Meet Eric of Average Joe Arbitrage

Eric J. Wynn is a professional traveler; he spends an average of 350 days per year traveling and has developed and learned a number of techniques for travel hacking, credit hacking, and earning extra money. He created a website called Average Joe Arbitrage to share his travel arbitrage tips and other ideas for readers who want to save and make money.

To get an idea of his writing and the tips he shares, check out these recent articles on the benefits of brand loyalty and how to make the most of store specials to make money rather than spending it.

1. How did you choose the name of your site, Average Joe Arbitrage? Also, for readers unfamiliar with the word, what does "arbitrage" mean?

I consider myself just an average person, who lives a rather unusual life. And I wanted to share what I have learned at making extra money and living a better life with average people. Arbitrage is the knack or art of finding something valued at X dollars but knowing you can sell it for Y dollars. And, then capitalizing on that trade.

2. As someone who travels for much of the year, where do you most like to spend your time?

I normally spend about 90 days in one spot; then I pack and move up to another spot. It is a very nomadic lifestyle. But, I am fascinated with seeing America. Every location has its uniqueness; Boston has its museums; Nebraska has its prairies. Every location in America is unique and has something fascinating about it. But, my heart is with the beach, and I truly relish my time along the beaches, listening to the sound of the waves, the cry of the gulls, and the smell of salt air.

3. What are some of your favorite ways to make (and save) money, and how do you keep your business operations easily portable to accommodate your traveling?

I make money in numerous ways. I do a lot of secret shopping; I seek out arbitrage opportunities with retailers, and I take advantage of pricing anomalies that they have. For saving money, I always buy with coupons. I never want to pay retail. My favorite way method of couponing right now is using the shopping app Ibotta which is available in the Apple App store. It is the easiest fastest way I have found to get rebates. On a side note, if you download the Ibotta app, and use my referral code, qffkbsh, you will get a $10.00 welcome bonus. My gift to you...

4. Why is it important for people to utilize multiple ways of making/saving money, rather than just focusing on one specific hack or project?

We live in an economy in which is going to get harder and harder for people to make ends meet. By developing multiple income streams, people can better absorb these difficulties and in turn live a better life for their themselves and their families.

5. Can you share some of your all-time favorite deals you've found--and what are your tips for readers who want to find great deals, too?

Last Christmas, a retailer offered a $10 discount, for every hundred dollars in gift cards purchased. That is a 10% savings right there. Better than any savings account and I purchased 15 of these gift cards. But, the week before Christmas, the retailer adjusted the sale, and I was able to purchase $500.00 gift cards for $450.00. I purchased 20 of these gifts cards. I grossed $1,150.00 for my Christmas shopping! I think people should know how to find these deals, and I am just interested in sharing my techniques. The secret to this is reading my blog and keeping an eye open for these unique deals. If you scroll through my blog, I post a copy of the ad the retailer posted. It was no secret; millions of people saw it. But, how many took advantage of it?

Thanks, Eric!

Introducing Healthy Built Homes

Healthy Built Homes is a free price quote service for people in the United States who are building or renovating their home and are looking for local contractors who use green materials and practices. The site emphasizes the importance of making sure your home is healthy as well as energy efficient.

The site is really easy to navigate, and there are two ways to go about it. You can click on the city index site map and view a list of US states and then a detailed list of cities within each state. The list includes suburbs and smaller cities--I come from a smallish city and found that city listed in the index. Once you've selected your city, you can find a list of categories for different types of home building and repair work.

The other way to navigate the site is to click choose a category, and then once you find your category and subcategory, you submit your details to receive quotes from local contractors. Part of what you submit is your zip code, which is what narrows the quotes to locals.

I tried out the site by searching for someone to paint the outside of my house. I found my city, selected the "exterior" work category, and then selected "exterior paint contractors." I only had to answer a few questions about the size of the job and any special conditions about my house (cracked or peeling paint, type of exterior surface such as siding or stucco, etc).

This is a cool and free site that is easy to use. Sometimes I can get referrals from friends for work on my house, but other times I can't. It's nice to answer a couple of quick questions and have contractors contact me, rather than making a lot of phone calls myself. The site is definitely worth a try, whether you're looking to get an energy audit for your house, having work done on your HVAC system, having an addition put on your house, or remodeling a single room.

Meet Casuel Pitts, CEO of Ultimate Discount Services INC

Casuel Pitts is the CEO of Ultimate Discount Services INC. The company offers a membership-based service that can help you pay for everyday incidents like traffic accidents and so on by helping you pay for your deductibles and co-payments. Learn more at www.udsinc.us.

1. What are some of the benefits that members receive through Ultimate Discount Services INC?

We provide eight services that are tied into a membership which are:

50% off your Auto Deducible
50% off any Traffic Related Violation
50% off our Cell Phone Deductible
50% off your Medical Co-Pay
50% off your Dental Co-Pay
50% off your Vision Co-Pay
A Credit Repair Program
An Investment Program

2. What are the key differences between Ultimate Discount Services INC and insurance companies?

The difference between UDS INC and insurance is we are a membership entity, and we have more leverage to benefit our customers vs insurance providing one service. Plus, we are more affordable.

3. How did your company first get started, and what inspired you to launch it?

June 1 2014 is when UDS INC, was created, and what inspired me was I wanted to create something that was fulfilling a need and not a want. We as the consumer can't predict what goes on in our lives, and that's why UDS INC, gives you reassurance that you are safe.

4. How has your company grown in the (almost) year since it first started?

We have networked with major companies like Sam's Club, Mountain Dew, World-Wide Marketing-Finance Consulting LLC, and many more. We also have opened up two offices in Minnesota and Illinois.

