Archive for the ‘saving money’ Category

Saving Money at the Supermarket During This Recession March 28th, 2010

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We all have to eat, regardless of what the financial situation happens to be.  When trying to reduce the amount of money you spend, you don’t have to sacrifice a lot in order to save money.  Below are a few ways you can save at the grocery store.

Before you leave the house check your pantry and do a swift inventory so that you can see precisely what you need. Also, if you have some odd ingredient hanging out in the cupboard, you can purchase something to go with it while you are out.

Check weekly supermarket ads to see exactly what’s on sale. Combine that information with what is already in your cupboard, and you should be able to come up with some recipes for the week that integrate both.

When you see something on sale that you often buy, buy it. When you buy things that you would buy anyway on sale, you’re saving yourself plenty of cash in the future.

Do your best to avoid making small purchases at places such as convenience stores. These smaller stores usually charge more when it comes to their grocery goods.

When you make a grocery list, stick to it. Do your best to avoid impulse buys.

Red meat can be very pricey. If you’re looking for ways to get your protein without spending a whole lot, your best bet is to go for poultry, tuna, peanut butter, and eggs as an alternative.

When buying poultry, go for the whole chicken instead of breast meat. They are a much cheaper way of getting chicken.

When you see something advertised as a sale, be sure that it is in fact a deal. Compare the product to comparable products in the area to decide whether or not you’ll be saving money by buying the sale item.

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Ways To Save Money During the Recession January 5th, 2010

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With a little adjusting, you can save a ton of money on everyday necessities such as food, personal items and electricity.  It may take a bit more adjusting in the food area, as we all tend to have our favorite brands of food.  You don’t have to forgo all your favorites, but the more you change, the bigger the savings.

Food & Toiletries

* By far, making lunch at home is one of your biggest opportunities for saving! I made lunch and snacks and brought them to work.

* Instead of buying shower gel, go back to soap bars. They last longer and are much cheaper.

* Don’t wash your hair every day, and when you do wash your hair, only wash it once. That saves lots of shampoo.

* Make your own coffee at home — or cut it out altogether and put that money aside in your financial freedom jar. One guru calls that the “latte factor.”

* As a nation, we eat out a whole lot more and buy convenience foods to just heat in the microwave — but these can be expensive. Cooking may take time, but it does save you lots of money.

* Buy generic! Seriously? They don’t taste different from the name brand. Try it. Ok, some things may be non-negotiable, but you’d be surprised what is. Your grocery bill will go way down.

* Take the effort to cut coupons, take advantage of sales, and go to discount warehouses, like Sam’s Club or Costco.

Heat & Electricity

* If you don’t already have one, get an electric thermostat with a timer, so you can change the temperature automatically during specific times of the day. Lower the temperature when the family is out of the house.

* Use space heaters and lower the heat in the rooms you use. Use an electric blanket at night.

* There is plastic covering you can get at the hardware store and cover your windows. That keeps the heat in the house.

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Utilizing Pawn Shops for Great Deals November 14th, 2009

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At one time or another most of us have experienced wanting to purchase something but it just wasn’t in our budget to do so. In most cases these items weren’t necessities but luxuries we definitely would have loved to own. One place to find great bargains on the items you want without spending a fortune is your local pawn shops.

A pawn shop is a place where individuals can take their items and exchange them for cash. They have a set period of time that the items will be kept. They have to repay the amount they got for the items along with a percentage that varies by state and local regulations.

If an individual takes their items to a pawn shop and doesn’t return to pick them up by that deadline, then the owner of the pawnshop has the legal right to sell the items to the public. Since the items in any given pawnshop will vary at any given time, you will want to frequent them often.

Some of the more common items found in any pawn shop include guns, televisions, VCR’s, DVD players, video game consoles and games, furniture, cameras, tools, stereos, jewelry, and music. If you are looking for a specific item you can let the owner of the pawn shop know. Most of them are kind enough to give you a call should that particular item fall into their hands for resale.

The majority of items found in a pawn shop are in very good condition. Most of the individuals who take their items into a pawn shop are desperate for money so they trade in items they generally would have been using for the cash they need. While many people do return to pick up their items, there is a high percent that just don’t have the money to do so. Others have no intention from the moment they step into the pawn shop to return to pick up the items they brought in.

Pawn shop owners have a legal obligation to get information from individuals who bring items in. This is to verify who they are and to track them down should the items they brought in be stolen goods. For the most part you wonít have any trouble with the items you purchase from a pawn shop. Many of them also ask for the name and contact information of anyone who buys items just in case any issues do arise.

Should you be interested in purchasing a firearm from a pawn shop you need to be prepared to complete the same paperwork and process as you would to purchase a new gun. Most states have a mandatory waiting period for purchasing guns, and any pawn shop that sells them has to follow the same rules.

Regardless of what you are looking for, don’t forget to take a look at what is for sale at your local pawn shops. You will be amazed at the bargains you find there. Most of them have a very good selection of items that changes frequently. You will also save plenty of money buying these items over the retail cost of them. You do need to carefully inspect all items though because I don’t know of any pawn shops that offer any kind of warranty of the items they sell.

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