Friday 27 January 2012

Cruise Alaska for 10 cents per day?

When I was young my Father had a friend named Neil who would visit our house to drink tea or coffee and have long talks. They would discuss news, politics, reminisce about the past and tell jokes. They were both great storytellers so I would just sit and listen for hours.   
One time Neil told us that he had just booked a 2 week Alaskan cruise for himself and his wife.  He said he had paid for it with dimes. Neil explained that when he was a boy an older man had told him a story of how he had saved 10 cents a day for most of his life.  When he retired he had enough saved to take a long trip. Neil had decided to start saving daily himself.  He started with dimes, moved to quarters and as an adult was saving a dollar a day.
     He didn’t always remember to do each day, but made sure that every few months he caught up with his savings. As the money grew he invested it and kept contributing. It became second nature to do it. Over the years the small amounts added up to the point where he could book his cruise.   
 He had saved enough for airfare, the first class 2 week cruise and lots of spending money. It was a trip that he could enjoy thoroughly because it was all paid for in advance. He also had quite a bit of money left to spend on something else – whatever he felt like buying - because he had earned it. Over time the dimes really added up.
 Today this type of saving is done for us.  Collecting Air miles, Credit cards that pay cash dividends, and cash back websites.  Last year there was a great bank advertisement where 2 women were shopping and one used a bank card with Cash Back Rewards.  As they left the store the other woman said “What did you get ? Two Dollars? ”  the other replied, “Yes, what did you get?”
   Two Dollars doesn’t seem like a lot, but it does add up over time and yhoti Cash rewards can help you do this. Just sign in to the yhoti online Mall (membership is free) and click on a store to shop as usual. The Cash Rewards are calculated automatically and added to your account. This is on top of the points or cash that you already get on your credit card. It’s that easy. 
  Imagine if every purchase you made this year gave you yhoti’s 1% to 15% back. That would be a lot of dimes, and a pretty nice cruise. Plus even more Cash Rewards if you booked the trip on yhoti.com!

With interest rates under 1%, getting up to 15% cash back at yhoti sounds pretty good.

 Last week my daughter found a $5 bill on the ground in a parking lot. She was pretty excited about it.  She had been saving up to buy a new book in the Pretty Little Liars series. This “found” money gave her enough to buy the book. 
  $5 may not seem like much but it was enough to provide her with a weekend of great reading, money well spent.  Now whenever we are in that parking lot my kids keep on the lookout for more money on the ground. Imagine if we found money every time we went there?
 This is a great way to look at Cash Back websites like yhoti. By doing something you normally do – shopping – there is a way that you can “find” money every time you shop. Cash rewards may not seem like a large payback – although on big ticket items they are – but they add up. With interest rates under 1%,  getting up to 15% cash back at yhoti sounds pretty  good.  
 If you are creative, how you spend your Cash Rewards can have a lot of value.   Think of those things that you would like to buy but hold back on. Life's guilty pleasues: A new pair of designer shoes, expensive makeup,  a great bottle of wine, golfing range finder or a donation to a needy charity.  Imagining what you will do with the money when it adds up can be as almost much fun as actually spending it.
 So remember when you are shopping online - sign in to yhoti.com first – you will “find” money every time.

Tuesday 24 January 2012

Shopping tips for January

Want to access American websites that don’t ship to Canada?
There are many companies that will provide you with a U.S. PO box
to use for your order. They will then reship it to your home in Canada.
Some sites to check out:

http://www.usa2me.com/?gclid=CPf5sMCK6a0CFUHc4AodGF1-5Q


Living in a rural area?
 Online shopping can be a challenge if you have slow internet service.  Using an online Mall like yhoti.com will help you find retailers quicker without long searches. It also gives you access to some amazing products that you won’t find in your local stores.

Time Management that pays cash.
Many people like to shop at lunch, but find it very rushed and it means they have to skip eating. With yhoti you can browse your favourite store ahead of time to see if they have items you like. Then check out the store at lunch. But save time by skipping the long checkouts and order online later when you have time. This also works great if you work late and stores are closing. yhoti never closes and you also get Cash Rewards on your purchases.

Friday 13 January 2012

yhoti - Notes from the Mall: Admin Assistant finds alternative to Air Mile Poin...

yhoti - Notes from the Mall: Admin Assistant finds alternative to Air Mile Poin...: Admin Assistant may be a better title than Secretary, but it doesn't fit the job that they do. The ones that I have worked with did all ...

Admin Assistant finds alternative to Air Mile Points.

  Admin Assistant may be a better title than Secretary,
but it doesn't fit the job that they do.  The ones that I have worked with
did all of the admin, they didn't assist on it.  They also helped train new employees, organized meetings, managed the office and booked travel.  
 
   Booking travel was a tough one. On one hand most travel was booked (or changed) last minute. Finding room on planes or in hotels that were already overbooked was a challenge.  On the other hand even if it is work related, booking travel to a great place for someone else is not fun. It makes you feel like you are missing out, and this happens a lot.  
 
It also is a bit annoying that those who are taking the flights and are likely paid much more money than you,  are collecting air miles points on those flights.  Enough for a few great trips a year - with their family! 
 
 This morning I heard from Judy an Admin Assistant that I worked with a few years ago. She was great at her job, fun to work with and was always coming up with creative ways to do things better. I found out that this hasn't changed. She had been referred to yhoti.com by a friend and after about a week of personal shopping it clicked. She had discovered a great way to pay for HER trips.
 
At work she buys a lot of things online and realized that many of the websites are on yhoti. Travel is a big one. She books thousands of dollars in travel each month on Expedia,  Priceline, and Hotels.com.  Judy realized that if she logs in to yhoti before she makes a purchase she can collect the cash rewards. That's it - just log in - it doesn't affect the purchase in any way. She expects to collect at least $3,000 / year on travel alone.
 
That's enough to send a smart Admin Assistant on a great  trip.

Tuesday 3 January 2012

Do you find shopping with young children stressful?

  Shopping with young children can be a fun experience. Giving them rides with the stroller or in a shopping cart with so much to look at. I always liked to see little toddlers walking in a huge Mall.
But shopping with small children also has it’s issues – especially in winter.  Juggling kids, diaper bags, and strollers in a crowded parking lot. Putting on and taking off  snowsuits and winter clothes at every stop. Trying not to drop mitts and hats as you navigate through stores.  Keeping an eye on kids and strollers and purchases  at the washroom or food court. Trying to get everything done before the kids wear out.
When my kids were young we started to see drive thru’s expand from fast food to coffee shops and banks. It made running errands a lot easier.
But now online shopping provides a much easier option. While the kids play at home you can shop online and have everything delivered to your home. The time it save is incredible, the internet definitely provides stress free shopping for people with young children.