Smart Shopping

As some of you might know, I started working a couple of weeks ago. It has been great getting out of the house and finally earning some money. It's not a career oriented position but after looking for a job for over 3 months and seeing no light at the end of the tunnel, suddenly landing a reasonably well paid job (in American standard) makes me really happy.

I've moved so much and so many things have changed in my life since pretty much finishing high school that I'm trying not to worry about not having a career oriented job here or not knowing what I'm going to do when I'm back in Australia. Ideally, I'd like to apply for Doctor of Dental Medicine at the University of Sydney. After the army, when it was time to think about university courses, I didn't think I was smart enough to get into dentistry (or medicine but I didn't want to do that). I still don't know if I am smart enough but I guess I'll never find out unless I try.

So anyway, today at work people were talking about saving when grocery shopping. I'll start by saying that Americans love coupons and deals and you can get those for almost anything! This is unlike Australia where people "save" be deciding whether Coles or Woolworths are cheaper and sticking to it. While I got to like coupons for specialty stores (like the sewing store where I shop regularly and save about half of the total bill thanks to coupons) I don't believe in coupon shopping in grocery stores. I think you can save without obsessive coupon collection and regular search for deals. And yes, as someone who wasn't working for 6 months and is about to go to Alaska, I am in a saving mode at the moment and thought I might share my simple techniques of "smart shopping".

Firstly, why I don't like coupons? Coupons and deals actually make you buy more, make you buy stuff you don't need and make you buy it in amounts you don't need. In addition, they often give you discounts on the top brands while the home brands might be the same quality but cost half the price at the first place. That's not saving and definitely not smart shopping.

So how do I smart shop?

• I buy what I need for the week (in my case I shop once a week). This means skip on luxury items, don't buy items that have a history of going to waste and don't buy replacements for items until I actually run out. So before anything is going to my trolley, I think twice whether I actually need it that week. To help this rule, I try and plan meals for the week and have a shopping list.
• Experiment with cheaper brands. Many products are quite generic so no matter what brand you buy, you get the same thing and sometimes even better. Also, these products are quite cheap so if the cheaper brand wasn't good you just wasted a couple of dollars but if it was good, you'll save money long term by sticking to it.

Since I got into my smart shopping routine my grocery bill dropped in about $50 a week. No coupons and no hours looking for deals. I think because my techniques are more about smart shopping rather than about saving like mad and giving up on everything you want to buy, they are easier to implement and will work for both, those that need to save on a regular basis and those who want to save for a short while.  

Cheers!

PS - I know I didn't upload the second part of the photos from Santa Fe. I promise I'll get there. I think I need Adobe Lightroom to hurry things up as Photoshop is taking forever. 

Good things in Denver

There are some wonderful things in Denver and I don't want you to think that all is bad and annoying. My negative list had 7 points so I made sure to have 7 positive points at the list below.

Not in any particular order. 

• Excellent service at restaurants. I've been to a few restaurants already and the service is fantastic. The waiters are both professional and outgoing, the food arrives quickly and while you’re waiting for the food they make sure they you have drinks or something to snack on. The food I had so far was also very good so it's obviously not only the waiters that are doing a good job. A good name of a restaurant is a combination of things and it's a shame that in Australia they usually forget about it. 

• Denver is very dog friendly. Firstly, the majority of rental properties allow pets. This is totally different to Australia where people usually can't have pets unless they own their own house. Secondly, travelling with pets is quite easy as there is a range of hotels and service apartments that allow pets and pets are also allowed into parks and many other places. Again unlike Australia where the travelling options and destinations with pets are very limited. Thirdly, there are many dog day cares where you can leave the dog during work hours or when going on a holiday. These are only a few example.

• Variety of products. There is a pretty good range of supermarket goods. I can go in and find something new to try or just find whatever I was looking for. In Australia I often found the supermarket experience irritating as I usually had to compromise on quality, flavour, size, you name it. I'm not saying that in the States there is everything in every supermarket, because this is definitely not true, but there is a much better range than in Australia.

• Reasonable prices. The wages in the Sates are very low so I doubt that many middle class Americans find the prices low but they are definitely reasonable for Australians that come here for a holiday or live here still earning an Australian wage. In addition, there are many discounts, especially if you have a membership card, so it's easy to save.  

• Easy to shop online. Firstly, every store has a website and a lot of websites offer online shopping. Secondly, shipping is either free or really ship. Thirdly, exchange and returns are very easy. The beauty is that because there is competition, if someone doesn't offer you free shipping or doesn't accept returns, you have the choice and just go elsewhere. Australian retailers only whinge and do nothing to adjust to the new market. 

• My favourite products. I know, this is another point about consumerism, but I can't help it. We are all consuming goods and services and you're better off consuming them in the US. There are many products that I like here or more like products that I got to know and like in Israel and could never get in Australia. Best example are Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Cap'n Crunch peanut butter cereal, Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds (my healthier breakie option) and of course all the wonderful female hygiene products that somehow never made it to Australia (if you're new to the States and need recommendations, send me a message). Of course it is also heaps easier to buy alternative clothing and shoes as there are actual stores that sell them and many online stores too.

• Nice people. This point is last because I think that it should be the default, especially with service providers. Unfortunately it's not always the case so I do want to mention it. Australians are really nice and are great when it comes to service so it's hard for the Americans to impress me, especially because of their bureaucracy that doesn't make them seem so nice. But the bottom line is that most Americans I came across were nice, unlike say Israel where many people are pushy and rude. So, Australians, don't expect to be impressed but Israelis - you sure will!