The cost of living has become painful. One trip to the gas station and grocery store will clearly put you in touch with this pain. As painful as the $4.00 per gallon for gas is, it represents less than 3.5 percent of the family budget. Their food purchase is almost 4 times as much in the family expenses coming in just under 13%.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Consumer Price Index for the past year indicates the five grocery items that rank at the top of the inflated price list that you are now paying at your supermarkets. Number One on the list is FLOUR, increased by 37%. Not only does this increase affect the bag of flour you purchase, but every item that is made using flour….breads, bakery goods, etc.

Number Two on the list is EGGS, increased by 34.8%. Again, this goes beyond just the dozen or two of eggs that you buy for your family. The bakery goods and breads are also affected. The third most inflated priced item at an increased rate of 29.2% is SWEET PEPPERS (green, red, yellow). The GOOD NEWS here is that peppers are one of the easiest plants to grow with very little work. I will address home gardening in the next newsletter for all your summer salad needs.

The fourth most increased inflated price goes to MILK. MILK is up by 23.1%. This is one the most essential purchases on the grocery list for a family of any size with growing children. Number 5 on the list, up by 21.6%, is DRIED BEANS. This may be the most insulting of all, because it represents the most basic and last resort for the poor to put something on the table for the family to eat. One of the other world’s basic food staples, RICE, has gone up by 10% in the last month alone. Costco and Wal-mart have recently limited the quantity of RICE that you can buy. Families will need a cost of living calculator to keep up with these flour prices, egg prices, and milk prices to figure out all the changing weekly grocery prices.

If you have visited our website and read the “BeSmart….ShopSmart….Shopping Tips”, you know that we want you to save 40% to 50% off your weekly grocery shopping trips, including meat and high priced items such as coffee or laundry detergent. Of course, this is possible when you use your store loyalty card, store and manufacturer coupons, and take advantage of the BUY 1 GET 1 FREE OFFERS. We are very concerned about your bottom line savings on your groceries with these inflationary increases on some of the most basic food staples.

Being a good “Scout” you need to “Be prepared”. First, study your local grocery circulars. Become price conscious as to what the marketplace is asking for these particular items as well as what your cupboard and refrigerator is lacking. Secondly, read the ad papers thoroughly to OPTIMIZE YOUR SAVINGS. For example, at a chain drug store, reading through their weekly circular….in smaller print that the rest….I discovered that if I bought the brand name skin lotion at the regular price, I would receive the same brand name liquid soap for FREE — $3.99 value.

Another discovered sale at Safeway/Dominic’s was getting FREE Safeway brand pasta (sale priced at a $1.00 per/box) when you purchased a 26 oz. jar of a brand named Spaghetti Sauce. The spaghetti sauce was reduced to a sale price of 3/$6.00….that’s just $2.00 a jar, and less the free pasta….becomes a $1.00 item. This becomes a $1.00 MEAL, and represents an overall savings of $3.25 per each box of pasta and jar of sauce. NOTE: PASTA is one of the most flexible items you can have in your pantry for making simple dishes quickly, or creating a great meal of leftovers. Whole grain pasta is recommended for people with diabetes.

Use the ad circulars to plan your meals when you shop. I have advocated planning your menu around the SALE ITEMS in their circulars. Make sure you mark out what day of the week their shopping advertisement begins and ends. Some start on Wednesday and end on the following Tuesday. Others begin on Thursday and end on the following Wednesday. You could miss out on a sale item of importance by not knowing this.

For example, in their sale circular a brand name roasting chicken was on sale for 69 cents/per lb. at the local grocery store. Unlike the major store chains, this local grocery store week begins on Wednesday, not Thursday. So, if you didn’t pay attention to this fact, and wanted to purchase the roasting chicken on Wednesday before the sale ended, it would have been TOO LATE. The new week began, the sale was over, and the price increased by 80 cents to $1.49 per/lb. The same 5-lb. Roasting Chicken went from $3.45 to $7.45 — a lost savings of $4.00 per a 5lb. Chicken. That’s ONE GALLON of GAS. PAY ATTENTION and SAVE!

Don’t let image fool you that you are going to get the BEST PRICE because a store is known for its LOW PRICES. A recent story of comparative shopping prices revealed the following prices for a gallon of Skim Milk

•$2.69 at Aldi (discount store)
• $2.99 at Costco (saving club/membership needed)
• $3.99 at a local supermarket
• $4.49 at Wal-Mart

Who would have thought that? That’s an image buster for Wal-Mart always low prices advertisements! And don’t forget about looking at your local drug store such as CVS or Walgreens for some of these grocery items. Recently I was able to purchase 2- 64oz. Walgreens Brand Orange Juice for $3.69 compared to other grocery store offers of 2/$5.00, and 2 dozen eggs for $3.00 ($1.50 per dozen) compared to $2.89 per dozen elsewhere.

