Day 33/365
With Halloween quickly approaching, it could be easy to forget that with it comes the end of the month. There is so much to do to wrap up before the next month begins, that I feel like I need a checklist to consult.
- Swagbucks
- Grocery Store Fuel Rewards
- Expiring Coupons
- Expiring Offers
- Expiring Deals
- Disney Movie Insiders
- Timesheets
Swagbucks
Each month, I try to earn enough Swagbucks for at least one $25 virtual Visa at a discount of 13% or 2175 SB. I checked my Order Status and discovered that I hadn’t redeemed for a gift card yet this month, even though I have a ridiculous number of SB saved up. The flip-side to this coin is to check my virtual Visa account to be sure that I am using my Visa gift cards before they expire! Last month, I discovered that I did have several expiring, so I used them on our city water bill.
Grocery Store Fuel Rewards
This was a weird month for grocery store fuel rewards. I had stopped by Fry’s twice to top up my Disney gift card balance during their 4x gift card event last month before our trip, so I have two $1 off rewards expiring. I remembered them in time last week, but then forgot when I got gas at Costco instead. This week I remembered to run out the tank and fill up at Fry’s, but then realized I still have another reward, and I won’t possibly run out the tank before the end of the day tomorrow. Luckily, I don’t have any rewards expiring in my Safeway account to further complicate matters. I will probably offer the reward to my dad so that it won’t go completely to waste.
Expiring Coupons
I keep all of my coupons in an index card case in my purse. A lot of manufacturer and restaurant coupons expire at the end of the month. Now is the time to use them or lose them. I tend to over clip, so most of my coupons end up in the recycle bin rather than the store register, but that just means I’m not buying that product at this time. If I need it in the near future, or it is on sale somewhere, I can use the coupon now before it expires, or I miss the double savings opportunity.
Expiring Offers
I keep all of my current Amex and Chase Offers on a spreadsheet by expiration date. It looks like I have a couple that I will need to use or lose today or tomorrow. This year, we bought very little at Spirit Halloween since we did most of our Halloween shopping before our trip to Disneyland in September, so I wasn’t able to take advantage of that Offer.
Expiring Deals
Some stores time their specials to close out before the end of the month. Check your emails for these expiring deals if any pertain to you. Lately, Gmail features the emails with expiring deals at the top of my promotions box. Thanks, Gmail!
Disney Movie Insiders
Used to be, back in the day when it was called Disney Movie Rewards, that I would remind you to play the Disney and Marvel Challenges before they reset at the end of the month. Sadly, I think we finally have to say, “R.I.P.” to those fun aspects of the rewards site. I can’t even open the DMI app on my phone because it keeps crashing every time, even after reinstalling. As far as I can see, it works perfectly fine on my husband’s iPhone, but not on my Google Pixel. Luckily, the app is not necessary at this point since you can use the desktop site.
Changes to DMI Submissions
Disney Movie Insiders has changed how you can redeem movie tickets, so I’m glad I logged on today to check it out. First of all, you can only earn 500 points per month on movie tickets submitted manually. Second, you have to submit your tickets within 14 days of the showing, which is fast approaching if you saw Maleficent on opening weekend. If you have a linked account and purchase tickets through Atom, Fandango, or Regal, you are good to earn as many points as you like, and you don’t have to worry about any time limits since your points are added automatically. Message received, DMI. You want us to use digital tickets! Well, I’ll be happy to as soon as they remove the service charges.
Manual Ticket Submissions
For calculations on manual submissions, tickets are worth 100 points each for regular showings, and 150 points for mega screen and 3D versions. (I wonder if that includes my beloved Cine Capri.) I won’t have to play the two account game this time because we lost a ticket when we saw Maleficent, so I only have five regular tickets to submit, hitting the upper limit of 500 points for October. Next month, I’ll submit our Frozen 2 tickets, and December’s submissions will be dedicated to Star Wars. This may get interesting with a monthly allocation plus a 14-day window to work around.
Timesheets
Timesheets for my day job are due at the beginning of the month, and since I need to mail them, it’s a good idea to start them before the month is over. This is just another necessary task to add to my end of the month to-do list.
How Goes Your List?
I have some work to do figuring out how to use up my gas rewards and filling out my timesheets. What do you have on your end of the month to do list?
