Purple Flower's Finance Blog

I signed up to do several mystery shops this week at Rita's, Bruster's, and Sonic. I've already done the first two, the other one I will do tomorrow.

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I found a dime by the soft drink dispenser outside of Wal-mart today!

I'm going to combine last week's extra income with this week's deposit...it wasn't that much anyhow, but still it all adds up.

After work today, I stopped at Rite Aid to buy the FAR item for this week--got 2b Fat-tastic Mousse. By the checkout counter I spotted a penny there waiting for me!

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I've got several Ebay auctions ending tonight, so I will post my net income here in the next few days. Now I'm going to list a few other items.

Have a good evening!!

Earlier last week I listed an item on Craigslist. Now I've never had any luck selling anything I posted there. In fact, I listed this item before. At that time I got several responses from interested potential buyers. I was not at all successful because people would say they would meet me to look at the item and never showed up...didn't even have the sense or courtesy to call to cancel the appointment. It seems that is the rule, rather than the exception. Anyway, no luck selling the item a few months ago. Reluctantly, I re-listed the item because I really wanted to get rid of it. To my surprise, someone contacted me to make arrangements to meet me & actually followed through & purchased the item. She was a really nice person & was thoroughly interested so she paid me exactly what I posted in the ad. I explained to her that my previous experiences were not acceptable & that I appreciated the fact that she offered great communication & actually followed through on her committment to meet me. That surely is commendable these days (it seems)!! Anyway, I got $60 for the item. More extra income!!

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As far as Ebay goes, I have 6 items listed currently. Four of the 6 items have bids, with plenty of watchers. So it looks like I will have some extra money to throw into the extra income fund. I have about 4 more items to list that I've found around the house that I no longer need, so I will post them this week hopefully!

Have a great evening!!

I just wanted to wish all the mothers a very enjoyable & relaxing Mother's Day!!

Have a great day!

I found a nickel in the Walmart parking lot today, right by my car door!

Plus I got a refund check in the mail for $1.49.

More $ to the extra income fund!!

I found two pennies today...one at Walmart and another in my own dryer (someone failed to empty their pockets once again).

I will add this to my extra income fund!

I just finished listing some items on Ebay...four to be exact. I still have some to do tomorrow night. I'm not sure what to do about shipping costs, as I believe the USPS rates increase on 5/11. I don't know if Ebay will have changed the rates once the auctions end. I didn't think about it until I already listed the items...oh well.
I have some large lots of DS's clothes(that he outgrew)to list tomorrow.



I also listed one item on Craigslist. I need to clear out some of the clutter in the house.

I'm hoping I can at least sell some of it!!

Today I didn't go anywhere or spend any money.

I closed out my online bank account at Provident Direct. There was a bit over $1 left in it. The interest rate at one time was one of the highest and now it is one of the lowest...as far as online savings accounts go. Provident is switching to M & T Bank sometime this month.

I still have the majority of my readily accessible cash with Shore Bank in an online savings account, which is paying 2.45% APY. I have a checking account with ING Direct to pay my bills. I need to find out if I can have subcategory accounts with Shore Bank.

Have a great evening!

For this week I am adding $387.30 to the extra income fund:

$345.62...Saturday income
$027.39...Refund checks
$010.29...April interest
$004.00...Survey income

This now brings the total in this account to over $4000 !!

for the Goodyear tires I purchased in February. The amount is $25. I also got another refund check in the mail for $2.39. Both of these checks will be added to the extra income fund for the week!

Have a great evening!!

Yesterday I received $1 check from Survey Savvy. Also got $3 from Pinecone in my Paypal account...so $4 extra income money so far for this week.


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The remaining balance on my car loan is now less than $2,500.


Have a great evening!

After sleeping in a bit this morning (Sunday is the only day I have the luxury of doing this), I decided to make a list of stuff to do today. I normally don't make a "to-do" list, but I might do it more often because I have a sense of accomplishment after checking off completed items.

