In an ideal world, my printer would not run out of ink at the most inopportune times like when I need to run out the door or when I only have a few minutes to quickly get what I need.

Thanks to OfficeMax and Office Depot there are a few benefits to buying printer ink which might just soften the frustration of getting one of those empty ink cartridge messages.

Get the ink and toner you need, quick.

When in a crunch for time, it can be even more stressful to try to find a store that carries the brand and type of printer ink you are looking for.  That’s why Office Depot offers an “Always Low Priced.  Always in Stock.” guarantee.  This mean that all national  ink brands (i.e. Brother, Canon, EPSON, HP, Lexmark, Konica Minolta, OKI, Panasonic, Samsung and SHARP) will be in stock at your local Office Depot store or Office Depot will waive the shipping fee to get the ink to your home.

Plus, you can score double discounts when paying for ink when you present your Office Depot Worklife Rewards card (enrollment is free) and pay with discount Office Depot gift cards.  As a Worklife Rewards member you’ll earn 10% back on your rewards account and with discount Office Depot gift cards you’ll save an additional 7%!  That’s a pretty steep discount for ink!

Recycle your old ink.

When your ink cartridges runs out, consider taking them to any OfficeMax or Office Depot store.  Through OfficeMax’s free MaxPerks program and Office Depot’s Worklife Rewards program, customers receive a $2 credit (a la your free rewards card) to the respective store for any brand of used ink cartridges, up to $20 per month (or 10 cartridges).  I love the idea of getting paid to recycle, don’t you?

Redeem your rewards dollars on your next purchase and then pay for the remainder of the purchase with discount OfficeMax or Office Depot gift cards to continue the savings.

Stop just buying ink, and start getting rewarded by putting more money back in your pocket, too!

We recently had a chance to catch up with Marcy B, a Plastic Jungle enthusiast.

In the interview below, Marcy shares how she and her family stretch their budget even further. We love hearing how savvy shoppers choose to check PlasticJungle.com first and how they get more from gift cards.  And we’re honored to be able to share Marcy’s story with you.

Please tell us a little about yourself:

Well, lets see.  I live just outside of St. Louis, Missouri near my family and I’ve been here since the fall of 2007.  I used to live down in Nashville, Tennessee.  I’m married and have two sweet small black dogs – Mayme and Shadey.  Professionally, I work for a nonprofit organization which empowers homeless women to move from living on the streets to living on their own through a 2 year program.

Like others who live in the United States, I’ve learned a lot about myself through financial pressures.  The first year my husband and I were married (2008), he wasn’t able to find a full-time job.  We had committed to living on a budget, and we were constantly amazed at how our needs were met.  Then, just last fall, after he found a full-time teaching position, one of my sisters introduced me to coupon blogs.  To say my lifestyle has changed is an under-statement.  We’ve found our dollars stretch a lot further than we ever knew they could!  Sometimes I wonder how much money we could have saved had we started sooner.

I first heard about Plastic Jungle (when? where? how?):

My first encounter with Plastic Jungle was on Facebook earlier this spring.  I saw an ad that mentioned something about discounted gift cards, so I clicked the ad and was thrilled about what I found.  I immediately bookmarked the page.  I remember telling my husband and one of his good friends about what I found, but I hadn’t quite figured out the best way for our family to use my newly discovered resource.

My favorite ‘Sock Drawer Savings’ story, when I used a gift card I purchased on PlasticJungle.com, is:

(We haven’t *fingers crossed* needed to make a big purchase since finding Plastic Jungle.  So, what I’d rather tell you here is how Plastic Jungle is for everyone and how it’s changing our lives.  From my perspective, Plastic Jungle is something we plan to use for the rest of our lives.)

This past weekend my teenage niece came over, and we got into talking about budgeting.  She’s been baby-sitting a lot this summer and wanted to review the budgeting strategies I taught her earlier this year.  She starting high school this fall and has already discovered her favorite shops to get clothes from, one of which is Aeropostale.  I showed her how much she can save by getting Aeropostale gift cards from Plastic Jungle, and she was really excited.  She’s going to help her mom see how they can save money on regular purchases too.

For our young, married friends who are trying to pay off school debt and save for major purchases, Plastic Jungle has been a great find!  Our friends are now going to Plastic Jungle for Target, Walmart, and Walgreens gift cards before venturing to the store!

Before I shop, I check PlasticJungle.com first because:

My favorite discoveries on Plastic Jungle are gas gift cards and the notification feature.  We know how much we spend each month on gas, and now because of Plastic Jungle we spend even less on gas because we’ve found gift cards that give us the same dollar amount of gas for less out of pocket.

For a one-time 10 minute investment, the notification feature has been a time saver.  I just marked the gift cards we’re interested in purchasing and check my email as usual.  When one of the gift cards we’re interested in becomes available for purchase, Plastic Jungle emails me with a link to the cards I want.  Huge time and money saver!

My favorite ‘Get What You Want, Use What You Got’ story, when I had a great experience selling a gift card to Plastic Jungle, is:

(I haven’t sold a gift card on Plastic Jungle yet.)

I love Plastic Jungle because:

Besides having a very catchy name, I love Plastic Jungle because Plastic Jungle allows our family to stretch our dollars further while keeping more money in our pocket.  Plastic Jungle helps eliminate impulse shopping, because we know the way to get the best deal on our purchases is to plan ahead, get a Plastic Jungle gift card, pair it with a coupon, and then pay the rest in cash.

A big thank you to Marcy for sharing the Jungle Love!

Do you love the Jungle and have a savings story? We want to hear more about your experience, and if you’re willing, share it with our blog readers and Facebook Fans. Please email customerservice@plasticjungle.com with the subject line Attn: Marketing Team, and we will be in touch!