The 'Perks' of Loyalty Programs.

In my {humble} opinion, it seems as though there are two distinct schools of thought on this: yay or nay, no ambiguity.

I personally refuse to pay for loyalty programs.  For instance, my Body Shop membership which would normally be $10/year costs me nothing if I use the card 3 or 4 times a year {which I do}.  I wouldn’t pay the $10 at the store – you want me to PAY YOU to come and shop in your store?  Two words for you: starts with F and ends with F!

One such program whose merits I was unsure of was PetSmart’s Pet Perks program.  This program doesn’t cost anything, but I wasn’t told an exact percentage of savings, nor exactly what I was to get out of being a member.  I was in PetSmart doing some doggie Christmas shopping {yeah, I dress my dog up…don’t judge} and remembered I was a member.  Figuring my bill would be high because of the 8 things I bought, which included doggie toothpaste and various items of clothing and toys, I handed over my Pet Perks card thinking nothing of it.  Low and behold, that card entitled me to a 40% savings. 

Yes, you read that right: 40%.  My bill went to $50.73 after tax to $30.40.  I can’t believe this.  I didn’t have to pay for it and just for patronizing your store, I get tremendous savings on things my dog needs wants anyway. 

Thank you PetSmart.  Perhaps other loyalty programs can take the hint and learn what it really means to attract and maintain a loyal customer base.

Feel freezies to share your loyalty stories {good or bad} below.  I’m sure we barganistas {or bargainistos…whatevs you fancy} would love to hear about it!

Hugs,

*Canadian Girl

Crocs. What a crock.

{I love a good pun in the morning, don't you?}

Comfort.  That’s what we all associate with Crocs, right?  NOT. {*insert Borat accent here* } 

I recently purchased {and returned} a pair of ‘dress Crocs’, which was in direct violation of any and all fashion rules I have. However, I was desperate for a comfortable, yet moderately attractive alternative to running shoes for my walk to work.  Whilest browsing about, I came across these puppies:

{click for larger...if you want}

BAD.  DO NOT BUY THEM.  Comfort my ass!  These not only gave me blisters, but gave off a farting sound while I walked.  I fart enough as it is.  I don’t need my feet doing it too! 

For those of you that swear by Crocs {and I hope don’t wear the ones with the big holes that attempt to look like clogs out of the house}, I commend you and congratulate you on your comfort.  I, however, will never wear them.  Alas, I’d much rather look good and be fart-free while getting blisters on my toes!

Hugs,

*Canadian Girl

Biz Etiquette/Budge Question.

Krystal over at Give Me Back My Five Bucks posted an interesting question on her Twitter the other day:  “Do u always give when ppl in the office are collecting $$ for wedding/retirement/bday/baby present? What if it's for someone u don't know?”.

This is something that I’m unsure of where the proper ‘etiquette’ lies.  What if you’re on a budget like me?  What if you don’t really know the person and wouldn’t buy a gift otherwise?  What if you simply don’t like him or her?  {so what, I’m a bitch.  Deal with it…} 

I always feel judged when going around to do this.  Now that I’ve switched to a smaller company, I don’t think it’ll be as big of an issue {that, and I’m far happier here and love everyone I work with…well almost everyone…}.  However, given that I’m still early on in my career, and though I don’t plan on leaving, you never know where life will take you, so I thought I’d go here to my public forum and ask what the proper etiquette would be.

How much is proper to give?  Should you feel obliged to ALWAYS contribute, or is it fair to just reserve the dollaz for those you like/are close with/are your boss?

Eff.  So many questions.

I’m seriously stumped.  Readers - throw me a bone please in the comments below!

Follow Krystal’s Twitter here.

Hugs,

*Canadian Girl

No Spend November.

I finally hit my no spend goal!!!  Woot woot!! 

14/12 for MoNovember. 

Too bad that with Christmas coming, it's going to be one spendy December!!


Hugs,

*Canadian Girl

November Numbers.

If you've been reading for a month or so, you'll remember from this post that I've been tracking all spending categories for the month of November.  I did some crunching yesterday, and here's what it looks like:

...perhaps I should quit drinking.  NEVER!  I loves me some wine. 

It's important to note that the $169 in the clothes/gifts category was for 2 gorgeous dresses for my bday/Christmas parties.  I have very few hot little dresses, so this was a treat to myself.  The transportation portion of my budget is hefty this month due to rising gas prices, and the 'beauty' category the same simply because I needed a hair-doing this month. 

I'm $22.41 in the red over my $400 budget.  I'm going to list a pair of sunglasses {Armani...big and round, so totes in style but too wide for my skinny, long face} on Kijiji/Craigslist to see if I can make up the shortfall.


Thank you all for your comments on my last post regarding moneyville.ca.  I'm glad as many of you find certain posts as useless as I do!


Hugs,

*Canadian Girl