25. May 2008 by admin.

Major Corporations want to be able to hire college graduates.

The average college graduate makes approximately 70% more than the average high school graduate in his working career.

The cost of college is increasing faster than the inflation rate.

Dollar wise, the cost of college increases at more than $1,000 per year.

If you are able to SAVE $480 per month with an interest rate of 3.5% in a College Fund from the time your child is born to the time you send him/her off to college at age 18, you will have paid for 4 years at a public college or university ($145,000) with today’s projections.

With an average of 40% savings of monthly shopping costs for food and household goods, you can save an extra $226 per month to invest in a college savings plan.

Scholarships and grants are available for families based on yearly incomes of $65,000 or less.

Saving and paying for college may not be as difficult as you think. Save money with everyday shopping is the smart way to save for college.

Generally, the more you hear about the high rising costs for a college education today, the cost factor becomes more frightening every year for the average American family. As with anything that is frightening we try to avoid it. We hide from it. We may even want to bury our heads in the sand, and hope that it just goes away. Or it paralyzes us into non-action. No matter what one’s response to fear is…as loving parents you will have to face the challenge head on one day… and the earlier the better. Facing a fear head on, even as children, is ultimately how we all conquer our fears. So let’s journey together, it’s easier than doing it by one’s self…there’s safety in numbers. And you may become a lot safer with these numbers to plan, save, and pay for a college education for your son or daughter.

SHOP-SMART SHOPPING-TIPS SAVE MONEY will be our slogan. Let’s start with some simple guidelines. The guideline or RULE #1 is very simple: NEVER PAY FULL PRICE for anything you buy. With a little bit of effort you will be surprised how much you can SAVE before you go out shopping. According to a new poll conducted by the consumer Reports National Research Center for “ShopSmart” magazine, (women) shoppers who use coupons and store loyalty cards save over 10% a year on groceries…estimated to be the equivalent of $678 a year with an average weekly shopping trip of $116.00. Actually, YOU CAN DO A LOT BETTER THAN TEN PERCENT! The women in the survey used their coupons occasionally, and they did not necessarily use all of them.

This leads to RULE #2: ALWAYS SIGN UP FOR STORE-LOYALTY CARDS. Don’t miss out on a sale. Sign up at all the local grocery stores in your area, and it’s FREE. Each week different stores have different items on sale. For example, if you have a loyalty card for store A, but not store B; and your brand of coffee or laundry detergent goes on Sale at store B, you will miss the SALE. And you pay FULL PRICE at store A because there was no Sale on your coffee or laundry detergent there this week. BE SMART….SHOP SMART makes the loyalty cards work for you. BE LOYAL TO YOURSELF and SAVE MONEY!

RULE #3 TO OPTIMIZE YOUR SAVINGS- ALWAYS USE COUPONS. Coupons are easy to obtain. Check your Sunday Newspaper first, go online, and check the store sale ads both in the mail and in the store.

Rule #4 ALWAYS STOCK UP, and BUY IN BULK WHAT IS ON SALE when it is a highly used item or high ticket item like coffee or laundry detergent. For example, your brand of coffee which is regularly priced as $10.99 for a large can (34 oz. or more) goes on sale for $5.99 for the shopper with the store loyalty card. That’s a savings of $5.00. Add one .50 cents-off manufacturer’s coupon. Now you just have saved 50%. (Hint: Keep an eye open for the coupon dispensers that hang off the shelves in the grocery store. If it offers a coupon for an item you use, take 3-4 of them, and save them until the product goes on sale prior to the coupon’s expiration date.) Back to the coffee example… let’s say, you have four coupons for your brand of coffee. You purchase four cans of coffee and stock up at this price… and WHAM you just SAVED $22.00 for a 50% SAVINGS….much better than the average 10% that survey suggested. Even if you go out to the store just for the coffee that’s on SALE….YOU MADE A GREAT DEAL!

To keep your savings at a 50% level leads to Rule #5: TAKE ADVANTAGE of BUY 1 GET 1 FREE OFFERS, especially on products your family uses on a regular basis. Again, buy in Bulk.

