Posted by: karenk | June 25th, 2008 | 10 Comments

Although telemarketing calls should diminish, especially if you’ve registered for the national do-not-call list, scam artists are still out there hoping to con you out of your hard earned money. Scam artists don’t care about breaking telemarketing sales rules because most are fly-by-night operations that change names and locations quickly before they are caught by authorities.

Fraudulent telemarketers’ favorite victims are the elderly and those on fixed incomes. Why? Because it’s easy for the phony telemarketer to get them to let their guard down especially when they hear “you’ve won a prize!” After all, we all like to win things don’t we? The problem here is that the caller asks you to send them money in order to claim your prize.

Don’t send any caller money if they :

1) refuse to stop “selling” when you say “no”.

2) ask for a credit card number in order for you to claim your prize.

3) offer to send a representative or courier to pick up a fee associated with winning a prize.

4) claim another company you dealt with went out of business but you can still claim your prize for a fee.

5) offer to recover money you’ve lost in a previous con for a recovery fee.

6) try to convince you that this is a once in a lifetime offer and that you must act now.

7) refuse to send you anything in writing to verify your prize.

8) claim that the promised prize is guaranteed.

9) introduce you to a supervisor who congratulates you on being such a lucky person.

10) introduce you to a supervisor who verifies you as the guaranteed winner.

Anytime you are contacted by a caller and asked to send money in order to claim a prize, you should:

1) Ask them to remove your name and number from their contact list.

2) Answer any sales pitch or fee request by saying “no” and end the call immediately, even if the caller continues to talk.

3) Contact your state attorney general’s office or your local better business bureau.

4) Contact your local police department and report any suspicious telemarketing calls.

Fraudulent telemarketers are criminals. You win the real prize when you don’t fall for their phony telephone lines.

About The Author

Author: James H. Dimmitt. James is editor of “TO YOUR CREDIT”, a weekly free newsletter. Subscribe to the newsletter by visiting http://www.yourfreecreditreportnow.com. He is also author of “Identity Theft - How to Avoid Becoming the Next Victim!” available at http://tinyurl.com/bc45; [mailto:jimdim815@aol.com]jimdim815@aol.com

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Posted by: karenk | June 25th, 2008 | 11 Comments

Before summer vacation turns into a boredom fest, sit down as a family and make a summer anti-boredom list. Write down a mixture of long overdue chores that you’ve been meaning to get done, along with goals and dreams that you’ve always wanted to accomplish. Don’t leave out the fantastic! If you’ve always wanted to ride on a unicorn, even though there is no such animal, write it down. You may read the list one day when you’re bored, see the unicorn wish, and decide to take horseback riding lessons.

With an anti-boredom list displayed prominently on the refrigerator, fun is just around the corner. Take a look at my family’s summer anti-boredom list to get an idea. By the way, can you tell which entries belong to our five-year-old son?

Learn karate.

Order room service.

Become one with a hammock.

Start a worm farm.

Write a new short story.

Start a snail farm.

Have snail races!

Repaint the fence.

Let’s go swimming with dolphins.

Go fishing with Pappa.

Actually paint pictures every week instead of just watching lessons on Channel 8.

Landscape the backyard to resemble a jungle.

Swing through the trees like Tarzan.

Organize the boxes of family photos.

Read an entire novel in one sitting.

Decorate Mom’s car with candy and marbles and toys and broken clocks. Let me glue everything on.

Create an entry for the Art Car Parade.

Write an entire novel in one sitting.

Go to Disney Land!

Challenge Tiger Woods to a one-hole-winner-take-all match.

Go to Disney Land!

Open the first coffee shop/cool bookstore in the neighborhood.

Go to Disney Land!

About The Author

Deborah Shelton is a mother, freelance writer, and author of the brand new book, “The Five Minute Parent: Fun and Fast Activities for You and Your Little Ones.” Visit Deborah’s website for more family-friendly ideas: http://www.fiveminuteparent.com; [mailto:deborah@fiveminuteparent.com]deborah@fiveminuteparent.com

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Posted by: karenk | June 24th, 2008 | 10 Comments

As featured in the story “A Candle For Christmas” from the book: Christmas In Dairyland (True Stories From a Wisconsin Farm)

Materials:

1 wax carton (quart) (milk, fabric softener, or orange juice)

1 pound of paraffin wax

4 or 5 old crayons

two trays of ice cubes

a double boiler (or an empty coffee can and a saucepan)

1 piece of ordinary white package string about six inches long.

