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Archive for January, 2010

Bundle Savings

January 31st, 2010 at 06:51 pm

This past week I decided to call the telephone company to see if I could get a better monthly rate on internet service. Currently, I am paying $31.99/month for high-speed internet. The rep I spoke with told me that there wasn't any promotion on internet service. She did say, however, that if I bundled Direct TV (which I recently subscribed to), phone, and internet together I could save some money. I would save $6/month on top of the promo rate on Direct TV. The internet would decrease from $31.99 to $24.99. The phone would increase from $29.99 to $34.99, but would include unlimited long distance service (which I currently don't have). So given that, I will be saving $8/month with the phone company.

Since I don't have my wireless service with this same provider, I couldn't bundle that into the package. I have a family plan with DD, but I was paying an extra $16.99/month for early nights/weekends. I won't need that feature any longer. I will just watch the calling times and use the land line phone more often. DD mainly texts so I think this will work out fine for us.

So with these changes, I am anticipating a savings of about $25/month!!

Small Amount of Extra Money

January 30th, 2010 at 05:23 pm

I got 19 cents added to my Pay Pal account from You Data yesterday. Also, I found a penny at the gas station while running errands last night.

Today I have been doing some surveys. I requested a payout of $2 from Survey Savvy.

It looks like today will be another NSD!!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Found $, Refund & Coupon Income

January 29th, 2010 at 02:02 am

I received a refund check in the mail today for $9.98. Also I traded some coupons (which were useless to me) with a coupon queen for $3.80. Plus yesterday I found a penny at the grocery store!


I will add these to my extra income fund.

New Ebay Seller Fees

January 27th, 2010 at 02:22 am

According to an email I received today, a new fee structure will be enacted effective 3/30/10. The "first 5 listings free" each month will be replaced by this:
* List Auction-style FREE--no Insertion Fees--when you start your Auction-style listing under $1.

* Get new, lower Insertion Fees for all other start prices.

* Either way, pay one easy Final Value Fee of 9% of the winning bid (but never more than $50)-and pay only if your item sells.

* List in Fixed Price for 50¢, with Final Value Fees for the most part staying the same.

This new standard fee structure will replace the current "first 5 listings free"--you'll pay no Insertion Fees whenever you list Auction-style and start pricing under $1!*

I really don't know if this *new* structure is more cost-effective for the seller. I will have to check it out.

NSD

January 27th, 2010 at 02:12 am

Today was another no spender for me.

I got another refund check in the mail today for $17.72 for the Olay Quench Lotion. I will add that to the extra income fund!

Sunday Update

January 25th, 2010 at 02:20 am

Yesterday I found a penny while at the grocery store. I also received a refund check in the mail for $3.69.

I had Direct TV installed yesterday. So far everything is fine. Many more options than with cable TV and much less expensive Smile.

Today was another no-spender!!

Have a safe evening!

Getting Direct TV

January 23rd, 2010 at 02:32 am

I have scheduled for a Direct TV installation tomorrow. I've been comparing both Dish & Direct for a couple of weeks. I have heard good AND bad points about both. Direct TV seems to be a better value at least in my area with promotions, rebates, etc. I just am tired of my ever-increasing cable TV bill combined with less & less channels over the last several years. I should have made a change years ago, but it was just convenient and I was comfortable with it.

Anyway, I hope that I've made the right choice. I know I will save at least $20/month, at least during the promo period of 2 years. I just hope that I am happy with the quality of Direct TV and their customer service.

Mystery Shopping Income

January 22nd, 2010 at 04:20 am

I received reimbursement in my Pay Pal account yesterday for doing a mystery shop last month. I will add $35 to my extra income for the week.

Extra Income Deposit

January 17th, 2010 at 09:31 pm

I have an additional $47.32 to add to my extra income fund for this week. All of it was refund checks except for $3 from surveys.

I now have $8,163.94 in that account!

NSD + Great Mail Day!!

January 17th, 2010 at 04:30 pm

Yesterday I have another no spender.

I got a total of $16.28 in refund checks today in the mail. Also, I got a product to sample from Pinecone based on a survey I did last weekend.

Today may be another NSD...we will see!!

More Money

January 14th, 2010 at 12:02 pm

I got another refund check in the mail yesterday for $7.55.

