TIPS TO SHOPPING WISELY:

• Shop with a list.  This will keep you from being drawn to items that you don’t need just because they are “on sale”.
• Be sure to use flyers from stores as well as the internet to shop around.  Many times when a certain store in your area has a product on sale, you will find that other stores in your area will reduce the price on that item even more.
• Know the prices of the items that you regularly buy.  This can help you spot what is truly a good deal.
• Consider buying items that you use a lot in bulk.  Some of these items can actually be purchased online and shipped to you for less.
• Don’t impulse shop.  If you have a specific need, then look around before making a purchase, don’t fall into the trap of I need it right now.  This can allow you to fall victim to price gouging.
• Don’t be afraid to wait.  Many times we just buy what we need because it is there, but it is truly best to buy everything when it is at its lowest possible price.
• Ask around.  Many times when you are looking for a good deal on something, the people you know can be your biggest helpers.  So don’t be afraid to ask, they may just know a friend of a friend or a bargain basement store where you can get a better deal.

It is important to use all the resources available to get the best prices these days.  So don’t just buy the ads that the stores are running.  Do the comparison yourself and you will find this method can help you really save big.

Let me sight an example.  Recently I received an e-mail from a popular clothing store that usually charges a lot for their clothing.  The sale e-mail said it was 30% off of everything, including clearance stuff, which we all know is unheard of.  Also, shipping was free over $100.00 so I took advantage of the sale and placed an order for some great items.  One of the things I bought was boys shirts, which were on sale for 2 for $30.00 and then I got an additional 30% off, which made these shirts about $10 a piece.  I placed my order and not 24 hours later, I received an e-mail telling me that they now had everything 50% off, so I really thought I had been had.  I went back online to look at these shirts that I had purchased the day before, and they were now priced at $34.50 per shirt and so with 50% they would cost me $17.25 per shirt, a good $7 more than I had spent.  I was relieved, but this just goes to show you that a sale, may or may not really be a sale.

It is important to shop around and even re-shop the same stores over and over again to insure that the deal you are getting is really a deal.  Realize the consumers are looking for the deals, and so the stores may make you think that you are getting one, even when you aren’t.  Shop wisely and you will see that there really are some great deals out there, but don’t be fooled by the make-believe deals that some stores are putting out.

Unfortunately, I have learned that the main reasons that these bailouts are necessary is to save the overall economy of the country.  I did see that with the banking and credit industry, however it didn’t make as much sense to me when it came to the auto industry.  Sure, I could see that it was going to put the people in the auto industry out of work, which obviously would cause great economic hardship, especially in areas of the country like Michigan who rely on the auto industry to support most of the other businesses in the communities, however, I was really unaware of the ripple effect that the destruction of this industry would have across the country.  The fact that I didn’t consider and really was completely unaware of, was the fact that the US auto manufacturers are the biggest purchasers of American-made steel, aluminum, iron, copper, electronics and plastics. The decline of the American auto companies is one of, if not the most important, areas where our economy is struggling.

Expert financial analysts predict that allowing the US Auto Industry to fold would be one of the biggest hits to this country’s financial state that has ever occurred.  They feel that in order to keep the economy even remotely stable it is going to take a bail out of significant proportions of the US auto manufacturer’s.

The answer to that is both complex and simple.  When Bush set out to stimulate the economy, he did so by sending checks to individuals and families.  Great in theory, however most American’s who were already struggling used those checks to pay bills or stashed it away for a rainy day.  Therefore, we did not all run out and shop for new items and that in turn did not do for the economy what Bush had hoped.

In Obama’s plan, which does include checks to the American public, it however does not rely on them to be the stimulus.  It is offering a much more comprehensive and multi faceted approach to stimulating the economy which includes sizable tax deductions for businesses for each new employee they hire on.  This will help create jobs, which in the long term seems like it will have a bigger impact on people’s spending.  After all, you can’t be out spending if you don’t have a job at which you can earn some money.

If you look over the plan you will in fact see that Obama’s plan will help stimulate the economy which will not only help the individuals but also the businesses and the unemployment rate.  Overall, this plan is cheap compared to how much Bush has spent on bail outs in the last three months.  At least the Obama plan stands a chance.

