Fab advice - I love using Amazon prime trials - just sign up with numerous credit cards & addresses. Thanks for the trick to the 3 month - noted for the next few months for Xmas shopping!
This was a great post! There is so much turbulence in the market today, and people need peace of mind more than ever. The cost of living has sky rocketed, and I think its important to distinguish want from need! I wanted to offer your readers a link to another blogger who is doing great work. He writes about our 'childhood money messages' and how the best approach to stability in today's market is to resist letting these emotions control our buying/selling habits. It is really fascinating work, and something you should all check out. His name is Spencer Sherman, and you can view his blog at http://www.curemoneymadness.com/blog.
As someone who is always looking for a bargain at the supermarket - I regularly clip coupons. However, as you point out with regard to amazing store sales, the $1.00 off coupon for two brand name jars of jelly (or insert almost any product) usually doesn't come close to matching the store brand pricing
This was a great post! There is so much turbulence in the market today, and people need peace of mind more than ever. I wanted to offer you and your readers a link to another blogger who is doing great work. If you're a fan of Dave Ramsey, you will really appreciate him! He writes about our 'childhood money messages' and how the best approach to stability in today's market is to resist letting these emotions control our buying/selling habits. It is really fascinating work, and something you should all check out. His name is Spencer Sherman, and you can view his blog at http://www.curemoneymadness.com/blog.
Just enter code "10DAY" in the coupon code box when you checkout at Sephora.com. After you put in your credit card info, you will be brought to a screen to pick out your shade. Then you will have a chance to confirm your order.
Great article. Pitfalls can really be avoided. I work for a man who went into Los Angeles after the Rodney King riots to help rebuild the commmunity by teaching free classes on how to start a business. Well since then it has grown into a non-profit organizatoin and the course has moved online. It's now a 14 session course authored by 26 business experts. It's focus is to help people avoid "avoidable" mistakes. The organization My Own Business, Inc. (MOBI) does rely on donations and sponsorships and sales of products like the textbook and a graded Certificate Course but this allows MOBI to continue to provide the course absolutely free. It even includes a business plan template you can download to your own computer and 2 sample business plans. Check out the website if your are at all thinking about starting a business or already have one but want to develop it further. www.myownbusiness.org
Skip the "blinders" and shop the edge - the produce edge - of the store. We go in where the fruit and vegetables are, and do a large "U," shopping only the edge of the store where the packaged items are not stocked and he healthier items are. And if we must venture into the middle, we only do so with a list.
And while you are at it, avoid the POP (point of purchase) candies and gum and magazines and soda and travel sizes of all sorts of things. Tempting to drop into your cart, these are little items with a big mark-up.
"Another major one is: Alan Greenspan. He will go down in history as a dark blot and major cause in this fiasco. And, not that it's important, but he was a Clinton appointee."
He was appointed by Ronald Reagan. He was then re-appointed by George HW Bush, Bill Clinton and George W Bush.
Your post really blew me away! I was thinking, "Yeah, I know, I know." My dad had liver cancer and it was a whirlwind of chaos for our entire family, all of us kids withdrawing from our various schools to take care of both our parents (our mom was pretty much unable to help at all during this entire process) and the family business. Then, you hit us with the amazingly uplifting point of your post and the sun dawned in the horizon blazing in all its glory. Thank you very much, Catherine, for a truly inspired post!
A comment on the first tip-- staple foods (meats, dairy, produce, bread) are often arrange around the perimeter of the store if not all at the back (Ever wonder why bread is so far away from the milk?) This layout forces you to go through the entire store (or grocery section if it's a mass merchandiser type store) to get what you need, increasing the chances you will get dragged into middle aisles.
A lot of my friends shop at warehouses because they "must" be getting a better deal on a gallon of vinegar than a quart at a time at the store. But my price book tells me otherwise. Knowing the average prices of staples is valuable information.
Our kids take a monthly inventory of our food storage. The week after the inventory I will make as many meals as I can from the cans and boxes stored in the garage and hidden in the back of the pantry.
