Purple Flower's Finance Blog

Today when DD and I were at the mall, I found a dime in the Hallmark store at the checkout counter. I will add that to CC savings.

It is snowing here now. We finally got back from the mall. The roads are getting slick. What should have only taken 15-20 minutes to get home in good weather took an hour tonight.

Have a great weekend!

For November I earned $4.66 in interest with my CC savings account. I'm updating the sidebar with that information.

I have less than one month to accumulate over half of the funds to pay off this CC in January '09. I'm trying really hard not to access too much of my regular savings account, and just using "extra" income that I don't really use to compile my budget. Maybe I can get 50% of the way there, but that would be a stretch...I definitely started concentrating on it too late!

Today I didn't spend any money. I stayed in at lunch today (which I usually do) and ate a Lean Cuisine meal, frozen blueberries and red raspberries, and a slice of cheese. Most of the rest of my co-workers went to Chili's for lunch, but I didn't feel like spending $10 for the meal. Besides it was rainy and damp and I just didn't feel like leaving the building.

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Since last week I sold 5 items on Ebay with a profit of $108.80 after deducting fees. I was pleased with that. At least I made a little $ and freed up some more space in the house.

I still have 12 items listed with bids on 5 of them. There are also multiple watchers on many items.

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I am depositing $381.80 into my CC savings account from the following extra sources of income:

$108.80.....Ebay Profits
$145.00.....Escrow overage check
$ .01.....Found $
$ 61.99.....Citibank Cash Rewards
$ 66.00.....Refund Checks

I have updated the sidebar with this information.

I received a payment (on 1 of the 2 items that I was still awaiting payment on) over the weekend. I messaged the other buyer that didn't pay to make them aware that I planned on relisting the item. She claimed that she needed to open another Paypal account (since she was locked out of her original account) and had to wait for a pin # after linking her bank account so it would be another several days before she could pay me??? Anyway, she told me to do whatever I had to do... So I relisted the item!

Another few items sold in over the weekend plus I listed some other things (mainly electronics). I will post the profits for the items that ended through November 30 either later today or tomorrow.

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Over the holiday I found a penny in a parking lot when we went shopping for some food.

The kids and I had a nice time visiting with my sister & BIL for Thanksgiving. We stayed there for a few days. It was refreshing to get away for a bit.

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I received a check in the mail from my mortgage escrow account due to an overage since I refinanced it a couple of months ago. It was for $145.

In addition, I received $56 in refund checks from Rite Aid, Land O Lakes Butter, and A & H Oxiclean Detergent.

All of these amounts will go to the CC savings deposit for the week. I will post a summary for that and update my sidebar later today.

Happy Cyber Monday!

I continued where I left off last night with posting the rest of the items on Ebay to take advantage of the special fee deal. I will declutter some more after Thanksgiving and probably list other items before Christmas.

Still nothing from the buyer that hasn't paid yet. I will just relist the item tomorrow. Two of my auctions ended tonight & were already paid for, so I have those items ready to ship out tomorrow.

I plan to post profits after I come back from the cabin in the mountains where we go for Thanksgiving. We are leaving tomorrow night so I won't be around for a few days.

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I received 2 checks in the mail today. One was for $61.99 from Citibank Cash Rewards. The other was a rebate offer on Goldtoe socks which I bought at Kohl's about 1 month ago. It was $10. I will add both of these to my CC savings.

Have a great and restful Thanksgiving everyone!

Ebay has a special on listing fees Monday and Tuesday of this week. I listed a few more items on Ebay tonight and plan to list some more tomorrow. It only costs $0.18 to list with this special as opposed to $0.35!!

