money-saving-in-the-works

I found a new website that pays you to go to other websites. It is BeRuby.com & so far I like it. They don’t pay much for each click, but they have a lot of commonly used sites like FaceBook, MySpace, YahooMail, Gmail, and many others. Each click is worth half a penny and you only get credited for a visit every 24 hours, so you can’t click for credit every 5 minutes. They pay to your PayPal once you reach $10. I only signed up last Thursday I think, and I’ve gotten $1.10 already. Some of that is the sign-up bonus, $1.00. But I’ve gotten 1 to 2 pennies per day. Its not much, but when the only thing your doing is clicking to go to something you normally go to anyway, its good.

My birthday was last week & I got a new HD camera for it. I like it! Its much better than my old camera, now I just have to get me a webcam so that I can video chat with Hubby when he stops for the night while driving. I’ve already gotten some of my Christmas shopping done, 1 present for each of the girls, 2 for my mother-in-law, & 1 for Hubby. All that’s left is 3 more for each of the girls, and my sister-in-laws & their hubbys.

Well, after my post about Medical Insurance yesterday, I spent the afternoon reasearching & looking at different plans. I found one that I like, its going to cost about half what it would have through Hubby’s work. The deductible is still $15,000 but there are no charges for annual physicals (even yearlies for women) or well baby visits. It even has a 0% co-insurance once we meet the deductible! Which is pretty good, in my opinion.

I’ve been working on getting the house all cleaned, our lease is going to be up at the end of the month & we’ve decided that we’re going to find a rent-to-own house. So I’ve got to go through & get rid of the clutter, box up stuff that we won’t need before next month, & clean the house so we can at least get most of the deposit back. But I’m not going to count on it, we’ve been burned too many times on that front.

I’ve been number-crunching again & realized that if I work every day,  I only have to earn $125 a day. Of course, that covers all the fun stuff too not just basics. Basic only budget would make it $95 a day. I’ve got 5 work at home gigs that I’m going tobe using to meet that goal. Its going to be hard work at first, but 2 of my gigs are the long-term type of income. I’m not talking about investing either, but affliate marketing… I just have to figure it all out first! LOL

I have a love/hate relationship with medical insurance. I love having it because I’ve got 3 kids that have to go to the doctor on a regular basis, along with the dentist & the optometrist (bad eyes run in my family). I hate the cost of it though! We usually go through my husband’s work because that’s always been our cheapest/best choice. And with me not working, sometimes it was our only choice. Hubby has finally been at this company long enough to qualify for their insurance. It’s going to cost us $163/paycheck & he gets paid weekly! That means we are paying over $700/month for insurance. And it has a high deductible, $15,000 for the whole family. I’m not 100% sure on all the insurance lingo yet but my friend says that’s a very high deductible, especially for how much we pay. Everytime I’ve looked at insurance though, its always had deductibles in the thousands. I should be getting the insurance information soon, probably this weekend when he comes home, & I’ll be reading that next week. I’m hoping to find something comparable online that doesn’t cost so much! The insurance is going to knock his checks from over $800-1000/week to $600-800/week. There has to be something out there that is cheaper for us!

Last week, I posted about my new work at home gigs. Just a little update here. I’ve been paid twice by Demand Studios, last Friday and again on Tuesday. So that’s good. I’m still waiting on another project from Delegate2 but I knew going in that they had dry spells when it came to work. WordGigs has been great! Up until this past weekend, there was always plenty of work, but I expected the work would slow down at the end of the month. I figure it’s because advertising budgets tend to run dry a few days before the end of the month. I haven’t really wrote anything for TextBroker yet, still trying to get into the habit with working from home.

I still haven’t found a schedule that works great for us, but I’m working on it. I know how much I want to earn a day, but there’s no way I can earn over $100/day right now. I’m trying though. I have to get back in the ‘time for work’ mentality first. What I earn from now till Dec 11 will be used for Christmas shopping. After that, everything is going to be saved. I’m trying to get Hubby home for good, he’s tired of driving again. Actually, he’s tired of being away from me and the girls.

