Productivity Pains

Panic about lack of #blogging and lack of #productivity has gotten me so upset, that I just noticed that I've literally started to bleed. :-)

I must've hit the table too hard, in frustration.

David Carlson, Josh Claybourn, et. al.: How the heck do you do it?!

    

Merry CHRISTmas and Happy New Year!

Two nights ago for this occasion, we held a party for West Side Young Adults at our apartment!  I still have unpublished material from then, that I was hoping to publish, in a draft post at this blog.

My health was on the upswing at that time (late 2015). Things went down afterwards though, and 2016 was mixed, while ending on a not-so-healthful note.  For much of 2017, I was in a hospital.  But I still could have done a lot more.

I was hoping, before year's end, to finish the series I've started at this blog, about how to layout layers of savings upon each other, to get prices as close to $0.00 (and sometimes, lower than that!) at the stores.  Great expectations!

But for the moment, I wanted to say: Just as I dropped the ball on blogging this year, THE BALL is going to drop, in less than an hour.

Merry CHRISTmas (which it still is!) and Happy New Year!

Happy Birthday to my Hard-Working Mother!

I was at a friend's birthday party recently, and was glad to hear that my past writings had influenced him to check out freebies for one's birthday. [H/T to Tai and Tarin Perry, from Extreme Couponing :-].

http://savingsingles.blogspot.com/2014/06/birthday-stress-and-birthday-freebies.html
http://savingsingles.blogspot.com/2015/06/birthday-stress-and-birthday-freebies.html


Today is the birthday of my very hard-working mother. I just took her to Firehouse Subs [H/T Freebie Depot], and we're probably going to Denny's tonight.

Happy Birthday to mom... And best wishes to all working mothers out there!

Merry Christmas!!

Merry CHRISTmas!!

In response to some Christmastime angst I expressed years ago, Adrianne Truett reminded us that today is still Christmas!

http://atruett.blogspot.com/…/merry-christmas-someone-shoul…

Merry CHRISTmas, to you and yours!!

Merry CHRISTmas Eve Eve

Merry CHRISTmas Eve... Eve

So much is happening right now (even aside from nationally and worldwide), and as ususal, there's so much I want to write about.

Today has been a rough day, but I was glad to have the opportunity to get out of the apartment tonight.  Health problems have been severe.  Please pray for me.

I expect things to get better soon.

Merry CHRISTmas Eve Eve, to you and yours!

Meta-blogging

Phyllis Schlafly. Harriet Tubman. Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton. Immigration. SCOTUS. There are a TON of items I could have and wanted to blog about, as well as other To-Do's. In thinking about this a couple of months ago though, I realized that sometimes you have to take a break from all that stuff, and de-stress. Maybe I should start on a certain computer game I bought - as my roommates are gaming on their own systems.

That was shortly before the election though, and my thoughts of respite were swallowed up by thoughts about our nation. Still, it seemed that this year - despite being a Precinct Committeeman - I didn't do anywhere near as much election work as I did in past elections; I did make it to Missouri on Election Eve however... I love the political climate there, as discussed before. :-)

Though productivity is hard (not because of the lack of material!), and I'm still struggling with health issues, stay tuned for some quality #content. I'm still confused as to what format and medium to use, but I think the best bet is to just start writing.

As we said in 2013 - Whatever happens, let's begin!

Black Friday Round-up

Yes, I know I'm about a fortnight late is publishing this, but oh well...


- Young Adult Money: How to Find the Best Cyber Money Deals, Rachel Foxwell
- Young Adult Money: Best Black Friday Deals of 2016, Chonce Maddux

- Passion for Savings: Heather has an excellent roundup of Black Friday deals


And, a blast from the past, by Tyler Sickmeyer:

Marketing Strategies For Black Friday And Small Business Saturday
As Thanksgiving approaches, two other big days are on the minds of business owners and brand managers everywhere: the traditional behemoth that is Black Friday and American Express’s younger and growing venture known as Small Business Saturday.

These two shopping days, combined with Cyber Monday, make the post-Thanksgiving weekend one of the most important of the year for many retailers. It’s important for a business to have its collective act together well in advance of the holiday weekend. Here are some things to keep in mind as you prepare your business for the weekend:

Engage Your Customers In Advance: Don’t wait until the week of and expect a newspaper ad to carry you through the weekend, unless you’re Walmart or Macy’s. Engage your customers via email and social media a week in advance so that they can make arrangements to come by.

Pick Your Battles: It may be wise to cede Black Friday to the big box stores and focus on Small Business Saturday, especially if you’re not offering spectacular deals. Black Friday is typically reserved for the purported lowest prices of the year, while Small Business Saturday carries a more emotional call to action and deals don’t necessarily carry the day.

Accommodate Your Customers: For restaurants, this means opening early Friday as shoppers could be ready for “lunch” as early as 9am after beginning to shop at 4am and often standing in line long before that. For others, it may mean letting your deals run past the customary noon deadline so that customers don’t have to choose between your pet store’s specials and Best Buy’s door-buster sales.

Staff Accordingly: Make sure that you have enough staff to cover the rush; the last thing a business can afford is to make a lasting negative impression by being ill-prepared for the crowds. It’s far better to be over-staffed and overwhelm customers with great service at a time when service is scarce than to alienate them from returning.