I'm waiting on payments for 2 items. As of today, the one auction had ended 5 days ago. I contacted her after sending her 2 invoices and no response/payment. I received a message back saying that she had computer problems and didn't have any other way to access the internet. Well...seems odd to me that she was able to email me a message!! Then she claimed she was locked out of Paypal and couldn't submit me payment. She inquired about sending payment by check--I told her I would prefer Paypal only. I plan to wait until Wednesday, which will have given her 7 days since the end of the auction to remit payment, before relisting the item. I really dislike problem buyers like this. I had one several weeks ago that never responded to any of my messages....Oh well, the joys of dealing with the public! Such fun!!

Anyway I received payments for 2 other items so far this week. My profits after fees/shipping are $80.70, which I will add to the weekly CC deposit.

Today at CVS I bought some candy & gum, plus the Maybelline Mineral Makeup which was free after getting the $8.99 EB back. So my total including tax was $15.32. I used $3.10 in manufacturers' coupons + $12.00 EB (earned a few weeks ago). My total OOP was $0.22 plus I earned $8.99 more in EB for the Maybelline!!

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I have 2 items ending on Ebay today. Both have bids on them so I will post my profits from that tomorrow.

Have a great evening everyone!

I am adding the following extra income for the week to my CC savings account:

$212.40 .......Saturday job
5.50 .......Surveys
25.00 .......Mystery shops
.02 .......Found money
19.50 .......Ebay sales profit
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$262.42 .......Total Deposit


So with this deposit I'm over one-third of the way to tackling this debt!!

Have a nice Sunday!

I sold four items that I had listed on Ebay last week. When all fees were deducted I ended up with $19.50 in profit. I still have some items listed with bidders &/or watches. I didn't earn that much money, but I've very happy to be rid of some clutter around here.

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I received a $15 check in the mail for a shopper's fee for doing a mystery shop about a month ago.

I will add both the Ebay and mystery shop income to CC Savings for this week.

Have a wonderful evening!

Today, I received a check for $2.50 from Survey Savvy. Deposits in Paypal from Pinecone for $3 and $10 from doing a mystery shop. Finally, I found another penny at Walmart this evening. I will add all of this to my weekly CC deposit.

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Gas is down to $1.85 in this area. Since yesterday it dropped 0.12/gallon. I saw on the news that it is supposed to keep dropping to well below $2/gallon! Yeah!!

I didn't spend any money again today. So 2 NSDs in a row! Yeah!!

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Found a penny on the floor by DDs job when I went to pick her up. I will add that to my CC savings!!

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Three items have ended on Ebay so far and each one sold. I will have to post profits after the listing fees, etc. are deducted. Then I will also deposit that to the CC savings account!

Yesterday I was reading the money section of the local newspaper. I found an article on price adjustments. Of course I knew about retailers in the local area that offer refunds/adjustments if you purchase an item on a Saturday, for example, and it goes on sale Monday. I just simply take my receipt to the customer service desk and either get a refund/credit. I've received price adjustments before, but only if I'm in the area running errands and such...I won't make a special trip back to the store.

Well anyway, there is website that tracks the cost of items once you set up an account. The website is www.priceprotectr.com. On the website they list 150 retailers across the country and their price adjustment policies. I wasn't aware of this time-saving service. Sometimes it could be difficult to follow sale flyers to determine if you would be eligible for a refund. I think I'm going to give this site a try. I hope it is a useful tool for others here as well.

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Today was a NSD for me. I haven't had one of those in weeks.

Have a nice evening!

Today I put an additional 3 items on Ebay. Now I have a total of 8 items listed. There are several watchers on many of the items. I have 3 items so far with bids so that isn't too bad.

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Also, I made some beef vegetable soup. I used beef that was frozen from Angel Food Ministries. I had several partial bags of frozen veggies that I added to the crockpot in an effort to make some freezer space. I'm trying to use up some food that we have around here because we will be leaving in a little over a week for Thanksgiving vacation at my sister and BIL's cabin. We have plenty of food that I don't need to go shopping before we go there. Plus, I have to watch my spending because of the CC that I need to pay off by 1/1/09!! Smile.

