A Modern Shopping Trend

During the recent gas price increases, many major stores reported losses in their bricks and mortar outlets, yet their online sales blossomed. Brick and mortar stores spend thousands on air conditioning, designers, personnel, stands and decorations to catch your eye. When you shop online, often your order will be fulfilled via a warehouse that doesn't have all those gimmicks and expenses, therefor you can find better deals on the Internet.

I've been an online shopper for a couple of years now and I can say that I have saved not only time but also money by using discount coupons, Zero Sales Tax stores and last minute deals. But I realize that a lot of people are still very apprehensive about E-commerce due to the possibility of identity theft. But think about this, when you give your card to a waiter, or when they pass it on a store, they also keep the information in their systems and those systems are connected to the Internet, in many cases that is how hackers get the information. Although online shopping from trustworthy retailers is safe, here are some helpful tips to protect yourself when shopping online:

• Don't be impressed by low prices. Many times prices that are way below the average can come from illegitimate businesses that might take your money and run.
• Always look for a physical address and a phone number.
• Always check for security certificates, be sure that the website is SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) protected.
• Always read the terms of service before you finish your transaction.
• If you are going to create an account with a retailer be sure to have a strong password.

Online shopping also has a green side. Most likely a delivery truck is headed to your neighborhood anyway. It is better for the environment to have 1 truck delivering to 6 houses, than having 6 cars heading to the store, increasing traffic and the gas emissions. Many stores also re-use boxes and packing materials to help reduce their carbon footprint and they also use materials that can be recycled.

Buying thins online is fun and easy. There are great search engines out there that can help you find what you are looking for in seconds. You can even compare the price between different stores that carry the same product without having to visit physically each of them! No wonder why online shopping is expected to grow even more over the next few years.

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Simplify your Life

I am happy to say that being a business owner has many advantages, but it also requires more time from us in order to keep it going. 24 hours in a day we not enough for all the chores involved in running Kenneth Rust Audio Consultant and at the same time running my own house. I used to find myself invoicing some clients and doing laundry at 11:00PM.

Some of the most time-consuming chores is shop around for the office, warehouse and home supplies. You might be surprised the list of items we need to buy in order to have a smooth operation and a 100% functional home. On a normal week I had to make several stops in stores like Home Depot, Office Depot, Walmart, Target, Tiger Direct, Toys R Us, Sears, The Children's Place, Macy's, Walgreens, CVS, Costco and Publix, just to mention a few.

As online shopping became more popular, we started to order items we needed for the office on the Internet saving the time involved in going to the store (drive, park, walk the aisles, find the item, make the line to pay, pack the car, drive back)

Still, I spent a lot of time running the countless errands that a family of 4 require: groceries, bulk items, birthday presents for kids and adults, decorations, clothing and apparel needs, cleaning supplies, home maintenance items, educational & school requirements and so much more. Yes there are great super stores that carry mostly everything but that meant spending over 3 hours since the moment I left home to the moment I came back pushing a heavy cart full of supplies and dragging 2 little girls around the store. The result: shopping for the items we needed was not fun anymore!

Then I heard about a way to make money and save money and time shopping online: affiliate marketing where a website owner have links to online retailers receiving cash back for all purchases that originated with that link. The interesting part is that I never had to add the retailers, buy a domain name, a hosting package, a web designer or maintain the website up and running.

Little by little more retailers were introduced to us, many of those out-of-state meaning savings of 7% just on the Tax we pay in Miami-Dade County. And then I learned about how to use online coupon codes so our savings were maximized too. And on top of that I discovered that the more buying power I transfer to online shopping, the more money I would save for our business and our family. Soon I discovered that all the office and warehouse supplies, parts & materials, electronics and software we needed for our office could be ordered and delivered to our door.

As I became more familiar and more retailers were added I soon ad our clothing, coffee beans, bulk items, some pantry items, toiletries, school supplies, shoes, special occasion presents, invitations, thank you cards, cleaning products, pet food & pet care, snacks, supplements & vitamins and so much more delivered to my door. I could go on with my day knowing that at the time I came back after a day of work and after school activities with my girls, I would find a box outside my door with everything I ordered!! No need to drive, find a place to park, deal with the crowds, the heat and the lines anymore. And obviously my gas expenses were cut in half too. Now my trips to the grocery store are no more that 30 minutes in and out since I only need to get perishables, dairy products, fruits & vegetables.

The best part as I don't go to the stores as I used to, my impulse buying expenses are reduced to a minimum. My credit card monthly statements went from an average of 1700 a month to about 1400 even when now I buy more natural and organic products, healthier products and better brands than what I used to get at Walmart!

All the time I save now, I use it to spend it with my family or doing more productive things. You could do it too!

Live Green - Save green - Earn Green

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