Another Reward Card? My Wallet is Full.

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Something About Nothing, by Julie Seedorf published January 27, 2014

My wallet is getting fatter. Unfortunately it isn’t getting fatter with money or even credit cards. It is getting fatter with all those rewards cards that we have to carry to get rewards when we visit a business.

Don’t get me wrong, reward people, I love my rewards cards. I must admit my life was a little simpler when I didn’t reap the rewards of my shopping.

It seems every business is jumping on the rewards-card bandwagon. There are Hy-Vee Gas cards, Panera rewards, Shopko rewards, Cherry Berry rewards, Pizza Ranch rewards, Pet-Co rewards, Office Max rewards; and those are only a few of the many.

There are times when I have to stop and remember where I am when checking out. Yes, I occasionally do forget where I am, in the I need that frenzy of shopping. I get to the register, dump my products onto the little conveyer belt that moves the items closer to the cashier and then I fumble in my purse to find the right card. Of course, while I am fumbling and digging through my billfold I almost and sometimes do, drop it on the floor.

The solution would be to be prepared by digging out my card before I get to the register but what fun would that be? It would not give those shoppers coming behind me the excuse to check their cellphone, talk to the person behind them or glare at me for holding up the line.

Things are made a little simpler when it comes to coupons; we don’t always have to have to the paper coupon anymore. We can store the coupon on our cellphone. Of course, that means that not only do we have to pull our rewards cards out, we have to hold our cellphone and get it to the place on our phone where we have the coupons. The people behind me always love that.

Some stores are making it easier if you are a prepared and organized person. I actually don’t know too many of those. If you are an organized person, you can go to the store’s website and put the store coupon on your rewards card. That does make it simpler.

Let’s add being a senior citizen to the mix. Senior citizens at many places get senior citizen discounts. Some are widely advertised where others are kept under wraps. You have to know what stores have senior citizen discounts and then you have to ask for them when you are at the checkout. You also have to know in many stores, what day they cater to senior citizens. There is also another little catch.

Some chains of stores don’t have the same senior citizen policy in every store. The days differ, and in one case I have found that the liquor store offers a senior citizens discount, but the actual other store connected doesn’t.

I am tired writing this. Being a smart consumer these days is tricky. One day I was shopping with my daughter. A sale of something that I needed didn’t start until two hours later. We were in the store at the wrong time and had to be home in another community before the sale started.

I was disappointed but accepting. My daughter pulls out her cellphone, finds the ad on the phone and calls and finds a clerk in the store. She asks if there is any way we could get the discount early since we couldn’t be there at 3 p.m.

The clerk said they would check and came back and said it was in the system already so they would honor the sale. We should show the clerk the ad and tell them they said it was fine to honor it early. We checked out, and I got the sale price. I would have never thought of that in my old age. Shopping used to be simpler.

That is my point. Life is getting challenging for those of us with an older brain. Shopping now is somewhat of a puzzle that we have to put together to get our perks and our prices. If you have the time — and senior citizens are supposed to have the time — then its fun.

Younger people pick up on this easier, but families with young children don’t have the time. Of course, they don’t have to search out senior citizen discounts, but with their lives on fast forward all of the time, keeping track of all the rewards if they want the perks can be mind-boggling.

I liked it when J.C. Penney cut its prices and did away with sales. Their prices were wonderful, and it was great shopping in the stores. Unfortunately, many consumers didn’t feel that way and J.C. Penney lost money. We are programmed to go for the deal.

I can’t wait to see what the stores think up for us in the future. I am researching the hidden senior citizen discounts in preparation for an article later on to aid seniors in finding their way through the discount maze.

But I should warn you, the last time I was in a maze, a corn maze, I needed to be rescued. If you don’t hear from me during my research you will know I am hopelessly lost under the pile of reward cards. Listen for my call for help and rescue me.

An Old Column About Coffee Cups

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I had to pull out this old column that I wrote many years ago about Coffee Cups. Coffee Cups are still special to me all these years later. I hope my writing has improved but beyond that I know my love of coffee and coffee mugs will never leave me. They are a legacy to those who have given them to me. They are a warning to those who read whatever cup I am using that day as to my mood. Coffee Cups also keep me reminded through the day to always be thankful. If I keep an encouraging message in front of me for the day or a picture of a loved one on a coffee cup my day seems be full of spirit and joy. Here is my old column IMG_1250 IMG_1251

SOMETHINGABOUT NOTHING

By Julie Seedorf © March 2007

 

My in-house critic thinks my columns are too frivolous. This critic thinks I should take more of a stand on issues instead of writing about fluffy things. I gave this friendly criticism quite some thought this week. Should I become tougher and more opinionated? Those who know me probably feel I state my opinions much too often. I debated about throwing out the fluff and becoming a tough columnist.

 

Do I want to become a serious columnist that writes about serious issues? Do I want to debate and disagree with politicians, landowners, authority and the list could go on? I do read quite a few columns and most of them are various serious columns about very serious issues. I thought long and hard about changing the tone of my column. I have made my decision.

