The Save Money Blog

Archive for July, 2008

Just recently at work we were having a conversation about buying our prescriptions and health products such as shampoos, soap, beauty products and things like acne cream. Where do you go to buy yours? A lot of people when will pick them up when you are out shopping at the grocery store without thinking just how much you more you might be paying. When it comes to buying your toiletries and your beauty products you can save a ton of money by shopping around for the best price and then getting in the habit of buying from that source. The grocery store is probably not the best place to buy these items just like your corner store is not either. Take a look through your local pharmacy, compare prices and look for flyers and sales. Another great bet is to search online for even more savings. If you are buying from a grocery store or local corner store you are paying too much.

If you don’t know what an HDMI switch then you are missing out. It’s a gadget that routes high definition video and digital audio from any one of the three sources to display unit.  In basic terms this switch will allow you to connect up to four HDMI sources to a single display such as your HDTV. Inputs will allow you to connect up to three of your high definition video sources, such as a satellite, Blu-Ray Disc, and video game consoles to your HDTV. The benefit is you can simply switch between each source without having to move cables on your television. It is great for those of us who enjoy gaming and watching HD movies. There are plenty of great deals available online for a HDMI switch.

If you truely want to save some money each week or each month then you first have to figure out where you are spending it. The simplest way to do it is start an excel spreadsheet and track for any given period what your expenses are. Your gas and car, your groceries, entertainment, misc. daily expenses and anything that occurs on a regular basis. Choose your period such as a month or week. Once you have a couple of periods saved in your excel file you can then start to figure out how you can cut these expenses down and save money. If you are grocery bill is roughly the same over the period of a few months try coupon clipping or buying sale items in bulk and see if you can cut that number down. If you are spending x number of dollars in gas each month try walking a little more and see if you can cut that expense down. The bottom line is that you can't save money if you don't know where you are spending it in the first place.

I am not much of a camera person but one thing I know is that my digital camera does not have enough memory. I really need to get it updated but after shopping around locally I noticed that memory cards can be pretty expensive and I don't even really know what I need to update to. I really finding searching online helpful and I find that there can be some pretty good money savings if you want to take some time to do a little digging. If you are looking to upgrade your electronics you might want to try searching for online coupons or deals. I bet that you will be able to beat the price of any local shop.

When you are looking to purchase quality computer parts or accessories where is the first place that you go? If you go to a specialty computer shop you might not be getting the best deal possible. Your best bet when looking to upgrade your computer hardware, software or system memory is to shop online and look for the best deal possible. Many websites will compare computer hardware and accessories and even provide you with ratings and feedback about a particular product so you can see how others made out with that product. Also, keep your eyes out for special deals and coupons that online websites may be giving away. Chances are you will be able to find a better deal and save some money.

I know what you are saying to yourself, it’s only July why should I be worried about going out and buying textbooks right now? Well like anything else, they are out of season and there are plenty of deals to be had when purchasing your books and textbooks online. At this time you should probably already know what classes you or your children are going to be taking next fall so having or getting a required reading list for those classes shouldn’t be a problem. Take advantage of the fact that many online bookstores are probably going to have some sales or online coupons to help you save money for your new school year.

At one time it was pretty easy to go out and purchase a digital camera. There were only a handful of brand names and models in production. Today’s market place is different however. There are literally thousands of brand names, styles and models of digital cameras to choose from. And of course all of these are at different prices. It’s important to first ask yourself what you want to achieve with your digital camera. Are you are going to be using it for serious photography or just for amateur or family photos. From there you have to research the different prices available and look for the best deal possible.

So you are stuck with a maxed out credit card and some pretty high interest payments or you have a bank loan you need to get rid of. Why not get rid of some of the junk in the basement or that you have in storage? One mans garbage is another mans gold. Everybody has something in their possession that is taking up space that you can sell for a few extra bucks. So have a look around and see what you can muster up. It may seem like a lot of work but most local newspapers have a yard sale kit you can get. They will advertise it and show you have to have a great yard sale. Get rid of that junk and  help yourself pay off that extra debt or even put it towards a vacation or help yourself stay out of debt.