Behind the Story—Bargain Mom

I team up with one of our “Bargain Moms” to test a hot new product, and I have to say that I love how honest she is about it.  Her name is Kate and you’ll meet her on First at 4 today.  She’s one of those bargain hunting “queens.“  The product claims to help make grocery shopping and running errands easier.  We shall see…  :)  I’ll let Kate tell you what she thinks of it. 

When I chat with friends and co-workers it’s clear that we are all trying to stretch our budgets.  I think that’s a good thing.  Even in strong economic times, I think it’s important to respect our money and spend it wisely.  Talk to anyone who grew up in the depression and they’ll tell you we’ve been living beyond our means and wasting money for too long now.  I swear, if you grew up in the depression you have a talent for stretching a buck and making anything out of an egg container, milk carton, or newspaper.  Nothing wrong with that.  Have you noticed how they NEVER throw anything out?  They find another use for it, and another use, and another use…  Yes, it’s a talent and there’s a lot we can learn from it.  Reduce, reuse and recycle not only saves money, but helps the environment and is just plain “good living.“  So, I for one, am glad we are all taking a hard look at what we buy, how much we spend, and what we use in our homes.

So—what are some of your favorite money or energy saving tips?  Pass them around and share!  I love a good money saving tip.

Ellie

In our house, the Smart Shopper, was just another gadget that 14 month old Richard wanted to play with.  I am not a fan of voice recognition, and while it was quite impressive to see thousands of “recognized” items, I don’t usually have a quiet background, so the machine had a hard time understanding me.  Another downside, was the list was thin, receipt tape, and by the end of my stroll through the store, the paper was gone.  I am not sure if it was ripped up, or thrown down, but Richard had a ball crinkling up my printed list.
If I was planning a big BBQ or hosting a dinner party, this would be great because you can easily add in quantities, to make sure you buy enough.  I think this would also be a good product for a busy family with teens, because everyone would be able to use it and then whoever shopped could just print it out.
Of course, Human Error is still an obstacle, you could forget your coupons, forget an item, and, it is not going to distract you from impulse buying.

On a positive note, if you found one on sale, and you had to buy a gift for the person who has everything…this is your item.

I found an awesome way to save money - I had another son two years after my first son, in the same season - I haven’t had to buy any new clothes or shoes yet for the second little man!  You gotta try it ;))))