StackInfluence: Free Products for Micro-Influencers

I’ve been around the micro-influencer sphere for a while.

There have been review programs for influencers since the beginning, and a lot of them have closed due to shady practices or blatant disregarding of website TOS’s.

StackInfluence is different, and pretty easy in my opinion. You sign up, select a campaign, purchase the item via the link provided, review the item as outlined in the campaign, and you are refunded your purchase price via Paypal or Venmo.

I’ve done a few campaigns with them (including this horrible upholstry stain remover), and reimbursement is super quick- less than an hour after you verify your social media post. And reviews can be honest. I try not to sugarcoat reviews, because if you are spending money on something I tell you is good, you better believe that it’s good. That stain remover was not. It was stanky and made my couch look worse.

Most items are for sale on Amazon, but there are a few on Walmart.com too.  I tend to redeem my rewards/rebate app rewards for Amazon Gift Cards and add them to my account, so when I order stuff through apps like StackInfluence, I’m not paying out of my own pocket for them!

Here are just a few of the newer campaigns I have my eye on:

I have a few artists in my family who would enjoy these Posca markers- If you’ve never used Poscas before, they are amazing Acrylic Paint pens!

And there is a certain Cryptid lover in my house who would love this BigFoot shirt.

If you have an Instagram or Tiktok account and you’d love to try new products, check out StackInfluence.

Looking for Frugal Fun for Winter Holidays? Check out Neighborhood Light Displays!

This is one of our family traditions, even since Bubs was a baby. My brother and I grew up doing this, too. I’m not sure if winter holiday light displays on residential properties are big in other parts of the country, but here in Southern California, it’s serious business. Some of these houses put the Griswold’s to shame.

Here are our family’s favorite neighborhoods to visit:

East County:

  • Jingle Bell Hill (also known as Pepper Dr. Lights). Solomon Ave./Pegeen Pl. and surrounding area. Off 67 & Bradley. Dec. 8-26, Mon-Th 6-9 pm, Fri-Sun 6-10 pm.
  • 10248 Paseo Palmas Dr., Nicknamed “Tinsel Town”. Dec. 1-25, 5:30-9 pm. Most of the houses on this street are very well decorated with lights and moving displays! They have a Facebook page too!
  •  Starlight Circle, East and West Glendon Circles. Through December 26th, 7-10 pm. This is extremely popular!  Starlight Circle even has a Facebook page! Starlight Circle has gotten so popular in recent years that the neighboring high school has opened its parking lot. You can park your car and walk through.

There are some neighborhoods that we have added to our list this year. Most of them have been around for years, but we have not visited them yet.

  •  Christmas Card Lane in Rancho Penasquitos 9190 Oviedo St, San Diego, CA 92129
  • Christmas Park in Clairemont Jamar Dr & Lana Dr, San Diego, CA 92117
  • Merry-tage Court in Scripps Ranch Merritage Ct & Stonebridge Pkwy, San Diego, CA 92131

And if you are looking for some family fun beyond a car ride and light peeping, Groupon has a few deals on Holiday light events, including Jingle Jets: USS Midway Museum’s Dazzling Holiday Light Display and San Diego Bay Parade of Lights Cruise on Luxury Yacht Peregrine.