Rule #6: BE FLEXIBLE with your shopping list when you see something on SALE: an item might not be on your shopping list this week; but you see that it’s on SALE, and you buy it. Now, there won’t be a need to put it on your shopping list for the next two or three weeks, and you SAVED.

Rule #7: ALWAYS ASK FOR A RAIN CHECK FOR A SALE ITEM that the store has run out of. This way you will be guaranteed not to miss out on the SALE ITEM. Rain checks can be good for one month or one year, depending on the store policy. (Hint: On the rain check ask for maximum amount of the item possible for a multiple purchase in the future).

These Shop-Smart Shopping-tips will help you save-money with your everyday-shopping.These are just some of the possible ways to save half-off with your grocery shopping that will begin to make college a reality for your child. Use these SHOP-SMART SHOPPING-TIPS to SAVE MONEY. Once you see how much money you save for your child’s education…set a goal….plan, save-and-pay for college with your monthly savings. The survey indicated saving 10 percent on your grocery shopping would generate savings of $678 per year. My challenge to each of you is to average SAVINGS of 40% on your purchases. If you can do that….you will realize savings up to $2,712 a year, or $226 per month; and that’s just on your groceries alone.

Saving-and-paying for College may not be as difficult as you think once you start using the SHOP-SMART SHOPPING-TIPS for all your purchases.

Automatically-save money-for-college each time you FOLLOW THE RULES. They represent Free-Money-for-College you didn’t know you even had. 

By Robert Walsh

Posted in College-Education-Money | Print | No Comments »

19. May 2008 by admin.

PARK SEED is known for their high quality gardening products, from seeds, annuals, perennials, to flowering bulbs.

What a great Christmas gift idea to give somebody you love and care about.  A Christmas gift that is ready to burst into blooms.

Park Seed’s great collection of flowering bulbs includes a wide selection of Amaryllis bulbs  each producing at least two flowering stalks  with each producing four to five flowers.

For Your Christmas Amaryllis Gift CLICK ABOVE.

TIPS FOR GROWING BETTER TASTING VEGGIES

Feed your veggies once per month with EPSOM SALT.  Epsom Salt, also called Magnesium Sulfate, is the core element of chlorophyll which is essential for proper Photosynthesis.  It helps lowering the soil’s ph.  Most plants, including vegetables, grow better at a neutral or slightly negative ph.  

Application: Dissolve one (1) to two (2) tablespoons of Epsom Salt in hot water (Epsom Salt dissolves faster in hot water) and mix it with one gallon of water.  Water plants thoroughly with this solution.If your plants show yellowing leaves, you might spray them with above mentioned solution until water runs off the leaves. Be sure to spray both sides of leaves.  Epsom Salt, Magnesium Sulfate, when applied as a foliar spray, will act faster than iron.  Iron is a common treatment for yellowing leaves.

Posted in How Do Plants Grow | Print | 2 Comments »

5. May 2008 by admin.

These are some creative ways to incorporate veggies and/or fruits into your toddler’s diet -

• Hiding the veggies is a good way to get them into your toddler. You might puree spinach, or any kind of veggie, and add them to your homemade small meatballs or any dishes you prepare.
• Toddlers like food that is fun. Be creative. It’s a good idea to have the food mini-sized and served in special ways, like in the shape of an animal or face.
• Things that dip are also a great idea - baked sweet potato fries in a healthy dip, for example. If you have to avoid dairy, you might use a product like “Better than Milk”, a soy based beverage mix.
• A member of a healthy eating group I joined suggested to grate 1-2 yellow zucchini (skin and all) and add it to your meatloaf mix. Not only does it make the meatloaf more moist, but it is practically unnoticable.
• Adding pureed fruits to softened ice cream might be another idea.