I am adding the following extra income from this week to my CC Savings Account:

$ 3.00 Pinecone survey
.01 Found money
$366.74 Saturday job income


I will deposit $369.75 into the account. At least I'm about one-third of the way towards my goal of $6560. About $100 more, which I hope to accumulate in the next week or two, will have me well on my way!!

It seems that I have become an avid hot tea drinker. I have several cups each day. I mainly drink green teas of any flavor, but occasionally drink black tea. I rarely drink herbal teas (because I'm not sure that variety has a great antioxidant content). Since green and black teas have great health benefits, I have been increasing my consumption over the last year.

Anyway, I absolutely love mint-flavored green tea. At the grocery store a couple of days ago, I noticed Celestial Seasonings Holiday display in an aisle. There are flavors such as nutcracker suite and gingerbread spice, but the one that especially caught my eye was candy cane decaf green tea. It was on sale 2 boxes for $5. I bought 2 and had $1 manufacturer coupons for each. So final cost was $1.50 each. The tea has a very strong peppermint flavor mixed with other flavorings like vanilla and is SOOOO addicting!! I think I may have to stockpile this since it is only available during the upcoming holiday season. Either that or I may have to recycle the tea bags and get perhaps 2-3 cups out of one tea bag!! Smile...

Have a nice weekend!!

I just checked the items that I have listed on Ebay and noticed that there are 3 watchers on two different items and one actual bidder on another!!

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Yesterday, FedEx dropped off a package that contained an item from Pinecone to test and give feedback based on my opinion of the product. I don't get many sampling surveys to do where you actually get a free product + get compensated after completing the online survey.

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I've decided that since my CC at 0% needs to be paid off by 1/1/09, I am not adding any extra money towards the principal of my new mortgage &/or the car loan for the rest of this year just to be sure I have enough money in my regular savings and do not have to rely on my EF to pay off the $6,560 Home Depot CC. I absolutely will not pay about 21%+ interest on that card, so I need to be extra careful about my spending for the rest of the year!!

I listed four more items on Ebay in an effort to generate some extra money for this CC debt. I have 2 watchers on 2 of the items so hopefully that is a good sign.

The guy that was interested in the item I have listed on Craigslist sent me another email today saying he is definitely interested in buying it. I have a picture listed in the ad. Seems odd that he doesn't want to meet to take a look at it. He says he will mail me a money order on an agreed upon price, then I can ship him the item? I don't know, but I don't have a good feeling already about this one either! I will see what happens though...

Have a great evening!

I stopped at Walmart this morning before work and found another penny at the counter by the cash register. Either I am keeping a better eye out for change, or people just don't bother to pick up change when they drop it! In any case, I don't mind picking it up!!

I got a paypal payment in the amount of $3 for a Pinecone survey I did a few days ago. I will add that amount to my deposit for the week to CC savings.

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I'm waiting to hear back from someone who emailed me regarding an item I have listed on Craigslist. I called him 2 times and left a message, but he didn't respond so I guess I have to be patient and wait for another prospective buyer to come along! This is my first experience with Craigslist and I don't know if I like it!!

I'm depositing Rite Aid rebate checks in the amount of $143.64 + 0.25 found money for a total of $143.89 into the CC savings account.

Somehow I think I will be dipping heavily into my regular savings account to come up with the bulk of the amount needed to pay off this last CC.

I'm using all extra funds I receive from Saturday work, surveys, rebate checks, Ebay sales, etc., but it just doesn't seem to be adding up very quickly...guess I should have started funding the account a bit sooner!

I went to CVS today to take advantage of their sale. I bought the following items:

(4) St Ives Body Wash....$15.96
(4) Orbit Gum 3 pk....... 6.00
(1) Garnier Nutrisse .... 4.99
(1) Garnier Conditioner.. 2.99
(1) Smart Water.......... 1.59
(1) Loreal Revitalift.... 11.99
Total........ 43.52

I also used $4 in manufacturers' coupons, $1.69 Extra Bucks, and $5 off a $25 order. So with tax my final total was $34.35.

