AP9 Articles

Home Savings Mall Suggests Throwing an Amazing Block Party

Block parties are a great way to tighten the bonds of the community and create memories for children and adults alike. Home Savings Mall (SM), a leading discount membership program offered by Adaptive Marketing LLC^®, reports that throwing a block party is not as hard and complicated as people might think. It requires planning and teamwork, but with those two elements, half of the work is completed.

"Planning" is the key word for a successful block party. One person can act as the "supervising leader," while other neighbors take care of specific tasks, such as "food commissioner" or "entertainment chief", etc. The goal is to have people handle tasks they know or like, so they can enjoy the planning process and willingly cooperate when needed.

Plan a block party that everyone will remember, and have fun while doing so, with these practical recommendations brought to you by Home Savings Mall:

-- Set the date. Saturdays are the ideal day of the week, and the following Sunday could be the perfect rain date. Some experts recommend having the party just before or during the first or last week of school, when most of the families aren't out of town on a summer vacation. Others recommend scheduling the event to coincide with a national holiday, when everyone is in a festive mood. One block party a year is the ideal frequency.

-- Get the permits. Permits aren't needed if the block party will be held in different backyards of the street, but if the plan is to block off the street, permits are necessary. Visit the town hall or contact the local police to find out all the requirements. Usually, once the permit is granted, the block party can be held at the same location every year. Remember that the organizers are responsible for setting up and taking down the barricades and for all security measures.

-- Delegate responsibilities. Recruit old and new neighbors (a great way to break the ice), and create task forces of three or four people per activity. There should be a group of people working on each of these areas: food and beverages, entertainment, logistics and advertising. (The last group can also be in charge of getting sponsors for food or entertainment activities, such as a music band, bounce houses, etc.)

-- Set up and take down. People usually forget these two pieces of the puzzle, which are vital to the success of any block party. Trash receptacles should be placed all over the area of the party to make the clean-up process much easier. Other important tasks to keep in mind are traffic logistics and the control of the distribution of alcoholic beverages.

Block parties are a bigger success when the entire neighborhood participates. Send invitations, get people excited, and be sure to look for ways to save on party items, suggests Home Savings Mall.

ShoppingEssentials, from Adaptive Marketing LLC, Offers Special Deals on Beauty Products for the Hands

Hands can tell a story just by the way they look: wrinkly, stained, supple, dry, soft, etc. They also play an important role in communication, since people often use their hands to emphasize what they want to say. Shopping Essentials (SM), a leading discount shopping program offered by Adaptive Marketing LLC^®, reports that hands are indeed the first body parts that show age, and they need more pampering and care than people usually give them.

The skin on the hands is thin and delicate, and therefore requires special care. Ironically, such an important and fragile part of the body gets a very rough treatment. People wash clothes and dishes, scrub floors or perform other heavy-duty activities without any protection. But there are some useful and simple tips anyone can follow to keep hands healthy and soft, like the ones provided here by ShoppingEssentials:

-- Moisturizing. Hands need hydration, just like the rest of the body. Use a deep moisturizing cream at least four times a day. Choose one that contains lactic acid's urea, an essential hand-care chemical that helps water efficiently penetrate the skin.

-- Warm, not hot. Hot, steamy water does help kill bacteria, but it also makes hands dry and rough. To keep hands clean and soft, use mild soap, and warm water.

-- Exfoliating. Both men and women can use this simple trick to soften their hands. Use any store-bought exfoliation product once a week (preferably at night, before going to bed), or simply combine hand lotion and sugar, rub hands for 3 to 5 minutes, rinse with warm water, and pat hands dry.

-- Face treatment. Almost every anti-age or moisturizing face cream can be applied on the hands, at least once a week, for extra moisture. Another cool trick for extra-soft hands is to apply Vaseline before bedtime, notes Shopping Essentials.    

-- Sunscreen. Hands should also be covered with sunscreen before heading out in the sun. Apply sunscreen all over the hands, including in between the fingers and on the palms.

-- Gloves. Protecting hands is as easy as using gloves when washing clothes or dishes, or doing gardening chores. Dust, pollution and chemicals affect the skin and make hands dry and chapped.

-- Nails. No matter how soft the hands are, if the nails look yellow and weak, the overall look will not be a good one. Visit the manicurist at least once a month, keep nails clean, and apply beauty products to make them stronger.

The best way to have healthy-looking hands is to take care of them daily. For savings on beauty and hand-care products, among other shopping needs, reach for the benefits of Shopping Essentials.

Privacy Matters Identity Explains the Effects of Business Credit Cards on Personal Credit Reports

Privacy Matters Identity (SM), a leading security and privacy membership program from Adaptive Marketing LLC^®, encourages its members and all consumers alike to closely monitor their use and payment of business credit cards. Why? Because business credit card charges can affect a person's credit score. However, the effect those charges have will depend on the individual -- more specifically, on how that person chooses to handle the company's credit card.

As with anything related to someone's credit history, business credit card activity can affect a person's chances for getting a mortgage -- since any activity on a credit report can affect one's credit score and financial prospects. So, to avoid undue credit problems, there are a few things to do, according to Privacy Matters Identity:

-- Ensure the company takes responsibility for business credit card payments. Since a credit score is determined by a combination of all credit activity, it is in the best interests of employees to make sure the employer is not late with credit card payments that bear their name. If this situation is a concern, employees have the right to tell the employer that they want to use a personal credit card to cover all business expenses (which is also a great way to earn frequent flyer miles or "points" on rewards programs offered by credit card companies). Most -- if not all -- companies will allow this option, which makes the individual employee solely responsible for all credit debt, notes PM Identity.

