Category Archives: Financial

All, Financial

Affordable Ink Replacement

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Are you still paying a ridiculous amount of money on ink for your printer? Confused when trying to find which cartridge or refill is compatible? Do they dry out before you even use them?

I have an old wireless HP Envy 4500, that takes two ink cartridges. I hate buying ink, it drying out, wasting money, and so on. So I signed up for a replacement ink program, called HP Instant Ink. They monitor my ink levels, and then send me new cartridges whenever I’m running low. That’s super convenient for me.

What’s even better, is that I’m paying per page and not by the amount of ink used. I listed their current plans below. Right now, I have the FREE one, which allows up to 15 pages a month. I get charged $1 for each additional set of 10 pages. So, when I go over my pages, I still stay below the next plan’s price. I also still get ink cartridges sent to me.

So far this year, I have spent $5 for ink.

I have been using them for several years now. I rarely ever need ink, but they are always right on schedule when I do. I recently noticed that I was completely out. So, I quick sent them a chat message. They said I should have one laying around from the last shipment, but I honestly can’t seem to locate it anywhere. They advised not to worry, and that they are sending me a new one free of charge.

I really love this company!

If you would like to try them out, please use my referral link. YOU will get a FREE month of printing. I’m supposed to get a free month too, but it’s already free for me. Let me know what you think, or if you use another service that you’d like to share.

Current plans per HP Instant Ink‘s website (10/6/20):

  • FREE PRINTING. $0.00 a month For up to 15 pages . Each additional set of 10 pages for just $1.00. Unused free pages do not roll over
  • OCCASIONAL PRINTING. $2.99 a month. For up to 50 pages. Each additional set of 10 pages for just $1.00. Roll over up to 100 unused pages.
  • MODERATE PRINTING. $4.99 a month. For up to 100 pages. Each additional set of 15 pages for just $1.00. Roll over up to 200 unused pages
  • FREQUENT PRINTING. $9.99 a month. For up to 300 pages. Each additional set of 20 pages for just $1.00. Roll over up to 600 unused pages
  • HEAVY PRINTING. $18.99 a month. For up to 500 pages. Each additional set of 10 pages for just $1.00. Roll over up to 1500 unused pages
  • BUSINESS PRINTING. $19.99 a month. For up to 700 pages. Each additional set of 20 pages for just $1.00. Roll over up to 1400 unused pages
  • HIGH VOLUME PRINTING. $49.99 a month. For up to 1500 pages. Each additional set of 15 pages for just $1.00. Roll over up to 4500 unused pages
All, Financial, Updates

Some Updates

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Hello! I hope everyone has been doing well. I updated my site with a few more money tips on both pages, but I haven’t been posting about them. I feel like every time I want to announce an update of some sort, it turns into a huge production that I end up not doing. I have a lot more to share, so I will try to be better about that.

Things have been extremely hectic here. My youngest daughter is back to school, with a whole lot more added to her schedule this year. I am heavily involved in her lessons to keep her on task, and I need to learn with her so I can teach it to her differently. Among so many other things, I also have been organizing and backing up pictures, which is a huge task. At some point, I would like to share old pictures that were never seen before. I have a lot of great ones from photoshoots and live shows. Oh, and we may be having some pet rat babies!!!

That’s all for now. Thanks for visiting! Everyone is more than welcome to follow my Facebook page LadySkullshine Entertainment, and join my group LadySkullshine. I’m still considering a possible name change, but that may take me a while.

All, Financial

More About Giftloop

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Hello! Happy Saturday! I hope everyone is having an awesome day.

I wanted to revisit an app called Giftloop. It has been listed on the Extra Money page, and I wrote about it earlier this year. I’m pretty sure that I also sent out my referral link over social media. But, I realized that I could elaborate on it a bit more.

I have been using Giftloop since July 2019, and cashed out $40 so far in Amazon gift cards. That doesn’t seem like a lot, but this is one of the most passive apps that you can still easily make some money on. That’s perfect for me. There are more tasks that will build coins a lot quicker, like trying other apps, but I rarely complete any of those. Also they just added a gaming feature too, however mine isn’t working yet.

Literally, this is all I do. I’m usually multitasking. So I’ll just open the Giftloop app on my phone, while I’m doing other things. Once I collect my “Daily Specials” (listed below), I just swipe through the screens until I see a cute cat meme. Then I stop to collect 5 coins. I swipe through some more to the videos, so I can earn 50 coins for watching each of them. Depending on what I’m doing or how I feel, I’ll take a survey. That’s pretty much it. Oh, and I also get a decent amount of coins whenever I charge my phone.

Daily Specials:
Log In = 100 coins.
Log In 7 Days Straight = 3,000 coins
Watch Video = 100 coins (then 50 each additional)
Take Survey = 750 coins + coins paid per survey

Cute Cat Memes =5 coins

If you’re interested in trying Giftloop, and use my referral link, I will receive bonus coins. Thank you!

Thanks for stopping by. I’m trying out a lot of new sites lately. Follow me for updates. For more ways to help supplement income, visit the Extra Money Tips page.


All, Financial

Achievement App Added

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I just added Achievement to the Passive Apps list.

This app doesn’t pay out a lot, but very little needs to be done anyway. Once you download and set up your account, you can then connect fitness apps to it. I linked my Fitbit and Samsung Health. It will then automatically accumulate points when you do things like walking or weighing yourself. There may also be an occasional survey or articles to read for even more points. I just cashed out $10 today.

Use my referral link, and we will both receive 100 points. Thank you!

For more apps like this, see the Extra Money Tips page.

All, Financial

Another Look At YouGov

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Hello and Happy Sunday! Another crazy busy day. I just can never seem to have enough time for anything. I just wanted to quick share this awesome app again with everyone.