I earned an additional $27.58 in Extra Bucks from the above purchases, so all of these items end up costing only $6.77!!

I did another mystery shop at Texas Roadhouse this week. DS and I had a nice meal for $1.85. The total check with a tip was $36.85, but I get reimbursed up to $35. I entered the report online and am awaiting a deposit into my Paypal account in a few weeks!

Have a great evening...I'm going to watch Suze Orman.

Today I found a quarter walking through the laundromat to the restaurant where DD works. I was so happy! The most I have found recently were dimes.

I will add this to my CC savings!

I took DD to the doctor as she has an skin rash. The doctor didn't know what it was...only that it was an allergic reaction to something.

Anyway she gave her a prescription. I had a coupon for CVS for a $25 Gift Card on any new/transferred prescription. The cost with insurance was $14.99...so I made $10.01 extra by going to CVS to get the prescription filled!!

I just went to Global Test Market to see how many market points I have accumulated because I knew I was getting close to 1000 (the minimum needed to cash out). I've come to find out that I have 1015 points. I should get another check in a few weeks for $50.75!! I really like this company...I easily get 10-20 invites each week. If I don't completely qualify at least I get a minimum of 5 points after answering the classification questions.

I also like Pinecone, but I have by far earned much more money with Global Test Market. It seems I hardly get any invites for Pinecone lately.

Have a great evening!

With interest earned for October, my CC savings account stands at $1,379.83. I am adding the funds from the following to my savings account for this week:

Refund Check .......... $3.59
Found Money............ .10
Ebay Sales............. $26.22
Walgreens Rebate Check. $19.46
Rite Aid Rebate Check.. $ 4.00
Mystery Shop Reimburse. $13.00
Saturday job...........$130.12
Total............$196.49

So I've added this to the sidebar to reflect the deposit.

Last Saturday when I went to work, there was a power outage so we had to close the office. Since I have only been employed there starting in July (and only 2 Saturdays/month, I had no idea what the policy was regarding "Acts of God" incidences (or if there even was a policy). It seems that since I work in small offices both on a full and part time basis, neither of them are very efficient when it comes to office policy. It often turns out to be a "play it by ear" method when certain issues come up. Also, the rules often change since nothing is set in stone! Office manuals regarding policies are non-existent, or at least I was never given copies of them for the offices where I am employed.

Since I only work there Saturdays, I have no benefits; therefore, taking a personal day was not an option either. I'm thinking that perhaps the full-time employees got some kind of compensation, but I can't be sure of that.

So I was just wondering how many people here are paid for instances like I mentioned (due to power outage or weather-related office closings).

Today after work I am doing some mystery shops. Two of them are for convenience stores with reimbursement up to $1 each for a food purchase and gas, plus a shopper fee. I need to take some digital pictures at each location, upload them and complete the online report. The other assignment is a department store purchase and return that pays a fee of $10.

So I will be making a few dollars today since I am planning on being in that town anyway for an appointment.

Have a great day!

Today I got a postcard and an email with information regarding this new promotion with ING. If you have an Electric Orange Debit Card and use to for your next 5 purchases(in November) of at least $10 each,
ING will deposit $20 into your Electric Orange account in December. The link for more information is : http://ingdirect.com/spendwise

I hope this helps those of you with an Electric Orange Debit Card to earn a free $20!!

I had a few auctions on Ebay end today. After fees and shipping my profits were $26.22, so that will get added to the CC debt. Certainly I didn't make much money on those items, but it is good feeling to reduce the amount of clutter in the house.

I'm not sure if I will list anything more for a few months. My sales haven't been that great lately...lots of watchers but not many bidders. I guess the effects of the economy have taken a toll on some Ebay sales. I don't know we will see what happens. Maybe sales would be a little better here in a few weeks with the holidays right around the corner...