Donna Freedman

Go win these contests.

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I enter contests all the time, in real life and on the Internet. Sometimes I even win them.

Most recently it was for a prize I didn’t really need, but figured I could sell. The guy running the contest offered me the $250 cash equivalency. Right before the holidays, too. #christmasmiracle

Once you enter, you’re on their mailing lists for future contests. Lately I’ve been seeing a steady stream of gift cards for Amazon, Target, Walmart and other retailers.

A couple have been for computer and gaming items, from monitors to chairs. Again: Don’t need, but could gift (one of my nephews is a major gamer) or sell for a little extra cash.

Lately a lot of people could use a little extra cash. Thus I’ve decided to group together the contests I currently know about so that you can enter them, too. Even if you don’t shop at those retailers, you could sell the cards on the secondary market.

Here’s what I’ve currently got:

 

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Bonus earnings with the Fetch Rewards App.

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Recently a reader suggested I check out the Fetch Rewards app now that I’ve finally joined the 21st century by getting a smartphone.

At first I was skeptical, because DF and I simply don’t buy that much stuff.

Now I’m a believer, thanks to the 13,645 points in my account.

That translates to almost $14 worth of scrip at a slew of retailers and companies that provide entertainment, beauty, pet products, clothing, media, travel, spa experiences, office supplies, charitable donations, and even a prepaid Visa or Mastercard.

Full disclosure: Eight thousand of those points came from referrals. Which brings me to the point of this post:

From now through next Tuesday (March 24), the Fetch Rewards app is running a bonus campaign. For every person who decides to join using my referral code* (more on this below), I will get a whopping 4,000 points (instead of the usual 2,000 points).

But you’ll get something as well. Two somethings, in fact:

  • A 2,000-point welcome bonus when you successfully scan your first receipt, and
  • A referral code of your own to share – and if any of your family or friends joins, then you’ll get 4,000 points. Through next Tuesday, anyway, at which point it reverts to 2,000 points.

Here’s what you need to know.

 

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Free financial planning for those hurt by coronavirus.

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If you’ve been laid off, had to take unpaid leave or otherwise been hammered work-wise by the coronavirus, some bonafide money experts want to help.

Members of the XY Planning Network stand willing to help with cash-flow troubles and other issues that many U.S. workers are facing. (Or are already feeling.)

You’ll be able to get this help virtually, from the comfort of your own home. That means no problem finding someone in your area, or having to leave your school-canceled kids by themselves.

These folks are the real deal. I regularly reach out to XY for interviews for personal finance articles, and they’re invariably excited about helping people get control of their cash. #fellowbudgetingnerds

As the network’s name indicates, they specialize in helping members of Gen X and Gen Y. But basic money smarts apply across the board, especially when it comes to dealing with tough times.

Did I mention that it’s free?

 

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Coronavirus: An object lesson.

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This isn’t a post about or whether our country’s belated reaction to the coronavirus is in fact an overreaction. I’m not writing about whether or not we should self-isolate*,  or whether schools and public venues should have closed, or whether we’ve lost our collective damn mind in terms of toilet-paper hoarding.

I just want to point out that frugality (or intentional living, or whatever you want to call it) positions us to outlast both minor and major emergencies. Personally, I think that the coronavirus is both minor and major.

It’s minor (thus far, anyway) in that relatively few people are actually sick. If the epidemiologists are correct, “flattening the curve” may keep the medical system from being too overwhelmed to provide care for all.

It’s major in that many people’s livelihoods (both regular jobs and side hustles) are being hammered. When your finances are already chancy, losing a couple of weeks’ worth of work doesn’t just hurt – it might actually take you down.

Which brings us back to intentional living. If you were able to reduce/pay off your debt and build an emergency fund, then you are now better-equipped to handle the coronavirus troubles.

Facing reduced hours at work or even outright layoff because customers have disappeared? No longer able to pick up those extra 10 hours a week walking dogs or selling hot dogs at the basketball arena? Or maybe your job hasn’t gone away, but you now need to pay for weeks of childcare due to school closure.

