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College of Cash

2008 Survey Earnings for May

May 29th 2008 14:13
Last month my goal was $35, and I didn't make it. This month I kept it the same, and didn't make the $35 dollar mark again.

I've made it to $23.75 this month; that's more than $10 below my goal. I did have a surprising $7 survey from surveysavvy.com though. Then just yesterday had a follow up question to that survey for another $1. (Yes, it was just one question and I got $1 for it haha). Surveyspot also picked back up again and I had two surveys from them for $7 total. I wound up with $4.50 from globaltestmarket, and then a little over a dollar from a few of the others.


I don't expect to make any more from (or much more) in the next two days, so I'm going to leave it that I made $23.75 for the month of May. Hopefully next month will be higher.

Have any of you signed up for more of these survey sites? I hope you're having better luck than I am in making goals!

As always, check the survey site archives for all of the survey sites I've covered.
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Posted By: Ashley - Category: survey sites
   


Tell Me Something I Don't Already Do

May 27th 2008 09:57
I read lots of articles and blog posts online about saving money, or ways to "find" money in your budget, etc. Most of them say the same thing. I keep reading them, thinking maybe there will be something in there that I haven't already taken way farther than what most people do (and sometimes I didn't really do it on purpose, it just happened), but there isn't anything that is relevant to me.

For example: "Shave $10 off your grocery bill." Umm, what? I don't think I could eat well enough to stay alive if I could only spend $40 a month on groceries. That's $10 a week. If one of you out there can do that, you are truly amazing. Let me know how you did it. I already eat a lot of sandwiches. Would that be all I eat?


or there is "move to a cheaper apartment." Well, I pay $200 a month for the apartment I'm in. I have a roommate (rent is actually $400 for this place), so that takes care of that argument as well. There isn't anything cheaper than $200 a month.

or how about "use less water/electric, unplug things you're not using to avoid the phantom usage." Check. My tv and vcr are plugged into one of those power strips, and that's turned off pretty much all the time, unless I'm watching tv. Laptop is always off and unplugged as soon as I'm done on it. I think we have two or three lamps and a microwave that are plugged in all the time. That's it.

or even "walk to work/ride your bike, carpool, etc." Done. Work is two blocks from my house. It takes longer to drive there than it does to walk because of the traffic lights.

There are many other things that are somewhat related to those as well. I don't drink pop - mostly just drink water. I only buy things on sale; I'd use coupons if our crappy newspaper had any relevant ones; I buy the generic meds; just started using freecycle; I use the library instead of buying books; I don't buy anything that's fun - only really spend money on food and bills at this point; I do the survey thing to make extra money to send to my tuition cards, etc, etc, etc.

Is there anything else out there to do? I know there's "get a second job" and I'm working on that as well. Someone, please, tell me something I don't know.
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Posted By: Ashley - Category: misc.
   


Getting Paid to Not Work

May 26th 2008 14:55
This is amazing. It's kind of a landmark day for me. I'm actually getting paid to NOT be at work! Whoa! This is the first job I've had where they close on holidays other than Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter. Normally, I'd be working today and getting paid at my regular rate of pay.

But not today! Today I'm not working, and I get paid an extra half hour more than I normally work. I. Am. Happy.

I can definitely get used to this getting paid to not work thing.

I must admit I woke up freaked out a little bit because I had to keep making sure today was really Memorial Day and that I really didn't have to be at work. But now that I'm over that, I'm thoroughly enjoying my day off.
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Posted By: Ashley - Category: working
   


Actually Putting Money INTO My Emergency Fund

May 24th 2008 16:58
I haven't put any money into my emergency fund since December. That's when I was still a student, living in the dorms, and working two student jobs. Ever since January, I've been taking money out. And it's been driving me crazy.

January through March I had to take money out to pay for my regular expenses, since I wasn't making enough money at my job to cover all my bills. I got more hours near the end of February, but the pay schedule was crazy, so I didn't get to feel the full effects of that until last month.