Turn into a Veggie Vendor

Veggies seem to be the most challenged food group when it comes to children’s eating habits. One way to overcome this obstacle is to plant a garden with your child. If you live in an appartment with a balcony and/or sunny window you may grow a wide variety of veggies in containers. These veggies include, but are not limited to, dwarf bush tomatoes -also called determinate tomatoes -, peppers - green, yellow, orange, red -, small carrots, radishes, or whatever veggies your family likes. There are no limits. Almost all veggies can be grown in containers.

These are just a few ways to incorporate veggies and fruits into your toddler’s diet.

Posted in Toddlers Veggies & Fruits | Print | No Comments »

4. May 2008 by admin.

The cost of living has become painful. One trip to the gas station and grocery store will clearly put you in touch with this pain. As painful as the $4.00 per gallon for gas is, it represents less than 3.5 percent of the family budget. Food purchases are almost 4 times as much in the family expenses, coming in just under 13%.According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Consumer Price Index for the past year indicates the five grocery items that rank at the top of the inflated price list that you are now buying at your supermarkets.

Number One on the list is FLOUR, increased by 37%. Not only does this increase the affect of the purchase of a bag of flour, but every item that is made using flour….breads, bakery goods, etc.

Number Two on the list are EGGS, increased by 34.8%. Again, this price increase goes beyond just the dozen or two of eggs that you buy for your family. Bakery goods, pasta and breads are affected as well.

Number Three on the list are SWEET PEPPERS (green, red, yellow) at an increased rate of 29.2%. The good news here is that peppers are one of the easiest plants to grow with very little work. I will address home gardening in the next newsletter for all your summer salad needs with little expenses.

Number Four on the list is MILK, increased by 23.1%. This is one of the most essential purchases on the grocery list for a family of any size with growing children.

Number Five on the list are DRIED BEANS, increased by 21.6%. This may be the most insulting price increase of all because it represents the most basic and last resort for the poor to put something on the table for the family to eat.

One of the other world’s basic food staples RICE has gone up by 10% in the last month alone. Costco and Walmart have recently limited the quantity of RICE that can purchased.

It is possible to save to save 40% - 50% of your weekly grocery shopping trips, including meat and high priced items, like coffee and laundry detergent, using your store loyalty card, store and manufacturer coupons, and taking advantage of the BUY 1 GET 1 FREE OFFERS. We are very concerned about your bottom line savings on your groceries with these inflationary increases on some of the most basic food staples.Being a good “Scout” you need to “Be prepared”.

Study your local grocery circulars. Become price conscious as to what the marketplace is asking for these particular items as well as what your cupboard and refrigerator is lacking.

Read the ad paper thoroughly to OPTIMIZE YOUR SAVINGS. For example, shopping at a chain drug store, reading through their weekly circular….in smaller print than the rest…. I discovered that if I bought a brand name skin lotion at the regular price I would receive the same brand name liquid soap for FREE — $3.99 value.

Plan ahead your menu. I have advocated planning your menu around the SALE ITEMS in the grocery stores’ circulars. Make sure you mark out on what day of the week their shopping advertisement begins and ends. Some stores start on Wednesday and end on the following Tuesday. Others begin on Thursday and end on the following Wednesday. You could miss out on sale items of importance by not knowing this.

For example, in one sale circular a brand name roasting chicken was on sale for 69 cents/per lb. at the local grocery store. Unlike the major store chains, this local grocery store week begins on Wednesday, not Thursday. So if you didn’t pay attention to this fact, and wanted to purchase the roasting chicken on Wednesday before the sale ended, it would have been TOO LATE. The new week began, the sale was over, and the price increased by 80 cents to $1.49 per/lb. The same 5-lb. Roasting Chicken went from $3.45 to $7.45 — a lost savings of $4.00 per a 5lb. Chicken.

PAY ATTENTION and SAVE! Don’t let image fool you that you are going to get the BEST PRICE because a store is known for it’s LOW PRICES. A recent story of comparative shopping prices revealed the following prices for a gallon of Skim Milk

$2.69 at Aldi’s (discount store)

$2.99 at Costco (a saving club/membership needed)

$3.99 at a Local Supermarket

$4.49 at Walmart Who Who would have thought that?.That’s an image buster!

