My name is Christina, and I’m an online shopaholic. <Hi Christina> Hello ladies. I trust you’ve been with me since “Thank You All Mighty Shopping Gods”, “Shop Smart Now To Spend Frivolously Later”, and “Online Shopping Ain’t for Everybody – Only for the Sexy People”. Just in case you are new, please check those out before you read on.

Where were we? Oh yes, let’s talk about strength in numbers. This is not a new concept, and most of us have experienced it in some form or another. Think of Habitat For Humanity. Together, with each person bringing his or her strengths to the table, they quickly bring a home for a family in need. What about sports? Teams work in unison toward the common goal of winning the game.

We know this, and chances are we do this in our every day lives. I know I do. When my house is a mess, I recruit my boyfriend. He loves it when I give him the option of doing dishes or vacuuming. I revel in making him do housework, but I know deep down he enjoys shaving an hour off of Saturday Cleaning Time. (Okay…really deep down.)

Ah Ahhhhhhhhhhh! The Pot Luck. Prime example. The pot luck allows me to throw together a quick party on a limited budget and EVERYONE benefits by having a splendid time. We all have our Kick A** 9-Layer Dip we can pull out at a moments notice. The crowd goes wild for it. Am I right?

Let’s think of this as our Pot Luck just without…the food.
Simply get other shoppers to sign up for their own free mall.
1. It’s free!
2. They shop online anyway!
3. They get rebates too, and they will be thankful!
4. AND…You Make Money When They Shop Too!

That’s right. I said it. You make money when they shop too!

So some of you will be on board immediately! You are already thinking that you can tell Tiff, and Lauren, all the mommies in your play group, your mom…

Now imagine this. You always wish you could give more to the Special Olympics. You volunteer every June for the regional summer games. Why not sign up a mall for them? Then, when you buy socks for yourself, you buy them under your mall. And, when you give dad his BBQ Tool Kit for Father’s Day, you buy that under the Special Olympics’ mall. Boom – money for them! Now imagine if all the volunteers got a mall for the Special Olympics. Together you could buy all the food for the event…and then some. Sweet!

But…I bet a few of you might be dreading this. You’ve been so excited up until this point. What if you don’t want to sign up anyone else? Then, don’t. You don’t ever have to ever tell anyone, but I bet you’ll want to. But hey, I’m one who just has to share. If I like something, I want to tell the world (obviously). However, you have to be comfortable, and if secretly clicking the “check out” button behind the privacy of your own laptop is your thing, then by all means click away.

So you’re ready to sign up? Hold on, hold on…next time, we’ll talk about that. Watch for “RSVP - Movie Night at My Place. Bring Your 9-Layer Dip.”

Until next time,

Christina

christinawieber@yahoo.com

“It would be easy to say that the pants changed everything that summer. But looking back now I feel like our lives changed because they had to, and that the real magic of the pants was in bearing witness to all of this and in somehow holding us together when it felt like nothing would ever be the same again.”
--Carmen, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.