On Social Expectations and Set-Backs

Well, I've experienced a bit of a setback.

First, I spilled a drink on my keyboard. I had to buy a replacement. $11, but I'm not counting it since it's necessary.

Second, I've had a lot of social obligations lately. I purchased $68.35 worth of gifts this week, for a friend who is getting married, a relative who just moved, and a friend who is having a baby (not the one who is getting married).

And then yesterday I had lunch out with friends and dinner out with family. $15.73

On top of that, I purchased three Lorac lip glosses for $9 total from Haute Look (free shipping). I did this before any of the above spending happened. Really, I was trying to get ahead of the game for the holiday season. I also bought a $3 12-pack of Pepsi Throw-Backs.

So if you're with me, that's $96.08!

I'm so depressed. I pretty much know that this month is going to end in the red. I'm going to work my tush off to make up the deficit and be back in the black during November.

While cleaning my room, I found

...this really, really cool lunch bag from Annie's!

I'm super organized!

I totally forgot that I even got this in the mail in September. It's free from Annie's and Kids Konserve and you can get it here. You'll need two UPC codes from two qualifying Annie's products. I bought mine at BigLots. (One of my huge guilty pleasures is Annie's Mac N Cheese. Yum!)

And by total coincidence, my bento box actually fits in it perfectly.

I got my Ruelala makeup today!!!

Woot!

I'm so excited! I mean, I'm not a huge makeup person, but free is free! Hmm.... I wonder if I could resell these... or regift them.

I also got my 288 Lipton decaf tea bags. This shipment cost me $1.57 after subscribe and save (six months so I can cancel it) and my $10 viewpoints gift card. Tea is NOT an item I have to keep track of, but I wanted to share how cheap it was.

(I have a year of free prime because I signed up with my .edu email.)

When trading in for swagbucks, think inside-out the box

So today, I traded in my old iPod nano 2nd gen for 278 swag bucks. I was going to buy a box or padded mailer but then I remembered this post from Lifehacker.

According to Lifehacker, you start by opening the box. I also removed the sticker with the serial number for my blackberry. Don't want that floating around out there...

And then you put it back together inside-out, so that all the branding faces inward.

I decided to use crumpled newspaper as my padding, so I put my old iPod, the USB cable, and the headphones in a plastic bag so they wouldn't get all inky and possibly reduce the amount of swag bucks I actually get when it's traded in.

And then supervisory kitty reminded me that I needed to include a copy of my invoice inside the packaging! Thanks, Foxy!

Finally, I taped up the box and taped on the prepaid postage thingie I printed out at my Uni.

Now, if I could just convince my cat that I need to mail it......

Thanks, Swag Bucks and Life Hacker, for helping me recycle while I recycle. Hey, why does that sound like a bad Yo Dawg joke?

I think I'm getting it....

This week, I spent $2.86 so far! I bought a ready-made Starbucks frappuccino ($2.06) and a candy bar from the vending machine at school ($0.80).

The whole bento lunch thing seems to be working. Today I had fried rice (I made it myself) with a Dr. Zevia, yesterday I had a turkey and cheese sandwich with carrot sticks and grapes and a Dr. Zevia, and Monday I had lentil stew and rice with a Dr. Zevia.

Made with my pressure cooker

Who knows what tomorrow will bring! (Besides more Zevia....)

Ruelala update

I signed up for Ruelala, and at first I was skeptical. My $20 credit didn't seem like it would go far, especially since Ruelala charges $9.95 for shipping.

And then I found this item: Laura Geller Eyeshadow. It was $9.90 which means my $20 credit covered my item AND my shipping and handling. I even have a $0.15 credit left over!

Copyright Ruelala.com

I am sooo excited. I got something free from Ruelala which I will regift during the holiday season.

You can get your $20 credit if you sign up by tomorrow.

Blujay -- like eBay except it doesn't suck

I started hating eBay the first time I posted something for sale back in 2003. Oh sure, I loved making money on the side, but I hated listing items. The process gave me a headache. And the fees... don't get me started about the fees!

So today I stumbled upon a site called Blujay. On blujay everything is free (except the paypal/google checkout fees) -- free to list, free to buy, free to sell.

I'm starting with my jewelry (mostly costume) that I've accumulated over the years. Take a gander and let me know what you think. Or better yet, buy something and support my project. I'd really like to buy a new pair of shoes this month...

Click this link to go to my Blujay storefront.

