Ways to make the some extra cash

Remember your first Lemonade stand? You grabbed your sugar, your lemons, and you sat outside your block with your sign that said "Lemonade .25 cents" (or .20 cents in my case. Had to undercut the competition, also i wrote swithed the "n" and the "m" in lemonade. Cuteness branded). Your first adventure into the business world all begin with that sign.

Some of us go into the creative marketing to make extra money. I've thought countless times that I should just sell my body for sex. It's a win-win. They get sex, and I get a bowling team. But that's a different story. I met a young entrepeneur whose sign caught my eye.

I think they could sell "Sports" if they wanted to as well.

(Yeah... didn't feel like editing out my mistakes either)

How many of us here has thought about doing that? Probably a good amount. I thought this was a good idea that took some moxy. You can't really just sit there with a sign, you have to market the sign. I've bet we have all wondered if this would work. I know I have. (Video 2 below)

Friends playing together, and working together!

(If only I was a little more articulate)

So a little work, and patience, good planning, and you can make a little extra cash. Of course, pulling the whole "poor college student" card didn't hurt.

Nothing like making some extra cash $$$$$

It was quite an experience talking with these girls. A nice idea, but more importantly a fun way to spend Black Friday. Something I like about Black Friday is tradition. This could become a tradition for these friends to get together after Thanksgiving every year and grab a spot in line with a sign.

Yes, they ended up selling all four of their spots. (How did 3 girls get 4 spots?.... I don't ask those type of questions.) They didn't just sit around, every time a car drove by, the sign was being featured. They walked up and down the line talking to people, that's marketing. I did hear from one of the customers saying it was money well spent as they got the 50" TV they wanted. So the girls got to bed early and got to experience Black Friday in a new way. Black Friday can be fun!

Quick funny story: As I was getting their info so I could redirect them here, one of the girls asked me if I had Facebook. Joking around with them I pretended I didn't know what Facebook was (But that I had my own blog). One of her friends says "He doesn't have an accent, I'm sure he is from here." ...... Good to see I still have that effect on people.

I will soon be moving all my "bargain hunting" based blogs from Blog-ahol and into a new Black Friday Diva section. So look for that soon. Give me a follow here on Blog-ahol and hit me up on twitter @blackfridaydiva!

Black Friday Live

UPDATE: 1:41 PM
Amazon still has some good deals. No 40" Toshiba deals, but some other items on your list. Go to check out their Black Friday Deals all week!

Walmart has a couple things left, no big TVs.... but maybe your item from 5am is still there

Speaking of WalMart's 5AM sale.... I MISSED IT. Fell asleep....stupid sleep. But I hear the 5am sale was very mild. Very possibly if retailers continue 5 am, 6 am, or 8 am sales.... could be MUCH easier to grab a big ticket item.

UPDATE: 2:46AM MST
Home from Best Buy... MISSED on the Black Friday big ticket items....but still found a haul. Including things for myself! Pics to be soon, I leave you tonight with a fun story from tonight.

Target much milder this year at their open.

Pics from some young Black Friday girls.

2012 Deal Tracker

Updated: Thanksgiving 9:30 AM MST

Some other deals, a little more than Black Friday prices, but you won't have to wait in line:
39" tv: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Insignia%22+-+39%22+Class+-+LED+-+1080p+-+60Hz+-+HDTV/6733418.p?id=1218786215383&skuId=6733418

iPod touch with gift card: http://www.target.com/p/apple-ipod-touch-16gb-4th-generation-with-touch-screen-wi-fi-black-me178ll-a/-/A-14000297?ref=tgt_adv_xasd0001&AFID=Performics_BFAds_0004cf17f2716e370a2a5489bb006eb1&LNM=Primary%20Banner

PS3 deal: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony---PlayStation-3-%28250GB%29-inFAMOUS-Collection-Limited-Edition-Bundle/6898698.p?skuId=6898698&productCategoryId=abcat0703001&id=1218811918130&AID=10474050&PID=2187655&SID=ebs4d6d557979550ae52c4c7533736370404540599631sbe&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bestbuy.com%2Fsite%2FSony---PlayStation-3-%2528250GB%2529-inFAMOUS-Collection-Limited-Edition-Bundle%2F6898698.p%3FskuId%3D6898698%26productCategoryId%3Dabcat0703001%26id%3D1218811918130&ref=39&CJPID=2187655&loc=01

50" TV: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sceptre-50-Class-LCD-1080p-60Hz-HDTV-X505BV-FHD/19793654?wmlspartner=jDfRMawUPt8&sourceid=08790323540024768548&veh=aff



Looking for the Xbox deal, but don't want to fight the Black Friday crowds?

