Search Results for: blog why should i shop at more than one store

5 Ways to Spend Less on Halloween

The cute costumes, the Martha Stewart decorations, the bags and bags of candy…the cost of it adds up. Just like the dark monster in the corner, you are afraid to take a good look at how much your are actually spending. Halloween has certainly become a big holiday. In fact, according to the National Retail Federation, Americans spent more than $8 billion last year celebrating. Eight billion! Seriously. It doesn’t have to be that way. Instead, brandish your own bag of tricks to spend less this Halloween. You’ll be able to make it a magical holiday and leave the bills … Continue reading →

Another Source of Free Events!

If you want more free activities to do with the kids than you could possible fit in this summer, use this free source. pick up a free copy of your own local regional parenting magazine. Regional parenting magazines are geared for parents and caregivers, and they are filled with lots of helpful articles that deal with all sorts of subjects, from breakthroughs in healthcare to recommendations about the best learning toys. I should know. I often write articles for regional parenting magazines, and I interview top experts in their chosen fields. There really is a lot of great information for … Continue reading →

Excuse Me, Are These Melons Ripe? Grocery Shopping with my Husband

Flirting with your husband in the produce department while grocery shopping may not seem like your idea of a date, but when you are saving toward a healthy emergency fund, a discussion about fruit may be some of the sweetest words you’ll hear. My husband and I had gotten in the habit of a monthly lunch date, on a Tuesday or Wednesday, when all three children are in school. We only have about a two-hour window of time alone, but this was usually sufficient to have a nice lunch and catch up without being interrupted by little people needing this … Continue reading →

Earn Cash Back Online with Reward Websites

When you shop you can earn cash back online, which is especially nice now that the holidays aren’t too far away. There are several different rewards programs out there that will give you free money for every purchase that you make. If you aren’t using any of these websites, then you are missing out on valuable savings. Why would these websites give you money to shop? It must be a scheme, right? Not true. There are at least four major rebate or cash-back websites out there that are legitimate, giving money back on all of the purchases that a member … Continue reading →

Seven Things You Should Never Buy at the Grocery Store

There are certain items in the grocery store that will tend to cost you to spend more money than you should. Cut these ten thing out of your grocery store shopping on a regular basis in order to get the most for your money. 1. Cut up fruit and vegetables. You’ll pay much more for fruit and vegetables that have been pre-cut. While these items can certainly be convenient, it usually isn’t worth the premium price plus the shorter shelf life. If you really want your produce already processed, see if there is a version in the frozen food aisle. … Continue reading →

Why Smart Shopping Strategies Can Ruin Your Holiday Budget

It is usually the early bird that gets the worm, but when it comes to holiday shopping, the early bird may also get the bigger bills. People who shop the sales may also spend more than those who plan on buying items at full price. It sounds crazy, doesn’t it? But according to the American Research Group studying holiday spending, the average family who shopped early spent 14 percent more on gifts on average, and those who shopped the sales spent a whopping 53 percent more on average. what about online Yikes. Want another strange statistic? Those of us who … Continue reading →

Mall Pet Stores: The Beginning of The End

I’ve been following the story of the move some cities in California made to ban all pet stores that actually sold animals. This was made in an attempt to curb the sale of dogs and cats sourced from puppy mills and kitten factories. I talked about how, as a teenager, one of the only stores I ever liked stopping at in the mall was the pet store. I wondered where that pet store got its animals. The era of pet stores in malls might be coming to an end. California-based company Macerich, which owns shopping malls all across the country, … Continue reading →

The Dreaded Super Market Run

Chocolate. Lots of chocolate. That’s how you survive grocery shopping with five kids under the age of seven. Trust me; I am living proof that chocolate and a very short list will keep you from filling out paperwork for the local loony bin. As if wrangling a cart full of kids is not bad enough when you are trying to gather ingredients for dinner, add in long lines, rude store employees and high food prices, and you have the recipe for disaster. Or at least a solid promise that you will never again attempt to grocery shop with your offspring. … Continue reading →

Too Many Gifts

I love Christmas, I really do, but I can’t help but wonder how much longer it will be the holiday we all remember from childhood. Every year the stores bring out the decorations earlier and earlier. Christmas trees are up in the stores before the school supplies are even gone. Everything is advertised as that perfect gift for someone on your list. Have we forgotten what Christmas is about? All day long I hear people talking and read online about the shopping, shopping and more shopping. The amount of debt Americans take on every Christmas is staggering. I’m as guilty … Continue reading →

Insurance From the U.S. Postal Service

Christmas is just a few weeks away. Some of us have already begin our annual pilgrimage to the U.S. Post Office, to mail gifts and cards to loved ones who live across the country, (or across the world), from where we do. You can get a form of insurance to protect some of those parcels. The closer it gets to Christmas, the more likely it is that you will end up visiting the U.S. Post Office. Many of us mail a multitude of holiday cards to friends and family that are scattered out across America, (or around the globe). Lots … Continue reading →