So were inundated with many thousands of advertisements every day. Almost everywhere we go and everything we do involves ads and its really hard to get away from it.
Here are just a few of the ads you will experience today:
- Television ads in your living room.
- Radio and billboard ads while driving.
- Website ads while browsing the Internet.
- Mobile ads while using your phone.
Alongside all these ads you will also see signage ads everywhere! Store signs when driving down the road, placemat ads when dining out, packaging ads when shopping for anything, etc., etc., etc.
Despite what we may like to believe these ads strongly effect not only the way we shop, but also the way we think! Think about it If this were not true, marketing would not be a multi-billion dollar industry.
Buying solutions
Lets assume you want to start your own seeds for your garden this year. How would you go about it? What would be the first step you would take in finding a solution that delivers the results youre looking for? Chances are you would go to your local hardware and/or lawn and garden center looking to purchase a seed starting solution and Im sure you would find something that would help you start seeds.
The truth is, unless we force ourselves to think of creative solutions, we will always end up at the store paying more for a solution someone else created and marketed to us!
Creating solutions
If you havent already picked up on this, I like to stick-it-to-the-man whenever possible. Sometimes thats a blessing and other times its a curse!
Dont worry in this example its a blessing.
Consider the following seed starting solution that uses free materials found around the house or somewhere close by.
- 3 bales of straw
- 1 piece of plexiglass
- Dirt
Arrange the 2 bales of straw horizontally against the south wall of your home. Arrange the 3rd bale parallel to your home at the far end of the other bales creating a box. Fill the box with dirt (only up to the foundation, do not pile dirt against your siding.) Plant your seeds. Put the plexiglass over the box.
You have just created a greenhouse to start your seeds in for free. Water it several times each day and enjoy the proceeds.
The challenge
The point is stop automatically thinking you need to buy consumer solutions and force yourself to think creatively about alternative DIY solutions that save you money.
Next time you think you need to buy something I challenge you to think of how you can do it yourself. Make sure to let us know what you did in the comments.
Here, Ill start. Instead of buying stoppers to go behind the tires of our pop-up camper I used pieces of wood instead.
Gerald Conrad March - 25 - 2011
Charles Schwab has been busy coming up with a platform to add exchange traded funds into an all-ETF 401 plan by early 2012. How is the progress as of now?
Schwab isn’t the first-mover in this growing space, but when the plan launches, it will be the biggest player by a long shot.The move is huge for the ETF industry, which has been trying in cracking this market.
Record-keeping is the only thing holding back ETFs from truly breaking into the 401 market, but several 401 plan providers are working around this obstacle and proving its a minor glitch, at the most.
Carolyn Hill and Oliver Ludwig for Index Universe reports Schwab already runs about $200 billion in retirement assets. L
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Gerald Conrad March - 21 - 2011
Banks have made quite a recovery since the financial crisis and the Federal Reserve noticed in their latest round of stress tests. Financial stocks and exchange traded funds celebrated the news by moving up about 1% for the day.
Banks have undergone extensive testing since January by the Fed and passed a second round of stress tests, reports Eric Dash of the New York Times. Once they passed announcements were made of a return of dividends to shareholders and stock repurchases.
Goldman Sachs announced it is buying back the $5 billion stake it sold to Warren Buffet. J
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John Garcia March - 20 - 2011
I’ve tried something new at Get Rich Slowly lately.
Several years ago, my friend Sparky gave some feedback about the site. “There are lots of great discussions in the comments,” he said, “but you never really make that obvious on the blog itself. If there’s a good conversation, you should let everyone know.”
I’ve never done that — until now. And I’m still not really doing what he wanted. What I’ve been doing instead over the past month is posting follow-ups to certain posts. So, for instance, Donna Freedman wrote about having it all, but not all at once, and a great conversation broke out in the comments. So, I responded the next day with an article about how to spend your money, which then prompted a reader story about saving for something close to home.
Or, two weeks ago Robert Brokamp spurred debate by arguing that college is a rip-off. Crystal responded b Read more…
John Garcia March - 19 - 2011
So, winter’s end is right around the corner, which means it’s nearly time to freshen up the house, declutter your belongings, and celebrate spring. But, as we know, cleaning can also be expensive, especially if we have to replenish our cleaning supplies.
But, fortunately, there are cheaper alternatives to buying new cleaning supplies and products. We simply have to be a little more creative when it comes to spring cleaning, and we’ll soon be able to save money on the yearly cleaning ritual. Here are a few tips as you get ready to clean house on a budget.
The first thing you can do is turn to your pantry and kitchen for some cleaning supplies. Yes, you heard me, your pantry could be a good source of cheap cleaning products. A bottle of vinegar, for example, can do wonders on soap scum in your shower. Likew Read more…
Marie Conklin March - 19 - 2011
Each month, economists, market research groups, credit analysts and the Federal Reserve track data on consumer spending. The data is in for January and some of February, and the results are interesting. The analysts at Credit-Land expected credit accounts to increase by $3.9 billion in January, but the Credit-Land industry outlook reports that credit accounts are up by $5.9 billion for the month of January. The greater than expected increase indicates that consumer sentiments about the economy may be changing for the better.
Purchase Items
The items that consumers are spending their money on may just surprise you. Consumers are establishing credit accounts for big-ticket items such as vacations, cars and boats, which increased by $9.26 billion in January 2011. This is unlike the consumers of a few months or a few years ago that were stashing every penny they could and spending as little as possible.
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