Two Thanksgiving online deals
Ebay Bundle: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Microsoft-XBOX-360-Holiday-Bundle-w-Skyrim-Forza-4-250-GB-Hard-Drive-/380520589658
189.99

Target Kinect Bundle: http://www.target.com/p/xbox-360-4gb-kinect-holiday-bundle-w-kinect-adventures-disneyland-xbox-360/-/A-14282516?ref=tgt_adv_xasd0001&AFID=Performics_BFAds_0004cf1234abc9ed0a2a6dcf5700436c&LNM=Primary%20Banner
199.99

Walmart Bundle: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Xbox-360-Skylanders-Family-Fun-Value-Bundle-110-Value/21978359
199.99

Check back with the blog to see deals that you might miss! Give me a follow while you are here!

Preparation is the key to success.

One of my favorite Lion King songs is Scar's "Be Prepared."Scar has a plan, he is maticulously planning, and Black Friday shoppers can learn from this. I, usually have a plan of attack for Black Friday, and that should start right at the beginning of November. This year I felt a little rushed (hence the lack of blog posts) but I felt like I had a good handle of what I wanted to do this year.

"Even the best laid plans..."

It takes more than having a plan of attack, it takes fine attention to detail, research and follow through. The last part is where I came up short this year. But sometimes that happens, life gets in the way.

If I were to draft a Black Friday constitution, one of the amendments would be "Find your deals online first, saves hassle and stress on the actual Friday of Dark." Amazon releases a lot of great deals the WEEK of Black Friday. Some of the items that go on sale will even be close to or even AT Black Friday prices. You do have to be quick on the draw with some great deals though. Amazon gives you a chance to "preview" the items as to give you a chance to be by your browser. Get your clicking fingers ready!

Some retailers (Best Buy, Sears, Target) will release some items online before Black Friday. This year, Best Buy even threw some of the Black Friday deals online. The trick is to keep a watchful eye on the items you want. Then be aggressive, be be aggressive. I work under the assumption that if I buy it, and I don't like it... return it. (Also, check return policies.)

So to a personal story. Two TVs that I was interested in went on sale, I put them in my cart and kind of dilly dallied before buying them. The punch line? They sold out as soon as I put them in my cart. Why? Because the sale caught me by surprise. Didn't now it was happening when it did, so I was scrambling to find what I wanted. Now I have non-buyers remorse. I hope I can get them on Friday... then next year, I need to be more prepared. (For what? For the death of the king! Why is he sick?)

Black Friday: ..... I see two things wrong with that title.

If you recognize the title, yes, it's from the Simpsons. The boys get a fake ID and go see a rated R movie called "Naked Lunch" and leave saying "I see two things wrong with that title." Funny because it bucks what the viewer's expectations are. However, when you mess with real life expectations..... not as funny.

This year, Black Friday is starting on.... Thursday at 8 PM. Yup, Thanksgiving night. Why the change? Well, my theories are because the more shoppers you can have the more money you make. Sounds legit. Retailers found out last year that by opening earlier (Midnight as opposed to 5 AM) they could get more people in the door. Great for their bottom line because, well more money. But what about for consumers?

For the hardcore Black Friday shoppers, these early times are not good. It's like Peyton Manning having to play with a bunch of high school kids. (I was going to use Kobe Bryant....but decided against that analogy.) Sure, the pro should have the advantage, but even a blind squirrel will be right twice a day....or something like that. Point is, the more people you put in the shops, the less chance that you can get the item(s) you want. Part of the "appeal" of Black Friday was "We get the deals because we're out here at 5 AM." All of a sudden you get a bunch of newbies going out because it's at midnight or 8 PM.

Also, it's called Black FRIDAY right? Am I missing something by starting it on the THURSDAY before? Which, as I mentioned, is Thanksgiving. Look, my family is fairly new to Thanksgiving, we don't have many traditions but we do like to cook and eat dinner with family. With a new 8 PM start time, that means we have to be done with dinner at... Noon? And what about employees of retail stores. Wal-Mart employees used to get most of Thanksgiving off because they were closed all day. Sure employees had to start coming in later at night to get set up, but they probably had time to have dinner and spend time with family before they had to go to work. I would not be surprised if some employees will have to go in around 2, to start the Black Friday preparations.