5. In covering deductibles, co-pays, etc, are there specific insurance companies that Ultimate Discount Services INC doesn't work with--and are there any other details that people should know before joining?

We work with any insurance, and there are no restrictions. We have a Travel Club Program and a Put It On A Bill Program. For more information about how these programs work, please call 321-283-5800. You can also watch the video below.

Thanks, Casuel!

Meet Gail Porter-Harris, Marketer at Coupon Chili

Gail Porter-Harris is part of the marketing team at Coupon Chili, a coupon code and promo codes website that partners with US retailers to offer discounts and deals on products. In this interview she talks a little bit about her role, the current promo codes on offer, and why US consumers should use coupon codes when shopping online.

1. How do you find deals to feature on Coupon Chili?

It works in a number of different ways. Sometimes we are contacted by online retailers who have seen the good work that we are doing in other industries and actually invite us to feature their deals and discounts. A great example of that would be the McAfee software company. They approached us after seeing the great work we had done with other anti-virus products and asked if we would feature McAfee promo codes on the Coupon Chili website--of course, we said yes!

In most cases, though, it's via the affiliate marketing networks that we are members of. When a new retailer launches in the affiliate space, we will connect with them to see if they would like to feature coupon codes and promo codes on our website and go from there.

2. What are some of the new deals you're featuring from McAfee?

The main McAfee promo codes that we currently range are giving a massive half-price-off all the software products, including, for example, McAfee Livesafe, McAfee Security Center, McAfee Total Protection, and so on. Your readers can try out some of the McAfee promo codes on our website by visiting our McAfee coupon codes section.

3. What are some other popular deals on your site?

We find that coupon codes are very seasonal. At the moment with Christmas time coming, we are finding that a lot of people are using our Garmin coupons. Personally I think that's down to the time of year when people are driving to see their relations around the country and want to make sure that they have the most up to date GPS maps available--that's the only reason I can think!

We are also seeing a lot of volume at the moment on our generic GPS navigation coupons which I assume is for similar reasons. Then of course, the cosmetics companies that we work with are also seeing some uplift--that time of year I guess!

4. Personally, I always look for coupons online before making a purchase, but I know many people don't. What do you think holds people back when it comes to using coupons online, and what would you say to encourage people to start using coupons?

Perhaps laziness is the reason? I am the same as you--I will always seek out a bargain, no matter how long it takes! The McAfee promo codes are a fantastic example of why you should use online coupon codes. If you didn't, you'd be paying full whack, and by using Coupon Chili you save half price. Surely that's a compelling enough reason? But then, not everyone's as Internet savvy as we are, I suppose?

5. From the perspective of business owners, why is it important to offer coupons as part of an online marketing strategy?

Great question! Well, if you think from an SEO perspective by having coupon codes on various websites it can really help a retailer with their backlink profile.

From a more traditional marketing perspective, though, it's about matching the competition. Every retailer worth their salt now does coupon codes, so if you aren't, then the consumer might look elsewhere. That's my view on it, anyway.

Thanks, Gail!

Meet Patty Dole, Blogger

Abigail (Patty) Dole lives on a boat with her husband (who is a retired sea captain) and their cat named Daxxy. They live a fairly simple self-sufficient life on an old Tjalk that is about 130 years old. Visit Patty online on her informative blog at www.LadyLivingonaBoat.com.

1. When did you first start living aboard a boat, and what inspired your decision?

I was strictly a land dweller until I met my husband who has basically lived and worked at sea since he was about 17 years old, so he was my influence and I have to admit I love it!

2. Why is self-sufficiency so important in your life?

Self-sufficiency means freedom to us. We just want to be free to live our lives on our own terms, not being dependent on any entities. For example, in bad weather if you have a solar wind, or a good generator and some batteries, you are all set if the electricity goes out and the electric company can't get to you for a few days or weeks. People who live in houses that don't have any of those things are at the mercy of the electric company that may not be able to reach them due to circumstances beyond their control. That is something that people like us don't have to worry so much about.

3. How did you select your top five products that you recommend for saving money?

We are not wealthy people. My husband is retired and living on a pension which isn't as much as we would like; so saving money is important to us. I have found that often the more money that people make, the greater the debt that they get into because they haven't altered how they viewed their money or their time. We love spending time together and doing the simple things in life, so the products that I recommend are actually coming from how we are learning to live our lives. We actually save more money this way, and it frees up our time to do the things that we value in life.

In other words, we really believe that managing the money that we have is far more important than making more money that we don't adequately manage.

So I am making these recommendations to anyone who wants to learn to manage what they have and learn to live within their means. That is very empowering.

4. What do you say to people who don't believe that couponing is an effective way to save money?

I say that they are really missing out on an effective opportunity to not only save money but get top brands. I have found that effectively using coupons frees up my income so that I can pay more on debts that I owe, and yes we still have debts.

It makes our lives less complicated. For example, if I use buy "ones or twos, get ones or twos for free" on things that we use like laundry soap, razors, toothpaste, deodorant, dish detergent, etc for three months straight, then I don't need to spend any money on those products for the next six months to a year, and that frees up at least $40 to $100 per month on those products alone. It is not about being a hoarder; it is about being prepared. Notice that I have not even mentioned how much we save on our pet products or food. Also remember, we are only two people with a cat. A family has the opportunity to see even more savings because they tend to spend more money.

5. What do you enjoy the most about living on a boat--and what do you find most challenging?

The things that you don't really think about living in a house, you have to think about while living on a boat. How and where to dispose of your waste, generating your own power, keeping your batteries up to date are all challenging, but at the same time, it is these very things that keep me independent. It makes me think that there is and has always been a high price for our conveniences, and I would not trade the life that I have.

Thanks, Patty!