5/27/2000

Welcome to the first issue of our newsletter. 

ARTICLES

TIPS

Announcing the opening of Three New Stores: 05/21/00
Yes that's right we've opened three new stores

GameLynkx: This store is designed to supply you with all your game playing needs. A gamers best of all worlds-our full inventory of systems, games and more for Dreamcast, Playstation, Nintendo 64, Gameboy Color, Game Gear and more...

SportsGear: This is the place where you can get a full selection of great sporting goods. Whatever your favorite sport is, you'll find what you want here.  From team sports to backyard fun-the gear, the game balls and the equipment for all the games people play. With products by Wilson and other leaders.

CDExpress: Life without music is unthinkable! This is our music place. You'll find a great selection of music here.  An all digital inventory in the world's most dominant format. From hip-hop to Bach, world music to jazz. Including comedy, soundtracks and gospel.

Back to Top

Get your FREE Gift by completing our Survey: - 05/19/00

Complete our questionnaire and we will send you a free gift...That is it...Just honestly answer all the questions and we will send you an absolutely no cost to you... totally free gift from our product line.  Click here...

Back to Top

Send FREE eCards

Send eGreeting cards to a special friend or family member...You will even be notified when the card has been picked up... Click here to send a card or pickup your card... Did I mention that it's Free!

Back to Top

Email Cartoons to a friend

This is another free service offered by AccentDirect.Com.
click here to visit

Message Board & Chat Rooms

Covers a wide range of topics from advice on Relationships, women & Health to computer related topics. Click here to visit...

Back to Top

Mail Order catalog: 
Buy 3 items and get the fourth item FREE when you order through our catalog.

The catalog price cannot be greater than the price of the least expensive item you purchased. In other words, suppose you purchased three items priced at $12.95,  $14.95,  and $13.50.  You can select any item from the catalog that sells for $12.95 or less, as your free gift. You do not have to buy three of the same items to qualify, although you can!  Nor is our offer limited to one series.   

You can buy two or three groups of threes - and select a free gift with each group. 

 PLUS
Early Bird Shoppers receive a FREE "Mystery Gift" with your initial order, amounting to $25 or more...If you mail it within 30 days of receiving your catalog.

This offer valid only through our catalog and cannot be combined with any other offer.

Back to Top

Coming Soon

Your email at AccentDirect:

We are working on allowing our visitors to setup email accounts with us.  Soon you'll be able to send and receive email from our website...Stay tuned

This Issue's Featured Article

Cereal Mom- By Sharon Davis

I recently heard a woman say that being called a "work at home mom" was professionally demeaning. Being one myself, my initial reaction was to agree with her. "That’s right, I’m a professional, I’m not just a bored housewife dabbling with a hobby here," I said to myself.

Upon reflection however, I came to realize that I disagree. Deeply.

Working out of your home while caring for children makes for some unique (and comical) situations. If you can’t have a sense of humor about these things, then maybe a field job is more your style.

But let’s face it, just how professional can you be when much of your work is done with a toddler on your lap? And that is, after all, one of the great benefits of working at home; you can consult with clients wearing bunny slippers if you like. Who’s to know? Sometimes we just need to keep things in perspective. I know that the work that I do is top quality, and I don’t sweat what others think of my work environment.

But I do wonder how that woman deals with some of those little challenges that come with being a work-at-home parent.

For example, maybe she feels that going out of the house with soggy Cheerios stuck to her behind would be professionally demeaning. She must have found a way to avoid this. I should call her...

Not being able to locate a pen because they’re all in use fishing Barbie clothes out of the toilet. This might be seen as unprofessional.

Or, while trying to convince a potential client how you would be the best choice if he’s looking for quality, professional results your 2-year-old is proclaiming proudly, "I went poo-poo Mommy!" over and over.

I've known others who have tried to mask their true work environments using some creative metaphors. For example:
"As soon as my colleague completes his current assignment" really means..."As soon as my 5-year-old is done with his Mr. Potato Head CDRom"
"We'll be outsourcing the finishing work" really means..."My teenaged daughter will be earning her allowance by collating and stapling your reports"
"I have an urgent matter to attend to" really means..."My 3-year-old has been awfully quiet for the past few minutes and she was recently asking for a haircut"

Does this mean I should lock my kids in their rooms while I’m on the phone? While that can at times seem like a perfectly sensible idea, usually basic time management helps to avoid these situations. My view is that if a client thinks that the quality of my work will be less just because I have children, he can look elsewhere.