I’m trying to set realistic goals for each day. Right now, they aren’t very impressive. Just $10/day for Demand Studios, 2 projects with WordGigs, and 2-3 articles with TextBroker. The TextBroker is a recent addition to my goal list, so I don’t know how well that will work. I actually don’t even know if I’ll meet any of my goals. Things are still a bit unsettled for me. I think I need to split up my sleep & work schedules. I usually stay up late, which means I sleep late… What I’m thinking is start taking an afternoon nap so I don’t need to sleep so late in the morning. That way I can get more work done while the girls are sleeping. I don’t know though, I’ll just have to go through a trial and error deal until I find what works.

Last month, I redid my resume & started putting in applications for WAH gigs. I have little ones that like to have my attention during the day, so I needed something that I could do around there schedule. I don’t have a landline phone either & have no plans on getting one, so that puts a whole different set of limits on my search.

I thought about transcription at first. I took an Administrative Assistant course at the local vo-tech when I was in high school so I know how to do it. But its been 10 years since I did any of that so I changed my mind about that. I’m not at all confident in my abilities with that anymore. So I looked at writing jobs.

I love writing, in fact that’s why I started this blog. I applied at several places, but the first to accept me was WorgGigs . I do some easy work for them, writing short little comments. They pay once a month, on the 1st or 2nd of the month, maybe the 3rd if the 1st is on a Saturday. I haven’t been with them long enough to get paid, but several of the people on the WorkPlaceLikeHome forums have been paid by them. So I’m betting its a good gig.

The second I got accepted to was Delegate2 /Purecontent. They are based in the UK, but pay in US dollars.  I’ve only just completed my first assignment with them. I’m waiting to hear back about a second project. They pay a month in arrears. So the work I do this month, I’ll prepare an invoice for & submit it on Nov. 20th. I’ll get paid around Nov. 30th for October’s work. Like WordGigs, I haven’t been here long enough to get paid, but I know several posters on WPLH have been.

The third place that accepted me was Demand Studios . They have several different roles for you to choose from. I applied to be a writer, but didn’t get that role. I got another role instead. This gig pays twice a week, straight to PayPal, on Wednesday and Fridays. I worked less than an hour before the cut off for Friday’s pay, so I won’t get much pay tomorrow.

The 4th and last place (so far) that accepted me was TextBroker .  I always want to add an ’s’ to the end of their name, don’t know why. This gig pays from 0.7 cents/word to 5 cents/word, depending on your rating. I have a 3 star rating, so I get 1 cent/word. I’ve heard that you can increase your rating with them by providing great work, but I don’t know about that yet because I was only accepted last night. They pay twice a month if you have at least $10 in your account and you have to request it. Requests in by the 5th are paid on the 10th, and if you request between the 5th and the 20th, you’ll get paid on the 25th. I’ve marked my calendar to request on the 4th and 19th of every month. That is assuming I have $10 of course.

Now I can’t guarantee that any of these places are still hiring, but you can put in your application & sample (if required) so you’re on their waiting list. Most companies hire from their wait list first, so its always good to apply as soon as you can.

There’s not many deals in this week’s ad. Hopefully, they have lots of unadvertised deals instead.

Pg1

• Red River Farms Extra Large Eggs - 99¢
• Green Giant Canned Vegetables - 50¢

Pg2

• Food Club Beans or Hominy - 50¢
• Hunt’s Spaghetti Sauce - 99¢
• Pop-Tarts - $1.50 (55¢/1 Pop-Tarts 8ct+, exp 11/8/09)
• Jolly Time Popcorn - $1.67 (50¢/1 any Jolly Time Popcorn, exp 11/30/09)
• La Moderna Pasta - 25¢

Pg3

• Energizer Batteries - $2.50 (50¢ to $1.25 off any 1 Energizer Batteries, exp 11/14/09) amount varies regionally

Pg4

• Pilgrim’s Pride Whole Cut Up Fryers - 99¢/lb

Like I said, not many good deals this week.

I have no idea what happened to last week’s deals post. I tried posting it, but it was about the time my internet provider decided to do a system wide update & I lost my connection. Oh well, its a new week so there are new deals!

