Tammy’s Tips: Here are everyday tips to ‘$ave and have fun!’

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Tammy’s Tips: Here are everyday tips to ‘$ave and have fun!’By Tammy Macias
Columnist, The Friday Flyer

     Here are tips to “$ave and have fun!”

     • It’s back to school time and that means great savings on school supplies! This is the best time to stock up on paper, pencils, crayons and glue. Pay attention to store’s weekly advertisements. Each store (Walmart, CVS, Target, etc.) has different supplies they offer for free or really cheap so that you can walk in and hopefully spend more (stay focused so you shop smart to save)! Most stores will advertise these bargains and will put in small print, “while supplies last” or “sale good for two days only,” so pay attention to the details, limits and restrictions.

     I have always been good at running in and grabbing my free or super discounted items, but I have been making the mistake of only getting enough supplies to last the first couple of months of school – then I’m at the stores paying regular price for new supplies. This year, I emptied a bottom drawer near where the girls do their homework so I can stockpile school supplies, keeping them organized and together to last the whole school year.

     Tip: If you do not need supplies for school, you can stock up for arts and crafts projects, like scrapbooking.

     Tip: Put together a box of supplies (while they are very discounted/free) and that can be an extra gift for a child for Christmas or birthday.

     • “Boxtops For Education” logos can be found on many of the grocery items you purchase. Schools collect these and receive money to help them with educational supplies they need! My daughter, Katelynn, is excited to help with our local schools by leaving “boxtop containers” in participating businesses in our community. So please save, collect and bring in your boxtops and Katelynn will divide them and give them to the four closest schools. (All Valley Pest Control has the first container).

     Katelynn reminds those with children who attend school to have them turn in boxtops directly to their school because there might be an incentive to students for turning them in. It takes very little effort on our part to make a difference. After all, it’s our children’s education that will make a difference and reflect the future for our community!

     • At the Lighthouse Bar Grill, did you know that if you show your boat key you will receive a free order of fries and a soft drink or iced tea with any purchase? What a great deal! They have a great menu with good prices – and the staff is friendly, too!

     • Are you pregnant or have a baby? If you’re a new mom, you can be showered with savings, free items, samples and offers. Why? Because they know you will be needing many supplies for your baby for quite some time and, of course, they want to encourage you to buy their items. What better way than to try their products for free? Simply go to your favorite baby product websites and give them your info. You literally will be showered with fun and savings in the mail!

     • Have Facebook? “Like” The Friday Flyer and enjoy extra news and tips. Sometimes I know about a great tip but do not have time to place it in The Friday Flyer because it would be too late, so I have been posting tips on Facebook so that you stay “in the know.” It’s a nice way for me to to share with you last minute deals!

     • Michael’s offers a “40 percent off any regular price item” coupon in most of their weekly advertisements, and they accept Jo-Ann’s coupons too! If you’re planning a party or a wedding in the future, it’s nice to have these coupons to help save on the large quantity of favors, centerpieces and supplies you will need. Tip: Ask friends and neighbors to save these coupons for you too.

     • E-Waste Collection Event: On Saturday, August 27, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Lake Elsinore Outlets are giving vouchers redeemable at Lake Elsinore Outlets’ Customer Service for a $10 gift card! Customers who drop off a visual display item (TV, monitor, laptop) will qualify for the gift card. Vouchers must be presented between August 29 and September 11, while supplies last. There is a limit of one voucher per household. Drop-off is at the far north parking lot. For more information, call 245-0087.

     I have so enjoyed hearing many people using the tips I have been sharing to save and have fun. If you have pictures and a story to share from my tips, please share them with me or The Friday Flyer. If you have any questions or want to share a tip, please contact me at Tammystips@hotmail.com.

     Don’t forget to keep an eye on The Friday Flyer’s Facebook page for last-minute tips when they’re available, too. Have a great week and remember, saving money makes cent$!

     

     

     

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Tips to Undo the Damage Your Facebook Profile Has Done

Picture this: You just nailed your interview with Dream Corp. You took plenty of time to make sure you look good in person and on paper. Plus, you’re a great fit for the job.

[InvestingAnswers Feature: How to Ace Any Interview]

But there’s a second, invisible interview that most applicants don’t know about. And it can mean the difference between being hired and never hearing back from Dream Corp again.

