Lifestyle – Page 19 – shemakescents

{Save It} Target Plans to Price Match Top Online Retailers Year-Round!

Published on January 9, 2013January 18, 2013 by Danielle YB VasonLeave a comment

Yesterday Target today announced plans to price match top online retailers year-round, including Amazon.com, Walmart.com, BestBuy.com and Toysrus.com (including Babiesrus.com). Target stores will also price match items found on Target.com. The new policy, which takes effect immediately, will combine Target’s previous price adjustment and competitor ad match policies into one simple, easy-to-use Price Match Policy that now includes select online retailers. If a guest buys a qualifying item at a Target store and then finds the identical item for less in the following week’s Target circular or within seven days on Target.com, Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Bestbuy.com or Toysrus.com or in a local competitor’s printed ad, Target will match the price. “Guests can confidently shop at Target every day for the best value in retail,” said Gregg Steinhafel, Target Chairman, President and CEO. “We know that our guests often compare prices online. With our new Price Match Policy and the additional five percent savings guests receive when they use their REDcard, Target provides an unbeatable value.” Target introduced its first price match policy, the Low Price Promise, in 2009 and began matching select online competitors for the first time this holiday season. Price match may be requested at Target’s Guest Services prior to a purchase with proof of current price or by bringing the original Target receipt and proof of current price.

For more information about price match at Target, click here

{Financial Goals} Tackle Your Credit Card Debt Today

Published on January 2, 2013January 1, 2016 by Danielle YB Vason4 Comments

Have you ever heard the phrase, “a goal without a plan is just a wish”? Well I’m starting to think that is true. Like many of you, I always have financial goals… some I have shared on this blog and others I have not. As we start this brand new year, I have to ask myself, were my goals of last year actual goals or just wishes for the future? I started reflecting on this the other day while looking at older posts about financial goals. Sure, I can list some of my goals but without a plan, how can I help you as readers follow my financial journey? Isn’t that the point of all of this? I also started wondering how much is too much to share? The answers to these questions will unfold throughout 2013, but for today, getting a plan together is the priority.

The Problem: In my pre-She Makes Cents life, I worked every month and in a short amount of time, I paid off my credit card. Then the bottom fell out and I was using my credit card to simply…live (very honest moment). Long story short, my balance of about $5300 (rounding up) is nowhere near, where it should be. Why, you may ask? Because I was caught up. I started swiping to get the “cash back” deals that I told myself I would pay it off at the end of the month and didn’t. I wasn’t using my envelopes as I should have and I might not have fully realized the my new financial situation.

The Solution: In reading some of my older posts, I remembered a period where I locked my credit card up in a safe deposit box. Initially, I just wanted to see how long I could go without credit card spending. I wasn’t swiping, I wasn’t living beyond my means, and the balance was slowly decreasing over time. I am a very goal oriented person, so I know adding the component of an end goal date, one of the tips featured in the post How to Make and Achieve Your Goals, will help. Thinking back, why did I ever take the card back out?

The Plan: If you are in a similar situation, this is how I plan on making this wish into a goal and a goal into a “been there done that”. While I would like to have this paid off in a year, I know I may need cushion. My end goal date for credit card payoff is August of 2014. That means, with my interest rate, I will need to be making a payment of $294.36 per month to be credit card free by next August (check out the credit card payoff calculator at the bottom of my sidebar to figure out yours). Instead of paying the minimum, which is NEVER a good look, I will pay the fixed rate listed above or more. Also, whenever there are cash back deals through my bank, I will use the “rewards” to pay down my credit card. In my research, I have heard the advice to pick up the phone and call your credit card company for a reduced interest rate but depending the company, they may label you as a “high risk” customer and close your account, so do your research first.

How Are Your Eliminating Your Credit Card Debt?

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{SMC 2012 Review} Your Top 10 SMC Posts!

Published on December 31, 2012 by Danielle YB VasonLeave a comment

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for She Makes Cents. Check it out!