Pg1

• Farmland Country Style Pork Ribs - 89¢ a pound
• Pink Lady Apples - 99¢ a pound
• Hearth of Texas White Bread - 79¢
• Food Club Ketchup - 79¢
• Food Club Pizza - 4 for $10

Pg 2

• Food Club Chicken Noodle or Tomato Condensed Soup - 2 for $1
• Food Club Saltines - 99¢
• Food Club Seasoning Packets - 3 for $1

No good deals on Pg 3

Pg 4

• Green D’Anjou Pears - 79¢ a pound
• Food Club Shredded Cheese - 2 for $3

Monthly Deals Pg 1

• Fuze - 10 for $10
• Betty Crockers Helpers (Hamburger, Chicken, Tuna) - 4 for $5
• Yoplait Yogurt - 2 for $1
  • Yoplait Yogurt cups (Includes Original, Light, Thick & Creamy, OR Whips!) OR any flavor Yoplait Original OR Light Smoothie - 09-13-09 GM - 40¢ on 6
  • Printable here and here and here - 50¢ on 6
• M&M’s - 2 for $3
• GladWare - 2 for $4

Nothing really good on Monthly Deals Pg2

Most of this weeks good buys are store brand. But I’ve tried many of the Food Club brand items & they taste pretty good, not exactly the same as name brand but not revolting like some store brands.

Today is the start of a new sales week at my favorite grocery store, United. We have a Market Street just 3 blocks away from the apartment, so I’m there 3-4 times a week. I’m going to give y’all a list of my best deals this week. Some will have coupons, some won’t. I always stock up on the great deals, right now I usually get 5 or 10 of something, since there are 5 people here. It makes sense to me. LOL Getting 5 of something means I usually don’t run out of it before it goes on sale again. But sometimes I do, depending on how much we use it. On to this week’s deals & coupon match-ups:

If you’ve seen a United ad before, you know they have a small fold-over that’s about 1/3 of a page, that’s gonna be my Page1 from now on. Its the first thing I notice & you have to open it to see what’s on the main page anyway, so to me it should be Page1.

Page1

Dozen Red River Farms Medium Eggs – 59¢ Limit 2

Pilgrim’s Pride Whole Chicken Fryers – 59¢/lb.

      Printable coupon here , good for 55¢ off any 1 Pilgrim’s Pride item

Hearth of Texas White Bread, Extra Thin or Large Loaf – 49¢ Limit 2

     I can’t even beat this price at the Outlet Bakery down the street!

Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, 18oz – $1.49, Limit 2

      There are several coupons out there, check the boxes to find a $1.00/1 peelie coupon.

Page2 (Main Page, behind the fold-over page)

73% Lean Ground Beef, Super Valu-Pak – 99¢/lb

      I haven’t seen this so cheap in ages, not even when its marked down to sell immediately!

Royal Gala Apples, Large Size – 79¢/lb

     My kiddos love fruit, so I’m always glad when fresh fruit is less than $1/lb, especially their favorite apples!

Red Baron Pizzas – $3

      $1 off 1 Red Baron Fire Baked Pizzas – only a good deal if these are the ones on sale

Red Baron Singles – $3

      75¢ off 1 Red Baron Singles – good deal if you have to take lunch to work & like these

      75¢ off 1 Red Baron French Bread – same as above

Food Club Green Beans, Corn, or Sweet Peas – 50¢

Food Club Skillet Creations – 79¢

      These are all right, don’t taste as good as Hamburger Helper but they work in a pinch.

Page3

Progresso Soups – $1.50

      Printable coupon here & here worth $1 off 3, or $1 off 2. There is also supposed to be some coupons in this Sunday’s paper too. I’m glad, Hubby needs more soup for the truck.

Velveeta Shells & Cheese or Kraft Deluxe Macaroni & Cheese – $1.50

      Some of these have peelies on them worth 55¢ off 1, that would make these a nice addition to a meatloaf dinner.

Select General Mills cereal – $2

      There are several $1 off 2 or 3 coupons out there, some printable some from the newspaper.

