Library Resources Provide Endless Opportunities!

I have always been a reader...I love to read everything from history to science fiction to light romantic comedy to biographies to true crime...well, you get the idea! Pretty much anything I can get my hands on. So it is not surprising that I've always gravitated to our local library wherever we have lived. Through the years though, I've found that our public libraries offer so much more and all of it free!

Some of the resources that we have (and many of which I use):

* Free internet (and separate terminals for kids to play educational games on and access sites such as Playhouse Disney, Sesame Street, NationalGeographic.comKids and PBS)

* A huge selection of DVDs - I seldom need to pay for movie rentals as I can get a wide variety for free and can keep them for 7 days (sometimes can even renew them!) And our branch seems to get the newest releases almost as quickly as the video rental stores.

* Also a large collection of CDs - I am loving this with my iPod!

* Another section provides shelf after shelf of books on tape and/or CD - great for taking on long walks or drives.

* We have a used book sale corner where you can purchase for $1 or less books, DVDs, CDs and books on tape/CD...the selection changes daily as other donations are received and the money all goes to support the library programs.

* There is a Teen Club at our branch (and many others in the metro area). They have speakers, tutoring for SAT exams, movie nights, Guitar Hero and DDR (dance game for those not familiar with it) tournaments and lots of other activities. They also have a teen blog/website.


* The library offers college scholarships for high school seniors (who have volunteered at the libary) pay for their books freshman year in college. I am proud
that my son earned one of these a couple of years ago!

* Twice a year, the Friends of the Library group holds a much larger used book sale - prices are amazing and it's a great way to stock up for vacations (I like to buy cheap paperbacks to take on flights - then I don't feel bad about leaving them behind so I don't have to cart them back with me on the return trip!)

* Free Wi-Fi access

* Programs to teach seniors computer skills

* Databases for anything and everything such as
- Free tutorials for English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Italian and German
- Free practice exams for a wide variety of career training and academic testing
- Free "how to" info and manuals for vehicle and electronics repairs
- (my favorite!) Free access to Hoovers.com to get information on businesses

* Homework help for kids onlne

* Downloadable media - eBooks, videos and audiobooks!

And my 2 absolute favorite resources...

* You can create an online personal library account using your library card number. Once on the website, you can create "bookshelves" and track books you want to read, what you have read, and so on...I love this! It also allows you to place up to three holds on items you want to check out and tells you how far out in the queue you are to get those items. I used to buy bestsellers because I wanted to read them right away...but now I keep a close eye on upcoming releases on the Borders.com and BarnesandNoble.com websites. I put the ones I want on hold right away with the library and often get them within a week or two of their release dates!

* Our library has started something new within the past couple of months...it's called the Culture Pass and it is a great benefit in the current economy! Up to 2 times per month you can check out one of these passes at your branch (a set number for each cultural pastime is put on the rack at each branch every morning). You pick one and check it out at the desk where you receive a receipt good for 7 days from the date of checkout. This receipt allows a group of four to have free admission to that location. The options include the Phoenix Zoo, the Desert Botanical Garden, the Phoenix Art Museum , the Children's Museum of Phoenix, the Arizona Museum of Natural History, the Arizona Science Center and 6 other museums in the Phoenix metro area. What an amazing deal!

And Phoenix is by no means alone in these amazing library offers. The Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System provides a great selection of resources under the heading on its website of "Coping With Hard Times." The related resources include career information, entrepreneur information, foreclosure information, financial assistance contact information as well as nearly a dozen job search links plus one link to a site entitled "Damn Good Resumes"!

Likewise, the Seattle Public Library has some interesting resources including a resume builder online, 24/7 librarian assistance by phone or e-mail and even more language tutorials such as Russian, Vietnamese and Chinese.

And, I repeat, these are free resources, so use them! For additional information, check out: www.ilovelibraries.org

Did I miss any that you have in your area? Let us know!

It's all Greek to me, but it fit the budget!

Ah, the joy of finding an inexpensive pastime on a partly sunny yet not scorching day in Arizona! I wanted to give you a taste of the types of entertainment that can be found for little or no money...so today I am giving you a review of the Greek Festival at Tempe Town Lake. My sister cajoled me into going (ok...it didn't take a lot of arm-twisting...I have cabin-fever with no job and a very strict budget!).

The festival opened Fri. May 1st, and we were correct in assuming that it wouldn't be crowded around noon on the opening day...that, in fact, is a gross understatement...there were people there but hardly anything close to a crowd. The actual entertainment wasn't scheduled to begin until 5:30 that evening; but there was a fairly steady stream of Greek music over the speaker system.

