Sunday, September 17, 2017

Second Frugal Week September 2017

Monday was a full day of work after which I came home and made a batch of Sticky Sesame Cauliflower for dinner. It was easy with the prep work I'd already done over the weekend. 

I filled up my gas tank on Monday using both my Plenti card and EZPay card. I saved 10¢ per gallon using the EZPay card and earned points towards my next purchase of gas with the Plenti card. 

Tuesday the school system was concerned over Hurricane Irma, so we had a two hour delay, which worked for me as I still get paid for the whole day even on a two hour delay. 

I worked all five days this past week. Four of those days was for special education, which meant I traveled from classroom to classroom helping students with special ed needs. I was bone weary tired at the end of those days, but it was especially an satisfying experience. 

On Friday I was able to stay in one classroom. And if you are a regular reader you know  that I finally have a smart phone, which means I am able to use the Wi-Fi at school.

That's great, because now I can use it to earn points playing videos on Swagbucks. (Playing the videos is often a inattentive activity) So, not only was I earning money for subbing, but I was also earning money from Swagbucks, a win-win situation. 

Today I cashed in some of my Swagbucks and earned a $25 Walmart gift card, which I will combine with the $10 one I redeemed a couple of weeks ago. Walmart.com offers free shipping on any orders over $35, so I'm going to use the gift cards to order things we need around here including dry beans, so this will help me save money on groceries too. Another win-win situation. 

Yard Sale Saturday

On Saturday we went to multiple yard sales. I found a real metal gumball machine for $3.00. I've been wanting one ever since I saw this in one of the classrooms I subbed in last year.

 
The teacher has erasers inside this one, so students can buy one for 25¢. Isn't that a cute idea? I thought so and knowing me I would keep a stash of quarters just in case they needed one.  :)

Switching Gears

By now you've probably heard about the Equifax data security breach, but if not you can read about it at the FTC website here. Turns out 143 million American consumers personal information was exposed to hackers in a data breach. 

Equifax has set up a website where you can go and input your last name and last six digits of your social security number to see if your information was impacted. 

You can go to the website here: Equifax 

Click on the Potential Impact button. 

Trouble is the information given may or may not be accurate. I keyed in my information two different times and the first time the website stated my information was impacted and the second time it told me it wasn't impacted. 

I've read information about putting a freeze on your credit and how to do that, so it will be a good idea to keep an eye on your credit report for a long time. Some sources are saying this could have an impact on your credit for years to come. 

Beverly Harzog weighs in on the debacle here if you'd like to read up further on this issue. 

That's all the news I have to report from here. I hope you had a great frugal week and that this next week is even better for you. 

Belinda
~ Living within our Means ~

15 comments:

  1. I specifically got an Android phone for coupons online and SN--making or saving money. Another blogger told me I could not use my phone for watching SB videos.

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    1. That's odd, Linda. I used my phone this week and earned Swagbucks while watching videos with it. If I were you, I would give it a try. :)

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    2. Thanks, I have not gotten my swagbucks started again since computer problems where the search bar was deleted and all sb information. I sit at too many places where I can do nothing but sit and wait. Or, I can read magazines. I would rather make money!

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    3. I'm with you, Linda. I would rather make money.

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  2. Thank you for the website. So far not impacted. The news is saying it could go a lot deeper. Really hope not. I love the gumball machine. The eraser idea is so cute.

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    1. Thank you, Aiyana. I really hope it does not go deeper as well. I'm glad you've not been impacted. :)

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    2. Thanks Belinda. I have dyslexia and I put my DH's SSN in the wrong order. I had to redo it when he could help me put the number in. He was impacted. :( Bad timing too because he is starting a new business and looking to buy a new car. I heard if it going back and fourth impacted to not impacted then the person was probably impacted. DH doesn't seem to worried about it.

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    3. Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. :( Mine went from impacted to probably not impacted. I'm not sure if we should be concerned or not, but I'd say the best thing to do is to keep an eye on it for now. It just stinks. :(

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  3. That is an awesome idea for the gum ball machine!

    I haven't used Swag Bucks. I did do some online surveys for a while, but then for several of them in a row they kept having glitches. It became such a source of frustration I quit.

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  4. I certainly understand that, Shara. I like the gumball idea too. :)

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  5. Subbing 5 days, WalMart's "free" $35, and yard sale bargains again reveal your determination. That you share with us online delights me. Blogs and vlogs encourage me to try one more way to stretch income. Thx.

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    1. You are welcome, Anna. Bailey has a birthday next month, so I may use the $35 for her a birthday gift. I was going over my budget today and thought that might be the best way to use it for now.

      I love reading the blogs too as they are so encouraging and we can learn so much from each other. Thank you for the encouragement, Anna. It means a lot to me. :)

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  6. It's been an odd summer here in Anchorage. The raspberry canes are still producing and so are the two rhubarb plants that we moved to a sunnier spot. I wound up getting an extra gallon of berries for the freezer. There are still some out there, but it's been raining and chilly -- since I'm still getting over a virus*, I haven't been picking for several days.

    Yesterday I made a raspberry-rhubarb pie and also an apple pie that used fallen fruit from our two young trees. We put the trees in last year and I'm startled by the number of apples they've produced. Hoping that the rest stay put until the first frost, when we'll pick them. Some of the ones that fell (it's been very windy) had small bruises and others looked fine. Doesn't matter -- when you slice them up for pie, who cares? They're Norlands, and the skin is so thin I didn't bother peeling them.

    *The only silver lining about having been sick is that I haven't left the house for days, which prevents me from spending unnecessarily. Um, yay?

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    1. I'm sorry you've been sick, Donna. I do kwym about not spending money when you are stuck at home sick.

      No one cares about ugly looking fruit when they are for pies either, LOL. It's all about the taste. LOL I'd say yours will be terrific. :)

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