Maruchan Ramen – 17¢

Luzianne Family Tea Bags – $1.50

      There is a 60¢ off 1 coupon from the newspaper, make these less than $1 & we go through a ton of tea around here.

Page4

Mr Clean Magic Erasers Extra Power – $2.50

      $1 off 1 coupon from last Sunday’s P&G Brand Saver will make these $1.50 for a 2pk. If you have toddlers that like to color on walls, stock up now!!!

Edge Shave Gel – $1.99

      $1 off any 1 Edge Shave Gel from the Aug 2 newspaper. Cheap shaving cream for all the guys out there!

Skintimate Shave Gel – $1.99

      There’s also a $1 off any 1 Skintimate Shave gel for the ladies! Sweet deal for those of us who need some more shaving cream!

Q-Tips – $1.99

      $1 off 2, if you were lucky enough to get one in your Aug 2 newspaper, I wasn’t.

Page5 (Back Page)

Kiwi Fruit – 20¢

Food Club Cheese Cubes or Block – $1.50

And there you have it, all the good deals for this weeks United ad. It also happens to be my shopping list. LOL Hope this helps someone out there.

Just a general update for everyone… We’ve all been sick! First we had summer colds, then before we were all over those, we get a stomach bug! Can you say cranky kids?!?! Thankfully though, the stomach bug didn’t last too long so now all that’s left is the stubborn cold hold outs. Mainly the stuffy nose, draining sinuses, & cough/tickle at the back of your throat.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, school started for the girls last Monday. I had to take it easy the first week though because they still had colds. The stomach bug hit Thursday afternoon. So their first week of school was cut short but its ok. The little ones only do school work in the morning, 9 to 11 am. My oldest does her main subjects from 9 to 11 am, then again from 2 to 4 pm. Her curriculum is a bit odd. Reading isn’t done during the day, just after school & on the weekends. Spelling is weekends only, with a test on Monday. But the main subjects have enough reading during the day to make up for not doing Reading during the normal school hours I suppose.

The author of my oldest’s curriculum is working on a similar curriculum for preschool to elementary aged children. Starting in Jan, thats what the little ones will be doing. Right now their main work is learning to write (they are only 2 1/2 & 4 right now) and other basic things, like the calendar, money, time, etc. My 4-yr-old chose the first unit study they are doing & she chose dinosaurs… Of course, she calls them dragons, but the first one she saw was a T-Rex, so its understandable. Maybe after they do the whole unit, we’ll get Jurassic Park & watch a movie one afternoon.

I bet your wondering why the break from 11am to 2pm, that’s a combination lunch/cleaning/naptime break. LOL. Half the time, my oldest dozes off with the little ones, so its not counted towards her school work. I know I should make her stay up & do her work but she’s only 13, she’ll be dealing with the real world stuff soon enough!

I know its been awhile since I’ve posted anything about our debt reduction plan, but I have some good news about it. We have managed to pay off the loan from Hubby’s Dad. He wasn’t expecting it, but since I got a $4,000 child support payment last month, I went ahead & paid him. We had to be sneaky about it because he usually refuses being paid back. So Hubby decided that a good way to do sneak it to him was to put it in his Father’s Day card. Hubby’s mom agreed with Hubby, I thought it was a little corny but went along with it anyway. His dad was happy to have cash instead of some gift that didn’t have a lot of thought put into it.

We’ve also been paying extra on the car. Instead of $70/week, we were paying $75/week up until this month. This month I bumped it up to $100/week & the car should be paid off on the 25th. That’s paying the car off 2 months early. I know, not as good as some people can do but we are doing alot better than some people I know. After this month, I have to decide what I’m going to do with the monthly car payment money. Hubby wants to get him a pick-up truck to drive back & forth to work, while leaving me the care, but that’s not really feasible until I get my license. I think what I’m going to do is up the debt payments to $300/month & save the other $200/month towards a new truck. By the time I get my license, we should have enough to put a good amount down if not buy a truck out right.

Edited to Update 6/20: I called the car company today & got an updated balance. The payment from the 17th hasn’t cleared yet, but after that does we will owe less than $200 on the car. Woo hoo! We have less than a week till we own the car free & clear!