A Guide to Buying a Chain Saw

Chains saws can be very useful things to buy or even share with neighbors or family. A chain saw can help make short work of cutting firewood, removing branches or even cutting down trees. We own a wooded property, so our chain saw has really earned its keep. One thing that you should know about chain saws is that the cutting blades will need to be sharpened frequently. How often depends on how you care for them (never place them in the dirt or cut through to the ground) and how much you use them. It is often helpful to … Continue reading

How to Buy a Generator 3

A home generator can really help you out when you lose power in your home. It is a must for anyone who frequently loses power and can be out for hours or days at a time. A generator can restore critical services to your home, such as by providing heat, water, and electricity to medical equipment, as well as lights, and cold food storage. In previous posts, How to Buy a Generator and How to Buy a Generator 2, I talked about identifying your need. One of the things that can be confusing is figuring out exactly how much energy … Continue reading

How to Buy a Generator 2

Tis the season to lose power as wintery winds, snow storms, and ice coat the land here in most of the country. At our house here in the woods, we tend to lose power at least four of five times a year. This can be very inconvenient, especially since losing power also means losing heat and water. Just two short weeks after we moved in to our home we purchased a generator. It was a very good investment. Here is a continuation of how you can choose your own household generator. Let’s talk about how much capacity you require from … Continue reading

How to Buy a Generator

With snow and ice blanketing or threatening to blanket most of the country, it is important for home owners to be prepared. Being without power can mean living with out electricity, water and heat, and this could be deadly in some cases. One purchase that may be a good investment, depending on where you live, is a private generator that can replace your source of electricity when your power fails. There are different types of generators, from small portable ones for a few essential services to large whole home ones that automatically switch over in the event of a power … Continue reading

Getting Paid to Buy Groceries

How did I get paid when I went shopping? Read on to find out. It seems that there is always a debate about coupon cutting and grocery shopping. Some people swear by it, while others spurn it saying it doesn’t save any money. Debates will go back and forth between the two camps, with examples, digital photos of grocery receipts, etc. It is always a vigorous debate. I fall into the side that believes in coupons, with the caveat that one must be cautious about which coupons to use. My favorite method is to combine coupons with loss leader sales … Continue reading

Home Week in Review: Jan. 28 – Feb. 3, 2007

I’ve noticed some new members and I would like welcome each of you. I’d like to thank you and our regular readers for being a part of our community and for reading and commenting on the blogs. We appreciate your input, so please don’t hesitate to ask questions or share your thoughts. Marjorie, Michele, and I hope you enjoyed the articles this week, and just in case you missed anything, here is a list for the week. All the January articles are linked and you can find the February 1-3 articles in the February 2007 Archives. January 28 Family Issues: … Continue reading

Purchasing A Home Air Purifier–Part 2

In “Purchasing A Home Air Purifier—Part 1,” I went over some of the reasons why a home air cleaner is a good investment. In Part Two we tackle the question: “How can you tell if the air purifier you are buying is going to work or do the job it is intended to do?” To answer that question we need to review the different filtration methods each system uses. Long ago the standard of effectiveness for eliminating dust particles was set by the HEPA system, which eliminates particles that average .3 micron in size. This is the particle size most … Continue reading

A Cheap Meal Out (and a Winter Coat for 85 Cents)

Last Saturday, we decided to take a trip up to a tourist spot, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Many people vacation there because Lancaster has a large Amish community. Sure enough, there are plenty of fun things to do and buy. There are handmade items, such as quilts and furniture and plenty of yummy pies, cakes and bread to purchase. While we can’t resist picking up a pie, our usual stops in Lancaster have nothing to do with the Amish tourist trade. Instead, we focus on where the value is. Our first stop is an Amish-run natural food store. The store is tucked … Continue reading

Off-Season Savings

Reset your season and save. Shopping against the season for goods and services is one of the best ways to save on practically everything. Why? Because when other people aren’t spending money on certain items or services, companies need to up the incentives to generate interest. One big example of seasonal savings is on travel. You’ll pay a lot less for travel in the off-peak seasons. For example, you can pay up to 80 percent higher for accommodations at Disney World during the Easter or Spring season as you will during the value or off-peak season. This makes sense since … Continue reading

Prepping for a Hurricane on a Budget

If you are in the path of Hurricane Sandy, the Frankenstorm as many are calling it, then hopefully you are safe and secure and well prepared. My home is right in the path of the storm, and we are just a few minutes away from landfall of this historic hurricane. I’ll keeping writing as long as I have power or until the time that I have to take further action. The wind is definitely picking up to scary proportions. While we aren’t too concerned about flooding of our home, except for maybe some water in the basement, we are concerned … Continue reading