 

This week we will discuss coffee cups! That is a very serious issue to me. As you already know from previous columns, I value my coffee in the morning. What I did not tell you is that I value my coffee cups. My mood in the morning sets the tone for the coffee cup that I use. For instance, my coffee cup this morning was given to me by a friend 20 years ago. Yes I still have it! It is an angel sitting on the moon and looking at the stars and it says, “You brighten God’s world! Let your little light shine.”  This morning I needed inspiration and I needed to feel that I mattered to someone today.

 

My coffee cups change during the day depending on how I feel. One day I made the comment to a friend “It’s been one of those days!” A few days later I received a coffee cup from her that says, “It’s been one of those days.” Along with that sentence is a blonde women lying on the ground just frazzled at 5:00 o’clock after a long day of work. Another cup tells me to “Have a day filled with rainbows.” One of my favorites says, “Exceptional Beauty, a fine mind and natural talent made me what I am today.” The picture on the cup looks somewhat like a very, very old red hat lady in black. Some days that picture fits me very well.

 

These cups can change my mood. They can pick me up. They can remind me of the important things in life. These cups can put a smile on my face in the middle of a chaotic day.

 

My cups remind me of friends. I received a rainbow cup from a friend that was dying of cancer. It came out of her cupboard and she knew my love of rainbows. It was her remembrance to me. I still have it and use it 25 years later. I remember my friend every time I use my cup. My friends have given me some awesome coffee cups.

 

To my in-house critic a coffee cup is just a coffee cup. He should read his coffee cups! I thought I was alone in my strange coffee cup world and then my sister-in-law had coffee at my house. She had to choose her own cup because as she stated “I’m not sure how I feel today so I need to choose a cup that fits my mood.” A co-worker bought special cups for work. As she was drinking her first cup of coffee in her new cup she stated “My coffee tastes so much better in this cute cup.”

 

I am taking a stand! Read this Mr. In-house critic. Coffee cups make a difference!  The wrong saying on a coffee cup can make or break your day. If you are having a bad day it must be because of that Styrofoam cup!!!  Restaurants should forget the blah cups and give us pizzazz in our coffee cups. Forget the matching set. Go for glow, go for inspiration, go for smiles. A restaurant with great coffee cups and great coffee would have my business forever.

 

I hope this column was serious enough for my in-house critic.

 

Science Fiction or a Cozy Read?

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shot glassI like unbelievable characters. Perhaps that is why some of the characters in my books seem unbelievable to some people.

I recently received a review of someone that  liked my book, Granny Hooks A Crook  and gave it a good review but weren’t sure about the reality of the characters. They felt that the main character, Granny possibly belonged in a science fiction book. Perhaps she does. She would find that a lot of fun. I can just see her battling King Kong or the Lochness Monster or the future space invaders that may come to our earth. She would figure out some way to get the aliens behind bars. I find that fantasy in fiction can be fun if the reader relaxes and enjoys the ride.

Perhaps it is a quirky part of my personality that likes books that make life into an unbelievable fantasy. Don’t we have enough reality in our world today? We need to relax and let our imaginations take root. Perhaps that is why I like the Harry Potter Series so much. When I watch the movies and read the books, I marvel at the creativity of the creator, J.K. Rowling. What was supposed to be a kid’s fantasy quickly turned into being loved by adults too. We loved I Love Lucy and she was as wacky as the Granny in my books. We loved the Golden Girls who got themselves into some unusual antics too. Let’s not forget about Granny of the Beverly Hillbillies. We watched because we wanted to laugh and watch the unbelievable. And maybe those of us that are older wanted to shed the expectations that were put on us all of lives and have fun with what is left of it.

There is a little part in many of us that would love to be that character in the book or on the screen because they are having so much fun. Are the antics of the silly characters in our books and television series actually so off the mark or do we not let the antics that are inside of us out because we want to be accepted by society?

Recently there was study done on  longevity and it found that the seniors that could also belong in a science fiction movie. It is a fictional town that makes a little fun of the rules that govern our real communities. It makes fun of the rules and regulations that we need to make society work, but that occasionally are carried too far and stifle community. Fuchsia doesn’t conform and neither do it’s residents. What holds Fuchsia apart and together in the midst of the lackadaisical rules is the fact that the quirky residents accept each others flaws and unique personalities and lets them embrace their differences. Who wouldn’t like that in the real world?

Fuchsia has it’s flaws, and it has it’s crime but the residents come together always supporting one another. They live, they love, they laugh, they get in trouble and they embrace different.

I do quirky things. I can have coffee and donuts and ice cream in the morning if I want. I forget where I parked my car. I get scared. I have been known to drop to the floor on occasion and start exercising to make a point for something. I can do the unexpected. I come from a family of quirky ladies and I like it. I wish I would have let it show sooner. You might have met Granny earlier.

But if you are wondering if Granny is going to shed the science fiction or fantasy label in her next book I will tell you, she is not. I will also tell you that you will see why Granny is the way she is. Granny will reveal why she has a sense of humor and what makes Granny hurt, cry and love. She would want you to know that before she kicks the bucket. Stay tuned.