How to Win More Sweepstakes and Increase Your Luck

Entering sweepstakes can be an enjoyable hobby, especially when you win! In order to increase your chances of winning, you will have to develop a system, as well as devoting a certain amount of time to this adventure on a regular basis.

If you are retired, have some free time, or just want to try your luck, by all means get started on sweeping. Many serious sweepers enter about 200-400 sweepstakes each day and spend about 2-4 hours on this hobby.
If you are concerned about the time consuming task of typing in your name, address, and other details, just use the free autofill program from www.roboform.com. Most sweepstakes rules will allow it, because it is not technically an "automated" sweepstakes program. It is only a "fill in helper."

I highly recommend Mr. Sweepy's free website at www.sweepstakestoday.com. This site has the very best, highly rated and most trusted sweepstakes and contests for your considerations. These sweepstakes are automatically and conveniently organized according to prize categories such as cash, cars, vacations, etc. This website literally does all the work by organizing your personally chosen sweepstakes according to date started, date expiring, times and dates you last entered, for example. Before you decide to enter and save a sweepstake, you will see all details such as prizes and rules in order to determine if it is for you and if you want to add it to your list.

The sweepstakes are also sorted according to types such as instant, daily, 24 hr, weekly, monthly, one-time, unlimited, etc. There are many fantastic new sweepstakes added every day and you get to pick and choose which ones you want.
I personally use Mr. Sweepy's website because all of my sweepstakes are so neatly organized to make entering faster and more efficiently. I never have to worry about being eliminated from a sweepstakes because I entering twice by mistake, for example.
You will also learn more on the forums that are offered on Mr. Sweepy's site. There you will find many tips and helpful folks to answer all your questions.

Before you begin, you should obtain another email address strictly for using for entering sweepstakes. You don't want to have your personal email account mixed in with unwanted emails or newsletters from sponsors. Yahoo and Hotmail are good to use. Most sweeps do not spam you and Mr. Sweepy carefully selects the most honorable type sweeps.

It is very important to read the rules of each sweepstakes or contest you plan on entering. I cannot stress this enough! The rules are available to read on every sweepstakes and almost every one of them have you check off the box that says, "I agree to the rules." Rules are strictly adhered to, so be aware of them.
Next, is to decide if you really want the prize or prizes offered. If you don't want to vacation to China, then don't enter that one. If you like the second prize more than the first or grand prize, then take a chance and enter. You can always refuse to accept a prize if you win.

Another issue is the tax consequences from your winnings. There is a myth that if you win something under $600 you don't have to pay taxes on it. You do. You will probably not receive a 1099 form, but you must keep records of your wins and report them to the IRS as misc. income. If you win a sweeps for more than $600, you will be sent a 1099 MISC form and have to report it to the IRS. If you win cash, find out your tax liability and deduct that amount from your winnings and put it away until tax time. Better to be safe than sorry later.
You don't have to pay taxes on the sponsor's ARV (average retail value) if you can prove that the FMV (fair market value) is lower. You can usually prove that a car or HDTV has a lower price tag than what the sponsor's 1099 shows. Just look through the newspapers or internet site advertisements for sales or lower prices on your win. The model number and brand must be the same as your prize won. Just print the ad and save with your tax return records.
A good tax accountant will assist you with these issues.

Myself, and many of my friends have won 1,000's of sweepstakes, including cars, HDTV's, cash, vacations, and appliances, just to name a few.
This information from my article should get you off to a good start to become a true sweepstakes enthusiast!
Good luck on your future winnings!