Tag Archives: market research

Best Deals for May

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may dealsWhat are your best buys for the month of May? Well, not only does May include Mother’s Day and Memorial Day, but May 4th is also Star Wars Day (“May the 4th be With You!”) So there are plenty of shopping – and saving opportunities to be had! Which of these items will be on the agenda?

  • Kitchen Appliances
  • Star Wars stuff
  • Memorial Day-related military discounts
  • Menswear
  • Fresh corn (Silver Queen for me!)
  • Peaches, apricots, cherries and nectarines
  • Melons
  • Grilling supplies
  • Handbags
  • Swimsuits
  • Sandals and Spring Clothing
  • Tires
  • Linens and Mattresses
  • Jewelry and watches

BUT…Hold off on PCs and laptops: Back to school sales start in June!

Here are some links to help you compile your May shopping list!

Are any of these items on your to-do list for May? They say you could save up to 75%! What are you in the market for? Let us know over at the MindField Online Facebook page!

 

Prom Savings Tips 2016

promWith the price tag for attending the prom hovering around $900, and the cost of the ridiculous Promposal at about $300, you may be looking for ways to save, whether you are the prom-goer, or the parents who are typically footing 60-70% of the bill.

If you or your kid have been enthralled by the MTV notion that Prom has to be dazzling and decadent to be memorable, you can stop reading now; just surrender and get out your checkbook.

On the other hand, as Dave Ramsey might say, spending big isn’t necessarily bad. If you have the money, or if you have saved up for it, and it won’t put you in debt, and you don’t use credit cards, then have at it.

As a MindField regular, though, you’re probably the type that would get a thrill from creating a fun, memorable experience AND saving money while you do it. So, here are a few money-saving tips for prom, followed by some useful links for further information.

Prom Savings Tips 2016

  • Borrowing: Dress, shoes, earrings, handbag, tuxedo, Grandpa’s late-model Lincoln Continental – it all adds up!
  • Creative Dress Buying: Craigslist, Goodwill, clearance sales at a Bridal store. The internet can help!
  • Makeup Party: It’s come to the point where girls are having a spa day before prom. Instead, get the gang together and have fun. Bonus: When your little brother sees you and the girls in curlers and face masks – he will FREAK OUT!
  • Dining at Home: Instead of reservations, plan a fancy meal at home. Again, invite the whole crew. And then maybe do a fancy dessert at a restaurant
  • Teaming Up: If you must hire a limo, get the whole gang together. Saves money, and is a lot more fun

And on and on. Now, all tips aren’t created equal. Having dad dress as a chauffeur and listening to his dumb jokes all night probably won’t fly. But if you take time to read the following links, you are sure to find several useful prom savings tips.

Links:

Did they miss any prom savings tips? Let us know over at the MindField Online Facebook page!

Making Groceries Last Longer

food wasteWhen it comes to buying groceries, I realize I am an odd duck. I work out of the home. I get bored. The grocery store is about a 2-minute drive from my house. Also, we don’t cook all that much. Bottom line, shopping is boredom therapy for me, and I am at the grocery store 3 or 4 times a week, buying 6 or 9 dollars’ worth of stuff at a time.

I’m not a mom with 4 kids buying…however much groceries are needed to, you know, keep them alive and stuff. But if I were, I would be concerned about food waste and spoilage, and making my purchases last.

If that’s you, you should check out this piece from MoneyTalksNews, “21 Tricks to Make Groceries Last Longer.” Here are some highlights…

  • Toss spoiled produce: the culprit is ethylene. Rotting produce emits this gas, and it corrupts the good produce.
  • Punch holes in plastic produce bags: Trapped moisture speeds up breakdown
  • Freeze fruit: Apparently, you can do this. I have never tried anything beyond bananas
  • Shrink-wrap the crown of bananas: Again, ethylene. This apparently helps
  • Fresh herbs in water: Bundled in a vase, just like flowers!
  • Onions in pantyhose: Your mom read this in a Helpful Heloise article in 1977
  • Store counter items away from windows: Sunlight makes produce age faster.
  • Wraps greens in foil: Makes them last longer in the fridge
  • Reduce clutter in the fridge: Better air flow means better temperature distribution, fewer warm spots
  • Upside down tomatoes: If the stem is gone, storing upside down means less air will seep into the hole and cause spoilage

There are many more tips at the original piece, so check it out!

Some of these make complete sense, others (such as buttering your sliced cheese for storage) seem a little nutty. But, if you’re desperate to wring every penny out of your food budget, preventing food waste is a big concern.

How about you? See any useful tips? Any old family tricks you would like to share? Let us know over at the MindField Online Facebook page!