Today is payday. I get paid semi-monthly, so this time it was a 3 week stretch!

Have a great day!

Pinecone

January 12th, 2010 at 03:03 am

I received $3 in my PayPal account today for a survey I completed over the weekend. I will add that to the extra income fund!

Have a great evening!

Sunday Update

January 11th, 2010 at 01:12 am

Yesterday was a NSD for me. In fact I didn't even leave the house.


I got $20.49 in refund checks yesterday to add to the extra income account.


Today I went to Staples to get a few items (pens, manila folders, envelopes, binder clips, and legal pads) that were free after getting Staples Rewards. While at the register, I found a penny there.

$5.07

January 10th, 2010 at 04:18 am

I have a whopping $5.07 to add to the extra income fund for this week!


Refund Checks....$4.88
You Data.........$0.19


I've updated the sidebar and I now have $8,119.62 in this account.

Toluna Surveys

January 8th, 2010 at 12:24 pm

I just visited www.toluna.com to see if any changes have been made since Greenfield online has combined with this company. I'm wondering if it is even worthwhile now to do these surveys because a minimum of 60,000 points are required to even begin to "cash out". Prior to the merger, you could request a shopping voucher if you accumulated 45,000. Now it is increased to 75,000 points!!

Other than Pine Cone and Survey Savvy, what are some other favorite online survey sites that you participate in?

NSD, $5, & Republic of Tea

January 7th, 2010 at 03:25 am

Today was another NSD for me.

I got a $5 gift certificate in the mail today from Rite Aid from their Christmas promotion. I also received a Republic of Tea catalog in the mail (which I requested) along with a sample of Chocolate Strawberry tea! Has anyone ordered any tea through this company? I love drinking all types of tea and was just wondering if this brand is worth the extra money.

Just an Update

January 4th, 2010 at 11:55 pm

I was supposed to go back to work today, but both children were sick with ear aches! Today was to be their first day back to school after Christmas vacation. I made a doctor's appointment for them this morning. I spent $40 on office visits, then both needed prescriptions. Those cost $30 total + I used a coupon for a $10 gift card for having a new prescription. So a grand total of $60 spent today on copays.

I did find a penny today, plus I got a $2 refund check in the mail to add to my extra income fund.

Hopefully I can go back to work tomorrow and the children can go to school...

NSDs and a Small Check

January 3rd, 2010 at 08:20 pm

I had 2 no spenders this year so far--Friday and today!!

Yesterday I got a refund check in the mail for $2.88 so that will be added to the extra income account for the week.

I need to prepare some refund offers to send out tomorrow and work on my budget a bit, then I plan to relax a little.

Have a great day!


I Exceeded My Extra Income Goal for 2009!!

January 2nd, 2010 at 05:49 pm

Even though I have been tracking my extra income, I haven't posted an update entry since September. Since 9/6/09 I am happy to report that $1,235.53 has been added to my extra income account!!

$299.68....Refund Checks
$406.34....Saturday Income
$294.91....Mystery Shop Fees/Reimburse
$035.00....Surveys
$006.00....Interest (9/09-12/09)
$076.25....Ebay Profits
$001.40....You Data
$115.21....CC Rewards
$000.74....Found Money

The grand total that I've saved in this account for 2009 is $8,114.55!!

I didn't actually think that this goal was within reach since I have only been working on an "as needed" basis on Saturdays. Prior to September, I had been working every Saturday. I will have to check my pay stubs, but I know without a doubt that the vast majority of this extra money was from this source.

Unless I am able to work more Saturdays (either in present position or attain another one), I most likely will not be able to set a goal like this for 2010. I'm just being realistic. However, I do plan to have an extra income fund for 2010. I will definitely track everything like I have in the past. It is fun to see how much passive income I can accumulate each month, I just don't know about setting a goal this time.



Happy New Year & Ebay Update!

January 1st, 2010 at 10:08 pm

I finally tallied up my Ebay profits for all items I had listed in December. After fees (both Ebay & Pay Pal) I earned $76.25 in extra income. I am mostly happy that I cleared my house from some clutter! Smile

I would like to wish everyone here at SA a Happy New Year! I hope each and every one of you are successful at achieving your financial goals in 2010!!

Tomorrow I plan to post my extra income since September to find out if I achieved my goal of $8,000 for 2009.