FReeper Canteen ~ Online Shopping 101 ~ November 22, 2005

22-NOV-05 | Gummy News

[GummyIII]

Gummy Style!

Newsflash:  Gummy Hates to Shop November 22, 2005 I hate to shop.  I know. You are thinking, "She's not normal."  Perhaps I should clarify.  I hate to drive to a busy mall or store, get out, fight the crowds, look in umpteen stores for the best bargain, and come home with nothing but achy feet and head.  When Al Gore invented the internet, he did it for me.  Honest. (Psssst....He would have told you that, but he's afraid you wouldn't believe him.) OK,  you've guessed it...I do all my shopping online.  Below are my best tips for online shopping. Oh, there is ONE drawback, gentlemen...you can't wait until Christmas Eve to shop.  It's a good thing I believe in Santa Claus! He brings me my present EVERY year. (Hint:  if the animated background bugs you, hit the "stop" button on your browser.)

We Support Our Troops!!!!  Thank you for your service!!!

Shop Online Safely Use credit cards. The big three credit card issuers, American Express, MasterCard and Visa, have a zero liability policy. You pay nothing for unauthorized transactions if you notify your financial institution. For extra fraud protection, sign up for MasterCard's SecureCode or Visa's Verified by Visa. These are password challenge programs for online shopping. Look for signs that online purchases are secure. At the point that you are providing your payment information, the beginning of the Web site address should change from http to shttp or https, indicating the information is being encrypted. Your browser may also signal that the information is secure with a symbol, such as a broken key that becomes whole or a padlock that closes. Never enter your personal information in a pop-up screen. When you visit a company's Web site, an unauthorized pop-up screen created by an identity thief could appear with blanks for you to provide your personal information. Legitimate companies don't ask for personal information via pop-up screens.  Keep your computer secure for safe shopping and other online activities. Protect your computer with spam filters, anti-virus and anti-spyware software, pop-up blockers and a firewall, and keep them up to date. Go to http://www.staysafeonline.org and http://www.onguardonline.gov to learn more about how to keep your computer secure. Or use El Gran's wonderful site:  Canteen Resource Center. Disclaimer: Not suitable for Grinches or Scrooges. Santa reads this news, too!!

Tips for Saving Money and Sanity Try online coupons. Many online stores provide regular customers with promotional codes. These codes are entered during the online checkout process. They save you money, just like a traditional coupon. Coupon Cabin, Current Codes and Naughty Codes are three websites that list promotional codes for online stores. (Google "promotional code" and the name of the store from which you are purchasing.  Others may show up.) Promotional codes usually offer free shipping or a reduced price. Often, online stores offer multiple codes, but you'll probably have to use one or the other.  Use disposable e-mail. You must register an e-mail address with stores when you purchase online.  The store e-mails a confirmation of your purchase and, often, tracking information. Additionally, it may send you promotional codes. But it may also send you unwanted e-mail.There are a couple ways to handle this. You could create a new e-mail address. A number of sites offer free e-mail, including Hotmail (www.msn.com), Yahoo (mail.yahoo.com), Techemail (www.techemail.com) and Netscape (www.netscape.com). Or, sign up for a disposable e-mail address. Free services such as spamgourmet and Sneakemail allow you to create a temporary e-mail address. They forward mail to your "real" one. Sign up for a temporary address before making a purchase. When you've received your purchases and are satisfied with them, you can eliminate the temporary address. COMING NEXT WEEK:   All I want for Christmas is.......... Gummy News is produced  as a service to our troops.  Volume 1, Number 1.

Comparision Shopping 101 Yahoo, Inc., Shopzilla, Shopping.com,  Google Inc.'s Froogle.com, PriceWatch, PriceGrabber, NexTag and ShopLocal are a few of the top contenders for online comparison shopping.  Take the time to see how each one works.  Most will sort by price, look for items within a price range, and look for specific brand items which you specify.  Many of the above sites have ratings for you to check the product.  Other sites are cnet.com, zdnet.com, consumersearch.com, epinions.com, PCMagazine, BusinessWeekOnline, ConsumerGuide, and many others.  Also, many of the consumer online sites offer customer reviews.  Use those in conjunction with other reviews. For example, Amazon.com and Circuit City's online store are two sites with customer reviews. Best viewed at 1024x768,  medium text size

[Kathy in Alaska]

USS Nassau Strike Group Deploys

U.S. Marines assigned to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit load ammunition and tanks onto a Landing Craft Air Cushion for transport to the USS Carter Hall, at Morehead City, N.C., Nov. 5, 2005. The Carter Hall is part of the USS Nassau Expeditionary Strike Group, which left Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Va., Nov 4, 2005, to onload the unit before departing on a six-month deployment in support of the global war on terrorism. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Laura A. Moore

U.S. Marines assigned to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit load ammunition and tanks onto a Landing Craft Air Cushion for transport to the USS Carter Hall, at Morehead City, N.C., Nov. 5, 2005. The Carter Hall is part of the USS Nassau Expeditionary Strike Group, which left Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Va., Nov 4, 2005, to onload the unit before departing on a six-month deployment in support of the global war on terrorism. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Laura A. Moore

[StarCMC]

Woohoo!! Happy Thanksgiving to you too!! :o)

Fluffy is travelling with my parent to Pennsylvania and we'll meet up with them on Thursday. He just called from the Youngstown, OH area (where they are going to stop and visit my great aunt Thelma) to tell me it's SNOWING. He was thrilled. I'm groaning. I HATE WINTER. Ok. Gotta get THAT outta my system!! LOL

[StarCMC]

Hey DW! How are ya!! You never answered me the other day -- I was curious what type of engineer you are?? Aeronautical? Electrical??

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good job, Booboo, on doing well in math and reading. Reading is SO important, and doing it well, and enjoying it is fantastic. I'm not so good at writing, so admire those that can. Congratulations on having something entered in the county contest.

[luvie]

Ah...just the answer I was looking for! (((hugs)))

[Mrs.Nooseman]

MINE

[Mrs.Nooseman]

Mine

[Mrs.Nooseman]

Mine

[Mrs.Nooseman]

Mine

[Mrs.Nooseman]

Mine

[luvie]

Snow! Yark! Just what you need to have to drive through! I'll bet it is beautiful to a kid, though. I used to love it till I had the longish drive to work in it, then it became a burden. Not that we get that much or anything.

You guys have a wonderful holiday....and stay safe! (((hugs)))....eat a bunch. I started to say "don't eat too much" but what else are you supposed to do on this day? I mean besides thank God for our homes, country, and great military (and all our friends, freeper or not)...but that is a given.

[Kathy in Alaska]

I didn't think Mommys got to sit down and just wait. LOL!

[StarCMC]

Not supposed to - like I said I SHOULD be cleaning out the car. But I've been moving all day! LOL

[Colonel_Flagg]

Well, then I am pleased! Are you having a lovely afternoon?

[luvie]

Well. darn if it isn't!


#750--MRS. NOOSEMAN!!!!

[StarCMC]

I plan to enjoy my meal! LOL

It's the first time in 15 years that I will be up in PA for TGiving. It should be nice!

[StarCMC]

And BTW Gummy - I forgot to tell you -- GREAT THREAD!!!! *HUGS!*

[EsmeraldaA]

Hello again!

[Colonel_Flagg]

{{{{{{{{ Es! }}}}}}}}}

Howdy. Ready for a nice evening?

[luvie]

Did you see the picture...our sky is just that blue and it is 73 degrees. Yes it is georgous...plus I'm being totally a bum..sort of like you!!!...so it is perfect!