Posts Tagged ‘generic brands’
A lot of people don’t associate being frugal with fashion friendliness. Most fashionistas will argue that the more expensive, the better. That doesn’t always have to be true, use some of these tips to stay “à la mode”, not “à la broke”.
1. Buy To Last
When you are buying clothes, try to purchase durable products, even if they are more expensive. Well-made clothes have heavy seams and added reinforcement at stress points to ensure the product survives daily use. Avoid items with flimsy seams or fabric that won’t wash well.
2. Get Student Haircuts
Student hairdressers will often give you a free or discounted haircut. Find your local beauty school and see what their policies are for giving walk-in or appointment based haircuts. Some will even do colors, manicures/pedicures, and waxing.
3. Buy Vintage or Hand-Made Jewelery
Most specialist vintage boutiques usually have the reputation of being pretty pricey. A lot of flea markets have sellers who have a passion for vintage items and usually offer them at lower prices. It’s a good way to find items that might not be collector quality, but they will still capture the character and beauty of a bygone age. Also, when it comes to hand-made items websites like etsy.com or ebay are another great resource for jewelry that would normally cost three times as much (if not more) in a store.
4. Lotions Have Many Uses
A cheap generic product, such as an unbranded baby lotion, is a great fallback item that can be used as an everyday moisturizer and skin lotion. Some other uses include: cleanser, massage oil, shaving balm, and frizzy hair control.
5. Classic Shoes or Trendy Shoes?
Every season there is a way to buy shoes that are classics, but still fit the current trend. The best bet is to usually go middle of the road – try to find something that will go with many different outfits – without appearing too in fashion. A classic mid-heel in the latest color can mean you’ve bought to last, but it’s a good way to look up to the minute.
6. When washing – Turn It Out
Before you wash your knitwear or brushed cotton, make sure you turn the item inside out. This helps prevent piling and bobbling of the material, which can makes clothes look over worn.
7. DIY: Make Your Own Stuff, Save Money
- Clothing – Plenty of women’s magazines have free patterns so you will only end up spending money on material. Buy materials from markets and discount material stores. Find a pattern that suits you and use it several times.
- Jewelry – You can make your own jewelry at a fraction of the price with wire, elastic, beads and jewelry fasteners. Save broken necklaces, bracelets or earrings for spare parts you can use to make something completely new.
8. Have A Rummage
Once or twice a year, make a point of visiting a garage, church or rummage sale to stock up on essentials like scarves and other key pieces. Choose colors that will compliment your existing clothing.
9. Lovely Lashes
Turn ordinary (cheaper) mascara into the lash-lengthening variety by dusting your lashes with loose translucent powder before you apply the mascara. This will help the mascara stick to the whole lash and is a great way to get the effect of an expensive product at a fraction of the price.
10. Splurge on Shampoo
Good quality shampoo does not contain detergent ingredients that strip hair, so if you’re budgeting, it’s better to buy a good shampoo than conditioner. Conditioners are pretty much universal in their hair-smoothing offerings, so don’t worry about trying cheaper versions.
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Tags: alternate uses, DIY, generic brands
Posted in Featured, Shopping | 3 Comments »
Here is a Baby Wipe Comparison chart to help you find the best deal on baby wipes. Listed are 10 brands ranging from generic to name-brand. To find out what other people have said about a particular brand of baby wipes, just click on any of the reviews on the right column for more info.
All prices and reviews are subject to change.
Comment below so we can hear some of your reviews or experiences you’ve had with your favorite brand of baby wipes.
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Tags: comparison shopping, generic brands, kids
Posted in Family, Featured | No Comments »
Parents often wonder “what is the best product for my kids?”. I think this is especially important when it comes to diapers. Choosing the right ones can help save you money. Doing some research and making sure they’re comfortable and also absorbent are key factors in buying the right diapers. Here is a comparison chart featuring reviews and the cheapest places to buy diapers:
All prices and reviews are subject to change.
Obviously the Alberton’s Baby Basics brand is the best value, but if you’re into buying bulk, you’ll want to go with the CVS Supreme 210 count from cvs.com. It may only seem like a 1 penny difference, but multiply 210 diapers by 0.1¢ and you end up spending $21 more. Keep in mind these are all prices that were found online and are for size 3 diapers, you may find different prices at your local grocery stores, but this is a good starting point.
Comment below so we can hear some of your reviews or experiences you’ve had with your favorite brand of diaper.
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Tags: comparison shopping, generic brands, kids
Posted in Family, Featured | 3 Comments »
You’re walking down the grocery store aisles wondering if you’re getting the most out of your food shopping, maybe even some of these question come to mind.
- Can my coupons be more organized?
- Is it really that bad to shop on an empty stomach?
- Should I spend the extra dollar on the “name brand” items?
According to most; one of the biggest expenses is their grocery bill, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Grocery stores are designed to get you to spend as much as possible, but with these easy tips you’ll could potentially cut your grocery bill in half.
The amazing power of coupons.
Some might casually use them, some might not use them at all, and some even obsess over them. We know coupons can save money; 80% of people are using them, but most do not have a system for organizing them. Here are some quick tips on getting the most from your coupons:
- Start a coupon clipping kit, this will include:
- Envelopes, an accordion file or large wallet
- Scissors for clipping the coupons
- A calculator
- A small pad of paper for making grocery lists with
- Pens and pencils
- Take coupons as seriously as you would take real cash. It can help understand how important they really are.
- Try your best to keep track of all your spending. Knowing this information will help you stay organized and be much more efficient in saving you money.
- Use printable grocery coupons. Coupon Mom is a great resource for tons of coupon needs.
- Develop an organizational system, sort them by expiration date, category of product or alphabetical order.
