Window Shopper

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I am always looking for ways to save money. One of the biggest drains on the income is buying groceries because you really have to eat and so does the family. So, saving money at the grocery store is not a luxury, it’s a necessity especially if you have children and/or a fixed income. We live mostly on a fixed income ourselves and it has been a hard road but I have some tips to help you. Most of them are pretty basic and I’m sure others have said all of this before but it bears repeating.

Tip: Find a store that sells in bulk to buy the non-perishables. Places that sell in cases are a great way to save money as long as you have the room to stock up. And then STOCK UP!!

Tip: Coupons are not something I do because I don’t ever remember to take them with me to the store but there are a lot of Coupon Ladies and Guys out there who save hundreds of dollars on their grocery bills because they find…not just the “cents off” coupons but the manufacturers coupons that give the item to you free or at an incredibly reduced price. It is well worth the time and effort to do this..as long as you can remember to take them to the store with you.

Tip: Find a store that has really good sales on specific days. For instance, we have a store about 20 miles from us that has great deals on meats, bread and several other items that I would not ordinarly buy at the usual stores. They buy the rejected items from the big store chains. We get excellent deals from them. We bought probably 50 lbs of Oscar Meyer hotdogs for 50 cents each.

Tip: Go to a store that specializes in off brands. Do you have an Aldi’s in your area? We travel 50 miles to buy at that place because the savings far outweighs the gas we spend to get there and back.

Tip: Get together with another person or two and shop at the same store saving on the gas by carpooling. Be sure that the car or truck is big enough for all purchases!

Tip: Most people will tell you to shop alone. That’s great if you can do that but sometimes that does not work. Shop with a person you trust to help you with your list. Be sure they will not suggest anything that will cost you much more. I shop with my husband (yes, my husband who does not mind being in the store with me) who helps me keep track of what we have and don’t have. Sometimes we forget to put things on the list.

Tip: Try to stay with the list you brought so that you do not spend more than you budget. However, in my case, I budget extra money into the trip because it is inevitable that we have forgotten to write something down.

Tip: Put a list in a strategic place in your home and add things to that list as you need them. Train the rest of the family to do this too. (It can be a fight but it’s worth it.)

Tip: Remember the old rule about not shopping hungry? Stick to it. Hungry shopping makes for a lot of extras in the basket. There went the budget.

More tips coming from the Window Shopper! Happy Shopping!

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If you have decided that traveling just isn’t your thing, you can cut costs while you stay at home. These tips are for being able to save money so you can afford to go do a few fun things.

Tip: When you are gone from home, turn the air conditioner off. That will save quite a bit of money especially if you’re gone quite a while. NOTE: Do NOT do this if you have pets in the home. But you can turn the thermostat up a little bit. That will save some money and the pets will not suffer. Leave plenty of water out for them all summer long.

Tip: Unplug the appliances you do not need during the day. That includes washer, dryer but not the refrigerator or freezer. Limit the use of the washer and dryer to the late evening hours or early morning when it’s cooler. Those appliances shoot a lot of heat into the house. That is a major gobbler on the electric bill.

Tip: Try to keep your lights off and shades drawn in the daytime. It keeps the house cooler. It does save a few cents on the bill too.

If you are looking to save on cost of food (and who isn’t) these can help you:

Tip: Find the produce stands that are all over the place. They will have lower cost produce than it is in the other seasons. The farmers often are able to sell directly to the customer thus removing the middle people who charge for so many things.

Tip: At the supermarket, you cannot ask for a reduction in price on items. But, at a farmers market, you can do this. The prices are usually negotiable. If the seller refuses to change the prices, ask if he will add in a few more fruit or veggies to make the deal better for you.

Tip: Buy the seasonal things in bulk and freeze them. Things like blueberries and raspberries can be frozen for a time when those will either be incredibly high priced, only available in cans or unavailable at all.

The main thing is to plan for the future even if that is this afternoon. A plan ahead person is always going to win out over someone who does not do that.

Happy Shopping!!

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One of the things that is so important, from my point of view anyway, is a way to keep track of the money coming in and going out. But not just that, it is so important to keep appointments straight too. Then there’s budgeting. That is a definite bug-a-boo as well. Sometimes, the budget gets tossed into the next month. Without some way to keep really good track of everything, it will make your head spin.

Now, I used to think that I could cram everything into my head where it would reside until I called it up for use. Not gonna happen. When you get too busy to think of all the necessary things, something is bound to be forgotten. In business, it is especially necessary for budgetting, planning, outgo and input, keeping track of product and services, advertising budgets. It is all quite necessary. So, what works for all this? Finding budgeting software that covers it all could be difficult but not impossible. When you do, it is so much easier on the person having to do the bills.

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One of the things that is so hard to do is find things to do in the summer that do not cost an arm and a leg to do. For instance, if you go to a theme park, the cost is incredible especially if you have several family members. So, trying to find the fun things that are cheaper or free isn’t so easy unless you have scoped out the local stuff lately.

Tip: If you live in a largish city, you can all go to the zoo which may have either discounted or free days in the summer. Museums sometimes give free or discounted days as well. If you have an Aquarium in your city, they might also have discounted or free days to visit. Check your local paper, with the attraction or with the Chamber of Commerce.

Tip: Some cities have a “Cinema in the Park” thing where you can see the latest movies showing for free. For you in Pittsburg, check out your Cinema.

Tip: If you love to exercise and have a fitness club membership, ask them if they will allow you to take a leave of absence. You can exercise outdoors and save a few hundred dollars that way.

Tip: The tried and true picnic is always a winner for the kids as long as where you go is kid friendly. If you can find a place that is not visited by everyone in the county, that’s probably the best. Of course, if you are looking for a baseball game, then by all means, check out the local picnic places and parks.