Caution: Do not heat paraffin directly over the burner. Paraffin is easily combustible. Use a double boiler or a two-pound coffee can set in a pan of water. I put the coffee can on top of home canning jar rings (the rings, not the flat lids). If the can is not set on top of something, the concave bottom creates a vacuum when the water begins to heat up, plus if it’s on the bottom of the pan, it’s just that much closer to the burner.

Trim the top part of the carton off so that what remains is about six inches high.

Cut the string so that it is six inches long. (To make a wick that lasts longer, try braiding three pieces of string together.)

Melt the paraffin wax over medium heat in a double boiler or a coffee can in a pan of water. Use three-quarters of a pound for a somewhat smaller candle or use all four squares for a larger candle. Once the water begins to boil, it will take 10 or 15 minutes for the paraffin to melt.

Break the crayons into small pieces and add to the paraffin. If the crayons are added first before the wax is melted, the color makes it difficult to see if all of the paraffin is liquefied.

Use a pair of tongs (a scissors works, too), and dip the string into the paraffin. Dipping the string will ensure that it is coated with paraffin since the ice cubes may prevent some sections from coming in contact with the liquid wax. Hold the string so that it is in the middle of the carton and fill the carton with ice cubes. Pour the hot paraffin over the ice cubes.

The candle will be set in about 30 minutes. Let the candle stand for another hour or two until most of the ice cubes are melted. Pour off the water. Peel off the carton. Place the candle in a tray or on a plate to catch the rest of the water from the ice cubes as they finish melting. Let the candle dry for a day or two.

The candles I have made with a single piece of string only burn for an hour or so and burn quickly enough so that most of the paraffin remains intact. To use the paraffin again, melt the candle and pour the wax into other containers to make solid candles.

~ Solid Candles ~

To make solid candles, select several glass containers. Pint or half-pint canning or jelly jars work well. For the wick, measure out a few more inches of string than is needed to reach the bottom of the container. Tie the string around a pencil. Put the pencil across the top of the container to hold the wick in place. When the paraffin and crayons are melted, pour the liquid wax into the container(s). When the candle is set, snip off the wick about a half inch above the wax.

~ Scented Candles ~

To make scented candles, put three or four teaspoons of vanilla extract into the bottom of the double boiler (or the coffee can) and then add the paraffin and crayons. When the wax is melted, pour into containers.

About The Author

LeAnn R. Ralph is a freelance writer for two newspapers in west central Wisconsin, is the editor of the Wisconsin Regional Writer (the quarterly publication of the Wisconsin Regional Writers’ Assoc.) and is the author of the book, Christmas In Dairyland (True Stories From a Wisconsin Farm) (Aug. 2003); trade paperback. For more information about Christmas In Dairyland, visit http://ruralroute2.com; [mailto:bigpines@ruralroute2.com]bigpines@ruralroute2.com

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Posted by: karenk | June 24th, 2008 | 10 Comments

“Everyone has a story to tell.” It seems like a cliche-but it’s true. After working as a newspaper reporter for more than eight years, I know that everyone does, indeed, have a story to tell.

But even before I started working as a journalist, I knew that life experiences make interesting stories. Consider my parents.

My mother was the daughter of Norwegian immigrants, and her grandfather homesteaded our dairy farm in Wisconsin in the late 1800s. My father was the son of German and Scottish immigrants. When Dad was a little boy, his parents worked as cooks in a lumber camp in northern Wisconsin. As I was growing up, Mom and Dad would tell stories about their own childhoods. When Mom was a little girl, the whole family would sleep in the screen porch on hot summer nights. Indians also used to stop at our farm, and gypsies would camp nearby during the summer. When Dad was a little boy, he enjoyed spending time at the lumber camp kitchen because all of the cooks knew that little boys needed special treats during the day: a piece of Key-Lime pie, a slice of chocolate cake, or a couple of extra-large sugar cookies. When Dad wasn’t staying with his parents at the lumber camp, he lived with his grandmother, a tiny tough-as-nails German woman who owned a German shepherd named Happy.

Unfortunately, I never wrote down any of those stories, and I never asked Mom and Dad to sit down with a tape recorder and tell those stories. My mother died in 1985 at the age of 68, and my father passed away in 1992 at the age of 78. The majority of their stories, except for the few that I remember, are lost forever. Your family stories do not have to share the same fate.

Here are some tips for writing your family stories:

Decide which person you want to interview first (Grandma or Grandpa, Mom or Dad, Aunt or Uncle), and then tell that person about your plan to write a collection of family stories and ask for permission to conduct an interview.

