Christmas is almost here and the kid’s want a video gaming console, but which one do you choose? This guide will help you understand more about the Wii, the Xbox, and the Playstation.

Right click and Save as to download -> Choosing the Right Video Game Console (24) Posted by Lynette

My husband calls me the queen of kitchen gadgets – this coming from the mechanic with the biggest tool box in the shop.  Well as much as I hate to admit it he is right (but don’t tell him I said so – I’ll just deny it.)  I do love my kitchen gadgets, but only if they actually make my life easier.  I think one of my favorite gadgets, next to my crock pot & FoodSaver, is my West Bend Programmable Food Steamer.

I use my food steamer all year round.  I have had two food steamers my first steamer was a Sunbeam Food Steamer & had only one basket.  That worked great when it was just my husband and I as it would hold about 1 cup of Rice (cooked) or about 5 full sized ears of corn.  Now that we have a family of four – it just wasn’t big enough.  My latest steamer has tier baskets (that will hold about 5 ears of corn each!)  With this new steamer I can make enough vegetables in it to not only feed my family but also steam enough vegetables to feed our parents when they come over as well.  It’s not uncommon at my house to have my husband’s parents and his sister, husband, and two sons over for dinner – when you’re cooking for 10 the tiers really come in handy. 

As you probably know by now I’m always looking for the best deal, I have found that Walmart.com you can get it for $49.98 – I’ve found it on other sites ranging from $51 – $75.  Plus at Walmart.com you can either have it shipped to your house or shipped to a store for you to pick up and save money on the cost of shipping!

Webster’s dictionary defines a bargain as an “advantageous purchase”.  Anyone who does even a little bargain shopping knows that you can save hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars each year just by searching for a bargain or two.  It should go without saying that the only true bargain is one that you would have been buying anyways.  Buying that new TV just because it is on sale (no matter how great the deal) isn’t really saving any money in the long run – unless you plan on reselling it on eBay.  So with that in mind here are some tips on bargain shopping:

 1.  Sign up for the rewards programs with the places you shop at the most.  You can not only get great rebates, but you will also be made aware of upcoming sales.  With the price of gas today be sure to see if your local gas station also offers a rewards program.  If you live in the Midwest, Speedway www.speedway.com offers 20 points per $1 spent.  You can earn an extra 1000 points by purchasing a $50 gift card – go inside purchase the gift card then go out & use the card at the pump and earn an additional 1000 points (20 points per $1 spent.)  When you reach 8,750 points you can redeem them for a $0.50 per gallon discount on one fill up – up to 25 gallons of gas (that’s a saving of $12.50) or wait until you have 17,500 and redeem your points for a $25 gift card and use that for FREE GAS!  Save your coupons (which you will also receive by being a rewards member) and use those with the sales to get the best bargains around – check the coupons to be sure that they are not excluded from sales.

2.  Know the best times to shop for certain items.  Every thing has a peak season – even cars and houses – and by shopping AFTER the peak season you can usually get the best bargains and save the most money.  For example, shop for summer clothes after June or July, shop for winter clothes after Christmas, and shop for cars after the New Year.  You can use this same model for selling your items to make extra cash.  By selling your gently used items on www.eBay.com as you will make the most on your sales by posting summer clothes around April & May, your winter items in November & December and selling gently used toys to the Christmas shoppers from the end of October thru early to mid December.

3.  Use the internet – it can be the bargain shopper’s best friend.  This is the easiest and least expensive way of researching products and even stores.  You don’t have to drive around comparing prices – you can just surf around instead.  If you’re shopping for electronics www.circuitcity.com has a wonderful site to help you do your research.  Then when you’re ready to make your purchase you can save money on shipping and time waiting in line by ordering your purchase online but selecting to pick up your purchase at the store.

4.  The internet is also a great place to find coupons.   I use www.coupon.com – they send me emails letting me know when there are new coupons available.  Clipping coupons for items you regularly use and then finding a grocery store that will double them can easily save you around 30% of your grocery bill each time that you shop.  My husband used to think I was crazy clipping coupons until he saw the total due dropping as they scanned our coupons; now he asks if we have any coupons before he goes to the store.  Your local Sunday paper is also a great source of coupons plus you will get all the store ads detailing their sales for the week.

6.  Two words – Crock Pot – if you don’t have one get one.  Having a crock pot will not only save you time but it can also save you money. For example for less then $10 you can make a 6 quart crock pot of tomato sauce with meat (1 lb of hamburger) that would equal approximately 18 good sized servings.  I start my sauce around 10am, set my crock pot on low & forget about it till around 5:30 when I go in to make my noodles.  I add the ingredients so my family doesn’t get all the extra sodium in the prepared jar sauces and I have plenty left over to freeze for meals later in the month.  Just about anything you can make in your oven you can make in a crock pot – including meat loaf!!  As I said earlier if you don’t have a Crock Pot – Get One!  www.crock-pot.com has a great site for all things crock pots from recipes to Hints & Tips.  I own two crock pots, a 4 quart & a 6 quart.  I highly recommend the electronic versions compared to the manual models as when they reach the desired cooking time they can automatically switch to “warm” mode.      

7.  Buying in bulk is another great bargain shopper’s tip.  If you have the room to store up items, then purchase non-perishables when they are on sale (and hopefully you have a coupon).  Your local warehouse club has some great deals on bulk items but you will need to really know the prices of the items you’re buying – just because they have the item doesn’t mean it’s the best price (remember you can’t use coupons at warehouse clubs.)  Their prices generally beat the grocery stores non sale prices but if you check out the ads & clip your coupons you can get a good many of your daily items for less. 

8.  If you’re buying in bulk you need a FoodSaver.  I used to put up my meat in freezer bags and store them in the stand up freezer but if it wasn’t eaten in just a couple months it would be so covered in frost that you couldn’t tell what it was.  I’m not a big fan of mystery meat especially when it looks more like a snow ball then meat.  After seeing an ad for FoodSaver I checked out their website and ordered my own – Love It!!  I have had mine for over 2 years now & my only regret is not buying it sooner – it literally eliminated my freezer burn problem.  I found a package of hamburger that somehow was shifted to the back of my freezer (I date everything so we always eat the oldest food first.)  This package of hamburger was about a year old & looked as good as the hamburger I had just frozen a couple days before.  I use my FoodSaver to even seal up bags of chips and my brown sugar (it no longer turns into a brick on me.)

Learning to bargain shop is a great way to not only shave money off your budget but also allow you to spend FREE Money along the way.  Then you can se the savings you find to plan a great family getaway (you can even take your Disney Vacation on a budget) or to splurge on that item you have wanted for so long.