Note: This article by Tyler Sickmeyer is borrowed from the Fidelitas Development blog. As with all material here, the embedded hyperlinks were added by me, and didn't appear in the original piece.

While We Wait: A Happy Birthday to David Carlson!

One of the great things about Social Media (Happy belated Social Media Day!) is the connections you make, and the interaction you have. It was that way with the Blogosphere and online forums, but tools like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn allow us to quickly make - and maintain - connections with very interesting people, without attending events and passing out business cards.

I turned 35 this week. That carries with it a lot of baggage and fears - topics for another time. Josh Claybourn - the Blogospherian who's inspired me most - also recently turned 35; we discussed this type of thing years ago, but Josh has clearly become more accomplished than I, in recent years.

- - - - - - - - - -

Just as JoshClaybourn.com was a "father" of my original blog, David Carlson of Young Adult Money has been one of those who inspired this weblog, and other ongoing activities. I met David years ago through Twitter, and he was there when my "behind the curve" crisis hit.

I am still struggling to figure things out career-wise, but it will work out.

For the moment, I wanted to wish David Carlson a very Happy Birthday! He recently published a book, which I'll be purchasing!


Check out the Young Adult Money site, and stay tuned for some quality content here as well!

While We Wait: Pizza savings via RetailMeNot

I have been getting through some of my many To-Do's, and hope to finish my blog series here, on how to legally steal from the stores.

But I wanted to drop a quick note here, about the great Retail Me Not site.

After going for a walk with my parents, we just ordered three pizzas from Pizza Hut. (One is for another family, that my parents are picking up from the train station tonight.) There is an "online exclusive" paper coupon that we have, which offers any specialty or 5-topping pizza for $11.00.

An "unpopular coupon" on RetailMeNot offered the same deal, but for $10.00. I tried it, and it worked!

It is coupon code "2155" - Go to the coupon code field at Pizza Hut's website, and enter "2155" there. It will then give you the opportunity to order, using this deal. Or if you did your order first, and then entered the coupon code, it'd probably work too. This deal is $10.00 for any specialty or 5-topping Large pizza!


Please pray for me, as I try to get things organized, straightened out, monetized, and optimized. And check out our friend David Carlson's new book! I wish I had his productivity!

While We Wait: Today's newspaper

My series on how to save money at the stores has been negligibly delayed, but in the posts I've done thus far, I did cover the issue of Sunday newspaper inserts.

From the Meijer Madness blog, I learned that today's Sunday newspaper contains five coupon inserts! (One mistake people make is thinking that the same inserts are going to be in each Sunday's newspaper.)

Today's newspaper contains:

2 The RedPlum (RP) Inserts
2 The SmartSource (SS) Inserts
1 The P&G Saver (PG) Insert


Here is a preview of some of the actual coupons that will probably be in aforesaid inserts.


If you haven't gotten the paper today, some stores will still have them tomorrow.

While We Wait: A Piece of Tax Time Humor

I am planning to finish the series on how to save money from the stores. But in the mean time, I'll republish a humorous piece from back when blogging was fun.

No endorsement implied... Use at your own risk!


================================================
The Top 10 Ways to Hassle the IRS

by Anonymous

The following list of "tips" on thwarting, annoying and generally badgering workers at IRS processing offers was delivered anonymously to the ParaScope mailbox. The author, who claims to have worked in an IRS mail room, offers the following suggestions for annoying, aggravating or otherwise messing with the IRS. Note: These agitation methods are presented FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. Use at your own risk and discretion.

That said, here are the top 10 ways to hassle the IRS with relative impunity:

1. Always put staples in the right-hand corner. Go ahead and put them down the whole right side. The extractors who remove the mail from the envelopes have to take out any staples in the right side.

2. Never arrange paperwork in the right order, or even facing the right way. Put a few upside down and backwards. That way they have to remove all your staples, rearrange your paperwork and re-staple it (on the left side).

3. Line the bottom of your envelope with glue and let it dry before you put in your forms, so that the automated opener doesn't open it and the extractor has to open it by hand.

4. If you're very unfortunate and have to pay taxes, use a two- or three-party check.

5. On top of paying with a three-party check, pay one of the dollars you owe in cash. When an extractor receives cash, no matter how small an amount, he has to take it to a special desk and fill out many nasty forms.

6. Write a little letter of appreciation. Any letter received has to be read and stamped, regardless of what it is about.

7. Write your letter on something misshapen and unconventional. Like on the back of a grocery sack.

8. When you mail your return, mail it in a big envelope (even if it's just a single form). Big envelopes have to be torn and sorted differently than regular business-sized ones. An added bonus to the big envelope is that they take priority over other mail, forcing them to hurry up and deal with your mess first.

9. Always put extra paper clips on your forms. Any foreign fasteners have to be removed and put away.

10. Sign your name in ink on every page. Any signature has to be verified and then date stamped.

-----------------------------------------------------------

End of list. Obtained from ParaScope.

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas!!

Today is the 12th Day of Christmas.

(Let's extend Christmas a few days.)

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!!

My 2015 was a year of improvement and renewal, but I know that this year will be even better.

May the Lord Jesus Christ guide you through a year of betterment, revival, and prosperity!

God Bless!!

Merry CHRISTmas!!


"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." - Isaiah 9:6