What Does YOUR Graduate Want?

Oh what a wonderful time of year! The flowers are in full-bloom, the birds are singing, love is in the air, and young adults are GRADUATING! As most old foggies do, when I think of graduation I want to give advice. I want to warn these young people about the perils of life, or put some humor in it and have them listen to The Sunscreen Song, or get really deep and serious and offer up the wise words of Desiderata.




But I am wise enough to know that this is not what our future leaders, teachers, and parents would like for graduation. What they want are GIFTS! They are up to their ears in advice; from teachers, guidance counselors, friends and family. So let's leave all that serious stuff to those who know best and get right to the heart of the matter; what to get the graduate in your life.

With deeply discounted gift cards available from over 200 retailers, Mercardi.com is the smart choice for graduate gifts. How about a gift card from Chili's, allowing that hard working student to take themselves and their friends out for a night of great food? And hey!, instead of buying them an awful shirt that they'll never wear, you could get them a gift card from Target and let them shop for what THEY want. You could even give them a gift card to Whole Foods so they can stock up on healthy goodies of their choice.

The possibilities are virtually endless, as is the future of these bright, shining stars on their way to the future.

Congratulations, Grads!

Helpful Sites for Gift Card Users

I was really excited this morning when, via the comment section of a New York Times article I was reading about how consumers should not hold on to gift cards, but spend them, or--as we here at Mercardi.com like to suggest, sell them--when I discovered a new gift card watchdog site called Scrip Smart.

Here is the latest blog post from Scrip Smart, advising consumers about the new laws that will go into affect in August, 2010, protecting them from losing the value of their unspent gift cards. This site is all about keeping up with the laws involving gift cards and also letting you know about businesses that may be closing their doors that you may very well be holding a gift card for and need to redeem, and they even have a free program that let's you list the gift cards you have and will send you an alert when that card is about to expire.

As I was checking out Scrip Smart I also ran across another gift card watchdog site called Gift Card Advocate.Org. This site makes it their job to keep up with impending bankruptcies of businesses that you may hold a gift card for, legal info, tips for gift card buyers and sellers, gift card scams, and more.

Sites like this are worth their weight in gold for the gift card industry and the consumers like you who buy and sell gift cards, so check them out and bookmark them. Tell them Denise from MERCARDI.COM sent you!

5 Great Ideas for Sprucing up Your Gift Cards

Although there is no argument--$90 billion was spent on gift cards last year--that giving gift cards for special occasions is THE preferable thing to do, there are those of us who miss the old-fashioned tradition of wrapping gifts, or at least presenting our gifts in a way that says I took the extra time to show I truly care.

If you see yourself in the above statement, then you will really enjoy the following list. I have rounded up, from across the internet, what I feel are the coolest, most beautiful and/or unique ideas for dressing up a gift card. (If you have an idea that isn't mentioned here, by all means leave a comment and I will add it!)

I really love some of these simple but elegant gift card holders and wrap from The Essential Packaging Store Blog




This article from E-how offers some very cool and unique ideas for disguising your gift cards. One really great example is to buy a cheap paperback for your book lover friend or family member and place the gift card somewhere between the pages.

Here is a great post from Giver's Log, 5 Ways to Wrap a Gift Card. A few of the items used are a milk carton and a pillow box.


Of course Martha Stewart would have the best idea for putting your gift cards on your Christmas tree. What would wrapping ideas be without something from Martha?




Last but certainly not least is the old 'box inside a box inside a box' idea. All you need are empty boxes that will fit inside each other and the gift card be inside the last one. Wrap the last one with ribbons and bows, but make sure and put some paper or other material inside to make the box have a sound when shaken and not be so light. Of course, you can always just buy gift bags and place the gift cards inside.

Odd or Unusual Mother's Day Story Contest

As someone who has lived a life outside the norm, (long story, but my life has definitely not out of Normal Rockwell), I have decided this morning to give a voice to mothers whose lives, and whose experience on Mother's Day, are beyond the pale.

In our current society more and more families are created from a hodgepodge of friends, coworkers and neighbors, as families grow farther apart and time moves at warp speed. So what once would have been considered an odd family situation is gaining popularity as acceptable and even preferable to the Ward and June Cleaver prototype, (think HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS with Robert Downey Jr and Holly Hunter).

In that vein, I am holding a contest. Here are the rules:

1. Email your odd, funny, or unusual Mother's Day experience to denise@mercardi.com. It must be a true story and one never published before. Keep it under 500 words. (You DO NOT have to be a writer to record your experience!).

2. The staff at Mercardi.com will vote and chose the story that we feel is the most odd, funny or unusual.

3. Deadline for stories is Friday, May 14th at midnight, CST.

4. The winner will be announced on Monday, May 17th, by noon, CST. The winner will receive a $25 Mercardi gift card of their choice from the 200+ retailers Mercardi handles.