Set a formal date and time for the interview. This will give your interviewee an opportunity to mentally prepare and to remember various stories that he or she would like to talk about.

Provide a list of questions several days or weeks before the interview. This will also give your interviewee time to remember various stories.

Focus on a single subject or event in your list of questions-school, holidays (Christmas, Thanksgiving, Fourth of July), birthdays, seasons (spring, summer, winter, fall)-the list is endless.

Ask open-ended questions and not “yes or no” questions. “How did you get to school?” is better than “Did you walk to school when you were growing up?”

Use a tape recorder to record the interview. Taping the interview will help you gather details that you might miss if you are only taking notes.

Chat about something else for a while if the person you are interviewing seems nervous at the prospect of being tape-recorded. Your interviewee will soon relax and won’t even notice the tape recorder. And once you start the interview, you will find that one subject will lead to another and one question will lead to another.

Transcribe the tape and write up your notes after you have finished the interview. This, in itself, will provide a fine record of the stories that are told “in their own words.” And you will be in good company–Studs Terkel’s oral history books are written that way, and they are fascinating to read. Terkel’s books include Division Street (1967), Hard Times (1970), Working (1974), The Good War (1984), The Great Divide (1988), and RACE (1992).

After you have finished all of your interviews and have written down the stories, print the stories from your computer and put them into a three-ring binder. Make multiple copies and give them to family members as gifts. Or you might want to consider publishing the stories POD (print-on-demand). There are many POD companies, and for a price that starts out at a couple of hundred dollars, you can publish the stories as a trade paperback. To find POD companies, conduct an Internet search with the keywords, “print-on-demand.”

Here are some examples of questions to help you get started with your interviews:

Subject: school

Where did you go to school when you were growing up?

Tell me about any amusing or unusual incidents that happened on your way to or from school.

What kinds of clothes did you wear?

How many students were in your class? How many students were in the whole school? How many grades?

What was your favorite subject? Why?

What was your least-favorite subject? Why?

Who was your favorite teacher? Why?

Who was your least-favorite teacher? Why?

Tell me about your best friend.

Tell me about your happiest moments in school. What was your best accomplishment?

Tell me about your worst moments in school. Did you learn anything from your worst moments?

What advice would you give to students who are in school today?

About The Author

LeAnn R. Ralph is a freelance writer for two newspapers in west central Wisconsin, is the editor of the Wisconsin Regional Writer (the quarterly publication of the Wisconsin Regional Writers’ Assoc.) and is the author of the book, Christmas In Dairyland (True Stories From a Wisconsin Farm) (Aug. 2003); trade paperback. For more information about Christmas In Dairyland, visit http://ruralroute2.com; [mailto:bigpines@ruralroute2.com]bigpines@ruralroute2.com

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Posted by: karenk | June 23rd, 2008 | 11 Comments

Dorothy lost hers. I forgot mine. My wife broke hers. I speak of shoes, of course.

So why are we all smiling?

Dorothy is that sweet little girl who broke in that bustin’ bronco of a tornado, landing in Oz and inheriting magic ruby slippers from a dead wicked witch.

For most people, the story ends when Dorothy loses her precious slippers somewhere over the scorching desert that surrounds Oz … much like a Congressman loses his power when he flies out of Washington and crosses over the gridlock on the scorching mid-summer Beltway.

Just as a Congressman is bound to return to Washington sooner or later, Dorothy actually does return to Oz many times. In fact, there are dozens more books in the Oz series featuring hundreds of almost unknown characters.

With or without the power of her ruby slippers, Dorothy makes her way back to enjoy a multitude of unbelievable adventures with her favorite misfits.

Shoe lesson number one. When you lose your shoes, improvise.

I discovered my shoes were missing also while flying high in the sky.

Back in my days as a consumer advocate, I was on my way to deliver a speech in Newfoundland, sharing the lectern with the Newfoundland Minister of Transportation.

Sitting comfortably in the airplane seat, my mind was bobbing aimlessly on an ocean of emptiness. Suddenly I broke out in a cold sweat as I realized I had forgotten my dress shoes at home. In fact, they were waiting faithfully by the front door, ready to greet me upon my return.

In a matter of seconds I torpedoed through one thought after the other:

Yikes! I’m wearing running shoes for an important speech.

I know, I can buy a new pair when I land.

Too late; the stores are already closed.

What about in the morning?

No, tomorrow is Sunday and my speech is scheduled for 9:00 a.m.

