Day: July 18, 2024

Natural Disasters: What to do in the Aftermath

Abby H.

For information about how to prepare for evacuating in an emergency, check out my post here. It is specifically aimed at Southern California natural disasters (wildfires being chief among them), but the information is pretty solid for anyone having to leave home in an emergency situation.

After the disaster, there is so much to do. It is extremely overwhelming.

 Use your Insurance coverage: Renters, homeowners, condo unit owners depending on your living situation. There are coverages for personal property and loss of use (pays for food and housing when your home is uninhabitable, up to a dollar amount specified in your insurance policy). These may be subject to your deductible.

Paying the Bills: Contact your creditors and let them know you have been affected by a natural disaster. Many times they can defer your payments.

Power: Contact your Gas and electric utility provider for information on payment assistance programs.

There are a lot of government entities that can assist you:

The IRS can also help with disaster assistance/ emergency relief. This website has more information. 

Feeding your family: SNAP benefits (food stamps) may be available to you after natural disasters.

Homeowners, business owners, and even renters may qualify for a Small Business Administration loan after a disaster. These loans have low interest rates. More info can be found at SBA.gov.

Per the FEMA website for those in immediate need after an emergency: Check with your local emergency management officials, and voluntary agencies or call your local 2-1-1. The FEMA Helpline (800-621-3362) may be able to provide additional referrals. If you use video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA your number for that service.

If there is a natural disaster and you want to help from afar, contact your local blood bank to donate. Blood is in short supply after most natural disasters and it’s a great way to help if you can’t afford to donate time or money. 

Donations of used household goods are frequently not helpful. Getting trucks full of used goods into disaster zones can be hard. Local nonprofits and agencies local to the disaster zones have access to low-cost goods directly from distributors.

 

Got Dirty Clothes? Arm & Hammer Laundry Detergent Sale!

Abby H.

 This deal is only good until Saturday night at 11:59, and for me, this is a RUN DEAL.

This week at Walgreens, all 27.5-28 oz bottles of Arm & Hammer Liquid Laundry detergent are on sale for only $1.99/each.

They are usually $7.49/each, but let’s face it, I’d never pay that much. With this sale price, each load of laundry costs.07-.09 per load!

They have 5 varieties:

No coupons are needed, and you can order online and do curbside pick up (with a minimum order of $10.00) so you won’t have to step foot in the store! If you have Walgreens cash, you can use it, and this deal combines with any “Earn $X when you spend $Y” offers you might have in your Walgreens account (check online or in their app).

My Recent Cash Outs from Cash Back Apps

Abby H.
I’m not earning Benjamins, but every little bit helps.

I’ve been meaning to post this for a few weeks, but I have been recovering from surgery, and trying to take the kids on short adventures.

You guys know how much I love a good cashback app, and here are some of my recent cashouts, and how I’m coming on reaching the payouts on a few more apps.

 

Cashback apps where I have almost reached the threshold for payout: 

  • Ibotta: right now I’m at $23.75
  • Drop: they ran out of gift certificates/rewards so I will try again on Thursday. They release a limited number of each week. Right now I have enough points to cash out $25 worth of rewards. It has taken me almost 2 years. I count this is one of my very passive apps to use. 

If you are interested in learning more about the cashback apps, I use, check out my cashback app page here. Many of the apps I use are affiliate-linked, so when you sign up for them, you will receive a bonus for first-time use, and I will also receive a small bonus. Think about it as buying me a Slurpee, or buying my kids a donut. 

For more information about the use of Affiliate links, check out my disclosure page.