The Perfect Frugal Baby Gift?
Once you hit your thirties it’s like every other week another set of friends is having a baby. For years I’ve been searching for the right present for my friends with a newborn, especially at baby showers where they have to open it in front of a crowd. I really love to give books because well I love books, and they’re affordable. Sometimes I give board books like Goodnight Moon
by Margaret Wise Brown. It’s a classic and just the right length for bedtime. For more neurotic friends, there’s Caring for Your Baby and Young Child, 5th Edition: Birth to Age 5
from the American Academy of Pediatrics. This actually is a pretty good book, even if you’re not neurotic.
However, I think I may have finally found the perfect book to give. It’s as irreverent as I am, and it gets to the point too. It’s Go the Fuck to Sleep
by Adam Mansbach. Yes, it may be a bit unusual, but how could you possibly go wrong giving this book? It’s affordable, and it’s unique so I’ll probably never have to worry about someone else giving them the same gift or them re-gifting it! It also probably guarantees me that I won’t get any calls from them about parenting! The perfect frugal baby gift?
Remember to buy it with your Amazon VISA and get 3% back!
What frugal presents do you give to parents of a newborn?
Marriott Rewards VISA Double Points!
Wow, 2 Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card posts in a row. That certainly wasn't my plan, but it is clear evidence that Chase is putting some serious marketing behind this card right now. Yesterday, I got the inset mailer offering double points on grocery and gas purchases between May 1 and June 30, 2011. The best part is the limit is on $5,000 worth of qualifying purchases. I don't know about you, but there is no way in the world I could max out that limit without a deep freeze the size of a garage to store all the excess food! There really is no catch to this offer. All you have to do is enroll your card code in the upper right of the mailer. Here is the link to enroll. 
All this marketing is nice, but none of the added rewards and benefits are really that compelling to me either. I really can't justify using this card over any of the others I detailed in this quarter's dose of Maximizing What’s in Your Wallet Q2 2011. Thus, for now I will continue to only use this card for stays at Marriott where the points earned really do justify the use.
Marriott Rewards VISA Expands Travel Benefits
I received the following mailer just recently detailing the new expanded travel benefits that come with the Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card. Those who follow my blog know I use this card almost exclusively for Marriott stays which is where the reward points can best be maximized. However, the new benefits are compelling to consider expanding its use to other travel purchases: No foreign transaction fees on on international purchases – For me this is a no brainer for any travel rewards card to offer. It's nice to have another card like this in my pocket though. Trip cancellation insurance and trip delay reimbursement – It's nice to have a card that has your back when things go wrong. This is a step in the right direction. Plus, it's nice to see all the other benefits that you hope you never have to actually use.
Lowes Credit Card Review
Today I received a somewhat compelling email promoting the Lowes credit card. I say somewhat compelling because it is a pretty good deal:
- No annual fee.
- 5% off your Lowe’s Consumer Credit Card purchase or no interest if paid in full within six months
However, the fine print provides a little more clarity.
Offer is not valid on previous sales, purchase of services or gift cards. Offer cannot be used in conjunction with any coupon, Lowe’s military discounts, Lowe’s employee discounts, or Lowe’s low price guarantee.
To me, this is a relatively solid deal kind of like the Target card deal I reviewed last year. However, I won’t be picking up this card. Instead, I will continue to use their coupons and combine those with the gift cards I get from Discover and Chase Freedom at 20% discounts using my rewards points (which I receive by exploiting their 5% cashback categories). This brings my total savings to 6.125% plus usually another 10-20% with a coupon. If you could combine the Lowes credit card with other offers, I would get it, but right now my system is superior.
Anyone else have a thought on the Lowes credit card?
Arcos Dorados Holdings (ARCO) for my Roth
Arcos Dorados Holdings (ARCO) began trading today. I picked up 30 shares at $21.35 in my Roth IRA. I intend this to be a long-term hold. As a bit of background, Arcos is McDonald’s (MCD) largest franchisee, the Master franchiser for McDonald’s in Latin America and the brand leader in a growing market. Sales are increasing year over year. For me the company feels like a great opportunity to participate in McDonald's international growth in the Latin American area. Again, this is long-term hold, not a swing trade. More information on ARCO can be had on Seeking Alpha. This post is the first of what I anticipate to be many on my securities trades. I think the transparency is positive, and I invite your opinions. We may not agree, but time will tell us who is right 
PS Doesn't it look like the baby is sucking the teet of McDonald’s? They seem to hook them younger and younger.
PPS (8/2/11) I sold this for a small profit. I'm trying to move my Roth to more of an indexed approach.
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