Need to ship something, but don’t want to spend a lot of money? With shipping prices constantly going up, it can be pretty expensive sending a package to a nearby state, never mind shipping to an opposite coastline. It ALMOST seems worth it to bring your package to the destination yourself, but before you go ahead and do that, you may want to try these helpful tips to save money on shipping.
Deliver Directly to Recipients: This may seem like it’s obvious, but so many people still feel the need to ship a package to themselves, then bring it to the post office or other shipping depot in order to deliver it. Doing this causes you to pay twice for shipping. With all the options available on retail websites for gift-wrapping the item, and for cheap shipping rates, shipping the item directly to the recipient will save you lots of time and money.
Try Packaging It Yourself: Many shipping depots offer to package your item for you, which may seem convenient, but can end up costing you a lot more in the end. Shipping depots sometimes charge the consumer over three times what they paid for the shipping materials. Using recycled shipping materials or purchasing the materials from a local store can allow you to save quite a bit of money. Also, if you already packaged your item, you will be able to get an accurate shipping price instead of an estimated price. If the items are not already packaged, the shipper has to give an estimate of the size of the box they will use to fit the items and other shipping materials inside. Often times the shipper will estimate a larger box to make sure everything can fit inside, which raises the price of materials and shipping. You also may want to consider packaging and shipping items in an envelope or a bag that is made for shipping. You will be surprised at how many items you can fit inside, and it may cut your costs in half.
Send a Gift Card Instead: Sending a gift card may be a better option if you’re not willing to spend the extra money on shipping. You can always just send the gift card inside a greeting card, and ship it the way you would a standard letter. Some online retail stores will even send the gift card for you, if you order it online, and will even include a message for you.
Double Check the Information: It is important to double check the address, the weight, and size of your package before you go ahead and ship. If the address is incorrect, some carriers will charge you to correct the address.
Send the Package in a Timely Manner: People often wait until the last minute to ship, but need their items to arrive by a certain time. Giving more time when sending a package will allow you to choose cheaper shipping methods, instead of expensive rushed options. For Example, if you are shipping to a nearby state with UPS ground (the cheapest option) it could only take 1-2 business days, but if you are shipping to a state inside the U.S. but on an opposite coast, it could take 5-6 business days. Knowing how quickly your package will arrive using the cheapest shipping option will help you to decide the best day to ship. If you are shipping around the holidays, you should give yourself a few extra days since shipping companies are often very busy and might experience delays.
Don’t Forget Free Ship Day: This Thursday December 18th is National Free Shipping Day, which means most large retailers will ship items for free and guarantee that they will arrive before Christmas day. This is a great offer to take advantage of, if you are looking to save money on shipping gifts for the holidays.
When it comes to booking a flight, it can be very stressful and aggravating. Many people try to save money on their flight by waiting until just before their trip to book tickets, or they wait until the prices seem low enough to buy. However, there are easier ways to book your tickets and save money. Here are some tips you can use the next time you need to book airline tickets.
Best Time to Fly: Flights vary considerably depending on the month, the day, or even the time of travel. Avoid the weekends when booking your flight, try booking a flight from a Wednesday to a Wednesday instead of a Saturday to a Saturday. It is also important that you book your tickets during the off seasons. For example, avoid Christmas time and school vacation times. In September, kids are back in school so it’s a great time to travel. The flights will be cheaper and your destination will be a lot less crowded.
Saving Money: In order to save quite a bit of money, try using the website Skyscanner, which lets you compare flight prices across a whole month or year. You will be able to see the cheapest days to fly, so you will be able to save a lot of money booking your tickets. If you are looking to go on a vacation, but don’t care where, as long as it’s cheap, you can use Skyscanner’s search everywhere tool. This option lets you search for the cheapest flights from your local airport. It lists flights in price order, starting with the cheapest. If money is more important than time, consider an indirect flight. You can also mix and match your flights with different airlines to get the cheapest flights available. Sometimes it may even be cheaper to drive to a further airport than fly from an airport close to home, so make sure you check prices from other airports that are within driving distance. If you plan on parking your car at the airport, you can save money by pre-booking parking. Booking parking on the day is normally more expensive.
