1. I “fixed” my locket
When I graduated from high school, my aunt and uncle (the ones Lisey lived with during aviation mechanic school) gave me a locket with my initials engraved on it.
It also has my graduation year on it!
I got married a little over a year later (!!), which meant that for most of the time I’ve worn this necklace, the initials have been wrong.
But…now they are correct again. 😉
I’ve had this necklace for almost 30 years, and it will not stay closed anymore. This is probably due to me absentmindedly fidgeting with it and popping it open. I am the problem!
Note the popped locket
I stopped in at a jewelry store to ask about it, but they declined to work on it since it is not real gold.
I tried using a pliers to adjust the little tab that’s supposed to hold it closed, but that didn’t work.
And upon closer inspection, I saw the problem was on the other side; there just was not enough material to hold the tab in place.
So, as any good jeweler does, I got out my super glue and glued the whole thing shut.
In keeping with my professionalism, I used a rubber band to hold it shut during the drying process.
It doesn’t function as a locket anymore, of course, but I don’t care! I just wanted to wear the necklace.
2. I noticed a missing 12-hour work shift!
Every month, we have a new grad nurse education program at work, and I was scrolling back in my time card to make sure I’d added a clocking for those four hours.
It turned out I had.
BUT.
In the process, I noticed an entire 12-hour shift that wasn’t showing up! I don’t know if I’d forgotten to clock in and out that day or if there was a system error or what.
I emailed our payroll person to ask, and she confirmed that yep, I had indeed worked that day but had not been paid. So, she’s adding my 12 hours onto my next paycheck.
Whew. I make $35/hour, so multiply that by twelve, and you have $420.
That’s a significant amount of money to leave on the table, and I’m really glad I happened to notice!
3. I attended a staff meeting for $35
I noticed I could make my schedule work to attend a monthly unit staff meeting on Teams, so I logged on from home on a day off.
Chiquita always comes to my meetings
The meeting itself was helpful (since I’m so new, almost any topic is going to be helpful to me!!), and I got to ask some clarifying questions about a few things I’ve encountered at work.
But, this is also paid time, so I logged on afterward and added a one-hour clocking (after clarifying that this is indeed a valid paid-time meeting.)
Hey, $35 is $35! And it was an easier hour than most of my regular work hours. 😉
4. I worked some CVS deals on deodorant
I usually use Native deodorant, which runs about $13 at most stores.
However, I got two at CVS for $8.50 apiece by:
- doing an online order for in-store pickup (prices were $1 cheaper online than in-store)
- using multiple coupons (one specifically for Native and one for $3 off a deodorant purchase)
- taking advantage of a sale
Native deodorants are $15.99 apiece at my local CVS, but I never look at those prices to calculate my savings; I consider whether or not the deal/coupon will get the price lower than what I’d pay at a grocery store.
Because CVS prices are craaaazy most of the time.
Also of note: I drive by my CVS almost every time I leave my house, so it wastes exactly zero gas to do an in-store pickup.
5. I canceled my Canva Pro trial
I’d said yes to a free trial this month because I was designing so many PowerPoint presentations for this horrible BSN class.
But I think I am done with slideshows now, so I hit “cancel” before I got billed. It’s only $15 a month, but still, that’s $15 I’d rather have in my pocket.