April is Financial Literacy Month

budgeting“National Financial Literacy Month is recognized in the United States in April in an effort to highlight the importance of financial literacy and teach Americans how to establish and maintain healthy financial habits.”  Wikipedia

For many of us (me, most definitely) financial literacy was achieved at the Financial College of Hard Knocks. You finally learn how to conduct your finances properly after YEARS of doing it improperly and almost driving off the financial cliff. It’s like we spend our 20s making the mess, and our 30s digging out of it.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we had just started off on the right foot? Or, now that it’s too late for us, that our KIDS get a good start? That’s the goal of Financial Literacy Month.

We will provide some helpful links in a bit. First, what are some of the basics of Financial Literacy? Here are some lessons you can impart to your kids, as provided by Huffington Post:

  • Use Cash– perfect way to illustrate that when the money is gone, it’s GONE.
  • Bank/ATM Visits– illustrates that money is a real thing. It changes hands, it gets stored away, it grows, it shrinks, it disappears!
  • Grocery Shopping– have the kids count out your $84.16 and hand it to the lady!
  • Brand Names/Store Brands – comparison shopping
  • Wants vs. Needs – This is really the core, isn’t it?
  • Build a Budget – If you buy all your wants, you don’t have much left for your needs, right?
  • Pay Utility Bills Together – see, light and heat don’t just happen!
  • Create a Wish List – Once you get the Needs taken care of, and there is some left over, make a plan for getting those Want items.
  • Clear Jar System – A piggy bank where you can see the money.
  • Sharing is Caring – Making giving a part of your plan
  • Open a Small Business for kids
  • Allowance – make it chore-based. And when the money’s gone… well, you know.
  • Games and Activities – “Monopoly” and “Life” aren’t just boring – they contain valuable financial literacy lessons!

Some links:

And there you go. I wouldn’t want any young person to go through the anxiety, the sleepless nights and the marital money fights I went through in my 20s. How about you? Share your thoughts at the MindField Online Facebook page!

April’ s Best Buys

april dealsIt’s springtime and, here in the South, there’s no better sign of that than the thick yellow pollen dust covering your car, your patio furniture, and your children. Also there are big savings in the air for the month of April. Let’s take a look!

  • Seasonal stuff: Spring clothing, Easter candy (after Easter, natch), Mother’s Day jewelry
  • Electronics: It’s the end of the fiscal year in Japan, and everything must go!
  • Shoes: After Christmas, shoe sales drop, and retailers are looking to clear their shelves. It’s also spring exercising weather, so you will find good deals on athletic shoes.
  • Health: The New Year’s Resolution crowd has faded out, so there are bargains on gym memberships
  • Travel: Book cruises now, even if you aren’t traveling for months
  • Tax Time: Many retailers (especially fast food) offer a free cup of coffee here, a donut there. We will have more on that later this month!
  • Home Improvement: Like we said, spring cleaning and projects, projects, projects!
  • Eco–friendly items: Energy-savers, recycled materials…. If it’s Green, you can save some green, especially around Earth Day, which is April 22
  • Thrift store items: Again, as everybody does their spring cleaning and donates their stuff, thrift stores are overstocked and will offer deals. Deals so good you will want to buy back your old junk!

Again, just the highlights. Here are a few helpful links for your April browsing pleasure.

Have you got any spending (or saving) secrets for April? Share them over at the MindField Online Facebook page!

Spring Home Improvement 2016

Home improvement couple, seen in happier times
Home improvement couple, seen in happier times

The path to spring home improvement can be rewarding. All it takes is a lot of time, work and money, and the willingness to disagree long and loudly with your significant other. As for the marriage counseling, it’s often covered under your health insurance plan, so there’s that.

If you decide to go down this road, you probably have a few projects in mind, both big and small. But which ones make the most sense for you, your house, your neighborhood and your budget?

Fortunately, this is the time of year when teh intarwebs are full of spring home improvement tips. So we thought we would be a good neighbor, passing along constructive advice, and not just threatening to call the City about your shutters that haven’t been painted since Bush was in office – no, not him, his father!

Here are some links:

And, just so you know, I am right there with you. Our sliding patio door is forever cloudy. The seal has rotted between the panes in the double-glaze. Estimated repair? $480.00! Yay, home improvement!

What’s on your infernal to-do list this spring? Let us know over at the MindField Online Facebook page!

Latest Food Safety Recalls

recallsIn this rough-and-tumble political season, there is a lot of debate on how much government we need in our lives. As somebody once said, “A little government and a little luck are necessary in life, but only a fool trusts either of them.”*

One area of agreement, however, seems to be that somebody, in some agency somewhere, needs to make sure that the food we eat is safe.

