Shopping..

With so much competition from the various cell phone companies, you, the consumer can get so confused as to what kind of cell phone to buy and why. Here are a few tips on how to be cell phone savvy while saving money for other more important event in life.

Try to stay with the basics of what you need versus what you want. More and more companies are offering so many new features on their new cell phones in order to make a profit or get new customers interested. These new phones, however, usually have just a pretty shell or fancy flip mechanism.   Try to not get tempted into buying these phones for hundreds of dollars more than you should be paying. Instead, figure out on paper what your cell phone needs are.

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Make sure to ask the sales representative about battery life, warranties, and customer satisfaction on each of the cell phones that you are considering. Afterwards, go home and research online about how customers have rated the various cell phones over time. Don’t forget to ask friends about their recommendations. You’ll discover some phones that have good reputations for having good battery life and good coverage while other phones just aren’t very well received.

Ask yourself these questions about cell phone usage: Do you use your phone to just talk or do you text message, email others, listen to music, or take pictures? Don’t spend more just to get features that you know that you will never use. When you use your phone, how many minutes do you usually use? Most people use more than 150 minutes, so try to find rate plans with more than this and figure out what your maximum usage is. Buy a rate plan with slightly more minutes than what your maximum usage is so that you won’t have to pay extra for going over your talking limit.

If you can’t afford the various rate plans offered by the various companies, consider the “pay-as-you-go” plans where you pay as much as you can afford on a card and when you use that up, you can add more minutes.

Remember that the expensive phones don’t necessarily guarantee good coverage of where you live. Take advantage of the two-week trial offer when you sign up to check to see if you can call out or receive calls from where you work and live. If the company that you are considering does not offer you a trial period, ask friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors what cell phone company they use and if they are happy with the coverage from the cell phone they are currently using.

If you sign up with a company for a new rate plan, you can get a great discount on a new phone. Ask your sales representative to help you compare the various phones within your budget and get the best one that fits your everyday needs.

Once you buy your cell phone, keep your contract handy. Remember that most of these contracts have a one or two-year agreement that has penalties for if you cancel. Make sure you check out any “roaming” charges that can add up. Talk with your sales representative about what it outside your network and what’s not. Decide if you peak and off peak minutes. Some companies offer free minutes after 7 or 9 pm on weeknights and during weekends. Other companies just offer a flat 1000 minutes. Again, see what your calling hours are and decide for yourself what the best plan is for you before signing any contract.

For the month of May, guaranteed blinds are having a sale.  You can pick up some massive bargains this month.. just look at what is in store for you:

1/2″ MICRO ALUMINUM MINI-BLINDS….15% OFF….promo code “micro”

GB SleekLineâ„¢ 1/2″ MICRO ALUMINUM MINI BLINDS….15% OFF….promo code “micro”

1″ ClassicWoodâ„¢ BASSWOOD BLINDS….15% OFF….promo code “wood”

2 1/2″ ClassicWoodâ„¢ BASSWOOD BLINDS….15% OFF….promo code “wood”

CATALINAâ„¢ CELLULAR SHADES….10% OFF….promo code “catsale”

BELLAâ„¢ ROMAN SHADES….10% OFF….promo code “bella”

SANTORINIâ„¢ SHEER WINDOW SHADINGS….10% OFF….promo code “sheer”

Now my favorites are the last ones, the Santorini Sheer window shadings.  These are a bit like venitians, however, just imagine that the blind is encapsulated in a very fine fabric.  This allows for a huge range of options in light filtering.  Great for areas that get very strong sunlight, they can really screen out the harmful rays and yet let alot of light in.  The venitian functionality gives you the best of both worlds, you can range from very softly filtered light with the blind open ranging from full block when the blind is closed.

I actually saw these blinds installed in a guest house I stayed at a few weeks ago.  I loved them!

So, if you are after blinds get on over to guaranteed blinds sale and get yourself a bargain!

Finding the best products for your pet can be easy if you know where to shop.  There are many great shops both on the Internet and in your local mall where you can find those perfect products even for those discerning pets.  The intelligent shopper will know where to start shopping to get the best products for their pet.

A great place to find plenty of selection and prices that you can afford is the Internet.  The Internet allows you to comparison shop for similar products and the price range you are interested in.  This is perfect for those looking for pet jewelry, costumes, high-end bedding and unique pet gifts.  Many search engines offer the option of allowing you to enter search specifics, which will narrow your search and save you time.  For example, you can enter ‘Chihuahua Halloween costume’ and expect to find many sites that sell pet costumes for small dogs.  Conversely, entering the search engine term ‘pet costumes’ will yield a large list of sites that offer pet costumes for everything from parrots to kittens.  Knowing what search terms to enter will save you a lot of time when searching on the Internet.

