10 weeks 'til graduation

Random thoughts today:

> Monday morning, and it's our spring break!! Break started last Friday for me.

> Met an MBA alum on my way to the library. He's an international student who's switching jobs after not-even-a-year. He's going to join a startup after working at a small financial consulting firm. He says he "likes small companies." I wished him good luck!

> It's break, yes, but I am working in the library. It's nice, however, to be working in the library -- getting paid and getting fed (lots of extra food from dissertation camp) -- when most students are away.

> Must remember to get my new I-20 from the International office and mail my OPT application today!

> Need packaging tape to mail a textbook rental back. Ebay in the US is a blessing. There's stuff there that's cheaper than Amazon, Walmart or the dollar store.

> Spending more than I usually do on food with friends, and stuff like ski pants. Trading money for (affordable more-value-for-your-money) memories.

> I need a US driver's license!!! Aaaahhhhhh. Parallel parking, I'll beat you today!

> Double points for Bing Rewards today! Followed it up with Swagbucks! (for more info, follow this link.) I think I've earned around $50 so far with these two sites. Not bad!

> Wondering what to eat for mid-afternoon "lunch."

> Can't wait to know how much my tax refund will be; my tax appointment's next week.

> Wonder what ever happened to No Debt MBA? She stopped writing on her blog since she started her internship. I had been reading it before I came to the US back in 2012. Did she accumulate debt during her second year? Hmm.

> Yes, I'm graduating soon, and I'm feeling lazy, like the stereotypical second-year MBA. Cannot wait to start earning again!

Trade your idle time for $5 Amazon Gift Cards!

$5 Amazon gift cards are manna from heaven for a graduate student like me looking for textbook money. Granted, these gift cards do not come free since you have to spend a certain amount of time doing searches on sites. The good news is that how much time you spend is completely under your control.

(Note: Unfortunately, Bing Rewards and Swagbucks Search aren't for Philippine residents. You could still play Swagbucks games though! But keep this in mind if you're gonna study in the US.)

With all the mini-breaks that I take from work and studying, I go to Bing and Swagbucks for a few minutes each day to search and play games. I just "discovered" Bing Rewards and Swagbucks a few weeks back, and I've earned $15 so far! (Which, granted, isn't a lot at the moment, but think of how much I can earn in a year!)

I really like Bing Rewards because it's simple to earn points, and there's a set limit each day -- meaning that I don't have to spend as much time as necessary to earn the limit. I can earn the max allowed points in less than 5 minutes, since I can type literally anything into Bing's search bar and have it count towards the limit. Bing has fewer partner merchants, but... one of them is Swagbucks!

Once you get into Bing Rewards' Gold Status level (which is really easy to get into), you get the rewards at a discount. You can choose between getting an Amazon Gift Card at once for 475 points, or go through the Swagbucks route for the same 475 points. The latter means that you get 500 Swagbucks, which you can use at Swagbucks to get an Amazon Gift Card for 450 points, with 50 points left over.

I haven't tried the Swagbucks route yet, since I was happy with how fast Bing gave me the Amazon codes, and was unsure with how fast I could get the Swagbucks one. I'll be doing it next time though, since the turnaround of Swagbucks was bearable (i.e. not even a week).

There are so many ways you could earn Swagbucks that the danger is spending too much time on that site. But, if you find yourself going to do mindless surfing over the next couple of hours, then it might still be worth a try.

With Amazon's Buy-Back program (where I can sell my old textbooks), and these gift card programs, I can earn enough to fund the next set of books. Or a book or two, anyhow. Hey, every little bit helps.