Perplexed? It’s really simple, actually; the second interview is with your online self. Job recruiters type your name into Google (NYSE: GOOG) and make decisions based on your search results. In fact, 75% of job recruiters are required to research potential employees online; 70% reported that they’ve rejected candidates based on those searches.

It may seem unfair — neither that racy inside joke nor those Halloween pictures of you in drag are related to the job — but that doesn’t make it illegal.

Companies can’t discriminate based on gender, religion or race, but they can and will look at your online presence to get a larger understanding of who you are and how you may represent them.

Prospective employers look at all social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn (Nasdaq: LNKD). A general search for your name will generally pull up blogs, comments you’ve made on websites, articles you’ve written, interviews from 10 years ago, even Craigslist posts… In other words, anything on the Internet that mentions your name.

Want to know what potential employers will see? Google yourself right now, and view the results through your potential employers’ eyes.

What Are You Judged On?

Username. It sounds silly, but that handle you thought was sexy at 17 sounds trashy at 24. Change it to something more professional. You can’t go wrong with firstname.lastname@domain.com.

What you write about. Do you gripe about work on Facebook? Do you occasionally tweet about your late night escapades? Post videos or pictures of your extensive gun and knife collection? All these things say a lot about who you are. You may think it’s funny to join a group called “This Is America. I Shouldn’t Have to Press 1 for English,” but your employer may wonder whether you dislike people who don’t speak English.

When you write it. Are you posting regularly during normal work hours? If so, those posts are losing your company money and your boss knows it.

Pictures. Photos of you enjoying the Mets game are great. A photo of you slugging some guy at the Mets game and enjoying it is not great. If you could potentially be breaking the law, that photo will have human resources putting your resume in the do-not-call-ever pile.

The Mom Baseline — Sorting the Good from the Bad

If you’re not sure something is employer-friendly, just use the Mom Baseline. It’s fairly easy. Just ask yourself:

“Would I want my mom/grandma to see this?”

If the answer is no, then keep it to yourself. Another good guide to follow: If you don’t have anything nice (or productive) to say, don’t say anything at all.

But what about the stuff that’s already on the Internet? Everyone knows that once you send something into cyberspace, it’s out there forever. But that doesn’t mean it’s too late to clean up your act.

Privatize. If any social website that you use (Facebook!) has a privacy setting, use it. Protecting your privacy is important, and not just for job-search purposes.

Un-tag yourself in certain photos. Want to unassociate yourself from that picture of your brawl at the Mets game? Just un-tag yourself (remove your name).

Use an alias. There are some things that many find controversial, such as politics, religions and social leanings. You have a right to express yourself, but when job hunting consider using an alias if you feel that these opinions could hinder you from getting the dream job.

A great alias could be as simple as using your middle name as your last name. (John Adam Smith’s alias would be John Adam.) Most people don’t list their middle names on resumes, so companies will have a hard time finding you.

Build a Positive Presence and Reputation by Being Helpful

A 2009 CNN article on digital dirt says that “helping people is the perfect way to showcase your talents to employers.” To prospective employers, cultivating a positive online presence shows that you care about your professional community, are up on the latest news and have an educated opinion that may make a difference. Here are some quick ways to get noticed:

Blog. In the blogosphere you have many options: build your own blog around your professional passion; comment frequently on other professionals’ blogs; write guest posts on several professional blogs. Just remember that your comments and topics should pass the Mom Baseline, or else you’re not doing yourself any favors.

Respond to forum questions. Join some professional websites, ones with credibility and association, and become a forum member. Taking a few minutes to answer a question about your area of expertise gives your spirits and your Google presence a lift.

Make some recommendations. Go to Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN), Yelp, and other online marketplaces associated with your profession, and write thoughtful reviews based on your experiences.

Another very tangible and very beneficial outcome of all this work is that new content with well-chosen SEO keywords (which is what you’re doing by commenting in forums and blogging) goes to the top of a search engine results page. That fumbled news interview from years ago will be pushed way down in the results, pages away from your new image. Employers only have so much time to research you online, so make sure that the good stuff is front and center.

The Investing Answer: Investing in your career takes more than a clean suit and a freshly printed resume. How you present yourself online can undo all of the time and effort it took to ace the in-person interview. Make sure your online personality is equally presentable for the job and meets the company’s criteria.

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