- Stick to only a couple of specific stores so you can track their sales better.
- Stack coupons, if you can double up on coupons, do it!
- Even though there are a lot of good printable coupons, always use your Sunday paper to clip coupons from as well.
- Leftover with extra coupons? Use The Coupon Forum to trade your left-over coupons.
These are just some tips to get you started, obviously the art of coupon clipping is a fairly in depth subject, so for much more information on this subject you can visit this TipNut article on making a coupon organizing system. Also, here is a great in depth article on coupons over at The Digerati Life.
Not all items on sale are actually cheaper
Many grocery stores will place items at the end of an aisle to grab your attention. This is a common tactic to have you thinking that these “sale items” are the cheapest of their kind. Don’t go for the impulse buy on this. To find the real bargains, make sure you scan all of the items in the aisles (especially generic brands) to see which are the least expensive. You may be surprised how much money you’ll save buying generic foods vs name brand items on sale.
Comparison Shop: Bigger is not always better
Stores are figuring out that consumers have the “buy in bulk, spend less” mentality, and they are taking advantage of this. Sometimes buying in bulk can actually end up costing you more. Make sure that when buying your next box of cereal, you compare it with the smaller box to see if you are actually saving money buying in bulk.
Don’t shop on an empty stomach
I think this comic courtesy of keanerdotnet sums up everything there is to be said about shopping on an empty stomach.
Generic Foods Vs Name Brands
One of the biggest ways to save money when grocery shopping is to avoid the name brands and stick to the generics. It’s easy to get wrapped up in spending more on a name, but everything in the generic brand usually has the exact same ingredients. If you absolutely must have some name brands, first check if there are coupons for it, and make sure it’s worth the extra money to you. Another great idea is to buy the generic brands of common items such as; flour, salt, eggs, milk, etc.
Make a list and stick to it!
If you spend enough effort and time researching the best deals to help make your shopping list, then there is no reason why you shouldn’t stick with it. Always make a shopping list. Never go into the store blindly, that is a recipe for disaster. Make sure you go into the store as prepared as possible, this will allow you maximum efficiency in saving you money.
The art of saving money on groceries is a tough one to master, but with enough time, effort and experience, you too can become a grocery shopping guru. By following these tips there is no reason that you couldn’t cut your next grocery bill in half, if not more. Please share any tips or experiences you’ve had that can help other people save money.
Tags: comparison shopping, generic brands
Posted in Featured, Shopping | 2 Comments »
After being in the daycare business for over 25 years, I have decided to start supplying the formula for my daycare children. Costco is under “Kirkland brand” and Sam’s Club is under “Members Mark”.
Information that I have found is that Members Mark is a little bit harder to mix up. Kirkland and Members Mark are basically the same ingredients as Similac or Infamil. They both are government approved.
Cost wise Costco formula is about .35 cents an ounce and Sam’s Club was about .45 cents an ounce. On the Costco website it has great reviews so I think I will try the Costco Brand.
For a free sample of Members mark Formula: www.membersmarkformula.com/free_sample.aspx
I also came across a free sample from Wal Mart’s parents choice formula: www.parentschoiceformula.com/sample-milk-baby-formula.aspx
Does anyone have any opinions on using any of these formulas?
Costco has a formula comparison chart here:
Infant
Formula Nutrition Comparison Chart |
|
Kirkland
Signature
Infant Formula |
Enfamil
LIPIL |
Similac
ADVANCE |
Nutrients/100
Calories |
|
|
|
| Protein g |
2.1 |
2.1 |
2.07 |
| Fat g |
5.3 |
5.3 |
5.49 |
| Carbohydrate g |
10.9 |
10.9 |
10.56 |
| Water g |
133 |
134 |
133 |
| Linoleic Acid mg |
900 |
860 |
1000 |
| Vitamins: |
|
|
|
| Vitamin A IU |
300 |
300 |
300 |
| Vitamin D IU |
60 |
60 |
60 |
| Vitamin E IU |
1.5 |
2 |
1.5 |
| Vitamin K mcg |
8 |
8 |
8 |
| Vitamin B1 mcg |
100 |
80 |
100 |
| Vitamin B2 mcg |
150 |
140 |
150 |
| Vitamin B6 mcg |
60 |
60 |
60 |
| Vitamin B12 mcg |
0.25 |
0.3 |
0.25 |
| Niacin mcg |
1050 |
1000 |
1050 |
| Folic Acid mcg |
15 |
16 |
15 |
| Pantothenic Acid mcg |
450 |
500 |
450 |
| Biotin mcg |
4.4 |
3 |
4.4 |
| Vitamin C mg |
9 |
12 |
9 |
| Choline mg |
16 |
24 |
16 |
| Inositol mg |
4.7 |
4.6 |
4.7 |
| Minerals |
|
|
|
| Calcium mg |
78 |
76 |
78 |
| Phosphorus mg |
56 |
53 |
42 |
| Magnesium mg |
6 |
8 |
6 |
| Iron mg |
1.8 |
1.8 |
1.8 |
| Zinc mg |
0.75 |
1 |
0.75 |
| manganese mg |
5 |
15 |
5 |
| Copper mcg |
90 |
75 |
90 |
| Iodine mcg |
6 |
10 |
6 |
| Selenium mcg |
1.8 |
2.8 |
1.8 |
| Sodium mg |
22 |
27 |
24 |
| Potassium mg |
83 |
108 |
105 |
| Chloride mg |
63 |
63 |
65 |
Added
Lipids: |
|
|
|
| DHA mg |
17 |
17 |
8 |
| ARA mg |
34 |
34 |
22 |
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Tags: comparison shopping, generic brands, kids, sams-club
Posted in Family, Featured | 6 Comments »