90 seconds later, the cold sweat had miraculously been replaced with a single affirmation: “I will improvise”

The next morning, I began my speech: “You might be wondering why I am wearing running shoes today. Well, it’s about this petition here. When I’m done speaking, I’ll be running door to door and I want every one of you to come running with me, too.”

It was not the speech I had come to deliver, but it worked just as well. Better, in fact. My little “goof-up” became a clever demonstration of action speaking louder than words.

Shoe lesson number two. When you forget your shoes, improvise.

My brother was getting married. We had just witnessed the signing of the papers at their house, and they were rushing over to another place for the the ceremony. Don’t ask!

As we locked up their house, my wife’s sandal broke. She tried walking in it, but to no avail. So off to the nearest shoe store we flew - figuratively, that is. This is not another story about losing shoes hundreds or thousands of feet above a desert or a traffic jam.

We knew they would wait for us before starting the ceremony. What we did not know is how long they would wait.

That day, my wife performed a miracle that no other woman has done before or since. She went into the store and came out just five minutes later with the perfect pair of sandals - smashing to smithereens the old woman-shopping-for-shoes Olympic record!

Shoe lesson number three. If you break your shoes, improvise.

Perhaps the most important lesson here is that, contrary to popular belief, the shoe does not make the man (or woman). But the lack of shoes sure can build character.

And it gives us a great opportunity to improvise.

About The Author

The author is David Leonhardt, The Happy Guy, author of Climb Your Stairway to Heave: the 9 habits of maximum happiness at http://TheHappyGuy.com/happiness-self-help-book.html and publisher of Your Daily Dose of Happiness at http://TheHappyGuy.com/daily-happiness-free-ezine.html. Visit his web site at http://TheHappyGuy.com.

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Posted by: karenk | June 23rd, 2008 | 10 Comments

Joanne returned home after not seeing her parents for about 6 months. She found her dad is not doing nearly as well as he has been leading her to believe. Their weekly conversations were centered on talking about Joanne’s mom who had been ailing. Her dad had kept up the facade that he was taking great care of her and all was well.

She found out differently. The house was a mess and had not been cleaned well in some time and needed quite a bit of maintenance as things were starting to fall apart. Bottles of pills were outdated indicating they hadn’t been taking them as prescribed. The refrigerator was almost empty of nourishing food. She felt guilty, why hadn’t she seen it before, seen it coming, read between the lines?

But the truth is that an elders situation can deteriorate quite quickly: a year, 6 months even 3 months can make a big difference in one’s abilities. Each person and situation and condition is different.

Here’s what to look for if you’re going home to aging parents. This list is based upon the three areas that first indicate a need for more oversight and assistance.

Personal care

dirty clothing

dirty hair or body

appear unkempt

dust in the bathtub

home in disrepair or disheveled

Nutrition

more snacks than real food in the house

very old or outdated food items in pantry

Medications

too many/too few pills in bottles

old med bottles, no new refills

still display symptoms that meds should alleviate

Other general areas

unexplained dents in the car

not leaving the house for a week or more

falls

angry or passive, offensive or defensive

bills or mail piled up

utilities or appliances not working

scorched pans

Most people move to assisted living or nursing homes due to these situations, and not because they are chronically ill and need nursing care. If you see 2 or more of any of these, it is time to discuss the need for a medical check up and possible non-medical assistance to avoid further deterioration. If addressed early enough people may be able to stay in their homes longer and that is what everyone wants.

About The Author

Linda LaPointe, MRA is an ElderLife Matters Coach and is the author of several products to help families, including the educational board game, In My Shoes: An Aging Family. See them and get free articles and information at www.SOSpueblo.com

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Posted by: karenk | June 22nd, 2008 | 12 Comments

Work and eldercare is a difficult marriage for the half of all employees who are caring for an aging loved one.

You may know the facts:

The cost of absenteeism, shortened or interrupted work days is $29 billion a year.

The cost of replacing employees who leave due to eldercare responsibilities is $4.93 billion a year.

Many spend up to 8 hours per week on the phone with eldercare issues, come in late and take more time off.

One half of employees care for dependent adults.

Three fourths of elder caregivers are in the workforce.

One third of caregivers acknowledge their eldercare responsibilities interfere with work.

These issues not only concern the employer, they also greatly concern the employee who wants to do a good job. Yet most caregivers don’t know what kind of help or information to ask for and often tell Linda LaPointe, CaregiverCoach, “It’s difficult to concentrate on a project when I feel like you should make a call or stop in to check on Mom and Dad.” “Education is the key,” LaPointe says, “so caregivers have some idea what to expect and how to help.”

