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COVID hack: Use rewards points.

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According to a recent report from Bankrate.com, about one in three rewards credit cards holders did not cash in any rewards points in 2020.

That’s not surprising, given how many people save their points for air travel. Not much of that last year; only 11 percent of the 2,449 cardholders surveyed cashed in for flights.

On the other hand, 30 percent of those surveyed redeemed points big-time, to the tune of $300 or more worth of gift cards or actual spending cash.

When times are good, rewards points are a savvy consumer’s way of getting the most bang for the buck. And when times are not so good? That $300 cash-in can be a fine budget-booster.

“You could use it to defray big expenses or for small, everyday items to make your life better,” says Ted Rossman, a credit card analyst at Bankrate.com.

To paraphrase the credit card commercial, “What’s in your (virtual) wallet?” That is, what kinds of rewards points are languishing, rather than being given something to do? 

 

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Giveaway: Aliy Zirkle “dog fan.”

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For years – long before I had the chance to interview her – I’d hoped that Aliy Zirkle and her team would win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. She always struck me as a strong-willed, big-hearted woman who was passionate about dogs and the Alaska wilderness.

Zirkle lives in Two Rivers, Alaska, where sled dogs outnumber human beings four to one. She’s done either the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race (1,000 miles) or the Iditarod (1,049 miles) every year since 1998. She’s never had to scratch, and won the Yukon Quest in 2000. Since then Zirkle, now 50, has focused on the Iditarod, and has come in second place three years in a row.

And after I got the chance to chat for a freelance piece*, I liked her even more. That’s because Zirkle is…frugal!

She and her husband, Allen Moore, are both savers, not spenders. Their bed is 20 years old and the couch is 12 years old. They don’t have high-tech electronics. If they earn less than expected in a given year, they put off nonessential purchases or upgrades rather than take on debt.

It’s all about their mushing buddies, whose care runs the couple $700 to $1,000 per year per dog on average. (They’ve got 40 of them, and they never sell dogs, even after they’ve stopped. Instead, they become retirees – and pets.)

The musher recently shocked Alaska sled-dog racing fans by announcing her impending retirement. The 2021 Iditarod – her 21st running – will be not just her last, but her swan song to mushing altogether.

Shucks.

One of my holiday gifts to my friend Linda B. this year was making her a “dog fan” – making a donation to Zirkle’s SP Kennel in Linda’s name. It’s one of those “what to get for the person who has everything?” questions, and “make her a dog fan**” was an obvious answer. Linda has loved both sprint and distance mushing since she moved to Alaska way back in the pipeline era.

Lately I’ve tried to make most of my giveaways ones that would #SupportTheAlaskaEconomy. And since the 2021 Iditarod – Zirkle’s last! – starts on Sunday, March 7, I’ve decided to give away a dog-fan membership.

Yes: One lucky winner will have his or her name published on Zirkle’s dog page, with all the honors and awards accorded thereto.

What kinds of honors and awards? So glad you asked.

 

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Monday miscellany: Gig-worker taxes edition.

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Instacart, Uber, Amazon Flex, DoorDash – these and other gig-worker jobs were a nice side hustle for many people. Since the pandemic began, they’ve helped some laid-off workers keep the wolf from the door. When you spend all your time putting out that day’s fires, you might not have stopped to think how gig-worker income … Read more

Found money in 2020.

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This was not a good year for found money. In the last 12 months or so I picked up just $5.88.

Frankly I’m surprised I found more than a buck all year, given that I (and everyone else) stayed home a lot during the pandemic.

In addition, my gut feeling is that COVID-caused unemployment/fear of unemployment might also have made people clutch their coins a little tighter. It might even have made some folks  stoop to pick up that dime they dropped at the cash register.

Or the dime that someone else dropped. Maybe more money was out there all year, but other people found it before I could.

That’s fine with me. I don’t technically need this found money, being one of the lucky ones whose job did not fade away in part or in full in 2020. The reason I pick up cast-off coins all year long is that I donate them.

As always, I’ll round up the donation. This year it’s going up to $30, which is what I sent to the Food Bank of Alaska yesterday after a Facebook friend asked everyone to donate to FBA if they could. Doing this reminded me that I hadn’t counted my found money yet this year.

Now I have. Here’s the total:

 

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Gift card giveaway (quick one).

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It’s a gloomy, overcast day here. Maybe it is where you are, too. So I just decided to do a quick-turnaround $20 Valentine’s Day gift card giveaway, to brighten everyone’s mood.

My mood, because I like to give things away.

Your mood, because you might win. (It could happen!)

Maybe you’d use the prize to brighten your day: getting that book you wanted, or picking up some really good lip balm and lotion to deal with winter dryness. Or to brighten someone else’s day – either a “just because” gift or a Valentine’s Day (or Galentine’s Day) present.

Instead of making an executive decision about this gift card giveaway, I’m going to give the winner a handful of options and let them decide. The card will come in part from the Shopkick app, so I’ll be pulling those options from the app’s rewards center.

