My 2022 Challenge

Want to up your frugal game? Join one of our challenges.
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: My 2022 Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

It has been a while. My health has not been the greatest and I get tired easily. Due to the cold weather my Budget Billing for electric is around $500.00 behind. Yikes! Last night the weather dude said we had colder weather than normal in Jan and Feb. Yesterday and today have been delightful. We are supposed to hit 81 F. I am taking advantage of the lovely weather and washed throws and Teddi's bedding yesterday and my sheets today and hung them on the clotheslines in the garage. Tomorrow will be a little bit chilly around 61 F. so I will wash a few more things to hang on the clotheslines in the garage.

I have been doing surveys for the Univ of Phoenix for almost 2 years. Initially it was supposed to be for one year but now it is into the second year. Usually, they would occasionally send me a survey and my incentives were a $10.00 gift card for Amazon. They really did come in handy. This year they changed the incentive to $15.00. It basically covers my occasional subscribe and save from Amazon. Then a few weeks ago they asked me to become a member of the Advisory Board Panel. Which will involve monthly surreys. I made $30.00 in Feb! I am plugging along daily doing things on a couple of other sites BING and Inbox Dollars. I have been requesting Walmart gift cards and I used them partially towards buying things through Walmart Curbside pickup. My goal is to start to use gift cards for all grocery shopping. Also, I do surveys for Pine Cone Research and they always give me $3.00. I am requesting Walmart Gift cards there as well. The thing is they have changed their payout system and it hard to receive my gift card. If they do not fix it soon, I am going to stop working on their surveys.

My aide has been so good about bringing me clothes that she or a couple of her other clients no longer want. Except for shoes and underwear, I am good for a very long time. Some things I was not interested in, so I donated them to a charity.

Tomorrow, I have a curbside pickup at Walmart, and it is completely paid for with cash back from one of my credit cards and a $10.00 Walmart gift card. The goal is to try to buy food without using my cash and to make what I need from scratch here at home.

Teddi is doing ok. I still have to bake him a pork roast every few days. I cut all of the little bits of meat off of the fat and save them to make myself a BBQ sandwich. It is just enough to make one sandwich.

I hope to post more often and keep a better record of what I am doing.
Janet Alliesmama
HappyDaze
Posts: 4186
Joined: Tue Oct 15, 2019 11:11 am

Re: My 2022 Challenge

Post by HappyDaze »

Janet, I am very sorry you're not feeling well. I'm sure the extreme cold of the past couple of months has not helped.

My utility bill more than doubled - DD's share shocked her and "my share" was still far more than I would have paid if it was just me in the house.

Sounds like you are more than busy with surveys. Do you ever find them tedious/tiring? I sure do, but when I get free groceries, it's worth it.

Take care and do check in when you can.
"All his life he tried to be a good person. Many times, however, he failed. After all, he was only human. He wasn't a dog."

Charles M. Schultz
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: My 2022 Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

HappyDaze wrote: Wed Mar 02, 2022 6:41 pm Janet, I am very sorry you're not feeling well. I'm sure the extreme cold of the past couple of months has not helped.

My utility bill more than doubled - DD's share shocked her and "my share" was still far more than I would have paid if it was just me in the house.

Sounds like you are more than busy with surveys. Do you ever find them tedious/tiring? I sure do, but when I get free groceries, it's worth it.

Take care and do check in when you can.

I find the surveys mind numbing! However, I work at what I can to get the benefit of the extra money.

I am looking forward to the Spring whereby I can save more on the utility bill.
Janet Alliesmama
HappyDaze
Posts: 4186
Joined: Tue Oct 15, 2019 11:11 am

Re: My 2022 Challenge

Post by HappyDaze »

Have you signed up for the P&G survey site? The surveys are pretty quick and easy.
"All his life he tried to be a good person. Many times, however, he failed. After all, he was only human. He wasn't a dog."

Charles M. Schultz
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: My 2022 Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

HappyDaze wrote: Thu Mar 03, 2022 4:50 am Have you signed up for the P&G survey site? The surveys are pretty quick and easy.
No, I will have to look into it.
Janet Alliesmama
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: My 2022 Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

Since I am $500.00 behind on my budget billing for my electric I paid extra for this past month. I have been turning my furnace off at night. It was 59 F this morning. I ran one cycle to bring it up to 64 F then turned if off all day.

Today and a few days ago it was really nice. I even hung things on the clotheslines in my garage the other day. It went up to 78 F today which is unusual for where I live in the Midwest. The wind has been howling all day with wind gusts up to around 30 to 40 mph. I enjoyed leaving the doors and windows open. A nice hint of Spring. However, by the end of next week there is a chance of snow. March is our transitional month from Winter to Spring so it can be up and down from day to day.

I did great the other day with my curbside order from Walmart. I had $31.11 in cash back from my Walmart credit card and I combined it with a $10.00 Gift card that I earned elsewhere. The original cost was supposed to be around $42.00 but after they weighed the produce and Teddi's pork roast it came down to around $35.11. So, I still have money left on my gift card for my next Walmart purchase. I had planned on trying to just use gift cards to buy groceries, but I have a $5.00 off of $35.00 coupon for Ruler. I have been going back and forth on whether or not to use it and just be content with what I have. Then after hearing the news tonight, I decided to use the coupon. The increase cost of gas due to the war in Ukraine is going to keep affecting the cost of gas. They said the cost of gas is going to affect the cost of transporting our food and other goods so things will be going up in that area as well. The cost has not even started to trickle down yet but here is an eye opener. I read an article a while back regarding some things that might be in short supply and the cost would be going up. One of them was Mayonnaise. I bought a couple of extra jars over time. The price had been holding steady at Walmart around $3.77 for 30 oz. In the last couple of weeks, it has gone up to $4.88! That is just one item. My fridge freezer is stuffed so I will primarily be buying canned goods for the long haul. I belong to a CSA farm and the first week of May I can start to pick things up from there. Anything I pick myself is free. I am not able to do a lot, but a few things here and there will help to stretch anything I have in the house.

I forgot to mention that a month ago Walmart accidently gave me someone else's battery-operated toothbrush. I get to keep it and it is free. I try to keep nuts in the house for health reasons. My last order from Nuts.com came with a free one-pound bag of chocolate covered strawberries. The strawberries are dried. They were ok but not something I would order. Still, it would have cost $10.00 if I had ordered it. However, there is no way I need a pound of candy of any kind, so I gave my aide half.

God bless and help the people of Ukraine. I pray for them many times a day. I cannot imagine what they are going through.
Janet Alliesmama
Post Reply