Tip: If there is a drive-in in your town or city (I know. They are practically as scarce as hen’s teeth but there are some out there.) they may have discount nights or carload nights. Bring your own snacks like popcorn and drinks in a cooler.

Tip: This is for all year long. If you can stand it, wait for the DVD release on movies. If you go to the movies, it costs that arm and leg. Even an date night can be ruined with the prices at those things.

Happy Shopping!

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I recently ran across a great website of an artist who has spent over ten years in several countries drawing on the pavement. His name is Julian Beever. Perhaps you have heard of him. If you are like me, you haven’t until now but it will be an experience to enjoy. This man uses sidewalk chalk to make these incredible pictures. Personally, I would hate to watch them disappear when the rain starts.

I went to his website to see exactly what the shouting was about. This is an example of his work:

Just look at the originality of the work. Isn’t it hard to believe that all of that art work is on the pavement? I highly recommend his work to you. Go to his site and see for yourself. There are a number of other pictures, all incredible!!!

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Dad always wanted to go out to the golf course, especially in the summer. He would get there early and get in a few rounds before work. Golf was sort of a passion with him. He had to find the right partners and he did that. He had a great deal of fun.

But one thing that was so important to him was the type and style of the golf clubs he bought. The best that could be found in our area were the ones he had. We didn’t have the internet then. It was in the 60s. Link fees were still not bad. Clubs were pricey but still possible. If he had heard about Ping Golf I have a feeling that he would have at least checked them out. I do not know what the good brands are these days but I do remember that he had Titleist golf equipment and golf balls. It was great when he was golfing and having a good time in the summer.

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Are you planning a trip this summer? Still lots of time left. If you are smart, you can save a load of money and aggrivation on that trip.

For instance, are you flying to a big city? Try landing not too far away at a smaller airport. Then take a rental to the bigger city. It will save you a lot of cash, including spending for the gas, so you can buy other things. Oh, and you know those really high airfares? Try leaving on a Tuesday or Wednesday. If you leave really early in the morning or late at night (I know it’s a drag but…), you can save on the ticket prices.

If you are traveling in the car with the family, do not forget to check into the hotels along the way that give you rebates on gas, sometimes up to $100! Now that would ease the pain a bit, right?

Tip: Invest in a GOOD map book. That could save you wear on the car, gas and goodwill with your spouse. Men…..ASK DIRECTIONS! It is NOT a sin.

Tip: When you are driving across country, do not go to the first gas station you see to fill up. The highest priced stations are at the exit ramps and near rest stops. Go that extra half mile to mile for the cheaper gas station. That could save you more than the small trip out of your route.

Tip: (This one gets hard for me. I always want to get there NOW!) Slow down. Whatever you are visiting will be there even if it takes you an extra day.

Tip: Don’t pack for a month if you intend to be gone a week. If it’s a weekend, don’t pack for a week. The more you pack, the more it weighs in the car, the less gas mileage you get to save.

Tip: Give the car a tuneup before you go. Check the tires often especially in the summer. Keep them up to the recommended pounds. The experts say that if you do these things and do not fill your trunk with more than you need, you could save up to 30 cents a gallon. If it’s a really long trip, that is a significant savings.

Happy Shopping!

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I recently bought a computer tower online at an incredible savings. It did not have quite the amount of RAM that I wanted but it was a great deal anyway. Major upgrade from what I had been using before. Today, I looked at a site that sells memory chips. I was amazed at all the possibilities for IBM memory upgrades plus a lot of others as well. I looked up my own computer and it certainly had the RAM for mine.

My particular computer is a Dell so it was pretty easy to find the RAM upgrade but I took a look at the list of manufacturers on their site. Huge list so it is unlikely that they do not have yours unless yours is a complete dinosaur. Even then, I would still look. Take the time to check this place out.

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I have been giving you some tips for buying and saving on eBay. Here are some more for you.

Tip: Be certain you know the regular in store price or catalog price for the item you want. Do NOT get into a bidding war just because you want to win. Most newbies on eBay do this at least once. They get into a bidding war and do win but the price of the item ended up being so much higher than for what they could buy it anywhere else. Do not be emotional about the bidding. The other guy is NOT trying to steal what you want. He or she is simply trying for the same item.

Tip: Watch the auctions for buy it now. If that price is only pennies or a dollar higher than the starting bid and the price is within your idea of great, grab the buy it now. Takes the problems out of the deal by giving you the item without it being sniped at the last moment. If you really want the item don’t save a few pennies by bidding instead of buy it now. You might just lose or the bid may go much higher than the original buy it now price.

Tip: Many items end up ending without any bids at all. They are good prices, good items, sometimes new. What’s the problem? Spelling. If the item description or title is misspelled, it will go unnoticed in the searches. So, type in keywords and try it. Try the common misspellings of words to see what comes up. You might just find a super bargain or gem for a fraction of what you normally would pay.

Tip: The best time to shop on ebay for bargains is late at night and early in the morning. My sister does that and comes up with incredible bargains. The best days are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are the high traffic times. Monday isn’t too bad but it can be difficult to find good things then. The peak hours are bad for buyers to find bargains. Everyone wants the them at the same time. That would be when people are taking the items at the last minute.

There will be more tips on other topics soon. Happy Shopping!

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Usually I do not give out simply a list of places but these are not to be missed pics of one sort or another. You will love or hate them but there will be an emotion. Mine is usually to laugh myself silly but who knows. You may think they are too nuts to bother with. Here are a few places that you simply do not want to pass by.

Oh Boy. CAT!

That cat has had too much of something!

And You Thought Sidewalk Chalk Was Just For Kids!

There are two pics there not to miss.

To The Rescue!

Is that really that high? Uh, sure. I think. Maybe not. I dunno.

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