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Otherwise known as “How Mama is paying for an unexpected car repair.”
Yep, my car was just in the shop for a $1,000 AC system replacement. Lest you think that I could have skipped this repair, know that it was 112 here recently and the kids and I find it inhumane to travel without AC.
I have a month until the credit card bill is due, so I’m really putting the squeeze on our budget. I want to find, earn, or scrounge as much as possible so I don’t have to dip into our emergency fund.
Here’s what I’ve done so far:
| Bought diapers with Amazon credit earned through online surveys (learn about my 4 favorite survey companies) |
$35 |
| Sold Little Peanut’s outgrown baby stuff to a consignment store | $27 |
| Redeemed all of my MySurvey points | $100 |
| Recycled cans, bottles, plastic | $31 |
| Sold an unwanted gift card | $19 |
| Made pizza for Friday Movie Night instead of getting take-n-bake | $15 |
| Made a menu plan (using Plan It, Don’t Panic) based on what’s in the pantry/garden and skipped the grocery store | $75 |
| Cashed in all my Swagbucks (what are Swagbucks?) | $35 |
| Total to date | $337 |
Not bad for the first week–but there’s a long way to go. And I’ll have a mutiny if I don’t go to the grocery store for a month.