Weekly totals 10/22/10

Here are my earnings for the week:

Swagbucks: $10

mobilExpressions: $5

Viewpoints: $10
Total income: $25

Last week's rollover balance: $31

Breakdown of "fun money" I spent:
$12.40 at Whole Foods on Zevia
$2 on Mamapedia for a $5 starbucks gift card
$7.55 at Starbucks
$7.41 at Chik-fil-A
$21.25 for my BENTO BOX!!!!

Remainder: $5.39

About my bento box....

I spent 12 days deliberating about buying a bento box. My concerns were:

• the cost
• would I use it
• what is the right size for me
• would it be BPA free
• would it be microwave safe

I focused on would I use it first and foremost. I started packing my lunch in one of those rectangular "single use" plastic food containers, kind of bento style. I found that, on days when I packed my ghetto bento, I was more likely to skip fast food and eat what I had prepared.

cloth cover that came with my bento

I mean, there's just something cool about opening a box of food that I've designed special for myself. And yeah, I know I could have done that (and did do that) without a proper bento box, but I decided to go ahead and get it.

The good news is, I found a bento box on Amazon that is the right size for me (650 mL - I don't need a big lunch), BPA free, and microwave safe.

And it was significantly cheaper than the bento I originally wanted. I spent around $22 on it (thank you Amazon gift certificates). Plus, the bento I originally wanted is too much bento for me.

So there you have it. I'll post my creative bento lunches that involve creative repurposing of leftovers from time to time.

$20 for you, $10 for me

RueLaLa has a special: join and get $20 in your account. The cheapest thing I found in their store is $15 but the boutiques are always changing so you'll never know what you'll find.

I've never bought anything from RueLaLa, but if I have enough fun money when I am credited my $20 I will probably buy a piece of clothing. I haven't bought any new clothes since I started this project. Oh, the horrors!

My first bento box lunch!

...with a Zevia, of course.

The pickle is dil

I didn't buy anything extraneous for this bento. You're looking at a grilled turkey-and-cheese sandwich cut into thirds, some sour cream and onion chips, a side of loquats, a dill pickle "oval" cut into a heart, and a Dr. Zevia.

It was fun to eat and I felt satisfied but not full.

mobilExpression $5 Amazon gift card

I signed up for mobilExpression last week, and earned $3.00 from Inbox Dollars (which I've yet to count because I don't have that money in hand yet).

Kulo T, sxc.hu

But unlike other Inbox Dollars offers, I got a $5 Amazon gift card just from installing the software on my phone. Also, I get $0.50 a month for the next two months from Inbox Dollars if my mobilExpression account remains active.

So if you're keeping track, that's up to $9 just for having software on my crackberry. Sweet!

My dirty little secret...

Part of being a Spoiled American means not appreciating what I already have.

egads!

Now that I have a good system down for cutting out unnecessary clutter (unless I go out and earn the money), I need to focus on taking care of what I have.

My grandmother never left anything messy like this. She grew up during the Great Depression, where stuff just wasn't available. I have the opposite problem. I am drowning in stuff. To make matters worse, I live with my dad and step-mom, so I only have a tiny bedroom. Not that I'm complaining, it's just that I have more stuff than can fit in here comfortably.

My next step is to take care of the stuff I own, and get rid of my extra stuff. Now that I appreciate how much it costs to buy new things, this shouldn't be "one thing out the door, two more in" situation.

Look for weekly clutter updates. I'm again heading into uncharted territory, so please give me feedback...

$5 Starbucks giftcard for $2

I just bought a $5 Starbucks giftcard for $2! That will certainly help me stretch my money....

I don't know why I'm addicted to Starbucks.

Chuck Reynolds, sxc.hu

You can get a $5 Starbucks giftcard, too. Click here and pay $2. You can also donate 5% of your $2 to a local school. I don't have kids so I picked a local school at random.

Also, don't forget to register your Starbucks giftcard online to get free upgrades (soy milk, extra flavors, etc).

Weekly totals 10/15/2010

Here are my earnings for the week:

Swagbucks: $25

Associated Content: $8.78

Triond: $1.38

uPromise: $24.71

Misc:

Total earnings: $59.87

Here are my splurges:
Throwback Mtn Dew, $1.08
Taco bell, $5.24
Starbucks, $7.44
Sonic, $3.93
HCW, $1.54 (purchased some mail in rebates and coupons)
Membership, $4.56
Calling card, $5.00 (my little brother is in the UK and it's cheaper to call this way)

Total spent: $28.79

Total remaining (less 8 cents from last week's overage):  $31

Not bad, not bad at all!

It's all about the routine?

