• Jul. 7, 2009
(belated) Money Monday: Saving money on school supplies
Whether homeschooled, public schooled, private schooled, or charter schooled, we all need school supplies. But they can be so expensive!
Buy school supplies either in July or a couple weeks before school. School supplies are very cheap this time of year. They are also very cheap a couple weeks before school. You can spend very little on pencils, notebooks, markers, and all sorts of other stuff.
You can buy supplies at garage sales extremely cheaply. You can get supplies very cheaply at garage sales. You will probably find more school supplies at a garage sale where a teacher is either retiring, or changing professions. The teacher will be probably selling all of their school supplies/teaching supplies. This is another way to get at cheap school supplies.
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• Jun. 29, 2009
Money Monday: Saving money on fireworks
Well, the 4th of July (Independence Day) is coming up soon, and all the festivities that come with it, especially fireworks. Fireworks are probably my favorite part of the 4th. But how can we afford this? Walking into an annual fireworks tent, the small stuff (army tanks, cars, smoke balls, etc.) are about $ 1.99! And something bigger, say, a small fountain, is around $7.99. And that's just for the little ones! If you want the REALLY big ones, the cheapest one is $35.99 while the most expensive one I saw shopping yesterday was $72.99 (which, by the way, was called the "Blazing Sun".)! For one firework! Yikes! So how can we put on a halfway-decent fireworks show without killing our pocketbooks?
Pay attention to what brand the firework tent is offering. There are lots of firework tents where I live, and I've found out they sell mainly two brands: TNT and Shogun. I've also found out that Shogun is tons cheaper than TNT. My family doesn't even look at TNT tents anymore. Way too expensive. Another reason to check the tent brand is to save time. If you look at every single tent around town, you will have probably looked at a lot of tents that offer the same brand. The brand-name tents have the same pricing in every tent, so if you look at every single TNT tent you won't find any difference in pricing or any different deals. They are the same everywhere. So look at just one tent of every brand, and you will save a lot of time.
If firework tents don't exist, try a store. WalMart and BiMart carry fireworks. I don't know if other stores carry fireworks, but I bet there are some others out there. Stores will generally carry the same products that the other stands will. The BiMart in my area carries Shogun brand fireworks. The Walmart in my area carries TNT brand fireworks. As an added bonus, fireworks in stores are more than half off compared to the tents. Our family usually checks out one of our favorite fireworks tents, runs off to WalMart to check their prices, and then beelines over to BiMart. BiMart generally carries the cheapest fireworks in our town.
Go for one of the pre-packaged firework bundles. These are probably the cheapest way to go. TNT and Shogun both offer bundles of fireworks. Our family has bought the Mountain Man pack from Shogun for the past 3-4 years. It includes about 5 large fireworks, lots of medium sized fountains, and some smaller things like Fun Snaps. It is $39.99. Sounds expensive, but the Mountain Man pack at the nearest Shogun tent, it is $75.00. Yikes! Shogun also sells the Timber Wolf, which is a smaller fireworks bundle, usually priced around $29.99 at BiMart. Shogun also makes the mother of all fireworks bundles, entitled "The Patriot." It is $99.99 at BiMart (and I don't know how many fireworks are in it because I never bothered to count them, since it is WAY out of my family's price range. It would probably take me all DAY to count them, too! It is HUMONGO!), compared to $174.99 at the nearest Shogun tent.
Ask the tent manager if their stand will be doing a fireworks display. Some of the firework stands where I live will give a fireworks display before the 4th of July. It is basically a giant infomercial for their fireworks. They will light off one of every firework they have in the stand, giving the name before lighting it. This is a very nice opportunity to enjoy fireworks while being able to pick out the ones you really want. Then, the next morning, you can zip down to a store that sells cheap fireworks and get everything on your list!
Most firework stands will have a half-off sale the day after the 4th. The firework stands have to get rid of the leftover fireworks, so they have a half-off sale the day after the 4th. You can get next year's fireworks then, and store them somewhere safe. However, the fireworks DO have a small chance of exploding or going off in your house if there is some sudden temperature change, etc.
Well, that's how to save money buying fireworks, but it IS still quite a bit to spend. But there is a way to get the extra money you need...just by drinking soda pop!?!?!?!?
Explanation: You can cash in soda pop bottles, water bottles, and all other plastic, metal, or glass bottles that a drink of any kind comes in, as long as your state provides a 5 cent refund for that type of bottle. Simply save the bottles up in cardboard boxes or other containers until the 4th of July, and cash them all in when you have the time. Then you should have enough money to buy some fireworks.
(My sister, mom, and I hardly ever drink pop, but my dad takes one in his lunch every workday.)
I hope that this helps you save money on fireworks!