When your comparative shopping list results in SAVINGS at different stores, the discussion of the cost of gas comes into play. Is it worth it??? I usually suggest you map out a circular trip to include as many of the stores as possible on your list. This way you can max out your SAVINGS by getting as many of the sales items as possible with one shopping trip. With a single stop to save $5.00 on a can of coffee, meat, laundry detergent, or ice cream you will have covered the cost of a gallon of gas for your vehicle.

I believe in buying in BULK when often used family products are on sale. If you have the capabilities, utilize your freezer. When shopping for Milk on Sale, search the back of the shelf for the latest possible expiration date. If you choose to freeze milk, remove 8-to-12 ounces to allow for expansion during the freezing process. You can also freeze eggs in freezer bags; just crack them open into the bag for later use in baking or for scramble eggs. AVOID waisting Money and Food…Rather than throw out eggs or milk that are about to expire make a cake or pudding.

For additional savings, investing in a bread machine would help cut the cost of bread and provide you with Fresh Homemade Healthy Bread daily per your creative ingredients. Put the ingredients in the bread machine and in a period of three-to-three and a half hours, FRESH BREAD for less than a $1.00 a loaf. The bread machine will pay for itself in a short time with current store bought bread prices.

One U.S. Agricultural Department study estimated that 25% of the food bought by consumers and restaurants is wasted or spoiled before it can be served. TV commercials advertise storage bags that will preserve the life of fruits and vegetables. If you are going to spend the high prices for your fruits and vegetables, then it might be wise to spend $10.00 for these reusable bags. They will pay for themselves over a short period of time compared to the price of lost/spoiled produce.

For your meat purchases, avoid paying for bones. At $10.00/lb. every pound of bones will cost you ten dollars for the throw away. Or, you might choose to wait until its on sale. Many dollars are saved by using your store loyalty card when it comes to your meat purchases. Buy Sale Price Meat in larger quantities, cut in portions, and FREEZE. Meat provides flexibility in one’s menu planning. First meal is hot, freshly cooked. Leftover portions can be served as cold as sandwiches, or cubed and added to a fresh salad. Any other cubed leftover meat can be added to soup. THAT’S FOUR MEALS from one piece of meat.

Speaking of soup, homemade or store bought, you don’t have to waste the crumbs from the bottom of the bag of chips, or Doritos (“breakage” in food industry language). Smash the remaining crumbs in the bag, and empty the crumbs on top of the soup when ready to serve for added flavor and fiber…no waste.

To eat healthier and save your time cooking, I recommend purchasing a Ronco “Showtime” Rotisserie. Put the meat on the spit or in the basket, set the timer, and let it cook away, allowing the fat to drip away. Place vegetables in steamer tray on top of the unit. When the timer goes off, take the meat out, and serve. This is a Very Nice MOTHER’S DAY GIFT that will KEEP ON GIVING. But remember: you’ll have to figure out what you want to do with your free time while everything is cooking. It can cook up to a 15 lb. turkey. I have had mine for over six years.

Again, read your grocery ad circular carefully. Try to take advantage of the first opening days’ “Sale Specials”. Some stores run specials within the store that will provide FREEBIES or MONEY BACK for your NEXT SHOPPING VISIT. Last month Safeway/Dominick’s had a $10.00 kick back for your next visit on a purchase of $30.00 or more of certain listed brand name products …that’s a 33% savings right there. Many of these items weren’t ON SALE. This week they have two $5.00 kick back offers, the first is instant at the check out counter, the second is for your next visit.

Lastly, keep your eyes open for offers to add to your Government Stimulus Checks or Tax Refund Checks by Grocery Stores or Department Stores. Jewel (owned by Albertson) is offering a 10% Bonus if you use one of these CHECKS to purchase a Jewel-Osco Gift Card in increments of $300 up to $1200. Limit one offer per household. That’s a FREE $30 to $120 depending on the size of your check. Details are available in the store. Using these Be Smart…Shop Smart…Shopping Tips can add another 40-to-50% to this free money opportunity. Make Your Money Work for YOU!

So BeSmart…..ShopSmart…..Save Money…..Be Happy!
By Robert Walsh

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In 2004, through a joint effort by IHG, Enabler, and IESE business school, the first smart shopping cart was developed, which knew what it had inside (RFID), where it was (RTLS), who drove it (fidelity card), and used a multi agent platform to implement business cases for the consumer, the retailer, and the brands.

