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How to Get Freedom From Shopping

Here's a step-by-step plan to get freedom from shopping. The two essentials are to (1) use the MakeLifeEasy application to build your database of data about how you purchase and use products, (2) use the Affiliate Program to get preferred merchants - those that you'll want to buy from -- into the alliance. We need to build our base of customers and merchants at the same time. That way, when good merchants plug in, we'll be all ready to go.

We're not expecting this to happen right away. If you haven't yet, you may want to read The MakeLifeEasy Vision. If you're going to keep shopping the way you're doing it now, you're going to do it for a long, long time.

Here is the step-by-step plan to get freedom from shopping. This starts off with small steps and picks up speed as you get used to MakeLifeEasy.

Step 1: Decide If You're Ready For Freedom From Shopping

Take all the time you need to get comfortable with the idea. Otherwise, you've got a lifetime of shopping ahead of you!

1. See Do You Want Freedom From Shopping?.
2. Compare life before and after freedom from shopping.
3. Ask yourself if you must be involved in every decision.
4. Ask yourself what your time is worth to you.

Step 2: Decide Which Shopping You Want Freedom From

Decide which types of items you'll start managing first: health & beauty items, groceries, office supplies, apparel, etc.

1. See How To... Decide Which Assets to Manage (pops up)
2. See Managing Supplies
3. See Managing Durables
4. See How To Manage... Health & Beauty Items
5. See How To Manage... Groceries (Food)

Step 3: Select Merchants And Get Them Into the Alliance

Use our Affiliate Program to earn commissions for referring merchants into the MakeLifeEasy alliance. If you refer a medium-sized or large merchant, or several smaller merchants, you can make excellent commissions.

1. See The Affiliate Program for Customers ("APC")
2. See the APC's Effective Strategies and Tactics page for specific information on selecting and persuading merchants.

You also earn commissions for referring customer-members, and this helps to build the alliance, too.

Step 4: Design Your Shopping Lists For the Store Types You've Selected

Your shopping lists contain your "needs" for each store type from which you want to get freedom from shopping. You build a shopping list of all the items for which you will want to get freedom from shopping, whether you need them now or not. The first list doesn't have to be perfect; it's easy to change at any time. This is your need tree that MakeLifeEasy uses to know how you organize your shopping lists.

1. See How to... Create a Health & Beauty Item List (pops up)
2. See How to... Create a Grocery List (pops up)
3. See How to... Add A Lot Of Needs At Once (pops up)
4. See How to... View/Use My Shopping Lists (pops up)

Step 5: Build Your Database of Shopping and Usage Data

While you're working on getting your preferred merchants to join the alliance, you need to start collecting some basic data on the products you buy and use, so that the MakeLifeEasy application can calculate statistics that are used to automate your buying:

• Usage Rates - MakeLifeEasy needs to know how much of a product you use each day, so that you can determine how much to buy.
• Buying Advice - When you're made an offer, you will need to know if a price offered is a good price, and what quantities you personally should buy at prices available.

1. See Usage Rates: The Vital Ingredient for Freedom From Shopping
2. See How to... Load Several Assets Just Purchased (pops up)
3. In general, use the application normally; see How to... Decide What To Do Next (pops up)

Step 6: Link Up With Your Preferred Merchants

As your preferred merchants join the alliance, select the merchants you want to order from, load/update your current inventory, wait for offers from your merchants, and modify, approve, and accept your shipments. Or, if you don't want to form an agreement with a merchant, just review and accept individual offers.

1. See How To.. Form an Agreement With a Merchant (coming soon)
2. See How To.. Accept an Offer From a Merchant (coming soon)

Step 7: Use MakeLifeEasy To Purchase and Track Your Assets

1. See How To's (Introduction) (pops up)

Related Topics

• The MakeLifeEasy Vision
• Do You Want Freedom From Shopping?