I know not many have time anymore, but cooking from scratch has been my biggest money saver. Instead of prepackaged snacks for an afternoon munch for the kids, I'll bake 12 muffins. Costs me pennies.
These days, don't forget to factor in the cost of gas. I used to shop at three stores to get the best deals at each. But with gas pushing $5 a gallon my savings aren't holding up. I find the best deals on the majority of my list and shop at one store a week.
Eat before you go, take a bottled tap water and go alone. I will sometimes take one child with me, but two can talk me into purchases we don't need and three can talk me into eating lunch on the way home. Know your limitations!
If you don't need it, it's not a good deal! It doesn't matter how cheap something is, don't buy it if you don't have a plan for it. Also, those Buy 10 get $5 off deals can be really great, but only if you really need 10 of that particular item. How long is its shelf life? Stocking up on food can be good, but only if it lasts longer than a couple of months.
To keep a rough estimate of my total, I take the price of each item I put in my cart and round it up to the next dollar. This does a pretty good job of accounting for tax and is surprisingly easy to keep track of. The total in my head is usually within a few dollars of the total at the checkout line.
Not sure if this would work for everyone but I've noticed that since we started making a monthly order at the grocery store for home delivery, our monthly bill has gone down €100 on average. We started out getting just the heavy stuff as we don't have a car (Brussels has good public transport so we don't need one) but then I started including the rest of what we would usually need each month (the list is still being perfected). I still have to go to the store for fruit and small things that I've forgotten but not like before. I suppose that since I am in the store less, I am buying less. And the delivery is only €3 so that's pretty interesting (although I usually give the delivery guy a small tip, too).
in business, don't trust anyone. the minute you trust someone, is the minute you can't trust them. if they know you trust them, they will find a way to abuse that trust, whether they do it intentionally or not. you can RELY on people, but you can't trust them. do so at your own peril...
Please forgive me for calling your attention to this in public, but the word you needed was "complement," not "compliment." They have very different meanings. I don't mean to be a spelling nazi; I just thought you might want to know for future use.
We use the "embarrassment factor" at the grocery store. We go in with our list, and each of us (there are two of us) has up to three "credits." These are impulse buys - up to three each. Invariably what happens is that we're each embarrassed to show less restraint at the store than the other person, so if we use any of our "credits," it usually winds up being on a staple we actually were out of but hadn't remembered to put on the list.
The only other "exceptions" are surprise deals (1/lb meats, etc) we find that tend to be large quantities I'm able to make into sauces to can myself.
Pay attention to the cost per SERVING rather than the cost per pound or anything else. Something a bit more expensive by the pound that makes twice as many servings is well worth it. I have a cost per serving calculator on my site that you can use to check out the grocery flyers. (And I guess those of you with web access in the grocery store could use it there too!) Select the type of meat and the cut and enter the price and it will show you the price per serving. Of course you can stretch that even further by making stir fries, fried rice, soup, burritos, and other dishes where meat is side thing rather than the main thing.
I'm a 28 year old (soon to be 29) female grad student. I've never provided Facebook any information on my sexual orientation or relationship status, and I have no interests listed. I get some of the weight loss ads, and some of the "Meet Cute Single Guys" stuff - never any lawyers, though, more like frat boys. However, I'm a fan of Obama and a couple local candidates, and NPR, and I get tons of Obama ads, MoveOn.org ads, and that sort of thing. Also Netflix ads, and travel ads (a lot of my "friends" are not American... maybe that's influencing it somehow?), ads for attorneys in my city (it's a big party-college town, and the ad asks if you need help with a DWI, drinking offenses, or traffic tickets). BUT, the one I see most frequently is the ad for a "Cartoon You" with the brunette lady and caricature side by side.... Maybe Facebook is trying to tell me I shouldn't post an actual picture of myself...?
Fab advice - I love using Amazon prime trials - just sign up with numerous credit cards & addresses. Thanks for the trick to the 3 month - noted for the next few months for Xmas shopping!