Many American’s remain hopeful that the economic situation can be turned around by a new President, but I think that we are all acknowledging that change will not happen overnight.  This was especially noted by the votes for Obama which came from states like Rhode Island and Michigan who have unemployment rates that are above 8.7% to date.  These people are really feeling the need for change, and are hopeful that the change to a Democratic government will provide just that.

The bottom line is that we can’t afford to keep letting the economic situation get worse, and overall as a country I don’t think that the people were impressed by the recent government bail outs.  I didn’t really know much about this, and thought like many that this seemed to be an unnecessary step.  After listening to a few financial analysts on the subject I came to realize that if we hadn’t done these bail outs we would have definitely sunk the economy into the deepest depression in our country’s history.  By injecting these monies into the banking industry, our government did not improve our financial standing, however, it did stop us from having people starving in the streets, and so from that understanding at least the whole thing makes sense.

No one knows what the future holds, however as an American, I am also hopeful that Mr. Obama can hold up his promises and make some much needed changes in our country.

I can’t imagine a world without banks and credit cards, but maybe that wouldn’t be so bad.  I guess we could barter, and return to a world where we actually had human relationships and where people had to be decent to each other in order to get the things they need.  What about all the others, the people who are completely unwilling to give up their lives of complete selfishness and greed.  Will they just steal to get what they want? Will they be able to survive this way, or will their greed just eat them up and spit them out? Will we? I don’t really claim to know how all this mess is going to pan out, but I do know that we can’t just continue to bail out companies and pretend like everything is okay.  They keep talking about a recession if they don’t bail out these companies, but isn’t this just a way of prolonging the inevitable and making things worse.  They say that we need to do this now, but what they aren’t saying is what will come of this debt down the road.  In my mind it is kind of the equivalent of floating a check or paying one credit card bill with another credit card.  The debt isn’t going away, it is just being transferred and it will eventually catch up with us and most likely when it does the results will be way worse than they will be if they let this catastrophe happen right now.

Pretending like everything is fine, will not and does not make everything fine.  These problems are not going away anytime soon, either way.  I am not sure what comes next but I am sure that we must be prepared for some major lifestyle changes or we will not survive it, of this I am almost certain.

1. Watch your unnecessary spending.   So many of us spend without really thinking about it.  We are functioning on automatic pilot when we are out there in the world.  Sometimes just cutting out that extra cup of coffee and donut on your way to work in the morning can be enough to ease a little bit of the pressure.  Did you realize that if you buy one cup of coffee a day for a week that is the same amount of money that it would cost you to buy a coffee maker? Even with the price of coffee these days, you still save an enormous amount just by brewing your own.  Not only that but invest in a plastic travel mug and clean it out.  You will not only save on $$$ but also be helping out the environment.

2. You can do your own car repairs.  Did you know that many of the instructions for performing an oil change or changing out filters can be found right online? You can even find a diagram of your car’s engine, so that you will easily be able to locate filters in the car more easily. This will take a little extra time, but it is a wise investment that will not only save you money, but will also take up some time in which you might otherwise be spending money.

3. Cut out your home phone bill.  Did you realize that in addition to just functioning on cell phones, that you can also get cheap home phone service through your high speed internet connection? Not only that but you can reduce your bill from about $70.00 per month to about $20.00.  These online phone services don’t charge you for long distance fees, and you can sign up right online and choose your own phone number.  It is worth your time to look into this option.

4. If at all possible ride a bike to work or carpool.  This will save you on fuel expenses and let you use the fuel you are buying for recreational purposes.  Again another money saving tip that will also help the environment while also reducing the wear and tear on your car, which provides truly a double savings.

5. Save as much money as you can and put it aside.  Hanging on to your money is definitely the way to go.  Now more than ever, saving is important and needs to be looked at.  When the economy goes through a rough spot companies will be cutting back, so unless you are in the food or fuel industry, your job could become an extra expenditure that your company doesn’t need.  Being prepared by having a little nest egg tucked away just in case is definitely the way to go.

There are many things that we can do to help ourselves feel a little less out of control.  We may not be able to control the economy, but we can control how we spend our money.  We must use this ability to create a more powerful perspective on the situation.