Thursday, January 30, 2020

Payouts in January 2019

Amazon Gift Cards:

Life Fun and Everything: $25.00
Fetch Rewards: $10.00
NCP: $10.00
Paid Viewpoint: $15.09
Google Opinion Rewards: $10.00

Serve:

Cathouse Mails: $3.28
Marino Mails: $2.86
Wallaby Mail: $3.76
Wine N Roses PTR: $2.52
Heather Conzett: $2.75

Mini Update for 2020

In my last post, I had gone from Market of Choice to Consumer Cellular to UNEMPLOYED. October 11, 2019 I started a new job as an electronics associate at WalMart. So all is well? NOT.

I was fired from WalMart for excessive absenteeism on January 2, 2020. I missed a lot of work due to one sinus infection after another (2 visits to Urgent Care, 1 visit to the ER, 3 rounds of antibiotics -- and of course the antibiotics caused other infections in unmentionable places as well as upset my stomach no end),

Here's the really special part, I was at home sick (having called out) and received a phone call to come pick up my final paycheck. Being fired over the phone was a new experience for me, and it's an experience I wouldn't recommend to anybody else!!

I had applied for unemployment benefits in between Consumer Cellular and WalMart but had never claimed any weeks. So I reopened the claim on January 2, 2020 but of course they had to investigate my firing so it took 3 weeks--21 days to the day--to be approved for benefits. I'd received my final paycheck on the same day I got fired, and that was the only income I received until Monday January 26, 2020 when I received a check for 2 weeks of unemployment benefits. I will continue to get unemployment benefits for several weeks, and I am also on SNAP and OHP.

Just to add to the total joy of the situation, the same day that I was fired I discovered that there was a broken and/or leaking pipe under the house. The park manager came over at 1:30 AM (yes, in the very early morning) and turned off the water. The guy who usually works on my plumbing was injured and couldn't go into crawl spaces. NONE of the other plumbers that I called ever called me back or they had an hourly minimum so I finally ended up (AFTER THIRTEEN DAYS WITHOUT ANY RUNNING WATER!!) with a handyman that was recommended by a fellow park resident. It turned out that a pipe under the kitchen sink (under the house) had just simply burst. Matt fixed it the day after I called him

I brought buckets of water from the clubhouse to flush the toilet for 13 days. I did laundry at the clubhouse too and finally asked the park manager if I could use the clubhouse dishwasher to wash dishes as the kitchen was starting to smell pretty ripe. I used baby wipes to keep myself clean and boiled bottled water to wash my hair. I was so happy to finally get running water again after thirteen days without any.

The park manager paid to have my heat pump partially fixed. It had been icing over the last 2-3 winters and it turns out there were two reasons: the filter hadn't been changed in FIVE YEARS (they need to be changed every 3 months) and the defrost control board and sensor both need to be replaced. I'm looking to buy the parts on Amazon and have Matt install them if it's something he can do.

I have been lucky with Amazon gift cards for the last several years. If a site pays with Amazon, I jump on that (also if the site pays with Serve--American Express prepaid) I can reload my Amazon balance with my Serve card. Some sites also pay with virtual debit cards that can be used to reload the Amazon gift cards. Apps and surveys work the best for me, as most of the PTR sites I belong to are slow payers.

I've purchased cat food, cat litter, decorative fencing, two toilets, a Christmas tree (artificial), a fitbit (actually my 2nd fitbit as the first one got washed accidentally and died), my Kindle, a box of Godiva chocolate, a SAD (seasonal affective disorder) light, a swimsuit (which ended up getting returned because it didn't fit) and a years supply of vitamin D.