http://theshoppingnazi.com Fri, 18 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://theshoppingnazi.com/comparison-ads-fact-or-fiction/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/comparison-ads-fact-or-fiction/#comments Sun, 13 May 2012 14:00:00 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/comparison-ads-fact-or-fiction/ The underlying theme for this year has been comparisons. NO! It is not just an underlying theme, it is a must when it comes to smart shopping. Whenever I go shopping there is always comparisons taking place. In the back of my mind I am running the figures as to the price difference between brand A and brand B. I reduce their cost to the lowest common unit;  per ounce, per box, or per gram. At the same time I am thinking back to  what other stores are selling the same brand at the lowest common unit from that store. Finally, before I make a decision I look at the quality difference between brand A and brand B. It was back in the mid 1980′s when Pepsi and Coke Coca went head to head with each other. We were seeing a lot of taste test comparison commercials.  I was titled the Cola Wars. Since then we have seen a lot of there companies do the very same thing. We are in an election year. As we go into summer we are going to see the major candidates compare themselves with their opposition more and more.  They will be comparing themselves on all the [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/comparison-ads-fact-or-fiction/feed/ 0 http://theshoppingnazi.com/your-own-yard-sale/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/your-own-yard-sale/#comments Sat, 05 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/your-own-yard-sale/ It is usually mid late Spring when what I like to call Garage Sale Season starts. The weather has started to warm up. People are doing their Spring cleaning. They find this amount of clutter that needs to be removed from the garage. This clutter can range from the clothes little Susie has out grown to that mounted moose head, that is no longer allowed to hang in the living room. Yes, it can be taken to the local thrift store. Let them sell it or take it to the dump. Or even better, have a yard sale and sell that moose head to some young college student who wants to hang it in his living room to impress his buddies. Personally, I really enjoy traveling through neighborhoods looking for cardboard sign with Magic Marker lettering. On them are written Garage Sale, Yard Sale, Estate Sale, or even Moving Sale. No matter what the name a sale is a sale with one purpose and one purpose only. Get rid of those unwanted items in the garage and the rest of the house. By selling them there is hopes to make enough money to afterwards to take the family out to a dinner [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/your-own-yard-sale/feed/ 0 http://theshoppingnazi.com/where-has-all-the-money-gone/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/where-has-all-the-money-gone/#comments Wed, 18 Apr 2012 12:00:04 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/?p=7575 It is Wednesday.  This past weekend was a good one. The whole family had fun.  I just check the checking account we over spent the budget by $150. There is another seven plus days left before payday. Where has all the money gone? Does the previous paragraph sound like you and your family? Does the same thing play out for you between ever pay check? Are you aware this is Financial Literacy Month? The topic for today can be found on FinancialLiteracyMonth.c0m and flm.TheShoppingNazi.com. Today’s post is short because everything that needs to be said in today’s post is said already, over at flm.TheShoppingNazi.com. If I was to give you a summary here, it would be over a thousand plus words. So the answer to finding where all the money has gone, is looking at your spending habits and budget. The Shopping Nazi is here to help you find ways on saving when buy things while getting the best possible quality at the best possible price.]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/where-has-all-the-money-gone/feed/ 0 http://theshoppingnazi.com/7-top-shopping-myths/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/7-top-shopping-myths/#comments Sat, 14 Apr 2012 13:00:00 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/10-top-shopping-myths/ It always amazes me how easy myths, misconceptions and just out right false hoods get started. All it starts from some parent, or authority figure make what sounds like a reasonable statement. Then with good intentions that false statement is accepted without any critical research, by other people. If the untruth concerns a any product or service will lead to loss of precious hard earned money. It does not take any college degree to do some critical thinking, and discern what is true. Just by taking lessons learn from science class about the scientific method along with good old fashion math is the place to start. All the tools needed is a calculator, some paper, and a pencil. You  can confirm what I have listed below by a little observation and reducing costs to the lowest common denominator. 1. “Cheaper by Bulk” I will admit some things are cheaper in larger quantities, but not everything. Consumer Reports project editor Tod Marks agrees smaller sizes may actually be cheaper. It can be as high as 25% of the products on grocery store shelves. That is why it is best take a calculator with you shopping. By simply figuring the cost to things like the [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/7-top-shopping-myths/feed/ 0 http://theshoppingnazi.com/family-cfo/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/family-cfo/#comments Wed, 04 Apr 2012 12:00:00 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/family-cfo/ Ancient cultures to modern day businesses have a structure so does the family as a unit. Each member of the family takes care of different aspects of the family business. Each family member is responsible for their own personal area as well as some portion of the family as a whole. As part of Financial Literacy Month, today the subject is Family CFO; Family Chief Financial Officer. I see this position more as a gatekeeper. Picture in medieval days cities would have a this guy standing outside the city gate with armed guards. He said who could go in or leave the city. I firmly believe that every family needs to have a Family Financial Gatekeeper. The Family Financial Gatekeeper is responsible for monitoring income and expenditures. It is the family gatekeepers job to guide the rest of the family making sure everyone is getting the best possible quality for the money they spend. When my wife and I first got together I was constantly trying to get her to manage our finances. She just didn’t have the desire to take on the duties. Finally, I took over the  responsibility. It turned out between the two of us I was more comfortable in [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/family-cfo/feed/ 0 http://theshoppingnazi.com/dont-be-an-april-fool/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/dont-be-an-april-fool/#comments