Here’s an excerpt:

About 55,000 tourists visit Liechtenstein every year. This site was viewed about 1,100,000 times in 2012. If it were Liechtenstein, it would take about 20 years for that many people to see it. My blog had more visits than a small country in Europe!

Stay tuned for my countdown of the top 10 most popular posts from SMC, chosen by you!

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{Cheers to 2013} We Made It Video & NYE Messages Of Peace

Published on December 31, 2012 by Danielle YB VasonLeave a comment

The year 2012 has been filled with exciting and life changing experiences and of course, Google has captured it all in a YouTube video. From the US presidential elections to the Olympics, from births to passing’s, things we Googled and things we will never forget. When looking back, I can’t help but acknowledge how great this year has truly been. While I may not have the riches, I am living a rich life full of people who care about me and in the end, that’s all you can ask for. Although I don’t live in New York and I will be watching the Peach drop tonight, I will keep the message of peace in the forefront of my thoughts. “Let There Be Peace” is the theme reflected in 2013 Times Square New Years Eve Ball. This year people are asked to share their messages of peace that will be printed onto the confetti released at midnight. You can submit your messages in one of three ways:

Sentiments of peace can be shared until December 31st at 5 PM EST:

           1. Tweet your message with hashtag #PeaceNYE
           2. Post to Waterford’s Facebook page with hashtag #PeaceNYE
           3. Post to Times Square’s Facebook page with hashtag #PeaceNYE

Happy New Year!

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{Happy New Year’s Eve} “She” is Never Forgotten

Published on December 31, 2012December 31, 2012 by Danielle YB VasonLeave a comment

Photo Credit: Instagram @poeticandchic

5 Ways to Make Outlet Shopping More Enjoyable

Published on December 27, 2012January 2, 2013 by Danielle YB VasonLeave a comment

shemakescents

On Tuesday, I took a trip to the North Georgia premium outlets with visiting family from out of time. My intention was to enjoy girl time with my cousin and Aunts and not to blow my budget. Maybe a shirt or two, at most. Certainly, I didn’t anticipate the goodies I would walk away with. Good thing, I knew a few ways to save even more when outlet shopping. Here are some of my tricks.

Bring cash

Bringing cash reduces my chances of overspending. Unlike a card, you can physically see your cash stack dwindle down with every purchase you make. When people make purchases with cash, they take longer to ponder the value of what they are buying as opposed to mindless shopping.

Begin at Customer Service

Customer Service is not only full of pamphlets and maps, but also information regarding sales and special offers. Go here first and pick…

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{Got Goals} How to Make and Achieve Your Goals

Published on December 27, 2012February 15, 2018 by Danielle YB Vason7 Comments

My TV best friend, Carrie Bradshaw, once stated that “as we drive along this road called life, occasionally a gal will find herself a little lost. And when that happens, I guess she has to let go of the coulda, shoulda, woulda, buckle up and just keep going”. I coulda lived without that purchase, I shoulda saved more, and I woulda done it like this if… Well folks, one of my favorite things about going into the New Year are the ability to reflect and refresh. It’s time to move toward your goals/resolutions for the future.

Replace Your Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda with Been There Done That!

Write your goals out. Sometimes putting pen to paper makes things so much more real. Mental goals will always stay within the mind if you don’t take this first step.

Keep It Real. Sure, I would love to save $10,000,000 in a years’ time…wouldn’t everyone and buy a yacht? For my lifestyle, though, that would be a highly unrealistic goal. Impractical goals are the enemy of progress. I’m not saying lower your standards. I’m saying that setting attainable goals and completing them makes you want to push forward to reach even higher. In contrast, setting unrealistic goals simply enforces a defeated attitude.

Set a Goal Date. There are many procrastinators in my life…me being one of them. Setting a goal date is like doing crunches and knowing you have five more to go… it just pushes you to complete it. Now imagine just doing crunches without knowing how many you have left to go. After a while, you will abandon your goal, right? Set a date and strive to hit it.