Ivan Prole, sxc.hu

This morning, my routine was all out of whack. I woke up and instead of doing my ritual black seed oil - drink water - shower - eat breakfast - brush teeth - check email - pack bag - make lunch - leave, I loafed around on the internet.

And then I looked up, realized I wouldn't have time to take a proper shower OR make my lunch if I wanted to make my first lecture.

Crap.

So I ate Taco Bell for lunch, wasting $5.24.

I've really got to work on my morning routine. I could have put that $5.24 towards a new pair of shoes or something!

So far so good...

This week, I spent $1.08 after tax on a 20 ounce throwback of Mountain Dew.

Wewt~

That's it, at least so far!

Oh, and today, for some weird reason I decided to come home and COOK because I was hungry after my lecture finished.

Uhhh... I didn't have any knee-jerk reaction about fast food. I just decided coming home and cooking would be the logical thing to do.

Weird....

And on top of that, I made carrots from scratch. Yes, that's right. I had four carrots that weren't quite at that rubber stage, so I washed and peeled them, sliced them, and cooked them on the stove. Oh, and I made rice. I mean real rice, not instant rice.

It's not that I don't know how to cook, or that I dislike cooking. I just never did it before unless I felt like cooking. And it wasn't that I felt like cooking today, I was hungry and didn't want to tap into my free money.

My Zevia Addiction is Costly...

Well, here we go. First official crisis of my project.

No, it's not a real crisis. It's a crisis only an American would have.

I'm out of Zevia.

Nooooo!!!!

That's right, I'm out of my $1 a serving diet soda made from Stevia, an all natural, calorie free sugar substitute. (Gee, I haven't bought into the entire concept of this soda. Not at all. /rollseyes)

I love Zevia. I love its taste, its lack of aftertaste, and the fact that the caffeine in it is derived from coffee. How cool is that?

Yeah, it's official. I'm spoiled.

So far this week I've earned a little over $16. Do I go buy Zevia and essentially wipe out all my earnings for this week? Do I find an alternative? Or do I just throw a virtual temper tantrum...

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!

Weekly totals 10/8/2010

Here are my earnings for the week:

Swagbucks: $10.00

Associated Content: $12.15

Soap.com: $43.96

Misc: $27 (rolled coin)

Total amount of "fun money" available: $93.11

Breakdown of "fun money" I spent:
$19.57 spent at Whole Foods
$0.80 spent at vending machine at college (forgot to pack my snack)
$2.39 at Sonic for 2 cokes
$58.99 for a new bag for school.
$11.44 on fast food

Remainder:

I'm in the hole 8 cents..... wow.

Well, I guess that's not bad for the first week. Let's see if I can do better this week. Oh look, a dime.....

Hey, big spender....

I bought a new messenger bag for school. I know, I know...

My previous bag was too small to carry my laptop. And my laptop isn't ridiculously huge or anything, it's just that my bag is ridiculously small. I felt weird walking around carrying my laptop, like I was a walking target.

So I bought a Sherpani Flora Major. I shopped around and found the best price, even though it meant buying a color that I don't like. By doing this I saved a significant account of money.

I bought it from Amazon.com for $58.99 with free two-day shipping since I have the free Prime membership as an Amazon Student. Macy's had it for $69.99 + $12.50 shipping, and after cash back by using upromise and a free $10/$50 coupon, it still would have cost $70.49! So I think I did pretty good.

Still, this just about wipes out all my earnings so far this month. I did debate about counting it as a necessary school purchase, but it's not necessary. I could have kept carrying  my laptop.

I want a bento box!!!!

I want one I want one I want one I want one I want one I want one I want one...

Hey, calm down. You don't need one. Remem-

I WANT A BENTO BOX!!!

The bento box you want is $28 before shipping!  Where are you going to get that kind of money? You've made $43 and some change so far this week, and you've already spent $19 of it. That leaves $24, and I doubt that's the only thing you'll want this month.


But if I have one my lunch will be perfect and I'll have everything in the same container and I'll be so cool and people will be envious of my lunch and...


And you'll pay for it, how?


...can't we just not tell anyone about this?


Uh huh. And then what? You'll have absolutely no incentive to be honest after this. After all, you done fooled everyone once.




I'll be honest.


Liar.


...


Do the right thing.



Man, this sucks.



You are spoiled.

Fast Food Junkie

Ugh, I hate PMS.  Today I spent:

$2 at a bake sale at college
$3.32 on coffee at college
$6.12 on taco bell for a late lunch after college.

That's $11.44 on a small amount of food!  Meh....

