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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Top Five Gift Ideas for Mother's Day

Mother's Day is a week from Sunday. It's on May 9th, so that means it's time to stop procrastinating and choose a gift for your Mom or your wife. To help guide you toward accomplishing this goal, I have listed FIVE great gift ideas from across the web. Each gift I have listed can be ordered through the link I have left you and will be delivered in time for Mother's Day if you order TODAY!

I have done all the hard work, guys, all you have to do is click a link and whip out that credit card, and you are home free!(Girls, if you know of a guy who needs to get his mother or wife a gift for Mother's Day but hasn't done it yet, be sure to pass this post along to them).

1. Flowers--by far the most given gift on Mother's Day is flowers. There's a reason for that; they are easy to order and women love them. Here is a link to my favorite place to order flowers. You can order a bouquet for as little as $19.99 with free delivery. Just choose one and go to town, guys!

2. E-cards--my suggestion, if you decide to send your mom or wife an e-card, is that you don't consider it to be their actual Mother's Day gift, but that's just me. Sending an e-card is a great way to say "I Love You," often without spending a dime. This link is to a site I used yesterday for my sister's birthday card. Take a little time and find a special card you know the one you love will appreciate.

3. Spa Treatment--As a female I can attest to the fact that a smart gift for the woman in your life is a spa treatment. And no, this gift of relaxation and beauty is no longer reserved for the well-to-do. For instance, you can buy a half-hour massage for as little as $25. Just go to your local yellow pages, look up "spa" and order a gift card from the salon/spa of your choice for the amount you want to spend. Pamper your mom or wife this year by giving her the gift of pampering herself.

4. Department store gift cards--It's a fact of nature that women love to shop, so give your loved one the ability to splurge on herself this Mother's Day by buying her a gift card to her favorite department store. You can order a discounted gift card from department stores such as Macy's, Nordstrom's, Target, Walmart, Nieman Marcus, and many others at Mercardi.com and have it in time for Mother's Day, IF YOU ORDER NOW!

5. Lunch or Dinner Out--I don't know of a woman who doesn't love to go out to eat. Splurge on Mother's Day and take your mom or wife to Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Chili's, Applebee's, or one of dozens of other restaurants which MERCARDI.COM sells discounted gift cards to. (and make sure and spring for dessert!)

Of course there are plenty of other gift ideas for Mother's Day, these are just the top 5 I know for sure your mom or wife will love. The most important thing is just to not forget to express your love on Mother's Day!

(And never forget to CALL!)

Fantastic Deals for Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Since it's hump day and we all need a lift to make it through the rest of the work week I decided a good idea was to give you the links to some fantastic deals that are going on online today. Every deal I have listed below is from a retailer which Mercardi.com honors, both buying and selling their gift cards. This post, as well as bringing you fantastic deals from across the internet for Wednesday, April 28, 2010, is a way of paying tribute to these great retailers.

Have a great hump day and happy shopping!

1. Target has this awesome deal on Burt's Bees Tingling Treat 4-piece gift set. Regularly $19.99, today you can get the set for $9.99 with free shipping. You won't find a deal like this anywhere else!

2. PHAROS Portable Touchscreen GPS Navigator from Dell, regular price $149.99, selling today for $49.99 with free shipping. Amazing! (pass this info along, this deal won't last!)

3. Kohl's has this beautiful Mother, Daughter, Friend Sterling Silver Pendant on sale today for $17.49. Normally priced at $50, here's a steaming hot deal just in time for Mother's Day!

4. Revitalash Eyelash Conditioner from Amazon.com, normally $150, is on sale today for $60, (this deal speaks for itself, better pass it along, certainly won't last!)

5. And for the creme de la' creme, This site list today's deals from all over the web with easy, quick links to each website, including a screenshot of the deal so you can save time before you click!