But.... what can we do? If their 8 PM sales fall flat, then retailers will rethink these early opening times. However, I fear, we as retailers, will feed the beast. So 8 PM sales might be something we have to get used to. This year, however, I do not think I will be part of that crowd. I will enjoy the extra dinner and family time before I do the midnight lines. If you so choose to go to 8 PM sales, please contact me before hand. I would love to get your account so I can blog to all the faithful readers here about how it goes.

Keep an eye on my Blog-ahol for more Black Friday updates. Any questions, please let me know! I would love to research it for ya! If you're heading out, I would love to hear from you and you can correspond for Blog-ahol.

PS. I'm looking to start a blog strictly focusing on financing, as soon as I figure out a name for it, I will start that. But for now, I'm a Blog-aholic, I can't live without my Blog-ahol.

The BirthdayRegistry dot com era has begun

While I was on vacation, my good friend Matt Martinez asked me, "Do you really want Power Rangers Season 1 for your birthday?" (We saw a late night commercial for one.) I thought to myself "Hell Yeah!....... but I want some other things first." That is what makes shopping so hard. We have things we'd like to buy ourselves. But because they are "wants" and not "needs" we sometimes don't splurge on those purchases. What about from Matt's view? Because sometimes I DO splurge on myself. What if he gets me something I don't like, or don't ever use. The gift buying guessing game is hard. You want to genuinely surprise the person you are buying for, without giving a crap gift.

That's why wedding registry's are so nice. You go to the store, print out a piece of paper of what they want. You're in, you're out, no hassle, no mess. Simple! If this sounds familiar, it is because I wrote about it last Christmas. http://huutranblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-time-is-here.html I wanted to create a website "Birthdayregistry.com." You could go and enter your registry online and whenever the occasion (birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries) would arrive, you would get gifts that you want and the gifter would have a much easier time to pick out your gifts.

So am I doing you a service by putting my wish list here? Or am I just being narcissistic and selfish by  telling you to buy me these material things? Why does it have to be one or the other?

Not in any particular order:

Luxor Bath robes: It'll be like I'm in Vegas.....all the time. This is a 10 on the want scale and 0 on the need scale. I have very little use for this...but whatever right? Eff it! http://www.livingsocial.com/cities/78-salt-lake-city/deals/439161-monogrammed-robe-made-from-100-egyptian-cotton

They don't have my team..... BOOOOOOOOO
http://www.groupon.com/deals/gg-ihip-nfl-portable-dock-stereo-system?c=all&p=11

As a Buffy/Angel nerd.... yeah I'd like these comics haha.
Any Angel: After the Fall Vol. 2 or on: http://www.amazon.com/Angel-After-Fall-First-Night/dp/1600103936/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1346465241&sr=8-3&keywords=angel+after+the+fall
(I already have VOL. 1. Surprise)

Buffy Vol. 7 and/or Buffy Vol. 8: http://www.amazon.com/Buffy-Vampire-Slayer-Season-Twilight/dp/1595825584/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346465348&sr=1-1&keywords=buffy+vol.+7

THIS would be actually really good for me. Seeing as now I have an office job and just sit around all day. Anything to help me work out while sitting would be great! http://www.amazon.com/Isokinetics-Inc-Brand-Pedal-Exerciser/dp/B000KDWA82/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

I've already have a couple massages I have to use....but you can't have too many right?
http://www.groupon.com/deals/down-time-massage-2?c=all&p=7

Car seat cover...my poor car is falling apart
http://www.amazon.com/NFL-Dallas-Cowboys-Seat-Cover/dp/B000V676HS/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1346465999&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=cowboys+car+seat+cover

And THIS is the main thing I want! Thanks!!!!

Spreadsheet version for easy viewing Click Here

The Funnest bet in all of sports

You will not convince me otherwise....the over/under bet of the National Anthem of the Super Bowl is by far the most fun bet there is in sports. The object of the bet is time the National Anthem from the beginning "Oh" till the end of the word "Brave." Vegas will set a time and you bet if it will be over or under that time.

I have taken this bet 3 years in a row now, and by far, it's been one of the most exciting moments of each Super Bowl for me. This year, the original American Idol Ms. Kelly Clarkson performed the anthem. If you don't believe me try it for yourself. Guess "Over 1 Minute 35 seconds" or "Under 1 Minute 35 seconds." Then get a timer/stop watch, watch the video, and time the anthem from the start of "Oh" to the end of "Brave." If you're not hanging on every word of the last two lines, then there is something UnAmerican or UnFun of you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLoDMTQjX9I