Wifey Wednesday: Free Is For Me- A Penny Pinching Update Pt 2

Wifey Wednesday:

Hey fellow/future wives!

In 2016 I saved a good amount of money by doing rewards programs, savings apps, and different money earning tasks from home. Check out some new one's that I've found since my last post!

1. Fuel Rewards- Shell

This is something new that I discovered in the last month. It is just like a Panera card, you get rewards when you buy gas at a shell. You always get 3 cents off per gallon, and you get other rewards for using the rewards card. Sometimes 5 cents off, etc. If you link your credit or debit card they will randomly reward you with 25 cents off per gallon (we've had this twice in the past month). It is free and easy to sign up AND doesn't require any kind of credit card (unless you want to link one). They mail the card to your house, but in the mean time you can use your special key number, which they give you when you register online. Can't get much easier!

2. Chick-fil-a One App

Another free and easy to use app. If you frequently eat at chick-fil-a like us, it is an easy way to get free food! We usually get one free item per month or so. You can also add funds to the app, and just have them scan your QR code to earn points and to pay, but we usually just use it for points and pay with our card.

3. Digital Reflection Panel

This was something I came across when I was on Swagbucks and they had some bonus for 100 or 200 SB if you signed up for it, so I gave it a try. They send you a meter that you plug into your internet router and it reads what you do online. Similar to the Nielsen panel that I participate in also. It doesn't slow down my internet that I have noticed, and I got $50 within the first three months. Once you get that it is a little slower earning money, but you can make a couple hundred dollars off of it per year. I think it is worth the 0 effort you have to make!

4. Cashback Rewards Credit Cards

I have never been a supporter of credit cards, but this one can be linked to your SunTrust account. We basically use it to raise our credit score and earn cash back rewards, which with the Suntrust card you get an extra 10% for transferring the cashback money into a Suntrust account. Easy money since we only use it for things we normally buy and already have money for! We also keep on it by paying it off every week. If you have a problem with spending money you don't have, obviously don't get a credit card. Easy way to get yourself into a hole you can't dig your way out of.

I am still using Ibotta, Receipt Hog, Cartwheel/RedPerks, Checkout51, and the Savings Star apps. All have been worth it, Ibotta and Cartwheel/RedPerks are the most profitable, but the others are worth having and using as needed. I also still love Swagbucks, coupons.com, and the Nielsen Panel.

So there you have it, I love to save money and these all helped me save a good chunk in 2016! Like over $1500! I'm telling you, it's worth having these apps and doing these simple things each week to save money!

Thanks for reading,

- Olivia

#BookWorm: Two By Two

Hello fellow readers!

It's been a while since I finished a book for fun, and so this was the one I have been working on since November. Yeah, not a lot of free time to read fiction lately! Which is super sad because that is obviously one of my favorite things to do. God willing I will be done with this OCN exam by the end of February and can get back to reading for fun! Anyways, Two by Two written by Nicholas Sparks was my most recent read and his most recent novel. It was a pretty typical Sparks book, except for me there was a lack of spark. This book focused on Russ, a mid-aged man married to Vivian and their daughter London. Basically he goes from being the bread winner, to quitting his job while his wife goes from being full time stay at home mom to going back into the work force. Now he has to be Mr. Dad and learn about the world of a four year old. It honestly was easy to depict what happens, even the little plot twist at the end. I liked Russ' character, but Vivian pissed me off (which I guess was kind of the point). To me, it was more of a long drawn out story of a marriage catastrophe instead of a romantic love story. Which I get not all of his books have great happy stories the whole time, but this was just kind of annoying. And the title was explained like once during the book and wasn't the besst title for the book in my opinion. Overall I would give it a 6/10. It was "ehh" compared to his other books. An easy, mindless read.

There are SO many books I need to catch up on reading, so I am hoping I can take and pass this test within the next month or so and then be back to my normal routine of fiction reading on the daily! Keep sending me book names, I have been writing them all down and adding them to the list! In the world of Madi and I, it's been a lot of work and school with some Duke basketball mixed in. Go devils! He will be traveling in February for school, and I will be in March but we are excited for the spring and summer as we have some fun trips planned!

Thanks for reading with me,
- Olivia :)

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things: Washington DC

Hey long lost friends!

I know I've been MIA for like the whole month of December. Probably because this month has been CRAZY for me between work, studying for my OCN in the new year, and getting ready for Christmas. It's been hard to find time to experiment with crafts and baking, travel, or even read something non-textbook lately. However I did take time out of my busy schedule to surprise Madi with a quick overnight trip to Washington DC this past weekend! Madi had never been into the city, and since his favorite team the wizards was playing my favorite team the clippers, I thought it would be the perfect Christmas surprise! And it turns out I was right! We had a fantastic weekend. Here were some of our favorite things and things we highly recommend doing in DC:

1) DC Tours By Foot

We found this tour company on Trip Advisor. The great part about this tour: ITS FREE. Well it's name your own price, but not a binding contract of how much you have to pay. They have different tours on different days and times, but we found the 2 hour National Mall tour to be plenty long and had lots of great information. We recommend this company!

2) The Commissary

An eatery in Logan's Circle that was such a chill hipster vibe but also a decently priced brunch in the city. For us it was about a mile out of the way, which meant extra steps, but it was worth the hike! Madi loved their Energy Breakfast, which consisted of egg whites, chicken, and spinach with wheat toast. I stuck to my pancakes and bacon, also delicious! 

3) The Verizon Center

If you can, go see a Wizards or Capitals game at the Verizon Center. They have a chick-fil-a inside, making it 100% amazing to eat at too! Except we went on a Sunday. Darn.

4) Matchbox 360

They have multiple locations of this restaurant throughout DC, but we went to the Chinatown location. YUM. They have brick oven woodfired pizza  and a whole other section of their menu with regular food that is equally delicious. 

5) Georgetown Cupcakes

We didn't make a stop on this trip, and it is SUPER touristy, but you have to go to Georgetown Cupcakes if you have never been. This is the home of the DC Cupcakes show on TLC. The cupcakes are not THE BEST EVER but they're pretty darn good. Worth the extra steps and you get to see Georgetown. #winning

So there you have it! Our trip couldn't have been much better. We were blessed with great cool weather, and although it was supposed to rain it was more just overcast. We stayed near Chinatown and the Verizon center and got a great deal about a month out on Hotels.com! Love that site!! We're here in Florida now for family time and a wedding, excited to get some sunshine and warmth before heading back to chilly NC. Hoping to get back into blogging about our life adventures, projects, eats and reads more often in January, but I still will be studying so we shall see! 

Have a safe and Happy New Year everyone!
- Olivia :)