5. The winning story will be published on this blog.

That's it! So get busy sending me your odd, unusual or funny Mother's Day story and be sure to pass the link to this post along. It's gonna be a blast!

Thank You, WAHMs!

Mother's Day is coming up this Sunday, so I thought it would be a nice gesture to link to some of my favorite sites from work-at-home moms, or WAHMs, as they are known across the internet.

These hardworking, self-sacrificing stay-at-home mothers deserve big kudos for putting aside their personal needs and goals to make sure their kids are raised the way they believe they should be. (I wish I had been able to stay at home when my kids were little).

Most of the WAHMs I know not only are raising their kids at home, they also work online to supplement their husband's paychecks. Heck, there are even full-time WAHMs who are single and raising kids alone! (and yes, Dads too!)

**This post is not meant to lessen the appreciation of mothers who do not stay at home with their kids. I was one of those moms when my boys were growing up, a career woman, so I can hardly point any fingers. Circumstances for each family is different. There are many variables that affect a moms decision to either stay at home or enter the workforce when her children are small, so be careful not to judge. (If you are a mom who works outside the home and you have a blog or website, please leave me a comment with the link. If I collect enough sites I will make a separate post just for ya'll!)

With that said, below are a few of my favorite WAHM blogs and/or websites. Take the time this weekend to visit and let these moms know what a great job they are doing raising tomorrow's citizens!

Work at Home Mom Revolution--daily job listings and mom news

A Frog in my Soup--adventures, thoughts, and advice from the mom of 6 boys

Mom Gadget--this stay-at-home mom is a force all her own! This site also has a forum for moms.

Sparkplugging--This site from Kelly McCausey, who is also another huge internet force in the WAHM world, has a contest that ran a few months ago where WAHMs voted for their favorite WAHM blogs. I just discovered this, and it has links to 60 something blogs, so I think it's better at this point to let the experts take over!

Happy Mother's Day!

Bartering is Back!

Before the invention of money, people traded goods and services through a system known as bartering. (Here is a very interesting history of bartering and money for your educational enjoyment). Bartering dates back as far as the caveman. "I need a blackberries and you need fish, I have fish and you have blackberries, let's trade!"

After the creation of the monetary system, bartering took a backseat as a way to get the things we needed. But bartering is making a comeback these days, as history shows it has done every time money became more scarce.

If you enjoy the idea of bartering as much as I do, I'd like to pass along to you a couple of sites where you can put the bartering system to work for you. One of the best ones I found is Swaptree, where you can trade your books, CDs, movies and games. A site similar to Swaptree is Book Mooch. Oh heck, here's the whole list I found of bartering sites!

Here is also a site I really like where you can sell or trade your unwanted items, very similar to what Mercardi.com does on their site with gift cards.

Bartering is fun, so get busy trading your blackberries for my fish!

10 Best Advice Articles for the Financially Challenged

Yep, that's me, working on Sunday. I have a boatload of errands to run tomorrow so I decided to post today instead.

What I am bringing you on this peaceful Sunday morning are blessings. Below are what I consider to be the ten best web articles offering advice for those who struggle financially. If you could incorporate even one piece of advice from these experts in finance into your daily life, you would see a difference in your situation in a short time.

Good luck, happy Sunday, and by all means pass this post along!

1. Here is an article from MSN Money with a good deal of financial advice that everyone should read.

2. When I found this article all I could say was, "WOW!" There is SO much information here you need to help you with your financial dilemma. Read and absorb.

3. Kiplinger.Com has won awards for editorial excellence, and I can see why. Check out this FREE family budget worksheet they offer on their site and check out some of the great articles there. Bookmark this one.

4. I love this blog, Financial Samurai, and here is a really great article offering advice on how to provide yourself with job security. But be sure to check out the whole site. Another one to bookmark.

5. Here is a similar post as the one I am creating now, a roundup of the best financial advice from across the web, from Bottom Line Secrets. A treasure trove for sure.

6. I couldn't collect a best of the web list without including money guru Dave Ramsey. Here is a great article listing 7 baby steps to financial peace of mind.

7. Jump all over this one if you don't click on another link in this post. There are 23 Lessons you need to learn to help you handle your personal finances from CNN Money.

(And now a word from our sponsor..:)). A great way to save money is to buy and/or sell unwanted gift cards at Mercardi.com.

8. This is one of my favorite financial advice blogs, and here is an article with the best financial advice ever. Read and remember.

9. Gotta get a link in here for the ladies. Smart Divas has wonderful investment advice for women. (and don't think, "I can't afford to invest, I can't even pay my bills, that's, as Dr.Phil says, "stinkin' thinkin'!"

10. About.com really does have some of the most informative blogs online on a myriad of subjects and personal finance is among those. Check out the link here and the article on budgeting. Another one to bookmark.

If you know of other great personal finance and/or money advice sites or articles that I have left off, then be sure to leave a comment below with the link !

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