This was a great post! There is so much turbulence in the market today, and people need peace of mind more than ever. The cost of living has sky rocketed, and I think its important to distinguish want from need! I wanted to offer your readers a link to another blogger who is doing great work. He writes about our 'childhood money messages' and how the best approach to stability in today's market is to resist letting these emotions control our buying/selling habits. It is really fascinating work, and something you should all check out. His name is Spencer Sherman, and you can view his blog at http://www.curemoneymadness.com/blog.
As someone who is always looking for a bargain at the supermarket - I regularly clip coupons. However, as you point out with regard to amazing store sales, the $1.00 off coupon for two brand name jars of jelly (or insert almost any product) usually doesn't come close to matching the store brand pricing
This was a great post! There is so much turbulence in the market today, and people need peace of mind more than ever. I wanted to offer you and your readers a link to another blogger who is doing great work. If you're a fan of Dave Ramsey, you will really appreciate him! He writes about our 'childhood money messages' and how the best approach to stability in today's market is to resist letting these emotions control our buying/selling habits. It is really fascinating work, and something you should all check out. His name is Spencer Sherman, and you can view his blog at http://www.curemoneymadness.com/blog.
Just enter code "10DAY" in the coupon code box when you checkout at Sephora.com. After you put in your credit card info, you will be brought to a screen to pick out your shade. Then you will have a chance to confirm your order.
Linsey
I think EVERYONE gets the Cartoon You ad - it just doesn't annoy me nearly as much as the dating ones. :)
Congratulations on making it through such a tough time with your head about you, and managing to meet so many financial goals.
Great article. Pitfalls can really be avoided. I work for a man who went into Los Angeles after the Rodney King riots to help rebuild the commmunity by teaching free classes on how to start a business. Well since then it has grown into a non-profit organizatoin and the course has moved online. It's now a 14 session course authored by 26 business experts. It's focus is to help people avoid "avoidable" mistakes. The organization My Own Business, Inc. (MOBI) does rely on donations and sponsorships and sales of products like the textbook and a graded Certificate Course but this allows MOBI to continue to provide the course absolutely free. It even includes a business plan template you can download to your own computer and 2 sample business plans. Check out the website if your are at all thinking about starting a business or already have one but want to develop it further.
www.myownbusiness.org
Thanks! Can you provide the link to the BareMinerals deal you mentioned? :)
Skip the "blinders" and shop the edge - the produce edge - of the store. We go in where the fruit and vegetables are, and do a large "U," shopping only the edge of the store where the packaged items are not stocked and he healthier items are. And if we must venture into the middle, we only do so with a list.
And while you are at it, avoid the POP (point of purchase) candies and gum and magazines and soda and travel sizes of all sorts of things. Tempting to drop into your cart, these are little items with a big mark-up.
Cheers!
"Another major one is: Alan Greenspan. He will go down in history as a dark blot and major cause in this fiasco. And, not that it's important, but he was a Clinton appointee."
He was appointed by Ronald Reagan. He was then re-appointed by George HW Bush, Bill Clinton and George W Bush.
Your post really blew me away! I was thinking, "Yeah, I know, I know." My dad had liver cancer and it was a whirlwind of chaos for our entire family, all of us kids withdrawing from our various schools to take care of both our parents (our mom was pretty much unable to help at all during this entire process) and the family business. Then, you hit us with the amazingly uplifting point of your post and the sun dawned in the horizon blazing in all its glory. Thank you very much, Catherine, for a truly inspired post!
Good article, very useful tips here!
A comment on the first tip-- staple foods (meats, dairy, produce, bread) are often arrange around the perimeter of the store if not all at the back (Ever wonder why bread is so far away from the milk?) This layout forces you to go through the entire store (or grocery section if it's a mass merchandiser type store) to get what you need, increasing the chances you will get dragged into middle aisles.
A lot of my friends shop at warehouses because they "must" be getting a better deal on a gallon of vinegar than a quart at a time at the store. But my price book tells me otherwise. Knowing the average prices of staples is valuable information.
Our kids take a monthly inventory of our food storage. The week after the inventory I will make as many meals as I can from the cans and boxes stored in the garage and hidden in the back of the pantry.
I know not many have time anymore, but cooking from scratch has been my biggest money saver. Instead of prepackaged snacks for an afternoon munch for the kids, I'll bake 12 muffins. Costs me pennies.