The Gift Card Business Has Scammers Too

It's a sad but true fact that every silver lining has a gray cloud, and for every good thing you find online there is almost always a dark side. It's also very true that whatever looks too good to be true usually is.

In that vein, I hope this post will save you time, trouble and heartache by bringing to your attention different online scams that have infested the gift card industry. I did some research after reading an article about the current gift card scam affecting Whole Food Market on Facebook, and lo and behold, I came up with almost 5 million hits on Google for the search term, "gift card scams."

Now that doesn't mean you should not participate in buying and selling gift cards, no how, no way! By and large, the gift card industry, which includes Mercardi.com, is super straight, reliable, dependable, and honorable. I just wanted to give you a head's up. It's like anything else online, or offline for that matter, before you dive in do your homework!

Let's Talk Seriously about Your Unused Gift Cards

I discovered a bit of truly shocking news when I read this article this morning. The gist of the article is that New Jersey is considering joining the 28 US states who are already participating in what this writer, (and this may not be the opinion of Mercardi as a whole) considers government theft, by taking over funds from retailers for unused gift cards sold to consumers. The state then invest the money and uses the interest to fund state programs and pay debts.

There may be some of you who believe in this socialistic crime, and if so I apologize if I have offended your sensibilities, but I have a strong suspicion that most readers of this blog are from the camp that believes in the division of government and business.

Either way, let's do some math. In 2009, retailers sold $90 billion in gift cards to consumers. 10% of those gift cards remain unused. Mind boggling, huh?

Just imagine what organizations like the Salvation Army and the Red Cross could do with $9 billion? We have homeless people living in the streets of America. Rather than the money from unused gift cards going to the government, just think how many people that money could house!

YOU have the power to change this scary and Animal Farmish situation. Simply find those unused gift cards that you have in your dresser drawer or your wallet, and donate them to your favorite charity. Don't let the state control your money.

Ten Little-Known Facts about Gift Cards

Just for the fun of it, below you will find interesting and/or little-known facts about gift cards. If you have a fact I've left out, by all means leave a comment and I'll add it! Have a wonderful Hump Day!

1. Gift cards are the most requested gifts of all--70% of Americans say that they would prefer a gift card as a present. Gift cards are the second most given gift.

2. Men spend more money on gift cards than women.

3. On the average, everyone in the United States has 5 unused gift cards, a total of 8 billion dollars in unused gift cards. You can sell those to Mercardi.com for up to 90% of their value.

4. The average value of a gift card is $35.

5. The gift card evolved from the paper gift-certificate, which was brought to the mass market by big department stores in the mid-1930s.

6. McDonald's began its successful Christmas gift-certificate program in 1970.

7. Gift certificates were first replaced by electronic gift certificates, or gift cards, in the mid-1990s.

8. Jennifer Pate, an economist at Loyola Marymount University, credits the Mobil Oil Company with producing “the first retail gift card that recorded value on a magnetic strip” in 1995. The card, which could be used toward gas fill-ups, was built using technology borrowed from prepaid phone cards.

9. Blockbuster is credited with pioneering the modern-day gift card, and was the first to display gift cards for sale in 1995.

10. K-Mart was the first discount retailer to join the gift card bonanza. In partnership with AT & T, the card could be used as both a gift card in the store or a calling card.

Sweepstakes and Contests Rock!

Just as we bargain hunters love free stuff and great deals, we also love to enter sweepstakes and contests. For your TGIF enjoyment, today I am listing several great sweeps or contests you'll want to enter:

Have a wonderful weekend!

For the ladies--Dove is sponsoring a sweepstakes through Sunday, April 18, 2010 in which five lucky women will women a free spa treatment gift card from Spa Week. Here is the link to enter. (Spa Week also has several other contests going on. Be sure to check those out.)

Take a short survey and be entered to win $1500 in this Spring Bloom contests!

About.Com always has comprehensive coverage of any topic and they don't disappoint when it comes to listing contests and sweepstakes. Check out this great list.