Flight Cancelations: If your flight gets cancelled, call the airline even if you are waiting in line to be rerouted. When you call ask for customer service, this will allow you to get ahead of everyone else waiting in line and will speed up the rebooking process at major airports. If the phone lines are busy and you have to speak to someone in person, don’t forget that the ticket agents have been doing this all day, and many haven’t had a break. Offering them something to eat or a coffee can help differentiate you from other demanding customers. Most airlines will have to take your ticket and endorse it towards the next available flight even if it is not with their airline. However, this will not work if you have already checked your bags.
Following these tips when booking your next flight will help you to avoid the stress and aggravation associated with buying airplane tickets, and will help you to save money.
Whether it’ s for a special occasion or just for fun, a dinner party is a great way to get everyone together. The shopping, the chopping, the cooking, and the serving are all hard work, but if you have a plan, it all becomes very simple. To host an incredible dinner party with minimal stress and maximum pleasure, here are a few things to keep in mind.
Preparation: In order to enjoy the dinner with your friends or family, preparation is key. Plan and get as much done in advance as you can. Some foods can be made ahead of time and might actually taste better if it is. For example, par-boil the potatoes or other vegetables before you roast them in the oven. This will guarantee that everything is not under-cooked, and the centers will be soft, while the outside stays nice and crunchy.
Atmosphere: When it comes to setting the mood for your dinner party, a little music and some candles can go a long way. Flowers also give the dinner table a nice touch, but make sure the arrangement isn’t too tall, so all your guests can see one another. You can also add anything else that might enhance your table like place cards, flower petals, or small gifts for each guest.
Drinks: Rather than setting up a bar, make a big bowl of punch, or a festive cocktail that can be made in big batches. You can leave the alcohol on the side so if someone doesn’t want an alcoholic cocktail they can still enjoy what everyone else is having. Also, label everyone’s glasses using a label maker or different glass accessories so everyone knows which class is theirs, and it doesn’t turn into a free-for-all.
Appetizers: It’s always a good idea to serve up some hearty appetizers while everyone is waiting to eat. This way, if your guests are really hungry they will have something to hold them over and prevent them from getting too intoxicated before dinner. You will want to make enough appetizers to get a little something in their stomachs but not enough to fill them up before dinner.
Dinner: Keep in mind that too many dinner courses can mean less time to mingle. Multiple courses seated next to the same people can feel like a long time. Too many courses also means more work for you and you may end up with a lot of extra food at the end of the meal. You should also plan on making lots of extra vegetables in case someone is vegetarian or vegan.
Desserts: If you’re not comfortable baking or making a dessert from scratch, you could always pick something up from your local bakery. It will be less cooking for you and everyone will still enjoy it. If you feel confident in your baking skills, you should try making dessert yourself. For a sure-fire success, everyone loves chocolate. Melting some chocolate and having guests dip different ingredients into it can be an easy alternative to dessert.
Finding a good, trustworthy real estate agent is a very important step when buying or selling a house. With all the various decisions you will have to make, you want an agent to represent you who is experienced, friendly, and someone who has the know-how to get you the best deal possible. Make sure you are ready to buy or sell before reaching out to a real estate agent, so you don’t waste their time. Buying or selling a home is a huge financial decision, so you want to make sure you have a good real estate agent on your side when the time comes. Here are some things to consider when choosing a real estate agent:
Finding Potential Real Estate Agents:
The best way to find potential real estate agents is to ask around. Ask the people you know and trust like friends, family, and co-workers. Chances are the people closest to you have worked with a real estate agent before and can tell you about their experience with their agent. However, take every referral with a grain of salt. The real estate agent that represented them may not be the best fit for you. You can also look for ads in local newspapers, magazines, or even online. Or if you have the time, you might want to attend a home buying/selling seminar or local open houses to help find a real estate agent for you.