That stinks, to be sure. It won’t be fun to use some (or all) of your EF to make up the difference. Instead, try thinking of it this way: I’m very glad I took the steps to build this cushion. And when this is over, I’ll get back to rebuilding.

 

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Moose on my phone.

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This particular moose was eating dried leaves from our clematis vine, which shows you just how nutrition-desperate Alaskan ungulates are at this time of year. Her nostrils were probably fewer than six inches away from me when I snapped the picture.

The amazing part isn’t the proximity, however. It’s the fact that if I call up the photo on my phone and press the image lightly, it starts to move.

And emit sound: I can hear the rustling of the clematis vine. All I can think of are the magic photos from the “Harry Potter” books.

(For the uninitiated: In the HP  universe, people in the photos can wave and smile.)

This moose wasn’t smiling, though. She eyed me narrowly and the hair on the back of her neck stood at attention. “This far, and no further, hooman.”

In other news: Yes, I finally got a smartphone. After years of using a dumbphone (pay-as-you-go flipper), I bit the bullet and joined the 21st century.

Frugally, of course.

 

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“The Walking Dead” and THAT SCENE.

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Spoiler alert: This post reveals crucial plot details from “The Walking Dead.” Read on at your own risk.

The Internet imploded last night with the winter opener of Season 10 of “The Walking Dead.” Not because a beloved character was killed (although two were put in dead-or-not?* peril), or because a villain got one over on the good guys (that had already happened, at the end of the fall season).

Much worse than that, apparently: Two arch villains (#NeganandAlpha) were shown about to have sex. Specifically, we were treated to a wide shot of the two, naked except for black socks, embracing in the woods.

Social media rang with screams of outrage:

“Whoever thought that last shot of Alpha and Negan would be a good idea should be fired.”

“My eyes. I will never recover.”

“And I thought the zombie in a well scene was nasty.”

“Negan and Alpha getting down and dirty was more disturbing and disgusting than Negan killing** Glenn.”

(The socks were mentioned, too, especially on the post-game wrapup on “The Talking Dead.” Hey, at least they weren’t wearing them with sandals.)

Here’s my admittedly biased theory: A bunch of these folks just can’t handle the idea of middle-aged, physically imperfect people getting it on. One Twitter commenter moaned, “It was like watching my parents have sex.”

Guess what, Kevin: Your parents probably do have sex. A lot of middle-aged (and older) people have sex.

And guess what again, Kevin: We’re probably better at it than you are.

 

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Found money 2019: Not a banner year.

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As found-money totals go, it was pretty dismal. The take was two $1 bills, seven quarters, 20 dimes, 7 nickels and 75 pennies, for a total of 6.85.

Last year’s total wasn’t much better: just $8.80.

Maybe it’s because people are using credit or debit to pay for their purchases. We’re not a cashless society just yet, but more and more people are opting for plastic. (Some people no longer carry any cash at all, which astounds me.)

Could be that people are experiencing personal economic downturns and thus picking up anything they drop – and anything that other people drop, too.

Or maybe I’m just not going out as much. In the past year I rarely walked to the post office due to weather (read: icy paths), busy-ness (not wanting to give up 40 minutes of a work day) or the fact that DF is now retired and makes a trip to the P.O. one of his daily chores.

I’ve found a lot less in Coinstar machines, too. Perhaps folks have wised up and are checking the coin slots when they run their change through – or perhaps other people have caught on and are checking the machine as they walk by.

 

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7 ways I know I’m not in Anchorage.

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Chief among them: Sidewalks. Sidewalks I can see!!! No snow, no ice, no worries about slipping and falling. No problem.

I’m in sunny Phoenix, visiting my daughter for a little over a week and I’m really starting to understand snowbirds – especially since it was below zero pretty much nonstop for most of January.

While the time difference is just two hours, it’s a big ol’ world away from not-so-warm-and-sunny* Anchorage, Alaska. And as usual, it’s a non-bacchanal visit:

I write. Love, love, love my work-at-home gig because it doesn’t matter whether it’s my home or someone else’s. Seriously: The flexibility of being able to visit Abby vs. having to request time off far outweighs the occasional self-employment hassle.