Having seen both sides of the aging situation as a former administrator and now as a Geriatric Care Manager, Linda LaPointe remembers the day she knew what she would do to help families in crisis. She tells us about it:

The 60ish man looked to be assisting his father from the passenger side of the car, when he suddenly and shockingly, in one swift movement, slammed the car door, leapt to the sidewalk and yelled, “You old f—— son of a b——!”, leaving the older man in the car.

Watching this from the next car, it was the final straw. I was determined to develop a simulation so that adult children of aging parents could get some idea what it must be like to grow old and how they can assist their loved ones, as so often they don’t know what to do.

The hurt, the fear, the anger, the defeat, the exhaustion; I’d seen it all, over and over again. I could not remember how many times I had told caregivers, “S/he isn’t doing that on purpose just to upset you.” Some, relieved, believed me. Others, resentful, would never believe me.

In My Shoes: Growing Old is now a boardgame. “People can attend days of lecture and seminars and not be as affected as when they spend one hour moving around the gameboard, living ‘in my shoes’, as one who is aging.” declares Linda LaPointe, author of the simulation. She has watched players “come away with more understanding, patience and empathy after they have ‘experienced’ being an elder facing the many challenges, joys and losses.” It is good for employee assistance professionals, administrators and direct supervisors as well as the workers who are caregivers.

LaPointe explains that we learn more when our emotions are called upon. We are engaged and energized by our feelings, not by facts. “When we can really ‘feel your pain’ we don’t forget it.” Emotions impress or imprint upon our memories. “One woman thanked me for a ‘beautiful piece of work’. I’m glad that so many have been positively impacted by it. I did it with great respect and compassion, yet kept the humor and a lighthearted, upbeat optimism.” LaPointe is gratified when people are heard to say, “Now I really get it….in my gut.”

Years in the making, this new and innovative learning tool, In My Shoes: Growing Old is now available to the general public, employers and long term care communities for training staff. Players will experience:

physical, social, financial, spiritual and emotional aspects of aging

common conditions of aging

adaptive devices and treatments available to retain independence

tips to age gracefully or to help others do so

long term care and advanced planning options

It can be used over and over, and has an accompanying manual packed with instructions, information, resources and exercises which can be used to create a 1-8 hour educational session. Training can be fun and games. Step up to the challenge with In My Shoes: Growing Old.

Learn more, see the game or order from http://www.SOSpueblo.com or contact Linda LaPointe toll free at 866.241.7009 or email at [mailto:sospueblo@yahoo.com]sospueblo@yahoo.com.

About The Author

Linda LaPointe is a Care-Giver-Coach to families in need. http://www.SOSpueblo.com.

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Posted by: karenk | June 21st, 2008 | 11 Comments

Every year thousands of children are admitted to hospital emergency rooms due to incidents involving bunk beds involving improper use, manufacturing, or set up. If your follow our 10 point safety checklist, bunk beds can still be a great bedding solution for your children:

Reputable manufacturer

Look for manufacturers that are established, and have a long history of manufacturing bunk beds. A good manufacturer will also stand behind their product by providing a lifetime warranty.

ASTM and CPSC guidelines

Ask the retailer if it meets the voluntary safety guidelines of the American Standards of Testing and Materials and the minimum safety standards of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. If it does, you’ll know that the bed meets all current and reasonable safety standards.

Strong frame construction

Examine and test the durability and strength of the bunk bed frame. It should easily hold a parents weight - climb on it and wiggle the frame a bit. A good bunk bed with remain firmly grounded without movement or noise.

Only rounded edges

Check the entire bed construction for smoothness of materials and fasteners. There should be no sharp edges or protruding points anywhere in the construction.

Measure the safety rails

Safety rails should run on both sides of the top bunk, and the lower rail should be no higher than 3 1/2 inches above the top of the mattress height - any higher and your children could slip underneath it. Also make sure the top rail is at least 5 inches above the mattress top to prevent your child from rolling over the safety rails.

Ensure proper mattress fit

Strangulation deaths have occurred in the US when children fall through openings between the mattress and the frame during the night. Make sure the mattress opening snugly fits the mattress without a lot adjustment room. If the mattress has a gap greater than 3 inches from any side of the mattress to the bed frame, headboard or footboard - it does not fit properly.