Tell Someone. Find someone or several people and tell them your goals. Not only will you have someone to help keep you accountable, but if you have someone who actually wants to see you succeed, they will help eliminate triggers that will get you off task. This may mean that you will hear the word “no” when you need to hear it but aren’t ready to accept it.

Check-In. Last year, I was able to accomplish many of my goals/resolutions because SMC reader, Audrey, asked for an update. Little did she know, it made me reflect on the goals that I wrote about and published for the world to read (steps 1 and 4) and made me want to follow through on those long-lost goals. In fact, I ended up writing two update reports for those that follow SMC.

I challenge you to push forward. Maybe you need to revisit a goal that was abandoned. Maybe you have new goals. Take a day or two and really think about where you want to be and thing create a roadmap on how to get there. Good Luck!

{Friday Funnies} The BEST Ugly Christmas Sweater

Published on December 21, 2012December 27, 2012 by Danielle YB Vason3 Comments

Last week, the Mr. and I sent a box of goodies to our friends over in Germany (hi Nate & Niki). One of the items included this awesome Christmas sweater book because they were attending their first Ugly Christmas Sweater Party… too bad this girl’s picture wasn’t included, because she and her sweater ROCK! If they had a contest at the party she attended, I bet she won.

“Like” if You’ve Rocked a Ugly Christmas Sweater!

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{SMC} Awesome Gifts that Give Back

Published on December 20, 2012June 30, 2020 by Danielle YB VasonLeave a comment

Okay, I’m still not done with my Christmas shopping and it is stressing me out. Not only am I coming uncomfortably close to maxing out the budget I set for Christmas but also I still have no idea what to get some people still left on the list. May I add, this is the first Christmas I can remember not really giving to others. So then, I got the idea to research gifts that give back that don’t suck and here is what I found:

Awesome Gifts that Give Back!

Shelter Pups. Shelter Pups are custom stuffed animals that look just like your four-legged friend. You can send in a picture of YOUR dog and they will make you a stuffed one that looks just like yours or you can adopt one that needs a home. I was intrigued by this site, which was started by a young girl who loves dogs, because as avid dog lover who save my 2 dogs from shelter life, I loved the idea of my purchase, or adoption as they call it, coming with Rescue Points worth real money that can donated to over 5,000 authorized SPCA shelters. Adopting a Shelter Pup is so much more than just purchasing an object. It’s a vote and a cheer for doing things differently, better, and in a way that can benefit everyone – humans and dogs alike. Plus they are just too darn cute!

TOMS. They are cute, comfy, and with every purchase, TOMS will donate a pair to a child in need. They give new shoes that are specifically designed for the person receiving them and are often paired with education about hygiene and healthy behavior. Why Shoes? Many children in developing countries grow up barefoot. Whether at play, doing chores or going to school, these children are at risk. A leading cause of disease in developing countries is soil-transmitted diseases, which can penetrate the skin through bare feet. Wearing shoes can help prevent these diseases, and the long-term physical and cognitive harm they cause. Wearing shoes also prevents feet from getting cuts and sores. Not only are these injuries painful, they also are dangerous when wounds become infected. Many times children can’t attend school barefoot because shoes are a required part of their uniform. If they don’t have shoes, they don’t go to school. If they don’t receive an education, they don’t have the opportunity to realize their potential.
Sevenly. Sevenly is a non-profit that creates weekly cause campaigns where people could purchase lifestyle products that benefited a partner charity, Sevenly successfully unlocked a way to not only raise major funding but huge awareness too. Every week they bring awareness to a problem and come up with a plan for a solution. This week they are partnering with Reece’s Rainbow to help orphans with Down syndrome and other special needs become adopted by their forever family. With your support, they will provide financial grants to qualified families so adoption of these beautiful children is made possible.