I visit friends, including Funny About Money, an old college pal who happened to be RVing in the area, and the blogger formerly** known as A Mom, Money and More.

I clean up*** a bit. She’s pretty much stayed ahead of the cleaning. Roomba + no dog and husband going in and out + no clutter thanks to the disappearance of said dog and husband = a place that’s much easier to keep tidy.

But I’ve got a few specific projects like mopping the floors, tightening loose doorknobs, and scooping the catbox. Speaking of which: I also plan to empty and scrub the box with vinegar and water, let it dry in the sun and refill it with some of the litter I helped her lug home the other day. Yeah, I party hard.

I hang out with my daughter. She also works at home, so sometimes the hangout is in the living room, both of us tapping away on our laptops. The rest of the time we’re either reading (occasionally sharing particularly well-written or funny stuff out loud) or viewing programs she thinks I’d like via Netflix and Hulu. It’s likely that I will watch more TV this trip than I would in a couple of months**** in Anchorage.

To some, all this might sound pretty dull. To us it’s pretty satisfying – and at this time of year, when I can go outside and use Nature’s S.A.D. light, it’s fairly great.

What are some of the other ways I know I’m not in Anchorage any more? So glad you asked:

 

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A blogger at rest.

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(Surviving and Thriving has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Surviving and Thriving and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses and recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.)

It’s been a while. A really long while. I wish I could say that I’ve been off saving the world, or crafting a best-selling novel, or doing anything else that might justify a 33-day vacation from posting here.

What’s actually been happening is a mix of the usual reasons (holidays, winter challenges, the chance to do extra work) plus an end-of-life situation affecting a family member (and, to some extent, me).

The cumulative impact was that my off-duty writing slowed to a trickle (18 posts in three months) and ultimately stalled.

The longer I didn’t write, the more anxious I became that:

  • I’d run out of things to say, and
  • That I’d need to come up with a super-skookum topic in order to justify the lengthening absence.

Which, of course, led to performance anxiety. I can’t think of anything interesting to write about my own life, and no money-related topics are speaking to me right now.

To paraphrase Newton’s first law of motion, a blogger at rest tends to stay at rest unless it’s acted upon by an outside force. In my case, a pair of forces finally came into play:

My own conscience, and

Comments from readers, both here and on my daughter’s site.

 

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National Bacon Day giveaway.

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(As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This revenue helps keep the blog lights on.)

Apparently today is National Bacon Day. If you were to ask DF, he would likely insist that every day is National Bacon Day. (He eats a lot of the stuff.)

Some people believe that bacon is bad for you. It probably is. But if you need a reason to believe in bacon, check out this interesting factoid from National Today:

Bacon contains a nutrient (we know, we’re surprised too) called “choline.” It’s been known to increase intelligence and memory, fight Alzheimer’s Disease, and protect the heart from developing lethal problems.

We never thought our favorite food could get any better, but then we learn about its health benefits. Thank you, bacon; you’re the gift that keeps on giving.

I’ve been collecting porcine prizes for just such an occasion. The winner of the National Bacon Day giveaway will receive the following delights:

Makin’ Bacon game. This is touted as “a delicious dice game for the whole family.” I’ll let the winner be the judge.

Wooden sign. It says “Bacon is duct tape for the kitchen.” Agreed!

Bacon Strips Adhesive Bandages. Yes. Someone invented Bacon Band-Aids.

 

 

“I Love Bacon,” by Jayne Rockmill. This cookbook has recipes for every meal of the day, and also for desserts. (My dear partner, who has been known to make Peanut Butter and Bacon Cookies and Bacon-Molasses-Cayenne Peanut Brittle, approved this message.)

Bacon Bowls. According to the packaging, these dishwasher-safe items let you make “delicious edible bowls out of bacon!” They can be used in the microwave, toaster oven or regular oven.

 

 

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