Everyday when you go to work you have to perform to keep your job or your position. Everyday you should work on your relationship. If you are always saying what you use to do for your spouse and what you use to do together and not what you are doing now then my suggestion and advice is to ask yourself what have you done for them lately? Relationships exist in the present. What are you doing to maintain your marriage today?

If you found yourself in a new relationship, you would be putting time and energy into that relationship almost everyday. You would go see movies that you really did not want to see, or go out to dinner just because you wanted to be with that person or do something that makes them happy. It was not just about you. If it was just about you, then I suggest it not stay that way.

Relationships take time. You should work on your marriage daily. You should put time and energy into your marriage to keep it interesting and fresh. The recent past may hold up for a minute but if you are still talking about what you did 2-3 years ago, you need to step up your game. Tell your spouse that you love them daily, keep down the drama, do some things that you really do not want to do to spend time together. Find something mutual on television to watch, so you can watch together instead of in separate rooms. Go on a date at least once per month. Make time for your marriage.

God loves us and wants us to spend time with him daily. We can reach back to our past experiences to help us through our current situations but God wants to be a part of our lives everyday, wants to spend time with us everyday. He shows us that He loves us daily. You woke up this morning if you are reading this which means you are ahead of some people; it also means you have more opportunities and blessing to look forward to today. God has an opportunity to do a new thing for you today. God loves you so much He wants to spend time with you everyday.

Good marriages do not just happen; they take work, time and energy from both people. The marriage ceremony is just the beginning. If your vertical relationship with God is right, then your horizontal relationship with your spouse will be right. Do something for your spouse today.

Last year, while most considered the economy to be in a recession, prepaid card usage experienced a 61% increase in growth (source: Mercator Advisory Group). And with usage projected to triple from $120 bil in 2009, to over $440 bil by 2017, smart business owners are getting ready to ride the trend and cash in. Here’s a quick look at a few of the markets that are expected to benefit the most, as well as a few tips on how you can profit from this exciting opportunity.

What Are “Open Looped” and “Closed Looped” Cards?

There are several ways to define the prepaid card market. There’s ‘open-looped’ and ‘closed-looped’, gift cards and loyalty cards, payroll cards, one time incentive cards, and more. But what, exactly, are ‘branded’ cards? That’s easy. Both to define and to remember.

Branded cards have either the VISA or Mastercard brand logo on them. These are referred to as ‘open-looped’ because, unlike a store gift or rewards card (which can only be used at one of a specific businesses locations)… a branded card can be used almost anywhere. Anywhere that takes Mastercard and VISA that is.

By contrast, a good example of a “non-branded” card, would be a Target Card. You can use a Target card at any Target store in the country – but you can’t use your Target card at WalMart – because WalMart is out of Targets’ “loop”. That’s what is meant by a “closed loop”. Usage is ‘closed’ from anywhere except it’s own store location.

But unlike a Target or WalMart card, a VISA prepaid card can be used at WalMart, or Target, or any other place that accepts VISA. The same thing goes for MasterCard. And that, my friend, is a lot of places.

Who Uses PrePaid?

So, who uses prepaid cards? And what markets do they represent?

The answer is what makes this market so exciting. Their usage, (and therefore their markets), seem to be an ever expanding universe. Consider a few of the following and you’ll begin to understand the scope of it.

A few of the ways prepaid cards are being used are:

Payroll – many employers use them as a cost-savings alternative to traditional paper checks
Incentives – companies preload a certain dollar value onto a card (which as you remember, can be spent anywhere that accepts VISA & MC) as bonuses for qualifying sales contests, etc.
customer rebates – many vendors offer rebates on cards (vs. mailing a paper check)
gift cards – for convenience in gift giving
loyalty/rewards cards – to encourage and reward customers for repeat business
general purpose reloadable – cards which can be reloaded over and over, which appeal to those who don’t have checking accounts (i.e., the unbanked), or, anyone who doesn’t want to carry cash
In store refunds – instead of giving cash for items returned, many are giving stored value cards, insuring money for refunds will be spent in the same store
bill paying
phone cards
Who Can Benefit

Businesses that sell prepaid cards and/or services are in an ideal position to capitalize on the tripling of growth expected in this industry.

Here are a few of the types of businesses that benefit from current trends:

convenience stores – selling reloadable cards enables store owners to capitalize on the high traffic in and out of their store each day
ethnic and specialty stores – are natural locations for international phone cards and reloadable prepaid cards
retailers
most places with high traffic and either don’t want to take checks or would like to reduce their usage can offer prepaid cards as an alternative
other businesses (see list above), who could benefit form the savings from reduced pqperwork and improved tracking of electronic payment processing
In Summary

While there’s no denying the economy presents business owners with ongoing challenges, there are still sectors where money will trend… and those who trend with them can profit tremendously.