I am always searching for shopping tips that can help me to save money and reduce my grocery bill. This week I bring here a youtube video posted by CentsibleSawyer. It was posted one year ago but it has great tips than can help us to save some money. This is the first video, next week I’ll post the second one.
Image by brungrrl via Flickr
Today I went to the supermarket to buy a few things I needed and while I was waiting to be attended by the cashier I took a look around to the items they have to sell near the cashier. I realized that most products were made of paper or cardboard: Gift paper bags, baby shower invitations, happy birthday cards, etc.
I know it is easier to buy a already made birthday card but I can’t stop thinking that they are so easy to make at home that we could save a few trees by not buying them.
Cereals boxes, milk packages, plain paper can be used together with a wide variety of other material to make home made cards to offer for a special occasion. Of course we will have a little more work but we will be reusing some materials we have at home, we save money and our friends and family will receive a personalized card.
Do you make your own invitation or birthday cards?
Barter System
Everybody is always so busy that some of the daily chores are not accomplished. Why not contact your neighbors, friends and family and set up a bartering system?
Imagine you need your lawn mowed but you are allergic to the recently cut grass or you simply don’t like to do it. Talk to a friend and say you will babysit his/her children in exchange for a lawn mow. Or you can offer yourself to take a family children to school in exchange for a car wash. You will save money because you don’t have to hire a gardener or take the car to the wash station. Organize yourself and save money.
Reward Plan
Having two kids at home is very easy to spend money on a visit to the coffee shop. Fried potatoes, gums, lollipops everything is an excuse to buy something. It’s easier to take money to school and buy there something to eat instead of taking it from home. A nice strategy is to establish a reward plan with your kids. Tell them the money they save on gums and snacks out of the house will be put in a box and when you have save enough you can spend a day in a Theme Park or the Zoo. This will make them realize that they can have a fun and different day if they save money.
This is a guest post by Lucille Groutadge.
You may not be surprised to learn that America is the world’s biggest consumer of electricity. What may surprise you however is that they use 21% of the world’s total energy, despite only accounting for fewer than 5% of the world’s population. This is in stark contrast to Ethiopia, whose residents have one of the lowest levels of energy consumption in the world – just 36.3kWh per person in comparison to North America’s 13,993.8kWh.
There are many issues relating to why one county’s energy consumption may be far larger than another’s, and one major factor is the number of appliances in the home that require electricity. In developed countries, we use a range of electric appliances that consume relatively high levels of energy. The biggest consumers of electricity in the average UK home is the heating of the home and hot water, washing machines, dishwashers and the fridge.
There are some common energy wasters too, which once you are aware of you can take steps to avoid. These include:
The advice on energy consumption for 2010 is beginning to break through in to society with more and more energy companies beginning to offer advice as part of their offering. We can be sure there are many more to follow. Whether you want to make small changes in your home or delve into the world of green living, 2010 looks like the perfect year for consumers to make a difference and lead the way from the masses of energy wasters.
About the Author:
Lucille Groutadge writes on various topics concerning energy and how to achieve cheap electricity for homes and businesses.
Image via Wikipedia
I’ve been a little away from blogging because my kids are at home due to Easter school holidays and let’s say that, they keep be busy.
This week I received the taxes refund that immediately disappeared in the bank account. Payday loan ate part of the money as well as the credit card, I had to pay for my husband’s car not so cheap insurance, cable tv, so the money is almost vanished.
We also had what we call a once in a while bill. A new big shopping center opened in a nearby city and I took the kids there. It is a kind of new concept near our city so it was a special occasion and we spend some money in food. Eating out is very expensive and we barely do it, but this week once the kids were at home I thought they would be entertained over there.
We have been using the credit card because it gives us some advantages like 1% in every shopping bill, 2.5% in gas but all that money we save end up going to interests we pay if we don’t have money to pay the full amount we owe. This month we are not going to use the credit card unless it is an emergency or a spend and pay thing. By spend and pay I mean arriving home and immediately pay what I spend on that day with the credit card. Let’s see how it works.
Image by craig1black via Flickr
How many devices do you have connected every day in your home? I’m sure you have many. Imagine the energy they consume and the energy you waste during the night when some of them are not in use.
There are some devices we can’t disconnect: the fridge and the freezer are two of them. But there are some devices we leave in stand by that can be disconnected like the DVD, the Samsung HDTV, the DVR, the home theater system, etc.. These devices although spend just a few energy while in stand-by, we can save some money if we disconnect them from the plug every night.
I know it takes some work, especially if you have many devices around the house but at the end of the month is worth the effort.
Coupons and LeafletsPhone
Almost everyday I receive leaflets on the snail mail. In the past I just took a brief look around the products and throw it away, now I take an extended look at them.
I check all the products that mentions a discount and I see if it’s something I need or not. If it’s something I need, I write it down and make sure that on my next visit to the grocery shop I bring that product with discount. Instead of buying one item, I buy three of four. Soon I’ll post my stock up photo.