However, last month I took out $1,000 from my emergency fund to pay off my car. So, it's been five months since I've been able to put money back in my savings.

This month I received a belated "congratulations graduate" card with $50 and it was a three paycheck month. I put in $100 to my emergency fund. yay!

I decided that $100 was a good amount for me to put into my emergency fund, because it put me a little above the $1000 mark.

Now I feel a little better that if something were to go wrong, I could handle it. I'm also happy, because I've always been a saver. I like having money in my account, and I've never really liked to spend it on "stuff."
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Survey "Site-ings" (pt. 16)

May 23rd 2008 10:40
I mentioned in my March 2008 Survey Earnings Update that I had taken a $5 survey with surveys.com. Well, I finally got paid about a week ago, so now it's time to write about them.

I joined surveys.com awhile ago, and I may have gotten a $1 survey payment from them before, but I couldn't remember, so I decided to wait until this survey went through.

I don't get many surveys from them, and I believe that not all of them come with cash incentives. Quite a few of them are for giveaway entries. I don't do those surveys.

The emails come with the survey length, end date, and reward listed in them. At the top you can also see "What is this survey about?" From what I learned when waiting to get my payment, the survey closes the month after what it says in the email, and then the month after that is when your payment will show up. (I emailed them earlier this month since I hadn't gotten paid yet and was beginning to wonder what was up).

They pay by paypal, which I like. No wasted paper for $5 checks.

Happy money making!

*Always be sure to check the FAQ pages for survey sites for any other information you may need or want. I’ve tried to only join ones that don’t sell my information to others, but I may have missed something, so you should also read the privacy policy and terms of service for each site yourself.

For all the previous survey sites I’ve covered click here.
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Apparently This Month is All About Groceries

May 21st 2008 10:27
There have been a lot of posts this month about groceries. Maybe I'm just obsessed with food. On to the important thing, I mentioned (when I was complaining about buying laundry detergent) that there was something exciting about the grocery budget for next month. Well, now there is double the excitement! haha!

The excitement? I have TWO Kroger gift cards! What's amazing is the first one came from my Mom the same day I went grocery shopping the first time this month, only it was right after I got back. When I went grocery shopping last week (for the milk and bread that turned into more) I came back and found another Kroger gift card in the mail from an awesome friend who apparently reads these crazy posts


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Posted By: Ashley - Category: frugality
   


Carnival of Money Stories #60

May 20th 2008 07:46
Welcome to the 60th edition of Carnival of Money Stories! If you missed the boat on getting your entries in, you can check out the Money Stories main page to get in on the action next time. I've separated the entries into different categories that I picked. No editor's picks here, everyone is equally amazing! Enjoy all the reading.


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I Eat a Lot of Sandwiches

May 19th 2008 10:55
I write often about my grocery budget and how it's only $50 a month, and that it's hard to keep under that amount. In that "Hardest Part" post I mentioned buying two loaves a bread. I had meant to write a post on this a while ago, but now is just as good a time as any. Two loaves of bread for one person?? (I assume that's what you're thinking). Yes, it works quite well.

I think it was the end of last month (April) when I bought two loaves of bread at once. It was the second grocery store trip, where I go in only to get bread and milk. (At least, that is what is supposed to happen). I decided to get two loaves of bread and a gallon of milk that time


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Oh, Boy, is the Budget Busted or What. The Grocery Budget that is

May 17th 2008 10:08
I have a hard time staying within my grocery budget. But hey, you try it.

Anyway, I thought I'd do another update on this month's grocery shopping because it's not the usual $5 over. It's more like $20. And no Brita filter either
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Carnival of Money Stories is Coming Here! (Yes Again!)

May 16th 2008 16:37
The Carnival of Money Stories will be coming to College of Cash this Tuesday, May 20th! Get your entries in. And please follow the guidelines. I don't like feeling mean by not including an article, so it's easier for me if your entry follows the rules!

Entries must be in by Monday 5pm Eastern US time. Thanks! See you there


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