Layout:
Home > A little extra something for Xmas

A little extra something for Xmas

December 29th, 2011 at 10:54 pm

I participate in an online forum hosted by a major credit card company. Each month you continue to participate, you get $15 or $20 in amazon gift certificates. And then I participated in another limited time forum by the same company and got $25 from that, so I discovered today I had $40 worth of Amazon gift codes to use. Smile Smile Smile

I always opt for cold, hard cash when that's an option, but it wasn't here, so I got to browse Amazon and try to figure out how to best spend the money.

I didn't want to buy anything that required tons of postage, becus of course that would have to come out of the gift card. And I didn't want to get something that I could more, or just as cheaply, by going to a local store.

I have been wanting a new pair of slip on, laceless sneakers which I haven't been able to find locally. I found a pair of Grasshoppers on amazon that was exactly what I wanted. Navy blue and even a wide width. I had some money left over and bought 2 packages of edamame vegetable seeds for next year's garden. I had .43 left over and part of the order qualified for free shipping.

I felt so happy getting this stuff for free. Especially since I've steered clear of most discretionary spending for most of the past two years. The online surveys and forums, with their small rewards, do serve a purpose; kind of like a pressure release valve that keeps me from feeling totally deprived.

I'm waiting to receive another $65 in cash from the surveys, and I've built up $60 worth of points with Toluna; I'll wait til the New Year to redeem them. Last fall, I'd reached the point of having earned $600 in income from Toluna surveys alone, so they wanted my SS number so they could issue me a 1099. I decided to just stop doing surveys this year to avoid that, and I'll pick it up again next month.

Next year's garden, by the way, will be a back to basics garden that's highly geared toward pricey produce:

1. Edamame: i love these shelled in a cold salad with corn, black beans and chopped tomato and onion with a little Goddess salad dressing from Trader Joe's. Delish and so nutritious. And they're EXPENSIVE in the store. AND, as a legume,they actually improve my garden soil, which is already incredibly loamy and fertile, if I do say so myself.
2. Tomatoes: Of course, can't have a summer garden without these. Will grow both cherries and beefsteak.
3. Cucumbers: To go with the tomatoes!
4. Salad greens

Had a good talk with dad today. He wants to come up after the new year for all the firewood I've stacked in my driveway (from the October snowstorm). I'm betting he'll want to hit the German restaurant for dinner with his two favorite gals (me and my sister)!

Thanks for all the well wishes about the potential job. I am crossing my fingers and toes to hear some positive news on Tuesday.

I would really like to see Meryl Streep in Iron Lady.

4 Responses to “A little extra something for Xmas”

  1. snafu Says:
    1325206708

    If you get to the movie, please give us a quick critique. I too am looking forward to seeing it but movies are so expensive here I like to feel it's worth the expense.

    Do you grow your own herbs? Needn't be expensive, just small peat pots on a plastic tray easy to move into sunlight and out of drafts at nightfall [cold windows]. I'm sharing with a neighbor, just snipping anything overgrown/spindly and transferring to zip bag. If we don't use it all ok but fresh herbs add so much flavor to b-o-r-i-n-g meatloaf, meatballs, baked chicken etc.

  2. Frugaltexan75 Says:
    1325221408

    Are you able to refer people to this CC forum? I'd love another way of earning AGC's!!

  3. patientsaver Says:
    1325256895

    I don't think so, frugaltexan. They qualify you based on your answers to certain questions. I found out about it by answering another one of the surveys. and sometimes you get product samples in the mail. You just never know what a particular survey will offer/hold, so I try to do as many of them as I can.

  4. Frugaltexan75 Says:
    1325287651

    Ok, thanks. I kinda figured that. Smile

Leave a Reply

(Note: If you were logged in, we could automatically fill in these fields for you.)
*
Will not be published.
   

* Please spell out the number 4.  [ Why? ]

vB Code: You can use these tags: [b] [i] [u] [url] [email]