to contact you.

(This is clearly not my account – I only wish I made $100 per tweet!)

2. Choose your offers – After you receive an email/DM with an offer, login to Sponsored Tweets, review the terms, and determine if you’d like to participate. You can accept or reject as many offers as you like.

If you don’t think a certain tweet will appeal to your followers – don’t tweet it! It’s as simple as that. Nothing will ever be tweeted without your explicit approval – and in most cases, you get to write the tweet yourself!

3. Get paid – Once you accept an offer, the advertiser will approve your tweet, and you’ll receive payment. You can cash out your Sponsored Tweets account once you’ve accumulated $50 or more.

Blogger ethics, FTC guidelines, and personal integrity are hot topics right now, so I’d just like to point out a few aspects of Ethical Sponsored Tweeting required by Sponsored Tweets:

• Mandatory Disclosure
• Freedom of Authenticity
• Freedom of Choice
• Transparency of Identity

You, as a tweeter, remain in complete control of your twitter stream at all times. Each tweet must be manually approved and include proper disclosure.

That control is exactly why I am a fan of Sponsored Tweets.

Oh lovely, payday is here again!

• $50 ING
• $167 Sallie Mae
• $490 car payment – Prius
• $700 Chase
• $249 State Farm – Prius insurance

There’s actually money leftover this payday, so we’ll be making a big ING deposit early next week!

I love where I work, and I think anyone would agree that I get some pretty great perks – casual work environment, 7 hour work days, and a chef on staff. So many people spend their days in terrible work environments, that I love hearing about other companies treat their employees with dignity and respect.

Cydcor is one of those companies.

Ranked among the Best Places to Work by the San Fernando Valley Business Journal for the second year in a row, Cydcor has an open-door policy and a company culture of two-way communication, community involvement, and wellness.

Kudos to Cydcor!

This is a sponsored post. Please read my site policy if you have any questions.

I can’t think of anything I’d like to do less than go out shopping on Black Friday. The deals just aren’t worth getting out of bed before sunrise and fighting the crowds.

Cyber Monday, on the other hand, is right up my alley.

In my opinion, Cyber Monday deals are way better than Black Friday deals. Plus, there’s the added bonus of staying in your pajamas and having everything gift wrapped and delivered to you.

If you prefer Cyber Monday to Black Friday, www.Savings.com is a great site to find all the latest Cyber Monday deals in one place!

This is a sponsored post. Please read my site policy if you have any questions.

I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I’m behind on reporting my monthly blogging earnings!

• PayPerPost = $8.00
• SocialSpark = $80.37
• Sponsored Tweets = $22.10

TOTAL = $110.47

My goal was $100, but I have to say I’m disappointed. My husband and I are saving for a house and I was really hoping to throw a few hundred dollars towards a down payment.

A little bit of good news, my 3 year Blogoversary is happening over at Oh Hey in a few weeks and I have lots of great sponsors and giveaways! Stay tuned!

November’s goal is $250.

If you need advertising and would like to help me reach my goal, you can find advertising information for all of my sites through the links below.

• Advertise on Broke as a Spoke (PR1)
• Advertise on Oh Hey (PR3)
• Advertise on Hot Dog in the City (PR1)

We all work our tails off trying to save for a house or pay down debt. It seems that we all work so hard that it takes priority over friends and socializing, so we often lose track of people that have been important in our lives. Teachers, coaches, mentors, the person who gave us our first job.

MyLife makes it easy for you to locate almost anyone that you’ve been wanting to get back in touch with. If the person you are looking for has any sort of web presence – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Myspace – odds are good that just by knowing their first and last names, you’ll be able to locate them through MyLife.

In the interest of budgetary concerns, My Life does cost a few dollars – but if you’re really committed to getting back in touch with someone from your past, then it’s a worthwhile investment.

So, do you have someone you’d like to contact to tell them how much they mean to you? Someone you’d like to reconnect with after years of thinking about them? If so, visit www.MyLife.com and test out their service to see if the person you are looking for is just a click away!

My husband is working 96 hours this week in an all out sprint to save money for a down payment on a house, so I’m trying my hardest not to spend a single cent.

Six days till I can go grocery shopping – with coupons.

Photography and printing is part of my every day work life – I regularly attend press checks and oversee the printing of my client’s marketing materials. That means that I’m picky. I look at things with the same critical eye that my clients would.

ZaZa Gallery produces photos on canvas and I was interested to see if they could hit the mark using a hi-res photo shot in the studio where I work.

I’m happy to report that I was pleasantly surprised! You can see that the color is a shade darker than the actual photograph, but the image kept it’s crispness (my photo of the canvas doesn’t do it justice – it looks much nicer in person) and the gallery wrap is neat and tidy. Considering I didn’t even provide a proof – they did excellent work!

An 8×10 canvas from ZaZa Gallery starts at just $25 and goes all the way up in size to a 36×48 – that’s a super reasonable price and would make a very impressive Christmas present!

The photo above is one in a set of four, and I will definitely be ordering the other three photos on canvas from ZaZa Gallery once we have a kitchen of our own!

This is a sponsored post. Please read my site policy if you have any questions.