Chicken and rice

wikimedia commons

Tonight I made chicken and rice with the following ingredients:

4 chicken thighs, bone-in
1 can chicken and mushroom soup
1 can water
1 cup rice
salt and pepper to taste

Bake at 300 F for 1 hour 15 minutes.

I'm not counting the price of foods that I cook, but four meals for under $4 (not including the price of the vegetable sides) is pretty good.

Sonic happy hour

Today I went for a drive with my dad, and I treated us to Sonic drinks. Two large cherry vanilla cokes - $2.39.

Whole Foods confession

wikimedia commons

I bought these items on September 30, because that was the deadline for my mail in rebate. I'm still going to count them as this week, because I bought them with the intent of using them for this project:

2 pounds ground beef ($5.49/lb) - $11.31 after tax
2 six packs of Zevia soda ($3.99/ea) - $8.26 after tax

Total deducted from my earnings this week: $19.57

HOWEVER, I won several mail in rebates from a RAOK at Hot Coupon World. I should receive a $6 mail in rebate from the beef listed above, a $10 mail in rebate on some frozen veggies I bought (not single serve), and a $5 rebate I'll get on chips (not single serve).

I divided the ground beef into 8 quarter-pound patties and froze them in packs of two. The price per patty is $1.41 before rebate, $0.72 after.

Whoo hoo! My soap.com order came in

I've been with soap.com since they were 1-800-diapers, and I get a lot of referrals each month. You can get referrals too. Just make your first order (and be sure to use coupon code 10OFF49 if you spend $49 or more so I get credit, too) and then set up your own unique referral code. You'll also get 15% off your first order, and free two-day shipping.

I "purchased" some essentials from soap.com on the first, right after I decided to do this. Here is what I got:

Nature's Gate Henna Shine Enhancing Conditioner ($6.29)
Nature's Gate Velvet Moisture Body Wash ($7.49)
Method Daily Shower Refill ($6.49)
Crest Glide Floss - Mint ($4.15)
Seventh Generation Ultrathin Pads, Overnight ($4.29)
Seventh Generation Ultrathin Pads, Regular ($4.29)
Seventh Generation Laundry Detergent x 2 ($10.96)

Total credits used: $43.96

$43.96 added to my "non-essential allowance".

Woo hoo!

Ugh, this commercial is hideous!

Seriously, man. Watch this:




So the guy loses his job. He passes by a homeless man (who wants dog food?) and doesn't give him money. Yeah, OK, I can understand that.

Then he goes into a coffee shop and buys a coffee WITH HIS DISCOVER CARD. Uhh, dude, you just lost your job. Then he goes home, gets a call informing him he won a million dollars (presumably for buying that coffee), and within a few minutes receives a shiny metal briefcase via a courier containing $1 million dollars in $100 bills.

He then gives origami-folded Benjamins to tons of people and starts his own Philanthropic business.

What's wrong with this commercial? It encourages people to not change spending habits after a life-changing event. Don't worry, you, too, can win $1 million dollars and then you won't have a care in the world.

We don't see the reality in this commercial. For example:

• The guy immediately wins $1 million dollars after being laid off
• We don't see his credit card statement, nor do we know how much money he owes
• We don't see a real emotional response from him in regards to being laid off
• He doesn't have to deal with paying taxes on his money
• He doesn't have to wait for his money
• He doesn't have any of the headaches that come with winning money (i.e. relatives wanting handouts)
• The homeless guy doesn't have real problems besides not being able to feed his dog
• Oh, and one of the guys who got $100 dollars uses it to buy roses and win his true love

Puhlease!

Of course, I guess they couldn't make the REALITY into a commercial, because it would look like this:

The guy loses his job. He passes by a homeless man and doesn't give him money, all the while avoiding eye contact.

Then he goes into a coffee shop and buys a coffee WITH HIS DISCOVER CARD. He proceeds to ignore the reality of his situation and starts charging everything. Eventually, he can't even answer his home phone because bill collectors won't stop calling him.

He finally gets a part time job that's way below his experience and education, and files for bankruptcy after he pays his attorney the upfront fee.

Dang it...

I lost my steel water bottle
.
Man I'm so bummed. I had that thing for less than three months. It was beautiful.

Usually, I would use this experience to justify going out and buying an expensive, more beautiful replacement. I'm spoiled, remember? I did think about it. After all, if I can't buy single-serve water, how will I survive all day?

I lamented to my step-mom about my situation. She produced a steel water bottle that she never uses. It's nowhere near as sexy as my old one, but it works.

The spoiled brat in me is throwing a fit.

The scientist in me (the one that is conducting this experiment) is quite pleased with my ability to swallow my pride and use a second-hand water bottle.