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Q:  Can you provide some ideas to help me to make the right choices in the grocery store?

A: Gladly – after all, the choices you make in the grocery store will be directly related to the way your body looks. The one thing you should never do is head to the grocery store in a state of hunger. If you do, you’re emotions are going to force you into some bad food choices regardless of how strongly determined you are to eat clean. So, have a decent meal before you take your weekly grocery shopping trip. There are a couple of items you’ll want to take along with you. Firstly, have a written shopping list and carry it with you. Secondly, take a calculator to the store. The main purpose here is to work out the fat content of your prospective food purchases.

Having a plan of your local grocery store in mind will help you to zoom in on the areas you need to go to and avoid the high risk zones. Remember the grocery store can be a dangerous place, full of temptations that can torpedo your best intentions. So get in, get what you need and then get out.

Don’t be fooled by the proliferation of ‘low fat’ foods available now days. Low fat may be as high as 30%. ‘Light’ ( or the trendier ‘lite’) may not refer to fat content at all, but rather texture and color. And low fat certainly doesn’t mean low sugar. Be careful, though, of so called low sugar foods, too. They may well be high in saturated fat or even use sugar alcohol. Also fat may be labeled as vegetable shortening, hydrogenated soybean or lard. If these items show up near the top of the ingredient list do not put them in your shopping cart. Keep in mind, too, that the nutritional counts on labels are normally based on serving size. There may well be two or even more servings in a container. So make sure that you’re clear on this distinction when analyzing the nutritional data on the packaging. While we’re on the subject of nutritional labeling, you should know that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) require that items be labeled in order of the highest amount of a specific ingredient to the lowest.

As a general guide to help you make smart shopping choices, foods that will sabotage your lean, muscular goals tend to be high in total calories and have high calorie density per unit of volume. They are high in total fat in general, and saturated and trans fatty fats in particular. They are high in refined sugar and flavor enhancers. Fillers and other chemicals tend to feature prominently on the nutritional label. They are also high in artificial colorings and sodium.

On the other side of the ledger you should be on the look out for complex starchy carbohydrates like oatmeal, yams and sweet potatoes. Brown or basmati rice is another smart choice as are 100% whole wheat and whole grain products (avoid white bread).  Green fibrous vegetables like broccoli, green beans and lettuce should feature highly along with fresh fruits. Proteins should come from lean, skinless chicken breast, eggs, fish and lean red meat (top round steak is best).

In summary, then, plan your shopping experience by eating a decent meal beforehand, having a shopping list, taking a calculator and using it to decipher the packaging labels, avoiding the high risk aisles and snack foods at the check-out and realizing that you’re in a place that could wreak havoc with all of your hard work in and out of the gym, unless you use your smarts.

Source: http://www.bodybuildingtoday.com/index.php/nutrition/grocery-shopping-choices-q&a.html

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Panchatatva, Mumbai – combines years of hard work, research and quality measures that have resulted in manufacturing a wide range of exclusive traditional handmade artifacts, highly imaginative art pieces, curios, personalised gift and exclusive collectibles one would simply love to possess,…

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Honestly, when it comes to choosing an anti aging skin care product, you’re in danger of being buried alive. It seems everyone is touting a new “miracle” product that will wipe years of your face in less than a week.

The fountain of youth is big business. Cosmetic companies realize that people will spend their life savings trying to look twenty again. Did you know that the average face-lift in the US is over $5,000? Yikes! Billions of dollars are poured into the cosmetic surgery bucket every year.

Can you afford 5 grand on a face lift? I certainly can’t (and do I really want to???). So in comes the anti aging skin care product line. For substantially less than 5K, you can “use our cream for stunning non-surgical results”. So, we shell out $60 dollars for an ounce. We “splurge” on the $100 dollar “Skin Sensation”. We cross our fingers, just hoping that this time it will actually WORK.

Sadly, most of that is money wasted. The majority of anti aging skin care treatments just don’t work. They are produced by unscrupulous marketers who are dangling the carrot of “youth” and milking millions from the average consumer.

Is this the end of the story? Are we, the more financially-challenged, doomed to wrinkles and sags forever?

In comes our hero: Knowledge. If you know what you’re looking for, it really is possible to dig out the gems from the rubbish pile. There is a anti aging skin care product that works. Indeed, there may actually be more than one!

That’s what this article is all about. Giving you some basic smart-shopping tips on how to be SURE your anti aging skin care product really is the “elixir of youth” you paid for.