Here is my list:

* replace headlight bulb in car
* clip & file coupons (a few weeks worth)
* get several refund offers ready to mail
* do laundry + hang it outside
* do yard work (mow, pick up sticks, debris)
* go to Walgreen's & CVS
* work on budget + tracking of expenses (transfer from index cards to spreadsheet for last 2 months)
* put away blankets, flannel sheets, etc.
* declutter my desk
* highlight my hair

Well, I got everything done except replacing the bulb and going shopping. It turned out to be a NSD for me.

I'm trying to be better about hanging laundry on the clothesline/drying racks as opposed to using the dryer so much. I did at least 5 loads of laundry today and hung it all out. There was a slight breeze + the temperature was in the 80s.

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For the extra income fund, I have $66.12 to deposit for the week:

$52.71 Citicard Rewards Check
$01.00 Greenfield Online
$10.00 Your2Cents Surveys
$02.39 Refund Check
$00.02 Found Money

That brings the total to $3616.72.

I got a Citicard Rewards check in the mail today for $52.71, so I will add that to the weekly deposit for the extra income fund.

I also got some samples in the mail that I requested online a few weeks ago--some coffee and a breakfast cereal bar.

It looks like Walgreen's is doing Register Rewards similar to CVS with the Extra Care Bucks as an alternative to their monthly rebate program...at least that seems to be the case in my area.

Have a great evening!!

I found another 2 pennies...one last night at a convenience store and another one today again in the locker room.

I also got a refund check in the amount of $2.39. So an additional $2.41 to the extra income fund!!

Today was payday so now I'm going to work on the finances

Today at work we had food catered for our staff meeting--BBQ chicken, baked beans, cole slaw, BBQ pulled pork. So a free, delicious lunch!

I finally received the $10 survey check from Your2Cents that I requested 2/18/09. The company is certainly not as efficient as other survey companies, but then again they don't offer payment by DD or Paypal. I'm just glad to have finally gotten it!!

The Greenfield online $1 was deposited into my Paypal account today, which I requested yesterday.

I also sent a $70 principal payment towards my car loan for April.

Have a nice Monday!

It was another NSD for me today. I did some yard work before it started to rain late this afternoon.

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I requested another $10 check from Your2Cents surveys. Of course I haven't received the one that I requested on 2/18/09 yet I haven't been getting many invites for Global Test Market...that figures I am close to being able to cash out for $50. I requested $1 payment to Paypal from Greenfield online surveys yesterday.

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I also cashed out on my Citicard Rewards Cash for a bit over $50. I am nearing the $20 minimum for the Discover Card, so that should be doable next month.

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It looks like I should have a good bit of extra income coming in here in the next few weeks. I always look forward to that. It is fun watching the extra income fund grow. It reiterates the fact that even small bits of money really are important--from the found penny to the Saturday income & all amounts in between!!

I am depositing extra income this week in the amount of $404.12:

$373.80.....Saturday income
$024.35.....(2)Mystery shop reimburses
$005.90.....Sold cpns on refund site
$000.07.....Found money

My updated total in this account is $3,550.60.

I've done really bad this week with spending money on lunches. Normally, I try to only eat out *maybe* once every 2 weeks. Yesterday I went to Panera and spent $8.25. Today was a co-worker's birthday so I had to pitch in $6.25 for pizza and a cake. I had plenty of healthy foods--fruits & veggies, yogurt, etc.--to eat both days, but sometimes I can be talked into going out. Some days it is because everyone else is going & I don't want to sit alone to eat lunch. Then other days it is to celebrate a birthday, baby shower, wedding, etc.

We have drastically cut back on dining out too as a family. So I guess sometimes I feel a bit guilty that I'm eating out for lunch, but I very, very seldom dine out with the children. It has been at least 3-4 months since I've made much more of an effort to scale it back. With that said, we would eat out *maybe* once a week, but it was usually fast food.

Anyway, I spent $14.25 for 2 lunches this week when I had healthier food in the refrigerator at work. Oh well, I need to work on this because that extra $ could have gone to my car loan!!