Analyzing Potential Real Estate Agents:
When it comes to analyzing your potential real estate agents, it is important to go with your gut. Is the real estate agent someone you see yourself getting along with? Ask questions to get to know the real estate agents. You will want to ask questions about how long they have been in business, or how many deals they are currently processing. For example, ask:
- How long have you been licensed as an agent?
You will want to work with someone who has experience.
- How many homes did you sell last year?
This will give you a good idea of how much business they do.
- How many buyers did you represent last year?
You will want to look for someone who is working with a few clients but not so many that he/she won’t have time for you.
What to Avoid:
Avoid working with an agent who is representing both the buyer and the seller. If you are buying a house, work with a buying agent who is also not representing the seller. If an agent is representing both parties, they will be trying to make money for both you and the seller when it comes time to negotiate. Your goal is to find someone who is exclusively in your corner. You will also want to avoid the agent who only looks out for their best interest. Their interests include, how much money they can make on the transaction, and how hard they will have to work to earn it. Also, make sure your agent will show you all the listings you are interested in, and not just the ones they’ll make the most money from. Lastly, avoid part-time real estate agents. Experience counts in real estate, so you want a real estate agent who has experience and who can be available. Part-time real estate agents will have other priorities, which may get in the way if you are trying to get a hold of them.
The Thanksgiving holiday is approaching and the big question on everyone’s mind is “How should the turkey be prepared?” You can use the traditional method of roasting your turkey in the oven, or you can try the deep-frying method. To help you decide which technique is best for you, here are some advantages and disadvantages to both.
Deep Fried Turkey
Advantages-
Speed: Cooking a turkey using the deep fry method allows you to cook the turkey faster. A 12-pound turkey will only take about 36 minutes to deep fry, while a 15-pound turkey will take about 45 minutes to deep fry.
Flavor: Deep-frying a turkey seals in the juices so the inside of the turkey stays flavorful and moist, while the outside remains nice and crispy.
Quick Clean up: When you roast a turkey you have to deal with scrubbing the roasting pan afterwards, but with the deep-frying method there will be no baked on grime to clean up after.
Disadvantages-
Danger: Frying a turkey can be very dangerous if there is too much oil in your pot. This will cause the oil to overflow when you place your turkey in, which could lead to a serious fire. You also risk getting serious burns caused by oil splattering.
Weather: Deep-frying has to be done outside, so if it rains or even snows it may put a damper on your holiday meal plans.
Price: You will need to purchase the materials to deep-fry your turkey, along with gallons of cooking oil, which can really add up.
Non-Traditional: You won’t be able to make gravy from the juices or have the stuffing cooked inside the turkey. So if your guests are expecting the traditional gravy or stuffing, they might be a little disappointed.
Food Poisoning Risk: If your oil temperature is too high you risk having a very crispy exterior and the inside may not be cooked completely. This causes a risk for food poisoning.
Oven Roasted Turkey
Advantages-
No Additional Expense: You won’t need to buy any additional equipment, your oven and a large roasting pan is all you will need.
Tradition: You will be able to make gravy from the left over juices, and if you choose to stuff your turkey with stuffing, you will be able to.
Time: You will have the time you need to prepare all your other Thanksgiving foods while your turkey cooks in the oven.
Safety: You won’t have to worry about a fire risk or burns, from splattering oil, like you would with the deep-fry method.
Disadvantages-
Tim: You will need to get an early start with the oven roasted method because the turkey will have to cook for many hours. Cooking a Turkey that is about 18 pounds will take at least five hours.
Dryness: Since you have to cook the turkey for so long, you run the risk of drying it out, especially the breast meat.
Food Poisoning Risk: Miscalculating cooking times can cause your turkey to be undercooked, which could cause food poisoning.
