This is me making work FUN & MEANINGFUL! Hahaha! Isn't there a meme about dressing for the job you want & ending up in your boss's office dressed as a superhero?! Uh-oh... For many years, when asked about my business plan I have said that since I like simplicity, I kept it to two words...FUN & MEANINGFUL
If it’s not FUN, no one wants to do it. And if it’s not MEANINGFUL...why are we doing it at all?!
I try to apply this philosophy to most things in my life. It challenges me to do things that both matter and are also enjoyable. This usually works really well for me.
Until I have to go grocery shopping.
It’s a task that certainly matters (a girl’s gotta eat)...but I never found it to be enjoyable. In fact, it used to make me dread getting out of bed because I just couldn’t find anything fun about it (unless you count the ice cream aisle...that I can get behind).
But then one day, my genius bestie introduced me to a little app called ibotta. Holy game changer.
This little app offers rebates on just about any item you can imagine. Including things like fresh produce, milk, eggs, & a $.25 rebate on literally “Any Item” by simply submitting the receipt from one of the stores the app partners with. And these aren’t obscure stores you’d never shop in. I’m talking Wal-Mart, Target, Military Commissaries, 7-11...you name it. Even Amazon just got in on the action...so you can shop at home and STILL get money back on your purchases! And for those of you who like to have an adult beverage every now & then, they’ve included about a bazillion rebates at Total Wine & more. You are welcome.
Suddenly, this made going to the grocery store a whole lot more fun. How much could I get back on each trip?! Could I unlock the monthly bonuses for random extra money?! Could I actually start to LIKE grocery shopping?!
Since signing up for the app, I have made $705.21 from 556 rebates + 62 bonuses (which goes right into your PayPal or venmo account or can be redeemed for gift cards to just about anywhere). I think my biggest savings to date in a single trip was something like $32 (this was unusual as I was spending about $200 on items to donate to families who had lost everything in a fire...so I just bought anything they asked for that was on ibotta--pet food, baby supplies, toiletries, etc). A more typical savings is the $11 I saved yesterday on a $59 grocery trip.
But most importantly...I actually LIKE grocery shopping now. It’s become something fun to do because of this little app. I have discovered sections of the grocery store I’d never explored before and have sampled products I might not have otherwise found (although I am not sure my addiction to Halo Top ice cream is a good thing?! Haha!).
If it’s not FUN, no one wants to do it. And if it’s not MEANINGFUL...why are we doing it at all?!
I try to apply this philosophy to most things in my life. It challenges me to do things that both matter and are also enjoyable. This usually works really well for me.
Until I have to go grocery shopping.
It’s a task that certainly matters (a girl’s gotta eat)...but I never found it to be enjoyable. In fact, it used to make me dread getting out of bed because I just couldn’t find anything fun about it (unless you count the ice cream aisle...that I can get behind).
But then one day, my genius bestie introduced me to a little app called ibotta. Holy game changer.
This little app offers rebates on just about any item you can imagine. Including things like fresh produce, milk, eggs, & a $.25 rebate on literally “Any Item” by simply submitting the receipt from one of the stores the app partners with. And these aren’t obscure stores you’d never shop in. I’m talking Wal-Mart, Target, Military Commissaries, 7-11...you name it. Even Amazon just got in on the action...so you can shop at home and STILL get money back on your purchases! And for those of you who like to have an adult beverage every now & then, they’ve included about a bazillion rebates at Total Wine & more. You are welcome.
Suddenly, this made going to the grocery store a whole lot more fun. How much could I get back on each trip?! Could I unlock the monthly bonuses for random extra money?! Could I actually start to LIKE grocery shopping?!
Since signing up for the app, I have made $705.21 from 556 rebates + 62 bonuses (which goes right into your PayPal or venmo account or can be redeemed for gift cards to just about anywhere). I think my biggest savings to date in a single trip was something like $32 (this was unusual as I was spending about $200 on items to donate to families who had lost everything in a fire...so I just bought anything they asked for that was on ibotta--pet food, baby supplies, toiletries, etc). A more typical savings is the $11 I saved yesterday on a $59 grocery trip.