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On a positive note, I found another 6 cents in the locker room again today. When my co-workers drop coins, they just don't bother to pick them up, hardly ever. I usually wait several days to see if anyone takes the coins & if they don't, I take them. So more money there to the extra income fund!

Have a great evening!

Today I found another penny at a beauty supply store!

I also got my tax papers mailed out. Other than that, nothing much new here financially.

Have a great evening!!

I finished up both my state and local taxes tonight. It turns out I owe about $75 state & am due a refund of $18 for local! I will make copies tomorrow and mail everything out.

I didn't spend any money today...too busy working then finishing my taxes!!

Today is another no spender for me.

Since our Easter meal, I have done several loads of laundry which I hung outside. It is a nice day, with a slight breeze.

I still need to finish my state & local taxes. Also, I want to list some stuff on Ebay this week. Tomorrow it is back to work. Then after work, I have a mystery shop to do.



Have a nice, frugal weekend!!

As I was logging in to my CU checking account while working on my bills today, I noticed that I got a payment for doing a mystery shop from last month. Also, I got an email validating my compensation of $10 for doing a professional survey a few weeks back. This time I chose an Amazon GC, as with this company any payments need to be collected in the form of a GC. I will add that amount though to my extra income.

My deposit for the week is $36.95:

$15.93 Refund checks
$10.75 Mystery shop reimbursement/fee
$10.00 Survey
$00.27 Found money

I've updated my total on the sidebar.

This morning while at Wal-mart I found more money...this time a nickel nearly the same area I found a dime earlier this week!!

I have completed some surveys this afternoon. I sent an email inquiring about a $10 payout I requested back in February at your2cents.com. It has been nearly 2 months and I still haven't received the check

Yesterday was payday so I need to work on my bills/budget now...

Have a great day!!

I received 2 refund checks in the mail today totaling $15.93! Yeah...so I will have something more substantial to deposit for the week into the extra income fund!!

Have a nice frugal day!

Today at work I found 12 cents in the locker room.

Then at lunch time I went to Wal-mart and found a dime by the photographer stand!

That's $0.22 to the extra income fund for the week. It may be my only source of additional funds to deposit this week

I haven't spent any money today. In fact I did not leave the house.

Earlier today I did some yard work...picked up sticks/debris and mowed part of the back yard. We are to get rain the next few days, so I'm expecting to mow the rest later in the week.

Also, I clipped coupons from the five inserts that were in the newspaper today. I have some rebates to get ready to mail out, then next I plan on working on the budget.

Have a great Sunday!!

On my way to work I decided to stop at Walgreen's since I drive right by it. I got items worth $6.77 for only $0.28!! I bought:

One a Day Multivitamin Drink Mix
Chapstick 100% Naturals Lip Butter
Skintimate Cream Shave

I will get $1.49 rebate on the One a Day + I got $5 RR on the other two items!

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I'm depositing $359.80 to the extra income fund for the week:

Saturday income.....$ 329.27
Refund checks.......$ 13.10
March interest......$ 7.41
Cell phone sale.....$ 10.00
Found money.........$ 0.02

That brings the account to $3,109.53.

Have a great evening!!

Last night I found a penny at Walmart.

Also I got some avocados (5) for $0.58, which I thought was a great price. At the register they rang up $1.38 each. I pointed it out to the cashier...I mean after all, I would never pay $1.38 for 1 avocado!! She adjusted the price for me as the guy behind me in line was huffing & puffing, deeply sighing, etc. for the extra time it took her to credit me the $4. He ended up switching to the next lane and I left the store before he did anyhow! I don't care it was $4!!!

Have a great Saturday!

I earned $7.41 in interest from my various accounts in March, so I will add that to my extra income fund.

Yesterday I received a $10 check in the mail from selling an old cellphone at sellmyoldcellphone.com. I no longer needed it and it was an older model so I figured I could get a few dollars for it. I have some other cellphones that I plan on donating to a charity.

So another $17.41 towards the extra income deposit for the week!