I haven't made much "income" lately...

but I have earned a lot of credits on sample sale sites.

I've earned $10 on Rue La La, $30 on Hautelook, and about $7 on The Foundary.

Well, I guess this will help me get through the holiday season...

Thank you to everyone who signed up for these websites. I sincerely appreciate it.

I turned $2 into $5....

I got my mamapedia $5 starbucks gift card in the mail today!

Hooray!

I can't wait to get a peppermint mocha...

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?

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

$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!

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!

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!

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.....

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!

What is the Spoiled American Project?

I was sitting around one day, upset that I live paycheck to paycheck. There's really no reason for me to do this. I have enough money each month to live comfortably, but I got used to buying whatever I wanted. Of course, that was before divorce and the recession.

http://freerangestock.com

The problem is, I keep spending as if I have the same amount of disposable income. Some months are fine. Some months, I use my credit card. Right now, I have around $1900 on my credit card. I also owe around $9000 on my car. But I'm sick of debt. I'm sick of spending money mindlessly. I'm sick of equating happiness with things.





So this is my project:

• All money from my primary source of income (VA disability and the post-911 GI bill) will only be used for essentials.
• If I want anything else, I must pay for it out of some sort of secondary income, i.e. a part time job, freelance writing, Swagbucks, uPromise, etc.

This is how I define essentials. I know it's going to seem extravagant, but I'm a spoiled American. I consider certain things necessary that really aren't required for my life to continue:

• Rent
• Anything associated with maintaining my automobile: I live in Arkansas and there is no way possible I can use the public transportation system here. It's not feasible at all. If I were in Seattle, D.C., or New York, I would use public transportation.
• Anything required for my education
• Any healthcare expenses
• Food: this is limited to food I can buy at the grocery store, excluding luxury items like gourmet cheeses, meat over $3/pound, single-serving packages, TV dinners and the like, and ready-to-eat foods.
• Household cleaning supplies that I actually use (and I know the ones I do use)
• Health and beauty items that I actually use. I don't wear perfume or cosmetics, and I don't dye my hair, so I don't count these at all.
• Clothing - but only IF I need to replace something I already have that is not fit to wear.

YOU can help me by cheering me up, giving me feedback, or using any of my referral links to make purchases or earn money yourself. If you want to join me, feel free. You can make changes as you deem necessary. I don't copyright ideas.