Showing posts with label Library. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Library. Show all posts
June 1, 2010
The Necessary evil called Grocery Shopping!
Written by: Christy Trent
Grocery shopping is the necessary evil in most women’s existence. My girlfriends and I lament constantly about how much we hate doing it. We have to shop so we have food in our homes, but we hate forking out all the money groceries cost. By the time we recover from the hassle of one week’s financially expensive shopping experience, our cupboards are bare again, and it’s time for another trip. I try so hard to find cost cutting ways to save money. One drawer in my kitchen is specifically for clipped coupons. The only problem is, I walk off to the grocery and forget to take them with me. Another thing that gets me in trouble is I usually shop right after I get off work, and by that time I am famished. Even boxes of mushy oatmeal look good and I catch myself loading the stuff into my cart.
Don’t give up though. There are many ways to save money when you go to the grocery store, you just have to learn to work a little harder and be more vigilant. Many have discovered how to cut their grocery bills almost in half by just doing a few easy things.
The book, Shop Smart, Save More, by Teri Gault, teaches you to be a better shopper and save money. Terri says the first thing you need to do is find the right grocery store for you. Don’t grocery hop, which is a huge waste of gas money. Even if there is a good sale at another store the trend is all the stores put the same stuff on sale in cycles, and a great sale on toilet tissue at one place will eventually make it round to your store.
Stockpiling is a great way to save money. It’s buying something at a great bargain or with a coupon that you don’t need now, but you will need later. Stockpiling doesn’t mean buying bulk, rather taking advantage of a great bargain.
Clipping coupons can save a lot of cash, as long as the coupons you use are actually for items you need. The Sunday paper is the best resource for coupons. You can also find coupons on the product itself that you peel off, or in a blinking light type dispenser, next to the product to use with the coupon . When you go through the register, the clerk usually hands you coupons that come out of the register with the receipt. These are usually savings for items you normally buy.
Plan your weekly meals ahead of time and draw up a list for your grocery visit. This not only makes the week easier since you know ahead of time what your dinner will be, but it keeps you on track and you will find your grocery bill will shrink.
Just these simple ideas can help make shopping a whole lot easier for everyone involved. Head over to your local library and pick up this book or one of many others teaching you how to save money while shopping.
Written by: Christy Trent
One of the many hats I wear at my job working for the library is manning the reference desk. Daily I am asked questions about every conceivable thing out there. Mostly, the questions are typical. "Do you have books on training Dogs?"
"I'm doing a book report and I need a book that has more than 150 pages. Can you find one for me?" "I’m traveling to Florida; do you have any books about that state?"
But then we get the really odd ball questions, and some that are down right scary. "How do I make an atomic bomb?" "I have bed bugs. Can you give me a book on how to get rid of them?" "I've been arrested for a felony and I need to find out how to get off. Do you have a book that will tell me?"
I have to admit there have been times I’ve had to step away from someone asking a question because either the subject is worrisome, or they have frightened me with the topic. It's always great to be able to grab an informative book and hand it to them, freeing me from my concern.
The book, "Curious Folks Ask: 162 real answers on amazing inventions, fascinating products, and medical mysteries," by Sherry Seethaler, answers many interesting questions. Sherry Seethaler is a science writer and columnist for the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper and records in this book the best of curious questions she has been asked over the years.
Here are a few of them and their answers:
• What is the most widely accepted method by which the Egyptians formed the
pyramids? The great pyramids were probably a natural evolution of the earliest pyramids, all of them burial sites. The pyramid may have started as a pit and as more levels were added on, it grew into the pyramids we still see today.
• Why do we ache when we get a cold or the flu? It’s not the virus that makes us
ache, but rather the warfare fighting the virus. White blood cells release chemicals in response to the infection and activate body defense mechanisms, which make our body ache.
• Why do we hiccup? They are involuntary contractions of the diaphragm. When the
intake of air is interrupted abruptly for whatever reason, the result is a hiccup. Most hiccups occur after eating when our stomachs are stretched.
• What purpose do toenails and fingernails serve? They serve as mini body armor
to protect the tips of your fingers and toes. They also come in handy to scratch an itchy spot and to pick up tiny objects.
Life has many unanswered and intriguing questions. Those answers can usually be found bound between the pages of a book, and the best place to find a book with all the answers is at the local library.
