Sweepstakes Fever

I have a bad case of "Sweepstakes Fever"!!!

"Sweepstakes Fever" is a term for the condition that people who enter contests and sweepstakes and start to win feel, because they then want to win more, more and more. And I definitely have Sweepstakes Fever! I have never been one of those people that win something and say, "Oh, I can't believe it because I never win anything." I do win things, and maybe more than the average person. I don't think of myself as "lucky, " but instead I think of myself as blessed. When I was a kid, y dad would have me rub off the instant lottery tickets he would buy because he thought I won more than anyone else in the family. When I was in the 8th grade, I won an eight-track tape of my choice by calling into a radio station and being the right numbered caller. My Dad took me to the music store downtown, and I proudly showed them my certificate for a free eight-track tape. As I perused the shelves, the fact that I didn't even have an eight-track tape player did not dampen my enthusiasm because I excitedly pulled out a Christmas tape by Bobby Sherman, and Bobby Sherman and Christmas have always been two of my favorite things in life!!! That win may be what started my excitement over winning things that has stayed with me throughout my life.The wins have continued in dribs and drabs over the years. And each time I have won, I have been excited and felt blessed yet again. When I used to run a home daycare, I entered a sweepstakes sponsored by Tide and Little Tykes. I sent in 10 envelopes with my name, address and phone number on an entry blank that was in the coupon section of my paper. I forgot all about it, but one day the UPS man showed up in my driveway and said he had a delivery for me from Tide. I told him I thought he had the wrong house when we delivered two large boxes to me. He said they were addressed to me, so he needed to deliver them. I opened the first box and was SO surprised to find a beautiful orange Little Tykes racing pedal car with Tide stickers all over it. The second box contained a matching car. My son was about 18 months old at the time, and I had 4 - 5 little children at my home every day who loved to play outside in the driveway on tricycles. Two Little Tykes cars were perfect because each one fit two children and they shared these cars beautifully for years. This was an amazing gift to me and not only did my daycare charges but my own children enjoyed these cars for many years. I entered sweepstakes through the mail when I found them in magazines, newspapers, and on the radio.

Sweeties Sweeps

Two years ago I met a woman who has a sweepstakes website. She told me that she wins contests and sweepstakes on a consistent basis and it's a way to "win what you can't afford." I checked out her website, Sweeties Sweeps, and was blown away by all the information on it. There are free lessons about how to enter sweepstakes, where to find them, stories from actual winners and lists of what they won, and much more information. I was hooked from that day on. I started looking up sweepstakes on her website and entering. I began to enter sweepstakes for about one hour each day. My friends and family thought I was crazy and didn't think I would win anything. I was full of hope and just kept entering. I decided that if all those people on the website were winning things, there was a good chance I would win as well. One of the tips on the website was to decide if you wanted to win absolutely anything, and if so, you could enter any and all contests that were available. You might end up with a lot of stuff you didn't want though like Tshirts, baseball caps, BBQ tool sets, cookbooks, Nascar swag, etc. But if you were a bit more discerning and wanted to win things you really wanted and had a use for, you might have to search a bit harder, and there would be fewer contests for you to enter. Because I tend to be a bit of a pack rat, I decided to go the more discerning route, and search a bit harder for items I really wanted. I didn't want a closet full of extra "junk" to put in my closet that was already full of extra junk!

My Winnings!

And so the search began. I won a few things here and there and was thrilled with each win. One month into entering sweepstakes, I decided to take some of my birthday money and join the Sweeties Secret Sweeps section. For a $25 fee, I could have access for a year to all the sweepstakes that were local to my state of Connecticut, as well as the ones that were just for a few states in the New England area.This would cut down on the competition to win prizes by a great deal. I joined the Sweeties Secret Sweeps and increased my wins quite quickly. In the summer when I was off from my school with a job, I entered sweepstakes each day whenever I could. In the Fall, my time was shortened, but I did continue to enter when I could find extra time. In the course of six months, I won over $700 worth of prizes. The list below is what I won from June 2011 through December 2011.

• Two fleece blankets
• One large tea cup with a quart of chai tea
• 1 $50 gift card to A & P Grocery store
• 1 Samuel Adams Patio Umbrella
• 1 $100 American Express Gift Card
• One gift certificate worth $300 for hair treatments at a local salon
• Four different Uno card games
• One coupon booklet for 25 FREE family size Stouffer's dinners ( worth $221)

Writing Cured the Fever For Awhile

Each win was very exciting. Some just arrived in the mail with no announcement before hand. Others were awarded through an email first, then sent in the mail. Some were delivered by UPS. I was excited to check my mailbox each day to see if there was something fun that I had won inside. And when I would get discouraged when I didn't win anything for awhile, I would go back to the Sweeties Sweeps website and read more stories from recent winners and become more determined to enter and win. In January 2012, I discovered HubPages and writing here and for Textbroker kept me very busy in the following eighteen months. I have only entered sweepstakes here and there. I have won some coupons for free grocery items, but nothing really big.

But I Have Caught Sweepstakes Fever Again!!!

I recently caught the fever again. I am at the beginning of a summer off from my job and am ready to start entering sweepstakes and more than ready to win. Last night I decided to treat myself to the Sweeties Secret Sweeps for $25 again because I have some extra money in my PayPal account from all the writing I have done over the past year. I am determined to put in regular daily entries, and I will keep you updated as to what I win. If any of you want to be "blessed" by winning sweepstakes yourself, head on over to the Sweeties Sweeps website. Start with reading about what people have been winning, and you may catch the Sweepstakes Fever as well!

Although I find sweepstakes and contests in magazines and on the radio still, I have recently found some new ones on Facebook, and those are easy to enter and share with friends. But it's nice to have a lot of sweepstakes listed in one area because it makes them easy to find. That's why I enjoy Sweeties Sweeps so much. I found this video of an interview with her on the local Connecticut news from a few years ago.

Tips for the New "Sweeper" ( Person who enters sweepstakes on a regular basis!)

1) Once you find sweepstakes, you want to enter, mark them in your bookmarks and go back daily to enter the ones that have daily entries available. Some people find that it's easier just to keep a running list of all the sweepstakes they want to enter each day on a pad of paper next to their computer. When the contest ends, either delete it from your bookmarks or cross it off your list on your pad.

2) Some sweepstakes are available to enter one time only. Enter it, then write it down in a separate column, so you know you already entered the one time you were able to.

3) Enter every sweepstake or contest that you are eligible for. You can't win if you don't enter.

I am now keeping a running account of what I win each month. See table above.