So, when I see headlines like the ones below, I take comfort that somebody is at the safety wheel. I feel bad for the 104 people who got flu-like symptoms from eating that thing at that place, but it can always be worse!

So here are links to some of the latest recalls – largely food related – along with instructions to follow if you think you have been affected.

recalls

Finally, here’s a recent non-food recall…

  • Target Recalls Valentine’s Day-Themed Mugs that Pose Fire Hazard: I’m just a dude, but the first time I ever used a microwave, back in the early 80s, I already had the “don’t put metal in there” thing figured out. That includes metallic paint. It doesn’t help that the mugs in question were stamped “Microwave Safe.”

So, check your cupboards! Any suspect items in there? Let us know over at the MindField Online Facebook page, and have a safe, listeria-free weekend!

*Quote from PJ O’Rourke

Best Buys for March!

MARCH DEALSEvery month at this time,  we scout around the Web to find the best deals/bargains/values that Consumer gurus can find, as well as the items to avoid. So here are your buy/avoid links for March 2016!

So, what are the March must-have deals?

  • Snatch up anything to do with Spring cleaning – whether you do Spring cleaning or not!
  • Winter clothes – as long as you have a place to store them. Also, winter sports gear.
  • Frozen food.  March is Frozen Food Month, because there is a month for everything!  Heck, you may need to buy a big freezer to put in the garage!
  • Anything to do with travel, because we are going crazy cooped up in this house! Airline tix are supposedly the lowest they have been in years, but having just bought some for my mom, I’m not so sure!
  • Luggage specials are winding up, so get busy before travel season.
  • Last year’s smartphones, but hold off on THIS year’s devices.
  • Post-Valentines (but pre-Easter!) chocolate, cards and decorations – but not lingerie! June and July are best for that.
  • It is also a slow time for home improvement contractors, so they are looking for work and ready to deal!

Now for your linking pleasure, here is the rundown from Consumer sources around the Web. These links are such a good deal, they’re FREE!

Was this helpful? Did they miss any March deals? Let us know over at the MindField Online Facebook page!

Super Bowl by the Numbers 2016

superbowlconsumeWell, I finally got my answer… The Super Bowl has always used Roman numerals. So, for the past few years it’s been XLVIII, XLIX, and so on. And I wondered, what will they call it when they hit fifty – “Super Bowl L”? That’s stupid!

Welcome to “Super Bowl 50.”

Whether we love the teams, or love the game, or the commercials, or the Puppy Bowl, we will be tuning in to the Big Game this Sunday, right after the 14-hour pregame show. 190 million of us will be huddled around a TV somewhere, watching, screaming and consuming everything in sight. Where will we be? What will we eat and drink? How much will we spend? It’s all here in Super Bowl by the Numbers, 2015!

  • 189 million: number of US television viewers (up 5 mill from last year)
  • $15.5 billion: total spending for food, party supplies, team wear, etc.
  • $82: the average spent per person (up 4 mill from last year)
  • PARTIES! 18% will throw one, 29% will attend one
  • $140 million spent on potato chips (top snack)
  • 1.3 billion chicken wings will be consumed. That’s, like, 650 million wingless chickens!
  • BOOZE! 53% drink beer, 27% wine, 24% hard liquor
  • 8.6 million people bought a new TV for Super Bowl 50
  • 79% see the TV commercials as part of the fun

Being a Bengals fan, I am used to feeling a little case of the what-ifs at Super Bowl time. This year, after that last Pittsburgh game, Cincy fans get to feel a big dose of embarrassment and shame, too! Good news: Steelers receiver Antonio Brown is up and around and talking smack, so I guess he recovered from that brutal 4th quarter hit from Vontaze Burfict!

So what are your plans for Super Bowl? Having friends over? How much will you spend on snacks (and BEER!)? Let us know over at the MindField Online Facebook page, and have a great Super Bowl weekend!

Fun at the Return Desk

GIFT RETURNThese days, every gift I receive or give at the holidays comes with the tags still on, or accompanied by the receipt in an envelope.  For those who prefer gift-giving, as opposed to gift CARD giving, you have to expect that a trip to the return desk is a distinct possibility.

We know that gift return can be a challenge and a frustration. There always seems to be 30 people waiting in line, with one clerk working. Or – my favorite – there are two clerks working, one who knows what she is doing, and one who doesn’t. The one who doesn’t calls over the one who does, to help solve some problem. Now, you have NOBODY working!

Information is the key, so here are some links that will help guide you through return season 2015.

So, there’s your tour of gift return policies. Remember, gift return is definitely a chore, but it doesn’t have to be torture! How about you? Do have any gift return tales to tell – naughty or nice? Let us know at the MindField Online Facebook page!