Tip #1: Skip The Smell

First, avoid products promised to make you “smell like a rose”. You may smell like a rose, but with continual use, your skin won’t feel like one.  The chemicals used to make those fragrances have toxins in them. Because skin is porous, these toxins enter into your skin and bloodstream, causing you (and your skin) long-term harm.

Naturally, you don’t want to smell like a horse. But choose to deodorize yourself in other ways. Use perfume, cologne, or body-spray.

But wait! I hear you say, Aren’t there toxins in those things as well? Yes, there are. The difference is that with an anti aging skin treatment product, you are massaging those toxins into your face, covering a large surface area. The fragrances used n perfumes and sprays are released in teeny-tiny droplets over small areas of your body. It’s a BIG difference.

Tip #2: Destroy the Collagen Deception

That’s right. Avoid any anti aging skin care product that touts “collagen” in the product label. Those manufacturers are searching for a sucker. Don’t be their stooge.

It’s common knowledge that one of the primary reasons our skin begins to age, sag, and get wrinkles, is because the collagen in our skin is breaking down.   This is a scientific fact.  Manufacturers would like you to believe that by using a product with collagen in it, you will “rebuild” those layers.

Hogwash. Hooey. Fiddlesticks.

Collagen molecules are way too big to penetrate the skin when applied on the surface.  Instead, of attempting to get collagen from the outside in, you need to encourage collagen to grow from the inside out. You do this by using an anti aging skin care product that uses specialized (and natural) products that are proven to stimulate your body to make its OWN collagen.

Not only are these so-called “collagen” products bunk (meaning you’d get better results spreading yogurt on your face), they are also, usually, grossly over-priced.

(Side Note: You can read about those proven collagen-stimulating ingredients on my website, hyperlinked at the bottom of this article.)

Tip #3: Become “Celebrity Tax” Exempt

In the billion-dollar world of skin care, marketing is everything. How else will you convince the masses to choose your particular brand of Ingredient X? Is it any surprise, then that most skin care manufacturers spend the majority of their budget on marketing, and not on researching and developing the best products?

Smart executives realize that if they can land a model or contract a well-known celebrity to do their promotion, it doesn’t really matter whether the product works (or if it is good for you in the long run). People will buy it on faith.

For example, can you think of a well-known celebrity currently promoting a “hot” skin care product? Think of the Proactive Solution products. They have spent millions hiring Jessica Simpson, Lindsay Lohan, Vanessa Williams, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Love Hewitt, P.Diddy, Alicia Keys…all have “endorsed” Proactive Solutions, successfully selling to over 10 million people.

Who do you suppose paid those millions for celebrity contracts? Proactive did, yes….but who gives Proactive their money? Normal Joes like you and me. Those marketing dollars are paid by the people who by the product. A “Celebrity Tax” on every bottle, if you will.

There’s nothing wrong with passing that cost on to the consumer, I understand the basic principles of business. My point here is that those are millions that could be spent on researching and developing better products. And if they had better products, would they have the need to spend millions on celebrities so you would buy them? Hmmm…I think not!

Tip #4: Use the Road Less Traveled

This is why I am a firm believer that it’s actually the little, unknown companies that represent your best bet when it comes to finding a quality anti aging skin care product. In fact, I think those companies are your best bet for any so-called vanity product.

Here’s why I think so: Those smaller companies can keep their product cost lower (by not having to pass on a “Celebrity Tax”), and invest their profits into actually producing a better product. It’s more like…If you make it (well)….they will come.

Their products speak for themselves. That is how their bottom line grows and grows. Not through neat packaging and cool celebrity endorsements, but by happy repeat customers. The extra money they make from those happy customers gets plunked into researching and developing MORE great products to make happier customers, and the cycle starts over again.

My job (and yours) as a passionate skin-care enthusiast is to find products produced by companies that are just like this.

In conclusion, I urge you to out-smart the status quo. Find a fragrance-free anti aging skin care product that will stimulate your body’s own production of collagen. Avoid paying the “celebrity tax” on bogus products that do nothing but pay for more celebrity endorsements.  Search for beauty products (including anti aging skin care treatments) that will save you money and your skin at the same time.

If you’re too busy to do all that (I completely understand), feel free to look over my virtual shoulder and peek at what I have uncovered in my own search for better skin care. You can see all this information (including several gotta-have-ingredients) on my website, which is hyperlinked below.

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It’s easy to overspend when trying to find the perfect gift, but holiday joy can quickly become a holiday hangover once the bills start to arrive. Shop smart to find great gifts without breaking the bank.

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