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The thrill of finding bargains is what keeps shoppers coming back to Goodwill shops.  Every time you go to the Goodwill you are sure to find at least one item that you have to have and at a price you can afford.  Many experienced Goodwill shoppers have even started online auction businesses with items they’ve found at these second hand stores.  Whatever your reasons are for shopping at your local Goodwill you are sure to find bargains that won’t break your budget.

Before you head off for some serious shopping at a thrift store, there are a few things you should do.  Primarily dress very comfortably since you will be trying on clothing and standing looking through racks for an hour or more.  Experienced shoppers will also tell you that drinking a lot of coffee before you shop is a bad idea.  Rarely is there a bathroom at your local Goodwill shop so plan ahead.

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With the continued cost of various items in our society the concept of buying in bulk is getting to be more common that ever. Yet many people question if they are really saving money or not. The answer to this question that yes you will save money when you purchase the right items in bulk. For example you really don’t need to purchase a case of 200 light bulbs as that will last you for many, many years. On the other hand if you have a fairy large family or lots of guests on a regular basis you might consider buying toilet paper and paper towels in bulk.

Any item that you will use up in a short period of time is a good candidate for being purchased in bulk. There are many membership warehouses that offer bulk items that focus on families and small businesses. Dry ingredients for your home including sugar and flour are good options. Avoid buying bulk items that will result in eating the same thing day after day though as no one wants to have to do this. For example, don’t buy snacks and potato chips in bulk because everyone in your family will quickly tire of the taste.

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I’ve found the shop-of-all-shops for letterboxes.

The site is packed with lots of different styles of boxes – from modern to classic, from deco to decorative.   Indeed, Mailboxixchange.com offers the the full line of Personalized Whitehall Mailboxes, one of the most stylish brands of mailboxes around.  These mailboxes represent the quintessential look of the traditional mailbox, with a curved top and shoebox shaped sides.

The mailboxes themselves are constructed from recycled die cast rust free aluminum, which, as you might guess, ensures that they will never rust or deteriorate.  All of the Whitehall Mailboxes are finished in a highly protective powder coat finish, to ensure their longevity.  They come in a variety of styles and colours, including bronze, verdigris (green), black and white.

These mailboxes can be customized with your name of the house address, adding an elegent personalized element to your mailbox.   Lettering can be understated, or big and bold in gold.

So, if you are looking for a new letterbox and only the best will do, check out the personalized whitehall mailboxes at Mailboxixchange.com.

Do you go Christmas shopping in July?  You read correctly – ‘tis the season for great Christmas shopping! Granted, it might be a little hard to get in the mood for shopping when the temperature is hot, the sun is shining, and your kids are wearing bathing suits.  Yet did you realize that this approach could possibly save you hundreds of dollars that you will have to spend later on, simply because the stores suddenly got out their Noel decorations, installed their mall Santa, and are busy piping Christmas music over the PA?  It is true!

Christmas shopping in July lends itself to bargain hunting.  Here are six tips and tricks to make your next Christmas a merry one!

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When you got together with your girlfriends last month, you were riveted by one of their descriptions of how she was able to score brand-name merchandise for a fraction of the marked price.  You might be wondering just how to go about making these great buys for yourself, but you might be a bit hesitant.  After all, your friend might be a bit savvier at sniffing out bargains than you are – or is she? 

As a matter of fact, everyone can get great deals at the local stores. Here are some wise ways to bargain even in your local retail or department store.

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It seems like dollar stores and other various discount stores are becoming a common retailer in most areas. Can these discount stores really offer you a bargain or do they just sell poor quality items? In my opinion, there are plenty of gear bargains to be found in dollar stores and discount stores if you look for the right items.

I give lots of cards to people, but they can cost $3 each at most retailers. I can find some great cards at discount stores for about $.50 each. They are still funny or pretty or sentimental in nature and I never feel like I had to settle for less than what I wanted to say.

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If you are like me and your home style is described as, at best.. “eclectic” (nothing matches and your house looks like an unweildy patchwork of alot of junk) you could do with the services of a good interior designer.

A good designer will take your home from trashed to transformed in few easy steps. 

Sara Arndt Interior Design, for example, has a four stage interior design process.  Firstly, planning.  As that old tried but true cliche says, “if you fail to plan you plan to fail” and planning is crucial to the success of your project.  Good planning insures that your home is homogeneous within itself without becoming boring.  The next step is design – making sure that the details are taken care of and the themes you chose during the planning stage are well executed and represented in the finished product.

Thirdly – implementation – making the designs real and applying them to your dwelling.  This is the exciting part as you see it all come together!  Lastly, “realizing” – putting it all together with the finishing touches and making sure that you, the client are happy with the end result.

You need to go through all of these stages to have a really exeptional experience with a designer.  Sara Arndt Interior Design uses this interior design process – you can call her for a complementary consultation, and her website, www.longbeachinteriordesign.com  has a great gallery where you can see some of her work!