November 2006 - Penny Smart

While money is flowing out, contrary to all my scolding, let it at least be spent wisely.

Paying attention to the wise comments of bargain-value.com , that I think internationally (this is the internet), I will recommend to readers in the US who have babies that they take a look at 1 800 Diapers, now let me try that link again 1800Diapers.com

I haven't used them, but there are mothers who swear by their prices. Delivery only in the US at this time.

Since you save gas, and possibly your temper, shopping online, you might want to try one of the shop-bots to get the best prices. I've been really surprised seeing who has the lowest price on an item. I've used Shopzilla.com, and I've heard good things about NexTag.com.

I did notice that Apple has a website in Australia, currently offering free shipping (free shipping always warms my heart).

Here is the written out link, in case I still don't have my links working: http://store.apple.com/133-622/WebObjects/australiastore . The free shipping promotion is on the left all the way down the page.

Now that I have a full tummy I'll lecture a bit .....
(so you might forgive me, I'll give you my daughter's quick & easy pasta recipe:

a couple of handfuls of fresh green beans, cooked, set aside,
a few handfuls of spaghetti: cook, put on plate.

Slather with butter & garlic seasoning, add green beans, and throw on fresh parsley.

Sinfully filling and tasty.
I'm sure there are Italian restaurants serving this with an elegant name and price. Kate just calls it pasta with green beans.)

Now, to money coming in. A blog or two ago I wrote about multiple income sources as something we should all be looking at. Here's a recent quote from a major league player (in an email from mediapolis):

"Universal Music Group head Doug Morris told the Reuters Media Summit this week that the company expects to see its most profitable year ever in 2007, thanks to new tracks from its most popular musicians.

'You can see there are myriad streams of income starting to come into the record companies," he said, according to the Reuters report."We're going to make money from MySpace, we're going to make money from YouTube, we're going to make money from Zune," said the chief executive of UMG, whose client roster includes chart-toppers like Gwen Stefani, Kanye West and U2."

I know you're busy right now, with work and preparing for the holidays. So, if you don't want to look into it now, think 2007. Just remember, on ebay there are people who sell only digital goods. And help themselves financially by doing that.

They have delivery set up automatically, through a company like Payloadz . Someone makes a purchase, say of an ebook you've written, then they receive an address to get the book from Payloadz.

No inventory for you to store at home, no customer service after the auction.

I've seen where people have thousands of auctions successfully concluded, selling little ebooks on all kinds of subjects, from flower arranging to spotting fake Gucci or Vuitton items. Any subject at all.

Just something to think about, when the time comes for the money to flow in the right direction. That is, coming in.

"If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments." Earl Wilson

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Posted By: Theresa - Category: No Category

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Make-Up, Shipping & Australia

November 27th 2006 20:49

Since I was so stern in the last post regarding earning & saving money (someone in the family implied I was as much fun as your mother reminding you about a dental visit) I thought I'd ease up this time and give you some fun sites for holiday spending.

The problem is: I am in the United States, and the stores with which I'm familiar primarily ship only here. I love Overstock.com, but they don't ship outside the US (well, maybe Canada, not absolutely certain.) Restaurant.com Restaurant.com will give you many choices where your $10 gift certificate will buy $25 worth of food, but, again, in the US.

I went cruising around the web and found what appears to be a nice make-up outlet, within Australia, called Smart Poppy (Hope I have the link working this time ) They have some nice prices on Lancome, Bobby Brown, and Borghese, among many other brands, that I would like to take advantage of, but they don't ship to the US....

.

Another penny saving option I came across is the wonderful Abe Books This is a site where booksellers from around the world list some or all of their stock on the Abe Books site. You just type in the title you are looking for and listings come up. If you look at the menu bar on the right side of the page you can narrow down your search by country. Quite a few booksellers in Australia.

Many of the books are previously read, in very good condition, but there are also new books listed. I have to admit, with the price of books over the last few years, the only new ones I get to read are usually gifts. Otherwise, it's ebay or Abe Books or a local used book store for my choices.

So, if anyone is inclined to share some tips for saving money in Australia, I would be delighted to hear from you. And, of course, I'm going to continue with my mantra of saving as much of your money as you can, most of the time.

Here in the US, during the holiday season, the average amount each shopper spends for gifts will be over $700.00. I've done it, more than once.

But, no one stopped loving me (so far as I know) when I cut that amount in half some years.

Stay well.

"A banker is a person who is willing to make you a loan if you present sufficient evidence to show that you don't need it."
Herbert V. Prochnow

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Posted By: Theresa - Category: No Category

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Giving Thanks

November 24th 2006 23:32

Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day in the US, and the family got together. Good company, good food, a good time.

Advertising for the Christmas Holidays has been all over the news here, and, naturally, we talked about the sales that started today, some at midnight (!), some at 5:00 a.m.

My thoughts turned wistfully to wishing I had more savings, because it's been a rather astonishing year financially for energy costs, from electricity to gasoline.

I spent a big part of today trying to find good advice about saving money on the internet. What a cold-hearted effort that turned out to be.

The warmest feeling I managed was reading a quote from the late financial expert Sylvia Porter, whose books were so encouraging to me years ago.

"Money never remains just coins and pieces of paper.
"Money can be translated into the beauty of living, a support in misfortune, and education, or future security." (Sylvia Porter)

My efforts to find you links to free budget planning tools turned into something best described as Bridget Jones meets Miss Marples. Hours were spent downloading a new small business application, free, from Microsoft, only to find out it is only to be distributed in the US at this time, and, my computer can't seem to talk with Microsoft to register the program. I'll get back to you about this program on another post. When I've calmed down.

There's no denying I love electronics and gadgets as much as anyone else, and I'll still spend money on some of them. But, these days, when pensions from steady jobs are in the past, there can't be much of a question that we have to learn to take care of ourselves financially.

Yesterday I was explaining a foreign concept to my daughter, who is the mother of two. I was telling her about my efforts to get a job with IBM or AT&T, when I was her age (never happened). I tried very hard, because I knew then that I'd have a job for life, and a wonderful pension when retirement came.

Turns out the younger folks at the dinner weren't feeling all that secure that Social Security would be available to them when they wanted to retire.

For the last seven years I've had a little sideline business on ebay, selling this book, or those dvd's. The largest sale was recent, for a pair of Tom Petty concert tickets, front row. I listed them on my site for a relative who won them from a radio station. That sale was over $900.00, not $20.00 for a set of 5 dvd's. That was a surprise.

I guess the answer for most of us is going to be that we look at multiple revenue streams, as they say in business. Not just trying to save what we can from our jobs, but to bring in additional money from other sources. Somehow we have to find ways to fold new routines into our (probably) already busy lives.

Adding sources of income has to become part of our daily lives; and, then, we need to learn how to make that money work for us. Whether in bank accounts that pay a respectable interest rate, or certificates of deposit, or, the dreaded stock market, if we're very, very careful. (Investments are too quickly gone if a company files for bankruptcy or cooks the books). Still, there are reputable companies, and maybe we can find some that can work to grow our money a bit.

I don't necessarily want to learn new ways any more than the next person. On the other hand, I do want to be able to order a pizza on a Friday night and not feel guilty about it. I do want to go see a movie with friends and not worry about whether I'm saving enough so I'll be able to pay bills in the future.

So, I'm going to go fix another plate of turkey and mashed potatoes, and relax for awhile. And, I'll let my head think over the things I've learned in my life about money. I'll get back to you on that in the next post.

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Posted By: Theresa - Category: No Category

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