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Archive for August, 2013

Wednesday Doings

August 22nd, 2013 at 06:11 am

Today was DD's first day of middle school. The lazy summer mornings are gone now Frown Darn it!
Next week I add dropping DS off at preschool to the morning routine. I know it will be worth it. He is ready for more stimulation and he is very excited to start "school". Smile

In the extra income side of things: I received my quarterly check for recording some of my works' inventory usage to a research company. It pays $20/month. So my check was $60. Smile

Unfortunately, I saw an unauthorized charge on my AmEx card this evening. $85.xx. I submitted a dispute form online and fingers crossed it gets cleared up quickly. And no more funky charges!! Argh!

Snowflakes to Snowballs

August 18th, 2013 at 09:52 pm

We've been lucky to have some extra income and valuable coupons come our way lately.

Most recent was the 20% off coupon I mentioned I used buying new shoes. The coupon was online and I brought it up with my cell phone while checking out in the store. $26 savings.

In May I added DD to my Ting cell phone plan. It has increased my monthly bill from $16/month to $30/month. BUT, I've had two more referral credits come my way since then and that really helps cut the cost. $50 credit.

If you or anyone you know are planning to move service to Ting please, please consider using my referral link. It will give me a credit and you'll have $25 savings off your service or a phone purchase.

Text is https://zlibcgmej.ting.com/ and Link is
https://zlibcgmej.ting.com/

With Target moving into our town there is more competition among the stores. We live close to most the stores, so our neighborhood ends up with coupons that aren't distributed citywide - stores fighting over us I guess. On Friday we received this in the mail:



I'll take $30 in savings thank you very much. Smile


Now for a really cool snowflake ...
Our family was selected to participate in a survey program that pays DD, DH and I $25 every month! Big Grin



We each received an initial $10 bonus for signing up.
After our first month (last week) we each received $100 bonus checks!
After 90 days we'll each get a $50 bonus.
There are also weekly drawings for $250 and $500 and special drawings almost monthly for prize money ranging from $10k to $15k.

How did this happen? I opened something that looked like junk mail and it had $1 inside and it just went from there.

Everyone gets to do what they want with their money.
My money is going into the EF. $125 this month.


Last, but certainly not least, is some steady cash coming from some "cat care" I'm doing. This involves me "visiting" the cat twice weekly to administer subcutaneous fluids. (Owners can do this themselves, but this daddy chooses not to.) He pays me $40/visit.
I have done this for three weeks now - tomorrow will be the fourth week.
Starting this week this cash will head to the EF. $80.

I am feeling blessed and lucky to have these opportunities.
Going to pack these snowflakes into chunky snowballs! Big Grin

Back 2 School Stuff

August 16th, 2013 at 10:03 pm

DD had her orientation at middle school this morning. Unfortunately, she didn't get the zero period PE, so we will need to come up with a game plan for the morning drop off. I am probably going to drop off on the next street down and DD can walk over to the school.

We bought new shoes today. A pair for me and a pair for DD. (We now wear the same size.. sheesh!)
The really awesome part was the salesman told me to pull up an online coupon on my phone while I was checking out. He scanned the bar code on my phone and we saved 20%!

That was $26 I saved by having a "smart" phone. I need to remember to check for or ask about online coupons since it seems like this is becoming a more common thing.
What about if you don't have a smart phone? It's not fair, but I guess you miss out. Frown



Later today, or tomorrow, I will take DD for more B2S shopping. We have a new shopping center that *just* opened near us. There is a Target and a TJMaxx. She has a $25 gift card to both stores - gifts from her birthday last month. DH and I agreed to give her an additional $150 in cash. She will make the choices on what she needs (Paper, pens, socks, jeans, tops, jacket etc.) and will have to budget accordingly. She has already decided she is happy to reuse the same backpack she has had for three years in order to spend on something else.

Summer Coming to a Close

August 16th, 2013 at 04:21 am

We have been enjoying our laid back summer. We've been keeping busy on relaxing. Big Grin

We spent most of our time close to home. I did go kayaking with girlfriends three times this summer. It was good girl time and lovely on the river. We are so blessed to live in such a beautiful, temperate place. (One girlfriend is really pushing for a fourth trip.)

DD had a week at 4H camp. It was a deal at $225 and then her club paid $50 toward her registration. $175 was a steal for a week of super fun sleepaway camp, meals and activities.

Last weekend we camped at a state park sharing a site with friends. It only cost us $8 for the additional vehicle fee. It is right across the road from the ocean so we all had fun on the beach as well as a nice hike among the ferns and redwoods.

Next week DD starts junior high (7th grade). Tomorrow we will get her schedule and see if she got zero period PE. That would mean she would go to school about 45 minutes earlier than most. The school allows 40 students to do this. I would love it because DH could drop her off in the mornings. The other advantage would be the absence of all the crazy drop off traffic. Fingers crossed...

In two weeks DS starts his three days per week at preschool. And then September starts.
Phew.. the summer sure flew by didn't it?

Financially it has been smooth sailing here. *knock on wood*
We haven't had any unexpected expenses and regular expenses have been lower than usual. Yay!
Not doing anything different in particular. Things like..
Having mild weather so not having to run the AC.
Sticking close to home.
Clearing out the fridge and freezer for meals.

Hope we can keep it up. Smile