-- Think before saying yes. Many companies will ask their employees to apply for business credit cards directly, to check their credit worthiness. Oftentimes, when the application is approved, the company will simply assume payment responsibilities from there. This can help build a strong business relationship, but applying for the card (at the company's request) does produce an inquiry on the employee's credit report, and it could one day affect their credit score.

-- Keep a low balance. Just as it is with any personal credit cards, carrying a very high credit balance on a business credit card is not a good thing. The three main credit bureaus, TransUnion, Experian and Equifax, usually look at the ratio of the actual charges to the specified credit limit. A good rule of thumb is to keep credit card balances below 50% of the credit limit amount.

-- Protect personal credit reports and credit scores. In cases where the company mandates that employees use their own names on a business credit card, individual employees may want to consider opening additional cards in their names, complete with high maximum limits. This way, charges can be spread across several other cards, which can better protect the employee's credit score and overall credit history. It's better to charge less than 30% of the maximum credit limit on multiple cards, as opposed to charging a higher percentage to just one card.

PM Identity provides members with a comprehensive picture and interactive tools to assess, monitor, and safeguard their personal and private information. Managing, monitoring and protecting personal information are just some of the advantages of a membership in Privacy Matters Identity.

Passport to Fun Gives Tips to Kids on Staying Safe This Summer

Passport to Fun (SM), a premier recreation and entertainment savings program offered by Adaptive Marketing LLC^®, knows that summer is just around the corner. And that surely means plenty of outdoor fun for kids. Still, all that open-air activity can translate into exposure to dangerously hot temperatures, water safety hazards -- even trouble from pesky insects and other animal life.

And the same goes for all the "grown-up kids" out there; kids who understand that "Mother Nature" means business are largely influenced by their adult role models. Let the kids have fun, sure, but don't forget to tell them there's more to summertime safety than beating the heat.

It's like 20th-century essayist Russell Baker said, "Ah, summer. What power you have to make us suffer … and like it." With that in mind, PassportToFun suggests that striking the perfect balance of summertime fun and safety means helping kids better understand summertime's potential perils:

-- Don't flake out on me. All the sun worshipers out there (kids and adults) need to know the facts: Yeah, sun feels great, but between all that sunning, sweating and swimming, skin conditions like eczema (a.k.a. atopic dermatitis) can worsen during the summer months. It's cool to let kids catch the occasional "ray," but keep skin moisturizers on hand.

-- Make like Mae West. Busty film starlet Mae West may have lent her name to the life vests of yore, but when it comes to modern water safety, kids need U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets or personal flotation devices. IMPORTANT: Be sure to read the fine print on things like arm floaties and other swimming aids. They're designed to help kids learn how to swim -- to use their arms and legs -- not to keep them afloat.

-- Sport the right shades. For kids, image counts for just about everything, especially during the summer. That's why it's so important to help them find the right pair of sunglasses -- ones that will protect their eyes from the sun's damaging rays, while still offering them "the look" they want.

-- Dr. Doolittle never got the memo. There's no doubt that nature's creatures are a joy to behold. But Passport to Fun wants to reinforce a few facts: Deer carry ticks that can lead to Lyme Disease, wild animals are still … well … wild, and they don't understand it when kids just want to pet them. Oh, and bees and wasps can't be reasoned with. Teach kids the joys of summertime nature. Just make sure they understand the realities too.

So welcome summer 2008. Have a fun and safe time out there. And remember, no matter what the season, the never-ending quest to get more for less starts with Passport to Fun.

24 Protect Plus Helps Pets Keep Their Cool in the Summer Heat

24 Protect Plus (SM), a premier security program offered by Adaptive Marketing LLC^®, knows how much fun summer can be. Gatherings with family and friends seem to increase markedly as the mercury rises. And since pets are often part of those summertime festivities, 24 Protect Plus wants to offer some helpful tips on how to keep pets safe and having fun.

Domesticated pets like dogs, cats and parakeets all need help with those summertime "do's" and "don'ts." Plain and simple, our pets count on us to protect them. Like 20th-century Scottish veterinarian/writer James Herriot (born James A. Wight) said, "I hope to make people realize how totally helpless animals are, how dependent on us, trusting as a child must that we will be kind and take care of their needs." With that in mind, 24ProtectPlus has some important summertime safeguards for all those creatures great and small:

-- Go solo. When it comes to running errands in the summer heat, go it alone. A car parked in the summer sun can heat up like a microwave in a matter of minutes. And rolling down the windows isn't much of a solution. There are too many sad stories out there about pets that were left out in the swelter -- for too long.

-- How Coleridge kept his cool. Just as "The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner" reminds us, having lots of water around doesn't guarantee we'll get to drink it. The same goes for pets; they need to have water bowls frequently checked and refreshed. Heed English writer Samuel T. Coleridge's words, and make sure pets have clean and drinkable water around at all times.

-- Walking on the sun. We all love sun and clear skies, but too much of a good thing isn't great for the skin. The same goes for pets; believe it or not, they will benefit from sunscreen. Better yet, it's probably a good idea to keep them out of the bright sun altogether. If pets must be out in the summer sizzle, take some time to apply sun protection -- especially to sensitive areas like the outer ears, mouth and nose.

-- Clip to my Lou. Not that pets shouldn't learn to dance or appreciate rhythmic clapping (we're talking "Skip to My Lou" for that), but why not save that for a rainy day? Instead, keep pets well-groomed. For cats and dogs especially, tangled or matted hair can be uncomfortable, so a neat 'do might be just the thing to do during the hotter weather.

Show those pets some good ol' TLC this summer. The hotter it gets, the more they may need these safety-minded messages from 24 Protect Plus.