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We’ve finally got some August-like weather here in Portland; maybe Kris’ tomatoes will ripen after all. While we work in the yard and declutter the house, here are some quick-and-easy money articles from around the web:
The DIY Maven at Curbly has 20 tips for shopping at the grocery store. You’ve heard many of these before, but it never hurts to review. Some of these should be mantras: Make a list! Eat first! Shop the perimeter!
I’m a huge fan of Quicken hacks, those little tricks that make it easier to work with this popular piece of personal finance software. Several months ago, I gathered and posted a collection of my favorites. Macworld has collated their top 10 Quicken tricks. While one is Mac-specific, I believe the others will work on the PC as well.
Finally, a couple of readers pointed out a nice anti-clutter strategy at 43folders. The clever hanger trick (developed by Peter Walsh, the author of It’s All Too Much) is a simple but effective way to track which clothes you really wear all the time, and which ought to be purged from your wardrobe.
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August 31st, 2007 at 5:18 am
I’m a bit confused as to what ‘discount stores’ are. My toilet paper is pretty cheap at the grocery store already. Does that mean places like Costco? I can’t imagine where I’d buy toilet paper cheaper, especially when it is already cheap.
August 31st, 2007 at 5:25 am
Please do not moan about the weather. Have you any idea what its been like in the UK? First there was the month of continuous rain, then we’ve had alternating warm and overcast days for the whole of August. I’m still waiting for summer to start and its September tomorrow.
August 31st, 2007 at 8:11 am
I don’t fancy Mr. Walsh’s trick at all. My trick? Always put your clothes on the right side of the closet. Push everything to the left, and in 6 months the stuff you don’t wear is on the left, and the stuff you do wear is on the right.
The Quicken list is interesting though. I’m going to update my 2005 version with 2008 and I am looking forward to the quick entry widget.
August 31st, 2007 at 1:19 pm
I follow my version of The Rule of Threes - everytime I’m in a room, I have to put away or throw away at least three items before I can leave the room. Of course, what happens most of the time is that I handle MORE than three items - more often five or six.
September 1st, 2007 at 12:20 pm
Don’t feel bad plonkee down here in Madrid we have yet to hit a hundred degrees (36 celcius_, been one of coolest August in memory. I have yet to turn on the A/C, last year it we were dying it was so hot
September 1st, 2007 at 4:40 pm
careful with that Quicken auto-reconcile thing. that hosed my account records so badly I had to open a new checking account. it was a few versions ago so maybe it’s been fixed, but I reconcile by hand now and forever after that mess.
if I’d had backups it would have been less of a mess; I now back up to two disks every night w/SuperDuper (in case one of my backup disks goes blooey, and all hard disks crash n burn at some point; it’s just a matter of when).
September 2nd, 2007 at 8:15 am
Just a quick note on the toilet paper issue. It’s not cost per roll, it’s cost per sheet you need to focus on, Costco did indeed have the cheapest price in Calgary. Because I no longer drive, and the only things I really wanted from there was romaine lettuce and toilet paper, I hit Superstore for the 30 roll pack of Scott 500 sheet. I haven’t crunched the numbers lately but I still think it’s the best deal on a daily necessity!