Spring is in the air.

Which is really weird, because it should be 20 degrees and snowing.

Nevertheless, I’ll take it… even if I am dreaming of fresh snow, fast skis, and northern lights.

Welcome to money Monday, where I share my highs and lows from a week of money management. Join in with your money highs and lows in the comments below. I love to hear from you!

 

Wise Money Management

This week I saved money by using the emiles reward program to gather miles. For vacation!

I also dreamed big dreams as I helped an acquaintance search for deals on flights to Europe.

Coincidence that these both occurred during the week? I think not.

You’ve probably heard of Swagbucks (for earning Amazon gift cards) and Ebates (cash back on purchases), but chances are, you’ve never heard about Emiles.

The emiles program is different in that it doesn’t give you four billion different ways to earn points (or, miles, as their called). The primary way to earn points is to watch a quick video or ad, answer a couple of very quick questions, and receive points. I love the simplicity of emiles.

 

How does emiles work?

I’m not tempted to stick around and waste hours watching videos, doing tasks, or answering surveys. I just hop on, snag my 5, 10, 15, or 20 points in a minute or two, and move on with my day.

For the record, emiles is now also offering points for surveys, but those are almost always a waste of time. Don’t get sucked in!

 

What rewards can I earn through the emiles program?

Here are the possible redemptions:

While you can get more “liquid” redemptions, like Starbucks (get it — liquid!!) or Amazon gift cards, I use my points in a straight-up exchange for Alaska Airlines miles. Here’s why:

• A $10 Amazon.com gift card = 600 mile redemption. Divide the prize value by miles and we see that each mile is worth 1.6 cents (for this particular redemption).
• However, a straight-up Alaska Air mileage redemption costs me 500 miles (500 “spent”, and 500 earned). I can get a ticket to see my in-state family for $500 or 15k miles. Run the numbers and you’ll see that this particular redemption is worth 3.3 cents/mile for me.

Clearly, the straight mileage redemption is the winner in my case. It’s also crystal clear that it’s not worth wasting a bunch of time on the site trying to become a millionaire. If I can jump onto emiles, earn 30 miles in 2 minutes and hop off, that’s like picking up a $1 bill.

I’ll take that $1 bill, thank you very much.

 

Mismanagement. Ouch!

I ordered too much maple syrup.

Say what?

Don’t laugh now, but if you would’ve seen me Wednesday morning, you would be cracking up! I recently changed the date of our Amazon subscribe and save shipment from the first of the month to the 10th. The purpose was to be able to get the bill early in the month rather than receiving it during the last couple of days of the month (Amazon charges you when the package ships) and blowing our grocery budget.

I saw the shipment reminder email last week, but I ignored it, thinking that I’d remember later in the week.

I was wrong.

Thus the frantic praying, laptop juggling, sweating, and “cancel shipment!!!!” button-clicking festival that ensued Wednesday morning.

I can’t believe I was actually able to cancel all of the unneeded items. One shipment had already been sent, but that was mercifully filled with food that we’d actually eat, not razor blades, toilet paper, and paper towels that we really don’t need this month.

Except, of course, for that maple syrup.

But, no worries. I’ll take it as a sign that I need to make more of this decadent treat.

 

How did you manage money wisely this week?

 

*FYI, the links on this page may contain an affiliate kickback (if you buy at these great prices I’ll get a small cut at no cost to you). Thank you!

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