Rebates – Reward or Rip Off?

Cons Pros Buttons Show Decisions Or Debate

Cons Pros Buttons Showing Decisions Or Debate

Rebates have become increasingly popular in the last few years on a lot of items and certainly on electronic items and computers. Rebates of $20, $50 or $100 are not uncommon.

I’ve even seen items advertised as “free after rebate”. Do these rebates come under the heading of “too good to be true”? Some of them do and there are “catches” to watch out for but if you are careful, rebates can help you get some fabulous deals.

The way a rebate works is that you pay the listed price for an item then mail in a form and the bar code to the manufacturer and they send you a refund thus reducing the price of what you paid for the item except with a time delay of several weeks.

Rule #1. Rebates from reputable companies are usually just fine.

You can be pretty sure you will get the promised rebate from Best Buy, Amazon or Dell but you should probably not count on getting one from a company you’ve never heard of. If you really want the product and are OK with paying the price listed then buy it but don’t count on actually getting the refund.

Rule #2. Check rebate expiration dates.

Many times products will stay on the shelf of a retailer after the date for sending in the rebate offer has expired so check that date carefully.

Rule #3. Be sure you have all the forms required to file for the rebate before you leave the store.

Rebates will almost always require a form to be filled out, a receipt for the purchase and a bar code.

Rule #4. Back up your rebate claim.

Make copies of everything you send in to get your rebate including the bar code. Stuff gets lost in the mail all the time and if the rebate is for $50 it’s worth the trouble to back up your claim.

Unsuspecting Work Stoppage

Image result for mommy is sickAs a budding entrepreneur who has a 9 to 5, my weekends are sacred.  The weekend is the time that allows me total dedication to my craft.  I appreciate the weekend.  I love the weekend and usually can get so much work accomplished.

Except, for this past weekend.  Although, I have heard about this happening it never happened to me until this past weekend.

My whole entire family came down with a stomach virus.  We were ALL sick.  It started with my son on Friday night.  On Saturday night it was my turn.  I was up all night hovering over the porcelain throne for most of the night.  The husband’s turn was Sunday morning and my daughter was (hopefully) the last one Sunday night.

As much as I love working, the only thing I wanted to do was lay on the couch with a cup of ginger ale watching old episodes of The Love Boat.

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Bad mom alert

I laid in bed until 4 pm.  My kids had the rule of the house so it was a complete mess when I went downstairs and guess what, that is okay.  Sometimes it takes a stomach virus to slow down and take the time to think.  It crossed my mind to go and get my laptop and get some work done but I was so tired from being up the previous night.  Plus, I had not seen The Love Boat since I was a kid in the 80’s.  It was keeping my interest in all of its 80’s cheesiness.  I had a Skype appointment with a client early that morning, so I was especially tired and groggy when I took it.

Despite not feeling one hundred percent, I went into work anyone today.  I knew my stomach felt settled enough that I wouldn’t vomit on anyone today but I am still a little fatigued.  It is important to take time out when you need to, even if it unexpected.  Today I play catch up on all the work I did not get done over the weekend and guess what?  That is okay!

The Beginners Guide to Finding the Perfect Hotel Room (at a reasonable rate)

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After finding reasonable airfare, it is necessary to find accommodations when staying in a city where I do not have any family or friends.  I believe I spend an unbelievable amount of time researching when it is time to book a hotel room. The number one factor for me is location followed up by value. I spend an embarrassing amount of time reading reviews on Yelp. Then I have to follow up to see if the reviews corroborate with TripAdvisor.

Regarding that value component, I hit the interwebs and Reddit to find the lowest rates. Through all that work I realize that my best option is to go to the hotel’s corporate website and join their rewards program.

Through that I found my latest hotel find, Courtyard by Marriott New Orleans French Quarter/Iberville in New Orleans, LA. This Marriott branch was conveniently located about two blocks away from Bourbon Street. The staff was very friendly and allowed us to check-in early! I was struck with how large the rooms were and very clean. The beds felt cozy and I liked how the room had a living area and sleeping quarter.

The bathroom was clean and the cleaning staff did a stellar job of cleaning the room daily. I appreciated that the staff was on point. Being that we were in New Orleans, we had several late nights and even later mornings (really afternoons). I was impressed that no matter what time we left, we always came back to a clean room.

The bathroom was stacked with plenty of white towels and standard shampoo/conditioner/soap if needed. Since I bring my own products, these were not sampled. The shower was hot and could get even hotter (which is always a plus to me).

The only surprise (I will not call it a disappointment) was the view. We had the perfect view of a pretty sterile looking courtyard. Another surprise was the entry to the hotel. You must come up from the street level on the elevator. Then you need to find the registration desk. Again, not a big deal but it did take some getting used to.

The television was equipped with Wifi and they even had Netflix. Full disclosure, I do not travel often so finding out that Netflix is now a “thing” to have on the hotel room television is a score. I was glad the location was away from the “activity” (read noise) of Bourbon Street.

I look forward to going back to New Orleans. I would stay at the Courtyard again but I usually try to stay in a new hotel everytime I go out of town.

How to run a blog, business, raise a family, cook dinner, wash clothes, get plenty of exercise, and work full time in a 24 hour day!

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This title is BS because I CAN’T DO ALL THIS IN A WEEK, MUCH LESS 24 HOURS.  What I can ask you to do is follow my blog if you are not doing so already.  It is appreciated as my colleagues who ignored the stain on my sweater all day when I spilled coffee in the car and didn’t have a clean shirt to change into.  Plus I have big plans for this page.  It would be a shame if you miss out on something cool.

Teacher Ces

Why is a Disney Cruise Better than a Carnival Cruise?

cruise-ship-floating_MkYuq8__Asking for a friend (not really, I’m asking for myself).  

If a Disney Cruise sounds like an awesome idea but you can’t afford it, what would be a great alternative?  I can’t see paying what they are asking for at this time for my family of four.  I’m thinking about either just taking the fam to the actual Disney World or taking a Carnival/Royal Caribbean cruise this summer.  We don’t go on family vacations every year so I want to make it semi-special this year.  Of course if you are a representative from Disney, Carnival, or Royal Caribbean I would be more than happy to blog and Instagram about my experience.  What is a good family oriented cruise line?  Leave your comments below.