Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Alternative Income Generators and Hustles

I love to learn about the unusual ways that people make money. I am intrigued by the ways that people can make money. Growing up, the future was all about the American Dream. Go to college, get a good job, buy a home and have a family. It all sounds good right? Until you realize that the college degree comes with a hefty price tag, the good job is hard to find, you might as well have immaculate credit to buy that home and well it just goes on and on from there. These days, the internet has opened a whole new world of possibilities. Colleges degrees have evolved and continue to change on a daily basis. What was relevant when you began your freshman college year may be ancient in comparison to the current technology or financial environment. People are evolving too. Families are exploring the country and even the world while completing their education on the road. Advancement in technology and education have changed by leaps and bounds. A degree or career that one may plan to obtain, may be obsolete by the time one is ready for the dream to become true. A high percentage of young children will find that many of today’s jobs will not exist when they are grown. The majority of careers for the younger generation have not even been created yet. I find this all to be very interesting. I am most intrigued by entrepreneurship and small business. I love how the internet has changed business. I believe in supporting small business and ingenuity. I find it interesting to learn how others invest in their futures and create passive income. Entrepreneurship and side jobs have the ability to generate income and to create a flexible lifestyle. It is not easy to conform to the American Dream Job of working 9-5 or a combination of other hours. Unfortunately, life does not fit into the 9-5 style of thinking. A regular schedule at a traditional job is not very flexible. I am fascinated by entrepreneurship and small business. I find it to be captivating to learn about how other people think out-of-the box to create their own stream of income. I have recently read many articles about how a variety of individuals from all walks of life earn extra income or hustle if you will. I have read about anything from dog walking to highly unusual side jobs. For instance, there are several recent articles about a lady that makes a handsome living by streaming an internet show of herself eating large meals. I also read about a college student that would sell dirty socks worn by men on EBay. From the mowing of lawns to freelance writing and everything and apparently anything in-between, side money can be made. I am personally making a little extra money by simply reading email and performing short task through both Inbox Dollars and Send Savings websites. I am freelance writing, writing content for other websites, and providing virtual assistant services. I sell a little on EBay and on Etsy. I have most recently joined Swap.com to make extra money with items that we are no longer using. I am making extra money but near enough. I would like to learn additional ways that I can make side money. How do you make extra money? What is the strangest way that you have heard about people making money?

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Walmart Price Catcher Review and Secret

The Walmart Price Checker App allows shoppers to compare their shopping trip with competitors prices. The App allows you to scan the bar code of your purchase receipt. The app will compare the price of each product with that of area stores. If the app does find that your Walmart purchase was more in price, the app will add the difference to your in-app account. Once you are ready, you may visit the Walmart customer service desk to redeem the money that you have earned for a store gift card. I believe that this is a great way to save money. Every little penny eventually adds up to a dollar and so on.
 
I have been shopping at Walmart and utilizing the policy in place for  saving money with comparison shopping. I would take my local grocery store sales flyer to Walmart. I would show the cashier my flyer and then Walmart would honor the lower price. I love that this was an option when grocery shopping. Especially when they would honor a bogo product. (BOGO= Buy One get one Free!) I will tell you that Walmart has seen a great deal of my grocery shopping budget simply by honoring this price comparison shopping and when available, BOGO shopping.
 
I packed up two local store flyers and set out to go to Walmart to do the shopping. I took my time and made sure to take advantage of any sells that I could possibly find including those highly sought after BOGO deals. With a large family, those BOGO deals are valuable! I reached the cash register to check out. I had everything separated for the order. I quickly learned:
·         Walmart is NO longer honoring coupons from my local store- I am not pleased even though I lost only .55 on this transaction. (Hey that’s over half a dollar.)
·         The BOGO deals are no longer being honored as well. In fact, forget the local flyers all together.
·         I was informed that Florida is a state that was used as an experiment with the price match with local competitors. I wonder if that is true?
 
 
I shortly learned that the Walmart Price Catcher App would clearly locate the savings in price for both my coupon and my BOGO deals. I asked the cashier several times if he was indeed sure that this would be honored on the app. He informed me himself and verified twice with my question that Yes, the Price Catcher would indeed catch the deals. I went ahead and purchased all of my BOGO and price comparison shopping to the tune of $186.00 and some odd change. I definitely had multiple purchases for items that we often use at the BOGO price match. Well, several days later, I received the deposit into my app account for a whole $10.00.
 
I must say that I am not pleased. I would not have purchased all of the items that I did had I known that the BOGO would not be honored as the cashier stated. I believe that Walmart needs to get their act together, Inform both their guest and their employees of the policies and when they are changed. I spent more than I would have Because even when asked, I was misinformed. I am not too happy with Walmart or the price catcher. I understand that the company made money and that I happily forked it over believing that I would be rewarded for doing so. I just believe that both customers and employees should be informed with updates.
 
On a lighter note, I do like the Price Catcher App itself. It is nice to effortlessly collect a little discount in the form of a gift card. I would just prefer clarification, Please and Thank-You!
 
Please Note: This is my own opinion. I was not compensated in any way to write a review or promotion of the Walmart Price Catcher App. This is merely an expression of my own feelings towards employees without knowledge of their position, the store’s misguidance of the savings that they offer and my being upset that I feel that I was cheated out of savings



Speaking of money, I have been earning a little extra income by simply reading and clicking on email. The best part is that it is free to join!