Are You Optimizing Your Receipts?

Don’t throw them away! Scan them to get even more cash back.
So far this year, I received over $175 back using the following.

Please use my referral links and codes. We both may receive an incentive. Thank you!

Coin Out – Referral Code: TAYT94E.
Fetch – Referral Code: E4HFT.
Ibotta – Referral Code: N32FQ.
Inbox Dollars
Receipt Hog
Receipt Pal – Referral Code: PPTWMPZJ.
Swagbucks

Save On Auto Insurance

I was just wondering who else really hates paying so much for car insurance?

We have two vehicles, which we barely drive. I always get state minimum coverage, but we still paid a lot. It also doesn’t help that I have an old claim on my record. I actually found a cheaper insurance for a few months, but it gradually increased over time.

After much research, I finally found the most cost effective insurance for us. Metromile charges a base rate per vehicle, then you pay per mile. I’m now paying about $35 a month.

Get a free quote to see if Metromile makes sense for you. When you do, I will receive an incentive. Thank you!

Focus change

Hello! Happy Friday! I’ve been out of sorts the last few days. I hope to get it together and catch up this weekend. I just thought I’d share my newest shift in some financial things. I have been reassessing my ways to make a few extra bucks. I actually review everything I do, often. I’m slightly OCD. That’s why my site changes so much. Sorry, I’m ridiculous.

I haven’t been cashing out as much lately for a few reasons. I wanted to let my balances build up, because I thought it would be an incentive to get paid a higher amount. I was so very wrong. Instead, it makes me feel like I’m not achieving anything. Also, I’ve been bouncing around a bit lately, trying different things. So that didn’t help either. All of this has put me in panic mode. I feel like I’m wasting time.

So, I figured out which ones are actually worth waiting on. I won’t touch those for now. If I cash out the rest, I’ll have about $53. I also made a new list of GPT (get paid to) sources to concentrate on. I felt like I was all over the place, so I had to stop everything. I did some research, verified my earnings, and created the list. I’m not sharing them until I have been successfully paid. I wouldn’t feel right otherwise. In the meantime, I will continue to add any helpful tips that I can think of.

Thanks for stopping by. Feel free to subscribe to my blog for updates. Visit anytime, and leave me a note if you like.

Jessie LS

Financial Updates

Hello. This is just a quick note to let everyone know that I have added some more information to my financial pages, Savings Tips and Extra Money Tips.

When I have a spare moment, I plan to add the following:

Cash Back Sites (more)
Coupon Code Sites
Discounted Gift Cards
Saving Extensions

Survey Sites (more)
& More

As always, thanks for visiting.

Mission To Better Credit

My focus these days has been on my family’s financial well being. I do a lot of little things that really add up and help. I’m not a financial expert, and I’m not rich. But, I do manage to save a decent amount of money. I’m definitely on the right track and will keep expanding on this.

I think it’s time to get back to working on my credit.

Over the years, it has been all over the place. I have learned a bit about how to manage things better. In 2017, I set a goal to rebuild my credit because my score was severely damaged. By 2018, I had it up over 700, and was able to approved to buy a decent home on my own credit. Before I got that opportunity, some major life events took place and my credit quickly dropped. I’ve been trying to recover ever since.

Yesterday, I really thought about how I haven’t been making an honest effort. That’s why I decided to make it another one of my missions.

To begin this quest, I reviewed each report. I made a list of who I need to contact directly, who to dispute, and questionable things to look at further.

It’s important to at least verify that your information is correct, and let them know if it needs to be fixed. Your credit report follows you everywhere. There could be negative things that are not even yours, or have incorrect amounts and dates that was reported by creditors.

My next step was to actually take action. If you use Credit Karma, you can submit a dispute through the app. I did this with my oldest bill. Depending on the situation, you can also call them directly. I did that today as well. I just had a collection hit my credit, for not returning cable equipment in time. I called them and they set up a UPS pick up. She also advised me to contact the collection agency so they are aware we are working on having it removed.

I’m far from done, but I’m already making some progress towards my goal. It’s time to get side tracked with something else for a while.

Thanks for taking the time to visit and read this post.
I appreciate it.

Photo Feedback

This morning, I was filled with the obsession to find a new site to post my pictures. Somewhere that others can give unbiased feedback. The only thing I really came across was 500px. I forgot that I already signed up several years ago, but never used it. I’m locked out, so I created a new account: LadySkullshine1.

