Make sure you use coupons. 

All the Mac crazies are going to come out of their houses with coupon codes and affiliate links for you, if they exist.

The point of me saying this is not to be judged, but to convey that when I consider what financial freedom means to me, that definition does not readily lend itself to a life of penny pinching and coupon cutting.

You just get your coupon, unfront fees, unused fees and then ultimately your principal back....doesn't matter if your deal appreciates 1,000%.

A Ponzi is slightly different, more of a "robbing Peter to pay Paul" scheme where money from new investors is used to pay returns to earlier investors in order to hide the fact that whatever the investment vehicle is that the scheme is based upon (originally the arbitrage of postage stamp coupons) is insufficient in realizing the promised returns. 

I use there 24 months same as cash coupons on purchases over $2,000 and buy what I need and then spend the rest of the $2,000 on gift cards to be used in the near future.

Also, the craft store Hobby Lobby has some cool pieces and they accept coupons and run sales quite often if you need lamps/wall art/etc...

Buy Lowe's 10% Off Coupons on eBay.

If you want good discounts at Lowe's and Home Depot, get on ebay and buy a 10% off coupon for Lowes or a 15% off for Home Depot. 

Have you never received a "Thank you for being our valued customer" gift/coupon from a store/creditor/etc?