We were pleased to find that the $2/adult entry fee was not being collected in the early hours of the festival...apparently too much setting up going on and they hadn't gotten to that yet! Free always makes everything seem better!

The food selection was definitely Greek - lamb (legs and all!) roasting on a spit on the grill, pastries and breads, gyros and my favorite, spanakopita (Greek spinach pie). We sampled the lamb and the spanakopita as well as Greek beer and wine. To our dismay, the sponsor being Budweiser, most of the beverage selections were American, German or Australian (in the case of the wine)...oh well...

We wandered through the vendors' tents in search of amazing finds. There were some beautiful jewelry pieces and some lovely clothing, but also the touristy sort of "Kiss me, I'm Greek" t-shirts and souvenir types of gifts. And don't forget the ever-popular foam visors with "Greek" or "I love Greece" spelled out on them in foam stick-on letters! To each their own...!

Overall, though, the price was right and it was something different to do on a lazy day off (oops...that's right...all of my days are "days off"! - hoping to remedy that as you read this as I am off to interview!).

Any exciting events in your area?

eCommerce: The Downside

So, having discussed price issues on Sunday, I ran across some humorous video clips at http://www.getelastic.com/crazy-ecommerce/

We have yet to discuss the pros and cons of shopping online, but these clips are very funny; what if purchasing in-person had the same downsides as buying online (i.e. too much information)? While I pack my bags to go "on the road again", check the one, I've included here (and go to the site if you crave more).

Charity starts at home...(and in school!)

OK...I am just a shameless bum this week, but hey, I have a really big job interview so bear with me. I can't save money if I don't earn any! When I wrote my blog on charitable giving when you really can't afford it, I inadvertently left out another great organization! Check out www.DonorsChoose.org to make donations to educational projects of your choice in your school district or even another one.

And, why you ask, did I suddenly remember this site? Well, I've donated on it in the past, but as I am on their email list, I also received an early birthday card with the following write-up (also had a cute birthday cake on it, but didn't know how to move it from e-mail into my blog...oh well!):


"IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!

Okay, maybe it's not just yet. No matter the date, we hope you'll ask for the best gift of all from your friends and family: help for public school kids.

To join The "Give-Back" Birthday Party:

Create your very own Giving Page, filled with classroom projects you love. Takes 1 minute.


Share your page with friends and family. They can then donate to it as your birthday gift.


Celebrate! You've used your special day to give back, and that's a great reason to party.

Please consider donating your birthday today, even if it's a few months away. It's your birthday and you'll start celebrating if you want to!"

So please check out this great site...there's a lot of kids and teachers that will be glad you did!

Grocery Shopping and the Price Patrol

OK, it's Sunday...and I am taking advantage of every second of relaxation today. That includes having a conspicuously short blog today!

Back on April 19th, I wrote about using the grocery store's weekly circulars to plan my shopping to get the best deals. I will address coupon clipping and bulk shopping (i.e. at Costco, etc.) on another day, but have one note to keep in the back of your mind when you are shopping. I would also like to hear your experiences with this if you have any to share.

In many (not sure if all) states, there are laws related to grocery store pricing. If a store mismarks a price, they must honor the price marked if it is lower than what the price is supposed to be. If the price is higher than what it is supposed to be (and you can tell by other packages of the same product), then they need to put the correct price on the package and give it to you at that price.

I shopped at our local Safeway about a week ago - I find their meat and produce to be better than other stores in the area so I will look there first unless a sale pulls me into another chain! This particular trip I was shopping for London Broil - good grilling season here in AZ! To my surprise, I found that every single London Broil in the case was priced at $0.00! I have my ethical limits...I did report it to the Meat Dept. Manager so he could reprice most of them, except the 2 I held tightly clutched in my clammy, price-sensitive little hands! He agreed I should be able to get them both for free when I checked out.

I took my prizes along with a cart of groceries straight to the checkout (I didn't just go for free meat...I actually did some other shopping and I am a "regular" there too). The checker was confused and said she needed to check with a manager because she didn't know how to ring the meat up to keep inventory straight. OK, I'm a sporting sort...free meat is certainly worth a delay of this sort. The manager, however, informed me I had to pay full price for the meat and that he would relabel them. I questioned the legality of this (ok, so I didn't have a law book on me, but geez...I shop there a LOT!). No such luck...in fact, he went so far as to loudly suggest that Safeway is not in the business of giving food away! Rude and unfair...so, ever gracious (not!)I suggested he could also keep the basket of groceries I had not yet paid for and I would go shop across the street at Fry's. Oh well, win some, lose some. I will still shop Safeway for a publicized good deal or when I need just a few more United Frequent Flyer miles that I earn on purchases there. But as for meat...I'm out of there!

