The Lads

No cruise this year... Here we are with Keith Harkin, Colm Keegan, Emmett O'Hanlon, Neil Byrne, Ryan Kelly, and Emmet Cahill. Celtic Thunder Cruise November 2014  Good craic!

"The Knowledge," & Drinking Tap Water, But Not the Kool Aid

What have we learned today?
Today I learned that in London, taxi drivers have to take a test simply known as "The Knowledge."  It's of all their zany streets that were laid out from carriage routes and such and with one side of the street having a different name than the other.  The drivers are also expected to know all the pubs and sights so they can take the residents and tourists where they want to go.  And as a result, seasoned drivers' brains have bigger hippocampuses.  I saw it in a National Geographic video in my science class in middle school today.  Here's an article describing what we saw.  Thanks, NatGeo!

I hate New Year's Resolutions.  Everyone knows that you start off with the best of intentions, but then, somewhere along the way, the goal gets knocked off the top of your priorities' list.  Also, I know that it's a new year and it makes sense for all and sundry to take part in a tradition of having a fresh start... but the little rebel in me balks at being just like everyone else. Why January first? Make up your mind and start when you're ready, gosh darn it.  Enough about the arbitrary nature of humankind.... Being that it's January 4th and all, I've decided to maybe drink tap water instead of bottled or filtered this year.  I hate lugging heavy bottles up the stairs, am not thrilled about the environmental impact, and know that the taste difference between bottled and tap is mostly in my head.  Totally reserving my right to change my mind here though. Ha!

This Year in Lazy Central...

My vote for the best "invention" of 2015?  Commercial free Hulu.  It's allowed this girl many an hour of interruption-free couch-potatoing.

Get Rich Slow

Little habits that make a difference:

• Order water at restaurants instead of soda and not the extra pancake or whole chicken or supersize for just a dollar more.  (Sorry, Mom and Dad.)
• Conserve electricity and gas.
• If you're buying greeting cards, go for Dollar Tree or Trader Joe's!
• Borrow books and movies from the library.
• Plan your meals to use your food before it spoils. 

In San Diego, we have Flagship, Taylor, and Luth Research.  They perform market research and pay participants for their time.  Since I signed up, I get emails and calls from them but have never actually returned their calls to see if I might qualify.  I’ve done two different studies for Eye Tracking Research.  One paid $30 and the other $50 for about 20 minutes.  The one that paid less was actually more grueling.  Luth Research runs Survey Savvy, which was the inspiration for the title of today’s post.  It’s funny because a) you don’t get rich and b) they pay you in 2-6 weeks. I much prefer the format of Surveys on the Go and Survey Mini.  Taking surveys on my phone is convenient.  Those two are often location-based and offer rewards even when you do not qualify.  I have earned probably over $30 on SOTG (It resets every time you cash out, and says $2.15 right now).  I'm at 20,900 points on Survey Mini and each survey rewards you at least 100 points. Well, sometimes it's a pesky coupon.  I say pesky because you get to choose between Long John Silvers, Victoria Secret and some other random place you'll never want to spend money.  I have 4241 Shopkicks.  That's worth $10 at HomeGoods, y'all, and almost all the way towards another $10 card, too since they cost 2500 kicks each.  $9 in Ibotta, $132.35 lifetime earnings.  And $35.24 on Inbox Dollars.  Wow, look, I made a box for Inbox Dollars and for Ebates.  I've gotten $90.52 back from Ebates.  So my silly little antics do have a rhyme and a reason, you see.  Also, Ibotta brought back their beloved movie rebates for Star Wars! If you've been looking for a reason to sign up, this is it.

I put some money in a CD for the first time ever.  Nobody’s getting rich from those…  But this year I decided not to let the school district handle my money for me and didn’t opt into the “10 month 12 pays” system.  So the CD is step beyond a mental barrier with a sign saying “this money is not for spending.”  It is for the mortgage in the summer. And wowza, I’ll get 43 cents interest out of it or something!