Don’t forget looking at your local drug stores, such as CVS or Walgreens, for some of these items. Recently I was able to purchase two- 64oz. Walgreens brand Orange Juice for $3.69 compared to other grocery store offers of 2/$5.00, and two dozen eggs for $3.00 compared to $2.89 per dozen elsewhere.

I believe in buying in BULK when often used family products are on sale. If you have the space, utilize your freezer. When shopping for Milk on Sale search the back of the shelf for the latest possible expiration date. If you choose to freeze milk, remove 8-to-12 ounces to allow for expansion during the freezing process. You can also freeze eggs in freezer bags by cracking them open into the bag for later use, baking or scrambled eggs. Rather than throw out eggs or milk that are about to expire make a cake or pudding.

For additional savings, investing in a bread machine ($40.00 and up) would help cut the cost of bread and provide you with Fresh Homemade Healthy Bread daily per your creative ingredients. Put the ingredients in the bread machine, and within three-to-three and a half hours, presto!.FRESH HOMEMADE BREAD for less than a $1.00 per loaf. The bread machine will pay for itself in a short time compared to store bought bread.

For purchasing a good bread maker which lasts a long time, I recommend

One U.S. Agricultural Department Study estimated that 25% of the food bought by consumers and restaurants is wasted or spoiled before it can be served. TV commercials advertise storage bags that will preserve the life of fruits and vegetables. If you are going to spend the high prices for fruits and vegetables, then you might choose to spend $10.00 for reusable bags. They will pay for themselves over a short period of time compared to price of lost/spoiled produce.

For your Meat purchases, avoid paying for the bones. At $10.00/lb, just one pound of bones will cost you ten dollars. Or you might choose to wait until its on sale. Many dollars are saved by using store loyalty cards when it comes to meat purchases. Buy Sale Price Meat in larger quantities, cut in portions, and FREEZE. Meat provides flexibilty in one’s menu planning. The first meal is hot, freshly cooked. Leftover portions can be served cold as sandwiches, or cubed and added to a fresh salad. Any other cubed leftover meat can be added to a soup. THAT’S FOUR MEALS from one piece of meat.

To eat healthier and save on your cooking time, I recommend purchasing Ronco’s “Showtime” Rotisserie. Put the meat on the spit, or in the basket, set the timer, and let it cook away, allowing the fat to drip away. Meatremains moist, juicy and healthy. Place vegetables in steamer tray on top of the unit. When the timer goes off, remove the meat and serve. Makes a very nice CHRISTMAS GIFT that keeps on giving. But remember: you’ll have to figure out what you want to do with your free time while everything is cooking.
The rotisserie can cook up to a 15 lb. turkey, two whole chicken, 8lbs prime rib or any roast. In the basket fish, hamburgers or roasted potatoes are some of the many options available for your meal plan. I have had my rotisserie for over six years.
I located the lowest priced RONCO Rotisserie at Walmart >>>Free Shipping with Site to Store at Walmart.com

Again, read your grocery ad circulars carefully. Try to take advantage of the first opening day “Sale Specials”. Some stores run specials within the store that will provide FREEBIES or MONEY BACK for your NEXT SHOPPING VISIT. Last month, Safeway and Dominicks offered a $10.00 kick back on a purchase of $30.00 or more of listed brand names for the next visit….this represents a 33% savings right there. This week, they offer two $5.00 kick backs ….one is redeemable instantly at the check out counter….the other is redeemable on the next visit.

Lastly, keep your eyes open for offers to add to your Government Stimulus Checks or Tax Refund Checks by Grocery Stores or Department Stores. Jewel (owned by Albertson) is offering a 10% Bonus if you use one of these CHECKS to purchase a Jewel-Osco Gift Card in increments of $300.00 up to $1200.00. Limit one offer per household. This represents $30.00 to $120.00, depending on the amount of your check. Details are available stores. Make Your Money Work For YOU!

So BeSmart…..ShopSmart…..Save Money…..Be Happy!

By Robert Walsh

Posted in Grocery Shopping Prices | Print | No Comments »