Tag Archives: Shopping

Shopping: How to Learn from Others’ Mistakes

Leave a reply

A week ago my cable modem died.  No internet in my home.  And boy, oh, boy do you not realize how much you use the internet until you’re not able!  No streaming TV (because I still don’t have cable).  No wi-fi on my tablet to read the morning news.  No streaming music.  It wasn’t that many years ago that I didn’t have a home wi-fi network, but I sure am dependent now!  But that’s not what this post is about.

Cable modem

This post is about my journey to a new cable modem.  After work on the evening that my modem died, I spent some quality time at the local big box electronics store.  I picked out three modems in my price range that met my specifications.  The prices were all within about $20 of each other.  But then I sat down on the floor and consulted my smartphone (my only remaining source of internet).  Several blue shirted employees walked by without ever saying the words “May I help you.”  But that’s a different tale.  I was in my own world anyway.  I looked at reviews for the three modems I had picked out.  And it very quickly became clear that one of the modems was better than the other two.  Luckily for me, it was the least expensive one.

The internet makes it very easy for us to learn from the mistakes of other people.  If a product is no good, someone has probably written about it.  If a product is great, someone has likely written that too.  It’s all out there for us to see.  And it’s definitely best if you can look at a lot of reviews, to see if there are recurring themes.  There will be anomalies that stand out as being different from the norm.  But the more good reviews, the better the chance you’re getting a good product.

After a couple of days of watching old-fashioned DVDs for entertainment, we finally had enough ambition to hook up the new modem.  And it worked like a charm.  No problems.  No need to even interact with the cable company supplying our internet.  And this is exactly what I expected after reading the reviews online.

There’s a world of information at our fingertips.  It’s definitely worth doing a little investigating before making a purchase.  It may save you a lot of grief….and the need to write a negative review.

Oh Christmas Tree: Playing the Post-Holiday Sales to Your Favor

Leave a reply

I love the holidays.  I’m a big fan of decorating for Christmas.  My Christmas tree is especially dear to me.  For decades I’ve been buying one ornament each year that truly symbolizes something that I did that year.  For example, in 2003 I added a Nittany Lion ornament because that’s the year I started working at Penn State.  Decorating my tree is like taking many different trips down memory lane.  It fills me with joy.

Tree farm

When I was a young child my family used to go out together and chop down a tree to decorate our home.  But as time passed and life grew more complex, my parents bought an artificial tree.  It still provided the joy of decoration, but lacked the magical odor and texture of a real tree.  I swore that when I grew up, I would have a real tree in my home.

But life doesn’t always go the way we plan.  I lived in a series of small apartments that didn’t allow for real trees.  Then when I finally bought my own house, I didn’t have anyone to help me with a real tree (and I just wasn’t up to the challenge of setting up a real tree without assistance).  So I’ve had a few smaller artificial trees over the years.  About five years ago, I accepted my fate and bought a really nice 6 ½ foot pre-lit artificial tree.

Now, finally, feeling that I’ve gotten my money’s worth out of my nice artificial tree and knowing that I have assistance for setting it up, I think I’m in a place where I’m ready to move to the world of the real tree.  So next year, I’m getting a real tree.

Why not this year?  Well…I could do it this year.  But I lack infrastructure.  A real tree requires a stand.  And lights.  And frankly, I’m just not willing to pay pre-Christmas prices for these things.  The single best day to purchase holiday items at a low price is December 26.  I’ve been doing this for years with my holiday cards and wrapping paper.  I go out to the stores the morning after Christmas and all of the holiday items are half price.  It’s a fabulous time to stock up on those holiday items I use every year.  Cookie cutters.  Holiday decorations.  Gift bags.  Bows and gift tags.  And this year my mission will be a tree stand and several strings of LED lights.  I’ll buy them at half price on December 26.  I’ll put them away with the rest of my Christmas items.  And next year I’ll be all set for my first real Christmas tree in decades.

Sure…I would have loved to have a real tree this year.  But the money I’ll save will make the wait worthwhile.

Shopping…sometimes without buying!

Leave a reply

I love to shop.  Going to the stores.  Browsing online.  Comparing prices.  Reading reviews.  Deciding exactly which item is the right one.  Finding exactly the best deal on the thing that I need or want.  I love the whole process.  Unfortunately I’m not independently wealthy, so while shopping is a great hobby, I can’t purchase everything I’d like to.

You likely already know that I’m a big fan of shopping at thrift stores and other resale shops.  When I can get a great piece of clothing from the 49 cent rack, I’m beside myself with joy.  And if I pick up something that turns out to be less than perfect from Goodwill, then I’ve got so little invested that it’s no great loss.

But thrift stores are generally only good if you’re not shopping for something in particular.  You go in, see what’s there, and buy what you think fits your life.  But when I actually need something in particular, I turn to Amazon.com.  The online superstore has absolutely everything.  Generally complete with multitudes of reviews to help you compare quality of different products.  I’m pretty quick to find something that I’d like to have and put it into my Amazon cart.  But most times, it will stay in my cart for a good long time.  I’ll keep it there, knowing I can find it quickly if it turns out I need the item in short order.  Maybe I’ll have three or four different versions of the same thing hanging out in my cart while I try to make a decision.  And many times, after I wait for a day or two, the urge to actually purchase the item will pass.  I figure out how I can live without it.  I find something similar at Goodwill or on Freecycle or on Craigslist.  Or maybe it turns out I didn’t really need the thing at all.  Many is the time that something will go into my Amazon cart, it will stay there for days or weeks or even months, and then I will discard it.  It was clearly something I didn’t need.

By giving myself this cooling down time after putting something into my online cart, I’ve managed to save a lot of money by avoiding the impulse purchase.  Whether you’re shopping online or in physical stores, it’s always a good idea to give yourself a waiting period before you make the actual purchase.  This helps you to take the time to make sure you really need to make the purchase.  Once you bring an item home, it’s hard to bring yourself to return it.  But by waiting to make the initial purchase, you establish some certainty in the decision.

Maybe I don’t get instant gratification by following this plan.  But I avoid a lot of buyer’s remorse.