Sturdy ladder construction

Make sure the ladder in well constructed and is firmly attached and bolted to the bed frame. Test it out with your own weight - if it moves around it is not safe.

Sturdy mattress support

A lot of injuries are caused by children in the lower bunks pushing up on the underside of the top bunk and dislodging the mattress or support frame. Ensure the top bunk has sturdy mattress supports that are secured to the bed frame with bolts or screws. You don’t want a floating board support system, as these will move around and can possibly fall through the opening.

Repair and maintenance

Immediately replace or repair any loose or missing fasteners on the bed. Periodically check the tightness of fasteners holding the bed together, as well as the cross support rails holding the upper mattress.

Safe use

Teach your children not to push up on the underside of the bed, or to climb on it like a jungle gym. Proper safety is important at all times, and you may wish to also use a night light near the ladder so children can see the ladder steps in the dark.

If you follow these basic tips then you should get years of safe enjoyment out of your new bunk bed.

S.A. Smith is a freelance writer, contributor, and editor of the Loft Beds Bunk Beds resource site, and can be reached at http://www.loft-beds-bunk-beds.com/

For more bunk bed resources and tips you can visit our website.

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Posted by: karenk | June 21st, 2008 | 10 Comments

A maggot is laid in some cow dung. It feeds on the dung until it passes from larva stage to pupal stage and then to become an adult.

It then searches for any sweet or decaying matter, preferably in liquid form, to feed on. If it cannot find any liquid food, it will regurgitate its saliva on to the solid food in order to soften and liquefy it, making it possible to drink.

The house fly’s habit of taking food from decaying matter or from faeces - and then visiting our kitchens - is the cause of more than 100 types of human disease.

If the worst possible creature could have been invented, it would have been the house fly. The only reason I can think for the existence of this creature is to make spiders look good!

So, when you next see a fly sitting on your kitchen work top, just think where it came from and what kind of disease it might be about to bring into your home. Now you know why those fly killer machines are to be found in butchers, bakers, restaurant kitchens and food production facilities.

Now hear this: if you have just come home from work and you have spotted a fly in your kitchen you can go ahead and swat it. No problem. But just ask yourself how long has that fly been resident in your kitchen? Where has it landed? What germs has it already left behind? And how many of its friends have also visited while you were out? And ask yourself this: where do those occasional tummy aches come from? Well it is a well-known fact that a good deal of them originate from germs left by house flies.

Of course, if you had a fly killer machine fitted in your kitchen you will have protection round the clock. No more swatting - just relax and know that when you eat your food it will have no added ingredients courtesy of a nearby dung pat!

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Posted by: karenk | June 20th, 2008 | 10 Comments

Coupons save consumers hundreds of dollars a year. Smart shoppers take the time to look for, cut out, file, and use coupons on a regular basis. You may be surprised how much money you can save in the long run.

Coupons are easy to use when organized efficiently. Coupons should be put into groups such as cereals, fruit, pizzas, paper goods, pet food, baby needs, and anything else that you need frequently. With this strategy, you can easily plan to save money each time you make your grocery list.

Simple rules for smart shopping:

1. Always check the prices of similar brands. Another brand may be less expensive even with the coupon. Don’t buy the brand-name item just to use the coupon.

2. If your retailer doubles the face value of your coupons on a certain day, plan to do your major shopping on that day.

3. Always shop with a list and the appropriate coupons based upon what your family uses the most.

4. When filing your coupons, put those with the earliest expiration dates in front so you won’t forget about them.

5. You can really save if you combine the SALE with the coupons!

How to store your coupons:

You can organize your coupons in an orderly manner for half the cost of an off-the-shelf organizer. Simply buy a 3 - 4 inch three ringed binder and about a dozen plastic baseball card sheets. You can put tabs on the sheets to identify different categories of coupons.

Seek out your coupons online and you’re sure to save time. NO more are the days when you had to scour the newspaper, search for usable coupons, clip each one individually, and then sort them so that they could be easily found. No sireee. We live in a digital world. Using coupons can be as simple as typing in a code upon checkout at your favorite online retailer. This is known as a “coupon code” or a “promotional code”.

You’ll quickly be on your way to becoming the smartest shopper in your neighborhood.

Alli Ross is the webmaster at the Baby Names Box - Where you can explore over 6,000 baby names and their meanings.
Sub-categories include Disney ,J.R. Tolkien names, Fantasy and Folklore names, and many names from the literary classics. Read articles ranging from parenting and family to home and gardening. Be sure to say hi to GranMamma!

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