Sun, 01 Apr 2012 13:00:00 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/dont-be-an-april-fool/ Originally April Fools Day came from the mockery of people who did not get the message. The message was that the start of the new year was no longer April 1st, but now January 1st. This change took place back in 1852 when communication travel very slow. They did not have the benefit of Facebook, Twitter or even the six o’clock news. April Fools Day has become a day when we look to play practical jokes on friends and family. They in turn look for ways to play practical jokes on us. At the end of the day it boils down to who can play the funniest practical joke. In recent years Ashton Kutcher has turned the spirit of April Fools into a money making television reality show called Punk’d. April is a pivotal month for many people. On April 15th is when are to have our federal and state income tax statement filed. Around the northern hemisphere there is a large number of people making the decision to plant or not to plant their gardens. Families are solidifying their summer vacation plans. Did you know April is National Financial Literacy Month? Many of us were devastated were caught by hidden fees and penalties or saddled with [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/dont-be-an-april-fool/feed/ 0 http://theshoppingnazi.com/there-is-a-new-grocery-store-in-town/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/there-is-a-new-grocery-store-in-town/#comments Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:00:24 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/?p=7462 Look out Idaho! Look out Treasure Valley there is a new Grocery Store in town. When big chain stores like Albertsons, Wal Mart and Winco are fighting for your food dollar, along comes Rosaurs. They put a store in the middle of the Treasure Valley. You can find a better location than the southwest corner of Eagle Rd and Ustick Rd. I had the honor of attending its grand opening on Wednesday March 21st. It was an overcast day. Still who would of have thought there would be so many people in attendance. If it was a Friday or Saturday I could understand the large crowd, but on a Wednesday? The executives of Rosaurs had it right. I saw an ample cross section of the Treasure Valley represented at the grand opening. Twenty somethings were exploring the offering of Rosaurs along with older gray haired couples. Channel 6 and Channel 7 news crews were even covering the event. After my arrival in the parking lot, I stood by my car for a little while to observe the all the people going into the the shiny new store. I waited until I started to see some people come out. They seemed happy, so I decided it was my [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/there-is-a-new-grocery-store-in-town/feed/ 0 http://theshoppingnazi.com/car-insurance-review/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/car-insurance-review/#comments Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:00:32 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/?p=7241 Income tax is done. Now is the time of the year to look at ways I can save money of those “have-to” expenses. At the top of my list is insurance. Medical, dental, and optical is reviewed between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This is the time of the year is where I look at car, and home owners insurance. The first place I go to start my review is a look at my current insurance policy. I know it is a pain to read through all that legalistic jargon, but it is a necessity. First off, I just want to make sure I am cover in case I have an accident. I even check to make sure what I have in saving account enough money to cover my deductible. There is nothing worst than being in an auto accident, having a deductible, and not having the money to cover the deductible. My next step is to compare rates between different insurance companies. This could be a pain if I had to go from one insurance company to another. So this year I thought, I would get smart and go to one website that would do the comparisons for me. I started off at QuoteScout.com.  At first it [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/car-insurance-review/feed/ 1 http://theshoppingnazi.com/if-i-were-single-again/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/if-i-were-single-again/#comments Sat, 11 Feb 2012 14:00:28 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/?p=7101 I want to start this post stating, by saying I do not wish to to be single again. I am perfectly happy being married. The whole reason for this title and this subject is what I have heard from young, middle aged. and older people who find themselves without a partner for one reason or the other. I have seen several single people with interesting attitudes toward money, and saving money. I thought back to my own time when I as single. As a result of those attitudes money was wasted and not saved. It got me thinking about things I could of have done differently. By doing those things differently would of have made it easier for when I got married. Budget - It is great to be young with the only real concerns is food and shelter. Maybe it was because my parents did not emphasize the importance of a budget, or it was I just did not listen. The end result it took me a long time to figure out I needed a budget and I had to stick to it. Even a simple budget like 10% into saving, after bills were paid would have made a big [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/if-i-were-single-again/feed/ 0 http://theshoppingnazi.com/tech-where-it-is-made/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/tech-where-it-is-made/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:00:40 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/?p=7098 Last week the name Foxconn and Apple were in all the headlines. It was not about great profits, or some new electronic gadget. It was about the inhumane treatment of the workers in China. What is interesting to note is that Foxconn does not just manufacture electronics for Apple. Foxconn manufacture over 50% of the electronics sold in the United States. Mistreatment of works or labors misbehavior is nothing new. We have heard of US companies out sourcing to companies that have shameful labor practices. If we look back in history the use of cheep child labor dates back to before the 1800′s. We here in the United States has one of the highest standards for the way we treat our work force. With the advent of unions the treatment of workers as well as their wages have improved. This made it harder to keep the cost of goods down. Large manufacturer’s started to out source much of their work to other countries where goods could be made at a lower price. What made these overseas companies product the same item at the same quality for a less price was by paying their workers less money. It is not just Apple, and the electronics industry [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/tech-where-it-is-made/feed/ 0