Month: December 2015

Saving Money while Shopping Online

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Ebates Coupons and Cash Back

For many purchases that I make online, I can earn an extra % in cash back when going through my Ebates account. I have their plugin installed on my Firefox browser that will tell me if I can earn money back from a certain merchant. For most, I can.

Here’s an example of what you can earn from the various stores that I typically visit:

  • Disneystore – 3%
  • Land’s End – 3%
  • Walmart – 1%
  • Toys R Us – 4%
  • QVC – 2%
  • Amazon – varies

There are often specials where the bonuses are doubled, giving me even more cash back.

My earnings are paid out a few times a year in the form of a check or Paypal payment. It’s a great way to save for Christmas Gifts. Each of my “paychecks” are around $40 or so.

If you’d like to earn some extra cash, please sign up through my referral link here. I do earn something back from it and would appreciate your support!
Ebates Coupons and Cash Back

 

The Countdown to Christmas

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In these last few days before Christmas, it feels like a wait game. You’re all ready for the big day, now it just has to arrive. It also feels a bit sad. The stores are already putting the Christmas decorations on clearance. The store shelves are bare. If you didn’t get whatever you needed weeks ago, you might be out of luck. If it’s an online purchase, it won’t make it here by Christmas without paying a huge fee. Stress!

Then there is the fact that stores are actually closed on Christmas Day. I feel a little anxious about this. What if I run out of an ingredient? What if I “need” something like wrapping paper even though I have gobs of it because you never know I just might run out??? The fact that I may not be able to get something when I want it worries me. That’s sad. I’m used to living in an instant society.

I asked when my local Walmart was closing. They close at 8 pm on Christmas Eve. Closed on Christmas Day. This gives me an exact time I need to aim for to make sure I’ve gotten all my last minute stuff.

5 Minute Choose a Piece of Candy

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We still have Halloween candy left over. Each child has theirs in a plastic bag. So, for dessert or snack, they will get to choose a piece of candy to eat. However, it’s not that simple. Every single time, they must dump out all of the candy and look over each piece. I realized that this takes them a long time to do. It could be 20 minutes later and they still haven’t chosen a piece of candy.

So, one day I set the time for 5 minutes and told them they only had 5 minutes to choose. They must have chosen their piece of candy and have all the candy back in the bag before the 5 minutes is over. If they aren’t done, they’ve lost the opportunity to have a piece of candy. Of course, like normal children, they did not finish in 5 minutes and then there was pouting. 5 minutes should be enough time!

I think that if I remember to implement this idea again and again, they might finally start to understand the concept of being quick to choose. I don’t know.

The Armor of God Study by Priscilla Shirer – The Helmet of Salvation

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armour

I’ve been doing Priscilla Shirer’s Armour of God Bible Study. We are currently working on the Helmet of Salvation.

Within this section, I love what she says about making neural connections. “When we control our thought life, new neural connections and pathways are visibly and measurably formed in the brain – which affects the health and wellness of our physical bodies”. So, when we start changing the way we think, we can renew and restore “our minds from a state of unhealthiness and deterioration to a state of wholeness and strength in God.” (Shirer, Armor of God Study, pg 168).

I love that! There is so much hope in that thought. We can have control over our lives. You would think that I should’ve known this, but sadly I was never taught this growing up. It’s only been recently that I have learned about taking control of my thoughts and breaking down strongholds with God’s promises/scripture. Hopefully, I can impart this wisdom to my children so they can learn it at an earlier age than I did.