Small Efforts Repeated Equal Big Savings

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No. 12: Consider generic and store brands. Many times, the product is identical to the brand name except for the lower price. If you are unhappy with the product, return it to the store for a refund. Yes, grocery stores have refund policies.

No. 13: Shop solo. Being distracted can be very costly. Leave the kids and spouse at home and you’ll be more laser-focused.

No. 14: Don’t buy nonfood items at the grocery store. Housewares, pharmacy items, greeting cards, paper goods and cleaning supplies can be purchased for less elsewhere: dollar stores, and discount department stores like Target and Walmart.

No. 15: Avoid individual-size packages. Buy the big bag or size and divide into smaller portions at home.

No. 16: Avoid convenience items. It’s more cost-effective to make your own salad dressing, chicken-coating mix, soups and so on.

No. 17: Learn sale cycles. Study sale flyers until you recognize predictable cycles. Buy enough when it’s on sale to last until the next sale.

No. 18: Use it up. If your garbage disposal and kitchen trash have become the best-fed members of the household, stop throwing so much food away. Prepare less, and if you still have leftovers find creative ways to use them up.

Mary invites you to visit her at Every- experience in the Real Estate industry and has earned designations as a Graduate of the Realtor Institute (G.R.I.) and also as a Certified International Property Specialist (C.I.P.S.) and in 2022 has earned his National Association of Realtors “Green Industry designation for eco-friendly construction. He will provide you with “free” regular updates of sold and new homes in your town via the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island (MLSLI) or go to https://WWW. Li-RealEstate.Com and you can “do it yourself (DYI) and search on your own. For a “FREE” `15 minute consultation, as well as well as a “FREE printout or digital value analysis of what your home might sell for in today’s market without any obligation or “strings” attached. He can also provide a copy of “Unlocking the Secrets of Real Estate’s New Market Reality, and our Seller’s and Buyer’s Guides for “Things to Consider when Selling, investing or Purchasing your Home. dayCheapskate.com, where this column is archived complete with links and resources for all recommended products and services. Mary invites questions and comments at https://www.everydaycheapskate.com/contact/, “Ask Mary.”

You can email or snail mail (regular mail) him with your request or ideas, suggestions or interview you for a specific topic and a Q & A for a future column with your name, email and cell number. He will email or call you back and respond to your request ASAP as long as he has your complete name, cell, email and/or full home or business address. Again, for a “FREE” 15 minute consultation, he can also be reached by cell: (516) 647-4289 or by email: Phil@ TurnKeyRealEstate.Com to answer any of your questions and concerns in selling, investing, purchasing, or leasing residential or commercial property.

This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually. Mary Hunt is the founder of EverydayCheapskate.com, a frugal living blog, and the author of the book “Debt-Proof Living.”

COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS.COM

BY DENNIS MAMMANA

Week of April 30 -- May 6, 2023

Springtime weather is becoming very pleasant around the Northern Hemisphere, and folks can use this opportunity to enjoy the nighttime sky.

This week, the brilliant moon will dominate our evening sky. Expect it to reach its full phase on the nights of Thursday, May 4, and Friday, May 5. On those nights, you’ll see it rise over the east-southeastern landscape around sunset.

As it rises, its orange disk will likely appear quite large as it clears the horizon. Of course, the moon is no larger when it rises, but it appears that way because of some fascinating optical trickery known as the “moon illusion.”

As it ascends in the eastern sky, the moon’s brilliant light will obliterate from view all but the brightest of stars and will offer us an opportunity to check out some of the brighter features of the springtime evening sky.

On those nights, look above the moon for the bright star Spica -- the brightest in the constellation Virgo, the maiden. Its name comes from the Latin word meaning “ear of grain,” and in many depictions of the constellation, the star represents a shaft of wheat.

Spica was an important star in ancient days. Around 3200 B.C., the temple at Thebes was oriented to Spica, and in the second century B.C., Hipparchus