In writing this, I decided to do a little research and see what others had to offer on the subject (both types of mispricing - too high or too low). If you are interested, here are a few to cut & paste into your browser!

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2006/08/31/chat_with_freebie_shopper_alana_lipkin
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/565020

http://archive.tivocommunity.com/tivo.vb/history/topic/134672-1.html

Maybe I should add this to the blog as a survey...hmmm! How would you handle these situations? Now...off to relax!

Shop 'N Save

Since I covered shopping at garage sales yesterday, now is probably an appropriate time to cover other inexpensive shopping options. We will start from the cheapest and move on up the scale (get it? upscale? yeah, never mind! That's why I don't have a comedy blog!)

GOODWILL

Goodwill is sort of like one huge garage sale under one really big roof! Merchandise runs the gamut from furniture to books and movies to jewelry to clothing...the list is endless because it simply depends on what people donate. We are in a yuppie-type neighborhood (ok, aging yuppies with kids and minivans), so our one-year old Goodwill store is set up to attract this market; a coffee area, fairly nice dressing rooms, a playroom for kids to wait for their parents in, and several checkout lines (you can even purchase Goodwill gift cards - no kidding!).

You need to be selective when shopping at Goodwill. Since garage sales are so popular in our area, a lot of the merchandise consists of items donated that didn't sell the first or second time around at those sales! On the other hand, there are lots of people who don't want to bother with garage sales and have their items picked up or drop them off to get the tax writeoff. That's the really good stuff! :)

I use Goodwill intermittently, usually when I am looking for something specific. I have found some good DVD deals (check for obvious scratches first) and frames (particularly large frames even if the paintings are awful!). Occasionally I find jeans that are perfect for me, though admittedly the clothing there often tends to be out-of-date (if it isn't, it disappears quickly or isn't my size). It is also a great place to get items to pull together as a Halloween costume...and remember that casino party from my earlier summer party blog? Well that's where I found bags of poker chips for next to nothing.

Finally, Goodwill often will have 50% off sales - ours is the first Saturday of every month. Those are even better times to catch a deal, BUT it gets really crowded so it's not much fun - only recommend that if you have a definite item you are looking for!

There are also a variety of other thrift stores you should take a look at. SAVERS is a popular chain - similar to Goodwill though there tends to be less stock from what I've seen (though I may have hit on "off" days).

CONSIGNMENT SHOPS

Consignment shops are a great deal if you can find one that carries the type of merchandise you (a) would want to buy yourself and (b) you have loads of at home that you want to get rid of! You sign up with a shop and at specific times (usually on a preset dropoff schedule) you can put your items on consignment there. You can earn money or store credit (typically store credit issued is more than the actual cash you would walk away with).

We have a number of these near us. TRANSTYLE specializes in high-end and designer fashions (with some jewelry, shoes and, yes, even a little furniture and artwork thrown in). It is well-arranged by season, size and so on...fun to shop at though not as cheap as Goodwill or a garage sale. But the items are clean and high-quality - that's a big plus!

There are also consignment stores that offer primarily furniture and others that specialize in children's clothing and accessories. I frequented the kids' consignment stores when mine were little - great option given how quickly they outgrow the really cute stuff!

ROSS

My sister is probably the best customer Ross has! She swears by that store and it's not hard to see why! They have a great selection for everyone (my daughter loves the purses!) in both designer and non-designer labels. They carry perfume, toys, frames and knick-knacks, home goods (towels and sheet sets, dishes, etc.) and even some occasional specialty food items (olive oil, biscotti, things along that line). The selection varies by day and, not unlike Goodwill or consignment shops, you still need to take a good long look at what you are buying. The prices are great and the names are familiar, but there are reasons this stock ends up at Ross instead of Nordstrom or Forever21! Look at merchandise for stains, rips, broken zippers/clasps, missing buttons, broken pieces, etc...Generally you will get a great deal but take the time to ensure that you are getting what you want and that the quality is acceptable!

TARGET

OK - even on a budget, I can usually afford Target. They offer a wide selection of anything I would need - clothes, jewelry, certain grocery items, craft supplies (but that's another article!), electronics, some basic furniture, cleaning supplies and the list stretches on (as do my dollars!). I also love their dollar bin selections -great for prizes, Easter baskets, Christmas stockings and frequently for scrapbook accessories. The service is great and I walk out feeling like I got a great deal plus an actual shopping experience (I don't get that "experience" feeling when I have to check my clothing purchases for stains, ok?)


