The Flip Side of 'Flush Rush": Conscious Consumerism Every Day

I've been following the Rush Limbaugh/Sandra Fluke controversy like everyone else. Sigh... so much to say, so little time... since this is a blog about finding money for schools, here's what I fired off to one the former Limbaugh advertisers that we patronize, Geico Insurance.

The target of Rush Limbaugh's vile comments, Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke.

Dear Geico,


Thank you for taking your ads off "The Rush Limbaugh Show." As a woman, Geico customer and the person who makes most buying decisions for my family, I would like to thank you for disassociating yourself from this angry, slandering misogynist.


What the Limbaugh incident made clear is that social media is extremely powerful force in our culture.


I have a suggestion that would help Geico get a lot of positive attention on Facebook and Twitter. I think you should offer your services on school fundraising portals such as the BoxTops for Education Marketplace or Stacey For Schools. When you begin an online shopping excursion at one of these portals, a portion of your purchase gets donated to the school of your choice. When I need a plane ticket, for instance, I start at the Boxtops website, am "portaled" through to Expedia or Travelocity, and 10 cents of every 10 dollars I spend gets donated to my sons' school. It adds up quickly!


I would be so delighted if a portion of my Geico premium, however modest, was donated to our school. 


This is the era of "conscious consumerism." Consumer wants to make each dollar count. We won't support companies that support nasty, mean-spirited people. And increasingly, parents of kids in underfunded schools are ready and eager to give their business to companies that support schools.


Thanks for reading this, and have a great day.

It's Worth Repeating: Boxtops Marketplace is an easy way to earn money

I don't have a lot of time to post today, so I'm just going to share my latest little bit of earning for our school's PTA, which I did through Boxtops Marketplace. It makes me happy and this is my blog, so here goes.


We're a family of vitamin takers. I often buy my vitamins through Amazon, because they've got the best prices. But this time around I checked Drugstore.com, and found that they were offering the same exact price on my desired item. Free shipping too!


So, I stocked up and spent $50. Drugstore.com contributes 5 Eboxtops, or 50 cents, per 10 dollars spent. So on my 50 dollar purchase, $2.50 is going back to our school. Yay. Thanks, Drugstore.com! Here's a snapshot of my earnings page on the Boxtops Marketplace:

As you can see, my Drugstore.com EBoxtops are pending. It takes 60 days to go from "pending" to "confirmed", because that allows time for items to be returned. It doesn't really matter, because General Mills only cuts checks twice a year anyway. The important thing is that the money makes its way to the school eventually. 


By the way, an enterprising PTA mom in Texas somewhere made a great video that explains the Boxtops Marketplace in detail. Here is is: