Checking In With Checkpoints

Have you heard of Checkpoints? Basically its an app that pays you for "checking in" your location. It is available for iPhone and Droid. The way it works is.... you download the app (please feel free to use the my bonus code ltjacobs704 to get extra points for signing up, and then check in at different locations where you happen to be. You earn points for every check in! Depending on where you are, you usually earn 2+ points per check in. However, the grocery store is where you really rack up!

I ran into Publix today, and ended up getting 100 points --- 2 for the "check-in", then another 98 for scanning different  featured products (and I would have scanned more, but it was a quick trip and I was short on time). So far, I've earned the equivalent of a $1 Amazon gift card and I just downloaded the app last Friday. Over time, that might really help to supplement my Swagbucks earnings that I'm racking up to put a dent in the Christmas budget!

Today's casualties....

Whenever possible, I tend to come home for lunch. It gives Thing 1 & Thing 2 a chance to romp in the yard a bit, and it removes the temptation for making a quick trip through the drive through. It's a win win for me.

So today, I come home at lunch and Thing 2 is hiding under the buffet so I KNOW something is up. (She tends to hide under there when she knows she's in trouble) Anyway, a quick scan of the living room revealed two completely empty bags of Milk Bone Soft & Chew Snacks and two empty packs of Pedigree Dentastix. Apparently, I had not completely closed the cabinet where I keep those very well so Thing 2 just helped herself. Lovely. And I don't think she shared a single bit of it with Thing 1.

Good thing for Thing 2 I got all of those for free combining sales and coupons! But I think it might be time to childproof my cabinets.

Wasted Day

I feel completely icky. The crud that Princess Penelope had all last week, has now been transferred to me. Joy. I have pretty much spent the day altering between the bed and the couch. I have managed to get nothing accomplished. I had massive plans for getting stuff done today, including cleaning the house top to bottom and mowing the lawn.

Solid rain all day yesterday and last night made the planned grass cutting impossible. The yard is just still too wet. But the rain shouldn't have prevented getting inside work done. The crud rendered that goal unattainable.

It is frustrating to have SO much that needs to be done and to know that none of it is getting done! So, instead of dwelling on it, I think I will head to bed, and hope to wake up feeling much, much better.

Busy weekend ahead....

Since I got off of work at 5 this evening, I have so far, gotten my hair cut, made a run to the drugstore, done three loads of laundry and cooked dinner. Normally, I do laundry on Saturdays, but Princess Penelope is leaving bright and early to head up to the mountains in Tennessee with her Dad, Stepmom and her brothers. Hence, the laundry tonight.

The rest of the weekend will be spent getting training for my new side job and then attending Weim & Cheese, a benefit for Weimaraner Rescue of the South. Thing 2 is a weimaraner, and while she's not a rescue, it is a cause near and dear to my heart. I mean, seriously, how can you resist a precious pup like this:

 So tomorrow evening, my sister, my dear friend and I will have a girls night. This is an event we plan for every year and always, always have a blast. I can hardly wait.

Sunday, will be yard and housework. My grass desperately needs cutting. It is supposed to rain tomorrow, but I think Sunday should be clear I hope so. And the house kind of looks like a small tornado went through. TONS to do this weekend, I may have to go back to work just to get some rest! :-)

Not Quite as Much of a Budget Buster

For the past two months I've been gnashing my teeth over the ridiculously high natural gas bills. Basically, my budget is set up to handle $200 in combined power/natural gas costs. On average this is generally enough to plan each month to cover those two bills, except for the months of August and January. During these two months we generally see either extreme cold or extreme heat --- the cold bumps up the natural gas and the heat bumps up the power.

The past two months, the gas bills have exceeded my budget by $97 and $87. I received the new bill today. Still over budget, but this time by only $17! A much more manageable number! I'm thinking that the power should be lower than it has been so there is still a possibility that I could actually come in at or under budget for utilities this month!

Hooray for early spring temperatures! Yippee for open windows! Whoo hoo for utility bills that don't make me slightly nauseous!!!!!

Whopping Wednesday!

During my lunch break today, I ran to Publix specifically for some of the can't miss deals. Previous experience has taught me that when Milkbones go BOGO, the shelves get cleared quickly so I wanted (needed) to take advantage of the Milkbone deal since Thing 1 and Thing 2 go through them like they were cookies hot from the oven! We were also out of Crystal Light. Granted, I didn't buy a huge amount of stuff, but for what I did buy, I saved a TON. This was a "deals only" trip!

I bought:

4 boxes of Milkbone Dog Treats
2 bags Milkbone Soft & Chewy
4 cans Crystal Light
2 Hormel Compleats meals
1 Juicy Juice (penny item)

I spent $13.39 (including tax), saved $33.78 for an overall 72% savings! I will have to buy "read food" at some point this weekend, but I was VERY happy with this quick trip!

Phew! Glad That's Over!

February. The month of the budget meltdown. Really, really happy to put that behind me. So, onto a new month. Onto March. I've got a fresh perspective, a renewed energy and I'm ready to attack that budget with a vengeance!

I've planned for the ACT test fees, extra gas to get Princess Penelope to her Dad's, boarding the pups when I'm traveling for work. I think I've anticipated what we'll need.

So here's hoping.