Normally I will share some pictures and random memes on Instagram and sometimes Facebook. On rare occasions I will post personal pics that I’m really proud of, moments I’ve captured, things I just want to share with others. I appreciate everyone’s likes and comments, more than they will ever know. I just wish I knew what they truly thought. I enjoy learning how to do things better and progressing. I’m not fully convinced 500px is what I was looking for, but it’s a start.

In the meantime, here are a few of my favorite flower pictures that I recently took. Some are from my porch, my birthday, and flowers I got my daughter. Check them out and let me know what you think. You can also follow me on Instagram.

Thank you for visiting my site and reading my blog!
– Jessie

What’s In A Name? Anxiety

I posted earlier today about changes I just made to my site. I mentioned my OCD being a factor. I actually wrote more about it, along with other issues, but I decided to separate the posts.

I would post a lot more, but my anxiety takes control and throws me for a loop. Every single time.

One of the issues that I face constantly is really silly. I have a lot of trouble just naming a post. I do it at the very end and it will literally delay things from being published. I really want something that will capture what I am saying, and will grab someone’s attention.

It’s not just the act of naming the post, it’s what transpires from there.

As I try to find the right words, my anxiety takes over. None of the words seem to fit properly. Then, I wonder if anyone even reads the title and what I have to say, or really cares to begin with. I begin to second guess myself altogether. By then, I’ve already read my post repeatedly. I constantly check for errors, better words, rearrange, and delete things. But, I do it again. Except this time, I determine if it’s even worth posting.

Sometimes, all of this just leads to another post in the drafts folder.

When I do finally hit the publish button, my anxiety and panic takes on a whole other level. I think about who will see it and what people will think of me. Will they judge me? I get embarrassed that I said something stupid, didn’t make sense, or made mistakes.

I also think about the fact that I have followers from all different stages of my life. I am not at all who I was before, or before that. But did they even really know me when the knew me? Probably not. I wonder if I’m judged by a characteristic that I had at that time, but I’ve grown since then. Do they know that?

Does their past judgement affect their current views of what I have to say now, as a very different person.

I know all of this is in my head and a lot of it is trivial. I’m my biggest critic and constantly push myself. I want to do more, but then I feel like it doesn’t matter. I distance myself until I find my inspiration to return.

Sometimes it just helps to know that I’m really helping someone.

New Theme, Page, Updates

If you haven’t noticed, I changed my site’s theme. I also rearranged some things and added a new page. I’m ridiculous! I’m constantly trying to make it better. I’m so OCD about everything, until my ADHD takes over.

Let me know what you think.
Feedback is always appreciated.

I really like the layout of this new theme on my laptop, but I’m not sure about the mobile view. That’s where I get tripped up. The menus and widgets show up differently. I should have checked the theme on all devices before I applied my changes, but I didn’t think about it at the time. I’ll most likely keep it for a while and experiment a bit.

What device you use the most when you’re visiting?
I can adjust more to the majority’s viewing preference.

I originally planned to add a coupon section to my Financial page, but things got out of hand. I ended up creating a new page for Savings Tips. I listed the steps that I take to help save money from before a transaction, to afterwards. I did my best to have it flow in that order. I have so much more information to add to both of these pages.

Follow me and subscribe for updates.
Thank you!

Tourette’s: Scarlet’s Vocal Tics

I previously wrote about my 13 year old daughter, in My Scarlet Always Sharing. Several years ago, she had been diagnosed with Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder, Autism, Tourette’s, Depression, and ADHD. Scarlet is all about awareness, sharing her experiences and feelings, and helping others. We chatted about this multiple times, so I will start a new section for her shortly.

Today, I wanted to share an audio clip that Scarlet recently posted on her Instagram. (Don’t have your speaker volume too high when you listen to it.) She wants others to know what it’s like when she has vocal tics. She described it in her own post as “VOCAL TICS: Tic attacks can last for a few seconds to sometimes minutes. They are extremely tiring and sometimes hurt if physical. #tourettesawareness”.

What you will hear is just one of a series of vocal tics that Scar experiences. She sometimes will scream, make loud noises, or shout words repeatedly. This happens several times a day, along with her physical tics. Those may include clapping, hitting things or herself. These tics can be especially tiring and painful for her. It’s sometimes difficult to differentiate what is happening. I can tell for the most part if she is okay, or if I need to check in on her. But when I’m not sure and she is irritated, I run the risk of escalating things even further. I try to approach everything lightly, meanwhile I’m a mess inside. I’m always worried about my baby and how everything affects her. It’s my job to make her environment the best I possibly can.

Here is the audio clip I mentioned. Again, don’t have your speakers too loud.