grocery store
In my family, we can go through four or five boxes of breakfast cereal per week. And in case you hadn't noticed, those of wheat, oats, corn, and sugar have crested $4 in many stores. The kids, alas, also drink a lot of soda, and we like a certain brand of frozen noodle dish.
And so we keep a close eye on supermarket flyers for sales and when we find one we go out and pick up a "few" - as in a few cases of 24 boxes of cereal, a half-dozen flats of 24 soda cans each, and a whole bunch of frozen noodles.
One of the best things about buying by mail order is the ability to send back your purchases if they don't work or if they don't match your expectations. Reputable mail-order houses are very good about taking back returns for most any reason.
But you've got to know the rules. Before you make any purchase by mail, phone, or by Internet, be sure you carefully read the return policies. Keep a printed copy of the policy until you're certain your order is exactly what you want.
Batteries
The number of battery-operated devices in the typical home has run away like the energizer bunny: portable CD and tape players, smoke detectors, “smart” thermostats, television/stereo remote controls, clocks, cameras, and much more.
As a user of these devices, you have many choices of battery types, from relatively inexpensive standard batteries to high-capacity alkaline and exotic long-life designs such as lithium hydroxide; you can also purchase rechargeable batteries to extend their lives. Here’s a guide to household batteries:
Buying
Here is what you ask yourself before you buy anything that cost more than $20:
- Do I really need it?
- If the answer is yes, can I afford to pay for it with cash?
- If I can, do I already own something that would serve just as well? (This question alone saves you plenty of money.)
- If I don't have anything that will do the job, do I know for a fact that I have found the best value? Have I really checked around enough to know?
Shopping
- Get family members to agree not to buy each other presents. Instead, exchange items you own that your relations have long admired.
- Take a hard look at your current credit card bills before going shopping. There's nothing like a debt reminder to bring a spending spree down to earth. Try writing the balances on tiny Post-Its and sticking them on your credit cards.
- Make a list and check it twice. Set a budget. To avoid going overboard, shop early in the season. You're more likely to find what you can afford.
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