I know, I already had YouGov listed on my site and recently wrote about it, but I felt the need to share again. I originally had this listed as a passive type app, but the surveys are definitely worth doing when they are available. I didn’t bother with a lot of them until recently. I was caught up in trying so many different companies, that I overlooked a few things.

Per their site, “YouGov is an international research data and analytics group headquartered in London.” They have six locations in the US. Their mission is to “supply a continuous stream of accurate data and insight into what the world thinks, so that companies, governments and institutions can better serve the people and communities that sustain them.” Basically, they are interested in your opinions and internet activity.

You can access YouGov online, plus they have two apps. One is their Panel app, where you can do surveys just like on the site. The other app is called YG Pulse, which runs in the background of my phone. It tracks my internet activity. Once in a while, I get a notification to reconnect it. Somehow my phone drops off. I think it’s because I have another similar app running so they are conflicting, but it hasn’t affected my earnings.

They payout is pretty decent. I cashed out $15 earlier this year. I’m holding out for a higher balance this time. I currently have 53,150 points. If just one person uses my referral link to sign up and completes four surveys, I will get 2,000 points. That will put me just over $50. Whoever does this, thank you in advance! Try it out and let me know what you think.

Okay, I must get back to my madness. I have so many chores to catch up on, projects to half finish, a whole lot more schoolwork this year with my daughter, our zoo, and on an on. I hope everyone has a super wonderful day! Thanks for visiting! Smile Sparkle Shine!

All, Financial

Expired Coupons For Military Families

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I recently heard on a coupon show that military families overseas can use our expired manufacturer coupons. I looked into it and they can actually use them for up to six months past their expiration date. From what I understand, you can mail them directly to members of the military to be used in the commissaries.

If you don’t know anyone that can use them, you can still help out if you’d like. You can mail them to the Support Our Troops: Troopons Program. There’s some guidelines to this that I found on their site, so you really want to review it first. One thing to note is that they must be cut out, sorted, and labelled in a baggy. It helps their volunteers to get them distributed faster to the stores for families to access.

Please feel free to share and tell everyone.
I really hope this helps someone somewhere.

All, Financial, Updates

Scratch Offs Added

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Hello and happy whatever day it may be. Mine didn’t start off too great when I realized I lost my engagement ring. It was a very emotional morning. (It’s still missing.)

I just wanted to let everyone know that I added two new apps to the money making list. If you like scratch offs, then you’ll probably love Lucktastic and Lucky Money. I just cashed out a total of $15 between them.

Try Lucktastic with my referral link and I will earn 1,000 tokens. I couldn’t find one for Lucky Money, but you should try them out too.

If I have time, I have more updates to work on, so I may post again later today. Among other things, I really need to help my daughter with school. Plus we have a pet rat adoption appointment this evening. Get ready for some super cute pics of the new babies.

Have a super awesome day!

All, Financial, Random, Updates

Happy Saturday

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Hello and happy Saturday!

I meant to write more, but things have been extremely busy here. We are still trying to figure out what’s wrong with my car (since June). It may be resolved, but I have to do a longer test drive. We are also dealing with the aftermath of some severe flooding we had in our basement. Nearly everything was destroyed. Then we have preparation for school to start on Monday. My daughter will be in a new program through her online school. I’m slightly nervous. She’s much more excited for tomorrow. We will be watching a live stream of baby rats that she wants to adopt. In addition to all this and more, I’ve done some research and have been testing out some new sites to make extra money.

Thanks for visiting! Stay tuned to find out what sites I will be adding.

All, Financial

Do You GPT Play Games?

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Do you play games on your phone? Do you get paid for it?

Honestly, I was never a fan of playing games on my phone. I always felt like it was a waste of time. Until recently, when I learned that I could get paid for it.

So, of course, I looked it this and tried out a few apps.

That was slightly aggravating. Some of them seemed to take too long to earn points. I also ran into a few other issues. It was a lot of wasted time. Eventually, I did manage to find one that seemed to work out best for me. I’m sure I’ll look for more at a later time, but I’m satisfied for now.

I have been using Mistplay for almost a year, and cashed out $90 to date. It would be higher, but I was testing out a few other apps for a while. I also backed off recently so I could focus on a few other things. As far as I’m aware, Mistplay is available on both Android and iPhone.

I received a $10 Amazon gift card on: 9/10/19, 9/26/19, 11/11/19, 11/25/19, 3/9/20, 3/10/20, 3/25/20, 5/3/20, & 8/21/20.

My end goal is to make a few bucks, not actually play the games.

So, I pick the games that pay higher. I also choose ones that I won’t need to stare at the screen to play. This way, I can still make a decent amount and also be able to multitask. For example: If I’m playing Forge Of Empires, I can easily tap my screen to collect things while I’m working on something else. Bingo seems to pay higher, but needs full attention. I’ll play this when I just need to zone out for a bit, or if I’m watching TV.

I also calculate the payouts to get the most out of those too. When your points balance hits 1,800, you can cash out for $5. I like to wait until it hits 3,000 for $10, so I can get more money back. The next payout is 7,500 for $25, which has no benefit for waiting.

For those that are new to GPT play games: The concept is that you play games on your phone, while earning points. Once the gaming app is installed, you would choose a game, then download it via the app. The game also must be launched via the gaming app, each time you play it. The app has to track your gaming activity, so you may need to adjust your security settings. When you have enough points, you can then cash out for an electronic gift card.

Try Mistplay with my referral link, and I will receive 100 points. Thanks! Thanks for visiting & taking the time to read this. I really appreciate it. Feel free to leave comments & share with others.

All, Financial

Are You Optimizing Your Receipts?

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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