If you’re looking for a real, out of the house hourly job where you can make a difference, Community Interface Services might be what you’re looking for. 

Podcasts

It’s the end of an era. WDW Today is undergoing a transition.  After 10 years, a mostly new cast is taking over.  The big announcement came in Episode 1489, “A Big Announcement.” Clever.  I’ll miss the current mix of Matt, Mike, Mike, and Len, but look forward to what Terry and Will and everyone will have to offer.

I’ve gone through many podcasts through the years.  Sometimes I realize that I’m not listening to a certain podcast very often and remove it from my list.  Other times, a show podfades or (more politely, thank you very much!) announces that they will be ending production. These are the podcasts that I can’t get enough of:

My favorites:

• A Way With Words- based right here in San Diego! 
• How to Do Everything
• Hidden Brain
• Stuff You Should Know
• Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me- I missed going to a show when they were taping here in town, but I loved seeing the live broadcast on the big screen through Fathom Events.
• Ask Me Another
• Planet Money

Gone but Not Forgotten/OK Maybe I've forgotten some/Took a trip down Memory Lane to some that are probably still running strong

• MouseGuestWeekly- Eric, Cathy, and Dan had a good thing going for many years.  Eric briefly brought it back as MouseGuest Podcast, but as a busy dad, I’m guessing life got in the way.
• The LOST Podcast with Jay and Jack- One of my first and favorites.  I was involved in the forums and all the nerdiness.  These guys are originally from East County San Diego and we’re Facebook and Instagram friends. Anyways, (ding!)…
• Mannerscast: Oh the inside jokes these kindly Texans created and shared with the listeners….   Each episode offered many laughs and heartfelt advice about the mannerly thing to do in any given situation. I’d listen again in a heartbeat.
• Also used to enjoy the Princeton Review Vocab Minute, The Bryant Park Project and Pottercast and Mugglecast. I may or may not have driven to LA to see a live LeakyMug.  Don’t worry; I went to Disneyland on my way up there.  So it’s not like I only drove to LA for an HP event.
• Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips

Take a Break

I took a leave of absence from one of my jobs for the month of November. I went to expensive doctors. And now I'm back and I mean really back. Working back to back shifts; just woke up from my paid slumber. Community Interface is always hiring!

I decorated my condo with all the ornaments I've collected over the years. The majority of them are hanging on my wrought iron mirror. Poppy and Riley believe this is a special collection of "reach up and grab 'em" kitty toys. I actually got them some toys when I bought some of those ornaments and wrapping paper at Target on major clearance at the post Christmas sales. Mama's toys are just so much more tempting. 

App updates:

A friend said he thought I was copying and pasting from a script here. Nope, just me using my own persuasive yet sincere voice to share my personal experiences. I read other blogs, too. What can I say?

Ibotta is running a Festive Five promotion where new users get a $5 bonus when they submit their first rebate and so does the friend who refers them. Win-win. Join my team and start saving on groceries and more. 

Paribus is also offering 5% off your commission if you refer friends. I'm down to no commission, but if you join through this link you'll get 5% off and so will my mom. She's rad. My savings are growing and another claim went in today. My mom is the real winner, though. She had $16 come back from her Christmas shopping!

Find&Save got bogged down by the deluge of Black Friday receipt submissions. My Old Navy receipt from that day was approved and I have been credited $5. The Costco receipt from the same day is still pending. I have since submitted a Dollar Tree and Ross receipt, as well. I give this app two thumbs up! Go ahead and download it, with my code YM8D. Be aware that some of the Cash Dash offers, as the name implies, come and go quickly and are limited to a certain number of participants. 

Happy shopping!

Form Letter

I use Find&Save to get cash back when I shop and you should too! Please use my code YM8D when you first open the app. http://fns.co/l/95fbogUAIM

But seriously folks, I got $5 back already. See Old Navy below, and have $1.70 from Costco pending. Good times!