Maybe I’m shutting the door on some business, but I refuse to have my children feel that they come second. And I do, in fact, think of myself as a Mom first, and a business owner second. Besides, I think that the day is getting nearer that people really won’t mind their projects delivered with a few soggy Cheerios on them.

====================About The Author===========================
Sharon Davis is the Mother of two girls, the Editor of www.2Work-At-Home.Com
and the owner of 2Work-At-Home.com Resume Services.
In her spare time she reminisces about what it was like to have spare time.
Subscribe to her free ezine, America's Home by sending a blank email to workathome2-subscribe@listbot.com ============================================================

Back to Top

Shopping: Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half

By D. M. Brown

There have been many articles and reports written explaining supposed ways to cut your grocery bills. Sure, you can eat only bargain noodles and generic beans. That will save a little money. Wash out those plastic bags and reuse them. That will save a few cents.

But there is one sure way to cut your grocery bills in half (or more!) that is easy and you can still buy brand name items. By intelligently using the system detailed in this report, you will see savings from the first day.

First, save coupons. Too many people think coupons are a waste of time, or that they only raise the prices that are charged on items. This is false!

Buy a box of envelopes, and label your envelopes with the categories of food and products you buy regularly. You can be as broad ("vegetables") or exact (an envelope for each brand of canned vegetables you regularly buy) as you want. Clip every coupon you come across and file them in the proper envelope.

Sunday newspapers are the best source for coupons. If you find a lot of coupons you can use on a particular Sunday, it may be worth your while to buy a second copy of the paper, to get another set of coupons. If your paper costs $1.00, you can make that back with two 50-cent coupons. The rest will be profit!

Next, watch the sale flyers. When you see items on sale that you have coupons for, that's the time to buy. Here's something a lot of people don't realize. Say you have three 50-cent coupons for "Bill's Beans." You can only use one coupon per purchase.

But, if you buy three cans at once, that's three purchases, and you have every right to use all three coupons. Also, watch for stores that offer "double coupons." That means that they will double the value of the coupon, usually up to 50-cent value coupons. Buy the sale items with doubled coupons, and your saving increase!

For best results, you should try to have a coupon for at least one-half to two-thirds of the items you buy on your shopping trip. Make a shopping list before you go and stick to it. This prevents impulse buys.

Also, funny as it may sound, don't go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. If you do, you'll no doubt buy extra things that sound good to you at the time, but you may not end up eating. That's the first half of the system. Using coupons to their fullest extent is a major part of grocery bill cutting.

Next comes rebates.

When you use any canned, boxed or bagged goods, save the package. Labels can be soaked from cans with warm water, and the outside layer of a box (the part with the printing on it) can usually be carefully peeled off. Use a few grocery boxes to organize these. Alphabetically is the best way. These can be stored in an unused closet or the garage.

Also, keep your receipts. You'll need them for rebates. Then, when you see a rebate for an item you regularly buy, you can get the required proof of purchase easily and quickly from the packaging.

Here's how these fit together: For example, you have three 15-cent coupons for a 79-cent canned vegetable. The vegetables go on sale for 69-cents at a store that doubles coupons. You can now buy three cans of the vegetables for 39-cents each (69-cents minus 30-cents per coupon).

Then, a few weeks later, the manufacturer has a $1.50 rebate that requires three proofs of purchase. By sending in the rebate, you have now made a profit of 33-cents ($1.50 minus $1.17). Many manufacturers will reimburse you for the cost of postage to send the rebate and proofs in, so you get the full 33-cents.

Think about it. If you are able to do this with at least half of your grocery purchases (and you should, if you try), you can cut your grocery bill at least in half, if not more! All this for not a whole lot of work. It may seem a bit much at the start, but once you get a good, organized system in place, it will be quite easy.

About the Author: D. M. Brown is the founder of AllforWomen.com, HerContests.com, and several other successful sites on the Web. Her articles are intended to support women and offer practical advice, tips and information that is helpful in their every day lives. Visit AllforWomen.com. Subscribe to newsletter here.

Back to Top