A quick word about Shopkick: It’s one of my favorites now that I’ve finally gotten a smartphone. Pretty simple to use: You get points for scanning UPCs from certain products in drugstores, department stores, supermarkets, pet emporia and other retailers, and then trade them in for Fabulous Prizes. (Specifically: gift cards, PayPal, or contributions to Feeding America or the American Red Cross.)

If you actually buy any of those products, you get a bunch more points. You can also get points for watching very short videos in the app. (Think: 10 to 30 seconds.) Although I don’t buy all that much, I am having a lot of fun with this app. (If you’d like to join, go to https://www.shopkick.com/ and fill in the referral code WIN358965.)

Now: On to your choices. Although 47 options exist, I’m gonna limit them to the following:

 

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Monday miscellany: Return of the dragonfly.

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Last week’s Alaska jewelry giveaway had a bunch of commenters kvelling about the dragonfly pendant. (See illustration at left.)

Can’t blame them; I love the piece myself. It looks as though Alaska’s official state insect is about to take wing. That suggestion of motion stimulates my senses, especially during such a sluggish time (thanks, pandemic!) and sluggish season (hint: I’m not a skier).

The good news: Those who expressed admiration for the piece still have a shot at getting it, because the winner chose a different pendant. (Jeanne: The necklace and earrings should go into the mail today or tomorrow.)

What else is available? So glad you asked. 

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COVID fashion: Puttin’ on your grubs.

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When I got home from a dental appointment recently, I told DF that I couldn’t wait to put my grubs back on. They’re what I also call my freelancer’s three-piece suit: sweatpants, T-shirt and bathrobe. In other words, I was COVID fashion before COVID fashion was cool.

Sure, some people still dress up to work at home. (Although some dress up only from the waist up: Business upstairs, sweatpants party below.) My guess is that a lot fewer have been doing this as the pandemic stretched on and on.

And speaking of stretch: COVID has also given us “the quarantine 15,” as people exercised less and ate their feelings more. Stretchy waistbands are a crucial part of COVID fashion.

I’ve been seeing a lot of “athleisure,” “leisure wear” and “comfortable WFH clothes” ads. Again, I’ve been dressing like this since I went freelance full-time, way back in 2002. My grubs are not just comfortable, they’re frugal: no more spending money on shirts with buttons, pants with zippers or, heaven forfend, pantyhose.

Instead, I wear my grubs. Damn right they’re comfy.

Within half an hour of my arrival that day, DF handed me a few verses of a song parody: “Puttin’ on your grubs,” to the tune of “Puttin’ on the Ritz.”

Can’t help lovin’ that man.

I tinkered the verses a bit, making this our first satirical collaboration.

Before I share the words, I will share a bit of backstory. Like “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” the song “Puttin’ on the Ritz” has an introductory verse that uses a different tune than the following verses. Listen to the following video clip as Fred Astaire sings that first verse: 

 

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Monday miscellany: Frugal February edition.

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Longtime readers know that I consider all months to be frugal. But since at least 2012 some folks have observed Frugal February, for one (or both) of the following reasons: Holiday bills have hit with a vengeance. Doing something for 28 days sounds lots easier than doing it for 31. Whatever the reason, Frugal February … Read more

If Lady Gaga were a PF blogger.

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(Happy Throwback Thursday! In honor of Lady Gaga’s appearance at the inauguration of President Joe Biden, I decided to resurrect this article. It originally ran on Feb. 13, 2012.)

Nope, that’s not SEO bait. It’s the intro to a song parody.

Although I listen only to the classical station, the Lady is ubiquitous enough that even I am familiar with “Bad Romance.”

One day when the tune was stuck in my head, I turned it into a personal finance lesson – and yes, I really do have a PF point to make after the initial silliness.

The following can be sung (if you must) to the tune of the song linked above.

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Giveaway: More Alaska jewelry.

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This is another in my “support local artists/local economy” giveaway series. It’s the second giveaway of jewelry made by my bestest buddy Linda B.

The response was so great the first time that I thought, “These folks like jewelry. Maybe I should give more of it away. How about for Valentine’s Day?”

It’s a bit early to be thinking about gifts of love, but I think about things differently than most people. (Boy, do I ever…) Seriously, though: Since the U.S. mail system has been struggling lately, I want to allow plenty of time to get these delivered so they can be given as gifts.

Not that you have to give them away. If you love jewelry, then keep it all. As another Donna would say: Treat yo’self.

Or keep some of it, and give the rest to your mother, sister(s) or friend(s). There’s enough to share: The winner will get his or her choice from among the six pendants shown below plus four pairs of earrings.

Linda began with beads and has branched out into resin capture and metalwork. The “work” sometimes means texturing the stuff. When I moved back to Alaska I originally lived in Linda’s house. She’s a night owl and would stay up late working on jewelry. Sometimes I would fall asleep to the teenk-teenk-teenk of her using a texturing hammer on the metal, which made me think of a steampunk version of “The Shoemaker and the Elves.”

(Revisit the first giveaway write-up for Linda’s full backstory. She is a kick-ass Alaska woman and I am proud to be her friend. Humbled, even.)

Once again it was hard to choose from among her many works, but here’s what I settled on: 

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