We all want to save money but the problem with much of the advice you find on the Web is that it doesn’t really apply to your situation. That’s just the random chaos that makes up the universe. I thought it would be a little helpful if I added to the random chaos myself. Here are five Websites I found to be useful at different times. I hope they help you out.
1. Going Somewhere? Here are Some Tips for Travel
The Consumer Travel Tips blog is not updated very often but every article on it is pretty damned informative. I cannot give it a better recommendation than that. You know that 200 tips article alone is worth the time you’ll spend reading it.
Another good article you will find there is the one about traveling with pets. Pets change your life in a lot of ways. I wouldn’t give up my dogs for all the gold in Missouri. But there are times when I sort of wish I didn’t have to look after them. If you have never taken a dog on a road trip you have an experience waiting for you.
One of the good things about having a dog in the car is that no matter what is going on, sooner or later you will have to make a pit stop. Throw in a couple of kids and you might as well plan on stopping about once an hour. But this is good for you, believe it or not. As frustrating as all those stops may seem, we really do need to get out and walk around several times a day while traveling.
If you don’t have much experience planning for travel, then check out the Consumer Travel Tips blog. It’s a really great place to get started.
2. Are You Hiring a Contractor? Check their Background
Everyone knows to check the customer reviews on Angie’s List and Yelp but one thing you don’t think about is whether you should run a criminal background check on a contractor. If you are about to give the keys to your home or office to a stranger, you owe it to yourself to at least run a quick check on their name. You can start a criminal records search on this page and see what comes up.
Now, I have run a few of these checks over the years and I can tell you that these public records databases are pretty messed up. I guess that is what happens when you turn software loose to scan hundreds of government databases. On the one hand it’s a pretty convenient search tool to have available. On the other hand you need to use your common sense because sometimes the data for two or more people will be mixed together.
It’s not fair to the contractor and not fair to you if you don’t double check the results you get. But if you do find that contractor you want to hire has a criminal background, that’s something to think about. Ask yourself some reasonable questions.
Is this background check relevant to what the person is doing?
Can I take some precautions to protect my valuable assets?
Do I need to find someone else to do this work?
Should I talk to the person and ask about their history? You know, this is a very important question. And it’s also a highly sensitive matter. A lot of people who have been charged with crimes in the past were not really “career criminals” and they may not even have been convicted of anything. But we owe it to each other to give good people a second chance. We also owe it to ourselves to be careful about whom we hire.
I can’t promise you that a criminal background check will protect you, but it can give you some peace of mind.
3. Does Your Yard Need to be Renovated?
Not everyone has a terrible back yard but they can turn into ugly eye sores after a few years of neglect. Sometimes it’s just a matter of cleaning up the clutter, spreading some new grass seed around, and getting back to mowing the grass on a regular schedule. But there are other factors that contribute to yard decay.
Global warming (or climate change) is one factor that can really hurt the value of your property. If you live in a drought-prone area or if your community is in an arid region of the country that is suffering from desertification, you’ll want to look into improving the looks of your yard with drought-resistant plants. The last thing you want to do is ruin your beautiful property with a truck load of rocks. I promise you, I will never buy a house with a yard that is just a bunch of rocks.
Before you give up on your soil, think about how you can recondition it. There are two things you can do. First, consider adding compost to your yard. It’s literally a free service you can create for yourself from your own food scraps. Second, consider planting drought-resistant trees, shrubs, and grasses. You just might be surprised as how much green you can enjoy without having to pay for a lot of water.
We can learn a lot from third world nations that are fighting even worse desertification than is occurring in the United States. They are turning to inexpensive water filtration technologies that we can use ourselves. You might be able to irrigate your yard without paying for expensive water or violating your local water restrictions. And if you can do it your neighbors can do it. You just might be the first person to kickstart a neighborhood beautification project.
4. How Do You Save Money when You Go Shopping?
Think about it: most of us just buy whatever brands we are used to in the stores regardless of when they are on sale. With just a little bit of forethought we could save hundreds of dollars of years at grocery stores and other major retail outlets. But most of us don’t do that.
All you have to do is learn a little bit about how couponers save money. I’m not saying you need to live the extreme couponing lifestyle. I’m just saying learn how they find all those deals and specials that make the couponing craze so popular. The Printable Coupon Pages Website is a good place to start. You will find articles that explain where and how to find coupons for some of the most popular retail brands in the USA.
Although it’s not a comprehensive site with thousands of different brand pages, it explains what you need to look for and where to find those coupon deals. This is a much better way to research basic coupon savings than trying to get Google to show you something useful (as if that is ever going to happen).
The site also has a “Best Coupon Websites” sections where they recommend some of the better sites for you. Everything you need to get started is right there, waiting to be browsed. So stop making excuses and go save some money.
5. How Many Batteries Do You Throw Away Every Year?
I never really thought about how much money I waste when I throw out batteries. To be honest, I have walked past rechargeable battery packs many times through the years. I always thought they were too expensive to be worth my time and money.
And then I found the remarkable Internet Battery Guides Website with tons of articles that explain how batteries of all types are made. This handy resource not explains how to store, recycle, and dispose of batteries it also tells you how to save money on batteries.
Yes, you should be buying rechargeable batteries. But did you know there are solar-powered batteries and solar-powered battery chargers? We don’t have to pay for electricity if we stop to think about all the ways we can save money on power. In fact, you can also save money by replacing your old light bulbs with LED lighting.
When you combine energy efficient LED lights with rechargeable batteries and solar powered rechargers, the savings just add up so quickly you’ll kick yourself for not diving in years ago.
And It’s Good for the Environment, Too!
Did you notice the environment-friendly tips I shared above? We don’t have to kick ourselves for electing Donald Trump to the White House. The guy is an idiot who doesn’t understand just how important climate change really is. But we can help to reverse the effects of global warming by changing the way we use and pay for power.
We’ll save money in the process and that means we’ll be rewarding ourselves. Add to that the need to enhance our yards and homes with lots of plants, and we can reward ourselves again by learning how to landscape smartly. We want to improve the quality of our soil, find alternative sources of water, and grow thick, lush drought-resistant plants that store carbon.
All in all this looks like a win win scenario to me. I only wish I had gotten on board with these ideas years ago.