In the last few months, Tag and I have made a point to start shopping at local small businesses.
I don’t really buy much of anything except food, so we’re pretty limited to restaurants. However, we have found some delicious hole-in-the-wall restaurants that are generally cheaper and way more delicious than your typical chain restaurants.
I love these places. You can tell the people that work at locally owned restaurants care a little bit more than those other guys. You’re going to get better service from someone who owns a restaurant than you’ll get from someone who is getting paid minimum wage at a job they probably don’t care much about.
Trying new locally owned restaurants is awesome. The only thing that would make it better is if someone else paid the tab… which is exactly what will be happening this Saturday!
American Express is sponsoring Small Business Saturday again this year. That means if you have an American Express card and you register it at this link, then you are eligible to receive a $25 statement credit if you spend $25 or more at a small business on Saturday, November 26th.
If you have an American Express card, then make sure to register it and you’ll get really free money to spend at any small business. It’s not “spend $100, get $25” or anything like that. You spend $25 or more, AMEX gives you a $25 statement credit. All you have to do is register the card and then spend the money. Easy peasy.
FREE MONEY!!!
If you have an Amex, get it registered at this link, and then find yourself a local small business that accepts American Express at the Small Business Saturday Facebook Page.
You could do some Christmas shopping for your family. You could buy $25 worth of children’s books and donate them to a school or library. Or you could do what Tag and I will do and stuff your face with so much delicious food you want to vomit.
If you don’t have an Amex, well, better luck next time. American Express isn’t paying me to promote this program and their cards (although I wish they would!), but if you think this is a good program and you want to participate next year then you might want to consider getting a card from them. It really is a great way to help consumers (you) and small businesses (your neighbors).
More Free Money!
And if you really like free money that can be spent anywhere (not just at a small business) are are looking for a new credit card THAT YOU WILL USE RESPONSIBLY then you might want to consider the Discover® More® Card. It gives you $150 of free money after you’ve spent $1,000 in the first 90 days. It’s also great because it gives you 5% cashback on rotating spending categories. If you want in on this free money action, apply for the Discover® More® Card here.
The Discover links are affiliate links (meaning I get a little kickback if you click that link and get a card). I’d love to make money from my readers getting a new card with free money and using it responsibly. I don’t want to make money from my readers getting a card to go deep into debt!
These cards are great because you can get free money from the issuers. They are not so great when you are giving the issuer free money in the form of interest or late fees. If you can be responsible, then it’s a great idea to take advantage of these offers. If you don’t think you can pay off the card every month, then don’t get one!
Kevin McKee is an entrepreneur, IT guru, and personal finance leader. In addition to his writing, Kevin is the head of IT at Buildingstars, Co-Founder of Padmission, and organizer of Laravel STL. He is also the creator of www.contributetoopensource.com. When he’s not working, Kevin enjoys podcasting about movies and spending time with his wife and four children.
It’s a great deal!
I’ve also seen a number of the AmEx small business stickers on small businesses around St. Louis. Looks like they are getting to the spirit as well. Great way to support your local community at little or no cost to you.
Great idea! I dont have an AMEX but I totally agree with you on the hole-in-the-wall places. I always try to go to these places before chilis/applebees etc
I like that! like this i can try out thier service, i saw add in my local area: If u spend $25 at For The Go with an Amex Card, u’ll get $25 credit back from Amex. Store/Web/Phone orders are included in promotion.
I just registered my card…thanks for the link!
I like the idea, but purchasing with credit cards is never free, especially with Amex… They take more than the average fee from small businesses, which is why small businesses often don’t take Amex. Those points don’t come free.