So those are four of my favorite places to shop for deals (in order of pricing lowest to highest - ultimately, Target is my favorite from this list). There are others that we love too...IKEA is great, but didn't fall into the clothing topic so I didn't put it on the list. And, NO, I refuse to include Walmart on my list...can't stand the shopping experience and dislike the vast majority of their clothing lines...but if you can deal with that part, admittedly their price is right).

Any others to recommend? Post your comments and let us know!

Let's Make a Deal: Garage Sale Shopping

So about 2 weeks ago, I gave you guidelines to running a successful garage sale. Tomorrow, being a Saturday and a perfect day to test your skills, I am giving you some ideas for shopping at garage (or yard or tag) sales. There are whole sites out in the "blogosphere" devoted to just this so look for other advice too (and please post your own suggestions here)!

Here is a list of some of the things I've picked up on over the years:

* Plan where you will be going to garage sales - I don't always remember to check the local paper for pending sales; rather I generally pick a middle to upper middle class neighborhood (yeah, harder to define that these days!)and look for garage sale signs. These are areas where they will have clothing, furniture, etc. that is what I might select myself at a store so my finds are already more likely to be a good deal for me.

* If you are looking for a specific item, i.e. a dresser, go out early - be at the sales at 7AM which is when most of them will be set up and open. (In these cases, it is also good to check the ads to see who is going to be selling those items.) I am not one of those garage sale junkies that is waiting on your driveway when you stumble out in a robe and pre-coffee to set up! But being there at the published opening time is fair game!

* When just cruising around looking for good sales, I am a sucker for the really good signs...those that are bright and with clear directions toward the sale (good arrows, not necessarily a map :) These people have taken it seriously and probably spent time setting up the sale...a piece of paper tacked to a tree - nope, maybe I will check it out but AFTER I check out the ones with the "real" signs!

* Don't be shy about negotiating on prices. First, those that DO know how to price items are smart enough to price higher than what they really expect to sell them for. Those that DON'T know how to price the items are generally happy to take whatever someone suggests (as long as it is reasonable). A few notes: (a) On large-ticket items -- furniture, gym equipment, artwork -- offer about 25% - 33% less than what they are asking. Be willing to go up a bit if they go down a bit. If you don't want to pay their "final" offer, be willing to walk away; often they will give in at that point! (b) Don't be stingy - if books are priced at 50 cents, don't push it...save the effort for the big stuff. But if you are buying a LOT of the small stuff, it isn't tacky to ask for a bulk discount - i.e. if you are buying 20 books, ask if they will give you a little off the total. (c) Remember that these are items you have managed to live without and that are second-hand; if you don't get the price you are willing to pay, then go to the next sale and don't look back! This is supposed to be a fun way to get a great deal. When it stops being fun or inexpensive, it's not worth it!

* Be careful when buying electronics at garage sales. You can't just ask "does it work?" because it may work, but may be missing the remote. Or it may work "most of the time." Always ask to test these items while at the sale. This is also true for battery-operated items; if the seller says they work, but "just need batteries," then ask him/her to show you with their own batteries. If they can't do this, unless the deal is amazing and worth taking a chance on, continue shopping (elsewhere)!

* Before you get too excited over the perfect dining set you find, be aware that you most likely will have to transport it home. Do you have a way to get this from the sale to your home? If not, think again! You potentially can pay in advance (or at least a deposit) for them to hold it for you while you go get your best friend (the one with the big truck!) out of bed at 7:30AM to lug the thing home. But if you don't know the seller, don't know if you will be able to get it home for sure, etc...reconsider your need for the item.

* Clothing purchases at a garage sale can be a deal, but a few recommendations: (a) know the sizes you are looking for - you can't try them on and even if you can, you don't really want to go in a stranger's house to try on clothes! (b) always wash or dryclean the items before you use them (same with quilts, draperies, etc.) (c) check them carefully for rips, holes, broken zippers, missing buttons, stains, etc...it's not like there is a return policy on used clothing!

* Cash is the best way to make purchases at garage sales. Carry it in smaller bills and change and take one $20 along to place as a deposit on a large item (you can always go to an ATM to get the rest quickly). Most sellers are reluctant to take checks, and honestly, I don't like them having any of my personal information off of my checks!

Any great suggestions of your own? Go get 'em!