These days, don't forget to factor in the cost of gas. I used to shop at three stores to get the best deals at each. But with gas pushing $5 a gallon my savings aren't holding up. I find the best deals on the majority of my list and shop at one store a week.
Eat before you go, take a bottled tap water and go alone. I will sometimes take one child with me, but two can talk me into purchases we don't need and three can talk me into eating lunch on the way home. Know your limitations!
If you don't need it, it's not a good deal! It doesn't matter how cheap something is, don't buy it if you don't have a plan for it. Also, those Buy 10 get $5 off deals can be really great, but only if you really need 10 of that particular item. How long is its shelf life? Stocking up on food can be good, but only if it lasts longer than a couple of months.
To keep a rough estimate of my total, I take the price of each item I put in my cart and round it up to the next dollar. This does a pretty good job of accounting for tax and is surprisingly easy to keep track of. The total in my head is usually within a few dollars of the total at the checkout line.
>If you just "paint" the mold with bleach it disappears inside an hour with no scrubbing. It smells bad but its easer.
Bleach whitens (or lightens) mold. It doesn't kill or remove it.
Thanks, Lucille, for the tip for cleaning rust and hard water deposits from the toilet. We have that problem. I'll try what you suggest.
Not sure if this would work for everyone but I've noticed that since we started making a monthly order at the grocery store for home delivery, our monthly bill has gone down €100 on average. We started out getting just the heavy stuff as we don't have a car (Brussels has good public transport so we don't need one) but then I started including the rest of what we would usually need each month (the list is still being perfected). I still have to go to the store for fruit and small things that I've forgotten but not like before. I suppose that since I am in the store less, I am buying less. And the delivery is only €3 so that's pretty interesting (although I usually give the delivery guy a small tip, too).
in business, don't trust anyone. the minute you trust someone, is the minute you can't trust them. if they know you trust them, they will find a way to abuse that trust, whether they do it intentionally or not. you can RELY on people, but you can't trust them. do so at your own peril...
Please forgive me for calling your attention to this in public, but the word you needed was "complement," not "compliment." They have very different meanings. I don't mean to be a spelling nazi; I just thought you might want to know for future use.
Good post though.
We use the "embarrassment factor" at the grocery store. We go in with our list, and each of us (there are two of us) has up to three "credits." These are impulse buys - up to three each. Invariably what happens is that we're each embarrassed to show less restraint at the store than the other person, so if we use any of our "credits," it usually winds up being on a staple we actually were out of but hadn't remembered to put on the list.
The only other "exceptions" are surprise deals (1/lb meats, etc) we find that tend to be large quantities I'm able to make into sauces to can myself.
Pay attention to the cost per SERVING rather than the cost per pound or anything else. Something a bit more expensive by the pound that makes twice as many servings is well worth it. I have a cost per serving calculator on my site that you can use to check out the grocery flyers. (And I guess those of you with web access in the grocery store could use it there too!) Select the type of meat and the cut and enter the price and it will show you the price per serving. Of course you can stretch that even further by making stir fries, fried rice, soup, burritos, and other dishes where meat is side thing rather than the main thing.
Ellen
*shudder*
I'm a 28 year old (soon to be 29) female grad student. I've never provided Facebook any information on my sexual orientation or relationship status, and I have no interests listed. I get some of the weight loss ads, and some of the "Meet Cute Single Guys" stuff - never any lawyers, though, more like frat boys. However, I'm a fan of Obama and a couple local candidates, and NPR, and I get tons of Obama ads, MoveOn.org ads, and that sort of thing. Also Netflix ads, and travel ads (a lot of my "friends" are not American... maybe that's influencing it somehow?), ads for attorneys in my city (it's a big party-college town, and the ad asks if you need help with a DWI, drinking offenses, or traffic tickets). BUT, the one I see most frequently is the ad for a "Cartoon You" with the brunette lady and caricature side by side.... Maybe Facebook is trying to tell me I shouldn't post an actual picture of myself...?
is there anyway you can cook this or rig it to where there is no chance of getting the harmful alcohol into the finished shine?