But most importantly...I actually LIKE grocery shopping now. It’s become something fun to do because of this little app. I have discovered sections of the grocery store I’d never explored before and have sampled products I might not have otherwise found (although I am not sure my addiction to Halo Top ice cream is a good thing?! Haha!).
We even game-i-fied our wedding! Instead of a guest book, we gathered advice on Jenga Blocks. Why not fill life with fun & games every chance you get?! On top of all that, when I look at the rankings of people I know, I can see that just 5 of the people I have shared a referral link with have collectively earned over $1,383...and that feels pretty darn good! Heck, my mom & I will even shop together just to find rebates as a bonding experience! How funny is that?!
This app has made me ask myself...where else can I game-i-fy my life?!
I’ve come up with a few ideas to help me do things I would like to do because I know they’re meaningful for me or for my business...but maybe aren’t so much fun.
Things like tracking my water intake with gold stars for glasses consumed (important for all of us...but definitely critical while I am breastfeeding, so HAVE to make it fun so I do it!). I also put my water in those fun Wonder Woman drinking glasses with the straws attached & keep them all around the house to help me drink every last drop of H2O my body needs.
Or creating small rewards for myself when I hit certain biz goals. Like a foot massage at the reflexology place across the street after making x-number of phone calls. I need this one BAD because I am way more of a texter than a talker...but some things are just better in a real conversation.
Sometimes I ask my husband to draw me a trophy when I feel like what I did sucked & I am just glad it’s done! I have a whole gallery of these tiny trophies on yellow sticky notes greeting me on the bathroom mirror every morning, which puts a big smile on my face to start the day!
These things may not make a huge impact...but the small impact they do make keeps me smiling as I tackle the parts of life that are as unavoidable as they are unenjoyable. Who says sugar coating things isn’t a darn fine idea?!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a gold star to give myself for the glass of water I drank while writing this...and maybe a trophy to demand for sitting down to write instead of binge watching iZombie.
NOTE: Click here for a referral link that scores you $10 when you cash in on your first “I wanna make grocery shopping more fun” rebate. Added bonus, when you snag your $10, I get $5 for sharing the ibotta love! Win-win!!
This app has made me ask myself...where else can I game-i-fy my life?!
I’ve come up with a few ideas to help me do things I would like to do because I know they’re meaningful for me or for my business...but maybe aren’t so much fun.
Things like tracking my water intake with gold stars for glasses consumed (important for all of us...but definitely critical while I am breastfeeding, so HAVE to make it fun so I do it!). I also put my water in those fun Wonder Woman drinking glasses with the straws attached & keep them all around the house to help me drink every last drop of H2O my body needs.
Or creating small rewards for myself when I hit certain biz goals. Like a foot massage at the reflexology place across the street after making x-number of phone calls. I need this one BAD because I am way more of a texter than a talker...but some things are just better in a real conversation.
Sometimes I ask my husband to draw me a trophy when I feel like what I did sucked & I am just glad it’s done! I have a whole gallery of these tiny trophies on yellow sticky notes greeting me on the bathroom mirror every morning, which puts a big smile on my face to start the day!
These things may not make a huge impact...but the small impact they do make keeps me smiling as I tackle the parts of life that are as unavoidable as they are unenjoyable. Who says sugar coating things isn’t a darn fine idea?!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a gold star to give myself for the glass of water I drank while writing this...and maybe a trophy to demand for sitting down to write instead of binge watching iZombie.
NOTE: Click here for a referral link that scores you $10 when you cash in on your first “I wanna make grocery shopping more fun” rebate. Added bonus, when you snag your $10, I get $5 for sharing the ibotta love! Win-win!!
Thanks for reading!! If you enjoyed this post or think someone you know needs to hear that it's okay to make life not only meaningful but FUN...PLEASE SHARE!! We all need reminders about not taking lives (or ourselves) too seriously! Thanks to those who teach & remind me when I forget the importance of keeping life as enjoyable as possible (especially the parts that get old fast).
This post brought to you by a 42-year old Wonder Woman fan who thinks playing dress up & making as much of life as possible into a game MIGHT just be the ticket to enlightenment! But even if it's not...I'm keeping the tiara!
This post brought to you by a 42-year old Wonder Woman fan who thinks playing dress up & making as much of life as possible into a game MIGHT just be the ticket to enlightenment! But even if it's not...I'm keeping the tiara!
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